A disastrous month for Chelsea has left everybody asking questions, do the manager and players have a future at the club?
Star player: Daniel Sturridge
Notable mentions: Juan Mata, Frank Lampard
Must do better: Petr Cech, Didier Drogba, Fernando Torres, the list is endless.
Manager: Andre Villas-Boas suddenly looks to be struggling to get to grips with the team’s losing streak. He may well intend to stick around for the long haul, but the bookies are lowering the odds on his departure, especially now Guus Hiddink has become available.
Grade: C
Verdict: If Chelsea had beaten QPR a month ago they would have overtaken Manchester United and moved into second place. That disastrous defeat disrupted a winning rhythm, and led to losses at home to Arsenal and Liverpool. Now even their Champions League future is under threat, resting on a final home game to Valencia. The question is, will the young Portuguese manager be given the time to sort out the problems he has inherited, or will Abramovich press the reset button once again?
Too many players are under performing, with veteran strikers Drogba and Anelka seemingly on their way out, while Villas-Boas looks to have almost given up on the enigmatic Fernando Torres in recent games. Daniel Sturridge has been a bright spark, and Frank Lampard’s goal scoring touch is as timely as ever, but surely summer signing Romelu Lukaku deserves to be given an opportunity.
Despite the gloom around Stamford Bridge, Chelsea are in a similar league position to both rivals Arsenal and Liverpool, and a quick run of successive wins can lift the atmosphere around the club.
image: © wonker
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