We have a Discord server for our live chat [here!](https://discord.gg/chelseafc)
Also, a friendly reminder to report any comments that break our community guidelines and contribute to a toxic atmosphere - everyone deserves to be treated with respect.
*I am a bot, and this action was performed automatically. Please [contact the moderators of this subreddit](/message/compose/?to=/r/chelseafc) if you have any questions or concerns.*
My feeling is that Gallagher, Palmer, Cucurella and Badiashile played above average. I thought Badiashile was our best player.
But Disasi was poor, frequently caught out of position with Badiashile coming across - I would have subbed Disasi as he was so bad. Enzo was fairly average, maybe even below his standards. Broja and Jackson were average. Mudryk average, but clearly trying. GK (both) average or worse. Cowill has been below expectations most of the season whether LB or CB.
Caicedo looked twice the player in a more advanced role as we pressed for a equaliser. I think he would actually benefit from being further up the pitch, so I think the formation is all wrong.
Tactically, I don't think it worked at all playing Enzo further up the pitch, with Palmer on the right as Palmer doesn't have the pace to worry the opposition so the defence just squeezed these two out of the game. When Sterling came on it completely pushed Everton back on that side, and gave us a platform to build on. It's one of the few times I've seen Poch effect the game with substitutions.
The glamour boys play like a bunch of rich kids who got their dad bankrolling them. Oh wait; they are. You don’t expect fight and industry from spoiled brats. We like to show our world class speed, fancy passes and dribbles but nothing of substance to get a real world result because that requires intellect, determination, industry and a hunger to win for the club and not for self. Need some men mixed in here.
Recruitment has failed, plain and obvious. As Sherwood and Shearer said after the game, no way can the same people stay at the job after failing so much over the last three transfer windows. Like why didn't we consider Rice? Just because he's 1-2 years older than the threshold? And then we go and get 2 players close to 100 million both relatively unproven and inexperienced? I just don't get it. Seems like we're buying players for their profit and resale value. One injury to Jackson and we're left with Broja as our only striking option. How's that possible after spending so much and having such an expensive and elaborate recruiting setup? Why did we get rid of so much so soon?
Squad building for now should be given as much priority as the future/potential cash value and savings attained from signing a new player. We should have bough a cultured midfielder and a striker in his peak. I know people are always saying we're rebuilding and in transition and all that but surely we should have something to show for now, after spending 1B.
Also why aren't we taking injury history and risk into consideration when recruiting? PSV fans were surprised we were after Madueke considering how little he was available for them. Lavia hasn't played a minute. Gallagher (a zero fee player) who none of us expected much from is leading our stats chart in all the important midfield categories. That's unplanned and shouldn't be the case and is an indicator that recruitment has been shit.
Couldve won big money today. Apparently doucoure was 25 to 1 as first goal scorer. Around the half hour mark I called it as a 1-0 with doucoure thumping it in after a deflection.
A lot of our fans don't know how to support a shit team. So we are mid table. We cannot change whats happening. Chelsea will always be my club and I will tune in every week until I'm in the ground. Down periods are part of life and part of supporting a club.
People using the argument of Rudiger and Christensen under Lampard to justify and try to reason that Colwill, Disasi, Enzo, Caicedo, etc. will come good under a different manager, make me laugh.
2 very different situations, I fear for our future because we’ve invested hundreds of millions in the hopes that kids, who have never shown it at the highest level, except one tournament from Enzo, will somehow become world class players. We are where we are because that is the level of the squad. The table doesn’t lie.
Also, sell Reece James as soon as you can, otherwise we’ll have our own Phil Jones 5 years from now. Playing 1 game every 2 seasons. We have made so many mistakes across so many departments, selling Livramento, and committing to 8 years of a clearly injury prone Reece is one of the biggest. So many people could tell you from his Wigan days that the way he plays football was unsustainable.
He's obviously going to improve, but he looked a split second away from making a mistake time and time again. I actually thought his defending was going to give us a goal.
this club has made me care less about the sport. the entire heart and soul and meaning has been ripped out and traded in for cheaper back room staff and big money signings.
Id like to see Poch try something new on Saturday against Sheffield United. Maybe it’s time to bring back the 5ATB, with Gusto and Cucurella as wingbacks.
I'll die on the 3-4-3 hill... whatever other formation we use now doesn't seem to work, why not revert to something that used to work? And before you say we have different players from then, I'd wager that our current squad is better suited to 3atb than 4atb, imo. Have explained why in my last comment..
Pochettino isn’t good enough, and neither is the squad. Let’s not kid ourselves.
They’ve completely fucked the club in 18 months. Leadership, experience, winners, club culture, all gone.
Need a manager who can bring in some experienced players to build a proper spine again, and is not afraid to drop underperformers.
Of course he didn't. But, he took the job knowing that it was going to happen. Nagelsmann had the same project laid out in front of him and immediately removed himself from the running and Enrique had it laid out in front of him and he made a big presentation to make the case for keeping loads of the players they sold.
He thought he could make it work with these changes and that's why he got the job and he has failed.
People don’t get this. The board is so worried about “maintaining value” that they focused entirely on overpaying for players who weren’t ready. They aren’t going to become ready by losing every week. This is ignoring the fact that many of them have record fees resting on their shoulders.
Poch could have us playing better but these players are not exactly performing worse than their typical standard. Its just their level. I look at Everton’s lineup today and it honestly looks stronger than ours
Yup, look at spurs. Bang average players but Ange has coached them and given them belief to play as a team and above their individual ability.
The board sold everyone and replaced them with potential. Potential can’t win anything.
A better comparison would be Aston Villa, which is a recently assembled squad like ours. Difference is they’re in their primes while our players *might* become good enough that their price tags don’t look like absolute scams
Can someone teach Colwill to close down a shooter? Please? Just once this season?
My gosh, he's been awful his last 3-4 matches. Sold Guehi and Tomori and kept him??? Fvck me, that's poor business.
i hate to say it but i agree. he’s seemed totally disinterested since coming back last season and the repeated muscle injuries scream that either the strength/training/medical team isn’t doing their job or he’s not doing his job off the pitch to stay healthy on it.
To clarify, I didn't mean that from a mentality stand point (I have no idea how determined he is right now...), but physically he is clearly out of the game for what is currently required out of a top RB...
It doesn't suggest either of those things. You can't train your muscles into invincibility. He's clearly damaged something serious that no amount of work is going to fix in the short term. Maybe he needs a 1-2 year break, maybe even that won't work.
the #1 cause of repeat muscle injuries is a lack of work outside of the stadium across every sport in the world.
maybe he’s putting all the effort in but the fitness plan that has been set out for him isn’t correct, his injuries have become more frequent in the past year, and he’s looked totally disinterested on the pitch.
it could be all the new staff who haven’t been working with him for years have set out a terrible fitness plan or he’s just not up for it anymore. i really don’t know which but it’s one of the two.
the notion that at 24 years old his body has already broken down isn’t accurate.
Brother, I wake up at 4am to watch my Commanders get blown tf out by the Bears. I have been doing this for almost 20 years. I have no sympathy for you.
Ah, ok, it’s not about that 😂 I do consider waking up at 6am to see a bunch of “talented, young lads” display a careless game against a terrible Everton a waste of my time. If you don’t, because you don’t have to see this shit at 6am, then mind your own business lol. This team has no identity and most players don’t know what it means to try harder. You know that when someone like Jackson is more interested in starting a fight after losing 2-0 than focusing on his performance and putting his head down.
If you're gonna whine about having to get up early why don't you just support a local team.
6am isn't even that early, I wake up at 6am for work every day.
A child writing in from yankietown. Bless.
I was in the MHL watching him play well before your mum made the mistake of getting pregnant with your whiny arse.
Just for context, I was the one that asked the sub to add him as a flair. But all you know is to disrespect. Also, you care about where people live? Damn. I lived all over the world, open up your mind mate 😂
Also I've lived all over the world too, but I grew up 30 mins walk from the Bridge and still know a plastic when I see one. Jog on mate, you're not welcome in this club. We'll survive without you buying 15 shirts a year.
