Gus Poyet reckons that a hectic Premier League and cup calendar has prevented Chelsea from securing top-flight glory in recent campaigns. The 58-year-old won the FA Cup, a Charity Shield, a Cup Winners' Cup and a Super Cup with the Blues between 1997 and 2001, etching his name into the history books of Stamford Bridge.
Now in football management, having led Jeonbuk Hyundai Motors to the K-League and Korean FA Cup double in 2025, Poyet clearly still follows the side he painted himself in glory with at club level. However, the last decade or so hasn't been an easy watch for Chelsea fans, particularly in the Premier League.
The Blues have yet to lift the English top-flight title since Antonio Conte's footballing masterclass of 2016/17, and Poyet has now given a potential reason as to where things are going wrong - not just in west London, but across English football on the whole.
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Speaking exclusively to Mirror Football via Casino.org, the Uruguayan said: "Now, the problem is that what all the coaches are complaining in the biggest leagues... For example, me, if I put myself, my precisions are very important for me. And the teams, they don't have precision anymore because they don't stop playing.
"And the players, they don't have precision and they keep playing. So if we want to see quality, they need to play less games. If they play less games, there is not that much money because the television pays. So, how many, that nobody knows.
"But the truth is that, at the moment, it's very difficult because Chelsea, it was in an incredible level at the Club World Cup because of what they achieved. And now two months later, they got six, seven injuries.
"You don't know which player is going to play every weekend. They keep playing games every three or four days. It's difficult. It's very difficult."
Poyet went on: "I think we are at the level of the championship all over the world, because of the quantity of the game is going down. Yeah. Because the top teams, they can't maintain their level.
"And the bottom teams, they don't play that many games. They're getting better. Crystal Palace, how they started this [season]. So, you can compete in a different way to this one where they're exhausted and where they need to change, change, change, change. So, I think we need to find a balance.
"But, I don't have the answer. I'm not going to say here I know how many games. I always say to the players that complain about it, too many games. Those players need to answer the question, do you think you play too many games in a season? Yes, okay.
"Are you willing to cut your salary 20 per cent and to play five games less? What do you think is going to be the answer? No. They don't complain about playing the games. Because you're getting paid what you're getting paid because of the television.
"Now, for the coaches, it's different, okay. I think that you'd want to work with your team. And we go less and less time to work because it's getting paid. So, when can you train? Pre-season. And now we're taking pre-season away because of the games. So, it's quite difficult to get that methodology right."
As a result of their endeavours under Enzo Maresca this season, Chelsea currently sit fourth in the Premier League standings with eight wins, five draws and four losses on the board. Up next for the Blues is a trip to Villa Park come Saturday, December 2, to face a high-flying Aston Villa who are currently seven points clear of them in third.
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