Chelsea 2017/18 thread - FA Cup Champs, League chumps

Some of Emenalo's work is seriously underrated.
I think he was brilliant for Chelsea. Not all the managers could work with his players, but I always felt there was some common sense in signing certain players (except for Falcao and Pato maybe).
 
AshfordLad said:
Rudiger is a board purchase through and through. We have been strongly linked with him each of the last 3 summers. Koulibaly was Conte's second choice (first being Bonucci). I really doubt if Conte rates Rudiger that much.

Bakayoko is a good player but I highly doubt that he was Conte's first choice. Again a board buy since there were articles mentioning how Emenalo and Granovskia are huge fans. Simillarly, Drinkwater may have been a planned buy but largely because the board wouldn't stump up the cash for a better player.
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I think you are right about Rudi. I sorta remember there being rumors about him during the dark season.
Dont think so about Bakayoko. He seems the perfect player that we needed and what Conte would have wanted. Articles also said that Conte wanted Baka and was upset we could not complete the deal sooner and all that Jazz.
If we were willing to give 35mil pounds for Drinkwater (decent player. I dont get the massive underrating and criticism of him by chelsea fans), then why would not we stump for a better player? Moreover, was there someone available?
The board has not been perfect, but they have been far from poor.
 
didierforever said:
I think you are right about Rudi. I sorta remember there being rumors about him during the dark season.
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No. We were in for him when he went on loan to Roma. Next year we were in for him again when Roma made the loan deal permanent. All before Conte ever signed. Just google it.
didierforever said:
Dont think so about Bakayoko. He seems the perfect player that we needed and what Conte would have wanted. Articles also said that Conte wanted Baka and was upset we could not complete the deal sooner and all that Jazz.
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Deal was completed before pre-season started. I don't remember any complaining from Conte about that. Conte did however bitch about Not wanting to start Bakayoko ahead of Matic, which tells up Bakayoko was low on his priorities.
didierforever said:
If we were willing to give 35mil pounds for Drinkwater (decent player. I dont get the massive underrating and criticism of him by chelsea fans), then why would not we stump for a better player? Moreover, was there someone available?
The board has not been perfect, but they have been far from poor.
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Because better players would have cost a lot more and the board was penny pinching.

The board was performing well till 2014 summer. Since then their record has been rotten.
 
When you compare Chelsea's almost consistent success since RA took over then the board have done well compared to their peers.
For me, the real question is whether they could have done better.
 
Its cute how the Chelsea fans complain about the board as if theyve been fans longer then 6 months :drool:
 
The Outsider said:
When you compare Chelsea's almost consistent success since RA took over then the board have done well compared to their peers.
For me, the real question is whether they could have done better.
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The squad has gotten relatively weaker over the last 5 years. While the board has generally done a good job with the transfer fees and sponsorships, its not hard to see that the playing squad is quite fragile. Chelsea squads used to be easily among the top 5 strongest in Europe each year from 04-05 to 11-12. Now its not even top 10, maybe not even top 15.
 
AshfordLad said:
The squad has gotten relatively weaker over the last 5 years. While the board has generally done a good job with the transfer fees and sponsorships, its not hard to see that the playing squad is quite fragile. Chelsea squads used to be easily among the top 5 strongest in Europe each year from 04-05 to 11-12. Now its not even top 10, maybe not even top 15.
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In 10-11 and 11-12 we were a million miles away from being one of the top five squad's. This squad is head and shoulders above the one we had 5 years ago, in both quality and numbers.
 
didierforever said:
I think defending the "board at all costs" is a wrong approach, as would be "bashing them at all costs too".
FWIW, this season we got:
Rudiger - Conte's first choice CB in his 1st season. I remember the only reason we moved to Koulibaly was because of a long term injury to Rudiger
Morata - 1st/2nd choice before/after lukaku. Depending on how you see it.
Drinkwater - Yes we left it very very very late, but the drinkwater rumors were present for a long time. I would say that he was a planned buy rather than just a panic one.
bakayoko - Considering the rumors, conte's 1st choice in the summer

Costa - Conte did not want him, we got rid of him for 60mil.

