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In the modern world of Social media, there is no room for negative results or performances left for big teams. One bad performance is enough for players and coaches to turn useless overnight.
In the wake of Chelsea's 3-1 defeat to Tottenham Hotspur, no one has survived the wrath of Twitter. Be it the 11 starters or the coach Maurizio Sarri, a wave of criticism has followed the Chelsea team. Seeing the reactions, one is likely to believe that Chelsea is in the middle of a terrible season and not a team that lost its first game of the season.
A lot of what can be only called a hilarious overreaction has focused on the tactics of Maurizio Sarri. There is no doubting that at Wembley, Sarri was tactically outclassed by his counterpart Mauricio Pochettino.
From start to finish, Tottenham completely dominated Chelsea. It was clearly a tactical failure for Chelsea as it was the collective failure for the team. However, one must not forget that it is only four months since Sarri took charge of Chelsea and such a result was bound to happen.
Kante's Position
A lot of fans and 'experts' have since suggested Kante playing out of position as a reason for the incompetent defending. There is a growing belief that Sarri should reinstate Kante to his old position in front of the back four.
For starters, Kante has never been a traditional defensive midfielder and such a move is only going to take away his best strengths. The Frenchman is the best ball winner in the world and his ability to tirelessly run allows him to do that. The advanced midfield position makes perfect sense as Sarri wants Chelsea to regain possession high up the pitch.
Also, there is no doubting Kante's greatness but him playing as a defensive midfielder is not a cheat code to make sure a team does not concede goals. It is worth remembering Chelsea conceded three goals to Bournemouth, three goals to Newcastle, four goals to Watford and lost by the same scoreline to Tottenham at home last season despite Kante playing in front of the defence.
The important thing for any team is to learn to defend as a team and that is what Chelsea failed at yesterday as Sarri admitted in the post-match press conference. The pressing from everybody was not up to the mark and until that happens no change in personnel can improve the team defensively.
Further, if the aim is to move Jorginho out of position or drop him, the club might as well sack the manager. The Italian midfielder is the heart of Sarri's system and without a doubt, he is one of the first names on the team sheet.
There is no doubting he has had a couple of poor performances but the man-marking job on him is key to it. Any player in the world will suffer from that. For Sarri's system to work, Jorginho dictating the tempo is clearly key as Chelsea's better performance this season will show.
If there is one thing Sarri needs to figure out, it is a way to ensure teams cannot man mark Jorginho or find an alternative plan to build up play. Sarri found a way around it at Napoli with time and there is no reason he will not at Chelsea.
Change in approach
Another popular suggestion is for Sarri to change his approach against bigger sides and have a "Plan B".
A lot of arguments revolve around wanting Sarri to go against his principles and adopt a pragmatic approach. While this will be a good short-term fix, it will do no good for Chelsea in the long run and only halt any progress.
All great teams work on perfecting their plan A rather than worry about a plan B. Two of the finest teams in recent times, Guardiola's Barcelona and his current Manchester City side did not have any alternate way of playing. If a team wishes to dominate for a long period of time, you need to perfect your primary approach rather look for alternatives.
While City seems unstoppable at the moment, it is easy to forget, they were getting thrashed by Everton and Leicester only two seasons ago. Much like at Sarri today, similar things were said to Guardiola. There was a universal acceptance that the City coach has to set up more pragmatically in the Premier League.
Had Guardiola listened to that advice at the time, they would not have achieved the same success? Would they have won the league by 100 points? Will they be on course to do even better than a season where they broke all possible records.
More recently Unai Emery was criticized for trying to play out from the back, despite continuing to do so, Arsenal have gone on a 17 match unbeaten run. Manchester City trusted in process and Chelsea have to do the same.
A sustainable foundation does not develop overnight and needs time. Pep has shown the league, it is possible to play this way and win in England.
Even if one does not feel confident about Sarri as a coach, the issues in the Chelsea squad are there for everyone to see. At the moment, Chelsea could get any coach in the world and they will not turn things around in one season.
If Guardiola took a season with Manchester City's squad, that is the least he will need at Chelsea which is clearly lacking in quality. If a coach can find an immediate solution in one season, the wheels will come of it even quicker like with Antonio Conte.
The club decided to change their identity by appointing Sarri, it will only be fair to give him time to do things the way he wants too. If the focus remains on immediate success, Chelsea fans should be ready to accept a repeat of how things ended with Mourinho and Conte.
If the club wants to win trophies with attractive and sustainable football at Stamford Bridge, they will have to wait. Even if Sarri turns out to not be the man to do it, the next person will also need time. At the moment the club lacks a foundation and before thinking of winning trophies that is the most immediate thing the club needs.
