http://www.dailymail.co.uk/sport/football/article-5444305/Courtois-unhappy-Conte-took-Hazard-v-Manchester-United.html

Exactly what most fans think.

47 minutes ago, Ernie_blue said:

http://www.dailymail.co.uk/sport/football/article-5444305/Courtois-unhappy-Conte-took-Hazard-v-Manchester-United.html

Exactly what most fans think.

Regardless of the rights and wrongs of Courtois comments, the worrying aspect is that he's decided to go public.

The making of critical statements to foreign media- knowing full well that any remarks would reverberate back to blighty, is a common tactic employed when players want out.

( No doubt engineered by his agent)

Soon enough we'll be hearing the old well worn chestnut " At the moment I am happy at Chelsea, but in football you never know what's in the future."

To be honest, I won't shed a tear if/when Courtois leaves. He is an above average keeper for me but nothing close to being irreplaceable like De Gea. His height is a major advantage in the air but he is only decent at stopping shots and playing with his feet. He also seems to think very highly of himself and seems to shoot off his mouth in the press.

I think the issue with managers not lasting at the club transcends the actual 'current manager' and his so called good or poor performances

10 managers in 14 years is a lot, and some of them have been top draw, the caliber of managers that handle the BEST clubs in the world-

Mourinho (twice), Ancelotti & Conte  are the cream (all won the prem at 1st time of asking, most top clubs would welcome them as coach)

 Hiddink (Fa cup), Dimateo (cup double) even Fatty (1 cup)   middle tier

Raneri, AVB, Scolari, Grant   bottom tier ( never won a cup or deserved the boot)

You could bring in any top manager - lets just fantasy wise say the best one out there currently - Pep, and I guarantee you the cycle will not be broken, he would'nt last

more than a season or two at CFC. The club is run 'dsylexically' , and we all know its because of the ownership structure. I am not ungrateful merely pointing out the obvious,

so for all the debate on this thread regarding the merits and faults with AC's style of management he was doomed from the off, we all got to see a great season

last year, but this year its looking like  business as usual in between successful seasons (bad results, players look done, manager under pressure, press bollocks, etc.)

I still rate AC, he's been let down by transfers, but he's also brought some of the issues on himself - moaning too much this season and firing Costa by text, I hope he gets until May and then the cycle will start over.

 

 

10 hours ago, General said:

I think the issue with managers not lasting at the club transcends the actual 'current manager' and his so called good or poor performances

10 managers in 14 years is a lot, and some of them have been top draw, the caliber of managers that handle the BEST clubs in the world-

Mourinho (twice), Ancelotti & Conte  are the cream (all won the prem at 1st time of asking, most top clubs would welcome them as coach)

 Hiddink (Fa cup), Dimateo (cup double) even Fatty (1 cup)   middle tier

Raneri, AVB, Scolari, Grant   bottom tier ( never won a cup or deserved the boot)

You could bring in any top manager - lets just fantasy wise say the best one out there currently - Pep, and I guarantee you the cycle will not be broken, he would'nt last

more than a season or two at CFC. The club is run 'dsylexically' , and we all know its because of the ownership structure. I am not ungrateful merely pointing out the obvious,

so for all the debate on this thread regarding the merits and faults with AC's style of management he was doomed from the off, we all got to see a great season

last year, but this year its looking like  business as usual in between successful seasons (bad results, players look done, manager under pressure, press bollocks, etc.)

I still rate AC, he's been let down by transfers, but he's also brought some of the issues on himself - moaning too much this season and firing Costa by text, I hope he gets until May and then the cycle will start over.

 

 

Hiddink the first time was better than any of our managers bar Conte and Jose the first time. I know it was only a few months but he had us playing with such an aura of invincibility it felt like we wouldn't be beaten. 

Still think the club should do everything they can to patch up any rift and keep Conte. If he ends up going back to Italy at some point, fair enough but I said it before and will say it again, IF the Gooners decide that Wengers time is up and they got Conte in for next season, that would be a disaster. He would make them decent again and they would finish above us.

 

2 hours ago, Nibs said:

Still think the club should do everything they can to patch up any rift and keep Conte. If he ends up going back to Italy at some point, fair enough but I said it before and will say it again, IF the Gooners decide that Wengers time is up and they got Conte in for next season, that would be a disaster. He would make them decent again and they would finish above us.

