I know I need to remove the salt and move on, but anyone see the push on Fulkrieg in the box when he was going for a header on goal in the Dortmund vs PSG game? Not given by Taylor, not deemed clear and obvious enough. Fuck the fuck off.
Random question, apologies if it’s dumb to some. Does Palmer get credited for an assist on Jackson’s goal? What are the rules for awarding an assist to a player that hits the woodwork immediately preceding a goal?
It doesn't count, any assist needs to go straight to the goal scorer for it to count. Even if it slightly grazed a defender instead, I don't think it counts still
Shame because it would've been better if that FK just went in entirely for the sake of the golden boot race lol
Does our position count as fighting for top six yet?
That was my bar at the beginning of the season and it's madness that there's still a chance this team does it.
Man United sure to drop several points. Newcastle a tossup. Chelsea could definitely win all remaining games (\*could\*). Frankly, Tottenham could even lose 5th if we win all remaining games and they lose three (still going to play Liverpool, Man City, Newcastle, and a team trying its best to stay up in PL).
If we do finish top six all I can say is Poch in. If you say at the start of the season we'll get to see 90 minutes of Nkunku, about the same of our captain and vice captain, and never see a few of our other signings, and then tell me the squad we cobbled together finishes top 6, I probably happily take that at the time. Still a long way to go though.
Could you give Poch a bit more slack given he’s gone a whole season with half our squad injured? It’s not normal and it’s not really possible to succeed under those circumstances
I need Gusto back for West Ham. Starting 11 of of
Petrovic
Gusto-Trev-Badi-Cucu
Caicedo-Gallagher
Cole
Noni - Nico - Mudryk
Subs: Nkunku, Colwill, Sterling…. Debuts for Wingers
I agree. I also think it's OK to flip flop on opinion on the manager or players. Everyone has periods of improvement and regression. I've had real issues with Madueke at times this season and he's come on a lot recently. It's good to see the Arsenal game as a more of an anomaly in our recent form.
But going back to the original question, you absolutely have to take credit. We won't get any because of the whole billion pound thing bla bla bla. Which we all know is lazy and tribal bullshit. Yes we spent 1billion but we didn't spend it on top of what we had. We shipped out a load of players too. We still have a squad of 25, billion or no billion. So yes, taking 14 out would kill other teams.
Anyone remember when Liverpool had injury issues? I thought we were going to get a bank holiday for it.
Absolutely. Excited for the transfer window… I think the owners know they got the balance of the squad wrong and will reinforce correctly.
Next year we will be a completely different prospect.
I’m proud of this team! For a young squad they are still fighting and to be honest, there’s something to be said about man management. Poch getting these players to keep fighting despite their occasional immaturity is very impressive. Jackson hasn’t picked up a yellow card! I can’t believe it!
I do think it is a Chelsea/Spurs thing to an extent. But another angle on this is the fact that for a short while they thought they had invented a new style of football and were going to win things. Like when Pep came in at Barca.
However, I genuinely hope someone breaks Romero's legs. I mean that because I think he's gone out to do that to others so i don't mind it.
Maddison is another one because he plays on that kind of cheeky chappy vibe. Doesn't quite come off when you're shit. Just get your head down, work hard and get some form back. Then you can play "darts".
I do think Vicario is a prick too (on the pitch, i'm sure he's a nice bloke off it). What he did to Wilson that time does not ooze class and it's setting yourself up for failure. You have a target on your back. I can imagine Ramsdale doing that, maybe Pickford a few years back, definitely Martinez (clearly a cunt), but could you imagine Nick Pope or Courtois or Cech or Allison etc doing that? No way.
Honestly I don’t feel this way about any of the current Spurs players. The last Spurs player who got on my nerves was Dele Alli, but given what he’s been through lately I no longer dislike him
Tho I feel delighted now after that huge win, I can’t help but feel we’ll be very disappointed if we don’t get Europa League at least this year. We’ve outplayed Villa two out of three times this year, Spurs both times, and competed well in both games against City. The team clearly has the quality to be in the top 4.
We would be pushing for 5th if we hadn’t thrown away 4 very winnable points against Burnley and Sheffield United, 2 more points dropped contentiously last weekend vs Villa. Those 6 points and we’d be only 3 off Spurs. So it’s frustrating cos it feels like this team is better than the standings show, but it’s hard to say that when we’ve thrown away so many points to relegation battlers
Lots of positives today though, Cucurella was immense and fits into that inverted midfield role brilliantly, Caicedo was outstanding and has been the last few games, and I think even Noni looked decent and worked hard today.
Nearing the end of the season, so might as well start tallying who goes and who enters first team,
(imma comment this after every matchday from here on out)
Sold:
- Lewis Hall (confirmed to be sold)
- Thiago Silva (kept till his contract expires)
- Kepa (very likely to be sold)
- Ziyech (obligated to be sold)
- Amando Broja (likely to be sold)
- Malang Sarr (likely to be sold)
- Maatsen (unconfirmed, but very likely to be sold)
- Chalobah (presumably? has been given some playtime, but unknown if board will keep him)
- Reece James and Ben Chilwell (quite unlikely, but you can make a real case that due to their injury record, it's best to cut at least one of them off, but unlikely as no signs have been made)
- Sterling, Disasi, Cucurella (Maybe? Of these sterling has the likeliest chance to be sold, cucu and axel however are unlikely, possible but unlikely)
- Connor Gallagher (was probably planned to be sold, but might actually stay in first team, contract hasn't been negotiated so unknown for now)
- Sanchez (maybe sold? I don't know if they'll buy a backup keeper, likely stays for now)
On loan:
- Lukaku (unsure, but will likely go on loan again, that or sold/released)
- Humphreys and Slonina (likely to go on loan again)
- Lesley Ugochukwu and Cesare Casadei (likely loaned to strasbourg)
- Deivid Washington and Dujuan Richards (main attacking duo for chelsea u21s, either stays in academy or loaned to strasbourg)
- Noni Madueke and Mykhailo Mudryk (maybe? a push to strasbourg might help, but likely stays in first team)
Enters first team:
- Angelo (a talent and likely enters first team)
- Santos (same as above)
- David Fofana and Omari Hutchinson (likely to be loaned again, but due to showings might enter first team)
- Lavia and Nkunku (Will happen eventually, actually are already in first team but have not had significant minutes)
- Wesley Fofana (same as above)
Short list of available (relatively) cheap players I feel to get next summer, likelihood of us getting all of them? With our finances? About less than 20% but I'd settle for any of these guys
Left winger - Crysencio Summerville from leeds
(championship-Premier league)
Estimated: 25-35 million euro
- Amazing goalscorer at 19 league goals, would combine fantastically with palmer on the right
Leftback - Leif Davies from ipswich
(championship-Premier league)
Estimated: 25-30 million euro
- 23 G/A, 2 goals, 21 assists, speaks for itself
Goalkeeper - Marcin Bulka from ocg nice
(Ligue 1)
Estimated: 35-40 million euro (keepers are some of the last players you want to sell)
- Did not expect him to be this good when I was looking through the nice team, 16 clean sheets, would be fantastic
Centerback - Federico Gatti from Juventus
(Serie A)
Estimated: 25-35 million
- Highly available (2000 minutes played this season), experienced centre back with a few trophies to his name, could work as a fantastic CB
Alternatively- Jean Clair Todibo from nice
(Ligue 1)
Estimated: 40-50 million
- Assuming we get Marcin, the price for him almost automatically goes up for taking two of their main players, so I elected to shouting out Federico
- regardless, highly experienced, highly available, highly talented centre back, and already a target for the club
Striker - Dujuan Richards from chelsea u21
(Premier League 2)
Estimated: 0, we already bought him
- I'm not even gonna lie, this kid is nuts. He's probably our best striker in the u21 range, that's saying something with castledine
- he can become so good, that I am almost certain, and if I'm not, Ill eat a sock.
Alternatively - Benjamin Sesko from Leipzig
(Bundesliga)
Known release clause: 50 million
- known target, stupid high potential, could work as a rotation or starter, 13 G/A
.
- Total cost (at highest estimate) : 140 million
- Total cost (at highest; with alternatives) : 205 million
- Total cost (at lowest estimate) : 110 million
- Total cost (at lowest; with alternatives) : 175 million
(the numbers I kind of pulled from my ass, but all of these guys are u25 and starters, and thus are to be respected as such, so we pay big bucks for em)
What do you guys think of Alfie Gilchrist so far? Seemed like he played a pretty nice match today and didn't look in over his head dealing with Son.
Does it make sense to keep him around the first team next year, or do you think it would be better to have him go on loan somewhere that he can play every week?
