33 minutes ago, WhiteWall said:

It wasn't a nothing game. It was actually a game with a chance, albeit a slender one

Very slender would you have put any money on Brighton winning ?.

23 minutes ago, Argo said:

You sound like one of the AKB's at Arsenal

I have no idea what that is. I'll rephrase that for todays football fan '' I literally have no idea what that is''. Someone on here said they were literally on Talk Chelsea when AVB was in charge I literally have no idea what that means. Or as Jamie Redknapp who's very fond of the word literally said '' He literally put that on a plate for him'' which of course would mean someone putting a football on a plate.

1 hour ago, bluehaze said:

21 years ago for those who remember we played Coventry a couple of weeks before the cup final when we had to wear their away kit. It was a nothing game all the fans could think of was the cup final against Boro. Following year I remember sitting in the West Stand against Blackburn another game we lost but no one cared all the fans could think of was Stockholm in fact t-shirts of Stockholm Chelsea 98 were doing a roaring trade.

Now we lose what was a nothing game we all knew Liverpool would win and granted we were terrible today. But it goes to show how much football has changed and not for the better a bloke wins a premiership gets us to two cup finals and is treated with utter contempt by some on here. No one appears to be looking forward to next weeks cup final in fact I've read some want us to lose thinking it might mean Conte stays that's the mindset of the modern football fan and it's a disgrace.

I take issue with that, there aren’t people on here wanting us to lose the cup final just so they can be right about their point with Conte. The issue is he gives us no faith going into that game so many of us are expecting to lose.

Times have changed yeah, we’re now expected to win things. By fans, the media etc. That’s where success leads you. But some people need to stop acting like it’s just fans being disrespectful to Conte when he hasn’t shown us any this season. No I don’t agree people should be calling him a c*nt or a bald twat but fans are passionate and Conte has barely shown any of that this season. Yeah he won us a league title and I’ll always be greatful but the fact is he’s caused his own downfall and when the going’s got tough he’s mentally walked away. A manager who blames everyone but himself is no good, I’d go as far as to say he’s become a poison on the club. Win FA Cup or not I can’t wait to see the back of him and will ridden face.

3 hours ago, Scott Harris said:

I have been saying all along that it's a combination of things.

It started with the board - They were a shambles during the summer transfer window. Bidding on Lukaku just as he had agree to join United, it made us look like a joke. Going all in for Morata after missing out on Lukaku. Taking so long to bring in Bakayoko (i wish they hadn't bothered but you get my point), waiting until the last day of the transfer window to sign Drinkwater (another we shouldn't have bothered with) selling Matic to a rival before we had a replacement in place and settled. Buying Zappacosta (i can't believe our options were that thin) Oxlade-Chamberlain being one of our big targets, which they still missed out on. The pathetic attempts at signing Alex Sandro. The only good thing they did was get Rudiger quickly, and i don't think its a coincidence that he turned out to be our best signing.

Then it was Conte's turn - Bitched and moaned throughout the whole season because the board didn't give him what he wanted. But he should have just got on with it. Most managers in the business are dealt a worse hand than him and they have got on with it because it's their job. He still had a Premier League winning side, it wasn't as bad as he was making it out to be every week. Yes, it may not have been good enough to win the league, but it was more than capable of securing a top 4 finish. His tactics, his formation, his substitutions, his overall attitude, it's been awful. He's supposed to be head coach, not some sulky kid. 

And finally, the players - They may have had to put up with a sulky manager all season, but they have once again downed tools when things have gotten tough. When things go bad with this lot, they rarely recover, they just deteriorate more as the season goes on. Their performances have been lazy for months now, they jog their way through games. The opposition put more effort in than our lot, you can see it. When we concede a goal, heads go down and there isn't much communication between the players, there isn't much of a reaction at all. People always say the coach can't motivate the players so should be sacked, but i don't think anybody can motivate this lot. They are grown men, they shouldn't need to told they are amazing just so we can get some damn commitment out of them! They are paid enough, so put in the work, no excuses! I'm sick of our players giving their all one season and then switching off the next, it's been happening for too long now.

Honestly Scott, the past 3 summer windows have been garbage, the last time we had a good summer window was when we wrapped up Costa & Fabregas before the 2014 World Cup even started. 

We got them in and settled and they both had a brilliant season, we ended up winning the league by quite a distance.

