As Chelsea ground out their last Premiership title with a small, tiring squad, the plastics began to attack Jose Mourinho.
Following today`s defeat versus the northern reds – what happens next will be fascinating.
Again we have a small, tiring squad – anybody who thinks Luiz, Kante, Matic and Hazard looked anything but dog-tired today should review their pitch coverage stats.
Luiz in particular – no spring chicken he – is increasingly looking like the player many of us thought he`d be from the off. Life in the comfy Ligue 1 doesn’t hone the body for a full Premiership season.
The importance of Hazard to the cause was perfectly illustrated in the fact that, with Herrera on the pitch for the full 90 shackling the super Belgian, Chelsea had no other creative outlet.
NONE!
Perhaps Antonio Conte should have foreseen this and started the far more creative Willian instead of the relatively linear, up-and-down Pedro,
But this was no normal Conte: from start to finish, The Don bore zero resemblance to the animated figure that lives and breathes every second of every game.
His team picked up on this and played accordingly.
At the end of the game an extraordinarily downcast Conte told visiting NBC interviewers that he took all the responsibility for the defeat.
A refreshing point of view from Don Antonio compared to the endless blaming of the former manager, but it still begs the question WHY?.
It’s beyond weird.
Why on earth in this cup final of all cup finals (as is every game from here to the end of the season) was The Don – I hesitate even to say it? not up for it??
Answers on a postcard.
I can only imagine that not only was he thrown by the galling, last-second injury of Alonso (anyone doubting Marcus` value to Chelsea just re-watch the game), but something else was up that we don’t know about.
NBC also interviewed Gary Cahill after the game, a player I thought got undeserved stick on social media when it was Luiz and Zouma who looked most out of sorts at the back.
Cahill alluded to several Chelsea players being sick, but the interviewers failed to pick him up on it.
Perhaps there`s been a bug at Cobham and the magnificent man that Antonio Conte is didn’t want the merest whiff of excuses.
Either way, this makes the upcoming Southampton game the new cup final of all cup finals.
A far more important clash than the FA Cup semi-final against Spurs.
If The Don feels there`s an iota of tiredness in his small and hard-working squad then Saturday is the time to rest people and not Tuesday v the Saints.
It’s precisely what the former Chelsea manager did today, receiving extraordinary stick before the game for fielding half a second team.
Interestingly, the effect it had was to galvanize players who had been given less chance this season.
I 100% favour taking the same approach against the hapless, perennial second-place Spurs.
Give them their Mickey Mouse cup if it means having the squad at 100% for the rest of the season.
As for this odd nail-biting at the end of Chelsea seasons, the common denominator is the Chelsea board.
Never was a game (and a season) crying out for other options than today`s.
What were Conte`s options in the engine room instead of the lackluster Matic and tired Kante? Chalobah? Loftus Cheek?
Who were the potential back-ups for Luiz?
And, most critically, where is the striking substitute that a Diego Costa – a yard short of pace and a first touch worthy of a pub team – is absolutely crying out for?
It`s clearly not Batshuayi.
Once again the Chelsea board has abandoned a Chelsea manager to pulling off miracles running on fumes.
If I were The Don, I would demand cast-iron, signed and sealed assurances that this summer – with the Champions League beckoning – brings in at least five top rank new signings.
Or we can carry on the tradition of blaming the manager.
The team that played today won’t beat Everton at Goodison.
Assuming we lose that one (I don’t think we will but bear with me) and win all our relatively straightforward home games, the key becomes the away game v Mourinho-pal Tony Pulis` West Brom.
Assuming of course that the choke-specialists from White Flag Lane win all theirs.
A brave assumption indeed.
Spensierato.