 

Might be in the minority here but not bothered where he ends up. I feel he is well overrated by fans. If he ends up at Arsenal, he will probably need a new GK, 3 CBs...can’t see it. He plays with a target man who they just sold to us. I would love to see it happen just to see how he fits Aubameyang & Ozil in his 3-5-2.

5 minutes ago, ducavis said:

Might be in the minority here but not bothered where he ends up. I feel he is well overrated by fans. 

He took a side that finished 10th the previous season to being Champions of England, I don't think he's overrated personally. 

He overhauled a team/squad that had been playing a back 4 and variations of 4-3-3 for over a decade and in a shortened pre-season due to his involvement with the Italian national team and got them playing a whole new system and went on a 13 game winning streak. 

He reverted Moses, a bit of a footballing nomad and a pretty average winger, into a successful wing-back. 

He got Luiz, a player whose career was on a downward spiral after a disastrous showing in the Brazil world cup, playing arguably the best football of his career. 

Despite his homesickness (or whatever you want to call it), he got Diego Costa focused and scoring regularly. 

He got Hazard playing well again after the worst season of his career. 

We bought in Marcos Alonso, a player only known in England for playing for relegation fodder clubs Bolton and Sunderland and made him the best left sided defender in the league last season.  

5 minutes ago, ducavis said:

If he ends up at Arsenal, he will probably need a new GK, 3 CBs...can’t see it. He plays with a target man who they just sold to us. I would love to see it happen just to see how he fits Aubameyang & Ozil in his 3-5-2.

Cech

Mustafi - Koscielny - Kolašinac

Bellerin - Xhaka - Wilshere - Monreal

Mkhitaryan - Aubameyang - Ozil

 

Something like that would be my guess, we've seen what Conte can do with a squad that's not got European football (which Arsenal probably won't) he'd probably be able to get Arsenal playing a lot more efficiently with just 3 or 4 new signings really. 

20 minutes ago, ForeverCarefree said:

He took a side that finished 10th the previous season to being Champions of England, I don't think he's overrated personally. 

He overhauled a team/squad that had been playing a back 4 and variations of 4-3-3 for over a decade and in a shortened pre-season due to his involvement with the Italian national team and got them playing a whole new system and went on a 13 game winning streak. 

He reverted Moses, a bit of a footballing nomad and a pretty average winger, into a successful wing-back. 

He got Luiz, a player whose career was on a downward spiral after a disastrous showing in the Brazil world cup, playing arguably the best football of his career. 

Despite his homesickness (or whatever you want to call it), he got Diego Costa focused and scoring regularly. 

He got Hazard playing well again after the worst season of his career. 

We bought in Marcos Alonso, a player only known in England for playing for relegation fodder clubs Bolton and Sunderland and made him the best left sided defender in the league last season.  

Cech

Mustafi - Koscielny - Kolašinac

Bellerin - Xhaka - Wilshere - Monreal

Mkhitaryan - Aubameyang - Ozil

 

Something like that would be my guess, we've seen what Conte can do with a squad that's not got European football (which Arsenal probably won't) he'd probably be able to get Arsenal playing a lot more efficiently with just 3 or 4 new signings really. 

Arsenal would be in the Europa league, which can be worse than the champions league.

Chelsea might have finished 10th but it wasn't a 10th place team, let's not all kid ourselves. 

On 2/28/2018 at 21:43, Ernie_blue said:

http://www.dailymail.co.uk/sport/football/article-5444305/Courtois-unhappy-Conte-took-Hazard-v-Manchester-United.html

Exactly what most fans think.

Quite possibly, although you can make your points w/o linking from that abject filth can't you?

Why are reading from that rag in the first place Ernie?

Edited March 1, 20188 yr by youlots

13 minutes ago, Ernie_blue said:

Arsenal would be in the Europa league, which can be worse than the champions league.

Chelsea might have finished 10th but it wasn't a 10th place team, let's not all kid ourselves. 

Do they get Europa League football for reaching the league cup final? 

We finished 10th, so we were a 10th placed team. It's like the old "too good to go down" argument. The league table doesn't lie and we went from being 10th placed to Champions in the space of a year which is an impressive achievement whichever way you spin it. 

3 minutes ago, ForeverCarefree said:

Do they get Europa League football for reaching the league cup final? 

We finished 10th, so we were a 10th placed team. It's like the old "too good to go down" argument. The league table doesn't lie and we went from being 10th placed to Champions in the space of a year which is an impressive achievement whichever way you spin it. 