Now it's f**king ridiculous, we keep bidding, then bidding, then bidding, then going for plan C, while waiting until it's August to make a singing. Hopefully, we do what we did this World Cup what we did last World Cup, get some signings wrapped up early, June, July. Stop waiting until August while we've already kicked off the season. 

Prices are too high at this point, Roman is no longer the biggest spender on the block. It’s hard to lock up players like morata for 58 m ffs without everyone and their nan putting in competitive bids. 2014 seems like a distant past

1 minute ago, TheChelsRVA said:

Prices are too high at this point, Roman is no longer the biggest spender on the block. It’s hard to lock up players like morata for 58 m ffs without everyone and their nan putting in competitive bids. 2014 seems like a distant past

And revenue is just as high with it. 

We spent over 200 million this season, the issue is we spent it on so many average players. What we should do is go out and buy a midfielder for a good sum of money, make that priority number 1 in the summer. I seriously cannot bare to go another season with Fabregas & Bakayoko playing next to Kante. 

1 minute ago, Slojo said:

And revenue is just as high with it. 

We spent over 200 million this season, the issue is we spent it on so many average players. What we should do is go out and buy a midfielder for a good sum of money, make that priority number 1 in the summer. I seriously cannot bare to go another season with Fabregas & Bakayoko playing next to Kante. 

I agree with you on quality over quantity.  But I’m a bit too sloshed to make a full reply lol! 

 

 

 

 

 

 

This is how we were playing last season. I haven't seen any of that football this season. Look how ruthless we were, we were strong, quick, we took some shots, the heart was there, now we are seeing performances like we seen today. This game against Everton was only last season. Only we seem to go from looking so formidable to rubbish in such a short space of time.

And our kitswere better too...

Edited May 13, 20188 yr by TheChelsRVA

57 minutes ago, Scott Harris said:

 

This is how we were playing last season. I haven't seen any of that football this season. Look how ruthless we were, we were strong, quick, we took some shots, the heart was there, now we are seeing performances like we seen today. This game against Everton was only last season. Only we seem to go from looking so formidable to rubbish in such a short space of time.

I was at that game and it remains my favourite game that I've been to. I genuinely remember turning to the guy beside me and saying that it was like watching Brazil and I meant it, because we played such a fluidity and an energy that is just so lacking in our team today. We were absolutely superb on the day and the atmosphere in the Shed was terrific, belting out the Antonio chant from the first minute to the last and we looked like we could score as many as we wanted without even having to worry about conceding a goal. So depressing how it's all changed. 

52 minutes ago, BenCFC19 said:

I was at that game and it remains my favourite game that I've been to. I genuinely remember turning to the guy beside me and saying that it was like watching Brazil and I meant it, because we played such a fluidity and an energy that is just so lacking in our team today. We were absolutely superb on the day and the atmosphere in the Shed was terrific, belting out the Antonio chant from the first minute to the last and we looked like we could score as many as we wanted without even having to worry about conceding a goal. So depressing how it's all changed. 

At the tine we had a reliable goalscorer in top form up front, who terrified most defences. We also had Matic alongside Kante, long before he had decided he wanted to move to United. I doubt we could do much about either leaving, but neither of them were adequately replaced.

3 hours ago, Scott Harris said:

 

This is how we were playing last season. I haven't seen any of that football this season. Look how ruthless we were, we were strong, quick, we took some shots, the heart was there, now we are seeing performances like we seen today. This game against Everton was only last season. Only we seem to go from looking so formidable to rubbish in such a short space of time.

What a difference a center forward can make , Diego was involved in almost all the chances. This year we have to wait for the Hazard miracle 

Exactly, teams feared pushing up against us when we had the firepower and fight from Costa. Having a solid midfield two of Kante & Matic massively helped to.

This season we lack that cutting edge giving teams the motivation to push further up and pressure us, we lost that fear factor that teams like Liverpool & City have had in abundance this season.

Yes it definitely helps to have a 20+ goal a season goal scorer as we've seen this season, but it hasn't helped Spurs or liverpool challenge for the league. What has helped them is making the most of the players they have at their disposal. Conte hasn't done that this season.

He argued with Costa and put the nail in the coffin for Diego to not want to play for us again, his first big mistake. This season has just moaning, whining, and not changing things.

Who knows how things will go next season, but what i do know is we have a squad capable, with a few quality additions and integration of some youth, to be challenging next season regardless of Europa. 

What's Conte's record in must-win games? It must be absolutely awful in percentage terms.

10 hours ago, Argo said:

You sound like one of the AKB's at Arsenal.