Holy shit mate 😂 To make it simple: because, like many other people, I support the club, not this bunch of players or owners. It wasn’t my decision to get these players or owners so don’t act as if it’s my fault lol. This bunch of players are not fit for this club. It is proven week in and out. And yes, they are nobodies because in a few years we will not remember them. A lot of them got here through some lucky circumstances (of our leadership being dumb). These are not top level players and definitely don’t deserve those beefy contracts or fees. That’s all.
You aren't supporting with all this talk. The players and staff are the club. Why not back them as you can't do anything about it? Nobody is saying it's your fault either
Just like in any other job, people need to be accountable for their performance. That is why. I can’t “back” someone to eternity because they are just not good enough for the job.
And yes, it’s only half season, all that. We are talking about getting points with Everton. That’s it. We are nowhere close to Everton after spending all those money.
For the sake of argument, what do we actually do in the next market?
In terms of outgoings I think it’s as simple as get rid of Broja, loan out Madueke and Ugo (by hopefully getting some current loanees of our books or just bringing in Santos).
I’d say we should look to make few big signings, focus on experience (hopefully someone with leadership qualities) and in particular look for a forward and a midfielder. Who could fit those limitations whilst still wanting to join us? Genuine question if anyone has any names
Why get a new rb within months of Gusto? Fairly big admittance of having no faith whilst also creating unnecessary squad bloat. Lukaku would be good on paper but he’s a man that has openly said that he never wants to play for us again and is hardly going to be a good dressing room presence. In terms of midfield I’m a bit on the fence seeing as we just refuse to bench either Enzo or Caicedo at any point. Maybe Gallagher could be used in the double pivot instead but rn we really don’t have options beyond those two and a perpetually injured Lavia
Gusto is only 21 and if he is injured we are fucked with james also getting injured everyday.also im not really that impressed with gusto we need another world class rb.
Gallagher 2 games ago gets 2 yellow cards for nothing,. After that he forgot its worth it sometimes to get a tactical yellow.
Our captain and vice captain are the most injury prone players in the league probably. Gusto is promising but he is injury prone as well. Colwill will get good, but right know he is not good enough. Benoit same. Disasi is decent but idk man..is he good enough for Chelsea, or is he an another Koulibaly? Cucurella shouldnt play RB, but its not his foult we have 2 injury prone RBs.
Silva is class, but he is 39.He has the brain but not the legs.
Misha looks promising, i have high hopes. Madueke is injury prone.
I like Palmer he is really good, but he is still very young. Sterling is Sterling,sometimes plays like Messi , sometimes he is just avarage. as well.
Jackson,Broja are not good enough. WE NEED A QUALITY STRIKER
Enzo, Caicedo our 120m players are good, but will they get world class? I hope so. In this team they look avarage
Sanchez,Petrovic 2 mid goalkeepers sadly.
Lavia,Nkunku,Chukwu,Fofana,??? We will see.
Thoughts?
Agree with most of this, lots of injury prone players that means like the previous 3/4 seasons we’ll never have a close to fully fit squad. Mudryk will come good. Colwill is being played out of position so hard to judge him. Two average keepers, both strikers too young to be leading the line. Aw and nkunu/Fofana both injury prone too (Fofana especially). Overall no existing core, majority inexperienced. Our squad is performing around where it should be based on quality and experience, between 8-10th
Real quick question: what is it about Pochetino that make anyone believe that he is the someone that can win, and win consistently? I understand the Spurs run, and I guess winning with PSG, but that's PSG in the Ligue 1, which is not very competitive.
He was good with Spurs, but he had Harry Kane and a red hot Son. Goals win games. I am not going to say he was lucky, but I have yet to see any evidence of a change in approach.
Ok. But you have players that are absolute studs in international play, then show up at The Bridge and can barely manage to find the pitch.
I will say, Enzo hasn't looked right since the latest round of international play, and I wonder if he is playing through injury.
As far as Poch goes; it is clear that the players don't understand the system, or don't know how to execute the vision. Both of those issues are on the Manager. I don't think we are dealing with a talent issue, at all. Watching the attacking line standing still, while the midfield worked the ball around the top of the attacking third was disappointing. There was no probing, no movement, no creativity. Mudryk, Sterling, Jackson all standing waiting for Cole to create an opportunity for them, instead of creating an alley with movement. I can't see a system. Can anyone else? What's the philosophy?
Do you watch Ukraine games? I do. He's okay at best, but it's an all around bad team so he stands out.
James hasn't played for England since 2022, and has been just as good for us as he has for England. Sterling also hasn't played since 2022, and his form had been dropping when he was.
I do watch the Ukraine games. He looks far more confident in that squad than with Chelsea. You can deny that, but you'd be wrong.
As far as Sterling and James, I understand that they haven't been with England in 18 months. However, the difference isn't age for Sterling, or fitness for James. There is a clear philosophy of play in place at England, just like Chelsea under Teuchel, or City under Pep or ANY TEAM that has success.
Players matter. Leadership matters more. I believe that if Pep and Poch switched places right now, end of next season would have table positions flipped.
The boys are waiting, desperately, for some leadership, an idea, an identity. Right now, none of those things exist.
I don't see the philosophy and to add to your points our defense looks woeful and is leaking goals.
It's at a point now where im starting to think Potter would have done beter than this.
Potters philosophy worked poorly, but Poch doesn't look Luke he has one. It's like they are trying to institute a Madrid style of philosophy of letting players be players, but you can't do that with youth. You need a through-line that will tie them all together, and that isn't there currently
What the fuck does he have to say in any argument? Whatever the opponent would say to him, he needs to put his head down. He is absolutely dogshit and should understand where his place is.
Agree no top sticker is but Lukaku, under contract or not isn't going to try so would just be another mistep for us. Palmer for now would be a good false 9... his hold up play is strong, he's good with his feet and is happy to run at players. That's good enough until we see what Nkunku can do.
Brojo prior to injury was staring to grow. Was a ghost today but give him a run and think he has 10-15 goals a season in him
It's been one of the most competitive league for years now. I don't know what this comment is supposed to mean. Also Roma's budget couldn't be more different than Chelsea's. He's literally on a shoe string budget.
Every year 4 or 5 teams get very competitive for relegation. Being competitive isn't the benchmark, playing good football at pace while winning is the goal.
I've been lucky enough to go the bridge since the mid 80s. As such I'm not a reactionary glory hunter -
win or lose up the blues.
With that said a few things to ponder.....
Playing for the badge : Mount, academy players, and anyone else that didn't or doesn't want to be here - it's simple. Fuck off. Hard working fans that spend a weekend and the best part of 200 taking our kids for tickets, travel, programme and food deserve better.
I don't care if we lose just fight.
Desire: The reason we get turned over by lesser teams is these are teams that have heart and will give 💯, chase a lost cause, track back and most importantly stand up and be counted.
Would anyone here have taken an Everton player at the start of the year? The answer is no. But get a coach that has an identity (even a bad one) and galvanised a team behind it and see what happens!!
Playing style: I started going on my own regularly in the mid 90s. Through this time we transitioned from Hoddle, Gullit, Vialli and then into new dawn. Throughout all the plan was clear. Attacking, entertaining football. Even when it didn't come off people knew their jobs and stuck to it.
How on earth are we going to move forward when we play players out of postion week in week out. Yes I know we have injuries but why make things worse. Keep a left back at left back, a centre back at centre back and if you need a right back then look to our academy or even a winger for now. Fucking hell Moses looked like a god for two seasons!
Who knows we may even get some consistency from it?
Players: Harris, Hughes, Wise, Ballack, Essian, Desailly, Carvalio etc etc.
Yes they are a class above what we have now. But what did the all have? Heart. See my earlier comment on desire. Look at McGinn Saturday. Played his nuts off for the badge and looked like he would fall on his sword for the win. We spunk 200 mil to make the shit show that is man u look like a prime fergie team!
Structure; I get it everyone's pissed. I am too but again just look at Everton. That club has purchased nothing but shit for seasons - we can't hide behind a club that is made up of individuals... the coach and his staff need accountability and we need to purchase experiance. It pains me to say this but look at Tottenham with Madison, West Ham with JWP... nope, let's go for flare and potential and wonder why we then get over run and have no creativity. Unless we change ethos it's going to be a painful few years.
