Vegetable

Good focus from Sanchez, interesting how a small morale boost goes a long way for the entire team. We are starting to switch off as always, but at least it's 35 mins later than usual.

AFAIR Samsung move away as they came to conclusion they don't need any more exposure and pushed some corporate idea that football is controversial and people will avoid them, because they don't like the club. And they didn't really pay us that well, especially compared to Yokohama. There was also the Turkish Airlines thing pretty much sealed, but collapsed last minute. Would be interesting to know what was the actual political and business background behind all this.

The impact of shirt sponsorship is clearly visible in this game

It's a shame there was no time and opportunity to properly sort out the Strasbourg thing first due to mad nature of this takeover. All that "potential" and young, young players policy thing could create a really competitive team in French league and with proper culture and people, could help those players grow and filter the potential-only ones. Meanwhile being thrown from showing some moves in U21 and having potential in Netherlands to Chelsea's first team is a crazy task to bear, as pressure is immense and room for mistake is non-existent. Let aside fact it's a downgrade for the team as a whole and I doubt fans love this move backwards. Would we say any of our players have something to warrant Chelsea move like 2 years ago? Maybe Enzo if the price was right (it wasn't) and Badsman as it's very Marina-esque deal. Owners can try to sell the current situation as exciting and hungry project or whatever, but truth is, a lot of things that are about to happen in next years should have been done on lower levels - some of those guys literally have to learn football and Chelsea's first team is not quite the place for doing it as it may damage either the club and those players.

Finally. But of what I understand we are sponsoring our right hand with our left hand. How worried should we be about it?

Sometimes it feels that neither do people who are responsible and paid for knowing 👀

This is 100% theoretical discussion as since it never happened, so there is no objective truth, only what if. I still feel it's unclear wether we are talking about those players here and now or getting them when they were raw talent btw. I do not believe attempting the same thing 9374274th time, but with different players, and expecting different result, nor do I advocate for CR7. I'm actually advocating for the opposite - building the team that supplements itself and is greater, than sum of it's elements, so something most sane clubs would try to do and what football director exists for, rather than trying to assemble a mixed bag of individual talent. City pre-Haland was pretty much following this "low-key" route, contrary to PSG. City's busts percentage and ours are different ends of spectrum I guess. Our CL-winning team did not contain a singe truly spectacular, wc-class player, but Tuchel somehow made it work, with some blind luck included. Sarri's team was Hazard's one man show, but otherwise also just a decent team. Does anyone currently even think about how our player's individual traits interact with each other, I'm not sure. Eg. we were supposed to be fire after getting Enzo, turned out he lacks Caicedo, now we have both and still nada, so something clearly doesn't click here. If things were that copy-paste easy, our fans favorite team of Sancho, Bakambu, Bailey, Werner, Zaha, Ndidi, Icardi, Wan-Bissaka, half of Lyon and that Israeli GK I can't even locate now would be raising it's 6th CL trophy by now 🤪

Tbh I know that's not what heart calls for, but I doubt we are going for anyone. Who is leaving if we do? Broja for some spare change? Or Jackson/Nkuku after 6 months? We are not paying through the roof and hand out long contracts to flip those players like crazy, esp. when we are not increasing their value but rather opposite. Honorable mention the Washington guy also is somewhere around. And just a reminder Lukaku is still our player. I'd like to have Osimhen somehow, but it's not like De Laurentis is giving us his superstar for 35 million because the fella is offended. And we are not paying 120 million while not even having a shirt sponsor. And having 5-6 players for a single spot is reportedly one of the key reasons of our post-takeover misery. Toney, I don't care, as a Chelsea fan I'm not really into having players banned for betting here.

