We’re only just through the first half at Stamford Bridge, but the mood isn’t great.
The away fans are making all the noise, the home fans remain increasingly befuddled by the collapse of the club they love and the collection of players in front of them.
The home team are making sloppy defensive mistakes and not doing much in attack either. It’s obvious from their body language that they know they’re playing well enough. There’s bad body language everywhere you look – hands thrown up in the air in frustration, fingers pointed for blame and runners lamenting not being picked out.
It’s the classic sign of a dysfunctional XI. This is a new manager and a fully rotated team, so we have plenty of sympathy. But bad attitudes shouldn’t ever be seen, no matter the context.
I have no idea what you all see on TV but these players are all arguing with one another, all over the pitch.
Bloody hell.
— Uber Chelsea FC (@UberChelseaFC_) August 22, 2024
Chelsea have seen this all before – pretty recently
We’re not surprised there’s so much frustration. There’s no cohesion, a lot of mistakes at the back, and the away team are actually dominating the game at Stamford Bridge.
We will need more than just arms thrown up in the air to save this though – the players just need to play better, not blame each other. It’s a nasty continuation of the bad vibes we saw on the pitch plenty of times last season when the going got tough, and we hope manager Enzo Maresca is able to stamp it out more effectively than Mauricio Pochettino was.
There is zero intensity without the ball, and Maresca needs to scream at this bunch – or perhaps change a few of them. There were boos at half time, and we’re not surprised at all. We’re supposed to be embarrassed to be in this competition, not struggling to get into it.
A big second half and all is forgotten, however.
No use crying over spilt milk, but I think with Gallagher leading we’re really missing some on-field leadership at the club.
The appetite for everyone to score is spoiling the team.