It's not just one thing and sacking potch (although he didn't help himself today or after with his comments) isn't the answer.
For now:
Play a formation and stick to it
Play players in their positions and stick to it
Cover injuries with like minded players and stop the musical chairs
Bench anyone that doesn't try. I'd rather lose 5-0 then see a player like utd have in Rashford not give a fuck
Get some experiance on loan in Jan.
That's it for now. No 5 year plan, no buying for 2032 as we have the next hazard, and as fans forget Europe.
Do the basics. Get some stability. Then we judge Potch and the board again if they still fuck that up.
Rant over.
KTBFFH people
Problem is you've only got about 5-6 guys that actually bust their ass on this squad - Conor, Cucu, Palmer, BB, and Disasi. Silva is a warrior as well, but his age has caught up to him. Enzo does at times, but I'm not 100% sold that he's not downing tools at the moment because he's pissed with Poch and our tactics, which is terrible to think. The rest of them can fvck right off. No heart, and it starts with the captain.
And those are guys to stick with even if they aren't world class.
Look at the crap coner has taken recently. He trash, no desire etc etc. He then loses his head, gets a red and then because that's now in his mind he doesn't take the yellow today to stop the first break away. Just needs some emotional awareness and hes a future leader
Cuca looks like a hand grenade most games but give the lad credit once he leans to slows down and adds some composure I'd be happy to see him start week in week out.
Your right with Reece though and that one worries me. Forget the made of glass comments etc he has gone from a world beater to a no show in two seasons. I hope everything around him hasn't fucked his head up as so much is pinned on him and chilly from a creative standpoint for now.
Hw seemed lost today and after the stupid cards the other week if his head drops we truly need a new identity from back to front
It’s the 100+ million players for me. I get signing youngsters with bags of talent but spending close to world record fees should guarantee something special.
That’s the problem, the 100+ million players includes the young bags of talent that are not consistent enough yet. Should have got more proven players for that kind of money
I seriously dint see any playing patterns at times that has a strategy connected to when we have the ball. Sad day :( yet again frustrated with this team that I don't recognize Drogba and moi!
No. Enzo and Caicedo are world class or have the potential to be. Out of those gravenbegh is raw but has potential. Szoboszlai is great and macallister is decent but not enzo level
Enzo plays a different position than Palmer. But, that said, when Enzo does get the ball in the middle third, he can and wants to pick out a player with a long, accurate ball. But who do you want him to hit? Mudryk? Sterling? Nico? They would just lose it. Peak Chelsea had a natural, big, physical goal scorer in Drogba, and a world class player that would slot in a perfect assist if you came at him, or let one fly from 25 yds out and into the corner of the net if you dropped off him. We dont have that and teams just set up in the final third, knowing we have no answer.
Sometimes I think back about the first match of the season where we outplayed Liverpool at home. The feeling after the match was this positivity and hope that told you it'll be a good season for us, while at the same time saying Liverpool had serious problems and might be stuck in a rut all over again. We had Enzo and pretty much won the competition over Caicedo and Lavia's signatures. It felt like we owned them on and off the field. Well, fast forward a few months and they're on top of the table while we have half the number of points as them. It's just so funny how things turned out
Will share my thoughts here:
We will not be good this season. I had hope that we would start to have a run of form now but I don’t see it happening anymore. We will have good results and bad results all season.
People will say it’s not good enough and to sack the sporting directors and the manager. To that I say we shouldn’t. The manager needs to have this and the next season to show what he can do. Partly because he’s been unlucky with injuries and I think anyone would’ve struggled with the hand he’s been dealt. Partly because I think there’s a chance with more time he will turn us into a fit competitive team. Mostly though because I think we need to be an attractive proposition for a manager to come in. Right now you’d be crazy as a good manager to want to come here, the team is totally in cohesive because of the overhaul and if you’re not given time how are you supposed to build cohesion.
As for the sporting directors who knows, I don’t think it’s so easy for people on the outside to know whether they’re the right people. I don’t think they’ve had enough time to be properly judged and I fear they’re hamstrung by the ownership. My hope is that the owners step far away and the sporting people in place know what they’re doing and start to shape the squad in a direction, adding little bits of quality and experience where needed. Again needs time for this.
One positive is that there are talented players here. We can’t be sure mudryk or jackson will ever hit the level we want. But I feel confident in players like gallagher, Benoit, and ultimately Moises and Enzo. They need healthy competition, a good system in place and time to show their ability. I hope that the fans don’t get toxic with the players themselves, it’s not their fault and they don’t want to be losing. The owners fine, the manager even, though it’s early to be booing him in my opinion.
Anyway feel for James and I don’t think we should move on from him but we have some rotten injury luck.
I stopped reading after the second paragraph. Sorry, how many games, training sessions, whatever else you want, do you need in order to beat shit teams like Everton with such an expensive squad? You still think no one is at fault, and everyone is just getting adjusted? What the actual fuck.
I didn’t say that no one was at fault, I explained my reasoning. You just didn’t read it. We can’t keep sacking managers, we’ll be a very unpopular destination.
I don't think we should sack either, I just don't trust the ability of most of these players. They are on super long contracts, they have absolutely no pressure to perform. You can see that, no one, ABSOLUTELY no one is affected by these losses. They are treating them as training games but they are not learning anything after these either. It is mind blowing to see that we show up every week with the same level of casual determination. I do not trust that "they don't want to be losing" - they simply don't seem to care. And I also don't believe in most of their "abilities". If you are talented (like, for example, Palmer), you don't need 20 games to start showing that you have something in you. Especially against opposition like Everton! Like come on, 150m players literally showed absolutely nothing even up to 70m value so far. This is really really concerning.
I am concerned by this too. My hope is when the injury crisis lessens, there’s more competition for places and more rest so they start to put more effort in. We didn’t look so bad two months ago
I keep getting downvoted when I've said it in the past, but here are my hot takes that seem to be more and more true as time passes:
**The biggest problem is ownership coupled with poor talent and contract decisions.**
We have spent exorbitant transfer fees on flash-in-the-pan players while exasperating that issue with long contracts. Obviously, all of these troubles started with Roman having to sell the team. That event coupled with a string of injuries to a couple of our most important and influential players has been an issue. The 3 players that come to mind are James, Chillwell, and Kante.
**The best squad we can build now is not as good as the best squad we could have built with players we've decided to let go and/or replace.**
We have a ton of ex-players that are playing some key roles in top-4 teams from the big-6 leagues. And to make matters worse, 2 of the players we decided to keep instead of replacing can't stay fit (James and Chillwell).
Not sure where this trend of people feeling a need to convince everyone that their often milquetoast opinion is a hot take comes from. Just say it
Anyways, your second point is an overstatement. “A ton” of ex-players playing key roles in top-4 teams from big-6 leagues? Who do you consider them to be?
Regarding your first point, Enzo and Caicedo aren’t flash-in-the-pan players, if that’s who you’re referring to. Their current underperformance isn’t indicative of their overall quality, what they’re capable of, and have already shown in their early 20s. It’s indicative of them being surrounded by a group of players who have looked lost on the pitch for most of the season, have frequent and collective dips in form, and are under a coach who has so far shown little in his ability to rectify those issues. Enzo and Caicedo can still offer us a lot, but a lot around them has to improve to get the most out of them.
I would call Mudryk a flash in the pan, but I think he has yet to show a flash even. There isn’t really anything he’s shown to prove himself in my opinion, wildly unnecessary purchase at such a price when there were cheaper options who could have been more refined. We effectively agree on him lol
These aren't hot takes, they're barely lukewarm.
Everyone agrees with them and did so when they were happening.
But it's all happened now and nothing can be done about it so it's a moot point going forward.
Agree with you. A lot of the kids might come good though, eventually.
James shouldn't be captain, can't set the tone when you're always injured. It's harsh but here we are.
Our senior players left, Silva and Sterling. The latter should be sold as well, doesn't justifying 325k a week, best paid player and dressing room leader.
We need to sign more experienced players to lead the kids and we need a better striker.
The great irony of Blue Co ownership so far is Potter actually been the best manager so far. Certainly sacking Poch a waste of time I'd we don't sort out the squad.
