Demise Of Tiki-Taka Or The Rise Of Dogma?

Following Real Madrid’s counter-attacking masterclass that destroyed Bayern Munich at the Allianz Arena, Nuraen Adeshina offers his thoughts on Guardiola's brand of football

Well, lesson learnt then. Bayern lost the game to a simple albeit perplexing inability to do the basics; defensive organisation at set pieces. When the post mortem begins though, scrutiny will extend to the 180 minutes of football between both teams.

That’s when systems and tactics would be considered in some details. The default conclusion will put Bayern’s undoing down to their passing, passing and more passing game plan. In other words, Tiki-Taka will be lampooned as an unworkable system at the highest level. With some merit too, everyone will recall how this same Bayern team, combining power with finesse, steamrolled Barcelona, the original owners, over two legs last summer.

Bayern Munich boss, Pep Guardiola                       PHOTO: fcbayern.de

The enemy though isn’t really the system but a dogmatic adherence to systems. Pep Guardiola and the other so-called purists must understand what a manager’s role is: set up a team in a way that gives said team the maximum opportunity to play to its strength while simultaneously minimising the opposition’s strength.

In other words, systems must remain secondary in the overall scheme of things. This argument while well worn needs revisiting, football managers need to be reminded they are no different from Managers in other spheres of human endeavours, Subject Matter Expert, armed with nous and charged with delivering objectives.

This point cannot be over emphasized seeing as Pep has managed to spawn a huge, growing number of fundamentalists who hold almost to the point of dogma, that there is indeed only one way to play. How might Google for example contend with a manager who obdurately posit that the only way to beat Facebook in the race for social networks is not to own one?

Bayern’s chastening immediately reminds of Liverpool’s Brendan Rogers, who got frustrated by been out-thought by his erstwhile mentor, proceeded to proclaim the winning system immoral, almost illegal even.  And he is not alone. Liverpool legend, John Barnes had gone on record a week prior to proclaim Jose Mourinho’s use of three pure forwards late in the game against PSG as “not tactics but substitutions”. Yet it is not difficult to argue that a system switch can easily be regarded as a tactical decision.

Indeed, dogmatists miss the whole essence of systems and tactics – a clear cut approach of fulfilling objectives, with objectives remaining the end.

It is important at this point to take a look back at the contemporary evolution of tiki-taka with Spain as obvious example. One of Vicente de Bosque’s major tactical tweak, post 2008 European Championship, was to engender a slower, more patient system  that emphasized  passing sequences in and around their own half of the field essentially to deny opponents the ball, having realised his team’s (relative) inherent weakness laid at the back(regardless of who played there).

Obviously, Guardiola helped to develop this system, originally, taking the passing sequence to the opponents final third in the hope that away from his team’s goal, the opposition is less portent.Consequently, teams with fast transition simply allow them huff and puff in their exchanges, only to pick them apart with lightening counter attacks requiring three, at most four passes, to put deadly forwards clean through on goal.

At the heart of this steadfastness is an arrogance that borders almost on insanity. Football isn’t going to change; victory will forever be determined by goals scored versus conceded. Bearing this in mind, the best managers will develop systems that place the overriding focus on goals while simultaneously incorporating a distinct identity. That means a willingness to adjust playing systems (sometimes dramatically) to maximize strength and minimise weaknesses. In short, objectives and not identity is what must be cast in stone.

A Night Of Might

Chelsea have an uphill task to turn around their 3-1 deficit against Paris Saint Germain tonight at Stamford Bridge as they look to book their place in the semi-finals of this season’s UEFA Champions League.

Only a novice in European football will write off any top team’s chances of a comeback as it stands, let alone the Blues who have a tactical genius in Jose Mourinho. The Portuguese built his reputation on results, and relishes every chance to remind doubters of his managerial savvy in the beautiful game.

Tonight’s game offers another big stage for Mourinho to rally his army to battle against the odds. For the likes of Eden Hazard, Oscar and Schurrle, the challenge is a huge green terrain, yet they must play significant roles to help their club reach the final four of the elite European competitions.

PSG Laurent Blanc would rightly think his men have done at least 60% of the job in the first leg, but he has also warned them that they cannot allow Chelsea to dominate proceedings at the Bridge as they would ‘suffer’.

