Vesper

Enzo Fernandez has dropped a worrying hint over his Chelsea future as he’s admitted he would “love” to live in Madrid amid rumours linking him with the Spanish giants - full story here! Cole Palmer is “likely” to want to leave Chelsea this summer amid links with Manchester United. (Julien Laurens, Sky Sports)

Until I see a legit source I am calling bullshit on that quote.

Chelsea attackers’ player ratings from 2025/26 season so far https://www.thechelseachronicle.com/news/rating-Chelsea-attackers-2025-26-season-so-far-10-10-joao-pedro-but-poor-scores-for-wingers/ Alejandro Garnacho: 4/10 Far from the most popular signing, Alejandro Garnacho has struggled to nail down a regular starting position since arriving from Manchester United in the summer. The winger has looked promising on occasion off the bench, a role he started to perform his best in when he was at Old Trafford too. Given the fact the club had a complete reshuffle of the left-wing position over the summer, it is disappointing to see there have been no improvements so far. Jamie Gittens: 3/10 After starting the first league game of the season, Jamie Gittens is still awaiting his first Premier League goal since joining Chelsea. Gittens has been tipped to shine under Liam Rosenior, however a hamstring injury has kept him out of action for a prolonged period of time. There is clearly quality there. An outstanding goal against Wolves in the Carabao Cup is proof of that, but Chelsea need to start seeing it more when he returns. Photo by Giuseppe Maffia/NurPhoto via Getty Images Estevao Willian: 9/10 One of the rare pieces of strong recent business from the club, Estevao Willian is a star for the present and the future. The Brazilian lifts the Stamford Bridge crowd every time he gets the ball, and brings creativity that has been missing for so long in the front three. Both Enzo Maresca and Rosenior have been keen to protect Estevao, but it is time to unleash him as a regular in the starting side. Pedro Neto: 5/10 Pedro Neto is often one of the first names on the teamsheet for Chelsea, but he does not do enough with his minutes to warrant this. Neto hasn’t scored since the start of December in the Premier League, after an initially hot start to the campaign. The Portugal international is a frequent source of frustration for Chelsea fans. While he is sometimes unfairly treated, he has not lived up to expectations in recent months. Joao Pedro: 10/10 One of the best signings Chelsea have made in a long time. Joao Pedro is scoring regularly and playing well to go with it. Despite not necessarily being an out-and-out striker, the Brazil international is the closest thing fans have seen to Didier Drogba since the great man’s departure. Chelsea’s business with Brighton has turned out to be very successful, and Pedro is the latest positive addition from the Seagulls. Liam Delap: 2/10 Chelsea were praised for shrewd business when they signed Liam Delap from Ipswich Town, however it has so far been a nightmare move for all parties. He has just three goals in all competitions since joining before the Club World Cup, and struggled when given the rare chance to start. It already looks as if the writing is on the wall regarding his future, with Chelsea chiefs having internal doubts about Delap just months into his career. Marc Guiu: 3/10 The Spaniard is very much third choice when it comes to Chelsea striker, being recalled from a loan at Sunderland right at the start of the season. He has found the net in the Champions League and FA Cup, but opportunities have been few and far between for him at Stamford Bridge. With the incoming arrival of Dastan Satpaev and Emanuel Emegha would also suggest that Guiu is primed for a move away from the club.

these 2 will never happen, but I would be overjoyed if they did: Chelsea are plotting an ambitious summer move for the Tottenham Hotspur defender, Luka Vuskovic. (CaughtOffside) Chelsea are preparing a summer move for the Nottingham Forest midfielder Elliot Anderson. (CaughtOffside)

Barca, unless they sell a lot of their meh players or at least one or two of their quality players, cannot affored Bastoni

