The Chelsea family and Abramovich’s big decision
Both Lampard and Mourinho have talked about troubles within the Chelsea camp, pointing to their performance at the Emirates as an indicator of how Chelsea should be playing.
Lampard:
“There have been problems at the club and they have to be addressed, simple as that.
There are things we have been battling against and we have to put them right. We cannot allow certain people to lose us the spirit that has got us to where we are.
You will understand what I mean when you look at how we played at Arsenal, with 11 players all fighting to win the game.”
The full interview is here, and the funny bit is that Lampard hasn’t said anything about fellow Chelsea players. He’s only mentioned the club, which could easily mean the tussle between Mourinho and the board.
It’s Mourinho’s remarks which are more interesting:
“This was a game for people that want to succeed with this Chelsea.
I mean Mr Abramovich’s Chelsea, because he is the owner, but also the Chelsea of the dressing room and the human and professional relationships.
If someone wants to succeed in this dressing room they have to watch this game and understand why some people have success and others have no success.
It is obvious. You can go to any club and analyse player by player the contribution they gave in the season.”
[Source: Sky Sports]
Here’s what I see:
Mourinho, Terry and Lampard are very close, and these three are the key to Chelsea’s success in the next few seasons. Drogba may get the goals, Essien is the energizer bunny, Carvalho is fantastic in defence and Cech is world class, but it’s those 3 that are Chelsea’s heart and soul.
Mourinho’s pointing at non-performing players (Shevchenko, Boulahrouz and Robben would be my picks - Ballack is probably in that list as well but he’s done well this season) and also at the club owner is his challenge to the management (and he’s going to get more explicit in the future about this) for letting him do things his way.
It makes sense - yes, there has to be some control but ultimately it’s the manager’s job to create a team. Ferguson has been given that chance several times and he’s come up trumps each time. Wenger has the same chance now and he’s getting there. Benitez has done well in the CL precisely because he gets his way (although he has been limited by a lack of funds).
For Chelsea to sustain their advantage, it must be the same for Jose Mourinho as well. Let him create his own team. He has a few players he wants to sell and undoubtedly several players that he wants to bring in. Let him do that - with the team Chelsea have Champions League qualification is guaranteed and so is progression to the second round (minimum) as well as good progress in the domestic cups.
It could be that in their desire to achieve success, the Chelsea top brass haven’t allowed Jose Mourinho enough leeway to get them there.
That has to change - to keep the Chelsea family happy and to improve the team.
Eventually - it’s Abramovich’s decision to make.
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As soon as I read that quote today the first thing that came to my mind was Shevchenko.
Boulahrouz and Robben may be non-performing, but the manager isn’t pressured to play them in the first-team, unlike Shevchenko who they’ve payed quite a bit of money for and is supposedly a favorite of Roman Abramovich.
Wat makes u think ballack has done well this season???
Its relative chintan…he may not have done as well as the top performers in the EPL this season but that doesn’t mean he’s not done well at all!
This much I agree with. The manager must have a great part of the power pie in a club for it to be successful. I have a lot of respect, thought grudgingly, for the Blues. Lampard, Terry and Mourinho (but for his incessant blabbing) are quite good at what they do, and Essien is fast joining those ranks.
But you pointed to the Gooners and Arsene’s control over the club (in recent times).
Contrastingly, there’s also the problem of the club becoming a one man circus. Arsenal might be headed that way because of an imbalance between that share of say that Wenger has and the board have. I’m no management guru, but the other extreme isn’t that great either. Check out Florentino Perez’s Real for one…
You will understand what I mean when you look at how we played at Arsenal, with 11 players all fighting to win the game.”
You meant 10 men, didn’t you, Frankie? Ballack has not done well this season by any means, that’s sure for me.
I don’t think Mourhino is left alone enough to get the job done at Chelsea.
Looks like Roman Abramovich brought in Ballack and Shevchenko - and neither has been successful this season.
No doubt Mourhino and his two senior local players (Terry and Lampard) are unhappy with the situation.
Unfortunately - so is Abramovich - for different reasons.
The chances of Jose leaving in the summer have got to be real.
Shevchenko was certainly not a Mourinho buy but Ballack was. When he was recruited, Ballack was told he’d be playing in a midfield 3 alongside Frank Lampard. The diamond midfield that has led to such slow play this year is a result of accommodating Sheva and the lack of availability of the wingers while the midfield is by far Chelsea’s best staffed area.
I can see Boularuhz and Ferreira going this summer and maybe Geremi and Makelele. I think Sheva will stay; despite all the cristicism of him he’s carried injuries most of the season, missed pre-season and still hasn’t been given the chance that Drogba was. He desperately needs to find some pace and get used to English referees.
In, I’d like to see Alex, Micah Richards, Glen Johnson and Berbatov. Sidwell would be a handy addition, especially for cover during the African Cup of Nations. I wouldn’t be surprised to see Scott Sinclair and Ben Sahar used more next season too.
My tip for greatness in 07/08 is Mikel John Obi.