🔗 Share this article

While The Blues avoided a total demolition of their chances of finishing in the top eight of the Bigger Cup group stage, they executed a targeted blow on their own chances of waltzing straight into the round of 16. Naturally, the good news is that in the brief history of the recently revamped competition, securing a place in the top eight may not be as crucial as it seems.

The Central Concern: A Predictable Inconsistency

Unfortunately for Stamford Bridge regulars, the sole predictable element about the Chelsea team is a reliably erratic inconsistency, which has been much remarked upon since their loss in Italy. After apparently rubber-stamping their quality with an impressive beat-down of Barcelona, followed by a feisty stalemate with Arsenal, the team have been defeated by a Championship side, played out a snoozy stalemate at the south coast club and have now lost against a average team from Serie A.

Although critics have been quick to lay the blame on a selection policy that seems to see the coach change his lineup constantly, the Chelsea head coach maintains that, injuries and suspensions aside, the core of his starting lineup for big matches is largely set in stone.

“In my view in that game, first XI, we had inside the pitch the majority of the team that play against Tottenham, they play against Barca, they play against Wolverhampton, the Gunners,” he stated. “We had eight, nine players that are the ones playing every time for these kind of games. So if you look at the five changes that we did from the previous game, it’s a different situation.”

What Comes Next

For a genuine opportunity of escaping the additional knockout round, they will have to be victorious in their remaining two matches. First up, they welcome this season’s surprise package a Cypriot team, before heading back to Italy to face the Serie A champions, Napoli.

“Victories in both are required, if not, we will face the extra round and then go to the next round,” sniffed the Italian coach, whose next appointment is a match against an Everton team whose recent consistency has taken to them to the dizzy heights of the top half in the domestic league.

Other Notes

Notable Comment: “You know, it’s somewhat ironic because his greatest wish was me becoming a professional golfer. That was his ultimate ambition. So when I was 10, he forced me to start on golf. So I played golf every week from when I was 10 to 13” – a star striker explained how, had his dad got his way, he could have been teeing off rather than scoring goals in the top flight.

Readers' Letters

“Well, no wonder Wolves are in such a sad state. As any regular reader of this email will know, the only good pre-match protests involve marching from a pub that the supporters intended to visit anyway, to the stadium that they were always going to. Just arriving 10 minutes late? That’s how long it takes fans to get to their seats anyway” – one reader.

“I note that a reader not only got Tuesday’s featured letter, but also a mention in a separate letter. On a night where both Sheffield teams once more surrendered points after leading, I am wondering: could Sheffield be proving that the regularity of representation in your mailbag is inversely proportional to the value of anything our teams are accomplishing on the field?” – a different supporter.