Now Jose's gone.......

[BLUENUT]

I met someone this morning with connections within the club, a few points they made or confirmed:

There are many divided groups within Chelsea football club, dressing room and boardroom.

Pini Zavhi is pulling too many strings - Grant being on of 'his' people - (We knew that already!)

Arnessen and his Dutch counterparts are trying to have a say on the direction the club should be taking (it's been mentioned already)

Roman thru Shevchenko has tried to meddle in dressing room politics (was already on the cards)

Kenyon and Buck (trying to over-see/run the club - with all the above going on)

Is Grant the man to lead us forward with all this unrest and too many people wanting to meddle in the playing side? Which manager could or would want to work under these conditions?

More worryingly, he mentioned the unrest caused by all these people pulling in different directions, wanting different things, which is causing uncertainty in the dressing-room. Shevchenko (though not his fault) has inadvertently caused unrest due to his wages (compared to other players) and was part of the reason we lost Arjen Robben.

The reason there hasn't been a flurry of transfer requests so far is down to the transfer window being closed. The chairman's attitude seems to be that no other club will pay them what I am so they'll stay here. One thing he hasn't bargained for is that players at the end of their contracts ala Lampard will get a hefty signing-on fee when they join their next club, so will actually do better-off leaving than signing an extension. He was resigned to the fact Lamp's was off, or he'd have signed already!

The other thing I'm worried about is the arrival of Cate. He has been touted as a disciplinarian, but if some players don't take to him and are unsure of who their actual boss is, it will cause further unrest amongst the players and divisions in the dressing room.

So in a nut-shell, we have backroom staff, divided in groups, pulling in different directions, unrest among the players,. (It's sounding Dutch already isn't it?) and a meddling chairman. Welcome to the good ship Stamford bridge.

Write this season off and pray it doesn't fall to pieces in the summer.

You can forget your total football for now, we have a club in total disarray.

[Jack]

Well that has always been my fear since Jose left - that we would be rudderless, divided and at each others throats. The recent wins in CL and Prem have been used as justification for Old Farm Grunt's existance, as we merrily wind our way down the road towards civil war.

Put yourself in the position of the players, and ask why you would want to stay. Some of the guys have won everything there is to win in England - the CL eludes us but what are the prospects this season? Drogba is in demand as is Lamps. Both are at an age where a final big challenge would be ideal - I expect them to leave next summer. There are others but I won't go into it - I've already done that elsewhere. What really worries me is why would anyone want to come to the club, with the way things have gone and the reports they'll get from some of the biggest names in world football. My biggest fear is that we will become the kind of club everyone accuses us of already being - one that has a host of over-paid mercenaries only here for the beer, so to speak.

Ten cate may be the guy who pulls it all together.

Or he may be the one who rips it all apart, destroying any team spirit that remains.

I'm still f**ked off with it all - a stupid way to run a club if ever there was.

[The Brit]

chelsea did this kind of thing when we were sh*te...happy days are here again!

[Barn]

Dressing-room unrest, power struggles, fractions within the team.

RA has finally listened to what the older supporters want, now all we have to do is to get rid of all the mercanaries - on the pitch and in the stands and we'll have our club back!!!

[BLUENUT]

Dressing-room unrest, power struggles, fractions within the team.

RA has finally listened to what the older supporters want, now all we have to do is to get rid of all the mercanaries - on the pitch and in the stands and we'll have our club back!!!

And Eddie Barnett has just taken delivery of a new porta-cabin

[Barn]

Knock down the tellytubbey training ground and run a horse of the year show there before the next session. Thing's are looking up!

[Scott]

We have our old Chelsea back !

When do the fences go up?

[barak81]

There's only one man that can unite the club, the fans and the players again...

RUUUUUUDDD!!

i think if i post it enough it will happen

(well he's dutch at least)

[Alan]

Doesn't sound too good

[g3.7]

you met someone capable of regurgitating everything he's read in the press. nice.

[bonetti]

If thats a true reflection Bluenut - then its a Basket Case

The only person who can sort it out is RA - by taking a long term view of what is good for the club and neutralising the agendas of the parasites who are looking for a quick kill before they leg it to another outfit/pile of money.

Big question - does RA really care about the long term position of the club?

[BLUENUT]

you met someone capable of regurgitating everything he's read in the press. nice.

or confirming? depends what way you look at it I suppose.

The only person who can sort it our is RA, but he is part of the cause, these are people he employed - Zavhi included!!!

Seems there's some bad advise being banded about at the moment and everyone thinks they know best.

It's only a matter of time before divisions start to appear within the dressing room.

Players who cannot get better contracts elsewhere and staying at a football club purely for financial reasons, this doesn't bode well for a happy dressing room over the coming year or two.

