Jose
Mourinho has been let down by Chelsea's failure to recruit well during the
summer transfer window, according to Martin Samuel of the
Daily Mail.
Saturday's 3-1 Premier League defeat at Everton confirmed the Blues had made
their worst start to a season since 1988, and the result at Goodison Park
was amplified when Manchester City claimed their fifth consecutive win of
the season to open up an 11-point gap over the defending champions.
And, speaking on the
Sunday Supplement, Samuel highlighted
Chelsea's failure to land their primary transfer targets in the summer, most
notably John Stones, coupled with excessive spending from their Premier
League rivals, as the reason for the Blues' toothless start to the campaign.
"Jose Mourinho didn't get the changes he wanted this summer because Chelsea
did nothing compared to the other clubs," Samuel said.
"You could tell throughout the summer that he was becoming more and more
frustrated, he wanted them to do something.
"There is only so much change a person can cause when you've got the same
group of players. They haven't brought any one in.
"The changes Jose wanted to make were to do with signings and freshening the
squad up. It is quite plain that there wasn't the overhaul he wanted.
"While it's OK to point the finger at Jose, I'm not sure he went into this
season in the position he wanted to because he wouldn't have gone in with
the same 11 players that started last season."
Chelsea's loan policy was next in the firing line, a policy which has been
more as many as 30 players shipped out of the club on a temporary basis.
The policy has proved to be successful for the Blues in recent years, with
Thibaut Courtois developing into one of Europe's best goalkeepers during his
three-year stint at Atletico Madrid.
But Samuel took issue with the practise, claiming Chelsea have failed to
take the measures necessary of winning, or at least challenging for the
Premier League title.
"Chelsea seem very happy to be this 'player farm', where they have 30
different players out on loan," the Daily Mail's chief sports writer added.
"They seem to be so keen on replicating the Thibaut Courtois situation,
where he cost them virtually nothing, as the loan fees paid by Atletico
Madrid equated for the transfer fee they bought him for.
"That's ever so clever, apart from the fact they have stood still, and
everyone around them didn't stand still.
"You knew Manchester City, who weren't subject to the limitations of
Financial Fair Play, and Manchester United were going to go big this summer.
"No top club wants to stand still, every top club evolves in some little way
the following season."
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