Very very few are treating him with "utter contempt", you can criticise or want a change without hating someone you know?

I beg to differ, Argo. I've lost count how many times Conte has been called a c**t or a twat or whatever, preferably with "bald" or "wig" thrown in for good measure. Quite a few of our own players have suffered the same treatment (albeit with the hair issue, but with a derisory adaptation of names). Never seen it this bad, it was embarrassing. However frustrating and infuriating this season has been, it boggles the mind how abusive some of our forum members can be. Thankfully, there are also those who manage to criticise without the namecalling, as you point out.

What is an AKB, btw?

 

Edited May 14, 20188 yr by Valerie

What a crap season. We clearly have too much quality to lose against teams like Newcastle, Watford, Bournemouth etc.

I’m afraid Conte should have done a lot better. Massive disappointment and I won’t be sad to see him go. Such a shame, especially after last season.

Embarrassing that fans are still singing Conte's name when he doesn't give a sh*t about the club.

14 hours ago, Slojo said:

I would love to know the ins and outs of this season, just so I can make a fair assessment but I really don't know. Has Conte been dealt a bad hand by the board? Or has Conte purely f**ked up and made bad mistakes? 

It's really hard to tell, at the end of the day he's had over 200 million to spend. But we can't be too sure if it was him who picked his targets or not. 

Blame all around on this one. 

The board, once again, have been all over the place with transfers. Leaving it too late to sign players meaning they don't get a decent pre-season with the squad and allowing the manager to work with them. We lost big names, experience and personalities in the summer in Costa, Terry and Matic and in hindsight perhaps allowed too much leadership and personality to leave in one go. 

It was all over the media that Lukaku was our first choice, we sat on our hands and only after United had put in a bid did we make a serious move for him but by then United's bid completely blew us out of the water with whatever we were willing to offer. 

Bakayoko and Drinkwater both arrived injured. Drinkwater appears to have been signed for nothing more than his passport. Allowing Chalobah to leave for £5m and then dropping £35m on Drinkwater was just bemusing. Whoever allowed Matic to leave when Bakayoko and Drinkwater weren't fit was just idiotic. 

Failed to sign Oxlade-Chamberlain, who was apparently wanted for the right wing-back roll and we ended up signing unknown Zappacosta as a last minute alternative. 

Then there was the wierdness of Barkley almost signing on transfer deadline day, then not turning up for a medical and then signing on the first day of the winter transfer window instead. He's a player (along with Luke Shaw and John Stones) who was identified years ago as potential successor Lampard (Stones and Shaw were to replace Terry and Cole). He's very much a club signing and was always going to be dumped on a manager regardless of what team system they were playing. 

Failed to sign Sandro so went into the season with only one recognised left sided defender, waiting until the last day of the winter transfer window to sign Emerson. 

What went on with Emenalo? Why was he allowed to leave half way through the season? Who was identifying and recruiting the players in January? Why hasn't he been replaced yet? The man acted as a middle man between the manager and the board and he's just allowed to up and leave with no replacement.

Conte apparently bemused by our transfer management for the second year running clearly went into the new season at odds with the board. I don't think he was able to separate his grievances with the clubs' higher ups to his day to day dealings with the squad. He's been moody this season (though it's not like he hasn't done this throughout his managerial career to date), been a bit Jekyll and Hyde on the touchline, one game up and animated the next sullen and still. 

His tactics have clearly not always gone over well with the squad. Unlike last season where he seemed to get them all pulling in the same direction, embracing the switch to 3-4-3, this year it appears a defensive mindset has irked some of the squad. 

He's become stubborn with his selections and tactics. Sometimes seeming to select certain players as a message to the board (putting a clearly non match fit Barkley into the team following injury away to Arsenal in the league cup) that he's been left to work with an inferior squad. Deploying the false 9 when Michy was available was bizarre and a hindrance to the team. 

And as for the players. Too many have under-performed, Pedro is a shadow of the quality, goal scoring treat he was last year. Moses and Alonso have blown hot and cold in the wing back roles. Hazard hasn't stamped his authority on games enough and hasn't scored or assisted anywhere the number of goals he should, going completely missing in big matches. Morata has been a failure for a record signing, too sulky and soft a player to be leading the line every game. Bakayoko looks almost embarrassingly bad as a player, incapable of doing the most simple things. Christensen isn't ready and is making way too many mistakes. Cahill doesn't look capable of playing every week any more, errors are catching up with him, especially lacking the experience of Terry or Luiz alongside him. Fabregas doesn't have the legs to play in a two man midfield, Conte used him sparingly last season and often further up the pitch, the reasons seem obvious this season. 

