13 hours ago, The Boehly Babes said:

This is the worse take I’ve read in a while.

City winning the league has no negative effect on anyone, it’s expected, it’s a given, it’s the norm.

Arsenal winning anything would have their, already, holier than thou fanbase catapulted to a whole new stratosphere of insufferable. The amount of ‘bluds’ and ‘fams’ that would be getting thrown around in every interview and the football they’re playing to win it. It would pretty much kill the Premier League.

Funny bunch Arsenal fans. See them on the match bound tube. Chelsea generally in groups having the craic. Gooners, spotty IT geeks on their own with head buried in a book

14 minutes ago, Timmy Elms said:

Funny bunch Arsenal fans. See them on the match bound tube. Chelsea generally in groups having the craic. Gooners, spotty IT geeks on their own with head buried in a book

Hahaha! Exactly the experience I’ve had of them, a bunch of keyboard rude boys online, but a bunch of latte sipping wetty’s in person.

9 hours ago, Term_X said:

My only takeaway from this is how can any such manager behave like that under BlueCo without massive reform on their side. Fabregas is literally part of the decision process at Como, as confirmed by their ownership/behind the scenes docs. Simeone has his own son playing for him ffs. Just feel any personality like that, would either not come, or be stifled/changed by the sh*tshow here.

My hope is that the owners open their eyes and see the real problem - the Sporting Directors. These people made billions, clearly they are not idiots. But for the life of me I can't understand how those SD clowns are still around after wasting that much money.

I'm encouraged, though, that I see more and more Chelsea fans on all platforms voicing their concern at the Sporting Directors and this has been a growing trend for the past week. Making BlueCo realize that they should give the power to a manager and his trusted staff might be a way better idea than have the club run into the ground by some clowns who do not feel any pressure at all it seems and they just spend spend spend.

1 hour ago, Sexyfootball said:

Seems very dumb that you need the licence to be a permanent appointment but don't need it to be an interim ... it's the same job after all !

I think it is intended to be on an emergency basis and is therefore limited to a maximum period of 12 weeks. Of course we have seen first hand the damage that can be caused in 12 weeks.

23 minutes ago, petre ispirescu said:

My hope is that the owners open their eyes and see the real problem - the Sporting Directors. These people made billions, clearly they are not idiots. But for the life of me I can't understand how those SD clowns are still around after wasting that much money.

Board :

I like the way Brighton being run, I want us to sign young player so we can keep wages under control and doesn't have to shell out big transfer money every season.

1 hour ago, Bob stark said:

Board :

I like the way Brighton being run, I want us to sign young player so we can keep wages under control and doesn't have to shell out big transfer money every season.

What they failed (and still fail) to grasp is that Brighton's successful recruiting and on-selling is the result of Bloom's highly sophisticated Starlizard operation.

2 hours ago, dermott said:

What they failed (and still fail) to grasp is that Brighton's successful recruiting and on-selling is the result of Bloom's highly sophisticated Starlizard operation.

Perhaps that's their play ?

Pay OTT for various players/staff from Brighton in return for first option should Bloom ever come to sell Starlizard ?

35 minutes ago, Sexyfootball said:

Perhaps that's their play ?

Pay OTT for various players/staff from Brighton in return for first option should Bloom ever come to sell Starlizard ?

In their dreams. They still haven't worked out that it was Starlizard behind the recruiting, not Winstanley.

“Chelsea have added Harry Hudson (U21s head coach) and Dan Hogan (U18s head coach) to Calum McFarlane’s interim coaching staff.”

Find it strange they wouldn’t add John Terry to the back room staff, seems very personal.

No one that played for Roman will ever work for BlueCo. JT's presence would only highlight ownerships failure.

8 minutes ago, markpitts said:

“Chelsea have added Harry Hudson (U21s head coach) and Dan Hogan (U18s head coach) to Calum McFarlane’s interim coaching staff.”

Find it strange they wouldn’t add John Terry to the back room staff, seems very personal.

