Chelsea legend Gianfranco Zola spoke frankly when asked what is his former club's biggest problem this season.
Speaking to talkSPORT pundit Simon Jordan on his podcast, Zola admitted he is concerned with the lack of leadership at Chelsea.
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“The policy at the club in recent years has been to spend big money,” Zola told Jordan.
“Those players had the knowledge, the experience, the character, and the personality which all combined with the know-how of how to be a successful team and be winners.
"Some of Chelsea’s young players aren’t ready, they need more time."
Chelsea have largely abandoned their tried-and-tested method of using experience under the new Clearlake Capital regime.
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Where top-class players such as John Terry, Frank Lampard and Didier Drogba used to win trophies largely on their own, over a billion has been spent on young starlets with plenty of potential.
However, the scheme has yet to bear fruit with Chelsea finishing 12th last season - and they sit 11th in the Premier League currently.
Zola added: "They used to have a core team of four or five players with the likes of Frank Lampard, John Terry, Didier Drogba, Branislav Ivanovic among a couple of others, and Chelsea would build their team around those players.
"Those players were the ones to spread those fundamental traits to the new players within the team, as well as many of the players who came up through the ranks in the youth team.
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"Because they were in that environment with those core players, they could develop those attributes and abilities."
Chelsea have not won the Premier League since 2017 when Antonio Conte was in charge, marshalled by a defence of Terry, Gary Cahill and Cesar Azpiicueta, who have all been named as official club captains.
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Diego Costa led the line with Nemanja Matic, N'Golo Kante and Cesc Fabregas holding the fort in midfield as Eden Hazard added the magic.
Since then, Thomas Tuchel led them to European glory in 2021 but their league form has largely deserted them while Mauricio Pochettino has been tasked with bringing the good times back to Stamford Bridge with his young squad.