2 hours ago, evissy said:

I don't think Sarri's done particularly bad or well. We have a great squad but then again it lacks key talent. If we somehow do well in the summer (transfer ban is upon us) and Sarri gets more of a squad for his needs we need to finish much closer to Pool and City next term. If he fails to do so sack him. I don't think he deserves a sack end of this term. 

Would you trust Sarri with £200m-£300m of your own money? Everyone has a pop at Pep for spend £50m+ on defensive players but when you consider bar Mahrez almost all his signings has been under 25yrs old and way off their peaks, it has been money well spent. Klopp also knows how to mix his expensive signings with a few bargain picks in Shaqiri & Robertson.

I look at Sarri and I don’t know what to make of him. Does he have an eye for talent? Most of the players we have been linked with are in Serie A which is of concern to me. You also look at how he has handled his signings; Jorginho & Higuain and it is a real worry. 

You look at our squad as things stand and seems he needs at least 6 new signings to slot into the first 11 if Hazard leaves in the summer. Call me crazy but I would take a ban this summer and let him work with some of the 30+ players on loan, and trim some fat off the squad. If he manages to get a top 6 role & we see signs of some improvement back him the following summer. What you don’t want is for him to spend £200m+ on new players, it doesn’t work out, you sack him and the next manager is stuck with a deferred ban & his signings. I look at Jorginho and I can’t see any other manager coming in and working with a player who can’t get stuck in. 

If he can’t work with this, I would consider letting him go and bring onboard Bielsa. I get the vibe he wants to manage in the PL, and would relish the challenge of getting the maximum out of our loan/youth squad.

I came here to make that point, can we really expect anymore from this squad? 

I feel Sarri has done what he can, and being 4th and in Europa semi’s it’s a decent season despite some shocking losses.

I think next season is the season we find out if Sarri is good enough or not. Surely we will have a better squad overall next season.

checkout these preseason predictions for The Top 4

 

13 minutes ago, dansubrosa said:

I feel Sarri has done what he can, and being 4th and in Europa semi’s it’s a decent season despite some shocking losses.

I think it says a lot about this season that a 6-0 defeat against Man City (our worst defeat in 28 years) was somehow not the most embarrassing result of the season...

12 minutes ago, ducavis said:

Would you trust Sarri with £200m-£300m of your own money? Everyone has a pop at Pep for spend £50m+ on defensive players but when you consider bar Mahrez almost all his signings has been under 25yrs old and way off their peaks, it has been money well spent. Klopp also knows how to mix his expensive signings with a few bargain picks in Shaqiri & Robertson.

I look at Sarri and I don’t know what to make of him. Does he have an eye for talent? Most of the players we have been linked with are in Serie A which is of concern to me. You also look at how he has handled his signings; Jorginho & Higuain and it is a real worry. 

You look at our squad as things stand and seems he needs at least 6 new signings to slot into the first 11 if Hazard leaves in the summer. Call me crazy but I would take a ban this summer and let him work with some of the 30+ players on loan, and trim some fat off the squad. If he manages to get a top 6 role & we see signs of some improvement back him the following summer. What you don’t want is for him to spend £200m+ on new players, it doesn’t work out, you sack him and the next manager is stuck with a deferred ban & his signings. I look at Jorginho and I can’t see any other manager coming in and working with a player who can’t get stuck in. 

If he can’t work with this, I would consider letting him go and bring onboard Bielsa. I get the vibe he wants to manage in the PL, and would relish the challenge of getting the maximum out of our loan/youth squad.

I absolutely wouldn't trust him with 200-300m 

He's a manager of our football team, he's not meant to be in charge of signings. I wouldn't trust any manager in the world with signings. Pep didn't sign those players, City did. They have an entire system, a staff, they plan everything. I would wager that Pep (+Klopp incidentally as Liverpool are set up in a similar way) have less of an input than probably any other manager in the PL over signings. 

1 minute ago, bisright1 said:

I would wager that Pep (+Klopp incidentally as Liverpool are set up in a similar way) have less of an input than probably any other manager in the PL over signings. 

No way.

Those managers have a very particular vision for how their team should play and so would work extremely closely with the club in identifying players with specific characteristics.  

2 hours ago, Ewell CFC said:

I don’t see winning trophy’s as being a healthy raison detre for following a football club, nor do I see silverware as all defining.

I have admiration for fans who support their teams despite having bare trophy cabinets; the expectations of some Chelsea is higher because we have been successful, but the downside is we now have a significant number of spoilt w....r supporters, who I suspect see every title and Cup won as some sort of personal victory.

A bit of humility wouldn’t go amiss.

I never said that the sole reason for following a football club is winning a trophy, but it clearly is the best possible feeling for any club supporter, something they wish for and cherish for many years after. Any football fan who says otherwise is a hypocrite and humility has nothing to do with it. Ask those Sunderland fans you've mentioned, would they prefer their club to compete for the biggest trophies instead of playing the likes of Fleetwood and Peterborough every week and see what they have to say on the matter. Then ask Man City fans if they give a sh*t where their fortunes come from. Or ask Liverpool fans just how desperate they are for their f**king club to win the first league title since the 80s.

