Former Arsenal forward Paul Merson has hit out at the Blues boss following a poor run of results
Chelsea head coach Liam Rosenior (L) and Newcastle United's Eddie Howe
Chelsea head coach Liam Rosenior and Newcastle United's Eddie Howe
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The mood on Tyneside may be understandably dark following Sunday's Tyne-Wear derby defeat, but they are not the only Premier League club in the footballing doldrums right now.
While Tottenham's season goes from bad to worse (or better depending on your viewpoint), London rivals Chelsea are also struggling for form under new manager Liam Rosenior.
The former Hull City boss has seen his side struggle to beat Wrexham in the FA Cup, before a home defeat to Newcastle inbetween a heavy Champions League loss to PSG.
Saturday's 3-0 defeat at Everton was the latest blow for the Blues, who remain just six points better off than United with seven games to play.
It has increased the pressure on Rosenior, who is only a few months into his Stamford Bridge reign, with former Arsenal star Paul Merson insisting the 41-year-old wouldn't even have got an interview with Newcastle or Liverpool, had the managerial position become available at either club.
“It’s been a bad month for Liam Rosenior at Chelsea," Merson wrote in his Sky Sports column. "That’s four games on the trot where they’ve been smacked. They can’t win one game.
“There are ways of losing football matches and that was a horrible, horrible watch at Everton. It didn’t look to me that the players were really on the same page as the manager.
“If Arne Slot got the sack at Liverpool this week, or if Eddie Howe left Newcastle, would Strasbourg boss Liam Rosenior have got one of those two jobs?
Liam Rosenior
Chelsea boss Liam Rosenior after the 3-0 defeat to Everton(Image: Chris Brunskill/Fantasista)
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“I’ll go one further: would he even get an interview? It’s madness.
“This Chelsea team don’t sit pretty at all with the fans, who have put Rosenior under pressure from day one.
“But the board – whatever plan they’ve got – you’d think Rosenior would need to get into the top five for them to be happy.”
Chelsea have a tough run-in, with Manchester United, Liverpool, Manchester City and Brighton still to play as they look to seal a top-five place.