3 hours ago, Sconnie Blue said:

The sustained success probably a testament to how good of a coach Pep is. 

No one comes close. I never wanted to admit it years back as never cared much for the man but these days have no problem accepting and stating he's the best manager ever. 

He's something else. Year after year, club after club. Even the CL criticism about not winning it lots just confirms the CL is a different beast altogether but he is always in the mix. 

6 minutes ago, abister1 said:

No one comes close. I never wanted to admit it years back as never cared much for the man but these days have no problem accepting and stating he's the best manager ever. 

He's something else. Year after year, club after club. Even the CL criticism about not winning it lots just confirms the CL is a different beast altogether but he is always in the mix. 

Think he'll be considered the best when he finally calls it. He'll likely get this third this season but even then I still feel he's been somewhat unlucky a couple times. 

- 2015 Bayern had a genuine chance to score quite a few goals at the Nou Camp had Ter Stegan not played a blinder. (better team that 1st leg for the majority of it before Messi did Messi things. 

- 2012 we know what happened there. 

Edited May 19, 20233 yr by Sconnie Blue

4 hours ago, Sconnie Blue said:

Should be finalized today apparently. 3 year deal and will start July 1st. 

 

That's great all around. Looks like Boehly is learning. Imagine if he slapped another 6 year deal. 

 

Of course he’s learning, rich people hate losing money and look stupid at the same time and he’s achieved both in a short space of time. If he didn’t learn I would have serious reservations of where we would be heading with this guy in charge.

10 hours ago, just said:

Fat Ronaldo. Gazza.

Billy Foulke our original fat keeper 

9 hours ago, Bob stark said:

They are far more watchable than last year. Last year version was extemely boring. 

I've watched us play tons of slow,  boring possession based football for years.

If Citeh are boring, it must be a superior brand of boring because I know which style I would rather watch .

37 minutes ago, El regreso said:

Of course he’s learning, rich people hate losing money and look stupid at the same time and he’s achieved both in a short space of time. If he didn’t learn I would have serious reservations of where we would be heading with this guy in charge.

Poor people hate losing money too, and it affects their life more than a billionaire losing money.

Anyway Todd hasn't lost any money.

5 hours ago, The Rising Sun said:

Poor people hate losing money too, and it affects their life more than a billionaire losing money.

Anyway Todd hasn't lost any money.

He has...just not his own!

9 hours ago, The Rising Sun said:

I've watched us play tons of slow,  boring possession based football for years.

If Citeh are boring, it must be a superior brand of boring because I know which style I would rather watch .

This year or last year version city? 

Last year city was unwatchable. Backpass galore, extemely slow, I saw somebody said it is like watching paint dry and I am not sure which one is more boring. 

 

 

Pochettino really has a job in his hands. The situation in the club is so messy there are 5-6 dumpster fires to put out and at the same time win games at a reasonable rate.

His start is depleted by the massive squad. They need to trim to squad first of all and he has a big part to play in that. 

Then he needs to build the culture in the club. This is something he is good at and has his methods to create family-like atmosphere. To our young squad that should be exactly what it needs. 

What for me is the most difficult thing is the balance between building and getting results. We saw the ownership had no clear target for the season for it. Under Roman it was crystal clear. Premier league or at minimum Champions League spot. Boehly and co had didn't have that. I am guessing they just went with the flow. We can't have that anymore. The target needs to be set in stone, tattooed to everyone. 

Depending on the summer and how successful we are in the market basically defines how the season goes. Pochettino can only do so much. 

1. Set target 

2. Clear out

3. Buy smart

4. Start building culture

5. Win enough games

The size of the job is massive and agree with all said above.  Beyond that though, beyond all else I want our players to be fitter, show more fight and overall more quality.  Watch other teams and just how hard they run, be it City or Arsenal (the obvious), Liverpool (who are finding something again), or Newcastle.  The noise and fight they show, albeit on their home turf, is something we haven't seen for too long.

There is no excuse for any team working harder than us.  The quality will then show through.  Get them fitter and hungry. 

