What Chelsea Need to Do This Summer - On and Off the Pitch

Changes are needed in both areas

Well, the result against Burnley just summed it up. Big change is needed at Chelsea this summer. I’ve personally had enough of results and performances we saw in that game and to me there needs to be some change.

This is what I would do, not what I think will happen, or will happen.

So bear with me, I’m going to go through the squad, coaching and sporting director positions here, as well as some other off pitch things I believe need to happen.

In some ways I agree with both Luke and Si’s opinions so some of these will be the same, for sure, some may be different.

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Squad:

Sales

First we need a ton of players out. For PSR reasons and squad reasons. I’m going go with the sales I expect, and add some of my own.

• Robert Sanchez

• Kepa Arrizabalaga

• Marc Cucurella

• Thiago Silva (contract ends)

• Bashir Humphreys

• Trevoh Chalobah

• Malang Sarr

• Lewis Hall

• Charlie Webster

• Cesare Casadei

• Conor Gallagher

• Raheem Sterling

• Noni Madueke

• Diego Moreira

• Tino Anjorin

• Harvey Vale

• Armando Broja

• Mason Burstow

• Romelu Lukaku

• Hakim Ziyech

Conor Gallagher is a particularly tough one for me. Football wise I’d keep him, but with the PSR rules, it looks like this may be needed for next years figures and the club want to sell him, so I’d probably let that happen, very reluctantly.

Arrivals (including loan returns)

• Giorgi Mamardashvili

• Antonee Robinson

• Max Kilman

• Jack Grealish

• Luka Modric (free transfer)

• Benjamin Sesko

• David Datro Fofana (loan return)

• Omari Hutchinson (loan return)

So lets go through them all .

Giorgi Mamardashvilli is one of the most promising young keepers in Europe, and he’s an absolute giant at 6ft 6. Would be relatively cheap (£40m) and I think would be a great pick up in my view.

Antonee Robinson to me is a smart pick up at LB. PL proven, got enough experience to come straight into the team and perform immediately. Quick, tall, good defensively.

Max Kilman is another PL proven player, the Wolves captain, experienced and a leader. He might not play every game but he’d be very useful to have in the squad and add some positive experience. Plus, he’s a Chelsea fan.

Jack Grealish, now this is probably a shock one (and very unlikely), but rumours are he could be available. To me he’s a typical Chelsea player. Magic. Elite talent. Personality, character, work ethic, loves football. Fans would love him. Can play 10 or LW. PL proven and won trophies.

Luka Modric on a free is an idea I’ve had for a while (Simon seems to have had the same idea). Speaks for himself. Leader, winner, elite footballer, experienced. Perfect mentor for the likes of Enzo and Lavia and the squad overall.

Benjamin Sesko to me is one of the most promising young strikers in Europe. He has massive potential and is having his development season at Leipzig. Tall, quick, powerful with good all round game and a top finisher. Release clause is only £43m, to me its a smart deal, with Jackson here and developing, he’s proper competition.

DDF coming back for me seems smart. He gives us depth in attack, he’s showing at Burnley he can score goals and have an impact on games, and has a good mentality. I’d bring him back as a rotational or sub player. He can play up front or wide left.

Omari Hutchinson has had an incredible loan at Ipswich. I’d extend his contract and keep him as backup on the RW to Cole Palmer. He’d get plenty of minutes off the bench and in cup games, even more if we’re in some form of European competition.

Off the Pitch

So that’s my squad, now some off the pitch changes:

Head Coach

I think with the best will in the world, it’s clear Mauricio Pochettino and Chelsea are simply not a fit at all. Yes, some players have developed under his coaching, but tactically he’s simply not at the races, his attitude to the fans is simply disrespectful. On top of this, he is cowardly in his substitutions and tactics, and he never takes responsibility. It’s always the project, or the players, or the fans.

Who to replace him with? Well frankly that’s not my job, but to me the likes of Julian Nagelsmann and Ruben Amorim would be excellent fits with Chelsea. The owners and sporting directors might well sit down and listen to them as well.

Which brings me to my next point.

CEO of Football

Its become abundantly clear Chelsea need leadership at the top of the club. An elite, proven football person, who can be in charge of footballing decisions. Someone who can have the final say and stop this ridiculous decision by committee. Someone who has credibility, authority and commands respect.

My choice, given Michael Edwards has now gone to Liverpool, is Oliver Mintzlaff. The current CEO of Football at Red Bull. He’s also head of Red Bull F1 and CEO of RB Leipzig, where he’s overseen their growth from second division to Champions League regulars and trophy winners. He’s a winner, a leader and proven in elite level sport and a multi club model, which we are looking to build.

Do whatever it takes and get him in, and give him authority over Chelsea primarily, but also the whole Blue Co group, to get things running smoothly and to grow the multi club model as the owners want. He can advise the owners on football matters so they have some elite level experience and leadership.

Communicate with Fans

Yes, this needs to happen this summer too. The owners need to do a proper public interview.

They need to outline their vision and ambition for Chelsea, acknowledge mistakes have been made, acknowledge whats happened and how its’ not been good enough, and demonstrate to fans they care about the future of the club.\

To me this is a non-negotiable now. The fans are owed some accountability and explanation for whats happening, and deserve to hear the ambition and plans the owners have - to allay their fears, if nothing else.

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Overall, I think if we make all these changes at Chelsea this summer, I think we’ll be heading back in the right direction again. Ultimately, a lot of these wouldn’t be too difficult to do in my view. Maybe the CEO of football is the most challenging, but elite clubs do what it takes in my view.

Chelsea needs leadership, it needs a stronger squad, it needs better coaching and management, it needs to have a clear direction. Then, maybe, in time, we can get back where Chelsea should be, at the top of domestic and European football.

The Score