Breaking new:‘Start him if you want to win the game’ – Paul Merson promise Pochettino to start £50m Chelsea star against Brentford if he really want to win game’s
Pundits are asked for so many opinions that it is often very easy to disagree. Often it can feel that is the preferred route to ensure a viral clip or quote, and in particular with Chelsea, it has been easy to produce an oversimplified critique.
Understandably the Blues have drawn plenty of speculation and criticism over the last 12 months, and rightfully so. Their performances have not been good enough, although the analysis does not always have the nuance required.
Perhaps after five points and five goals in six games, off the back of a 12th-placed finish there is less room for it. While Chelsea’s underlying performances beneath poor finishing have not appeared awful, the results have been clear and any verdict is trending in the same direction.
As a result it has become very easy to agree with former Arsenal forward Paul Merson’s verdict on the Blues’ situation heading into Carabao Cup action against Brighton. He said: “The last thing Chelsea need to do now is go out to Brighton in the cup.
“If you look at Chelsea’s fixtures, you worry for them. The next 10 games are so vital for their season that you can’t catch your breath. It’s a run where you actually don’t know when they’re going to win a football match.”
While a season isn’t made in six games, it feels abundantly clear that any semblance of success, and belief in it – for the moment – will be centred around a cup run. A win against a team that has developed into a rival due to recent dealings could spark momentum and hope that is needed in the playing squad and among supporters. Defeat would illustrate the differing fortunes the Seagulls have achieved on and off the pitch for a fraction of the cost.
While the Carabao Cup has often been used as a launchpad for further success in the season, it could mean a lot more to Chelsea at this point. Outside of empty statements around projects and progress, it would be something tangible to hold onto.
Merson continued: “Even Mauricio Pochettino is coming out and is now saying: ‘it’s a process, you have to be patient’. When a manager comes out and says that, it shows they are starting to get a bit panicky. Even he doesn’t think it was meant to be like this. If he is saying that already, it’s a worry. I hope he gets that patience and time, they have injuries too. But I’m worried.”
I don’t entirely agree on this front. To say Pochettino may be panicking could be overstepping the mark. However, there is a change in the 51-year-old’s demeanour, though perhaps that is needed.
From his appointment in July, Pochettino has made it clear he wanted to offer players no excuse to achieve. Whether it being to ensure they are fit enough, following injuries, age, there has been no room for the Blues to second guess themselves.
He said: “Now we need to be competitive in the training ground or we are not going to arrive on time. I don’t want to make excuses to the players to say first of all we need time to rebuild, we need time to work, we need, we need, we need. No, no excuses and we start to work hard, to manage and drive the way that we want. No excuses. The competition doesn’t wait for anyone and now we are going to start again against Liverpool in the first game to be ready to win, and if not we are going to struggle for sure.”
It was a motif that continued throughout the summer that endeared supporters, and along with pre-season results, ensured that belief was instilled for the start of the season. Few would have expected Chelsea to have only won game from their opening six.
Pochettino is not wrong to emphasise the context of recent fixtures. Injuries and youth will play it’s role in the time it takes for Chelsea to thrive. It is the reality of the situation. Following the draw with Bournemouth he reflected on the ‘circumstance, that we cannot change, the reality we cannot change. We have too many players (out), of course we are a team that will be strong if we are all together’.
Following defeat to Villa, he noted the drawbacks of being reliant on young players: “In this type of game, we are competing and want to win and football is about winning but also players, when they are young, need to learn, and experience and make mistakes”.
After last season, the lack of results is too familiar for anyone that has followed the club’s progress. Until wins arrive, like Merson, I and others will be worried about what can be achieved in 2023/24.
About The Author
