CONTE’S SILENT MIGHT
Blues stars no longer have a hotline to Abramovich.. and that’s why the manager is now the power in the dressing room
IT was last September when Chelsea’s players first realised the sands at Stamford Bridge had shifted.
Antonio Conte’s side had been outclassed in their 3-0 defeat at Arsenal, prompting a visit from owner Roman Abramovich to the Blues’ Cobham HQ. During his time there, talking to Conte in the trainingground canteen, a number of players tried approaching the Russian billionaire – only to be given short shrift. The statement from Abramovich was clear – the days of having a hotline to the owner, either in front of or behind the manager’s back, were over. The likes of John Terry, Petr Cech, Didier Drogba and Frank Lampard may have been indulged in previous years, to the cost of the man in the hotseat, but that culture had changed.
So when Diego Costa made his desperate appeal for Abramovich to overrule Conte’s brutal text message, telling the striker his services were no longer required, the silence was deafening.
“It’s a shame,” said Costa, whose goals have been pivotal in helping the club to two titles in the last three seasons.
“I’ve already forwarded the message to Chelsea people to decide,” he said. “But it is clear that the coach does not count on me and does not want me there.”
The likes of Andre Villas-Boas, Luiz Felipe Scolari and even Jose Mourinho were all undermined by the players at the Bridge, their importance outweighing that of the manager.
Abramovich had been keen for Mourinho to succeed on his return to the club, to such an extent the Russian took the rare step of issuing a public vote of confidence in the Portuguese to try and allay the pressure on him.
With the players continuing to down tools, however, the Chelsea owner was left with no alternative but to sack the boss previously known as The Special One. Technical Director Michael Emenalo confirmed he had gone over a “palpable discord” with his dressing room.
Abramovich appears to have learned from the experience enough to disconnect the hotline and allow his manager to manage.
So when – with Chinese club Tianjin Quanjian expressing an
interest – Costa clashed with Conte’s fitness coach in January, the Italian dropped him and the die was cast. Chelsea had been well aware that Costa’s agent, Jorge Mendes, had been in China courting interest in the player. Costa went on to score just three times in 11 games after the January window had closed. The disciplinary issues were also back. Conte dropped him again, this time to the bench for the FA Cup semi-final against Spurs. All the while the club were crystallising plans to move him on this summer and replace him with Romelu Lukaku, a player who would give them far less grief and just as much commitment. Costa is unlikely to be the last big name out the door this summer. Branislav Ivanovic went in January, John Terry at the end of the season. Nemanja Matic could also go. Likewise, Cesc Fabregas.
For 30-year-old Fabregas, the past season was the sixth in which he made 10 assists or more – a feat no other Premier League player has managed.
It was an impressive response after learning the club had been willing to listen to offers for him last summer. So the former Arsenal star was surprised to be left out of the starting XI for the FA Cup final.
He has since admitted he wants to play regular first-team football with the World Cup coming up in 12 months’ time.
Ruthless Conte has already shown that no player is bigger than his team. The cycle of the current vintage has come to an end.