59 minutes ago, timetowaste said:

Conference league again if we're lucky. Quality BlueCo legacy

Will be no Europe for us next season.

19 hours ago, axman2526 said:

Will be no Europe for us next season.

The way this lot play there’ll barely be any football next season.

55 minutes ago, Munkunku said:

The way this lot play there’ll barely be any football next season.

You are not wrong there munky. Has been and still is, bloody dire.

I doubt if there will be any European football for blue co. - What with our situation and Strasbourg out of conference last week and now cant get into the euorpean places after a draw tonight.

So no/not much european money for Blue Co. next year.

Now the kits have the CFC LDN badge on it as well. If a new stadium were possible I don't doubt they'd change our name.

Noni Madueke has come out and said he left us for Arsenal as he wanted to win trophies.

Get ready for him And Havertz to rub this in our faces. Quadruple it if they win the CL.

I see Gary O'Neill has openly criticised the recruitment at Strasbourg LOL.

How many more clues do BlueCo need that their sporting directors are absolute w**k ?

Beggar's belief that they continue to let it slide ...

3 minutes ago, Sexyfootball said:

I see Gary O'Neill has openly criticised the recruitment at Strasbourg LOL.

How many more clues do BlueCo need that their sporting directors are absolute w**k ?

Beggar's belief that they continue to let it slide ...

Hes gone up in my estimation. Hes had a look at that squad and will now see players shipped out and others mysteriously appear whilst trying to keep a group of players together like any normal coach. Speaking out may either result in his removal or perhaps they will take the message, with a bit of self reflection of course. They are not even very experienced as Sporting directors why on earth would Eghbali let them install a model like this. Its unique and theres a reason why.

6 hours ago, axman2526 said:

Noni Madueke has come out and said he left us for Arsenal as he wanted to win trophies.

Get ready for him And Havertz to rub this in our faces. Quadruple it if they win the CL.

The irony of him saying this after leaving before the CWC final LOL

On 06/05/2026 at 05:22, dkw said:

Reading that is shocking, I only understand half of it, but basically they have bought us using a publicly funded investment instrument, the purchase goes completely against all the restrictions of that instrument. They then have structured the purchase so they are paying themselves interest and fees directly from the club.

Also us being successful or not has no impact on their payments, and unless I've got it wrong the more debt they lay on us the higher interest and fees they take.

Absolute f**king criminals.

Kind of. Fairview is an accountant and so is Paul Quinn, the original blogger. From the accountant POV BlueCo is funded by debt, not equity, because accountancy uses a common sense model where if I borrow the value of $100 from you on the condition that I will pay you back the value of $110 in a week's time, that is simply debt + interest. The definition is the same whether I pay back the $110 in cash, beer or a stake in my OnlyFans.

Legally, that isn't entirely correct. Quinn points out in his blog that corporate law in the US, UK and Cayman Islands all define these debt arrangements, where the interest can potentially be exchanged for a stake instead of cash, as equity.

As aside Paul Quinn's blog is really good (thanks to @carrickblue for getting back on it) and in his previous work he has exposed how the above makes the Premier League and FA's "due diligence" a bullsh*t toothless tiger. Because the above arrangements are legally protected as equity arrangements instead of debt, and even though both official accounting principals and common sense sees the arrangement as debt, the PL's tests cannot consider these arrangements as such. Even though Glazer-style leveraged buyouts are officially banned by PL rules, they have zero way of actually detecting them since you can just hide the debt facility in a US or Cayman Islands company. The ambiguity could also be exploited both ways to skirt UEFA or PL rules - for example, Ares (who own 30% of Atletico Madrid) could claim they are 'just a lender' to Clearlake even though they possess arrangements that effectively translate to a stake in Chelsea via its holding company.

