Chelsea succumbed to their worst defeat of the season on Monday night, losing 4-1 away at Vicarage Road against a Watford side who were woefully out of form themselves. It’s the latest in a series of bad results for the Blues since the turn of 2018 and they’ve still won just one game this calendar year, a 3-0 victory in the FA Cup against Newcastle.
It’s now just two weeks until their crunch tie with Barcelona in the Champions League and if their current form continues, then you’d really worry for their hopes.
There are certain similarities between this campaign and Chelsea’s one of 2015/16, which also followed on from a Premier League title win. We’ve picked out a few reasons as to why it might all be going wrong for the Blues this year.
Antonio Conte
Conte has been grumbling all season, starting back in the summer, but his moaning has significantly increased since the start of 2018. His complaints are mostly about the lack of investment in players that he wanted in the transfer window, with many who’ve been signed as third or even fourth choice targets. It’s not just incomings that he’s moaned about as he also seemed disappointed that Nemanja Matic was allowed to leave the club. He’s been left furious by the lack of squad depth available to him, but there’s one major argument against this. He’s hardly maximised his resources! Michy Batshuayi was out of favour under him and sent out on loan, despite scoring important goals when given his chance.
Recent comments at the end of games, like those against Watford, where he’s almost challenging Roman Abramovich to sack him won’t have gone unnoticed. As is widely known, Abramovich is ruthless as an owner and doesn’t respond well to insubordination.
The board
Up to a point, Conte is right when it comes down to board support and player investment. If you look back at Chelsea’s victorious teams over the Abramovich era, the first Mourinho spell aside, then you’ll notice that the following season is somewhat disappointing. Carlo Ancelotti’s second season ended in him being sacked, while things unravelled very quickly under Jose Mourinho, who’s second spell in charge of the club ended six months after he’d lifted the Premier League trophy. The board seem to think that one title win is enough and never build on what they’ve achieved.
Michael Emenalo’s departure was also significant in a breakdown between Antonio Conte and the Chelsea hierarchy. Emenalo was the technical director and also headed up the club’s international and domestic scouting network, with his duties now handed over to Marina Granovskaia, a long-term associate of Abramovich.
Transfer Policy
Chelsea’s transfer business in Conte’s tenure at the club has been mixed to say the least. N’Golo Kante has been a success, while Alvaro Morata started off well, but has tailed off. Aside from them, the rest have been fairly poor signings. Danny Drinkwater and Ross Barkley are examples of players that would never have been considered in previous Chelsea teams, while Tiemoue Bakayoko has shown that he’s no improvement on Nemanja Matic.
It’s been a while since Chelsea flexed their financial muscles against other Premier League teams and it looks as if the era of big spending at Stamford Bridge has passed. Not since Eden Hazard arrived in 2012 have the club beaten their rivals to the signature of a player. Since then, Paul Pogba, Alexis Sanchez, Romelu Lukaku, John Stones, Alex Oxlade-Chamberlain and Virgil van Dijk have all joined rivals and prospered.
Youth
Chelsea have spent millions on youth development in the Abramovich era, both on players and coaches, but none have broken through into the first team. Ethan Ampadu was bought in from Exeter in the summer and looks a great prospect in defence, but a player like Ruben Loftus-Cheek, currently out on loan at Crystal Palace, is one that fans would love to see. He’s been significantly more impressive than Bakayoko this season, which merely adds to the frustration around the club.
The Under-23 side play Lincoln in the Checkatrade Trophy semi-final on Tuesday night, the latest in a series of top quality youth teams at the club. Previous Chelsea age-group teams have also won UEFA youth trophies and youth tournaments in England, but very few have progressed into the first team. Many of those players now ply their trade at other Premier League clubs, with some even going on to win international honours.
Lack of leadership
Replacing John Terry was never going to be an easy task. Chelsea’s captain during their most successful era was also the last youth player to progress into the first team. His leadership skills were second-to-none and the Blues could have done with them in recent weeks. There doesn’t look to be anyone in the side who’ll get the players together after conceding a goal or losing a game to shake it up. Terry wasn’t the only leader in those Chelsea sides, as Frank Lampard and Didier Drogba would also do the same. Experienced players like Gary Cahill, Cesar Azplicueta and Cesc Fabregas need to start rallying the troops, as many have shown in the past that when times get tough, they struggle to get going and instead wait for the manager to be sacked.
Manchester City
One thing that definitely doesn’t help Chelsea is Manchester City running away with the title. After Monday’s defeat to Watford, Conte’s side now sit in fourth place, 19 points behind City and that says everything you need to know. At the current rate, they’ll struggle to finish in the top four as Spurs have been in good form recently. However, City have turned the league on its head this year and the rest of the big clubs are now tasked with the challenge of having to keep up. As it stands, Chelsea are now miles behind.