- Chelsea have had a difficult start to the season despite their tremendous efforts
- Sunday’s dull goalless draw against Bournemouth showed that there is still work to be done
- Listen to the latest episode of the Mail Sport podcast It all starts!
Chelsea are little more than just ‘expensive names on a team sheet’ with little connection between players and fans, Ian Ladyman said on Mail Sport’s It’s All Kicking Off podcast.
The Blues have spent more than £1 billion on new signings since Todd Boehly took over as owner, but appear to have gone backwards as Mauricio Pochettino ‘cleans up the mess’ left by previous managers.
The dull goalless draw against Bournemouth on Sunday leaves Chelsea in a lowly fourteenth place in the Premier League, with just one win from their first five games.
Chris Sutton, also on the show, argued that Pochettino has ‘no idea’ what his strongest team looks like amid a flood of incoming and outgoing players.
The former Chelsea striker said: “Pochettino has gone to Chelsea and he is still basically cleaning up the mess.
Mauricio Pochettino ‘has no idea’ what his strongest Chelsea line-up is amid a constant stream of new signings, Chris Sutton has argued on Mail Sport’s It’s All Kicking Off podcast
Nicolas Jackson (left) and Enzo Fernandez (right), two of Chelsea’s expensive signings this year, posted dismal figures in Sunday’s dull goalless draw at Bournemouth
‘It was a top team, we know about the signings at Chelsea, they bought young and he needs time to develop the team. It’s that simple.
‘They have problems in terms of scoring goals and that has been going on for a long time.
‘[Nicolas] Jackson isn’t shooting, it’s five games. [Christopher] Unfortunately for Pochettino, Nkunku is injured and will be out for a few months.
‘It doesn’t click. I don’t think Pochettino has any idea what his best team is, but it’s still very early.’
Ladyman, Mail Sport’s football editor, argued that the player turnover at Stamford Bridge makes it impossible for Chelsea to have any form of identity at the moment.
He said: ‘As a Chelsea fan over the last few years, if I came along on a Saturday afternoon and looked at the team sheet, given the sheer number of players who have come and gone from that club, I would ask who some of the players were.
‘Manchester City has been owned by Abu Dhabi for 15 years now and they have already managed to spend money and win.
‘They brought in players like Kompany, Zabaleta, Toure and Aguero, who are now viewed by Manchester City fans in the same way as Bell, Summerbee and Lee.
Mail Sport football editor Ian Ladyman says Chelsea are ‘just expensive names on a team sheet’ with little connection to the fans
Pochettino speaks to £88.5m winger Mykhailo Mudryk after being sent off on Sunday
Mail Sport’s Chris Sutton believes Pochettino needs more time to ‘clean up the mess’
“They’ve managed to go from that era to this era, players like John Stones, Kyle Walker and Kevin De Bruyne who have been there for a number of years.
‘These are players who almost completely have the club to their name.
‘Mo Salah, a North African footballer, will be in the pantheon alongside Kevin Keegan when he leaves Anfield.
‘What part of that do you see when you look at Chelsea? You only see names on a team sheet. Expensive names on a team sheet. They don’t even have a striker!
‘Of course Chelsea has been successful and given its supporters a lot of joy, fun and profit, but they could have done what City are doing now if they had been smarter.’
