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Stormy Waters & Sinking Ships - don't blame the captain for the storm.

Discussion in 'Chelsea' started by BelugaWhale, Feb 24, 2013.

  1. BelugaWhale

    BelugaWhale Member

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    While not completely blameless, to a significant extent FSW is just a scapegoat and an easy target.

    We've actually been on a downer since late 2010. After winning the title on a high in May 2010, we carried on our free-scoring football for a couple of months into the new season, then hit a patch where we went from being able to score in our sleep to not being able to hit the proverbial barn door. And it's been downhill all the way since then, save for a miraculous victory in Europe.

    And that's just another part of the problem: that win, wonderful as it was, hid the fact there is something seriously wrong with the way the club is going. We finished 6th FFS!

    There are deeper rooted reasons for our long-term malaise, and FSW is not it. So chucking the manager overboard may help us ride out the current storm, but that doesn't change the fact that our boat is fundamentally unseaworthy.

    I can't quite put my finger on what it is yet, but i'm discounting the signing of Torres and Luiz as they happened after the start of the problems.
     
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  2. Chelsea Pensioner

    Chelsea Pensioner Well-Known Member

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    The problem is a total lack of Football nouse by those who run the Club, with the owner unable to even understand that he has failings, let alone what they are.
    The Management are interested in nothing other than RA's money going into their Bank accounts, and the Owner is a seriously psychologically flawed person, merging on Meglomania, yet with a total lack of self confidence.
    He has to constantly show the world he has the "biggest" boat, the "most expensive" players, the "trophy" wife, all the toys money can buy.
    Yet he is incapable of any public contact, of mixing with normal people, in effect, of living in the "real" world. He has a history of bringing in talented people ,then shafting them when they don't bend to his will. He undermines his managers, buys players against their wishes to show he is "Mr. Big", and is happy to destroy 2 years of hard work and team building to prove his point. It's just a game he plays to feed his lack of self confidence.
    If that's not a recipe for turmoil and anguish, what is???
    The long term players have no stability and know a new wave will sweep away all they have worked for, and it will all start over again heading in another direction.
    That's the problem, and it's here to stay.
     
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  3. ShanksHateTheMancs

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    When you look back at the trophies Chelsea have won, with the resources and managers they have had in the last 8 years or so there is no question you guys have underperformed and underachieved! How people can blame Rafa or even the board and yet not see the common denominator in all this time is baffling, yet the fans appear to still want some of those players to be kept on and offered new deals. There is a power/ego struggle going on amongst the players, anyone not seeing that is blind!
     
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  4. Varier2

    Varier2 Well-Known Member
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    No doubt the infrastructure of this clubs needs to change (i.e. clear out the lunatics high up in our board), but sorry, under RDM we would be in a far better situation atm I'm sure. Ultimately the problems can all be traced back to the core of the club, however, short term Rafa has well and truly screwed us over.

    I do believe (purely speculation of course) that RDM winning the Champions league instead of finishing 4th messed up Roman's plans as he wanted to rebuild then and there. However, the CL victory meant Roman had to keep RDM, and therefore left Roman searching for a reason - however small - to sack RDM, because if he had a strong season again, Roman knows there would be a huge backlash if he was sacked after that. Therefore, Rafa is in to secure top 4 (which incidentally is going very badly at the moment) so Roman can continue unhindered in summer. I think Roman does want stability - e.g. Our new extensive youth system, stadium plans, foreign advertising etc. - it's just he's made an absolute mess of trying to achieve it.
     
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  5. Chelsea Pensioner

    Chelsea Pensioner Well-Known Member

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    You may well be correct in saying RA might really want stability, but his personal demons will always override his wish to achieve it. He is not capable of sharing the glory with anyone else, even those he brings to the Club to help achieve it, it all has to be his doing. He personally brought Sheva and Torres to the Club, against the wishes of both managers of the time, because he is convinced he is always right.
    Unless and until he addresses his personality and behavioural flaws,and takes part in some Cognative Therapy, he cannot change, even though he might want to.
     
