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Chelsea stars could be playing for their futures with Xabi Alonso message clear
So much still riding on Blues’ final fixtures against Tottenham and Sunderland, despite what their Premier League position might suggest
New boss: Xabi Alonso will officially take charge at Chelsea on July 1
London Standard
Dom Smith
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Your matchday briefing on Chelsea, featuring team news and expert analysis from Dom Smith
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To glance at the Premier League table and find Chelsea down in 10th place might be to assume there is little left for them to play for. How wrong it would be to draw that conclusion.
The visit of Tottenham to Stamford Bridge is invariably a huge occasion for Blues fans, and it will be no different this evening.
Firstly, it must be acknowledged that while there is plenty at stake, this one could admittedly have meant even more. A game earmarked for weeks as the night Chelsea could relegate Spurs to the Championship could now be the night Spurs confirm survival.
Given their huge goal-difference advantage over West Ham, a point would do - a reminder that football is no exact science, that trying to get ahead of the game and predict permutations is almost always futile.
If that were not motivation enough, there is still the (admittedly remote) possibility of qualifying for the Champions League. They need practically every result to go their way, including Aston Villa winning the Europa League and finishing exactly fifth in the Premier League, but it remains mathematically possible.
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Until it isn’t, there is a target for Chelsea to chase. Even if one part of the puzzle goes awry and the Champions League does pass them by, there is Europa League or Conference League football to be had.
Bournemouth, Brighton, Brentford and Sunderland - in that order - are in the ascendency, with Chelsea distant chasers, but stranger things have happened. And they have arguably the most talented squad among those European hopefuls.
The managerial appointment of great cachet that immediately followed defeat by Manchester City in the FA Cup final adds a whole new layer of complexion to Tuesday’s game.
Xabi Alonso is a real coup. Chelsea’s next chapter will be fronted by one of Europe’s leading managers from the next generation, a modest but highly-driven coach who players will immediately respect for what he has achieved in management as well as during a glorious playing career.
Once Alonso begins his role on July 1, he will have recruitment powers that work both ways. Just as he can suggest signings to the club, he can also name the players he would encourage Chelsea to evolve beyond and sell.
This all feeds a school of thought that indicates Chelsea’s players will, to some degree, be playing for their futures against Spurs on Tuesday and Sunderland on Sunday. Alonso will be keeping an eye on Chelsea’s performances in both remaining games and making notes.
The message is simple: impress, and the likelihood of an integral role under the new manager increases.
Some individuals have their own further reasons, specific to them, to stand out against Spurs. Monday evening brought confirmation that Joao Pedro had been inexplicably left out of Brazil’s World Cup squad.
Was the news on Tuesday morning that he’d received more than 60 per cent of the votes as Chelsea’s player of the season a silver lining or rubbing salt in the wound?
Either way, starring tonight would be a pertinent way of proving to Carlo Ancelotti that he has made the wrong call. It was Joao Pedro who scored the only goal in Chelsea’s win at the Tottenham Hotspur Stadium back in November.
As significant as any of these reasons is the historic meaning of this fixture.
Tottenham have twice relegated Chelsea by beating them, first in 1910 and then in 1975. In more recent years, the rivalry has grown even stormier, culminating in the brutal and bruising ‘Battle of the Bridge’, 10 years ago this month, when Eden Hazard’s sublime late goal ended Tottenham’s hopes of winning their first Premier League title and crowned 5000-1 outsiders Leicester champions instead.
When Chelsea’s players emerge from the tunnel to the famous ‘Liquidator’ tune, chants of “we hate Tottenham” supersede professions of their love for Chelsea, whoever the opponents, whatever the game. That sentiment is supercharged when Spurs themselves are the visitors.
And Chelsea usually cash in. In their last 40 trips to Stamford Bridge, Tottenham have won once.
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