Blanc limited the influence of Hazard, Chelsea’s tormentor-in-chief, by ensuring that his right-back, Christophe Jallet, led a hassling of the Belgian, with Marco Verrati. Indeed it was a ploy that even involved either of Edison Cavani or Ezekiel Lavezzi in closing down the playmaker, at different times in Paris.

With Samuel Eto’o injured, it worked well as Hazard lacked the support to help foil the organised shape of the French side. The Cameroonian could make a surprise return tonight as Mourinho refused to rule him out of the game, keeping the opponents guessing. Eto’o’s ability to drop deep and run the channels can offer a different puzzle to PSG.

Lucas Moura is the most likely option to replace the injured Zlatan Ibrahimovic and the Brazilian’s lightening pace and trickery would make an interesting battle against either of Cesar Azpilicueta and Branislav Ivanovic. Blanc might perhaps pitch Moura to occupy the marauding Ivanovic, who is not as quick as Azpilicueta.

Cavani, as well as Lavezzi, were in the Napoli side that lost 4-1 at the Bridge in 2012 after a 3-1 first leg win in Naples, will relish his chance to play in his favoured central role. It would be recalled both players had great early chances to extend their lead before Didier Drogba’s goal began the Blues’ comeback. Chelsea must avoid such a shaky start tonight.

Cavani smells trouble and possesses the devastating persona to destroy the most difficult obstacle in a big game. He has got Thiago Motta to supply support from the centre. So David Luiz, and the centre back duo of John Terry and Gary Cahill must demonstrate a great level of concentration throughout the encounter.

Mourinho will have to decide whether to trust the industrious Ramires alongside Luiz tonight, like the first leg, or go for the experience of Frank Lampard in central midfield. Lampard could offer more craft, but Chelsea will be taking a huge risk defensively if their legendary midfielder is given the nod alongside Luiz, a makeshift option in the middle.

For Hazard, who has been constantly linked with a move to PSG (could easily be a strategy made in Paris to unsettle him), this is one of those games that could propel him to higher echelon of European football. His incredible talent is indisputable; but if he must be rated as one of the best in the game, like he dreams, the former Lille star cannot afford subdued performances in top games like tonight’s fixture.

Indeed Chelsea, will need the physical and mental might of the whole team to eliminate PSG, but Hazard will need to play a key role to make that happen. It is fair to say, at 23, he has had a decent season, yet a strong performance in this kind of stage can get him off the periphery of being regarded as a talent, rather than a top player.

We have seen the Hazard warning in sprinkles all season, it’s time Eden threw the sucker punch to claim a spot among the heavyweights.

Mour surprises, more decisions for Jose at Chelsea

If you think the decision to sell Juan Mata was a big one, then get ready for more surprises in the summer.

Jose Mourinho is no doubt one of the most influential figures in football and you can attest to that by the way he craftily masterminded the exit of  Mata from Chelsea without a major furore.

The charismatic Portuguese even managed to execute and justify the ‘unthinkable’-selling the amiable Spaniard, the fans’ favourite, to their loathed rivals, Manchester United, less than two years after the Blues supporters mocked Arsenal for trading their best player, Robin van Persie to the same club.

Chelsea fans spat at PSG’s face last summer after attempting a £40m bid to take the unwanted Mata to France, claiming he was worth much more after emerging one of the club’s best, and one of the best players in the English top flight over the last two years. So to have sold the same player to United at a lower fee (£37.1m) was a hard pill to swallow for the Blues faithful. Yet the manager has handled it well.

Last summer, Mourinho admitted he reluctantly accepted the new direction in the playing philosophy that Chelsea wanted, not that he agreed with it. “We had one meeting, and in that meeting we had, not an agreement, but we were all convinced this was the way we want to do it. It’s not my way, a specific way, it’s a way of adapting to the quality of the players.”

He also painted a vague picture of concessions on the part of the board this time around towards arriving at the decision to sell former Valencia man.

“This situation was discussed by a group of persons ... that group of people had different philosophies but a common interest: what is best for Chelsea? Those from the economic department don’t have the same needs as me, a football man, but we decided that for all these reasons – and the human one, that Juan desired to go – we did well. The owner [Roman Abramovich] is the owner. He’s the boss. I belong to the board, but the board is the board. So I come after. I give opinions. I justify my opinions.”  (Independent)

So Mourinho is gradually shaping his own version of THAT attacking style with the aim of ‘building for the future’. He has sold Kevin De Bruyne and Mata for around £55million, two of the players who were expected to play a key role in the expansive style. He has brought in Nemanja Matic and Mohammed Salah for around £33m.

