Barrettinator

I know we didn't pay for Jose 2.0 but I think we paid for AVB if I'm not mistaken. Either way, I'm giving Marina the benefit of doubt on this henceforth. Let's see how it plays out.

You're right but I don't think clubs like Chelsea buy players with the intention of possibly selling them for a profit in the future. Maybe Spurs do. Or even present day Arsenal and Liverpool. And then the Evertons of the world and what not. Plus the merchandising is a misunderstood part of the business. The only substantial thing Chelsea would get from Hazard shirt sales, for example, already comes in the yearly fee we get from Nike. Only about 5-10% of each individual sale comes to Chelsea after that yearly payment. The rest of it goes to Nike. Besides, I don't think this is the first time we've had to pay to get a manager over the last 10 years, is it? I could be wrong about that though.

As far as manager release clauses go, Sarri's release clause isn't far from the average though, is it?

I think your analogy is the one lacking correlation. The playstation and the banana aren't intended for the same end goal. A manager and a player are.

Considering the fact that we've been super reluctant to pay Sarri's buyout clause, why would anyone believe we're ready to pay Icardi's buyout clause? Complete pipe dream.

Looks like I might have a reason to watch a few Derby matches. Shame we're losing Jody though. Nothing's confirmed yet but he's currently the favourite for the job and in talks according to Sky. https://www.derbytelegraph.co.uk/sport/football/football-news/jody-morris-frank-lampard-derby-1618581#ICID=sharebar_twitter

Ah f**k me, there it is. Sigh.

Shevchenko, Zhirkov, Cuadrado, Lukaku, Sturridge, Djilobodji, Eto'o, Rahman, Salah, De Bruyne, Marin, Torres, Turnbull, Mata, Meirelles That's all I could remember and I'm not entirely sure it's all accurate. Didn't realise how hard it would be to remember.

I honestly can't believe we're dragging our feet over an €8m release. We've wasted money like that on dross like Djilobodji and twice that amount on Baba Rahman but we suddenly can't pay it for a new manager? Most teams are trying to get their transfer targets in already because they know players (who are playing in the World Cup) don't like to move while the tournament is on and as soon as the World Cup is over, pre-season and what not kicks off, and we haven't even gotten the first piece (manager) signed because of €8m. Liverpool have signed Fabinho and upgraded their midfield barely a few days after the CL final. We would have haggled over the price with Monaco for weeks and probably ultimately lost the target. This is a far cry from how fast and precise our business (both small and big) used to be pre 2015. Not sure what has changed. We pulled this same stunt last season and ended up with Drinkwater, Zappacosta and Barkley. Something has to change. It's especially puzzling because we've just signed the biggest sleeve sponsorship in the league and are in the process of signing another big deal later this summer but are haggling over....you know what? I'm done thinking about it. Whatever we end up with at the start of the season, so be it.

I think you're deliberately being fictitious there. The transfer market has been a ticking time bomb ever since we paid £50m for Torres and transfers like Bale to Madrid and James to Madrid took it even further. It finally exploded with Neymar's transfer but it has been on this path for a long time. Also, how is saying 03-2012 was a different era a catch-all dismissal? The proof is in the pudding. We had the same core through those 9 years and had to change it drastically in the 2 years or so after the CL win because that era was over. But aye, I'm obviously not going to change your opinion, so it's fine. Carry on.

"......you just HAVE to get the last word in, don't you?" He says, as he tries to get the last word in. Sappy c**t.

Still the last English team to win the bloody big ears!

