If Sunday’s game taught me one thing and one thing only, it is the importance of picking a designated penalty taker list of names.
I actually don’t understand why Mauricio Pochettino, as the head coach of the team, does not do this.
Chelsea beat Leicester City 4-2 yesterday to reach the semi finals of the FA Cup, but as we all witnessed, the scoreline did not tell the whole story.
Concerningly, we folded after half time yet again and did our very best to throw away a comfortable lead. But that lead should have actually been more by half time and we should have had the game dead and buried, something I’ve said a lot lately.
Some fans have jokingly said they want investigations into Pochettino’s half time team talks, that’s how contrasting things have and can be from half to half lately!
But one of the concerns for me may not seem like a big issue, but yesterday proved that it was/is.
If we scored our penalty we would have been 3-0 up and the game would have been put to bed by 45, but Raheem Sterling missed it. Now missing a penalty is NOT the problem here, it happens, nobody is perfect, and sometimes penalties are often a bit of a lottery. I have no issues with Sterling missing it even if it was a terrible pen.
What I do have issues with is Sterling taking it. Cole Palmer has been flawless with penalties this season, so why on earth is he not taking it?
Conor Gallagher was the captain on the day and maybe he should be stepping in to make sure Palmer, who picked the ball up to take it again only to have it taken off him be Sterling, takes it?
And it’s not the first time this has happened this season. Sterling was wrestling the ball from Palmer earlier in the season before Enzo Fernandez (why I think he’s good captain material) jumped in and and told Sterling to give it to Palmer.
But the point is, none of this confusion should be happening anyway. It’s just more drama and unnecessary conversations and arguments on the pitch. Why on earth would we be needing more drama and uncertainty on the pitch when we are so inconsistent anyway? It makes ZERO sense.
Pochettino has previously mentioned that he wants whoever feels confident on the pitch at the time to step up and take the penalty, but that is always going to spark needless debates on the pitch, something that fans and commentators will always pick up on.
Just pick a designated penalty taker at the start of the season, then a second, third, fourth, and fifth choice. It’s simple, smart, and just makes too much sense, no?
