The 2023/24 Premier League campaign has thrown up plenty of talking points, not least the PL’s push to really try and enforce Financial Fair Play rules and with Chelsea’s spending since the arrival of Todd Boehly, they are firmly in the cross hairs of opposition fans when it comes to that talk.
However, whilst that may be a future problem for the Chelsea board to deal with, their on pitch performances will be of far more concern to regulars at Stamford Bridge.
This campaign has proven to be as frustrating as recent ones, and despite the continued spending and the appointment of Mauricio Pochettino as gaffer, at least looking from the outside, Cole Palmer is the only current positive that fans can hold on to.
And there were further signs of significant off pitch disharmony in what should have been a proud day for them – their 6-0, incredibly comfortable, victory over Everton on Monday evening.
The game and win, has not become the talking point though, it was the childishness that surrounded their penalty award that has taken the vast majority of the headlines.
Despite being designated as the official club penalty taker, Palmer had to intervene in an argument between Nicolas Jackson and Noni Madueke as they had a spat over who would take it. Palmer’s intervention ultimately saw him take the ball and score his fourth of the day, but that was after 60 seconds of madness that involved five players.
For those who did not watch the game, nor caught up on the highlights, Madueke and Jackson both went to grab the ball from Malo Gusto, which led to a 30 second exchange that saw Thiago Silva intervene, with Jackson walking away. Skipper Conor Gallagher then instructed Madueke to hand the ball to Palmer, who again refused and then Gallagher just seized the ball to pass it to their designated taker.
At this point, Jackson returned and both Palmer and Gallagher had to shove their team mate away, with Gallagher giving a second shove to Madueke to bring their ‘chat’ to a close.
Pochettino, as you can imagine, was not impressed.
“I can’t accept this kind of behaviour. I told them it’s the last time I want to see this kind of behaviour. It is impossible to have this type of behaviour after this performance. The penalty taker is Palmer.”
Pochettino again referenced the age and experience of the team, not completely as an excuse but as a means to show they require further development, and whilst he does have a point, there will be those that do not buy it as the players are not teenagers.
It will however, again ask questions of the board when it comes to their transfer policy and whether every manager at the club is hamstrung by a focus on signing ‘a new shiny thing’ and nobody at that level understands team cohesion.