A month ago, you’d be locked up in the loony bin, for suggesting any other club’s name but Chelsea’s for the Premier League title. Today, the loony bin has effectively set up shop at Stamford Bridge. Erstwhile-king of all things Blue, and architect of Chelsea’s all-conquering double last season, Carlo Ancelotti is now well and truly staring down the barrel of a gun.
Loose Ends
The reasons for Chelsea’s stunning reversal of fortunes and its rapid decline down the standings have been dissected to no end – with Russian owner Roman Abramovich taking most of the flak. The reclusive billionaire’s been torn to shreds for having held on to his petrodollars in the summer instead of fortifying the team’s ranks, for having sold off the deadweights without proper replacements, and for allegedly having shown Assistant Coach Ray Wilkins the door. Roman’s contributions in the shambolic proceedings may be undeniable, but the incessant harping on it only serves to let another equally culpable personality off the hook. Carlo Ancelotti, once Chelsea’s knight in shining armor, is now its weakest link. That the Blues have had to make do with a second-string side for the most of November is on public record, but something not quite so evident is that it was Ancelotti’s touch of lead that sank the team without even the slightest trace or even a semblance of a fight back this nauseous November.
No high-fives for Carlo
Of Aged Mind And Broken Spirit
Ancelotti may be relatively younger than some of his contemporaries in the Barclays Premier League, but the Italian’s thought processes are gradually beginning to resemble those of someone who’s reached the frustrating end of his career. One might infer, with Ancelotti’s purchase of the talentless Ramires, that Roman did see fit to hand 22 million Euros to his manager. How Ancelotti squandered that on the purchase of this Brazilian substitute will one day be recited at The Shed End as a sorry example of fiscal imprudence.
Most clubs have had their share of duds in the transfer windows, and most managers have had the cojones to admit their failings and move on. Not good ol’ Carlo, though. The Italian, who lives in his own personal universe sponging off the remnants of hope he still carries, believes that if he repeats a lie long enough, it might just turn out to be the truth. Cue the continued presence in the side of quite possibly the worst player in Chelsea’s recent history. In a midfield bereft of the midfield stalwarts Frank Lampard and Michael Essien, Carlo Ancelotti inexplicably chose to play Ramires despite it being evident to even the most naïve Chelsea fan, that you’d get more football out of a soggy spring roll than you would from Ramires.
Josh… Darn it!
In a league that celebrates its physicality, Carlo Ancelotti continues to risk the life of his only purchase in the summer when it is abundantly clear the Brazilian has neither the physique nor the venom to last a minute on English soil. Josh McEachran who costs the club next to nothing, and knocks the socks off viewers every time he plays, remains inexplicably on the bench. Carlo Ancelotti, ignoring the talented youngster, insists on committing hara-kiri on the field fielding a midfield whose strongest player is the unreliable John Obi Mikel.
The Oxford-born McEachran who sparked Chelsea’s renaissance in the Carling Cup game against Newcastle United, and nearly won the game for the Blues in collaboration with Anelka, towers over the players Ancelotti chooses to repose his faith in. If you were tempted to play the youngster, on the strength of his earlier performance against the Magpies, you’d fall under the majority. Carlo Ancelotti however, does not. Josh McEachran saw no action against a team he clearly rattled the last time around.
Kenyan Blues
Un Empereur Sans Vêtements
In the absence of Ray Wilkins, Carlo Ancelotti’s failures in team selection have come to the fore, and the chubby Italian has no place to run to. Whether this marks Carlo’s exposure as a one-trick pony who only managed to salvage his Premier League campaign last season thanks to an injury to Rooney, remains to be seen. One thing’s for certain : expect the whispers to get louder, of last season having been more United’s loss than Chelsea’s win.
Nowhere was Ancelotti’s meandering mentality more evident, than in the game against Everton, where the defending champions went 1-0 up undeservedly courtesy an embarrassing dive by a clueless Anelka. Rather than see if for the godsend that it was, Ancelotti rung in the changes after the hour’s mark, bringing in one weaklink after another in the form of Ferreira, and yes you guessed it, Ramires. With both the late entrants operating on the right flank, and Essien roving up front, little wonder then Everton’s equalizer came off a superbly lofted ball on the right.
Ancelotti’s griping about not being in charge a la Ferguson is more reminiscent of that of the eternally complaining Rafael Benitez. It’s hard to demand more power for Carlo, when what he does with the little power he already possesses is seemingly either misguided or counter-productive. Ancelotti’s tactical substitutions under duress are not befitting the stature of the club, the inherent desire to win, nor does it justify the enormous paycheck he draws. Ancelotti, like a man defeated, seems to have given up.
Final Call – Before Departure
Having been constantly out-thought by fellow countryman Mancini at Manchester City, and presiding over the worst home defeat for Chelsea at Stamford Bridge in ages, and then trying to seek solace in successive draws to lesser opposition, Carlo Ancelotti has exhausted his bag of tricks. The faithful are gradually beginning to see their patience wear thin and Ancelotti could well find himself out of a job, and without the adoration of millions at West London he commanded just one season ago.
After the loss to Manchester City, had some trigger-happy journalist called for his head, millions would’ve rallied around the Italian. That wellspring of support has long drained away. Should the game against arch-rivals Tottenham Hotspur end in what seems to be an inevitable heavy defeat for the Blues against Bale and co., the Italian might just find few people willing to stick their necks on the line for him. And Chelsea FC might just end up effecting its latest managerial change.
Un Empereur Sans Vêtements
In the absence of Ray Wilkins, Carlo Ancelotti’s failures in team selection have come to the fore, and the chubby Italian has no place to run to. Whether this marks Carlo’s exposure as a one-trick pony who only managed to salvage his Premier League campaign last season thanks to an injury to Rooney, remains to be seen. One thing’s for certain : expect the whispers to get louder, of last season having been more United’s loss than Chelsea’s win.
Nowhere was Ancelotti’s meandering mentality more evident, than in the game against Newcastle United, where the defending champions went 1-0 up undeservedly courtesy an embarrassing dive by a clueless Anelka. Rather than see if for the godsend that it was, Ancelotti rung in the changes after the hour’s mark, bringing in one weaklink after another in the form of Ferreira, and yes you guessed it, Ramires. With both the late entrants operating on the right flank, and Essien roving up front, little wonder then Everton’s equalizer came off a superbly lofted ball on the right. Ancelotti’s griping about not being in charge a la Ferguson is more reminiscent of that of the eternally complaining Rafael Benitez. It’s hard to demand more power for Carlo, when what he does with the little power he already possesses is seemingly either misguided or counter-productive. Ancelotti’s tactical substitutions under duress are not befitting the stature of the club, the inherent desire to win, nor does it justify the enormous paycheck he draws. Ancelotti, like a man defeated, seems to have given up.