Chelsea branded 'disgrace' as grim Everton prediction made ahead of FA Cup semi-final

Chelsea have been labelled a disgrace by former defender Frank Leboeuf, who also made a grim prediction about their upcoming match against Everton. Mauricio Pochettino has found it challenging to extract the best from his team during his first season at the club.

The Blues are currently languishing in ninth place in the Premier League table, a staggering 19 points behind Aston Villa in fourth. Despite splashing out significantly in the transfer market, Chelsea's struggles have persisted. Their defeat to an injury-hit Liverpool side in the Carabao Cup final means that the FA Cup is now their only hope of securing silverware this season.

Standing between them and the final are Premier League leaders Manchester City, with the semi-final scheduled for Saturday. However, before that, the Blues face a struggling Everton side on Monday night. Despite the Toffees sitting perilously close to the relegation zone, Leboeuf doesn't hold much optimism for Chelsea gaining momentum ahead of their Wembley trip, reports the Mirror.

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"As a former player, I think it's kind of a disgrace to see what we are seeing. The talent is there in the squad but you don't have many leaders or players you can rely on, that's the biggest problem Pochettino has," Leboeuf, who spent five years with the Blues, told Fastestpayoutonlinecasino.com.

"To be expecting something from this Chelsea team would be stupid. You cannot rely on them at all because they can just go missing for 10 minutes at a time. That's what it is when you have young players and they have to learn.

"It's okay to have one or two in the side but not when you have 11 players acting the same way. They are at times capable of playing like Manchester City, we saw that when they played at the Etihad.

"We know the talent is there but the consistency doesn't exist. Chelsea could go and smash Everton 4-0 but they probably don't have the ability to concentrate for a full game. I think it will end up being 2-2."

Leboeuf, who won the League Cup and two FA Cups with the Blues, reckons his former side need to inject some experience into their talented young squad. During his time at Stamford Bridge, the former France international helped end a long-standing trophy drought for Chelsea and believes he knows what Pochettino's side need in order to reverse their fortunes.

"If they keep going the way they're going then they will never win a Premier League title again, they need experience. It just won't work. When I arrived at the club they had been waiting 26 years for a trophy," he added.

"That only came to an end when experienced winners arrived. The people who should be under the most pressure at Chelsea are the board. They have created the situation that Pochettino is trying to deal with.

"Yes he accepted the contract but it's hard to cope with so much change and they are not going to change their way of thinking when it comes to signing young players. They need to sign experienced players to cope with the situation."

"But they're not going to do that and if they keep doing what they're doing it's not going to work. Pochettino is going to be under too much pressure eventually and he's going to be sacked, they will then be under too much pressure and be in exactly the same situation."