On Sunday afternoon Chelsea faced off against Liverpool in the League Cup final and disappointingly lost, adding to an already painful season for the Blues. One of the most notable moments came from the commentary as Gary Neville labelled Mauricio Pochettino’s side as “blue billion-pound bottle jobs”. Since that moment, the phrase has gone everywhere as a way of mocking Chelsea and the state they currently find themselves in. At this point after such a pivotal moment in their season, it’s time we evaluate what Chelsea are doing and if where they are headed is worth waiting for.

When Todd Boehly took over Chelsea in 2022 the fans didn’t know what to expect. This was the American businessman’s first investment into Football (or Soccer as he would call it). In the time he has been in charge of Chelsea, the club has spent a whopping billion pounds on signings, while only winning themselves 79 points in the process. For context the last time Chelsea won the title in 2017 they ended the season with a total of 93 points. They are a shade of the feared titan they once were. So, they are quite clearly not competitive anymore, none of their signings are working yet and the direction of the club isn’t clear to anyone. Where do they go from here?

While many fans will ask for Pochettino to be sacked, I feel that doesn’t even scratch the surface when it comes to solving the problems at Chelsea. There is a systemic issue growing and if it isn’t solved soon we may have to consider the idea of a big five instead of a big six. Also, it was mentioned recently that due to FFP restrictions, sacking Pochettino would take Chelsea over the line and breach the rules, a rumour which outlines the ludicrousness of the club right now.

The first thing Chelsea should stop doing is spending money, whether it’s bringing players in or changing managers, it just isn’t gonna work anymore. They need to get used to their situation and see what can be done with the current tools at their disposal, this means finding a system that suits their most talented players and can get them to score goals.

With Chelsea under the watchful eye of the Premier League, they may be tempted to let some players leave in the summer and as fun as it was, the spending has to end and the selling needs to speed up. Their squad is filled with players who would expect game time. Now, competition may be a good thing but with so many new players, there’s almost no time for them to be bedded into the squad.

A perfect example would be the wingers Noni Madueke and Mykhailo Mudryk. Both signed for Chelsea last January, just 5 months after Sterling had joined the Blues. No plan was in place for them and there wasn’t a system in mind. Talent was simply available so Chelsea bought it. If Mudryk got his move to Arsenal, who were desperate for him, not only would he be in a better environment to adapt to the league but he would also be playing in a system that would take him into account.

The way Chelsea’s hierarchy works, the manager’s job is nothing but improvisation, making sense out of the players given to you. You can’t just chuck paint at Van Gogh and expect art, where’s the muse? For things at Chelsea to work, they need to trust their manager and give them more control with regards to transfers and future planning as leaving the club in the hands of someone who prefers Baseball, doesn’t seem the best idea.