After the final whistle, Liam Rosenior stood apologetically in front of the traveling support that spent a good portion of the second half calling for his head (amid the even more frequent chants against the ownership), having overseen yet another tragic performance from Chelsea in a 3-0 defeat against midtable powerhouse Brighton & Hove Albion.
It was the Blues’ fifth consecutive defeat in the Premier League, a run of results not seen in over three decades. We have failed to score in all five, which
is something we haven’t done in league play since 1912. That’s the year The Titanic sank. Truly making history!
We’re thankfully in no danger of disappearing under the waters (of relegation) just yet, but if there’s one lesson we should learn from the past couple months, it’s that we’re not exactly unsinkable. Especially if the ship will continue to be steered by the all those who got us into our current predicament.
Responsibility for that is shared among all, be they owners, directors, coaches, or players. A proper fix would probably require changes on all four levels. That’s unlikely to happen. So where do we start?
After his supplication on the pitch, Rosenior struck a very different chord in his post-match comments. Unfortunately, he does not have the clout to pull that gambit off. That’s been a bit of a theme for the man so far out of his depth, he might in fact need a floating door to survive. Is there room? Previous history tells us, no.
“In the basics, in the pride that you should have in wearing the shirt, that was unacceptable. I’ve defended the players and I am accountable. I’ve always said that. After tonight, I think the players as well need to have a look in the mirror for what they put in. You can talk about tactics, tactics come after the basics. Having more courage to play, winning duels, winning headers, tackles, conceding terrible goals. That was an unacceptable performance tonight.
“[Against Manchester United] we lost the game but the performance was very, very good. Today was the complete opposite in every aspect. That’s the hardest thing for me to take right now. It’s very soon after the game. I’m an emotional person. That’s just unacceptable. The word is unacceptable. We lost 80% of duels. We didn’t win a header. Two of the goals come when we can head the ball, the basics of football, and we don’t. At any level, if you make those errors and lack of engagement to the game, you’re not going to win games of football.”
Players not doing what the coach wants? Hmm.
If it looks like a duck, walks like a duck, quacks like a duck, then … we have at least to consider the possibility that we have a small aquatic bird of the family Lost Dressing Room on our hands.
Call it what you will. Hello Palpable Discord, our old friend.
“It looks that way. I won’t lie. That was unacceptable. [But] I don’t feel there’s a disconnect between me and the players. We work very closely with them in training, in individual meetings, team meetings. We are giving everything to the players. There is a lack of spirit, a lack of belief that can create that perspective that makes it look a certain way. I can’t argue with that at the moment because the run we’re on is unacceptable and that performance definitely was as well.”
“[And] it’s not about playing for me. It’s about playing for the club. It’s about playing for the shirt. It’s about playing to win games of football. I can speak on what I saw tonight. You can read anything into it that you want, whether they’re playing for me or not, but that performance in itself was damning. It stood everything against what I believe in.”
“That was an unacceptable performance. And I’m at the head of that. So for me to come out here, we’re playing for Chelsea. I’m managing Chelsea. The criticism and pressure comes with the football club. So if you can’t handle that, then you shouldn’t be here. It’s as simple as that. And that’s something that needs to be addressed this week. But it also needs to be addressed in the long term. It needs to be addressed. [Now] we need to make the correct decisions for the team for a massive game on Sunday. And we’ll do the very, very best we can to turn it around.”
-Liam Rosenior; source: Football.London
I fear there may be only one variable in this whole big equation doing their very, very best right now … and their very, very best simply may not be good enough. That’s not his fault. He shouldn’t even be here in the first place. That’s also a rather tragic theme with BlueCo.
Five games to go, plus at least one more in the FA Cup. I’m not sure any of this is salvageable at the moment, regardless of who goes, who stays, who still cares. A new season might provide salvation, but it’s hard to lean into any such hope. There’s no confidence in ownership, there’s no confidence in the coaching, there’s no confidence in the project from anyone.
So where do we start.
