Former Chelsea midfielder Joe Cole has raised concerns about the club’s direction and strategy under the current ownership, following the team’s devastating exit from the Champions League, which happened after an embarrassing 8-2 defeat to PSG.
Liam Rosenior’s squad had hoped for a turnaround after their 5-2 loss in Paris the previous week, but they fell behind within six minutes when Khvicha Kvaratskhelia capitalized on a mistake from Mamadou Sarr, scoring past Rob Sanchez.
Despite already facing an uphill battle, Bradley Barcola added another goal roughly 15 minutes in, with Senny Mayulu’s goal in the second half sealing a 3-0 defeat for the hosts on a humiliating night.
This loss resulted in an 8-2 aggregate defeat, marking one of the heaviest defeats in Chelsea’s European history, and the club now faces challenges in securing a spot for next season’s Champions League.
Chelsea now faces a challenge to qualify for the next season’s Champions League (REUTERS)
On TNT Sports following the match, Cole criticized the club’s leadership and expressed doubts about its future direction, emphasizing that the Blues seem “a million miles away” from clubs like PSG.
“This highlights the gap between us and Paris,” Cole stated.
“There’s an important issue related to strategy and the overall direction of the club. This serves as a reality check regarding our current standing.”
“Although a significant amount of money is being spent, we need to reassess our approach. This simply isn’t acceptable.”
“As a football club, the priority should be football first, not business. Otherwise, performances like this will keep happening,” he added.
Chelsea’s ownership group has been criticized for the club’s direction and strategy (AP)
Cole clarified that current issues do not stem from manager Liam Rosenior, as the new Blues boss “has just arrived,” yet he now faces a tough task to turn the season around, according to fellow TNT pundit Owen Hargreaves.
“If they can manage to win the FA Cup and secure a top-five finish, that would be a way to salvage the season,” Hargreaves remarked.
“However, with fixtures against [Manchester] City, Man Utd, and Liverpool on the road, those will be significant challenges; they’ll struggle to finish in the top five,” he added.
Chelsea’s upcoming match is against Everton in the Premier League on Saturday evening, followed by a quarter-final FA Cup clash against Port Vale on April 4.