8 hours ago, dkw said:

City who scraped through against Southampton?

Yes. That one. The City who scraped through against Burnley a week ago as well.. I think we might well beat them, Pep might do another of his " being too clever" tactics again. . I'm putting our recent 3 goal home defeat against City out of my mind as an.aid to positive thinking! 😂

12 hours ago, dermott said:

Good article on the BBC Football website about Leicester's situation. Complete f**kwittery. King Power, the owners, still haven't recovered financially from the Covid downturn. Players still on PL wages, they borrowed against future income - eg, player sale instalments - to keep the ship afloat, so no future income on top of vastly reduced TV rights in League One. They have further to fall.

Avoiding complete collapse sounds like a hell of an achievement.

1 hour ago, carrickblue said:

Avoiding complete collapse sounds like a hell of an achievement.

For the good of the club sounds like they need to sell. Sounds familiar.

7 hours ago, axman2526 said:

For the good of the club sounds like they need to sell. Sounds familiar.

King Power's funding is not the worst issue, it's that Vichai's son (Top) is neither as competent nor as interested in running the club as his father was. As a result, he allowed himself to be influenced by incompetents and sycophants like Jon Rudkin and external agents, who exploited him to advance their interests and agendas and profits.

Thankfully, Eghbali would never allow something like that to happen at Chelsea. Imagine if he had hired a panel of inexperienced hucksters instead of a competent, experienced individual.

I think people have forgotten about Leeds and how that unravelled. O'Leary and Ridsdale overspent borrowed money on huge transfer fees for promising but not yet established young talents, in the hope it would make for sustainable Champions League football/top 4. Thankfully, no one would try that model again 22 years later.

4 hours ago, SydneyChelsea said:

King Power's funding is not the worst issue, it's that Vichai's son (Top) is neither as competent nor as interested in running the club as his father was. As a result, he allowed himself to be influenced by incompetents and sycophants like Jon Rudkin and external agents, who exploited him to advance their interests and agendas and profits.

Thankfully, Eghbali would never allow something like that to happen at Chelsea. Imagine if he had hired a panel of inexperienced hucksters instead of a competent, experienced individual.

I think people have forgotten about Leeds and how that unravelled. O'Leary and Ridsdale overspent borrowed money on huge transfer fees for promising but not yet established young talents, in the hope it would make for sustainable Champions League football/top 4. Thankfully, no one would try that model again 22 years later.

Leeds is the one I remember too.

This was the team that beat us the season before they were relegated

Paul Robinson, Gary Kelly, Jonathan Woodgate, Danny Mills, Teddy Lucic, Eirik Bakke (Seth Johnson 85), Alan Smith, Paul Okon, Jason Wilcox, Harry Kewell (James Milner 31), Mark Viduka (Robbie Fowler 83)

13 hours ago, axman2526 said:

For the good of the club sounds like they need to sell. Sounds familiar.

Already hearing speculation that we'll have to sell Palmer and Estevao

24 minutes ago, carrickblue said:

Already hearing speculation that we'll have to sell Palmer and Estevao

Your source?

John Stones and Nathan Ake both leaving City this summer, we should be throwing absolutely everything to sign either of them. Even if it’s 20 games a season, their leadership at the back would be invaluable. These are the T. Silva type signings we now need.

38 minutes ago, dermott said:

Your source?

1 hour ago, carrickblue said:

Already hearing speculation that we'll have to sell Palmer and Estevao

1 hour ago, carrickblue said:

Already hearing speculation that we'll have to sell Palmer and Estevao

Money has to be raised and those two could help do so.

The PR has already been put out that "any sales will be for football not financial reasons"

39 minutes ago, GarnachoCheese said:

John Stones and Nathan Ake both leaving City this summer, we should be throwing absolutely everything to sign either of them. Even if it’s 20 games a season, their leadership at the back would be invaluable. These are the T. Silva type signings we now need.

Stones on 50% salary because he only has one functioning leg.

Stones can't play 2 games in a week without breaking. On a free, I'd certainly replace Tosin for him.

Van Hecke or Antonio Silva should be the CB partnering Colwill.

2 hours ago, dermott said:

Stones on 50% salary because he only has one functioning leg.

