Chelsea lost a lot of people money on their coupons last night with their 1-1 draw with West Brom, but those who will be most frustrated will be those affiliated with the club. Jose Mourinho has been quick to come out and give his opinion, saying that they could not cope with the pressure that the Baggies piled on them.
He also suggested, which surprised me a little bit, that his team lacked a little bit of personality. The Portuguese boss said, when asked why he thought his side sat too deep: “A little bit of a lack of personality.”
It got me thinking whether he was right. Do Chelsea really have players who are able to take the game by the scruff of the neck and pull it in their favour, even when they are on the back foot?
Frank Lampard is one who I look at straight away. The midfielder is one who can really drive his side on from the middle of the pitch, but without him playing a part in the game it’s hard to include him.
Personally I think the blame sits with the defensive midfielders. Should they have pushed higher up the field and increased the intensity in the middle then it would have forced West Brom Back. Matic and Ramires were the ones who had the chance to do that with Eden Hazard tucking in to help them.
Do Chelsea have players with a big personality? Yes. Did they show that last night? No.
Blues, do you agree with Mourinho?
Chelsea has a tendency to sit back and defend a lead rather than continuing to play the game that established the lead in the first place. With a lead established, the pace of the game slows down for Chelsea. Instead of controlling possession of the ball and building an attack, they resort to clearing the ball and relinquishing possession.
it is very obvious that until we learn to stop losing points against teams we should beat, then top of the Premiership is well out of reach. I have downgraded my expectations to 3rd or 4th with Man City and Arsenal sure to take advantage of our regular slip ups