Leif

I really think this thread needs to be closer to the main page where we discuss CFC. Encourages more posts, and 'football banter' it isn't. This is potentially the most interesting, least-moany thread. And it's almost hidden, considering you expect all the football talk to be contained to one area. There's 1,000+ topics in this sub-forum - 3 of them active (all other-team related). Kill it. Kill it with fire. We already have the 'English Football' thread; I'd make that the a) to a b), being 'All Other Leagues' thread. I feel like this thread we're in right now has built up an image of Champions League & Europa League talk. So, 3 threads total, in their own section, no other threads in that section but for those 3, right below or-so our main Chelsea sections. Pretty please?

Unless you have something negative to say about the board alongside it, nobody should be saying anything negative about Conte. It's idiocy and high time it was ignored, like these people continuing to ignore blatant signs of power struggle.

You've no right to tear into a player for lack of interest if you refuse to integrate them.

Watch Cahill be the only player on the pitch who looks scared. The only one with wide eyes, eyebrows raised, shouting as loud as he can since he's the only idiot who sees a 'threat' instead of equals.... followed by acting as small as possible the moment he's part of a mistake.

Good or bad, our players aren't picked due to form (maybe the board think it's too short-sighted?) Our players play because they put a wedge in the profile of the other team. (That's the theory anyway.) Against short, weak players? Doesn't matter if they've been shit, Cahill and Bakayoko will play. Against slow, not very tactically astute lower-league players in a meaningless cup game? Fabregas will be playing, even if he's been shit. Against anyone? Hazard and Morata will play, even if they've been shit. There's quite a bit right and wrong with this approach. More wrong than right in my opinion, but i understand somewhat why the board would demand it. On one hand, if you have different faces in the team week in week out, you risk your consistency. On the other hand, the board seem to care a whole lot more about the 'image' of our XI than the quality of it, which is totally stupid. If Cahill and Fabregas were on the bench all season, our pathetic board would cry and shout at the manager for marketing reasons.

Only in Serie A would Borini be moulded into a right back.

I wonder what Michy was deemed to have which Traore didn't. Another goal. He's not special, but he's good.

Those really are the only 2 options for a club like ours. Yet, our transfer policy essentially mirrors Liverpool's.

Seeing this was exciting until I saw Loftus-Cheek is called up too. This call up isn't serious.

More than less people said how shit Azpi was against Roma. Azpi is generally our most consistent player, our only captain material. You don't give him what you give Cahill, who is none of the great things Azpi is. Simple. We don't give compliments to Cahill for the 1 not-so-bad game of his every 10 weeks, because that'd be utterly short-sighted.

Sad if Napoli are knocked out, excited to see what they can do in Serie A without the extra games.

Best night of European football in years just for these 2 big games IMO.

damn

Best night of Dele Alli's life.

What was that from Reina other than pathetic

If Mertens is taken off i'm taking my head off.

Could a mod create or sticky a General Champions League talk thread? Or perhaps a 'All other teams' thread? Insigne One of my favourite players on earth, how can you not love an underdog?

Before his arrival, it was said Alonso is simply squad player material, not starting-for-champions material. Before his arrival, it was said Rudiger is simply squad player material, not starting-for-champions material. Before his arrival, it was said Cahill is simply squad player material, not starting-for-champions material. Well, we weren't wrong, and we shouldn't be surprised that a back line with all of them in it fails against a team who've struggled to score 2 goals in any game this season. Imagine Bayern or Juventus with the likes of those starting for themFor whatever reason, maybe because the Premier League is 'tough', these absolutely painfully average players are seen as 'good' players by our fans simply because we're in England and we're Chelsea. Apparently Chelsea can get away with limited defenders, as if at one point we didn't have Terry, Carvalho, Alex, Ashley Cole, Ivanovic et all. Shambles. Absolutely the worst bunch of defenders we've had since the early 1990's.

I agree with that above sentiment. Conte is classy towards players & managers. Conte is up to date tactically; in fact he revolutionised the Premier League of all leagues moments after stepping into it. He isn't necessarily transforming our players into freak-versions of themselves, but at least he isn't asking Hazard to be a wing back. He's simply likeable by fans & media alike. He's authentic. He's shown more balls with our lineups (successfully) than any other manager of ours in the past 7 or so years. It can only be a good thing that he demands an unreal fitness level, which hasn't actually sidelined that many of our players compared to other clubs, who lose just as many players but with half the lungs. Now as for managers we could bring in... there are only a few clubs (easier listing club names than managers) with 'top', proven coaches - Napoli, Atletico, Inter, Man City.. and that's about it. Now, Atletico play terrible football, anti-football almost, IMO. Napoli's coach is proving himself in Serie A, but what can he do with superstar egos? (Not that we have many superstars right now.) I'm not sure - plus, he wants to leave Napoli due to the board & president. Man City - Pep isn't coming. And as for Inter, Spalletti is not a long term coach for any top club, but a brilliant short-term manager. Internationally, there is Sampaoli. But, I think he's more the type to transform Tottenham into league winners who go deep in the Champions League, more than he's the type to take already-league-winning Chelsea to a level where the trophies keep coming in, but the football style is improved greatly. I don't think he can do both in the most high pressure league. It's just not something he has experience with. So in my mind, the only 'top' manager that's available and that'd keep us at the top is...Ancelotti. And that's almost like bringing Hiddink in. Forget the tier below of Poch, Marco Silva, etc - you can see in their eyes that they'd do everything they're told by the board, and that's not something we want to enable. (Makes sense that the only managers with big balls are the ones who already have brilliant reputations. If you're still 'coming up', you'll care more about keeping your first top job than you'll care about appeasing the fans & players.) After Conte showing some balls to our board, our next potential manager must continue chipping away at that wall of ignorance in our club. Simply, there is no better than Conte, and every team from United, to Juventus fans (not the board of course), Roma, Milan, Atletico, Barcelona, Bayern would gladly lap him up next season should we cut him off. And he'd be damn brilliant, because he'd have the players he needs. The only way to go after Conte is down.