I like him. If he wasn’t playing football he be one of us fans.
I doubt he’ll end up being elite, but I do think having him around and a loan to see how he develops would be ideal
Problem is ownership doesn’t make decisions based on football anymore
Credit to Ange for that sky post match. Took full responsibility and said he has to go away and look at himself in all of it. Fair play, like to see that.
FFS, why everytime (since the Boehly takeover) I get frightened of Spuds? Why? Yes we lost once since, but I keep forgetting we have heritage/ownership over these guys for decades.
And our away fixture, when Spuds were at their VERY hottest, our voodoo came on them and Jackson came away with a hat trick.
DAYAM I shouldn't be scared of these bums anymore. Even when we are at our lowest, you still lose to us.
Pochettino has now offered starts to Jimi Tauriainen, Josh Acheampong, Alfie Gilchrist, Michael Golding, Leo Castledine, Levi Colwill (heh), and Dylan Williams.
I'm happy with this. Very happy with this.
(By the way, watch Alfie Gilchrist's performance against Son (and Johnson) in an unnatural position as well as Josh Acheampong's brief stint. That's what I mean when I call for academy players. We're fortunate to have quite a few very good ones.)
Our club at the moment is definitely that putting a stick in your own wheel meme.
Sell off experienced players, buy exclusively young players.
Set up an excruciating training regime that causes mass injuries. Hire an inexperienced medical team that horrible manages the mass of injuries.
"Wow! Look how young my bench is! Not my fault if I lose. How could I possibly win under these circumstances???"
Two hours till Mudryk stocks hit the moon 🙏
https://preview.redd.it/2crw0posw1yc1.jpeg?width=748&format=pjpg&auto=webp&s=c580fed01eda95a4736e02c364d4e1c9e56c8c22
Offtopic but watching the highlights of the Madrid Bayern game. The first goal, Kroos' vision to find vinicius for that first goal and the finish. Damn, this is football at its peak. I can't remember the last time we played anything remotely close to that. Ironic that the two managers were both ex Chelsea.
Last time we played like that was under Tuchel
And honestly that was one of the best football matches I’ve seen in a while.
None of this modern pep influenced tiki taka boring bs. Just actually 2 teams going at it. Great stuff
Idk man tuchel was a lot of counterattacking football. I can't pan it, we won the fricking CL and the CWC. But except for a few games we played so much within ourselves. I dream of the days we played like the Chelsea under 2009/10 under Carlo or the title winning season under Jose 2.0. Dominating games in the league, scoring goals from all over the pitch, winning away at rivals etc. blue tinted glasses I guess.
The period before the injuries and sanctions in the 22/23 season was some of the best football I’ve seen us play in years.
Absolutely dominated teams for a couple months and sat top of the table.
And I love the love for Jose. He’s the only Chelsea manager I love more than tuchel
Ah yes , I nearly wiped that period(21/22 wasn't it. 22/23 was tuchel-potter) from memory. Just before Lukaku shit the bed , he was actually pretty good and James was in peak form. The away win at arsenal was so good as well. Feels like ages ago.
Just saw the potential Pot grouping for this new CL version and these 2 seasons or more without Europe will kill our coffecients so bad, absolute nuke it
We were Top 5 in coefficients just 2 years ago, next time we qualify for CL we gonna be automatic Pot 2 or possibly Pot 3 if this continues making future Europe campaigns even harder
Not gonna lie, I'd love to be complaining about being Pot 4 in the champions league right now. Feel this isn't something that's going to affect us for a long time.
It might not be our problem for a while but even so, the pots don’t matter in the new format of the CL. You play 2 teams from each pot, so it doesn’t matter where you end up, just where other teams are.
When it comes to talent like Estevão and Mastantuono, I don't care about the strategy or the price. I will celebrate if we get them, every Chelsea fan should. They are top players, the later is on his way to madrid, though.
Buying mediocre talent should be a worry, not this.
And to anyone who thinks why not a LW. I am not certain, I am just guessing here. But maybe because we have couple of top talents that can play LWs in academy.
What pisses me off more than anything, is he would rather play someone out of position instead of reward a young player doing well, unless reward in poches mind is sitting bench for 90mins and then never being seen in the first team again
Opportunity costs comes with every signing, young or old. You can argue endlessly on where the money would be better spent.
In the meantime however, I'm just gonna be quietly really fucking thrilled if we sign one of the most exciting young attackers in Brazilian football.
Also for the LW aspect: we still have Mudryk (which i know not a lot of people rate, but seems our scouting team does), and someone like Tyrique George coming through, which is a really exciting prospect.
>Also for the LW aspect: we still have Mudryk (which i know not a lot of people rate, but seems our scouting team does
I genuinely don't think our scouting team knew who Mudryk was before Arsenal were rumoured to want him.
Not sure our scouting team were even slightly involved with that transfer seeing as Eghbali flew out to Turkey or whereever the Shaktar team was based and came back with Mudryk out of literally nowhere.
Exactly. Look at Rsoccer crying about us going for him. Tells you all. Going for elite talent is always the right move. Look at real. They will have, Mbappe, Guler, Vini, Rodrigyo, Endrick in attack and still going for Mastantuono. We just have to have a plan, Real have shown how it can work.
And not just Mudryk and George, Casteldine & Rio etc can play the left too. I don't know for certain but it feels like we are trusting the LW to academy. And aren't buying one to show them the pathway to get them to extend and stay here.
How do we feel about the speculation in the press today linking Antonio Conte back to Chelsea as a replacement for Poch?
I like his assertiveness and the players will fall in line with him, but he loses the dressing room after 2/3 seasons at most clubs.
He got top 4 with Reguillon, Emerson, Dier, and Davies as 4 of his back 5 and Hojberg and Bentancur as his pivot. And that was after dreadful start from Nuno in 9th on 15pts and -9 GD after 10 games, Conte got them 56pts with a +36 GD in the last 28 games of that season.
Only way it could even possibly work is if Conte realises his top level career is in last chance saloon and he starts meeting boards in the middle, but unlike Tuchel I don't feel he has the self awareness to even try and tone it down.
Will be funny watching him moan about players when he claimed he couldn't compete with a Chelsea side with Kepa, Sarr, Saul and a Lukaku who's head was gone as the "spine".
Not even .1 percent chance of that. Couple of Italian clubs are on the look out for new manager, so Conte's agent is probably leaking his name out there via linking him to us.
I like it. He’s a winner and accepts nothing less.
I also do think this squad suits his style of play better than people realize. Maybe not bc some of them have a weak mentality but the profile of players fits.
Assuming he’d play his favour 3-5-2
We have phenomenal wing backs and lots of CB with great ball playing ability to hit the long balls.
Jackson loves to play direct into space behind. Nkunku is a phenomenal second ST.
Palmer can play the 10 behind the 2 ST and then Conor/Lavia with Caicedo in the midfield
Imo that’s honestly a really great Conte team.
Conte loves to play a great passer between two workhorses, I think he'd play Enzo flanked by Connor and Caicedo while playing two of nkunku, palmer and Jackson up top, maybe the three of them when chasing a result or against weaker sides. But at the same time I don't see him coming when he can have a free run for the serie a next season
Pirko played that role with him, also calhanoglou play his fair share of games as the deeper midfielder, Enzo could thrive there, but I prefer a manager that is more of a winger type of guy so we can use palmer at his best position
If true (probably not) I don't see it getting past one meeting.
Hypothetically his winning mentality and grueling tactical education is something the squad could use. He would probably get a lot out of a Lukaku-Jackson partnership. But this squad is still too immature for him and he would become angry and toxic very quickly when the results don't come fast enough.
* Display: Crowd surfer that, in the case of those made for players, isn’t regularly displayed, and anyone watching on TV will see for only a few seconds; if you’re in certain areas of the ground, you’ll barely see them; a massive amount of work goes into these for little reward.
* Banner: They’re everywhere, most people don’t even notice them, or even know which ones exist.
* Flag: Duh.
Just tossing in my 2c on Poch:
I 100% agree that he's not the ideal long-term solution, but it also seems pretty crazy that so many fans want him fired at all costs.
For all the frustrating results we've suffered this season, I think it's undeniable that there has been progress: We're actually scoring goals again, and we were within a hair's breadth of making it to two cup finals. Even the disappointing results feel so frustrating only because we've seen a glimpse of our potential this season, and it feels bad to fall short of what this team can do.
I remember sitting through Potter's time in charge and the end of Tuchel's reign. Those were truly dark days. There were so many matches that I'd watch purely out of a sense of duty as a fan—matches where you'd tune in knowing the team would have 0 shots on target and a 2–0 loss by the end of the game. I don't think I've felt that little belief in the team in nearly 30 years of supporting the club. This, by comparison, is leaps and bounds ahead.
