We’re still a 45 minute team which puts a lot of pressure on us. We rarely play well for 90 minutes. We’re still also very niave as shown yesterday

2 wins 2 draws.

Should’ve lost to Palace.

Should’ve lost/drawn to Fulham.

West Ham are a sorry side.

Outplayed yesterday for majority of the game to a side managed by someone I’ve never heard of.

We are what we all knew we were, tactically naive and soft.

The guy is a f**king idiot if we're honest. Claimed that Joao Pedro wasn't 100% but he didn't put Guiu on the bench, he brought George on at half time despite him being almost sold on deadline day instead of our new winger, starts Fofana who hasn't started in about a year out of position when we had two RBs on the bench.

I can't for the life me understand why some games he goes with the obvious things to do and it generally works, then some games he channels his inner Russell Martin and needlessly over complicates sh*t for no reason.

Made a mess of him team selection yesterday, but looked to have got out of jail. Looking too open for my liking this season so far, would be the first thing I’d like to see rectified. He managed to do that last season even if it wasn’t pretty.

2 words why this bloke is still in a job - Cole Palmer

Simple as that really, this bloke has been lavished with an endless supply of some of the best young players on the globe and most of the football is boring possession based put one to sleep fare. He relies on the top class players at his disposal to come up with a piece of magic within his rigid tactical game plan. If he tweaks the tactics based upon which team we face then ever so slightly. With him at the helm we are a cup team always fighting for a CL place nothing more which is ok but not really after the money spent and talent in the squad.

I’m sure a better coach would in a season or two get Chelsea challenging for the title but not Maresca he’s got lucky and that’s bought him and Clearfake some time so we’ve got to put up with him for now.

With our last few not very good managers it felt just a matter of time before they were sacked, but this clown feels like he’s going to be here for as long as time itself.

But whilst we keep winning the selling players for a a small profit cup, there’s no hope of us accidentally stumbling across someone who can make a decent and entertaining team out of two billion quids worth of spending.

7 hours ago, nonotnowjim said:

Poor argument.

One of 2 things has to be true:

1) Maresca asks us to play this slow style.

or

2) Maresca asks the players not to play the slow style - but they ignore him and choose to do so anyway. Despite that - Maresca continues to select them.

3) they are unable to execute

Find it so baffling coming on here. Feels like I watch a different team.

Thought with all the context, post intl break, pre Bayern away, no Colwill, Delap, Esteveo, playing away at a real bogey team for us, we did alright. Probably should have won if we were a bit smarter in the key moments at the end. Thought Sanchez was immense, Neto looks class, Caicedo doing Caicedo things and Palmer seems to be back to his normal self and the signing of Garnacho makes complete sense.

It's going to be a hard few years for a lot of posters on here. I can't believe anyone who is complaining about our football the last 6 months has enjoyed anything since Conte left bar 6 games under Tuchel.

I think we're three signings away from winning the league (or at least giving a Liverpool a fright). And all three of those signings are currently playing for Strasbourg. I think though right now what will be different is we have the ability to beat anyone, which we didn't have 12 months ago.

Ill quietly enjoy what I'm seeing and will watch the meltdowns on here for the next 12 months as curious when the meltdowns and Maresca outs will stop. Because it feels like we will be in the CL final one day and people will still complain.

Edited September 14, 2025Sep 14 by bisright1

When he gets the sack, I don't want to see anymore Pep prodigies/successor/assistants at the club

They tinker like they're the next Pep and it's always boring football

2 hours ago, Deino said:

When he gets the sack, I don't want to see anymore Pep prodigies/successor/assistants at the club

They tinker like they're the next Pep and it's always boring football

Peps crimes against football are disgusting.

He has single handedly ruined the last decade or so with the obsession with possession.

All his sheep following like it’s the only way to play and it’s the most dire boring garbage known to man.

Long gone are the days where every manager had a style, Mourinho’s Chels, Fergies Utd, Wengers Arsenal, Benitez’s Scouse, even throw in Pulis’ Stoke & Moyes Everton. There’s a reason that was the golden age of the PL and it’s been a pisspoor product ever since.

6 hours ago, bisright1 said:

Find it so baffling coming on here. Feels like I watch a different team.

Thought with all the context, post intl break, pre Bayern away, no Colwill, Delap, Esteveo, playing away at a real bogey team for us, we did alright. Probably should have won if we were a bit smarter in the key moments at the end. Thought Sanchez was immense, Neto looks class, Caicedo doing Caicedo things and Palmer seems to be back to his normal self and the signing of Garnacho makes complete sense.

