Townsend: Rotation is giving us the Blues

ANDY TOWNSEND believes Antonio Conte’s tinkering has affected Chelsea’s title defence as Manchester City continue to surge clear at the top of the table.

Former boss Claudio Ranieri was branded “The Tinkerman” in his Stamford Bridge days for constantly rotating his superstar squad.

And Townsend believes Conte is guilty of the same crime as Chelsea come to terms with a hectic schedule of Premier League and Champions League football.

Townsend, 54, who joined the west Londoners from Norwich in July 1990 for

£1.2million, admits he has a real soft spot for Conte with him showing so much emotion on the touchline.

But experimenting with team selection does not fit comfortably with the Chelsea old boy who made

138 appearances without ever winning a trophy.

Townsend said: “They’ve a lot of exceptionally good players but the manager has tinkered with the formation a bit recently.

“Last year with Diego Costa, Pedro and Eden Hazard playing so well, as long as the rest of them were half right they had a chance of winning every game.

“This season he has played Hazard and Alvaro Morata almost as a two up-front and added another body in the middle of the park.

“Chelsea are also a bit lighter at the very top of the team and as a result I don’t think they are quite so devastating going forward.

“I don’t think they are quite where they were last season. I’d say they are some way short of that at the moment.”

But even though Conte’s selections have baffled him, Townsend still thinks he is the man for the job.

He added: “I really like him. You cannot help but be impressed by how much it hurts him when they lose. How much it means to him and how much he still wants to win and be successful.

“It was not easy coming in and trying to pick up off the back of Jose Mourinho. It was a really difficult job for him and he has done it his way.

“He showed last season he has an ability to instil belief in a team but it has been a slightly different job for him this season.

“They have the Champions League to consider and there has been some chopping and changing with those newer faces to bed in.

“There is no doubt they are a top team and Conte is a top manager but he has tinkered and that’s been a problem.”