4 hours ago, Ernie_blue said:

When?

West Ham, Norwich (both games) and possibly others.

Quote

I didn't really see any of his comments about the transfer market and the way Chelsea operate as whinging.

The media keep asking him about it and he keeps answering the same way.  If the club want input they ask him and he gives it.  Seems like a good process to me and he doesn't answer unrelated questions by talking about the transfer market.

Am I missing something?

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No, you're not. There is every indication it is that simple. He keeps saying the same things, they're just looking for a slip-up and I wouldn't be surprised if repeating the story is a way for them to make it seem like it's an issue he keeps bringing up because he's so frustrated. In reality, they're asking him the questions but we never see the questions written in the articles do we? 

I don't buy the narrative that we aren't backing him with signings or that the board have sacked him already and are just waiting for the right time to announce it. If he wasn't getting the players he wanted, granted they may not have all been first choice, then why do we keep signing players from Italy who have very specific qualities about them that Conte seems to be after? Is it the club who want a big target man to play up front? 

By the same token, if the club are ready to sack him why would they be spending anything on players this January when a new manager is going to come in and change things around anyway? While I'm sure there are frustrations on both sides and neither is happy with being 3rd or losing to Arsenal, this whole thing is overblown. The media need something to talk about, it's not good for them when the 6 biggest clubs in the country are at a stable point with no managerial controversy, so they make it appear. 

Edited January 25, 20188 yr by TheChelseaBlues

5 minutes ago, Van Butsen said:

West Ham, Norwich (both games) and possibly others.

None of those games started with a back 4 and i don't remember seeing a back 4 in those games.

2 minutes ago, TheChelseaBlues said:

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No, you're not. There is every indication it is that simple. He keeps saying the same things, they're just looking for a slip-up and I wouldn't be surprised if repeating the story is a way for them to make it seem like it's an issue he keeps bringing up because he's so frustrated. In reality, they're asking him the questions but we never see the questions written in the articles do we? 

I don't buy the narrative that we aren't backing him with signings or that the board have sacked him already and are just waiting for the right time to announce it. If he wasn't getting the players he wanted, granted they may not have all been first choice, then why do we keep signing players from Italy who have very specific qualities about them that Conte seems to be after? Is it the club who want a big target man to play up front? 

By the same token, if the club are ready to sack him why would they be spending anything on players this January when a new manager is going to come in and change things around anyway? While I'm sure there are frustrations on both sides and neither is happy with being 3rd or losing to Arsenal, this whole thing is overblown. The media need something to talk about, it's not good for them when the 6 biggest clubs in the country are at a stable point with no managerial controversy, so they make it appear. 

Conte isn't get sacked but will likely part ways at the end of the season. Chelsea should spend money to give themselves a better chance of top 4 as money is so important to the club, they will make more being back in Europe than the money they spend. The board would buy players in Jan if they wanted and they knew Conte was leaving in February, its how the club works. 

When every man and his dog know how this board self implode no matter what, then you ought to know we are dealing with an incompetent set of people WHO know zero about stability and common sense.

It should physically not be possible to make the same f**king errors......not at this level, yet we have found ourselves with people WHO have perfected this art......and they f**king love this art it seems.

Anybody willing to bet with me that the man replacing Conte will be far inferior? Lets just say the NeXT man is Jesus himself.......our Club will very very fast figure out a way to handcuff him and throw him to the Winds too. Get it? It does not matter WHO comes in......the same sh*t will happen no matter what. Nothing will change until RA and RA only brings out his famous war axe and throws these f**kers in the sea.....a business, any business, to thrive require good, competent and level headed folks Upstairs. We dont have that.......and Thus it makes life for others under them a horror show and then axed......then repeat.....repeat.....and repeat. Yup Conte will leave, as would all of us......but it wont end there. Eden, Tibo etc will go as well.......but dont worry, we will still have our people Upstairs drawing a new master plan.....one that is called self destruct. You know, many of us have seen the old days......the nothing or all days.....the bad days etc, we have worked so hard to get here.....but sadly all to willing to piss it all away.......man this Club f**king know how to make me go off.

I like Conte and think all this nonsense is blown out of proportion, however I do feel he's a bit frustrated that we don't have much depth in the squad to call on, and we aren't spending big bucks to upgrade, only replace those who leave. If he does walk at the end of the season then Simeone seems to be one of the few options left. He's also good at working within a budget, if that's what we want, Atletico don't spend fortunes in the transfer market and still do quite well. That said, I'd rather Conte stays with us. Even if we win no trophies, Top 4 and a respectable result or even a win against Barcelona would mark a solid season for me, no one has ever been in the running for the title other than City, so a top 4 finish is as good as it gets. 

36 minutes ago, atomis said:

When every man and his dog know how this board self implode no matter what, then you ought to know we are dealing with an incompetent set of people WHO know zero about stability and common sense.

It should physically not be possible to make the same f**king errors......not at this level, yet we have found ourselves with people WHO have perfected this art......and they f**king love this art it seems.

