The first possible *long term* coach we get and he has a smoking addiction haha. 

I wonder if the coach has to stop at every service so Sarri can have a fag!

1 hour ago, enigma said:

The first possible *long term* coach we get and he has a smoking addiction haha. 

The question how long Sarri will last at Chelsea takes on a more sinister meaning, in view of his 80 a day habit 

2 minutes ago, Valerie said:

The question how long Sarri will last at Chelsea takes on a more sinister meaning, in view of his 80 a day habit 

Is it that many ? Jesus Christ he needs to cut that down.

I had a weird dream last night, we played city and they had 0% possession, then we got knocked out the FA cup by Leeds and Sarri was sacked.

2 hours ago, RIP Mourinho said:

80 a day. Christ. I know smoking is bad for you and all that but i can't help but admire him for that. Impressive. 

It has to be an exaggeration, even 60 a day has you smoking every 15 minutes on average, it just isn't really sustainable unless you have literally nothing to do with your time.

14 hours ago, coco said:

I had a weird dream last night, we played city and they had 0% possession, then we got knocked out the FA cup by Leeds and Sarri was sacked.

You call that a dream? Sounds like a nightmare to me.

15 hours ago, Argo said:

It has to be an exaggeration, even 60 a day has you smoking every 15 minutes on average, it just isn't really sustainable unless you have literally nothing to do with your time.

 

15 hours ago, coco said:

Is it that many ? Jesus Christ he needs to cut that down.

 

15 hours ago, Valerie said:

The question how long Sarri will last at Chelsea takes on a more sinister meaning, in view of his 80 a day habit 

Yea there's no way its 80 a day. That's ludacris, I've had 2 packs in a day before and it was only bc I was drinking all night and chain smoking. Guy has things to do, I'd be surprised if it was more than 20 a day. 

It was so nice to see us attempt to attack, create and maintain control over the full 90 minutes. I've gotten so used to us putting multiple players behind the ball and going into super defensive mode after taking the lead in the last few years

It's going to take a while for us to truly play to his tactics but the signs were there in that 2nd half performance. 

wasn't sure where to post this but it seems they are finally sorting out a director of football

https://www.theguardian.com/football/2018/aug/15/chelsea-technical-director-priority

Of course I want Michael Ballack

3 minutes ago, carrickblue said:

wasn't sure where to post this but it seems they are finally sorting out a director of football

https://www.theguardian.com/football/2018/aug/15/chelsea-technical-director-priority

Of course I want Michael Ballack

I’d be happy with Juliano Belletti too 

Feels strange to appoint a DOF after the window closes.

Maybe we often overestimated how much that role plays in identifying and recruiting players?

I’m still curious about who has been doing that?  Who identified Giroud, Emerson, Kepa and Kovacic?

Jorginho you can assume was a Sarri recommendation but Kepa seemed to come out of nowhere. Who within the club decided to invest a world record fee for a goalkeeper?

7 hours ago, carrickblue said:

wasn't sure where to post this but it seems they are finally sorting out a director of football

https://www.theguardian.com/football/2018/aug/15/chelsea-technical-director-priority

Of course I want Michael Ballack

These things always fascinate me, why Ballack? What has he done to prove he can be a good DoF?

 

6 hours ago, ForeverCarefree said:

Feels strange to appoint a DOF after the window closes.

Maybe we often overestimated how much that role plays in identifying and recruiting players?

I’m still curious about who has been doing that?  Who identified Giroud, Emerson, Kepa and Kovacic?

Jorginho you can assume was a Sarri recommendation but Kepa seemed to come out of nowhere. Who within the club decided to invest a world record fee for a goalkeeper?

I mean we still have a scouting network, would be surprised if one of our head scouts together with Marina and the board join forces in the transfer window. A DoF does a lot more then just come up with transfer targets though. 

Personally Id prefer someone like Ramon Verdejo

Edited August 16, 20187 yr by Xfaxtor

Sarri, apparently is easing up on Conte's methods on football365 today.

1. No need for players to be in the Chelsea Hotel the night before evening matches the next day. 

2. Easing up on dietary options.

Both seem like winners to me.

 

 

 

 

48 minutes ago, Strider6003 said:

Sarri, apparently is easing up on Conte's methods on football365 today.

