Superblue

Whilst on paper our squad doesn't look capable of playing the type of football Sarri has got Napoli playing, neither did Napoli at first. Players like Koulibaly were viewed as poor on the ball and lacking the positional awareness. Jorginho only became this 'pass master' under Sarri's style, and Insigne and Mertens were never as clinical beforehand. Firstly Sarri needs to be able to coach some of these players and get them to adapt to his methods and secondly we need to see if they can play in this way because we've never tried. Under Conte this season, playing so negative and slow it's always going to cause problems. It encourages teams to push up and press us and also gives time to mark players. Any player is going to struggle finding players up the pitch and unlocking doors in this way. A lot of people on this forum have used the excuse with Hazard's goal and assist output that he doesn't play in an offensive minded team, and maybe that is true. But it is also true for every single player at the club. Would our strikers score more goals if more clear chances are being created, same for our wingers. Would our midfielders be capable of dominating teams when on the front foot. Until we change our style of play we cannot be sure of how adaptable our players are to someone like Sarri. And even then, given the abundance of loan players and that we'll buy some players too this summer, I'm sure it can work. If anything it will take some time to develop and blossom just like Conte's back three did.

Yeah I've read this. Napoli have replaced him but not actually sacked him from the payroll. This is technically what we do with our coaches now when they leave, they are placed theoretically on a 'gardening leave' style agreement until they find a new job. The difference here is Napoli know he has value and therefore will want a fee to release him from his contract. It's worth Chelsea doing things above board with Napoli or finding an agreement that ADL is happy with. Napoli have some very good players, particularly in positions we're crying out for this summer (namely Koulibaly and Jorginho). Having Sarri would also give us the edge over attracting them in my opinion so we want to ensure we have a good relationship with Napoli moving forward in case we want to enter negotiations for one of their players.

Yeah but I do believe that there are special circumstances to his situation, being that he didn't become a professional coach until a few years ago. His two only proper managerial appointments have been over the past 6 years, first taking Empoli into Serie A and then respectably keeping them in the division on the smallest budget in the league whilst playing good football. And then he moved to Napoli which has obviously been his first real big job. We're not going to be appointing a coach for the next 10 years, it just won't happen. So Sarri being nearly 60 doesn't really make any difference. If he came in and did a good job and stayed for 3-4 years then job done.

The idea of Sarri not having won a trophy I personally think is a weak argument against him. Every manager starts somewhere. Klopp hadn't won anything before Dortmund took a chance on him, Conte hadn't won anything before Juventus, Mourinho before Porto, etc. These were all in a similar position to ourselves where they were in a period of difficulty in their respective leagues and turned to a manager that could change the whole culture and style of the club. The biggest job he has had by a country mile is Napoli and has improved them hugely, they've been a close second but they are up against a dominant Juventus side in Italy. There is no doubt that what he will bring is a completely different style to the club which we are in desperate need of. The days of Mourinho's first tenure at the club are long gone. We had the squad to play that ruthless, efficient way back then with huge characters and personality's. But as some have alluded to, time's have changed in football since then and there is a shift to a more aggressive, pressing, front foot style of football. We are way behind the times of this. With the exception of Ancelotti, all of our success has come off the back of more conservative, defensive managers and a brand of counter attacking football. It's becoming stale and the whole club needs re-energising. I'm not saying Sarri will be a guaranteed success. No one is, including other managerial options who have won trophies like Enrique or Blanc, or even keeping Conte. But he would be the best option available to radically change and transform our style of play and freshen up the approach.

He wasn't committing to a new contract and the owner took matters into his own hands.

You have to believe somebody like Mertens who has flourished under Sarri would be glowing in his endorsement of him to Hazard and Courtois.

Probably feels he can't take Napoli any further given the strength of juventus and he may likely lose a couple of his players this summer.

We've papered over cracks for years (very successfully mind). However teams have caught us up having built a much stronger and stable long term project compared to our boom or bust mentality. We're also not the big fish anymore with regards to transfer fees and wages. We're still very much competitive, but we've reigned it in just at the time when transfers are escalating and teams are throwing more money around. Something will inevitably give eventually unless we put some solid foundations in with an eye on the next 5 years, not just this year.

This dude reliable?

Italian media a week ago were all 99% sure he was signing an extension with Napoli. Until anything concrete we're going to have to unfortunately sit tight.

I've always heard that Roman wants Chelsea to have their own style but one that is lauded by everyone. For this, Sarri would be the best option by a mile because his style is pretty unique. The biggest worry I have with Luis Enrique is that since Guardiola, Barca have still won trophies with some very average managers. Is Luis Enrique just another of those. I would be very disappointed if we don't go for Sarri, the club's decision making at times leaves me pulling my hair out because it's so haphazard and inconsistent.

Only for this summer. Buffon is a 1-2 year option at best for PSG, and they could move for Courtois next summer if he doesn't sign a contract and pay him mega money.

Definitely there has to be signs of progression. If there is a season however fighting for 4th place and we just scrape it or even just miss out but it can be seen that the style of play is evolving and improving and the brand of football is enjoyable to watch then i would like to hope they would be given the benefit of the doubt to continue.

