Just four years ago, Chelsea won the Premier League title under their fan favourite Jose Mourinho. Since then, Mourinho got sacked and got replaced by Guus Hiddink on a temporary basis. A year later, in came Antonio Conte who won the Premier League title in his first ever season in England. The year following his Premier League triumph, Conte was sacked and Chelsea announced Italian boss Maurizio Sarri as the new first team head coach. That’s four first-team coaches in the span of four years. And with Chelsea fans and players unhappy and frustrated with the Sarri-ball, it won’t be surprising to see a fifth Chelsea boss in the span of five years.
Should Chelsea Keep or Sack ‘Sarri-Ball’?
Sarri’s Impact
When Sarri came in, he brought in a positive atmosphere with himself. He had a great start to the season. The fans along with the players were quite excited to experience the Sarri revolution at Stamford Bridge. Everybody around the club expected the Italian to take the club to great heights in the future with his quite dynamic and attacking style.
Chelsea never had a very attack-minded manager. Jose Mourinho and Antonio Conte had defensive tactics which did not allow the Stamford bridge team to express much attacking-wise.
The fans around Stamford Bridge were excited to see their team playing under the so-called ‘Italian Pep Guardiola’. But after a humiliating defeat to the Spanish Pep Guardiola just a week ago has left the Chelsea fans fuming at the Italian and his tactics.
Chelsea sit sixth in the Premier League after three straight away losses since the start of this year. The 4-0 defeat to Bournemouth was very humiliating for everyone around the club and it eventually deflated the Sarri-ball.
The big hole in the Chelsea team was torn apart by Manchester City who thrashed the London based club 6-0, leaving the heat on the Italian manager. If Chelsea yet again sacks the manager, it will be the club’s fourth managerial firing in the span of five years.
Keep or Sack?
With Eden Hazard constantly ‘flirting’ with Real Madrid and Callum Hudson-Odoi forcing a move away from the club, Chelsea looks a complete mess at the moment. The Hazard and Hudson-Odoi situation is adding fuel to the ‘Sarri-out’ fire. Sarri, no doubt is a world class manager. He proved his ability and when his team ended Manchester City’s unbeaten run just two months ago.
Another sack will just create more problems for Chelsea. The London club should keep faith in the Italian boss as he tries to make the team adapt to the Sarri-ball. Jurgen Klopp in his first season at Liverpool finished 8th. Even Pep Guardiola had a tough start in England where he struggled with a fourth-placed finish.
Klopp took his own time to take Liverpool to the next level. He promised the fans after signing for the club, that in four years he believes he will win at least one league title. And here he is, in his fourth season making Liverpool the Premier League favourites. Even Sarri needs time to change the fans and the players from ‘doubters to believers’.
Fixing the Deflated Sarri-ball
There’s a massive task on Sarri’s shoulders. The Chelsea players seem to be losing their faith in the Italian’s tactics and game plan. These set of Chelsea players know how to get their manager in trouble from the board. They have done it with Jose Mourinho, then Antonio Conte and now Maurizio Sarri.
Players like Gonzalo Higuain and Jorginho need to step up and support Sarri in front of the entire team because these are the players who have experienced the Sarri-ball do wonders with Napoli.
The fans need to just believe in him. There is nothing like an instant success at the Premier League level. The competition is growing tougher year by year. It is almost impossible for any manager to come into his first season, do wonders and win the league.
The margin for the era is too low in the Premier League. The Chelsea fans should understand this. They should accept the fact that they are still ‘work in progress’ and it will take time to get the roots strong. Chelsea should give Sarri a minimum of two years to try and revolutionize Stamford Bridge with his Sarri-ball.
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