1. No need for players to be in the Chelsea Hotel the night before evening matches the next day. 

2. Easing up on dietary options.

Both seem like winners to me.

 

 

 

 

Both of those rules are Conte's ideology. I think it is easy for Sarri to ditch them. Losing either of them won't make us any worse as a football team. 

On 13/08/2018 at 10:28, Valerie said:

The question how long Sarri will last at Chelsea takes on a more sinister meaning, in view of his 80 a day habit 

John Neal used to smoke in the dug out.

Did Ancelotti while he was with us? There’s pictures online of him enjoying an oily rag on the touchline?

10 hours ago, carrickblue said:

wasn't sure where to post this but it seems they are finally sorting out a director of football

https://www.theguardian.com/football/2018/aug/15/chelsea-technical-director-priority

Of course I want Michael Ballack

There has been murmurs about Monchi. 

Just now, Ewell CFC said:

John Neal used to smoke in the dug out.

Did Ancelotti while he was with us? There’s pictures online of him enjoying an oily rag on the touchline?

Would be so funny to see Sarri smoking on the touchline 

5 hours ago, Xfaxtor said:

These things always fascinate me, why Ballack? What has he done to prove he can be a good DoF?

 

I mean we still have a scouting network, would be surprised if one of our head scouts together with Marina and the board join forces in the transfer window. A DoF does a lot more then just come up with transfer targets though. 

Personally Id prefer someone like Ramon Verdejo

Scouts typically report into the DOF don’t they? 

Just feels quite a unique set up we have right now. No DOF and the head coach doesn’t dictate transfers/transfer targets.

Yet despite that, with no DOF in place we’ve had two very good transfer windows. Giroud, Emerson, Jorginho, Kepa, Kovacic, Barkley is probably as good as any business we’ve done in the last three years. 

2 hours ago, enigma said:

There has been murmurs about Monchi. 

Surely we can't be lucky enough to get Sarri and Monchi in the same season? Monchi would be an incredible boost for the club structure.

33 minutes ago, ForeverCarefree said:

Scouts typically report into the DOF don’t they? 

Just feels quite a unique set up we have right now. No DOF and the head coach doesn’t dictate transfers/transfer targets.

Yet despite that, with no DOF in place we’ve had two very good transfer windows. Giroud, Emerson, Jorginho, Kepa, Kovacic, Barkley is probably as good as any business we’ve done in the last three years. 

https://www.chelseafc.com/en/teams/managers/scott-mclachlan

This guy is head of intermation scouting, so I think he would have taken some of emanalo's responsibilities along with marina. 

So maybe he deserves some credit for the last 2 windows. 

The most important thing moving forward, is that the new DOF is in sync with the management and board, and everyone is singing from the same hymn sheet. 

Never gonna trust any manager as a long term one given our previous experience

With maximum points from our first two matches it gives us a great spring-board for the rest of the season considering a new managers and a recent switch to a back four.

This should take the pressure off while our players learn Sarri's style.

Still don't think we will win the league though still think 3rd is attainable.

When was the last time Chelsea played in that manner vs a top 6 team? Sarri is a god. That was breathtaking to watch, the best I've seen since the days of Vialli and Gullit though a very small sample size so far.

The superiority we showed over them in terms of just pure football in that first 40 minutes reminded me of the 5-0 game against Everton. It was the best football I've seen vs a big 6 team since..............I can't really remember. Usually our wins in big games, virtually all of them in the last 6 years have come from counter-attacking efforts. This was a purely possession based footballing effort. The final possession stats was 63% CFC vs 37% Arsenal. We completed 719 passes to their 424. 

 

Arsenal could barely get out of their half in the 2nd half and only made about 3 or 4 forays forward all half. Defensive improvements will come with time. It's logical that switching from the rudimentary style of Mourinho and Conte to a more expansive and comprehensive style of play will require a season and several transfer windows. It happened with Klopp. It happened with Guardiola 2 seasons ago. I am looking forward to this season more than any other in recent years.

Enough of that defend deep all game, scared to play crap. We're finally playing like a big team is supposed to play. 

Edited August 19, 20187 yr by The Liquidator