I find it so funny how some people actually believe that we have been having a "bad squad" that is desperate for a rebuild, specially considering that we have been consistently a top 4 team that played multiple cup finals and the won the CL... Suddenly as soon as Potter is our manager, we belong in the top 12 and we need to spend 1 billion gazzilion dollars... LOL

Yes such a bad squad that Alonso and Christensen went to Barcelona with Azpilicueta that was on his way too, then Rudiger went to Real Madrid and Jorginho to Arsenal and now Man City wants Kovacic? Yeap, we have had such a bad squad, poor Potter, at least we bought his own Cucurella I guess that's the 1 good player we have 

If Kovacic was at least durable this wouldn’t even be an argument. 
 

I find it funny Chelsea fans for years complaining about how our poor midfield is  only to keep wanting the same injury prone players inflated within the squad. 

If Man City or whoever else willing to buy him, let him go. Unlike Kante who has an unfortunate long term injury, Kovacic is never fit to play more than 2-3 games in a row, yet plays the whole WC without any issues.

1 hour ago, icecoolguy22 said:

If Man City or whoever else willing to buy him, let him go. Unlike Kante who has an unfortunate long term injury, Kovacic is never fit to play more than 2-3 games in a row, yet plays the whole WC without any issues.

sorry but this take is just wrong and makes me a bit angry. He’s a committed pro who wants to play. And he’s a good lad. He’s been mistreated/mishandled by the club. Treated like sh*t in fact. And now some of the fans are piling in with groundless takes. This all dents his confidence, as it would anyone’s. He’s spent a lot less time injured than James and Chilwell. For Some reason this same arguemnt isn’t levelled at them. And no - I do NOT think they should go. That would be crazy. But so would selling Kovacic. He has unique qualities that none of our other midfielders or any players for that matter have. other top clubs ARE showing the love, because they have people there who, unlike the clowns in charge of Chelsea, recognise quality when they see it. Put yourself in Kovacic shoes. What would you do? If he goes - which looks increasingly likely - it will be their fault. Everyone will realise, you included, will realise we let one of Europe’s finest midfielders go.

2 hours ago, Gol15 said:

I find it so funny how some people actually believe that we have been having a "bad squad" that is desperate for a rebuild, specially considering that we have been consistently a top 4 team that played multiple cup finals and the won the CL... Suddenly as soon as Potter is our manager, we belong in the top 12 and we need to spend 1 billion gazzilion dollars... LOL

Yes such a bad squad that Alonso and Christensen went to Barcelona with Azpilicueta that was on his way too, then Rudiger went to Real Madrid and Jorginho to Arsenal and now Man City wants Kovacic? Yeap, we have had such a bad squad, poor Potter, at least we bought his own Cucurella I guess that's the 1 good player we have 

Indeed. As I’ve said elsewhere, any discussion of players is moot until we see how they perform in a functional club. The new narratives that have emerged around Kova (“hmm he was ok in the World Cup”) are just so wide of the mark. Fans are unbelievably fickle and so ready to adopt the most negative assumptions as to why someone isn’t performing at their best. 

2 hours ago, Nibs said:

In my book, a complete midfielder would contribute a lot more in the way of goals and assists. Kovacic is nowhere near a complete midfielder.

As for Man City being interested in him, can only imagine his agent has started that rumour. He wouldn't get near their starting 11. 

Have always maintained that he's a useful squad player but now our squad is as big as it is and we clearly need a big reduction in numbers, Kova is one I would sell without hesitation.

He absolutely would get near their starting 11. He is a complete midfielder too. You and others have it the wrong way round. The sad reality is he’s too good for the Mickey Mouse club we’re being turned into, and those who know about football are licking their lips. you’ll get what you want. Then we’ll see if it’s better. 

1 minute ago, Dean said:

Indeed. As I’ve said elsewhere, any discussion of players is moot until we see how they perform in a functional club. The new narratives that have emerged around Kova (“hmm he was ok in the World Cup”) are just so wide of the mark. Fans are unbelievably fickle and so ready to adopt the most negative assumptions as to why someone isn’t performing at their best. 

