LongtimerLurker

Agreed let's not forget Fab gave Hato an 80% estimation of happening and it's gone through. Simons raising from 70 to 75% is good news. Not sure why we need 9 attackers but assuming the system will be either 4231 or 433 it does make sense we would need a min of 8 for the former (2 players in each attacking position) I suppose the 9th is there for cover if we get any major injuries. I like Simons and if Gittens or Estevao struggle to adapt in their first season it would be helpful to have a slightly older attacker that you would hope could offer more reliability. He could also hypothetically struggle to adapt, but he does look a quality player based purely what I've seen. Garnacho in my opinion is still a very raw talent but talented nonetheless. I don't see him becoming a superstar here if anything I would imagine he would be flipped and turned into a profit within a few years after showing glimpses. I could be wrong and he could be a revelation. I just wouldn't want him to take mins away from our Brazilian superstar.

Get us some leaders in January, the squad is crying out for world class signings at the back. Need 1-2 proper defenders and a trust worthy keeper. A VVD/Ruben Dias/Saliba type of CB to marshal everyone could be the difference between top 4, top 6 and failing to make Europe next season.

Up the Chels 💙 3 more big points to finish the year off 👏

Been a long time since I posted on here.... it feels good to be back and it feels even better, refreshing in fact to lose a game and not care one bit. Had the in laws round and the whole of the extended family whilst watching the game (all lcfc fans) and despite them trying to wind me up when we went behind and eventually lost I don't feel any negative feelings. That being said you can take my analysis with a pinch of salt as I say I did have distractions going on during the game. Whilst I do see a lot of the points people have posted on here regarding Maresca. I wonder regarding Felix for example and a few others if they're on their way out and he's simply avoiding injuries for them? For me Maresca is a complicated character I currently live in Leicester and have a good few mates that regularly watch them play. Last season many did say to me he didn't have a plan b, was too tactically rigid, fails to make impactful subs etc. I knew he wasn't perfect from the get go. I've heard the lot and despite the poor performances of our rivals there is no doubt that Maresca has brought a better balance to us than last season. My only worry is this incongruence that I see from Maresca. He talks about not wanting to be over reliant on Cole Palmer but unfortunately that is his system (we can't score or struggle to score without Palmer involved in some way) if Cole doesn't perform at his best level usually we are unlikely to pick up points. This incongruence happens again with Felix who he speaks highly of but limits his minutes with very little explanation. My point of this post is I know we're frustrated by failing to get the 3 points, yet I think the past 2 match games proved a lot of us right. This is still not a title winning squad and that's ok. We're still in my opinion a top striker, centeral defender and keeper away. I think it's quite telling, I've not heard a single Chelsea fan, player or anyone connected to the club say we're in a title race, yet rivals are so quick to put us in there. To either watch us fail or get humbled if we don't succeed. These past 2 games have showcased why we are not in the title race. These are the games that Liverpool this season will get a result at most likely 6/6 points. Chelsea fc doesn't do nearly title races we're either in it to win it or we don't participate in the race (baring the odd exception like 13/14). We're not there to make up numbers in the title race, the target remains top 4 currently for us. None of us are under any illusions, we all lived through the last 3 seasons and have not forgotten how far we fell off. At Christmas we were 2nd, we will go into the new year no lower than 3rd. Currently we are on target, to lose to Fulham is disheartening but in the grand scheme with all things considered across the past 3 years with clearlake we will take this start to 2025.

Personally I don't do illegal activities like streaming games so I wouldn't know....but if you happened to type in soccer stream into Google and then click on the first link followed by the first link for the Chelsea game it might just work.

Very exciting player for the present and the future.

Bingo!

Here's my take friends don't buy into the names being linked now I think it's all smokescreen surely they're not stupid enough to release their primary target even in a leak. History tells us it will be De Zerbi He's Brighton He's available He's young Tactically astute Epl experience My preference between the names linked would be him or Amorin if we're not having a Tuchel-esque manager. What I will say is I find it poor that the board continue to obsess over youth both in playing staff and coaching staff it's disrespectful to professionals of all ages to assume that people of a certain age are of no value. The model is so rigid at this point I hope for their sakes whoever they do hire ends up being a vindication for all of their previous mistakes.

Sell Gallagher because he starts ahead of one of their £100m signings and they can't take that. Sell Chalobah because he starts ahead of their expensively assembled defence. Dash Pochettino because he's the only one involved with elite football pedigree. Who thought 10 years of being locked in was a good idea? We had every manager under the sun who was available interested last season, you choose Pochettino for whatever reason and only gave him a 2 year contract. Then he leaves anyway.... I just don't understand why they brought an elite football club why not buy a mid table one where the fans aren't used to certain standards and then they can try their wacky methods. I don't think they understand this is some of our lives. I generally compare the situation to having a child. Imagine you have a daughter and then she gets pregnant by some utter waste of space loser and then even worse she marries the loser. Now you're stuck with him for however long until he eff's off. Its sad because you love your daughter and grandchild but you can't stand this person who's joined your family. That's how I feel about this ownership and its how I would compare being a fan of this club 😂 Roman leaving broke my heart, Tuchel leaving broke my heart. Pochettino for all his faults felt like light at the end of the tunnel and even that's gone. Seriously how bad of an infrastructure must we have for a man who put up with Levy for 5 years to be done with us after 1.....