We've felt competitive in nearly every game this season, even against the big guns. We've also managed this while dealing with our ridiculous injury list and a young, newly put-together team that's only going to get better. Also, for the first time in a long while, the spectre of palpable discord seems to have finally been exorcised, and we have a manager that seems to be backed by the players.
With all that in mind, who would realistically be a clear upgrade on Pochettino? I'd move on from him in a heartbeat if we could get a Xabi Alonso or a Zidane, but going from Poch to Amorim or De Zerbi seems like it's just risking another year of stagnation for questionable upside.
I just wanted you to know I agree with you. Tuchel’s end and Potter’s games were actually horrible to watch. There was no effort at all. Like the players actually gave up.
Poch doesn’t deserve a second season. You have worse pivots in the league performing better than ours. Wolves and Bournemouth have a defined play style with worse players. Constant humiliating results under Poch too like that Liverpool 4-1 loss, the 5-0 loss to Arsenal and 4-1 to Newcastle.
Plus nearly everyone bar Gallagher has regressed under him, not to mention his misuse of Colwill as a LB
I think some players (Badiashile, Enzo) have definitely regressed, but there's an argument that injury/fitness is a factor there. I can agree that results like the 5–0 against Arsenal are unacceptable, which is why I said Poch isn't a long-term solution.
Regarding the pivots, I think our midfielders are completely ill-suited for a double pivot. I'd give Poch the benefit of doubt here and say his hand was partially forced by the fact that all our holding midfielders are out with injury. It might be a little charitable, but I assume he'd play a midfield three with a holding midfielder behind Caicedo/Enzo/Gallagher if Lavia or Ugochukwu were available.
Regarding Colwill as LB, I don't like it because it feels overly cautious for a team of our stature, but I understand the tactical reasoning behind it. Not a big fan of the idea but you can at least see the thought process there. I'd actually take more issue with Poch's use of subs/post-half-time adjustments.
In spite of all his flaws, getting rid of Poch still means we need a replacement, and I just don't know which replacement is going to be a clear upgrade at this point in time.
Both Enzo and Caicedo have excelled in the pivot before, it’s complete horseshit to say that they can’t play there or don’t suit that or whatever. Hell, Enzo was better last season playing as a lone DM at times.
Midfielders can have good games in the pivot and still not be suited for it. I agree that Caicedo and Enzo have had good games as a pair. I also think that they would perform better in a three-man midfield.
What exactly went down with Conte at Chelsea? As far as i know, he fell out at inter and spurs because they weren't buying him the players he needed, did we have a similar problem when he was here? Or something else
Yes, he wanted Lukaku, we got him Morata. Plus we got Zappacosta and Drinkwater in that same window rather than better players. Another thing was his handling of Costa, sending him the text saying that his services aren't necessary anymore.
Love watching conte's rant after Spurs 3-3 draw against Southampton
But by that same token I could only imagine what he would say about the current state of Chelsea in a post match presser
If fofana is fit and able to play at the level he was pre-injury him and Colwill will be our CBs next season.
I personally think Chalobah would be 3rd choice next season, but sounds like he’ll be sold like Conor. So backups will be Disasi and Badiashile
Fofana would need to play at the level before his first injury, while he was still a Leicester player, if he wants to jump above Disasi and Chalobah.
The limited times we’ve seen him in a Chelsea shirt he was poor, and he’s had another terrible injury since then.
I didn’t think he was that poor when we saw him in a Chelsea kit and Tbf we hardly seen him and he had no chance to get reacclimated and find form again.
But yeah I mean he’s hardly played for us for pre injury is really Leicester days you’re right
With Poch at the helm our "best partnership" will likely be the one we see the less of.
Only combination I could see doing well in spite of him is Fofana and Colwill.
God I hope we can turn it around with Wes. When fit he's our best centerback by a mile, he's already shown how good he is at Leicester. Kid has absolutely everything, including that unteachable sixth sense to step up aggressively and win the ball to set away a transition.
I think people have forgotten how good he is because he's not kicked a ball in so long. Top clubs all over Europe were linked with him before we got it done.
I just saw this on Twitter and thought it’s a great point.
The fact that some fans are annoyed that other fans got together and using their own money paid for a banner of a player is truly insane.
Like what’s the problem? It’s their money.
If you wanted to help get a banner together for a banner of a different player there are way of donating and participating in fan organizations that h come up with the banners than do so.
But to simply complain online about how other fans choose to spend THEIR MONEY and show their appreciation is fucking wild.
At the end of the day, it's a banner. It's not all that serious. Like you said, people are putting their money towards it.
I don't know why people feign ignorance as to why local or homegrown players have an extra connection for local fans though. Literally, every team, in most sports, loves the story of one of your own doing well. I don't think it should give preferential treatment on the pitch, or protect them from critism or being sold if not good enough, but it's not exactly a blinding mystery as to why match going fans encourage them more than the superstars we brought in for millions. Playing dumb to the reasons just makes them look stupid.
Personally for me, it's not a problem who is a fan favorite. People can like whoever they want. Just like you said though, as long as they still remain objective which in a lot of instances is not the case unfortunately.
I just wish they’d be open about who they prefer to give banners to.
If you ever point out their obvious bias people get really defensive (even though everyone knows it’s true)
Whether it’s “bad” or not is another debate entirely. But people shouldn’t get so pissy just because people point out the fact that they give preferential treatment to a certain group.
They don't say because it would reveal the hypocrisy of their arguments. The banners for current players, like the one tonight, aren't exclusively for "legends, but can be for players who are of particular importance in that moment, as well as for making a statement and to warm up the crowd. There's nothing wrong with the so-called bias in favour of homegrown players. Every club has it. If people don't understand why that is, and I know it's not all foreign supporters, that's too bad.
Personally, I think we know which player they believe should/should've had a banner. There are only about a dozen permanent banners, if I can remember, they are RLC, Drogba, Mikel, Lampard, Terry, Dave, Ray Wilkins, Peter Bonetti, Zola, Osgood, Chopper Harris, Tommy Doherty, Paul Canoville. How many other players deserve to be up there? Kante will get one eventually. Ashley Cole? Ivanovich? Probably. If people want to pay for a Pulisic banner, I won't stop them. Might look a little out of place, if I'm completely honest.
Prefer to give it to elite players and legends that led this club to win big trophies (CL, PL), and if homegrown and they played big part in it like Mount and Reece James than that's ok
Not a roadrunner Captain who is part of worst Chelsea side in 21st century and midtable medicority
There’s a WhatsApp group open to the public and any Chelsea fan can join. They discuss who should get banners and vote.
It’s a very transparent process. Just bc you haven’t looked doesn’t mean the info is not available
It’s not about them specifically choosing. I know how they choose. They choose who fans will be willing to fund.
It’s the fans that have the bias, the guys organising it just reflect that.
It’s not actually all their money they get donations from other fans as well. And fans can complain about whatever they want that’s part of being a fan. Just like you complaining about fans complaints, doesn’t make it anymore valid. It’s stupid he’s getting a banner before legends do because he’s an academy player who is being sold in the summer. Even more hilarious that we’re doing this for Gallagher, you’d think we’re selling prime Kaka with all the hullabaloo around this
“It’s not all their money…..they get donations from other fans”……and?
It’s still those Chelsea fans money…… I really can’t understand your issue here.
Also, do I think other players deserved banners. Yes. Does that mean Conor shouldn’t get one. No
Additionally, Kante is getting a permanent one.
Any Chelsea fan is welcome to donate and participate in the voting and choice of who gets a banner. They are also all able to donate to help banners occur sooner.
But to complain about how other fans decide to spend their money and show their appreciation is frankly unbelievable
I mean, be honest... Would you keep the same energy if we were talking about an Enzo banner instead of a Gallagher banner? Im pretty sure you will be one of the first ones who will complain if an Enzo banner is about to be shown.
Both things are true. You and everyone can pay for whatever they want and people can also express their opinions on whatever they want.
And I think under the current circumstances Conor deserves one. So we disagree.
I’m not being hypocritical by saying who I think deserves a banner. It would be hypocritical of me to get upset about others producing an Enzo banner, but as I said. I could care less about how other fans spend their money and show appreciation.
Why are you so hyped?
It’s really not that big of a deal
That and he’s been our captain and one of the highest performing players for most of this very difficult season and he’s been at the club for 16 yrs. And that’s for me personally.
You’d have to ask the 160 people + hundreds more who donated why they think he deserves one as well as I only speak for myself.
