Antonio Conte - Now Officially Manager

[enigma]

i have thought that roman all along, ever since jose has wanted a better style of football. it is just the managers weren't available to do so. it was well known he wanted pep guardiola to take over the club, but guardiola didn't want to because of the changing of managers. ever since then it seems he's practically brought in jose and conte purely because they were the most successful available, but also another reason why they haven't 100% supported jose or conte. i believe the vision and philosophy of the club was decided years ago, but the time to change wasn't right - now it is. 

with pep not being an option, it seems this summer could be the best chance he gets to nab a coach with an attractive style roman desperately wants at the club. the style of football is certainly important when it comes to global support and bringing spectators to the game who otherwise wouldn't watch. we are now a business and the club are looking at it from a business pov too, which means trophies and attractive football. it is why the rumours of sarri, jardim and tuchel have been rife. 

Edited April 23, 2018 by enigma

[yorkleyblue]

I do like how people in here know  definitively "what Roman wants"!  I'm not saying you might not be right, but 

6 minutes ago, enigma said:

it was well known he wanted pep guardiola to take over the club

is just press guesswork, that we, as a fanbase, keep trotting out as gospel, as is 

 

6 minutes ago, enigma said:

guardiola didn't want to because of the changing of managers

We don't know that.  It's a nice narrative for  promulgating some agenda or other, but it is just pure speculation.

Roman has NEVER spoken in public about the club, the various managers or the team, so we don't actually KNOW that "an attractive style" is what "roman desperately wants at the club"  and Guardiola has never spoken about Chelsea or the manager's position.

It's just like when people in here state catagorically that player X is earning gazillions per week, or that @Davey Baby has found a cure for his incontinence problem.  No-one knows.

Oh, and this isn't specifically aimed at @enigma, it's all over this and other forums, and repeated all over the press and television because they have to make sh*t up to sell their sh*t-roll papers or get their sheep-bait clicks.

[Saaladin]

1 hour ago, enigma said:

 

it's f**king bournemouth and west ham for christ sake. not to mention drawing to leicester at home and also drawing at home to a weakened arsenal side without ozil, sanchez and wilshere. embarrassing all around really and we had the quality to beat all those teams at home. 

It doesn't matter who it is. We have a run down squad of players. That means you will get mixed results and you'll lose previously winnable games.

Last season Conte could bring Fabregas off the bench or Matic off the bench. This season he has had to rely on Fabregas all year. He was not meant to be that player for Chelsea at this point. 

Pretty sure our best striker was injured for several games also.

[dansubrosa]

50 minutes ago, yorkleyblue said:

I do like how people in here know  definitively "what Roman wants"!  I'm not saying you might not be right, but 

is just press guesswork, that we, as a fanbase, keep trotting out as gospel, as is 

 

We don't know that.  It's a nice narrative for  promulgating some agenda or other, but it is just pure speculation.

Roman has NEVER spoken in public about the club, the various managers or the team, so we don't actually KNOW that "an attractive style" is what "roman desperately wants at the club"  and Guardiola has never spoken about Chelsea or the manager's position.

It's just like when people in here state catagorically that player X is earning gazillions per week, or that @Davey Baby has found a cure for his incontinence problem.  No-one knows.

Oh, and this isn't specifically aimed at @enigma, it's all over this and other forums, and repeated all over the press and television because they have to make sh*t up to sell their sh*t-roll papers or get their sheep-bait clicks.

I get your point, but who wouldn’t want Pep? I’m pretty certain Roman wanted him. Just wasn’t to be.

[yorkleyblue]

I'm not sure how Guardiola would have coped with less of a budget to spend in a vastly more competitive league.   He's never been tested in a league with more than one challenger and where the likes of Drinkwater and Bakayoko were considered top-class purchases.

Edited April 23, 2018 by yorkleyblue

[dansubrosa]

1 minute ago, yorkleyblue said:

I'm not sure how Guardiola would have coped with less of a budget to spend in a vastly more competitive league.   He's never been tested in a league with more than one challenger and where the likes of Drinkwater and Bakayoko were considered top-class purchases.