TL:DR

Blame has to be shared around every aspect of the club. I expect Conte to leave but we need to take this as an opportunity to change more than just the manager. Emenalo's replacement needs to be announced and work closer with the manager to sign the players he needs, club signings like Barkley need to stop because they're a distraction. A career path for the likes of Loftus-Cheek to come into the first team need to be made clear, we're allowing talent like Chalobah to leave and signing expensive replacements (Barkley). We have players within the club capable of fulfilling squad roles, getting decent minutes without needs to spend unnecessarily. 

Players, there needs to be come big decisions made. Do we move on Bakayoko, Morata, Zappacosta quickly and cut our loses? Decisions to be made about Fabregas, Pedro, Willian, Luiz. 

The coming couple of months are going to be very important in shaping the future of the club. 

Edited May 14, 20188 yr by ForeverCarefree

20 minutes ago, ForeverCarefree said:

Failed to sign Oxlade-Chamberlain, who was apparently wanted for the right wing-back roll and we ended up signing unknown Zappacosta as a last minute alternative.

You made some good points, but just on the Ox thing, apparently the problem was that he didn't want to be played as a wing back and one of his reasons for wanting to leave Arsenal was to be played in CM more. Not quite sure why the club were going for him to be honest if he didn't actually want to play in the position we were recruiting for. Very confusing, which kind of supports your larger point.

18 minutes ago, Kentonio said:

You made some good points, but just on the Ox thing, apparently the problem was that he didn't want to be played as a wing back and one of his reasons for wanting to leave Arsenal was to be played in CM more. Not quite sure why the club were going for him to be honest if he didn't actually want to play in the position we were recruiting for. Very confusing, which kind of supports your larger point.

It may have been that if we signed Oxlade-Chamberlain we didn't sign Zappacosta and Drinkwater. He might have been used for his versatility, who knows. 

But we went through a lot of trouble agreeing a price with Arsenal etc. only for him to go elsewhere apparently because he didn't like how we planned on utilizing him. So why didn't someone have that conversation with him sooner? We put our efforts into that signing and then end up with deals near to the deadline with Drinkwater and Zappacosta instead. It's inefficient and hinders the manager's preparations for the new season and it's a common theme when it comes to our summer transfer dealings.   

There's clearly something amiss with how we conduct our transfer business and hopefully that gets sorted with whoever might come in and replace Emenalo. 

1 minute ago, ForeverCarefree said:

It may have been that if we signed Oxlade-Chamberlain we didn't sign Zappacosta and Drinkwater. He might have been used for his versatility, who knows. 

But we went through a lot of trouble agreeing a price with Arsenal etc. only for him to go elsewhere apparently because he didn't like how we planned on utilizing him. So why didn't someone have that conversation with him sooner? We put our efforts into that signing and then end up with deals near to the deadline with Drinkwater and Zappacosta instead. It's inefficient and hinders the manager's preparations for the new season and it's a common theme when it comes to our summer transfer dealings.   

There's clearly something amiss with how we conduct our transfer business and hopefully that gets sorted with whoever might come in and replace Emenalo. 

Yeah, our transfer business was really confusing last year. Really didn't seem to be any clear direction to it, more desperation to get something done.

You'd think someone would have complained about it by now

We had some sh1t managers and awful seasons, but I can't remember one manager led us to so many embarrassing defeats in 1 season like Conte, I'm talking about embarrassing losses like 3-0 to Newcastle, Bourmouth, 4:1 to Watford, and lost to Palace who got no goal, no point after 8 games. We didn't just got beat, we were hammered. Newcastle was out shooting us 10:0 in the first half, it's like Barcalona against some league 2 team out there. As fans, we accept lose to better teams on the day, or sometime just not your day, but those loses were just not acceptable, and yesterday he just gave us, not the first time he has done that this year.

Jose two seasons ago.

11 hours ago, Scott Harris said:

 

This is how we were playing last season. I haven't seen any of that football this season. Look how ruthless we were, we were strong, quick, we took some shots, the heart was there, now we are seeing performances like we seen today. This game against Everton was only last season. Only we seem to go from looking so formidable to rubbish in such a short space of time.

All i can say is this, we missed Costa and to some extend David Luiz this season.