'Are Chelsea going down Tottenham road?' - Joe Cole and Steven Gerrard blast new 'identity', call for 'ready-made' signings after Liam Rosenior exit

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Joe Cole fears his former club Chelsea could be "heading down the Tottenham road" of prioritising big-money player sales over targeting silverware following the ruthless sacking of Liam Rosenior after 104 days in charge.

Gerrard: Chelsea players hiding behind owners and manager

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Rosenior left his position as head coach barely four months after he was appointed following Tuesday's humiliating 3-0 loss at Brighton & Hove Albion made it seven defeats in Chelsea's past eight games, prior to the weekend's Emirates FA Cup semi-final against Leeds United at Wembley, live on TNT Sports and HBO Max.

The Blues are now seeking a sixth managerial appointment of the Todd Boehly/Clearlake Capital (BlueCo) era, following a tumultuous period at Stamford Bridge that has seen a churn of head coaches at a rapid rate.

Just six days prior to Rosenior's departure, Chelsea co-owner Behdad Eghbali had insisted that the club were still behind their man in charge, and remained optimistic about long-term success under his tenure - something which has proven to be a hollow vote of confidence.

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Speaking ahead of Chelsea's semi-final against Leeds, TNT Sports pundit Cole voiced his concerns over the club's direction of travel under the current ownership.

"Chelsea have always been mad, managers come and go, but this week has been particularly hard to stomach," Cole, who scored 39 goals in 282 appearances for the club, told TNT Sports.

"An attendance of 40,000 has only been broken once this season, so fans are starting to vote with their feet.

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"They're really disgruntled with what's been going on, it's been happening for a long period. They don't like the way things are going and the structure of the club.

"It's down to the players and the manager to change that. Liam [Rosenior] was given a vote of confidence, and then three days later, he was gone. What he's done at Chelsea has no bearing on whether he's a good manager.

"He wasn't given an opportunity, and he was then constantly fighting to get a tune out of the players. Fans aren't stupid. Callum [McFarlane] now needs to galvanise the team, and you wish him all the very best.

"Chelsea have to buy players who are ready-made to win trophies, as that's what the club are used to. You can't change the model to developing players, and still expect to win. You can't do it. You have to do one or the other.

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"Dare I say it, are Chelsea going to go down the Tottenham road, where you're buying players to flip them, make a bit of money and maybe make the Champions League? Or are we going to try to get back to competing with Liverpool, Manchester City and Arsenal?

"You cannot do both, and we're at the stage now where the owners have to sit down and say, 'we've got this wrong over the last four years'.

"Chelsea have spent £1.8 billion, and their points-per-game has gone backwards. No matter what data you bring up, that is what has happened."

Gerrard: You won't trust owners again

Chelsea's only victory in Rosenior's last eight matches came in the FA Cup quarter-final triumph over League One strugglers Port Vale, and so it was little surprise that the board acted in a bid to salvage their hopes of European qualification this season.

Champions League qualification may seem a pipe dream after failure to even score in their past five league matches, but Aston Villa's defeat to Fulham means there remains an outside chance that sixth place in the Premier League will be enough to secure a place at Europe's top table.

Should Villa finish in fifth and win the UEFA Europa League, the additional Champions League spot granted to England by UEFA for their performance across this season's three European competitions [EPS] would drop down to sixth place.

Liam Rosenior left his position as Chelsea head coach this week

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With four league games remaining, Chelsea are two points adrift of Brighton, who currently occupy that spot - but Steven Gerrard has seen no evidence to suggest the current group of players have the necessary mentality to haul themselves back into contention.

The former Liverpool midfielder was also very critical of the Chelsea board following the public show of support for Rosenior.

"You're never going to trust the Chelsea owners again with what they say, as they came out in support of Liam Rosenior, and then within six days, they sacked him," Gerrard told TNT Sports.

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"Anything they come out and say now, you'll question whether you should believe them. A lot of the players are hiding behind the owners and the manager losing his job.

"Chelsea have so many good players, but where is the identity? Where's the fight? Where is the spirit? When I played against them, they had top, world-class talent, like they have now, but they had a winning mentality, right until the final whistle.

"You knew you were always in a game, none of the likes of [John] Terry, [Frank] Lampard, [Didier] Drogba, [Frank] Lampard hid behind their manager or an ownership.

"In today's world, we get involved in social media, the owner said that, six-year contracts etc - forget all that. Go out and play for the badge, and for your supporters.

"These players aren't doing it enough, they've lost seven out of their last eight. Their identity and their style has gone of late, and if you want to blame Liam Rosenior for that, then fine, but not for me."

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