CHELSEA MADE TO LOOK RIDICULOUS
It TAKES Mr Orange around 90 minutes to die in the film
Reservoir Dogs. he is shot in the stomach in a diamond heist gone wrong immediately after the titles and is bleeding to death, vividly but slowly, in just about every scene from there.
the final act is Mr White shooting him as the cops burst in. It is possibly the most protracted death in cinema history.
Much like Antonio Conte’s at Chelsea. he was on his way out almost before a ball was kicked last season and by the January transfer window it was certain. the players were told he was going before leaving for the World Cup.
Yet somehow Chelsea let him leak away until the middle of July. Maybe they thought it reflected poorly on Conte that he would hang around for his pay- off. It didn’t. he deserved his pay-off. It was the club that looked ridiculous.
And it has damaged them. For with the World Cup over and the transfer deadline little more than three weeks away, two of Chelsea’s key players want out. Again, it was predictable that Eden hazard and thibaut Courtois would see a future with Real Madrid. they have been hinting as much for a year or more now.
But it will have been much easier to plot that break with Chelsea, again, in a state of flux; with no words coming from a new manager about his plans. Maybe it was felt that this was the way it often was at Chelsea in the summer. One man saying hello, another waving goodbye, they have ridden upheaval before and thrived. But this was different.
there has been a void at Chelsea for six months or more now. It has cost them a place in the Champions League and it has made it only too easy for hazard and Courtois, and maybe Willian as well, to think they can go their own way. We are about to discover the club Chelsea will be, to what extent Roman Abramovich is engaged in political brinkmanship over Anglo-Russian relations or an act of slow withdrawal from the elite contest.
the signing of Napoli midfielder Jorginho, a target for Manchester City, is a sign of engagement and a willingness to compete, as was the recruitment of the new coach, Maurizio Sarri.
Yet what does it say if they cave in to Real Madrid over hazard, even for £ 200million — and certainly with time running out to sign adequate replacements, after what might be lengthy negotiations?
Chelsea were among the clubs who backed a truncated transfer window. When they voted, surely they must have factored in a raid from Spain this summer?
Madrid’s wish for a new goalkeeper, their interest in hazard, has been obvious for some time. It was always a foolish risk to close for business earlier than Europe, when so many transactions are conducted with clubs abroad. Do you think Madrid care that Chelsea are unable to replace players after August 9? Spain’s deadline is August 31.
WhAt will Chelsea do if players begin acting up? Do they just say no, as Liverpool initially did with Philippe Coutinho last season? Can they say no if Madrid come up with the money or has the desire to balance the books, to recoup transfer expenditure and the compensation to so many managers, taken over?
Chelsea loyalists bristle at the suggestion theirs is a selling club. they only profit on players they do not want is the claim. Academy prospects who aren’t going to get a chance, misfits who can’t make the first team. Some calls have proven hasty — Mo Salah, Kevin De Bruyne — others wise. Few question the wisdom of getting good money from Sunderland for Papy Djilobodji.