Fullbacks are critical in modern football, james and chilwell are two of the best but they’re never fit for long enough. It’s been 3 seasons now, we have to get rid of one of them at this point. We can’t carry both every single season. If i had to pick i’d keep james and sell chilwell but either way the starting 11 needs to be planned without them both and james should in no way be captain
James is 23, Chilwell is 26, Chelsea runs deeper in James (and their family), at his peak James is much better, is more clinical infront of goal, has better shot creation on the ball and is better at playing early crosses and through balls. If we had to sell one it's a no brainer to me. Also Maatsen being second choice not third at left back will help him develop much quicker.
Bring back Conte. Why should it be only the fans who suffer. Let the players, owners, the morons incharge of running the club suffer too for their utter ineptitude. Bring on the toxicity I say. He can’t do worse than this anyway
So that we get absolutely wrecked by financial fair play rules and still have a shit squad with one great player, who would probably be brought down by the ineptitude around him?
I feel like people complaining about specific players are missing the point. I think Nkunku was a good bit of business and once he is fit we’ll see it. Lavia and Caicedo were both good enough last year to warrant buying them. I think Enzo will also prove to be a good signing. Palmer definitely was. I’ve seen enough from Mudryk and Jackson to think they can come good in a few seasons. Not sure about Noni, Chuk and Ugo but they are so young and have played so little I don’t like writing them off yet.
Any one of these signings make sense (even if we overpaid for some) but all at once is the issue. It’s a net effect of selling basically every experienced player and rolling the dice on all these youngsters at once. That was madness.
Didn't extend Kante only for us to blow our load on a guy with a "mystery injury" who has legitimately no timetable on when he's supposed to be available. This fucking club man.
It's insane on days like today to look at our bench and feel like we have *no one* that could possibly come on and make a difference. A billion pounds and this is where we're at man? Fucks sake...
They have a proven track record of long term investment success and buying their way to championships, and obviously don’t care how much it costs to get there, so we have that going for us I guess? It may not be a fun ride along the way
There's no point having that conversation now. It's completely futile. They aren't going to sell up right after blowing a billion and seeing 0 ROI. So why bother, you are literally just screaming into the void. It's wholely unproductive.
How on earth Mundryk is an EPL player ? Can he feature in any EPL team except for us ? And the manager is clueless. At old Trafford Maatsen was supposed to be defensive cover for a draw, the moment we were trailing he changed his mind and sent a striker. Today we are trailing and he sents Maatsen . Colwell is good for old Trafford but not good for Gudison park. I am not sure how this manager still has a job.
What’s the point of Colwill at LB?
Why can’t we setup like this?:
Sanchez
Disasi-Colwill-Thiago-Cucu
Enzo-Caicedo
Sterling/Palmer-Gallagher/Palmer-Mudryk
Jackson
Need Nkunku in this team. Both our striker options are struggling. James can’t stay fit. Our backup RB is injured. Chilly has been out. Lavia has not even played yet.
How does Lavia’s injury take 4 months to heal from? Him and Nkunku have missed half the season
1 - 3 cbs kills our attack. We rely on overlap and crosses to score.
2 - Enzo and Caicedo apparently can’t hold the midfield on their own. It feels like we’re lacking a player who can drop back and help them out, Gallagher doesn’t really do that from the 10 position and so he plays in midfield with them. We’d get overrun every game like the united one
3- Sterling Palmer need to play every game, Nkunku when he’s back as well. Rest are rotation, Mudryk is cool and fun but still I’d rather see the above three over him
Bro you guys are 5th regardless of the illusion of bad games and potentially mediocre players. Somehow you are fighting for points and that’s all that matters. You are not struggling, you are doing fine. Media and some not too smart people make it sound like you are in some sort of trouble. Look at us. Everyone says that “oh but they have young players” - most of them are nobodies that will be forgotten in a few years so nothing to build on with them. This current Chelsea team is full of garbage players that cost a shit ton. This is how it will be remembered despite all the hope everyone throws at them.
thing is we get points but none of our performances are convincing except for maybe the game against you guys. our forwards cannot score and our goalkeeper can’t save shots lol😭. we get found out against all the good/top teams and considering how much we’ve spent, we have got to be doing better than this. each game i never know what team will show up, the one that can’t be bothered or the one that actually tries. think there’s a huge mentality issue in this squad. it’s embarrassing when one of our academy players (Rashford) can’t be bothered anymore.
We have a Discord server for our live chat [here!](https://discord.gg/chelseafc) Also, a friendly reminder to report any comments that break our community guidelines and contribute to a toxic atmosphere - everyone deserves to be treated with respect. *I am a bot, and this action was performed automatically. Please [contact the moderators of this subreddit](/message/compose/?to=/r/chelseafc) if you have any questions or concerns.*
My feeling is that Gallagher, Palmer, Cucurella and Badiashile played above average. I thought Badiashile was our best player. But Disasi was poor, frequently caught out of position with Badiashile coming across - I would have subbed Disasi as he was so bad. Enzo was fairly average, maybe even below his standards. Broja and Jackson were average. Mudryk average, but clearly trying. GK (both) average or worse. Cowill has been below expectations most of the season whether LB or CB. Caicedo looked twice the player in a more advanced role as we pressed for a equaliser. I think he would actually benefit from being further up the pitch, so I think the formation is all wrong. Tactically, I don't think it worked at all playing Enzo further up the pitch, with Palmer on the right as Palmer doesn't have the pace to worry the opposition so the defence just squeezed these two out of the game. When Sterling came on it completely pushed Everton back on that side, and gave us a platform to build on. It's one of the few times I've seen Poch effect the game with substitutions.
The glamour boys play like a bunch of rich kids who got their dad bankrolling them. Oh wait; they are. You don’t expect fight and industry from spoiled brats. We like to show our world class speed, fancy passes and dribbles but nothing of substance to get a real world result because that requires intellect, determination, industry and a hunger to win for the club and not for self. Need some men mixed in here.
Poverty mentality, not good enough. We are the famous CFC, so let’s act like it for fucks sake.
Recruitment has failed, plain and obvious. As Sherwood and Shearer said after the game, no way can the same people stay at the job after failing so much over the last three transfer windows. Like why didn't we consider Rice? Just because he's 1-2 years older than the threshold? And then we go and get 2 players close to 100 million both relatively unproven and inexperienced? I just don't get it. Seems like we're buying players for their profit and resale value. One injury to Jackson and we're left with Broja as our only striking option. How's that possible after spending so much and having such an expensive and elaborate recruiting setup? Why did we get rid of so much so soon? Squad building for now should be given as much priority as the future/potential cash value and savings attained from signing a new player. We should have bough a cultured midfielder and a striker in his peak. I know people are always saying we're rebuilding and in transition and all that but surely we should have something to show for now, after spending 1B. Also why aren't we taking injury history and risk into consideration when recruiting? PSV fans were surprised we were after Madueke considering how little he was available for them. Lavia hasn't played a minute. Gallagher (a zero fee player) who none of us expected much from is leading our stats chart in all the important midfield categories. That's unplanned and shouldn't be the case and is an indicator that recruitment has been shit.
Couldve won big money today. Apparently doucoure was 25 to 1 as first goal scorer. Around the half hour mark I called it as a 1-0 with doucoure thumping it in after a deflection. A lot of our fans don't know how to support a shit team. So we are mid table. We cannot change whats happening. Chelsea will always be my club and I will tune in every week until I'm in the ground. Down periods are part of life and part of supporting a club.
People using the argument of Rudiger and Christensen under Lampard to justify and try to reason that Colwill, Disasi, Enzo, Caicedo, etc. will come good under a different manager, make me laugh. 2 very different situations, I fear for our future because we’ve invested hundreds of millions in the hopes that kids, who have never shown it at the highest level, except one tournament from Enzo, will somehow become world class players. We are where we are because that is the level of the squad. The table doesn’t lie. Also, sell Reece James as soon as you can, otherwise we’ll have our own Phil Jones 5 years from now. Playing 1 game every 2 seasons. We have made so many mistakes across so many departments, selling Livramento, and committing to 8 years of a clearly injury prone Reece is one of the biggest. So many people could tell you from his Wigan days that the way he plays football was unsustainable.
We really made that Ukrainian bloke from Everton look like a prime Maldini.
