Might not the need to sack him after what happened today

I'm not usually quick to call for somebodies head but I'm on the verge of changing from Hokey Cokey to out.

Yes the team did put on a better performance and overall in the 120mins I thought we could have sneaked it if Kante had taken his chance. But I'm seeing signs the manager isn't fulfilling his managerial duties. Aside from the tactical and set up decisions he has to make there are other important issues that he needs to have input.

1. If Kepa is being an asshole Sarri should have had a word with the forth official to get permission to send Cuddicini onto the pitch to at least see what the problem was. He didn't take control of the situation. I know Kepa was being stupid but to walk away and get halfway down the tunnel is indicative of a man who has lost his composure. Sarri lost control and appears to have lost the respect of the players.

2. The toss ups for penalties was equally shambolic. Azpilequeta won the fist toss but hesitated on choosing which end the penalties should be taken. He also won the second toss deciding which team would go first. He didn't know. He had to go over and ask David Luiz if he wanted to go first or not. It may not sound like much but all eventualities should be covered by the manager. If the players want to make a decision that's fine but the manager should make sure they make this decision before the match. There should be a drill for this eventuality and everybody should know what is happening. They didn't and it all looked a bit ad hoc.

3. He should have had a word with Jorghino about his penalty taking. Somebody should. Did he honestly think he could continue to pull that hop skip and a chip routine for ever. Maybe it's just me but as soon as he walked up I knew he the keeper would make the save if he did the same old trick. How wasn't this discussed?

I'm probably being sentimental here but I'm only changing my vote from Hokey Cokey to shake it all about on the grounds that he did change the set up and it's a bit too soon for the Tottenham game.

COYB!

If we don;t win against Spurs, could be the end of Sarri. He finally made some changes last night, and almost pulled off a miracle. The question is, why did he wait this long? Was the change really made by him, or forced on by players? Based on that little incident on the field, I tend to think the players had a lot to say/do with how we played. Like someone summarized before, he should have been more forceful with Kepa, think he will regret that moment many times. It's extremely difficult for the manager to succeed when players aren't listening, they have may do it for an one off cup game, we will find out if anything really changed come Wednesday.

3 minutes ago, icecoolguy22 said:

He finally made some changes last night, and almost pulled off a miracle. The question is, why did he wait this long? Was the change really made by him, or forced on by players? Based on that little incident on the field, I tend to think the players had a lot to say/do with how we played.

I think it is important not to get carried away with how we played in the Cup Final. I think it worked only in the context of avoiding the 6-0 drubbing last time out against City. A salient point for me is that in 120 minutes of football we failed to register a shot on target ... I think he deserves more time to get it right with his Plan A, and certainly so if Plan B is the attritional backs to the wall stuff that made as perhaps the least impressive Champions League Winners in recent history ...

We don't deserve Sarri has has too much respect, too Humble and respectful for us.

Unless we are thrashed by Spurs I think Sarri should be given a couple more games.  If the players clearly now down tools than yes he needs to go.

For me sticking with Emmerson and playing Barkley instead of Kovacic are positive moves and show flexibility.

Additionally by getting Kepa to alternate between kicking and passing out from the back we confused City.

 

Much, much better yesterday. Think he got the line-up right and the subs were exactly as I was calling them.

More of that and I will be happy for him to stay and try and build something. Day was tarnished not so much by losing on penalties but by the Kepa fiasco. Don't really blame Sarri for that but think it will have taught him he needs a stronger captain.

Now lets go and do Sp*rs............................ 

17 minutes ago, Brutos said:

We don't deserve Sarri has has too much respect, too Humble and respectful for us.

And maybe that’s the problem? 

Nice guys finish last and all that.

To be a successful manager of a top club you need to have ruthless streak and ultimately Sarri might just be a bit too soft for the demands of managing Chelsea.

thats the spirit nibo !!!!

4 minutes ago, Nibs said:

Much, much better yesterday. Think he got the line-up right and the subs were exactly as I was calling them.

More of that and I will be happy for him to stay and try and build something. Day was tarnished not so much by losing on penalties but by the Kepa fiasco. Don't really blame Sarri for that but think it will have taught him he needs a stronger captain.

Now lets go and do Sp*rs............................ 