4 hours ago, PhilH930 said:

The size of the job is massive and agree with all said above.  Beyond that though, beyond all else I want our players to be fitter, show more fight and overall more quality.  Watch other teams and just how hard they run, be it City or Arsenal (the obvious), Liverpool (who are finding something again), or Newcastle.  The noise and fight they show, albeit on their home turf, is something we haven't seen for too long.

There is no excuse for any team working harder than us.  The quality will then show through.  Get them fitter and hungry. 

Not sure I agree with all of that. I agree our players need to be fitter yet always a trade-off with pace and technical ability.

I've seen it several times with technical players used to hunt down the ball and so when they get the chance to shoot there is no power in their legs. 

Hoping Pochettino funds the right balance 

I think that there needs to be more connectivity with the fans and for the ground to be a cauldron of noise. A measured, technical and slow build up lends itself to quiet,  studious viewing. High intensity, high energy pressing when not in possession and short rapid one and two touch passing in possession breeds an infectious excitement and interaction from the crowd. If we can develop this interaction and engagement at SB we can make the ground a fortress which would be a major foundation 

So are they just taking the piss now, or what? Is he joining? What is the hold up?

It might be out of respect for Frank, does his authority in the dressing room plummet once the players know there is a new manager.

Also Pochettino does not want to manage before the next season as it is not his team and can only harm his reputation and take away from his authority next season.

I would expect an announcement either on the last game of the season or just after. 

 

 

 

Players knew Frank was only ever interim and they will have been across the Pochettino business. Possibly know more than has been made public. They will likely have respected his playing days, can't possibly have respected the sh*t show of a job he has done in the dugout.

1 hour ago, strider6004 said:

Not sure I agree with all of that. I agree our players need to be fitter yet always a trade-off with pace and technical ability.

I've seen it several times with technical players used to hunt down the ball and so when they get the chance to shoot there is no power in their legs. 

Hoping Pochettino funds the right balance 

Yeah I with you. I don’t mean in hopeless fashion where we’re exhausted - not Bielsa and Leeds. More so where we’re just physically asserting and can go the 90 mins. To me they always look gassed 

6 hours ago, PhilH930 said:

The size of the job is massive and agree with all said above.  Beyond that though, beyond all else I want our players to be fitter, show more fight and overall more quality.  Watch other teams and just how hard they run, be it City or Arsenal (the obvious), Liverpool (who are finding something again), or Newcastle.  The noise and fight they show, albeit on their home turf, is something we haven't seen for too long.

There is no excuse for any team working harder than us.  The quality will then show through.  Get them fitter and hungry. 

Yes, any team that thinks they can compete for EPL without giving it 100% effort to start with are kidding themselves.

We need 100% effort and then the talent might start to show through... without that 100% all other teams in the league will piss all over us... like they've done this year.

8 hours ago, evissy said:

Pochettino really has a job in his hands.

He does. He really does.

 

But. . . The Chelsea squad are essentially an elite force and when we appointed Potter, we put a cub scout leader [really nice bloke] in charge of an elite force that needed a proper General.

 

Pochettino does have his work cut out. However, there are some pluses. He will [after a good clear out] have some of the finest young players in the world. He will have a chance to make a few of his own signings – a striker – and there are a few young squad players who are expected to show up soon – Nkunku and Malo Gusto and Andrey Santos. Maybe Levi Colwell? He will also have access to a pretty decent footballing Academy. The club has financial resources and a keen ownership.  I think keen is the right description – I think our owners may have a better idea of their goals now. We also have some great supporters. . . Pochettino has only been used to fecking Spurs fans up until now, poor bloke.

 

3 hours ago, Zeta said:

So are they just taking the piss now, or what? Is he joining? What is the hold up?

Soccer aid beat us to it, he is their new manager.

My biggest worry in delaying this announcement is that we lose valuable ground on any transfer targets.

Arsenal are on the verge of an opening bid for Declan Rice and Liverpool have apparently make very good progress in their pursuit of Brighton’s McAlister.

It’s harder to convince any top player, with the choice of a few clubs, to join Chelsea without us officially having a manager who can personally talk to them about how they would fit in at Chelsea.

