Paul Merson Criticizes Chelsea And Praises Simon Thomas

On a chilly night at Emirates Stadium on February 4, 2026, Chelsea’s hopes of Carabao Cup glory came to a grinding halt. The Blues lost 0-1 to Arsenal in the second leg of the semifinals, sealing their exit after a narrow 2-3 defeat in the first leg. For Chelsea fans, the disappointment was palpable, but for those in the Sky Sports studio, it was a night for sharp words and honest assessments.

Paul Merson, the former Arsenal midfielder and now a fixture on Sky Sports, didn’t mince words as he dissected Chelsea’s performance. During the halftime break, with the match still goalless, Merson questioned the tactical approach of Chelsea’s manager, Liam Rosenior. “If this plan continues, then he puts Cole Palmer and Estevao in, we’ll praise him. We’ll say what he’s done is incredible,” Merson remarked, according to Sky Sports. “If Chelsea don’t qualify after the first 45 minutes, the fans will be angry because those 45 minutes were wasted. They didn’t give Arsenal any meaningful resistance at all.”

Merson’s critique didn’t end there. He was particularly incensed by what he saw as a lack of urgency and motivation from the Chelsea players. “They’re playing at a slow tempo. It’s a Carabao Cup semi-final, fight to the end! It’s not a League One or League Two team coming to the Emirates to keep the score low, they have players capable of competing with Arsenal,” he argued. “They didn’t try hard. There are ways to lose. If they lose 0-3 in this game, after firing shot after shot and Kepa was brilliant in goal, (you’ll say): ‘That’s how it goes’.”

Merson, never one to hold back, painted a vivid picture of the post-match dressing room atmosphere. “As a player, you’ll be in the dressing room (thinking): ‘We didn’t try our best’. I’ve played in games like that, you come off the pitch and think: ‘We’ve just been beaten and we didn’t try our best’.” For Chelsea, the sting of elimination was made worse by the sense that more could have been done.

Backing up Merson’s analysis, former Liverpool midfielder Jamie Redknapp also weighed in. Redknapp, speaking on the same broadcast, observed, “At the break, they were so excited, clapping, thinking: ‘This is what we want to do, take them deeper into the second half and overcome the anxiety in the stadium’. But it didn’t happen.” He added, “Even the way they played at the end of the game, trying to play aggressively, they lost the pattern of the game. There will be a lot of regrets in that dressing room, thinking: ‘We didn’t do enough’.”

Faced with such public criticism, Chelsea boss Liam Rosenior was quick to respond. Drawing on his own experience as a pundit, Rosenior offered a candid perspective on the pressures of top-level football management. “I used to be a commentator, it’s easy. It’s easy if you look at it from a past point of view. If I attack and do high pressing, then we concede two goals early, everyone will question what you are doing,” Rosenior explained, as reported by Sky Sports. “That’s the reality of my job. If you lose a game, you’re criticised. If you win, you’re a genius. It’s usually somewhere in between.”

Rosenior’s remarks highlighted the ever-present scrutiny managers face in the modern game—where every tactical choice is dissected, and every result prompts instant analysis. His words echoed the reality that, for managers, the line between genius and folly is razor-thin and often determined by the scoreboard.

While the fallout from Chelsea’s Carabao Cup exit dominated headlines, Paul Merson himself was making news for another reason: his outspoken praise for Simon Thomas, the new host of Soccer Saturday on Sky Sports. The legendary Jeff Stelling, who had helmed the program for more than two decades, stepped down in 2023, leaving big shoes to fill. Thomas, a seasoned broadcaster with a background on Blue Peter, took over the role and has now been steering the show for nearly three years.

Merson, who worked alongside Stelling for years and briefly left the program last season to compete on BBC’s Strictly Come Dancing, didn’t hesitate to commend Thomas’s performance. Speaking on the latest episode of the Stick to Football podcast, Merson said, “It’s like going into Man City and taking [Erling] Haaland’s place and saying, ‘Right you’ve got to score 40 goals a season’. Jeff [Stelling] was the ultimate at it but people forget, God bless before his wife passed away, Simon [Thomas] was the top presenter.”

He continued, “He was on Blue Peter when he was younger and he has come in and just been himself and I like that. He gets nervous sometimes and rightly so, it’s a hard job to do what he does and then now… People forget as well now he does 3pm until 5pm, bang, reeling out scores, and then he has got to do the full-time scores and then the tables and then in-between that we are lucky enough to get an interview now from one of the players, so he doesn’t get a rest for six hours, which is some doing. What Simon does is unbelievable, to follow someone like Jeff Stelling…”

Thomas’s journey has not been without hardship. After his wife Gemma’s tragic death in 2017, he stepped away from broadcasting for a time. Returning to Sky and eventually taking over Soccer Saturday, Thomas has managed to win over viewers and colleagues alike with his professionalism and authenticity. Merson’s praise underscores the magnitude of the challenge Thomas faced and the respect he has earned in the role.

Meanwhile, Jeff Stelling has continued his career in sports media, now presenting for talkSPORT and recently becoming a brand ambassador for OLBG. His legacy at Sky remains strong, but the transition to Thomas has, by most accounts, been a success.

For Merson, the world of punditry and broadcasting is a familiar one—he knows both the thrill of live television and the sting of public criticism. His recent comments, whether aimed at Chelsea’s on-field struggles or at the challenges of following a broadcasting legend, reflect a deep understanding of the pressures that come with high-profile roles in football, both on and off the pitch.

The events of the past week serve as a reminder that in football, as in broadcasting, the spotlight is relentless. Performances are scrutinized, legacies are debated, and respect must be earned anew with every match and every show. For Chelsea, the search for answers continues. For Simon Thomas, the journey as Stelling’s successor rolls on—with the backing of colleagues like Paul Merson and the watchful eyes of football fans everywhere.

In the end, whether it’s a manager’s tactical gamble or a presenter’s steady hand, the beautiful game is as much about courage and resilience as it is about results. And as the dust settles on another dramatic week in English football, those qualities remain as vital as ever.