"With all the context"

What makes our situation any different than the rest of the league or teams in Europe? We rested players, City didn't, Arsenal didn't, Liverpool didn't. City have more injuries than us and just dominated United. We never created a single decent chance in the first half and played the usual sh*t slow paced football. You say you thought Sanchez was immense, but why are we relying on our goalkeeper to be immense against one of the weakest sides in the league right now? Did you think Kelleher was immense? because he never had much to do. Why is our keeper being made to work just as hard as the opposition?

Neto also wasn't immense. He worked hard like he always does, but every single cross was over hit, he was often in 2 v 1 situations because Maresca isolates the wingers. He had one piece of nice skill and had his shot blocked by the defender, that's it.

The defence was the worst though. They were a disaster all game. No shape, no leadership, both goals conceded were pathetic.

We're not watching a different team, you just think the crap served up is good for some reason.

7 hours ago, bisright1 said:

It's going to be a hard few years for a lot of posters on here. I can't believe anyone who is complaining about our football the last 6 months has enjoyed anything since Conte left bar 6 games under Tuchel.

Well, for the most part, yeah. There has been moments where our football has been enjoyable, but it's been fleeting. I've not enjoyed much of anything under the new ownership though. The odd game here and there is enjoyable, players like Silva, Caicedo and Palmer have been good to watch, but the football is absolute dogsh*t overall. It's just a waste of time watching most of the time. I would love to know what anybody finds so entertaining about watching players play slow, 5 yard passes and creating 1 or 2 good chances per half (or sometimes none at all)

10 hours ago, General said:

I’m sure a better coach would in a season or two get Chelsea challenging for the title but not Maresca he’s got lucky and that’s bought him and Clearfake some time so we’ve got to put up with him for now.

This is what I heard from spurs fans for years. We need better manager and we will be in title contention. Manager after manager, same crap. Heck they even hire Conte n Mou, same thing.

Unfortunate end to the match. I feel sorry for Maresca although he is responsible for the first half. I get that everyone is buzzing about UCL but the lineup didn't predict anything good.

This is what UCL does to you. Happened before and will happen in the future.

3 hours ago, Scott Harris said:

"With all the context"

What makes our situation any different than the rest of the league or teams in Europe? We rested players, City didn't, Arsenal didn't, Liverpool didn't. City have more injuries than us and just dominated United. We never created a single decent chance in the first half and played the usual sh*t slow paced football. You say you thought Sanchez was immense, but why are we relying on our goalkeeper to be immense against one of the weakest sides in the league right now? Did you think Kelleher was immense? because he never had much to do. Why is our keeper being made to work just as hard as the opposition?

Neto also wasn't immense. He worked hard like he always does, but every single cross was over hit, he was often in 2 v 1 situations because Maresca isolates the wingers. He had one piece of nice skill and had his shot blocked by the defender, that's it.

The defence was the worst though. They were a disaster all game. No shape, no leadership, both goals conceded were pathetic.

We're not watching a different team, you just think the crap served up is good for some reason.

Well, for the most part, yeah. There has been moments where our football has been enjoyable, but it's been fleeting. I've not enjoyed much of anything under the new ownership though. The odd game here and there is enjoyable, players like Silva, Caicedo and Palmer have been good to watch, but the football is absolute dogsh*t overall. It's just a waste of time watching most of the time. I would love to know what anybody finds so entertaining about watching players play slow, 5 yard passes and creating 1 or 2 good chances per half (or sometimes none at all)

The desperation by some to hand wave away his decisions and mistakes because of our "situation" is baffling, were no different to several other clubs at the moment yet I didnt see them sh*t themselevs and pick an entirely new defence with 3 players out of position, one making a debut and another coming back from multiple injuries. that had nothing to do with "context" it was just a moronic decision that had us all over the place defensively constantly, the midfield and attack were barely able to create a single chance let alone shot on goal. He chose that team, he chooses to leave out certain players from the team/squad and play players out of position every god damn game.

Honest question here but does anyone actually like us anymore?

I don’t like Maresca at all, I don’t like Eghbali, I don’t like Winstanley & Stewart, I hate the way we do business, I find our pushing of CFC LDN nothing but cringe, there’s no JT, Lamps, Hazard in the squad to ‘Love’ aside from RJ.

Do have to say this iteration of Chels is the least connected I’ve ever felt in my 30 years.

14 hours ago, acaeus said:

3) they are unable to execute

That doesn’t change anything - and it still comes back to 1 of the 2 options I have given. 1 of those statements has to be true - there is zero other alternatives

As a reminder:

• Either Maresca is telling them to play in a slow manner

  or

• Maresca is telling them to play quickly. They don’t play quickly. But he still selects them.

One of those 2 things is happening. I suspect the first.

In your argument - if the players are unable to do what he is telling them to do, then either a) stop selecting them or b) ask them to do something different.

12 minutes ago, The Boehly Babes said:

Honest question here but does anyone actually like us anymore?

