24 minutes ago, evissy said:

Black and white although we are blue and white. Fans here don't give any benefit of doubt nor have time to see the club and squad grow. No wonder really.

Can't blame the fans if the board doesn't seem to have the patience to see the squad grow. The frantic signings are a sign that they do not rate most of the players they themselves signed less that a year ago.

4 hours ago, evissy said:

The other choice is to do exactly what we did under RA. Which we basically did before the SD's were hired.

Yeah, that was awful. I mean who'd want to have a side like that

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=vCws1LRd4PA

13 hours ago, Mod said:

33mil? Thats probably what it cost them to make that awful video to promote the away shirt and paying Hazard to put on the home one! The club is a joke!

If the media is right we accepted that instead of 45-50mil that was offered by prem clubs including villa. If that's the case then unfortunately I'd take the 33mil too. I couldn't watch Gallagher in a villa shirt. Now if the owners agreed a loss in profit for the sake of conner or the fans or both then we may have to accept they are "trying". Grrrr...it hurts just typing that. Lol

I hope Gallagher is happy and does well, he'll always bleed blue and he's done soo much for the club. Time for him to shine in Spain now...like we all know he will. Good luck to him and thank you for not going to villa, lol

11 hours ago, petre ispirescu said:

You did not get my point. I was trying to dismiss the idea that the board does not care about the Academy graduates at all and would sell them for the smallest of profit - hence sell the soul of the club, as some would say.

James and Colwill have an even bigger appeal when it comes to pure profit, yet they are kept at the club and given a starting role. As much as a lot of fans hate to admit it, the likes of Mount, Gallagher and Chalobah not only bring the club a lot of benefits by being pure profit on the business end of things, but they are also not good enough for the things Chelsea try to achieve and I personally share this opinion, too.

Only time will tell if the board was right in everything they did so far. For the moment, it is early. But you can't fault them for the lack of trying. 

For example and this is a fact and nobody can't argue on this is the most recent signing of Estevao and very soon the signing of Gabriel Mec. The three biggest attacking prospects in world football aged 16 or 17 that are destined to become the next superstars by scouts' reviews and analytics experts are Lamine Yamal, Estevao Willian and Gabriel Mec. 

To be in the current state as a club and have already two of these guys signed it is incredible. Add Kendry Paez, too. I think people do not realize how massive this is. 

I really really really hope you are right bud.

I would love to come out a muppet in all this and accept the owners are doing something amazing, that we are just too inpatient for, and will have us at the top of football for years to come. I can't wait to see these kids everyone is talking about in 2 or 3 yrs. The issue is will we still be in the Premier league in 2 to 3 yrs!?

7 hours ago, WhiteWall said:

Yeah, that was awful. I mean who'd want to have a side like that

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=vCws1LRd4PA

Was that a record for how many times the goalkeeper got nutmegged?

4 minutes ago, Simplymo said:

Was that a record for how many times the goalkeeper got nutmegged?

During this appalling summer window as we stare at the continuing decline and erosion of the foundations of our club I seek solace in going onto YouTube and searching under Chelsea Classic Matches most nights. The Wigan 8-0. What a day that was.

It's also surprising how many players that were bit part back then that would be world class in this group. Kalou,  Schurrle, etc.

20 minutes ago, WhiteWall said:

During this appalling summer window as we stare at the continuing decline and erosion of the foundations of our club I seek solace in going onto YouTube and searching under Chelsea Classic Matches most nights. The Wigan 8-0. What a day that was.

It's also surprising how many players that were bit part back then that would be world class in this group. Kalou,  Schurrle, etc.

Very true...we were very spoilt back then and tbh i just yearn for 1 or 2 experienced mature heads in this current grp.

Unfortunately watching past matches has started to depress me more as I think of the situation we are in now. Even if I have accepted this new project. Their constant purchases and lack of development of current players is really getting very annoying. When will it stop!

13 hours ago, Sheva said:

We had a recruitment team under Roman and signed good young players with a mix of experience and won the champions league in his final years here. We act like we look down on that team yet the current crop assembled is nowhere near it. Are we forgetting we were one of the most successful teams in the country? Do you see any other club in this league or even in the top european leagues spending obscene amounts of money on unproven players? It's not one or the other here it's the ownership group coming in thinking they know better and betting on it.

I don't think it is about knowing better. It is about using the most "sustainable" model aka  Brighton model. 

 

Edited August 6, 20241 yr by Bob stark

11 hours ago, 19seventyone said:

Absolute pish.

So what are your expectations for this season?

