Confidence cracking at Chelsea?

One point from our last two games, one win in five. What has changed?...

A shocking, yet desperately unfortunate loss away at Arsenal, followed by an underwhelming draw at home vs Aston Villa has everyone associated with Chelsea simply seething…

I was on a flight to Hawaii as many will know at the time the Arsenal game was on. Once I landed and saw a 3-1 score line, people on the plane thought I saw a ghost; shock was the overwhelming emotion. I have since watched the game and in short, we were flat, stunned and never recovered.

To shed some further light on this game, I was incredibly shocked to learn Reece James was starting the game. I had heard earlier in the day Chilwell had miraculously recovered from his setback, however, it wasn’t as miraculous as many imagined.

Reece was a surprise for even the most connected. The rest of the line-up was standard procedure. I believe many were happy with the eleven chosen, so no excuses going in to the game.

Honestly, Arsenal just wanted it more.

Tactics, which is something I thoroughly enjoy learning and analysing, were not the key fault in Chelsea’s plan. Yes, we didn’t play quick enough, yes the ball movement and transitions were lazy. However, it was more about lack of effort and competing more than anything.

As I said earlier, we were simply flat. Between the penalty and once in a blue moon free kick from Xhaka, Chelsea were simply stunned and never recovered.

Saka’s accidental cross come goal was the cherry on an icing that was made from the pre-condition that this game was always going Arsenal’s way.

It happens, everything can go one team’s way on a day, it did for the North London derby.

I understand 3-1 to a team out of form is an embarrassment in itself. However, they are still Arsenal, they won’t be relegated and they love playing us, that’s the fact of the matter. Chelsea never showed up, we deserved the result.

Many questions were asked of Lampard’s tactics, shape, manipulation of the ball by Chelsea and more. I know many would love for me and others to give them the exact reason as to what happened, perhaps some long-winded tactical masterclass, but this wasn’t the game. Grit, fight and will to win won this one.

Mikel Arteta and Arsenal did their homework and prepared like their jobs depended on it, and executed us.

Let’s move on to Aston Villa…

I managed to watch the game in bed in its entirety, taking notes as I do and analysing many of the deeper components of the game. Lampard made changes, he had to, fair game.

Nevertheless, this was a weakened side, our back four and midfield was second choice for the most part, aside from the obvious. I predicted a draw on Twitter before, the fixture just had that feel.

We started okay, our wingers immediately stamping their authority, and proving how important they are to our system in general. Aston Villa competed well and showed they were up for a game, who’d blame them coming off their recent form.

Around 5-10 minutes before our opening goal, I was growing frustrated at our lack of cutting edge and failed execution of half chances, the draw felt closer than ever.

Cue, Olivier Giroud, with a trademark header to put us in front, Olivier does exactly what it says on the tin. 1-0 lead at half time.

It was great to see us take the lead into the break, this is always a good sign.

Nevertheless, Villa had moments, the centre-back partnership of Christensen and Rudiger always worries me, and I never felt truly confident we could kick on, given our recent form and rotated team.

This same showing of wariness clearly was felt by the players, as we came out in the second half flat and clearly lacking an edge needed to extend, or even protect our lead. Christensen in a nutshell happened, let’s just leave it at that, and Villa were level.

We responded to the goal okay. Hudson-Odoi & Pulisic remained lively alongside Mount, but that was really it.

I felt the changes came too late again from Lampard, Jorginho was on the field far too long and Tammy could’ve come on earlier himself.

However, the changes made were the correct ones. Evidently, we couldn’t break through and we left with what I considered a deflating point at home against an in-form Villa team.

Whilst I understand Aston Villa are flying at the minute, like many, I believe we should be beating them regardless, given our superior level of quality in our squad. Why didn’t we? That leads to my next point…

Confidence, defined by google as:

”A feeling of self-assurance arising from one’s appreciation of one’s own abilities or qualities.”

Confidence is paramount in sports, period. The mental side of the game is more apparent now than ever before in sports history. It’s the side of the game that I personally struggled with, and a huge reason why many of the best talents don’t quite reach the cream of their own crop. It’s one of the only singular, tangible elements that can completely change a person in themselves, and their output.

Lets relate it back to Chelsea. Do you honestly look at Edouard Mendy and see the same confident, monstrous figure you saw when he first arrived in England?

How about Kai Havertz, who simply hasn’t got going yet, due to being a little unsettled and seemingly, not confident.

What about Christian Pulisic, who hasn’t regained his same blistering form pre-COVID break, primarily due to injuries, which would dent anyone’s confidence.

Finally, arguably the best example of them all, Timo Werner. Timo is known for being a mentally strong individual. However, nobody can deny the guys confidence has dropped significantly since his capable start to life in England.

Is confidence the only issue at Chelsea Football Club right now? Not by any stretch. Lampard has been out coached recently, by coaches with more experience and time to build their own identity within the teams. This is going to happen, Lampard is admittedly learning too, he is still young in the job. Players have underperformed recently, we can all acknowledge that.

This odd season certainly has affected everyone also, yet it has absolutely affected Chelsea more than others. When you spend the amount of money Roman Abramovich did, bringing in six of your eleven new starting team, pre-season is even more fundamental than in usual circumstances. Add on top the fact Lampard is still in the process of teaching his philosophy, which many argue they cannot see and I can agree to the extent that I haven’t seen much of it either recently, but I have seen it, this is a tough chemistry class indeed.

Ups and downs in football happen, even to the best teams this sport has ever seen. This is a young squad, with a young manager and a young project in place. Chelsea have made it very clear they are heading in a new direction, with a new philosophy and project in place.

Gone are the days of immediate success, flipping managers and such. Today is a new day in West London, we must be as patient as Roman and Marina appear to be as of now.

I’m not getting into Lampard in and out. Many know how I feel, and why I feel it. I work in this profession, and will always choose to back the manager first. I backed Antonio Conte, I backed Maurizio Sarri and you’ll certainly see me backing our club legend, Frank Lampard.

I understand many saying we need to separate the player from the coach, I really do. I was hesitant when Lampard first came in, I thought it was too early personally. However, he is here now, and I for one thoroughly enjoy having someone at the helm who gets, loves and truly wants the best for our club and it’s fans.

If you cannot afford patience and back Frank Lampard as the head coach of Chelsea Football Club, I don’t know who we can back anymore. Chelsea fans, we will be back.

Written by Dan McCarthy - @MaccaSport