Chelsea should be allowed to return to Chelsea

Chelsea has been trying for years to become "Barcelona in blue". Maurizio Sarri has made the biggest effort but it is time to let Chelsea return to Chelsea.

In a brawl contest, Chelsea defeated Crystal Palace. After the match, coach Jose Mourinho was asked how that had happened. Asking for a pen and paper, he simply wrote "big bullets".

It is fair to say that this is not the case now. Everyone will have an opinion as to why and who is to blame. But it could be as simple as saying that Chelsea had a culture as a club and that somewhere along the line was considered insufficient.

In just a few weeks, Ole Gunnar Solskjaer provided the perfect example of what happens when a club returns to its culture. Solskjaer let Manchester United become Manchester United again. And it's high time that Chelsea return to Chelsea.

The Blues began to lose their way when Pep Guardiola exploded on the stage. What Guardiola did in Barcelona attracted the attention of Roman Abramovich. Suddenly, there was a strong desire to be "Barcelona in Blue".

The Blues bought a very technical player after a very technical player. They charged Andre Villas-Boas to remove the players who are not up to par. He failed and Roberto Di Matteo won a double by playing Chelsea.

When Jose Mourinho was named for the second time or Antonio Conte after him, it seemed that the Blues had renounced to become Barcelona. But the lady of Conte's last few months, barely two years after Mourinho's implosion, seemed to revive the desire to become Barcelona. It probably helped Guardiola ignite the Premier League with Manchester City at the same time.

Maurizio Sarri was therefore hired and supported in order to make Chelsea the new "Barcelona in Blue". And this has generally followed the same path as under Villas-Boas. Players have been ostracized in almost every way just because they are not considered useful. We rely on a very small group of selected players, because the same plan, in the same format, is repeated again and again. Sarri says he only knows "his way" and wants the team to play "his football".

But "his football", whatever it is, is not Chelsea football. A good question to ask is "what is Chelsea's culture, their style of play?" The answer was always there, people simply chose to ignore it or despise it.

The Blues have managed to empower leaders. Not just having good ones, but giving them the ability to make decisions and support themselves. This created a problem of player power that some managers have dropped. But by not empowering leaders, Chelsea lost the courage that made them special.

The Blues could absorb everything that even Guardiola's "best all-time team" could throw at them. And after absorbing it, they would counter lightning as the players decided what they were going to do. There were no circuits or repeated routines to find.

From top to bottom, Chelsea had the steel to withstand any storm and silk to knock the opponent over. The Blues could adapt to the task, no matter what it was. But it was not always pretty, so as Guardiola grew, the belief that football can only be played in one direction.

Solskjaer's United is a perfect example of a club's culture. United under Sir Alex Ferguson was not a team of good players. Most were average. But he tweaked and played until finding the right formula to turn an average individual into a world class team. He looked at their strengths and used them, but most importantly, he trusted them to make the right decisions. "His way" was what made his side feel the most comfortable with themselves.

United has lost a lot in the years following Ferguson's retirement. David Moyes did not command the same respect. Lois Van Gaal did not trust the players enough. And Mourinho failed to instill in United the steel he instilled in Chelsea the first time. But all this changed under Solskjaer.

For most of this season, United has been a team of terrific players playing terribly. Even those who blame Mourinho for everything, could have said that the team was not good enough. But Solskjaer came in and trusted the players. He let United be United again. And they have only been on the upward direction.

If Sarri is the manager, he will have to let Chelsea return to Chelsea. He may have "his way" on time, but for the moment he has to trust his players. He needs to see what they can and can not do and he needs to put them in a position to succeed. If he does, if he lets Chelsea be Chelsea, the Blues can reverse the situation and Sarri can deserve "his way".

But if Sarri refuses to do what he must do to save himself and save Chelsea, he will be fired for good reason. The Premier League does not allow pure ideologues at the top. Even Guardiola adapts to the need. So the question will become who comes next?

The answer should be "someone who lets Chelsea be Chelsea". Chelsea may one day become Barcelona in blue, but that will not happen with a change of manager and a rebuild. In the meantime, the Blues must do what has made them successful for so long. And whoever enters must understand that if he wants to survive.