14 minutes ago, abramovich said:

I know the biggest reason we're missing out on some players is our reluctance to spend more than what we deem reasonable, but I have to say, Antonio doesn't seem to have the pull the likes of Jose and Pep do. There are top players who do want to play for Mourinho and Guardiola. I'm yet to read about a star footballer who dreams of joining or re-uniting with Conte. I'm not talking about saying nice things about him, but rather that his name can be a decisive factor in a player's choice.

I thought Rudiger did just that? 

I think most would agree that Jose and Pep have established their names way before Conte did. Jose and Pep's career is littered with trophies when these young footballers were growing up. Jose won a lot since 2004 (13yrs ago) and Pep is famous since 2009 (8yrs ago).  Going by the current age of football players lets say around 30yrs old being the oldest, they'll have seen Pep and Jose since they were 17 (Since Jose) and 22 (since Pep) so ofc they'll dream of playing for them more. Some of the current stars were kids/teens when they first heard of Jose and Pep. Arguably the 2 most publicized managers in the recent decade.

If Conte continues to win, he'll be a pull to the current teenagers.

Edited August 3, 20178 yr by Deino

I think abramovich makes an interesting point, can't help but think Conte works players into the ground. The hyper work ethic might put a few off, just a thought.

There might be something there but it brings out the question of winning. Everybody says they want to win. No one wants to win as bad as Conte.

1 hour ago, abramovich said:

I know the biggest reason we're missing out on some players is our reluctance to spend more than what we deem reasonable, but I have to say, Antonio doesn't seem to have the pull the likes of Jose and Pep do. There are top players who do want to play for Mourinho and Guardiola. I'm yet to read about a star footballer who dreams of joining or re-uniting with Conte. I'm not talking about saying nice things about him, but rather that his name can be a decisive factor in a player's choice.

I think you can throw in the fact that we're also not prepared to pay the gluttonous fees of the fat slug agents that some of this players use...

I think you can throw in the fact that we're also not prepared to pay the gluttonous fees of the fat slug agents that some of this players use...

The agent fees was the difference between Hazard coming to us and not United. Sometimes you have to suck up and pay

2 minutes ago, JoseBlues said:

10 minutes ago, doctorblue said:

I think you can throw in the fact that we're also not prepared to pay the gluttonous fees of the fat slug agents that some of this players use...

The agent fees was the difference between Hazard coming to us and not United. Sometimes you have to suck up and pay

I thought I read that Hazard doesn't even have an agent.

I thought I read that Hazard doesn't even have an agent.

Article on Ferguson's comments below. He mentions that Chelsea paid 6M to the agent which he wasn't willing to pay. In retrospect, he does look like an idiot lol

http://www.skysports.com/football/news/11667/7926082/ferguson-doubts-hazard-value

5 minutes ago, Zeta said:

I thought I read that Hazard doesn't even have an agent.

 

8 minutes ago, JoseBlues said:

16 minutes ago, doctorblue said:

I think you can throw in the fact that we're also not prepared to pay the gluttonous fees of the fat slug agents that some of this players use...

The agent fees was the difference between Hazard coming to us and not United. Sometimes you have to suck up and pay

I would say even with the crazy prices of today i doubt Hazard's agent would want the same amount of money the greedy agent wanted or wants for his players. I doubt we would have sucked up and paid if the difference was ridiculous. Fergie would splash on players if he felt they were of good value to his team with the odd dumb purchase but i respected the man for his principles and he probably made the call out of principle. He always felt agents should have less control/say over the players careers than they did or tried to have.

Am pretty Hazard dad is his agent

Anyone see his press conference today? Started jolly but got progressively more downbeat as it went on. Emphasised quite a few times our squad was too small and we needed more than one new player, although he wouldn't specify the number. When asked if Morata could play alongside Batshuayi as he did against Inter, Conte responded by saying he didn't have any other option, because of lack of numbers. When asked about Matic and his move to Utd, he was stoney-faced, saying it was a question for the club to answer. His body language betrayed unhappiness but it's impossible to know if that's with the player or the board. When asked about Costa, he said it was all in the past, but emphasised that Costa knew of his decision back in January, and the press officer alongside Conte said Costa's lawyer was misinformed and that his argument was a nonsense. Hazard and Bakayoko are out this weekend, they are the only ones missing. Kenedy needs a loan judging by Conte's comments, yet another nudge towards the board that he needs some new players.

Although he said only two players missing for Sunday, when talking about Morata and Mitchy he didn't use Pedro's name as an option.

Like I said previously he looks annoyed with the club and board and will eventually resign probably before season end

1 hour ago, Richard P said:

Although he said only two players missing for Sunday, when talking about Morata and Mitchy he didn't use Pedro's name as an option.

 

Think he was talking about the Inter game, where Pedro was out with injury. Pedro is available for Sunday, albeit in a mask.

The presser definitely confirmed all is not well at the moment. A bit worried now despite attempts to have patience / faith in club. 

Got the impression that it was the club's decision to sell Matic not Conte's...

The club seems to do it's best to stifle our managers after a successful season.

I was expecting us to back Conte to the hilt in terms of transfers this summer but it's just not happened and we are a week into August. We have sold more than we have brought in, it's mental. 

Oh well looks like granddad Gus will be taking over again sometime in November/December....

