Raheem Sterling sends Chelsea owners message about how to fix problems
Raheem Sterling has advised Chelsea's hierarchy to give whoever is appointed as the club's new manager "the final say on everything".
The 28-year-old was a marquee arrival at Stamford Bridge last summer, joining from Premier League champions Manchester City in a deal worth just shy of £50m.
Kalidou Koulibaly, Carney Chukwuemeka, Marc Cucurella, Wesley Fofana and Pierre-Emerick Aubameyang were Chelsea's other big-money signings last summer, but instead of mounting a title challenge under Thomas Tuchel, things have unravelled quickly in west London.
Tuchel was sacked in September and replaced by Graham Potter, only for the former Brighton boss to last less than seven months in the job. Frank Lampard is now back at Chelsea in a caretaker capacity with the club 12th in the Premier League and not yet mathematically safe from relegation.
It would take an extraordinary turn of events for that fate to be bestowed upon Chelsea, but there's no denying that 2022/23 has been disastrous. Sterling has struggled too, with injuries and a lack of form contributing to just just four goals and two assists in 24 Premier League outings.
Speaking to Sky Sports, the four-time Premier League winner has opened up on what's gone wrong at Chelsea, who continued to spend big in January, and admitted that a clear structure needs to be put in place for things to start turning around.
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"I'm not one to tell the club what to do but from what I can gauge from where I was previously, organisation is the most important thing. Having a manager that has the final say on everything and it being his way with everyone having to follow that," Sterling said.
"Successful teams always have a manager that comes in, brings his blueprint and everyone follows. If there are people that don't follow, then they are not part of the team and that is how brutal it needs to be at a high level.
"It's a fine line between winning, coming second and being in the position we are now. It's about everyone being on the same page from my experience."
One of the many criticisms levelled at Chelsea this season has been the sheer number of players on their books - something Sterling admitted must be addressed as a matter of urgency.
There's new ownership, the new manager that came at the start of the season, new players and some players that were meant to leave that didn't at the time, it's been an overload of players," he continued. "It's hard for any manager to deal with. He hasn't got the right amount and we have to try and do training sessions that involve everyone because people need to be fit as well.
It's difficult but every manager that's been here has dealt with it as professionally as they can, and they have never been disrespectful to any player here."
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