mclovin83

I don't take a decision like this lightly, but having slept on it last night I am confident this is the right move for me...

I have gone all out and changed my avi. Massive.

Does anyone have any details on what players are already back at Cobham, and when the world cup players start to return? I read that the players that were involved up until the final/3rd place play off have been granted 3 weeks holiday, effectively meaning they miss all but 1 week of pre-season. I guess all Managers are going to be in the same boat, but it looks like it will be a very restricted pool of players that Sarri has to work with for the first few games of the season. Certainly the Charity Shield, which seems to be more of a friendly than ever before this season, looking at how it sits between other friendlies...

Really liked his interview. Came across very well. His English is already better than both Carlo's & Conte's was when they took charge (no disrespect intended), and is only going to get better. He has a serious job on his hands though, let's make no mistake about it. Has a massive, massive task and very little time to implement anything before the season starts. I am fully behind him though, and really hope this is the start of something very fresh and exciting at Chelsea.

Can anyone who actually knows, give a bit more of an insight into how good Sarri's English is? I have seen it described as fluent, is that accurate?

My thoughts echo the views of @Fatty_Speeding & @Davey Baby Whilst a lot of what he has been said has been justified by the fact that it is factually correct, he didn't really need to say any of it. He could have done the club a favour, and kept it in house. I think what irks most people, is the fact that he has seemingly been unable to keep his thoughts to himself from the moment he joined. I have lost track of the amount of times he has let the media in on his desire to be somewhere else, and it gets tiresome to constantly read about it. On this occasion, I think his comments smacked of arrogance. Saying the club wouldn't drop him makes him looks like a bit of a prick in my opinion. The bit that I found most unprofessional was his reference to Hazards situation. He may want to constantly pipe up about his own contract and feel that is his prerogative, but to be sticking his beak into what Hazard might be doing next season (as if he has any sort of say in it) is well over the line. I don't care if he was joking or not, I think he should grow up. Nobody knows what negotiations may/may not be going on with Madrid, but any perspective deals could be huge, potentially record breaking for the club, and we need all the leverage we can get. Basically, he last thing we need is a loose lipped Courtois issuing his ultimatums for what Hazard may be doing next season, to the media.

Really don't rate Sterling. Massively over-hyped player in my opinion. Has great stats last season (playing for a free-flowing & high scoring City side who pissed all over the league), but prior to that he hasn't exceeded 11 goals in all competitions in a season. He is the level of a Malouda/Kalou type in my opinion, nothing more. He has great movement & pace but no end product. Genuinely think Willian is a better all-rounder.

Lot's of sweeping statements in your post which there is no point addressing to be honest, as ultimately it's down to opinion (even though you are presenting your opinions as if they are quantifiable facts). I just personally think it's dismissive and lazy to label teams as "pub teams" just because they aren't among the strongest teams (on paper) in the competition. By your score card I imagine over half the teams in the competition are "pub teams" which is just a bit silly really isn't it.

It's funny that you put the success of a formation (which was used with success for the majority of a season) down to the element of surprise. The formation didn't burst out of a cake at kick off and catch everyone off guard, and it wasn't the first time the world has come across it when we started using it. It's a formation, and it's really not that insane that Managers and players need a year to come to terms with it. I think it clearly worked in Conte's first season, not so much last season. I think he should have switched it up, like he originally did when he introduced it. I think there were many factors that contributed to the difference in success, but the "surprise factor" wouldn't be top of my list.

This post cracks me up too. The "surprise factor" I like this a lot. We should field a new formation I reckon. A 2-1-3-1-1-2. It will be narrow & unusual but it have a very strong "surprise factor". Never underestimate the "surprise factor" people.

"Pub team" How many pubs do you know who have teams that get to the knock out stages of the world cup? Your local must be a hoot.

In terms of European football then yes, but playing in the Premiership (and winning it twice) is playing at the highest level in itself. As I said, over the course of his career he has played at the highest level, more so than if he was, for example, playing at PSG and in the CL every year. I didn't even see that you listed United as one of the clubs playing at a higher level but that's quite amusing!!!

And that could be said of pretty much any player who doesn't already play for those three clubs. In reality, you obviously don't know if they would "love to have him" or much more to the point whether they would be willing to spend the money on him. It doesn't change the fact that in the 6 years he has been at Chelsea he has played at the highest level and has won major trophies whilst being paid £200K a week. He isn't a victim.

Correct.

I think if you took his career at Chelsea to date, it would be considered he played at the highest level. A season in the Europa League doesn't suddenly change that.

Jesus, get a grip will you! So dramatic.... We are not the "laughing stock of European football". We won't struggle to find a top class Manager unless we stop being able to offer competitive wages and/or compete at the highest level. Worry about that if/when it happens. You are seemingly letting your impatience & frustration drive you to cook up & conclude all sort of theories in your head, but the reality is you have no idea what strategy/direction might be agreed behind the scenes. None of us do. I am not saying everything is perfect, but many of the issues you are referencing are complex situations, and some of them we might have to be patient on. Pre-season hasn't even started yet. Most senior players are not even in the country, let alone Cobham. The club gets a lot wrong, but it also gets a lot right. Our success (that you have no doubt greatly enjoyed) over the last 15 years vouches for that. Sorry to pick on your post in isolation, but you do come across a bit like a spoiled brat having a tantrum.

Anyone would think the club/board are keeping him shackled in a basement and forcing him to clean boots in exchange for bread & water. He is being paid £200,000.00 a week to play the sport he loves by the "stupid club". He is playing at the highest level, is adored by the fans, and winning trophies in the process. Sounds alright to me. In terms of ambition, it's probably worth remembering that only Man City spent more on transfers than us last season. Take the last 15 years and I don't believe anyone has spent more than us in the country. So if he was indeed going to "cry publicly", then that would say more about him than in would the club, in my opinion.

Yes I am sure Hazard will hand in a transfer request as a direct result of Sarri being appointed a bit later than Chelsea fans wanted. I am also convinced Hazard would have signed a new contract had Sarri been appointed a week ago, before pre-season, while everyone is away on International duty. That would have made the difference between staying and going.

Don't know a lot about him, but what I do know, there is reason to be happy about this. Young, dynamic, in form, and previously wanted by Sarri. If we get him for circa £25M and move on Drinkwater for £15M or thereabouts then I don't see how this can be a bad thing. I would be happy to move Barkley on as well and recover another £15-20M. Let's just recover what we can and get rid of some of the dead wood which is padding out the squad.

I don't really see that we are in a mess. We currently have a Manager who just won us the FA Cup, and we are (by all accounts) in the process of replacing him. I know people want to know whats going on, but the reality is it would have made no difference to anything had we announced it a few weeks ago. Nothing would have happened in that time.

Well the media suggested a possible swap deal involving Rooney & Mata. From memory it rumbled on for some time. https://metro.co.uk/2013/08/25/chelsea-refuse-to-rule-out-juan-mata-swap-for-wayne-rooney-3937276/ I don't believe there was ever even paper talk suggesting we wanted Nani.

Pretty sure it was Rooney we wanted as part of the deal. But they still said no.

According to the media?

I am not massively fussed about this. I suspect that this is Roman making a bit of a point. I could imagine that 6 months down the line Roman is granted a Visa and the new stadium plans start to pick up momentum again. I always thought the Stadium build had a long way to go before it would actually go ahead, and I see this as one of probably many hiccups along the way.

Hilarious that people actually thought Roman wasn't going to be able to come to the UK anymore.