Mauricio Pochettino has told Chelsea’s players they need to be more naughty if they are to reach the level required to move on from an indifferent start to the season.
The team have dominated for long periods in all four Premier League games so far but defensive errors and a continued lack of penetration in attack have meant they have picked up just four points and sit 12th.
Defeat at home to Nottingham Forest before the international break was a microcosm of the side’s early struggles under Pochettino, with the visitors’ Anthony Elanga allowed to run freely through the heart of Chelsea’s defence to score the game’s only goal before striker Nicolas Jackson skied a gilt-edged chance to rescue a point.
It mirrored the loss to West Ham in August in which the team controlled the first half at the London Stadium before allowing their hosts to nick a 3-1 win, thanks in part to a missed penalty from Enzo Fernandez and a spot-kick conceded by record-signing Moises Caicedo on his debut.
The manager said that whilst performances warranted a greater points return, his players need to sharpen their competitive instincts if they are to make good on his stated aim of returning the club to the Champions League.
The team face Bournemouth at the Vitality Stadium on Sunday looking to win away from home for only the second time since March.
“The team performance was good in the first month,” said Pochettino. “We didn’t get the points that we deserved. The organisation was good, the way that want to play. Players believe in the way that we want to play.
“If you see the data, we are very good in possession, we are very good in construction and building. Only what we are missing is to score goals. That’s the most important thing in football.
“We want to be more competitive. We cannot concede this type of goal we conceded against Nottingham. We cannot be so weak, we need to be more solid. We have players with experience, players that can do better.
“At the moment I think my feeling is bad because we are playing well, we are showing to everyone we can compete, we dominate games against teams like Liverpool.
“But in the end we need to be more competitive – I say that because I don’t want to use another word. We need to be more naughty, more aggressive.
“They’re not too nice. (They need) to compete better. To increase our level is not about our quality, it’s to compete. To compete more in every single moment of the game that requires some thing to do. Because we’re still building the team, finding this balance, for sure it’s a matter of time.
“I try to describe why we didn’t get the points we deserved. At some moment of the game you need to show more this quality, this mental strength, to have this experience to manage better to deal with some circumstance in the game. Sometimes it’s not about only talent.
“When you see the Forest game after two weeks, the time we’ve spent trying to identify why we lost the game, it’s really tough. But that’s not to do with last season, we can’t blame last season. We need to blame ourselves and find solutions in ourselves. We cannot blame the past, we cannot blame the feeling of last season. Now it’s a new era, everything is new.
Pochettino confirmed that Romeo Lavia faces a spell out of the team after injuring his ankle in training, but could not say how long the summer signing from Southampton will be out.
However, an injury of this kind typically requires six weeks of recovery time, meaning the £58million Belgium international is unlikely to make his debut for the club before November.
“(We are) really disappointed because he was training really well last week,” said Pochettino. “He’s twisted his ankle and now we wait for Monday to hear from the doctor.
“We hope it’s not a big issue. It’s real shame. It’s a sad situation because he was nearly fit to be involved again with the team. We don’t know (time). We need to assess him.”
Neither Armando Broja nor Benoit Badiashile will be fit to feature against Bournemouth though both are back in full training and took part in internal matches during the international break.
Reece James, who went off injured during the season opener against Liverpool in August, is not fit to return but is back working with the ball in training.
“Reece is recovering well,” said Pochettino. “I can’t say if he’s close or not, because we assess him every single day. He’s started doing things on the pitch with the ball. He’s really well, he’s desperate to come again and help the team. I hope that he’s close and can be available before the next international break.”
The manager added that Trevoh Chalobah remains in his plans despite reports linking him with a move in January.
“Chalobah is in my plan. No one is going to decide for me. The message is that all the players who are going to be here in January or after January, I am going to be involved in the decision.”
Ange Postecoglou points out the differences between himself and Mikel Arteta
Tottenham head coach Ange Postecoglou is full of admiration for Arsenal boss Mikel Arteta, but fails to see many similarities between the pair.
Postecoglou’s youthful Spurs side face the biggest test of his early reign on Sunday when they make the short trip to the Emirates for the first north London derby of the season.
Second-placed Tottenham travel across the capital in high spirits but face an Arsenal team that are into a fifth season under Arteta, who also took over a club in the doldrums and has overseen a cultural change from top to bottom.
While Postecoglou is at the start of the same type of rebuilding job at Spurs, he poked fun at suggestions he is alike his 41-year-old opposite number.
