1 minute ago, Zeta said:

Are you, though?

Said firmly tongue in cheek ?

According to Simon Phillips on Twitter (from the Chelsea Echo):

• Chelsea HAVE gone to CAS.

• They just haven’t asked them to freeze the ban, yet.

• CAS could decide to freeze it themselves, or Chelsea might still ask them to.

I wouldn't freeze the ban. Suffer next season. Integrate youth. See who can step up and then buy

29 minutes ago, big blue said:

Surely we have be hoping to get it reduced to one window, and serve it in january? 

Just accepting a ban for this summer doesnt seem beneficial to me. CAS have reduced bans to a single window before aswell, so there is precedent. 

 

We also don't know all of the details like the lawyers and the rest of the club do. I'd be very surprised if they had everything in order and they expected to be able to get it reduced and haven't already submitted the appeal.. But then weirder things have happened. 

Not sure what the hold up can be if all we were waiting for to submit this appeal was the official ruling from FIFA, which we've had for a few weeks now.

Just now, DannyBoy said:

We also don't know all of the details like the lawyers and the rest of the club do. I'd be very surprised if they had everything in order and they expected to be able to get it reduced and haven't already submitted the appeal.. But then weirder things have happened. 

Not sure what the hold up can be if all we were waiting for to submit this appeal was the official ruling from FIFA, which we've had for a few weeks now.

It could be submitted, Matt Law could be wrong.  No one has considered that ?

3 minutes ago, RickUK said:

It could be submitted, Matt Law could be wrong.  No one has considered that ?

Also possible, so like i said, we also don't know all of the details ?

Just now, DannyBoy said:

Also possible, so like i said, we also don't know all of the details ?

problem is our club or lawyers are not going to divulge that info to the journos.   Just like none of them knew when our FIFA appeal went in, or the fact it got rejected, until FIFA tweeted it

I wouldn't freeze the ban. Suffer next season. Integrate youth. See who can step up and then buy

1 minute ago, RickUK said:

problem is our club or lawyers are not going to divulge that info to the journos.   Just like none of them knew when our FIFA appeal went in, or the fact it got rejected, until FIFA tweeted it

I mean we don't have a right to know any of that information really.

7 minutes ago, bisright1 said:

I wouldn't freeze the ban. Suffer next season. Integrate youth. See who can step up and then buy

I’d say that’s a good idea if RLC and CHO wasn’t injured. Now we DEFINITELY need new signings.

1 hour ago, DannyBoy said:

Yeah, probably discussing whether it's just better to bite the bullet and suck it up for the next season. Would avoid any knee jerk buys that'd likely just turn out to be useless. 

Question then is what do they do with hazard if they decide to let the ban stand and get those 2 windows out the way? Do we make him unhappy and force him to stay and let him go for a free next season? Considering the CHO / RLC situation and not being able to get anyone else in, think we'd have to be mad to allow him to leave.

It won't just be next season though. If we lose Hazard, there's a good chance we may miss out on CL football. Let's be honest, most top players want to play for a team in the CL. If we miss out on CL football next season (which is a possibility if our rivals can strengthen over us), then 20/21 season we'll have Europa and have to build again. God knows what kind of player we would be able to get then. It might appease the fans to bring in Lampard, but I doubt it will attract top players to play for an unproven coach at the very top level. I am all for Lampard returning, but we need to be in a strong position to do so. The base needs to be built first and foremost. The club just don't seem to put any planning into these ideas. 

47 minutes ago, forbzy said:

One other thing to consider is the future of Sarri. There has been speculation that he may go back to Italy or may even be replaced by the board this summer. If that is the case the board may have decided it times it better to serve the ban now and bring in a manager to build the new team around the academy products.

Has a top club ever built it's team around their academy products and been successful barring Utd in the 90's? I think in this climate building a team of youth products and hoping they turn out to be world class is a recipe for disaster. I am fine with 3 or 4 youth players in the team, but who would we even build the team around? It's not like we have a 20 year old Messi or Ronaldo to build around. 

2 hours ago, Scott Harris said:

Well, we need to get our asses in gear. There is no time to piss about here. If we can't make any transfers in the summer, then I think we are heading for a battle with the mid table teams at best next season.

Now while i won't pretend next season looks too promising if the bans enforced, that is way ott.

Look how bad Spurs, United, Arsenal and Liverpool have got during various periods this decade yet none of them fell to mid table, not a chance it will happen to us.

29 minutes ago, dansubrosa said:

I’d say that’s a good idea if RLC and CHO wasn’t injured. Now we DEFINITELY need new signings.

Sell Zappa and hazard, keep Tammy giroud mount kovacic (unfortunately), pasalic, James, lose higuain. We have a squad that can compete for 4th as united and arsenal aren't going to massively improve. But if not then who cares. It's a throwaway season and it will show Sarri isn't the right manager for us.

After the year we will be stronger and in a good position for the season after with a clear idea (and big purse) to sign players. 

Maybe we lose Sarri then and get lampard. But let's base that on how our year goes. 

If the ban does kick in this summer because we don't appeal and get a delay, then unfortunately for Hazard he will have to stay. If the ban was delayed then we would be ripped off with transfer fees, so we might as well for go the £100 mill for Hazard and keep him.

