FanPost

Where is the Real Chelsea?

From the age of four I remember waking up on the weekends to my father cheering in my living room. Yes Zola!!!!!! Yes Jimmy!!!!!!! Yes Frank!!!!!!! Yes Drogba!!! I grew up with Chelsea in my house for as long as I could remember. I looked forward to every game and had to watch it. I remember when I got my first smart phone 3 years ago and how my father would yell at me for going over my Internet data plan would allow me. I would make sure I could at least catch the game cast on wherever I could find it.

It used to be exciting watching Chelsea play or even reading comments on live game chats. Great effort from Drogba, Ballack, Anelka, Malouda, Lampard, etc! Chelsea were always lively and played with passion. Even last year with all the problems with AVB, I remember passionate performances against Valencia, Manchester City, and even the game against United that finished 3-3. The players tried to do well for the club and the passion was there. We won the Champions League, one of the greatest things I had witnessed. We had signed Hazard, Oscar, Marin, Moses and Azpilicueta! I could not wait for this season because I figured that with only one creative player at Chelsea in Juan Mata, the squad was still playing good. I could only imagine how good we would play with 3!

This excitement and "beautiful" football would not last long though. The performances started getting worse and worse but the passion was not yet the problem. It was more the imbalance between defense and attack. The passion seemed to truly be lost on a depressing day in Turin. The squad played horrible. There was no plan for what to do. It seemed like they had given up. When RDM was sacked, it only got worse.

The performances under Benitez have been just terrible. There is no drive, no penetration, no plan to even get a shot. Besides the easy games like Aston Villa, when have Chelsea really played well? Especially now Chelsea has been uninspired and just awful. We get out-possessed by teams from the Czech Republic and Romania. I do not mean to disrespect anybody who is from the countries mentioned but the teams in countries like these do not spend the amount of money Chelsea do nor do they have the quality of our squad. So what is the problem? Why are we not putting away games like these? Why can Manchester United (who in my opinion do not have as TALENTED a squad as Chelsea) put games away? Why can Manchester City score loads of goals and take their chances? Why does Chelsea not play with heart anymore?

It seems that with all the talent this squad possesses, it is nothing without drive, passion, and a want to win. At Manchester United, everybody wants to win. They have that mentality and the same goes for Manchester City. We were high flying in the league until the game against United at the Bridge. What happened? It seems as if that loss destroyed all the confidence our young team had. We now play like a lethargic bunch of old men! It is as if Chelsea players do not even want to score anymore!

We cannot always blame Benitez! Though he is at fault for many things that is wrong with the squad Yossi Benayoun is still a better player then anybody from Sparta Prague or Steau Bucharest. We should not be allowing them to out-possess us or dominate us. There is nothing beautiful about the way we play. I honestly do not want to play like Barcelona. I want to play like Chelsea. We do not need to replicate a team's playing style when there is nothing wrong with ours. I would much rather us grind teams down, counter attack with great speed, and win games 3-0 then try to play like Barcelona. We cannot just try and basically pass the ball into the net. We just need to score!

Jose Mourinho was always slated as playing a boring type of football. What is boring about beautifully orchestrated fast breaks by one of the most athletic and talented teams in the world. Real Madrid may counter attack, but there is nothing ugly or boring about it. It is intense and exciting. It just reminds me of when I would watch Damien Duff and Arjen Robben grind teams down with their shear pace and skill. It was quick and kept you on the edge of your feet. Most importantly though, Chelsea would win, and win convincingly.

The Chelsea of today does not have much of that spine left. It seems that the Chelsea team of today does not play with that same passion, intensity, and swagger. Chelsea is not fun to watch anymore. I do not like watching Chelsea play anymore. It only makes me more upset. What happened to the days of Gudjohnsen, Robben, Duff, a young Essien, Makelele, Carvalho and the rest of that great squad? It has become evident that a squad like that will not be seen for a very long time.

I do not get excited nowadays when Chelsea plays. I have literally had the last straw with how the squad plays. I do not need to watch a Barbie-doll lead a line and basically leave the team a man down. I do not need to see a team that doesn't give their strikers even 1 chance to score against easy opposition. I do not need to see a team with no passion or drive to even get a shot on goal let alone score. This team does not want to win or at least most of the players don't. I do not wake up and hear my dad cheering at the television, I only hear the sound of the commentators. Maybe my father is right, the team just isn't that good. I mean I do not even bother looking at the game casts when on a free period in school. I literally only look at my twitter to see what people think of how bad the team is playing. Unfortunately it seems to have become the same thing over and over, which is quite boring. It seems that I myself have lost respect of a side that I always adored.

Something has changed about my faith in Chelsea. I came to this realization during the game against Reading when we Reading when we were up 2-0. When Reading scored, I knew that they would get another. This would have never happened with a Chelsea side of even 2 years ago let alone 6 or 7. It isn't fun watching your team not have the ability to finish off weaker opposition and it has sickened me.

Chelsea used to make me happy, they used to give me something else to look forward to. I had and still have a great passion for the club and always will. At this point in time though, they just want to make me scream and cry. I just can't bother to watch or pay attention anymore because it has seemed to have gotten worse, not better, overtime. This has truly been Chelsea of the last 12 years at their ultimate low.

What do you guys think? I think my rant has made my views clear. I would love to hear yours!

This FanPost was contributed by a member of the community and was not subject to any sort of approval process. It does not necessarily reflect the opinions held by the editors of this site.

In This FanPost

Teams