Yes the board has its issues, but lets not act as if its done a terrible job. They honestly have not. I am not sure of what happened with Barkley. But if the player "apparently" rejected us and still we are looking to get him in the winter, there will be more to it than "he is cheap".
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I don't believe Rudiger was Conte's choice nor Bakayoko. In fact, I think Bakayoko was bought as a "flavour of the month" reason than anything else. Drinkwater was definitely a Board buy and that leaves Morata as Conte's only first or second choice.
 
AshfordLad said:
The squad has gotten relatively weaker over the last 5 years. While the board has generally done a good job with the transfer fees and sponsorships, its not hard to see that the playing squad is quite fragile. Chelsea squads used to be easily among the top 5 strongest in Europe each year from 04-05 to 11-12. Now its not even top 10, maybe not even top 15.
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Going from an Ashley Cole to a Marcos Alonso - that sums it up as to how the board deliberately allowed the squad to regress.

And yet the lofty demands of the Board has never been lowered. Pity Conte and all future Chelsea coaches.
 
Dancfc said:
In 10-11 and 11-12 we were a million miles away from being one of the top five squad's. This squad is head and shoulders above the one we had 5 years ago, in both quality and numbers.
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No. They were still top 5 in Europe behind Bayern, Barca, Real and United.
Chelsea board simply hasn't kept pace with the rise in quality of French and Italian teams. Now PSG, Juve, Napoli, Dortmund all have better squads. City and Spurs at home too.

singabiru said:
Going from an Ashley Cole to a Marcos Alonso - that sums it up as to how the board deliberately allowed the squad to regress.

And yet the lofty demands of the Board has never been lowered. Pity Conte and all future Chelsea coaches.
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Hundred % correct. We have gone from having a choice of Ballack, Lampard, Essien, Makalele to Bakayoko and Drinkwater.
 
AshfordLad said:
Hundred % correct. We have gone from having a choice of Ballack, Lampard, Essien, Makalele to Bakayoko and Drinkwater.
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It's a bit disingenuous to not include Kante and Fabregas in that comparison.

Our team is not as good as it was in 2006 but nobody else's is (in England) as good as that Chelsea side either.
 
AshfordLad said:
No. We were in for him when he went on loan to Roma. Next year we were in for him again when Roma made the loan deal permanent. All before Conte ever signed. Just google it.
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I just said that I do remember there being rumors. What exactly should I rumor. Geez mate, atleast read what the other person is writing.

What? Just because Conte wants to slowly integrate a 22 year old potentially great CM into the team, means he is low on his priority? Well... I sure have doubt your take on it. I can totally understand Conte's point of view, Baka was coming off an injury into a league known for its physicality and he wanted to keep his last season's core. Does not mean that he did not rate the new guy.

I asked you a question after the part you had in bold. Who was available. Care to explain. Also note that we had spent 40mil on Baka just a month ago, had cesc and Kante in the squad. So please tell me some names.

I would take this board's "rotten" performance over several of their peers. We are now self sufficient, going by the rules of FFP and dont think with any investment from RA (except for the stadium obviously). Yet we have a good squad right up there, with some of the best teams. Could we have done better? Sure. Have we done well? YES.
 
didierforever said:
I just said that I do remember there being rumors. What exactly should I rumor. Geez mate, atleast read what the other person is writing.

What? Just because Conte wants to slowly integrate a 22 year old potentially great CM into the team, means he is low on his priority? Well... I sure have doubt your take on it. I can totally understand Conte's point of view, Baka was coming off an injury into a league known for its physicality and he wanted to keep his last season's core. Does not mean that he did not rate the new guy.

I asked you a question after the part you had in bold. Who was available. Care to explain. Also note that we had spent 40mil on Baka just a month ago, had cesc and Kante in the squad. So please tell me some names.