Being spoilt comes from being successful. Of course, no one is entitled to winning all the time and Chelsea are no exception. And just like any other club, we're bound to go through some ups and downs. But the winning culture built within the club should never be underestimated, let alone neglected. The moment we decide being second is a success, we've already lost. The moment we've accepted the fact that top four is our absolute best is the moment we turn into Arsenal. And then before you know it, you're not even viewed as a winning club anymore.

 

48 minutes ago, ForeverCarefree said:

No way.

Those managers have a very particular vision for how their team should play and so would work extremely closely with the club in identifying players with specific characteristics.  

All managers have an input. Pep and klopps however are diluted at their clubs in comparison to managers like Emery, Sarri and all the lower clubs(bar wolves and Watford). They have a system whereby if the manager leaves, there is minimal impact. 

Pep has a vision for how the team play. Vision is one thing. That then flows into all the execs who plan recruitment. That leaves pep to focus on implementing the vision rather than identifying individuals they should sign.

11 minutes ago, bisright1 said:

All managers have an input. Pep and klopps however are diluted at their clubs in comparison to managers like Emery, Sarri and all the lower clubs(bar wolves and Watford). They have a system whereby if the manager leaves, there is minimal impact. 

Pep has a vision for how the team play. Vision is one thing. That then flows into all the execs who plan recruitment. That leaves pep to focus on implementing the vision rather than identifying individuals they should sign.

Normally that's how it works but City have been grooming the club for Pep's arrival/style of play for ages, even hiring his man in Txiki Begiristain, so I think he has a bit more influence than others. 

4 hours ago, abramovich said:

Any season with a trophy is better than the one without. Plus, EL win gives us a CL spot, so I'd call it a decent season. Not great, but given our problems and squad defficiencies, it would be an acceptable result. In fact, even finishing in the top four without trophies would be OK for this season.

It wouldn't change my view of Sarri and him being the wrong fit at Chelsea though, but I'd certainly agree that he would have earned a chance to keep his job.

In the moment I'd agree, but over the course of the season would I prefer a consistent season with enjoyable football for almost all of it just falling short of the big prizes or winning a domestic cup/EL while flicking between decent, average and terrible for most of the season? I'm sorry but I'll 100% choose the former.

4 hours ago, EdinburghBlue said:

While I get where you’re coming from, I think similarly to your examples, context is needed... there is only ever two clubs in Scottish football that win the league title & most of the cups. Celtic and Rangers. O’Neil and McLeish managed both of those clubs respectively - they are well decorated with no real competition outside of each other. Particularly with rangers paying EBT’s to make the financial gap between themselves and the rest of the league astronomical. 

Yeah those two were pretty bad examples tbf (although they both also won a LC in England so do sort of help my argument).

A better example for my argument would be Jose actually, best manager in our history and most decorated manager currently active in the game (maybe 2nd?) yet i can't imagine many of us would want him back in the present day.

1 hour ago, Remodez said:

Normally that's how it works but City have been grooming the club for Pep's arrival/style of play for ages, even hiring his man in Txiki Begiristain, so I think he has a bit more influence than others. 

Yes and that's my point. City aren't going to give him £200m. They are giving the entire set up that. Pep doesn't walk into the office and demand they sign wann bissaka. Instead as a group they identify the gaps, the scouts propose solutions, pep weighs in. 

We are clearly so inept as a club because it's obvious we just sign who the manager suggests 90% of the time. That isn't healthy with Sarri, Conte or anyone

.

Edited April 29, 20197 yr by Ernie_blue

2 hours ago, dansubrosa said:

I came here to make that point, can we really expect anymore from this squad? 

I feel Sarri has done what he can, and being 4th and in Europa semi’s it’s a decent season despite some shocking losses.

I think next season is the season we find out if Sarri is good enough or not. Surely we will have a better squad overall next season.

People need to stop going on about getting to the semi finals of the Europa league, Celtic have played harder teams in Scotland.

On 26/04/2019 at 20:06, JM7 said:

Thing with Sarri is that it feels like we’ve lost the ability to win ugly. Every goal has to be beautiful and passed a million times. 

Theres games when you just get one goal no matter how you get it. Doesn’t feel like Sarri allows the players to do that. I suspect that’s why he’s never won a trophy and fails at the final hurdle. 

Last 'ugly' goal I could remember was the Barkley one against United in the 96th minute, there was a few good minutes of long balls into the box leading up to the corner and goal. Ironic after the game Sarri's concern was we didn't play the 'right' way. We have seen Giroud came on to save a match, but we pretty much played the same way, no thought of using his height and trying anything different.

At least Sarri didn't play false 9 yesterday, and whatever he said or didn't say at HT break, we didn't do the usual Post HT collapse

 

5 hours ago, dansubrosa said:

I came here to make that point, can we really expect anymore from this squad? 

I feel Sarri has done what he can, and being 4th and in Europa semi’s it’s a decent season despite some shocking losses.

I think next season is the season we find out if Sarri is good enough or not. Surely we will have a better squad overall next season.

Except that he hasn't shown any inclination to do what it takes (in game) to win a match.  The best managers change the formation, adjust tactics, make substitutions.  What match has he won for us?

