14 hours ago, Scott Harris said:

I agree with Zeta, this is a seriously worrying position the club is in right now.

The new owners have come in with such a ruthless approach in a sport they are not in touch with. The have spent obscene amounts of money, something we have never seen before, and on players and coaches that don't look anywhere close to being good enough. Madueke, Chukwuemeka, Mudryk, D.Fofana, are these players even Premier League standard? they look no better than Championship level right now. Then we have other really young and unproven players like Badiashile, W.Fofana (who can't stay fit) and another on the way in Gusto.

Who are these players exactly? Potential, nothing more. It's not like we are signing a bunch of future Eden Hazard's here. None of these players are sure things like he was. They are the type of players Roman would have signed for under 10m and sent out on loan for a few years. 

Then there is the likes of Aubameyang, Koulibaly and Cucurella, awful signings. Really really bad. Literally the only signing I am confident was a good one was Enzo Fernandez, but look what we had to do to bring him here. Absolutely insane money to throw at a club for one player. Don't even get me started on the coaching. Potter has done nothing in his career to warrant this type of job, and with each passing week, he looks like one of the worst coaches I have ever seen. This isn't clever from Boehly and Clearlake, this is insane and the types of moves you would see from owners in the past that have absolutely destroyed football clubs.

I don't see how this type of money going out won't seriously hurt us without immediate success. Champions League money is a must, but that isn't coming next season and with Potter in charge, you can bet your life it won't be happening the season after either. The owners have put the club in a position where there can be no errors, but that is all they have been doing since they took over. What also can't be ignored is how every single person associated with club when Roman was in charge seems to be getting sacked. They are ruining this club.

Great Post.

With regards out of depth management its akin to Nathan Jones to Southampton but much, much , more high profile. 

Regardless of all of the surrounding rhetoric and the whys and wherefores from fans the truth is that we were more successful and more consistent under club sanctions and an exiled owner.

Hundreds of millions pounds later and exchanging one of the best managers in European football for an average at best manager that continues to develop a team ethic of mediocrity. 

Todd, anybody,  please explain what this process is.

Buying some if the "best" young talent in Europe and then destroying their confidence,  what process is this?

14 hours ago, forbzy said:

The FFP punishment is possible. While we could make a case about the effects of the sanctions, it is hard to argue when we have since gone and spent like crazy. My worry is that the new owners will sell off some of our prize assets (e.g. Chilwell, James) as those will be the only ones that could possibly raise the amounts to avoid FFP punishment

We just have to hope that these clowns at the top actually know what their doing with the accounts, cos if they have strayed over the lines and cop a major FFP fine, watch the howls from the media and the other clubs for a major points deduction as well.

Mate this thread is hilarious. Having a sh*t season where we will obviously end up sacking the manager sooner or later and apparently now we're going out of business 😂 get a grip 

26 minutes ago, timetowaste said:

Mate this thread is hilarious. Having a sh*t season where we will obviously end up sacking the manager sooner or later and apparently now we're going out of business 😂 get a grip 

Not out of business but sanctions are without a doubt looming. And we need to get our next appointment 100% right or we are genuinely in trouble from a competitive standpoint.

Unfortunately Boehly and Clearlake have come from a sport environment where, the best Pitcher, the best Batters and the best fielders, virtually guarantee success.

PSG prove the example with football. The best players in the world DO NOT make the best team.

Due to the very poor results since their arrival, and the exorbitant spending, we are in for a world of trouble. This could take 10 years or more to recover from. Our only ray of hope is to pull off a miracle, and win the champions league. Even so there is going to have to be a decimation of the squad to attempt to mitigate FFP. Good luck getting a reasonable price when everyone knows your screwed.

Stat's are all well and good in American sport, but they don't tell the whole story in Football. I agreed with the project, BUT insufficient care was given to maintaining current standards. I suspect Ego is the main reason nothing has been done about the situation so far "Umericuns know better than the rest of world". This proves yet again they're often misguided.

Perhaps Potter could be persuaded to leave for a "job" with the LA Lakers.

The Athletic reports that Todd is bringing in baseball coaches to help Potter for the rest of the season.

Edited April 2, 20233 yr by The Rising Sun
Info

18 hours ago, Zeta said:

I seriously worry for the future of this club at the moment.

