kmk108

Maybe I'm wrong and he'll be given more control than I'm imagining. I'm not against higher ups with knowledge of the game (not just interest in big star shirt sales and interest) making decisions, but if Conte has players he wants, they should be a priority. A competent board with a good vision is ideal, but I'll take any step up from what we've got going on now. The board need to look internally instead of externally when considering the future. Conte will come in and create a philosophy on the pitch, but that has to be supported by the decisions made by the board in order for it to be successful.

If calling him "head coach" isn't just a matter of semantics, I can see this blowing up very quickly. He seems like the kind of guy that wants to make the big decisions, and if he's got the board poking around his office the entire time, I can see this getting ugly fast. This club needs to realize that what's happened this season isn't down to the manager alone. It's on everyone at the club.

I've come to the conclusion that after relative success throughout the last 13 years, employing one of the most hated managers in English football twice, and having a captain that everyone outside of Chelsea absolutely detest, this is the season Chelsea give back. We put in one of the worst seasons in recent memory. We fire said hated manager only after falling into the relegation-scare zone, giving ample time for the media to crucify him. John Terry could be on his way out. The only thing left to do is hand the title to the team everyone outside of the title race wants to win. Good chap Chelsea

Changes to the Champions League? http://www.theguardian.com/football/2016/mar/23/uefa-champions-league-revamp

A no win situation. We either win against a woeful team that gets us nowhere, get a draw against said woeful team, or lose and suffer more misery at the hands of this horrible season. To make things worse, the team will remain unchanged, save for an international break injury.

Begovic -- If he wants to stay, keep him. If he wants to play regularly, sell Courtois -- Keep and hope his shaky play this season has been a result of his injury recovery and our shit defense Ivanovic -- Keep as a CB. No more RB Zouma -- Keep and train him as a tough leader. He's got a lot of potential Rahman -- Keep. He's young and has potential Miazga -- Keep and loan him somewhere in the Premier League Cahill -- Keep as a second-choice CB Terry -- Keep if he is happy with spending most of the time on the bench and providing any remaining leadership Azpilicueta -- Keep him at RB Aina -- Loan him out to give him some meaningful minutes Clarke-Salter -- Same as Aina Fabregas -- Keep and have him focus solely on providing attackers Oscar -- Sell. Even though I think he can be useful as a substitute, I don't think he'll be happy with that role, and the club can get a good sum for him. Hazard -- If he doesn't want to be here, sell him in a good package deal with a major club. I'm not sure of the board's ability to get one though. Mikel -- Keep Matic -- Sell and find a suitable replacement. Willian -- Keep Loftus-Cheek -- Keep and give him more minutes. He doesn't have to be given significant time, but more. Pedro -- Keep Kenedy -- Keep, decide if he's better suited for LB or LW and stick to that position. Remy -- Sell Costa -- Keep unless a crazy offer comes in for him Traore -- Keep and give him the second striker role Sell a few loanees that we get a good offer for. There's no need to have a loan army this large, and reducing it even by a few can provide a good turn into a good player (if the board can actually accomplish a good signing).

It's not just the manager. The board makes a lot of decisions regarding who stays and who goes. If we don't give our new manager control over who stays and who goes, nothing is going to change and they'll be out of a job in 2 seasons.

We will all go down, with our noses up high. We will leave this world, while our souls will rise. We will all go down, with our noses up high. We will look back to our failures, but at least we could say we’ve tried. There aint no time to waste. There aint no time to sit around and wonder how. And wonder how things could be. Well spare me your excuses, your reasons, your illusions. It all makes no sense. While the clock is ticking, closer till the end.

I want to say they'll go out with a chip on their shoulder after being dumped out by PSG and not want Lukaku to beat them in the only tournament we're still in, but this team has yet to show me they're capable of that. I think we'll look like shit and somehow get a replay back at the bridge.

Interesting lineup Courtois Azpilicueta-Cahill-Ivanovic-Kenedy Fabregas-Matic Hazard-Oscar-Traore Costa Begovic, Rahmann, Mikel, RLC, Willian, Pato, Remy

I know it's Norwich, but if we win this, we're up to 8th and only 8 points off City at least until tomorrow. I never thought I'd say that even a month ago.

There's still Miazga Now he's going to score

And let's not forget, Traore has been with Chelsea for a while and Costa is in his second season. Pato isn't just getting up to fitness, he's learning a new team system and is moving to a completely new league. Just because he's fit doesn't mean he's match ready.

He can be worse than Falcao. Falcao did at least score. What I think is happening is that Guus didn't want Pato and since Traore has done so well, he's been fine with letting Pato take his time and won't even consider using him until he's 100% fit. That'll take some time for a team that has two capable, in-form strikers.

Depends how it's used. If we use him to balance books, it'll be seen as a massive failure. If the money is used in a way the Bale sale, it could be a bit of good business. Some of the players Spurs brought in were failures, but some have been important in their title push this season.

What's the point? If he's not 100% fit and performing better than Traore, it's a waste of space on the bench.

1-1

It's what worries me about the Allegri rumors. There's an obvious weakness, but (from my reading) they're not going for much. Personally, I hope Arsenal knock Barca out of the tournament. I've always hated Barca, and it'll only hinder Arsenal's title push. Here's to hoping they make it to the semi-finals and then are embarrassed

We've got a full 6 days before the match against Southampton. No need to rest any of the regulars and play youth.

People want to continue with the status quo of the season and will always see a match that way. Pedro was massive in parts that don't get picked up on. At one point, he tracked back, made a defensive effort, passed the ball on and took off, sprinting down the pitch, only for the ball to be passed backwards.

It's in jest.

Does that mean we can go back to ruining football?

Time for Baba's chance against a real team

Play the subs and youth for players that need rest. PSG is far more important at this point. We need to be sharp for that one.

They may not want to pay him €9m a year though