The current ones or before they've got their big moves ones? Current ones would probably be great to have, but I wouldn't bet my head on it. The only truly high(ish) profile players we've got recently I remember was Lukaku (duh) and KK, who I believed will be absolute goat here. No go. Would Lille Osimhen and Monaco Tchou realize their potential here, like they did in Napoli and Real? I don't remember when such thing happened with us tbh. Werner and Havertz were the next big hot thing, wanted by many clubs at the time and it ended like always. In very recent history the only truly booming players here I can remember are, excluding academy, Kante, Hazard, Mendy and for a short while Rudi, when blessed with Tuchel touch. Statistically we are not great for realizing potential, but if I'm wrong it's a good news, as we've bought 623 players being nothing but potential and some of them even show some actual footballing skill, so maybe we will get a few players, similar to current Tchou and Oshimen from them. Hopefully Hazard wasn't the shot of our scouting department lives and there is more to come.

You never know. Would Salah be the Salah we know, if he stayed here? Easy revisionism to say yes, but I doubt football works this way. If they'd hit the right situation in the right time, yeah, sure, otherwise they could be the stories we've seen plenty in last decade.

I imagine they would be Tammy and Ampadou level players, long forgotten by now, if they would be mangled by the Chelsea soul-sucking machine 👀

Have to admit that when eyeing PL win, FA cup win and perhaps CL win, getting rid of Carobao cup games is actually something desirable. Luckily we don't have such problems 👀

Miracles here, we beat our role models

This is the level of optimism I admire but can't really agree on. I would, if we were actually a mid-table team. World cup or Euro is hardly measure of anything. Thiago is on the late Cahill level of decline and we have finally face it. Our entire previous roster won CL, yet people claimed they are useless. "PL experience" is joke of advatage on this level. Sterling is past it, just like was Auba, Higuain etc. I could probably pick similar cherries even from West Ham or Villa squad, yet they are hardly title contenders. We could point some positives in every roster there was in last 15 years. The thing is, we had good players and ok players usually, now we have some potentially good players and straight up liabilities. We have strikers, who can't fire for their lives. We have wingers, who shouldn't be anywhere near Chelsea ever, hence Chillwell is a winger now. We have shaky backline and no clear starting set up, which is very important for defenders to play together a lot. We have a goalie that seems like a duct tape solution to a problem. Things like cohesion and chemistry are one thing to develop, but truth is that like 23 of those 25 players need to make MASSIVE leap in their footballing skill and experience to even remotely think about top 4 with very little room for error and so far we look like a lot of error tbh. Is it on Pochettino? Nah, I don't think so (yet).

Things are going down quickly

My eyes roll when I see their logo on sidebar, previous 12 months made me absolutely fed up with everything remotely Brighton and it's not even entirely their fault.

If it wasn’t for absolute outrage of fans, I wouldn’t be surprised if Potter was still here. Why You guys think Poch is going anywhere, especially he was chosen after ”long and thoughtful process”, so he is even more marquee Clearlake signing, than Potter was and it’s not like those guys tend to admit their mistakes. They specifically said they will take time to nail the manager choice, so they’d come out as total dummies if he was sacked after 6 months.

Truth is, people are never happy and while some of those players were frustrating to watch, Jorginho was one dimensional, yet quality passer, Willian output was better, than anyone we've got later and only dropped off at the very end, Alonso was universally hated, but so far even his doubtful quality wasn't matched here. People on this board bashing every player, but it doesn't mean they are suddenly Championship quality. Actually, it only happened when a wish of big lot of our fanbase came true, everyone was sold and we have gotten actual non-PL level squad. But the important thing is Tammy, Zouma, Mount or Pulisic had season of their life back then and the important question is how came? Was it just luck, or something else? Giroud was essential when we were struggling in the front line and I'll say it again, it was way too optimistic to let him go. Fabregas situation all over again. Still, that squad was, well, squad. Are we actually balanced and well cooperating team now, I can't say yet.

Yeah, I also feel like it's blown out of proportion as it solely depends on what they are doing there. I doubt there is any trashing going on, as we'd hear about this instantly with this club's excellent control of press leaks under new ownership. If they are trying to give motivational/football talk it's criminal, but if they show up and sell some of their bs like yaya, keep on fighting, we stay strong together, results will come etc there's not much offense in it; It may actually be good that they are trying to show that they are present and engaged in times of anonymous hedge fund ownerships

Given the circumstances, I don't expect anything less than 115+ million football from him, meanwhile I see a man totally lost, which doesn't surprise me at all tbh.