I would take this board's "rotten" performance over several of their peers. We are now self sufficient, going by the rules of FFP and dont think with any investment from RA (except for the stadium obviously). Yet we have a good squad right up there, with some of the best teams. Could we have done better? Sure. Have we done well? YES.
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No we don't. The best teams are Real, Barca, City, PSG, Juve. Our squad is nowhere near them. Its not even top 10.

Also, most players are not available. They become available for sale upon a good bid. We could have bid for any of Silva, Kovacic, Pjanic etc. All better players than Drinkwater but would have cost £50m+ so the board wouldn't go for them.

And sorry I misread what you said about Rudiger transfer.
 
AshfordLad said:
No we don't. The best teams are Real, Barca, City, PSG, Juve. Our squad is nowhere near them. Its not even top 10.

Also, most players are not available. They become available for sale upon a good bid. We could have bid for any of Silva, Kovacic, Pjanic etc. All better players than Drinkwater but would have cost £50m+ so the board wouldn't go for them.

And sorry I misread what you said about Rudiger transfer.
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Kovacic/Pjanic are more in the cesc mold. We needed a defensively far better CM. Moreover, just my guess, but Conte would have wanted someone who was already familiar with the league and could slot in rather than trying to find his feet. Another major/minor factor would have been non-HG players.
We have 16 non-HG players currently (Tibo, Caballero, Eduardo; Luiz, Azpi, Rudi, Alonso, Zappa, Baba; Baka, Kante; Hazard, Willian, Pedro; Michy Morata). Thats 16 + we were in for Llorente. So that would have been 17. Maybe THAT was a consideration too. I am just spitballing here and giving our board the benefit of doubt. Point is while we feel they are "penny-pinching", we are still one of the highest spending clubs in the world.

Those 5 that you wrote down have better squads. But apart from them? I dont think spurs have a better squad. Take out Kane and they look toothless. They have good players and a good manager. Very similiar to ours. Napoli, BVB surely dont have better squads. Might be on the same level. But defo not better. We are definitely in top 10 or just the next level to those 5.
 
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didierforever said:
Kovacic/Pjanic are more in the cesc mold. We needed a defensively far better CM. Moreover, just my guess, but Conte would have wanted someone who was already familiar with the league and could slot in rather than trying to find his feet. Another major/minor factor would have been non-HG players.
We have 16 non-HG players currently (Tibo, Caballero, Eduardo; Luiz, Azpi, Rudi, Alonso, Zappa, Baba; Baka, Kante; Hazard, Willian, Pedro; Michy Morata). Thats 16 + we were in for Llorente. So that would have been 17. Maybe THAT was a consideration too. I am just spitballing here and giving our board the benefit of doubt. Point is while we feel they are "penny-pinching", we are still one of the highest spending clubs in the world.
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That's fair enough. Although we have gone in with only two keepers several times in the past. so that might not be such a big consideration.
didierforever said:
Those 5 that you wrote down have better squads. But apart from them? I dont think spurs have a better squad. Take out Kane and they look toothless. They have good players and a good manager. Very similiar to ours. Napoli, BVB surely dont have better squads. Might be on the same level. But defo not better. We are definitely in top 10 or just the next level to those 5.
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City and Bayern are a level below those 5 but still a level above us. Napoli are in smashing form and clearly for the time being a level above us. Spurs have a better squad than us as their key players Kane, Alderwierald, Rose, Dembele are playing at the peak of their careers while we have several key players who have potential but nowhere near their peak in Morata, Bakayoko, Christensen etc. I would put us about level with United, Athleti and Dortmund just outside top 10.
 
AshfordLad said:
No. They were still top 5 in Europe behind Bayern, Barca, Real and United.
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What in 10/11, 11/12? No chance, as well as those 5 there was Dortmund who won back to back Bundesliga in those season's, the Milan that won the league with Ibra etc, Conte's Juve, Napoli. A year later Shakhtar out played a Chelsea team improved on those two, so i think we can add them as well. City, Arsenal and Spurs were also better than us in those two season's (or in Spurs's case 11/12), we were horrendous for 90% of it. The great players off the previous era all entered father time and the players we were trying to bring in to replace the old guard (Luiz, Bertrand, Romeu Ramires, Mata, Torres) were either criminally inconsistent or not good enough.