Also, and probably most scarily, his blog outlines how virtually every EPL club uses similar debt arrangements to finance their transfers, where the transfer debt is sold to a private lender for instant cash while buying clubs pay in instalments. He predicts that if a few small clubs or one big club (Man U or Liverpool) default on an arrangement to a private lender, it will kick off a domino effect that would destroy the league. The Diarra judgement might well be that trigger in the next few years. He has done a really good job over the last 5 years exposing how toothless PL regulations actually are, how the system is a house of cards and how financial controls like PSR don't reflect anything like reality.

Edited May 11May 11 by SydneyChelsea

1 hour ago, Sexyfootball said:

I see Gary O'Neill has openly criticised the recruitment at Strasbourg LOL.

How many more clues do BlueCo need that their sporting directors are absolute w**k ?

Beggar's belief that they continue to let it slide ...

Is he trying to get fired?

29 minutes ago, Bob stark said:

Is he trying to get fired?

He's attempting the Maresca method

53 minutes ago, Bob stark said:

Is he trying to get fired?

Probably seen enough of BlueCo in action to want out, in the safe knowledge that future employers aren't going to judge him on his short Strasbourg tenure, as he was working with his hands tied by a bunch of idiots !

The point here is that he has called out that he needs two decent strikers. One of those he already has is coming to us and the other one, many on here would rather we had instead. Glowing endorsements on both.

1 hour ago, Bob stark said:

Is he trying to get fired?

He's just trying to avoid his forced promotion to Chelsea!

1 hour ago, timetowaste said:

He's attempting the Maresca method

He's shaved his head???

This is interesting now,

Experienced manager unhappy with recruitment policy. They part ways. Poch

Partially experienced manager unhappy with recruitment policy. They part ways. Maresca

Inexperienced Blue Co manager unhappy with recruitment. tba...ONeill.

Experienced manager being considered but seeks more control.....( Pick this one you dickheads!)

they are running out of policy options, are there any others?

Potter & Rosenior were sacked for performance or lack of it so thats one area where they are not looking to be innovative.

SDs are gonna have to give up some control or eventually Eghbali will have to listen to the noise which is frankly deafening!

Edited May 11May 11 by OTL

Absolute insanity if they think they can continue like this when Gary f**king O'Neil is demanding some standards & control in the transfer strategy.

1 hour ago, OTL said:

This is interesting now,

Experienced manager unhappy with recruitment policy. They part ways. Poch

Partially experienced manager unhappy with recruitment policy. They part ways. Maresca

Inexperienced Blue Co manager unhappy with recruitment. tba...ONeill.

Experienced manager being considered but seeks more control.....( Pick this one you dickheads!)

they are running out of policy options, are there any others?

Potter & Rosenior were sacked for performance or lack of it so thats one area where they are not looking to be innovative.

SDs are gonna have to give up some control or eventually Eghbali will have to listen to the noise which is frankly deafening!

The fall back plan is probably Daniel Finkelstein in a dual director/manager role LOL.

3 hours ago, Sexyfootball said:

The fall back plan is probably Daniel Finkelstein in a dual director/manager role LOL.

Whenever i see this name, for some completely random and incorrect reason i automatically either think of the Facebook twins, which its not, or Ace Ventura Pet Detective "Laces Out", which it also is not.

I hate many things about BlueCo, but one of the things I hate the most is that I have to focus on another club too. I have zero affinity to Strasbourg, but I am forced to follow them because it directly has an impact on us. I'm sure their fans feel the same way and are also sick and tired of their future being linked with another club.

13 hours ago, yaz said:

He's just trying to avoid his forced promotion to Chelsea!

14 hours ago, Sexyfootball said:

Probably seen enough of BlueCo in action to want out, in the safe knowledge that future employers aren't going to judge him on his short Strasbourg tenure, as he was working with his hands tied by a bunch of idiots !

I honestly thought all he need to do is copy Maresca or to be exact early Maresca playbook and he probably can get Chelsea job in a few season.

"I love my squad, this player need to be sold because it does not suit my football"

Strasbourg will not play in Europe next season, but Gary O'Neill shifted the blame towards the club's recruitment strategy.

