3 reasons why Chelsea must sack Maurizio Sarri

#2 'Sarriball' is one dimensional and has already been nullified

One of the main things that made football fans so eager to see how Sarri would fare in the Premier League is his philosophy of football, known as 'Sarriball'.

Sarriball is essentially attacking football combined with a high press. It's a fast-paced, possession-based style of football, much like the style of play that Pep Guardiola made famous during his reign at Barcelona. Fundamentally, it's the short, quick passes designed to move play as far up the pitch as fast as possible that makes this philosophy such a threat to the opposition.

But whilst this style of play may have worked wonders in Serie A, it hasn't had nearly half as much success in the Premier League. Teams have inevitably been drilled on how to defend Sarriball and so once one team manages to stop it, another team will replicate that defensive formation and do the same. And with Sarri's refusal to alter his tactics in any way, Chelsea continue to get dismantled by teams that they really should be beating.

Another major factor behind why Sarriball doesn't work at Stamford Bridge is the fact that Sarri plays his stars out of position. You have Kante operating as an attacking midfielder when his favoured and most compatible role is as a defensive midfielder, and Eden Hazard has been pushed from the left wing to a centre-forward.

To make matters worse, his insistence on playing Jorginho in virtually every match has visibly left the team vulnerable at the back, with the general consensus being that the Italian can't plug the gaps and stop oncoming players. Ross Barkley recently featured in this role against Malmo and showcased exactly what Chelsea had been missing, but Sarri appears to have overlooked this fact and continues to play the out-of-form midfielder.

The innumerable flaws in Sarri's managerial decisions have been highlighted by losses to Bournemouth (4-0), Manchester City (6-0), and Manchester United (2-0). It's clear that if he doesn't change something, Chelsea will continue to slip down the table.

Not only are the board frustrated with Sarri's tactics, but so are the fans: during Chelsea's match against Manchester United, a chorus of boos rang out, followed by chants of "F*ck Sarriball" and "You don't know what you're doing". The fans no longer have faith in their manager, and this is usually the beginning of the end for whoever's in charge...