04-10 ill give you that we were top 5, but the two after? absolutely no way.
 
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AshfordLad said:
That's fair enough. Although we have gone in with only two keepers several times in the past. so that might not be such a big consideration.
City and Bayern are a level below those 5 but still a level above us. Napoli are in smashing form and clearly for the time being a level above us. Spurs have a better squad than us as their key players Kane, Alderwierald, Rose, Dembele are playing at the peak of their careers while we have several key players who have potential but nowhere near their peak in Morata, Bakayoko, Christensen etc. I would put us about level with United, Athleti and Dortmund just outside top 10.
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Na mate. I think you are underestimating us.
RM, Barca, PSG, Bayern, City, Juve are a class above us - totally accepted.

Spurs have a great first team, but their lack of squad depth is baffling. In CMs we have Cesc and Danny as back ups. Spurs need to go to Winks, Dier and Sissoko. I would say the same for their attacking options as well as CB options. The only area that I feel they have us beat is Wing backs. Trippier, davies, aurier and rose are class options.
As for napoli, they are playing great, but squad wise, I would doubt they are above us. Same goes for Bvb and United too. For the money the have poured in, you would think they would have a better player to cover in case pogba gets injured than Fellaini.
 
didierforever said:
I think defending the "board at all costs" is a wrong approach, as would be "bashing them at all costs too".
FWIW, this season we got:
Rudiger - Conte's first choice CB in his 1st season. I remember the only reason we moved to Koulibaly was because of a long term injury to Rudiger
Morata - 1st/2nd choice before/after lukaku. Depending on how you see it.
Drinkwater - Yes we left it very very very late, but the drinkwater rumors were present for a long time. I would say that he was a planned buy rather than just a panic one.
bakayoko - Considering the rumors, conte's 1st choice in the summer

Costa - Conte did not want him, we got rid of him for 60mil.

Yes the board has its issues, but lets not act as if its done a terrible job. They honestly have not. I am not sure of what happened with Barkley. But if the player "apparently" rejected us and still we are looking to get him in the winter, there will be more to it than "he is cheap".
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Conte wanted Bonucci/Koulibaly/Romagnoli but ended up with Luiz. He wanted Nainggollan since the day he's arrived but ended up with Bakayoko. He wanted Morata in his first summer but had to wait a year to get him. Alonso was clearly third/fourth option down the line for the LB position. We also were chasing Alex Sandro this whole summer to no avail. Conte stated in an interview he asked for Kyle Walker, but was told it couldn't be done. We were in negotiations for Danilo before City swooped in to steal him from under our noses and that's how we ended up with Zappacosta. Batshuayi was signed before Conte's arrival and clearly was Emenalo's choice, not the manager's. Don't know about Drinkwater, but I doubt he represents a dream signing for Antonio.

All in all, from the financial point of view, the board have done a good job in the last few years because they added some fresh blood to an aging squad and did that at a very low net spend. But from the manager and fans' point of view, you'd want to imrove your squad and add depth in quality, and that's where they've failed.
 
antihenry said:
Conte wanted Bonucci/Koulibaly/Romagnoli but ended up with Luiz. He wanted Nainggollan since the day he's arrived but ended up with Bakayoko. He wanted Morata in his first summer but had to wait a year to get him. Alonso was clearly third/fourth option down the line for the LB position. We also were chasing Alex Sandro this whole summer to no avail. Conte stated in an interview he asked for Kyle Walker, but was told it couldn't be done. We were in negotiations for Danilo before City swooped in to steal him from under our noses and that's how we ended up with Zappacosta. Batshuayi was signed before Conte's arrival and clearly was Emenalo's choice, not the manager's. Don't know about Drinkwater, but I doubt he represents a dream signing for Antonio.