[g3.7]

I don't think jose's exit will lead to some great dissolution...

but no doubt there are one or two people around him who are snakes and/or rubbish at what they're supposed to be doing... there are legitimate questions to be asked about kenyon, zahavi and simon greeberg IMO...

I do think that asking any "source" or ex player is a bit of an excerise in futility if we want to know what's happening. usually the truth outs itself many years down the line, but for now it seems that rumours will be repeated untill they become accepted as fact.

obviously I can't be 100% certain- you can't be at the best of times, but I take a lot of comfort from things like the move from harlington to cobham, and the amount of money put into the revamping the academy, because these are things that do not give instant gratification, they are things that suggest there is some concern/thought put into the long term future of the club.

[The Moos]

I wonder how much trouble other teams have?

Can we ever get some peace and quite at Chelsea?

[coombsie]

Dressing-room unrest, power struggles, fractions within the team.

RA has finally listened to what the older supporters want, now all we have to do is to get rid of all the mercanaries - on the pitch and in the stands and we'll have our club back!!!

And Eddie Barnett has just taken delivery of a new porta-cabin

New plans to knock the hotels down and Marco Pierre White has been asking where he can get Bovril ????

[Chippy]

Bluenut, Mate are you the king of positive thinking?

I always see where your coming from and always harbour the same doubts and worries unyet my way of dealing with it seems so far apart from yours.

I was always taught if you dont have something nice to say dont say anything but obviously forums are a great place to discuss both sides of all arguments,

anybody can see we have problems here but really digging out more and more people or articles heaping more gloom on the club is not gonna help,

lets look at the positives and disregard everything else,

or we could all buy the Sun and read how we are going to crumble while the proper top clubs get everything about perfect.

cheer up mate, it might never happen

[BLUENUT]

I'm not all doom and gloom Chippy but I'm all ear's, please spin me the positives.

We've lost the best manger in the business.

He has been replaced by someone as qualified as my mum.

Zavhi is calling the shots behind the scenes.

Our club has become a rich Russians play-thing.

There is no structure that remotely resembles a football club.

I could go on, but enlighten me.

The only real positive is the training ground at Cobham which has laid foundations that cannot be destroyed in a couple of years. However, the downside - we'll continue to sign over priced ready made stars and not give the kids a chance

Other than that, we might play it about a bit more?

Oh and they laid on a train for Wigan......

[g3.7]

not chippy bluenut, but I'll give "spin" a go

1)We've lost the best manger in the business.

2)He has been replaced by someone as qualified as my mum.

3)Zavhi is calling the shots behind the scenes.

4)Our club has become a rich Russians play-thing.

5)There is no structure that remotely resembles a football club.

1)- "one of" the best. he shouldn't have gone they way he did, if he should have gone at all.

2) what national side did your mum manage, and did she manage to keep them unbeaten in a world cup qualification group? how many league titles has she won?

this is a point that has to be made- the qualification badges are a joke. fergie doesn't have them, o'neill didn't at the start. sgt. wilko has more of them than anyone. they're almost irrelevant- pieces of paper. people's outrage at grant's "lack of qualifications" is misplaced. the reason he isn't qualified to manage us isn't because of badges, it's because he's only managed in israel, and that isn't good enough to follow a manager of the standard of jose and a club like chelsea. he's certainly not the worst manager in the league. in a few months he'll have the badges. will this magically make him a better or worse coach? no.

3) it's so tiring... PROVE IT. he's not calling shots, but he seems to make a lot of money out of transfers by big clubs, including us... which is annoying, and needless...

4)because he sacked jose and hired grant... no I don't think "plaything" is true. you seem to be selective in the rumours you believe- what about the one where roman was upset with the rosenberg result and jose reacted by daring roman to sack him? personally, I think it was a mistake to let this happen during the season and a mistake to appoint grant, but an owner/chairman letting his ego cloud his judgment doesn't make the club a plaything. how many clubs in the football league would be a playing if that were the case? 50? 78?

5) not sure what you mean? management structure. I think the fact that we have arnesen and a proper youth academy, a great training complex etc means there is some structure in place, even if more needs to be done.

[Chippy]

I'm not all doom and gloom Chippy but I'm all ear's, please spin me the positives.

We've lost the best manger in the business.

He has been replaced by someone as qualified as my mum.

Zavhi is calling the shots behind the scenes.

Our club has become a rich Russians play-thing.

There is no structure that remotely resembles a football club.

I could go on, but enlighten me.

The only real positive is the training ground at Cobham which has laid foundations that cannot be destroyed in a couple of years. However, the downside - we'll continue to sign over priced ready made stars and not give the kids a chance

Other than that, we might play it about a bit more?