Read the room and stop insulting our intelligence with these pathetic briefings Chelsea fans reacted as fully expected yesterday https://siphillipstalkschelsea.substack.com/p/read-the-room-and-stop-insulting Pretty much every single Chelsea fan I know now can see straight through the bulls**t. Every single Chelsea fan I know is sick and tired of how our club is being ran from top to bottom. I’ve never seen them in such unison over this, I seriously mean that. I actually think this next protest might have some legs… In the last couple of weeks, I’ve even seen the most positive and the most glass half full Chelsea fans I know, finally turn. They’ve finally cracked and finally had enough after keeping some sort of hope with this project, somehow. But I honestly mean it when I say how big it is to finally see this small collection of match-going fans who I personally know, lose hope. This is the fan who I am talking about in particular, a pal of mine. Check his posts, he’s THE most positive Chelsea fan I know and has been clinging on to hope for a long time. Well, not anymore…. And then, on top of all of that, we get a bunch of pathetic briefings sent out by the club to attempt to tell us that everything is good, they know what they’re doing, and we’re moving in the right direction. My first response to the latest crap I read yesterday was ‘read the f*****g room people!!’ You honestly think that a single Chelsea fan is going to swallow briefed nonsense from the media this week? Really? You really think it’s just not going to get people even more angry and against you? You really think this is not insulting fan intelligence yet again? If you think any of that, then you need to god damn reality check. Some of it was even just pretty much a copy and paste brief. It’s absolutely laughable! We were told to judge them after four transfer windows, now we’re basically being told to judge them after this summer window. What on earth is going on!? So many Chelsea fans have checked out right now. It’s a sad state of affairs. I just want my club back. It’s making me fall out of love with the game.

FAN VIEW: Chelsea owners are losing everyone even the optimists 'Their arrogance makes everything much worse' https://siphillipstalkschelsea.substack.com/p/fan-view-Chelsea-owners-are-losing I think this is actually a very balanced fan view and is also a real taster of what I’d say as many as 99% of our fan base are feeling about the club right now. Chelsea’s owners have pretty much lost an entire fan base, even those who were holding on to some hope and positivity. Community member on this site, Matt Kirk, I find to be one of the most balanced voices around in the entire fan base. And he even admits that like me, he has tried to be positive. But enough is enough. Matt wrote on the live blog earlier this week, which gained attention as the top comment: “I can’t remember seeing the fanbase so unanimously disgruntled at the ownership/directors. They’re losing everyone even the optimists. Their arrogance makes everything much worse. No humility or accountability. Briefs that insult fan intelligence. I think if there was a level of transparency and decency people would be more forgiving. “I try to see the positives but I can’t remember feeling so deflated about the club and its direction. Clearlake are too stubborn to change. Which leaves us with Todd Boehly who lines up with some values but has gone MIA whilst not helping the situation.” And it’s not just on this site that fans are feeling this way. CFCDaily conducted some scathing polls on X this week. With almost 8,000 voters: 53% want the owners to sell up 42% want them to change the model 5% want them to keep the model And with the Sporting Directors: 93% want them SACKED 7% would keep them And Liam Rosenior: 82% would SACK him now 18% would keep him Very scathing indeed. To sum up with Matt’s comments, it’s pretty much what I said in my article yesterday about the Chelsea fan base collectively having enough, even the most optimistic ones, with the example I gave yesterday. Anyway, we’re going into a weekend of international football now. So maybe I’ll have the weekend to calm down and try and find some sort of hope again going into these final games of the season. We’re one point off the Champions League places and in for a decent shout of advancing further in the FA Cup. Things to play for, I will get some positivity back ahead of these games, don’t worry. But for now, it’s gloomy.

