“Unacceptable”, a word that has featured in far too many Chelsea press conferences recently. A word that Liam Rosenior used seven times during his final press conference as Blues head coach less than a fortnight ago.
A word that Calum McFarlane, Rosenior’s temporary successor, used to describe his team’s performance in the 3-1 defeat to Nottingham Forest on Monday afternoon. It’s a word Chelsea supporters do not want to hear – for obvious reasons – but one that perfectly sums up the last couple of months.
Monday’s clash with Forest was exactly two months to the day since Chelsea’s last win in the Premier League. It soon became clear the Blues’ wait for a victory in the top-flight would be extended, with the visitors taking a two-goal lead inside 15 minutes.
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For McFarlane, Monday was supposed to be a dream come true; managing at Stamford Bridge for the first time, but an “unacceptable” start from the Blues quickly turned it into a nightmare.
“I think the first 15 minutes were unacceptable,” said the interim head coach. “The manner in which the two goals were conceded has really set us back. You can’t do that at this level, especially against a team that’s fighting for their life.”
Unacceptable, yes. Surprising, no. This group of Chelsea players can get themselves up for the bigger games against the better sides – sometimes, anyway – your FA Cup semi-finals, but home matches against relegation-threatened teams, they don’t seem too bothered about.
Chelsea have beaten just two of the bottom nine teams in the Premier League. In the eight matches the Blues have played against 12th-20th in the current league table – with Tottenham to come later this month – they have recorded nine points from a possible 24.
In this league, you get what you deserve and Chelsea deserve to be ninth with three matches to go. It’s as simple as that.
And that is why, when the new head coach comes in – whoever that may be – plenty of business needs to be done. Crucially, BlueCo need to conduct smart business. The ownership group, led by the five sporting directors, have to provide the head coach with the right players; not only in terms of their footballing ability but the character they possess as well.
Rosenior called for it when he was in charge – bringing in players with mental fortitude. At the moment, Chelsea have so little of that in the squad.
BlueCo will have to work with the new head coach on the transfer front, and that is why it is so crucial to get this appointment done at the start of the summer. However, Chelsea do face a big issue now when it comes to attracting the big names they are after.
The Blues are looking to appoint a manager with top-level experience, sources say, but it is now mathematically impossible for the west Londoners to secure a top-five finish – and that could prove detrimental in the club’s hopes of luring that sort of profile to Stamford Bridge. Qualifying for any form of European football is an almighty task at this point.
Missing out on the Champions League is an enormous blow for the club. Not only financially, but also in the summer transfer market. Cole Palmer hinted at just that last month: “Hopefully [I can achieve my ambitions at Chelsea]. I believe in the club, they spoke to us as players.
“Hopefully I, and we, can win a lot at Chelsea. If we’re not in the Champions League, everything changes. We need to finish in the Champions League.”
That, bar Aston Villa finishing in fifth spot and winning the Europa League, is now impossible for Chelsea. For McFarlane and the Blues, the next few days will be more of the same – dissecting what went wrong, working out where and how they can improve and recovering physically, and mentally, before the next one.
Anfield awaits Chelsea – a stadium that has lost its fear factor this season but one that currently looks beyond this Blues team, even with Liverpool’s woes in recent times. Chelsea need to find an acceptable performance from somewhere and it has to be on Merseyside in four days’ time.
