Blues must take blame for killing the dream, blasts Petit

The Blues' match against Liverpool on Sunday is a huge one but it is only going to decide who finishes the campaign in second place behind Manchester United, according to Petit.

For the former French international feels Chelsea have made crucial mistakes in the transfer market in recent years which has not only undermined their hopes for this season but for many more to come.

When Petit left Chelsea in the summer of 2004, he had already seen the power that 12 months of spending by Abramovich had brought to the club.

A dozen players joined for a combined cost of over £100million and Chelsea finished second, their highest place since they won the League championship in 1955.

The arrival of Jose Mourinho as the new manager, as well as the pacy winger Arjen Robben to work on the opposite flank to Damien Duff, helped ensure they went one better the following two campaigns to be crowned champions of England.

United, in comparison, seemed in disarray and all the talk from south- west London was of global domination or as chief executive Peter Kenyon put it: 'Turning the world blue'.

However, United have re-established their dominance by coming out on top the past two seasons and are on course to make it a hat-trick of Premier League trophies in May.

To rub salt into the wounds they beat Chelsea in the Champions League Final last year in Moscow.

New manager Luiz Felipe Scolari looks unlikely to turn the tide with his team struggling to beat lower League opposition in cup competitions this term, let alone what the top flight has to offer.

But Petit insists Scolari isn't the only one responsible but rather the club's activity in the transfer market before he arrived.

He said: "The problem with Chelsea is that even if they brought back Mourinho right now to replace Scolari it wouldn't change anything at all.

"They are missing the strength out wide. They don't have Robben, Duff, Shaun Wright-Phillips at the club any more and Joe Cole is injured.

"They are not playing the flowing football that they used to because of this. When Duff and Robben were at the club, it was flying football, but they let both of them go.

"They dominated the League for two years and wanted to do the same in Europe but United have killed that dream.

"Now they have too many similar players. They have so many central midfielders when the stats show that most of the goals in the Premier League are scored from crosses.

"It explains why Chelsea are finding it so hard to score. They are frustrated because they have the feeling that United are stronger than ever now. It is like their nightmare has come back again.

"United are strong defensively and in midfield plus they have young players there who will replace Ryan Giggs and Paul Scholes.

"Now it seems nothing can affect Manchester United."

However, Petit feels the absence of wingers shouldn't be used as an excuse not to have strikers Nicolas Anelka and Didier Drogba in the first team together.

Petit, who played with Anelka when Arsenal won the Double in 1998, feels Scolari should field both of them if the club are to have a hope of finishing on top.

The Brazilian has caused some discontent on the rare occasions he has done so because he tells Anelka to go out on the wing.

Petit said: "I'm surprised Scolari moves Anelka wide, I don't see why they can't play up front together but it is up to Didier and Nicolas to make it work.

"Thierry Henry plays well on the left at Barcelona, that means it can work. Sometimes you have to put your ego to the side. The players and the manager have to work together."

Despite all his misgivings over Chelsea, he still sees them as a better bet to offer United a challenge this season than Liverpool.

The 38-year-old has been mystified by the events of the last few months which has seen Liverpool's title bid undermined by problems off the field.

Rafael Benitez's side looked on course when they became the first to win at Stamford Bridge for over four years in October but have slumped to seven draws in their last 10 games. He said: "Liverpool need to win this game more than Chelsea because it looks like they have been killing themselves over the last few weeks.

"It seems that before beating their opponents they are beating themselves in the dressing room.

"There are problems with Benitez, then there is what is happening with Steven Gerrard, which is a big surprise.

"There is the dispute between the two owners, there are issues over some players' contracts and that of Benitez. All of this mixed together shows me that Liverpool have lost their target and they are no longer confident."

Emmanuel Petit is an ambassador for Barclays Spaces for Sports, the community sports scheme that expanded globally in April 2008, with projects in South Africa and the United States. www.barclays.com/community/spacesforsports