Olivier Giroud must start against Newcastle and often after

Chelsea’s decision-making on Olivier Giroud is flawed, as Didier Deschamps and others have pointed out, as Giroud must either play for the Blues or leave.

The ongoing drama surrounding Olivier Giroud and his future at Chelsea continues and is getting more heated. Giroud’s agent has started warning Chelsea and their coach Frank Lampard that Giroud has to play or risk his departure in January. Again.

This is getting boring and worrying. The main question is why Giroud doesn’t get his share of playtime up front when he seems to deliver the goods whenever and wherever he’s assigned? What happens when this top-notch forward can’t get minutes in the blue jersey? There is a problem here and it must be solved.

This author has been a clear and present supporter of the Frenchman since even before he donned the Chelsea jersey (at least in appreciating his quality as he decimated Chelsea by goals in the red and white Arsenal jersey). As noted in a recent article, he tore apart Chelsea’s defense for Arsenal (as he usually does for any European defense). But in recent times he is rarely seen on the field in a Chelsea jersey, except on late-game service. It’s a mistake and Lampard is risking a lot by keeping Giroud on the bench. If he leaves in January and a major injury to Timo Werner and / or Tammy Abraham occurs, Chelsea will be devastated and finished. The only remaining center forward will be overworked and the resulting potential injury or fatigue will derail the club’s hopes for title glory.

Lampard hasn’t learned his lesson from last season when he had two top-tier forwards at the club, only one whom he seemed to trust, Abraham. Then Abraham got hurt and the coach stubbornly continued to play with him, despite an obviously debilitating injury. It didn’t make any sense. Finally, with Abraham clearly limping, he inserted Giroud into the starting lineup.

Voila! The team exploded and won, as Giroud, along with a finally healthy and more focused Pulisic, Willian sacked Chelsea to a place in the Champions League. One might wonder if that would have happened if Abraham had not been hurt. Good question.

This season, things are starting to fall apart, including with Pulisic’s key injury and Kai Havertz’s recent illness. This team has more talent. However, the coach has a clear inclination to abuse and overwork key players, avoiding a rotation in which there is little or, in some cases, no decline in talent. Key players like Werner, Ziyech and Kante must be rested like any other player in the rotation. However, they often do not understand it.

Lampard’s overuse of Werner is a good example. While young, agile, energetic, and brilliantly talented, Werner is still subject to injury if he becomes fatigued, and if overused (and international duty clearly doesn’t help at that), the likelihood of that happening increases. If Giroud leaves, and Werner or Abraham are injured, then the Blues are in deep trouble. A really deep problem. They will stick with a superior striker, and clearly, that’s not enough. Frankly, in that scenario, any hope of winning a title in any competition will be history. That is why the non-use of the great Giroud is disconcerting.

Lampard must be creative and find a way to keep the three forwards happy on the field. You can certainly consider the concept of dual center forwards at times and a forward two from Abraham and Giroud would be a handful for any opposing backline. They could be flanked by Pulisic or Hudson-Odoi on the left and Ziyech on the right and the midfield could be dominated by the incomparable N’Golo Kante. It’s unorthodox for Chelsea, but it can work against some teams. But not much has been tested. Should be.

So continues the Olivier Giroud saga. It seems that the brilliant Frenchman is appreciated by his team but never so much by his club. Neither Arsenal nor Chelsea now seem to appreciate their ability to score key goals and help their teammates improve. Once again, as has been said before, there would have been no Chelsea Europa League title two years ago, nor would there be Champions League football this year for Chelsea without Giroud.

It’s about time the Chelsea leadership realized those facts and gave the Frenchman the pitching time he deserves before it’s too late, and head elsewhere and stand out. It deserves an extension, not the cold shoulder. Unfortunately, it seems that unless there is a change in strategy, it will be elsewhere after January. And it will be a real shame for Chelsea if it is.