Alan Shearer Exclusive: Chelsea are a bonkers club

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Rosenior's sacking was no surprise because Chelsea are a bonkers club

Were Chelsea right to sack Rosenior? There are many different aspects to whether it was the right decision.

Chelsea is a tough enough job for an experienced manager, let alone a guy with very little experience but I totally understand why Liam took the job. There is no way he could have turned it down.

The people in charge have to look at themselves, though. He has taken the rap for it, but the people who made the decision to appoint him in the first place are the ones who should be looked at. I wouldn't say 'investigated' but they thought it would be a wise decision.

To give him a long contract and appoint him to such a difficult club with such a strange mentality of how football clubs should be run is crazy. Was the sacking a surprise? No, because it is a bonkers football club anyway. When you have lost five on the spin and have not scored a goal, you are going to get fired. That is the unfortunate rule of football. 

Also, on the other side of it, anyone who goes into that job knows what they're taking on and the precarious position they may be in. I guess from both sides it's not a good look from those who appointed him.

Whether you're in a factory, in a shop, or a football club, eventually filters down to the shop floor. Everything eventually filters down to the pitch from what's going on up top in football.

Everything feeds down from the bosses and that's what's happened to Chelsea. The players are on an absolute fortune, and you can tell they do not agree with what is happening at the club, albeit they are a huge part of it. They were alright taking the seven-year contracts.

The players have been nowhere near good enough. I watched them against Brighton, and they were an absolute shambles. The manager was searching to do something different with a new system at halftime, but they were equally as poor, if not worse, in the second half. That tells you what thought players think of the current setup.

Chelsea have spent so much and still don't have top quality players - it's laughable!

How Chelsea finish the end of the season all depends on their belief. Are they prepared to change? Clearly, this model is not working, and they have to understand that.

They have spent an absolute fortune - more than one billion pounds - and they still have not got a top-class goalkeeper, centre half, or centre forward. How do you spend that much money and lack top quality players in those three major positions?

You spend that much money and that's the reality of it, you're going further and further down the league. There's no doubt there's talented players in there, but it's laughable you spend that much money and still don't have a top-quality player in those three positions.

I want Eddie Howe to stay at Newcastle

Has Eddie Howe taken Newcastle as far as he can? That's too tough a question to answer with a simple yes or no. There are so many moving parts at Newcastle.

First of all, does Eddie want to carry on in the current circumstances? Does he want the opportunity to build again? If he can build again. There are so many questions, so it's too simplistic to say has he taken Newcastle as far as he can?

Everything being equal, I am all for Eddie staying, but there are so many questions. The first one is: does Eddie want to stay? I hope so, but I look at performances and some of the players and think, do they want him to stay? Have they had enough of his voice in the dressing room.

There are so many different moving parts to that situation, so it requires an elongated answer, rather than a simple yes or a no.

There is no doubt Eddie will get a brilliant job somewhere because he is a fantastic coach. I hope that it is still at Newcastle. But he would fit in at most clubs because of how good he is at his job.

Slot will be given a chance...if they can secure Champions League football

There is no doubt Liverpool have had a poor season by their own standards, falling so far behind Arsenal and Manchester City. You have to look at their recruitment last summer and whether Slot was a big part of that, I don't know the ins and outs of that football club.

It would be very difficult to get rid of a manager who won the league the year before. Football is so small-minded in terms of what's happening now rather than trying to look ahead and plan.

Before a ball was kicked this season, almost everyone thought they were a shoo-in to win the Premier League. There are many reasons as to why this hasn't happened.

Ultimately, their recruitment has not worked this season. The Isak situation is clear for everyone; I know he's had injuries, but even when he's played, he's been poor. Kerkez hasn't had a great season, nor has Wirtz, nor has Frimpong.

The only one who really has had a good season is Ekitike and now he's out long-term as well. So, very much like Newcastle, it goes down to recruitment. It hasn't worked and they're paying the price for that.

Whether these players get better after a year in the Premier League, we'll have to wait and see. My guess is with Slot is that, if they get into the Champions League, I think he will be given the chance to go again.

Isak's transfer has been disastrous for Newcastle, Liverpool...and Isak

The Isak transfer has been disastrous for Newcastle, Liverpool, and himself. It really has not worked for any party. The money they paid out for him was a good fee that Newcastle got, but it just hasn't worked for all three parties.

I do not know the extent of how his injury has affected him or how much it has hurt him mentally this year.

He looks like he will be fit for the World Cup with Sweden, and on paper, their forward line of Gyokeres, Elanga, Isak and Kulusevski looks decent. But until we know where he is mentally and physically, it is a hard question to answer whether he will be ever be as good as he was at Newcastle. It's a lot to take on, what's happened to him this season.

If Tottenham don't win this weekend they are doomed

We have said it a few times throughout the season, but this really is a must-win for Spurs. The position Wolves are in - already relegated and having been really poor - means this is Tottenham's opportunity to win their first game in a really long time, since December, and get a tiny bit of belief back into their squad.Still, it's fair to say, if they do not win this weekend, they are doomed.

