Stop Jorginho and you stop Chelsea - Is that what we have become under Maurizio Sarri?

For two weeks running now in the Premier League, against Everton and now Tottenham tonight, both teams have adopted a tactic to stop Jorginho from playing. When he doesn't play it seems that Chelsea doesn't - has it really come to this under Maurizio Sarri?

Surely the Chelsea team is about more than a single player? Why have we become so heavily reliant on someone who has never played in the Premier League before, someone who would have the time and space to play his game in the slower paced Italian league? Why on earth would both he and Maurizio Sarri believe that they would have the same impact here in England which is the toughest, most physical league in the world?

It's clear there is a positive having Jorginho in your side when he is given the time and space to move about and play his passes. That's the thing though isn't it, he is purely in the side for what he can do with the ball at this feet. It's that and nothing else as far as I am concerned having watched him in every game he has played.

I keep saying this, I talked openly about this in on of my Chelsea Daft Vlog's published on my YOUTUBE CHANNEL here, that he is a total liability without the ball as he cannot tackle to save his life AND leaves us exposed at the back time and time again!

I want someone to tell me the reason why we cannot switch the positions of Jorginho and N'Golo Kante. How by doing that would it detrimental to the team? Surely based on tonight's defensive performance against Tottenham and how much space they had to attack out back-four at will is a major sign that it has to happen now moving forward.

We cannot allow teams freedom to attack us. Think of the games we have played so far and the goals we have conceded, the chances teams have had to score against us and the fact that tonight we could / should have conceded SIX goals!

Maurizio Sarri demands that his team presses the ball high in our opponents half to win the ball quickly. Part of that tactical approach sees Jorginho pushing forward and encouraging his team-mates to do the same. When it works, great! When it doesn't it highlights Jorginho's lack of pace as he gets turned and struggles to get back goal-side or to make a challenge. Yes, he harries someone and tries to win the ball back but there is no tackle, there is no substantial attempt to win the ball in that important position as what Kante can offer.

Just look at the Harry Kane goal tonight. Jorginho finds himself turned and the wrong side. He struggles to get back to challenge Kane who just holds him off - it was powder-puff. Look at Jorginho and how he struggled with pace against Son who isn't the quickest for their third goal. He was brutally exposed defensively this evening and it was staggering to see despite the fact that I have been saying this for weeks that he MUST be taken away from that position.

With the ball tonight and two weeks ago, he was shut down quickly, not given a chance to play forward and he became a liability. I said it in my match-report (linked in the opening paragraph) that he should have been taken off a half-time and replaced by Ross Barkley. I wanted to see Kante playing in his natural position with Barkley and Kovacic playing box-to-box. It would have been an alternative, would have forced Tottenham into playing a different way to focus on those two rather than high up on Kante for example.

Surely we have a Plan B? Surely we are and cannot be reliant on Jorginho? Surely we have the alternative as an option as I have suggested? The thing is, even when he was out of the game, playing as bad as he was, Maurizio Sarri refused to take him off and that's a real concern. He did it against Everton but not tonight?

Take Jorginho out of the side for a moment. Stick N'Golo Kante in front of David Luiz (who should now be dropped in favour of Andreas Christensen after his performance) and Toni Rudiger. Give the whole defensive line confidence knowing that the workhorse in midfield will finally give them protection they need. Give Barkley, Kovacic or Ruben Loftus-Cheek a licence to play box-to-box, to force ourselves and our game on the opposition. Give them freedom to push forward to support the likes of Eden Hazard and Willian out wide.

Then, play Olivier Giroud from the start now for a few games to be the link-man, to give us an option and most importantly of all, to be the focal point up front and the important presence we need to build our attacks, to feed Hazard, Willian and those pushing forward from midfield. We must have a Plan B otherwise we will find ourselves coming up against the same issues week-in, week-out.

Stop Jorginho and you stop Chelsea! Is that what we have really become now under Maurizio Sarri?