Chelsea are going into a run of games now that on paper, is not as tough looking as the run of games they have just been through.
Our tough run heading into December from November was always billed as make or break for Chelsea’s season, and we actually threatened to go through this spell very well to begin with. Despite getting some good results during this run of games and putting in some good performances, it ended abysmally with poor defeats and poor performances, cranking up the pressure on the manager, the players, the directors, and the owners.
Many fans are now calling for yet another manager to be sacked. I wont go into that again but I’ve made my views clear on that a few times last week and this week – there is no way we should be sacking another manager at this stage.
But I do acknowledge that these next handful of games probably now have actually become make or break as such. They are now hugely important, and they are now key, for many reasons.
As I reported yesterday on my personal Substack page ‘Si Phillips Talks Chelsea’, the club really do not want to sack Pochettino and want to give him every chance to succeed at this club. They acknowledge the complexities and the unpreceded situations he has faced, and there is not yet a firm finger pointing blame towards him.
But as I also said in the same report yesterday, a string of defeats could soon change the mood and the stance of the board, and these next handful of games are key to that.
The board are actually seeing the League Cup game as a very important one because there is now an admission that this is our best chance of success this season, at least in terms of silverware. So that game has become important, as are the next handful of Premier League games.
I’m not saying he will definitely get sacked if we lose at the weekend and get knocked out of the League Cup, but it could certainly change the mood of the owners.
Chelsea welcome Sheffield United to Stamford Bridge this weekend and we simply HAVE to win this one without a shadow of doubt. If we don’t, supporter pressure will increase, the place will become hugely toxic, players heads will drop even more, Pochettino will become even more frustrated, and the drama and turmoil will continue with added pressure from the media and probably more stories of ‘inside issues’ coming out.
So make no mistake, this IS now a must win game. The players need it, the manager needs it, and the fans need it. We really need to use this game as a firm pick me up and start to push us back on track.
And then on the Tuesday night the following week, we are at Stamford Bridge again to face Newcastle in the League Cup quarter-finals. And like I said above, this game has now also become huge. The owners really want to win some silverware, naturally. Don’t we all?
This has always been our best chance of winning a trophy this season, so we need to go all out to win this game too. Newcastle are actually more than beatable as well.
Like I’ve said of late, I am keeping my expectations at zero because then the only way is up. But both of those games can be won, even though we have been awful lately. We didn’t actually play badly against Everton, and we don’t have to go back too far at all to see some very good performances from us this season.
Chelsea then finish December off by playing against Wolves, Crystal Palace, and Luton Town – all very winnable games.
Although the biggest fear I have about all of these games is the genuine possibility of Chelsea ruining all of our Christmas’s! You all know how much I love Christmas, and Chelsea playing on Christmas Eve really does reek of putting me in a crappy mood on the day!! Don’t do it Chelsea, do not ruin Christmas for millions of boys and girls around the world!! Do not become Grinch FC or Scrooge United!
But these games are there to be won. Of course, there’s never an easy game in this league. But if these truly are make or break games for Pochettino and he had the chance to chose the opponents, then these teams would probably be more of the favourable ones he would want to face.
BIG games these, and a really pivotal moment coming up in our season. Once these games have been played we would have entered the second half of the season, and I genuinely think that if any big decisions are going to be made by the owners in terms of manager, new signings, and anything else, then it will be after these games. Unless of course we get to Palace and we have already lost to Sheffield United, Newcastle, and Wolves – that could well force a decisive hand.
They ALL need to step up and do much better, manager, players, and everyone else.
Lets take a deep breath and get ready to go again. Sigh.
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