fiel

I think all but Bakayoko were. Conte consistently alludes to the fact that Bakayoko isn't ready for the top level (then why go for him, as an experienced manager?), and he'd have no reason to have been invested in the French league (and this was Bakayoko's only standout season, before we bought him). Just like Conte admits he didn't know about Emerson from his own back yard, I highly doubt he'd seen 50 minutes of Bakayoko. At no point do I believe Conte said anything similar to 'I like this player' re: Baka.

Entitlement? Since when is relishing the thrill of competing, the excitement of trophies and winning, and thus wanting to gear my club in such a way to achieve such, entitled? Maybe you've an inferiority complex or something, because you just suggested someone suffers from less-worthy traits because they expressed desire for their football team to do well What an entitled arsehole I am, and what a lovely fella you are.

It doesn't cost megabucks to play a high-pressing, possession-dominating game at all. I'll list teams who've employed exactly that with barely any money to throw around compared to their rivals - Napoli; Dortmund; Monaco; Liverpool; Sampdoria; Valencia; and more. All have less money than their rivals; all play aggressive, fast, attacking, effective football - against their richer rivals too. And if it did cost megabucks to play such a way, well, we have megabucks.

We don't have a right to good health either; should we not fight for it? It makes life a lot more enjoyable. Money doesn't equal top players - proper scouting does. A lot of money was spent on Bakayoko, Barkley, Drinkwater - money for the stadium isn't the problem. We could've afforded Neymar if we wanted. Bayern, Madrid, Barcelona, City; Benfica, Porto, Celtic, Shakhtar, Galatasaray, Juventus (bar ban from league). None of them go through cycles of imploding & missing out on European football. Top boardrooms, working with top owners, top managers, and top players, don't go though the cycles we've been going through. If you're one of the top few richest teams in the league, as sad as it is for the others, you must monopolise the league if you take yourself seriously as the top dog. Man City have decided to do it since we couldn't be bothered. Should we feel unmoved by this?

The 'situation' surrounding the club; such as bad transfer policies, odd handling of players, contract mishandlings, etc, was very bad during Jose's time, and is very bad right now in my opinion. The saving grace we have compared to then, is that the players aren't in full revolt and refusing to carry out tactics; but the structure of the club isn't any better, and it's impossible to ignore foreboding. To be a few years past Jose's debacle, and still be a B-rate team both in personnel and in policies, is frightening. It's totally compounded when you watch your team go out on the field accepting a loss, something never seen before at this club by any of us, i believe. And, once again we're fighting for a Champions League place. Chelsea struggling for top 4 once or twice can be brushed off as really bad flukes. But again? A third time? This has to be the worst time simply because it's now proof of who we are - it isn't just a suggestion of who we could become. Nothing positive seems to be changing at all. At least with Jose, we didn't expect a revolution. With Conte, we did - and it's failed. So I think this is worse. Conte was supposed to be our way out of our inconsistencies, up and into the top echelon of football again; the guy to lay all of our future foundation; the one the board would finally stick with; and yet for the hundredth time, we've been fooled.

I didn't think we'd keep Hazard even this long; so i'm somewhat less broken if he leaves. Disappointed for sure, and worried, but i'd instantly get onto Youtube, rewatch everything i can of him, and bask in the glory of having been weakly attached to the same social group as him. He made me love football again. Before Hazard, this was a game of results to me (the opposite life of an Arsenal fan). Post-Hazard, there's nothing better than simply appreciating talent - appreciating art in motion. The rest is secondary. It's a damn shame we didn't build around him properly so he and we could enjoy flourishing in all stages of all competitions. But, it's a been damn delight to have had a master create his best work in our own garden.

I thought this sentence was about to go a totally darker route. Glad it wasn't that bad

It's almost certainly heart related. Not much can make you faint - an interrupted rhythm of the heart, something traumatic to the entire body or brain (like a stroke, exhaustion, massive bleed). It's a shame that none of us are properly educated growing up regarding health; things like the reality that even young people can suffer from heart disease, arthritis, all sorts. Then again, it's an even bigger shame that we're not told just how much of this bad luck with health is down to genetics. Like these footballers, we can eat right, exercise, have lack of stress - and just drop. Because our body was designed that way before even reaching 2 years old.

But so did Leicester, and they're goldfish. I don't think winning the Premier League in this current climate is enough to prevent rational worry following some of our worst performances in Chelsea history. Nowadays it's all too easy to go from top dog, to dog who never bites again. It only took a snap of the fingers to turn Liverpool into a joke - a snap to turn Arsenal into a joke - a snap to turn United into a joke, albeit just for a couple seasons - and if we're not careful, we're more likely to go down that Arsenal path than this blip of a path United have just been on.

