Chelsea players have come in for a lot of criticism this season, which is understandable.
They are a young team but have come nowhere near to meeting expectations.
While qualifying for the Champions League was never going to be easy, to find themselves in 11th place and 17 points behind fourth is hugely disappointing.
Pundits have not held back with Gary Neville describing Chelsea as “billion-pound bottle jobs” after their 1-0 defeat to Liverpool in the Carabao Cup final last month.
Meanwhile, Raheem Sterling has had to deal with scrutiny from his own fans, being booed off by some of the Stamford Bridge faithful in the Blues’ last match before the international break. Since then, one of his team-mates has been speaking about how he personally responds to criticism.
Chelsea players under fire right now
It is hard for these Chelsea players to escape the criticism that they are facing because of things like social media.
After all of the money that the club have spent and with where the team are in the table at present, it is not going to go away either.
Noni Madueke is a player who was recently bought by Chelsea, joining the Blues from PSV Eindhoven in January 2023, and the winger has claimed that he actually does not care about what his critics have to say.
In an interview with the Daily Mail, Madueke said: “I can only speak for myself but for me it doesn’t really bother me. We’re in a social media era where it is very difficult to please people.
“I’m not really that bothered, I don’t care to watch it. I just focus on myself, my teammates and try to do the best I can every time I get an opportunity.”
Noni Madueke getting frustrated at Chelsea
This season may have annoyed Madueke a bit and not just because of the criticism that the 22-year-old and his team-mates have received.
He has actually only made four starts in the Premier League, which he is unlikely to be happy about.
In fact, according to journalist Simon Phillips, Madueke is getting itchy feet and wants to play more.
The form of Cole Palmer, though, is making opportunities hard to come by. Unless Pochettino shakes things up a bit, perhaps dropping Conor Gallagher from the side, then Madueke is likely to continue being a bench player under him.