The Chelsea manager is believed to be courting a new centre back with St. Etienne star  Kurt Zouma, 19, thought to have reached a verbal agreement with the Blues. That would reignite the uncertainty surrounding the future of David Luiz while the club’s goalie Thibaut Courtois is keen to resolve his future after three seasons on loan at Atletico Madrid.

With Fernando Torres seemingly unmovable because of huge wage bills and unconvincing performances since swapping joining the club from Liverpool, the Blues boss will also have a bid decision to make on the future of Romelu Lukaku after indicating a striker could arrive in the summer.

Uncertainty

John Terry is yearning for a contract extension of more than a year that Chelsea are prepared to offer, while the duo of Frank Lampard and Ashley Cole-both of whom have been less influential in the Chelsea side this season-are hoping to extend their stay too. Terry has proven he deserved an extension but Mourinho will have a lot to say to convince the board on the Lampard and Cole.

With the London club already considering the UEFA Financial Fair Play situation regarding their spending, Mourinho is bracing for a summer of huge decisions which could have a big effect on his ‘evolution’ project, especially with over 20 players on loan.

He can't afford to rely on Roman Abramovich to keep shelling out the funds to buy young players as his approach building for the future, as the club are desperate to produce players from the academy which has cost well over £60million. Disagreement over further signings were partly responsible for their previous break-up, while Michael Emenalo, the club's technical director, will also be keen to see how the manager consolidate on his work in talents management.

Mourinho hasn't shown he is ready to give the youngsters opportunities since returning to meet a much healthier youth set up than he left in 2007, the club’s authorities would be eager to see how the Portuguese fare in that area after this summer.

Both the Chelsea board and Mourinho are still sizing themselves up, but this summer’s big decisions will be crucial in testing the seeming serenity at Stamford Bridge.

 Chelsea fans won't mind enjoying the ride  with Mourinho as long as their team win, but he knows his employers are expecting more than the results.

Stop it! Enyeama is no overnight goalkeeping hero

Vincent Enyeama continued to make waves as an outstanding goalie after helping his French Ligue1 side, Lille to a huge win against top side Olympique Marseille Tuesday night.

It was another brilliant performance from the Nigeria captain who stretched his clean sheet to 11 successive games and 1035minutes without conceding a single goal, and 13 shut-outs from 16 matches this season.

Enyeama made four incredible saves, including a double one, as a rampaging Marseille bombarded his defence line, with his fiery look offering an impression of a man who was not ready to surrender his terrific streak. The cameras were on him, and suddenly there was more interest in a Ligue1 game than ever.

The countdown to history has begun, as the Super Eagles star closes in on Gaetan Huard’s 1,176minutes of clean sheet set in 1993, with Lille set to face Bordeaux (away) and Bastia (home) as the next games where the milestone could be re-written. 142minutes left to negotiate.

 Enyeama  with teammates after his heroics  Marseille.          PHOTO: LOSC 

Unsurprisingly, we have been hearing some interesting arguments on the impregnability of the Lille defence in a desperate attempt to downplay the contribution of the Nigerian. Without taking anything away from the performance of his club’s backline,  Enyeama’s stats of having kept out the last 33 shots he had faced (opta) doesn’t suggest he has merely benefited from being shielded by a Berlin Wall.

Then we’ve got the naysayers of “he’s just having a great season”. How dare you plant Enyeama into that ‘one-season wonder’ football cliché? Well you may not have heard of him, but sorry, you are probably a neophyte in international football affairs, not only at African level, but also the biggest stage.

Born 29, August, 1982, Enyeama had led Nigerian top division side Enyimba of Aba to national title in 2001 and repeated the feat in 2002, the same year he made his debut for his country in a preparatory match against Kenya barely a month to the start of the 2002 World Cup.

He got the nod from the then Nigeria coach and FIFA instructor, Adegboye Onigbinde who hurriedly assembled a fresh team after taking over from Amodu Shuaibu, the man who successfully oversaw the qualification campaign.