Never mind Eden Hazard, Chelsea haven't replaced Diego Costa, Thiago Silva, Nemanja Matic, Petr Cech, and MANY more.... We could go on all day https://siphillipstalkschelsea.substack.com/p/never-mind-eden-hazard-Chelsea-havent Chelsea have some decent players in our squad right now, let’s be clear about that. Some of these players have the potential to become world class stars. However, the problem is what is missing from the squad alongside the average squad fillers we have been signing. I saw an article this week with Liam Twomey of The Athletic saying that Chelsea have never replaced Eden Hazard. And of course, that is correct. But there are so many other key players we’ve had over time that we have failed to replace, and of course, that’s not all on the current owners as many of these could have and should have been replaced much sooner. “Hazard would not always contribute a decisive goal or assist for Chelsea,” Twomey wrote. “He would, however, more often than not be in uncontroversially the best player on the pitch in a Premier League match, and the unequivocal focus of attention for both teams as long as he was out there.” He added that Chelsea got £100m for his sale, but “have still never managed to replace his unique genius.” How do you even replace Eden Hazard? He was one in a million. I think the closest we got was our interest in Rayan Cherki. And no, before anyone says anything, I’m not saying he is another Hazard or anything. But he’s the kind of flair difference maker we don’t have in our squad and has that similar maverick style about him that Hazard had. But yes, I agree, we haven’t replaced Hazard. Maybe Estevao Willian will be spoke about in the same breath in years to come, but he’s still young, still learning, and has a way to go yet. Chelsea lack a presence up top, and a presence at the back. We haven’t replaced Thiago Silva, and we haven’t replaced Diego Costa. We also haven’t replaced Petr Cech. Wow, that’s going back a long way to find our last consistently top keeper over time. Edouard Mendy was there for a bit but not long enough. Others have come and gone. Thibaut Courtois would have been the one but he got itchy feet. We don’t have any dominant defenders like Silva. Joao Pedro could come close to being our next big thing up top. But he still doesn’t quite have the presence that Costa and Didier Drogba had. We need more of an aerial presence in both boxes. And in midfield, we’ve still not replaced Nemanja Matic. Yes, Moises Caicedo is a great interceptor, but it’s still not the dominant and physical 6 that Matic was. It’s the presence in there that we still lack. This is NOT a criticism of Caicedo, I just still think he’s more of a box-to-box centre midfielder rather than a restricted 6. I still think we lack that type of midfielder in our squad with a real physical presence. Did we replace Ashely Cole with Marc Cucurella? Some will say yes, maybe. Others will say not even close. Cucurella has been decent, but he’s not been on the same level as Cole, let’s be honest. Legends are rare, and the game changes. So profiles change, tactics change. We have to take that all in to account here and not expect to ever create carbon copies of Chelsea teams that have been successful in the past. But to me, it’s more about presence; we lack their presence and what they bought to the squad. We lack their quality over all. We cannot replace a whole team of our best ever players, that’s unrealistic and impossible. But we should be looking at some of these players and the attributes they had, and looking to bring that in again.

Chelsea will absolutely look at Antonio Silva for £15m I smell an opportunity.... https://siphillipstalkschelsea.substack.com/p/Chelsea-will-absolutely-look-at-antonio Chelsea bloody love a good opportunity, don’t they? Well, they may well get one this summer. Antonio Silva for £15m anyone? Apparently that is a possible scenario for the summer. Florian Plettenberg from Sky Germany reported: ‘António Silva could move in the summer, although SL Benfica want to extend his contract beyond 2027. ‘The market is being explored, and there is also concrete interest from Bundesliga clubs. ’Estimated price valuation: around €15-25 million.’ So, around £15m in sterling. That’s very cheap for such a player. Chelsea will absolutely look at this situation, I know that without even checking in on it. Silva has been on our defender shortlist for some time and they have even made recent approaches for him. They’ve been scouting him heavily for at least two seasons now, and he’s a player that they like. He also fits their ‘project’ as he’s only 22-years-old, and signing him for such a tiny fee would present HUGE profit margins when they sell him in the future at whatever point that might be. His current contract expires in 2027, so I imagine that is why he might be so cheap. Although, it smells of a new contract coming if I’m completely honest. Silva is a decent defender, he has a lot to like about him. But I’m not sure he really cries out ‘this is what we need to get back to the top’ though… I do like him though. He has leadership, can be dominant, 18 caps for Portugal so fairly decent experience now, and he certainly has a bit about him at just 22. Thoughts?

