OneMoSalah

Dortmund for all their excellent football and impressive run earlier in the season look very poor. Sancho and Reus have been hugely disappointing so far. Bayern strolling it, Lewandowski, Coman and Gnabry looking very good. Coman has so much untapped potential but hes gone off injured.

True. I think with Moses, Cahill and Drinkwater all having no future here, Reece will be one of the ones everyone at the club is expecting to play here at some point in the next few years. I think Zappacosta has got like 15 or 16 apperances this season and I doubt hes happy with that and was linked away in Jan. If he goes in the summer and lets say we round his season apperances upto 20 at least with Europa games still to play, if Reece came back and got that amount of games next year (as I would imagine Europa will be more likely to CL next season), it would be a good amount for him to break in and get accustomed to a higher level of football as well as possibly feature more if we were cruising games and wanted to rest/rotate Azpi who has been dogged for about 5 seasons straight now. Its a cynical way to look at him only being brought back next year because hes home grown and we lack HG numbers with potential departures but realistically it gives him a foot in the door and if his season at Wigan is anything to go on, he could surprise Sarri, Zola, his team mates and fans like he has undoubtedly done in the championship this season.

Apologies. And to @Bobo.

Played some decent football for us too that season. He was basically unplayable in that game against Everton where we humped them.

Be interesting but I think - not 100% sure but read we had a fee agreed to keep him for another year when we initally agreed the deal although fuck knows what will happen because of the ban - Higuains loan move can be triggered for another season and probably wouldnt be worst thing we could do with Giroud potentislly leaving in the summer. The likes of Tammy, Reece James (if Zappa goes), maybe Mason Mount (when Kovacic goes) could all potentially be integrated next season. Dont think it necessarily means they will all play a lot but Ampadu, CHO, RLC, Christensen, James, Mount, Abraham, thats 7 academy players that could be in the squad. With the likes of Cahill, Drinkwater and Moses all basically leaving or potentially leaving, homegrown players are needed. Again though, I think of that happened and not getting players in for 2 windows, we could have another mixed season which some fans would undoubtedly call for Sarris head and probably criticize some of the players. If we dont get a transfer ban, personally I think Aaron Wan Bissaka, Ben Chilwell and Declan Rice should be targeted. Would of said Luke Shaw like when we were linked at the start of the season but we have no chance now hes playing well and regularly at United. Doubt Rice would come back actually having been released and theres big interest in him from both Manc clubs. Chilwell and Wan Bissaka also interesting both of them too. Tough but if we can somehow get it overturned those 3 would be guys I think we should prioritise, all 3 are young, British, have huge upside and growth in terms of their levels. Plus use the likes of Christensen, Ampadu, CHO, RLC, Mount and Tammy, possibly James (if Wan Bissaka were to sign, loan him).. easily have a nice blend of youth and experience and homegrown players.

Jesus are you a Chelsea fan or a idiot? Wtf.

Tbf if Zidane and Real really want him its not a lot of money for them to spend. I think Mbappe and Neymar will still be their first choice targets ahead of him as well as possibly Paul Pogba. If they get one of them from PSG I doubt theyd be willing to drop 100m they could use towards getting Pogba as well. Suppose we will see. If we bow to pressure and sell him for less than 100m I would be incredibly disappointed. But when has the club ever sold a good player for a smaller fee than they believe hes worth? If he doesnt go does anyone really think Real will wait a season to get him on a free when he would be 29? I dont think so. Honestly I think we could easily get 115m pounds for him still from Real. 1 year or not left they want quality hes easily a 100m+ player if the likes of van Dijk and Lukaku are 75m players.

I think one thing that may let him down compared to Kovacic particularly is his actual technique. Kovacic's technical attributes are kinda insane although his output in terms of key passes, goals or assists are shocking for a player with that technical profile. I am extremely disappointed with how much Kovacic has struggled to impose himself in games and score/assist goals. I think Inter Milan moved him from a 10 to an 6 or 8 and he hasn't really ever fully embraced trying to score goals or get assists. He was a frightening talent in the past, was almost certain to be a huge player for club and country but hes never kicked on. I worked with a Croatian engineer on a ship who said Kovacic is one of the most disappointing players theyve had in terms of his talent and what he has amounted to. Could have been absolutely massive, maybe not quite as good as Modric but certainly a lot closer than what he is now.

Looks okay. Not quite the standard Artur was in Brazil but talented to a point. Need to be wary though, could be another Oscar, decent but not high quality enough although I think if Oscar had a more offensive minded coach he could of been a different player. Rafa and Jose sort of made him more balanced as opposed to prioritising nurturing his offensive attributes.