I think if Pep came to Chelsea then we would have spent a lot of money. A man of his stature demands that. I don’t like giving him too much credit but he would have demanded a stupid amount of money for signings before he joined.

[yorkleyblue]

19 minutes ago, dansubrosa said:

I think if Pep came to Chelsea then we would have spent a lot of money. A man of his stature demands that. I don’t like giving him too much credit but he would have demanded a stupid amount of money for signings before he joined.

He might have demanded, but I don't think he would have got anywhere near what City have spunked out for him.  And I think he would have struggled  the same as any other manager would.

But, that's just my opinion,  not something I have just parroted back from a pundit or other press outlet.

[atomis]

Any manager with our team and pressure would be bound to get sh*tty or mixed results.....no doubt. Last season pep had wave after wave of quality players......he failed......many wanted him out, many didnt......they backed his ass and now eating at the high table........even if it hadnt worked out, they still would have had one mean squad to fight on all fronts. We do the opposite without learning. Conte deserve another season.......but only if we will back him......

[Ernie_blue]

47 minutes ago, Saaladin said:

It doesn't matter who it is. We have a run down squad of players. That means you will get mixed results and you'll lose previously winnable games.

Last season Conte could bring Fabregas off the bench or Matic off the bench. This season he has had to rely on Fabregas all year. He was not meant to be that player for Chelsea at this point. 

Pretty sure our best striker was injured for several games also.

Conte has had to rely on Fabregas because Drinkwater has never been given a fair chance plus injuries and Baka has been a disaster. Before the season started no one could have guessed how bad Baka has been, no one can blame the board for that, he had just won the league with Monaco and went far in the champions league. It doesn't work that all the bad signings Conte didn't want and all the good ones Conte did. Baka just looks like he will never get out of his poor form and confidence, knowing football i wouldn't be surprised he does well elsewhere though.

Going into a season Baka, DW, Kante and Fab was a bigger squad than the year before and not bad options, just no one could foresee Baka's form and DW not being given a chance.

However much people like to deflect, Conte made way to many mistakes in over 3 months. We have a squad to be fighting Spurs if not ahead, we was 2nd at Christmas.

[mclovin83]

4 hours ago, Saaladin said:

Maybe no one was saying those buys were sh*t but were you saying we were better with Morata and Bakayoko than Costa and Matic?

No I wouldn't have said we were "better," but I wasn't complaining. I thought they were good signings, and pretty much the best out there that was realistically available. 

Do you actually remember just how sh*t Matic was in the FA Cup final against Arsenal? Many Chelsea fans were rejoicing when we shifted him & signed Bakayoko. 

 

[brakeit]

4 hours ago, Ernie_blue said:

The 10th sh*t gets boring, the team was better than 10th, jusg because you finish 10th doesn't mean the squad was 10th quality. I would like to see Conte take Athletico to the league title and the champions league final in the same season against big boys like Real and Barca, no chance. 

Did you realize this 10th place is with 2 different managers?

And if you finish 10th in the league that have 38 matches, then yeah you deserve it. I remember most of us was saying the 90% of the players are done and need replacement. Conte make this team to look better, then it is.

 

[Ernie_blue]

14 minutes ago, brakeit said:

Did you realize this 10th place is with 2 different managers?

And if you finish 10th in the league that have 38 matches, then yeah you deserve it. I remember most of us was saying the 90% of the players are done and need replacement. Conte make this team to look better, then it is.

 

You can deserve finishing 10th but the squad was better than 10th. Of course he made the team look better, this season he has made them look slightly worse unless we somehow pull of a Wenger special when the pressure is off, take 4th place and think everything is good.

[Saaladin]

50 minutes ago, Ernie_blue said:

Conte has had to rely on Fabregas because Drinkwater has never been given a fair chance plus injuries and Baka has been a disaster. Before the season started no one could have guessed how bad Baka has been, no one can blame the board for that, he had just won the league with Monaco and went far in the champions league. It doesn't work that all the bad signings Conte didn't want and all the good ones Conte did. Baka just looks like he will never get out of his poor form and confidence, knowing football i wouldn't be surprised he does well elsewhere though.

