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Sources: Enzo Maresca under IMMENSE pressure Also in here - Clearlake vs Todd, What new manager would replace Maresca? Would fan protests help? https://siphillipstalkschelsea.substack.com/p/sources-enzo-maresca-under-immense I’ve been asked about this of course off the back of Chelsea’s awful recent form. I’ve always been told and heard that Chelsea want to avoid a mid-season change of manager, and that is still the case. That is what they ideally want to do. They want to review Enzo Maresca, as well as the sporting directors, in the summer, and then make any big changes or decisions. However, I’ve heard about Maresca now being under IMMENSE pressure from the Chelsea board following our form throughout December, having only won one game out of our last seven league games. It’s been deemed far from good enough, and Chelsea are having a serious look at Maresca. This isn’t just from poor results and form. The way Maresca has been acting and his comments in public has caused some puzzled and annoyed reactions from those at the very top of the club. And when they are already seeing Maresca as a manager under pressure, this has only added fuel to the fire. There are real issues between some on the board, and Maresca. There is a belief that the Italian coach has eyes on another role in the summer, and that is distracting him. My top SPTC Source told me that Maresca was ‘on thin ice’ before the Bournemouth game and it would be worse if he didn’t win it. At this moment, we don’t know what a draw means in the grand scheme of that, but at this point in time (Wednesday 7am), we haven’t yet heard that they are about to pull the tigger, just that the pressure has mounted up massively on Maresca. Having said that, it’s my personal feeling that I’d not be at all surprised if we see a ‘club statement’ post from Chelsea some time very soon. Clearlake and Todd So, how is the relationship here? Well, Behdad Eghbali is the man in charge, he is the one calling all the shots. Todd Boehly has become a bit of a silent partner and is rarely involved. Both sides of the ownership would love to buy the other out, but neither want to sell. They both have completely different ideas on how the club should be run, what to do with the stadium, and FOS sponsors. One SPTC Source has told me that they are playing a game of tug of war, pulling in the opposite directions, but neither side is currently falling over. I have no idea how it ends or how/if it gets sorted out, but right now, Behdad is fully invested in what he is doing and is fully behind his project and still has real belief in it. Behdad and his sporting team are at every game they can get to and they go to the dressing room to debrief after those games. The Chelsea owner has become very hands on and proactive, and he has no desire to move away from what he is doing at the club. New manager IF, and it’s still an if at this point, Maresca is sacked, or if he walks, now or in the summer, don’t expect any new manager in who currently plays transitional or pragmatic football. Chelsea have a club-wide ideology to play possession-based football only. So they would only look for that kind of manager. I also wouldn’t expect any big personalities to come in, because the head coach gets very little say in operations. If Maresca goes, I can only see Liam Rosenior ‘getting promoted’ from Strasbourg. I genuinely see that happening. I don’t think we would see an Andoni Iraola or even an Oliver Glasner come in. They already have Rosenior lined up for when needed. Chelsea have a rotation policy across the club, and they have a style of football that they want to continue playing and a specific-type of manager in mind to keep it implemented. It’s all in the plans from Behdad, and it’s the way they see it as taking the club forward. Would protests help? Nope. Doubt it. They are very much in their vision and very much backing it and wanting to see it through. They aren’t about to change what they are doing because fans protest about it. Maybe sustained protests might eventually have some sort of effect. But from everything I’ve seen and heard, this is their way of doing things, they have belief in it, and it’s that way or the highway.

"Step up, take accountability for the shit you’ve put us in" Carefree Youth is not happy https://siphillipstalkschelsea.substack.com/p/step-up-take-accountability-for-the I’ve hauled out a couple posts I’ve seen this week from Chelsea fans. I have another article out on a post on the Nicolas Jackson revisionism, and now it’s time to take a look at a post on the current situation at our club. It’s from a chap called Scott, who runs the CarefreeYouth account on X. He’s also a friend of mine and we have spoken quite a bit over time. He says: “After the last few years I’m used to Chelsea disappointing results. I usually snap out of it a day later. “I’m still honestly so annoyed with things. Nothing from the club. They are very open in talking to journalists when it’s about transfers. “Step up, take accountability for the shit you’ve put us in. Watch and wait till hit a tiny bit of good form then they’ll be out talking that this is a project and they are happy with the squad as a whole. “Seen a lot of fans discussing Maresca job. He’s not blameless in all this but no one is coming here to be a yes man that will fix this fully. ”We will be back here in 12/18 months moaning about it all again. Things need to change above. Simple. “We have made countless mistakes. A few talents won’t hide all the cracks forever cause we say “it’s a long-term project”. “They told us that we could judge the squad build after the summer 2024 transfer window. 18 months on and we still have to sit and accept anything that comes our way and not ask questions as fans. “Chelsea spent around £150m on these seven players: Slonina, Disasi, Wiley, Sterling, Kellyman, Datro Fofana, Washington “How much will we make on them if and when sold?” I haven’t seen Scott rant like this in a while. There’s a really toxic feel around our club right now and I don’t even think a good run of results will turn it because it will be a case of ‘been there and seen that recently, yet still soon returned here again’. There’s been far too much money dumped into this project for it to only be as far along as it is right now. It’s so far been a failure, no two ways about it.

