Nicolas Anelka has begun the post-mortem on Chelsea's FA Cup campaign by highlighting a simple truth - top players didn't produce top performances at Barnsley.
Anelka was the central figure in a three-man attack in the absence of Didier Drogba but he and his colleagues were nullified on Saturday evening at Oakwell, registering just four attempts on-target and rarely troubling keeper Luke Steele. It left the team powerless to save the game after Kayode Odejayi had headed in.
With the Blues making a habit of dealing with lower division opposition in the past decade and so few top flight clubs remaining in the FA Cup, there have rarely been more surprising nor painful defeats in our history.
However, Anelka defends the team over the most common accusation on such occasions, that they lacked application and hunger.
'We knew it was going to be difficult because they played with their lives and everyone in the dressing room was determined to win this game. Sometimes in football, things go wrong and you have to accept it.
'Barnsley played well and sometimes these results happen.
'The tactics were right,' he insisted. 'Chelsea is a big club and we should be better than this.
'The criticism must be about the players because we didn't play well and we have to accept the fact. We know the media will be after the manager but you know as players when you played well and today we didn't.'
Unlike many of his colleagues on the pitch, Anelka has yet to win his first trophy at the club. He hasn't given up hope of achieving it this season with the title race continuing on Wednesday and the Champions League draw on Friday.
'I hope we change this losing of important games and now we are talking about the double.
'We have talked about the Champions League and I think we can do it because we have big players. We will try our best to do it.'
Anelka was the central figure in a three-man attack in the absence of Didier Drogba but he and his colleagues were nullified on Saturday evening at Oakwell, registering just four attempts on-target and rarely troubling keeper Luke Steele. It left the team powerless to save the game after Kayode Odejayi had headed in.
With the Blues making a habit of dealing with lower division opposition in the past decade and so few top flight clubs remaining in the FA Cup, there have rarely been more surprising nor painful defeats in our history.
However, Anelka defends the team over the most common accusation on such occasions, that they lacked application and hunger.
'We knew it was going to be difficult because they played with their lives and everyone in the dressing room was determined to win this game. Sometimes in football, things go wrong and you have to accept it.
'Barnsley played well and sometimes these results happen.
'The tactics were right,' he insisted. 'Chelsea is a big club and we should be better than this.
'The criticism must be about the players because we didn't play well and we have to accept the fact. We know the media will be after the manager but you know as players when you played well and today we didn't.'
Unlike many of his colleagues on the pitch, Anelka has yet to win his first trophy at the club. He hasn't given up hope of achieving it this season with the title race continuing on Wednesday and the Champions League draw on Friday.
'I hope we change this losing of important games and now we are talking about the double.
'We have talked about the Champions League and I think we can do it because we have big players. We will try our best to do it.'
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