{"id":1541,"date":"2026-04-27T22:26:48","date_gmt":"2026-04-27T22:26:48","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/playball.com.ng\/?p=1541"},"modified":"2026-04-27T22:26:48","modified_gmt":"2026-04-27T22:26:48","slug":"pat-nevin-accuses-chelsea-and-calum-mcfarlane-of-gamesmanship-leeds-united-fans-will-agree","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/playball.com.ng\/?p=1541","title":{"rendered":"Pat Nevin accuses Chelsea and Calum McFarlane of &#8216;gamesmanship&#8217;, Leeds United fans will agree"},"content":{"rendered":"<p> <br \/>\n<\/p>\n<div id=\"post-365270\">\n<div class=\"article-follow\">\n<div class=\"article-sharing google-follow\">  <img loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" width=\"28\" height=\"28\" src=\"https:\/\/www.thechelseachronicle.com\/wp-content\/themes\/grv-media\/img\/google-discover.svg\" alt=\"\"\/> <span>Add as preferred source on Google<\/span>  <\/div>\n<\/p><\/div>\n<p><strong>Chelsea are in the FA Cup final after a hard-fought 1-0 win over Leeds United, yet their performance did not go without criticism. Pat Nevin has accused Chelsea of \u201cpure gamesmanship\u201d.<\/strong><\/p>\n<p>Enzo Fernandez scored the only goal of the game to finally give Chelsea fans something to cheer about after five Premier League losses in a row, without scoring. McFarlane has injected some optimism.<\/p>\n<figure class=\"wp-block-grvmedia-grv-video GRVMultiVideo\"\/>\n<p>Liam Rosenior managed just four clean sheets during his time at Chelsea, across 23 games in league and cup. Yet, McFarlane has managed to conjure up a clean sheet when it mattered most, in the semi-final.<\/p>\n<section class=\"grv-talking-point\" data-trigger=\"vue-sidebar\" data-story-id=\"9a7c0191-1ed6-4737-96a1-a810b7ee60a2\" data-story-name=\"Chelsea vs Leeds United\" data-comment-id=\"63d3ad84-6f30-4618-afec-da32a0fb4fbc\" data-story-slug=\"chelsea-vs-leeds-united\">\n<div class=\"grv-talking-point__inner\">\n<header class=\"grv-talking-point__header\">  <\/header>\n<div class=\"grv-talking-point__content\">\n<div class=\"grv-talking-point__cta\">\n<div class=\"grv-talking-point__title-wrap\">\n<div class=\"grv-talking-point__title-content\">\n<h3 class=\"grv-talking-point__title\">Chelsea\u2019s player ratings v Leeds: Do YOU agree?<\/h3>\n<p class=\"grv-talking-point__subtitle\">Gusto and Sanchez excellent!<\/p>\n<\/p><\/div>\n<\/p><\/div>\n<\/p><\/div>\n<div class=\"grv-talking-point__embed\">\n<figure class=\"wp-block-image size-large\">\n<div><img decoding=\"async\" width=\"819\" height=\"1024\" loading=\"lazy\" sizes=\"auto, (max-width: 991px) 100vw, 800px\" src=\"https:\/\/cdn1.thechelseachronicle.com\/uploads\/17\/2026\/04\/player-ratings-1-1-819x1024.png\" alt=\"\" class=\"wp-image-365243\" srcset=\"https:\/\/cdn1.thechelseachronicle.com\/uploads\/17\/2026\/04\/player-ratings-1-1-819x1024.png 819w, https:\/\/cdn1.thechelseachronicle.com\/uploads\/17\/2026\/04\/player-ratings-1-1-240x300.png 240w, https:\/\/cdn1.thechelseachronicle.com\/uploads\/17\/2026\/04\/player-ratings-1-1-768x960.png 768w, https:\/\/cdn1.thechelseachronicle.com\/uploads\/17\/2026\/04\/player-ratings-1-1-912x1140.png 912w, https:\/\/cdn1.thechelseachronicle.com\/uploads\/17\/2026\/04\/player-ratings-1-1-600x750.png 600w, https:\/\/cdn1.thechelseachronicle.com\/uploads\/17\/2026\/04\/player-ratings-1-1.png 1080w\"\/><\/div>\n<\/figure><\/div>\n<\/p><\/div>\n<\/p><\/div>\n<\/section>\n<p>A huge result for Chelsea going into the final four Premier League games of the season. Yet, Chelsea have been accused of cheating in the second half, and Leeds fans made their frustration clear at Wembley.<\/p>\n<h2 class=\"wp-block-heading\" id=\"h-pat-nevin-accuses-his-former-side-chelsea-of-gamesmanship\">Pat Nevin accuses his former side, Chelsea, of \u2018gamesmanship\u2019<\/h2>\n<p>During the second half, after a fast start from Leeds following the restart, Robert Sanchez went down feigning injury. The Spaniard was able to recover and finish the game, but Leeds fans were not naive.<\/p>\n<p>The Whites have seen this before. Goalkeepers are going down with an injury to stop the game. An outfield player does it and the game can continue. Leeds have been victims of it against Man City.