The Manager's Unceasing Rotation Puts Chelsea Spinning.

Although The Blues didn't entirely destroy their hopes of ending up in the highest eight places of the continental tournament opening phase, they executed a targeted blow on their own hopes of strolling directly into the knockout stages. Naturally, the good news is that in the brief history of the new and not-necessarily-improved competition, securing a top-eight finish may not be as crucial as it seems.

The Central Issue: A Monotonous Inconsistency

Unfortunately for Stamford Bridge regulars, the sole predictable element about the Chelsea team is a reliably erratic inconsistency, which has been widely discussed since their loss in Italy. After apparently rubber-stamping their credentials with an commanding victory of a European giant, followed by a feisty stalemate with a London rival, the team have been stuffed by a Championship side, played out a dull draw at the south coast club and have now been beaten by a average team from Serie A.

Although critics have been quick to lay the blame on a team selection approach that appears to see the coach change his lineup like a kebab shop’s elephant leg of doner meat, the Chelsea head coach maintains that, injuries and suspensions aside, the core of his first eleven for big matches is largely set in stone.

“In my view tonight, first XI, we had on the field eight, nine players that featured against Tottenham, they played against Barcelona, they play against Wolverhampton, Arsenal,” he droned. “We had eight, nine players that are the ones playing every time for matches of this magnitude. So if you look at the several alterations that we did from the previous game, it’s different.”

What Comes Next

For a genuine opportunity of avoiding the additional knockout round, Chelsea will have to win their final two group games. First up, they host the unexpected contenders a Cypriot team, then travel back to the continent to face the Serie A champions, the Neapolitan side.

“Victories in both are required, otherwise, we will face the playoff and then progress to the following stage,” sniffed Maresca, whose following fixture is a game against an Everton team whose recent consistency has propelled them to the surprising position of the top half in the domestic league.

Other Notes

Notable Comment: “It's interesting, it’s actually funny because his greatest wish was me turning pro in golf. That was his biggest dream. So when I was 10, he pushed me to start on golf. So I practiced every week from when I was 10 to 13” – a star striker explained how, if his father had his preference, he could have been on the golf course rather than scoring goals in the Premier League.

Fan Correspondence

“So, no wonder Wolves are in such a poor situation. As any longtime reader of this column will know, the only good pre-match protests involve walking from a pub that the supporters planned to be at anyway, to the ground that they were inevitably going to. Just showing up 10 minutes late? That’s how long it takes fans to get to their seats anyway” – one reader.

“I note that a reader not only got the previous letter o’ the day, but also a mention in a separate letter. On a night where both Sheffield teams again surrendered points after leading, I am wondering: could the city be proving that the regularity of appearances in your letters section is inversely related to the value of anything our teams are achieving on the field?” – a different supporter.