Everton (my add: and Nottingham Forest) exploring legal options over lack of sporting sanctions against Chelsea https://www.theguardian.com/football/2026/mar/25/everton-exploring-legal-options-over-lack-sporting-sanctions-against-Chelsea Everton are exploring a possible legal challenge against the Premier League for its handling of Chelsea’s undisclosed payments sanction. The club are understood to be preparing to write to the Premier League requesting a formal explanation for its failure to take any sporting sanctions against Chelsea, with their legal options also being considered. Chelsea were fined £10.75m and given a suspended transfer ban by the ­Premier League last week after ­reporting £47.5m of hidden ­payments to agents and players made over a seven‑year period, a ­punishment the rest of the top-flight clubs regarded as lenient. Executives from ­several clubs have contacted Richard ­Masters, the Premier League chief executive, and the chair, ­Alison ­Brittain, ­asking for ­clarity on the terms of their agreed settlement with Chelsea, with Everton con­sidering taking matters further. Everton feel particularly aggrieved as they were docked eight points ­during the 2023-24 season for two separate profit and ­sustainability regula­tions breaches, whereas sporting sanctions do not appear to have been considered in the Premier League’s punishment of Chelsea. Everton could also still receive a further punishment as a result of their PSR breaches as they are the subject of a compensation claim from Burnley, who demanded £50m at an arbitration hearing last autumn on the basis that they were relegated from the Premier League during the 2021-22 season, when Everton were found to have breached PSR. Nottingham Forest are also unhappy with the Chelsea ­sanction as they were docked four points in 2023‑24 for a PSR breach. ­Forest ­officials are understood to have held talks with Everton this week about ­joining forces to challenge the ­Premier League, but have yet to come to a firm ­decision. As a first step, the two clubs are likely to write to the Premier League ­requesting a formal ­explanation for Chelsea’s punishment and the process behind it, a move that would have some ­support from other clubs. There are concerns throughout the top flight that the Chelsea ­decision could set a precedent before the verdict on Manchester City’s 115 charges of ­breaching financial fair play. City deny those charges. Arsenal and Totten­ham, along with Manchester United and Liverpool, instructed lawyers to reserve their right to sue for compen­sation two years ago if City are found guilty in a case being heard by an indepen­dent tribunal, rather than the Premier League itself, as in the Chelsea case. The Premier League is believed to have explained Chelsea’s punishment on the grounds that it felt it would have been unable to secure a conviction without their co-operation, so negotiated from the outset. Chelsea’s current ownership of Clearlake Capital and Todd Boehly reported the offences, 36 ­undisclosed payments between 2011 and 2018 which helped the club to buy ­players such as Eden Hazard, Nemanja Matic, David Luiz, Willian and ­Ramires, which they discovered during the negotiations to buy the club from Roman ­Abramovich four years ago. As a result the new ­owners received a £150m discount from the sale price agreed with ­Abramovich to cover any related future liabilities, and the ­Premier League will be paid from those funds. Everton and Forest are both ­taking legal advice, with any challenge likely to be based on claims that the Premier League has been inconsistent in applying its own rulebook. There is no mention of the concept of “sporting advantage” in the Chelsea ­judgment despite the fact that the club won eight trophies, ­including two Premier League titles, during the period when the payments were made. The Everton and Forest PSR judgments, in contrast, make repeated references to the ­sporting advantage accrued from their overspending. Everton and Nottingham Forest declined to comment.

NFL (National Football League): As of August 2024, the NFL allows PE firms to purchase up to 10% of a team, with firms having to hold the investment for at least six years. NBA (National Basketball Association): Private equity firms can own up to 20% of a single team, and total institutional ownership in one team cannot exceed 30%. By 2026, firms can own stakes in up to eight teams. MLB (Major League Baseball): In 2019, MLB was the first to allow PE; they cap individual firm ownership at 15% of a team, with 30% aggregate institutional ownership. NHL (National Hockey League): Similar to the NBA, the NHL allows PE firms to purchase minority stakes. MLS (Major League Soccer): Permits private equity investment to minority stakes, with funds restricted from holding board seats or voting control.

Elliot Anderson and Bruno Fernandes’ stats are insane

If we lose this we have a real shot at not winning a single game the rest of the season. Hell, even if we win this that still may be true, especially with the puppet.