<\/p>\n<figure class=\"wp-block-image size-large\">\n<div><img decoding=\"async\" width=\"1024\" height=\"714\" loading=\"lazy\" sizes=\"auto, (max-width: 991px) 100vw, 800px\" src=\"https:\/\/cdn1.thechelseachronicle.com\/uploads\/17\/2026\/04\/GettyImages-2273227645-1024x714.jpg\" alt=\"Calum McFarlane, Interim Manager of Chelsea, talks with Enzo Fernandez of Chelsea\" class=\"wp-image-365252\" srcset=\"https:\/\/cdn1.thechelseachronicle.com\/uploads\/17\/2026\/04\/GettyImages-2273227645-1024x714.jpg 1024w, https:\/\/cdn1.thechelseachronicle.com\/uploads\/17\/2026\/04\/GettyImages-2273227645-300x209.jpg 300w, https:\/\/cdn1.thechelseachronicle.com\/uploads\/17\/2026\/04\/GettyImages-2273227645-768x536.jpg 768w, https:\/\/cdn1.thechelseachronicle.com\/uploads\/17\/2026\/04\/GettyImages-2273227645-1536x1072.jpg 1536w, https:\/\/cdn1.thechelseachronicle.com\/uploads\/17\/2026\/04\/GettyImages-2273227645-1140x795.jpg 1140w, https:\/\/cdn1.thechelseachronicle.com\/uploads\/17\/2026\/04\/GettyImages-2273227645-750x523.jpg 750w\"\/><\/div><figcaption title=\"LONDON, ENGLAND - APRIL 26: Calum McFarlane, Interim Manager of Chelsea, talks with Enzo Fernandez of Chelsea in a drinks break during the Emirates FA Cup Semi Final match between Chelsea and Leeds United at Wembley Stadium on April 26, 2026 in London, England. (Photo by Darren Walsh\/Chelsea FC via Getty Images)\">Photo by Darren Walsh\/Chelsea FC via Getty Images<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n<p>Plenty of other teams, too. On BBC Radio 5 Live, former Chelsea star Pat Nevin accused Chelsea and manager Calum McFarlane of \u201cgamesmanship\u201d as the latter spoke to his players with the game paused.<\/p>\n<p>Nevin ordered referee Jarred Gillett to take control and make a decision: \u201cIt\u2019s pure gamesmanship. That\u2019s a problem in the game. If you are the referee, you\u2019ve got to make a decision. He\u2019s not injured.\u201d<\/p>\n<h2 class=\"wp-block-heading\" id=\"h-calum-mcfarlane-added-a-steel-that-has-been-missing-for-weeks\">Calum McFarlane added a steel that has been missing for weeks<\/h2>\n<p>While it is clearly not a part of the beautiful game and it is flouting the rules, why not? Other teams are doing it, and until goalkeepers are stopped from doing so, why should Chelsea be above the line morally?<\/p>\n<section class=\"grv-talking-point\" data-trigger=\"vue-sidebar\" data-story-id=\"9a7c0191-1ed6-4737-96a1-a810b7ee60a2\" data-story-name=\"Chelsea vs Leeds United\" data-comment-id=\"3313c937-9162-4ba9-92dc-1fbe8aa2fd79\" data-story-slug=\"chelsea-vs-leeds-united\">\n<div class=\"grv-talking-point__inner\">\n<header class=\"grv-talking-point__header\">  <\/header>\n<div class=\"grv-talking-point__content\">\n<div class=\"grv-talking-point__cta\">\n<div class=\"grv-talking-point__title-wrap\">\n<p><h3 class=\"grv-talking-point__title\">Chelsea have absolutely dominated Leeds! What has Calum McFarlane done differently to Liam Rosenior? \ud83e\udd14<\/h3>\n<\/p><\/div>\n<\/p><\/div>\n<div class=\"grv-talking-point__embed\">\n<figure class=\"wp-block-image size-large\">\n<div><img decoding=\"async\" width=\"1024\" height=\"683\" loading=\"lazy\" sizes=\"auto, (max-width: 991px) 100vw, 800px\" src=\"https:\/\/cdn1.thechelseachronicle.com\/uploads\/17\/2026\/04\/GettyImages-2272667018-1024x683.jpg\" alt=\"Chelsea's English interim coach Calum McFarlane looks on\" class=\"wp-image-365212\" srcset=\"https:\/\/cdn1.thechelseachronicle.com\/uploads\/17\/2026\/04\/GettyImages-2272667018-1024x683.jpg 1024w, https:\/\/cdn1.thechelseachronicle.com\/uploads\/17\/2026\/04\/GettyImages-2272667018-300x200.jpg 300w, https:\/\/cdn1.thechelseachronicle.com\/uploads\/17\/2026\/04\/GettyImages-2272667018-768x512.jpg 768w, https:\/\/cdn1.thechelseachronicle.com\/uploads\/17\/2026\/04\/GettyImages-2272667018-1536x1024.jpg 1536w, https:\/\/cdn1.thechelseachronicle.com\/uploads\/17\/2026\/04\/GettyImages-2272667018-1140x760.jpg 1140w, https:\/\/cdn1.thechelseachronicle.com\/uploads\/17\/2026\/04\/GettyImages-2272667018-750x500.jpg 750w\"\/><\/div><figcaption title=\"Chelsea's English interim coach Calum McFarlane looks on ahead of kick off in the English FA Cup semi final football match between Chelsea and Leeds United at Wembley stadium in London, on April 26, 2026. (Photo by Ben STANSALL \/ AFP via Getty Images) \/ NOT FOR MARKETING OR ADVERTISING USE \/ RESTRICTED TO EDITORIAL USE\">Photo by Ben STANSALL \/ AFP via Getty Images<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n<\/p><\/div>\n<\/p><\/div>\n<\/p><\/div>\n<\/section>\n<p>Chelsea\u2019s performance today was one of grit, one of steel. It was one that had been missed so dearly under Rosenior. With the latter in charge, Chelsea felt lightweight, and other teams took advantage. <\/p>\n<p>In stark contrast, against a physical side like Leeds, Chelsea put themselves about. Tosin did a solid job of marking Dominic Calvert-Lewin, and the midfield was dogged. McFarlane, clearly, was street smart, too.