06 May 2026 08:44:46
On NYD we were sat comfortable in 4th place, we were in the semi-final of the league cup and still in the champions league, the players were fully on side with the gaffer and whilst things were nowhere near perfect we looked on course to move forward.
What followed next may well define this period in our history, the ludicrous decision to appoint Liam as the head coach of one of the worlds top football clubs was quite frankly, mind boggling. The players could see he had no idea, us fans could see he had no idea and deep down he probably knew he had no idea, it was all to early for him and I said at the time I truly felt sorry for him particuarly with the cringeworthy way he dealt with the Enzo Fernandez situation where he really did come across as a senior school teacher.
The players soon looked lost and I imagine at that point asked themselves "what is happening? ", they had bought into the vision, they had previously spoken about how they were all developing and growing together, they enjoyed working with Maresca and had won the club world cup. Now, they are being spoken to by Liam and no doubt were onto their agents to find a way out, mercenaries? yes, 100%, that is your modern day footballer.
Look at the body language of Cole Palmer, he looks totally disinterested as do most of them with the one exception being Enzo Fernandez who gives it everything on the pitch. Has anyone seen the photos of Reece James behind the dugout at 3 nil down to Forest? he was laughing and joking, and he is our captain, can you imagine JT behaving like that? oh, and on the subject of JT, why not give him the interim manager position instead of Callum? JT is actually fully qualified with his pro licence as well, again, it beggars belief and that 3-1 drubbing by Forest was possibly the moment this period in our history was defined. The SD's could and should of played this out better but I think the damage is now done and it will be 3 or 4 sets of revolving doors this summer and a total reset which is why the new manager appointment is crucial but a full clear out of the totally hopeless SD's (I would retain Dave Fallows) is arguably even more crucial if we are to avoid dropping even lower.
06 May 2026 09:37:21
Greenway - JT is not getting the job and im happy about that. All time great player. No comment on him off the field.
You have to let Maresca go - he was equally to blame for his sacking. You cant be caught speaking to a rival in any job. He also wasnt doing amazingly in the run up to being sacked.
Liam was a bad appointment, but its done now, and kinetic Cal is running the show for now - hope it all gets sorted in summer. Eghbali suddenly knows what hes doing and hires a single SD to work with the manager and rebuild the squad.
06 May 2026 11:23:32
You are right, Kaz, about letting Maresca go, but it still irks me that the totally incompetent Winstanley and Co. are still running the show, and until they are binned off, I won't stop moaning, as that situation could have been resolved. The only reason Maresca started talking to other clubs is because he was calling out the SD's for their incompetence, and they didn't like it, hence the breakdown in the relationship.
Egghead backing them over Maresca (before he started talking to other clubs) is my issue, and it still hasn't been sorted.
06 May 2026 13:07:09
Greenaway, I have no clue, and you have no clue if Maresca had his secret meetings with City before or after his player request was rejected by the SDs.
If he had issues with the so-called structure, he shouldn't have joined.
I didn't want him gone, but after secretly talking directly with a rival mid-season, I'm sorry, goodbye and good riddance.
06 May 2026 13:18:13
I agree with Tom on Maresca, and with Greenaway on our so-called SDs.
06 May 2026 13:37:53
The SDs are a different and difficult group to defend, given their appalling management choices. I would also love to know, is there an individual with overall authority among the five?
Also, I assume they all have different job descriptions with their own skill sets? I would love to know what they are.
I assume they have been appointed to do different jobs, but it does seem a strange set up.
It also seems to be a common complaint from nearly all the clubs' fanbases that their respective SDs are inept.
{Ed001's Note - according to the Guardian: Chelsea currently operates with a unique five-person sporting director team, led by Paul Winstanley and Laurence Stewart, with specialized roles for Sam Jewell, Joe Shields, and Dave Fallows.
Current Sporting Directors and Roles
Chelsea has adopted an unusual structure with five sporting directors, each with clearly defined responsibilities:
Paul Winstanley – Co-Sporting Director, overseeing overall football operations and strategic decisions.
Laurence Stewart – Co-Sporting Director, sharing leadership with Winstanley on transfers, managerial appointments, and football operations.
Sam Jewell – Sporting Director, Global Recruiting, responsible for identifying talent worldwide and managing recruitment networks.
Joe Shields – Sporting Director, Scouting & Talent, focusing on scouting, player development, and talent identification.
Dave Fallows – Sporting Director, Football Development, concentrating on scouting, data analysis, loan management, player pathways, and staff development.
It might not be 100% but it seems fairly spot on.}
06 May 2026 14:01:50
Kaveh Solhekol has reported that Chelsea felt that Maresca was just a head coach, and if he wants to go, he can go. They weren't bothered about him possibly getting the City job. They believed they had a great structure in place & will just go and find another head coach who will continue their work of recruiting players, and letting the head coach manage them.
But, unfortunately, they picked the wrong person. They now hope to appoint the right head coach. Surely this is just rinse and repeat?
06 May 2026 14:05:40
Tom
The only ones that interest me are our SDs.
Further interest from me is that they are all gone in the summer.
06 May 2026 14:22:10
Ed001, thanks and as usual your info is very interesting. Much appreciated.
{Ed001's Note - very welcome mate.}
06 May 2026 14:39:05
Ed001, there is a sixth member of the senior management team; Glenn van der Kraan- Technical Director: not sure what he does- maybe he changes the lightbulbs.
{Ed001's Note - technical directors are usually more focused on the minutiae of training plans etc. Though hard to say for sure as every club seems to have different ideas of what a role entails.}
06 May 2026 14:52:49
'Club sources', 'Kaveh from Sky said'.... The club media nonsense continues.
From all 5, I'd like Dave Fallows to be kept and given a bit of control; seems to have done OK elsewhere. Shields I want gone ASAP; in charge of scouting and talent, and he's run out of ex City prospects to chase.
And Stewart and Winstanley too- both useless.
If I had the time or heart, I'd list all of our signings since the takeover, it makes for extremely depressing reading.
06 May 2026 15:40:04
Ed001, apparently van der Kraan is responsible for the academy and youth development. So I'll let him off the hook.
{Ed001's Note - that would make sense. Liverpool had one of those but decided to give him the job of set piece coach for this season and then sacked him when he failed at that job, despite having been an excellent technical coach at the club. I mean it is not like he couldn't have returned to his old job or anything. It felt like, and still feels like, Slot scapegoated him for his own failings. I hope you don't do something that stupid with van der Kraan!}