All in all, from the financial point of view, the board have done a good job in the last few years because they added some fresh blood to an aging squad and did that at a very low net spend. But from the manager and fans' point of view, you'd want to imrove your squad and add depth in quality, and that's where they've failed.
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We bid 60mil for Sandro, We bid 60mil for Koulibaly. But the clubs simply would not sell. Should we then start paying over the odds for every player that the manager asks and then jeapordise our whole financial structure? I am sorry, but I dont get those examples. 60mil is not a small fee, and in no way are those defenders worth more. Given how Luiz, Alonso and we have performed without them, I think the board made the right call to not bend to those absurd demands.

Morata was just bought by RM, who by the way had a buy back, so I dont know how THAT is a negative, they cant really mind control the RM board.
As for Radja, I think we were again willing to shell out the transfer price but wanted the player to put in a request, rather he signed a new contract. I am not sure about this, but i think thats how the radja episode went.

I agree about Danilo though. City sneeking him from under our noses was something that the board should not have let happen. Specially when Danilo would probably have been the 1st choice RWB here to city's 2nd.

As for Walker, tomorrow Conte might ask for messi and CR, does not mean that the board has to get them. Walker was a spurs player and we have seen that Levy simply wont sell to us. We bid 40mil pounds for modric, he ended up going to RM for 30mil. Again, the board cant force the other boards into selling their players.

Paying over the odds can set up a very dangerous precedent. I am happy that we are not doing it. All things considered, our board has done a good job. Finally we are self sufficient and have a good squad. If we can get a couple of youth players through that will help us in focusing on world class players for certain needed positions rather than buying the whole 25 men squad.

By the way, I love Conte. I can totally see why he would want Bonucci/Sandro/Radja etc etc. Its not like we were low balling those clubs or that our board did not try. Its simply the fact that the other clubs wanted us to bend over and I am glad we did not. We got good players in their places and not just some deadwoods.
 
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Alvaro Morata has won more points with his goals & assists in the Premier League this season than any other player (8)...
 
didierforever said:
We bid 60mil for Sandro, We bid 60mil for Koulibaly. But the clubs simply would not sell. Should we then start paying over the odds for every player that the manager asks and then jeapordise our whole financial structure? I am sorry, but I dont get those examples. 60mil is not a small fee, and in no way are those defenders worth more. Given how Luiz, Alonso and we have performed without them, I think the board made the right call to not bend to those absurd demands.

Morata was just bought by RM, who by the way had a buy back, so I dont know how THAT is a negative, they cant really mind control the RM board.
As for Radja, I think we were again willing to shell out the transfer price but wanted the player to put in a request, rather he signed a new contract. I am not sure about this, but i think thats how the radja episode went.

I agree about Danilo though. City sneeking him from under our noses was something that the board should not have let happen. Specially when Danilo would probably have been the 1st choice RWB here to city's 2nd.

As for Walker, tomorrow Conte might ask for messi and CR, does not mean that the board has to get them. Walker was a spurs player and we have seen that Levy simply wont sell to us. We bid 40mil pounds for modric, he ended up going to RM for 30mil. Again, the board cant force the other boards into selling their players.

Paying over the odds can set up a very dangerous precedent. I am happy that we are not doing it. All things considered, our board has done a good job. Finally we are self sufficient and have a good squad. If we can get a couple of youth players through that will help us in focusing on world class players for certain needed positions rather than buying the whole 25 men squad.

By the way, I love Conte. I can totally see why he would want Bonucci/Sandro/Radja etc etc. Its not like we were low balling those clubs or that our board did not try. Its simply the fact that the other clubs wanted us to bend over and I am glad we did not. We got good players in their places and not just some deadwoods.
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If you want top quality players, nine times out of ten you'll have to overpay, especially in today's massively overpriced market. There are exceptions, of course, like Sanchez situation where a top player is running down his contract and his club is too stubborn or dumb to cash in while they can.