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  6. BelugaWhale

    BelugaWhale Member

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    Blame Roman, but he's something we have to live with. Let's be more specific then:

    For all the hype about our midfield talent in Mata, Hazard, Moses, Marin etc, they are:

    1) Not creating the chances for the strikers that we think they should
    2) They have a hard job in breaking down stubborn defences that sit 10 men behind the ball
    3) When the opposition decides to counterattack, they are no good at defending against it.
    4) When the opposition trail 0-2, they are no good in putting up a similar 10-men behind the ball wall to defend te lead.

    In short, Barcelona modus operandi only succeeds if you can outscore your opposition by breaking them down with a certain level of ease that is unachievable without someone like Messi in your ranks. The Arsenal tika-taka experiment FAILED - Fabregas is/was nowhere near Messi's level, and evidence is clear that when Messi has a bad day, Barcelona lose. Simple as.

    By buying all these players, we have tried to buy into the tika-taka philosophy without actually thinking through what it is that makes it actually work. In short, to compete in the PL, we should be playing at most two of our Barca-type players at any one time. Anymore would make us susceptible defensively.
     
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  7. SpursDisciple

    SpursDisciple Booking: Mod abuse - overturned on appeal
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    The problem is with whoever signs your players - Abramovich I assume. Lots of us said in the close season that you have bought 2 number 10s to go along with your very good existing number 10. Whoever though Mata, Hazard and Oscar could play together didn't think it through. They are all great players, but too similar.
     
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  8. CPofL KTBFFH

    CPofL KTBFFH New Member

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    I think this is one of the biggest problems we have and we all know Frank is the biggest culprit here. We'll not have a stable situation whilst the players have the power which is why I'm all for not giving Frank or JT extensions.
     
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  9. chelsea - over 100 years of history

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    A fair point though I think they could work together if the other 2 areas around them worked better. Up front we have not had a striker capable of winning us games when we are struggling like City and United have had. In midfield we have been playing 2 defensive midfielders to compensate for having so many attack minded players but Lampard and Ramieres are really not those types of player, Romeu has been injured, Luiz new to the role and Mikel at ACN for the last month (plus the jury remains out if he can perform the role at a high level consistently enough).

    If we had for arguments sake, Alonso, Busquets and then RVP / Aguero say up front, I'm sure that would allow Oscar, Mata and Hazard to be more effective and the system work better???
     
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  10. BelugaWhale

    BelugaWhale Member

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    Well Frank, Mikel, and Ramirez are the only constants in midfield since Oct 2010, the beginning of it all. Make of that what you will.
     
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  11. Chelsea Pensioner

    Chelsea Pensioner Well-Known Member

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    Beluga has done a good job of analysing our problems, but it seems to me he has missed a point or two.
    Firstly, Hazard, Mata, Moses, Marin etc ARE creating chances for our striker ( singular). Our striker is wasting them.
    Secondly, it is the absence of a creative midfield player that is at the heart of our problems.Without being ridiculous, someone like Gullitt, Sjneider, Hoddle, Felliani( maybe), Zinadane, Iniesta, Mouthino, Yaya Toure..
    These players have 2 things in common. They have loads of time on the ball and they can open up the best defence with a single pass. The only one we have is Luiz, a novice at this stage, and 2 kids on loan, Josh and Piazon. Fat boy can't play 2 of them and won't play the other. Until we sort this out we are buggered.
    Thirdly, A good manager can turn around defensive slacking by the mids. Jose did it spectacularly with Joe Cole.
    and Fourthly, when we are 2-0 up that's the time the Manager makes subs to shore up the defence.
    So I think we have 3 problems
    1. We have a lousy Manager who has zero tactics and terrible selection abilities, and who can't inspire or better his players.
    2. We have lousy strikers.
    3. We desperately need 1 if not 2 creative midfielders and 2 strikers, preferably big and strong to boot.
     
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