Blue Armour

I didn't say it was impossible. I just said it's more difficult. Which is true. You won't be able to get everyone to come by just paying big bucks. Not everyone is like Mudryk. And sooner or later, Chelsea won't be able to pay those big bucks, the longer it stays out of top European competition. This is the first time in a long time the club has been out of the top European places for back to back seasons.

Yeah. It will be tough to get top talent line up to sign for a club that can offer nothing more than conference league football. For two seasons in a row. Clownlake have seen to that.

If we do sign Duran, I hope Maresca and the club management are aware of his personality., if John McGinn's comments are anything to go by. Said he had quality, but also had a nightmare personality to go with it., which made him tough to work with. We already have a young, immature side, looking at the antics of Jackson & Madueke last season (esp. the fight with Palmer over the penalty). Getting the entire lot to work as a consistent unit, is likely going to be an uphill task for any manager.

Jackson should move into the Anelka role. Playing as winger/pseudo-second striker, like Anelka did in Ancelotti's 433 formation. All we need is a Drogba in the CF position.

Semantics. He came through Cobham is what I meant., and he's been with the club since 2008. And that's BEFORE he even went to Arsenal after rejoining Chelsea. So in my view, definitely MORE of a Chelsea youth product instead of Arsenal. And capitalizing on Chelsea youth is what this new administration is good at. While stockpiling youth from other clubs at fees disproportionate to their performances.

Of course Hutchinson would be transfer listed. Nothing like a quick buck to be made by Clownlake by selling a Cobham youth product.

I really hope all this works out. Not necessarily because I think so, and not because I think Clownlake have it in their capacity to learn. I am just tired of seeing Chelsea going through the motions these past 3 years, moving 2 steps backward with every forward step.

Hope this works out well for him and the club.

I think Sarri comes to mind. And AVB before that. Not saying that Maresca is going to follow any of those examples. Also, I'm going to keep saying Maresca. We have a player called Enzo too, and it's going to confuse people at some point using the first name for both.

Good luck to him, as with any new Chelsea manager. But if we aren't realistically challenging for top four for a 3rd season in a row, screw Clownlake and the two directors they've appointed up top.

This is the real, simple, reason., even if people don't admit it. Last season's shopping window for a new manager should have been indication enough. Remember how managerial candidates kept turning us down before Poch eventually got hired? And why Tuchel was sacked? They just want a subservient yes-man. Ultimately even Poch had enough, and fought back, which is why he's gone. The quality of the manager is a secondary requirement here.

Imagine us taking an eternity trying to break down a parked bus in front of goal. Never seen that before.

Clownlake is probably interested only because the sporting directors have worked with him before. If this doesn't work, this is on them.

I don't like it either., but Spurs got Ange from the Celtic league. Hardly a step up., so it's not unfathomable. Also, Abramovich hired Lampard.

It's clear that Clearlake want a yes-man in charge, namely someone that aligns with their vision of squad-building, and long-term plans for the club. Given all that, would DeZerbi be the right choice for this group? He did fall out with the Brighton ownership. Maybe he won't necessarily run into the same problems he ran into at Brighton, but he has far from a meek-mannered individual like Potter.

For Clownlake, anything prior to their takeover is irrelevant. For them, any improvement from here on out is a massive win. Tbf, a young squad like this needs more games like the conference league to build their experience before challenging in bigger tournaments. Sigh, this new regime has really lowered our expectations as fans.

They've spent on the club to increase its resale value. That's why it's almost always about signing young players with potential, on long-term contracts. They're not bothered by the lack of any near-term success on the pitch. And they want a manager that buys into the same philosophy There's no doubt they intend to make a massive profit in about 7 years time, when its time for them to wrap up and sell the club. And to be fair, why wouldn't they? That's what most club owners are in it for, anyway. Especially a consortium like Clownlake.

Almost impossible, but I hope the 4th mystery candidate is Fabregas. Imagine him throwing a pizza at a journo in the post-match press conference.

I agree. Injury prone is exactly how our club admin likes it.

Injury prone, you say?

They want to do on-pitch coaching too? No wonder we took so long to hire a manager last summer. Their ridiculous list of demands will drive anyone worth their salt away from here.

That's my opinion too, and I suspect Todd Boehly was of the same opinion as well. But Eghbali and the upper-echelon of Clownlake are behind the push for younger squads and younger managers (who behave like yes-men). But hey, they'll look at their data and show that, using their methods, the team finished higher this season compared to the last (which is dumb, considering we used to be a top 4 team anyway). They don't care about the why and the how. It's all about their process to increase the resale value of the club.

Clownlake rearing it's head again. But tbf, I'm not sure if this would be worse than Potter from 2 years ago. Potter failed miserably with a champions league winning squad full of egos bigger than him. He was never going to elevate that team. Now that the squad has been stripped and replaced with young talent, most of which are yet to achieve anything, who knows? The incoming manager's reputation might be of little consequence. The question is whether someone like Kenna can actually deliver in an elite league against top coaches and teams. If Eghbali is using data from the Championship to base this claim., he is a more substantial fool than I thought.

It's not Todd. It's Egbali. Todd was the mastermind behind experienced signings like Sterling, Koulibaly. Pochettino was appointed by his recommendation. Eghbali, Wyss & the new sporting directors are behind the youth drive, and the push for younger, more 'energetic' managers who buy into their whole policy of stockpiling youth talent in long-term contracts and raising the clubs value for the future ( when they will ultimately sell)