When you think back to the mid 90's, we essentially maintained current Tottenham's level - with less of a budget too. (Actually, we won a lot more trophies.) Currently, we're like 2010-2015 Everton; on a good day, more like 2014 Liverpool. Our only lower point than this & with Jose (both Everton-tier seasons), must be times I'm not aware of, 1992 and before. We actually had better players throughout those 90's teams compared to now; never 5+ players in the XI who could barely pull their weight. Zola was our Hazard, and he had an amazing foundation to flourish, which put to use all of his qualities while allowing the team to be relatively defensive and compact. Petrescu, Leboeuf, Desailly, Poyet, Vialli, Wise, Le Saux, Di Matteo, Flo, Terry (Christensen at the time) - what a bunch of personalities. Those players were before Roman. Nowadays at our helm, he isn't attracting half the quality we had then, and currently, around 3, maybe 4 players of ours who've cost hundreds of millions, would get into our pre-Roman side. So clearly he isn't the be-all-end-all. He saved us, but even if a friend or a stranger saves you, one day you can cut them off for pouring poison into your life. For me, he's who's got to go. When big clubs struggle; Roma, Valencia, Monaco, Juventus, others; changing owner or 'president' more often than not helps massively long term; an entirely fresh take for the club. It's blind faith to not consider revolting against Roman at some point. Not with anger, but a heavy push out of the club. He just doesn't know what he's doing. If one day soon he's somehow gone, we'll still have all our Chelsea faithful; ex-players and staff alike; who'll maintain our pride, image, and community.

And we certainly like to counter-attack more than other teams; we employ cantenaccio against Watford I wonder why it seems to stick. Albeit far more attractive and effective, we used the same cantenaccio base throughout our entire Lampard / Drogba legacy, I think. Difference being then, we were a big juicy orange; now we're a slightly dry, small nectarine. Better than most of the raisins in the league still, but we're lacking juice. Our horrible style isn't so horrible when we have brilliant players. Actually when we have the brilliant players coupled with the ugly tactics, that seems to be our romantic, Chelsea identity. The get-the-job-done, it-doesn't-matter-how set up. When Drogba's smacking screamers in from 40 yards and Lampard / Essien dominate players, it's a whole lot easier to accept setting up less attacking-wise than other teams in the league.

Sometimes we can all be a bit dumb, but it's nice to remember (and hard to) that we don't need to blame solely 1 party. It's everyone; just by chance, everyone has coincidentally brought their B-game this season: the board, Conte, the players. It's on all of them for the most part, bar a select few players, and obviously background staff.

Welcome Montella / Enrique

So - Mourinho's not good enough, Conte's not good enough, Poch wouldn't be good enough, Sarri wouldn't be good enough, Ancelotti wouldn't be good enough, Simeone wouldn't be good enough, Why is it that the very top managers in the game, aren't good enough for Chelsea? Could it be to do with the environment they'd be made to work in here? Could it be that our failures are more due to the bones of the club, and not the brains we bring in for 2 seasons at a time? I can't picture any of those managers having 3+ fruitful seasons here. And I don't see how that could be down to them, some of the greatest the game will ever see. So - who's good enough to be at the helm? Must we go digging in Germany, Ukraine, Portugal etc. for an unearthed tactician master? (I think that could be best, considering we've less luck with the more established managers. But, I've no idea who out there would be right for us. At a stretch, I'd gamble on Sampaoli - but who knows if he could handle the Premier League. He isn't exactly available either.)

I think for Conte to want to leave, there must be something profound going on. He came to the club already knowing our reputation when it comes to being difficult with managers; or more accurately, 'head coaches'. He knew he'd work with a DoF, he knew he'd bend to the will of his superiors - yet he signed up, and yet still, he seems genuinely upset or disturbed about the environment he's working in. Is it a case of, Conte genuinely had that much confidence he could reform our ways, yet, our ways are still this set in stone? I'd walk. Maybe he's decided 'I've proven myself in England with a title - why would I stick around for the bad weather?' I'd walk, in this day and age. But, at the end of the day, I'm believing he simply isn't fond of the league, the media, weather; simply the sum of 'everything' here. He isn't in the best club environment, sure, but you'd stick this out if you were in Italian sunshine in a league where tactical nuance is at the forefront. It's surely much easier to become a depressed manager over here than in Italy, Spain, France. We always respect players for moving on if it's due to family or health reasons - and we should be the same way if that's the case with Conte, which i presume based on his character. I can't respect not giving his all for the club, but then again, I respect a man willing to take an easy 20m - it's just logic! He's very cunning and sensitive, that's for sure.