I absolutely want to add some 'do NOT sell YET' names: Mike Penders (obviously and he had bloody well best be here next season) Josh Acheampong (CRMINALLY underused) Mamadou Sarr (he gets all of next season to show what he can do here) Aarón Anselmino (he gets all of next season to show what he can do here) Jorrel Hato Malo Gusto (he is a real quality RB) Roméo Lavia (next seaason is deffo his last chance) Dário Essugo Andrey Santos then the 3 (so far) newcomers Geovany Quenda Dastan Satpaev (he needs to go out on loan) Emmanuel Emegha (he gets one year here, max of two, to see what he can do) Moisés Caicedo obviously MUST be kept above all others same for Estêvão and João Pedro Reece James is going nowhere and we need to see IF Levi Colwill will ever recover those all above are added to the only others ones who are NOT on the SELL NOW list: If these 4 below want to leave, let them (HAS to be for a great price) we cannot keep unhappy players Cole Palmer Enzo Fernández Pedro Neto Marc Cucurella any player not listed here SELLLLLL NOWWWWWWW

we had ALL best hope that Penders is soon on that list or we are hyper rat-fucked these BlueCo cunts are never going to buy Diogo Costa (the only truly world class GKer remotely available who is in the BlueCo buy zone age range) and it gets worse as half the board want to keep Penders at Strasbourg next season and roll with fucking Sanchez and Jörgensen again (I would wager that rotter Ben Roberts is in that camp, and probably Winstanley, Stewart, and Shields.

