Chelsea manager Antonio Conte found himself walking on thin ice after the most recent poor run of results from the Premier League champions.
Defeats to Burnley, Manchester City and Crystal Palace in Chelsea’s first eight Premier League games make for the club’s second-worst start to a league campaign since Roman Abramovich took over in 2003 and the Italian manager is beginning to feel the pressure.
Pressure Builds
His position at the helm has come under great scrutiny with increasing reports suggesting that Chelsea chiefs are growing frustrated with Conte’s excuses to explain underwhelming results.
In addition to their poor Premier League run and two defeats on the trot, Chelsea have thrown away a two-goal lead over AS Roma in the Champions League clash during the week to eventually claw back to a 3-3 draw at Stamford Bridge.
The British media report that a post-match meeting was called on Wednesday to discuss the underwhelming result which left Blues with a two-point advantage over their Italian rivals on top of Group C.
A report from The Sun suggests that Chelsea officials have started predicting what excuse would Antonio Conte use to justify the poor results after most recently citing fixture congestion and growing injury list as two main reasons behind Chelsea’s failure to replicate the last season’s exploits.
Conte claimed Chelsea were in an ‘emergency situation’ due to the growing injury crisis, while the Italian manager is facing another problem in paradise with his players reportedly turning their backs on him.
Players’ Unrest
In a Mourinho-esque scenario all too familiar at Chelsea, Antonio Conte faces a battle from within the dressing room. Current Manchester United manager Jose Mourinho lost the dressing room in his final season at Stamford Bridge and got sacked for it in the end. Antonio Conte is risking getting the same faith with his players growing increasingly unhappy with the workload.
The Times claim several Chelsea first-team stars are unhappy with the intensity of the training regime and – although still supportive of their boss – they blame the three training sessions a day programme for the growing list of injured stars.
Chelsea head into the Saturday’s clash against Watford without N’Golo Kante, Victor Moses and Danny Drinkwater while David Luiz and Tiemoue Bakayoko picked up injuries against AS Roma that could keep them out of tomorrow’s clash.
Watford a Crucial Test
The Blues are nevertheless installed as favourites at 4/11 betting odds to beat Watford which is a price worthy of a second thought given Watford’s proclivity toward taking a big scalp as Arsenal win will attest.
And with news of player unrest threatening to ruin the atmosphere within the Chelsea camp even further, the Blues’ house of cards could very easily come crumbling down. Antonio Conte has built a strong reputation of a soldier-like manager who likes to push his players to their limits and it appears that Chelsea stars are becoming fed up with it.
Conte has decided to stick with the same training regime he deployed last season when Chelsea were not involved in European competitions and it’s fair to say the Italian risks bigger problems if he decides to stick with three sessions a day for much longer.
Conte Could Leave
Former Juventus manager is wearing his heart on a sleeve and his most recent behaviour is enough to suggest that not everything is well at Chelsea. Known for his exuberant displays of passion when his side scores, Antonio Conte is no longer that happy and joyful.
His lack of passion during David Luiz’s opening goal against AS Roma was enough to suggest problems and concerns, possibly even pointing to near end of the road for the Italian.
Antonio Conte has emerged as a choice on the list of Premier League managers to leave the post and is a fourth favourite to be given a boot behind Ronald Koeman, Sean Dyche and Slaven Bilic with 16/1 betting odds next to his name.
If he continues to push hard with the army-like training and to complain about the lack of depth – implicating his displeasure over the lack of transfer activity last summer – it will only be a question of time before Roman Abramovich gives him a thumb down.
Unless Antonio Conte decides to leave himself before that, of course.
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