Gary Neville has hit out at Chelsea for their controversial team huddle at the halfway line before their 1-0 defeat to Newcastle United over the weekend.
It has been a huge talking point after referee Paul Tierney found himself in the middle of Chelsea’s huddle.
In the end, it did not do much for Liam Rosenior’s men, as they went on to lose the game.
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Gary Neville claims Chelsea team huddle is ‘just for show’
It is fair to say that Neville was not impressed at all with Chelsea players’ decision to do their team huddle in the middle of the pitch.
It is not new, but it has come under the microscope after Saturday’s controversy involving Tierney.
Talking about the incident on Sky Sports, Neville said: “It’s just for show. Absolutely, it’s just for show. It’s almost cultish. It’s just for show, you know, for fans to be able to… ‘Look at us, we’re together’. And the fans won’t be conned by that, by the way, they’ll just judge you on your performance.”
Sky Sports pundit Gary Neville during the Premier League match between Tottenham Hotspur and Arsenal
Photo by James Gill – Danehouse/Getty Images
Chelsea supporters will definitely be questioning the team and focusing more on the result than the huddle after losing to Newcastle.
It has left them outside the top five in the Premier League table following Liverpool’s 1-1 draw with Tottenham Hotspur.
Some of Rosenior’s comments have not helped the situation either. When Rosenior discussed Tierney staying in the huddle, he said: “My players made a decision that they wanted to be around the ball, to respect the ball.”
What do you make of Chelsea players’ decision to do their team huddle on the halfway line?
Chelsea players enter a huddle surrounding Referee Paul Tierney
Photo by Darren Walsh/Chelsea FC via Getty Images
All in all, it was not a good week for Chelsea, who lost 5-2 to Paris Saint-Germain just before their defeat at the hands of Newcastle.
The Blues now have to try and turn that deficit around when they face PSG in the second leg of their last 16 Champions League tie on Tuesday. Being three goals down, that seems very unlikely to happen.
Chelsea are still at least in the FA Cup, while finishing in the top five and qualifying for next season’s Champions League remains a possibility. However, they cannot continue playing as they did against Newcastle and PSG if they want that to happen.
Their defending in both games was so poor, though this controversy surrounding their team huddles is proving to be a distraction.
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