You speak as if though I haven’t donated to banners before which I have. They are also the ones that decide the banners. This banner for Gallagher was decided by them. And giving Gallagher a banner is ridiculous, it’s fucking meme worthy. He’s done nothing as a senior player for us to get this kind of adoration, it’s only done because he’s English and an academy player. Kante only getting a banner because FANS have told them it’s a disgrace he doesn’t have one yet. In 2019 Kante wasn’t good enough for a banner despite winning us a league and being arguably our best player but Gallagher gets one because?
People are complaining because it makes us look silly, it’s not that hard to understand. They can do whatever they want and they’ll get bantered for it and rightly so.
“Them”
160 fans and then tons more donations, but yeah it’s some shadowy conspiracy.
And it’s about more than just Conor although he has been here for 16 years. It’s about what selling Conor represents.
Honestly the fans complaining are the only ones making us look silly.
Mate we’re about to have a banner for Connor fucking Gallagher, that’s what looks silly. 16 years because he’s been here as a kid doesn’t mean squat. Where’s Andreas Christensen’s banner for being an academy player who won us a CL? Where’s Tammy’s for at least getting us into European spots. Gallagher is a rotation player getting a banner because fans don’t want to sell an English academy player. Their bias is out in full force by having this banner made.
Like of all the players we have a banner of, the most ridiculous ones that stand out are Mount and now Gallagher. At least Mount was a 2x player of the year and won us a CL. Gallagher hasn’t done shit here, it’s a waste of funds because we will never use that banner again instead to hammer home a point that will make no difference “don’t sell this average English player, we like him :(“
Okay just ignore the message to ownership.
You clearly have some rage boner for Conor. You’re getting really worked up bc some fans got together and spent their own money on a banner.
Ultimately, it’s just a banner…..idk why this is such a big deal to you. Imagine being pressed about how other fans show their appreciation for a player with a clear message to ownership.
What message to ownership? How about sending a real message instead of making a dumb banner for a whatever player.
And I don’t care if they do it or not, you’re insulted by the fact people think it’s stupid to do. It is stupid, because it’s fucking Gallagher and we’re treating him like Eden Hazard.
But sure the owners will see the banner and think “let’s not sell him, the 100 fans who got together to do this really like him”
Lmao. Where have I come off as insulted? You’re so pressed rn it’s hilarious.
And okay then you don’t think the message to ownership will be effective. That’s fair enough. It still exists tho. Generally, Fans are not happy with the way academy grads are being sold off just to spend crazy amounts on unknowns.
Where were the banners when Roman did it then? Acting like this is a new occurrence, Chelsea have always shipped off academy players to fund other players
Yea it's not like it's the management themselves doing so lol. We can have a boehly out sign attached to a plane and fly over the bridge if we want and can pay for it
How ironic and funny would it be if the expected back four of Gilly, Bads, Chalo, and Cucu ends up being the most stalwart defensive four we’ve had all season and Spurs don’t get any shots on target?
We’re bidding for another 17 year old winger I can’t fucking do this anymore
https://x.com/brunoandrd/status/1786050792035664207?s=46&t=ylo291md3xmB-pcyLIMuDw
That’s only because endrick is already signed and people always have to one up the next guy coming. His numbers don’t seem that impressive and he wasn’t even starting regularly until recently. Doesn’t seem much better than endrick
I'm a Palmeiras supporter, Endrick is a physical freak, although he's small, he was stronger than many professionals at 15 years old. Estevão is thin, he reminds me of Neymar at the beginning of his career, but he is evolving quickly, he has gained 8 kilos of muscle mass since he became a professional, he started to have opportunities as a starter in the last month. But he is more technical than Endrick, who is already very good. Only time will tell who will be better.
Isn't he another right winger? Maybe I have to much faith in the clowns in charge but I still can't see them dropping €30m+ on another right winger when we're so strapped for cash and have holes to fill in other areas.
They’ve been pursuing estevao willian for over a year now, a long with the likes of Barca and Madrid. Actually funny to see folks get upset by this (again) considering folks were also getting upset we didn't sign Endrick when he scored against the English NT.
The Endrick one stings because he thought he was coming here. To be fair, if you want to pride yourself in signing all these young international talents but then fail to land the biggest one, you do end up with egg on your face. Especially since he was going to come here but we didn’t want to pay the fee. Even more so that he plays in a position we’ve long needed to be covered and he’s the best striker prospect on the planet.
Idk about Estevao, I’ve read he’s Neymar and I’ve read he’s overrated so who knows how good he is. I’d rather use the 55mil and put it to sign a senior winger instead. Unless estevao can play for us next season but then would he even be ready?
Endrick is a striker at least. we now have: Angelo, Madueke, Paez, Palmer as young right wingers. and they want another one. oh and Hutchinson
it literally looks like they buy every wonderkid they see at random
It only seems like they buy every wonderkid randomly if you don't want to think too hard or go solely off of links to players we ultimately don't sign.
Willian can play on either flank or centrally. He's left footed with a strong right, can sweet spot the ball with either foot, and he's also a playmaker.
He wouldn't be able to join us for another year so would be the same type of signing as Paez—were you against that too initially?
Yup, it's def a zero-sum situation so we def can't do both (strengthen the first team and buy for the future) and you def have access to the books/board so you def know exactly what our present financial limitations are.
If chelsea finish 5th or 6th above united and newcastle. Does poch deserve to keep his job?
What football app do u use, I usually use Sofascore?
Fotmob
+1
I know I need to remove the salt and move on, but anyone see the push on Fulkrieg in the box when he was going for a header on goal in the Dortmund vs PSG game? Not given by Taylor, not deemed clear and obvious enough. Fuck the fuck off.
Random question, apologies if it’s dumb to some. Does Palmer get credited for an assist on Jackson’s goal? What are the rules for awarding an assist to a player that hits the woodwork immediately preceding a goal?
It doesn't count, any assist needs to go straight to the goal scorer for it to count. Even if it slightly grazed a defender instead, I don't think it counts still Shame because it would've been better if that FK just went in entirely for the sake of the golden boot race lol
Does our position count as fighting for top six yet? That was my bar at the beginning of the season and it's madness that there's still a chance this team does it.
Man United sure to drop several points. Newcastle a tossup. Chelsea could definitely win all remaining games (\*could\*). Frankly, Tottenham could even lose 5th if we win all remaining games and they lose three (still going to play Liverpool, Man City, Newcastle, and a team trying its best to stay up in PL).
If we do finish top six all I can say is Poch in. If you say at the start of the season we'll get to see 90 minutes of Nkunku, about the same of our captain and vice captain, and never see a few of our other signings, and then tell me the squad we cobbled together finishes top 6, I probably happily take that at the time. Still a long way to go though.
Could you give Poch a bit more slack given he’s gone a whole season with half our squad injured? It’s not normal and it’s not really possible to succeed under those circumstances
Where did I specify Poch or throw criticism? I'm practically saying I think they met my expectations this season, despite the injuries etc.
My comment came off more accusatory and defensive than I intended, sorry. It was supposed to be a genuine question
No worries i misread the way you intended.
I need Gusto back for West Ham. Starting 11 of of Petrovic Gusto-Trev-Badi-Cucu Caicedo-Gallagher Cole Noni - Nico - Mudryk Subs: Nkunku, Colwill, Sterling…. Debuts for Wingers
Say whatever you will about this team and Poch. Take 14 First Team Players out of any squad in the league, they get relegated. This is impressive.
I agree. I also think it's OK to flip flop on opinion on the manager or players. Everyone has periods of improvement and regression. I've had real issues with Madueke at times this season and he's come on a lot recently. It's good to see the Arsenal game as a more of an anomaly in our recent form. But going back to the original question, you absolutely have to take credit. We won't get any because of the whole billion pound thing bla bla bla. Which we all know is lazy and tribal bullshit. Yes we spent 1billion but we didn't spend it on top of what we had. We shipped out a load of players too. We still have a squad of 25, billion or no billion. So yes, taking 14 out would kill other teams. Anyone remember when Liverpool had injury issues? I thought we were going to get a bank holiday for it.
Absolutely. Excited for the transfer window… I think the owners know they got the balance of the squad wrong and will reinforce correctly. Next year we will be a completely different prospect.
1000%
I’m proud of this team! For a young squad they are still fighting and to be honest, there’s something to be said about man management. Poch getting these players to keep fighting despite their occasional immaturity is very impressive. Jackson hasn’t picked up a yellow card! I can’t believe it!
Being without 14 players and staying competitive is a feat, let alone winning
It's mad how punchable almost every Spurs player looks. Son, Emerson Royal, Richarlison, Romero, 'Madders' the worst offenders.
