CFC Minty

Just feel completely drained and depressed by this. It doesn't feel right that something that is so important to all of us can be put in such jeopardy because of political actions completely beyond the fans control. Might sound naive of me, too, but I wasn't expecting the sheer level of vitriol expressed not just by rival fans but seemingly by the entire footballing media over this. They really want not just Abramovich but Chelsea fans in particular to suffer for this. Seen far too many comments holding us personally responsible as a fanbase for whatever ills they accuse Roman of. I perhaps stupidly assumed that, if it came down to a point where the very club's existence seemed threatened, most football fans regardless of allegiance would take a step back and realise that Chelsea fans at least deserve a team to cheer for. But nope, the majority seem to be genuinely hoping for our liquidation as an entity. Seems like all the talk last year after the ESL about how football clubs are "vital parts of local heritage" and that they shouldn't be harmed by controversies of their ownership, has gone completely out the window. Maybe I'm alone in this but I had always thought that if Spurs or Arsenal were ever under such serious threat as we are now I would NEVER wish for them to go under. I have footballing rivalries with these teams and on some level "hate" them in a sporting sense, but at the end of the day they're fans just as us and I want to be in competition with them. In times like this you realise that feeling isn't returned when Chelsea is involved. Been particularly astonished to even see Man City fans gloating in this, as if they are in denial of the fact that this sort of step being taken against Abramovich opens the door to future seizures of any football club which is under "dodgy" ownership. The American-owned elite clubs (Man Utd, Arsenal, Liverpool) will be fine no matter what, but Man City and Newcastle fans in particular have to realise now that they have a target on their backs, say if at any point in the next 10 years this government or the next one takes a harder line against Middle Eastern regimes and their wealthy residents. A cynical part of me wonders if the government actually is aware of how badly this might screw the club over and deliberately sought the most damaging possible option, because they've banked on the idea that rival fans and even people without an interest in football will celebrate our collapse. I would have understood, to some extent, going down the path of seizing the club if Abramovich had been refusing to sell, but considering a sale was already well in motion and likely would have been concluded in a matter of weeks, this feels deliberately calculated to cause damage to Chelsea long-term as an entity.

So nice to see one of these geezers we're linked with actually holding up the shirt! Welcome to the Bridge, Ben

As long as he stays well away from Man United I'm pretty much content.

Rio is a blue!

I still cannot quite fathom wtf went on in summer of 2017. There was this atmosphere of gloom around the club seemingly from the moment we lost the FA Cup final. I've never felt so dismal about a title defence as I did going into 17/18. Contrast that to this year where despite having a much worse preceding season, we seem to be (fingers crossed) getting our main targets and there's a feeling of contentment among the fanbase. It's funny how football works. You'd have thought that we would have been able to attract players of Ziyech/Werner/Havertz calibre in 2017 as reigning champions, yet bloody everybody was turning us down that summer. Felt like Conte had zero pull power.

Werner and Ziyech 100% are going to debut here, but do either start?

No offence meant at all to the Leicester lad in this thread (who had a pretty well balanced analysis), but important to remember fans often have a bias against players who are leaving their club. Seen a lot of LCFC fans over social media outright saying he's sh*t and celebrating his departure, which is nonsense. We all know we did it when Luiz/Willian went to Arsenal, we point out their weaknesses and their blunders but brush over anything brilliant they may have done recently... Just as I feel most of us are praying Willian flops at Arsenal, plenty Leicester fans will be hoping Chilwell flops with us, to prove him wrong for making this transfer decision.

Would have liked to see PSG win it, it's the sort of win that makes all the wrong people upset (The Arsenal, Man U fans that I know all absolutely seethe with rage at the idea of a "oil money club" winning the CL). Bayern are exactly that kind of arrogant establishment club the snobs like. Their win gives me a very bland feeling.

Really don't think we should be hasty in replacing Kepa, as that's exactly the same way we got into this "mess" to begin with, by panicking after Courtois bailed. If we complete other expected transfers (Havertz, Chilwell, Silva) then I'm content and feel cautiously optimistic to see how Kepa will perform with an upgraded team in front of him. If we can't get a proper GK target this window I would genuinely rather we wait and aim to get an Onana or Pope or similar in January. That also gives us time to sell off your Jorginhos and Emersons to recoup the necessary funds. For me it's just a case of "better the devil you know"... Even an 8m Butland could just be 8m down the drain for no tangible improvement. Sergio Romero is the only budget option that really intrigues me, but definitely cannot see Manure letting him come to us.