While Chelsea’s struggles this season have been widely discussed, several key concerns remain largely unaddressed by the club.
Fans and observers have highlighted deeper issues beyond results, from squad leadership to tactical rigidity and fatigue.
Squad Strategy Falling Apart
Chelsea’s transfer approach under the new ownership—signing young talents with the aim of developing and selling for profit—has yet to show real success. Stu voiced his concerns, calling the strategy a failure:
“After nearly three seasons as owners of the club, we have yet to see any of this come to fruition. In fact, most of the players purchased since the takeover have either underperformed, been loaned out, or don’t regularly start. The strategy is a disaster.”
Lack of Leadership Hurting the Team
With Chelsea’s squad among the youngest in the Premier League, the absence of experienced leaders is proving costly. Mike believes the team lacks a guiding figure in difficult moments:
“The elephant in the room is that we don’t have a real leader figure in the team. The team has such a young average age that there is no one with enough experience and leadership to take the players under their wing and guide them when things are tough. We need a John Terry-like figure.”
Awonsunle echoed these concerns, pointing to the team’s fatigue and lack of experience:
“The players are fatigued already and experience is lacking, that’s why they are fizzling out when at this time of the season energy and mental strength are required.”
Tactical Stubbornness – No Plan B?
Another growing issue is Chelsea’s tactical inflexibility under Enzo Maresca. Craig believes other managers have figured the Blues out:
“There is no Plan B, other coaches have worked out how to beat us. Substitutions are invariably like-for-like instead of tactical changes to improve attack/defence. We need to be able to adapt.”
Player Fatigue and Overreliance
Chelsea’s reliance on key players like Cole Palmer has also raised concerns. Daniel fears overplaying the youngster could lead to injuries:
“I don’t know if people are saying it or not, but give Cole Palmer a break – the boy is tired and we don’t want to be doing what Arsenal did to Saka… play him to injury.”
Injury Crisis Weakening the Squad
Recurring injuries have also prevented Chelsea from fielding their best XI regularly. Paul pointed out how key players have been unavailable for long periods:
“We have so many injury-prone players that aren’t available for huge chunks of time. Fofana, Badiashile, James, and Lavia in particular have been absent for so much of the past two years. Arguably, they all get in our best XI and their back-ups just aren’t as good.”
With the season entering a critical stage, Chelsea must address these issues to avoid another disappointing campaign.