Behdad Eghbali HAS to admit Chelsea's football structure has failed - Ruthless action is required Its non negotiable at this point, Behdad Eghbali needs to admit its failing and take action https://siphillipstalkschelsea.substack.com/p/behdad-eghbali-has-to-admit-chelseas We’re at a point now where it’s beyond making all the arguments about the ownership and direction of the club. It’s very clear the way we’re run, the football structure, roles of different people in the set up and quality of the talent in those roles isn’t good enough, and isn’t working. We’re 6th in the PL and won 8 of our last 19 PL games. We’ve lost 4 games in a row, 3 of them by a big scoreline. Players look unhappy and low on confidence and motivation. Half our squad are showing they aren’t good enough, despite £1.6 billion being spent on it. We’re on course for a lower league position and less points than last season. Regardless of issues like fatigue and injuries, I think any rational person looking at that situation can tell something is drastically wrong. This isn’t success, after nearly 4 years, it looks like failure. I’m still a strong believer in the overall strategy of signing elite young talents and building a title winning team with them. PSG have shown this can be achieved successfully. The difference, as we all know, is PSG have a better structure, and better qualified and more capable people executing that strategy. They have an elite Sporting Director in Luis Campos, and an elite head coach in Luis Enrique, and they work together to build the squad and the culture at the club without interference. Which brings me to the issues at Chelsea - and some possible solutions. Now I know these solutions are unlikely to happen, I’m not delusional. But I really want to demonstrate how its not as difficult to solve the problems as some seem to think. What it requires is co-owner Behdad Eghbali - who I believe does want to win with Chelsea - to stop being so stubborn, admit its not working, and be ruthless and decisive in making change. And being real, that’s unlikely. But nevertheless, here it goes. At Chelsea, I believe we have fundamental issues with our footballing structure and the roles and powers of the head coach and Sporting Directors. The role of the head coach is merely a facilitator of the Sporting Directors strategy, with a ton of micromanaging, interference, and managers not having much say in recruitment or squad building. There’s also a perceived culture of arrogance, lack of accountability and no responsibility. The Sporting Directors appear to claim credit for any positive achievement, and concurrently refuse to be accountable or responsible for anything negative or any failure. This seems to have seeped down to the players too, with no one standing up to be counted when things get difficult and an arrogance against sides they deem to be beneath them, just showing up and expecting to win. We’ve seen it against Leeds, Burnley, Wrexham and even against Everton, as well as Quarabag earlier this season. It’s simply unacceptable for Chelsea Football Club. This toxic culture and poor performance from people employed by the club, has to end for us to be competitive again. Chelsea for me and many others, has always been about courage, character, everyone coming together, fighting for each other and the badge, against all odds, never giving up. It’s about community and family being together and fighting till the end, and even if we lose, to do it with pride, heart and courage. And I don’t see that at all at the club right now. Change is absolutely necessary. Wholesale change, from the top. Behdad and Clearlake aren’t going anywhere. Any attempt to force them out is pointless. So we have to try and persuade them to make the changes needed. I still believe they want to win, but I am and have been convinced for some time, they don’t know how to win - but think they do. They’re convinced their way is best, and will ultimately deliver success. They seem to think the people running the football side are doing a great job, when the evidence is clear to me and many of us that this is simply not the case. In my view, well over £600m has been wasted on players who aren’t good enough - and if even half of that waste had been spent well, chances are we’re comfortably in the top 3 right now. Not to mention the unhealthy club culture set from the top, and poor treatment of certain individuals employed by the club. Paul Winstanley and Laurence Stewart had never worked at a big club and never held a Sporting Director position before Chelsea. That’s the reality. They weren’t and aren’t proven best in class in those roles, and have proven not to be so multiple times since being appointed. They’ve been at the club nearly 3 and a half years, spent £1.6 billion, hired 3 managers and we’re no further forward in terms of results and status as a club. In fact, given now mathematically we can only match last season’s points total - and we won’t win every game - we’ve literally regressed as a team in terms of our league position and points. There’s simply no legitimate metric where you can see progress. (No, winning XG every game doesn’t count). They’ve signed multiple players who we now need to move on, way too many to account for any average of failures in the market which all clubs have. They’re poor negotiators, losing out on way too many players we should have secured. They’ve had a long time to prove themselves, to improve and been paid very well to do it. Their history before Chelsea means they will undoubtedly find other jobs. Winstanley for example has had interest from elsewhere. It’s time to accept that their time is up and move them on. Winstanley I think needs to leave completely. Stewart could be moved to oversee the multi club model, which is his area of expertise and experience. Then we need to be bold. This will require some humility in admitting the way we’ve done things hasn’t worked and we’re willing to change the structure and how we operate and a commitment to change. Although I’ll preface this by saying that in reality it’s unlikely, almost impossible for it to happen, and I know this. But humour me for a moment. Identify a proven elite Sporting Director. Just for arguments sake, the former Man City Sporting Director Txiki Begiristain. If Behdad is ambitious and serious, I’d advise aggressively recruiting him, or someone of his level to become CEO of Football for BlueCo and Head of Recruitment at Chelsea. Make him an offer he can’t refuse. Give him full power and authority over football decisions at Chelsea, to implement the ownership strategy of building to win trophies with young talent. But doing it well, like PSG, rather than how we’ve done it so far. Let him appoint his own manager and Sporting Director, who he can work with to collectively build an elite squad, with manager input, no micromanaging, full collaboration between him, Sporting Director and head coach, and build a winning culture. Behdad Eghbali could theroetically still have an influence in terms of strategy and budget, even discussions on football, but he needs to leave the big football decisions to the experts. Best in class experts, not our current staff. If the