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The French Connection Right The Wrongs In SW6

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Former Chelsea defender, turned actor Frank Leboeuf has had his say on Chelsea`s performance against Tottenham at the weekend.

It`s fair to say he was not best pleased with what he saw at Stamford Bridge. Chelsea, you`ll remember, had a bit of a shocker in the second half of a game they dominated for most of the first. Leboeuf`s take on it, was of a bunch of players who had simply given up and a manager who is already back home.

He was playing the part of a pundit on French TV with SFR Sport. His comments have been translated by Sports Witness.

“It`s a lack of respect for the fans and the club, both on the manager`s part, because he`s already packed his bags, but also from the players. We saw it with Mourinho, it seemed like some of the players were almost losing on purpose so the manager can get sacked as quickly as possible.”

“I knew a team that was hungry for trophies, wanted to win. Now, it doesn`t seem that way. One year you win the league, the next it`s a mess.”


It`s true that Jose Mourinho`s 2015-16 season was not his best work, and as this season has dragged on, it`s been difficult to not make comparisons. The players attitude has not been quite as bad as back then, however since Conte missed out on getting his January targets in the transfer window, Chelsea`s season has taken a distinct downturn.

Also on the panel was another former player Emmanuel Petit. He lay the blame at the door of Antonio Conte, citing the fall outs that have occurred between some of his players after last season`s Premier League triumph, as a cause.

“Last year, they weren`t playing the Champions League. This year, it was far more complicated with having to deal with a game every three days, knowing that he got into conflicts with key members of the team.”

“It started with Diego Costa, then David Luiz, now Gary Cahill. I can`t count the number of players from last year`s starting team who got angry with Conte during the season”


That`s either badly translated or over-exaggerated. Whichever, it is true it`s either his way or the highway. Conte has failed to inspire his players or the Chelsea support in a disappointing season that has seen his mojo get up and go.

For so many reasons this has been a season to forget, but as ever we`ll recover and go again as we look forward to more of the same or optimistically a change of direction for a club so set in it`s ways. Roll on 2018-19.

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