Fabregas got the same treatment in the second half of the season the year we won the league under Jose. He "wasn't doing enough" although between Costa, Eden, Willian, the amount of chances they squandered was ridiculous. Fabregas is still one of the best players I have ever seen at finding that penetrating or final pass. Jorginho has found some great passes but poor finishing has took assists away from him. That video is proof, just as is the one of Eden providing passes that should have been scored but the difference is Eden does it and it is automatically an issue, Jorginho on the other hand is branded a bang average player and only passes sideways.... although even then his role in the team isn't to provide assists for players, its to control and dictate the tempo.

If we didnt have a transfer ban I would be more happy to see him go. I think if Pulisic can hit the ground running and Callum can play a lot more we will see less of Pedro and Willian. The midfield still needs another player who can provide goals and assists (although RLC has done it this season but he needs to do it consistently) and we need to reinforce our back 4 and uptop. Left back and left sided CB is still an issue for me.

I dont think an assistant managers place is that regardless of who it is. Be it Zola, JT, Drogba, Lampard whoever. Manager is the top dog , assistant managers are more a buffer between the players and manager, and thats probably the case at a lot of clubs. The manager is more likely to get the team up as opposed to anybody else. The players also have a responsibility to motivate themselves too. Zola doesnt have a massive status st the club ? Are you joking? Zola is arguably one of the best players who has ever put on the shirt. Thats big enough surely??? Please, ask anybody who watched Chelsea in the 90s and tell them that Zola doesnt have a massive status here. I dare you. Again how do you know that? Are you in the dressing room? Most clubs want everyone in the dressing room to speak one language so everyone is aware of what is being said. Be it Celtic FC, PSG, Chelsea or Hamburg or whoever. Most players these days are bilingual but again Ive heard stories about certain players (Bale at Madrid, being told to speak in Spanish as opposed to English and various foreign players at Celtic being told to speak English in the dressing room so others can follow) and I doubt its just a few select clubs. So I suppose Conte and his staff where the same or Scolari and his staff? Or Jose and his? I doubt Sarri is sitting speaking in Italian behind players backs, even then how many players can speak Italian at the club? Zappa, Emerson, Alonso, Jorginho, Higuain... its hardly as if theyre speaking in Mandarin. Id imagine English club, first language in the dressing room would be English. Some of Sarris pressers have had Italian but I think your overplaying it. Kepa situation was a disaster, players should of made him go.

Emenalo was technical director when all of those players signed (officially or unofficially). Signing a player and scouting them is 2 different things. Campos probably didnt scout every player hes been credit but he signed them. Same with Monchi. Monchi establish hundreds of scouting networks in various countries at Seville. He signed those players hut that doesnt mean he initially discovered them. De Vissier was merely a scout, nothing else, he didnt have the authority to sign players, he could only recommend them.

I dont think so. To many Zola is one of the finest players to have ever played for us and his experience in English football is valuable even if his coaching career hasnt been impressive. If someone who was voted the best player in the clubs history at one point cant connect with the team then we really are fucked. Zola and Sarri being Italian means nothing. Zola has been speaking English for probably close to 25 years considering he came here in 1996 (and I would imagine Italians are also taught English as a second language - like British are taught in French, Spanish or German as a second language at some level in their education - so maybe even longer....). I would like to think everyone, the players and the manager, have been strictly encouraged to speak English in the dressing room so everyone can follow. Obviously theres huge cultural differences and difference of nationalities in the dressing room but you hear about it at clubs all over the continent, they speak the language of wherever the club is based first and foremost in the dressing room. Regarding Terry, Zola can do the exact same, speak about his experiences and passions about the club so again, doesnt make a huge difference I would say. Maybe Terry coming through the academy different slightly but again, Zola came and made a huge mark here too. I dont think appointing him was a bad move at all. It was a pretty good move, someone who demands respect from the fans and players here and also allover England and the UK from his playing days.

Think Ake is better physically and thats it. Christensen needs to become more physical, he reads it better than Ake and technically is probably superior although Ake can play LB and DM too(CB best role undoubtedly though).

Emenalo essentially signed Courtois, Lukaku, Hazard, KdB, Salah, Zouma, van Ginkel, Cesc, Costa, Mata, Azpi, Filipe Luis among countless others. As well as probably being involved with signing Christensen, Musonda, whoever else too under 18. Just shows if the results on the pitch arent there who youve signed means jack shit in all fairness people will always complain about something. Or if your last batch of signings dont work nobody will care about the others.