We've spent soooo much money, and the vast majority has been wasted on players who aren't good enough and incompetent management.

There will come a time soon when the money will stop flowing, because the investment firm will want to start seeing some returns. And currently we're heading downward. With no european football and the money that brings in, for some time. Commitments to big wages over very long contracts, for players losing value every week.

We need to be very very careful. It is not at all unrealistic that we might be facing a Leeds situation in the coming years, if things don't change.

Those extra long contracts are a ticking time bomb for the club down the line.

As soon as we are hit with some problems on the pitch people are painting dark images of our future if the club. Why are we suddenly going bankrupt? We have an owner we deep pockets and clearly a plan to take us to the next level. Roman took us to a new level and Boehly is taking us to the next.

I am pretty sure our fanbase has to be the most impatient bunch there is. 

These are growing pains for sure. 

3 minutes ago, evissy said:

As soon as we are hit with some problems on the pitch people are painting dark images of our future if the club. Why are we suddenly going bankrupt? We have an owner we deep pockets and clearly a plan to take us to the next level. Roman took us to a new level and Boehly is taking us to the next.

I am pretty sure our fanbase has to be the most impatient bunch there is. 

These are growing pains for sure. 

Roman was seemingly content with writing off loses if it meant we were winning silverware. The bloke genuinely became a fan of the club. 

Clearlake are an investment firm, with the sole goal of getting a return on investment. 

Deep pockets mean sod all due to FFP. This is what sets the limits on spending, Clearlake spotted a loophole, using Amortisation. Very quickly that hole was plugged. Due to the neglect of the performances in this season, amortisation becomes a huge problem. The length of contracts

Potter now needs to stay to the end of the season, but he needs to be told, pick the players you want for next season, and forget the one's you don't. Them not playing will affect their price, and they need keeping away from the chosen ones, because of negativity. But the financial hole were in will ensure, we will not get the price we want for any of them. There's not going to be a bidding war for any of them.

It might be that Potter is the one to do the ground work of rebuilding the club into a viable future, but there is no way he is the one to take us on once it's in place.

31 minutes ago, evissy said:

As soon as we are hit with some problems on the pitch people are painting dark images of our future if the club. Why are we suddenly going bankrupt? We have an owner we deep pockets and clearly a plan to take us to the next level. Roman took us to a new level and Boehly is taking us to the next.

I am pretty sure our fanbase has to be the most impatient bunch there is. 

These are growing pains for sure. 

Bohely is not Roman with an American accent. Things are very different. I wish I had the blind faith some of you have.

27 minutes ago, Sconnie Blue said:

Roman was seemingly content with writing off loses if it meant we were winning silverware. The bloke genuinely became a fan of the club. 

Clearlake are an investment firm, with the sole goal of getting a return on investment. 

Yes so what difference does it make to our current situation. The big plan is to take us to the next level which means: stadium is bigger, global fanbase growth thru different methods. On pitch success is integral here but we are not in that phase of the project. Chelsea as it is is a massive club. It is not like we are developing Bournemouth.

We are not in a hurry to fix everything this season. If we would be we would have bought different players and we would have hired a different manager. There is no consistency in buying young talents and hiring untried (top tier) coach and expecting results right away 

I think Clearlake seriously under estimated the task needed to be done, and how difficult it would be. Or massively over estimated their ability to operate in this country and this league. They are now in a very difficult situation financially. Regulations regarding FFP etc are something they have never encountered before. They're tied in for 10 years, and if we get a points reduction next year, without a substantial improvement on the pitch, then we're going down. At least the Bridge is plenty big enough for a championship team.

Perhaps they plan a Citeh type set up, with everything sponsored at stupidly high rates, by companies within their, VERY extensive portfolio. That way our FFP shortfall will disappear in one fell swoop.

Looks like Potter is safe, which is no surprise.

I understand that the way we operated under Roman was no longer sustainable, however I dont understand why we have a "project manager" or whatever that is supposed to mean.

Only big clubs that have had success with a "project manager" are Liverpool, and maybe Arsenal if they can get over the line. Both those teams have owners that do not want to spend money, so they backed their managers through rough patches, (nowhere near as bad as ours), and came out the other side with a competitive team. 

Boehly has green lighted one of the biggest spends in football, yet the manager he is backing, is performing terribly. Potter has no cv at this level, I dont see where this faith comes from.

