Could yesterday’s defeat to Newcastle be the last time we see Nicolas Jackson as Chelsea’s main striker going forward?
I’m not saying we should sell him by the way just because of one rush of blood to the head and the fact he clearly still lacks maturity.
But I am saying that if, and it’s a massive IF, Chelsea recruit right this summer then really, this should end the days of Jackson being Chelsea’s main striker at the very least.
I wont keep repeating this but people know I see him best as a wide or second striker anyway and not as a 9, and if Chelsea recruit a proper 9 this summer which is what this squad has been desperately calling out for years now, then I only see Jackson as being a backup 9 and then if the manager does not see him as a wide player, he will mainly have to just sit the bench. I fear for his Chelsea future.
I’ve never massively rated Jackson, and I have never been shy of saying this. I think he’s got some good elements about his game but people have been straw clutching if they believe he’s been consistently good enough to lead the line for Chelsea. Because he really hasn’t. He doesn’t score enough goals, he’s not been good enough when he’s had clear chances to score goals, he does not provide the focal point we need, and I also feel he has a bit of an immaturity/attitude problem.
I don’t think he’s a bad player at all and we have certainly seen it in moments in a Chelsea shirt. But if Chelsea are serious, they need to upgrade Jackson this summer and it’s the most important bit of recruitment that we get right. After three years we are still saying this, it’s crazy.
Pumping balls up to Jackson was not helping yesterday by the way, and I still have no idea why we were doing that. Yes, I’d rather see a mix of long and short passing out from the back depending on the opposition and the circumstances, but hitting it long to someone who is not good in the air is just completely pointless especially up against two big centre backs. This is what put him in a situation where he decides to drop a forearm into Sven Botman’s face and miss the rest of the season.
It was stupid from Jackson and he simply must learn from it. I’m not pinning all the blame on him for the defeat though like many are. Because let’s be honest here, Chelsea were 1-0 down and playing awful until he got sent off, then in the second half we were playing much better and looked like scoring. So if anything, the sending off helped us!! Obviously that’s a little tongue in cheek to say that but the reality is we were down before he got sent off so I’m not hearing that as the excuse, but of course losing a player is never going to be ideal.
Jackson though, needs to look at himself in the mirror and Chelsea’s recruiters need to step up and work very hard now to upgrade Jackson. Because running the forward line for Chelsea is one of the most important roles you can have in football, and it was unfair to place that on the young and raw shoulders of Jackson. This is why you buy proven in key areas.