Going into a season Baka, DW, Kante and Fab was a bigger squad than the year before and not bad options, just no one could foresee Baka's form and DW not being given a chance.

However much people like to deflect, Conte made way to many mistakes in over 3 months. We have a squad to be fighting Spurs if not ahead, we was 2nd at Christmas.

Drinkwater has been given opportunities when he was healthy. And he did nothing with them. He was average at best and provided no particular quality to the team. 

You're exactly right, the board couldn't have known that Baka would fail this badly but they took a huge risk on a young player and in the process (with their stupid transfer policy) sold Matic who was a proven player to our rivals. You think Conte had anything to do with that mess?

How is having more options available at CM more important than having better options available? The board downgraded arguably the most important position on the pitch and asked Conte to make miracles happen. 

Conte wanted guys like Vidal, Nainggolan, Veratti if he was losing Matic, not a kid who happened to have a great season. In itself, I personally have no issue with the Bakayoko signing, I have a major issue with pretending he could replace Matic and Fabregas as the main partner to Kante.

Who were Conte's other targets? Koulibaly, Alex Sandro, Sergio Roberto, Bonucci, Belotti, Oxlade-Chamberlain etc. Board didn't get him even one of his top guys. Morata probably was a Conte target but not ahead of Lukaku and Belotti.

[Saaladin]

53 minutes ago, mclovin83 said:

No I wouldn't have said we were "better," but I wasn't complaining. I thought they were good signings, and pretty much the best out there that was realistically available. 

Do you actually remember just how sh*t Matic was in the FA Cup final against Arsenal? Many Chelsea fans were rejoicing when we shifted him & signed Bakayoko. 

 

So he has one bad game and fans go into meltdown. Similar reaction to Conte right now. Just have no patience or desire to analyze the whole of the situation and would just rather do the easy thing and pin it on the manager.

Conte is the perfect Chelsea manager and if he gets a few of HIS signings this summer he would have the ability to win the double next season.

[yorkleyblue]

6 minutes ago, Saaladin said:

Conte wanted guys like Vidal, Nainggolan, Veratti if he was losing Matic, .....................

Who were Conte's other targets? Koulibaly, Alex Sandro, Sergio Roberto, Bonucci, Belotti, Oxlade-Chamberlain etc. Board didn't get him even one of his top guys. Morata probably was a Conte target but not ahead of Lukaku and Belotti.

Like I said in response to a different point, but which applies equally validly here, you know NONE of this to be fact, it's just you interpreting conjecture on the part of the press, or a list of players who, for whatever reasons, either weren't for sale at a price we were willing to pay, or who opted to sign for another team.

How do you know Lukaku and Belotti were ahead of Moratta in either Conte's choice or that of the board?   I'll tell you. You don't know, any more than the press, the TV pundits, the Twatteratti, me or anyone else in here.

It's great to have opinions, but not when those opinions are presented as concrete fact, and then used to abuse, insult or belittle other posters in a smug condescending manner.

Unless, of course, you truly do have inside knowledge of the club's transfer policy meetings and target list.  In which case, excellent - give us all the insider knowledge.  Now.  With proof.  Not a lot to ask really.

[mclovin83]

12 minutes ago, Saaladin said:

So he has one bad game and fans go into meltdown. Similar reaction to Conte right now. Just have no patience or desire to analyze the whole of the situation and would just rather do the easy thing and pin it on the manager.

Conte is the perfect Chelsea manager and if he gets a few of HIS signings this summer he would have the ability to win the double next season.

"one bad game"   Good one. 

You do like to throw a bit of made up guff into your posts for dramatic effect don't you. 

"Matic had one bad game in his entire Chelsea career but those shallow & fickle Chelsea fans had their pitch forks out and were waiting for him down Wembey way, hounding him out of the club. Look, now they are doing the same to Mr Perfect, aka Conte, who has never done anything wrong, ever"

In reality, Matic had more than one bad game. He was decent overall in my opinion, but he was inconsistent, and f**king dog sh*t against Arsenal in the FA Cup. The point was that there was genuine belief at the time that bakayoko could be better. This option was still valid when we played United at Stamford Bridge & Bakayoko impressed in a midfield that wiped the floor with United and Matic. 