You'd really enjoy the signed shirt from this fella, wouldn't you? 😂

Fun thing is the door is closing very quickly. Not even a year ago, despite lack of results and general mess, we were a team where every manager would like to come. Now Potter, Lamps and Poch are more and more exposing the fact, that, contrary to what owners claim, this project is not "exciting" and "full of potential" at all in it's current form, so we'd have to aim for lower tier managers that provide lower tier product until we'll finally become Brighton as per owner's dream and will be ready to start and EXCITING CAMPAIGN for 10th place and Carobao shield as our biggest success of the decade.

I'd prefer You weren't right, but I'm afraid You might be. The only thing, that gives me hope is that when club was sold, Abramovitch supposedly had a lot of say as to whom it will be sold to secure it's development and avoid exactly that and you don't exactly go and fool someone like Abramovitch with your bs. But if it was just a rumor, then lord help us.

Utterly humiliating once again for I don't know which time over and over. This is a painful flashback from when things went south for Potter - I just can't see what are we trying to do and what is the endgame of the process here. It's just like everybody comes out on pitch with heads down and is like let's see what will come up from this, we'll suffer for this 90 mins, collect the check, rinse and repeat. We got what a lot of people cried for, that is getting rid of "toxic and lazy" players, or in other word, players that posessed actual skill, contrary to the "exciting talent" we have now and where just us unproductive, so nothing has changed. I don't see the hunger and pride people said will come with those young players. With Sarri it was evident from first game what he is aiming for and he wouldn't bite his tongue to say his system won't work if players won't be good enough to execute it. Meanwhile we are back to boys gave everything and lost to a bottom of table for 12th time in the row. Villa lost to way worse team in Europe this very week. Elite team wouldn't even be bothered to beat them, but this detail aside, elite team smells blood and capitalizes on it. Meanwhile we are as useless as ever recently. Is that this excitement and hunger we were promised? I don't buy into the blitz growth talk, because if that was a plan, then what is the point of making 10 steps back first? Blitz growth would be buying the Real Madrid quality players in bulk, not U21 reserves quality players. We look like we might become competitive again in 3-4 years at best. And that is given rotating half of squad every window, because out of those 25 or so "exciting" players maybe 2 will become Chelsea quality IN FEW YEARS and thats optimistic. I won't moan about the red card, because if it was the other way, we would be fuming if it wasn't red. Said it many times, this is exactly why we need experienced players in the mix, otherwise those reds, pk's given and missed chances will come abundant. Fortunately we are not playing any Europe anytime soon, as those players would turn into jelly and things like Tammy's missed penalty would be everyday reality. Sanchez is a downgrade, or rather the emanation of mediocrity our owner's seem to love. He will save some, he will concede some. Goals alone are not a problem. We need mentality boost. Just remember the prime Mendy - this man was freaking wall between the posts. He gave an unreal confidence, that spread forward and took the pressure off our backline, as they knew any potential mistake won't end up in goal 99%. Kante gave us this kind of confidence. Hazard gave us this kind of confidence. Now anyone is just as scared and just as indifferent as each other. We have no player to inspire confidence, no player, who would be a true leader. And I'm afraid Poch is more of a neat PR person, than a leader. I've seen a lot in last 20 years, but this is truly disgraceful, even when we happily headed towards relegation under Mou, things didn't look so bleak.

I said already it when the recruitment was on and Nagelsman dropped off - we laugh off Poch for years as a serial loser in Tottenham and PSG and suddenly started to think he is an elite coach who will transform us. I wanted to be delusional, but I'm starting to lean towards what was obvious from the very beginning. Roman was passionate, demanding and ruthless leader. Clearlake is just indifferent and impose mediocrity on every level. And Poch seems to fit the general indifference. It's like everybody just shows up but then don't give a toss and just see what will come up.