Gullit: Chelsea lacking class

Former manager Ruud Gullit said he has not been impressed with what he has seen from Chelsea in the Champions League this season.

The Blues have won two, drawn two and lost one of their five group games in the Europe’s premier club competition, a record which sees them taking on Valencia on Tuesday in a fight to qualify for the knockout stage.

Gullit, a former player and manager at Stamford Bridge, feels that Chelsea should have done much better considering the strength and experience of its squad.

“In Europe there has been no sign of their class. I find that amazing,” Gullit told The Sunday Mirror.

“Almost all of their players have experience at Champions League level. They can’t use that as an excuse. They are so much better than their form in Europe suggests.”

The 49-year-old also reckons Chelsea have a big job ahead in terms of replacing some of its older and more experienced players with younger ones.

“At Chelsea they are busy ¬replacing an entire team that is used to being successful. They have a big job,” he said.

“Because of the fact that (Didier) Drogba, (Nicolas) Anelka, (John) Terry and (Frank) Lampard have won so many ¬trophies, it is not easy to say goodbye to them.”

“As (Fernando) Torres has claimed, the team is just too old. I don’t think that was the cleverest thing to say about his team-mates, but he does have a valid point.”

Gullit, who was fired from his last managerial post at Russian Premier League outfit Terek Grozny earlier this year, also took a swipe at defending EPL champions Manchester United.

The Dutchman believes the Red Devils have become over-reliant on Wayne Rooney, and feels that they should have signed Wesley Sneijder from Inter during the off-season.

“United are just too dependent on Wayne Rooney. They should have really tried to sign Sneijder,” he said.

“Without Paul Scholes, they really miss having a creative midfielder in the team and I can’t understand why they didn’t make good their interest in Sneijder in the summer.”

“They miss the calmness of Edwin van der Sar. And, because of his back injuries, Rio Ferdinand can no longer deliver what is required at the highest level. If I was a United fan I would worry about this team.”