Jamie
Redknapp believes Chelsea's inability to add another striker to the squad in
the summer is costing them after their 2-2 draw at Newcastle.
Late goals from substitutes Ramires and Willian denied the Magpies their
first win of the season, with the hosts having been two-goals in front in
the
Saturday Night Football encounter.
However, once again, the Premier League champions looked out of sorts in the
north east, and slipped further behind in the title race.
Jose Mourinho's men looked toothless without Diego Costa to lead the line
and with Loic Remy and substitute Radamel Falcao struggling to make an
impact, Redknapp believes the Chelsea boss must take some of the blame for
not recognising the need for alternatives to Costa in the summer.
"If you're going to miss a player that much, you need to have something to
come in and do the job that he does," Redknapp said.
"So I think that Jose Mourinho has to accept responsibility for not bringing
in someone who can do that job.
"I think the decision to sign Falcao, as much as Falcao was an unbelievable
player a couple of years ago, you can see he's not at that level anymore.
"So I think he [Mourinho] has to take responsibility. He was so insistent on
getting a defender through the door, they've missed a real trick not buying
a centre-forward that can do that job that Costa does because everybody
knows, he's going to get banned again before the end of the season, the way
he plays football he going to get sent off so you're going to do without him
a lot more."
Thierry Henry had an alternative viewpoint, and believes that the way
Chelsea played in the first half meant even if Costa was playing, he'd be a
bystander with no service.
"In the first half, even if you had Diego Costa, Maradona and Pele, the way
they played in the first half was shocking," Henry said.
"You can't go out there in the Premier League and play the way they played,
and suddenly in the second-half, it's another team.
"The full-backs were allowed to go forward, Cesar Azpilicueta and Branislav
Ivanovic on the ball playing way higher.
"Ramires brought something different, Willian brought the same thing, but
their desire was there.
"You're always going to miss Diego Costa, but in the first half, the way
they played was shocking."
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