Hammered Chelsea return to the drawing board
Reading Time: 2min | Mon. 21.08.23. | 09:52
Just because you bring a truckload of quality players, it doesn't mean you'll play well
Mauricio Pochettino will have a big day in Chelsea's training centre in Cobham today. The Argentine has to pick up the pieces and get his players in the right set of mind following the painful 3-1 defeat at the hands of West Ham United on Sunday. And there are many broken pieces there.
It's obvious the Blues are undergoing a period of rebuilding. The club's ownership structure is still novel. The first team head coach has only recently arrived and, crucially, the vast majority of players are still strangers to the blue shirt.
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Nayef Aguerd, Michail Antonio and Lucas Paqueta all scored for David Moyes' team, exposing numerous problems still unsilved by the Stamford Bridge club.
Ironically, two most expensive players were among the biggest culprits for the loss. Enzo Fernandez missed a penalty for Chelsea, and debutant record signing Moises Caicedo gave one away at the other end to round off a miserable display at London Stadium.
The biggest problem for Pochettino is the defensive frailty of his side. Without the injured Reece James, the full-back positions were populated by Malo Gusto and Levi Colwill - and neither looked comfortable. Axel Disasi and veteran Thiago Silva were far from confident in the middle of the defence.
Pochettino brought on $242 million worth of substitutes on during the game, but those players let him down. Caicedo, Mykhaylo Mudryk and Noni Madueke were terrible and young Mason Burstow came on too late to do anything of note. The millions Chelsea are spending on players are no guarantee of success.
Talking about money -- and Chelsea have splashed a BILLION in the past three transfer windows -- it's astonishing Pochettino hasn't got a world-class, proven striker who will guarantee 20 goals per season. In another hit of irony, Chelsea still have Romelu Lukaku on their wage bill. The man they brought back to London two years ago for $122 million is training alone and will never play for Chelsea again.
The mess is vast, and so is the squad. Pochettino has a massive project to oversee, but he has to do it quickly. Chelsea cannot allow this season to resemble the last.
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