After his team’s losses to Argentina and Sweden in their opening two games, Onigbinde gave an acid test to the young Enyeama who was the understudy to national number one, Ike Shorunmu. He showed a nervy start but then pulled the save of the game diverting Paul Scholes’ customary pile-driver onto the upright. It was a watershed to greatness, but many never took notice.

A year later, the Nigeria captain led Enyimba to a domestic and continental double, becoming the first club in the country to win the CAF Champions League title, an African trophy he helped retained in 2004. He then joined local rivals, Heartland after which he left for Isreali side, Bnei Yehuda in 2005. It was somewhat an inauspicious move because Enyeama’s profile had risen tremendously on the continent.

Yet the goalkeeper remained consistent with his form and made another incredible mark at the 2006 African Cup of Nations competition where he helped the Super Eagles to a bronze medal feat, his second after achieving the same honour in his debut participation in 2004, . He saved FOUR penalties; one in the 15th minute to protect Nigeria’s early lead and three in the penalty shoot-out, including the deciding kick in the quarter finals of the Egypt 2006 edition.

Enyeama then led little known Bnei Yehuda to UEFA Cup qualification that year and consequently joined a more respectable Israeli outfit Hapoel Tel-Aviv, for whom he played in UEFA Champions League qualifiers. The goalkeeper also had a stint with Maccabi Tel Aviv and was notable as a penalty shooting specialist, apart from his shot-stopping exploits and won league and cup titles in the last two Israeli clubs.

The goalkeeper lost his national team place briefly to Austin Ejide’s whose towering frame and form was preferred by the then coach, Berti Vogts as he led Nigeria to the 2008 Nations Cup where the team failed to progress beyond the quarter finals. But he reclaimed his top spot soon after, helping the side to another bronze in the 2010 tournament in Angola.

Enyeama went on to rubbish possible suggestions that he was playing in a small league with successive official man-of-the-match awards in Nigeria’s opening two games against Argentina and Greece at the 2010 World Cup in South Africa. He denied the best tormentor there probably ever was, Lionel Messi, several times with outstanding saves to the frustration of their coach, Diego Maradona.

He was linked to a move to Premier League sides Bolton and Arsenal at different times, yet none materialised. Then after moving to Lille in 2011, he never had the opportunity until this season when he made his breakthrough.

By the way, is playing in a lowly rated team a yardstick to measure talent? Not a rule of thumb in football.  Yaya Toure was considered not good enough after his trial at Arsenal and had to move to Ukraine instead, and then Olympiacos, Monaco before his big move to Barcelona in summer 2007. In contrast brother Kolo was however signed by Wenger from Ivory Coast and he became a huge hit

Again, despite having won the 1995 Champions League trophy with home team Ajax and playing for Juventus, Edwin van Der Saar still had to join Fulham, an average team, before securing a great move to Manchester United and became a bigger goalkeeping icon.In contrast,  Jussi Jaaskelainen would not be reckoned with as a great goalie in Europe just because he spent his best years playing for Bolton.

George Weah never had a chance to win anything with his national team, Liberia, but he got to the pinnacle and became the world best in 1995 via an incredible club career involving spells at Monaco, PSG and AC Milan.

So before you trivialise Enyeama’s goalkeeping career, think again.

Eagles: some lessons from history

Nigeria face Ethiopia in the first leg of what has easily been described as an easy fixture, this weekend, as we battle for the final phase of the 2014 World Cup qualifiers.

Admittedly, one will have to say the Super Eagles enjoyed the luck of the draws, considering the fact Cote d’Ivoire are up against Senegal; Ghana will battle Egypt; Cameroun are up against Tunisia while Burkina Faso’s destiny is tied to the outcome of their fixture with Algeria.

Yes Nigeria have enjoyed a decent experience under the current manager, Stephen Keshi, in terms of record with 46.43% wins and 26.79% draws since his appointment in November 2011. It’s a performance which has led to the country’s first African Nations Cup in almost a decade and a not-so-bad outing at the FIFA Confederations Cup in Brazil in July.

Keshi’s steady progress with the team has once again stimulated the interest of Nigerians in the activities of the national team albeit it is important to note Nigeria have had to struggle a lot to reach this stage of the World Cup qualifiers. Despite our continental conquest in South Africa, the trio of Kenya, Namibia and Malawi have held the Eagles to draws.

