Pizy

We couldn’t finish in a brothel.

We are the absolute KINGS at fluffing 1v1’s with the keeper. Feels like we do it at least once EVERY match.

Nice that Fofana is back. Now knock on wood that he doesn’t immediately get injured again. I pray for Kante’s health as well.

Fair. I just mean in terms of financial power and lure for big players. Sporting aren’t a big destination club for players outside of Portugal and aren’t competing for UCL’s. Sporting to Chelsea is a massive leap in expectations and stature. Amorim would be wise to go for an intermediate step rather than a massive jump.

A manager having big club experience is 100% a must after Potter. People like Amorim, Glasner, De Zerbi etc shouldn’t be considered by a club like us at this moment in time. They’ll face the same issues that Potter did. Dropping a coach from a small/financially small club into the deep end with a squad full of players that feel like they’re “bigger” than the coach just doesn’t work at this club. These guys are used to managing teams that are massive underdogs or at a huge financial handicap compared to the big clubs in their leagues. When you suddenly drop them into a club where the supporters expect to win every match and compete for every trophy they could get overwhelmed.

With Conte clearly not in consideration at all, having had a couple of days to think on it it’s either Nags or Poch for me. Enrique, Amorim, Glasner etc are either too risky coming from much smaller clubs for the first time or simply may not be good enough in Enrique’s case. With either Nagelsmann or Poch we at least know that our players will receive top class coaching which they desperately need. Having an idea, having structure.

Tbf to Enrique with the Spain NT, weren’t they very solid leading up to the WC and one of the dark horse choices for many people to make some serious progress in the tournament? He was in a bit of an unenviable position of trying to coach a national team in transition. Having a bunch of older guys from the glory days who are well past their best together with some new players who are nowhere close to as good as the Iniesta, Xavi, David Silva etc days. His Spain side were incredibly boring to watch but I put that down to subpar talent more than his coaching. I’m not really sure how I’d feel about him here.

Something not mentioned about Enrique is that with him being Spanish he may want to keep Kepa around. 🫣

Yeah, not sure if there’s any point watching this. Will probably be more headless chicken football since Bruno will have had zero time to get any plans across and will be scrambling and unable to sleep trying to decide what team to start with. Liverpool’s hopes for 4th are very slim but still possible if they catch fire like they have in recent seasons. So this is a must win for them if they have any chance. After that humiliation against City at the weekend they’ll be up for it. If we go a goal down I think the players will check out and give up.

Spuds may be the worst side ever to finish top 4 come the end of the season. They’re dogshit but keep winning and getting carried by Kane like every season.

Honestly, I’d sign up for tiki taka football as long as we signed a bloody striker in the summer. At least we’d have some structure to our play, patterns that can be repeated game after game, moment after moment in matches. If Enrique is the guy I wouldn’t mind boring Barca style smothering teams with aggressive possession and pressing but we need an elite finisher for that to work. He had prime Suarez as his #9 during those successful years. Not anyone near Suarez’s level available to replicate that here.

I just want a damn manager who has EVERY SINGLE PLAYER on the pitch knowing precisely what their role is and has it pounded into their brains what patterns to play so that it’s second nature. Like City and Arse have. Their players seem to know exactly where to be and exactly which passes to play all the time. Basically a maniacal, micro-manager type guy who is obsessed with perfection on the pitch. No more passive, quiet, puzzled looking guys. Nagelsmann seems to be that from what I’ve seen.

So many conflicting reports. Reliable English guys saying we most likely won’t be making a quick appointment and will wait until summer, reliable Euro guys saying Nagelsmann could come in quickly. I tend to think it’ll be the latter. The timing is way too aligned with Nagelsmann becoming available. If we want to give ourselves ANY chance against Madrid we cannot go into that tie with an interim coach with zero experience. On the other hand, what if something mad happens at the end of the season and a world class manager suddenly becomes available? Like, what if Liverpool have a totally shambolic finish to the already shit season they’re having and he decides his cycle there has come to an end? Sure it’s an extreme long shot, but it may be wise to wait.

