Chelsea’s results have been a mixed bag in the opening months of the 2025-26 season, and former Premier League star Danny Murphy can’t see that changing anytime soon.
Unfortunately, Chelsea can reflect on a frustrating campaign so far, which has had many ups and downs. Although injuries to key players have definitely been a factor, it can’t completely justify the inconsistent results and performances.
Here is a look at the record of Enzo Maresca’s side this season across all competitions:
| Matches | Wins | Draws | Losses | Goals scored | Goals against |
| 13 | 7 | 2 | 4 | 26 | 16 |
The Blues have already lost four matches this term, including three in the Premier League, putting them in ninth spot in the division table. Gary Neville thinks Chelsea must be super frustrated because they’ve been like a yo-yo so far.
Danny Murphy thinks Chelsea’s lack of experience will continue to hurt them
According to Danny Murphy, Chelsea will continue to see inconsistent results this campaign because they are desperately missing more experience, particularly in the defence.
When discussing Chelsea, Murphy told talkSPORT: “You’re always going to get this rollercoaster of performances, these extremes, because of the lack of experience… Defensively, you need a leader. If you want to compete and be consistent, you need a [Virgil] Van Dijk, or a [William] Saliba or Gabriel [Magalhaes].
“All the best teams over the years have had at least one of the centre-halves or one of the back four who’s got that aura about him above the others who can help the others, guide the others, and settle the others.
“All the Chelsea centre-halves are decent players… But none of them are the senior figure. None of them are a Thiago Silva or John Terry.”
Like many pundits and supporters have flagged, Chelsea are quite clearly lacking experience. It is worth pointing out that the likes of Reece James and Enzo Fernandez do have some top-level experience.
Even though reports in February claimed that Chelsea co-owner Todd Boehly wants a squad with both youth and experience, 28-year-old defender Tosin Adarabioyo is the oldest player in the squad at Stamford Bridge.
Will Chelsea be prepared to invest in older players?
Like we’ve seen with former Chelsea defender Thiago Silva, the injection of real experience can be a major boost to any squad if they are the right player. It doesn’t sound like the same thing will be happening for a while, though.
Chelsea are refusing to sign ‘old timers’ because they have confidence that the young squad possesses the right experience already.
We would strongly disagree with that sentiment. In fact, searching the market for one or two players aged over 30 could help to elevate the talented group to bigger and better things.
Receive a digest of our best Chelsea content each week direct to your mailbox