Oh well looks like granddad Gus will be taking over again sometime in November/December....

Sadly I will be putting money on Conte being the first manager to leave, if this club is going to cause me heartache am going to make money from it dammit

Conte using the Media to send signals, mentioned we can't just sell we need to buy or you get low in numbers and in trouble, that if you want a top player you have to spend. He also said on Matic...you'll need to ask the club about that, so clearly wasn't his desire to sell. This board gets on my tits I know, I know, our success, but I still think there are things they could do better, much better. 

It will be very bad for us if Conte leave us, or if the board sack him.

And both options are very possible to happen.

The board f**** hard. This was the perfect moment to build really strong team, that could challenge for the title and for CL.

We was Champions, with 1 of the best coaches, and was in a great situation to sign new players, and from the winter till now we recieve 200m. from players. Also 150m. from PL ....

And they fuc**** hard.

I expect us go down for few years if Conte decide to leave or if this morr*** decide to sack him.

 

I don't think it has nothing to do with players rejecting Conte. Unless they are at a big club then they won't need much convincing. This boils down to the board, we are haggling over fees and we are reluctantly spending money on Contes targets. His frustration is pretty clear and If we don't back him then there's a good chance we regret it like we did with Jose. We can't go signing the Papy Djilobodji's of this world and expect to be a champions league challenging club every year, we need to add 1 or 2 players of quality improvement every season.

Conte has obviously targeted areas he wants to improve and I honestly think the board come back to him with other 'cheaper' targets they have scouted long before Conte. I wouldn't be surprised under Jose the board said to him, ok we won't go over 50 for John Stones but we can offer you Djilobodji for 8 and Jose refused for a period of time until he had no choice but to give in. I'm speculating of course but if feels like that goes on behind the scenes.

 

3 hours ago, Chelsbear said:

The club seems to do it's best to stifle our managers after a successful season.

I was expecting us to back Conte to the hilt in terms of transfers this summer but it's just not happened and we are a week into August. We have sold more than we have brought in, it's mental. 

 

Before we sold Matic, i was slightly anxious, but overall pretty calm. The squad size was a niggling problem i was trying to put to the back of my head, but as time has gone on, with the sale of Matic and the Premier League season beginning in one week, i am getting very anxious now.

I just don't understand how the board can think it's a smart move to allow so many players to leave and let our squad become so small. As it stands, our bench is going to be pretty much full of untested players and players that probably will never be good enough for the very top level. Kenedy, Baker, Boga, Musonda, Remy, no way should all of these players make up the bench of the Premier League Champions and a team looking to compete in Europe. If i'm being brutally honest, i doubt any team in the league would be happy with that bench. Kenedy couldn't even get into Watford's squad last season, Boga and Musonda have been very underwhelming in their time out on loan. Then there is Remy, a player who nobody expected to still be a Chelsea player at this point and another player who has been a failure out on loan. Baker is the only one out of the 5 who can say he had an ok season last season, but even then it was playing at a level nowhere near the level he will be playing at this season. Our bench for the start of the season will probably have 4 or 5 players who have all had really poor season's out on loan to mid table football clubs........what is going on and why has the board let this happen ?

If Conte is pissed (which he obviously is) then i think it's completely understandable. With the board selling so many players, he has been left with very little to work with. What is he supposed to do with this squad in it's current state ? He can't be expected to make it competitive in both the league and Champions League. 

The thing is, i am actually pretty happy with the number of players we have bought in, it's just seeing so many go out that has really annoyed me. 

Just great. Conte sounds like he's about to throw the towel in  and the season hasn't even begun yet!YIKES!!

I said it before-  just get some decent-ish players in with proven PL experience ASAP and launch a title defence along with the  other two domestic cup bids.  At this point the squad is too small and players in key positions are unproven in the PL.

The rest of the big clubs in the league are gonna go all in the CL. If we can try and eke out a nice points cushion before they are all thrown out from that competition, we'll be in with a fighting chance to keep our title.  

 The first real signs of dissention in the ranks appeared yesterday in the press conference. It was noticeable when asked about Hazard, Conte said we would be in MORE trouble if the squad grew any smaller. 

He is a coach that excels at drilling his players, attention to detail has been his mark of success. So any recruitment needs to be done early, so he can make the best use of the new players. He has asked for significant upgrades to a squad he had already maximised the potential, these have not been forthcoming, the players brought in being like for like replacements with more experienced squad members sacrificed with no thoughts of overall depth. We maybe able to manage again on such small numbers,teams from yesteryear won multiple trophies with 16 players. We are but a couple of injuries to key personnel short of a crisis. 

Conte is no fool,potentially our best acquisition ever. It is easy to see why he chose to not extend his deal, taking a deserved pay rise to appease him temporarily. We as a club need to show the same ambition he has or he will seek others that do. Back the man now please!

Didnt he walk out on Juve few days before the league started. He will only take so much. Even with the Costa issue see how he handled it. Told him he was off in January,Costa tried to "worm" his way back into the squad at the end of season but he reinforced the point with the now infamous text message. I know even though the management gives him everything he won't be with us for more than 3 seasons because he seems the type that gets irritated easily and like I said sometime last season people have this image of Conte quiet gentle guy haha. He has been that way because he was new and feeling his surroundings. Conte is a very difficult man.