Anybody willing to bet with me that the man replacing Conte will be far inferior? Lets just say the NeXT man is Jesus himself.......our Club will very very fast figure out a way to handcuff him and throw him to the Winds too. Get it? It does not matter WHO comes in......the same sh*t will happen no matter what. Nothing will change until RA and RA only brings out his famous war axe and throws these f**kers in the sea.....a business, any business, to thrive require good, competent and level headed folks Upstairs. We dont have that.......and Thus it makes life for others under them a horror show and then axed......then repeat.....repeat.....and repeat. Yup Conte will leave, as would all of us......but it wont end there. Eden, Tibo etc will go as well.......but dont worry, we will still have our people Upstairs drawing a new master plan.....one that is called self destruct. You know, many of us have seen the old days......the nothing or all days.....the bad days etc, we have worked so hard to get here.....but sadly all to willing to piss it all away.......man this Club f**king know how to make me go off.

Can't see why the board are to blame. The board were appointed by Roman, are directed by Roman, report to Roman are their actions generally meet with his approval otherwise they'd be down the road.

Its his train set, can't see him saying to the board " there you go, do whatever you want, keep me in the loop."

It seems to be sacrosanct to criticise the owner. Much easier to blame everything on his appointees.

Edited January 25, 20188 yr by Ewell CFC

2 minutes ago, Ewell CFC said:

Can't see why the board are to blame. The board were appointed by Roman, are directed by Roman, report to Roman are their actions generally meet with his approval otherwise they'd be down the road.

Its his train set, can't see him saying to the board " there you go, crack on, keep me in the loop."

It seems to be sacrosanct to criticise the owner. Much easier to blame everything on his appointees.

MAke no mistake about it......this is not the RA of 2007.......not even in the same galaxy.

5 minutes ago, atomis said:

MAke no mistake about it......this is not the RA of 2007.......not even in the same galaxy.

It's a double edged sword really because the mans pumped in vast amounts of his own money plus this stadium costing the best part of 1 billion pounds.

However with transfer fee's increasing and the top clubs with wealthier owners we could be left behind in the Liverpool and Arsenal way of the past decade.

Maybe we will get more investment from elsewhere but if we don't then it is what it is sadly.

 

Some of the rumours indicate the club are not willing to say no to  conte as they don't want him to walk away now as we have no replacement lined up and are in a battle for top 4.

However we are also reluctant to spend big on players with no resale value or longevity to them, aka dzeko, when there is  strong belief conte will leave in the summer and the new manager, whoever that is, is stuck with players he does not want.

2 hours ago, JoseBlues said:

2 hours ago, abramovich said:

Robert Beasley‏ @1RobBeasley
It's a recurring #CFC theme. We bring in a manager, but after initial honeymoon period we don't give him the players he wants. Manager sulks, team struggles, we sign some crappy nobodies, manager sacked. New manager comes in, doesn't like the crappy nobodies and it all starts again.

Seriously, so frustrating. We were in such a good position after last season and just needed a few tweaks with good investments. Instead we will reset and spend more all over again. This club has no direction. Penny wise, pound foolish.

I just don't understand posts like this.  Can you outline a basic direction you want to see and what that entails so I can understand a little better.  Also what you hope the outcome of that direction is and how that outcome is by far and a way better than what we are experiencing now and have done for the last 15 years?

Would also help if you used examples of clubs with an appealing direction.

3 minutes ago, Chelsbear said:

It's a double edged sword really because the mans pumped in vast amounts of his own money plus this stadium costing the best part of 1 billion pounds.

However with transfer fee's increasing and the top clubs with wealthier owners we could be left behind in the Liverpool and Arsenal way of the past decade.

Maybe we will get more investment from elsewhere but if we don't then it is what it is sadly.

 

Ohh for sure.......but we should still be doing alot better at board level. Easier....make it look like they f**kin know what is up. I know epl is a different ball game alltogether with these stinkin mancs etc, but ffs which other elite Club does this sh*t every goddamn season without leaning anything?

1 hour ago, Ernie_blue said:

None of those games started with a back 4 and i don't remember seeing a back 4 in those games.

Even when we are losing and need more numbers going forward?

That's what I was answering sorry should have been more clear.  Watch the games again if you like.

For the fans unhappy who would you replace Conte with?

39 minutes ago, Van Butsen said:

Even when we are losing and need more numbers going forward?

That's what I was answering sorry should have been more clear.  Watch the games again if you like.

First Norwich game Chelsea didn't move to 4 at the back, second game it could have been anything with 9men.

I asked a general question and no real answer. Was just interested more than anything.

18 minutes ago, Van Butsen said:

I just don't understand posts like this.  Can you outline a basic direction you want to see and what that entails so I can understand a little better.  Also what you hope the outcome of that direction is and how that outcome is by far and a way better than what we are experiencing now and have done for the last 15 years?

Would also help if you used examples of clubs with an appealing direction.

