AuthorJeffEyesRimmer It has been in the news and social media so much this week that you can’t help to read about it - Diego Costa being dropped by Chelsea this weekend. It shouldn’t really be news but the various rumours circling about the player’s fitness levels, a potential back injury and a massive transfer offer from China have all been talked about. So too the rumoured fallout with Manager Antonio Conte, with one report saying that Conte shouted at the player to ‘Go to China’. Put simply this is all just speculation and the typical rumour mill the newspapers rely on being in full swing. Regardless of whether Costa does go to China for a lucrative payoff or whether he plays nice with manager and club we feel that there is one thing that is a given – he will never truly be loved by the Chelsea faithful. There is no doubt that Costa is a fantastic striker. At previous club Atletico Madrid he scored 43 goals in 94 appearances. At Chelsea its 46 goals in 73. The statistics speak for themselves, he is a quality striker and probably the best the EPL has to offer at the moment. He is a fighter on the pitch and enjoys the rough and tumble of the EPL. It suits his style well and it is reminiscent of the old fashion number 9 striker that would bully defenders and fight for every scrap. It is something that the typical British football fan would be happy to have in their side and would really worship.
However, while Costas ability is not in question his temperament has often been a problem. His temper has certainly got the better of him in the past, with there being a long list of indiscretions, but it had appeared in recent months that Conte had tamed him and got the best out of the striker. If the rumours are true though it appears that it was only temporary. It is for this reason that we as fans can believe that he has had an argument with his manager and he has thrown his toys out of the pram as it were. It is also why I can believe that the majority of Chelsea fan responses I have read have backed the manager. And it is for this reason that I think that Chelsea fans will never really speak of Costa in the same breath as say Didier Drogba or Gianfranco Zola. They are very much loved and admired by both Chelsea and rival fans alike and are cult heros at Chelsea. I don’t think this will ever happen with Costa, he is the man of the moment for Chelsea now but I don’t think he will become that cult hero figure. Admittedly many top footballers never attain the adoration that the likes of Drogba or Zola receive, but an old fashion number 9 with the ability of Costa could be so much more, and should be so much more. That temperament though and the potential that he could explode at opposition players or his own club at any given time will always be an issue. It will be interesting to see how Costa would react to having Chelsea fans on his back if it comes out that he did fancy that move to China after all. Unfortunately I think we will look back at Costa in several years’ time and rather than remembering a great striker he was we will remember him for the bouts of anger. We hope he stays in the EPL regardless of the attitude as its characters like him that make the Premier League so watchable and marketable. Image: https://www.flickr.com/photos/da_belkin/22164505298/in/photolist-zLATe5-zLzmtG-zLAT3o-A4c37t-zLFmPZ-zLzm9U-zLASFw-zLASBd-A4c2oV-z7iHBX-z7iHa4-z7a9tQ-A4c1Cg-A4c1za-A33b2C-zLFkha-A1TDyj-zLAR6C-A1TDp1-zLFjVi-A33aty-z7a8CS-zLFjEt-zLFjzD-zLziYm-zLFjpP-zLAQoL-zLFje8-A4bZix-A1TCqC-zLziqh-A58GTz-zLFiPF-A4bYRv-A339mo-z7a7t7-zLAPAJ-zLFimr-A1TBFw-A4bYmH-zLzhDs-A338Pw-A1TBm3-z7iEzK-A58FLp-A338uJ-A4bXLp-oVhFdG-zLFm8i-A58K4X |
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June 2018
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