Such an easy win to have JT as Mcfarlanes assistant but we dont like easy wins, do we

1 hour ago, Scott said:

No one that played for Roman will ever work for BlueCo. JT's presence would only highlight ownerships failure.

I think the same.

Rules out Fabregas of course, and also Felipe Luis, who they supposedly spoke to already, so we shall see ... perhaps Luis has a chance as he is not someone that built a strong relationship with the match-going fans.

1 hour ago, markpitts said:

“Chelsea have added Harry Hudson (U21s head coach) and Dan Hogan (U18s head coach) to Calum McFarlane’s interim coaching staff.”

Find it strange they wouldn’t add John Terry to the back room staff, seems very personal.

LOL

Talk about doubling down on the inexperience and mediocrity of the coaching staff. Obviously we still have some way to go to reach rock bottom under BlueCo. We'll probably be looking back fondly at Rosenior in a years time LOL

On 23/04/2026 at 21:43, AlienX said:

Cannot believe I am saying this, but I can see Gary O'Neil in our future. Really hope not but I wouldn't put it past this board...

If we had anything about us, we'd go all in for Enrique this summer. They will not do that, and we'll end up with some nobody with a "point to prove" again.

Just wondering why anyone would think Enrique would leave the possible Champions league winners again for a mid table Premier league team?

9 minutes ago, Speedie said:

Just wondering why anyone would think Enrique would leave the possible Champions league winners again for a mid table Premier league team?

The chance to participate in a competitive league. The Premier League is the best league in the world at this moment in time. The French league is pretty dull. PSG win the league pretty much every year. A manager might appreciate that kind of challenge that the Prem offers.

That said our board did interview Enrique for the job before and didn't think he was suitable. I think they based their decision on their vast knowledge of the game.

17 minutes ago, TheCeleryKing said:

The chance to participate in a competitive league. The Premier League is the best league in the world at this moment in time. The French league is pretty dull. PSG win the league pretty much every year. A manager might appreciate that kind of challenge that the Prem offers.

That said our board did interview Enrique for the job before and didn't think he was suitable. I think they based their decision on their vast knowledge of the game.

But surely, if so, he'd wait for a big job, a job where the ownership hadn't previously disrespected him, as you have identified.

Wouldn’t ask JT as he holds pro licence which is the top qualification and two levels above Mc Farlane.

I think he would be intimidated by JT being his number two

It would be great

3 hours ago, markpitts said:

“Chelsea have added Harry Hudson (U21s head coach) and Dan Hogan (U18s head coach) to Calum McFarlane’s interim coaching staff.”

Find it strange they wouldn’t add John Terry to the back room staff, seems very personal.

At this stage it’s borderline insulting.

I find it hard to understand why JT wasn’t the go too.

Don’t know what’s said behind closed doors obviously but very smelly.

BBC Sport

'Five sporting directors, eight managers, 55 players'

Football Focus' Alex Scott, Ashley Williams and Fara Williams assesses Chelsea's strategy under owners BlueCo.

Callum McFarlane - he had a successful spell as the assistant manager at Croydon and i think we can all agree that if you can make it in Croydon you can make it anywhere.

2 hours ago, WhiteWall said:

But surely, if so, he'd wait for a big job, a job where the ownership hadn't previously disrespected him, as you have identified.

Yep, but if you wanted him, then, and with a bit of tenacity and a lot of money, you could get him.

• Matt Law

Chelsea’s players are a bunch of cry babies

There is always an Antonio Conte quote. And it is amusing to consider what Chelsea’s last FA Cup-winning manager would have made of the club’s current crop of cry babies.

A few months before Chelsea last lifted the Cup in 2018, Conte was asked whether Eden Hazard, the club’s brightest spark at the time, was happy with being substituted so regularly in games.

“Only here [in England] is there this situation,” Conte said. “You are very worried about whether a player is happy or not. This is not important. My first task is to do the best for the team and the club. Not to make every player happy. Otherwise we’d risk finishing 20th in the table.

