Let them hate me, I do not mind, let them hate so long as they fear me. Or something along those lines. Three strikers, only one plays as a rule. Whoever has to be motivated and working with the rest of the team including the other strikers. A cool professional attitude is great but a passionate one is better, it gives you an edge. Chelsea now have a cosy little trio of mutually supportive strikers determined to prove a point. No longer mere professionals utilising their skills but motivated crusaders with a clear mission. Short term job done. Plan B has worked. The thing is even when someone suspects they've been manipulated their brain gets overruled by their heart. They say I know whats going on here, yet it's easier to give rein to your emotions rather than control them. Prod enough and turn them to face the direction you need then open the gate.
I'll have some of that seal juice please Dfer. Didn't know a Polar bear could think so deeply. Can I assume Bear logic says Jose has done this deliberately??
Oh yes it's deliberate alright. Jose wasn't a skilled footballer, his fitness based and technical coaching he leaves to others. Jose is a psychologist, a man manager. The oft repeated 'you do not criticise your players in public' holds true. You may have a cause to and be in the right, but whatever benefit you gain from it has to be weighed against potential fall out in any team building and personal relationships. You need a player do follow your instruction and more than that believe in it. To vilify and isolate anyone, may have a short term effect, but will need long term repairs. Look at the Chelsea situation. No transfers allowed, league run in, title still in the balance but need to win every game. Champions league in grave danger needing to overcome a two goal deficit. In US footie parlance, the two minute warning had been sounded and Chelsea have to focus and galvanise right now. Jose took the short term option for immediate effect. Notice he didn't isolate any one player. He targeted the group. This is the key to his thinking and how he'll be able fix any problems with them later. None of the strikers can say they were made a scapegoat especially. The detrimental effect is diluted, but still gets a potent result. The truth is that in any competitive league the skill level of the leading teams is fairly equal. Fitness is the same. The tactics and formations are much the same and successful ones copied. The only difference really between the greatest team the World has ever seen and The cheating f**kwit scummy northern,southern sofie,tractor driving, diving team is how they are prepared mentally to work and concentrate for ninety minute plus and work together.
Its the genius of the Special One! Not to ridicule and chastise, but to give them no choice but to question themselves about their performances and how to give something back for what they are being paid! In the case of Nando, however I think its a lost cause!
Our strikers are being asked to play a system that is basically six midfielders. It is a style I have been advocating for years, in Chelsea chitchat on the Official website, and the old 606 board. Some of the comments I got were sceptical at best and ridiculing at worse, yet here we are playing with fullbacks as wingers, midfielders as strikers, midfielders as defenders, wingers as fullbacks and strikers as midfielder and at set pieces against us centre backs. To get the ball into the net is not the priority, it is the main objective. The priority is to move the opposition from their positions and utilise the space created. Then hopefully a goal will follow. When you just squeeze up nowdays the opposition just compress but keep the space closed. The ball can only be in one place, so you can always double team the ball carrier. The opposition can mark out a dominating (nominated) goal scorer, but when you have six to deal with and the backs coming up at set pieces, you have to spread you defensive effort. For me I don't give a monkeys if any of our strikers score any goals, so long as we do score goals and win games and I can see them working hard. Their primary function has been usurped in my opinion, yet fans get down on them as we are all still conditioned (fans, media and indeed themselves!) to thinks that for a striker goals are the be and end all. You can rightly argue that if a striker scores no goals at all that he isn't playing at 100%, as they are still suppose to score some, it is still something they have a greater opportunity to do than a defender after all. There is no story in striker plays brilliantly and doesn't score, yet headline news when one doesn't score at all after around about four games.
True to a point but strikers that are missing chances are not as handy to have as strikers scoring them. I don't care if a striker doesn't score and we win and the striker has contributed. If we lose a game 1-0 and our striker missed some good chances then I will care.
I think that hits the nail on the head as far as our strikers are going. They just need to cut down on the missed chances.