Surely if you are spending big, there has to be an element of getting immediate results? Otherwise why not just really heavily on the academy players and see if they can improve? 

Now I'm seeing fans write off the prospects of managers coming in, because they arent "project managers". 

How about employing the most qualified manager that fits in with long term vision and philosophy of the club. Clear realistic targets for a club our side, and if they fall way short then they get shown the door.

The sustainability and stability comes from quality recruitment and a strong club ethos, not from sticking with average coaches until mediocrity well and truly sinks in. 

Do we want to be like City, Bayern, and Madrid, or do we want to be like Arsenal and Liverpool?

Make your mind up Todd, you have already made some massive errors and lost a season or two 

“They intended to judge Potter in years, not months or games, but clearly this is not good. They wanted to judge him by progress, they wanted to see progress, and this currently is not progress. They have a big decision to make.” - @David_Ornstein

3 hours ago, evissy said:

As soon as we are hit with some problems on the pitch people are painting dark images of our future if the club. Why are we suddenly going bankrupt? We have an owner we deep pockets and clearly a plan to take us to the next level. Roman took us to a new level and Boehly is taking us to the next.

I am pretty sure our fanbase has to be the most impatient bunch there is. 

These are growing pains for sure. 

There’s a risk the pockets aren’t as deep as many think. I don’t know that but it’s a risk. Definitely nowhere close to as as deep as Roman’s pockets were and for him (unlike these guys) the bottom line didn’t matter so much. 
 

it’s not a question of patience (at least for me) but viability. 

34 minutes ago, Dean said:

There’s a risk the pockets aren’t as deep as many think. I don’t know that but it’s a risk. Definitely nowhere close to as as deep as Roman’s pockets were and for him (unlike these guys) the bottom line didn’t matter so much. 

And that's exactly why I suggested fans who want Potter out shouldn't attend the games.

Look at Arsenal for example, years and years of moaning about Wenger, bringing banners, making protests etc but what finally got them what they wanted? A half empty stadium.

Well I believe the new owners have managed a first for our club in their first season as owners. Pretty sure this is the first time we have fired more than 1 manager in the same season. Even in 1978-79 season when we went down with just 5 wins, we only fired Shellito. Lets hope they learn from their mistakes quickly, because they have got off to a pretty lousy start.

Further evidence, if any were needed, that all über-wealthy humans are morally and intellectually inferior to their 'common' breathren.

Expensive lessons but I am glad they are getting pelted in the pocket for sacking Tuchel. Dumbest decision every made by a club I can remember just plain stupid!!!

Edited April 2, 20233 yr by El regreso

The owners have royally screwed us over with many decisions, but I'm at least happy that Boehly made the correct call and decided enough is enough. Should never have been appointed to begin with.   

We don't need to find "the man" just yet, we can just get an interim manager in for a couple of months to see the season out. Hopefully, no more hipster project managers. 

Sacking Potter is a good start, but we're still far away from being put on the right track, hopefully, we have a good gaffer here next season. 

10 hours ago, PloKoon13 said:

Further evidence, if any were needed, that all über-wealthy humans are morally and intellectually inferior to their 'common' breathren.

Further evidence that common breathen may carry some sort of jealousy amongst them. 

1 hour ago, evissy said:

Further evidence that common breathen may carry some sort of jealousy amongst them. 

I can assure you that I cope using a healthy amount of cognitive dissonance.

Article probably behind paywall...but the tweet itself is telling. There is no new brave world. Just new rich people in charge buckling under media and fan-pressure. After sacking Tommy and now Potter I have only confidence in their resources.... admittedly we have new guys actually making the moves instead of Boehly himself. They also need time to find their feet. 

I feel very disappointed. Not for Potter but for the lack of resolve. I guess this was inevitable after such poor displays...same old Chels.

 

No thanks to Roman we are in the position we are in. He was a good owner for the first decade at Chelsea, but we started to regress as the latter seasons went on under Roman.

Even when Mourinho returned the second time around, the board invested poorly in some average players. We let go of talents like KDB and Lukaku too easily imo.

Not strengthening in midfield after Cesc left, or trying to replace Costa. Boehly and Co are having to reverse damage done by previous ownership which isn't simple. 

Edited April 3, 20233 yr by enigma