Why Liam Rosenior is not the only one to blame for Brighton’s horror show
Enzo Fernandez spent more than two minutes at the final whistle, staring aimlessly at the packed Amex Stadium, as Chelsea fans vented their anger: at him, at the owners, at coach Liam Rosenior, at anyone in the crowd.
The Argentine player, who won the World Cup, stood motionless, and ended up clearing his throat from time to time, as if he didn’t know what to do. It featured his display in the last 90 minutes.
Chelsea were in chaos at Brighton last night, losing 3-0 and failing to hit the target.
They have dropped to seventh in the Premier League as a result, below the Seagulls’ best side, and their hopes of playing in the Champions League next season are in serious jeopardy. It was Chelsea’s fifth consecutive defeat without scoring a goal – their worst streak since 1912.
There was a particular irony in losing to Brighton, a well-run club that has been able to build, and rebuild their squad several times thanks to the sale of players cleverly acquired from Chelsea for around £280million. Former home favorites Robert Sanchez, Marc Cucurella and Moises Caicedo were part of last night’s troubles as Joao Pedro looked on.
The blame for Chelsea’s defeat should not fall solely on Rosenior
It would be easy to blame Rosenior for his performance, his switch to a back five failed spectacularly with Brighton’s brilliant moves causing problems all night. Has he made Chelsea better since he took over from Enzo Maresca, under whom the club were crowned world champions? The answer is an emphatic no.
However, it is impossible to sympathize with a Londoner. He has proven himself elsewhere as a brilliant young coach but throw him into a dressing room full of young millionaires on eight-year deals and he clearly lacks motivation.
The level of effort of the players last night made it clear that they are not playing for their manager, or the club. They were walking along the road.
Rosenior went into self-preservation mode after that.
He said: “I keep coming out and defending the players – that’s indefensible, that’s the play tonight.
“The way we scored goals, the number of goals we lost, not focusing on the team. Something has to change a lot right now.
“I think the players have to look in the mirror and see what they put in. You can talk about tactics… tactics that come behind the plate.
Having more courage to play, to win duels, to win headers, to drop, to concede bad goals. That was an unacceptable performance tonight.
Chelsea’s model is flawed and needs urgent revision
Chelsea owner Behdad Eghbali was in the stands at the Amex and was seen texting on his phone after Danny Welbeck scored Brighton’s third.
He may have been texting Todd Boehly a message that read simply: “S***.”
Eghbali, Boehly and the entire Clearlake Capital consortium must bear a large part of the blame for Chelsea’s current failure.
Under Roman Abramovich, Chelsea slowly grew into a European powerhouse, signing quality players ready to face the rigors of the challenge at home and on the continent.
The current model of signing many players and hoping that a few will leave, perhaps to be sold or included in the first team, is unusual among clubs that consider themselves to be in the top flight, as Chelsea do. Offering eight-year deals to help get around financial regulations is also temporary.
Eghbali recently commented on the policy change going forward, and Chelsea desperately need experience in the squad. Last night, there was no one to grab the group, grab a few bones and wake them from their slumber.
Their next task is Sunday’s FA Cup semi-final against Leeds. The clash between two old rivals feels like an important moment for Rosenior, in particular. He has to show that he can get a song out of the team, can motivate and organize and, most importantly, get a much-needed win.
If he can’t, Chelsea, and captain Fernandez, will once again face the abyss.