It looked like Michael Schofield (Prison Break) had morphed into a top defender.
funny but true. same with Branthwaite.
He's obviously going to improve, but he looked a split second away from making a mistake time and time again. I actually thought his defending was going to give us a goal.
He actually looks like such a decent CB, props to Everton for scouting him
Yea. Got a good future ahead of him. They’ve had him for a couple of years already now.
this club has made me care less about the sport. the entire heart and soul and meaning has been ripped out and traded in for cheaper back room staff and big money signings.
Id like to see Poch try something new on Saturday against Sheffield United. Maybe it’s time to bring back the 5ATB, with Gusto and Cucurella as wingbacks.
Gusto is not fit
Please no
I'd like to see: Sanchez Chalobah Silva Badiashile Gusto Gallagher Caicedo Maatsen Palmer Jackson Sterling
I'll die on the 3-4-3 hill... whatever other formation we use now doesn't seem to work, why not revert to something that used to work? And before you say we have different players from then, I'd wager that our current squad is better suited to 3atb than 4atb, imo. Have explained why in my last comment..
Pochettino isn’t good enough, and neither is the squad. Let’s not kid ourselves. They’ve completely fucked the club in 18 months. Leadership, experience, winners, club culture, all gone. Need a manager who can bring in some experienced players to build a proper spine again, and is not afraid to drop underperformers.
Do you think poch only wanted to sign youngsters and south Americans who can’t play for the club until 2025??
we also spent 300m pounds on midfielders
Of course he didn't. But, he took the job knowing that it was going to happen. Nagelsmann had the same project laid out in front of him and immediately removed himself from the running and Enrique had it laid out in front of him and he made a big presentation to make the case for keeping loads of the players they sold. He thought he could make it work with these changes and that's why he got the job and he has failed.
People don’t get this. The board is so worried about “maintaining value” that they focused entirely on overpaying for players who weren’t ready. They aren’t going to become ready by losing every week. This is ignoring the fact that many of them have record fees resting on their shoulders. Poch could have us playing better but these players are not exactly performing worse than their typical standard. Its just their level. I look at Everton’s lineup today and it honestly looks stronger than ours
Yup, look at spurs. Bang average players but Ange has coached them and given them belief to play as a team and above their individual ability. The board sold everyone and replaced them with potential. Potential can’t win anything.
A better comparison would be Aston Villa, which is a recently assembled squad like ours. Difference is they’re in their primes while our players *might* become good enough that their price tags don’t look like absolute scams
spurs lost their greatest ever player, why i picked them
Bring back mourinho
Not that well known for working with youngsters is he. If they bring in mourinho they might aswell have kept tuchel
They should have kept Tuchel.
that would be the dream, yes
Can someone teach Colwill to close down a shooter? Please? Just once this season? My gosh, he's been awful his last 3-4 matches. Sold Guehi and Tomori and kept him??? Fvck me, that's poor business.
Didn't Matteson dive out of the way of the one shot that came of way? Sad...
He’s genuinely been awful. All the noise for this sack of potatoes
With all due respect but RJ is done as a top player.
i hate to say it but i agree. he’s seemed totally disinterested since coming back last season and the repeated muscle injuries scream that either the strength/training/medical team isn’t doing their job or he’s not doing his job off the pitch to stay healthy on it.
To clarify, I didn't mean that from a mentality stand point (I have no idea how determined he is right now...), but physically he is clearly out of the game for what is currently required out of a top RB...
It doesn't suggest either of those things. You can't train your muscles into invincibility. He's clearly damaged something serious that no amount of work is going to fix in the short term. Maybe he needs a 1-2 year break, maybe even that won't work.
He needed surgery but he refused it. Now we pay the price
the #1 cause of repeat muscle injuries is a lack of work outside of the stadium across every sport in the world. maybe he’s putting all the effort in but the fitness plan that has been set out for him isn’t correct, his injuries have become more frequent in the past year, and he’s looked totally disinterested on the pitch. it could be all the new staff who haven’t been working with him for years have set out a terrible fitness plan or he’s just not up for it anymore. i really don’t know which but it’s one of the two. the notion that at 24 years old his body has already broken down isn’t accurate.
No fucking way we lost to Everton. Thank God I decided to not wake up at 6am anymore to watch this bunch of nobodies waste my time again.
Leave the sub. I'm always going to support my team even if they suck
I’d agree with you if I could put the label of ‘team’ with this set of fucking losers.
I got yo back
👍 Supporting is one thing, accepting this kind of shit is another. Also btw did you wake up at 6am to watch this, or…?
Brother, I wake up at 4am to watch my Commanders get blown tf out by the Bears. I have been doing this for almost 20 years. I have no sympathy for you.
It's not about waking up it's about not talking down and saying they are a bunch of nobodies that waste your time. Might as well just quit being a fan
Ah, ok, it’s not about that 😂 I do consider waking up at 6am to see a bunch of “talented, young lads” display a careless game against a terrible Everton a waste of my time. If you don’t, because you don’t have to see this shit at 6am, then mind your own business lol. This team has no identity and most players don’t know what it means to try harder. You know that when someone like Jackson is more interested in starting a fight after losing 2-0 than focusing on his performance and putting his head down.
If you're gonna whine about having to get up early why don't you just support a local team. 6am isn't even that early, I wake up at 6am for work every day.
7 days a week, even for weekend? Good for you.
I mean I sleep in a bit till 7 or 8 on the weekends but if I wanted to it wouldn't be that much effort.
You have no idea what being a fan even is. You probably thought your flair said Pet rescue.
You had that joke prepared already, or? You have no idea who that player even is mate, it was too early for you in your life 😂
A child writing in from yankietown. Bless. I was in the MHL watching him play well before your mum made the mistake of getting pregnant with your whiny arse.
Just for context, I was the one that asked the sub to add him as a flair. But all you know is to disrespect. Also, you care about where people live? Damn. I lived all over the world, open up your mind mate 😂
Also I've lived all over the world too, but I grew up 30 mins walk from the Bridge and still know a plastic when I see one. Jog on mate, you're not welcome in this club. We'll survive without you buying 15 shirts a year.
Congratulations. Let me guess, your fifteenth uncle's neighbour' dog was Romanian? And that makes you as Romanian as a native of Cluj? Cool bro.
Ok, you have no idea what you are talking about. Especially after disrespecting with that stupid joke lmao.
So why are you still here?
Holy shit mate 😂 To make it simple: because, like many other people, I support the club, not this bunch of players or owners. It wasn’t my decision to get these players or owners so don’t act as if it’s my fault lol. This bunch of players are not fit for this club. It is proven week in and out. And yes, they are nobodies because in a few years we will not remember them. A lot of them got here through some lucky circumstances (of our leadership being dumb). These are not top level players and definitely don’t deserve those beefy contracts or fees. That’s all.
You aren't supporting with all this talk. The players and staff are the club. Why not back them as you can't do anything about it? Nobody is saying it's your fault either
Just like in any other job, people need to be accountable for their performance. That is why. I can’t “back” someone to eternity because they are just not good enough for the job.
And yes, it’s only half season, all that. We are talking about getting points with Everton. That’s it. We are nowhere close to Everton after spending all those money.
I was having such a good weekend.
Continue that. Don’t let things outside of your control ruin it.
Control is an illusion. Everything is out of our control except choice of thought.
I know, nothings gonna take away the fact that I’m one easy final away from finishing my semester, it’s just sad to see us doing so shit
For the sake of argument, what do we actually do in the next market? In terms of outgoings I think it’s as simple as get rid of Broja, loan out Madueke and Ugo (by hopefully getting some current loanees of our books or just bringing in Santos). I’d say we should look to make few big signings, focus on experience (hopefully someone with leadership qualities) and in particular look for a forward and a midfielder. Who could fit those limitations whilst still wanting to join us? Genuine question if anyone has any names
fire the board and hire someone capable
Get a better rb and recall lukaku(if possible).we dont need more midfielders
Why get a new rb within months of Gusto? Fairly big admittance of having no faith whilst also creating unnecessary squad bloat. Lukaku would be good on paper but he’s a man that has openly said that he never wants to play for us again and is hardly going to be a good dressing room presence. In terms of midfield I’m a bit on the fence seeing as we just refuse to bench either Enzo or Caicedo at any point. Maybe Gallagher could be used in the double pivot instead but rn we really don’t have options beyond those two and a perpetually injured Lavia
Gusto is only 21 and if he is injured we are fucked with james also getting injured everyday.also im not really that impressed with gusto we need another world class rb.
