Maurizio Sarri has the look of a coach turning ever more desperate to produce a response.
The Chelsea manager has already admitted he’s struggling to motivate the players, which could either be taken as a damning indictment of the team’s attitude or a very poor reflection of his own authority.
And then he tried something equally extreme following Wednesday’s 4-0 thrashing by Bournemouth. Sarri asked his coaching staff to leave the dressing room before launching into a post mortem lasting 45 minutes.
To be honest, I have never heard of such a thing in the game. Neither had any of my old team-mates when I rang around this week. Expelling your close allies from a crisis meeting? You’re ostracising people you badly need to stay loyal, the people who can help you out of this mess. It must have felt humiliating for Gianfranco Zola and Co. As for the players, well, I can take a decent stab at their thoughts. Some would have seen it as a sign of increasing despair from a man on the verge of running out of ideas. Whispered chats in the showers may well have followed that line. “The boss is losing it. He doesn’t know what to do next.”
Those same players, of course, won’t look in the mirror.
They won’t wonder if it’s their fault rather than that of the manager. Footballers have always been adept at shifting the blame when responsibility largely lies with those on the pitch.
As for where this all ends, that’s difficult to say. I really can’t see Chelsea failing to beat an honest but toothless Huddersfield side heading back down to the Championship. Mind you, if they did, Sarri-ball in west London could soon be a thing of the past.
Pochettino’s a Tottenham great
With Tottenham losing three of their past five in the League and cup, the mood at the club has understandably suffered. And then you look at the table to see them lurking on the shoulder of Manchester City, only two points behind the champions.
Now I’m not saying Spurs can win the League — far from it — but you do have to put their recent struggles into context. Missing Harry Kane, Dele Alli and Heung-Min Son (now thankfully back from the Asian Cup), they have somehow hung on, in the League at least.
Don’t get me wrong, Mauricio Pochettino is still a long way from emulating Bill Nicholson, who would have celebrated his 100th birthday last week.
The only way to do that would be to win the title, or perhaps the Champions League.
However, whatever happens from here, Pochettino should be regarded, with or without silverware, as a Tottenham great, maybe second only to Nicholson.
Zaha needs to be more like Andros
Wilfried Zaha let himself and his team-mates down in stupidly getting sent off at Southampton on Wednesday. At 26, you wonder when he will wise up to better deal with getting fouled.
He could do worse than take a leaf out of Andros Townsend’s book. With Zaha suspended, he now carries an extra load in this relegation battle.
Townsend, for me, has matured during this difficult season. Not much older than Zaha, he has shown consistency as Palace have wavered between good and bad. That requires a lot of heart to accompany the alent.
Doucoure will go in the summer
He may be injured just now but there’s no doubt that Abdoulaye Doucoure perfectly reflects the progress made by Watford this term. Because of that, it’s going to be really hard to keep hold of the midfielder this summer, what with Paris St Germain said to be keen.
Offered a sizeable sum, I can’t see Watford denying the Frenchman his dream move. Given the club’s sparkling record in recruitment, though, I’d imagine they’re already planning for life without Doucoure.
MORE ABOUT