Chelsea legend John Obi Mikel lashed out at the club's leadership, blaming them for making the team's identity disappear. The Blues are in ninth place in the Premier League and out of European spots.
Chelsea suffered a categorical thrashing on Monday at the hands of Nottingham Forest. It was at Stamford Bridge, in front of their fans, and left the Blues in ninth place in the Premier League, with three games left, they are outside the European competition spots for next season.
The present is very tough, under the interim management of Calum McFarlane after the second firing of a coach in less than four months, and John Obi Mikel, a club legend, reacted in the worst way toward the current leadership, Blue Co., whom he blamed for much of what is happening with the Blues.
“If you love the club, it is time to say something. The club is going in the wrong direction. And I love this club, it has given me everything, so I will speak, and I hope my former teammates do the same,” Mikel said on his podcast, The Obi One.
“BlueCo does not want anyone who represented the club during the Roman Abramovich era. Those of us who built this club. They do not want us involved,” said the Nigerian, who concluded with a forceful statement: “The DNA of the club was lost, I do not recognize this Chelsea.”
Since Todd Boehly and the Blue Co. group took over the club in May 2022, hundreds of millions have been invested to put the team in a stellar position in the Premier League and in European football. However, the result has been completely the opposite.
Except for winning the Conference League and the Club World Cup within a month, under Enzo Maresca, Chelsea has had a series of very weak years that reflect little of the history of a club used to fighting for the Premier League and frequently playing in the Champions League.
Today, the club cannot find its way, and the departure of two coaches in the same season is a clear reflection of that. Qualifying for the Champions League seems like an impossible mission, and the only viable way is through the help of Aston Villa.
If the Villans are champions of the Europa League (and finish in the top five places in the Premier League), they would cede qualification to the sixth-place team in England, just four points behind Chelsea. However, given the team’s current form, it also seems quite difficult to think they can get that many points.
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