Chelsea are in crisis - but what else is new

Chelsea beat United last Thursday, and scrolling through my Twitter feed at full time, I saw a lot of people calling it one of the 'games of the season'.

Usually with a game as crazy as that one, that last minute Palmer goal would have made me fall backwards out my seat. Instead, I was sat, staring with absolute disbelief, a mixture of emotions rushing around my head.

It felt like a loss. It may have been a loss, before a penalty was won and converted, and then some lazy United defending left Cole Palmer with all the space in the world to shoot and seal the three points. 

With games like these, which have been common to watch this season, I often don't really understand why the Chelsea players and management celebrate the way they do. The winner in this game sent Chelsea staff running onto the pitch, players running to embrace Poch at the sidelines. And yes, of course, it's a massive result, a massive 3 points. It might have been a key victory in hindsight if we end up scraping a European spot this year. 

However, I'm sick and tired of the way we play. Our formation and layout is outdated and tends to struggle against the big clubs who have a more drilled tactical system. Player positioning is confused, with some players not being used in a way that boosts their individual skills.

Think Enzo Fernandez being played higher upfield instead of utilizing his passing, or Levi Colwill as a LB and struggling to adapt, or Chilwell as a winger. 

All that, with Poch's very poor in game management and his confusing substitutions. We switched out 2 of our defenders whilst losing against United instead of bringing on Madueke or other attack minded players earlier to try and get a goal quicker. 

We've just come off of a 2-2 draw against bottom of the league(!) Sheffield United, where the warning signs of our play style continued to show, we lost the lead twice, and goalscorer Noni Madueke mentioned the silence felt in the dressing room at full time, after the game was tied in the last minute of the game.

It really is tiring to see these continued poor performances, with chance after chance of pushing up the table being ruined. And with the final stretch of the season approaching, it really is something we need to fix if we want to finish on a high note. 

Our players are good. I don't think this is a player issue, because we've got a squad of players who've proven they can perform well. 

I really like Nicholas Jackson as a striker. Sure, he hasn't had a crazy breakout season and scored loads of goals, but he's shown the type of player he can be, versatile given his ability to move to the wings and create for other attackers. He's shown his commitment to Chelsea.

Cole Palmer has been incredible and part of me feels some shame that this is the environment he has to operate in. Malo Gusto has shown he's good enough to be a starting player and not a backup to Reece James. Petrovic has been a bit shaky as of recently but for a first full PL season, there's potential.

With a lackluster tactical setup, we're still playing well and controlling possession against most teams, and that's something to be excited about. With a more tactically sound system, there's no reason why we shouldn't be pushing comfortably into the top 6 spots and venturing back into European football with this team. 

Then again, I'm not sure who we bring in in the summer, if Poch does leave.

I would have said Ruben Amorim, but it seems he may be lined up as a successor to Klopp at Liverpool. Outside of that, I'm not sure who is currently on the market who is better than Poch. I'm not personally interested in De Zerbi, at least not in the long term, and I wouldn't take Tuchel back either. Xabi Alonso would have been a dream, but he's unavailable for at least another year. 

Thomas Frank would be interesting, or at least a solid option until we find a better option. We could also roll the dice on Nagelsmann, but I think he turned us down last year and I doubt would want to take charge given our current state.

Though, we'll see what happens, and there's every chance that Pochettino might remain in charge come the start of next season. If that is the case, though, major changes need to be made in order to get this team playing the best football it possibly can.