‘100% Spurs are in a better position’

Joe Cole insists Tottenham are “100% in a better position as a club” compared to Chelsea as the two sides prepare to go toe-to-toe in the Premier League’s Monday night fixture.

Todd Boehly completed a £4.25 billion takeover at Stamford Bridge in May 2022 and has since spent more than £1bn on transfers but few would argue it’s had the desired effect. The Blues laboured to a 12th-place finish last season and sit in the same position having made an inauspicious start to this campaign.

Mauricio Pochettino was hired in the summer in a bid to turn fortunes around on the pitch, but the Argentine has managed just three wins from 10 on his return to London.

In contrast, Spurs are on the up. Despite the departure of Harry Kane to Bayern Munich in the summer, new manager Ange Postecoglou has breathed fresh life into the club, guiding the Lilywhites to their best ever Premier League start.

Such has been the Australian’s impact, he has been a hit even with rival fans, but most importantly he has Spurs playing positive, attacking football – football that has yielded eight wins and two draws and which has them sitting just a point behind Manchester City with a game in hand.

Ahead of Chelsea’s visit to the Tottenham Hotspur stadium, TNT Sports pundit Cole heaped praise on what Postecoglou has been able to do in such a short space of time, while lamenting the current situation at his former club.

“If you’re asking me what team is in a better position, what club is in a better position, 100% Spurs are in a better position as a club,” Cole said, in conversation with Jermaine Jenas. “And by the way, that’s Chelsea’s own fault with the owners.

“Respectfully, I’ve met them and they’re brilliant guys in their own right, but whatever advice they’re getting in terms of recruitment and putting in a structure underneath the club, I don’t think they’re getting the right advice.

“Three years ago Chelsea won the Champions League, and now we’re mid-table and it’s looking like mid-table again, and we’ve spent £1 billion, so something’s gone wrong. They need to address that.”

But despite the struggles, Cole remains confident Pochettino is the man to turn things around if he can find a solution to Chelsea’s “frustrating” issues in front of goal and picked out the Carabao Cup as a potential avenue to silverware this season.

“We’re still in the Carabao Cup,” he added. “I think that’s the only thing Chelsea can win this year.

“Man City and Spurs are out of it, so there’s two big hitters gone. We’ve got Newcastle at home, and maybe their head will be turned with Champions League football around that time.

“Chelsea could be in the semi-final so let’s fast forward there and think this team by February, March will be getting better because I’ve watched them get better, so I think Chelsea could win that.”

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