7 minutes ago, Sconnie Blue said:

I'm not so sure. You even said yourself Tuchel's football wasn't sustainable and Potter couldn't even get us building out from a press the whole time he was here. 

A manager who was near his managerial expiration being replaced with a manager who was out of his depth. 

Tbh if TT stayed I think we'd have challenged for top 4 regardless, not sure if performances would have been better (damage was done in pre season in that regard) but he'd have certainly shat us out more results by hook or by crook because he's an elite tactican 

However looking at the bigger picture I'm not convinced we'd have been any closer than we are now to challenging the title again.

2 minutes ago, Argo said:

Tbh if TT stayed I think we'd have challenged for top 4 regardless, not sure if performances would have been better (damage was done in pre season in that regard) but he'd have certainly shat us out more results by hook or by crook because he's an elite tactican 

However looking at the bigger picture I'm not convinced we'd have been any closer than we are now to challenging the title again.

I don't think so. Too much damage was already done in terms of squad building and player regression/stagnation was apparent. Probably would've fetched a 8th-10th place finish. 

The football was utterly diabolical. 

On 16/07/2023 at 02:42, Scott Harris said:

I'm still not convinced anything is going to improve next season.

Pochettino is a better manager than Potter or Lampard, but the club still feels like a mess. We are in the middle of July, pre season under way, our midfield is still a mess, we still need to get a few players out and we don't even have a shirt sponsor. 

I don't know about improved but it will clearly be a different team. As for being a mess, to me it looks like it's gradually being sorted. We have a credible manager, credible until the season starts that is, and we have dramatically thinned out the squad. The players that remain in the squad know it will be thinned further by some players going on loan. So the remaining players will see what they and the team have to do. The morale in the squad will be hugely different. Kovacic and Jorginho looking for an exit v young motivated guys with a reputation too make.

Without the demand of mid week football, the extra training sessions should pay dividends ( like Conte's first season). I have no issue if we play the kids in league cup and drop out early, focus on the league and focus on league form.

34 minutes ago, icecoolguy22 said:

Without the demand of mid week football, the extra training sessions should pay dividends ( like Conte's first season). I have no issue if we play the kids in league cup and drop out early, focus on the league and focus on league form.

Absolutely not. Winning begets winning and every team that does the above fails in the long run.

There is a mile-high mountain between a team that is organised and plays good football and one that actually has the mental ability to challenge for trophies. Pochettino needs to prove to himself, more than anyone, that he can win a trophy in England. 

The League Cup should be a priority, as well as the FA Cup. If Mourinho, Guardiola and Ferguson have all taken it as a priority during successful periods in the past, I see no good reason why we should do anything different.

14 hours ago, Sconnie Blue said:

I'm not so sure. You even said yourself Tuchel's football wasn't sustainable and Potter couldn't even get us building out from a press the whole time he was here. 

A manager who was near his managerial expiration being replaced with a manager who was out of his depth. 

I was talking more of sustainable in term of challenging for title. But in term of just competing for top 4, you don't need to operate at 110% to do so. 

Imo if we have just sticked to tippy tappy 343, we would have been in contention for top 4.

 

7 hours ago, SydneyChelsea said:

Absolutely not. Winning begets winning and every team that does the above fails in the long run.

There is a mile-high mountain between a team that is organised and plays good football and one that actually has the mental ability to challenge for trophies. Pochettino needs to prove to himself, more than anyone, that he can win a trophy in England. 

The League Cup should be a priority, as well as the FA Cup. If Mourinho, Guardiola and Ferguson have all taken it as a priority during successful periods in the past, I see no good reason why we should do anything different.

Bang on, we should be 100% in for every trophy we are taking part in as a club, from the Premier league to the under 10`s. There are at most 4 major trophies each season for the first team to win, first season Jose was here he prioritised the League cup from the outset of the season as a way of getting winning into the club as a standard. Winning can become a habit as much as losing can.

Edited July 17, 20233 yr by dkw

1 hour ago, dkw said:

Premier league to the under 10`s. 

