There are dips in form and then there are more embarrassing longer term runs where little seems to go right. Chelsea’s current predicament, however, indicates a deeper malaise.
In a very short space of time, Graham Potter has gone from being a saviour to something less than “still finding his feet”. To have a squad of this quality still floundering in mid-table is an indictment of his leadership and we simply should be expecting better.
But today’s FA Cup capitulation to Manchester City marks a new low in performance, as Chelsea were effectively pinned in their own half for long periods and failed to mount any threat. That has to be down to the manager who seems to be at a loss to know how to turn things around.
It looks to me like Graham Potter has a very short time to turn things around; at the moment his team appears to be rudderless and adrift.
Mark Lysaght
Mudryk con?
I am spying a rinse here over the valuation of a young and relatively inexperienced player from a fairly minor league.
I have seen little of Mudryk or his country s league but would expect the standard to be beneath 10 other European leagues even if he is a standout player in it. I cannot imagine taking a player from the Serb, Scottish or maybe Polish league for 80-90m just because they had a few good Champ league games against other group fodder. There is not a race for this lad and the idea that a club with a strong pro Putin history like Chelsea should be acceptable for the Ukranian crown jewel seems wrong on many levels. Wingers are notoriously fickle on form, surely Arsenal can pay a fee and load it with add on s based on success. Both Grealish and Antony came from more established leagues and were much better known and established players. Appreciate I have randomly offended numerous countries here but trust the tenet is understood.
Ted Bythesea
Hot Haaland take
Am I the only one who thinks City look better without Haaland?
Warren (just stirring the pot)
Weghorst will do
Ian Watson’s piece on Weghorst had an enticing title but missed some key points that let it down. Here’s what I was expecting to see in the ‘makes sense’ column. (1) Ten Haag will not have months to bed Weghorst in – more like days. So a Dutch player with whom a cultural match eases the process makes a lot of sense. Ten Haag has presumably run his eye over Weghorst earlier. (2) Given the players at his disposal, Weghorst provides a very different option – and just as the Netherlands did, throwing a 6 foot 6 player on for the last 20 mins can prove to be quite an effective strategy. If nothing else, defences that drop deep to nullify Rashford and the pace of United’s other attackers will have a very different challenge. (3) Ten Haag’s transfer business has, by recent United benchmarks, been stunning. Casemiro, Eriksen, Malacia, Martinez, and Antony are all first team players – you can quibble about Malacia’s potential or Antony’s cost, but no doubting their contribution to United’s trajectory. Surely we should give him credit for having a plan and working towards it. It might even involve a front man who can hold the ball up with his back to goal to bring others in – a la Giroud.