He said: “I think Mikel has been outstanding, really strong right from the start by having a real vision for the football club and the club’s backed him, but I don’t think that’s unique.
“I think Liverpool did the same with Jurgen (Klopp). Most clubs that end up having a successful period do it on the back of having a really clear idea of what they’re trying to create.
“The only problem is that a lot of clubs jump at shadows at the first sign of things not progressing at the rate they were hoping to. Credit to Arsenal and credit to Mikel that they backed each other and they’re reaping the rewards of it but that’s not a blueprint for us to follow.
“We’ve got our own blueprint. You don’t have to follow anyone else’s timescale, you don’t have to follow anyone else’s processes. What you’ve got to do is have a clear idea about what you want and provided along the way you see progress, stick to it.
“In terms of similarities, I’m 58, he’s whatever (41). I’ve had 26 years, he’s five years into it. He’s managed in one country, I’ve managed in a few. I’m not sure how he’s got a great head of hair!
“He’s a lot fitter than I am. I don’t know, there’s not a lot of threads I can sort of join between us. I wouldn’t say we’re opposites.
“We’re different. Even in the way his team plays. Yes he does have a very attacking philosophy but it’s different from mine and that’s the beauty of the game. That’s what you love about it.
“It’s why you can’t copy. If you’re an artist and you see a Picasso, yeah you can copy it, but it’s not going to be a Picasso is it? It’s the same with football.
“You can see that somebody does something really well, but don’t bring your own personality into it. I have great admiration for the way he’s gone about things and how he’s stuck to his beliefs. It’s a credit to him.”
Postecoglou did not claim to have any type of personal relationship with Arteta, but he did reveal a time when he got to view the Spaniard up close.
The former Celtic boss watched Manchester City training not long after he was appointed manager at Yokohama, who are part-owned by the City Football Group.
“I spent a week at City when I first got the Yokohama job because they were part of the group and were generous enough to invite me in,” he revealed.
“I didn’t speak to anyone but I observed training and you could see then how passionate Mikel was about the game and that he was itching to get going and become a manager himself.
“He’s had a different journey but he’s made the impact.
“As I keep saying, there’s no real defined way to get here.”
Raring to go: versatile Cameron faces birth country in high-stakes playoff fixtures
After switching allegiance from Canada to Jamaica, Tiffany Cameron will play against her birth country in one of the most important fixtures of her career.
Cameron, who earns her Jamaican stripes through her parents Yvonne Brown and Donovan Cameron, represented Canada at the Under-17 level and then played six friendly contests with the senior team, before making a switch from the Canucks to the Reggae Girlz in 2019.
While it is not her first time playing against Canada since her switch, the significance of this two-leg Olympic qualifying playoff, is such that Cameron’s sentimental attachment to her birth country and former team, is almost non-existent.
In fact, Cameron is buzzing with excitement ahead of the opening fixture scheduled for later this evening inside the National Stadium at 7:00pm, and moreso about her return to the BMO Field in Toronto where the second-leg will be contested before a sold-out crowd on September 26.
“The last senior international cap I had with Canada was on June 2, 2013, against United States at BMO. We lost that game 0-3 and I haven’t played on the BMO Field since. So, it will be extra special for me to go back there now representing Jamaica,” Cameron told Sportsmax.tv.
“Situations like these don’t happen often, so I’m excited. I’m ready to give my best and I think it will be a competitive match,” she added.
The two-time FIFA Women’s World Cup representative, who has enjoyed a decorated career spanning 14 years to date, recently inked a deal with Liga F outfit, Real Betis, where she hopes to again put her versatility on display, much like she did with the Reggae Girlz at the global showpiece in Australia.
Simply put, Cameron, though at age 31, is still very much in her prime and has a real hard desire to work hard and improve her craft, especially now in a country where she enjoys their brand of football.
“I think it (Real Betis) is a great fit for me because I enjoy combinational play and playing with players that express themselves and make football an enjoyable sport to watch. Playing in Spain will improve my decision making overall, as the speed of play in Spain is ranked one of the highest in the world. I have settled in well so far and I am very much looking forward to my time with the club,” she shared.
But, for now, Cameron is solely focused on assisting her Reggae Girlz team in their bid to once again rewrite the history books by being the first Caribbean team to qualify for women’s football at the Olympic Games.
The Reggae Girlz, are coming off a confident run at the FIFA Women’s World Cup, where they finished second in Group F, holding top 10-ranked teams France and Brazil to goalless stalemates, complemented by a 1-0 victory over Panama, before losing 0-1 to Colombia in the Round of 16.
