Ian Holloway defends Maurizio Sarri for slamming ‘lazy’ Chelsea players and says there’s ‘something wrong’ with the squad

Ian Holloway defends Maurizio Sarri for slamming ‘lazy’ Chelsea players and says there’s ‘something wrong’ with the squad
Ian Holloway has criticised the Chelsea squad for being ‘lazy’ and ‘lacklustre’, while defending Blues boss Maurizio Sarri for publicly criticising his players following the defeat to Arsenal.Sarri said his players are “extremely difficult to motivate”following a dismal performance in the 2-0 loss at the Emirates on Saturday, which saw them register just one shot on target.3

Maurizio Sarri publicly slammed his players after their 2-0 defeat at Arsenal

3

Ian Holloway has defended Sarri after he labelled his players “extremely difficult to motivate”

And speaking on the Jim White Show on talkSPORT, the former QPR and Blackpool boss pulled no punches in his assessment of the current Chelsea squad – insisting the problem continues to be the players and not the manager at Stamford Bridge.The fact is they almost look lacklustre. Its always as if sometimes they need a William Wallace type talk,” he said.How many times have they done that? Theyve done it to (Jose) Mourinho, (Antonio) Conte.“Theres something wrong with the group. I watched the game, and do I agree with him (Sarri)? Yes.But is it risky? Of course. But I go back to my ultimate hero Bill Shankly and what he says about lazy players and what should happen (the clip is played out live on air).”3

The former QPR boss believes the Chelsea squad are “lazy” and “lacklustre”

Holloway believes the club have no leaders and a group of players who think about their individual needs ahead of what is collectively best for the team.He continued: Well this group of Chelsea players are lazy. They are not going about their work in the right way.(Roman) Abramovich should look at and think how many times has this happened? Where are the leaders in this group?“The Graeme Souness, the Roy Keanes and so forth.I was told years ago by senior players in that dressing room about what standards were expected from him.“Everybody leaves it now at Chelsea and just thinks of themselves and not the team.”  The 55-year-old, who is keen on a return to management himself, believes Sarri’s public outburst was a “beautiful, honest risk” and fully justified.He explained: No, Sarri is not out on a limb. Hes a very intelligent man and a mathematician.He cannot believe hes had to come out and do this. Do this lot want to win as much as he does?Youve got to be very careful how you dig people out. If its just personal on one player, a bit like Mourinho was on (Luke) Shaw – that was a bit personal – maybe that’s too much.(Pep) Guardiola had his problems with (Leroy) Sane earlier in the season, too.“Both players have responded to that though and shown what theyre all about.“Yes, Sarri’s taken a risk, but I think it was a beautiful, honest risk.He did it because he couldnt believe the group of players hes working with are not performing to the standards they are capable of.”Sarri will be looking for a reaction from his side on Thursday night at Stamford Bridge when the Blues take on Tottenham in the Carabao Cup,a game you can listen to live on talkSPORT.They will have to overturn a one-goal deficit from the first leg of their semi-final clash if they are to advance to the final at the expense of their London rivals.

---

Chelsea v Manchester City - live on talkSPORT - Maurizio Sarri and Pep Guardiola field sides without strikers for Premier League clash Alvaro Morata is not even in the squad for the Blues By
Chelsea news: Maurizio Sarri to Juventus - talksport.com

---

The Football Association (FA) has said a tribute will be paid to the victims of the mass shooting in Christchurch before England's European Championship qualifier against Czech Republic at Wembley
England football to honour victims of Christchurch mosque

---

'A special man!': Manchester United fan Conor McGregor hails manager Ole Gunnar Solskjaer after FA Cup victory against Arsenal. Manchester United beat the Gunners 3-1 in the FA Cup fourth round on
'A Special Man!': Manchester United Fan Conor McGregor Hails

---

David Luiz: Chelsea fans furious with defender after

---

Northern Ireland's Gareth McAuley will be fit to face Greece in Thursday's Euro 2016 qualifier at Windsor Park. The West Brom defender sat out training on Monday to allow him an extra day to
Rangers defender Gareth McAuley fit to play for Northern

---

Hazard completes Real Madrid move. The big news tonight is that Real Madrid have confirmed the signing of Eden Hazard from Chelsea. Hazard has agreed a long-term deal with Zinedine Zidane's side that keeps him in the Spanish capital until 2024.
Eden Hazard agrees personal terms with Real Madrid - Read Chelsea

---

Chelsea star Olivier Giroud issues Liverpool plea to fans after sick Mohamed Salah chant. How Chelsea were able to catch the racist fans who abused Mohamed Salah.
Racism in association football - Wikipedia

---

Harry Redknapp has Frank Lampard as relative and is more showbiz than you would expect. The former Tottenham boss is one of English football's most famous characters - and there's plenty going on
Harry Redknapp - Wikipedia

---

Jermain Defoe to Rangers confirmed as striker set to join squad at winter training camp. Bournemouth have agreed a deal with the Ibrox club that sees Defoe move on an 18-month arrangement.
Mark Allen drops five-word hint when asked about more Rangers

---

Dynamo Kiev vs Chelsea: TV channel, live stream, squad news & preview. With one foot into the quarter-finals of the Europa League, Chelsea will be hoping to seal the deal in a straightforward fashion when they travel to Ukraine to face Dynamo Kiev on Thursday.
What channel is Dynamo Kiev vs Chelsea on? TV channel and

---

Eden Hazard 'will be raging' with Chelsea manager Maurizio Sarri for benching him in the Blues' Europa League semi-final, believes Dean Saunders. Sarri made the surprise decision to name his star man among the substitutes in the first leg..
Eden Hazard 'will be raging' with Chelsea for place on bench

---