Inside Chelsea’s dismal season as one star ‘missed bus after nap’ and players ‘wouldn’t bother to tie their laces’
CHELSEA’S season has been appalling by the club’s usual high standards.
The poor campaign has also been reflected off the pitch with levels reportedly dropping among the squad.
The Blues have been through three managers with Thomas Tuchel and Graham Potter both being sacked, while Frank Lampard is set to leave at the end of the season.
While performances on the pitch have been a shambles, The Telegraph suggests it has not been much better off it.
The report suggests that at least one player missed the team bus after oversleeping during a post-training nap.
It also claims that at least six players have made it clear they want to leave Stamford Bridge this summer.
It is also reported that others have even stopped bothering to do their laces for training.
It is thought that this is down to the ability to go unnoticed due to the swollen nature of the squad.
The number of players have also caused other issues with some having to sit on the floor during team meetings and get changed in the corridor.
While the response from the squad to a player being late for the team bus has been suggested as a shake of the head or a smirk.
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It has been repeatedly reported that club legend Lampard has spoken to the players in individual meetings about raising the standards, however, he has not managed to get through to them.
It could not have been a worse debut year for new owner Todd Boehly.
The American businessman is set to take a further step back from running the club and relinquish control to appointed executives.
In January, he stepped down as the interim sporting director with the aim of slowly relinquishing responsibility to executives that were bedding in.
The 49-year-old helped the club to an unprecedented spend on the transfer market as stars such as Enzo Fernandez, Wesley Fofana, Mykhaylo Mudryk, Marc Cucurella and Raheem Sterling arrived.
Despite spending upwards of £600m, it could not help push the club back up the Premier League table, with a bottom-half finish confirmed.
It will be the club’s worst finish in the league since their 14th-place in 1993-94 regardless of what happens in their final game against Newcastle on Sunday.
Chelsea also exited both domestic cup competitions to Manchester City before being dumped out of the Champions League by Real Madrid.
Lampard is expected to be replaced by former Tottenham and PSG manager Mauricio Pochettino at the end of the campaign.
The Blues have also frozen their men’s season ticket prices for a 12th straight year, with the announcement accompanied by a statement acknowledging the season’s disappointment.
It read: “This season has not produced the results that any of us want. We know what we are working towards, but equally we know that will require hard work, determination and commitment.
“We all want to see Chelsea back where we belong and to share many more winning moments together at Stamford Bridge.”