<\/p>\n<p>Following the team talks on the side of the pitch while Sanchez received medical attention, the game petered out, and that could be due to the tactics McFarlane provided. He nullified Leeds, and it paid off.<\/p>\n<div class=\"see-more-wrapper lazy see-more-open see-more-blank extra-content\" data-src=\"https:\/\/www.thechelseachronicle.com\/match-coverage\/pat-nevin-accuses-chelsea-and-calum-mcfarlane-of-cheating-and-leeds-united-fans-will-agree\/none\" data-type=\"subscribe\">\n<div class=\"see-more subscribe\">\n<figure class=\"newsletter\">\n<div><svg class=\"loading\" width=\"118\" height=\"36\" viewbox=\"0 0 118 36\"><use href=\"#dots-svg\"\/><\/svg><\/p>\n<div class=\"signup\"><span class=\"hf\">Join Our Newsletter<\/span><\/p>\n<p>Receive a digest of our best Chelsea content each week direct to your mailbox<\/p>\n<\/div><\/div>\n<\/figure>\n<\/div>\n<\/div><\/div>\n<p><script>grvLoadAnalytics = () => {(function(d,s,i){var f=d.getElementsByTagName(s)(0),j=d.createElement(s);j.async=true;j.src=\"https:\/\/www.googletagmanager.com\/gtag\/js?id=\"+i;f.parentNode.insertBefore(j,f);})(document,'script','G-E7VRWQHDP6');(function(d,s,i){if(!\/callback=in\/.test(window.location.search)){var e=d.createElement(s);var n=d.getElementsByTagName(s)(0);e.type=\"text\/javascript\";e.async=true;e.src=\"https:\/\/static.chartbeat.com\/js\/chartbeat.js\";n.parentNode.insertBefore(e,n);}})(document,\"script\",\"G-E7VRWQHDP6\");(function(){let s=document.createElement(\"script\");s.async=true;s.dataset.domain=\"thechelseachronicle.com\/MFj4XQ\";s.src=\"https:\/\/api.publytics.net\/js\/script.manual.ping.min.js\";document.getElementsByTagName(\"head\")(0).appendChild(s);})();if(!\/callback=in\/.test(window.location.search)){setTimeout(function(){!function(f,b,e,v,n,t,s){if(f.fbq)return;n=f.fbq=function(){n.callMethod?n.callMethod.apply(n,arguments):n.queue.push(arguments)};if(!f._fbq)f._fbq=n;n.push=n;n.loaded=!0;n.version='2.0';n.queue=();t=b.createElement(e);t.async=!0;t.src=v;s=b.getElementsByTagName(e)(0);s.parentNode.insertBefore(t,s)}(window,document,'script','https:\/\/connect.facebook.net\/en_US\/fbevents.js');fbq('init','663509325503632');fbq('track','PageView');fbq('track','ViewContent',{content_name:'Pat Nevin accuses Chelsea and Calum McFarlane of &#8216;gamesmanship&#8217;, Leeds United fans will agree',content_category:'Match Coverage',content_ids:(365270,\"calum-mcfarlane\",\"pat-nevin\"),content_type:'post',});},3000);}}<\/script><br \/>\n<br \/><\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"<p>Add as preferred source on Google Chelsea are in the FA Cup final after a&#8230;<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":1,"featured_media":1542,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"pagelayer_contact_templates":[],"_pagelayer_content":"","footnotes":""},"categories":[4],"tags":[],"class_list":["post-1541","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-chelsea"],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/playball.com.ng\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/1541","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/playball.com.ng\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/playball.com.ng\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/playball.com.ng\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/users\/1"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/playball.com.ng\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fcomments&post=1541"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/playball.com.ng\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/1541\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/playball.com.ng\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/media\/1542"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/playball.com.ng\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fmedia&parent=1541"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/playball.com.ng\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fcategories&post=1541"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/playball.com.ng\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Ftags&post=1541"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}