Sure. Every time we win the league we sit pat instead of making minor tweaks (Carlo, Jose, Conte). In each of the seasons we won, there were some issues that we saw in the squad that needed addressing (e.g. last year with our lack of depth in LB and a capable right attacker). We bring in Sandro (60M) and a good attacker in the 40-50M range (Bailey, Sanchez (with reduced salary), etc.), we immediately start the season on the front foot. We replaced Costa with Morata at same cost and that was on the Conte/Costa spat. Conte never wanted to replace Matic so we save on Bakayoko. With added depth, we now have upgrades in important areas and keeping the core mostly the same. Zappacosta is fine as a cheap backup. We can involve youth if we are more comfortable in games and hone them better. The year after, we then look for a capable replacement for Cesc while the rest of the team remains the same (maybe RLC has stepped up by then). Total outlay is around 50K as we recoup money for Begovic, Bertrand, Ake, Cuadrado, etc.

Instead we haggle over a few million all summer, end up not buying or with an average player (not cheap) and then blame the manager when he isn't able to compete with City/United. Then we end up firing the manager and then go back to investing again. I see this as directionless.

Even Fergie has talked about the importance to refresh a squad every season to remain competitive which I agree with.

38 minutes ago, Brutos said:

For the fans unhappy who would you replace Conte with?

Nagelsmann, Sarri, Tuchel 

47 minutes ago, ducavis said:

Nagelsmann, Sarri, Tuchel 

Ohh god....tuchel.....might as well close the doors then.

Another I have come across is Leonardo Jardim, if we need to go that route. As well as competing he is allegedly good at bringing through the youngsters.

8 hours ago, ForeverCarefree said:

Needs to stop f**king moaning about transfers and his lack of involvement in them to the press. 

His press conferences have a constant negativity around them and it's got like Jose was in his second spell again. 

It's boring and the fans don't want to keep hearing it. 

Get your head down and get on with trying to win games rather than taking pot shots at your employer. 

He made a comment last night basically tempering any expectation, the sort of thing Roy Hodgson was routinely mocked for while at Liverpool and England.

2 hours ago, Van Butsen said:

Even when we are losing and need more numbers going forward?

That's what I was answering sorry should have been more clear.  Watch the games again if you like.

You was right about the West Ham one, just wondered how stubborn Conte was in changing it. When you are losing like last night you don't need 5 defenders with your wingbacks hitting a brick wall.

1 hour ago, JoseBlues said:

Sure. Every time we win the league we sit pat instead of making minor tweaks (Carlo, Jose, Conte). In each of the seasons we won, there were some issues that we saw in the squad that needed addressing (e.g. last year with our lack of depth in LB and a capable right attacker). We bring in Sandro (60M) and a good attacker in the 40-50M range (Bailey, Sanchez (with reduced salary), etc.), we immediately start the season on the front foot. We replaced Costa with Morata at same cost and that was on the Conte/Costa spat. Conte never wanted to replace Matic so we save on Bakayoko. With added depth, we now have upgrades in important areas and keeping the core mostly the same. Zappacosta is fine as a cheap backup. We can involve youth if we are more comfortable in games and hone them better. The year after, we then look for a capable replacement for Cesc while the rest of the team remains the same (maybe RLC has stepped up by then). Total outlay is around 50K as we recoup money for Begovic, Bertrand, Ake, Cuadrado, etc.

Instead we haggle over a few million all summer, end up not buying or with an average player (not cheap) and then blame the manager when he isn't able to compete with City/United. Then we end up firing the manager and then go back to investing again. I see this as directionless.

Even Fergie has talked about the importance to refresh a squad every season to remain competitive which I agree with.

Don't you love a last minute desperate signing at the end of the window  . The deal for Dzeko won't go through till 22:55pm on the 31st January to save those extra pennies.

Unfortunately Antonio sounds like a man resigned to his fate, hate to say it, but he’ll be gone the day after the season ends.

3 hours ago, Ernie_blue said:

Conte isn't get sacked but will likely part ways at the end of the season. Chelsea should spend money to give themselves a better chance of top 4 as money is so important to the club, they will make more being back in Europe than the money they spend. The board would buy players in Jan if they wanted and they knew Conte was leaving in February, its how the club works. 

This is where I lose track. If Conte wants to leave because we aren't spending enough money, why wouldn't he be gone already? If we're buying him players, Barkley, Dzeko, Palmieri and he's getting the reinforcements he wants why would he want to go? By the same token, if the club expects him to leave why would they be buying him, players, the next coach may not want that will be with the club years after he's gone? 

Buying players to improve our chances of making it top 4 makes sense. What doesn't make sense is buying players Conte doesn't want, because you expect him to leave over buying players he doesn't want.

10 minutes ago, shedpensioner said:

Unfortunately Antonio sounds like a man resigned to his fate, hate to say it, but he’ll be gone the day after the season ends.

Aren't reports saying he wants to quit?