Every press conference there is always this question about whether I’m worried about making my players happy. No. I’m worried to win.”

Hazard might not have fancied Conte much, but he scored the winning goal in the Cup final against Manchester United that season for a Chelsea team that included Cesc Fàbregas, N’Golo Kanté, César Azpilicueta and Gary Cahill.

If Conte thought he had some prima donnas to deal with, then he should consider himself lucky he was not dumped with the present-day Chelsea cry babies who supporters are worried could suffer another meltdown in Sunday’s FA Cup semi-final against Leeds United.

One can only imagine how Conte might have reacted to Marc Cucurella’s barber apparently leaking team news, as he did before the embarrassing defeat to Brighton, or his players smirking at one another as they huddled around a referee before losing a game at home to Newcastle United. It would not have been pretty.

Sure, there are some exceptions. Reece James, Moisés Caicedo and Trevoh Chalobah – who was a substitute in the 2018 final – have all taken responsibility in different ways. It is also fair to assume that, on past evidence, Levi Colwill would have stepped up had he been fit.

But, looking at the majority of the rest, Conte might have really worried that they could have led Chelsea to relegation. Some at the club may believe that is unfair, but if Cucurella and Co have an image problem then that is on them – and the Spaniard’s barber.

Liam Rosenior, in what proved to be his final pre-match press conference as head coach, said that he was trying to help change perceptions of his players. Their reaction was to throw him under the bus with one of the worst Chelsea performances in living memory against Brighton.

In his role as a television analyst, Cahill, who was part of the Conte school of hard knocks, accused the players of giving up at the Amex Stadium – but it was Rosenior who paid the price for their no-show.

Chelsea may well try to push some of their cry babies out behind Rosenior this summer, with Alejandro Garnacho likely to be one of many the club would welcome bids for.

But, on this season’s evidence, who in their right mind would try to sign Garnacho, Wesley Fofana or Robert Sánchez, or offer Chelsea the kind of money they would want for performative vice-captain Enzo Fernández?

Under two different permanent managers, this collection of Chelsea cry babies – at least one of whom believes he is good enough to play for Real Madrid – have twice won just once in nine games in a single season. They managed the feat before Rosenior was sacked, as well as before he officially took charge.

Fofana has more points on his driving licence (50) than Chelsea do in the league (48). Add in the fact that the team’s on-the-pitch disciplinary problems followed them from Enzo Maresca, the former head coach, to Rosenior and there is a clear pattern of underperformance and misbehaviour amongst the players.

No wonder they are so happy to hide behind Rosenior, the owners and the sporting directors when the s--- hits the fan. Those responsible for signing them need to take their share of the blame, but the players seem oblivious to the fact that supporters see many of them as being the most dislikable bunch they can remember.

A victory against Leeds would only confirm the belief of some that the Chelsea cry babies can only turn it on when they get their own way. A defeat would further prove how out of touch with reality they are when it comes to their own talent.

Either way, and just as Conte was not, nobody at Chelsea should be worried about whether the players are happy. They are yet to earn anybody’s concern.

12 hours ago, dermott said:

What they failed (and still fail) to grasp is that Brighton's successful recruiting and on-selling is the result of Bloom's highly sophisticated Starlizard operation.

If it wasn't for Clearlake throwing money at Brighton, how successful would their selling actually be? I know they have sold on other players but not for the crazy money that we have sent their way.

13 hours ago, dermott said:

What they failed (and still fail) to grasp is that Brighton's successful recruiting and on-selling is the result of Chelsea buying their players at an inflated rate

Fixed that for you

Take out our Brighton purchases and they don't a profit

12 hours ago, markpitts said:

“Chelsea have added Harry Hudson (U21s head coach) and Dan Hogan (U18s head coach) to Calum McFarlane’s interim coaching staff.”

Thats a ridiculous group of people to support a Premier League team, Blue Co. have gone bonkers!