Oh and they laid on a train for Wigan......

Well now youv'e got me

when I say think positive I really mean be a bit more hopeful,

Its hard for me to argue when as I said I can fully see where your coming from so dont expect to much enlightenment.

I would count the positives as well as the ones you mentioned as the club still having ambition,

Roman believes he is making it better and why should we doubt him? he has made mistakes but he seems man enough to put his money where his mouth is and try again,

yes he meddles in team affairs to much and yes his choice of backroom staff can seem strange but we only know what we here from people somehow once connected with the club or the media in general, we dont really know the facts.

what I try to do is look at it as if the man who owns the club i.e Roman wants what is best for it, I find if you believe that it go's a way to thinking he might just have a chance of getting it right, ok he has sacked the man who most people believe was the best we could get but his reasons are only guessed at and that is in the past,

I think he will try and try again until he finds the right mix be that of players and/or staff and I doubt he will drop the club like some suggest.

the thing is here I am not saying what your saying is wrong I am just saying we should give all the support we can to the team and cub in this difficult time,

I have noticed that every derogatory piece of Journalism gets posted, every player with a doubt over his future here or a doubt over Grants credentials gets posted but anything remotely good gets ignored.

I am as worried as anyone else here Bluenut but lets just say we differ as when I look on the coffee table beside me, my glass is half full.

cheers

[Jack]

I'm getting a bit sick of the 'remember the good-old bad-old times' brigade - that's ancient history. In relation to the recent past (the last 10 years) the sacking of Jose has taken us backwards. Remember what Jose said when he first arrived (I shall paraphrase):

"(I want) to improve things and to create the football team in relation to my image and my football philosophy.?

The foundations had been laid. His football philosophy was beginning to pervade all levels of the playing and coaching staff. The philosophy may have rubbed off on some people but it will soon fade without his genius to continue to regenerate it on a regular basis. All this has now been shattered by this idiotic act of petulance by the club. Anyone who thinks otherwise is a daft as a monkey in a tumble dryer!

He also said when he arrived that the club did not have a winning "smell". That's a smell we have all become accustomed to. I understand the longing for the good-old, bad-old days, but we can't regress; we have smelt success and any other odour is a nasty one. After the game against Fulham some fans were (ironically) singing that we were going to win fug-all...apart from the Simod cup (and other sundry 3rd rate pieces of silverware), and I get the humour. Sadly enough with the way other clubs are going, that may become all too true. We can all debate the truths or untruths about the press stories circulating, and about who is 'running' the club, but the facts are there for all of us to feel - and if you don't feel that our club is being taken down the wrong path, you have lost any sense of the place. Players that we would be upset to see injured for a few weeks are going to leave the club (I know, you want proof, but just use a bit of common-sense). You cannot replace the heart and soul of a club with just anyone, however good they may be. We've seen that with Ballack and Sheva - great players of their time, but where is their Chelsea-ness (for want of a better phrase)?

The club is relying on the vast majority of the fans packing up their troubles in their old kit bag and smiling, smiling, smiling, but for those of us with our eyes open - well we only see the slow demise of the status Jose gave us. We were top of the heap for a short time, feared by everyone. Now we are seen as a club without direction, bobbing about in the waters of discontent created by the offing of a great leader. Abramovich may have all the money in the World but he is no leader of men, no example to the players, fans and followers of the club. We've heard a lot about how the press will miss Jose, for his wit and playfulness, but it was more than mere whimsy; it was the wit and wisdom of a focused, driven and inspirational champion who would have led us to greater and greater glory.

The next few months will be enjoyed by all those who had once feared us. Every player who leaves and then condemns will be excuse for joyous revelry for our rivals, but I can't forsee any other outcome. The club will use its financial power to recruit star names, and we will all be witness to the pantomine.

And when Jose takes over at Inter or Juve or Real or wherever, we will all shout at Roman - BEHIND YOU!

[Barn]

Pretty much exactly what the "bring back the bad-old day's" brigade have been saying.

We wanted Jose here for 10 years, using some of the russian's money for those star players, continuing to build and take the rewards of what he had started right through the club, youngsters playing in his mould and hopefully some of them making it to the big time, reserves ready to step in and knowing what is expected of them at a moments notice, etc etc.

Unfortunately the russian got shot of the man that was going to lead us to every title any of us had never even dared to dream of, why? None of us really know, he just seemed to feel like it!

So yes what we want now is a bit of stability, we want to know what our club are going to be doing until the end of the season, then in the summer and even next season. At the pantomime that is Chelsea though we have no idea what's going to happen next week let alone what sort of state/position we'll be in this time next year.

Bring back my old club to me!