Well we have to make profit. That is just basic stuff. With Roman 2004 we didn't as it was wild west. 2024 there is PSR and FFP. We need to make profit. We have a small stadium which needs to be bigger. We need to be bigger as a club so kids buy Chelsea shirts instead of United shirts. That means we need to perform better on the pitch. We need more Cole Palmers and less Raheem Sterlings so to say.

I guess at this point we need make profit where we can ie selling academy products and most sellable players. 

Hate to see Conor leave but I am sure Conor also wanted to leave at least under the circumstances. He could have stayed as well. Young lad with a chance to play in the Champions League and in Madrid which is beautiful. Mount chose to leave as well. He wanted new experiences and probably make his dad proud.

Edited August 6, 20241 yr by evissy

Just watched Enzo's presser. He told the rules make it compulsory to sell academy players. Probably referring to PSR and FFP. 

1 minute ago, evissy said:

Just watched Enzo's presser. He told the rules make it compulsory to sell academy players. Probably referring to PSR and FFP. 

He is. As mouthpiece for the owners.

 

Here it is 

1 minute ago, dermott said:

He is. As mouthpiece for the owners.

Okay. Why not. That is one way to look at it.

14 hours ago, Argo said:

"No youth promoted since Terry" was literally a stick constantly used to beat us with until that summer.

Also you mentioned Frank, he had 4 chances to put Conor in the squad himself but decided against it on every occasion.

You realise youth players have to age, right? You don't just grow them in a test tube and they're ready the next season. 

RA came in and built the most successful academy in the country filled with the best LOCAL talent. Not buying expensive imports at the expense of the players we had nurtured. Those players in return won us our second CL trophy. 

We had no youth promoted since Terry because previous ownerships weren't interested, RA changed that and now the current owners are destroying it to go to the casino and roll the dice in the hope that some absolute nobody that's played a hand full of games for some Favela C team might be able to be flipped for a profit in 6 years time. 

14 hours ago, Argo said:

Yes. 

The reason I felt Conor (and Colwill) wouldn't have made the squad is we were increasingly starting to use our youth to fund transfers (Tomori, Tammy, Guehi, Tino).

Maybe I'm wrong and we'll never truly know, but that's what I feel would have happened.

True. The treatment of Chalobah and Gallagher feels sickening, but the selling of academy products happens to all english clubs, not just us. The financial rules that  encourages this must change, until then it will continue and probably even intensify

2 hours ago, Bob stark said:

I don't think it is about knowing better. It is about using the most "sustainable" model aka  Brighton model. 

 

What have Brighton ever won? 

Just now, AndyDowsleftflank said:

True. The treatment of Chalobah and Gallagher feels sickening, but the selling of academy products happens to all english clubs, not just us. The financial rules that  encourages this must change, until then it will continue and probably even intensify

This. Chelsea are far from alone, especially this season. You could drive a bus through the loopholes in the FFP rules and that's what's happening. There is talk of plugging this particular loophole by applying a whopping tax on the sale of academy players. The quicker they change the rules, the quicker the creative accountants find another loophole.

We're defending the club selling academy players because of PSR yet we continue to spend silly amounts of money on players who will never make it here just to make a small profit. Maybe we should stop spending money so we don't have to sell the players in the academy to make a profit?

They even found a loophole to buy the hotels just avoid punishment for their reckless spending.



 

The 33 Million we’ve received adds up to roughly 2.5% of the 1.2 Billion we’ve spent on player, of which arguably Palmer and Gusto are the only standouts. Not saying everyone else we’ve bough is a dud…

Sad to see Conor go - I certainly would have wanted to keep him as a squad player. He bleeds blue and runs his sock off. It was frustrating last season him being played as a 10 as he's nowhere near good enough for that role, but as a 6/8 he was very good. Could also have played inverted FB, although not sure he'd have been happy with that.

Lavia has looked good from what I've seen. Let's see how we go this season.

42 minutes ago, Sheva said:

We're defending the club selling academy players because of PSR yet we continue to spend silly amounts of money on players who will never make it here just to make a small profit. Maybe we should stop spending money so we don't have to sell the players in the academy to make a profit?

They even found a loophole to buy the hotels just avoid punishment for their reckless spending.



 

It's long been a loophole. Championship clubs were at it for years in order to balance the books. The EFL has now shut down the loophole. 

12 minutes ago, dermott said:

It's long been a loophole. Championship clubs were at it for years in order to balance the books. The EFL has now shut down the loophole. 

That's not the point.

The point is that a club our size shouldn't need to find loopholes to balance the books for reckless spending but some on here praise it as them being smart business men. If they were smart they wouldn't get themselves into that situation in the first place.