I completely agree that this has contributed to our success down the years but I do also think that some patience and stability will be needed with the next appointment, assuming it is a more offensive minded coach, because the change in philosophy will be so drastic. Di Matteo, Benitez, Mourinho, Conte - the whole of this squad now has only known one type of way and that is a reserved, defensive approach as the priority. If we were to get someone like Sarri it will take time, a lot of time. Klopp and Poch have been around for 4 years now with nothing tangible yet to show for their troubles and Guardiola took a full season and huge amounts of money to get things going at City. The days of Fergie and Wenger are gone, but being prepared to ride through some rough times and give a manager 3 - 4 years to get a style of football ingrained into the players, and leave a solid foundation for the next coach is necessary.

I think for hazard it would be more the style of football. If someone with a lower profile came in but wanted to play attack minded football with hazard at the forefront of that i think it would appeal more to him than a high profile defensive minded manager in a similar mould to Jose and Conte.

He's apparently missed out on the Spain squad. It will be interesting to see what happens with him this summer. He either sulks or gives up and pushes to leave, or he re-focuses and re-energises over the summer and comes back for pre season with the mentality to kick on next season. It'll be interesting which manager will be here next season and if they feel they can get more out of Morata.

I don't think people expect him to automatically get on with a manager. If he doesn't then fair enough, numerous high profile examples of this over the years. People aren't happy with the way he's showed his dislike. It's classless and distasteful in my opinion. Either keep your thoughts private or be respectful and mature in the way you do it. He could easily give an interview once Conte has gone to say that unfortunately he didn't see eye to eye with him and looks forward to a new manger coming in. Instead he acts like a petulant, sulking child.

He's put an instagram picture out celebrating the win yesterday but it covers up Conte. Clearly some problems there (wouldn't be surprised if it stems back from Costa and Luiz situations) but christ some of these players need to grow up. It's petty and pathetic.

I agree with all your points except the final one. Chelsea have been the most successful club in England since Abramovich came in. The mentality and culture of the club is winning trophies. No matter how mental the club is deemed to be run by media and fans alike, it's always been backed up by the trophies and success of the club. I'm not saying this year hasn't been abysmal because it has, and I've posted numerous times myself that the inconsistency in the league over the last few years is a huge worry that needs addressing. My points were made more so against your original point that you said you didn't really feel anything about winning the FA Cup. As I said previously, for me its the trophies you win that leave the memories and moments that you look back on. I was at the cup finals in 1997 and 2000 when i was young and that feeling back then of winning something will always leave a massive impression. No matter how big the club is or perceived to be, any trophies we win are great because there are so few handed out through the season.

I can understand your argument but firstly the premier league is much more unique than the other top leagues in Europe in that we have 6 big clubs competing for 4 champions league places so 2 teams are going to miss out each season. And again domestically, there are only three trophies a season handed out so they should all be seen as worthwhile achievements. I understand the financial considerations, etc of being in the Champions League but we should be big enough now to attract very good players to the club without this carrot. I would love to see a manager come in and bring a more bolder attacking approach so long as we're still successful. The fact is projects can be seen as a success but don't bring anything tangible at the end of them. Spurs and Liverpool are still waiting for trophies under their respective managers, whilst in that same time frame we've won 2 leagues, an FA Cup and a league cup. The fact is you have to take trophies when they are available and saviour them because you don't know when the next one will arrive. The other thing that gets lost amongst this is that consistently winning trophies, no matter how insignificant some fans may deem them, breeds a winning mentality and culture throughout the club. A lot of players have come in since last season so it was important for them to start winning as soon as possible. It keeps the hunger of doing it again and develops the experience of playing and winning finals under pressure. Other teams don't have that.

Completely have to disagree, it's all about winning trophies and adding to the overall success of the club in my opinion. Maybe as a club we've been spoilt, but it says a lot about the club in my opinion that even in a bad season we've still won a trophy. Bearing in mind that providing Liverpool don't win the Champions League the only other team to win trophies this season were City. I understand the need to finish in the Champions League places but I would always take trophies over it for the enjoyment they bring. Spurs for all their plaudits haven't won one yet, and nor have Liverpool. With regards to the game and tactics, I have been far from impressed with how we've played and been set up to play in a lot of games this season but definitely won't be blaming Conte today. Final's are notoriously cagey and rarely live up to the hype. People only ever remember the winner in a final and that's all that matters in them. No one remembers how bad we played against United in 2007 when we defended the whole game and extra time and nicked a goal at the death.

How come Christensen isn't on the bench?

I would love to see the club take a bold move like letting Drinkwater and Bakayoko go, and replacing them with Mount and RLC.

I agree but he's not going to enter into discussions with us this close to the world cup. At least with conte it was sorted out months before the euros.

I agree with you but Pochettino is a pipe dream in my opinion. We may have greater resources than Spurs both in terms of finances and our academy but we need far more work at the moment and we don't have anyone anything like Kane up front. On top of that Spurs just won't let him come to us, simple as that. At least with Sarri he would be realistic as a target if he doesn't commit to Napoli. If he does then I don't see any other stand out candidates for the job which is really worrying.