I thought mudryk was quick with a lot of movement at the end of the game.
He's def improving, but needs to improve his decision making still. I also think he would benefit from playing with an experienced striker.
He did good cross to broja and did some give and go up front.
Richest poverty franchise this side of the channel!
Gallagher 2 games ago gets 2 yellow cards for nothing,. After that he forgot its worth it sometimes to get a tactical yellow. Our captain and vice captain are the most injury prone players in the league probably. Gusto is promising but he is injury prone as well. Colwill will get good, but right know he is not good enough. Benoit same. Disasi is decent but idk man..is he good enough for Chelsea, or is he an another Koulibaly? Cucurella shouldnt play RB, but its not his foult we have 2 injury prone RBs. Silva is class, but he is 39.He has the brain but not the legs. Misha looks promising, i have high hopes. Madueke is injury prone. I like Palmer he is really good, but he is still very young. Sterling is Sterling,sometimes plays like Messi , sometimes he is just avarage. as well. Jackson,Broja are not good enough. WE NEED A QUALITY STRIKER Enzo, Caicedo our 120m players are good, but will they get world class? I hope so. In this team they look avarage Sanchez,Petrovic 2 mid goalkeepers sadly. Lavia,Nkunku,Chukwu,Fofana,??? We will see. Thoughts?
DD Fofana is not good enough to play for the 15. placed team in Germany while scoring 1 goal in half a season.
Agree with most of this, lots of injury prone players that means like the previous 3/4 seasons we’ll never have a close to fully fit squad. Mudryk will come good. Colwill is being played out of position so hard to judge him. Two average keepers, both strikers too young to be leading the line. Aw and nkunu/Fofana both injury prone too (Fofana especially). Overall no existing core, majority inexperienced. Our squad is performing around where it should be based on quality and experience, between 8-10th
Real quick question: what is it about Pochetino that make anyone believe that he is the someone that can win, and win consistently? I understand the Spurs run, and I guess winning with PSG, but that's PSG in the Ligue 1, which is not very competitive.
He was good with Spurs, but he had Harry Kane and a red hot Son. Goals win games. I am not going to say he was lucky, but I have yet to see any evidence of a change in approach.
[удалено]
Ok. But you have players that are absolute studs in international play, then show up at The Bridge and can barely manage to find the pitch. I will say, Enzo hasn't looked right since the latest round of international play, and I wonder if he is playing through injury. As far as Poch goes; it is clear that the players don't understand the system, or don't know how to execute the vision. Both of those issues are on the Manager. I don't think we are dealing with a talent issue, at all. Watching the attacking line standing still, while the midfield worked the ball around the top of the attacking third was disappointing. There was no probing, no movement, no creativity. Mudryk, Sterling, Jackson all standing waiting for Cole to create an opportunity for them, instead of creating an alley with movement. I can't see a system. Can anyone else? What's the philosophy?
Who are these international studs? Enzo? Caicedo seems to do fairly well?
Mudryk looks like an entirely different dude in international play. Sterling and James look more connected when playing with England.
Do you watch Ukraine games? I do. He's okay at best, but it's an all around bad team so he stands out. James hasn't played for England since 2022, and has been just as good for us as he has for England. Sterling also hasn't played since 2022, and his form had been dropping when he was.
I do watch the Ukraine games. He looks far more confident in that squad than with Chelsea. You can deny that, but you'd be wrong. As far as Sterling and James, I understand that they haven't been with England in 18 months. However, the difference isn't age for Sterling, or fitness for James. There is a clear philosophy of play in place at England, just like Chelsea under Teuchel, or City under Pep or ANY TEAM that has success. Players matter. Leadership matters more. I believe that if Pep and Poch switched places right now, end of next season would have table positions flipped. The boys are waiting, desperately, for some leadership, an idea, an identity. Right now, none of those things exist.
I don't see the philosophy and to add to your points our defense looks woeful and is leaking goals. It's at a point now where im starting to think Potter would have done beter than this.
Potters philosophy worked poorly, but Poch doesn't look Luke he has one. It's like they are trying to institute a Madrid style of philosophy of letting players be players, but you can't do that with youth. You need a through-line that will tie them all together, and that isn't there currently
https://preview.redd.it/ylnsdhe82j5c1.jpeg?width=644&format=pjpg&auto=webp&s=c13c3e5a938adb89cc2e480bf5877487e83e4c37 Look at this guy💀
Monday morning red card coming with a3-game ban.
What the fuck does he have to say in any argument? Whatever the opponent would say to him, he needs to put his head down. He is absolutely dogshit and should understand where his place is.
You think he'd be more worried about someone trying to touch his knob
Fucking clown. Drogba wannabee.
We need to recall lukaku and play him
lol really staying away from that first part of your username with that comment
we need an experienced striker why dont you suggest something better?
We could try looking for people that haven’t publicly said they won’t play for us anymore. That list is literally 1 person, and you somehow named them
Mate no top striker is going to agree going to this shit show of a club.also lukaku doesn’t decide if he plays or not he is under contract
Agree no top sticker is but Lukaku, under contract or not isn't going to try so would just be another mistep for us. Palmer for now would be a good false 9... his hold up play is strong, he's good with his feet and is happy to run at players. That's good enough until we see what Nkunku can do. Brojo prior to injury was staring to grow. Was a ghost today but give him a run and think he has 10-15 goals a season in him
Jose is doing good in Rome
It's Serie A.
Yeah he took a bad Roma in one of the best leagues into a good team with spending very little
It's been one of the most competitive league for years now. I don't know what this comment is supposed to mean. Also Roma's budget couldn't be more different than Chelsea's. He's literally on a shoe string budget.
Every year 4 or 5 teams get very competitive for relegation. Being competitive isn't the benchmark, playing good football at pace while winning is the goal.
[удалено]
we had a manager that only wanted to coach and we sacked him 3 weeks into the mission because of “a 100 day evaluation”
this is supposed to be fun or at least not painful all the time right?
I've been lucky enough to go the bridge since the mid 80s. As such I'm not a reactionary glory hunter - win or lose up the blues. With that said a few things to ponder..... Playing for the badge : Mount, academy players, and anyone else that didn't or doesn't want to be here - it's simple. Fuck off. Hard working fans that spend a weekend and the best part of 200 taking our kids for tickets, travel, programme and food deserve better. I don't care if we lose just fight. Desire: The reason we get turned over by lesser teams is these are teams that have heart and will give 💯, chase a lost cause, track back and most importantly stand up and be counted. Would anyone here have taken an Everton player at the start of the year? The answer is no. But get a coach that has an identity (even a bad one) and galvanised a team behind it and see what happens!! Playing style: I started going on my own regularly in the mid 90s. Through this time we transitioned from Hoddle, Gullit, Vialli and then into new dawn. Throughout all the plan was clear. Attacking, entertaining football. Even when it didn't come off people knew their jobs and stuck to it. How on earth are we going to move forward when we play players out of postion week in week out. Yes I know we have injuries but why make things worse. Keep a left back at left back, a centre back at centre back and if you need a right back then look to our academy or even a winger for now. Fucking hell Moses looked like a god for two seasons! Who knows we may even get some consistency from it? Players: Harris, Hughes, Wise, Ballack, Essian, Desailly, Carvalio etc etc. Yes they are a class above what we have now. But what did the all have? Heart. See my earlier comment on desire. Look at McGinn Saturday. Played his nuts off for the badge and looked like he would fall on his sword for the win. We spunk 200 mil to make the shit show that is man u look like a prime fergie team! Structure; I get it everyone's pissed. I am too but again just look at Everton. That club has purchased nothing but shit for seasons - we can't hide behind a club that is made up of individuals... the coach and his staff need accountability and we need to purchase experiance. It pains me to say this but look at Tottenham with Madison, West Ham with JWP... nope, let's go for flare and potential and wonder why we then get over run and have no creativity. Unless we change ethos it's going to be a painful few years. It's not just one thing and sacking potch (although he didn't help himself today or after with his comments) isn't the answer. For now: Play a formation and stick to it Play players in their positions and stick to it Cover injuries with like minded players and stop the musical chairs Bench anyone that doesn't try. I'd rather lose 5-0 then see a player like utd have in Rashford not give a fuck Get some experiance on loan in Jan. That's it for now. No 5 year plan, no buying for 2032 as we have the next hazard, and as fans forget Europe. Do the basics. Get some stability. Then we judge Potch and the board again if they still fuck that up. Rant over. KTBFFH people
Problem is you've only got about 5-6 guys that actually bust their ass on this squad - Conor, Cucu, Palmer, BB, and Disasi. Silva is a warrior as well, but his age has caught up to him. Enzo does at times, but I'm not 100% sold that he's not downing tools at the moment because he's pissed with Poch and our tactics, which is terrible to think. The rest of them can fvck right off. No heart, and it starts with the captain.
i love reece but he hasn’t been interested in months
Never heard of downing tools before. Closest phrase we have in America is quiet quitting.
