I see Conte is in self destruct mode as usual at Napoli, I can't help but feel like I want him back and have a Netflix special on the season just to see how often he kicks off at the board.

I've found it very hard to engage with my football fandom recently because it seems like the discourse on social media is as bad as it has ever been. No one has any patience anymore. It's all about instant gratification and being reactionary for clicks and engagement. I still watch Chelsea games, but I don't bother reading most bullsh*t on Twitter, Reddit, etc because everyone has lost their minds. This isn't limited to Chelsea by the way. Manchester United fans turned on Amorim only two or three weeks into his job. What kind of manager (or "coach") can do their duties when the fanbase is constantly looking for reasons to turn on them? What effects do the players feel when the fans are constantly shouting at them and getting toxic? Why should Maresca feel like the fans are on his side when they chant for sacking and Frank Lampard?

People need to learn that chopping and changing managers constantly, especially with the way we have built our squad, will not solve anything, nor will it address the root of the problem (sh*tty ownership and sh*tty directors). Everyone's anger needs to be 100% focused on them, otherwise nothing will change. I'm aware that changing managers is easier than changing ownership or sporting directors, but that's the crux of the issue. No one wants to confront that reality.

The owners will feel like they have another scapegoat if they sack Maresca and nothing will change. No serious manager will want this job. It's not 2009 or 2017 anymore. We'll be looking at the likes of Thomas Frank, Scott Parker, Rosenoir, etc. Most Chelsea fans won't be pleased with those hires when they are dreaming of Nagelsmann, Ancelotti, Mourinho, Inzaghi, etc. Let's get real. If we get someone like Fabregas, what's going to change? We will still play the "boring" possession-based football that everyone keeps bitching about. Another club legend is going to get eaten up by this club as soon as things don't start going his way. Hell, we could bring in Nagelsmann by some miraculous development and we'll still have "fans" calling for his sacking as soon as he drops a few points. That's the way football fandom works now. It's f**king depressing, and it seems like most people have been caught up in this madness. It's been getting worse since post-COVID, but that's another topic for another day.

We'll undoubtedly get calls for people like Frank Lampard and John Terry for some reason. They are club legends of course, and were great players, but they won't change a thing, and the results will probably be x5 worse than what some "fans" are currently bitching about.

As someone has already pointed out here, the CWC will make this summer more complicated than usual. Any new manager that comes in will be facing a steep uphill climb. Be careful what you wish for.

If you want the club and model to change, protest the owners. Protest the sporting directors. That's hard work, and it will take constant pressure, but sh*tting on Maresca and the players every matchday will not solve a single issue at the root of the problem.

On 18/04/2025 at 08:33, TheCeleryKing said:

Carlo is great at working with players and that is what we really need. We have some great players (we forget that due to the stagnation of our system). IF Carlo came, Enzo could even stay and work as an assistant and actually learn something about the game.

Well, Brazil are hunting Carlo down as their next manager. But, I am sure Carlo would rather manage at the club level and in London. He is exactly the manager we need for a couple of seasons. He will steady the ship. He will stabilise our team (which would be good for the blueco. portfolio so they need to think about this to). We have great young players - lots of diamonds in the rough - we don't always see it that way, but all the young players we have bought were scouted by all the top clubs. Our current system is great as a basic tactic, but we have to think beyond the system and let the kids play. Let them play football. Carlo can oversee that. His player management skills are the best in the world. Forget the Jose and the Conte - they are all about bullying and that only works with certain players and it doesn't work for long. Carlo is the manager we need. He is available.

I’ve just watched a documentary of ancelottis ac milan team in the mid 00s and it struck me that the players we have or will have could set up in a similar way. Obviously the current squad would be not as good on quality but the Christmas tree formation could work. Fernandez as the man in the middle dictating play with Santos and Caicedo being the legs either side, palmer being a free role with estevao behind a striker. Like a wish version of pirlo, ambrosini, gattuso, kaka, seedorf.

On 19/04/2025 at 14:45, timetowaste said:

I see Conte is in self destruct mode as usual at Napoli, I can't help but feel like I want him back and have a Netflix special on the season just to see how often he kicks off at the board.

He's currently winning the league despite Napoli selling his two best players in Kvaratskhelia and Osimhen. Keep in mind Napoli finished 10th last season before he arrived.

It's been the same at other clubs too:

Took a Juventus side that had just finished 7th and won 3 Serie A's in a row, going unbeaten in his 1st season and getting 102 points in his 3rd season

Took a Chelsea side that finished 10th and won the league with 93 points, we haven't come close since.

With Inter he came 2nd in his first season then won the title in the 2nd season.

Aside from Spurs (where everyone fails), he genuinely is a top class coach, meltdowns and all. He's about to win his 6th league title pretty much all with clubs that weren't favourites to win the league at the time.

Edited May 2, 20251 yr by Drogba1

I'll always been a Conte backer when it comes to managerial ability, but unfortunately for him and the clubs he goes to it turns sour within a few of years and starts publicly falling out with owners. If we had a chance to bring him back I'd take him in a heartbeat.

3 hours ago, timetowaste said:

I'll always been a Conte backer when it comes to managerial ability, but unfortunately for him and the clubs he goes to it turns sour within a few of years and starts publicly falling out with owners. If we had a chance to bring him back I'd take him in a heartbeat.

A manager who knew how to set up a team - and get the best out of what he had at his disposal. His transformation of Victor Moses was to this day one of the single handed biggest turn arounds I have ever seen on a football field.

Edited May 2, 20251 yr by nonotnowjim