Carlo survives the night – what’s next?

By: Jack | January 6th, 2011

The King is still in charge. Now, moving forward …

carlo

The prayers were answered. That is if Ancelotti actually prayed to keep his job and not the other way around. Now that we are charging ahead, what can this suave Italian do to shake the cobwebs of recent failure and prevent this club from diving deeper into the abyss?

The Guardian is known to throw a small piece up after each round of the Premier League suggesting five things we learned from that week of play. They did the same regarding what Carlo could do to turn things ’round. I agree with some of it, other parts not so much. I figured I’d have a crack at compiling my own quintet of suggestions for el jefe. Here we go.

I. Trust in youth
We all know that much of last season’s experienced depth was moved on in the summer to make room for some of our much-ballyhooed youth players, specifically four of them – Gael Kakuta, Josh McEachran, Patrick Van Aanholt and Jeffrey Bruma. Throw Daniel Sturridge in there for good measure. Only problem is that it seems like Carlo doesn’t have a lick of faith in them – at least not this season. Well, I may not, either. But, it must be said, there is no reason to ignore them now. What can possibly go wrong? We’re already on our worst run of form in 14 years. Our core group is not only out of ideas and short of confidence, but completely knackered.

Could it really have hurt to, at the least, let Josh, Gael and Danny start against Wolves? There’s no way we could have possible been worse than we were with a team chock-full of so-called world class players. And even if we were, at least the young kids would have received some valuable experience.

So Carlo, enough is enough. Give these kids a solid run in the team. They may surprise you and, heck, even if they don’t, the move might serve to perturb the more accomplished members of the squad that were dropped in the process. We need something to spark them back to life.

II. Be vocal
I’ve spoke about Carlo’s demeanor before. It’s perfect for Roman, not for me. He’s far too calm. It almost comes off as lackadaisical at times. In a crisis – which were are in, make no mistake – you need a leader with fire. Mourinho had that zest, that charisma to drag you up from the depths. So did Hiddink. If Ancelotti does, we certainly haven’t seen it.

Speaking of fire, we could have used some in the summer. Carlo sat passively and allowed Michael Ballack, amongst others, to waltz off to pastures anew. He continually denied that the squad needed strengthening despite the wealth of departures, when he must’ve known that was a boldface lie. Is he that passive? Or did he make his worries known to the board and was overruled? Either way, he approach did not impress.

I know Carlo gives a fuck – at least I hope he does, he has begun to look a broken man both on the touchline and in interviews – but he must start showing us. Display some energy during games. Come up with something other than “we are not in a good moment” for interviews. Rattle some cages. Mourinho’s passion rubbed off on everyone at the club – players, supporters and the like. Carlo would do well to follow The Special One’s example.

malouda-kalou
Have a seat, the both of you

III. Instill fear
Some have suggested that our stars have become complacent. I’m not inclined to disagree. It could be the fact that they have been successful in the past, and no longer have the drive to excel. Maybe for some, but others I find that a hard sale. A more likely culprit would be the fact that our threadbare squad means there is no competition for places. No matter your form, you’re in so why bother with the effort. Either way, it’s time to start making players fear for their place in this team.

Begin by dropping those performing well below standard. That’s almost the whole team, I know. How about the woeful, then? Salomon, Nicolas, Michael, Flo – hit the bench. Ancelotti exiled Drogba from the starting XI for the Spurs fixture, and look what happened. The Mighty One responded with a much-improved display compared to his previous outings.

These high-priced prima donnas need a wakeup call. Provide them with one, Carlo.

IV. Switch it up
Ancelotti is a stubborn man. He avoided change at Milan for many a year, remaining largely dependent on a certain core that continued to age until it was too late. He’s at risk of doing the same to Chelsea.

While he may not be at fault for relying on our aging core – due to financial restraints – he is partly to blame for the staleness in our play. I mean, we’ve been producing some real shit football in the past few months. Isn’t in time to experiment with alternative ways of playing the game? Sure, the 4-3-3 has been superb for us for many seasons. It led us to a domestic Double a year ago. But it’s been found out, thanks to a combination of players playing terribly and opposition becoming privy to our weaknesses. Furthermore, we have become painfully predictable.

A change tactically could prove a significant step in shaking things up.

V. Challenge the board
Simple. This is obviously along the same lines as being more vocal, but far more important. Our board is full of inept individuals, that much is clear. Gourlay, the business not football man, has been ruthless to a fault. He and his band of gimps have crippled this side over the past few years, leaving us staring at the possibility of missing out on Champions League football for the first time in, well, a while. How’s Roman going to react if that happens?

Now’s the time for Carlo to speak up. Tell them we need significant investment. Tell them you need a proper assistant and you’re picking him. Tell them you need to be given full control of the team and significant control over transfers. If you don’t, the club will continue heading down the same wretched path – and you’ll be out of a job soon enough (but with a hefty settlement to ease your pain).

That’s all for now. I’m sure I missed plenty. Let me know in the comments what else Carlo could do to breathe life back into Chelsea Football Club.