I don’t like Maresca at all, I don’t like Eghbali, I don’t like Winstanley & Stewart, I hate the way we do business, I find our pushing of CFC LDN nothing but cringe, there’s no JT, Lamps, Hazard in the squad to ‘Love’ aside from RJ.

Do have to say this iteration of Chels is the least connected I’ve ever felt in my 30 years.

• Dont like the style of football.

• Dont like our transfer strategy

• Don’t like the manager

• Hate Jackson

• Don’t like the goalkeeper.

• I am indifferent to the sporting directors

I do like some of the younger players. I do like the way we can play at times (PSG game as an example). But this current stubborn manager is sucking the fun out of the game and ruining what could be a great young team.

42 minutes ago, The Boehly Babes said:

Honest question here but does anyone actually like us anymore?

I don’t like Maresca at all, I don’t like Eghbali, I don’t like Winstanley & Stewart, I hate the way we do business, I find our pushing of CFC LDN nothing but cringe, there’s no JT, Lamps, Hazard in the squad to ‘Love’ aside from RJ.

Do have to say this iteration of Chels is the least connected I’ve ever felt in my 30 years.

It's combination of a lot of things, as others have mentioned. The manager, the transfer decisions, the owners. For me the never-ending churn of players as well. You build up connection with players and jnormally a few go and a few arrive each year, but we've had like 20+ ins and outs every year, I have no connection to any of them really. I wasn't even sure who some of them were against Brentford, because the names just all blur into one now, there's no point remebering them as they'll be gone in another year, replaced by the next "big" thing, by which I mean average thing but with big pricetag.

Thomas Frank... Not really my cup of tea as a manager, but he's decent, we know this because his Brentford side have caused us serious issues the past few seasons. Im also not holding up his start at that ghost house in north london as a barometer of success... but his sides are organised, attack with purpose and play alright football. He's had a positive impact since going to North London.

We've gone from entertaining football first four months of last to enjoyment sapping controlled posession football that requires all of Cole Palmers talent to win us games. We've added JP up top this season and he looks like he will deliver for us both creating and scoring, but we're still seeing the same issues from wide players and having a soft belly in midfield teams get at us through.

Look forward to CL they say... hmmm... seeing will be believing and its no good being in it if we cant sustain a decent league campaign.

12 hours ago, bisright1 said:

Find it so baffling coming on here. Feels like I watch a different team.

Thought with all the context, post intl break, pre Bayern away, no Colwill, Delap, Esteveo, playing away at a real bogey team for us, we did alright. Probably should have won if we were a bit smarter in the key moments at the end. Thought Sanchez was immense, Neto looks class, Caicedo doing Caicedo things and Palmer seems to be back to his normal self and the signing of Garnacho makes complete sense.

It's going to be a hard few years for a lot of posters on here. I can't believe anyone who is complaining about our football the last 6 months has enjoyed anything since Conte left bar 6 games under Tuchel.

I think we're three signings away from winning the league (or at least giving a Liverpool a fright). And all three of those signings are currently playing for Strasbourg. I think though right now what will be different is we have the ability to beat anyone, which we didn't have 12 months ago.

Ill quietly enjoy what I'm seeing and will watch the meltdowns on here for the next 12 months as curious when the meltdowns and Maresca outs will stop. Because it feels like we will be in the CL final one day and people will still complain.

I also sometimes find it baffling coming on here. Don't remember it being this negative a few years ago but I'm probably misremembering...

Here are a few of my jumbled thoughts:

• Wrong starting lineup. Understand why he did it but clearly ended up being a mistake.

• Maresca seems to be trying to think about the season as a whole, rather than taking one game at a time. I prefer the immediate mindset. Try and win the next game you play and don't plan too far ahead. That's what title winning teams always say in interviews. Then again, that mindset might lead to more injuries/wear out key players too early.

• Palmer had a chance to seal the win for us when Neto cut it back to him. Should have scored, but I'm not too worried. Delighted he got the first goal which was much harder to score than he made it seem.

• Neto is looking good on the right, especially later in the game with against a tired defence. I love his energy.

• Decent half from Buonanotte. I was nonplussed about the signing but he will be useful for us. Would prefer he comes on as a sub than starts.

• Garnacho as a person annoys me. I think that's my personal baggage. His celebration when Caicedo scored pissed me off and I don't know why. I hope to be able to get over this.

• Why does everything need to be so black and white? "Maresca is awful". "Maresca is god's gift". I think he's neither, but will support him as long as he keeps us competing. CWC, Europe win and CL last season was more than enough for me to back him this season.

• Tight margins. We conceded in the 93rd minute after a good comeback. For context, the "great beloved liverpool" (sarcasm) won their game in the 93rd minute from a penalty. On another day we win and they draw. That's life.