Didn't see this initially. I've already replied you about the argument I was making but in response to this, I didn't utter any word of disrespect to the other fella until he started throwing them my way. It's a simple tit for tat. Nothing more to it. I wouldn't expect you to go back and track all the posts back and forth, which is why I'm explaining this part to you now. And as for expectations, while you're right, you're also misconstruing my point. Refer to the other post I made to you. Also, there's a reason why clubs set expectations for managers ever season. Anywhere from "title" to "top 4" to "two trophies" to "good cup finish" to "mid table finish" to "just keep us up". They're being paid by the club to do a job. And the club is earning its money from the fans directly or indirectly. Whether it's matchday tickets or it's tv subscriptions or it's merchandise or whatever it may be. None of the millions flowing through football clubs would be possible if fans weren't watching. Excluding our youth players, a lot of these players have no real love for the club. They're playing because they're paid to play. They may say the right things in the media to give the illusion that they bleed blue but I think fans can tell the players who actually truly care. More than half of this team is a far cry to the previous generation of players that played for us. So if they're here because they're being paid to be here, which one way or the other is coming out of your pocket, then what's wrong with expecting that they be better? There's a reason why when certain fanbases are disillusioned with their club, they make their voices heard. Some even stage walk outs or organise whatever protest (certainly isn't anywhere near that bad for us, just an example). If they thought their opinion was irrelevant then football clubs would be in much worse states than they are right now. If this was a sport played for charity, then yes, I'd understand the "have no expectations" sentiments. That sentiment in and of itself is actually pretty hypocritical considering that whenever we sign a player for a big fee, you expect them to play well, don't you? Why not have no expectations whatsoever and just choose to be at the mercy of said player? All the support and love we shower on them is because we expect them to perform well on the pitch, isn't it? We want them to perform because it benefits the club we love so much. But it's not just a want. It's an expectation. This is 2018 and they're earning A LOT more than the average bloke walking around on the street. It's no longer an era where players put their bodies on the line for meager salaries. They're all millionaires. Is it such a crime to want them to earn their money's worth? Feel free to correct me wherever you think I'm wrong but as it stands, that's my opinion.

You're right. But that was a different era, hence the separation. If we're going that far back, then we might as well go as far back as 2000 and if we do, that makes Serie A perhaps the strongest league in the world. But we all know that was a different era. When we won in 2012, it was pretty much the last push of not just that era of Chelsea players, but that era of PL dominance that had lasted since 2003 or so.

See there's a key element of my argument which you've misconstrued and which completely changes the argument if we go with what you've understood it to be (and I'd probably be on your side if I heard someone else making the argument you seem to think I'm making). Saying we MUST be on Real/Barca/Bayern level isn't my argument. Saying we SHOULD be on their level or at least keep TRYING to get there IS my argument. It's simple. What's stopping us? - We're in London. A top 5 attractive destination for footballers. - We're in the PL, perhaps the most attractive league in the world for players both for publicity, culture and a big cheque. - We have a wealthy owner who despite not being the biggest spender around anymore, is still willing to spend big in the transfer market - We have invested millions for years into our academy and as a result have arguably the best academy in world football at the moment. All of this things combined give us pretty much all the tools you'd need if you want to break into that elite level. The only thing that has f**ked us over is terrible planning. That is the single biggest hinderance to that progression for us. It's not that we haven't spent big, we've spent hundreds of millions over the past few seasons, we've just spent it on rubbish. Instead of spending really big - say £100m - for that one elite player and than having him be backed up by a youth player or something along those lines, we'd rather spend that same £100m on 3 average players who end up taking all the playing time, hindering the progress of the youngsters and still not contributing as well on the pitch as we would like. What was the point of buying Zappacosta when we had Dujon Sterling? I like Emerson but it seems Jay Da Silva's never gonna get a chance. Chalobah had to f**k off because we wouldn't even guarantee him solid minutes (he wasn't even asking to start every game) and instead we've gone for Drinkwater. A sane club would have given RLC a chance instead of Bakayoko. I can understand if a truly elite player is taking playing time away from youngsters but not if it's an average player. We had a crop of Oscar (average), Schurrle (average), Willian (above average here and there) and co and decided that Salah and De Bruyne weren't worth it. They were even below Cuadrado in the pecking order and we hardly even used Cuadrado. We're not willing to give youngsters a chance for better or worse and we're not willing to spend big on truly elite players either so where does that leave us? Somewhere in the middle wasting money on average players. Surely that doesn't sit well with you? Instead of playing Lukaku, we went out and got 34 year old Eto'o and even (as much as I love him dearly) a 36 year old Drogba. Which means that we had to instead of enjoying our 2011 £18m investment, go out to spend 70 odd mil on Morata who hasn't worked out to this point and is in the transfer rumours again, pictured with his agent talking to Juventus officials. So what was the point of all of that? You'll never see clubs like Real/Bayern/Barca running without a structure. At least not in modern day. United in Fergie's days also had a proper structure. Once upon a time in the first half of the Roman era, we did as well. Maybe I should have been a lot clearer in what I was saying from the beginning, although you can't blame me for assuming it wouldn't be hard for anyone to figure out what I was saying but the meat of what I've been saying is simply that we have everything we need to be truly elite so why are we pissing it away? It's because of this lack of structure that we seem to win the league every now and then and instead of working hard to sustain that level that made us win, we have a terrible season the very next year. This is the third time it's happened this decade. At some point we're going to have to iron everything out. Especially now that we're going into a period where we're rebuilding the Bridge and may not have as much cash to throw around.

