I am so sick of this. Look, I have defended AVB as best I can
since his arrival. Now though, I am finally sick of this. I hate the
team we have become and are becoming. It's disgusting. As I mentioned
below, we are looking like a bunch of Barcelona wannabees, and let's face
it, ticki-taka football simply isn't our style. Chelsea is known for
playing an attractive brand of football (at least before Mourinho, but I'll get back to that) with a bit of "swag" about it that reflects the popular Kings Road image; that variety of attractive, possession based football is not ours, and has never been ours. The Chelsea I fell in
love with, as was the one most of you surely did, was the one which was
the most dangerous team in the world on the counter. The one that put 3
players into the opposition penalty area when the ball was played out
wide and seemed to score a header every week from open play. The one
that would see players like Zola and Gudjonson break past the defense
and dink the ball over the keeper, and Hasselbank and Tore Andre Flo
muscle past defenders to win headers and power shots into the net from
10 yards out. That same team that had the vision of Wise and poyet and
petit in midfield. Then Mourinho came in, and perfected this. The
likes of Drogba, Gudjonsen and Lampard each provided those same attributes as the players already mentioned, and
our defense was made into what was arguably most formidable ever. Any time a team had to visit the
bridge, they knew that they would get no more than a point from that
match, and only if they were lucky as can be.
That's right, I fell in love with the counter-attacking play of old, and
was further put into awe by the adaptation of this style brought by
Mourinho. Yes, I miss the Boring Chelsea. Every team
has a style particular to them. Can that change over time, yes. The
question is, do we really want a change? Do we want to be known as the
Barca copycats? Personally, I don't. I like the identity Chelsea has
had for the past 50 years, and I wish more than anything that no one had
ever begun to try and give up that identity for the sake of looking
like the over-glorified Catalans. I am proud of my club, and for god's
sake, I am proud of the style that this club has become known for, and I
don't ever want to lose that.
Have a look at these videos, and tell me the football we used to play wasn't what we all love.
In those videos, do notice that of the 15 or so goals shown, almost ten were scored in less than 15 seconds after we moved the ball past the field's center line. Can you even imagine seeing us do that now? Do you even remember the last time we had a player clean through on goal? I can't. Hell, I can barely remember the last time we scored a header from open play. Half hour goals this season have been pure luck from efforts by players like Mata who simply tried a shot he probably shouldn't have because chances weren't coming from anywhere else.
I don't necessarily want AVB to go; I want continuity. But let's face
it, the style he is going for, just won't work for this club, and
really, can it succeed in this league? I don't believe it can.
