I am here to defend Carlo Ancelotti against the grave calumny committed against him on these pages in recent days.

Blood has been spilled, gentlemen. Innocent blood. Spilled so thick it puts an abattoir to shame. Spilled so deep the International Red Cross has enquired about pumping it out for the needy.

Slim Ancelotti

Speak of Carlo, isn’t he doing a nice job of watching his weight these stressful days? It’s nice to see that the self-confessed gourmand isn’t medicating himself with food. A sure sign of his splendid character, I think we’d all agree.

But back to the calumny. The charge againstCarlo is that despite having adequate talent, he’s allowed Chelsea to slump into some kind of alphabet soup, the letters LWLLDDDLLDL featuring most prominently.

Let’s state the obvious, just for the record. Managers not named Mourinho usually get too little credit and too much blame. Let’s remember that we’re talking about a two-time European Cup winner and the winner of a domestic double. When was that? Oh yes, just last season.

So either the man forgot an awful lot in a short time, or circumstances have conspired against him.

It says here that Ancelotti is a victim of forces beyond his control. What forces? I’m glad you asked.

He’s powerless

Carlo Ancelotti is the frontman. He’s on the sidelines and he’s in front of the cameras at press conferences.

But he’s not running Chelsea. That honor belongs to Frank Arnesen on the football side and Ron Gourlay on the business side. To reiterate, Ancelotti doesn’t have control over transfers. He doesn’t have control over budget. All he can do is a pick a team from the players provided to him.

Gourlay-Arnesen

It’s not his flawed strategy

Frank Arnesen, the guy responsible for the football decisions, has been fired. Nicely, but fired nonetheless. Why? Because he and Gourlay have combined to pursue a disastrous strategy.

The two plotted to reduce Chelsea’s budget imbalance by slashing wages (at one time they were 70% of turnover), reducing transfer fees and raising their kids.

So they axed highly-paid but stalwart professionals like Ballack, Carvalho, Belletti, Joe Cole, Deco and Cudicini. Yes, they were on the downside of their careers. But don’t you think Carvalho and Ballack would have been useful this season? Perhaps Joe Cole, too.

In their place they inserted Ramires, Benayoun, Kakuta, McEachran, van Aanholt, Bruma and Sturridge. Not a big name among them.

The result is a old squad that is injury-prone, thin and inexperienced.

And don’t think Ron Gourlay isn’t on shaky ground too. If Chelsea miss out on Champions League money he may join pal Frankie in the unemployment line.

The kids are not alright

Many of you say the kids should get more playing time. But which of them has earned it with his play on the field?

Bruma, who averages a goal conceded per appearance? van Aanholt to displace Ashley Cole? Kakuta, who’s made no impact? Sturridge, who has scored one Premier League goal for Chelsea in two years? McEacharan, a frail-looking 17 year-old boy who failed to shine when given a start in the Champions League?

These are the players Ancelotti should turn to when the senior players are off form? Are you having a laugh?

Now, young players grow and improve. There’s some suggestion that both McEachran and Sturridge have found better form in the last two weeks. And they may yet see more playing time. Chelsea have only played one match since the two ran riot in a reserve match and the FA Cup tie against Ipswich.

I don’t think it’s asking too much to give Ancelotti more than one game before crucifying him for refusing to play in-form youngsters.

He can too change tactics

When Ancelotti first came to Chelsea he tried to install his favored diamond midfield with Lampard at the tip. Another newcomer to Stamford Bridge once tried the very same tactic. His name? Jose Mourinho.

Both managers eventually recognized that neither their players nor the Premier League were well-suited to the diamond formation. And they both reverted to a more standard flat formation.

So you can’t tell me that Ancelotti is inflexible in his tactical approach. Anyone who watched the 2-0 win over Arsenal this season recognizes that Ancelotti crafted a game plan which clogged the middle and reduced Arsenal to weak crosses against Chelsea’s taller defenders.

If you want Alex Ferguson-type changes, for example his switches from two strikers to a single striker, you need the players to make the change. You’ll notice that Berbatov was on the bench the game after scoring 5 goals. You can’t change tactics willy-nilly. You need players who fit certain roles. Ferguson has the squad flexibility. Ancelotti doesn’t.

If, despite this, you change tactics when things are going wrong, you send your players the terrible message that you’re panicking. That everything you’ve preached until now has been wrong.

Losers do that, not winners. Winners believe in themselves and their tactics. Especially when they won the double with them the year before.

Players are people too

This, I think, is something everyone overlooks.

Carlo Ancelotti and his players feel like they’ve been castrated by Chelsea’s management. This has had a significant impact on their morale and their effort.

The players saw talent leaving and no talent coming in. They saw money concerns trumping results on the field.

And as a result they began to think the club didn’t have their best interests at heart. Did Chelsea really want to win?

Then Ray Wilkins was fired. A small thing on its own. But a massive thing when taken with all the other events.

I believe the players completely lost faith in Chelsea’s front office management. They saw their manager exposed as so powerless he couldn’t even pick his own assistant.

A dead man walking.

And without consciously doing so, they stopped playing with heart for a management they believed lacked passion and vision. Who wants to play for bosses who are cold and calculating and inept?

Players are people too.

Convinced? Be like the jurors in the film 12 Angry Men and change your vote!

I, like a Roman Emperor, shall now cast thumbs up or thumbs down on Carlo Ancelotti

    • View Results

Loading ... Loading …