Crisis at the Bridge! 5 Things Chelsea Needs to Change!

5 things that Mourinho need to change to get back on track

Chelsea suffered their third Premier League defeat in just five games with a 3-1 loss at Goodison Park to Everton. Make no mistake Chelsea fans, the club is now officially in a full blown crisis! 

There are so many problems in this Chelsea team that you could almost call it pandemic, it’s staggering compared to last season and José Mourinho needs to put aside his loyalties and take the drastic actions necessary to turn The Blue’s fortunes around.

Chelsea Football Club Crises

Its very difficult to ascertain the source of the problems seeing as they appear so interwoven. The crisis appears to have spread all the way through the team like a virus, the players and the management must equally share the weight of responsibility for the mess they currently find themselves in.

Players are performing with zero confidence and look a shadow of their former-selves. They look un-fit and a yard short of pace. It almost feels like they are going through the motions, expecting to get a result. Every aspect of the team has problems starting from defence, through to midfield into attack. It all looks dis-jointed which is unlike a José Mourinho team.

José Mourinho is not innocent in all this either. His team selections have been somewhat unjust and his substitutions have been nothing short of bizarre.

The biggest problem Chelsea have right now is they cannot seem to stop conceding goals and they look far from convincing at the other end of the park.

5 things that Chelsea need to change

Here are the 5 things that Chelsea need to change to get their season back on track.

BRANISLAV IVANOVIC… TIME IS UP! 

I could not believe my eyes when I saw the continued selection of Branislav Ivanović at right-back. Don’t get me wrong, in his heyday, Ivanović was a stand out performer for The Blues. What he has done for Chelsea Football Club in the past has been northing short of astonishing. However, there is no time for sentiment in football and his achievements of old have further emphasised his decline.

He struggles against both pace and movement which makes him a sitting duck and a liability. This was evident again against Everton, it’s very noticeable that the first two Toffee goals came from Chelsea’s right hand side. It’s an area that the opposition keep on exploiting and they will continue to do so as long as he plays in that position.

In his defence, Kurt Zouma also played a hand in Everton’s first and third goal, but that should not save the Serbian from the chop.

The fact is, Ivanoviće would be more use to Chelsea as a striker right now then he would be a right-back and thats the reality.

If Chelsea want to get back on track, they need to drop the Serbian, move César Azpilicueta to right-back and play £21.7m left-back Baba Rahman.

EDEN HAZARD… TOO ‘FAT’? OUT OF POSITION? NON EXISTENT THATS FOR SURE. 

Eden Hazard has taken some stick off Chelsea fans since the defeat to Everton. He has been branded ‘too fat’ by many of the clubs supporters. One thing is for sure, he looks nothing like the player who ripped apart teams last season.

A lot of the problem at the moment seems to be his positioning, he appears to be popping up in different areas of the pitch, none of them from where he can cause damage. He needs to keep to the left hand flank and stay their to give Chelsea some much needed width.

Too many times this afternoon, he cut inside and was put under immediate pressure. He either looses the ball or finds himself on his backside after being easily brushed off the ball. He needs the ball to feet down that left hand side to face up to his opponent. That’s where Hazard is dangerous, one on one against the defender.

If Chelsea are to get back into the title race, Eden Hazard will need to rediscover his form and fast. One more defeat and even the most optimistic Chelsea fans will have to admit their title defence is over.

CESC FABREGAS… UP YOUR GAME OR WARM THE BENCH! 

Cesc Fàbregas has been a weak link in this Chelsea team for some time now. He hasn’t put in a single note worthy performance since last Christmas and its really starting to tick-off the Chelsea faithful.

I think Fàbregas is suffering from multiple problems, one leads to another… Let me explain.

1. Opponents have figured out that he is the catalyst of Chelsea’s attacking play, therefor they close him down quicker.
2. Fàbregas needs both time and space on the ball to be most effective, because he no longer gets that he is no longer an effective attacking force.
3. Because he is closed down quicker, he gets dispossessed or rushes and gives the ball away.
4. Out of frustration, Fàbregas wonders from his position next to Matic in search of more space, but this then leaves Ivanovic isolated.

Mourinho first and foremost needs to find a new position for Fàbregas because he clearly isn’t built to play the pivot with Nemanja Matić; who he is making look average. That would solve the problem from a defensive point of view.

Attacking wise, Fàbregas will either have to adapt his game or tactically the team has to adapt to create him the space he needs. I doubt Mourinho will change the dynamics of a team to suit one man, therefore it only leaves two options.

Josè Mourinho needs to drop him or Fàbregas needs to adapt his game and up his work ethic.

DIEGO COSTA… OFF THE PACE AND IN YOUR FACE! 

Diego Costa is another player that hasn’t performed for some time now. He is often out of position, looks way short of pace and keeps failing to convert his chances (which are currently few and far between).

Many Chelsea fans may disagree with the following comments but right now he needs to stop battling with defenders and officials. While his aggression is part of his game, there is a time and a place and thats not when your 3-1 down, not playing well individually or collectively.

He needs to get back to basics and concentrate on his primary job of putting the ball in the back of the net! Fair enough, when your 3-0 up and cruising, then by all means go and bully some defender or official… But doing it when your loosing games and not performing well is madness.

Costa needs to rein it in, get fit, get back to basics and start putting the ball in the back of the net. I suspect the Spanish International is on borrowed time and we could see Loïc Rémy or Radamel Falcao take up Costa’s position if performances don’t improve.

FINALLY… JOSE MOURINHO!!! WHO AND WHY?

Finally we move onto the gaffer José Mourinho! Firstly let me just state that Chelsea would not be where they are without the self proclaimed ‘special one’. If he isn’t loved by everyone he is certainly respected by everyone.

However, I cannot get my head around these team selections, substitutions and the unnecessary controversy.

How Ivanović, Fàbregas and Costa retained their places today is beyond me, even if it was just to prove a point they should not have started. I firmly believe that one should earn their starting place and performances from those three in particular have been poor for over 6 months now. Enough is enough!

Why did Chelsea even bother spending £21.7million on Baba Rahman? What is the point if your not going to play the lad? If I was Rahman I would seriously be doubting my choice of move.

Substitutions wise I can understand Mikel coming off but for Kenedy. That was a brave and positive move and had it come off then Mourinho would have been hailed a genius….. Thats where the positives stop…. Why take off Pedro who was arguably Chelsea’s best player in the game when you are chasing a result? I cannot get my head around that one at all.

There are so many areas of Chelsea’s play that are really concerning. Mourinho can talk as much as he likes about performances, medical staff and luck all he likes but it’s goals that win you games and you have to say for the most part this season, Chelsea do not look like scoring!

Mourinho will always protect his players but I think enough is enough now. He needs to start being honest and admit that the performances (not just the results) have not been good enough.

Mourinho also needs to have a reshuffle. If you don’t perform then you sit the next game out…. Call it tough love!

He then needs to keep a low profile for a while, allow Chelsea to build up some momentum and hope that The Blues can fly under the radar for a while and accumulate some points.

Something needs to be done to stop the rot. This is a massive week for Josè Mourinho and the Chelsea players. Something has to change and quickly.

Chelsea right now ARE in a crisis and you can’t escape it!