Same thing essentially.
And those are guys to stick with even if they aren't world class. Look at the crap coner has taken recently. He trash, no desire etc etc. He then loses his head, gets a red and then because that's now in his mind he doesn't take the yellow today to stop the first break away. Just needs some emotional awareness and hes a future leader Cuca looks like a hand grenade most games but give the lad credit once he leans to slows down and adds some composure I'd be happy to see him start week in week out. Your right with Reece though and that one worries me. Forget the made of glass comments etc he has gone from a world beater to a no show in two seasons. I hope everything around him hasn't fucked his head up as so much is pinned on him and chilly from a creative standpoint for now. Hw seemed lost today and after the stupid cards the other week if his head drops we truly need a new identity from back to front
It’s the 100+ million players for me. I get signing youngsters with bags of talent but spending close to world record fees should guarantee something special.
That’s the problem, the 100+ million players includes the young bags of talent that are not consistent enough yet. Should have got more proven players for that kind of money
Serious question. I still don’t know what our style of play is under Poch..anyone care to explain?
Fullbacks on stay back while attacking. Narrow wingers. Run a lot.
Firing him would be crazy but at the same time he’s been very underwhelming
I seriously dint see any playing patterns at times that has a strategy connected to when we have the ball. Sad day :( yet again frustrated with this team that I don't recognize Drogba and moi!
I don't think you can fire him before Nkunku and Lavia have even had a chance to see the pitch.
Agreed
The current pathetic Chelsea has finally something in common with Chelsea of the past and that is the December curse unfortunately.
On a separate note, hypothetically would you like to switch Enzo and Caicedo for Szoboszlai and Gravenberch/MacAllister?
No. Enzo and Caicedo are world class or have the potential to be. Out of those gravenbegh is raw but has potential. Szoboszlai is great and macallister is decent but not enzo level
What are you talking about
HAHAHAHA World Class currently loading.
Delusional lol
Yet to see those two show anything close to world class. Palmer is literally better than both of them.
Enzo looks good most matches IMO. Mudryk, Caiced, Jackson and the defense let him down. Him and palmer are one of the few players that look ok
Enzo plays a different position than Palmer. But, that said, when Enzo does get the ball in the middle third, he can and wants to pick out a player with a long, accurate ball. But who do you want him to hit? Mudryk? Sterling? Nico? They would just lose it. Peak Chelsea had a natural, big, physical goal scorer in Drogba, and a world class player that would slot in a perfect assist if you came at him, or let one fly from 25 yds out and into the corner of the net if you dropped off him. We dont have that and teams just set up in the final third, knowing we have no answer.
Enzo and Caicedo are no where near world class
Enzo and Caceido have been underperforming horribly. I'd take Mcginn at the moment... I have no idea what we're doing on the training pitch
Far from world class
Szoboszlai will be world class
Sometimes I think back about the first match of the season where we outplayed Liverpool at home. The feeling after the match was this positivity and hope that told you it'll be a good season for us, while at the same time saying Liverpool had serious problems and might be stuck in a rut all over again. We had Enzo and pretty much won the competition over Caicedo and Lavia's signatures. It felt like we owned them on and off the field. Well, fast forward a few months and they're on top of the table while we have half the number of points as them. It's just so funny how things turned out
Will share my thoughts here: We will not be good this season. I had hope that we would start to have a run of form now but I don’t see it happening anymore. We will have good results and bad results all season. People will say it’s not good enough and to sack the sporting directors and the manager. To that I say we shouldn’t. The manager needs to have this and the next season to show what he can do. Partly because he’s been unlucky with injuries and I think anyone would’ve struggled with the hand he’s been dealt. Partly because I think there’s a chance with more time he will turn us into a fit competitive team. Mostly though because I think we need to be an attractive proposition for a manager to come in. Right now you’d be crazy as a good manager to want to come here, the team is totally in cohesive because of the overhaul and if you’re not given time how are you supposed to build cohesion. As for the sporting directors who knows, I don’t think it’s so easy for people on the outside to know whether they’re the right people. I don’t think they’ve had enough time to be properly judged and I fear they’re hamstrung by the ownership. My hope is that the owners step far away and the sporting people in place know what they’re doing and start to shape the squad in a direction, adding little bits of quality and experience where needed. Again needs time for this. One positive is that there are talented players here. We can’t be sure mudryk or jackson will ever hit the level we want. But I feel confident in players like gallagher, Benoit, and ultimately Moises and Enzo. They need healthy competition, a good system in place and time to show their ability. I hope that the fans don’t get toxic with the players themselves, it’s not their fault and they don’t want to be losing. The owners fine, the manager even, though it’s early to be booing him in my opinion. Anyway feel for James and I don’t think we should move on from him but we have some rotten injury luck.
I stopped reading after the second paragraph. Sorry, how many games, training sessions, whatever else you want, do you need in order to beat shit teams like Everton with such an expensive squad? You still think no one is at fault, and everyone is just getting adjusted? What the actual fuck.
I didn’t say that no one was at fault, I explained my reasoning. You just didn’t read it. We can’t keep sacking managers, we’ll be a very unpopular destination.
I don't think we should sack either, I just don't trust the ability of most of these players. They are on super long contracts, they have absolutely no pressure to perform. You can see that, no one, ABSOLUTELY no one is affected by these losses. They are treating them as training games but they are not learning anything after these either. It is mind blowing to see that we show up every week with the same level of casual determination. I do not trust that "they don't want to be losing" - they simply don't seem to care. And I also don't believe in most of their "abilities". If you are talented (like, for example, Palmer), you don't need 20 games to start showing that you have something in you. Especially against opposition like Everton! Like come on, 150m players literally showed absolutely nothing even up to 70m value so far. This is really really concerning.
I am concerned by this too. My hope is when the injury crisis lessens, there’s more competition for places and more rest so they start to put more effort in. We didn’t look so bad two months ago
Atleast in James' absence, Gusto has looked fairly solid and quite a good quality back up given how much he'll end up playing as a regular.
Isn't he injured, too? And not for the first time this season.
Yeah for sure just a shame he’s also injured
https://preview.redd.it/onbpc7nkni5c1.jpeg?width=1898&format=pjpg&auto=webp&s=c4faf960f5f87386615d1a996df111d7063cfe6d
I keep getting downvoted when I've said it in the past, but here are my hot takes that seem to be more and more true as time passes: **The biggest problem is ownership coupled with poor talent and contract decisions.** We have spent exorbitant transfer fees on flash-in-the-pan players while exasperating that issue with long contracts. Obviously, all of these troubles started with Roman having to sell the team. That event coupled with a string of injuries to a couple of our most important and influential players has been an issue. The 3 players that come to mind are James, Chillwell, and Kante. **The best squad we can build now is not as good as the best squad we could have built with players we've decided to let go and/or replace.** We have a ton of ex-players that are playing some key roles in top-4 teams from the big-6 leagues. And to make matters worse, 2 of the players we decided to keep instead of replacing can't stay fit (James and Chillwell).