Well Conte can't rely on a team not being in Europe every year, I could write many mistakes Conte has made this year. I thought as City will be in the Champions league and won the cup then Arsenal will be in the Europa but I could be wrong.

That team was still good enough for Champions league football, it's just Mourinho f**ked it up, it's nowhere near what Leicester did how anyone would like to spin it, it was similar to Leicester though where everything came together in one season. I would be interested to see how Conte does for another season but his turning into Wenger while the club are trying to be like Arsenal.

A bit of chatter in last couple days about sarri and tuchel being frontrunners now because luis enrique may be asking for too much money.

I wouldn't mind either coach as long as we start creating an identity of how roman wants us to play. 

Sarri wouldn't be a bad choice. He hasn't won anything, but he believes in taking players at his disposal and making them better by coaching, rather than, in his own words "hiding like a coward behind a transfer market."

He also took many of the current napoli players who were poor under benitez and has made them league contenders with juventus while playing some gorgeous football. 

Edited March 1, 20188 yr by enigma

I actually think if conte goes then creating a proper identity is crucial. We have, up until now, brought in a variety of previously successful (or not so much) managers and hoped we win stuff.

I don't know how much longer that kind of running of a club can translate into success, but it has got to have an eventual cutoff point. 

2 hours ago, ducavis said:

Might be in the minority here but not bothered where he ends up. I feel he is well overrated by fans. If he ends up at Arsenal, he will probably need a new GK, 3 CBs...can’t see it. He plays with a target man who they just sold to us. I would love to see it happen just to see how he fits Aubameyang & Ozil in his 3-5-2.

Couldn't see him going to Arsenal but stranger things have happened I guess.

Me thinks he's homesick and aching for the land of spaghetti twirlers.

 

8 hours ago, enigma said:

I actually think if conte goes then creating a proper identity is crucial. We have, up until now, brought in a variety of previously successful (or not so much) managers and hoped we win stuff.

I don't know how much longer that kind of running of a club can translate into success, but it has got to have an eventual cutoff point. 

It won't happen, as soon as we hit a bit of bad form, he will get the sack, just like every manager we have had in the last 10+ years. 

 

If Conte is sacked, then i don't think i will be able to get excited for another coach. When Mourinho was sacked and i heard we were bringing Conte in, it took me a long time to get excited or even care. I'm so tired of the changing of managers every time we hit a rough patch. Some of the managers we have let go i can agree with (AVB and Scolari) but some of the others should have been backed to get us out of a mess. The attitude of the club stinks, right down to the players. When things go a little bit wrong, the players don't put in any where near the same effort they were putting in when they won titles. It eventually reaches the point where one or two players will let out a subtle moan to the press. I don't think Conte is totally blameless, he has annoyed me as much as some of the players have this season, but i still think we would be better with him than starting all over again with somebody new next season. What is the point in changing when it's just as likely that the next manager will be sacked too? If players would show the same desire as they did against Barcelona, we wouldn't even be struggling for a top 4 spot this season and there would be no talk of Conte getting sacked.

Just think what the team would be like if we stuck with Conte for the next 5 years. Some youth players will have broken through, we will keep most of our stars, we will finally develop an identity. 

Theres no chance we will have an identity if we keep changing managers every few years, same case with youth players. What chance do they have if we sack Conte?

Im fully expecting us to change managers in the summer but it would be nice if we buck the trend and stuck with Conte.

13 hours ago, ForeverCarefree said:

He took a side that finished 10th the previous season to being Champions of England, I don't think he's overrated personally. 

He overhauled a team/squad that had been playing a back 4 and variations of 4-3-3 for over a decade and in a shortened pre-season due to his involvement with the Italian national team and got them playing a whole new system and went on a 13 game winning streak. 

He reverted Moses, a bit of a footballing nomad and a pretty average winger, into a successful wing-back. 

He got Luiz, a player whose career was on a downward spiral after a disastrous showing in the Brazil world cup, playing arguably the best football of his career. 

Despite his homesickness (or whatever you want to call it), he got Diego Costa focused and scoring regularly. 

He got Hazard playing well again after the worst season of his career. 

We bought in Marcos Alonso, a player only known in England for playing for relegation fodder clubs Bolton and Sunderland and made him the best left sided defender in the league last season.  