On the one hand it makes sense to get Naglesmann in immediately if that’s who the board sees as their guy. But waiting until the end of the season opens up the coaching search to managers who are actually employed currently and may be tempted by a new challenge. You never know if some big name manager may fancy working with our ridiculous squad. What if someone totally unexpected becomes possible in the summer?

Gun to my head I’d probably rather Poch than Naglesmann because as stated he’s “safer.” Nags I could see being brilliant or a deer in the headlights like Potter who is shell shocked about what he’s experiencing.

It’s clearly going to be Naglesmann. I’m content with that but not really excited. I desperately want Chelsea to appoint a coach who when before they even arrive you know what sort of football and philosophy to expect. I have no clue what Naglesmann’s style or characteristics are since I haven’t watched German football. His Bayern side pretty effortlessly brushed aside some massive teams in this seasons UCL, but apparently he’s been mediocre in a shit Bundesliga. Is he an upgrade on Potter? Probably. Is he someone who I look at and think “thank God, we have a proper manager who will have us competing at the top again?” Not really.

We’d be insane to consider Zidane who hasn’t done a thing outside of those mentality monster Real Madrid sides. He’d be an even riskier appointment than Potter was. I wasn’t even convinced about what he actually did at Real Madrid where he just stood on the touch line not doing much. Don’t think he’d consider us either, tbf. He wants to land at another cushy, low pressure job I think.

Naglesmann has huge upside and potential but also big risk. Enrique has everything to prove outside of Spain and is a big risk. Poch has been away from management for 2 years now and would be a risk to come in this late into the season. There isn’t really a sure fire, obvious guy out there that we can say with certainty will succeed. Except for Conte, imo. But I sadly can’t see our board wanting that drama.

Had to happen. Good on the owners for acting. Good man, wrong club at the wrong time. He won’t struggle at all to land another PL job. Blindingly obvious that Naglesmann will be our new manager with the Vivell connection. But I hope we at least kick the tires on some of the other candidates. Poch, Conte, Enrique. Do an exhaustive interview process.

What Eddie Howe is doing at Newcastle makes what we’re doing look even more humiliating. Our squad is miles and miles more talented than theirs. We literally have a better player in every single position on the pitch and a bench any given day that’s probably better than their starting XI. And yet they’re being coached so well that they’re years ahead of schedule in their project. It’s a shambles that he’s still employed now. Are we waiting for one more humiliating result against Liverpool to act? Embarrassing ourselves on the global stage against Real Madrid? Or is there no low that’s too low and he’s 100% safe no matter what?

Arse were also in the mud for like 10 years when they appointed Arteta. They were in the wilderness and a laughing stock. It was easier for the club to go for a rebuild from the ground up and build the team up gradually. We just recently won the Champions League and have a squad that’s MUCH further along than what Arteta started with. So the expectations from Chelsea supporters were much higher. Arteta even in his first couple of mediocre seasons at least showed spells of progress and won a couple of minor trophies. Potter’s flashes have been the odd individual match. Nothing sustained.

It seems I’m the only one who wants it but….Conte is right there… 😔 A manager who connected well with the supporters, is a serial winner when backed in the market, and knows the club/league well. I really don’t see the downsides. Tottenham was the last club in Europe for a manager like him who demands the highest standards. This squad we have needs an authoritative figure who will push them and demand top performances. Not a passionless amateur like Potter who wants to be every player’s favorite uncle.

More I read about Naglesmann the more I’m skeptical about whether he is the right choice. He couldn’t be worse than Potter but hard to say he’d be what we need long term.

Typical bullshit quotes I’m reading from Potter. Same thing he says after every embarrassing defeat. “Lads gave their all, lots of positives, we’ll make things right etc…” Fuck off. This is the sort of shit the manager of a tiny club with zero resources talks after he gets beaten heavily by one of the big boys. Potter talks this shit after almost every game. Get him out of here!

There’s a world class back 3 coach sitting on the market right now in Conte who has dreamed of having an owner who will match his ambitions. We have a squad (minus the striker currently) tailor made for Conte. We’ve got world class wingbacks, some world class midfielders, and pace to burn with multiple attackers. Give him this summer window to get 2-3 handpicked players in and we will challenge for every trophy. If not him get Naglesmann before Spuds do.