Has Chelsea’s lack of firepower cost us the Champions League or is it Antonio Conte?

That’s the question I am asking now after witnessing Chelsea’s inability to kill teams off demonstrated once again at Swansea on Saturday. 

Now regular readers will know that I am firmly in the Antonio Conte OUT brigade having backed him 100% ever since he walked through the door two summers ago. I changed tact after the Tottenham home defeat, which is the game that has cost us the Champions League spot more than any other, I changed because of the managers lack of reaction to what was happening in-game which has been a constant throughout the course of this season.

It’s important to remember that the manager selects the players to get out there and perform and to make changes when they don’t. When you make those changes you hope that the players you bring on can do something to make an impact. When they don’t is that down the manager or the individual?

In saying that, the Italian has made a key point after the game at the weekend and has given me food for thought which is why I am asking the Chelsea fans the question this afternoon.

Speaking after another frustrating game in attack for the Blues, Antonio Conte said:

“Our top scorer has scored only 12 goals.

"And if your best scorer has scored only 12 goals it means it is very difficult to fight for something this season. This is the reality; the stats speak very well."

 “Our first problem this season is that we have not been so clinical. If you want to win, you have to score. If you don’t take your chances, the result stays in the balance until the end.

“This season we have dropped many points.

“I remember, for example, our most recent game against West Ham, we dropped two points of vital importance for us. We were winning the game and we created a lot of chances to score but we kept the result at only 1-0 and at the end they scored and drew.”

I have to say that you cannot argue with him because those are the facts. Yes, we have made defensive mistakes and there have been times when he should have reacted from the sidelines to influence the game, to try and change things to have a different tactical approach as he did so many times last season but, he makes a valid point here – If your attack is toothless, how on earth are you expected to be challenging for the top four?

You just must look at the League game the other week against Southampton facing the fact that we were 0-2 down. When push comes to shove and our backs are up against it, with little choice but to get out there, play at a much higher tempo, move the ball quicker and attack these teams, we can be outstanding and as clinical as we need to be by utilising a different tactical approach. You just need to ask the question of our attacking players why is it that they cannot play like that in every game? Why should it only be when we find ourselves faced with unexpected adversity?

So I am asking you the Chelsea/Football fan reading this post the question:

Has our lack of a killer instinct in games cost us the Champions League spot or do you blame Antonio Conte?