Graham Potter will be at the world cup as manager of Sweden. Liam can resurrect his career after he leaves Chelsea too. . .

incidentally former Chelsea managers at the World cup: Potter, Poch, Carlo, Tuchel.

57 minutes ago, markpitts said:

He has no pace out wide, doesn’t want to play on the RW, and according to the media feels the tactical switch under Rosenior denies him space. Didn’t he end the season under Pochettino playing as a “10”?

At this point it's names on a team sheet. It doesn't matter whether you start him out wide or in the middle, he operates best in the same pocket of space outside the right-hand side of the penalty box. The difference when he starts out wide is that it's less risky for a central DM to move out wide with Palmer than it is for a central DM to move out wide to Palmer, because the latter movement leaves a gaping hole that isn't easily tracked. The way Crystal Palace negated him with Wharton/Hughes over the last few years has set the archetype for all teams.

The other aspect to this problem however is that the left hand side offers no threat. For the best part of 12 months teams have been happy to let Garnacho, Neto and Fernandez have the ball, knowing they will do nothing as long as they aren't allowed to run behind the defence. The net result is that we attack slightly more from the left, even though our best players (James, Palmer, Estevao) are right-sided.

On 31/03/2026 at 11:27, markpitts said:

Paul Merson: "They [Chelsea] have got to get back to Moises Caicedo and Enzo Fernandez, put Palmer in the No.10 and then put Estevao and Pedro Neto on the wings and put Joao Pedro up front. Get Palmer in the middle of the pitch where he can make things happen. At the moment, he’s playing out on the right, he gets the ball and he’s never ever going to run past the full-back. He’s not the quickest in the world."

Maresca was smart enough to only play Enzo in the “10” role against big teams, which is why our points total against the big 6 was awful. Rosenior has made Enzo a permanent fixture upfront, when it is obvious it’s causing problems out of possession.

😵‍💫😵‍💫😵‍💫

Saying Palmer play as rw is like saying Enzo really play as lw under Rosenior

12 hours ago, JM7 said:

Interesting that 2 senior players have now come out with criticism of the transfer policy and direction - Cucu and Enzo.

It’s going to be a big test of the clubs strategy and confidence.

I'd say its more worrying that after 4 years Enzo and Cucurella are our senior players.

12 hours ago, markpitts said:

He has no pace out wide, doesn’t want to play on the RW, and according to the media feels the tactical switch under Rosenior denies him space. Didn’t he end the season under Pochettino playing as a “10”?

Who said he doesn't want to play on the RW? His best games for us have been wide right cutting in with an overlapping full back.

With De Zerbi going to spurs that puts them in the list of prem teams that have a better manager than we do, there's probably only 2 or 3 (at a push) who have a worse manager than us. What a mess.

Some good news is that we have a great young side and out of ALL the premiership clubs we play more of our academy players. Academy graduates at Chelsea get the most playing time, closely followed by Citeh.

difference is that Man Citeh have a coach and coaching staff who can also balance the team/squad with some experience.

9 minutes ago, TheCeleryKing said:

Some good news is that we have a great young side and out of ALL the premiership clubs we play more of our academy players. Academy graduates at Chelsea get the most playing time, closely followed by Citeh.

difference is that Man Citeh have a coach and coaching staff who can also balance the team/squad with some experience.

I find it a bit weird, that a few seasons back, we dominated the FA Youth Cup and yet hardly any of the youth team broke through. Now we don't seem to have such a competitive youth team, but more are coming through. City seem to be pretty dominant at present.

I still have big hopes for Ibrahim Rabbaj. Still only 16, but slightly annoying that Arsenal's 16 year old, Max Dowman has broken into their first team squad and is getting all the plaudits.

56 minutes ago, Nibs said:

I find it a bit weird, that a few seasons back, we dominated the FA Youth Cup and yet hardly any of the youth team broke through. Now we don't seem to have such a competitive youth team, but more are coming through. City seem to be pretty dominant at present.

I still have big hopes for Ibrahim Rabbaj. Still only 16, but slightly annoying that Arsenal's 16 year old, Max Dowman has broken into their first team squad and is getting all the plaudits.

It doesn't always work that way, where success in competitions like FA Youth Cup translates to a new crop of talented players in the first team. But often that is a sign of some decent quality. I think the coaching changes in the academy in recent years probably haven't helped with some of their inconsistent results. We do have some potential coming through though. The likes of Mheuka, Kavmua-McQueen, Emenalo, Walsh, Eboue, Antwi etc. Plus Jesse Derry who was brought over from Palace but still mostly part of the U21/U19's at present.