I'm aware mate, but all signs in my opinion point to it generally being mutual. I think the club perhaps would have continued and Pochettino also if they had come to an agreement. Its possible they didn't want to extend his contract and would have had to look for a new coach after next season anyway. I assume Pochettino wants a more regular and stable job, both in terms of having a say in recruitment and also how long he's in the job. This is all guess work but at this point I'm sure all the factors public and private indicate a failure to agree. The club think they can just find the next Xabi Alonso it's so clear, they think they can sign the next Ronaldo or Messi and the next best coach in the world by looking purely at youth. The coach who wants experience in his squad and has experience lets just forget about that

Because its mutual this tells me he walked, he knows the structure is wrong and the sporting directors and owners have no clue. He is aware a bad season with us next year will harm his reputation. Between the club and Pochettino who really came out of last season looking better? The coach who took us from 12th to 6th (back into Europe). Or the club who continue with a scattergun approach and hit gold with a last minute wonder kid signing who saved our season? I am worried, because we had an opportunity for the first time to stabilise and they chose to rip it up again. How many years of chaos must we endure?!

He's gone I can't cope we're going into their third season with a 3rd different coach. What stability and now we're going for a "young coach". Say what you want about Poch, I still think there was more to the work he had done mistakes we're made but finishing 6th with the injuries was surely enough to see the start of the season...

There's a lot to unpick from this season and I think whether being Poch in and out there's not necessarily a right or wrong answer. There are objective parameters we can judge him on and ofc there will also be subjective feelings towards him. On the balance of things I had always felt after last season top 6 was a reasonable target and we should be able to achieve it. After the season has all but concluded I am on the fence as to if it truly was as achievable as I first believed. A lot went against Pochettino, from my understanding he didn't get the experienced players he wanted, he had to deal with another season of unprecedented injuries and ofc the constant reminders whenever we lose that he's from Spurs. Along with regular articles citing how he would be replaced etc. I can say that my opinion has fluctuated from the start of the season all the way through to the end. One thing remained the same top 6 for me should be enough to keep his job. Purely because that tells me that he can take this mess the board created and actually direct it somewhat in the right general area. He's not been perfect I think he's made mistakes and he knows it. What he has proven to me is he cares about the club. He understands what it means to be Chelsea what we want and expect and honestly I do think he probably is the best possible fit for the current project. For me I would give him a year extension so his overall contract is 3 years long including the season that's about to finish. Whilst including a mutual break clause after next season if both parties wish to go their separate way. P.s even for those that don't want to keep him, surely we can all agree that under Pochettino we've had some of the most exciting games in a long time. So topsy-turvy back and forth high scoring games especially against the better sides. Now imagine that but in Europe, I think a Europa campaign with Chelsea is just what he needs to win his first silverware in England. History tells us especially recently that the trophies follow us and come to coaches that work with us.

Personally if he has us in Europe I think he's done his job. It's a head to head between Newcastle, United and us. As mentioned if United win the Fa cup then they're guaranteed Europa either way. If they win it and finish anywhere below 6th, then 6th get conference league and no European football for 7th. In an ideal world United don't win the Fa cup and 7th gets conference league. Thereby giving us 2 possible positions (6th and 7th) as routes back into Europe. I'll be honest I'll take conference at this point, we've won the Europa League and I think winning all trophies available is not onky a good flex. Based on where we're at now there's no guarantee how we'll we would do in the Europa League. Whereas in the conference league we would be favourites. Too early to call all the permutations, so I wouldn't put too much stock into it. For now I think we just keep our attention on us and forget the clubs around us. We can't really influence their results so we just try and win out and see where the dominoes fall.

Chelsea have ended their “U25 transfer rule” and are looking to balance out the squad in the summer. [Simon Philips] I've put this in the Boehly group, but here it sparks a different conversation. Has Pochettino done enough to at least see a balanced squad in his final season? i.e a mix of seasoned vets/experienced players of higher quality (can't be average that's where we went wrong last time or cheaper fixes). Or do we bring in an elite coach like we should have done last season and let them build their team from the scraps we have and the possible market. On the one hand buying older players could be cheaper as you're no longer paying over the odds for potential you're buying what you see. Unless of course we find another Salah or Gyokeres type of player who will explode at their next club. Either way this is both good news and it also removes this excuse for any of our potential managers now that it's not them but the young inconsistent youngsters in the team. Now we have no excuse not to be at the very least maintaining top 6 standards from next season onwards.