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Every Chelsea manager since Antonio Conte during the 2017-2018 season has said at some point that "these players lack motivation." Five seasons have passed since the club last won the title, and each season the same complaints about the players have been made. During this period, the club spent £791.5 million and won five trophies but finished nowhere near the top two in the Premier League.
During this period, we observed a common belief amongst all managers that came to the fore. In this article, we look at the striking parallels between four different managers and one similar understanding that all four shared when it came to the players.
Chelsea Under Antonio Conte
The 2017-18 season began with the club as the title holders. Conte had just won the league, the board had spent money in the transfer window, and all anyone had was optimism. That bubble popped on the opening day when Burnley beat the Blues at Stamford Bridge 2-3. The team lost three more games and drew five while winning 15.
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It wasn't a poor run, but this was the season that Manchester City managed 100 points, so there was no scope for dropped points. Conte and co then lost four of their next five games and six overall over the remaining 14 games, starting in January 2018. The team finished the season in fifth place. Conte won the FA Cup and was sacked. As per an ESPN report, Conte said the following towards the end of the season:
"They must have great respect for this badge. They don't have to play for the coach. They have to play for the club and the fans, to show great character like today. This is the best possible way for a player to show he is a fantastic professional."
Chelsea Under Maurizio Sarri
Maurizio Sarri replaced Conte during the summer of 2018 and brought a new style of possession-based football to the club. They won their first five games and were unbeaten until match week 12. The team were in third position, four points behind leaders Manchester City. Three losses over the next 10 games saw the club drop down to fourth in the table.
Mid-way through January came the annual run of poor form. The team went through three losses in four games, including a 6-0 loss to Manchester City. The club had dropped down to sixth by this stage. The team ended the season with one win in five, finishing third in the league and winning the Europa League. Sarri said the following in January 2019 following a loss to Arsenal. (as seen in a BBC Sport report)
"This defeat was due to our mentality, more than anything else. This is something I can't accept.
"This group of players are extremely difficult to motivate."
Chelsea Under Frank Lampard
The 2020-2021 season, which was Frank Lampard's second full season in charge, brought renewed hope, and the hierarchy spent big to back him in the market. The team sat two points from the top by the 11th game of the season, and Lampard's future looked good. Five losses in seven games followed, and by the end of January, the West London club sat 10th in the table. Lampard was sacked following a poor run of form.
ESPN reported that Lampard struggled to motivate the senior players in the dressing room. Here are some important excerpts from the report:
"Lampard struggled to consistently motivate Chelsea's veteran players, something that disappointed senior figures at the club. The hierarchy also grew frustrated at a lack of clear identity on the pitch and the failure of their big-money stars to hit the ground running, even if mitigation for Lampard should come in the condensed schedule and constrained environment resulting from COVID-19."
Chelsea Under Thomas Tuchel
This season, under Thomas Tuchel, the team lost only one of 14 games at the start and sat top of the table by a point at the start of December. The dreaded winter period brought three wins in 10 games, and the club were far off the top two by the end of January. The team has recovered, but once again as the season comes to a close, a poor run of form has come along.
When asked what Tuchel could do to motivate the players after a loss to West Ham United, Tuchel made the following statement when asked what to say to motivate his players (as seen in Absolute Chelsea's tweet above):
"I don't know actually. I am very disappointed. Very frustrated. I don't know what we do against West Ham"
Tuchel has said on a couple of occasions that maybe like lemons, some of these players have been squeezed to their limits. It is time the Blues bought fresh lemons and a fresh mentality.
