Shortly after the final whistle blew at Stamford Bridge late on Saturday afternoon, Chelsea fans exited the stadium trying to take the positives out of a game that saw the Blues drop more points, yet remain undefeated under Guus Hiddink.
With talk already turned to next season, some frustration still lingers amongst fans, especially as their undefeated run has included an unusually high volume of drawn games, especially at the home of the current champions – champions being used loosely and certainly only technically correct terminology until May.
The prospect of being outside European competition has fans wondering if only the mentally battered and bruised Chelsea players been able to raise their performance levels, even if just on a handful of occasions since Hiddink’s arrival, they would have found themselves well-placed to take advantage of the vastly indifferent form of the clubs above them.
Nobody can be happy with this season, despite the few surprisingly odd proclamations amongst some supporters of this being ‘Proper Chelsea’. Living this far outside of a title picture is not a sensation experienced by patrons of Stamford Bridge for the best part of fifteen years and for all those who criticise them for being Johnny-come-lately or plastic fans, the dyed-in-the-wool supporter could only have dreamt of this era of success during the dark days of the late eighties and has gradually grown more accustomed to seeing their side as winners. The loss of an icon in the form of José Mourinho and the prospect of losing another in Captain, Leader, Legend, John Terry, gives this season a real end-of-an-era feel to it.
If Chelsea do hold firm on their stance not to renew Terry’s contract when it expires at the end of this season, the current board will have overseen his departure, as well as Petr Cech, Ashley Cole, Didier Drogba and Frank Lampard in recent years. The removal of these big personalities has left a gaping hole in the dressing room, and the famous spirit and resolve that led to the triumph in Munich in 2012 has now all but gone.
The 2016 edition is constructed of highly-skilled international footballers, yet they have appeared unable to reproduce, rouse and stir some champion-like performances after winning the title, either reflects badly on the professional pride within the squad –as arguably displayed far too often this season – or tells a tale of a much more deep-seeded malaise, reaching further and deeper than just the mistakes made by Jose Mourinho.
Michael Emenalo — Chelsea’s Technical Director — spoke of a ‘palpable discord’ when describing the breakdown in relations between Mourinho and his squad shortly after the Portuguese’s sacking in December. This ‘palpable discord’ is starting to extend between the fans and Emenalo, as he becomes the embodiment of the collective discontent and the object of criticism from fans over recent transfer policy and his role as a perceived assenter to Roman Abramovich.
There must be some accountability for the team’s poor performance at board level, possibly with the exception of Marina Granovskaia, who is credited with the negotiations that bought Mourinho back to the club in 2013, in addition to roles in other key transfers involving David Luiz and Diego Costa.
The transfer of Papy Djilobodji requires scrutiny; as do those of Alexandre Pato and Matt Miazga. Both arrived in January but are yet to secure a single minute of first-team action, and in Kia Joorabchian, happen to share the same agent as Ramires who was sold to Chinese side Jiangsu Suning in January for £25 million.
The word ‘philosophy’ is frequently mentioned in modern football, with it seemingly becoming a management buzzword, especially since the rebirth of the Cruyff methodology at Barcelona under Pep Guardiola. It is no secret that on more than one occasion, Abramovich has tried to lure the Catalan to West London.
Whilst securing Guardiola would have undoubtedly led to good short term results and a development of a notable style; what the Chelsea board do appear to be collectively missing are the realisations that importing him into the Surrey countryside and their Cobham training base will not suddenly turn Chelsea into Barcelona, and will not turn their successful academy at youth level into an English, La Masia-esque, conveyor belt, producing home-grown stars.
Important to Barcelona are the values of player development, both as footballers and as young people, as well as the club and cantera having a long term framework in which the people passing through become a cog in the ever turning wheel. Coaches come and go but invariably the style and core principles stay the same.
In order to mature as a club, Chelsea require a sustained approach to transfer policy, a real commitment to developing youth which provides a realistic path into the first-team and most of all, appointing coaches and managers that fit the criteria, culture and long-term direction in which the club wants to travel.
Reintegrating ex-players at boardroom level is a successful model — as demonstrated most prominently at Barcelona and Bayern Munich as well as at other clubs across the continent — men with the character such as Drogba, Lampard and Terry are prime candidates for Sporting Director roles once their playing days come to an end. Individuals with such a wealth and breadth of experience having a guiding hand in youth development and recruitment has the potential to be a huge bonus.
The era of Mourinho and the Old Guard is over; this is a golden opportunity to start the second phase in rebuilding Roman’s Empire.