The great thing about our new signings is that we can use the same squad for both!

2 hours ago, SydneyChelsea said:

The great thing about our new signings is that we can use the same squad for both!

A core squad of 25 that can play every age group, it's a succession planners dream...

Edited July 17, 20233 yr by dkw

Frustrated to start preseason without James and Fofana. They just can’t stay fit. 

Good luck to the traveling group - excited to see progression. 

Borrowed this from another site- regarding  Fofana

Missed twelve games in the 19/20 season at St Ettienne, with two different knee injuries one after the other. Had two more small ones too, the following season. Fibula fracture in 21/22 made him miss almost the entire season and then two more knee injuries last year too, missing eleven games, then nine, one right after the other once again, the guys 22 and clearly got problem with his knees and already had a major injury nearby with the tibula, not looking good for him or Chelsea

Do we have a medical department?

Edited July 17, 20233 yr by Kev56

3 minutes ago, Kev56 said:

Borrowed this from another site- regarding  Fofana

Missed twelve games in the 19/20 season at St Ettienne, with two different knee injuries one after the other. Had two more small ones too, the following season. Fibula fracture in 21/22 made him miss almost the entire season and then two more knee injuries last year too, missing eleven games, then nine, one right after the other once again, the guys 22 and clearly got problem with his knees and already had a major injury nearby with the tibula, not looking good for him or Chelsea

Do we have a medical department?

At that point the board was basically just Boehly and now former Chelsea staff packing their bags after Roman left, not surprised no one picked up on his injury past. Either that or the club took a gamble hoping he would get fit as he grows older. It's not too late to happen but yeah if Fofana keeps getting injured, Brighton once again is going to be laughing their way to the bank at our expense.

On 15/07/2023 at 17:42, Scott Harris said:

I'm still not convinced anything is going to improve next season.

Pochettino is a better manager than Potter or Lampard, but the club still feels like a mess. We are in the middle of July, pre season under way, our midfield is still a mess, we still need to get a few players out and we don't even have a shirt sponsor. 

Keep low expectations Scott, but I think we will see improvements. Not so much in results but in performance at the very least. It will take time though, I'm writing next season off.

And I for one am sick of the whole "transition" season talk, but I think this time it's warranted. Our football philosophy needs a giant reset, now is the time. Have a bit of faith. 

45 minutes ago, Frankie8Lampard said:

At that point the board was basically just Boehly and now former Chelsea staff packing their bags after Roman left, not surprised no one picked up on his injury past. Either that or the club took a gamble hoping he would get fit as he grows older. It's not too late to happen but yeah if Fofana keeps getting injured, Brighton once again is going to be laughing their way to the bank at our expense.

Leicester laughing this time. 

I looked at the picture and squad list of those getting on the plane to USA and my heart sunk !! no Reece, no Fofana, no Broja. The same old same old injury prone players, all in vital positions for Chelsea in the coming Seasons. We desperately need a decent Keeper, A central midfield player, Palhinha NOT Caicedo, A decent striker and a back up for Reece James. Without ANY or ALL of these, Pochettino will struggle and the Club will get restless once again !!!

1 hour ago, coombsie said:

I looked at the picture and squad list of those getting on the plane to USA and my heart sunk !! no Reece, no Fofana, no Broja. The same old same old injury prone players, all in vital positions for Chelsea in the coming Seasons. We desperately need a decent Keeper, A central midfield player, Palhinha NOT Caicedo, A decent striker and a back up for Reece James. Without ANY or ALL of these, Pochettino will struggle and the Club will get restless once again !!!

Gusto?

This call for a decent striker is a bit strange; even if we assume Broja isn’t fit or has to be loaned out, we just bought Jackson & Nkunku can fill in also. There is a dearth of No 9s in world football presently, Madrid replaced Benzema a Ballon d’or win with Joselu a 33yr old forward from relegated Espanyol because there are no genuine options on the market. Utd have been quoted a ridiculous €85m for Hojlund by Atlanta, PSG are trying to sign Vlahovic from Juve, who are going to replace him with Lukaku. You can see the market for forwards is just nuts, and makes no sense. The only sure bet is Kane, and I won’t be surprised if Levy takes the hit and keeps him for the final year of his contract because there is no one on the market. No one is touching Osimhen at the €120m fee slapped on him because it is a high risk signing because he plays in Serie A, and the Lukaku factor. Who do fans want the club to sign?