As for Conte being the "perfect Manager", that is clearly subjective. It's quite obvious you can see no wrong in him. Love is blind as they say. 

Edited April 23, 2018 by mclovin83

[mclovin83]

.

Edited April 23, 2018 by mclovin83

[Gentian]

37 minutes ago, mclovin83 said:

"one bad game"   Good one. 

You do like to throw a bit of made up guff into your posts for dramatic effect don't you. 

"Matic had one bad game in his entire Chelsea career but those shallow & fickle Chelsea fans had their pitch forks out and were waiting for him down Wembey way, hounding him out of the club. Look, now they are doing the same to Mr Perfect, aka Conte, who has never done anything wrong, ever"

In reality, Matic had more than one bad game. He was decent overall in my opinion, but he was inconsistent, and f**king dog sh*t against Arsenal in the FA Cup. The point was that there was genuine belief at the time that bakayoko could be better. This option was still valid when we played United at Stamford Bridge & Bakayoko impressed in a midfield that wiped the floor with United and Matic. 

As for Conte being the "perfect Manager", that is clearly subjective. It's quite obvious you can see no wrong in him. Love is blind as they say. 

Your argue that Matic was rubbish yet Conte won the league with him. So what do we do we tie his hands even further but getting Bakayoko instead which I think you agree that his level atm is below Matic. What you also want is Conte to smile and say that's ok guys..

Personally I think Conte is doing all of us fans a favour by stating that we need quality signings if we want to stay at the top.. and it had to be stated a lot of times for the board and some fans to take notice. 

[Saaladin]

1 hour ago, yorkleyblue said:

Like I said in response to a different point, but which applies equally validly here, you know NONE of this to be fact, it's just you interpreting conjecture on the part of the press, or a list of players who, for whatever reasons, either weren't for sale at a price we were willing to pay, or who opted to sign for another team.

How do you know Lukaku and Belotti were ahead of Moratta in either Conte's choice or that of the board?   I'll tell you. You don't know, any more than the press, the TV pundits, the Twatteratti, me or anyone else in here.

It's great to have opinions, but not when those opinions are presented as concrete fact, and then used to abuse, insult or belittle other posters in a smug condescending manner.

Unless, of course, you truly do have inside knowledge of the club's transfer policy meetings and target list.  In which case, excellent - give us all the insider knowledge.  Now.  With proof.  Not a lot to ask really.

I haven't said anything smug or condescending and yes those are obviously my opinions and not fact as no one has a list of Conte's targets.

[Valerie]

Result!

[Geert The Flyer]

Result ?

[ducavis]

1 hour ago, Saaladin said:

Drinkwater has been given opportunities when he was healthy. And he did nothing with them. He was average at best and provided no particular quality to the team. 

You're exactly right, the board couldn't have known that Baka would fail this badly but they took a huge risk on a young player and in the process (with their stupid transfer policy) sold Matic who was a proven player to our rivals. You think Conte had anything to do with that mess?

How is having more options available at CM more important than having better options available? The board downgraded arguably the most important position on the pitch and asked Conte to make miracles happen. 

Conte wanted guys like Vidal, Nainggolan, Veratti if he was losing Matic, not a kid who happened to have a great season. In itself, I personally have no issue with the Bakayoko signing, I have a major issue with pretending he could replace Matic and Fabregas as the main partner to Kante.

Who were Conte's other targets? Koulibaly, Alex Sandro, Sergio Roberto, Bonucci, Belotti, Oxlade-Chamberlain etc. Board didn't get him even one of his top guys. Morata probably was a Conte target but not ahead of Lukaku and Belotti.

None of those signings were attainable for various reasons, and it has nothing to do with the board.

- Vidal: When was the last time a player left Bayern when they don’t want to sell? 

- Nainngolan: He has publicly come out & admitted he had an offer from Chelsea but he loves Italy & wasn’t willing to move.