4 hours ago, loz said:

It shoes how badly we are struggling when people want us to hang on to Kovacic. Massively overrated player and I don't believe for a second Man City are interested.  Exeter City maybe. 

 

I'd trade him in for one of @Mod 's second hand motors and a Steak Bake.

 

 

Moronic and not remotely funny

 

4 hours ago, loz said:

It shoes how badly we are struggling when people want us to hang on to Kovacic. Massively overrated player and I don't believe for a second Man City are interested.  Exeter City maybe. 

 

I'd trade him in for one of @Mod 's second hand motors and a Steak Bake.

 

 

you elected to watch him with a blindfold on once you’d formed an opinion in just first season under Sarri.

16 minutes ago, Dean said:

sorry but this take is just wrong and makes me a bit angry. He’s a committed pro who wants to play. And he’s a good lad. He’s been mistreated/mishandled by the club. Treated like sh*t in fact. And now some of the fans are piling in with groundless takes. This all dents his confidence, as it would anyone’s. He’s spent a lot less time injured than James and Chilwell. For Some reason this same arguemnt isn’t levelled at them. And no - I do NOT think they should go. That would be crazy. But so would selling Kovacic. He has unique qualities that none of our other midfielders or any players for that matter have. other top clubs ARE showing the love, because they have people there who, unlike the clowns in charge of Chelsea, recognise quality when they see it. Put yourself in Kovacic shoes. What would you do? If he goes - which looks increasingly likely - it will be their fault. Everyone will realise, you included, will realise we let one of Europe’s finest midfielders go.

I dont have any insights of what's behind the scene, but if you do, please share how he's been mistreated or mishandled. If you put the blame on Potter, I may even half agree with you😄 But I don't recall Potter played him at LWB or defence. When you said he's one of Europe's finest, was that based on his WC form or this season? He couldn't possibly be among the best if he couldn't play and not contributing, it's like saying Pogba is one of the best in the world right now. He was good during the CL win campaign, although nobody would swap him for Kante in that team.

You have strong feelings about him, good for you. But if he's that good a player and match fit, why he couldn't get into this struggling team? He may be one of the best if he plays for City, just like he was great for Coratia, but we are still waiting for him to put 5-6 games together for Chelsea and run the midfield.

 

6 hours ago, Bob stark said:

I don't understand what you mean by consistenly and effectively because Kova was our best midfielder last year. 

I wasn't disputing that, more so your statement he is a "complete midfielder". 

He's skillful on the ball when dribbling in transition but that is where it ends. He's a CM who can't shoot. A CM who can't defend. A CM who can't create. A CM who can't hit a long ball to save his own life. To top it off, for a player supposedly in his prime he suffers an incredible amount of muscular imbalance injuries. 

 

 

1 hour ago, Dean said:

He absolutely would get near their starting 11. He is a complete midfielder too. You and others have it the wrong way round. The sad reality is he’s too good for the Mickey Mouse club we’re being turned into, and those who know about football are licking their lips. you’ll get what you want. Then we’ll see if it’s better. 

After the fa cup loss to city in which Kovacic played a really good game Pep talked to Kova after the game. Kova was asked what he and Pep talked about he said pep congratulated him on a good game. Might mean nothing who knows but I’m in agreement with you that Kova woukd definitely fit into Peps system. Kova is great technically has a motor can press and is great under pressure. Sure he has faults we all know what they are .Tuchel was a big Kova fan. Until he got hurt Kova  have his best season under Tuchel. I know Chelsea was talking to Kova about an extension before the World Cup but I think that ship has sailed and he will probably sold in the summer. 