Personally I’d rather sign a quality goal threat in the wide areas to give Madueke competition in the RW. We are very light on wingers, and Liverpool and even to an extent Arsenal have shown that you don’t really need a No 9 who will hit 20 league goals. Just have enough weapons on the wings and in Arsenal & City’s case enough quality or an ace in the middle of the park.

31 minutes ago, ducavis said:

Gusto?

This call for a decent striker is a bit strange; even if we assume Broja isn’t fit or has to be loaned out, we just bought Jackson & Nkunku can fill in also. There is a dearth of No 9s in world football presently, Madrid replaced Benzema a Ballon d’or win with Joselu a 33yr old forward from relegated Espanyol because there are no genuine options on the market. Utd have been quoted a ridiculous €85m for Hojlund by Atlanta, PSG are trying to sign Vlahovic from Juve, who are going to replace him with Lukaku. You can see the market for forwards is just nuts, and makes no sense. The only sure bet is Kane, and I won’t be surprised if Levy takes the hit and keeps him for the final year of his contract because there is no one on the market. No one is touching Osimhen at the €120m fee slapped on him because it is a high risk signing because he plays in Serie A, and the Lukaku factor. Who do fans want the club to sign?

Personally I’d rather sign a quality goal threat in the wide areas to give Madueke competition in the RW. We are very light on wingers, and Liverpool and even to an extent Arsenal have shown that you don’t really need a No 9 who will hit 20 league goals. Just have enough weapons on the wings and in Arsenal & City’s case enough quality or an ace in the middle of the park.

I do completely agree that there is a real shortage of strikers. Broja is clearly not going to be ready for the start of the Season. So, Kane is the answer, but Levy will NEVER sell to Chelsea, although Kane has commissioned a new house to be built within a few miles of Cobham, presumably as an investment. Osimhen has been priced out of the market by Lazio. I have no doubt that we would have already bought Toney if he hadn't been banned, so expect us to tie this up before the January window opens.  I also agree on the winger position, as with Ziyech and CHO leaving (hopes) we are left with Noni, Sterling, Moreira and Angelo although I know nothing about the last two, are they first team ready ??

 

Pochettino has held several one-on-one conversations with players to explain what he thinks of them and expects from them. But he has also asked for their opinions on how they feel things have gone, and what they believe went wrong last season. Players have been made to feel they can trust Pochettino and are able to speak freely.

- @SJohnsonSport

First and foremost he's a good human being. Goes a very long way towards successful man management.

Fairly encouraging signs here. Most of it is fairly standard but considering the outrageous lassitude and managerial ineptitude we've seen over the last twelve months it's good to see  some competent micromanagement, particularly given our squad's average age is about 19:

https://theathletic.com/4696169/2023/07/18/chelsea-pochettino-us-preseason/?access_token=912456&redirected=1

5 hours ago, enigma said:

 

Hard preseason and weeks in Wes Fofana breaks down. Anyone surprised. He is on his way to being like Ledley King.

9 minutes ago, axman2526 said:

Hard preseason and weeks in Wes Fofana breaks down. Anyone surprised. He is on his way to being like Ledley King.

Just glad it's now and not a couple of weeks into the season when Trev had likely gone, and the market shut. Hopefully Trev stays now rather than splashing the cash on another CB.

Getting knackered at 60mins becoming a little easier to understand now...

Quote

 

The level of exercise at Chelsea is being monitored closer now. Staff had been aware that, previously, there had been instances where some players, on being told to do gym work, were putting in a token appearance before leaving prematurely.

No one is leaving early now.… pic.twitter.com/Ib60p4ChY9

— Chelsea Dodgers (@TheBlueDodger) July 18, 2023