John Obi Mikel, a former Chelsea midfielder, has harshly criticised head coach Liam Rosenior, saying that the 41-year-old is just a puppet for the club’s owners. The Blues have now lost four games in a row, including an embarrassing 3-0 loss at Everton and an 8-2 aggregate loss to holders Paris Saint-Germain in the Champions League.
The Nigerian legend didn’t hold back when discussing Rosenior’s behaviour at press conferences and whether he was fit for the job at Stamford Bridge on The Obi One Podcast. Chelsea are currently in sixth place in the Premier League with 48 points from 31 games. The pressure on Rosenior is growing every week.
Mikel said:
“There’s something that is not quite right with his appointment. He’s trying to speak in a certain way. He comes in press conferences, he’s enforcing his authority by force. He wants to do it but it’s not natural.”
The ex-Blues midfielder went even further in questioning how much freedom the manager has at the club.
“We all know you’re being controlled by the owners and they tell you what to do. So when he comes out in press conferences and makes this statement ‘oh my players, my team’ – you’ve only been there five minutes mate, so stop saying that, act normal, act natural and try and create some chemistry with your team.”
Mikel also ripped into Chelsea’s recent games, especially the loss at Goodison Park. Beto scored two goals for Everton, and Iliman Ndiaye scored the last goal to give them a big win at Hill Dickinson Stadium.
“I watched the game, it was awful to watch, ridiculous. They were all over us and played like they were PSG.”
Rosenior has won 10 of his 19 games since taking over from Enzo Maresca, but the club are now in a very uncertain time because of a terrible run of form.
Enzo Fernandez And Marc Cucurella Cast Doubt On Chelsea’s Long-Term Future
Things are going wrong at Stamford Bridge, and two senior players seem to be leaving in the summer. After Chelsea were knocked out of the Champions League, Enzo Fernandez was asked if he could promise to stay with the team next season, but he wouldn’t commit to his future. The Argentine midfielder has also said nice things about Madrid, which makes people think he might be moving to Real Madrid.
Marc Cucurella, who plays left-back, told The Athletic that he wouldn’t have agreed with the decision to fire Enzo Maresca in the middle of the season. The Spaniard also said it would be hard to turn down an offer from Barcelona if it came up.
The comments from both players make it clear that some of Chelsea’s older players aren’t sure about the direction of the project under BlueCo. Chelsea will play again on April 4, when they host League One team Port Vale in the FA Cup quarter-finals. They need to stop their worrying slide.