You've actually made ZERO sense in all of the posts you've directed towards me and I'm not sure why I'm still replying you. Put a decent argument together or f**k off in peace. It's that simple. For all I know, you're some 18 year old sitting behind that computer/phone calling me a glory hunting twit. Laughable to say the least. Don't you have A levels to write or something? I mean, since we're cooking up fantasies. Bloody moron.

I wouldn't be where I am today if I was always comfortable and not always striving for better. And by the way, what is it exactly that you've read from my post(s) that has supposedly shown you that I wouldn't support Chelsea when times are bad? Answer this question; if we got relegated tomorrow, would you fold your hands and say "at least we didn't go into administration" and be content with the direction of the club even if it appeared we were dropping further into League 1? Wouldn't you demand better? Actually, we don't even have to deal with hypotheticals, answer this one; when Jose had us 16th in the league 2 seasons ago, were you content? If you weren't then wouldn't that indicate that (by your logic) you're being a spoilt fan since there are a lot of other clubs in the lower leagues who would give anything to be as "high" as fighting relegation in the PL? If you disagree with that premise (which is based on your logic) then what exactly is the issue you have with me wanting us to get to the next level?

Yes, yes. I'm a glory hunting twit because I want Chelsea to become as successful as clubs like Barca. You're a complete idiot and you clearly have no one around you to point that out to you. The analogy I laid out for you clearly went over your head as well so it's evident that you're not the sharpest knife in the drawer. There's no point continuing this discussion with you any further. Tried to be as respectful as possible but you're clearly very dim upstairs. Enjoy yourself.

With all due respect, you know absolutely nothing about me so maybe you should save the conclusions you've made in your head for another person because they certainly don't apply to me. I have a Sky subscription and I try to go to as many games as is financially possible when I get the chance. Don't talk to me about streams. And for what it's worth, that is very condescending to those Chelsea fans who have no option but to stream our games. We should want even more of those fans. They're what define our international appeal which in turn fetches more endorsement deals with brands and brings more money in for the club that allows us to be further successful. Never understood this attitude. Almost as if you're unhappy the club has grown beyond England. Last time we went on a really long trophyless spell was pre mid 90's so if you have to go back to that to find who you would qualify as a "real" fan then that's your problem.

Yeah I don't buy that. You still expend 90 mins on the pitch running around unless you're rested. Madrid just ended the season 3rd, if I'm not mistaken. Should be a cake walk for them if La Liga is so easy, no? I don't think the PL is nearly as competitive or at least "far more competitive" like we've been sold by the media. We breezed to the title last season, so did Man City this season. And us again the season before Leicester and Man City again the season before that.

How many times has our oh so competitive league won in Europe since we won in 2012? This is only our 2nd CL final as a league in 7 seasons.

https://thesefootballtimes.co/2018/03/22/why-maurizio-sarri-represents-chelseas-best-option-in-replacing-antonio-conte/ Fantastic read on Sarri in case anyone is interested.

THANK YOU! Someone who gets it and doesn't have his head stuck in sand. If we got relegated to League 2 tomorrow, not even a gun to my head would stop me from supporting Chelsea but that doesn't mean I'd be comfortable with League 2 and be "grateful" that at least we're not a mere Sunday League side. I'd want us to climb up the leagues and back to the PL in a few years if possible. What I (and a lot of other fans) want is for Chelsea to be among the top tier elite clubs in football, especially because we have all the resources to do so and we just haven't because of bad planning and management.

How you interprete my comment is none of my business. It's laughable though that you read that as me taking winning as THE thing that attracts me to Chelsea. If that's the case, why do I support Chelsea? I've always had Man United and Arsenal supporting friends and family. They were winning A LOT more than Chelsea when I started realising what football is. I don't have to explain to you how it's more than trophies. I also don't need your approval to hold the club accountable for its actions either. You're probably the type of fan who would have slated Madrid for firing Carlo and called the fans spoilt when in actuality, those actions are leading them to a third straight CL and and 4th in 5 seasons. You would have wanted them to be "content" and "grateful". That's the difference between me and you. And I couldn't care less what your West Ham, Spurs and QPR supporting friends think. None of those clubs are even on our level at the moment - a level which I still want us to surpass. Not to mention I don't know them and give a f**k about their opinion.

Perhaps he has heard some inside info concerning the appointment. Cesc has regressed as a player though. He was never good defensively but now he's a serious liability and his short passes have become almost mediocre too. I wonder how he'd fit into Sarri's plans.