1 minute ago, Ernie_blue said:

Without personal views on a player and rumours etc, KDB was never given a fair chance, that's all i want the answer to, it will always be a no.

The rumour stuff is relevant though. If he wasn't working hard in training and then demanded a move when he wasn't getting game time, what would you suggest we do in that situation?

On 16/01/2018 at 15:08, Zeta said:

Bakayoko - 40m
Drinkwater - 35m
Zappacosta - 25m

That's about 100m of players right there which are not what we needed. But every time we have a title winning season, the next year the board refuses to push on and take us to the next level to try and keep us at the top. It's Sidwell, Pizarro and Ben Haim all over again, except this time we've also wasted 100m in the process.

If they don't want to spend the money, fine, but they're in a midway point of not paying the big money for individual players because it's too much, but still spending lots by buying numerous poor players instead. If we sign Andy Carroll it will just be the cherry on the icing.

I disagree, we needed better squad depth, Zappacosta is a good squad player who gives something different to Moses. Drinkwater is also good squad player, he's a tidy midfielder that can do a simple job, and he's looked reliable thus-far. Just because Zappa isn't the second coming of a right footed Roberto Carlos or Drinkwater isn't Xabi Alonso in his prime doesn't mean they aren't essential to the team.

@Kentonio is 1000% right on this issue, we were crying for squad depth for years and when we have squad depth we aren't happy about it. Forget the price tags, United paid near 90 million for someone who has the first touch of a pub team centre-forward, Liverpool paid 75 million for a centreback who is worth half that. 

5 minutes ago, Kentonio said:

I think we're just saying he's a high potential youngster. Seems pretty much beyond question considering the amount we spent on him. Then again no-one knows more than Chelsea fans about how many high potential youngsters end up doing feck all.

A transfer fee means nothing when it comes to his ability, and 40 million these days is like 20 million 4 years ago. 

I can't say I watched every Monaco game but I watched the Champions League games and I wasn't impressed with what I saw from Bakayoko, maybe in the French league he was good but he seemed like a downgraded Kante who's much worse on the ball. But he hasn't even been that since coming here, we haven't seen any of that physical presence he was hyped up for at Monaco, he can barely keep up to the pace in this league. 

Over-playing youngsters can be just as bad as not playing, surely we agree that he needs to stop playing so many games. 

3 minutes ago, Kentonio said:

The rumour stuff is relevant though. If he wasn't working hard in training and then demanded a move when he wasn't getting game time, what would you suggest we do in that situation?

How did the situation start? No one knows the truth in those situations, Mourinho mentioned about the training and KDB was crying then KDB says i wish i could show everyone his training info etc. I would want out if i was managed by Mourinho and had 2 league starts by Jan, once he makes his mind up your f**ked, that's been proven a long time down the years. So it can be biased in both ways.

Its long gone now anyway but KDB and Baka can't be compared to be given the same chance and anyone saying well KDB didn't show anything back in 2014 compared to now is going off the actual initial discussion. Baka is most likely not showing this season how good he will be in 3 seasons time but the question is was KDB given a fair chance? I can certainly say Baka has been so far.

 

2 minutes ago, Ernie_blue said:

Its long gone now anyway but KDB and Baka can't be compared to be given the same chance and anyone saying well KDB didn't show anything back in 2014 compared to now is going off the actual initial discussion. Baka is most likely not showing this season how good he will be in 3 seasons time but the question is was KDB given a fair chance? I can certainly say Baka has been so far.

KdB isn't a good comparison anyway. I'd say Salah is a much better one.

23 minutes ago, Ernie_blue said:

Its long gone now anyway but KDB and Baka can't be compared to be given the same chance and anyone saying well KDB didn't show anything back in 2014 compared to now is going off the actual initial discussion. Baka is most likely not showing this season how good he will be in 3 seasons time but the question is was KDB given a fair chance? I can certainly say Baka has been so far.

 

To be fair, I can't disagree with you about the time that Bakayoko is being given.  Neither one of us know why that is, nor do we know why Kdb wasn't given the same time  I have no idea whether Bakayoko will turn out to be the world-class wunderkind we all hope or the next Ambrosetti, which we don't  But we didn't know that about Kdb back then either.  YOu win some, you lose some.

2 hours ago, Slojo said:

I disagree, we needed better squad depth, Zappacosta is a good squad player who gives something different to Moses. Drinkwater is also good squad player, he's a tidy midfielder that can do a simple job, and he's looked reliable thus-far. Just because Zappa isn't the second coming of a right footed Roberto Carlos or Drinkwater isn't Xabi Alonso in his prime doesn't mean they aren't essential to the team.

@Kentonio is 1000% right on this issue, we were crying for squad depth for years and when we have squad depth we aren't happy about it. Forget the price tags, United paid near 90 million for someone who has the first touch of a pub team centre-forward, Liverpool paid 75 million for a centreback who is worth half that. 

We haven't been crying out for squad depth for years. The depth of the squad has only become an issue because we sold all of the squad players over the last 18 months.

I would've liked to have seen us sign fewer players of better quality, and relied on a youth system that is undeniable one the best in the world, to complement the squad. I honestly don't think that is a particularly outrageous ask.

I mentioned before about keeping rlc instead of signing drinkwater, but we also could've kept van ginkel this season, put the £35m into getting a top player, and then reviewed rlc and mvg at the end of the season. 

I know there is the whole argument about us needing homegrown players, but we have 2 foreign spots taken up for back up goalkeepers, surely we could find 2 English keepers capable of filling those rolls.

