Chelsea’s defence of their Premier League crown this season has not quite been as bad as their last under Jose Mourinho, but as it stands it have been far from impressive.
The Blues are in dire form in 2018, and have lost four out of their last five league fixtures. There is also the constant speculation surrounding the future of their manager Antonio Conte after his public falling out with the Stamford Bridge club’s board over transfer policy.
Chelsea’s recent performance in their 1-0 defeat to Man City came in for some heavy criticism for it’s lack of direction or intensity.
Writing in his weekly column in the Telegraph former Liverpool midfielder Danny Murphy questioned whether Chelsea players have become bored with Conte’s methods.
“Whatever your job, you have to be able to enjoy what you do. It doesn’t matter how much you are paid, if work is boring and repetitive it will create a negative mindset that will eventually cause problems.”
“I ask myself whether that is happening at Chelsea. My understanding is that Antonio Conte can be quite overbearing and insistent on certain ways within training. That can become tedious.”
“Maybe the Chelsea players have simply had enough of Conte’s sessions, because it was such a strange performance at Manchester City last Sunday. Maybe they did not understand or believe in his tactics on the day, and that was what made them look so lethargic and passive – qualities you never expect from a Conte team.” Murphy wrote.
Chelsea’s sloppy league form has seen them drop five points behind fourth placed Spurs in the Premier League table, and they are now faced with a serious battle to finish in the top four this season.
