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Carragher has explained his issue with Chelsea | The Overlap
Jamie Carragher has been addressing has perceived over-criticism of Chelsea.
Jamie Carragher has responded to a claim that he is overly negative about Chelsea, and his verdict on the Blues will raise some questions. The Sky Sports pundit has often attacked Chelsea’s transfer policy, and he is certainly alone in that, with the Blues having spent huge amounts of money since the arrival of the current ownership group.
This summer has been a little different, with Chelsea spending much more responsibly, largely owing to a fine and the threat of an even bigger fine from UEFA if they didn’t get their spending under control.
The Blues have balanced incomings with exits this summer, and to a much greater extent than the policy adopted by Arsenal and Liverpool, who are both spending hundreds of millions in a bid to win the Premier League title.
Chelsea will expected to be in the title conversation this coming season, but they should realistically be satisfied with being in the conversation. It’s unlikely Enzo Maresca will expected to win the title in his second season.
As for Carragher and his criticism of Chelsea, he explains that his criticism is due to the club’s recruitment policy. He said on TalkSPORT: “I don’t speak negatively about Chelsea, I give my honest opinion which hasn’t changed in the last 12 months. My comments about players not signing for them is to do with the revolving door at the club, were they just swap players with the same ability, it’s the same this summer.
"I don’t think they are closer to the title because you can’t win the title with the goalkeeper you have or CB’s, plus you will play CL & won’t be able to rotate the team like you did last season in conference cup.”
Carragher’s comments assessed
The issue with Carragher’s comments is that they are largely outdated. When Todd Boehly arrived at the club, the Blues spent very irresponsibly, but in the last couple of years, they have placed a key focus on signing young talent, and they have not strayed from that path.
The result is a very young squad that is clearly getting better and competing at a much higher level, and the outlook is that if the bulk of this squad can be kept together, even with some rotation in places, the future will be incredibly bright.
Are Chelsea ready to win the Premier League title? Probably not. But the question for Carragher is; what is the ideal model? Manchester City spent incredible amounts of money to set up their dynasty, while Liverpool have also spent huge amounts over the last decade in a period that has only yielded them two Premier League titles. Arsenal have spent big sums and haven’t won the title at all in the last two decades.
Chelsea have a clear project and a clear transfer strategy, and for as long as they stick to it, they should get credit, even if there are some questionable decisions along the way, like with Nicolas Jackson.
Every club makes questionable decisions, every club make expensive gambles that do not pay off - it’s just the nature of the game. Liverpool did it with Darwin Nunez, Arsenal with Nicolas Pepé and the list goes on.
Do Chelsea have areas they still need to strengthen? Of course. But so do the majority of their rivals. It’s rare that a team is complete, especially when it comes to having the right level of depth, and even if a team reaches that stage, it’s only possible to maintain such a squad for a year or two due to players getting unhappy.
All that is to say, any and every transfer strategy can be criticised, and will be, but the Chelsea of the early Boehly days is not the the same of the Chelsea of today. What fans want to see is a clear direction and plan, and the Blues have lived by such a plan in the last 18 years to two years.
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