club make an appointment like Txiki Begiristain, respected globally in football, a serious operator with a track record, and are ruthless with the people who are failing at Chelsea, it’s a statement of intent. It shows the ownership are willing to admit they’ve made mistakes and are willing to learn from them, that standards being shown at Chelsea right now are simply not good enough, and to me sends a clear message they’re committed to winning. That kind of appointment and statement could even convince players to stay, it could convince an elite manager to join us (or at the very least a highly talented, proven young manager), and even convince some top players to join us even with the Europa League or Conference League. It will also send a message to our players that the current culture is over, and that we’re now serious about being an elite club and winning, and there are now higher standards. Finally of course, it calms the fans and might buy the owners a little more time. Letting a truly elite, top sporting director and a new coach work together to handle the squad building would change everything. I think it would create momentum and focus at the club, and clear direction of travel. It will still be a long way back and there’s a lot of work to do, regardless. It will take time, ups and downs and hard work to get where we want to be. Which brings me to the managerial situation. I’ve always been an advocate for patience and stability, with an elite manager. I do hope now, after what’s happening with Liam Rosenior, that our fanbase see that maybe it’s better not to get rid of a successful talented manager like Enzo Maresca just because he loses a few games. We have to back them and build with them, involve them in the long term strategy and team building, not micro manage them. If we have an elite manager, we have to be patient with them and back them. There is also, likewise, a time not to be patient with a manager. That is when said manager has shown they clearly are out of their depth and aren’t capable of managing at this level. I’ve never seen such a clear demonstration of this so quickly in my life as Liam Rosenior. I’m always patient with managers but I’ve never seen our entire fanbase, even the most patient ones, turn on a coach so quickly. And I’ve never wanted a manager to leave as quickly as I have Liam Rosenior. In my view, he has to go for the good of the club. Its a shame, as I like him as a person and he is a promising coach. I have a ton of respect for him taking full responsibility publicly for recent results, and going to the fans after the defeat to Everton to take the heat. But in reality, right now he is out of his depth as a coach at Chelsea, and clearly not the right man to take Chelsea forward. The sooner the club recognise that, the better. Liam’s appointment and its failure, is the product of a flawed and failing structure at Chelsea, and a culture of perceived arrogance which appears to excuse failure and avoid taking responsibility. Ironically enough, Liam himself is an exception to this, always taking responsibility for bad performances and defeats. But sadly, he’s got to go as much as those above him do, regardless of what happens in terms of results for the rest of the 25/26 season. If we make the tough choices, hire an elite sporting director, and change the culture and structure of the club and the roles of manager and sporting director, I believe we will find it easier hire a manager more worthy of the club and our ambitions. Personally, I’ve had enough unproven managers who’ve never won a thing and never worked or played for big clubs and won trophies. But realistically, that’s what they’ll go for again. There are two young-ish managers who are an exception to my tiring of young coaches, and I think could do a good job at Chelsea right now, in the right structure. These are Cesc Fabregas of Como, and Filipe Luis, currently unemployed after being bizarrely sacked by Flamengo. Both are ex-Chelsea, both have shown they’re well capable of managing at a competitive level. Cesc Fabregas in particular loves Chelsea and is a winner, who has won at big clubs as a player. He’s loved by the Chelsea fans, knows the demands of big clubs and how to deal with them. He’s done exceptionally well at Como, currently having them in the Champions League places, playing a style of football our current owners love. If the ownership want their own Arteta, an ex-player who can be an elite coach for the long term, Cesc is the prime candidate of this profile of manager. Filipe Luis meanwhile, has been hugely successful as a manager so far. At Flamengo he won several major trophies, even beating Enzo Maresca’s Chelsea in the Club World Cup. His last game in charge before his sacking, he won 8-0. He had talks with BlueCo over Chelsea and Strasbourg in January, so is definitely on our radar. He also has considerable experience as a player, winning trophies at Atletico Madrid, playing for Chelsea in the Premier League and being capped 44 times for the Brazil national team. Yes, he still needs to get one more badge to work in the PL, but you can easily find ways around this, for him to complete the badges If you’re going to go again with a younger long term appointment, make one of those two (Cesc would be my preference) an offer they can’t refuse. Give them influence (though not the final say), change the structure around them (no more micromanaging or undermining of coaches) and hire that elite SD for him to work with. Then back him in the market and listen to him on squad building. Other than that, if you make the changes I’ve suggested, you could try and find a more proven elite manager and put them in charge. It does require Behdad Eghbali to stop being so stubborn. Which, I know, appears almost impossible right now. Other than that, well if you do what I’d do with my top Sporting Director appointment, and change the structure, that makes top coaches more open to working with you. But I’m not going to speculate too much on that until we see what happens in the club in the next few months. Now I know, the chances are none of what I’ve advocated for will happen. I know this, I’m not naive. I know all the arguments as to why this won’t ever happen, and they’re probably right. But the only way I can process whats happening at the club right now is to think about possible solutions. Everything I’m advocating for I think is possible if we were ruthless, competent and decisive. However, I don’t have much faith they are or will be. I’m not living in a fantasy land, I know the reality. But I need to at least have in my own mind a way out of this mess, and I don’t think as its as difficult as it seems, if they are just willing to admit failures and make changes. The problem, as always, is the stubbornness of Behdad Eghbali and his unwillingness to change things thus far. What is beyond doubt, is big change and ruthless action is needed at the club. Changing the manager alone won’t change a thing, The problems are far bigger and deeper. Until those problems are acknowledged and tackled ruthlessly, then the fact is Chelsea will stagnate and not make progress in the next few years. Your move Behdad. The Score