It was the first time since 1938 that a Caribbean team –male or female –contested the knockout stages at the global showpiece and the Girlz have a chance to build on that momentum.
“We are all proud of what we were able to accomplish at the World Cup and I think those accomplishments have given us a boost in confidence going into these games against Canada. We want to continue to make Jamaica proud and will give our best,” Cameron declared.
“We know what’s at stake in these games, so we will go into these games with a similar mentality as the World Cup. The opportunity to continue to make history is a blessing within itself and we won’t be taking that for granted,” she noted.
A win and a draw against 10th-ranked Canadians would be good enough to not only book the 37th-ranked Jamaicans one of 12 spots at next year’s Olympic Games in Paris, but also a spot in the group stages of the Concacaf Women’s Gold Cup, alongside United States.
Both Jamaica and Canada are in this position after placing second and third at last year’s Concacaf Women’s Championships in Mexico. United States, by virtue of topping the tournament, earned automatic qualification to both the Olympic Games and the Gold Cup.
Like many of her teammates, Cameron knows all too well that another history-making feat would add further impetus to not only their status, but to women’s football in the Caribbean on a whole.
“It would mean a lot to us to be able to make history and be the first Caribbean team to qualify for women's football at the Olympics. The more successful we are, the more hope we will give to the younger generation in the Caribbean,” Cameron ended.
Mauricio Pochettino defends Chelsea medical team amid fresh injury crisis
Mauricio Pochettino has defended Chelsea’s medical department amid the spate of injuries that left him with only 15 available first-team players for last weekend’s draw with Bournemouth.
The manager was without 12 of his senior squad for the drab goalless encounter at the Vitality Stadium with Moises Caicedo, Marc Cucurella and Noni Madueke late additions to an already lengthy list of absentees.
It is the second time in 2023 that the club has been hit by an injury crisis after former manager Graham Potter was left without 10 first-team players in January.
Pochettino included three players aged 19 or under who had no first-team experience on his bench last weekend, as well as two goalkeepers, as the late withdrawal of Cucurella – who had a fever – the night before the game stretched Chelsea’s billion-pound squad to breaking point.
Both the defender and Madueke will be available for Sunday’s visit of Aston Villa to Stamford Bridge, with Armando Broja also in line to return for his first appearance since damaging his anterior cruciate ligament in December, pending a late assessment.
But the squad remains a pale impression of what co-owners Todd Boehly and Behdad Eghbali have spent such sums to assemble over the past three transfer windows.
The list of players unavailable includes summer signing Christopher Nkunku who was injured playing against Borussia Dortmund during the pre-season tour of the United States and is unlikely to make his competitive debut before December.
Club captain Reece James, new signing Romeo Lavia and defender Wesley Fofana are also missing, as is Carney Chukwuemeka who scored his first goal for the club against West Ham in August before being forced off with a knee problem.
Trevoh Chalobah is also out though Benoit Badiashile has returned to training with the team. Caicedo is due to be assessed on Saturday.
“Before we arrived here we did everything to try and have a clear idea of why there were too many injuries last season also, to analyse the risk,” said Pochettino.
“It’s (about) the profile of the player, the risk of the player. It’s not the people working in the medical staff of performance area.
“I think we need to respect these areas (at the club) are very good professionals, qualified people. That’s why they are working in football. But there’s an individual risk to (certain) players, you need to assess.
“Then there’s bad luck. We have injures that maybe happen in one season or maybe in two, but have happened (to Chelsea) because of different situations you cannot control.
“Christopher against Dortmund, it was a tackle and he twists his knee. Three or four months out. That is from the beginning of the game, he wasn’t tired, he was fresh, good, strong.
“The organisation in football are super professional and we need to respect that. Sometimes things happen like this and it’s difficult to evaluate.”
Pochettino said that he favours Conor Gallagher as captain over Enzo Fernandez in the absence of James, with Ben Chilwell having started the Bournemouth game on the bench.
The manager is concerned about the Argentina international’s communication as he is still learning to speak the language after moving from Benfica in January.
Gallagher skippered the team at the Vitality Stadium as he did against AFC Wimbledon in the EFL Cup earlier in September.
“Enzo is still struggling with his English,” said Pochettino. “If we need to communicate with the referee, Conor can perfectly do the job. For me I prefer Conor to Enzo because he can speak English.
“It’s not only about character or personality or profile. You need to communicate with people. And if you have not managed the language properly, you cannot be captain. Maybe I am wrong but it is my opinion.”
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