“What has happened to Chelsea FC” - Former Blue goes on a massive rant calling out the standards at the club
Former Chelsea goalkeeper Asmir Begovic went on an explosive rant on Alex Goldberg's The Byline podcast, slamming the Blues' recruitment strategy and drop in standards over the past year.
Begovic plied his trade for the west London side for two years between 2015 and 2017, making 33 appearances in all competitions. The 36-year-old was surrounded by top talent and won the 2016-17 Premier League under Antonio Conte.
However, Chelsea are struggling six years later under Mauricio Pochettino. Blues co-owner Todd Boehly has splurged more than £1 billion on transfers in three transfer windows in one year. Yet, the club are lingering in 12th in the Premier League with just four points after four games.
They finished 12th last season as well, finishing with just 44 points, failing to qualify for any European competition in the process.
Begovic slammed the Blues for their drop in standards, questioning Boehly's decision to sign younger prospects over established superstars. He said (via @CFCPys):
“What has happened to Chelsea FC? I remember being in the dressing room being around players, world class, world class; world class, buying from Real Madrid, buying from Barcelona, buying from Bayern Munich, it’s like, buying from Brighton and buying potential players."
He added:
“I get you need a part of that but where is the world class players, Chelsea fans expect the best, we were talking about this before but Chelsea was THE standard, from top to bottom that Roman and Marina had, the first team squad was a joke, the standard was unbelievable."
"These players at his disposal, it’s a mid table squad, this is NOT Chelsea Football Club, I don’t understand, you don’t see Man City rebuilding, even if they are, they are 5th or 6th at worst, which isn’t even good enough."
The full rant can be viewed below:
Mauricio Pochettino and Co. have signed 12 players this summer, including Moises Caicedo, Romeo Lavia, Cole Palmer, Nicolas Jackson, and Christopher Nkunku. However, the majority will need time to develop and settle in the Premier League due to their inexperience.
Dwight Yorke backs Mauricio Pochettino to succeed at Chelsea
Former Manchester United star Dwight Yorke recently backed Mauricio Pochettino to success at Stamford Bridge despite the Blues' poor start to the 2023-24 season.
Pochettino notably managed Tottenham Hotspur for five-and-a-half seasons between May 2014 and November 2019. He excelled during his time there, winning 159 out of his 293 games in charge (54.27% win percentage), guiding Spurs to the 2018-19 UEFA Champions League final.
Despite the Blues' torrid start to the current campaign, Yorke believes Pochettino's experience and abundance of resources will help him find success. He spoke to Genting Casino and said (via Football.London):
"As a manager, you need to go in and build a culture of winning. Mauricio Pochetinno is one of the best clubs in the world and he has all the resources in the world to build that winning mentality."
He added:
"Going into a club with so many new players is always tough, but that’s why top managers earn the big bucks. Chelsea haven’t got off to a dream start, but Poch is an experienced coach and he’ll know what to do."
Mauricio Pochettino's men next face Bournemouth at the Vitality Stadium on Sunday, September 17.