19 February 2023 , 10:14
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Paul Merson let rip at Chelsea after their embarrassing 1-0 defeat to relegation candidates Southampton.
Graham Potter's side were beaten by the Premier League's basement club at Stamford Bridge on Saturday afternoon thanks to a superb free kick from James Ward-Prowse. The result leaves Chelsea 10th in the table - 10 points behind Newcastle in fourth.
Merson was not impressed by Chelsea's display. The Blues have been the biggest spenders in Europe since Todd Boehly's consortium completed a takeover of the club last summer - investing more than £600million into the squad - but that has not brought results.
Merson was particularly disappointed with Mount's display. The 24-year-old divides opinion among fans but has been a staple for managers with both club and country in recent years.
However, a modest record this term in the final third - scoring just three goals and providing only two assists in the Premier League - has seen him in and out of Graham Potter's lineup recently, amid the Stamford Bridge overhaul.
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"I don’t see this [Chelsea's poor form] stopping, I don’t," said Merson after analysing Saturday afternoon's game for Sky Sports. "They’ve bought a lorry load of individuals, I’m afraid. They’ve not bought anybody for the team, it’s all dribblers.
"Forget Enzo Fernandez, he’s a top player, he’s a holding midfield player but the others... Mount played today and he got eaten up. People were dribbling, there were no phases of the game, it’s only when [Kai] Havertz came on and he started playing with [Joao] Felix and [Raheem] Sterling that there were passages of play.
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"But I don’t see this stopping. I think this is a massive, massive, massive interview now coming up for Graham Potter.
"Chelsea fans will be fuming, they won’t want to come for this, 'Oh Southampton have got a new manager so that helped them'.
"If you don’t beat Southampton at home their goalkeeper should be the best player on the pitch and he wasn’t the best player on the pitch."
Despite spending big, Chelsea have signed just one established striker under Boehly's ownership - Pierre-Emerick Aubameyang - and he was not involved on Saturday afternoon.
Boehly's decision to replace Champions League-winning manager Thomas Tuchel with Potter last September raised eyebrows at the time and is yet to be vindicated. Potter was serenaded with boos after the Southampton defeat, although he can understand why.
"After a 1-0 defeat at home, any criticism you get is understandable," Potter told reporters at full-time. "We've had a tough period and are integrating young players into the Premier League. When results don't go your way it's tough.
"I'm not arrogant enough to say that their opinion isn't worth articulating. My job is to help the team and work through a team period. The truth is we took as step back with our performance in the first half. Our response in the second half was good, but it wasn't enough."
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