Frank Leboeuf branded anyone expecting Chelsea fans to challenge for major honours next season ‘foolish’ unless the club dramatically changes its transfer policy.
After beginning their Club World Cup campaign with a win over Los Angeles FC, the Blues were handed a reality check by Flamengo last night.
The Brazilian club recovered from the blow of conceding an early Pedro Neto goal and staged an impressive second half come back, eventually running out 3-1 victors.
Chelsea finished last term in encouraging fashion, sealing Champions League qualification and winning the Conference League which sparked a defiant reaction from Enzo Maresca who had been regularly criticised over the course of a turbulent campaign.
The arrival of Liam Delap in a 30million deal suggest Chelsea will persist with a policy of signing young, up and coming players which Leboeuf claims will continue undermine hopes of competing with the likes of Liverpool and Manchester City for the Premier League title.
Get personalised updates on Chelsea every day
Wake up to find news on your club in your inbox every morning with Metro’s Football Newsletter.
Sign up to our newsletter and then select your team in the link we’ll send you so we can get football news tailored to you.
Speaking on ESPN FC, he said: ‘Your main concern should be that we all know, because we’ve been football players, that they are fragile, they are not consistent.
‘You know you don’t know where you’re going to go. One game is going to be perfect and three days after you’re going to get something horrendous.
‘You know this because they showed it during the season. They finished fourth because the league wasn’t good last season and if you want too much and you expect too much from Chelsea you’re a fool.
‘You really are a fool because this thing is settled on something very fragile.
‘They don’t have as I have always demanded one or two experienced players where you can put the basics on.
‘You are betting on young players who can do great things but can also suddenly lose it. As long as you are working that way it will go like this. It’s hard to say next season is going to be different.
‘No, it won’t be different unless they buy the players I want and pray for deeply. But it’s not going to happen, it’s not their way of football.’
Chelsea’s naivety and impetuosity was summed up against Flamengo by Nicolas Jackson’s needless red card.
The Senegal striker was shown a straight red card – just four minutes after coming off the bench – for an aggressive studs-up challenge on Ayrton Lucas.
That moment of madness came amid a calamitous six-minute spell in the second period in which the Blues also conceded two goals to surrender their half-time lead.
It was also Jackson’s second dismissal in just four appearances having also been given his marching orders for a forearm crack on Newcastle’s Sven Botman in a Premier League match last month.
‘I want to say sorry,’ Jackson wrote on Instagram on what was a 24th birthday to forget. ‘To the club, the staff, my teammates, and all the fans watching, I let you down.
‘Another red card… And honestly, I’m so angry at myself. I work hard every day to help the team not to put us in this kind of situation.
‘I still don’t fully understand how it happened. But one thing is clear: it wasn’t intentional. Just a moment in football that went the wrong way.
‘No excuses. I take full responsibility. I’ll reflect, I’ll grow, and I’ll come back stronger for the badge and for everyone who believes in me. Sorry. Sorry, Sorry.’