He's never played with so few top quality attack-minded players. If we had say, a Sanchez on the right, Morata would've banged in an extra 5 or more by now, easy. There'd be so much less pressure on him to score too, and that's important for keeping the mind fresh, considering the body + mind manifest eachother.

We're lucky that he just wants to enjoy his football, and not push himself to win as many awards as possible. He understands the importance of laughing + avoiding stress. With that in mind, I think he's more likely to end up at Barcelona than Madrid. Madrid & Munich would be too depressing and serious; Serie A would bore him; we won't sell him to a PL rival; and that'd just leave Barcelona, and PSG - which wouldn't be the most stupid move for him in a couple years time. In fact it'd tick every box. I think it'd be really beautiful watching him play at Barcelona, though. The only question there would be Barcelona's funds. So, PSG it is? Or genuinely spend all his prime years here? Which from 1 perspective would make him a fool, from another perspective make him one of the wisest players around.

It shouldn't be ignored that he was an absolutely superior player for Atletico. Maybe one or 2 performances for us have been 'woah', but every single game for Atletico was a woah for him. We know his heart isn't here, and mine wouldn't be either if i'd helped an underdog become a top dog in a country with a far superior lifestyle. The only advantage we offer him is more money, and the amount we offer vs. Atletico's makes - zero - difference to a person's quality of life & happiness. So, actually contradicting that; we offer nothing that Atletico don't, really. They actually offer more in terms of charm on the pitch and lifestyle off of it. I was really itching to sell him for 50-80m after his Atletico stint; we could've signed anyone with that money at that time. Even with fees going crazy now, I can't see that window for a mega fee being open again. Partly too because every club with cash has already been identifying their own long term keeper. I really dislike having players here who'd rather be elsewhere.

I believe that was Bakayoko & Fabregas's 5th start as a duo. 3 or 4 of those starts together lead to Bakayoko getting assists; something I don't think he's managed to do without Fabregas. We also won the majority of games that they started as a duo, despite it clearly not being a great pairing. Bakayoko has definitely been bad outside of those 5 starts with Fabregas. That's to say Fabregas is not the one to put under the microscope. For his own faults he is, but not for Baka's. Even alongside just Kante, Bakayoko doesn't transform into this next-Yaya-Toure box-to-box player. He's been in a midfield 3 with us, and I believe he was in a midfield duo at Monaco, so what's holding him back? What have we not offered him? What is this godly trait Fabinho had to unlock him which can't be found across Kante/Fabregas/, & Drinkwater too no doubt? He essentially has 6/7 players behind him at all times here; that should give him a lot of confidence to display his apparent abilities. But he doesn't. He hasn't once shown a good ability, only a good genetic trait, the fact that he's relatively strong. Not that he puts it to great use. Fabregas is such a small minority part of Baka's lack of ability. Some players just aren't good enough and that's okay. What's not okay is the Chelsea policy of waiting 4-5 years to ship out players who've been bad or average for every single one of those years. Le board.

Milan not getting CL next season 100% means that they must sell almost every player of theirs that's Serie A material. That in mind, there's 1 player who'd elevate our game tremendously, and that's Conti. I thought he'd be moulded into a CB, but what a waste. He might be one of the best wing backs possible. If Conte's here next season, I want that Italian link strengthened.

Man City are taking ages to reach a CL final. How many years after Roman's takeover did we reach our first? 5? Then won it in the 9th year I think? How many years has it been since City's takeover...I think we're about to enter the 10th year. A decade of all that oil money and no CL final. They'll always play better football than us in this modern era, and always have more consistency I presume, but never will they match what we've done. I say this with the presumption that this season is their best shot at winning it - Bayern are ordinary, Barcelona aren't very good, Madrid aren't very good, Juventus & Napoli aren't threats at this moment in time, and then neither are we/Roma/Atletico. If they don't win it this season, it's a huge failure for Pep.