FotMob - 12 May 2026, 08:39

Gary O'Neill believes BlueCo, the owners of Chelsea and Strasbourg, "messed up" the Ligue 1 side's January transfer window and caused a downturn in form. 

O'Neill took the reins at Strasbourg at the start of 2026 following Liam Rosenior's switch to Chelsea.

Since taking over, O'Neill has won six of his 15 Ligue 1 matches in charge (D5 L4), averaging a 40% win rate, though it has been in other competitions in which his team have fallen short. 

Strasbourg were dumped out of the Conference League at the semi-final stage after a 2-0 aggregate defeat to Rayo Vallecano, while they also fell in the final four of the Coupe de France, losing 2-0 at home to Nice. 

They are eighth in Ligue 1 and unable to qualify for Europe, though O'Neill believes the club's recruitment in January hindered their chances of progression, even suggesting that the team got weaker, rather than stronger. 

"I need two centre-forwards," said O'Neil, as reported by L'Equipe.

"The owners want to give me the means to perform next season, but we have to improve the culture around the club, the quality of the players, and the depth of the squad.

"We messed up in the January transfer window. We weakened instead of improving the squad."

David Datro Fofana and Aaron Anselmino were loaned from Chelsea to Strasbourg, while Gessime Yassine joined from USL Dunkerque for a reported €7m transfer fee. 

Mamadou Sarr, who had been influential under Rosenior during the first half of the season, was also recalled to Stamford Bridge. 

Ecuador international Kendry Paez also had his season-long loan cut short by Chelsea and was immediately loaned out again, this time to River Plate.

On 07/05/2026 at 21:42, markpitts said:

Won’t happen like you said. Chelsea would take precedence as they are in a bigger hole.

Club basically blew up both clubs season by making dumb decisions in Jan. Now both clubs are going to end up out of Europe next season.

I really like strasbourg as a place, I have time and sympathy for their supporters too who, like us, hate their owners. Not content f**king up one club...

A bit rambling but more Blue Co failings...

Inexperience the foundation 

“They disappointed me so much, even more than on Thursday,” O’Neil said of his charges. “Football is a shark tank, they need to realise that. I told them we were playing a cup final [against Angers] and we really didn’t play the way we should have.” At the centre of his disappointment is a familiar theme that has been found consistently in the criticism of the BlueCo project: this is a team built on a foundation of inexperience. 

Scouting, acquiring, and platforming young talent is the Raison d’être behind BlueCo’s acquisition of Strabsourg. The squad is filled with some of Europe’s most exciting talent, but it has come at the expense of having experienced figures in the dressing room to act as guides and mentors. Ben Chilwell and back-up keeper Karl-Johan Johnsson are the grizzled anomalies in an evergreen dressing room. 

It is a situation that has left leadership roles to players who have felt entirely unsuited to them. Emanuel Emegha’s captaincy has been the most emblematic of these failures, with the striker out of his depth as the team’s voice and diplomat. 

He’s spent most of the season out on the sidelines or frustrating the fanbase, either by signing a pre-contract agreement with Chelsea or by making misjudged comments, like when he told Dutch media he didn’t know where Strasbourg was before signing, saying, “I thought it was in Germany, but it turned out to be in France. Well, I think everyone knows Strasbourg now.” 

The big question for Strasbourg

What next for Strasbourg and these players is the big question that will be floating around the region until the transfer window opens. Without European football, how well will Le Racing be able to keep its young stars? There will be plenty of admirers for Valentén Barco, Samir El Mourabet, Martial Godo, Diego Moreira, Guela Doué, and Joaquin Panichelli. While the Chelsea loanees and Emegha will be gone. 

For O’Neil, the talent drain isn’t the only thing that concerns him. As he said on Sunday, “We also need to improve the club culture.” But how well can a club culture be built when the key selling point to prospective talent is that Le Racing is a giant shop window? How do you build something permanent and lasting when the nature of the project is so transitory? Can you get players to invest fully across an entire season, knowing that by the end of the campaign, they might be gone to pastures new?