 

Edited March 1, 20233 yr by Kova17

5 hours ago, Gol15 said:

I find it so funny how some people actually believe that we have been having a "bad squad" that is desperate for a rebuild, specially considering that we have been consistently a top 4 team that played multiple cup finals and the won the CL... Suddenly as soon as Potter is our manager, we belong in the top 12 and we need to spend 1 billion gazzilion dollars... LOL

Yes such a bad squad that Alonso and Christensen went to Barcelona with Azpilicueta that was on his way too, then Rudiger went to Real Madrid and Jorginho to Arsenal and now Man City wants Kovacic? Yeap, we have had such a bad squad, poor Potter, at least we bought his own Cucurella I guess that's the 1 good player we have 

Those clubs payed massive fees for those players.

7 hours ago, Sconnie Blue said:

I wasn't disputing that, more so your statement he is a "complete midfielder". 

He's skillful on the ball when dribbling in transition but that is where it ends. He's a CM who can't shoot. A CM who can't defend. A CM who can't create. A CM who can't hit a long ball to save his own life. To top it off, for a player supposedly in his prime he suffers an incredible amount of muscular imbalance injuries. 

 

 

“That’s where it ends” 🤡. If only people would offer constructive criticism. He CAN hit a long ball. He CAN defend. He CAN create - a lot more key passes and assists than he’s given credit for. Too often he’d hit great passes only for our poor forwards to eff it up. While scoring isn’t his forte, he can score goals, including a goal of the season v Liverpool but let’s sweep the inconvenient positives under the rug.

7 hours ago, icecoolguy22 said:

I dont have any insights of what's behind the scene, but if you do, please share how he's been mistreated or mishandled. If you put the blame on Potter, I may even half agree with you😄 But I don't recall Potter played him at LWB or defence. When you said he's one of Europe's finest, was that based on his WC form or this season? He couldn't possibly be among the best if he couldn't play and not contributing, it's like saying Pogba is one of the best in the world right now. He was good during the CL win campaign, although nobody would swap him for Kante in that team.

You have strong feelings about him, good for you. But if he's that good a player and match fit, why he couldn't get into this struggling team? He may be one of the best if he plays for City, just like he was great for Coratia, but we are still waiting for him to put 5-6 games together for Chelsea and run the midfield.

 

Every single player is underperforming. Should they all be shipped out? Again - I don’t even know why we’re discussing players. 

10 hours ago, Dean said:

sorry but this take is just wrong and makes me a bit angry. He’s a committed pro who wants to play. And he’s a good lad. He’s been mistreated/mishandled by the club. Treated like sh*t in fact. And now some of the fans are piling in with groundless takes. This all dents his confidence, as it would anyone’s. He’s spent a lot less time injured than James and Chilwell. For Some reason this same arguemnt isn’t levelled at them. And no - I do NOT think they should go. That would be crazy. But so would selling Kovacic. He has unique qualities that none of our other midfielders or any players for that matter have. other top clubs ARE showing the love, because they have people there who, unlike the clowns in charge of Chelsea, recognise quality when they see it. Put yourself in Kovacic shoes. What would you do? If he goes - which looks increasingly likely - it will be their fault. Everyone will realise, you included, will realise we let one of Europe’s finest midfielders go.

He's a good lad? Ahh didn't know you drank with him down your local.

How exactly has he been mistreated or treated like sh*t? We rescued him from Madrid after a fairly average season with us and then play him every time he's actually fit. He's probably the only player you can argue hasn't been mistreated, we've gave him the world. Pretty sure he's worn the armband for us before too. 

12 minutes ago, RIP Mourinho said:

He's a good lad? Ahh didn't know you drank with him down your local.

How exactly has he been mistreated or treated like sh*t? We rescued him from Madrid after a fairly average season with us and then play him every time he's actually fit. He's probably the only player you can argue hasn't been mistreated, we've gave him the world. Pretty sure he's worn the armband for us before too. 

He was even our POTY once upon a time. 

2 hours ago, Dean said:

“That’s where it ends” 🤡. If only people would offer constructive criticism. He CAN hit a long ball. He CAN defend. He CAN create - a lot more key passes and assists than he’s given credit for. Too often he’d hit great passes only for our poor forwards to eff it up. While scoring isn’t his forte, he can score goals, including a goal of the season v Liverpool but let’s sweep the inconvenient positives under the rug.

