Arsenal fans’ taunts of “you’re getting sacked in the morning” were proved inaccurate as expected on Monday, but Carlo Ancelotti’s job as Chelsea boss remains, for the
Benayoun: Three league games since signing
time being, an unenviable one. The Blues’ may have secured their first win in seven league outings by defeating Bolton last night, but having been booed off at half-time, they still have some way to go before we can say their traumas are in the past.
Having won the double in his first season in English football, the Italian is still in credit, and the champions fearsome start to this season demonstrates that the potential is still there for a repeat come May. This is why Roman Abramovich is unlikely to hit the panic button and remove Ancelotti from his position. But why have Chelsea stuttered so badly since this season?
Since losing 2-0 at Anfield in early November, Ancelotti’s side have picked up just nine points from an available 27, and the free-scoring form of the opening weeks seems a distant memory. Chelsea hit nineteen goals in their first five games, but have now not scored more than one goal in any league game since October. Messrs Drogba, Essien and Lampard have all spent prolonged periods on the sidelines, but last season Chelsea coped with key absences without breaking stride.
The downturn in form doesn’t owe much to the manager, in my opinion. Ancelotti hasn’t become a bad manager overnight, and doesn’t seem to have altered his approach much. Perhaps he can be held to account for the disappointing form of his major summer purchase Ramires, but the young Brazilian should be treated with patience as he is playing his first season in English football; besides which, he started the season impressively.
No, the initiative has been relinquished not by the management, but by the club’s hierarchy. Roman Abramovich’s purse-tightening, which may be a demonstration of domestic austerity or a broader concession to UEFA’s changing financial regulations, has imperilled Chelsea’s short-term potential. Senior players such as Deco, Michael Ballack, Juliano Belletti and Joe Cole were all permitted to leave upon the expiry of their contracts, and aside from Ramires, only the injured Yossi Benayoun has arrived.
The shortfall, theoretically, was to be made up by the club’s own youth products. Chelsea’s youth academy has subsequently been the recipient of enormous investments of expectation, as well as finance. But in practice, it hasn’t panned out the way Chelsea would have wished. Josh McEachran, Patrick van Aanholt and Gael Kakuta may be talented youngsters with big futures, but when a game needs tying up, pegging back or influencing in any way, Ancelotti no longer has the bench full of proven internationals, as there was when he arrived. Now all that greets him when he turns around is a row of fresh, inexperienced faces, and you can understand why he is reluctant to call upon them with any degree of frequency.
The first team’s form has inevitably dipped, as the players suffer the double-punishment of being under pressure to perform twice a week, and having no competition for their places. If the results do not improve then Carlo Ancelotti, as the manager, is the obvious fall guy. Chris Hughton’s dismissal was unedifying. Sam Allardyce’s sacking was admittedly easy to stomach, but probably unjust. If Ancelotti goes, however, it’ll be a ridiculous decision. He’s had his playing squad stripped away and is still being asked to replicate last season’s achievements. It’s like asking him to dig a hole with a table fork. Chelsea’s boss is still capable of achieving the maximum possible, but the maximum diminishes if you wantonly undermine it. Abramovich should accept that, and either show some patience with Chelsea on the field, or back their manager off it.
