Cosmin

I don't understand why we're looking for scapegoats. Everyone is underperforming. This guy was sidelined for a lot of games and now you expect him to be a world beater? What this team lacks is confidence.

The player's won't step up, once again, as the relationship between them and Conte is clearly broken. I do not think it's intentional, but mentally it's difficult to give your best as long as your manager keeps suggesting that the squad is not good enough. I love Antonio and I am 100% sure that I'll miss him, but he definitely lost the plot. You cannot win with this attitude. Not against Chelsea's board, not in the Premier League. Last season, he was enthusiastic and did his job with the resources that he had. When he noticed that something was not working, he changed the system, he tried to make things better with the players that were available at that point. This season, he just keeps complaining. I can see why the players seem lost.

In all fairness, he did warn us about a “Mourinho season”.

He basically conceded 10 goals in the last 6 days.

Well done, Watford. I am done with this. Overrated cunts “playing” or “managing” like teenage kids and getting paid shitloads of money. I am not following this shit anymore.

Anyone knows Carlo’s number? Asking for a friend...

Losing my patience with this total lack of ideas. Can’t fool the game forever.

This club just loves drama, doesn't it? The managers, the fans, everyone loves it.

Funny how the guy who did this didn't even botter to check the hands.

Welcome to the Bridge, OG!

Don Balon

Gotta make it to the Talk Chelsea forum somehow.

So we'll go with the false #9 formation. Can't Giroud play two games in 24 hours?

Fair enough. You are probably right.

Just to make it clear, I agree with Henrique about the timings, but I do not agree with him about who is to blame. Things started to get messy once the Costa situation escalated in the media, but the club should've taken Conte's side. Which might seem to be what it did, but I am not 100% convinced. It just wasn't the same after that anymore. I am a big supporter of Antonio just like I was for every Chelsea manager, including Benitez. But just to be realistic, I cannot see him staying once this season ends.

No. I only agreed with the fact that that was the moment when the mess started. I didn't blame Conte for it.

I do not understand why you're being so defensive about this. I am not criticizing Conte, I'm just stating the facts. His relationship with the club is broken and I think he will leave in the summer. I am not saying it's his fault. Because it's not. It's just how Chelsea FC seems to work.

Apparently, the club backed Conte, but there were reports that Abramovich was not happy at all with the way he handled things. And yes, I agree with you. Antonio is a great great manager, but what I'm concerned about is his emotional involvement in the job. Can't see the same passion as last season. He's not jumping around anymore, not hugging the fans and so on. I think he gave too much last season and has now ran out of energy. Also, there seems to be a miscommunication between him and the club. You can just feel the tension. I'm afraid he also lost interest and he just want to finish the job as a professional. Can't see him here for the next season, evey if I wish that will happen.

Even if he's a critic of Conte, I kind of agree with what he said. The relationship between Conte and the club started to deteriorate after that episode. However, I also agree that he was right. But this is how things seem to be working at this club.

It's remarkable how things have changed since we won the League. We had the momentum, but we failed to manage the situation properly. Now everyone seems to be in a better position than us. City - at least one level above Chelsea, in terms of money, in terms of philosophy United - seem to get along with their manager quite well, just extended his contract and signed another superstar; Arsenal - are trying to sign some decent players and seem to have become our Nemesis; Liverpool - they keep brining in good prospects and giving their manager credit; Spurs seem to be the only ones that lost their momentum as well. We are clearly not going to create a club philosophy. We'll just have one good seasons, followed by a mediocre one, then by a shitty one, then by a good one again. We will keep chaning managers, keep a good financial balanc and try winning a trophy once in a while. However, since the others will actually make progress, it's gonna be more and more difficult for us to compete. To be honest, I cannot see either Hazard or Courtois extending their contracts. We are very much at risk of turning into a 4-6th place club. And it's gonna be very very difficult to get out of that zone.

@manpe - I think his point is that even if Dzeko is quality stuff, the move is made too late. We needed a solid backup striker since the beginning of the season.

A change of environment can perform miracles.

Maybe that's what we actually need. What I really didn't like about Costa was the fact that we used to come wide most of the time, even if his technical ability was poor. I see Morata trying to pick up balls for himself as well and failing miserably. How about using a target man and leaving the wingers do the wingers' job? I'd welcome Dzeko.

Arsenal are for Man City and United what Southampton are for Liverpool. And Tottenham for Real Madrid. And Liverpool for Barcelona. Bunch of losers.

Haha! Didn't you hear the latest news? The Earth is flat, mate.