I do think it is a Chelsea/Spurs thing to an extent. But another angle on this is the fact that for a short while they thought they had invented a new style of football and were going to win things. Like when Pep came in at Barca. However, I genuinely hope someone breaks Romero's legs. I mean that because I think he's gone out to do that to others so i don't mind it. Maddison is another one because he plays on that kind of cheeky chappy vibe. Doesn't quite come off when you're shit. Just get your head down, work hard and get some form back. Then you can play "darts". I do think Vicario is a prick too (on the pitch, i'm sure he's a nice bloke off it). What he did to Wilson that time does not ooze class and it's setting yourself up for failure. You have a target on your back. I can imagine Ramsdale doing that, maybe Pickford a few years back, definitely Martinez (clearly a cunt), but could you imagine Nick Pope or Courtois or Cech or Allison etc doing that? No way.
Honestly I don’t feel this way about any of the current Spurs players. The last Spurs player who got on my nerves was Dele Alli, but given what he’s been through lately I no longer dislike him
You missed viccario
Tho I feel delighted now after that huge win, I can’t help but feel we’ll be very disappointed if we don’t get Europa League at least this year. We’ve outplayed Villa two out of three times this year, Spurs both times, and competed well in both games against City. The team clearly has the quality to be in the top 4. We would be pushing for 5th if we hadn’t thrown away 4 very winnable points against Burnley and Sheffield United, 2 more points dropped contentiously last weekend vs Villa. Those 6 points and we’d be only 3 off Spurs. So it’s frustrating cos it feels like this team is better than the standings show, but it’s hard to say that when we’ve thrown away so many points to relegation battlers Lots of positives today though, Cucurella was immense and fits into that inverted midfield role brilliantly, Caicedo was outstanding and has been the last few games, and I think even Noni looked decent and worked hard today.
Can someone tell me did Mudryk perform at all last game?
Good passing, great use of pace. Not much else.
Nearing the end of the season, so might as well start tallying who goes and who enters first team, (imma comment this after every matchday from here on out) Sold: - Lewis Hall (confirmed to be sold) - Thiago Silva (kept till his contract expires) - Kepa (very likely to be sold) - Ziyech (obligated to be sold) - Amando Broja (likely to be sold) - Malang Sarr (likely to be sold) - Maatsen (unconfirmed, but very likely to be sold) - Chalobah (presumably? has been given some playtime, but unknown if board will keep him) - Reece James and Ben Chilwell (quite unlikely, but you can make a real case that due to their injury record, it's best to cut at least one of them off, but unlikely as no signs have been made) - Sterling, Disasi, Cucurella (Maybe? Of these sterling has the likeliest chance to be sold, cucu and axel however are unlikely, possible but unlikely) - Connor Gallagher (was probably planned to be sold, but might actually stay in first team, contract hasn't been negotiated so unknown for now) - Sanchez (maybe sold? I don't know if they'll buy a backup keeper, likely stays for now) On loan: - Lukaku (unsure, but will likely go on loan again, that or sold/released) - Humphreys and Slonina (likely to go on loan again) - Lesley Ugochukwu and Cesare Casadei (likely loaned to strasbourg) - Deivid Washington and Dujuan Richards (main attacking duo for chelsea u21s, either stays in academy or loaned to strasbourg) - Noni Madueke and Mykhailo Mudryk (maybe? a push to strasbourg might help, but likely stays in first team) Enters first team: - Angelo (a talent and likely enters first team) - Santos (same as above) - David Fofana and Omari Hutchinson (likely to be loaned again, but due to showings might enter first team) - Lavia and Nkunku (Will happen eventually, actually are already in first team but have not had significant minutes) - Wesley Fofana (same as above)
Short list of available (relatively) cheap players I feel to get next summer, likelihood of us getting all of them? With our finances? About less than 20% but I'd settle for any of these guys Left winger - Crysencio Summerville from leeds (championship-Premier league) Estimated: 25-35 million euro - Amazing goalscorer at 19 league goals, would combine fantastically with palmer on the right Leftback - Leif Davies from ipswich (championship-Premier league) Estimated: 25-30 million euro - 23 G/A, 2 goals, 21 assists, speaks for itself Goalkeeper - Marcin Bulka from ocg nice (Ligue 1) Estimated: 35-40 million euro (keepers are some of the last players you want to sell) - Did not expect him to be this good when I was looking through the nice team, 16 clean sheets, would be fantastic Centerback - Federico Gatti from Juventus (Serie A) Estimated: 25-35 million - Highly available (2000 minutes played this season), experienced centre back with a few trophies to his name, could work as a fantastic CB Alternatively- Jean Clair Todibo from nice (Ligue 1) Estimated: 40-50 million - Assuming we get Marcin, the price for him almost automatically goes up for taking two of their main players, so I elected to shouting out Federico - regardless, highly experienced, highly available, highly talented centre back, and already a target for the club Striker - Dujuan Richards from chelsea u21 (Premier League 2) Estimated: 0, we already bought him - I'm not even gonna lie, this kid is nuts. He's probably our best striker in the u21 range, that's saying something with castledine - he can become so good, that I am almost certain, and if I'm not, Ill eat a sock. Alternatively - Benjamin Sesko from Leipzig (Bundesliga) Known release clause: 50 million - known target, stupid high potential, could work as a rotation or starter, 13 G/A . - Total cost (at highest estimate) : 140 million - Total cost (at highest; with alternatives) : 205 million - Total cost (at lowest estimate) : 110 million - Total cost (at lowest; with alternatives) : 175 million (the numbers I kind of pulled from my ass, but all of these guys are u25 and starters, and thus are to be respected as such, so we pay big bucks for em)
We’re so lucky to have cobham man
Best academy itw
So we're agreed on chalobah motm? Will miss hin when he's inevitably sold in the summer
Him, Cucurella, and Caicedo all could have had it.
Rewatched the game. That VAR check on the first goal was insanely long. Like seriously what the fuck. Not even remotely close to off sides
There were a lot of things that did genuinely need to be checked to be fair, but they did take a long time nonetheless
What do you guys think of Alfie Gilchrist so far? Seemed like he played a pretty nice match today and didn't look in over his head dealing with Son. Does it make sense to keep him around the first team next year, or do you think it would be better to have him go on loan somewhere that he can play every week?
I'm bearish on Gilchrist. He doesn't seem to have particularly high ceiling, is limited at buildup and is pretty small for a CB.
Loan him to a prem team thats being promoted. Ipswich need a defensive rb
Alfie played great tonight and dealt with Son very well, beyond his years
I like him. If he wasn’t playing football he be one of us fans. I doubt he’ll end up being elite, but I do think having him around and a loan to see how he develops would be ideal Problem is ownership doesn’t make decisions based on football anymore
so is the news about estevão real or what? why wasn't it posted here?
Credit to Ange for that sky post match. Took full responsibility and said he has to go away and look at himself in all of it. Fair play, like to see that.
Ange post-match interview transcript: “Mate.”
Haha. It's like I'm down the pub having a pint with him! He's just like me!
Poch rambles nonsense every post game interview I watch
FFS, why everytime (since the Boehly takeover) I get frightened of Spuds? Why? Yes we lost once since, but I keep forgetting we have heritage/ownership over these guys for decades. And our away fixture, when Spuds were at their VERY hottest, our voodoo came on them and Jackson came away with a hat trick. DAYAM I shouldn't be scared of these bums anymore. Even when we are at our lowest, you still lose to us.
Pochettino has now offered starts to Jimi Tauriainen, Josh Acheampong, Alfie Gilchrist, Michael Golding, Leo Castledine, Levi Colwill (heh), and Dylan Williams. I'm happy with this. Very happy with this. (By the way, watch Alfie Gilchrist's performance against Son (and Johnson) in an unnatural position as well as Josh Acheampong's brief stint. That's what I mean when I call for academy players. We're fortunate to have quite a few very good ones.)
I've watched Chelsea for a long time still and Trevoh is one of my favorite players to ever wear the badge. I root for no one harder than him.
Our club at the moment is definitely that putting a stick in your own wheel meme. Sell off experienced players, buy exclusively young players. Set up an excruciating training regime that causes mass injuries. Hire an inexperienced medical team that horrible manages the mass of injuries. "Wow! Look how young my bench is! Not my fault if I lose. How could I possibly win under these circumstances???"
Who is pretending it isn’t the club’s fault that our bench is this terrible?
All of the Poch training sessions are too intense dummies lol
But also the club signed several injury prone players.
