Chelsea's rollercoaster campaign continued Wednesday night as they fell 2-1 to Manchester United, leaving the Blues in 10th place in the Premier League after 15 games.
Unless the club have a dramatic turnaround, it's looking to be another season in the middle of the table for the London side after they finished 12th in 2022-23.
It's a tough situation for manager Mauricio Pochettino, who took the reins over the summer. Pochettino has yet to shape the side the way he would like, a point stressed by former Chelsea player Pat Nevin, who backs the Argentine to help turn the club around.
"I'd say Pochettino still is the right man for the job, especially when you consider how many new players have arrived," Nevin told BestGamblingSites. "I'm not sure how many were his choice."
Nevin noted that Pochettino's team selections "make sense," but the amount of inexperience in the squad could be what's holding back the side at the moment."I wouldn't say I'd pick a different starting XI as it seems to make sense to me," Nevin said. "There are, however, a number of young players."
"[Moises] Caicedo is quite young, and though Enzo Fernandez is only 22, he's hardly inexperienced. Mykhailo Mudryk, Nicolas Jackson, Levi Colwill, and Axel Disasi all lack significant Premier League experience, and the bench is a very young one in Premier League terms.
"Last season, I thought that buying all of these youngsters was a risky strategy. There's very little Premier League experience there, and I thought that the team wouldn't be good for at least two seasons. I still stick by that."
Nevin urged the Chelsea board to have patience with Pochettino and the young squad, as he's not convinced the Blues are a top team in the league just yet.
"I have served as a chief executive before, and if I was at Chelsea, I wouldn't expect this team to get into the top four this season," Nevin said. "Instead, I'd expect them to go out, learn, and develop a work ethic. I know it wouldn't happen overnight.
"Everybody knows that this team cost £1 billion, and that's the complication. The expectations of the fans are high, and the amount of money spent on the squad will always be something hanging over them.
"At no point this season have I thought this was a top-four team. I never thought that before the season started, either. Perhaps in two seasons' time, or next at the very earliest, this team could challenge. You never know. At the moment, Chelsea look short of being a top-four team."