18 May 2024 07:58:15
The recruitment team are going all out to sign Estevao Willian who looks an amazing talent and is wanted by a number of high profile clubs. I hope this one gets over the line. Also a nice piece in Tomorrows programme notes from Daniel Finkelstein talking about the reality of "the vision" and how patience was always the key. Very easy for some of the pundits and even "fans" to hammer a project with cheap digs and pathetic words. (Gary Neville comes to mind) so nice to see a bit of back tracking and praise being given for all the hard work being put in by the team.
18 May 2024 09:03:29
If Mr Finkelstein reflects the boards feelings I look forward to Poch being confirmed as manager for next season and beyond ideally.
18 May 2024 09:14:53
Never seen him play. I’m sure he is a talent but he is young and who knows how he will develop as a player!
18 May 2024 09:23:08
I mean, we've spent a billion. Top 4 was the minimum expectations from the owners until they moved the goalposts because it went so horrifically. Yes we're on a good roll now and we have brought in some talented players but with the squad we had under tuchel finishing 3rd and winning the champions league a season prior, after a billion spent you'd expect an epl title in that time and another ucl, not 6th.
18 May 2024 09:33:55
Drog, so far and it’s only my experience, the FAB have not covered themselves in glory. What I would say and having had the pleasure of meeting Finkelstein a few years ago I hope his influence can improve fans communication.
Again and for those interested please look at the FAB meeting agendas. Sadly I can’t find any action results.
18 May 2024 09:37:51
With the age of the players brought in Standard, a new coach in Poch, nobody should expect an immediate EPL and/ or UCL.
18 May 2024 09:52:37
If we had spent a billion on established players who stayed fit for most of the season we would have been competing for the title but we didn't.
We assembled a bunch of talented kids very few of which had PL experience and quite a few have proven chronically inury prone.
Based on that 5/ 6th and good cup tmruns is an acceptable return.
18 May 2024 10:59:01
Drog, maybe your point about experienced players is valid but generally speaking that would have come with a much higher annual wage bill and going forward that looks like becoming more relevant.
18 May 2024 11:22:25
Tom, the wage bill is a valid point but if in the future we want to bring in proven top players they won’t come cheap. Also, this has to b balanced out by losses to b revenue by failing to qualify for the CL.
18 May 2024 12:03:38
Apparently some fans seem to have forgotten that the first summer under Boehly &co we mostly kept the exact squad that won the CL and finished 3rd, whilst adding experienced players like Koulibaly, Sterling and Aubameyang that Tuchel had asked for. We played rubbish and TT got sacked.
If we hadn’t been banned by the gov from signing players we’d have offered Rudiger and probably Christiansen extensions. Pretty sure we’d have signed Tchoumeni too.
You could argue the £100m spent on Sterling, Koulibaly and Auba could have been better spent on Osimhen. Perhaps the £135m spent on Cucurella and Fofana could have been spent on the likes of Gvardiol and maybe Bastoni etc. But the owners bought the players TT wanted.
If you look at the squad when Boehly and co took over, I actually don’t think it was very good tbh. Mendy, Kepa, Zouma, Emerson, Alonso, Jorginho, Drinkwater, Barkley, Kennedy, Ziyech, Lukaku, Werner. None of them good enough realistically despite finishing 3rd. Pulisic, RLC and Kante injured 90% of the time. Then Rudi and Christiansen’s contracts expired. There was always going to need to be a massive turnover of the squad. Those initial summer signings are pretty much all going to be moved on (Auba and Koulibaly have already left) Sterling and Cucu are linked with leaving.
So I’d actually argue that it was the experienced players that we initially bought which has set the project back.
18 May 2024 12:27:02
I was responding to the comments made about the failure to compete for the title this season.
The strategy to reduce the wage bill has been clear and probably the way to go currently.
But don't expect the club to compete for Top 4 when we have a lot of players lacking PL experience a new coach plus horrendous Injuries.
The club should have publically praised and supported the manager weeks ago.
18 May 2024 12:28:54
We have failed to qualify for the Champions League before and managed to struggle through!
I have no idea what cheap is but I’m sure the club will keep under the latest proposals.
I would like and still think there is a chance we might secure the service of Osimhen for next season but is he so called “proven? ”.
18 May 2024 12:36:35
Drog, I agree the club should have given Poch the thumbs up weeks ago but to also be fair my guess is that will happen after the supposed scheduled season review in a few weeks time.
Putting aside injuries as something we all home statistically improves for next season, a lot of our young players (but not all) will have had a season in the PL to acclimatise so I’m looking for and expect improvement for next season.
18 May 2024 12:39:28
Fuser, I agree the new owners have apparently admitted they got things wrong and were poorly advised in those early days. The squad size was ridiculous.
18 May 2024 13:10:55
I agree with all of your post Fuser.
18 May 2024 17:33:01
Not qualifying for the CL two seasons in a row is a failure for a “big club “ like Chelsea whichever way you spin it.
18 May 2024 18:19:18
You can’t spin fact.
We will get by with what I’m told will be a very attractive sponsorship deal, hopefully the Europa cup and a min £50m next summer in that USA club competition, plus an apparent significant cut in salary costs.
Other so called big teams have missed out on Champions league for more than two seasons running and they have also survived.
18 May 2024 20:47:06
Tom, which Europa cup, no money in either. I hope your mate is right about the sponsorship deal. So other teams are called “so called big teams “. Your facts are suited to your opinions.
18 May 2024 21:26:44
The club has exceeded my expectations-fact.
We will be getting a junk of change for playing in an end of next season tournament-fact.
We will be getting money from sponsorship-fact.
We will be lowering our annual wage bill-fact.
Clubs who do well in the Europa Cup make money-fact.
Of course I could be a miserable/ negative old tw@t rather than happy/ positive old tw@t but that is never going to happen-fact.
19 May 2024 00:59:10
Tom,
Your expectations are not facts- fact
Our invitation into the end of of season tournament will provide income but is based on past performances- fact
Two seasons without CL income will affect our finances- fact
All clubs who have sponsorship deals will receive income- the issue is how much the deal is worth- fact
I believe we have lowered our wage bill but I don’t know by how much - fact
I won’t comment on you how you come across, we all have our own perceptions of our personalities.
19 May 2024 06:47:35
Jimbo, if we reach my expectations it becomes fact- fact.
Obviously not being in Champs league effects our finances but you said there is “no money” in the Europa, you are wrong-fact.
We will be getting £50m minimum form an end of season competition that will help our financial position-fact.
Our annual wage bill has come down- fact.
I wouldn’t have a clue about your personality, my comment was about “my” choice of personality. I will always be positive because I have to be- fact.
19 May 2024 09:31:51
Tom, an expectation is a belief that something will happen, the outcome of the expectation is a fact, not the expectation itself.
19 May 2024 09:50:41
Your focus now appears to have moved on from my listed facts and your misguided information that the Europa competitions offer “no money. ”
I suggest you read my post again. My expectation has been reached therefore that expectation becomes my fact-fact.