21 minutes ago, WalterWhiteCFC said:

Listen if a new manager comes in charged with changing the way we play and wants to totally shed the old system and try and blow away some of that stagnant form we were in, he tells you that you won’t play, you have 2 windows to move on but sit and collect a check who’s faults that? 

Been a great servant but piss poor show from him, Sarri is smarter than what he is given credit for, our team threw 2 top managers under the bus, cesc was a leading figure in that, gone, Willian has certainly seen less of an important role and maybe he saw the captain of the team that wouldn’t play for 2 top managers tte season after a title win as someone he needed out, can you blame him. 

He changed our identity with barely any new players, started well lost the team a bit but dragged them back to a top 4 finish and one foot in a European final, brought 2 youth players into key roles, the team are responding to him so is it ooor management  no I think it’s very purposeful and clever.

What f**king more do you want from the man? Time to start backing the manager and showing a bit of beleif in him and the club should do the same.

 He is not as experienced as some of the top managers but Sarri is a top top manager in the making, anyone who has a clue can see that instead of whinging about sarri ball and talking about aspects they haven’t the first clue about. 

Good post, yet is this the right thread?

3 hours ago, Munkworth said:

Can’t give a sh*t what he said, guys a legend. Played through injury to win our only Champions League trophy. Captained us to a League title. Boasts a trophy cabinet bigger than 99% of clubs put together. 

Thanks for everything Gaz!

Spot on.

Been treated disgracefully by Sarri this season...so glad we got a chance to give him a proper send off today and say thank you. No he's not jt, lamps, Cole, Drogba, Cech etc..but he's been there for a lot of our greatest moments and deserves our gratitude and respect 

I never rated him as a footballer but I'll give him credit that he gave 100% every game he played, especially in his early days but like others have pointed out, JT made Cahill look better than what he really was....in the last  couple of years he's been average at best and really should not be complaining; he should never have been made 'club captain' after JT left; and for a club captain to give such an interview is disrespectful to those who helped him win everything in club football.   No doubt he'll end up either in the bottom half of the EPL or a championship team....Derby or Villa? 

5 hours ago, Strider6003 said:

Good post, yet is this the right thread?

I mean it was about GC’s actions and why I think he did what he did but might have gone off a bit in a tangent 

IMO a sterling servant for Chelsea who deserves our best regards despite being at times divisive.

At his best, he was a very good defender. Not world class though - technically he was adequate (but not great) in terms of passing, but he quite often struggled in a 4-man high-line, not just because he wasn't all that quick, but because his positioning/decision-making weren't top-class. Too often, he would back off and JT didn't have the pace to cover for him if he made an error. Conte addressed this by using a 3-man formation, wherein both Luiz/Azpi could try and cover for him if things went wrong. They were also both notably quicker than JT so they could do this more easily.

However, in his prime he was impressive in a deep line, not only because his pace wasn't tested but because JT could cover for him properly, so he could bring his best traits (bravery/last-ditch tackles) into play more easily without the risk of conceding if he missed a tackle. He also fed off JT's iron will and leadership. He wasn't a bad leader himself, but he was a notably poorer performer when JT wasn't present (2016/17 excepted for reasons noted above). 

His best seasons were 2013/14 and 2016/17 IMO, for reasons outlined previously. 

Never thought he'd be around to win everything when we bought him off Bolton. Testament to his resilience and hardwork off the pitch for him to warrant being in the team for so many different managers. Massive respect for him even though he was never as gifted as most of the players around him he still found a way for this long. 

Best signing of the Abramovic era in my opinion. 

51 minutes ago, ForeverCarefree said:

Best signing of the Abramovic era in my opinion. 

Is this bait?

54 minutes ago, ForeverCarefree said:

Best signing of the Abramovic era in my opinion. 

I would agree its probably the best value signing, he came as a squad player and had a massive part to play in winning many many trophies.

23 minutes ago, RIP Mourinho said:

Is this bait?

Nope. 

£7m won everything there is to win and was integral in winning European trophies and league titles. 

For club that has thrown money at every position in the team, with some massive over investments, Cahill has given the best return in terms of success and value. 

1 minute ago, ForeverCarefree said:

Nope. 

£7m won everything there is to win and was integral in winning European trophies and league titles. 

For club that has thrown money at every position in the team, with some massive over investments, Cahill has given the best return in terms of success and value. 

Azpilicueta for me. Same price. Better return as an individual player. 

3 minutes ago, ForeverCarefree said:

Nope. 

£7m won everything there is to win and was integral in winning European trophies and league titles. 