- Veratti: Wasn’t it Barca that tried unsettling Veratti that led to their owner activating Neymar’s release clause? 

- Koulibaly: De Laurentis is a hard negotiatior & it will take a very stupid bid to sell him. We were in for him, and the owner refused to sell him to any one. Juve paid £75m for Higuain in 2016 which was a stupid fee then, we would have had to match it.

- Sandro: We were in for him but he never showed any desire to leave Serie A. You can’t just keep bidding upwards without any encouragement from the player. 

- Roberto: Conte wanted to play him in a wing back role like Chamberlain, and he preferred a central role. That is on Conte & his formation.

- Bonucci: He was only willing to move within Italy, something to do with his son.

- Chamberlain: The board agreed with Arsenal, but he wanted a central role which he now has with Liverpool. Conte wanted him as a wing back.

- Belotti: Torino wanted to sell him for €100m after one season. Going by his performances this season, it would have been a bad signing.

- Danilo/Walker: Pep is a bigger draw than Conte, and both players only wanted to play for him. Danilo has been poor 

Explain what the club could have done better

[Valerie]

14 minutes ago, Geert The Flyer said:

Result ?

Yes, result. Someone finally acknowledges we know fukc all about Conte's thoughts. Now we need someone to acknowlegde we know fukc all about the goings-on in our board, so we can stop that endlessly, pointlessly speculating - presenting it as facts - and going at each other's throats.

[atomis]

36 minutes ago, Valerie said:

Yes, result. Someone finally acknowledges we know fukc all about Conte's thoughts. Now we need someone to acknowlegde we know fukc all about the goings-on in our board, so we can stop that endlessly, pointlessly speculating - presenting it as facts - and going at each other's throats.

Yeah.....but sadly utterly unavoidable.

[brakeit]

ducavis, Kolibaly price was 60m. Napoli said paid and it`s yours, we didnt do it. We tried to get him for 50-55 no more, and we get f****. Yes we have to overpay, but if you want quality you have to do that.
Liverpool give Klopp what he want and paid 75m. for Van Dajk. Conte also said it by himself he wanted Van Dajk too, why didn`t the board buy it ???

Naingolan was 50-50 on leaving or coming. How you convince him with salary.

Sandro - Juve get tired of us trying to change him and trying to lowblow them. IF we was given straight the money, we probably could get him.

For Sergi Roberto and OX, no one knows how exactly Conte would have used them. With that bad midfielder that we have, we would probably play them in there too. Only Conte knows where he would have used them. For Ox that maybe the case, but for Roberto is not. We decide to go for Drinkawater and Zapacosta and did not even send official offer. So he didn`t reject us.

Walker i already said it and put arguments in my words interview of Dany Alves and Guardiola and also Conte say that he wanted him. We was just too late. City was never in for him, before Alves f**** them. Then they acted really fast and get him for no time. They just paid Tottenham what they want. Tottenham admit we was too late, and the offer was too small.

Same for Danilo. Marina could not agree with Real Madrid for the price and City comes and steal it from us.

For Bonucci and Veratti and Vidal i`m pretty sure we have very bad chances and could not blame the board for them.

But there is also Alessio Romangoli for Milan.

Lukaku and more and more.

But all it`s over now. Let`s just finish the season strong and whatever happen.

Conte is gone, i`m pretty sure in this.

The board fu***** the bridge with the sale of Matic. Conte was pissed huge from that moment, and was not able to give 100% of himself, probably not even 70%.

And just to mention there is only 2 of ours players this season, that have higher score then Matic - Kante and Hazard.

What Matic give to our team was a balance. Something that went lost when the board sell him.

And for last. Conte knows better then all of us, which player is good enough and should play there and where. He showed that last season. When 90% of the posters here was crying about Matic, and why he didn`t play Fabregas. We see it clearly this season why.

And you forget how good did with Ivanovic and Terry. There was zero problems with them, and they was the leaders of this team with great character. And he play his cards so well with them and there was zero tension and zero problem. Should i mention Oscar as well? He played him, but see it`s not working and get him out of the squad.