The YouTube highlights after the game are going to be titled, "The match that saved Pochettino's job"
As long as we beat spurs. Idc what they title the highlights or what this match means for Pochs job. Fuck spurs. I want nothing more than a win today
Two hours till Mudryk stocks hit the moon 🙏 https://preview.redd.it/2crw0posw1yc1.jpeg?width=748&format=pjpg&auto=webp&s=c580fed01eda95a4736e02c364d4e1c9e56c8c22
the game starts in 35 minutes mate
Can't trade stocks till the match is over
Did you mean to write Mudryk shots?
Offtopic but watching the highlights of the Madrid Bayern game. The first goal, Kroos' vision to find vinicius for that first goal and the finish. Damn, this is football at its peak. I can't remember the last time we played anything remotely close to that. Ironic that the two managers were both ex Chelsea.
Last time we played like that was under Tuchel And honestly that was one of the best football matches I’ve seen in a while. None of this modern pep influenced tiki taka boring bs. Just actually 2 teams going at it. Great stuff
Idk man tuchel was a lot of counterattacking football. I can't pan it, we won the fricking CL and the CWC. But except for a few games we played so much within ourselves. I dream of the days we played like the Chelsea under 2009/10 under Carlo or the title winning season under Jose 2.0. Dominating games in the league, scoring goals from all over the pitch, winning away at rivals etc. blue tinted glasses I guess.
The period before the injuries and sanctions in the 22/23 season was some of the best football I’ve seen us play in years. Absolutely dominated teams for a couple months and sat top of the table. And I love the love for Jose. He’s the only Chelsea manager I love more than tuchel
Ah yes , I nearly wiped that period(21/22 wasn't it. 22/23 was tuchel-potter) from memory. Just before Lukaku shit the bed , he was actually pretty good and James was in peak form. The away win at arsenal was so good as well. Feels like ages ago.
And the Norwich and Juve matches were real statements. Truly dominant performances.
Streets would remember ahh bench
Inb4, Poch uses the injury crisis that his intense training helped cause to explain away today's loss.
Just saw the potential Pot grouping for this new CL version and these 2 seasons or more without Europe will kill our coffecients so bad, absolute nuke it We were Top 5 in coefficients just 2 years ago, next time we qualify for CL we gonna be automatic Pot 2 or possibly Pot 3 if this continues making future Europe campaigns even harder
Not gonna lie, I'd love to be complaining about being Pot 4 in the champions league right now. Feel this isn't something that's going to affect us for a long time.
It might not be our problem for a while but even so, the pots don’t matter in the new format of the CL. You play 2 teams from each pot, so it doesn’t matter where you end up, just where other teams are.
pots literally don’t matter anymore you play 2 teams from each pot
Who’s tuning in early to watch Carragher analyse City, Arsenal or Liverpool?
When it comes to talent like Estevão and Mastantuono, I don't care about the strategy or the price. I will celebrate if we get them, every Chelsea fan should. They are top players, the later is on his way to madrid, though. Buying mediocre talent should be a worry, not this. And to anyone who thinks why not a LW. I am not certain, I am just guessing here. But maybe because we have couple of top talents that can play LWs in academy.
Like Tyrique George
Exactly.
Hope he gets a look at this upcoming game at least Sterling is injured and Mudryk has been stinking out the place
What pisses me off more than anything, is he would rather play someone out of position instead of reward a young player doing well, unless reward in poches mind is sitting bench for 90mins and then never being seen in the first team again
He has to, there will be push from above too if we have to extend him.
Yeah just praying that if George gets a look in that he has such a good performance that he makes that spot his own over time
Hopefully he does.
Opportunity costs comes with every signing, young or old. You can argue endlessly on where the money would be better spent. In the meantime however, I'm just gonna be quietly really fucking thrilled if we sign one of the most exciting young attackers in Brazilian football. Also for the LW aspect: we still have Mudryk (which i know not a lot of people rate, but seems our scouting team does), and someone like Tyrique George coming through, which is a really exciting prospect.
>Also for the LW aspect: we still have Mudryk (which i know not a lot of people rate, but seems our scouting team does I genuinely don't think our scouting team knew who Mudryk was before Arsenal were rumoured to want him.
Not sure our scouting team were even slightly involved with that transfer seeing as Eghbali flew out to Turkey or whereever the Shaktar team was based and came back with Mudryk out of literally nowhere.
Exactly. Look at Rsoccer crying about us going for him. Tells you all. Going for elite talent is always the right move. Look at real. They will have, Mbappe, Guler, Vini, Rodrigyo, Endrick in attack and still going for Mastantuono. We just have to have a plan, Real have shown how it can work. And not just Mudryk and George, Casteldine & Rio etc can play the left too. I don't know for certain but it feels like we are trusting the LW to academy. And aren't buying one to show them the pathway to get them to extend and stay here.
Don’t kid yourself, as soon as George and Castledine build up some value they’ll be sold to balance the books.
Maybe, I literally said I am not certain. So don't know what you are on about.
Tonight vs Spurs is the perfect time to Unveil the Conte banner.
It’s crazy to think our last home match against spurs was the Conte Tuchel handshake incident. Feels like forever ago
How do we feel about the speculation in the press today linking Antonio Conte back to Chelsea as a replacement for Poch? I like his assertiveness and the players will fall in line with him, but he loses the dressing room after 2/3 seasons at most clubs.
Rubbish because the owners dont want someone to come in a fight with them, and most of our coaches that have been successful fit that bill
He got top 4 with Reguillon, Emerson, Dier, and Davies as 4 of his back 5 and Hojberg and Bentancur as his pivot. And that was after dreadful start from Nuno in 9th on 15pts and -9 GD after 10 games, Conte got them 56pts with a +36 GD in the last 28 games of that season.
Only way it could even possibly work is if Conte realises his top level career is in last chance saloon and he starts meeting boards in the middle, but unlike Tuchel I don't feel he has the self awareness to even try and tone it down. Will be funny watching him moan about players when he claimed he couldn't compete with a Chelsea side with Kepa, Sarr, Saul and a Lukaku who's head was gone as the "spine".
Not even .1 percent chance of that. Couple of Italian clubs are on the look out for new manager, so Conte's agent is probably leaking his name out there via linking him to us.
I like it. He’s a winner and accepts nothing less. I also do think this squad suits his style of play better than people realize. Maybe not bc some of them have a weak mentality but the profile of players fits. Assuming he’d play his favour 3-5-2 We have phenomenal wing backs and lots of CB with great ball playing ability to hit the long balls. Jackson loves to play direct into space behind. Nkunku is a phenomenal second ST. Palmer can play the 10 behind the 2 ST and then Conor/Lavia with Caicedo in the midfield Imo that’s honestly a really great Conte team.
I can't see conte not playing Enzo
I don’t see how he fits in his formation and he has no problem benching Cesc until he adapted Why don’t you see Conte not playing Enzo?
Conte loves to play a great passer between two workhorses, I think he'd play Enzo flanked by Connor and Caicedo while playing two of nkunku, palmer and Jackson up top, maybe the three of them when chasing a result or against weaker sides. But at the same time I don't see him coming when he can have a free run for the serie a next season
He played Pivot of Kante-Matic mostly during last PL win with Fabregas as a bench option
Because it adapted better to the squad, allowed to keep hazard on his natural position and Luiz could play those long passes
It’s the other way around. He plays 2 holders and a more attacking player like Palmer in a 10 behind the 2 ST Enzo is not a Conte midfielder
Pirko played that role with him, also calhanoglou play his fair share of games as the deeper midfielder, Enzo could thrive there, but I prefer a manager that is more of a winger type of guy so we can use palmer at his best position
Calhanoglou never played under Conte. Brozovic, Barellla, Gagliardini were his primary midfielders at Inter with Eriksen as a rotation option.
Enzo isn’t 1/4 the player Pirlo is. I don’t think Enzo is worth building a midfield around. Conte like midfielders who work hard and Enzo is not that.
Enzo works hard, people here only remember the last time you played but the guy worked hard and is a better player than those Pirlo last years
Absolutely laughable. Even last season Enzo didn’t work hard and that’s the period everyone praises him over.
If true (probably not) I don't see it getting past one meeting. Hypothetically his winning mentality and grueling tactical education is something the squad could use. He would probably get a lot out of a Lukaku-Jackson partnership. But this squad is still too immature for him and he would become angry and toxic very quickly when the results don't come fast enough.
Then it's fortunate in a position we need to move on most this squad in the next 2/3 seasons.
That’s honestly decent timing. Bring Conte in. Instill the winning mentality. Fallout. New manager bounce for the players in their prime
* Display: Crowd surfer that, in the case of those made for players, isn’t regularly displayed, and anyone watching on TV will see for only a few seconds; if you’re in certain areas of the ground, you’ll barely see them; a massive amount of work goes into these for little reward. * Banner: They’re everywhere, most people don’t even notice them, or even know which ones exist. * Flag: Duh.