For club that has thrown money at every position in the team, with some massive over investments, Cahill has given the best return in terms of success and value. 

Azpi - £7m

Kante - £30m

Hazard - £30m

Ivanovic - £10m

A.Cole - £5m + Gallas

Cech - £10m

Ballack - Free

All better value transfers that brought a much higher standard of football to the table imo. Cahill seems to be overrated due to the circumstances he found himself in and the players he was lucky enough to play alongside. 

6 minutes ago, bisright1 said:

Azpilicueta for me. Same price. Better return as an individual player. 

Hasn’t helped us win old big ears (yet), so Cahill for me. 

Cant believe any one on here would criticize him after some comments he made on Sarri.  What has that bloke won for Chelsea so far ?

2 hours ago, General said:

Cant believe any one on here would criticize him after some comments he made on Sarri.  What has that bloke won for Chelsea so far ?

It doesn't matter what he has won, you can't come out to the press like that and criticise the manager. Imagine how toxic things are in the dressing room and training pitch between them now. It's the kind of thing that leads to player divides. Have you not learned a single thing from the divide created last season or when the players downed tools for Mourinho? You had the likes of Willian being a little cry baby last season and he has a lot of friends at the club that would back him over the manager. I hate that kind of sh*t at the club.

Do you seriously want a squad full of players that think they know better than the coach just because they have won things? We'll get nowhere with that type of attitude at the club. Having a squad united is just as important as having talented players.

Edited May 7, 20197 yr by Scott Harris

2 hours ago, General said:

Cant believe any one on here would criticize him after some comments he made on Sarri.  What has that bloke won for Chelsea so far ?

Brought us back into the Champions league, took us to a league cup final and could win us a European cup in his first season in charge.

All of that is irrelevant though, you shouldn't be saying these things against your manager at such a crucial point in the season. I bet there would be a very different response if it was Willian making these comments. 

It's a tricky one when you have new managers trying to make a mark and they don't fancy an individual or two it is obvious the national players that are benched are going to be unhappy. Not even just national players, also other players desperate for a medal.

I think Sarri has done a reasonable job by using a number in the cup and Cahill has been the odd one out. 

I really felt he might have gone to Fulham and wonder now if he himself thinks he made a mistake.

As regards making a statement to the press short of tying the players to confidentiality agreement not sure what the club can do.

 

So it's farewell and a massive thank you to Gaz. 

Glad we got to send him off with one more winners medal in his pocket.

Leaves us with one of the biggest winners medal collections in Chelsea history. 

Only thing I would have liked different yesterday would be Gaz on for Eden not Zappa. That would have been a lovely touch.

7 hours ago, axman2526 said:

Only thing I would have liked different yesterday would be Gaz on for Eden not Zappa. That would have been a lovely touch.

No chance of that happening, would mean Sarri diverting away from 4-3-3! 

I won't lie, when GC first came to Chelsea I wasn't a fan. However during our remarkable run in The Spring of 2012 he won me over. Yes I admit I had a man crush on GC & loved him for his last ditch tackling skills. It will be sad to see him go, but I will remember the fact he was an important fact of our tremendous trophy haul over the past 7 years. Adios Gary, I will never look back on your efforts in Blue in anger.

You know I genuinely can’t remember ho I felt when we signed Gary Cahill, I know I was never unhappy with him joining. Think he’s been great for us, won everything in the game. Can’t complain at all. Best of luck to him in his future endeavours, hearing rumours he’s Villa bound.

Sarri haven't been disgraceful towards Cahill at all. He said right in the beginning to him he won't play because Gazza's strenghts are not what they need to be. He was 100% right. We all knew this 5 years ago. Cahill is unable to play football with his feet. 

If there was any other manager at helm apart from probably Pep he would play part. 

Sarri's made a big favour to fans and Gary not playing him. Might sound cruel but it is true. Why hasn't Gary moved on is beyond me. Same goes with Drinkwater. 

Gary is one of the best servants to the club and remembered as Rock mk 2. Great player for us and a brilliant person. 

14 hours ago, Bobbywoodhogan said:

You know I genuinely can’t remember ho I felt when we signed Gary Cahill, I know I was never unhappy with him joining. Think he’s been great for us, won everything in the game. Can’t complain at all. Best of luck to him in his future endeavours, hearing rumours he’s Villa bound.

I remember feeling that it was a low risk buy that would strengthen our numbers in defense. I never thought he would make massive contributions to us winning trophies though, it's something that has been a welcome surprise.