It just keeps getting worse and worse for Chelsea.
The West London club were taken apart by a Manchester United team lacking the star power and flashy names of past years. The 4-0 loss was a clear indictment of everything that has gone wrong at Stamford Bridge over the past few years.
Evidence of how far this team has fallen could be seen in the players fielded in their starting 11. The likes of Ross Barkley, Mason Mount, Emerson Palmieri, and Tammy Abraham would not even come close to getting a start for most other major teams. It also didn't help Chelsea that they had been placed under a transfer ban.
The problems had already been mounting in prior seasons. Last season may have been their most tumultuous yet - only the outstanding play of Eden Hazard kept the club relevant, culminating in a rather undeserved Europa League victory.
It doesn't take a genius to figure out what Chelsea's main problem is: ownership. Roman Abramovich is clearly the worst owner in European club football. He has turned a once mighty club into a punchline.
There are some clubs which are outstandingly run from top to bottom. Clubs such as Liverpool, Napoli, Atlético Madrid, and (I may be a little biased here, but even my own) Borussia Dortmund come to mind. Even though these clubs do not always win titles, they are run in such a way that they are set up for success in a sustainable manner.
On the other hand, Abramovich has caused Chelsea to become a club which has turned into the exact opposite of those just mentioned.
The decisions he has made, especially over the last three to four years, have been mind-bendingly bad. Firing coaches left, right, and centre, including above-average to elite coaches such as José Mourinho, Antonio Conte, and most recently, Maurizio Sarri. Bringing out big money to sign average to below-average players; the likes of Kepa Arrizabalaga, Danny Drinkwater, Jorginho, and Álvaro Morata come to mind. Signing players with no regard for how they would fit into the team and its strategy. Not having any patience with young academy players until now, after the transfer ban forced the hands of the club.
The transfer ban as well as the departure of legendary winger Hazard to Real Madrid have made circumstances even more difficult than ever before for the Blues, and there seems to be no way out.
In short, Chelsea are a veritable dumpster fire largely because of the Russian oligarch.
At the moment, the best course of action that could be taken by Chelsea might very well be offloading superstar defensive midfielder N'Golo Kanté who clearly is far too good for this club as well as several others, tear the whole thing down, and rebuild around rising star Christian Pulisic. Of course, this also implies that Abramovich will also sell the team to someone much more capable. It will be a process that may take three or four years, and in those years, Chelsea would be likely to finish around eighth to 12th in the Premier League and miss out on European football entirely. However, it may be the only way that the Blues ever return to becoming a true contender, whether domestically or in Europe.
Of course, this will almost certainly not happen. What is much more likely to happen is Abramovich making yet another ill-advised signing that wastes much of Chelsea's transfer money or perhaps firing another head coach and replacing him with someone even less suited for the position.
When Chelsea signed Pulisic from Dortmund, it was initially hailed as a major coup for the London club and a way for the Pennsylvania-born youngster to truly take his game to the next level. However, it looks as though Pulisic is about to embody the phrase "be careful what you wish for" - he could not possibly have found himself in a worse situation.
As for Kanté, he needs to follow in Hazard's footsteps and get out of Stamford Bridge as soon as he can. His career is in danger of stagnating if he stays at the moribund, directionless, embarrassing catastrophe of a football club that Chelsea has become.
This club may be damaged beyond repair.
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