"The big problem for me is the way we play!"
Speaking after the defeat to Stoke yesterday, we all have an opinion on where things at times, are going wrong. Jose Mourinho summed thin...
https://www.chelseadaft.org/2013/12/the-big-problem-for-me-is-way-we-play.html
Speaking after the defeat to Stoke yesterday, we all have an opinion on where things at times, are going wrong. Jose Mourinho summed things up perfectly by suggesting the problem is the way we play.
Of course it's a broad statement from the manager and covers all areas from defence to attack but he's right when he prefers to talk about every area.
Jose said:
"I prefer to be simple and pragmatic and say that we scored one goal less than them and we lost.
I can't analyse with you certain aspects of the game, or individual performances. I don't want to take credit away from them. If I was Mark [Hughes], I'd be upset if the opposition manager just said: 'We lost.' They did something to get a point... maybe not to win.
I don't organise my teams this way. Individual mistakes sometimes kill a team, and the way we work.
But, there are also the goals we didn't score. In the first half, we had lots of occasions in which a simple movement and finish would have meant the job was done. We should score more goals than we did.
Our first half was fantastic. There was a great quality of football, and we dominated. We had dozens of situations when we won the ball back... but we didn't kill the game.
By conceding late in the first half, we gave life to an opponent who was in big trouble. In the second half, they had more life. It was less of football - free-kick, yellow card, push here, pull there - and it was more difficult to play.
The big problem for me is the way we play.
The other day at Sunderland, we conceded goals at set pieces and today we had another one - but don't speak to me about organisation, because it's not about that. We don't score enough goals for the football we play."I back the manager here 100%. Football is a team game and you win as a team and lose as a team but I believe at times, when we get into really good attacking positions, we are a selfish side! How many times for example over the course of the season so far, how many times have we seen someone take a shot on when the better option would have been to pass the ball to someone who is in a better position to score?
How many times have we wasted chances when we should have done better? How many points have we dropped this season because of not taking our chances?
So why have we become selfish at times? I believe it's all linked to the situation within the squad!
Think about it, Jose Mourinho has spoken before about players being rewarded for playing well and keeping their place in the team. So, when players come in, they want to do their best for themselves first and foremost (despite what they tell us but it's human nature!) and then the team.
If a player feels as though he needs to go above and beyond to impress the manager then given the chance, he will chose the selfish option and not look for the better alternative..
One thing is for sure, you look around at Barcelona for example and despite the outstanding ability they all have as individuals, the emphasis is on the team game. Chelsea need to focus on the same.
We also have to consider the pressure that is put on players and especially our attacking players. Just the other day Mourinho revealed that he had spoken to Hazard about his lack of goals before he scored two at Sunderland.
Look at the whole situation with Fernando Torres, Samuel Eto'o and Demba Ba! Only this morning, the graphic below has appeared in one of the tabloids in the UK:
Graphic as shown in The Mirror here! |
How many times have you seen one of these three standing in the penalty box making a gesture towards one of their team mates who has ignored them being in a better position and has wasted a chance instead??
There is no denying that our defending at times is shocking and we have been caught out many times but I believe that it's almost as if Jose is saying that if we took all our chances or most of them, it wouldn't matter how many goals we would concede as we should out score the opposition!
Is that the way forward? Surely it can't be!
Chelsea need to start playing as a team and focus themselves on the team ethic and the team game. Only then will we really see a difference in the goals we score from the chances we create.
What do you people think about Jose's comments and of the way we play our football?
Carefree & KTBFFH!