Any hope that Mauricio Pochettino's appointment would solve the Blues' problems has evaporated, but the club's issues transcend the new head coach
Everyone associated with Chelsea Football Club would have hoped that things couldn't get any worse than last term's 12th-placed finish at the end of a harrowing campaign, but six games into the 2023-24 season, the Blues have hit a new low. One win, two defeats and three draws leaves the west Londoners languishing in 14th position in the Premier League, with Carabao Cup victories over AFC Wimbledon and Brighton offering little reprieve.
It is arguably now approaching two years since we have seen Chelsea at their best domestically, and it has been a story of cause and effect ever since. But who is responsible for this seemingly never-ending period of mediocrity and malaise?
GOAL assesses who must shoulder their share of the blame for the Blues' woes, as Mauricio Pochettino looks to pick up the pieces.
GettyThomas Tuchel & his former employers
It may seem a stretch to attribute blame for Chelsea's current predicament to those who worked at the club more than 12 months ago, but such has been the Blues' downturn in form since Christmas 2021 that their involvement must be interrogated.
Nine out of 10 Chelsea supporters would be delighted to still have Tuchel in the dugout, but he is not above reproach. The biggest failure of his tenure was his inability to get the best out of a host of expensive, highly-regarded attacking players during his tenure, including Kai Havertz, Timo Werner, Christian Pulisic and Romelu Lukaku.
That recent history has created a pressurised environment for Chelsea's forwards and seems to have contributed to a defeatist mentality in that department.
Former Chelsea director Marina Granovskaia's failure to tie the likes of Antonio Rudiger, Andreas Christensen and Mason Mount down to new contracts has also proven to be damaging, with an overhaul of the defence not exactly successful to this point and Mount – a shining success story of the academy – forcing a move to Manchester United in the summer, much to the chagrin of the fanbase.
Advertisement(C)Getty ImagesThe co-owners
Unequivocally, Chelsea co-owners Todd Boehly and Behdad Eghbali have been agents of chaos since completing their takeover in May 2022, and there is very little doubt that the Blues would not be in their current predicament had oligarch Roman Abramovich not been forced to sell his beloved asset in the wake of Russia's invasion of Ukraine.
A series of questionable leadership decisions have followed, including Boehly appointing himself as sporting director last summer and subsequently overspending on the unsuccessful signings Kalidou Koulibaly and Marc Cucurella.
Indeed, their unabashed spending and commitment to overhauling the squad has contributed to an atmosphere of constant upheaval and a state of flux in every department, as managers, coaches and players alike make their way through the revolving door.
Perhaps their biggest mistake to date was relieving hugely popular, Champions League-winning head coach Tuchel of his duties and replacing him with Graham Potter, with the situation only deteriorating from that point onwards.
Their hands-on approach has drifted towards being overbearing at times as they skulk into the dressing room at full-time after a bad result, with Boehly allegedly berating the squad and calling them "embarrassing" during Frank Lampard's spell in temporary charge.
GettyThe sporting directors
Paul Winstanley and Lawrence Stewart's respective arrivals during last season generated a lot of excitement that Chelsea's record of hit-and-miss transfer dealings would be consigned to history, with the former joining from the revered Brighton recruitment team.
However, things have not gone as many would have expected. The Blues were accused of deploying a scattergun approach in the January window with Winstanley and Stewart heavily involved but not yet installed in their roles as co-sporting directors, spending more than £300m ($367m) on eight new players including £89m ($109m) on Mykhailo Mudryk – who is yet to come anywhere close to justifying that price-tag – and £107m ($131m) on Enzo Fernandez.
Although Nicolas Jackson impressed in pre-season, the decision not to pursue an elite striker with a proven goal-scoring record has been thrust into the spotlight as the Senegal international struggles to adapt to the Premier League.
Their policy of only pursuing players under the age of 25 has also raised eyebrows, with the likes of James Maddison and James Ward-Prowse overlooked in the summer and now shining for two of the club's London rivals. Indeed, Chelsea ultimately spent more than the fees that pair commanded on far less experienced names in Cole Palmer and Romeo Lavia.
It has also been reported that the Blues declined to pursue Declan Rice – seemingly a long-term target for the club – because he would cost an 'English premium'. Moises Caicedo was subsequently signed from Brighton for a British-record £115m ($141m) – £5m ($6m) more than Arsenal paid West Ham for Rice.
Although they have hacked down their wage bill, Chelsea are yet to see a tangible payoff for their mass summer clear-out, with no fewer than 23 departures contributing to an overarching sense of chaos and upheaval. After a nightmarish 2022-23 campaign, the Blues' form hasn't been much better so far in the new season.
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GettyGraham Potter
It's difficult to know exactly where Potter went wrong in his ill-fated time in charge, but he certainly failed to endear himself to the Chelsea faithful.
Accustomed to the snarling, competitive edge of the likes of Tuchel, Jose Mourinho and Antonio Conte, Potter's 'nice guy' approach wasn't well received by an impatient fanbase.
The decision to ostracise Pierre Emerick-Aubameyang – one of very few natural goal-scorers in the squad – also backfired as Havertz flattered to deceive as a lone striker throughout the season.
Finally, despite being boosted by a host of January signings, Potter never got the best out of the majority of his new arrivals, although he understandably struggled to juggle a bloated squad.