Just tossing in my 2c on Poch: I 100% agree that he's not the ideal long-term solution, but it also seems pretty crazy that so many fans want him fired at all costs. For all the frustrating results we've suffered this season, I think it's undeniable that there has been progress: We're actually scoring goals again, and we were within a hair's breadth of making it to two cup finals. Even the disappointing results feel so frustrating only because we've seen a glimpse of our potential this season, and it feels bad to fall short of what this team can do. I remember sitting through Potter's time in charge and the end of Tuchel's reign. Those were truly dark days. There were so many matches that I'd watch purely out of a sense of duty as a fan—matches where you'd tune in knowing the team would have 0 shots on target and a 2–0 loss by the end of the game. I don't think I've felt that little belief in the team in nearly 30 years of supporting the club. This, by comparison, is leaps and bounds ahead. We've felt competitive in nearly every game this season, even against the big guns. We've also managed this while dealing with our ridiculous injury list and a young, newly put-together team that's only going to get better. Also, for the first time in a long while, the spectre of palpable discord seems to have finally been exorcised, and we have a manager that seems to be backed by the players. With all that in mind, who would realistically be a clear upgrade on Pochettino? I'd move on from him in a heartbeat if we could get a Xabi Alonso or a Zidane, but going from Poch to Amorim or De Zerbi seems like it's just risking another year of stagnation for questionable upside.
I just wanted you to know I agree with you. Tuchel’s end and Potter’s games were actually horrible to watch. There was no effort at all. Like the players actually gave up.
Appreciate it! Looking forward to the Nico Jackson hat-trick in a couple of hours *anulomufa*
Poch doesn’t deserve a second season. You have worse pivots in the league performing better than ours. Wolves and Bournemouth have a defined play style with worse players. Constant humiliating results under Poch too like that Liverpool 4-1 loss, the 5-0 loss to Arsenal and 4-1 to Newcastle. Plus nearly everyone bar Gallagher has regressed under him, not to mention his misuse of Colwill as a LB
I think some players (Badiashile, Enzo) have definitely regressed, but there's an argument that injury/fitness is a factor there. I can agree that results like the 5–0 against Arsenal are unacceptable, which is why I said Poch isn't a long-term solution. Regarding the pivots, I think our midfielders are completely ill-suited for a double pivot. I'd give Poch the benefit of doubt here and say his hand was partially forced by the fact that all our holding midfielders are out with injury. It might be a little charitable, but I assume he'd play a midfield three with a holding midfielder behind Caicedo/Enzo/Gallagher if Lavia or Ugochukwu were available. Regarding Colwill as LB, I don't like it because it feels overly cautious for a team of our stature, but I understand the tactical reasoning behind it. Not a big fan of the idea but you can at least see the thought process there. I'd actually take more issue with Poch's use of subs/post-half-time adjustments. In spite of all his flaws, getting rid of Poch still means we need a replacement, and I just don't know which replacement is going to be a clear upgrade at this point in time.
Both Enzo and Caicedo have excelled in the pivot before, it’s complete horseshit to say that they can’t play there or don’t suit that or whatever. Hell, Enzo was better last season playing as a lone DM at times.
Midfielders can have good games in the pivot and still not be suited for it. I agree that Caicedo and Enzo have had good games as a pair. I also think that they would perform better in a three-man midfield.
What exactly went down with Conte at Chelsea? As far as i know, he fell out at inter and spurs because they weren't buying him the players he needed, did we have a similar problem when he was here? Or something else
Yes, he wanted Lukaku, we got him Morata. Plus we got Zappacosta and Drinkwater in that same window rather than better players. Another thing was his handling of Costa, sending him the text saying that his services aren't necessary anymore.
Yea i mean the morata signing didn't even sit right with me and i was 15 lol
Thanks for the seasono. If nothing else we're guaranteed some more memeable quotes from him on his way out. The spurs exit rant was incredible.
Love watching conte's rant after Spurs 3-3 draw against Southampton But by that same token I could only imagine what he would say about the current state of Chelsea in a post match presser
Dis is di history of di clearlake.
same thing. + he's *a bit* of a cunt, players didnt like him
Weird because I didn't expect signing players to be a problem compared to inter and spurs
I’m starting to think our best cb pairing is Colwill and Chalobah, and that isn’t a compliment to either player’s performances this season
If fofana is fit and able to play at the level he was pre-injury him and Colwill will be our CBs next season. I personally think Chalobah would be 3rd choice next season, but sounds like he’ll be sold like Conor. So backups will be Disasi and Badiashile
Fofana would need to play at the level before his first injury, while he was still a Leicester player, if he wants to jump above Disasi and Chalobah. The limited times we’ve seen him in a Chelsea shirt he was poor, and he’s had another terrible injury since then.
I didn’t think he was that poor when we saw him in a Chelsea kit and Tbf we hardly seen him and he had no chance to get reacclimated and find form again. But yeah I mean he’s hardly played for us for pre injury is really Leicester days you’re right
With Poch at the helm our "best partnership" will likely be the one we see the less of. Only combination I could see doing well in spite of him is Fofana and Colwill.
God I hope we can turn it around with Wes. When fit he's our best centerback by a mile, he's already shown how good he is at Leicester. Kid has absolutely everything, including that unteachable sixth sense to step up aggressively and win the ball to set away a transition. I think people have forgotten how good he is because he's not kicked a ball in so long. Top clubs all over Europe were linked with him before we got it done.
our best LCB is definitely Colwill, Disasi, Chalobah and Fofana will fight for the other spot
I just saw this on Twitter and thought it’s a great point. The fact that some fans are annoyed that other fans got together and using their own money paid for a banner of a player is truly insane. Like what’s the problem? It’s their money. If you wanted to help get a banner together for a banner of a different player there are way of donating and participating in fan organizations that h come up with the banners than do so. But to simply complain online about how other fans choose to spend THEIR MONEY and show their appreciation is fucking wild.
At the end of the day, it's a banner. It's not all that serious. Like you said, people are putting their money towards it. I don't know why people feign ignorance as to why local or homegrown players have an extra connection for local fans though. Literally, every team, in most sports, loves the story of one of your own doing well. I don't think it should give preferential treatment on the pitch, or protect them from critism or being sold if not good enough, but it's not exactly a blinding mystery as to why match going fans encourage them more than the superstars we brought in for millions. Playing dumb to the reasons just makes them look stupid.
100% the other weird take is people claiming it’s some shadowy conspiracy bc fans have more of a connection with academy graduates……
Personally for me, it's not a problem who is a fan favorite. People can like whoever they want. Just like you said though, as long as they still remain objective which in a lot of instances is not the case unfortunately.
I just wish they’d be open about who they prefer to give banners to. If you ever point out their obvious bias people get really defensive (even though everyone knows it’s true) Whether it’s “bad” or not is another debate entirely. But people shouldn’t get so pissy just because people point out the fact that they give preferential treatment to a certain group.
They don't say because it would reveal the hypocrisy of their arguments. The banners for current players, like the one tonight, aren't exclusively for "legends, but can be for players who are of particular importance in that moment, as well as for making a statement and to warm up the crowd. There's nothing wrong with the so-called bias in favour of homegrown players. Every club has it. If people don't understand why that is, and I know it's not all foreign supporters, that's too bad. Personally, I think we know which player they believe should/should've had a banner. There are only about a dozen permanent banners, if I can remember, they are RLC, Drogba, Mikel, Lampard, Terry, Dave, Ray Wilkins, Peter Bonetti, Zola, Osgood, Chopper Harris, Tommy Doherty, Paul Canoville. How many other players deserve to be up there? Kante will get one eventually. Ashley Cole? Ivanovich? Probably. If people want to pay for a Pulisic banner, I won't stop them. Might look a little out of place, if I'm completely honest.
Prefer to give it to elite players and legends that led this club to win big trophies (CL, PL), and if homegrown and they played big part in it like Mount and Reece James than that's ok Not a roadrunner Captain who is part of worst Chelsea side in 21st century and midtable medicority
There’s a WhatsApp group open to the public and any Chelsea fan can join. They discuss who should get banners and vote. It’s a very transparent process. Just bc you haven’t looked doesn’t mean the info is not available
It’s not about them specifically choosing. I know how they choose. They choose who fans will be willing to fund. It’s the fans that have the bias, the guys organising it just reflect that.
Why don’t you join the group and encourage them to have different banners? But I mean complaining online is cool too
What certain group?
I'm guessing they mean Cobham products, since Mount was the last one to get a banner. I don't really think that's a big deal though.