I'm not sure how this forum was, but the previous one I was on - wow. Absolute gushing and excitement over Bakayoko + Barkley, while hailing the signing of Drinkwater as a masterclass since he won a title playing next to Kante. The short-sighted vision our board is becoming shared by the majority of our fanbase, and we can let it slide, but it's very annoying. (Maybe every club is the same?) It's annoying to see before the season even begins how terrible our signings are; yet have the majority go 'yaaaaay!' like some toddlers, then fail to recognise that they have absolutely no right to be evaluating talent when the time comes, 20 games in, that a player still can't control a ball. We deserve to all have fun and contribute our opinions, but this season and how it's going isn't a surprise to some. And those some are definitely marginalised when it comes to speaking-ill of new recruitments by people who've barely even watched players play, following a notion similar to 'well every player deserves a chance - every player can get better.'; regardless of forum. Again, there's a new mentality among both board and majority of supporters and it's going to end up as simple poison. It's tail-between-legs; a complete lack of the grinta needed to be at the top like Madrid, Munich, Juve consistently are. How the hell do we go from winning the Champions League within the decade to this? It certainly wasn't Conte steering the ship post-2012 It's a drop in standards, trickling all the way from the top, the King, to his most loyal subjects around him.

I saw Conte win the league with Alonso, Moses, Cahill, Fabregas, Pedro, and 1 striker. Never again will a top club win the Premier League with such a low standard of players - regardless how many games they do or don't play that season. Conte can't stay just because he's won us a shiny trophy, but what he's done seems already forgotten. These aren't massive deals, but they're something - tying the longest winning streak in Premier League history; most consecutive Manager of the Month awards in Premier League history; reinventing the Premier League league's style of football, slowing the league's decline. Nevermind integrating Christensen, and overseeing Azpilicueta add even more to his game. (As if those aren't enough, I just remembered he even set the new record for most Premier League games won in a season. Come on now; we've had brilliant Chelsea, Arsenal, United sides, even unbeaten sides - and Conte got more wins than them all; from the incredible 90's teams, to the competitive mid 2000's teams, to the latest cash-injected Man City side. All of them - looking up to Chelsea and how many games they can win.) Nothing but respect for my Italian Don, even if he is still naive in some aspects. If he was given more money, and an absolute oath from the board that he could stay for 5 full seasons if desired - i believe finally, for the first time under Roman, we would've been able to create a long-term identity and model. We're hardly even at the half way point. This collapse of a season is entirely down to the players we have at our disposal; and under no sun did Conte request Barkley, Drinkwater, Rudiger (a Chelsea target for over 4 years), and so on. Give a manager time, our fanbase say It's hard to ignore Conte's lack of passion now, but it's understandable. If he just kept being the board's bitch, nothing would change. Consider this season to be one more hard slugger to the jaw of the system keeping us schizophrenic. Which we'd never get if Conte sat on his fingers with zipped lips. Our future years of nirvana, hopefully, are closer because of Conte. A lot closer than they would've been under any manager bar Guardiola.

When you sit and really think about it, no top club of the past 15 years has consistently had as much drama as our club. We can at least take solace in that terrible fact.

I wish he was a colossal d**khead so parting with him would be less painful.

When for years we've had unqualified people in high positions, random managers appointed, terrible recruitment policies in place, and now taken a complete nosedive in terms of financial power - you can't blame a guy who's been around for 2 years. It's a cycle which happens over, and over, and over, and over, and over at this club. Absolutely none of what we're going through is new. It happens regardless who our manager is, and yet these problems don't happen to other clubs regardless of who their managers are. Telling no?

I know we want CL football; better still; but that aside. Given the fact the season's essentially lost, part of me thinks all these Christensen errors may turn out to be a blessing in disguise. He's getting to learn, in his first season with us no less, what to and what not to do, with no title at risk. And the fact that such a young guy has only made 3 or so mistakes is outstanding still. All in all, this has been an outstanding Christensen season. I don't know how many mistakes Terry made in his first couple seasons for us, but I bet a few.

Catenaccio

I don't think we have the quality to be a balanced side yet, but the defensive nature is excruciating. So we should be going all-out instead, every game, happy to concede 3 goals as long as we score 5. It's not a great long term solution, but it's at least more romantic.

We're set up how Italy were set up, not how Juventus were set up. I don't know when that became Conte's vision, but I'm sure that is indeed what it is. The teams are uncanny.