Against the backdrop of the tragic events in Leicester on Saturday evening, it seems trite – facile even – to be discussing play on the field. But, whilst pausing to offer through this column, one’s heartfelt sympathies to those affected; it must be acknowledged that life, and football, goes on.
For many Chelsea supporters making their way to Turf Moor for yesterday’s Premier League match against Burnley, the Leicester tragedy is likely to have brought to mind macabre parallels with the crash which claimed the life of Matthew Harding in 1996.
Harding was vice-Chairman of the club back in those pre-Abramovic days, when Chelsea were more similar to Burnley than they were to Manchester United, and more than they would probably like to admit.
Times have changed, and Chelsea today have come to embody, rightly or wrongly, everything we who live in the North of England have come to despise about London: privileged; elitist; entitled and (worst of all) wealthy.
They are infused with players of the highest possible quality and led by a coach, Maurizio Sarri, who, despite his lived-in features and hang-dog demeanour, seems to have infused those players with the notion that playing football for a living is in fact an enjoyable experience. This is something that by no means all the previous incumbents of the position have been able to convey.
For the first quarter of an hour or so yesterday, though, Burnley set about their illustrious opponents with purpose and vigour. For the first time in ages, Sean Dyche was able to assemble his first choice midfield and they started the game with some crisp and fluent passing moves which stretched Chelsea.
Then it all began to unravel. Jeff Hendrick was caught in possession on the half-way line, two passes later, Alvaro Morata had the Burnley goal at his mercy and wasn’t about to miss. It was Chelsea’s first meaningful attack, and it was gifted to them.
When faced with higher class opponents, it is vital that basic errors are avoided and Hendrick’s folly proved to be the turning point of the game. Thereafter Chelsea were in cruise control.
They are blessed with players of exceptional ability and a depth of resource that Burnley can only dream about. The absence of their talisman, Eden Hazard, nor the early injury to his replacement, Pedro, mattered not a jot. Ruben Loftus-Cheek came on and if anything, Chelsea improved even more.
Three second half goals followed; from Ross Barkley, Willian (both of whom were superb on the day) and the aforementioned Loftus-Cheek, condemning Burnley to their second hammering in as many games. If anything, this was even more emphatic than the one suffered at the Etihad eight days previously.
All the elements which combined to make Burnley such an efficient unit last season are currently missing: resolve, determination, spirit, confidence, defensive organisation and efficiency in front of goal. All of which leaves Clarets supporters to ask two questions of Dyche and the players; what has gone wrong and how do they propose to fix it?
Perhaps Dyche has squeezed every last drop of endeavour from this set of players; perhaps they simply have nothing more to give? If that is the case, then a major overhaul was surely called for during the summer.
Instead, Burnley recruited a goalkeeper, a centre back (neither of which were positions in which Burnley were weak) and a striker who it seems the manager doesn’t trust enough to play.
Then there is Dyche himself. The programme for yesterday’s match noted that this was the sixth anniversary of him joining the club. They have been years of unprecedented success and Dyche has rightly won many plaudits for his work at Burnley.
But perhaps the time is approaching where the team would benefit from a different voice in the dressing room, maybe Sean Dyche’s style is starting to wear a little thin?
That is thinking the unthinkable; but if results, and performance levels, don’t improve quickly, then the Board will be faced with a tough decision ahead of a January transfer window in which they must show more assertiveness. That is if they cherish Burnley’s continued Premier League status as much as we supporters.
This rather gloomy appraisal of the Clarets current situation was written by the ever thoughtful Dave Thornley, who contributes regularly for Clarets Mad.