EXCLUSIVE: The Blues have been in incredible form
this season but their former left-back believes Jose Mourinho must shed
his pragmatism if they are to capture hearts and minds
Jose Mourinho must let his Chelsea players off the leash if they are to successfully establish themselves as the entertainers of English football, according to former Blues star Graeme Le Saux.
The Londoners have made a blistering start to the season, surging to a three-point lead at the top of the Premier League after 16 games and qualifying for the knockout stage of the Champions League and quarter-finals of the League Cup with ease.
Along the way they have scored more goals (36) than any other team in the top flight, with Diego Costa, Eden Hazard, Oscar and Cesc Fabregas accounting for 22 between them and combining to produce some of the most flowing and creative football of the Roman Abramovich era.
In typical Mourinho fashion Chelsea have also been supreme front-runners – winning nine and drawing two of the 11 Premier League matches that they have led at half-time this season and tasting defeat just once in 24 games in all competitions. No-one has conceded fewer than their 13 goals.
But while he believes that their approach could well yield trophies, Le Saux – who played alongside Gianfranco Zola, Roberto Di Matteo and Gus Poyet in a team regarded by many as the most thrilling in Chelsea's history – believes that Mourinho might have to shed his pragmatic instincts if his team are to follow suit and capture the hearts and minds of neutrals.
"They've certainly got a huge amount of creativity and, if you look at the freedom the creative players have - whether it's Hazard, Willian, Costa is a fantastic player as well and there are countless others you can name - they are a hugely entertaining team to watch,
"I watch a lot of football because I work for NBC and, being objective, I enjoy watching Chelsea play because they offer a huge amount of flair.
"If there's any criticism of the team and the way they perform, it's that point in a game where Jose decides he's going to close the game up and they're very good at doing that as well.
"As someone watching it, you think 'you're 2-0 up, go on and get another couple' but he's very good at closing a game up as well.
"Our team were very exciting because you never quite knew what you were going to get! We could be 2-0 up in a game and lose 3-2 like we did against Arsenal and be quite frustrating because we were always trying to score another goal.
"We took teams apart when we played well and scored a lot of goals. We weren't as consistent as Mourinho's teams and weren't able to win the league but we had a phenomenal ability to play good, open and entertaining football."
Chelsea take on Derby County in the League Cup quarter-finals at the iPro Stadium on Tuesday and Mourinho appears set to name a strong team as he aims to win the competition that provided his first piece of English silverware in February 2005.
The Portuguese credited that triumph with giving his first great Blues side the belief to go on and end the club's 50-year wait for a league title and Le Saux agrees that League Cup success could achieve a similar purpose with the current burgeoning crop at Stamford Bridge.
"Creating that winning mentality is vital for a coach and momentum through the season is crucial when you're a team like Chelsea," he added.
"Whichever teams get through to the semis will feel they're on the verge of creating a huge amount of positive energy for their players and Chelsea aren't any different.
"Getting a trophy under your belt in March is something I think can spur a team on through Easter and to the end of the season."
0 comments:
Post a Comment