8 minutes ago, forbzy said:

It doesn't always work that way, where success in competitions like FA Youth Cup translates to a new crop of talented players in the first team. But often that is a sign of some decent quality. I think the coaching changes in the academy in recent years probably haven't helped with some of their inconsistent results. We do have some potential coming through though. The likes of Mheuka, Kavmua-McQueen, Emenalo, Walsh, Eboue, Antwi etc. Plus Jesse Derry who was brought over from Palace but still mostly part of the U21/U19's at present.

The jump from youth to first team is something that can't be measured or predicted. You'd think the players that dominated the FA Youth Cup + UEFA Youth Cup a decade ago would be tearing up Europe. Best out of that crop was Mason Mount yet he only had a 2 year spell where he was top.

There's obviously Reece James but like Terry we seem to produce a generational player maybe once every 20 years.

Point worth making that for all the multiple FA Youth Cup wins, we only won the Youth League a couple of times. The dominant team in that since 2020 is Manchester City.

FA Youth Cup Finals

All the line ups can be found here, if you want to see who progressed well into senior football : https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/FA_Youth_Cup_Finals

U-21 League Winners

I have the same reaction to hearing it speak that I have hearing Starmer. It makes me feel nauseous 🤢

He’s nothing but a little puppet

On 01/04/2026 at 23:49, timetowaste said:

With De Zerbi going to spurs that puts them in the list of prem teams that have a better manager than we do, there's probably only 2 or 3 (at a push) who have a worse manager than us. What a mess.

He has to work with the players he has, as he has missed the transfer window so the odds against them going down are higher.

29 minutes ago, Andy2461 said:

I have the same reaction to hearing it speak that I have hearing Starmer. It makes me feel nauseous 🤢

He’s nothing but a little puppet

very well put sir! i agree wholeheartedly.

Just now, OTL said:

very well put sir! i agree wholeheartedly.

Thank you

5 minutes ago, strider6004 said:

He has to work with the players he has, as he has missed the transfer window so the odds against them going down are higher.

Their final 7 games are very winnable 🤮🤮🤮🤮 Our only hope is if De Zerbi wants to immediately setup a complex style of play that's too hard for the Spud players to understand

7 minutes ago, Deino said:

Their final 7 games are very winnable 🤮🤮🤮🤮 Our only hope is if De Zerbi wants to immediately setup a complex style of play that's too hard for the Spud players to understand

If anyone can snatch defeat from the jaws of victory Spurs can, and with De Zerbi disappointment and failure are theirs for the taking. Fill your boots Spurs fans. Let the whining and wringing of hands begin !

Edited April 3Apr 3 by OTL
ok ive been drinking but you get the point ? haha.

23 minutes ago, Deino said:

Their final 7 games are very winnable 🤮🤮🤮🤮 Our only hope is if De Zerbi wants to immediately setup a complex style of play that's too hard for the Spud players to understand

Their last few games were also winnable. Under Tudor they had shown some signs of improvement in the Liverpool and Athletico (Home) games but now they have the reset again with a new manager. De Zerbi will need to get results quickly or the pressure will only build. It helps them that their main rival for the drop is struggling to pick up any points too.

2 minutes ago, forbzy said:

Their last few games were also winnable. Under Tudor they had shown some signs of improvement in the Liverpool and Athletico (Home) games but now they have the reset again with a new manager. De Zerbi will need to get results quickly or the pressure will only build. It helps them that their main rival for the drop is struggling to pick up any points too.

They also have a ton of injuries so that helps

1 hour ago, Deino said:

They also have a ton of injuries so that helps

Probably all back for the game against us ;)

30 minutes ago, Sconnie Blue said:

He is nuts! Does he keep a form sheet in his pocket? How did we end up here as a club? Surely he is not deluded enough to think any normal top club would have given him this role.

7 hours ago, Sconnie Blue said:

He talks like a politician which is why I don’t trust anything he says

14 hours ago, Sconnie Blue said:

Sigh!!!

23 hours ago, strider6004 said:

He has to work with the players he has, as he has missed the transfer window so the odds against them going down are higher.

If you hold and squeeze your nose, and then say for instance, " our number one priority is.." , it's a perfect vocal impersonation of Sir Kier.

I've just tried it ! 😂