Without a doubt conceding that last minute equaliser last week would have hurt them. They looked better, but defensively they are still all over the place. There are so many gaps and holes in them, and they've given up so many opportunities to the opposition. There was an improvement, no doubt, but that will have hurt them last weekend.

What will help them mentally was seeing West Ham only get a point. If West Ham had won, mentally that would have finished Spurs and damaged them, knowing that even if they go to Wolves and win, they'd still be in the bottom three.

They have got to go out and win this weekend, otherwise they are gone.

The title race is not over just yet

Arsenal played well last weekend. If they do not win the league, I do not think it was last weekend against City that did the damage. I think it was the weekend before against Bournemouth. 

They won against Sporting Lisbon, and I was expecting them to beat Bournemouth. If they had just won that match, the title was pretty much theirs.

That defeat at home was the big one for me. Where was the energy and belief they showed against City when they played Bournemouth? However, I still think there is going to be a twist or two between now and the end of the season.

I don't think both teams will win every game between now and the end of the season. I think Arsenal will win this weekend against Newcastle, but I do think there'll still be a little twist somewhere along the line.

I've been here at this stage of the season and, yes, it's great to talk about all of these things, but if only it was reality. I'm convinced that there will be a slip up from someone, somewhere along the line.

If they don't win a trophy Arsenal may not recover

Arsenal have to win a trophy after the position they put themselves in. Being top of the league for so long, still with a great chance of winning it, and reaching the semi-final of the Champions League, you can imagine what it would do to the club and how it would look from the outside if they win nothing.

I know how hard it is going up against Europe's best. They have got Atletico, who dumped Barcelona out, and then potentially Bayern or PSG, two of the best teams in Europe.

But, with how their season has gone and how brilliantly they have been for a large part of it, I'm not sure mentally they would be able to recover from that. With the money they have spent, most clubs would demand a trophy.

It is a great opportunity this weekend, with Man City in the FA Cup, and vital for Arsenal to put the pressure back on City, who overtook them on goals scored. It's a great opportunity to say 'okay, fine'. They have to win against Newcastle.

Newcastle's record at Arsenal is not brilliant. Newcastle have been really poor in recent weeks, so the pressure is on them to perform again. I would expect Arsenal to bounce back and beat Newcastle this weekend, unfortunately.

The ship has sailed for Rashford and United

I think the ship has sailed for Marcus Rashford to go back to Manchester United. I know he had his problems with the previous regime, United have to make a decision on who they appoint as manager first before they start trying to get Rashford back into the fold if that is possible at all.

I think Barcelona are trying to play the game, I think they want to sign him and are trying to get the transfer fee down in what they're doing, what they're saying and the noises that are coming out. It's not surprising, just the way negotiations are going.

I would be surprised if Marcus was not at Barcelona next season.

At times he has shown his ability, but a lot of the time we have not seen it consistently. He had one or two disciplinary issues with previous managers, whether that was Erik ten Hag or whoever.

There is great ability in Marcus, and we have seen that at Barcelona, one of the biggest clubs in the world and he's had a really good season. He has been a really good squad player for them and when he's been called upon, he's done the business.

The talent is there, but with Marcus it is just about doing it on a regular basis. It looks like he's going to be in the England squad, there's an argument for him to start at the World Cup, going up against Anthony Gordon on that left-hand side.

Leicester's relegation is a huge warning to clubs who want to dream

Leicester's relegation is a huge warning to clubs who want to dream. Leicester won the Premier League, got relegated, came back up, had Champions League football, won the FA Cup, and now find themselves relegated twice and playing in League One next season. 

It is a huge warning to other clubs paying huge wages to players and it's just been mismanaged by the football club. In terms of numbers, it's been misjudged and a huge warning to any football club as to what can happen in football and happen very quickly.

They are going to have to have a complete reset, restabilise the club, and try to ship out as much as they can. Whether players are still on big money, I don't know.

They had their points deduction, they would probably still have gone down without that, they have been that bad. They have to reset and start fresh all over again.

Keeping Coventry up would be a remarkable achievement for Lampard

I hope Frank Lampard keeps Coventry in the Premier League next season. It takes courage to drop down to the Championship to prove himself again and he has done just that.

They had a little wobble a few months ago but came through it. It all depends on recruitment now. They are going to have to spend, it can be done, we've seen it done with so many clubs now. Sunderland are a fine example of that, as much as it pains me to say.

They are a great example of spending, bringing players in and doing things right. Whether they can do that again next season, we'll have to wait and see. That has to be an aim for Coventry.

I know Burnley have found the transition really tough this year, and they spent money. it's not just about spending money; it's about the recruitment.

The experience from the last few seasons will have done Lampard the world of good heading back into the Premier League. He has shown great courage in doing what he's done in being prepared to go down to the Championship again. It's been a great decision of his.

He has had a great reaction from his players and the owners at Coventry. He deserves it, and I hope he can keep them up, because that would be a remarkable achievement.

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