Gary Neville makes bold Chelsea prediction for next season

'Chelsea had a successful way of running the club'

Chelsea's disastrous campaign continued on Tuesday night as they were comfortably beaten by London rivals Arsenal 3-1 at the Emirates Stadium.

Their first half display has been described as one of the worst this season while co-owner Todd Boehly has also been criticised for the way he has handled his first year in charge.

Speaking on his self-titled podcast, Neville compared Boehly's style to playing Football Manager and that the blame for their troubles is on him.

"It all comes from the top," he said. "It's been chaotic, a mess since day one. Boehly has had a nightmare and misread this league. I'm sure he'll learn quickly.

"What has happened this season is purely down to him. He needed to keep the footballing department together. He's the non-footballing department. 

"He created this mess. Like playing football manager, it's been terrible."

However Neville is still cautiously optimistic about the future at Stamford Bridge and feels that the right appointment could have them challenging at the upper end of the table once again.

"I do think someone will mould them into a decent team and challenge for top four and trophies," he added. "I think they are capable of challenging the top three."

The Blues are in action against Bournemouth on Saturday where they will aim to avoid a seventh straight defeat.

Related links:

• Emmanuel Petit describes ‘shocking’ scenes in Chelsea dugout during Arsenal defeat
• Julian Nagelsmann turned down Chelsea job because of concerns about Todd Boehly
• Joe Cole calls for Chelsea to sell 10 players this summer