 

Edited August 6, 20241 yr by Sheva

37 minutes ago, Timmy Elms said:

The 33 Million we’ve received adds up to roughly 2.5% of the 1.2 Billion we’ve spent on player, of which arguably Palmer and Gusto are the only standouts. Not saying everyone else we’ve bough is a dud…

Go on, say it, 'cos it wouldn't be far from the truth!

 

To reiterate my stance on the Gallagher situation and the position our club is currently in:

I'm not against the sale of Gallagher or Chalobah or whoever else if the directors were selling them and signing genuine upgrades in their positions to enable us to challenge for silverware. My problem lies with the fact we are selling players who have an affinity to the club and replacing them with players that don't give a sh*t about the club and aren't an upgrade. We're selling our identity to gamble on lining the consortiums pockets at a later date. All we're doing is kicking the can down the line, bang on about 'pure profit' all you like but at some point the talent dries up and you're stuck paying off the money for your Omari Kellyman's you wasted £20m on. 

Gallagher/Chalobah are perfect examples this season of players that are absolutely perfect for any squad and any squad would be lucky to have an academy half as good as ours providing players like this free of charge.

Categorically, Chalobah is a better defender and footballer than: Disasi (45m), Anselmino (14m), Koulibaly (41m), Badiashile (38m). That's 138m we've spent to either get worse or sign a player that'll never get game time at Chelsea.

Categorically, Gallagher is a better player than: A. Santos (12.5m), Casadei (14.8m), Chukwuemeka (18m), Uguchukwu (27m), Kellyman (22.5m), KDH (34.5m). 129.3m spent for not a single player that's improving the squad right now. I think Chukwuemeka has the potential to have a place in the squad but i can't see him being better than RLC, who we had on the books. 

Kepa was an expensive mistake by previous ownership, but we've known we've needed to sort that position out for years now. Instead of going out and spending the money from these sales on a proven goalkeeper we've had to watch and endure the purchases of: Slonina (9m), Petrovic (16m), Sanchez (23m), Jorgensen (24.5m) and now rumoured for some random NPC regen from Genk with a single appearance for another 18m. 90.5m will have been spent on GK's under this ownership and can we confidently say we have a number one good enough to compete at the top yet?

These are the signings that are the reason we are having to sell youth players and if you're happy about that you're either incredibly naive or backed the wrong horse and are too proud to admit you're wrong by backing the people and 'vision' now in charge. 

52 minutes ago, Ukraine Bolt said:

To reiterate my stance on the Gallagher situation and the position our club is currently in:

I'm not against the sale of Gallagher or Chalobah or whoever else if the directors were selling them and signing genuine upgrades in their positions to enable us to challenge for silverware. My problem lies with the fact we are selling players who have an affinity to the club and replacing them with players that don't give a sh*t about the club and aren't an upgrade. We're selling our identity to gamble on lining the consortiums pockets at a later date. All we're doing is kicking the can down the line, bang on about 'pure profit' all you like but at some point the talent dries up and you're stuck paying off the money for your Omari Kellyman's you wasted £20m on. 

Gallagher/Chalobah are perfect examples this season of players that are absolutely perfect for any squad and any squad would be lucky to have an academy half as good as ours providing players like this free of charge.

Categorically, Chalobah is a better defender and footballer than: Disasi (45m), Anselmino (14m), Koulibaly (41m), Badiashile (38m). That's 138m we've spent to either get worse or sign a player that'll never get game time at Chelsea.

Categorically, Gallagher is a better player than: A. Santos (12.5m), Casadei (14.8m), Chukwuemeka (18m), Uguchukwu (27m), Kellyman (22.5m), KDH (34.5m). 129.3m spent for not a single player that's improving the squad right now. I think Chukwuemeka has the potential to have a place in the squad but i can't see him being better than RLC, who we had on the books. 

Kepa was an expensive mistake by previous ownership, but we've known we've needed to sort that position out for years now. Instead of going out and spending the money from these sales on a proven goalkeeper we've had to watch and endure the purchases of: Slonina (9m), Petrovic (16m), Sanchez (23m), Jorgensen (24.5m) and now rumoured for some random NPC regen from Genk with a single appearance for another 18m. 90.5m will have been spent on GK's under this ownership and can we confidently say we have a number one good enough to compete at the top yet?

These are the signings that are the reason we are having to sell youth players and if you're happy about that you're either incredibly naive or backed the wrong horse and are too proud to admit you're wrong by backing the people and 'vision' now in charge. 

Top Post. Agree with every bit of it and I would imagine ALL genuine Chelsea supporters do too.