Eto'o, Torres and Ba haven't scored and it's Chelsea's worst start in the Abramovich era

Losing 2-1 at home to Basle was a dreadful way for Chelsea to start their European campaign. Suddenly, good judges are questioning Jose Mourinho, who in turn questions the maturity and ‘personality’ of his players.

‘Individually we didn’t turn up, it’s very bad for the team,’ said John Mikel Obi.

Four games without a win — three straight losses if you include the shoot-out defeat by Bayern Munich in the UEFA Super Cup — was not what anybody expected when the Special One returned. So why is it all going wrong?

Characterless: Both Rafa Benitez and, thus far, Jose Mourinho have struggled to give Chelsea an identity

 

ARROWS FROM SKY

‘If it wasn’t Jose Mourinho, you’d be thinking, “What’s this guy up to? What’s their best system? What’s their identity? How do they play?”,’ said Jamie Redknapp on Sky Sports, summing up Chelsea’s problem that a recruitment policy driven at an executive level is presenting the manager with an unbalanced squad.

Rafa Benitez noted this but his interim role gave him no real voice. Mourinho is encountering the same after summer trading failed to address clear weaknesses. Chelsea did not strengthen at centre half, did not land a forceful central midfielder, although Marco van Ginkel may one day be one, and perhaps most crucially  did not sign the kind of centre forward the manager desired.

Back on Sky, Jamie Carragher said: 'No matter how many players you’ve got, if you haven’t got a centre forward — a top striker — a lot of it falls down. At the moment it’s like they’re a man down before they start.'

One day: Marco van Ginkel might become the top class centre-midfielder the club need

BEAUTY OF HINDSIGHT

Chelsea got complacent in their pursuit of Wayne Rooney. They thought they had him when they did not.

Mourinho wanted someone with physical presence, capable of scoring 20 goals but with the touch, vision and awareness to combine with the twinkled-toed starlets around him. 

They ended up with Samuel Eto’o and doubts exist about how much Mourinho wanted someone who had developed a reputation for coasting at Anzhi Makhachkala.

Did he really want/need Willian? Mourinho enjoyed the mischief of stealing him from AVB and Spurs but it has forced Victor Moses and Romelu Lukaku out on loan, two players who would have happily contributed from the fringes of the Chelsea team. The millions spent to rescue Eto’o and Willian from an Anzhi fire sale could have been invested to improve weaker areas.

Asked about Willian after the Basle defeat, Mourinho said: 'I don’t think it’s the time to speak about individual performances.'

Asked about Eto’o, he said: 'Maybe he lacks sharpness but when you are two-and-a-half years in a place that doesn’t motivate you, maybe you lose the hunger. He has that back. The sharpness and technique to score, maybe we have to wait, but he’s a great player.’ 

Tough luck: Samuel Eto'o is currently lacking sharpness and looks rusty

NO PUNCH IN ATTACK

Mourinho has tried to blast sharpness back into Eto’o with 180 minutes in two games, which has limited the involvement of Ba (14 minutes) and Torres (21 min).

The fact that he went to Old Trafford and played without a centre forward, even before Lukaku was released on loan, suggests Mourinho is not satisfied that he has the right man to spearhead  his team. 

Lukaku, strong and free-running, may have suited the old Mourinho system but this team demands a centre forward who has the touch and vision to combine with those around him.

Sidelined: Romelu Lukaku has been loaned to Everton for the season

MYSTERY OF MATA

Goals have not vanished, even if seven in six games is down on nine at this stage last season, but Mourinho has found it difficult to strike a balance between solidity in defence and creativity in attack.

From his deeper role, Frank  Lampard cannot find as many  scoring positions. Juan Mata, with 21 goals last season, cannot get on the pitch. He has played three times — replaced after 57 and 65 minutes — and sent on for 23 minutes against Basle.

‘I still can’t believe he’s not picking Juan Mata,’ said Redknapp. ‘Mata has to play.’ Many Chelsea fans will agree and with anyone but Mourinho they would have made their feelings known more clearly.

Mourinho prefers Oscar as his playmaker. The Brazilian offers a little more resistance, puts his foot in and, it has to be said, is in glorious form. Mourinho also likes Hazard’s power and pace out wide. 

Brief: Juan Mata has not spent many minutes on the pitch this season

TIME TO TAKE RISKS?

With the transfer window closed, all Mourinho can do is shuffle his squad and hope his psychological tricks can squeeze something extra from someone.

Can he accommodate Mata without losing Oscar’s impact? Can he release Lampard and play with more risk without exposing his back four? He can also apply pressure on his backroom team, try to encourage spirit through a tricky sequence of games ahead.

It starts with a derby against Fulham on Saturday followed by four away games: a cup tie in Swindon, a grudge match at Spurs intensified by the Willian fall-out, a trip to Steaua, who beat Chelsea in Bucharest last time, and then Norwich.

Then into the next international break, by which point some things will be a lot clearer.

Up the ante: Chelsea wound up Spurs by beating them to the signature of Willian

 

 

 

Mourinho holds crisis talks with squad after Blues slump to successive defeats

Jose Mourinho demanded immediate improvements from his shell-shocked Chelsea players during a meeting with the entire squad at their Cobham training centre.

The manager called his players together following Wednesday’s Champions League defeat against Basle which came after a 1-0 loss at Everton.

There was also a pointed dressing-room visit from owner Roman Abramovich, but he did not usurp Mourinho’s authority on team matters.

 

Expecting better: Jose Mourinho has demanded improvement from his Chelsea players

As is customary, he spoke to a number of players about their performance, but there is no sign of tension, just acceptance that the form must change after a tricky start to Mourinho’s second spell at Chelsea.

Some of the points raised by Mourinho at Cobham have been interpreted as ‘constructive’ and ‘positive’, but a number of players were left in no doubt their places are under threat.

Despite Chelsea’s poor start,  the players remain committed to their coach and his  methods. There is genuine frustration among all players and coaching staff about their failure to improve their goalscoring form.

Not the start they wanted: Chelsea suffered a shock home defeat to Basel in their opening Champions League game

Fernando Torres, axed from the squad against Basle, is the only recognised striker to score for Chelsea this season while Samuel Eto’o, signed from Anzhi Makhachkala last month, has been far from impressive in his opening two games.

Mourinho addressed his positioning during talks on Thursday as he began preparing for the west London derby with Fulham on Saturday.

Not impressed: Chelsea's owner Roman Abramovich walks back after going to the Chelsea dressing room

Skipper John Terry, who was dropped for the 2-1 defeat on Wednesday, is expected to be recalled.

Mourinho selected  David Luiz to start in the defeat at Goodison Park, but he was blamed for poor positioning for Everton’s winner.

Although Luiz indicated that he wanted to play, it has emerged he was  jet-lagged following his return from international duty with Brazil. There is a concern at Chelsea as to why his performances dip for his club despite often impressing for his country.

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