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Category: Analysis, Champions League, Chelsea Team News, Coaching News, Opinion

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timlos

Honestly whatever idea I may have I don't feel like bothering myself to suggest. Ancelloti for one, does not seem interested anymore. Just waiting and hoping for his pay-off that one. But just for the heck of it, try playing Malouda on the right like Robben does, to cut in and play shots with his left foot. Kakuta seem like he can cut it on the left, try him there. Bring in Josh alongside Lampard close to the box, he has some dribble in him, worst case, we get free-kicks. BOTTOM LINE - MIX THINGS UP AND STOP BEING SO PREDICTABLE, STOP BEING SO PREDICTABLE, STOP BEING SO PREDICTABLE, STOP BEING SO PREDICTABLE.
Johonna

In Italy, you always knew Carlo was having a bad time during a game because he pulled out the candy bars and cigarettes on the sidelines - nothing says panic like your coach chain smoking on the bench. Has he reached that point with Chelsea?
CharlieFineman

Ahahah, Johonna. You're not allowed to smoke in public places in Britain. So having a cigarette during the match is a no-no. I imagine Carlo smoking in the dressing room when things don't go well :>
my blood is blue

What next? Call me crazy but i am all for going in with 5 defenders. We are hardly scoring. So its better we dont let in stupid goals. Sure, that questions our reputation as an attacking team but its better not losing than going for glory.

Here's my team:

5 defenders.

Bane(just like he wanted), EBJT, Bruma at CB.

Cole, Bosingwa and Paulo fight it out for 2 wing backs on either side.

5 - 1(mikel doing what he does now) - 3(Kakuta=Lamp=Ram) - 1(Drogba)

5 - 2(Josh=Lamp creative MFs) - 3(kakuta/drogba\ram)

5 - 3(mal\lamp/ram) - 2(sturr=drogba)
Chaliblues

couldnt have said it better myself..
radicalanalyst

People must critical analyze situations before making bold statements. We see this occurring everyday in the field of soccer. As soon as a team falls into in poor run of form the first thing the clubs looks to do is fire the manager. This i term as being very silly. When i analyze chelsea's performance over this recent gloomy patch. It is evident that injuries has a part to play with their performance but for me the main problem is the causal way in which chelsea approach the games. This attitude was not evident last season and neither in the early stages of this season. A ton of goals were conceded, an how they were conceded? Top class players were carelessly losing the ball in an around the 18 yard box. On example: Against Arsenal Theo Walcott stripped Malouda of the ball so easily and eventually Chelsea conceded a goal. What am getting at is Carlo is a great manager, he won the league in his first year, i dont think the Club should fire him. Instead there should be a meeting with the club to assess the situation and then seek to address Chelsea's lackadaisical form as of recent. Or else Chelsea may find themselves playing Europa League football next year.
arn00b

Europa league? You must be an optimist. Have you seen Bolton play? If Chelsea continue to play like this and Bolton keep playing like that, Europa league might be out of reach.

I think that Jack summed it up pretty nicely with two words. "What's next?" We're all waiting what's next. Something has to happen, someone has to make the next move, the board, the manager, the players, Roman. What's with the silence and the "we're disappointed, we'll try again" broken record that keeps looping?

When you have such an international squad, you'd expect someone to say something to a magazine or paper in his country, if he doesn't want to say it to the English media. It happened during the Scolari days and it happens to a lot of clubs. You'd think that someone would say something, tweet something, a facebook message, anything. Is Roman imposing a press silence order on the team or are they all really that lost for words?
radicalanalyst

My friend over these pass few weeks i get no joy from watching my team Chelsea play. Against Aston Villa when Terry score and jumped all over my couch in joy. I said to myslef "we are back, MANU HERE WE COME" Before i could breathe we are back 3-3. I literally cried. I have my fingers crossed that we are going to stun them in the Champions League this year. HEHEHEHE (OPTIMISM)
arn00b

That pretty much sums it up. I wonder if Ancelotti is this quiet and passive because of his nature or because he knows how being vocal (like JM) could cost you your job. You're seeing his calm demeanor as a bad thing, and I agree to some extent, but it could also be the same thing that saved him from the sack. We don't know.

I think that people are reading too much into the issue of age. It's not necessarily a Chelsea thing, but a premier league thing.

Ballack is too old, Carvalho is too old, Hyppia is too old... everyone is too old... Yet Bayer didn't think that Ballack or Hyppia were too old. Hyppia, 37, won the defender of the first third of the season in his first season in Germany, plus a bunch of Finnish awards. How's the pool's defense doing, I might ask? Old Ricky is a starter in one of the biggest teams in the world and is doing a great job. Chelsea fans were saying that he was past it not so long ago. Same thing with Ballack, who still hasn't had a chance to show what CFC let go, against Ancelotti's wishes. Unless the board has more managerial experience than Ancelotti... we don't know.

United seems to be doing well with their older players. Milan still has 13 players over 30, including Gattoso, Inzaghi, Ambrosini, Pirlo.... and they're 5 points on top of the league, with a little infusion of fresh blood. Not teenagers, but just new faces - a little competition for places, squad rotation and tactical variety.

Chelsea's play is so predictable now. I don't know if someone has told Carlo or not, but the other teams also get the prozone reports.

I think that Roman wanted a great coach and more importantly a coaching equivalent of a yes man. Someone who won't complain that you make transfers for him, change his staff and do whatever you want without his knowledge or consent. He has both in Carlo. So Chelsea fans shouldn't worry, they won't ever get loudmouth Rafa as long as Roman owns the Chels.

I also think that Roman thinks that he put in enough money in the project and now it should just stand on its own. Football clubs don't work like that, unfortunately. They either need regular infusions of cash or need to operate on trades, loans, sales and purchases. Since Chelsea have a strict policy of wasting money on players that never play, letting contracts expire, terminating contracts, buying expensive, unheard-of players, expensive flops, paying former managers and last but not least, player agents, the club has no money to buy new players.

I doubt the club will make a lot of money from the season review dvd is going to sell a lot this year.... or from the Kalou shirts.
Jack

Kalou shirts. Man, I'd love to seem some sales figures there.