Liverpool warned of HUGE wages, signing-on fee Marc Guehi could demand as transfer race sees pair drop out https://www.teamtalk.com/liverpool/marc-guehi-transfer-huge-wages-signing-on-fee-demands-barcelona-real-madrid-liverpool Liverpool have been warned that delaying the signing of Marc Guehi to the end of the season could ultimately hit them harder in the pocket than ever expected, amid claims the Crystal Palace star’s sky-high demands have seen two major suitors drop from the running and with one top journalist now naming the club the defender is expected to join. The England defender came within a whisker of joining Liverpool on transfer deadline day back in the summer, only for Crystal Palace to pull the plug on the £35m sale after failing to sign his replacement in defence. Having returned to Selhurst Park, Guehi has shown zero signs of being affected by that transfer breaking down, having continued to put up one dominant display after another in the heart of the Eagles’ defence. But with the 25-year-old making clear he won’t be signing an extension to his contract, the player is poised to become one of the most in-demand free agents of all time this summer, with sources revealing no fewer than 13 sides have already contacted his representatives over a summer transfer. Free to sign a pre-contract agreement with interested overseas sides from this Thursday, January 1, we understand Guehi has made it clear that he intends to see out the season at Selhurst Park before making any firm decision on his future. That stance seriously increases Liverpool’s confidence in striking a fresh deal themselves for the 26-times capped England star. However, former Man Utd goalkeeper Ben Foster, speaking on his Fozcast podcast, has revealed the jaw-dropping costs likely to be involved in signing Guehi on ‘a free’. “Marc Guehi could go to anybody in the wo‎rld. If he lets his contract run down to the summer, he can sign for whoever he wants,” Foster said. “At that point there he gets to say, ‘I want £250,000 a week’ or ‘I want £300,000,’ because if he gets four, five or six teams sniffing at him and wanting him, he’ll get it as well. The amount of money this guy’s about to earn is honestly outrageous. “With the signing-on fee, you haven’t got to pay £40m or £50m for a player like Marc Guehi; instead of that, you can say, ‘Give me a signing-on fee of £30m and we’ll call it quits.’ It’s crazy money.” Top journalist names Guehi preference as two sides drop from race Despite the enormous salary demands Guehi will seemingly demand, it potentially closes the door on the number of clubs that can viably match his terms. In light of all that, Sky Sports’ journalist Sacha Tavolieri has revealed that Liverpool are ‘leading the race’ for Guehi and remain the club he will most likely sign for. At the same time, Tavolieri has suggested the name of Barcelona off the list, because the Spanish giants are unable to match personal terms to the defender offered elsewhere. Taking to X, Tavolieri stated: “FC Barcelona close to ruling out Marc Guehi! “The English defender wants to decide his future soon, and Barca’s offer would be lower than those from English clubs. Liverpool still leading the race for Guehi. Wait and see.” Tavolieri’s claims follow suggestions last week from his colleague, Karveh Solhekol, that Guehi has a ‘gentleman’s agreement’ to join the Reds – a claim since fiercely denied by our sources who have provided an insight into the defender’s transfer stance. As a result, sources do not expect Guehi to reach a quick decision on his future, instead preferring to wait until the back end of the season to decide his next move. That is a verdict echoed by the BBC’s chief football reporter, Sami Mokbel, who stated last weekend: “My understanding at the moment is he probably and is expected to stay at Palace until the end of the season when his contract expires. “Look, he’s got so many options in the summer. You’ve got Real Madrid, Barcelona, Bayern Munich, Atletico Madrid, Inter Milan… all these clubs have registered varying degrees of interest in Guehi in recent weeks. “When you come to the end of the season, you’ll have Liverpool back in the mix, Manchester City back in the mix. “So he is leaving, he’s going, but I expect that situation to continue until the summer when he’ll have his pick of the clubs.” Mokbel added: “He’s delivered week in, week out, and the way he’s reacted to that Liverpool move falling through has seen several clubs come to the fore. “That’s the kind of personality and character people want at their club. He’s done himself a brilliant service to himself this season. “He wanted to join Liverpool, let’s make no bones about it, but he’s put that behind him and had a brilliant season so far.” Of the clubs mentioned, Real Madrid are perhaps the most attractive option, though ESPN Deportes last week ruled Los Blancos out of the chase, removing another sizeable object from Liverpool’s path.

It's absolutely insane that we haven't been linked with Guehi, whose contract expires in six months. One the best CBs in the league, our CBs are shit and he is from Chelsea. So what are they waiting for? Or is he too old for our clown directors?