Yes, there are situations where the club can't deliver some of the players the manager wanted for reasons they have no control of. But missing out on three quality fullbacks (Mendy, Walker, Danilo) for a position we desperately needed to strengthen/improve and who were clearly available and were within our price range (if 60m Sandro is, then so are they) is difficult to explain.
 
AshfordLad said:
No we don't. The best teams are Real, Barca, City, PSG, Juve. Our squad is nowhere near them. Its not even top 10.

Also, most players are not available. They become available for sale upon a good bid. We could have bid for any of Silva, Kovacic, Pjanic etc. All better players than Drinkwater but would have cost £50m+ so the board wouldn't go for them.

And sorry I misread what you said about Rudiger transfer.
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Our squad is certainly top 10 at least
 
BridgeBanter said:
Our squad is certainly top 10 at least
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It isn't.

didierforever said:
Na mate. I think you are underestimating us.
RM, Barca, PSG, Bayern, City, Juve are a class above us - totally accepted.

Spurs have a great first team, but their lack of squad depth is baffling. In CMs we have Cesc and Danny as back ups. Spurs need to go to Winks, Dier and Sissoko. I would say the same for their attacking options as well as CB options. The only area that I feel they have us beat is Wing backs. Trippier, davies, aurier and rose are class options.
As for napoli, they are playing great, but squad wise, I would doubt they are above us. Same goes for Bvb and United too. For the money the have poured in, you would think they would have a better player to cover in case pogba gets injured than Fellaini.
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I think you are conflating future potential of players like Christensen, Rudi and Bakayoko with current squad strength there.
Our squad may have more potential than Spurs and Napoli but as for this season I would be happy to exchange the squads on loan.​
 
antihenry said:
If you want top quality players, nine times out of ten you'll have to overpay, especially in today's massively overpriced market. There are exceptions, of course, like Sanchez situation where a top player is running down his contract and his club is too stubborn or dumb to cash in while they can.

Yes, there are situations where the club can't deliver some of the players the manager wanted for reasons they have no control of. But missing out on three quality fullbacks (Mendy, Walker, Danilo) for a position we desperately needed to strengthen/improve and who were clearly available and were within our price range (if 60m Sandro is, then so are they) is difficult to explain.
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The last few transfer windows have clearly proven that despite the money being made available by Roman, deals for top players cannot get done by Marina with the exception being a like for like replacement for Costa being replaced by Morata. The fact that Chelsea won the title last season is a testament to Conte’s ability and man management skills in getting players to play out of their skin and fans can see that he did the same for Italy. However, average players like Alonso, Moses, Luiz and Zappacosta can only achieve so much due to limited abilities and that is why Conte is so frustrated with the Board in not upping the ante and investing into becoming serious European challengers. Right now, this squad would do well to get into the top 4 of the premiership hence it has REGRESSED from last season and certainly so for the past ten years. All in the name of penny pinching to get that magical zero net spend.
 
UweBein said:
Some of Emenalo's work is seriously underrated.
I think he was brilliant for Chelsea. Not all the managers could work with his players, but I always felt there was some common sense in signing certain players (except for Falcao and Pato maybe).
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Yep. He also gave some consistency at the club given our policy regarding managers (win or you're fired pretty much).
 
Don't want to speak to soon but it looks like the sticky start to the season is behind us, Conte is looking more like the Conte of last season and the defense is looking sound, plus like he did with 343 last season i think he has seen 352 as the way forward and hopefully like last time we have a good run of results on the back of finding the correct formation. If that is our new go to formation that could be good news for Ampadu as he would be 5th choice CM straight off, given his exploits in the cup and for Wales, he could be the one to bypass the loan system and break through straight of the bat. Cahill has done a lot better the last couple of games, Azpi, Andreas and Cahill seem to complement eachother well and between the 3 of them compensate for eachother's weaknesses, Luiz and Rudiger will likely get a shot on Wednesday and will need to react.

