27 February 2024 , 14:00
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Chelsea legend Florent Malouda agrees with Gary Neville's scathing "bottle jobs" criticism of the club and fired: "Results are unacceptable."
Big-spending Chelsea flopped embarrassingly in Sunday’s Carabao Cup final, losing 1-0 to a largely youthful Liverpool side. That prompted Man United legend Neville, commentating for Sky Sports, to announce: “It's [Jurgen] Klopp's kids against the billion-pound bottle jobs. I've got no sympathy whatsoever!"
And Malouda, who won the Champions League, Premier League and three FA Cups during his seven-year stint with the Blues, agreed.
He said: “When you lose you have to accept criticism, and I don’t think that was a harsh comment. When you listen to Gary Neville talk about Man United, he can be harder on his own team.
The difference between the money Chelsea have spent versus the results is unacceptable. I think it is good to understand that criticism comes from high expectations, and it is a good time for Chelsea to get back to the drawing board. What is happening now is simply not enough for a team like Chelsea.”
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Chelsea have forked out some huge fees including a British record £115m for Brighton midfielder Moises Caicedo but are still limping along in 11th place. And Malouda, who played in the same Chelsea side as greats like John Terry, Frank Lampard and Didier Drogba, says they are badly lacking those sorts of leaders.
Speaking exclusively to Ladbrokes Fanzone, the 43-year-old said: “I am disappointed with the Carabao Cup result. But at the same the potential we have is clear. I am positive about that. I think we need to be more clinical, especially when it comes to finals. We are on a bad run of lost finals now. On top of that, we need to have game-winners to lead the team to lift trophies.
Gary Neville tore into Chelsea after their Carabao Cup final defeat (Getty Images)“I think that is the difference between the top teams like Liverpool and Man City for example. So plenty of improvements need to be made, with the right decisions. I am worried about the ability they have to be consistent at that level.”
Malouda, who scored 35 goals in 149 Chelsea games from 2007 to 2013, highlighted what he believes is the most pressing issue with under-fire Mauricio Pochettino's misfiring stars. He said: “I really think Chelsea’s focus should be on improving the structure of the club, and how decisions are being made and implemented.
“I don’t think the focus should be on the players or the management. We need to be better at developing players. We manage to attract players, and young talent, although not the best talent because we don’t have Champions League football. We fail to develop the young talent and to bring them to a world-class level. For me, that is the most obvious problem Chelsea have.”
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