Campos would be a good move although I still think, as seen with Monchi at Roma, it is not guaranteed to work. Theres a lot of parameters which need to be looked at. 1) progession for young players to the first 11/18 man squad and developing them more in house as opposed to out on loan 2) signing the right profile of players for the philosophy Sarri is trying to implenent. 3) the actual working relationship with Sarri and the rest of the board. Will be the biggest one for me, how will they manage it. 4) short and long term planning, weve alwaya focused on 1 or 2 years down the line and competing without also thinking more long term. The likes of Christensen, CHO and RLC are proof of that, they should have been used more regularly this season (Sarris first season, RLCs back hasnt helped and managers lack of rotation) but hopefully next year they feature a lot sooner on a regular basis and will have shown Sarri he can lean on them more, similarly like Christensen showed Conte last season for a good few months before struggling. 5) signing ready made players as well as younger ones. Another big issue I think. No point flooding our 18 with just young guys because weve seen how demanding the PL is and having players in their best years is also very helpful, look at our team under Jose, Cesc, Hazard, Costa all very established players already by then. We need that balance. Even Liverpool and City, guys who are very established and experienced have helped their new guys settle in while remaining competitive.

Sarri sung high praises of him after Brighton game. Said he was motm. Hopefully he gets more minutes in the run in of games left. Think him and Luiz look better with each other than him and Rudiger tbf.

It doesnt matter who our owner is, for 2 windows at least we wont be able to sign anyone. Theres no doubt we could do with a few top quality additions coming in but thats been the case since Joses third season. Theres still plenty in this squad to be doing better too but I didnt expect Sarri's first season to be plain sailing either. Time is needed regardless.

Interesting. Was almost sure he would go for Barca but he would give Real more options and that would seal Kovacic's future there as non existent. Zidane is not a massive fan of him and rarely started him unless it was a cup game or there were injuries.

New contract and a loan move to Leipzig under Nagelsmann who is an oustanding manager with a reputation for developing players across the board. That would be a win win. He wouldnt instantly start but Lookman from Everton was in same boat and went over and made a huge impression, I dont think hes much more talented than Mount either if at all.

Hazard FC... no video of the big chances hes squandered also or games he was very poor. No longer surprises me. When he goes in the summer I wonder who will be the next player to be considered the only person in the team worth anything.

Exactly. Great post. Some younger fans from all over the world would never have even been interested in Chelsea as a team to follow if Roman hadnt invested so much which helped catapult this club into a European superclub so to speak. His influence is hard to deny and a big reason why we have won several trophies upon trophies since he took over. No way would we have signed half the players or managers weve gotten without Roman either, willing to compete against traditionally bigger clubs for the likes of Essien, Robben, Cech, whomever else in the early days and also other calibres of players who I doubt many guys, who have supported the club for 50 years or more, guys like my Grandad, would have imagined we would have ever signed. People talk about a lack of spending but he made 170m avaliable this season alone to be spent on Jorginho, Kepa and Pulisic. The season beforehand he made 200m avaliable to be spent on Morata, Bakayoko, Drinkwater, Rudiger, Emerson, Zappacosta, Giroud and Barkley. Just because they didnt work out doesnt mean he needs to spend more. I very much doubt Jim Radcliffe would come in and drop 300m a season like at City who are owned by Saudi royalty. I think its understandable for people to think weve won titles before with this squad so why cant it be achieved again? Although for me its painfully obvious 3 or 4 guys in the 11 are expendable and could be replaced, if the right signings were to be made. The issue isnt the owner. The net transfers have come up for a while but we won the league under Jose having sold Luiz, Mata, De Bruyne for huge profits and being in the plus. The board were called geniuises by many on here because we were beating FFP and winning. Complacency has been the issue here. Not a lack of investment. Also a lack of long term planning but in the past it has always worked.

If we can lose Zappacosta it has to be considered. Unless we were to go for Wan Bissaka although we are transfer banned and gave him to Palace on loan for a year.

It was probably just before or around this time with Napoli he blew a title challenge due to not rotating a few seasons ago. The bad run of form hasnt helped us, I thought after he started rotating Emerson and Alonso he would continue to rotate more with the likes of RLC, Christensen, Giroud and CHO but a lot of bad results may have forced his hand into picking a more settled XI over a more rotated one like tonight for instance. Who knows. I think next season if he gets kept, he will trust the likes of Andreas, Callum, Ruben and Emerson a lot lot more. He has to in all honesty.