Ultimately, I want to support my club through thick and thin. It's been thin recently and that's when I feel we need to come together to support, not moan and talk the club down. Everyone is entitled to support the club however they prefer.

Even during out glory days in the 2000s there were many in the MHL who spent 90 minutes moaning that we needed to be more direct and get the ball forward. This was said about Mourinho, Ancelotti, Conte when we were dominating the league. Of course it will be said to Maresca too.

40 minutes ago, Zeta said:

It's combination of a lot of things, as others have mentioned. The manager, the transfer decisions, the owners. For me the never-ending churn of players as well. You build up connection with players and jnormally a few go and a few arrive each year, but we've had like 20+ ins and outs every year, I have no connection to any of them really. I wasn't even sure who some of them were against Brentford, because the names just all blur into one now, there's no point remebering them as they'll be gone in another year, replaced by the next "big" thing, by which I mean average thing but with big pricetag.

I have lots of questions about poch or Maresca but they are irrelevant because at the end of the day, they have 0 control of the squad.

1 hour ago, Bob stark said:

I have lots of questions about poch or Maresca but they are irrelevant because at the end of the day, they have 0 control of the squad.

Another day. Another moment I disagree with you.

Of course Maresca (and Poch before him) has control on the squad. He chooses the team. He chooses the formation and he is the one giving the instructions. That is control.

If player X isn’t doing what he asks, the. Maresca can drop him - that is control.

If player y is not in long term plans of the the SDs (sterling for example) - then Maresca can either choose to use him, or comply and refuse to choose him. That is control.

Maresca can choose to be a yes man, or not - that is control of his own mind and destiny.

1 hour ago, dkw said:

The desperation by some to hand wave away his decisions and mistakes because of our "situation" is baffling, were no different to several other clubs at the moment yet I didnt see them sh*t themselevs and pick an entirely new defence with 3 players out of position, one making a debut and another coming back from multiple injuries. that had nothing to do with "context" it was just a moronic decision that had us all over the place defensively constantly, the midfield and attack were barely able to create a single chance let alone shot on goal. He chose that team, he chooses to leave out certain players from the team/squad and play players out of position every god damn game.

I mean Liverpool relied on a brain fart to beat a newly promoted side. City were playing a sh*t United 24 hours later than we were at home.

Arsenal played well sure, but are playing Bilbao in the week, not Bayern.

And we were missing a lot more players than anyone else, thankfully temporarily in some cases. Yes id probably have started Acheampong, but I can totally imagine him playing as average as Fofana did. Whilst Chalobah and Tosin are right now our starting CBs.

And I'd rather James and Cucu didn't play 90 minutes based on the fact we need them more in other games. So better they come on in the second half than go off injured after 60 and we give Hato and Fofana minutes.

I think the biggest issue is most of our fans haven't realised this is how all the top teams play now against sides like Brentford. It's sideways football until you get the break.

I'm excited to see how we do against Bayern because the foundations built by Maresca over the last 12 months mean we can compete against the best in the world - i.e. a team who doesn't just sit back in a block of 8.

It would be nice to see some more positivity around here. But until we are the best in the world no one's going to be happy.

2 hours ago, bluelightening said:

Thomas Frank... Not really my cup of tea as a manager, but he's decent, we know this because his Brentford side have caused us serious issues the past few seasons. Im also not holding up his start at that ghost house in north london as a barometer of success... but his sides are organised, attack with purpose and play alright football. He's had a positive impact since going to North London.

We've gone from entertaining football first four months of last to enjoyment sapping controlled posession football that requires all of Cole Palmers talent to win us games. We've added JP up top this season and he looks like he will deliver for us both creating and scoring, but we're still seeing the same issues from wide players and having a soft belly in midfield teams get at us through.

Look forward to CL they say... hmmm... seeing will be believing and its no good being in it if we cant sustain a decent league campaign.

Entertaining football didn't lead to us looking like we could beat any decent side. That's the issue.

I'd rather toil against Brentford and beat PSG, than have an exciting 4-2 win and then get spanked when we play anyone decent.

And we do have 8 points from 4. The way people talk about our league form is if we are putting up mid table numbers.

We will comfortably be in the top 4 this year.

Edited September 15, 2025Sep 15 by bisright1

I still wouldn't of played either James or Cucurella considering both have played a lot of football.

What I wouldn't of done is f**king play Fofana, who hasn't started a game in nearly 9 months, at RB when a perfectly fit Malo Gusto is in the squad. This would of then allowed Hato to play as a LCB instead of Chalobah having to be on the opposite side when he's been class as that RCB so far.

But again, we have a manager who continously needs to overcomplicate things to shoehorn his favorite players, IE Fofana and Enzo.

Edited September 15, 2025Sep 15 by Sconnie Blue