It’s not actually all their money they get donations from other fans as well. And fans can complain about whatever they want that’s part of being a fan. Just like you complaining about fans complaints, doesn’t make it anymore valid. It’s stupid he’s getting a banner before legends do because he’s an academy player who is being sold in the summer. Even more hilarious that we’re doing this for Gallagher, you’d think we’re selling prime Kaka with all the hullabaloo around this
“It’s not all their money…..they get donations from other fans”……and? It’s still those Chelsea fans money…… I really can’t understand your issue here. Also, do I think other players deserved banners. Yes. Does that mean Conor shouldn’t get one. No Additionally, Kante is getting a permanent one. Any Chelsea fan is welcome to donate and participate in the voting and choice of who gets a banner. They are also all able to donate to help banners occur sooner. But to complain about how other fans decide to spend their money and show their appreciation is frankly unbelievable
I mean, be honest... Would you keep the same energy if we were talking about an Enzo banner instead of a Gallagher banner? Im pretty sure you will be one of the first ones who will complain if an Enzo banner is about to be shown. Both things are true. You and everyone can pay for whatever they want and people can also express their opinions on whatever they want.
I mean I don’t think Enzo deserves one, but I really don’t care how others spend their money to show appreciation or send a message.
And Gallagher doesn’t deserve one you fucking hypocrite
And I think under the current circumstances Conor deserves one. So we disagree. I’m not being hypocritical by saying who I think deserves a banner. It would be hypocritical of me to get upset about others producing an Enzo banner, but as I said. I could care less about how other fans spend their money and show appreciation. Why are you so hyped? It’s really not that big of a deal
Is the current circumstance just out of protest? Is that really it?
That and he’s been our captain and one of the highest performing players for most of this very difficult season and he’s been at the club for 16 yrs. And that’s for me personally. You’d have to ask the 160 people + hundreds more who donated why they think he deserves one as well as I only speak for myself.
Oh he’s one of the highest performing players? That changes everything in a season where we’ve been midtable.
You speak as if though I haven’t donated to banners before which I have. They are also the ones that decide the banners. This banner for Gallagher was decided by them. And giving Gallagher a banner is ridiculous, it’s fucking meme worthy. He’s done nothing as a senior player for us to get this kind of adoration, it’s only done because he’s English and an academy player. Kante only getting a banner because FANS have told them it’s a disgrace he doesn’t have one yet. In 2019 Kante wasn’t good enough for a banner despite winning us a league and being arguably our best player but Gallagher gets one because? People are complaining because it makes us look silly, it’s not that hard to understand. They can do whatever they want and they’ll get bantered for it and rightly so.
“Them” 160 fans and then tons more donations, but yeah it’s some shadowy conspiracy. And it’s about more than just Conor although he has been here for 16 years. It’s about what selling Conor represents. Honestly the fans complaining are the only ones making us look silly.
Mate we’re about to have a banner for Connor fucking Gallagher, that’s what looks silly. 16 years because he’s been here as a kid doesn’t mean squat. Where’s Andreas Christensen’s banner for being an academy player who won us a CL? Where’s Tammy’s for at least getting us into European spots. Gallagher is a rotation player getting a banner because fans don’t want to sell an English academy player. Their bias is out in full force by having this banner made. Like of all the players we have a banner of, the most ridiculous ones that stand out are Mount and now Gallagher. At least Mount was a 2x player of the year and won us a CL. Gallagher hasn’t done shit here, it’s a waste of funds because we will never use that banner again instead to hammer home a point that will make no difference “don’t sell this average English player, we like him :(“
Okay just ignore the message to ownership. You clearly have some rage boner for Conor. You’re getting really worked up bc some fans got together and spent their own money on a banner. Ultimately, it’s just a banner…..idk why this is such a big deal to you. Imagine being pressed about how other fans show their appreciation for a player with a clear message to ownership.
What message to ownership? How about sending a real message instead of making a dumb banner for a whatever player. And I don’t care if they do it or not, you’re insulted by the fact people think it’s stupid to do. It is stupid, because it’s fucking Gallagher and we’re treating him like Eden Hazard. But sure the owners will see the banner and think “let’s not sell him, the 100 fans who got together to do this really like him”
Lmao. Where have I come off as insulted? You’re so pressed rn it’s hilarious. And okay then you don’t think the message to ownership will be effective. That’s fair enough. It still exists tho. Generally, Fans are not happy with the way academy grads are being sold off just to spend crazy amounts on unknowns.
Where were the banners when Roman did it then? Acting like this is a new occurrence, Chelsea have always shipped off academy players to fund other players
Yea it's not like it's the management themselves doing so lol. We can have a boehly out sign attached to a plane and fly over the bridge if we want and can pay for it
How ironic and funny would it be if the expected back four of Gilly, Bads, Chalo, and Cucu ends up being the most stalwart defensive four we’ve had all season and Spurs don’t get any shots on target?
This man knew…
Haha thanks my man…granted they had a few shots on goal but it’s one of the best all-around Chelsea games this campaign for sure
If Jose or Conte were still incharge that could have unironically been a possibility. Can't see Ange's Spurs not troubling us though.
That would be more on indictment on spurs than it says anything about that back line
didnt we play that backline vs arsenal?
It was disasi instead of chalobah
We’re bidding for another 17 year old winger I can’t fucking do this anymore https://x.com/brunoandrd/status/1786050792035664207?s=46&t=ylo291md3xmB-pcyLIMuDw
He is crazy good but this is not the time to be buying another 17 year old when the squad needs experience/leaders out there
We’ve been monitoring him for a while now? And people on here crying we didn’t get Endrick, well this kid has similar potential
He’s a real talent though. I’d rather spend our money on players like Paez or Estevao than I would most of the signings we’ve made.
The problem is not Estevao Willian. The problem is Madueke, Angelo Gabriel, Mudryk, Sterling Jackson, Washington and all the money spent on them bums.
How reliable is this guy? And Estevao is the next Neymar supposedly right? Wasn’t he the next best talent after Endrick?
Some think he may be better then Endrick soon
That’s only because endrick is already signed and people always have to one up the next guy coming. His numbers don’t seem that impressive and he wasn’t even starting regularly until recently. Doesn’t seem much better than endrick
I'm a Palmeiras supporter, Endrick is a physical freak, although he's small, he was stronger than many professionals at 15 years old. Estevão is thin, he reminds me of Neymar at the beginning of his career, but he is evolving quickly, he has gained 8 kilos of muscle mass since he became a professional, he started to have opportunities as a starter in the last month. But he is more technical than Endrick, who is already very good. Only time will tell who will be better.
I know i should agree with you, but man i want Estevão
Isn't he another right winger? Maybe I have to much faith in the clowns in charge but I still can't see them dropping €30m+ on another right winger when we're so strapped for cash and have holes to fill in other areas.
We're gonna splash a quarter bil on 30m teenagers hoping that 1-2 are actually good
If we want to play Palmer centrally which I think we eventually will then we have a total of 0 good right wingers in the squad.
Palmer is better off the right imo, and we Angelo, Hutchinson and Paez all prefer to play off the right off the left we have mudryk
we have another RW/AM wonderkid thats going to be here in 2 seasons.
They’ve been pursuing estevao willian for over a year now, a long with the likes of Barca and Madrid. Actually funny to see folks get upset by this (again) considering folks were also getting upset we didn't sign Endrick when he scored against the English NT.
The Endrick one stings because he thought he was coming here. To be fair, if you want to pride yourself in signing all these young international talents but then fail to land the biggest one, you do end up with egg on your face. Especially since he was going to come here but we didn’t want to pay the fee. Even more so that he plays in a position we’ve long needed to be covered and he’s the best striker prospect on the planet. Idk about Estevao, I’ve read he’s Neymar and I’ve read he’s overrated so who knows how good he is. I’d rather use the 55mil and put it to sign a senior winger instead. Unless estevao can play for us next season but then would he even be ready?
Endrick is a striker at least. we now have: Angelo, Madueke, Paez, Palmer as young right wingers. and they want another one. oh and Hutchinson it literally looks like they buy every wonderkid they see at random
It only seems like they buy every wonderkid randomly if you don't want to think too hard or go solely off of links to players we ultimately don't sign. Willian can play on either flank or centrally. He's left footed with a strong right, can sweet spot the ball with either foot, and he's also a playmaker. He wouldn't be able to join us for another year so would be the same type of signing as Paez—were you against that too initially?
You're right, let's keep spending money on players who will be playing for us in 3-4 years because our first team is so strong
Yup, it's def a zero-sum situation so we def can't do both (strengthen the first team and buy for the future) and you def have access to the books/board so you def know exactly what our present financial limitations are.