Is Jose Mourino at it again?

 

"I was unhappy with my medical staff. They were impulsive and naïve. Whether you are a kit man, doctor or secretary on the bench you have to understand the game. You have to know you have one player less and to assist a player you must be sure he has a
serious problem. I was sure Eden did not have a serious problem. He had a knock. He was tired." These were the words of Chelsea manager Jose Mourinho on Eva Carneiro (Chelsea's Spanish Team Doctor); In a game that Chelsea drew 2-2 after Thaibut Coutouis was sent off for a goalscoring foul on Bafetimi Gomis on the 54th minute. The question is why Mourinho publicly criticased  his medical staff when he could easily and conviniently have a talk with them in private. Was mourinho trying to divert attention and criticism from some of his player's? The answer is YES. While the team did not particularly play badly, two players were a shadow of themselves all through the match.   Eva Carneiro deserves recommendation and applauds for her works at Chelsea.  To appreciate Carneiro better one needs to look at Arsenal with the reoccurring injuries to Theo Walcott,  Oxlade Chamberlain,  Aaron Ramsey last season, Manchester City- Stefan Jovetic, Kun Aguero,  Samir Nasri and Liverpool- Daniel Stutidge,  Mamadou Sahko and Glen Johnson all through last season.

Right back Branislav Ivanovic might have been the best right back in the EPL last season but on saturday, Ecuadorian winger Jefferson Moreno terrorised him all afternoon and it is due to his poor marking that Moreno crossed and created the first goal for Gomis' header and Ayew's goal. It was clear that though Ivanovic has excelled at right back for years, his best position was central defence. His lack of pace was exposed several times by Moreno and it was a relief he did not concede a penalty or sent off while marking the Ecuadorian.   The second player who was guilty all evening was defender Garry Cahill. While John Terry occupied and marked Gomis to near perfection, this made the work of Cahill simpler by playing as the last man of defence. Twice Cahill lost concentration and twice Gomis was put 1 on 1 with Courtois with a Jonjo Shelvey's through ball; of which the second was the penalty. Cahill is one of the finest defenders in the world but his inability to concentrate for the whole 90 minutes has been the achilles hill in his career. Cahill always has a lapse in concentration in crucial stages of the match and an example is his loss of concentration in the build up to the through pass of Shelvey for the Penalty. Also in the second match of th 2014 World Cup in Brazil, between England and  Uruguay in the group stage, Cahill again lost concentration which allowed Luis Suarez to score the second goal for Uruguay and send England home after the first round.

These are two main areas Mourinho should work on rather than making his medical staff the scape goat. In a game of 90mins, how come Chelsea couldn't kill off the game earlier, and then put the blame on the team doctor for his own negligence.   The good news is that Chelsea presently do not miss Petr Cech as Asmir Begovic proved not just a deputy but a Contender for top spot with Thaibaut Courtois. Begovic made more than six difficult saves in his 40minutes in goal. Chelsea fans will not lose sleep over the inability of Courtois to play against Manchester City next week if he loses his red card appeal. The form of Willian and Oscar is also top quality and is such that the influence of Star man Eden Hazard is to the bearest minimum in the two matches so far. What should occupy the thought and mind of Mourinho is the problem in his defence (Cahill and Ivanovic) and the inability of defensive Midfielder Nemanja Matic to shield the defence like he did last season. Against Arsenal, Matic was outclassed by both Oxlade Chamberlain and Coquelin and against Swansea, Jonjo Shelvey and Ki Sung-yueng. If that is allowed then Chelsea may not be able to defend their EPL trophy this season. Jose Mourinho should instead concentrate on his team and job instead of causing controversy against his own staff. This only makes him look like a desperate and confused man and he should borrow a leaf from arch-enemy Arsene Wenger, who gave no excuses and accepted defeat after his team were beaten hands down by West Ham on Sunday. Its still too early to predict but Chelsea need to get their acts together to return to their best form.