The last time Chelsea lost to Southampton was in October 2015, as the end of Mourinho’s second spell drew near.
That day Chelsea lined up as follows: Begovic, Ivanovic, Cahill, Terry, Azpilicueta, Ramires, Fabregas, Willian, Oscar, Hazard, Falcao.
It’s interesting to compare that team to the one that will take the field tomorrow. It’s easy to feel like things have gone badly just in the last few months, but even back then that was a weak team, stretched thin by injury. While there have been massive issues with the squad building since, that has only exacerbated existing issues.
Recent bad times have even had people nostalgic for Ramires – let’s get real. As lovable as he was, we had to aim higher. The same can be said for Oscar, who was given plenty of time to fulfill his potential.
The real shame is that, while Nemanja Matic was subbed on and then off in that game, Loftus-Cheek watched the whole debacle from the bench.
