“Flat, crestfallen, bewildered” – The worrying signs that Chelsea’s manager is out of ideas | OneFootball

The Athletic have published a much needed long read about where things are going wrong for Chelsea.

The well made point is that, despite having European midweek’s free, the team is just not really getting any better. The fact that Mauricio Pochettino was going to have more time on the training field this season was supposed to be a massive boost. Antonio Conte won the league when we were last in this situation.

Players signed over the last year were supposed to be gelling, and the injuries are clearing up. But we’re not getting any better. The performances against Newcastle and Man U in the last 10 days have been as bad as we’ve seen all season. We’re getting worse, not better.

The Athletic’s description of Pochettino as “flat, crestfallen, bewildered” after last night’s defeat, in comparison to his anger after the defeat to Newcastle, is chillingly accurate. He already looks like a man running out of ideas on how to motivate this group of mercenaries on vast contracts and no interest in putting a shift in for the shirt.