Chelsea are ruining good players, according to former Manchester United and England right-back Gary Neville.
The Blues have spent around £1 billion over the past year since the arrival of owner Todd Boehly, but results have not improved yet and the west London club find themselves down in 14th place following their second-worst start ever to a Premier League season.
Mauricio Pochettino's men have been blighted by injuries this term, but results have still been disappointing given the huge outlay, with just one win from six games so far and only five goals scored.
"I think it’s cultural, Neville said on the Stick to Football podcast. "If you see what's happening at Manchester United and Chelsea, there are so many similarities – they are ruining players that have been signed as good players. It's been happening at Chelsea over the past twelve to eighteen months – it comes culturally from the top."
Jamie Carragher believes Chelsea's struggles show that spending money is not always the solution.
"This is nothing against Chelsea, but the good thing to come of this is that it shows you that throwing lots of money at something doesn't automatically work," he said.
"There has got to be a plan, a structure. Who are you bringing in? Who's playing with who? The best teams will normally spend the most money, I understand that, but the way Chelsea have done it – spending so much in the last twelve months – there is more to it."
And the former Liverpool and England defender insists players like Mykhailo Mudryk must be given a fair chance to prove their worth at Stamford Bridge.
"We’ve all been in successful teams – yes, you need top players, but you need a connection in the dressing room, a connection with the manager, a connection with crowd, and how can that ever happen at Chelsea? I just don’t see it.
"The manager changes every two minutes," he said. "There are players coming in left, right and centre. There are probably two or three players for every position. When you bring a player in, for example Mykhailo Mudryk – we know he hasn't done well but they are still buying wingers. You've got to give that lad a chance.
"Every player must feel like there isn’t a real opportunity there for them because someone could take their place two games later. There can't be any kind of spirit or connection at Chelsea from the top to the bottom."
For his part, Ian Wright thinks Chelsea might take time to get back to the top after a long period of success.
"The project at Chelsea has turned on its head," the former Arsenal and England striker said. "Chelsea went through a stage where whoever the manager was that came in, they were winning something.
"Now, it's completely flipped on its head to the point where we’re just seeing all these young players come in for a team that are expected to be amongst it, to win things and play well, with a manager who should be able to sort it out, but up to this point, I still haven't seen it."
And like Neville, former Manchester United and Republic of Ireland midfielder Roy Keane believes the problems start at the top, with the sheer amount of new signings creating 'chaos' at the club.
"[The Chelsea ownership] can affect the dressing room, the energy of the club, the leadership, but also the players," he said. "The only thing I’ll say about that dressing room – the number of players they've bought, I've never experienced it.
"When I was at a club, sometimes three or four new players would come and you could see that it would take them time to adapt, from a football point of view, off the field with their families, and schools. But how many players have they bought? I can only imagine going into the training ground every day, I feel sorry for the kitman – it must be chaos!"
Gary Neville, Roy Keane, Ian Wright and Jamie Carragher were speaking on the Stick to Football podcast, brought to you by Sky Bet.
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