I Don’t Recognise My Club, Drogba Slams Chelsea New Owner

Former Chelsea striker Didier Drogba says he does not “recognise the club” compared with when he played at Stamford Bridge.

Drogba won 12 major honours between 2004 and 2012 under previous owner Roman Abramovich, whose generous backing turned the Blues into serial trophy winners following his takeover in 2003.

The 56-year-old was forced to sell the club last year after he was sanctioned by the UK government over alleged links to Russian president Vladimir Putin.

“It is not the same club any more,” Drogba, 45, told Canal+. “I don’t recognise my club. There is a new owner and a new vision.

“We try to compare with what was done under the Abramovich era, where there were many acquisitions of players, but the choices were very intelligent.

“Bringing in players like Petr Cech, Andriy Shevchenko, Hernan Crespo, Michael Essien, Didier Drogba, Florent Malouda, and I go on. It was to win titles and they are players who already have some experience. Here the strategy is different, they bet on young players.

“I think they certainly lack charismatic players and leaders. It needs players who take responsibility.”

With Chelsea’s faint Champions League dreams dashed on Tuesday , it now look like damage limitation could be the main objective for the rest of this chastening campaign.

There are seven games still to play in the Premier League before the club, players and fans can take stock, and it is difficult to see how Frank Lampard will be able to pick his squad up and prevent their already record-breakingly bad form spiralling even further.

A free weekend offers respite from the recent misery, but by the next time Chelsea play – against Brentford at Stamford Bridge on 26 April – they could be level on points with Crystal Palace – the same Crystal Palace who up until three weeks ago were at serious risk of relegation.

The Blues might even be only nine points above the bottom three if Nottingham Forest could pull off a shock at Liverpool this weekend..