I'm very near the end of my patience with Sarri and for me he doesn't get off scott free on the Kepa incident. He has a Captain on the pitch who can go over to see what the problem was. He also could have had a word with the 4th official to send somebody else, a trainer or Cuddicini, to either get him off or find out what was going on. He didn't do anything other than throw a hissy fit and run off half way down the tunnel. He lost his composure rather than take affirmative action. He needs to be bigger than that if he is going to win anything. It was a final and he came up wanting.

The Kepa thing is indicative of the respect the players have for him.

I'm not letting Kepa off either. From what I can make out he was saying he wasn't injured and was OK to play on. If that was the case why did he go down and get treatment on two occasions just before the incident? Cramp? Nobody has ever heard of a goalkeeper getting cramp. That's nonsense. I think he was time wasting. What else could it have been? I think he was feeling the pressure and wanted to slow the game down. I have to say I felt at that time in the game Chelsea were creating chances and getting forward. At the very time we had a chance to win Kepa was time wasting. The old team wouldn't have done this. The Lampard/Terry era team would have gone for the kill.

31 minutes ago, ForeverCarefree said:

And maybe that’s the problem? 

Nice guys finish last and all that.

To be a successful manager of a top club you need to have ruthless streak and ultimately Sarri might just be a bit too soft for the demands of managing Chelsea.

Either he’s too soft or he’s too stubborn/inflexible and pigheaded, which has been the usual criticism until now. Those criticisms seem pretty contradictory to me.

Just look at his ruthless „freezing out“ of Cahill, and the way he has infuriated some of the fanbase by arrogantly sticking to his guns and refusing to comform to their expectations re. team selection and tactics. 

2 minutes ago, bluedave said:

Either he’s too soft or he’s too stubborn/inflexible and pigheaded, which has been the usual criticism until now. Those criticisms seem pretty contradictory to me.

Just look at his ruthless „freezing out“ of Cahill, and the way he has infuriated some of the fanbase by arrogantly sticking to his guns and refusing to comform to their expectations re. team selection and tactics. 

Not sure they are contradictory.

He can be stubborn with his ideology and insistent on wanting to play a certain way but doesn’t mean he commands respect on a man management level. A lack of authority can lead to the ideology falling flat because you don’t have the respect of the players to want to play that way. 

Not saying this is what’s happening with Sarri but just showing how the two things, in my mind, are separate. 

The Cahill thing if he’s frozen him out (“if” being the key word) and not spoken to him that can be seen as poor man management especially as Cahill doesn’t appear to have done anything to warrant being marginalised.

I think we have to keep the faith in Sarri. It has been a rough month for sure, but now it’s alnost the end of a such a tough run of fixtures and we can start again after Spurs.

Sarri has adapted and it almost beat City, who thrashed us 6 - 0 just a couple of weeks ago. I think at this moment Sarri realises he has to adapt or he’s a goner.

It will be interesting to see how we play against Tottenham. Another good performance like yesterday then I’ll feel confident we’ll improve.

I think we have to keep the faith in Sarri. It has been a rough month for sure, but now it’s alnost the end of a such a tough run of fixtures and we can start again after Spurs.
Sarri has adapted and it almost beat City, who thrashed us 6 - 0 just a couple of weeks ago. I think at this moment Sarri realises he has to adapt or he’s a goner.
It will be interesting to see how we play against Tottenham. Another good performance like yesterday then I’ll feel confident we’ll improve.

I suspect we may see a similar tactic against spurs and if we do go that way I believe we will beat them.

1 hour ago, Sexyfootball said:

I think it is important not to get carried away with how we played in the Cup Final. I think it worked only in the context of avoiding the 6-0 drubbing last time out against City. A salient point for me is that in 120 minutes of football we failed to register a shot on target ... I think he deserves more time to get it right with his Plan A, and certainly so if Plan B is the attritional backs to the wall stuff that made as perhaps the least impressive Champions League Winners in recent history ...

This for me is key; it will be interesting how we lineup and how he sets up the team. If he has learnt anything it will be that he has to move the press 10m back so we don’t get exposed.

It will be interesting if he starts with Hazard upfront again, and if Alonso comes back into the team. You are right about the no shots on goal, you can’t win a match if you don’t work the GK.

I dont think we will play with a false 9 against spurs, but I dont think we will go back to the high press either. 

A win against spurs would be massive, with 6 or 7 very winnable games after that, we could get back some control in the top 4 race. 

If we lose, then it could be the end. 