2 minutes ago, big blue said:

We haven't been crying out for squad depth for years.

I have. 

1 minute ago, Stim said:

I have. 

really? 

last year the squad was plenty big enough with no champions league football, the 3 seasons under mourinho, we had

13/14 6 def, 10 mid, 3, fwd. 

14/15 6 def, 9 mid, 3 fwd.

15/16 6 def, 9 mid, 4 fwd 

Those numbers don't include rlc, ake, or christiensen, who made up the numbers for some of them squads. 

so that's 18/19 senior out field players in a 25 man squad. That seems fair to me with 3 goalkeeper, and youth team players. 

 

Completely lost it.  Most likely gone after the CL, players don't look organized or like they care about playing.  Same thing back with Mou...it's just a matter of time and would take extraordinary performance in the CL to keep him here.  Which going by our form is sitting at the ripe probability of .0000001%

1 minute ago, TheChelsRVA said:

Completely lost it.  Most likely gone after the CL, players don't look organized or like they care about playing.  Same thing back with Mou...it's just a matter of time and would take extraordinary performance in the CL to keep him here.  Which going by our form is sitting at the ripe probability of .0000001%

Yeah we didn't look like it the year we won it either haha.  But I agree, players behaving like spoilt brats and really the manager should stamp out this diving and arguing with the ref.  Team and manager been average.

Defense is not terrible, conceded 3 in about 7-8 games or something. But he's got to get us scoring and quick, this time of the season is make or break in terms of top 4 and the cups and his future here.

 

9Didn't get to watch until pens started. 

I noticed a good amount of people here saying he's going to leave in the summer or before the season ends. Even the commentator said he thinks he'll be gone before the month is over.

Did something happen? 

352 needs to go. If it must be 352 then we need 2 CMs that can create and score.  Playing out from the back is useless unless Morata is the CF, our fullbacks is always pinned back and play gets recycled all the way to the GK.

Need better ball recyclers in the middle of the park that pass quick. It's amazing how slow we move the ball considering quick passing is all I see from the drills on the club's youtube channel.

Had an air of negativity around him since the summer, seems to have seeped into the players now. he needs to do something the tactics 

Sadly his time is coming to an end I think. Latest manager chewed up and spit out by the Chelsea machine.

25 minutes ago, axman2526 said:

Sadly his time is coming to an end I think. Latest manager chewed up and spit out by the Chelsea machine.

I don't think he ever stood a chance, last season he didn't get any players he wanted and won the league. This season the same but miracles can't happen twice, especially as we have European football as well.

27 minutes ago, axman2526 said:

Sadly his time is coming to an end I think. Latest manager chewed up and spit out by the Chelsea machine.

If we beat Brighton I think he will last the season though we certainly need to improve.

12 minutes ago, Strider6003 said:

If we beat Brighton I think he will last the season though we certainly need to improve.

I don't think he will be sacked, even if we don't win. If he's going to be sacked before the season ends, probably will be after the Barca ties (if we're eliminated ofc). A change of manager mid-season won't increase our chances of the CL anyway, so at least we should stick with our current one.

5 hours ago, sonic90 said:

I don't think he ever stood a chance, last season he didn't get any players he wanted and won the league. This season the same but miracles can't happen twice, especially as we have European football as well.

Totally agree.

Conte is in tight spot: league is gone, 4th place a dogfight, fixture congestion, transfer window open, key players injured, suspended or out of peak form.

Conte survives: we get good additions and we have some luck in coming games + Morata starts to score.

Conte doesn't survive: things don't change.

Win major honors, fluff following season, change manager, win something next season, rinse and repeat.

Just waiting for Grampa Guss to turn up and complete the story.  

Love Conte but when he does leave i hope we go for an attacking minded manager. Now we have had three "defence first" type of managers in a row with Benitez, Mourinho and Conte.
Klopp for example fascinates me a littlebit and while we are not going to get him i think Tuchel or Sarri could be fun.

If he leaves I won't lose any sleep over it. He was great last year, but this season his attitude has sucked, and his substitutions have been practically nonsensical. Watching the game last night, it was f**king obvious that we couldn't sit on a 1-0 in those wet and slippy conditions and trust we could hold on. I was practically screaming at him to get Pedro off for Hazard so we could pile the pressure on them and stop the inevitable last minute attacks. Instead he tries to shore up the defense (what the f**k was the point in Christiensen for Ampadu!?) and like practically every f**king game this season we end up having to weather heavy pressure while trying to hang on for the whistle.

He even does this when we're 0-0 against teams we should be battering ffs. 10 minutes to go, we need a goal, sure lets take Hazard off that will certainly help! Ridiculous.

So his obvious attempts to save Hazard, Morata and Kante's energy levels results in them playing as much or more football as they would have if he'd just brought them on earlier, results in us not having Morata or Pedro available for the next match, and makes us look like f**king mugs who can only scrape past Norwich by the skin of our teeth.

f**king had it with him.

1 hour ago, Sindre said:

Love Conte but when he does leave i hope we go for an attacking minded manager. Now we have had three "defence first" type of managers in a row with Benitez, Mourinho and Conte.
Klopp for example fascinates me a littlebit and while we are not going to get him i think Tuchel or Sarri could be fun.

Like Andre Villas Boas ? Even Guardiola needed 2 season at City to create something special, and he have a lot of money to spare, unlike here in Chelsea.

And they bring all players that he want, not like us.