Cech

Mustafi - Koscielny - Kolašinac

Bellerin - Xhaka - Wilshere - Monreal

Mkhitaryan - Aubameyang - Ozil

 

Something like that would be my guess, we've seen what Conte can do with a squad that's not got European football (which Arsenal probably won't) he'd probably be able to get Arsenal playing a lot more efficiently with just 3 or 4 new signings really. 

Great post.

I hope you're wrong about him going to Le Arse but can't argue with your initial points about his achievements. I just wish he would stop managing his media image and get on with the job. I loved that passion from him and the high tempo, hungry, hell for leather team he gave us last year.

5 hours ago, Scott Harris said:

It won't happen, as soon as we hit a bit of bad form, he will get the sack, just like every manager we have had in the last 10+ years. 

 

If Conte is sacked, then i don't think i will be able to get excited for another coach. When Mourinho was sacked and i heard we were bringing Conte in, it took me a long time to get excited or even care. I'm so tired of the changing of managers every time we hit a rough patch. Some of the managers we have let go i can agree with (AVB and Scolari) but some of the others should have been backed to get us out of a mess. The attitude of the club stinks, right down to the players. When things go a little bit wrong, the players don't put in any where near the same effort they were putting in when they won titles. It eventually reaches the point where one or two players will let out a subtle moan to the press. I don't think Conte is totally blameless, he has annoyed me as much as some of the players have this season, but i still think we would be better with him than starting all over again with somebody new next season. What is the point in changing when it's just as likely that the next manager will be sacked too? If players would show the same desire as they did against Barcelona, we wouldn't even be struggling for a top 4 spot this season and there would be no talk of Conte getting sacked.

Which one's should have been backed? Jose and Carlo had us falling off a cliff and RDM didn't have a clue on the full time gig. United with Moyes and LVG did what you are suggesting we should do with managers and its set them back years.

We haven't yet been in a position in the Roman era of not so great results but promising signs going forward, so we don't know what would happen if we did, i personally believe he would get time unless the progress suddenly stops.

7 hours ago, dansubrosa said:

Just think what the team would be like if we stuck with Conte for the next 5 years. Some youth players will have broken through, we will keep most of our stars, we will finally develop an identity. 

Theres no chance we will have an identity if we keep changing managers every few years, same case with youth players. What chance do they have if we sack Conte?

Im fully expecting us to change managers in the summer but it would be nice if we buck the trend and stuck with Conte.

I love the idea but that's a commitment both parties would have to make compromises for. Both seem to be interested in winning to an extent but Conte seems way more invested right now. It would also require a rock solid faith in Conte since surely there would be a point where the players would try to get him out between now and then or we'd go without a trophy and the board would want him out. 

5 hours ago, Argo said:

Which one's should have been backed? Jose and Carlo had us falling off a cliff and RDM didn't have a clue on the full time gig. United with Moyes and LVG did what you are suggesting we should do with managers and its set them back years.

We haven't yet been in a position in the Roman era of not so great results but promising signs going forward, so we don't know what would happen if we did, i personally believe he would get time unless the progress suddenly stops.

Really? , We were uninspiring though so was the rest of the league that campaign, probably not helped with the World Cup giving the players little or no break that summer. This hampered us more than the rest as most of our squad was involved in the tournament and the board decided to go on its now predictable pre-league campaign kamikaze run of not backing a winning manager.

Talk of the club wanting Lampard to join the first team coaching staff next season with a few to one day managing the club. Would be great him in the setup, really intelligent guy and model professional. 

7 hours ago, charierre said:

Really? , We were uninspiring though so was the rest of the league that campaign, probably not helped with the World Cup giving the players little or no break that summer. This hampered us more than the rest as most of our squad was involved in the tournament and the board decided to go on its now predictable pre-league campaign kamikaze run of not backing a winning manager.

They backed him in January and he lumured us with the biggest flop in football history. Every single one of our players were knocked out of the 2010 world cup by the last 16 so that excuse isn't valid either. Yes, he wasn't dealt the best hand but he was paid a kings randsom to get the best out of what he had and he didn't get close to managing it.

4 minutes ago, Argo said:

They backed him in January and he lumured us with the biggest flop in football history. Every single one of our players were knocked out of the 2010 world cup by the last 16 so that excuse isn't valid either. Yes, he wasn't dealt the best hand but he was paid a kings randsom to get the best out of what he had and he didn't get close to managing it.

finished 2nd? can't do much better

He is a ballsy bastard coming out and saying what he said. He isn't wrong either. Sign Barkley and Drinkwater? Don't expect to win trophies.