8 hours ago, dansubrosa said:

I came here to make that point, can we really expect anymore from this squad? 

I feel Sarri has done what he can, and being 4th and in Europa semi’s it’s a decent season despite some shocking losses.

I think next season is the season we find out if Sarri is good enough or not. Surely we will have a better squad overall next season.

We will be worst off next season no matter what, especially with a transfer ban. Without a ban we will likely lose Hazard and replacing him will be a hard task. I don't trust the board to acquire top talent. If the last few seasons is anything to go by, there will be more average players bought with some youngsters sprinkled in. 

8 hours ago, bisright1 said:

I absolutely wouldn't trust him with 200-300m 

He's a manager of our football team, he's not meant to be in charge of signings. I wouldn't trust any manager in the world with signings. Pep didn't sign those players, City did. They have an entire system, a staff, they plan everything. I would wager that Pep (+Klopp incidentally as Liverpool are set up in a similar way) have less of an input than probably any other manager in the PL over signings. 

Not really. The club do work with coaches to bring in players. The club will look at players suited to the style of play the manager coaches. The scouts will likely be told to scout for technically proficient, press resistent, good passers. If we want a goal scoring midfielder for e.g, then the scouts will be told to look for midfielders with all those abilities + goal scoring ability. If we were to look for a fullback for e.g, then it would be press resistent, good passer, attacking ability/gets forward a lot. I would be confident that's how it works. 

3 hours ago, Boston Blue said:

Except that he hasn't shown any inclination to do what it takes (in game) to win a match.  The best managers change the formation, adjust tactics, make substitutions.  What match has he won for us?

Well we are fourth, so obviously won quite a lot of matches. I mean that kind of question can be asked about every single manager out there. 

9 hours ago, bisright1 said:

I absolutely wouldn't trust him with 200-300m 

He's a manager of our football team, he's not meant to be in charge of signings. I wouldn't trust any manager in the world with signings. Pep didn't sign those players, City did. They have an entire system, a staff, they plan everything. I would wager that Pep (+Klopp incidentally as Liverpool are set up in a similar way) have less of an input than probably any other manager in the PL over signings. 

 

9 hours ago, ForeverCarefree said:

No way.

Those managers have a very particular vision for how their team should play and so would work extremely closely with the club in identifying players with specific characteristics.  

City have Txiki & Liverpool have Michael Edwards. They are the real brains behind the transfers. They initiate the research into the player's mentality etc that brings in the complete package. Obviously they know what the managers want as well. Klopp and Guardiola are probably way more involved in their club's transfers than most of our managers have ever been. I think we just get it wrong on all fronts. Not having someone who knows what they're doing and not involving the coach enough. Anyone with a brain would know that's the cohesive way to do it. Obviously not our club. 

1 hour ago, enigma said:

Well we are fourth, so obviously won quite a lot of matches. I mean that kind of question can be asked about every single manager out there. 

We have drawn 8 matches and lost 8 matches.  So tell me which of those 16 results could the manager have changed the outcome of by doing one of the following:

• Change tactic to increase offensive chances
• Substitute a defender for an attacking mid or forward
• Change formation in order to push players forward to put more pressure on the opposition and score a goal.
• Take off an offensive player for a defensive player in order to close a game out and preserve a lead
• Motivate the team at halftime in order to start strong and prevent the constant let downs where teams score on us early 

He hasn't done any of these in a game.  He will continue to play the same way, even though our opponents have employed a tactic that is working against us.  He will make a like for like substitution, essentially swapping similar players resulting in little or no difference.  He has played Hazard as a false 9 knowing it hasn't worked under both the current and previous managers.  He still hasn't, after nine months with them, figured out the mentality of the team or how to motivate them or keep them psychologically strong.   

So yes, we are fourth.  Barely.  But if only 2 of the 8 draws were wins, and only 2 of the 8 losses were draws, we'd be solidly in third avoiding the precarious position we are in now.  How confident are you that we will be Watford at home and Leicester away?  

Funny how things can change so quickly.

Just a few years ago we were seen as one of the best run clubs in England.

3 minutes ago, dansubrosa said:

Funny how things can change so quickly.

Just a few years ago we were seen as one of the best run clubs in England.

Not coincidentally, at that time we had a highly involved owner and Director of Football/Sporting director type.

10 hours ago, bisright1 said:

I absolutely wouldn't trust him with 200-300m 

He's a manager of our football team, he's not meant to be in charge of signings. I wouldn't trust any manager in the world with signings. Pep didn't sign those players, City did. They have an entire system, a staff, they plan everything. I would wager that Pep (+Klopp incidentally as Liverpool are set up in a similar way) have less of an input than probably any other manager in the PL over signings. 

We know that Klopp was accused of tapping up Van Dyke himself  in a meeting in Blackpool.

Edited April 29, 20197 yr by charierre

I’m surprised Van Dijk hasn’t done a runner after seeing the state of Blackpool. sh*thole.

2 stories circulating in the footie gossip today - Sarri in line for AC Milan and Max Allegri hinting that he's taken Juve as far as he can...........