Bobby Vincent and Scott Trotter got down to discuss everything happening at Chelsea, including the latest on Mauricio Pochettino’s chase of Arsenal’s loss and what it means for the club.
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Trotter, Scott: “They struggled a lot, especially in the first half.” After the game, Frank Lampard discussed how they didn’t do much right. He portrayed them as pleasant opponents, and he was correct. Arsenal didn’t have to be very excellent. Chelsea missed passes and was unable to get near Arsenal’s players. Even when they attempted to break, they were unable to locate any genuine openings. Ben Chilwell had an excellent chance in the first half.”They had a difficult time connecting. Noni Madueke had several explosive exchanges early on, but nothing came off, and it felt like it ended up coming to him so he could carry the ball and make something happen. Aubameyang joined the squad. I believe he got nine touches, which isn’t much fewer than what he had against Brentford, and looked good, but he didn’t have a shot in the opening 45 minutes. That’s not only his fault; it’s the fault of the entire squad.”What will be more upsetting for Chelsea fans is how the goals were surrendered. The first two goals, I believe, were both set up by Granit Xhaka and completed by Martin Odegaard. There was just no pressure. There was no competitive edge to attempt to shut it down, or anything else for that matter, and then the third goal; Azpilicueta got beat in the air too easily. Fofana and Silva were scurrying over, but it was out of desperation rather than calculation.”
Bobby Vincent: “I believe you’re correct. This [Chelsea] is currently the poorest team in the Premier League. Leeds, of course, have recently fired their manager yet again. “We’re running out of adjectives to describe how bad this Chelsea team has been.”In certain ways, I sympathize with Frank Lampard. But he also understood what he was getting himself into. Maybe he didn’t realize it would be this awful, but he understood how difficult it would be, and it’s shown that 100 times over. It is extremely difficult for him. It’s difficult to see how many of his admirers have turned against him. He [Lampard] made an intriguing point after the game when he said Chelsea are too pleasant to play against. Tuchel stated something similar earlier in the season against Southampton. He was urging his teammates to display a more savage side, as many of the elite teams do, but they just haven’t. You can sack managers as much as you can blame them; Tuchel, Graham Potter, Lampard, anyone – a lot has to do with people. That is why this summer is so crucial. We’ve seen all of these players arrive, but it appears like Chelsea will be releasing a large number of players this summer. That is one of the club’s many underlying issues. There are many good players, and some of them have demonstrated their worth to Chelsea throughout time, but they are not the appropriate players right now.”
Magnificent Madueke Trotter: “He appeared to be in good spirits. He found it difficult to get into the game right away. Previously, the connections were lacking in the first half. He had a handful of impressive runs. He had one through the center and then sought to feed Aubameyang, but he misjudged the path of the ball, which was unfortunate. He gave some perseverance down the right side in the second half. He’d go back and look for the things you’d like to see. I think he handled his goal admirably. He noticed Zinchenko dozing off for a few moments. It was a wonderful ball from Kovacic, and at first sight, it appeared that his shot had been stopped, and it was another fluky goal for Chelsea, but he smashed it into the ground and beat Ramsdale.”
“I just wanted to follow up on what you said about him earlier.” Chelsea was giving him the ball to sort of carry forward, which I think is good because Chelsea has all these wingers and attacking players, but not enough of them, in my opinion, drive forward with the ball and make brave decisions to try and take people on, which I think Madueke is…”
“I think Lampard mentioned before the game that he needs wingers who can also defend and do that side of the game,” Trotter says. Perhaps Mykhailo Mudryk needs to work on this aspect of his game before he can truly develop as a Premier League player. He had a somewhat open role for Shakhtar Donetsk, which was understandable given his speed. Madueke demonstrated that effort. It took him a time to break into Lampard’s squad, but he has since swiftly advanced to the first team. I believe we will see him again this weekend; he has earned the right.”
Mauricio Pochettino’s quest
“Before we started seeing all these Pochettino links, there were a lot of managers on the shortlist,” Vincent says. That may still be the case, but he appears to be the only name mentioned. Chelsea is optimistic about their ability to hire him. The affection is reciprocal. Pochettino still wants the position, but whatever role he takes will not be until the end of the season. In that regard, I suppose there is no urgency. But it would be wonderful for Chelsea to get it done and give those supporters something to look forward to because, while many of them believe it will happen, there is always that lingering uncertainty that he will change his mind because of how horrible things have been. If you’re a Chelsea supporter, all you want is for him to take the position right now and give you something to look forward to in the summer…”
“We saw Eghbali on that little video clip being all coy when asked about Pochettino,” Trotter says. They’ve been in Los Angeles, where they’ve met with Todd Boehly and, of course, attended a Lakers game. I believe it would be beneficial to make the news now to try to locate another lift. The last thing they should do is bring in Pochettino right now.”We were only half-joking when we asked if Lampard was under pressure, but I believe you must keep him until the conclusion of the season. I don’t believe there will be anything accomplished by then. If I were Pochettino, I would want nothing to do with this season.”
Journey to Bournemouth
“There isn’t much time for Lampard and his team to prepare,” Vincent says. They will have a day off before returning to training for two days before traveling to the south coast to face an in-form Bournemouth side. If they defeat Chelsea on Saturday, they will pass them. Gary O’Neil has done an excellent job. It surprised me when they offered him a full-time position. I expected they’d go with someone with a little more experience, but he’s shown to be a pretty good coach. Bournemouth are in excellent form, and they will want to avoid becoming complacent and guarantee their safety. I’ll ask you a question about Chelsea specifically. Do you anticipate many changes from what we witnessed at the Emirates?”
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“I’m sure there will be changes – it’s Chelsea, there are always changes at the moment,” Trotter says. It’s another quick turnaround, so Silva should be rested. “Perhaps it’s time to see Badiashile; I know a lot of people are eager for him to return to the team.”I believe Aubameyang will withdraw. “I thought Chelsea looked better with Havertz on the pitch [against Arsenal], and if he’s still recovering from that knee injury, he’ll probably be the guy who starts again, even if it’s not the ideal solution.”Sterling, I’m not sure if he’ll play. Because he has struggled in recent weeks, I believe he should be removed from the team, at the very least to the bench. A lot of things are starting to turn against him, especially on social media, so this may be a chance to see someone like Mudryk. There will be adjustments. I believe there needs to be a shift in what we see from Chelsea – they need to be up for it, commit to every challenge, and show some conviction. Bournemouth is excellent. Dominic Solanke is in excellent form, scoring and assisting. They’ve been in top form.”
“Bournemouth are going to like it,” Vincent predicts. They’re in excellent form, and I believe Gary O’Neil will attempt to avoid complacency, but he’ll be aware that this Bournemouth team, I haven’t looked, but they’re probably favorites [they aren’t].”The crowd will be up for it; there’s a fantastic vibe there. It’s a conventional ‘big-six’ team going to play in their backyard. So they’ll be ready for it on a Saturday afternoon when his side is performing well.”
