Mhsc

I am sorry they are bottlers plain and simple. It was there to be taken but they didn't have it in them at all. I thought the J. Pedro incident was a pen but other than that, we were just playing a teasing game of almost being dangerous without actually being dangerous. Wonderful goal from City and deserved winners, overall no complaints from me. Happy that it was only 1-0 and we didn't embarrass ourselves. Much change needed next year.

Lack of quality / confidence, we are the new bottlers of the PL, amazing how we've almost fully become the Arsenal of 10 years ago, while they've almost fully become the Chelsea of 10 years ago.

Checked and cleared... in real time didn't look a pen to me but not seen a replay

No real surprise for me, the team with a wide variety of consistent, clinical and calm goal scorers scores against team without a single one. Hopefully we can find a way to sneak one, but it has never really looked that likely unless we can win a pen.

Trafford looks nervy af but we're putting him under no pressure

An obvious pen, guy on the bbc saying its shoulder to shoulder, who are these idiots? It doesn't matter if you're shoulder to shoulder if you wipe a player out using your legs and without getting the ball. Its a clear foul that any unbiased person can see immediately. Otherwise its literally impossible to play football and we'll just spend 90 minutes kicking the shit out of each others shins.

Yes in some ways true. Thursday night football is also the worst possible schedule and Europa is just about hard enough that we can't send out a literal B team all the time either. That said I imagine most managers (of the calibre we're targeting) also want a shot at winning a Europa league and would fancy themselves favourite to win it with us if we get in which could be a nice pull too (plus it is a very convenient backdoor to CL if you bottle the league)

Villas Boas was hot for a minute as well, including going undefeated in the league and winning a treble. He was fucking shit though and Xabi might be as well. But I'm happy to give it a go. I'd rather hang my hat on someone who's done a bit more over more seasons (e.g. Emery) but we are where we are. I have no idea what happened with him & Real as don't follow it but on blind faith willing to assume mad house situation that wasn't his fault.

Can't cope with another summer of a manager telling us they need time to look at the players and that Rob Sanchez is a great goalie, that we have an excellent squad that should be fighting for all major honours, that they will need time to get their ideas across but that if we're patient the team will stop leaking easy goals and going on endless losing runs. Just give me a straight talking manager that will be clear about what he needs to deliver immediately, give him that, and then hold him accountable if he fails to have us comfortably top 4.

That's what they've been saying since Potter. Same old shit. They've all got to go, had their chance and blown it (repeatedly). I don't mind giving a guy that has fucked up a second chance, but when they've bottled their 2nd, 3rd and 4th chance you've gone way past the moment where it is beyond question they should be moved on and we are easily there with the sporting directors now.

A big pivot into sacking the sporting directors and giving someone like Emery a bunch of control is exactly the kind of change we need if we are going to progress. Never happen tho. That kind of move would indeed be the kind of thing that could get me excited again, but it’s just not going to happen.

Can't even think of a manager that would excite me. The project is dead. We need new owners and new sporting directors to see any real change. Calum may as well run things until then for all the difference it will make.

How have the directors not been sacked? They appointed him.

I am watching at this point purely because of the relevancy for FPL

Has there ever been money wasted in football in quite the way it has been wasted at Chelsea under Blueco? Can't imagine anyone else has fully blown a war chest like this.

Liam out.

Not long til Gary O'Neil takes over

A bottle job which has its routes firmly in the Sporting Directors and owners who have repeatedly failed us, and themselves. Out of cash and even if we had it, who would trust this lot to spend it on the areas we need it spending? I suspect that we are not far from some kind of monumental reckoning, the losses (both financial and on field) cannot continue, this is not an oligarch pet project, in the end a cold VC financial decision will get made and we the fans will pay.

Fofana the invisible man

I think targeting a top striker is just fairy tale stuff, hardly any even exist in modern football and to get one we'll need to get lucky at some point - Liverpool thought they could just go and spend big and get it sorted with Isak... It is not that simple at all. As we ourselves have seen countless times. Overall I am happy with JP there and although we could be better we have scored 48 PL goals so far this year, but we have conceded a similar amount of goals to the teams in 13th-15th. My overwhelming priority for years has been to just get back to being a truly elite defensive side, strong depth of elite CBs+DMs with an elite GK behind is the proven recipe at Chelsea. Arsenal have flagrantly copied our model and shown that it still is the most realistic strategy in modern football unless you've got City level money (and City level willingness to breach the financial rules). It is never surprising to anyone when our PL season goes off the rails because we are building on a foundation made out of fucking wet paper and the whole point of leagues is they brutally expose that. We are a cup team for now.

Stranger things have happened in football. Definitely not a "no way" situation. Everyone else has the fortunate habit of choking as well.

Both had all around bad games in every aspect. No one is saying Palmer is at fault for what Fofana did. Fofana is clearly an idiot and the fact that we are not seeing Sarr play ahead of him already raises serious questions around either Rosenior or the decisions made in January - if Sarr is not good enough to play over him, we should have gone to the market properly. Got called out during the game when I said Palmer is not world class anymore but I'm sorry it is as in our faces as anything can be. Obviously, the guy has struggled with injuries and I feel sorry for what's happened to him - but pity does not mean you just ignore the facts being shoved in your face for 1 year+. He's not the same anymore. Maybe he never will be again. Happened to lots of great players unfortunately. Most likely path is we see flashes from him, occasional great games, instead of consistent brilliance.

Eh? That's just bizarre, of course no one thought that and no idea why you think anyone would have? It looks like we expected and prepared for exactly what we are seeing. We have all the usual problems which are expected from the group, Sanchez/Chalobah/Fofana all of them awkward at playing out from the back and just doing their best at something that isn't really their game. Sarr would help a lot there. Attacking players not shown enough in general too, been in good positions but lack of quality on display often. Caicedo+Neto only people who showed a quick bit of quality in the whole half.

Cole Palmer is just not that guy anymore. He's a pretty good player, but he's not been world class in a couple of years now.

A bit premature imo, the new manager has barely been in the door for 5 minutes and Delap may end up important under him. I am not making my mind up on him until at least the end of the season... If Cucurella and Rob Sanchez can turn it around when used right / given time, I am willing to give Delap a chance as well. He may yet have a useful squad role. He is a different profile to anything else we have had in years.