Owen Hargreaves believes Chelsea’s transfer policy has been costly to the team (Premier League Productions)
Owen Hargreaves has called on Chelsea to change their transfer strategy after the 1-1 draw with Burnley on Saturday.
Joao Pedro gave Chelsea an early lead at Stamford Bridge but Liam Rosenior’s side were reduced to 10 men in the 72nd minute after Wesley Fofana was sent off.
Burnley then scored an equaliser in the third minute of injury time as Zian Flemming got on the end of James Ward-Prowse’s corner with an excellent header past Robert Sanchez.
The draw puts Chelsea fourth in the Premier League but they will be overtaken if Manchester United secure at least a point away to Everton on Monday evening.
Hargreaves, meanwhile, believes Chelsea’s lack of experience in defence will continue to hinder them for the remainder of the season.
After it was pointed out that Chelsea have had six red cards in the Premier League this season, Hargreaves told Premier League Productions: ‘I think it’s inexperience.
‘You know what, they’re [Chelsea] not even a nasty team, some teams back in the day were properly nasty, got nasty red cards, they’re all quite silly red cards the ones they have got.
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Wesley Fofana’s red card is Chelsea’s sixth in the Premier League this season (Action Images via Reuters)
‘Again, it goes back to recruitment. They spent so much money on this squad, they’ve got some brilliant attacking players. The centre-back position and the goalkeeper they need to address, you need experience in there.
‘You think they had Thiago Silva, one of the best and they just let him go for free.
‘They’ve got all these talented young players, but I don’t think having just young players in the centre-back position is the right decision.’
Most red cards in the Premier League this season
Chelsea: 6
Everton: 4
Tottenham: 3
West Ham: 3
Speaking after Chelsea’s draw against Burnley, Rosenior refused to blame the result on Fofana’s red card.
That wasn’t on Wesley. That was on our performance,’ Rosenior said.
‘From the first goal, we lacked incision when we had control. I want incision. I want us to create wave after wave of attack. We were too safe in our possession.
‘When you give a team, any team, a one-goal advantage, anything can happen. The red card happens, you’re down to 10 men.
‘We knew their biggest threat with [James] Ward-Prowse on the pitch was set plays. We went as big as we possibly could because that was the only way they could score with 10 men. We still don’t see it out.
‘I think the frustration is more the last two home games. From being in winning positions and being in control of the game to not win the two games, that’s the biggest frustration. It’s not a blame on an individual.’
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