He CAN hit a long pass, he also f**ks them up more than he makes them.

He CAN defend, but more often than not he's out of possession.

He CAN create, but he's only made 17 big chances in 131 league games for us.

Goal of the season was great, why's he only scored 5 times in 207 games though? 

Too many ifs, buts and maybes. 

13 hours ago, Gol15 said:

I find it so funny how some people actually believe that we have been having a "bad squad" that is desperate for a rebuild, specially considering that we have been consistently a top 4 team that played multiple cup finals and the won the CL... Suddenly as soon as Potter is our manager, we belong in the top 12 and we need to spend 1 billion gazzilion dollars... LOL

Yes such a bad squad that Alonso and Christensen went to Barcelona with Azpilicueta that was on his way too, then Rudiger went to Real Madrid and Jorginho to Arsenal and now Man City wants Kovacic? Yeap, we have had such a bad squad, poor Potter, at least we bought his own Cucurella I guess that's the 1 good player we have 

You find it difficult to believe….Next you will be telling us you find it difficult to believe in frozen food.

Did you not see us play over the last 2 years?

 

He has had some good spells for us, but he - like most of our midfielders - needs a holding midfielder with them to perform their best. Thats why I thought he was actually okay with Jorginho, but the pairing with Kante never worked for me. Enzo/Kovacic seems unbalanced as well, so unless we shift our midfield around I'm sure a holding midfielder will come in the summer to play with Enzo or Kante. This means he'll not be first choice and not really essential. Unless he's a leader and a really important voice in the changing room, I'd therefore let him go if a decent offer comes in. We have to sell someone, our squad is way to bloated and we're not done shopping either

3 hours ago, Dean said:

Every single player is underperforming. Should they all be shipped out? Again - I don’t even know why we’re discussing players. 

I dont know why we were discussing in the first place 😐

Move on then..

11 minutes ago, AndyDowsleftflank said:

He has had some good spells for us, but he - like most of our midfielders - needs a holding midfielder with them to perform their best. Thats why I thought he was actually okay with Jorginho, but the pairing with Kante never worked for me. Enzo/Kovacic seems unbalanced as well, so unless we shift our midfield around I'm sure a holding midfielder will come in the summer to play with Enzo or Kante. This means he'll not be first choice and not really essential. Unless he's a leader and a really important voice in the changing room, I'd therefore let him go if a decent offer comes in. We have to sell someone, our squad is way to bloated and we're not done shopping either

We need a Rodri/Rice/Partey/Casemiro and have done since Matic left. 

Edited March 1, 20233 yr by RIP Mourinho

46 minutes ago, RIP Mourinho said:

We need a Rodri/Rice/Partey/Casemiro and have done since Matic left. 

Yep - I miss Mikel!

1 minute ago, nonotnowjim said:

Yep - I miss Mikel!

God what i'd do to have him back, seriously underrated 

54 minutes ago, icecoolguy22 said:

I dont know why we were discussing in the first place 😐

Move on then..

Normally I wouldn’t but felt someone had to respond to comments that are unjust. 

1 hour ago, RIP Mourinho said:

He CAN hit a long pass, he also f**ks them up more than he makes them.

He CAN defend, but more often than not he's out of possession.

He CAN create, but he's only made 17 big chances in 131 league games for us.

Goal of the season was great, why's he only scored 5 times in 207 games though? 

Too many ifs, buts and maybes. 

Half the things you mention here aren’t what we got him for. There was a time when he wasn’t scoring any goals at all and the fans were cutting him more slack than they are now. One and two we just aren’t going to agree on, which is absolutely fine. 
 

i just get the impression too many fans have turned on him based on insufficient evidence, especially when you consider the many disruptions we’ve been through and the fact (sorry to sound like a broken record here) that nobody is performing well.