Well, along those lines, this absolute turd of a site is now reporting what FOOTBALL MANAGER 2026 says we will do! https://www.3addedminutes.com/sport/football/Chelsea-fc/Chelsea-best-summer-signing-58m-everton-star-bold-prediction-6027414 We looked to Football Manager 2026 to see what Chelsea’s summer transfer window might look like ahead of the 2026/27 season...... 💩

We are quickly reaching the next depth level of shithole-ism in so-called football 'journalism'. Read this sentence: 'GIVEMESPORT asked ChatGPT whether Roefs would be an upgrade on Sanchez for Chelsea.' Wtf!

6 Chelsea players (my add: all but one are pure shit and need to GO anyway!) have already started exploring moves away this summer, with 5 others also in doubt The club will have to work hard to keep some around at the end of this season https://siphillipstalkschelsea.substack.com/p/excl-6-Chelsea-players-have-already I had this information given to me on Friday, but there are many Chelsea players who are exploring moves away this summer. We’ve had information via our top SPTC source that SIX Chelsea players are already exploring moves away from the club this summer, with five others having some doubts over them. There could even be more than the ones we have mentioned as well, these are just the ones we have been given info on for now. According to our top source, Filip Jorgensen, Tosin Adarabioyo, Wesley Fofana, Benoit Badiashile, Enzo Fernandez, and Marc Guiu have all started to explore moves away this summer. This will mean that they have communicated to their agents to start searching for a new club for them come the end of the season. Further to this, there are five other players who have some question marks over their heads and some doubts around their futures. Jorrel Hato has been playing a bit more lately and seems to be being trusted more by Liam Rosenior. However, before this, he hasn’t been happy with the role he has been given. So we’ll see what happens with that one as the rest of the season develops. Marc Cucurella’s salary was increased last year but no extension to the length of contract. Chelsea could look to cash in and replace him this summer and also, Cucurella is exploring his options for the end of the season. Pedro Neto will move on if good offers come in for him. His agent, Jorge Mendes, is on alert for a potential move and it will happen fast if he decides to go and Chelsea decide to sell. Liam Delap we have spoken about in another article today but he’s eyeing a move away. And finally, we can exclusively reveal that Barcelona are in the striker market this summer, and Deco has made calls to the agent of Joao Pedro. Chelsea hold all the cards here of course but Barcelona are courting Pedro. No suggestion he wants out or anything at the moment. Thankfully, the situations of both Estevao Willian and Cole Palmer are quiet for now. But it remains the case that Palmer misses Manchester still and would join Manchester United if they did come calling. Although a move there is seen as unrealistic due to the amount of money it would take. Chelsea see Palmer as indispensable and unsellable. Chelsea will be in the market for a number of new positions to sign in this summer, so there will be a lot of outgoings as well to balance it all up. Unfortunately, we do not know what kind of players and targets we will be going for and able to get in, because a lot of that will rest on whether we get Champions League football or not. Antonio Rudiger was mentioned to me by a source this week, but I personally cannot see that developing for a few reasons.

another new, crazy fucked up thing that some of these shit sites are doing (like Fichajes, of course) they are adding in the total cost of salaries to the transfer fees and using that headline number example: https://www.fichajes.net/noticias/oferta-80-millones-fichar-said-mala-20260321.html Chelsea have burst onto the scene with devastating financial force in the bidding for Said El Mala , the talented 19-year-old striker from Cologne. This strategic move responds to the need to refresh Liam Rosenior's offensive rotation, especially given the imminent departures of key players. With the potential exits of Pedro Neto and Alejandro Garnacho, the management is looking for a dynamic player who can provide immediate attacking impetus and fresh energy. Young Said El Mala has experienced meteoric growth in the last season, rising from the lower leagues to becoming a target for clubs in the British Isles. His ability to create scoring opportunities in the final third of the pitch has made him the most sought-after player in this transfer window. Chelsea's multi-million pound bid to convince Cologne Chelsea has spared no expense and has put forward a financial package worth the astronomical sum of 80 million euros. Of this total amount, approximately 45 million euros would go directly to the German club to finalize the transfer. The remaining €35 million of the offer would cover the player's salary over the next seven seasons of his contract. The aim of the club, chaired by Todd Boehly, is to secure this raw talent with a long-term agreement.

new 'absolute bollocks source' alert Sports Boom absolute fake news rumour mongering shit site also, beware of Fussballdaten a German rumour whore site

It is 40m and the whole 'Chelsea are in for him' thing was bullshit from Fichajes

from 7 years ago

he is a weak puppet of course he will get no respect