Three Premier League defeats in a row, and the first time Chelsea have lost three games successively without scoring in 28 years. Chelsea are in a bad place, and Eidur Gudjohnsen isn’t impressed.
Liam Rosenior is hardly to blame, either. Chelsea have looked abject, and there is only so much the gaffer can do. This is a Chelsea side lacking, despite the huge investment from Todd Boehly and Clearlake.
A two-legged defeat to PSG in the Champions League can happen; there’s no shame in that. A one-off loss to an Everton, a Newcastle or a Man City is acceptable. But all three, without scoring, is a concern.
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Todd Boehly’s long-term plan is simply not working. Money has been spent poorly, and Chelsea are worse off than when Boehly first started spending. Eidur Gudjohnsen had his say on Sunday, after City’s 3-0 win.
Eidur Gudjohnsen questions Todd Boehly in Chelsea rant
On Premier League Productions, Gudjohnsen was simply asked about his beloved Chelsea. The club he played for 263 times, scoring 78 goals. He would go on an impassioned rant for the next five minutes.
“In the second half, I don’t think I’ve ever seen a Chelsea team with such an inferiority in the physical part of the game. Men vs talents. Who do they look up to up to, to get you inspired?
“When they go into the dressing room, do they have anybody that is going to grab someone by their throat, so to speak? They don’t have a player to raise the levels of each other, the demands.
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“I don’t get the feeling that there is a player in that dressing room now, absolutely devastated. If we’d have lost 3-0 at home, back in our day, I wouldn’t have slept for four days,” Gudjohnsen claims.
“Is there anyone who actually loves this club? They’re too easy to play against and I think it comes down to character. Who in this Chelsea team is at the peak of their Chelsea career?
“Everyone has a level above, or most of them do. Not a single player in the peak of their career, in one of the biggest squads in the Premier League. The easiest thing to say they are lacking leadership.
“But who is going to grow into that role? Reece James is, but he’s injured and when he isn’t on the pitch, who is going to drag them through the mud?”, Gudjohnsen asked, questioning Boehly’s approach.
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Enzo Fernandez served the second of his two-game Chelsea ban on Sunday as he watched his side lose to Man City, probably relieved he was not part of a midfield that was so easily overrun in the second half.
Rosenior was asked if he regretted banning Fernandez, and if the World Cup winner would have made an impact on Sunday. He believes his side missed the Argentine, but stood by the decision to ban him.
Gudjohnsen pointed to the club’s lack of leadership. He likened it to the Chelsea of old: “That’s a different matter [Fernandez]. But it just goes to show how important a Champions League spot is for Chelsea.
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“Where do they go from here? Can they keep everyone here? At least, get a sense of the players who are willing to die for the shirt, so to speak. Build around them. If you can attract some experienced players.
“Possibly even some connected with the club, to bring the message to the players; what does it mean to play for the club. I came in a dressing room with Dennis Wise, Marcel Desailly. I absorbed information.
“Jimmy [Floyd Hasselbaink], JT, Lampard. You can’t buy those kind of players now. If you’re not on it in training, I’ll let you know, and vice versa. The recruitment – Didier Drogba. We’re some way off that now.”
With four points now separating Chelsea and the Champions League spots, things do not get easier for the Blues. They go to Manchester United on the weekend, with Rosenior desperately in need of a win.
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