It doesn't seem to me like he has lost the dressing room though, we have been found wanting tactically a few times, but I would say individual mistakes have been crucifying us in recent weeks. 

Hopefully sarri continues with emerson, and we see more or RLC and CHO, then he has a chance of turning this around.

3 minutes ago, ducavis said:

This for me is key; it will be interesting how we lineup and how he sets up the team. If he has learnt anything it will be that he has to move the press 10m back so we don’t get exposed.

It will be interesting if he starts with Hazard upfront again, and if Alonso comes back into the team. You are right about the no shots on goal, you can’t win a match if you don’t work the GK.

But stats aren't telling the full story because City's shots on target were not troubling. You only have to watch the game, especially in the 2nd half, to see that chances were created, it's just players made the wrong decision/s etc. Kante's chance could easily have been on target if he had stroked the ball better, Pedro should have had a go on goal instead of make the decision to pass the ball, and Hazard was onside for a one on one with their keeper.

Off the top of my head, those were three big moments in the game which on another day may have gone in. It's like City in the 6-0 win, Aguero could take the same long shot many times and we will likely never see a goal like that from Aguero probably all season. On the day it's all about the clinicalness and decision making. Actually the shots on target was incorrect yesterday because Willian got a free kick on target which Ederson tipped over the bar, so there's 1 shot on target at least haha. 

For the people saying Sarri should have sent on someone to talk to Kepa..... correct me if I'm wrong, but isn't it against the rules to send people on the pitch during a match?

Kepa wasn't down injured (physio had been and gone at this point) he was standing and wagging his finger, so unless Im mistaken anyone who went on to have a word would have actually been seen as a pitch invader, no?

Wonder what Kepas answer to this question would be?

9 hours ago, Andy North said:

I'm very near the end of my patience with Sarri and for me he doesn't get off scott free on the Kepa incident. He has a Captain on the pitch who can go over to see what the problem was. He also could have had a word with the 4th official to send somebody else, a trainer or Cuddicini, to either get him off or find out what was going on. He didn't do anything other than throw a hissy fit and run off half way down the tunnel. He lost his composure rather than take affirmative action. He needs to be bigger than that if he is going to win anything. It was a final and he came up wanting.

The Kepa thing is indicative of the respect the players have for him.

I'm not letting Kepa off either. From what I can make out he was saying he wasn't injured and was OK to play on. If that was the case why did he go down and get treatment on two occasions just before the incident? Cramp? Nobody has ever heard of a goalkeeper getting cramp. That's nonsense. I think he was time wasting. What else could it have been? I think he was feeling the pressure and wanted to slow the game down. I have to say I felt at that time in the game Chelsea were creating chances and getting forward. At the very time we had a chance to win Kepa was time wasting. The old team wouldn't have done this. The Lampard/Terry era team would have gone for the kill.

To endorse these points, seeing how Klopp pulled back his captain, Henderson, because he didn't acknowledge him when he left the pitch, could you imagine how Klopp would have dealt with this scenario. You wouldn't have gone back in the dressing room would you? Fck my clothes, i'm off home in me kit on!!

Did you see the huddle before the pen shoot out and the desire in the players. I’m in the Sarri out camp but he was in the middle of that group and I was surprised at how together they all looked. I’m not buying the player power thing this time I think it’s just a simple case of Serie A is slower and easier than the Prem and Sarri is out of his depth here. 

6 minutes ago, Diamondgeezer said:

Did you see the huddle before the pen shoot out and the desire in the players. I’m in the Sarri out camp but he was in the middle of that group and I was surprised at how together they all looked. I’m not buying the player power thing this time I think it’s just a simple case of Serie A is slower and easier than the Prem and Sarri is out of his depth here. 

Fat lot of good it did. We lost.

Given no pre season, not many signings, a patchwork squad put together without any long term vision or idea and his alternative to jorginho let go without replacement...

He's shouldnt be in danger of being sacked, and I read guardiola's comments about us never being a realistic option for him with interest but no surprise. 

The club behaves as if it can (and does) mask a lack of strategy by outspending its competition even though it cannot (and does not). 

Regarding the Kepa incident, two medical staff came on and off twice. The manager or Cudicini are not allowed on the field of play, the medical staff should have escorted him off the pitch or Kepa should have just walked. 

2 minutes ago, axman2526 said:

Fat lot of good it did. We lost.

You really are determined to stay gloomy and negative, aren't you