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Glen Hoddle admits he FEARS for Chelsea if Thiago Silva faces a lengthy sideline after he limped off in their clash with Tottenham… as Tim Sherwood insists there was “a lack of DESIRE” in Chelsea’s terrible defeat Sunday 2-0
Glen Hoddle has insisted that Chelsea are not the same team without Thiago Silva and admitted that he fears for them if he faces a major injury.
The 38-year-old centre-back has been one of the Blues’ standout players in what is turning out to be a miserable season, but he limped off in the first half of the 2-0 defeat to Tottenham on Sunday.
Graham Potter’s side have now won just two of their last 15 Premier League games and are 14 points out of the top four.
The severity of Silva’s injury has yet to be confirmed, and Chelsea fans welcomed Wesley Fofana’s stepping up his recovery from a knee injury when he replaced the Brazilian.
There are other options in the center of defense with Kalidou Koulibaly, Benoit Badiashile, Cesar Azpilicueta and Trevor Chalobah, but Hoddle admitted he is worried about the struggling Blues if they are without their talismanic defender for any significant period of time, while also highlighted its shortcomings elsewhere.
Thiago Silva limped off in the first half of Chelsea’s disappointing 2-0 loss to Tottenham
Glen Hoddle insisted that they are not the same team without Silva and that he fears for the Blues
They miss that hit. They lack that shot in and around the 18-yard box,” Hoddle told Premier League Productions after their defeat at Tottenham Hotspur Stadium.
‘They started the game well, the first 10, 15 minutes came out and they were the best team.
‘But no, there isn’t that bit of magic there, they have good players, very good players, but are they consolidating as a team? No, they are not. And they have to have more final product.
“When their senior statesman, Thiago Silva, leaves, to me, they don’t look like the same team without him.”
Former Tottenham boss Tim Sherwood was also scathing on Chelsea with the Blues, knocked out of the Carabao Cup and FA Cup early on and clinging to their Champions League hopes, facing that their season would effectively end in some weeks.
He added: “I thought they lacked effort, they lacked a plan, it was just hope, it was just ‘can one of those world class players turn it around?’
Wesley Fofana continued to speed up his recovery from a knee injury when he replaced Silva
Graham Potter is under significant pressure at Stamford Bridge with two wins from 15 games
They were just dominated through and through. I think Tottenham had more of a game plan, more structure, more willpower, unfortunately it was a very poor performance from Chelsea.
“I think he lacked that desire, you could feel it here, the Chelsea fans left before the end, 10, 15 minutes before the end they went home.”
“You don’t see that from the Chelsea fans, they didn’t bother to stand up and boo the team, they just walked away.”
Potter’s side face a resurgent Leeds next weekend at Stamford Bridge, before taking on high-flying Borussia Dortmund in the Champions League, where they hope to come back from a 1-0 deficit in the game. outward.