‘I was surprised, despite what Tuchel has done’ — Joe Cole slams Chelsea board for making crucial decision that ruined Chelsea’s season
The Blues had started the season very well, but the season hasn’t gone as planned since the middle of the campaign, as Thomas Tuchel’s side are struggling to get results.
However, former Chelsea star Joe Cole has revealed his disappointment at the club’s board for the poor handling of contracts of certain key players.
Cole believes that uncertainty regarding some players’ contracts have contributed to ruining the team’s season.
At some point, Thiago Silva, Cesar Azpilicueta, Andreas Christensen and Antonio Rudiger were all at the end of their contracts, before the club managed to seal a one-year deal for the Brazilian.
As for Rudiger, Christensen and Azpilicueta, there has been no major progress yet, and Joe Cole isn’t happy about the situation, as he believes that such news cannot come out of Manchester City.
Asked whether he had been surprised by Chelsea’s dip in form this season, Cole told JOE: “I was surprised, but only because there was no signs of it. Six weeks ago it looks like a well-oiled machine.
“This is critical of the club and this is more for the people upstairs. They’ve allowed the contracts of people like Christensen, Thiago Silva, Cesar and Rudiger all to run down to where they’ve run down to which causes a little bit of unease and unnerves people and then that can filter out.
“They are all negotiating at the same time so, coming into a crucial part of the season, their minds are, “What am I doing in six months time with my family? Am I staying here? Am I going there?”, and that unsettles the ground.”
The former Chelsea star added: “For everything that Thomas Tuchel is doing great, the people upstairs have got to recognise that. You don’t hear it at Manchester City.
“When do you hear someone at Manchester City going into the last year of their contract that they want to keep hold of? They don’t allow it to happen and they get the job done.”