What are your expectations for the season ahead in terms of ladder position, silverware, style of play etc?

What does Maresca need to achieve to leave you thinking we're on the right track?

Edited August 16, 20241 yr by Jezz

Top 4.

If the manager is good enough then we should make it.

We have a huge squad. There are some terrible ones in there but we have enough decent players to make a top 4 11.

It's all down to Enzo imo.

I expect we will be calling for Maresca to be sacked pre christmas but he might linger till the end of the season. I estimate we will finish 4-6 th in the League and will continue to have a bloated squad.

In terms of players in/out i doubt if Clearlakes performance will improve or change much.

Good youngsters going out and expensive journeymen/ duds coming in.

I think we will win the conference and qualify for next years Europa 👍

And hey ho i'll still be here🙂

Edited August 16, 20241 yr by OneTommyLangley

Top 4. The team is good enough if we can keep a relatively clean bill of health throughout the season. If we can sign Felix and Osimhen then I think we have a team that could challenge for the league personally, although I don't expect us to actually win the league this season, but next season I don't see why not.

Id just like to enjoy watching Chelsea matches again rather than enduring them.  Top 7 again

Bottom half manager gone before Xmas let’s be realistic we can’t defend for toffee brought 3 crap goalies on top of kepa the worst ever why didn’t we buy One top goalie 😤

At least 3 managers this year

23 more signings 

80% ball possesion by average 

12 harmstring injuries

40 Mudryk shots into the stands

CHAMPION OF  THE CONFERENCE LEAGUE 👑

I have no expectations.

Very little. We'll start the season badly, probably be bottom half for a while. Pick up in the new year, but still finish outside the top 8.

I saw very little. After the wolves loss at home last year I lost all expectation for any game. But then we turned a corner. 

This summer feels like we’ve hit reset again. I try to temper expectations, but would be happy with top 6. Truth be told though I have no idea what to expect. Never a dull moment though! 

It's really hard to set expectations before a ball is kicked especially as it's a new manager, nearly a new team-ish but a whole new game plan/set up.

I posted earlier or in another similar thread...we can be anywhere from 3rd to 13th going by what I've read so far.

My personal opinion is it will take time but I like that Maresca comes across that he is a "tactical coach" and that's one of the main things I wanted. Whether he's any good? Well that's still to be seen but the fact he talks tactics is already a positive over last season.

It won't be easy for him though with the sheer number of players he has and I'm thinking I'm not going to judge Maresca until the transfer window shuts and some of the noise at Chels dies down. 

His tactics and gameplay doesn't come across as simple in any way and it will take time for them to get used to it, like I posted before, maybe October/November before we see them gel properly. What's good though is they (the team) recognise that, some have already come out and said something similar or hinted along those lines including Maresca. So they shouldn't be too disheartened or drop their heads too much if results don't go their way from the off.

Once they do gel though I think ppl may be surprised. I saw his reactions again during the inter match when the team played sideways/backwards instead of forward, he wasn't too happy. I think his tactics/game plan and even speed was affected last year with the players he had. And maybe he's not as rigid as we've come to fear.

just have to wait and see...KTBFFH 

 

I struggle to see us being able to finish in the top six, possibly nearer top ten.

We are a laughing stock of a club just now and that permeates into the squad, of which we have about 14.   There will be no consistency in team selection and therefore little chance of getting any sort of winning run to boost confidence. It's going to be an ugly season with very little to get excited about.

 

Conference league winners, only team to win ‘em all

 

 

What is the new Conference League format?

The biggest change is to the group stage, which will become a single 36-team League stage. Each side faces six different teams (three at home, three away). The top eight overall advance directly to the round of 16; sides finishing from ninth to 24th will contest the knockout round play-offs, with the victors going through to the last 16. From then on it is a straight knockout.

 

When are the 2024/25 Conference League League stage matches?

Matchday 1: 3 October 2024
Matchday 2: 24 October 2024
Matchday 3: 7 November 2024
Matchday 4: 28 November 2024
Matchday 5: 12 December 2024
Matchday 6: 19 December 2024

When is the 2024/25 Conference League knockout stage?

Knockout round play-offs: 13 & 20 February 2025
Round of 16: 6 & 13 March 2025
Quarter-finals: 10 & 17 April 2025
Semi-finals: 1 & 8 May 2025
Final: 28 May 2025

 

When are the 2024/25 Conference League draws?

First qualifying round: 18 June 2024
Second qualifying round: 19 June 2024
Third qualifying round: 22 July 2024
Play-offs: 5 August 2024
League phase: 30 August 2024
Knockout round play-offs: 20 December 2024 (tbc)
Round of 16, quarter-final, semi-final: 21 February 2025

 

 

 

but first we must qualify against Servette from Swiss

Limited.