To be fair, one functioning leg is more than most of our players

Received an email earlier from the Chelsea Pitch Owners. In it was the following about changes to ticketing next season. First I've read about it. Unfortunately I won't be able to attend but hope to send in a question via email. Will ask about Vivid Seats. I suspect that many will ask about Vivid Seats and Boehly's stake in that company.

CFC Ticketing Policy Town Hall ­

CPO was informed only yesterday about this event hosted by the Club in partnership with the Fan Advisory Board. The Club’s communication says “ As you are aware from recent consultation, there will be a number of ticketing policy changes for next season aimed to support our ongoing commitment to tackling ticket touting.  In order for this to be as smooth a change as possible and to provide a greater understanding of the benefits of these changes, we would like to invite you a Town Hall focused on this topic.”  The event is Wednesday 6th May - 16:30-18:00 (arrive at 16:15 for a prompt start) - in person only at the Bonetti Suite, Millennium Reception, Stamford Bridge. This is incredibly short notice. CPO would also like to make it clear that it has NOT been consulted on any changes to the club’s ticketing policy. However we are able to invite 10 shareholders so please email [email protected] by 5.00pm on Thursday 30th if you would like to attend. Please also provide your CFC supporter number. First come first served. Please note only those on the guest list will be permitted entry. In addition, supporters will have the opportunity to submit any questions regarding the ticketing policy, which will be addressed during the Town Hall. Please submit these through to [email protected] by Friday 1st May - 5pm. ­

7 hours ago, dermott said:

Your source?

Henry Winter and Christian Purslow

6 hours ago, GarnachoCheese said:

https://youtu.be/A9u0JWHAKqo?si=8U9pNV6ztxISJpdC

lol

14 hours ago, strider6004 said:

Leeds is the one I remember too.

This was the team that beat us the season before they were relegated

Paul Robinson, Gary Kelly, Jonathan Woodgate, Danny Mills, Teddy Lucic, Eirik Bakke (Seth Johnson 85), Alan Smith, Paul Okon, Jason Wilcox, Harry Kewell (James Milner 31), Mark Viduka (Robbie Fowler 83)

I remember this game well. Thanks to the bolded, Leeds were probably the second-best supported team in Australia at the time (on par with Liverpool and behind Manchester United of course) which meant that their games or highlights were usually featured, so it was a rare chance to watch Chelsea for me in those days as I didn't get cable TV until later that year. Milner also rinsed Desailly for the second.

Leeds is therefore the biggest warning sign for me, because with the exception of Ferdinand they did not recoup much of the outlay they spent on these young players. Woodgate, Kewell, Viduka and Mills went for relative peanuts despite being in their prime, largely thanks to injury concerns, and they never got much for Smith or Milner because of the club's desperate situation at the time. Even right now, our financial concerns are well-documented which means we get percieved as a 'selling club', reducing the amount we can get.

Welp, that's that then.

Chelsea Tottenham derbies in the Championship will be sensational!

9 hours ago, yaz said:

Welp, that's that then.

Chelsea Tottenham derbies in the Championship will be sensational!

They are, they say, self-reflecting.

19 hours ago, Sconnie Blue said:

lol

This absolutely needs to be pinned for reference.

3 minutes ago, WhiteWall said:

This absolutely needs to be pinned for reference.

I’ve screenshotted it so we can all have a good laugh for what ever bum they hire.

5 hours ago, Sconnie Blue said:

We tried for 2 of those 3 under Clearlake and totally messed it up.

15 hours ago, Sconnie Blue said:

This year I watched like 5-6 Bayern matches, both UCL and Bundesliga, in different countries in Europe. All the local commentators always had the same thing to say about Olise, something like "how come English clubs did not see how good he is?" or "how come Chelsea spent that much on youth and did not sign him, too?".

I find it funny because everybody in England thought he was a superb player, but what these people that do not follow PL that much do not bring into discussion is Olise's injury record and his suspect hamstrings. The pace of the PL is a different kind of animal and clearly Bundesliga fits him better. I bet even Reece James would go injury free until the end of his career if he were to play there. Less matches, a winter break, slower pace, less competitions, these things matter a lot.