Chelsea Manager Antonio Conte has told Owner Roman Abramovich that the Chelsea squad that won the Premier League two seasons ago "needs to be dismantled and rebuilt because many of the surviving players are incapable of regaining their title-winning form," according to Matt Hughes of the LONDON TIMES. Abramovich is "believed to be sympathetic to Conte’s requests after watching Chelsea suffer comprehensive defeats" by Liverpool and Arsenal in its last two Premier League matches, particularly as the new manager "did not demand wholesale changes when he took charge of the club in the summer." Conte initially accepted Abramovich’s view that a talented group of players had "underperformed dismally under José Mourinho last season because of a breakdown in their relationship with the manager, but eight competitive matches into his reign he appears to have altered his view." Conte has also "expressed concern that there is an underlying complacency in the dressing room due to a culture of player-power that has developed over several years and he is determined to stamp it out." Despite his track record of firing managers, Abramovich "remains fully supportive of Conte regardless of Chelsea’s poor start to the season and has accepted many of his findings." The owner is "willing to bankroll several signings in January, with a creative central midfield player Conte’s main target," but Chelsea expects to find it "difficult to do business" (LONDON TIMES, 9/29).
