Chelsea vs Manchester City
Will Sunday’s Carabao Cup final be the last time Maurizio Sarri takes charge of the Blues?
Rumours are flying about that Sarri is a dead-man-walking at Stamford Bridge.
A 4-0 loss at Bournemouth, a 6-0 drumming at Man City and a 2-0 FA Cup loss to Man United have left the Italian on the ropes.
However in the Sunday Times, journalist David Walsh considers why some of the Sarri criticism is unfair.
The case is forwarded that Chelsea’s problems are far more deep-seated than their manager.
Where’s Chelsea’s director of football?
Sarri has only really had one transfer window since taking over at Chelsea.
That’s after the Italian took over from Antonio Conte just a couple of weeks before the start of the 20118-19 season.
Moreover, David Walsh notes how Sarri inherited a squad littered with problems:
(Sarri) didn’t sign Alvaro Morata, Tiemoue Bakayoko, Danny Drinkwater, (Davide) Zappacosta, Emerson, (Ross) Barkley.
Who at Chelsea does the job that Txiki Begiristain does at Manchester City? Chelsea don’t have a director of football.
Jim Ratcliffe: Chelsea could become Arsenal
David Walsh has also revealed what British billionaire Jim Ratcliffe thinks of Roman Abramovich’s Chelsea as a financial asset.
Back in 2018, Ratcliffe, who is a well-known Man United fan, was listed as a potential buyer for Chelsea.
At the time, the Sunday Times claimed that Abramovich had rejected a two billion pound takeover offer from the Man United supporter.
David Walsh met up with Ratcliffe when those rumours were flying about, and Ratcliffe opened up about why Chelsea’s valuation was way too high:
I think the days of making money out of football are numbered.
Abramovich paid £150m for Chelsea. The Glazers paid £600m [for Manchester United].
When you start putting billion-pound price tags on football clubs, if you want to make money that assumes it will be worth two or three times that in four or five years’ time and that is not going to happen.
I think the bubble has burst in football in terms of making money out of it.
You’ve only got two [top-drawer] footballers on the [Chelsea] team, Hazard and N’Golo Kante. So you need to strengthen the team a little. You’ve got two fabulous players but the numbers don’t work.
If you buy the club you want to spend some money on players. Otherwise you end up being Arsenal.
Also see: Chelsea vs Manchester City betting tips: Carabao Cup Final match preview and predictions.
Gianfranco Zola set for major job change if Chelsea lose to Man City.
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