They might be deeper than the manager but he has also COST us points this season by playing his favorites like Tosin against Sunderland (gave away the winning goal at the Bridge). He played players out of position on a number of occasions this season as well.

Put it this way, I feel like we've reached our level with Maresca as manager (floating around 4th to 6th every season). For me, he just doesn't have that extra gear that Mourinho/Conte/Tuchel/Ancelotti had. The most frustrating thing about this season and even today's game was: no one was keen to take the game on at home in the 2nd half. Where's the shots on target, wheres the run and dribble to create a potential free kick or penalty. Seemed like the players were satisfied with a point

Nothing but facts. I do not understand how the WHOLE fanbase doesn’t feel exactly how this man does.

Maresca only cares about brand maresca. When teams are slower than us and play openly, such as in Europe - his style looks good. Anywhere else where you either have a low block or a team with equal or more energy than us - get ready for a loss. Don't even get me started on favoritism or playing players out of position.

The problems are deeper than the manager. Are you expecting him to be replaced with somebody fit to do the iob properly?

pathetic team, what a fucking mess

I haven’t watched the last 4 games and will not watch any more until the manager is gone and any one who knows me on this forum knows I like to give managers a chance, I’ve checked out

To watch as a club we used to clown on and dominate for like 15 years transform into the best side in Europe with a super bright future whilst we have simultaneously collapsed into mediocre nothingness is depressing. They’re top of the league, have a fantastic squad, fantastic structure above the players from the manager to the directors. And Arteta is talking about ADDING MORE quality to the team next month. Meanwhile, we are completely lost as a club and I don’t see any way for things to get better in the future. We’ve once again saddled ourselves with a load of players who are nowhere near good enough and how will we get rid of them? Who is going to want these guys? And how the hell can we trust these jokers in charge who signed Gittens, Garnacho, Delap, etc? Unlike in the past where we sacked a manager and either got a bounce or had something to look forward to, I don’t think sacking Maresca does anything for us. His replacement will likely be worse with these directors picking him. Short of the owners saying fuck it and doing away with their precious wage cap and age requirements I don’t see any optimism that things will change in the coming years.

I just hope Fofana hasnt hurt himself -he seemed to be knackered towards the end kf the game Imagine playing with the mighty Badiashile or Tosin in CB position for the next few games.

Once we lose/draw a few more games, you won't be so relaxed watching our games. Those dropped points to Sunderland, Leeds and a few others will come back to bite us at the end of the season. United aren't even serious and yet they are tied on points with us and they will get some good players back after AFCON finishes.

To watch Villa get 3 points from us and then go to Arsenal and get hammered in the 2nd half.....so frustrating. If one of the other attackers was keen on doing something other than Estevao, we would have won today. It seems like every player isn't interested in shooting at goal and testing their goalkeeper, its more about retaining possession in front of the opposition box. People on this forum used to criticise Jackson but honestly what has Delap done to be the striker at Chelsea? At least Jackson scored goals every now and then.

If Arsenal start pushing for Jacquet, we won't get him.

The recruitment was always going to shoot us in the foot. It has done so ever since these new owners came here. From that first window with high spending on more established names like Sterling, Koulibaly etc (players which we should of signed maybe 2-3 years earlier) now to windows where we repeatedly stock up on young players with limited experience in positions we aren’t screaming out for. This summer was a great example of this, crying out for a top CB, a top GK. Plenty of options we should’ve went for. The influence of Joe Shields & recruiting ex City players has also been a resounding failure if I am honest. Except for Cole Palmer, the signings of Sterling, Tosin, Delap & Gittens have all flattered to deceive/look well off the level. Throw in the debacle with the lad from Bournemouth, declaring interest then being like nah.

We'll probably win against City somehow and they lose and draw the rest of January In all competitions this month we've played 8 won 2. Not even a shock anymore when we drop points or lose more when we win!

Ffs another home game without a win… all the way to the bridge to see 1 point from 6. next one city away gonna make it 1/9 😑

Caballero: “Enzo didn't feel well in the last two days. He had a temperature two days ago. After the game, he went to the changing room and he asked me to replace him because he didn't feel well. Will I be in charge against City? I don’t know, hopefully in 2-3 days he will be okay” Loud boos from the CFC supporters at Stamford Bridge as Cole Palmer is replaced by Joao Pedro. Some singing: "You don't know what you're doing."

The only thing separating us is goal difference. Weve won/drawn/lost the same amount so just depends who is worse at the end. Liverpool can go 5 clear if they win when they play so think be hard to catch they've found form. But this shouldn't be where we are! Not after all these years of building. We used to mock Arsenal fans for their 4th place celebrations now thats us

Money well spent!! Can we get refunds?

lol idk if we get ucl this year. i really have doubts

So are we mate