Special mention must be given to Conte. I was critical of some of his decision's at the start of the season but he has dealt with what could have escalated into a awful crisis superbly. When Watford were leading at The Bridge things were looking bad, not 15/16 bad but still quite bleak, but we turned that game around and since then have played really well, even our one blot since in Italy wasn't as bad as the score suggested.

Unfortunately given City's form the title look's very hard to pull off now (if we do it from here it would be the best achievement bar Munich in terms of difficultly) but i still predict a comfortable 2nd or 3rd place with good evolution, about 85 points and possibly a domestic cup win, which i think will be classed as a decent season all round given the circumstances. One crucial element for pre season next summer (i know, thinking ahead) is we need to plan our pre season geared towards a fast start, Pep has raised the bar to a level not seen since Jose's first stint at Chelsea and like Fergie did then, we need to adapt to try and compete, hopefully a good run between now and the end helps heal things between Conte and the heirachy.
 
I'm quite happy with how the team are coping at the moment. I know City seem to be running away with it at the moment but they still have the pressure of having to win every match because it's still early in the season and Chelsea and Utd are also wining. Lets see how they deal with that pressure between now and January. Chelsea have a tricky one against Liverpool this weekend but a win should send a message.

What I'm most pleased with is the type of football we are playing. It's not too defensive, they move the ball quickly and the creative players such as Hazard and Fabregas are being played to their strengths. Apart from being a good goal scorer Morata is also showing some outstanding ball skills and his interplay with Hazard seems to improve every game. His instep flick to Hazard on Saturday was instinctive and sublime. For me Morata and Hazard are the best attacking two in the PL and possibly in Europe.

Was it that long ago that we were looking at an aging squad and having to rebuild. I think overall the board have done a very good job at Chelsea, even in the last few years. 2015 was obviously a problem time for the club and it was a difficult decision the club had to make with Jose. They made a bold decision to sack instead of back but it has paid off. We now have a young team who play attractive and skilful football and a manager who seems to be able to weather a storm or two without upsetting the players.

Abramovic's arrival and increased spending attracted much criticism because his money was seen as dirty. "Chelski" were buying the league and didn't deserve their success. After the initial massive investment in the squad and a new manager Kenyon announced the aim of the club was to be self sufficient. A clever transfer and youth development policy has not only enabled the club to be self sufficient but also kept the team very competitive. In recent years Chelsea have paid £32m for Hazard, £32m for N'Golo Kante, £31m For Fabregas and sold Mata, Matic, Oscar and Luiz for big profits. Is there a club with a better value for money transfer record? While there are still the odd exceptions the vast majority of football people know Chelsea are a very well run club and the board should be congratulated for this.

With a young team and outstanding plans for a new stadium the future looks bright for Chelsea. COYB.
 
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singabiru said:
Going from an Ashley Cole to a Marcos Alonso - that sums it up as to how the board deliberately allowed the squad to regress. .
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no, not really.
it's not like many leftback of cole's quality exist on the planet or are available on the market.
 
He seems more settled these days, to be fair: the ship is steady again and performing at the expected level.
 
Now the transfer rumour mill has dished out Lucas Moura to replace Willian. I ain't a big Willian fan but I would rather stick with him than with Moura. Seems like the Board loves to go after those washed-up Pato type players or some no mark Brazilian (Bernard anyone?) just to save a few pounds.
 
singabiru said:
Now the transfer rumour mill has dished out Lucas Moura to replace Willian. I ain't a big Willian fan but I would rather stick with him than with Moura. Seems like the Board loves to go after those washed-up Pato type players or some no mark Brazilian (Bernard anyone?) just to save a few pounds.
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I forget Pato played for you. Did he score or even play?? :lol:
 
Bepi said:
He seems more settled these days, to be fair: the ship is steady again and performing at the expected level.
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I doubt Conte expected his team to be 9 points behind with no chance of title after 12 games gone. Been thoroughly shafted by the board in the transfer market.

singabiru said:
The Board should first temper their expectations before hiring any new coach.
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I doubt Abrahmovic will change his trophy expectations. The club cant go on without a manager once Conte has left.
 
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