The Harambee Stars of Kenya actually recorded their draws on their trip to Nigeria in a group F qualifier, a warning that the Eagles cannot afford a defeat in Addis Ababa this weekend, in order to avoid a nervy second leg in Calabar next month.

A cursory look at our pedigree in the world cup qualify campaigns in the past indicates the Eagles have never had an easy route, even against teams which could be referred to as minnows in African football.

1978 qualifiers

Nigeria had finished with bronze in the 1976 AFCON in Ethiopia where two of our players, Haruna Ilerika and Kunle Awesu made the best XI of the tournament won by Morocco, who had just one more named. So we had a strong team. Tunisia were not in the competition.

And after edging out Sierra Leone and Cote d’Ivoire in the previous rounds, the Eagles had put themselves in a terrific position by holding Tunisia to a goalless draw on September 25, 1977 in the final round of qualifiers for Spain 1982 Mundial.

 It looked a certainty in Lagos on a beautiful day of November 12, 1977 until the Eagles midfielder, Godwin Odiye scored an own goal to give the North Africans the World Cup ticket.

1982

Just like at present, the national team then called the Green Eagles were the reigning African champions, having triumphed on home soil in 1980 with a terrific squad including the likes of Emmanuel Okala, Segun Odegbami, Adokiye Amiesimaka, Christian Chukwu, Felix Owolabi and Muda Lawal.

Yet later that year, on June 6, 1980, Tanzania, who had finished bottom of our AFCON group with only a point, held our Eagles at home to a 1-1 draw after Nigeria had led the game 1-0 at half time. Well we went to Dar es Salaam to defeat them 2-0 the Eagles couldn’t escape elimination from the qualifying campaign in the next round.

Algeria, who the Eagles had trounced 3-0 in the final to become African kings shocked football lovers by avenging the defeat on our soil, beating the Eagles 2-0 on October 10, 1981 before confirming their ticket in Algiers at  2-1, 20 days later.

The above were in the period Nigeria had formidable teams and were expected to qualify for the competition but failed, even though it could be argued the oppositions. What the 2006 World Cup qualifiers where we failed again in a group consisting of Algeria (who had suffered a decline, and still do, in football) Rwanda, Gabon, Angola and Zimbabwe?

A defeat in Angola early in the qualifiers was enough to sound a strong warning for the Eagles. But it took a late goal from Obafemi Martins to rescue Nigeria from a lone goal defeat in Kigali in June 2005 before Angola shocked the Eagles with a 1-1 in the sunny Kano in June 2005.

That result in Kano turned to be the most disappointing outcome in the campaign as the Palancas Negras eliminated Nigeria on head-to-head rule after both teams tie on points. For a team comprising of Austin Okocha, Joseph Yobo, Obafemi Martins, Yakubu Aiyegbeni, Vincent Enyeama and Osaze Odemwingie, the 2006 World Cup qualifying campaign disaster was one of our lowest moments.

It was a low point for the Eagles led by Christian Chukwu but it heralded Angola as  debutantes in the Mundial in Germany.

As the Eagles fly out to Ethiopia for the first leg of the phase to Brazil, the words of Spain-born philosopher and essayist, George Santayana comes to mind. "Those who cannot remember the past are condemned to repeat it.”

Be careful Eagles, be careful.

 Jose's evolution still echoes his pragmatism

 Jose Mourinho took the extraordinary step to explain his controversial move of publicly declaring Oscar as the playmaker of his new Chelsea team on Saturday night.

 Mourinho was on SkySports’ post-match television interview where he gave candid view after his side bounced back to winning path with a 2-0 triumph over Fulham at Stamford Bridge following successive defeats to Everton and Basel.

 He said: “ I understand a lot of people like (Juan Mata) and believe he should play in that position but he has to adapt to the way we play because I’m not trying to change Oscar’s position. I think Oscar is a number 10, a player that gives us so much creativity but at the same time, when we want to press up (the pitch), he is a runner, a player capable of press(ing).”

 You can hardly fault that appraisal from the manager who went on to speak about Mata after being probed further on his expectations from the little Spaniard who who was not even considered for the substitutes bench for the Fulham clash.