So maserca has said the club have not said that he needs to get top 4 as long as they can see progress. 
 

Surely anything less than 6th would be deemed failure?

39 minutes ago, JM7 said:

So maserca has said the club have not said that he needs to get top 4 as long as they can see progress. 
 

Surely anything less than 6th would be deemed failure?

Maybe improvement points wise? 
 

I don’t believe it, unless they have another loophole in mind. Champions League is essential for revenue and sponsorships. 

Edited August 17, 20241 yr by Sconnie Blue

Very mixed feelings going into the season.  Had Potch stayed around I might have hoped to continue on from last years finishing run.  This season is a different story. Who the fcku knows how the new manager is going to manage a bloated squad, with many of the recognized regular first team players discarded or sat on the bench it's going to get ugly in that dressing room.  I think we will end up with a Potter type season, changes week in week out, no consistency, leaking goals for the oppositions fun, Jackson (assuming Osimen doesn't come) once again missing a ton of chances.   The selection of the midfield and defenders will be a nightmare, and up front will depend who turns up in training, because I don't know how he's going to keep the attacking players happy week in week out unless they get shot of at least 10 players in the next week or so.....and that is not going to happen unless there is a fire sale.   

It's looks like a disaster at the moment, fair play if the manager does manage to sort it out but I don't see it....a top 10 finish and we should have enough to win the Fairs Cup winners, Cup winners, Cup winners trophy or what ever that Europe league thingy is called these days.  I'll be astonished if we make the top 4 TBH.

A new, inexperienced manager who, according to those who've seen Leicester last season, doesn't have plan B. We've frozen out our best CB (Chalobah) and Gallagher's likely to be sold. Badiashile in defence and Sanchez in goal is a disaster-class defence. The overall quality of the squad will reduce with the exit of Silva, Chalobah and Gallagher. What are we banking on to challenge for a top 4 spot ?

1. A one trick pony first time PL manager ?

2. A bunch of average new signings ?

3. An average goalie and defence ?

All the momentum we gathered at the end of last season is gone. Starting from scratch is a big blow. Confidence is not cheap and it could get ugly if we play poorly in the first few games.

I expect us to not get relegated but neither does a top 4 finish seem plausible. This season is essentially a write off even if Maresca survives.

Arteta is the gold standard for new coaches in the PL and he too is a Pep disciple. We know how long it took him to finish top 4 and challenge for the league and how many times he was close to the sack. And that's after they got their act together in the transfer market. By all indicators it's a long road ahead for us. 

We will not be a serious club until BlueCo are gone. Lower than 10th.

Going to sink or swim on the performance of the defence.

In the absence of Thiago Silva someone is going to have to significantly step up. Does any of them have that in them ? We shall see ... 

Surely we have to improve on 6th and actually win one of the cups for the season to be seen as a success ?

 

Would be happy enough with 6th again if there’s a clear style of play and stability with the players and manager moving forward into the subsequent years.  A cup would be a nice bonus 

25 minutes ago, PloKoon13 said:

We will not be a serious club until BlueCo are gone. 

 

We should be competing for top 4, but the club is such a mess that I don't think we will do it. Tactically we don't look anywhere near ready for the season, the defence looks clueless, the squad size is ridiculous, and I'm not confident at all with the manager right now. We also have owners that I personally believe are causing disharmony because of the way they treat players and the club as a whole. 

There is also a massive disconnect with the fans, which has again been caused by the owners. It was something I thought was starting to heal towards the end of last season, but I feel like we are right back in the Potter era.

Edited August 17, 20241 yr by Scott Harris

Right now I'll settle for anything that doesn't resemble a regurgitated version of Sarriball. I won't be able to cope with 1000 sideways midfield passes and no one getting in the box.

I'd also like us to avoid over-playing at the back and a suicidal high defensive line. Postecoglou has that last one covered already.

Feet firmly back on the ground after yesterday. Didn't know what to expect and as I said in match thread, it wasn't that bad. I was hoping for better but it could have been worse.

Not at all sure about our new coach and it certainly isn't helped by having such a huge and unbalanced squad. It's a crazy situation right now. If someone had gone into a coma at the end of last season and just come around in time for the game yesterday - just imagine it.

Poch replaced by a relatively unknown. We've spent a sh*tload of money again and yet still start one of the biggest games of the season with a Brighton reject in goal and the hapless Jackson as our striker. We still play both Caicedo and Enzo in the midfield who still look way off £100m signings, are still both pretty average and one of them is now captain.

So my expectations for the season have been curbed significantly.