[Chippy]

I have been a Chelsea fan for 40 years and know what you are saying but that still wont stop me from arguing the point that to do what we can (not much) to help the best thing is to get behind the team and the Manager and hope the positive attitude of the fans spills onto the field,

all the derogatory remarks about the manager or Roman and the rest of the backroom staff give fuel to the fires of the press and the opposition fans alike.

Jack, you say

"The club is relying on the vast majority of the fans packing up their troubles in their old kit bag and smiling, smiling, smiling, but for those of us with our eyes open - well we only see the slow demise of the status Jose gave us. We were top of the heap for a short time, feared by everyone. Now we are seen as a club without direction, bobbing about in the waters of discontent created by the offing of a great leader"

we may be seen as a club without direction at this stage as we have clearly had an unplanned major change, It is being slowly rectified, Clarke looks to be staying(a major plus for me) Ten Cate is here with a good reputation and Grant has quietly done an ok job under the circumstances.

the people seeing us as a club with no direction are 1. opposition fans and how they love it and 2, our own fans who are naturally frustrated at losing a great manager and the only man under which we have won the title in their lifetimes,

I am frustrated as well, we lost a game since Jose left true but have we a god given right to win them all? if we lose a run of games before we turn this round it will still be excusable as the players have had a shock as we all have.

I think we have done pretty well considering.

I will not sit all doom and gloom when the Club has clearly got a lot to be thankful for, it could be that with the bad feeling and bad press, with the fact that he seems to always be the bad guy Abromovich could walk then we could be in real trouble.

we all see this differently and I thank got pessimism is not one of my strong points, I am not blind to the dangers of what has happened and still could happen but also I am open to the good things that could happen.

I hope you hope it turns out the way I want, until then go on venting yoyur frustration on here but please try to get behind the team and manager if you go to the games.

can you imagine the happiness we are giving people like Red Rob when he peruses the site and sees everyone slating the club?

well Rob mate if you see this, I think it will all be ok and I'd rather be a fan of Chelsea even now at this bad time than any other club, including Liverpool.

The sun'l come out tomorrow

[Guest]

The foundations had been laid. His football philosophy was beginning to pervade all levels of the playing and coaching staff. The philosophy may have rubbed off on some people but it will soon fade without his genius to continue to regenerate it on a regular basis. All this has now been shattered by this idiotic act of petulance by the club. Anyone who thinks otherwise is a daft as a monkey in a tumble dryer!

So are you saying then that only Jose Mourinho is fit to lead Chelsea and there are no others out there capable of filling his boots?

I don't think jose's exit will lead to some great dissolution...

I agree, but I do think that if the club does fall into dissary like Bluenut's post would indictate (not saying it has or will necessarilly happen), then we are still in trouble.

[BLUENUT]

not chippy bluenut, but I'll give "spin" a go

1)We've lost the best manger in the business.

2)He has been replaced by someone as qualified as my mum.

3)Zavhi is calling the shots behind the scenes.

4)Our club has become a rich Russians play-thing.

5)There is no structure that remotely resembles a football club.

1)- "one of" the best. he shouldn't have gone they way he did, if he should have gone at all.

2) what national side did your mum manage, and did she manage to keep them unbeaten in a world cup qualification group? how many league titles has she won?

this is a point that has to be made- the qualification badges are a joke. fergie doesn't have them, o'neill didn't at the start. sgt. wilko has more of them than anyone. they're almost irrelevant- pieces of paper. people's outrage at grant's "lack of qualifications" is misplaced. the reason he isn't qualified to manage us isn't because of badges, it's because he's only managed in israel, and that isn't good enough to follow a manager of the standard of jose and a club like chelsea. he's certainly not the worst manager in the league. in a few months he'll have the badges. will this magically make him a better or worse coach? no.

3) it's so tiring... PROVE IT. he's not calling shots, but he seems to make a lot of money out of transfers by big clubs, including us... which is annoying, and needless...

4)because he sacked jose and hired grant... no I don't think "plaything" is true. you seem to be selective in the rumours you believe- what about the one where roman was upset with the rosenberg result and jose reacted by daring roman to sack him? personally, I think it was a mistake to let this happen during the season and a mistake to appoint grant, but an owner/chairman letting his ego cloud his judgment doesn't make the club a plaything. how many clubs in the football league would be a playing if that were the case? 50? 78?

5) not sure what you mean? management structure. I think the fact that we have arnesen and a proper youth academy, a great training complex etc means there is some structure in place, even if more needs to be done.

Thats it Gullit, you keep telling yourself the club is being run proseffionally and we have leaders who will take us to the next level instead a team of Roman's 'yes' men

(Top post Jack)

[Guest]

In fairness to Gullit, there is no way to be sure the club isn't being run right and that alot of the problems aren't just media lies that we have bought into.