UNCERTAINTY: Mata has struggled to fit into in Mourinho's plans

“Juan has to learn how to play the way I want to play. He has to be more consistent, more participative when the team lose the possession of the ball”, say the Blues manager who went on to make an incredible suggestion that Mata’s style had suited Chelsea’s ‘defensive style’ of play in the last few years.

 “I think it’s not his fault, it’s a consequence of the way he is playing in the last years. Since he arrived Chelsea was playing very defensive football with a low-block all the time.”

 No one is likely to win the tactical battle with the Portuguese considering his pedigree, and more importantly, his achievements in the game, neither would you be able to disregard his charm when he makes his points.

 But after watching the team against the Cottagers and as well as hearing Mourinho talk about the long term plan of evolution and style of his ‘ideal’ Chelsea, it is difficult to accept his arguments regarding non-suitability of Mata as the key playmaker.

 He said: “the ideal is to play high-block, to recover the ball very fast, to build well (from defence), to control the game, to be pro-active not reactive. The ideal is to have the ball possession and use it in a proper way and in my opinion we are not doing very well at the moment when the opponents close too much.”

 It is not difficult to figure out this is not a new philosophy, and Mourinho admitted it was not his style but one which was agreed upon with his employers. It’s a mission the Chelsea owner Roman Abramovich has been pursuing since his appointment of Felipe Scolari, then aggressively attempted with of Andre Villas-Boas in charge. Mourinho admitted it was not his style but which was agreed upon with his employers.

 Villas-Boas revolutionised the high-block defending at Chelsea, a decision against which senior squad members revolted and eventually led to his dismissal after a poor run overthrown an interesting start to his tenure. Yet it is fair to say his successor Roberto Di Matteo exploited the defensive strategy claimed by Mourinho, as the Blues went on to win the UEFA Champions League.

 Roberto Di Matteo was forced to change his conservative style at start of last season after his interim deal lapsed, especially with the arrival of Eden Hazard and Oscar. Again it produced some of the club’s best attacking football with Mata, at times playing on the right in a 4-2-3-1 before another poor run led to the change of manager.

 But then Rafa Benitez took over and built from low-block to medium-line defending and Chelsea returned to decent performances winning the Europa League and finishing third in the league. It has to be said that the team played a defensive game in the final against Benfica.

 Interestingly, Mata’s best spells were actually when the side played attacking and high-pressing football, and was terrible in both their Champions League and Europa League final matches, contrary to Mourinho’s claims.

The Spaniard loves the quick, short-passing that Mourinho hinted his new team is aiming to play. Mourinho’s new Chelsea have hardly demonstrated any high-pressing game since he took over in July, rather they have opted for defensive approach Bayern Munich and Manchester United, the two biggest matches of his new regime.  Surprisingly Mourinho didn’t feature the man he claimed is best suited for the style.

So how many top games are Chelsea going to play with defensive style in an era of ‘high-pressing’ game? We will have to wait to find out.

Mata’s record as a No 10 stands at 32 goals and 49 assists in 117 Chelsea appearances at the end of last season and it appears worrying that he is the main victim of reign which promises a more aggressive attacking football. The Blues attempted a highline defensive approach briefly against Fulham but the Cottagers left both John Terry and Gary Cahill flat as Darren Bent scoffed his shot straight at Petr Cech.

Mourinho is demanding that Mata proves him wrong by adapting to play on the right, not in his favourite central role. He’s trying to build a new playmaker with huge defensive participation, even though he’s already regimenting his wingers to defend to the byline and cover for full-backs.

So with two ultra-defensive central midfielders, Chelsea must be aiming for one of the most conservative attacking football, aren’t they? So far, they look like an incoherent counter-attacking side, rather than ‘pro-active’ Mourinho claimed.

The manager lamented after the Fulham game that Branislav Ivanovic was still launching aimless crosses as f Didier Drogba was still at Chelsea, yet ignored Azpilicueta who is a more technical & quicker defender.

Mata and Mesut Ozil are two of the best players in Europe with close control and movement between the lines which drags defensive opponents out of position, as well as possessing the intelligence to find the killer passes in the final third. Oscar is talented why hoping a talent matures in a role when you’ve got a proven alternative who is not in decline?

Mourinho moaned about defensive teams preventing his side to create chances, so it looks weird he does not see the need for Mata as the recipe for breakthrough. Instead he sees a weakness in him.

