In a recent column, Paul Merson gave his views on Chelsea’s slump. That’s because pressure is growing on manager Liam Rosenior.
The Blues are on a six-game losing streak in eight games in all competitions after losing 1-0 to Manchester United at Stamford Bridge on Saturday night. This leaves them in a serious situation regarding Champions League qualification.
Chelsea are seven points behind fifth-placed Liverpool with five games remaining after losing all of their weekend games against the Blues. If you lose to Brighton on Tuesday night, survive. sky sportsChelsea could fall as low as 11th in the Premier League standings by the end of the week.
With Rosenior under pressure and Chelsea’s season threatening to slip away, read the Magic Man’s thoughts on the Blues below…
Chelsea are fighting for European qualification next season
Champions League football for Chelsea next season does not seem to be the case now. I don’t see how they get in. I would be shocked if they went in.
However, Chelsea is struggling to advance to Europe next season. And that’s no exaggeration. 33 games have passed and Chelsea are level on points with Brentford and Bournemouth. If Sunderland had won at Aston Villa on Sunday they would have finished ahead of Chelsea.
If Chelsea fail to beat Brighton on Tuesday, they could end up in 11th place by the end of the week. And do I expect them to beat Brighton on Tuesday? no.
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The only consolation is that beating Brighton and Nottingham Forest are games Liverpool must win. You never know at that point.
However, Chelsea do not play any other teams in the top five. So there’s no chance of another point, which is good news for any team in the top five with five games remaining.
Champions League football will not be a huge blow to Chelsea.
Do you think Cole Palmer will play in the Europa Conference League for Chelsea? I don’t think so. Manchester United will be in the Champions League and I wouldn’t be surprised if he plays there next season.
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WATCH FREE: Highlights of Chelsea vs Manchester United match in Premier League
But I don’t see Enzo Fernandes leaving. Where is he going? No one is paying him £100 million. And Chelsea won’t accept losing him.
There is a lot of work to be done at Chelsea. They desperately need a centre-forward. We need a goalkeeper. They have good defensive midfielders in Moises Caicedo, Romeo Rabia and Andrey Santos, but they need another player who is a bit more crafty.
What will Chelsea do with Rosenior?
I don’t know what Chelsea will do with Liam Rossinier. In a way, I feel bad for that person because he’s been through something difficult. He ended up doing really big things in Strasbourg. And he was always one loss away from pressure.
However, he only managed two wins in eight games. Only two of those wins came from Wrexham and Port Vale. And they won 5 out of 15 games. It wasn’t very good.
I don’t know what projects are going on in Chelsea. The whole idea of the model is to make money, not lose money. It’s about buying players, producing them, and then selling them for a profit.
It’s important to remember that many Chelsea fans have just experienced pure success. If you’re a 25-year-old Chelsea fan, you’ve seen nothing but success.
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Ahead of the match against Manchester United at Stamford Bridge, Chelsea and Strasbourg fans took part in a peaceful protest against Bluco’s ownership.
But at the club it’s a different model. Gone are the days of Jose Mourinho, Antonio Conte and Thomas Tuchel.
Not unless you get Andoni Iraola. But then again he would have been from Bournemouth. A draw or defeat against Newcastle at the weekend would have been cause for concern.
But if he comes to Chelsea, you will lose a few games and be under extreme pressure.
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Andoni Iraola speaks for the first time since it was announced he will leave Bournemouth at the end of the season.
And anyway, I would be shocked if Iraola hasn’t found another job yet. You can’t leave a Premier League football club without knowing that you’ve taken up another job somewhere else.
But I don’t think the best, best, best, best managers will work in the Chelsea system where ‘we’ll do our best without gaining too much experience and we’ll get us into the Champions League’.
That’s all you have to do. They don’t need to win the league. Absolutely not. They just have to make sure the players get better and sell them.
Watch Brighton v Chelsea live on Sky Sports from 7.30pm to 8pm on Tuesday night.