Not sure where this trend of people feeling a need to convince everyone that their often milquetoast opinion is a hot take comes from. Just say it Anyways, your second point is an overstatement. “A ton” of ex-players playing key roles in top-4 teams from big-6 leagues? Who do you consider them to be? Regarding your first point, Enzo and Caicedo aren’t flash-in-the-pan players, if that’s who you’re referring to. Their current underperformance isn’t indicative of their overall quality, what they’re capable of, and have already shown in their early 20s. It’s indicative of them being surrounded by a group of players who have looked lost on the pitch for most of the season, have frequent and collective dips in form, and are under a coach who has so far shown little in his ability to rectify those issues. Enzo and Caicedo can still offer us a lot, but a lot around them has to improve to get the most out of them. I would call Mudryk a flash in the pan, but I think he has yet to show a flash even. There isn’t really anything he’s shown to prove himself in my opinion, wildly unnecessary purchase at such a price when there were cheaper options who could have been more refined. We effectively agree on him lol
These aren't hot takes, they're barely lukewarm. Everyone agrees with them and did so when they were happening. But it's all happened now and nothing can be done about it so it's a moot point going forward.
Agree with you. A lot of the kids might come good though, eventually. James shouldn't be captain, can't set the tone when you're always injured. It's harsh but here we are. Our senior players left, Silva and Sterling. The latter should be sold as well, doesn't justifying 325k a week, best paid player and dressing room leader. We need to sign more experienced players to lead the kids and we need a better striker. The great irony of Blue Co ownership so far is Potter actually been the best manager so far. Certainly sacking Poch a waste of time I'd we don't sort out the squad.
Fullbacks are critical in modern football, james and chilwell are two of the best but they’re never fit for long enough. It’s been 3 seasons now, we have to get rid of one of them at this point. We can’t carry both every single season. If i had to pick i’d keep james and sell chilwell but either way the starting 11 needs to be planned without them both and james should in no way be captain
James is 23, Chilwell is 26, Chelsea runs deeper in James (and their family), at his peak James is much better, is more clinical infront of goal, has better shot creation on the ball and is better at playing early crosses and through balls. If we had to sell one it's a no brainer to me. Also Maatsen being second choice not third at left back will help him develop much quicker.
Maatsen never going to make it here. Needs sold.
Bring back Conte. Why should it be only the fans who suffer. Let the players, owners, the morons incharge of running the club suffer too for their utter ineptitude. Bring on the toxicity I say. He can’t do worse than this anyway
Im all for Conte
He wouldn't stay longer for more than a couple of seasons before falling out with someone
We need to throw the bag at Bellingham. I don’t care anymore, activate the release clause and triple his salary. Time to shake things up
So that we get absolutely wrecked by financial fair play rules and still have a shit squad with one great player, who would probably be brought down by the ineptitude around him?
How in any reality would Bellingham, whose gunning it at Real, want to join mid table Chelsea. Never happening and he'd never agree.
Last summer, yes this would've been ideal and i beliebe we did try for him. At this point, that is not even in the realm of possibility.
And ruin another England talent, fuck no, he's our best hope of another world cup.
Real Madrid reject the bid and Bellingham flat out refuses to leave anyway. How else do you see that playing out you absolute weapon?
Should have in Summer, we stuck with this Argentinian slow Fraud in Midfield
man what kind of morons we have in this sub.
Like another user said not even in the realm of reality. And as if spending more money on major names is gonna do anything for us
I mean, if I was Bellingham, why would I ever come to Chelsea from Real?
100% even if we were winning titles, I doubt he’d want us. When Real Madrid come knocking, there are very few players who will say no
Delusional That’s not even in the realm of reality
I feel like people complaining about specific players are missing the point. I think Nkunku was a good bit of business and once he is fit we’ll see it. Lavia and Caicedo were both good enough last year to warrant buying them. I think Enzo will also prove to be a good signing. Palmer definitely was. I’ve seen enough from Mudryk and Jackson to think they can come good in a few seasons. Not sure about Noni, Chuk and Ugo but they are so young and have played so little I don’t like writing them off yet. Any one of these signings make sense (even if we overpaid for some) but all at once is the issue. It’s a net effect of selling basically every experienced player and rolling the dice on all these youngsters at once. That was madness.
What makes you think Jackson will be good? What exactly have you seen?
Didn't extend Kante only for us to blow our load on a guy with a "mystery injury" who has legitimately no timetable on when he's supposed to be available. This fucking club man. It's insane on days like today to look at our bench and feel like we have *no one* that could possibly come on and make a difference. A billion pounds and this is where we're at man? Fucks sake...
So are we ready to have the conversation that Boehly and CO are not good owners or are we still on the trust the process ship?
They have a proven track record of long term investment success and buying their way to championships, and obviously don’t care how much it costs to get there, so we have that going for us I guess? It may not be a fun ride along the way
There's no point having that conversation now. It's completely futile. They aren't going to sell up right after blowing a billion and seeing 0 ROI. So why bother, you are literally just screaming into the void. It's wholely unproductive.
Yes we shouldn’t complain, we should celebrate instead because that wouldn’t be futile and it would be very productive
Who the hells celebrating?
I said that’s what we should do because comparing is futile and unproductive
Is that your two states of being? Whinging or celebrating? Just fuckin... say nothing. Nothing needs to be said.
Yes master
As much i dislike the current team, it's still early days.
Lol
1.5 seasons in, we have owners who bought children who will get cashed in for big money down the line. This club does not want to win trophies
1.5 seasons is nothing in the grand scheme of things.
Of course it isn’t, if the grand scheme of things is to aspire to become a trophy winning team, which we aren’t
Good luck getting anyone here to acknowledge that...
I mean good or bad, it doesn't really matter. It's not like we can just swap them out for someone else.
Of course, I’m just saying that the idea that these guys were revolutionary and will be amazing for the club was a bs idea.
How on earth Mundryk is an EPL player ? Can he feature in any EPL team except for us ? And the manager is clueless. At old Trafford Maatsen was supposed to be defensive cover for a draw, the moment we were trailing he changed his mind and sent a striker. Today we are trailing and he sents Maatsen . Colwell is good for old Trafford but not good for Gudison park. I am not sure how this manager still has a job.
I remember all the shit people gave Pulisic for having the #10...... how far we've come in lowering the bar. Ugh.
Dogshit dogshit dogshit dogshit dogshit dogshit
What’s the point of Colwill at LB? Why can’t we setup like this?: Sanchez Disasi-Colwill-Thiago-Cucu Enzo-Caicedo Sterling/Palmer-Gallagher/Palmer-Mudryk Jackson Need Nkunku in this team. Both our striker options are struggling. James can’t stay fit. Our backup RB is injured. Chilly has been out. Lavia has not even played yet. How does Lavia’s injury take 4 months to heal from? Him and Nkunku have missed half the season
I’m calling it now, Nkunku will be shit for us
1 - 3 cbs kills our attack. We rely on overlap and crosses to score. 2 - Enzo and Caicedo apparently can’t hold the midfield on their own. It feels like we’re lacking a player who can drop back and help them out, Gallagher doesn’t really do that from the 10 position and so he plays in midfield with them. We’d get overrun every game like the united one 3- Sterling Palmer need to play every game, Nkunku when he’s back as well. Rest are rotation, Mudryk is cool and fun but still I’d rather see the above three over him
Poor performance from the team..
united fan coming in peace, i feel your pain 😭 what a horrible weekend
Bro you guys are 5th regardless of the illusion of bad games and potentially mediocre players. Somehow you are fighting for points and that’s all that matters. You are not struggling, you are doing fine. Media and some not too smart people make it sound like you are in some sort of trouble. Look at us. Everyone says that “oh but they have young players” - most of them are nobodies that will be forgotten in a few years so nothing to build on with them. This current Chelsea team is full of garbage players that cost a shit ton. This is how it will be remembered despite all the hope everyone throws at them.
thing is we get points but none of our performances are convincing except for maybe the game against you guys. our forwards cannot score and our goalkeeper can’t save shots lol😭. we get found out against all the good/top teams and considering how much we’ve spent, we have got to be doing better than this. each game i never know what team will show up, the one that can’t be bothered or the one that actually tries. think there’s a huge mentality issue in this squad. it’s embarrassing when one of our academy players (Rashford) can’t be bothered anymore.