48 minutes ago, enigma said:

It won't just be next season though. If we lose Hazard, there's a good chance we may miss out on CL football. Let's be honest, most top players want to play for a team in the CL. If we miss out on CL football next season (which is a possibility if our rivals can strengthen over us), then 20/21 season we'll have Europa and have to build again. God knows what kind of player we would be able to get then.

I get what you're saying here, but I think that's more of a "it's only a problem when it becomes a problem".  We're in the CL next year, that in itself would attract top players.  Hazard leaving, while a bummer, opens up opportunities for a new winger to come in and play a lot.  And we already know a new striker would play a lot.  New defenders would likely rotate.  Our new signings could look at the situation, be confident in their abilities and know they will play a lot, and say "with me joining the club, we will be a good side and continue to qualify for the CL".

7 minutes ago, mwblue10 said:

I get what you're saying here, but I think that's more of a "it's only a problem when it becomes a problem".  We're in the CL next year, that in itself would attract top players.  Hazard leaving, while a bummer, opens up opportunities for a new winger to come in and play a lot.  And we already know a new striker would play a lot.  New defenders would likely rotate.  Our new signings could look at the situation, be confident in their abilities and know they will play a lot, and say "with me joining the club, we will be a good side and continue to qualify for the CL".

We have just qualified for the Champions League which I agree would provide extra incentive to any prospective signings this summer. However if the ban stops us signing players this summer, I think the argument is that we would then struggle to qualify for the Champions League in 20/21 which would presumably make our club a less attractive option for new signings when the ban ends.

1 minute ago, forbzy said:

We have just qualified for the Champions League which I agree would provide extra incentive to any prospective signings this summer. However if the ban stops us signing players this summer, I think the argument is that we would then struggle to qualify for the Champions League in 20/21 which would presumably make our club a less attractive option for new signings when the ban ends.

Yeah I agree, if we are banned this summer, then it's a different story

2 hours ago, Boston Blue said:

CAS have never overturned a FIFA or UEFA decision.  So while our ban may get frozen, it likely would still be imposed at some point.  So maybe the club's thinking is to use next season as a rebuild.  You accept the ban this summer and next winter, you let Sarri go, you bring in Frank & Jody, you to commit to bringing in and playing your best youth (Academy & returning loanees).  You let Frank & Jody develop the youth players, they get another year of managerial experience with little pressure of expectation, and we are ready to go full tilt in the summer of 2020.  

While I understand the logic of this, which I wouldn't disagree with either. I can't see the club being able to accept a season like this. I imagine they will let Sarri stay but they'll expect to be in Europe the following year, with the preference obviously being Champions League. I could see the club sacking the manager because we are 7th, or somewhere in that vicinity, in the league and struggling in the group stage, or getting knocked out of the round of 16. 

6 minutes ago, mwblue10 said:

Yeah I agree, if we are banned this summer, then it's a different story

If we are truly hesitating over requesting a freeze on the ban I wonder if there is any truth to the rumours over Sarri leaving. He has been linked to several top jobs in Italy. While the manager may not be directly in charge of transfers the type of players sought would typically reflect the playing style and strategy of the manager. So if we are having to plan yet another change of manager the club may consider taking the ban during the transitional period?

45 minutes ago, Argo said:

Now while i won't pretend next season looks too promising if the bans enforced, that is way ott.

Look how bad Spurs, United, Arsenal and Liverpool have got during various periods this decade yet none of them fell to mid table, not a chance it will happen to us.

I don't think it is over the top all things considered.

Let's say worse comes to worse and we have this transfer ban and sell Hazard. We would have no Hazard, no Loftus-Cheek for half of the season, an over the hill striker in Giroud, possibly Batshuayi who doesn't look like he would work well in this Chelsea team, Willian with no attacking threat, Pedro who is getting worse with each season that passes, no goalscoring or attacking threat from midfield (especially since Barkley's form dipped), full backs that are poor getting forward and only one of them is good defensively, and CB's that are prone to making stupid mistakes. 

I don't think a bunch of youth players that are coming from the Championship are suddenly going to keep us up there with the other top 5 teams either, that is just fantasy. Reece James, Mason Mount and Tammy Abraham are nowhere near ready to be playing for a top 6 team from what I have seen. If they weren't already Chelsea players, then nobody would be saying we should go out and sign them. I'm also very skeptical that Pulisic is as good as some people think he is.

This squad doesn't look capable of competing for a top 6 spot with a transfer ban and without Hazard. We will be competing with the likes of Wolves, Everton, Leicester and Watford.

We need to get our Asses in gear, Kovacic has been a disaster, how many goals or shots, makes Mikel to be like Lamps or Gerrard, as it stands if the ban was frozen we could of signed new players, if it got lifted and we miss out on say Coutinho thats terrible business, it could be the way to keep hazard though?

We could of laughed this transfer ban off 10 years ago with the squad we already had, but not now. The only way we can win from the transfer ban is if we are forced to bring in loaned/youth players and they some how plug the gap.

Ignore that report IMO, there will almost certainly be an appeal and a request under rule R37 to freeze the ban.  Id stick my house on it

2 minutes ago, RickUK said:

Ignore that report IMO, there will almost certainly be an appeal and a request under rule R37 to freeze the ban.  Id stick my house on it

Risky business sticking your house on it when it comes to chels ?.

Never bet on Chelsea xD haha

Why do we insist with Kovacic ?? We saw this season he doesnt improve us at all when he is on the pitch, Chelsea are really gonna pay 40 + for a bench player ?!