Surely, it doesn’t actually add up. Does it?


Written shortly after the Fulham game, published late

No kidding Jose, Chelsea are painful to watch

 “May your road be rough. I am not cursing you; I am wishing you what I wish myself every year! If you are not so sure what you should say back, why not just say, ‘Same to you’? I ask for no more.”

 These were lines from the late legendary Nigerian writer and activist, Tai Solarin from an article he published on the New Year day of 1964. The above words should offer some consolation and optimism to Chelsea fans after watching, agonisingly, as their team fell to an embarrassing 2-1 defeat Wednesday night to FC Basel of Switzerland.

 The dark part of the dawn is still to fade away in the new season, so it is quite early to press the panic button. Yet it’s the worst start to a campaign by any Blues team in a decade, so the fans’ frustration cannot be overemphasised. Not even when a team like Basel outwitted your team at home on a Champions League night.

But Jose Mourinho is under no illusion that the inquest has begun, regardless of his continuous clever attempt to play down expectations from his side by claiming they are a very young group.  He is surely aware that the team finished third last season and he has spent about £60million to fortify the team. They are an experienced side with quality young talents who are no novice in the game

 Mourinho has taken his side through pre-season, with top friendlies against the likes of AC Milan, Roma and Real Madrid, so he has had some time to reflect on the personality of his team, and the personnel suitable for success. 

 The defeat to Basel actually blew the lid on Chelsea’s unimpressive start to the season. They have had only two good performances, both coming inside the opening 45minutes. They were impressive in the first half of their season opening day win against Hull City and played really well at Everton until they conceded on the stroke of half time.

 Their defeat against Bayern Munich in the Super Cup was tight in result (lost on penalties) but their overall approach were conservative to limit danger more than entertain, just like they did at Old Trafford against Manchester United last month.

 Mourinho must take responsibility for how he has managed his squad and must start doing things differently if he wants a change. He needs to analyse why Chelsea are looking too predictable and are struggling to create chances.

 How predictable?  Chelsea are allowing their creative armoury to be shut down by two key problems; lack of dynamism and fluidity from the midfield in transition, and poor quality of support from full backs for attacking midfielders.

 Tactical formation and information are important, but the ability of the players to implement those ideas with their collective skills and intelligence are crucial to winning matches. For instance, Eden Hazard is a sort of player whose ability should put any full back on his back foot, but he can easily be frustrated if he is left alone to outwit two or more players (a defender and a supporting player) every time.

 Both Ashley Cole and Branislav Ivanovic, who have started all of the Blues’ games this season have failed to offer quality attacking width and reduce the burden of penetration on the shoulders of the playmakers behind the striker. What is happening to the duo of Juan Mata and Cesar Azpilicueta, two of the team’s top performers last season?

 Again in central midfield, Mourinho has struggled to find a solution to the problem of combining craft with defensive discipline. He has started box-to-box midfielders (Frank Lampard, Ramires and Marco Van Ginkel) in the holding role in all of his games except at Everton, where he opted for John Mikel Obi alongside Ramires. Michael Essien hasn’t featured for once, putting in doubts the decision to retain him for this season.

 It took David Luiz to find Hazard with a penetrative pass in the build-up to Chelsea's second goal in the Super Cup and the Brazilian was the lead creator again last night as he unlocked Basel for Oscar's strike, stepping into the middle to find Lampard who provided the assist.

While Luiz is primarily a centre back, it was no surprise that Rafa Benitez used him in the holding role, an indication there had been a problem with that position for a while.  Mourinho, though, signed Van Ginkel for that position, yet he only started his first game last night. So it doesn’t appear the Portuguese coach recognised the concern.

Van Ginkel and Lampard were both caught up inside the Basel’s territory during the counter attack leading to Muhammed Salah’s equaliser, with three players already engaging the Blues defenders. Both players still had another chance to intercept the cross leading to the goal but they were slow to react to the danger, perhaps a natural defensive midfielder could have done better.

The visitors’ winning goal was a devastator, as Marco Streller lost Gary Cahill to plant home a brilliant near-post header.

 “Our successes are conditioned by the amount of risk we are ready to take”, Solarin remarked in that famous article. Perhaps Mourinho will look to taking fresh risks to salvage the situation than relying on trusted lieutenants. As it stands, it’s not working.