Let's be honest about it, currently, the team is coached and managed a tier below the other top level clubs.
We have had games against big clubs like City / Chelsea / Utd mostly in the cups where we have gone in with a predominantly defensive plan initially and succeeded ; it was well-executed. For our main set-up though, the most common one we have used throughout the season...well, this game, again, was a reflection of that. It's simply a level below an effective unit.
Now I don't know many sports, but I do know football and I do know boxing, and at the most basic level, I see them as one and the same. Played / boxed to reasonable levels in both. The things is, in boxing, if you went at your opponent constantly, mainly with the basic movements without any effective combinations, you'll be forced to learn very quickly to adapt and improve your methods due to the amount of time you spend face down on the canvas and pissing blood in the mornings among other things. Unfortunately in football, getting the ball quickly into the final third, and lofting the ball again and again into the box is considered beautiful to watch, when in truth, it's effectiveness that is beautiful imo. This tends to obscure the urgent need for improvement. For a large number of games, that is what we have done this season, our ineffective performances explained away as being beautiful football.
This game had elements of that, in that we totally committed ourselves to attacking after going 2 goals down, around the 60 minute mark, and kept Chelsea penned in for large parts of the game till the final few minutes, when they broke out and killed off the game. The issue was, when the game was in the balance as a contest, when a well-organised team given an advantage by their coaching could have taken the initiative, dominated - the first 60 minutes - we were distinctly second best. Chelsea found it easy to get their rehearsed patterns of play going, particularly when retaining the ball down the line in the middle third, they found it easy to play through Spearing and Stevie in the centre, the forward runs from Ramires was a potent weapon for a while, unchecked; Drogba was holding up anything that was launched at him. These things, planning for Ramires, planning to counteract their set patterns (something that would have been evident from their previous games) all come under what the coaches / Kenny could have done to give the team an advantage. Playing such a soft centre was also a decision taken pre-game.
There is nothing glorious or great to committing yourself to an all out attack game once you're 2 goals down. There is nothing beautiful about getting forced into a decision, and when we did throw everything into attack, a solid, aerially dominant unit like Chelsea are going to withstand it most times. We scored off a mistake from them, and the only truly penetrative attack we had from those thirty odd minutes was Carroll's header saved by Cech. All the time, with every pass forward, getting defenders and midfielders further forward than they normally do, getting more men into the box / final third, then we normally do in balance, you face the greatest possible risk of a counter. Chelsea, again, were organised in attack to exploit these situations, and Kalou and Drogba could have killed it off in the early surge of our momentum.
Look, the players and their deficiences were evident early on: Downing only started playing before halftime, and did a reasonable job till the end. Not top level, but then again he never was, if he had put in a performance like that for every game this season, he wouldn't be a big worry. Squad player, but not useless waster. As it is, he's probably the worst 'pro' we've had at the club in a while, at his best, competent, but his best is only the semi-final or final of a competition, about 3 or 4 times a season if you're lucky. Fuck that. Henderson wasn't done any favours asked to play wide, but he did what he could. Pepe was poor. All these things are true.
But the biggest issue with putting the team out there, one we've had for the entire season, is how they're set-up to play. Players like Hendo, Enrique, Downing need a good set-up to enable them to contribute more than just their individual quality. Let's not fuck around here, a club with our stadium, with our apparent resources, needs the absolute best from the coaching / management side of things if we're going to stand a chance to compete at the top end - Champions league qualification and league titles. A lot, lot more is required from Kenny, as the man with the ulimate responsibility on this.
Now they have merited the next season, but the biggest improvement if we're to actually improve rather than regress next season will have to come from them rather than the players.