Edited May 20, 20233 yr by 2211

11 hours ago, evissy said:

Pochettino really has a job in his hands. The situation in the club is so messy there are 5-6 dumpster fires to put out and at the same time win games at a reasonable rate.

His start is depleted by the massive squad. They need to trim to squad first of all and he has a big part to play in that. 

Then he needs to build the culture in the club. This is something he is good at and has his methods to create family-like atmosphere. To our young squad that should be exactly what it needs. 

What for me is the most difficult thing is the balance between building and getting results. We saw the ownership had no clear target for the season for it. Under Roman it was crystal clear. Premier league or at minimum Champions League spot. Boehly and co had didn't have that. I am guessing they just went with the flow. We can't have that anymore. The target needs to be set in stone, tattooed to everyone. 

Depending on the summer and how successful we are in the market basically defines how the season goes. Pochettino can only do so much. 

1. Set target 

2. Clear out

3. Buy smart

4. Start building culture

5. Win enough games

Given our state and the competition, I think the top 6 is a fair target and if we attain that we up it to champions league the following season. I don't think the target should be the title until about 2 seasons IMO.

1 hour ago, Frankie8Lampard said:

Given our state and the competition, I think the top 6 is a fair target and if we attain that we up it to champions league the following season. I don't think the target should be the title until about 2 seasons IMO.

Honestly, even if he doesn't win anything and is gone in 2 years, the squad will most likely be in a much healthier position than it is now. 

We have been one of the worst teams in the league for months now, how are some seeing us suddenly turn into a top 6 team next season? If we can get into the top 6, then 15 other teams in the league will feel they can do it too.

2 hours ago, Scott Harris said:

We have been one of the worst teams in the league for months now, how are some seeing us suddenly turn into a top 6 team next season? If we can get into the top 6, then 15 other teams in the league will feel they can do it too.

I think it's mostly the opinion that the players we have are underperforming and that they aren't necessarily bad. 

Five-point plan for success (in order of importance)

•  Stop the Leaks: The problem with being owned by a consortium is that there are too many cooks, and too many political interests. Pochettino should demand that leaking be investigated and halted. The Athletic and co could barely get a sniffle out of Abramovich's board the last 5 or so years, yet now they are able to broadcast every last Boehly bowel movement. Leaking creates a toxic culture and engenders mistrust while also encouraging people to voice their dissent unproductively instead of providing honest feedback

 

• Improve fitness: The overall energy and injury rates of the squad are appalling. Pochettino needs to set standards for high self-care and self-motivation to get and remain fit. It will improve our shocking injury record for one, and ensure that players are capable of playing at a high intensity. A fitness culture takes months, if not years to improve and we're talking about something that has declined since Conte, so this is a long term but necessary project.

 

• Trim the squad to 23 players + youth: There are only so many minutes in a day available for training, and the focus has to be on efficiency. A large squad is impossible to manage, practically speaking, because you simply do not have the space and time to communicate effectively with all players. You will always have people in the room subject to the tyranny of distance, and it can create weird cultures and perceptions of being on the outer when you're one of the guys always near the back door. That means player sales, but also scoping out good loan or buyback clause deals for Chalobah, Gallagher etc admitting to them we need to send them out purely for FFP and because we f**ked up in January.
   

• Target the League Cup and FA Cup:  Many of you will know that I am not Mourinho's greatest fan, but I do believe that one of the shrewdest things he did was to target and win the Carling Cup by playing strong sides in every leg of the competition. Mourinho has used the term "a team of serial losers" to describe a squad made up largely of players whose best achievements were winning second place. He added established winners (Ferreira, Carvalho) and took every single trophy seriously which went a long way to establish a culture where every single game is taken seriously.  When it comes to establishing a real culture of success, I think many of our previous managers have erred in treating the Cups as training for the League/CL. Winning begets winning.

 

• Bin Pochettino after a year if he doesn't win anything: He might do good job of getting the squad together and ironing out our problems as above, but he is not a proven winner. No cups, no contract Pochettino.

 

 

Edited May 20, 20233 yr by SydneyChelsea