Reddish-Blue

I don't think that's the case, just seems like they're trying to delay the process (possibly hoping that we can get a win on the board and then they'll be able to announce it as good news heading into next season).

That went out the window when they kept Potter beyond January for some reason. Just look at Villa, they got their manager changed, got a good manager in Emery and they're absolutely flying at the moment.

When you look at the other signings we've made, how many actually need a roadmap? Enzo will continue to get better with a good partner next to him, Madueke is still raw but he's got the dribbling ability to be an interesting option, Fofana & Badiashile should continue to develop at CB. Mudryk is the high profile signing that looks like an absolute flop at the moment and there is no end in sight. If we can clear off the likes of Ziyech, Pulisic, even Havertz (hopefully we can convince Bayern), that would be a huge help in rebuilding the attack.

They were keen on Chelsea as well but Roman preferred Boehly's bid for some reason. Imagine if they get United and invest heavily whilst we continue our slide from top 4 to mid-table.

https://www.whoscored.com/Players/65901/Show/Keylor-Navas He's been pretty average at Forest. If we need a GK, better to get a long term option in at the end of the season and not have to worry for the next 5+ years.

Was Pochettino available at that point in time? From memory the club wanted to follow a new strategy and they decided to back Potter in....I don't think anyone expected him to fail that badly to a point where players actually looked lost on the pitch not knowing what to do. If that was Roman in charge, he very likely would have been told to go in January to at least give a new manager the chance to work with the players and build something (like what Emery has done with Villa).

Don't see him "improving" our midfield that much. If we're really doing a rebuild, might be better off going after Lavia or Ugarte, let them build a partnership with Enzo for the next 5+ years.

Bayern's recruitment was fine, they wanted another attacker, they got Mane. They wanted another quality player, they got Cancelo from Man City. They needed another CB, they got De Ligt from Juventus. Their attack without Lewa is still better than anyone in the Bundesliga (Sane, Gnabry, Muller, Mane, Musiala, Coman), they're just not clicking as a team. For once, it is refreshing to see Bayern Munich not walk the league, they could of easily kept Nagelsmann but decided that Tuchel would lift the UCL Trophy with them and Pep made them look bang average.

I doubt Alonso would be interested, he has barely started his career at Leverkusen Kompany would be the same as Potter, he'd jump at the chance.

Wonder how much they're willing to pay for him though

Feel like the mystery candidate would be a safe bet like Mourinho, he knows how to get a team to win.

Well to be fair, even Brighton players have mentioned that Potter was always about man management and maintaining good relationships so getting angry at half time would be 'out of character'. It worked at Brighton as they were trying to establish themselves as a solid midtable side and I doubt there were that many egos in the dressing room as most of the players were value for money signings who were out to prove a point. Compare that to Chelsea where he walks into the dressing room and most of the team has a UCL medal to their name and they all have inflated egos thanks to that historic UCL run. Then you add on all the signings that weren't needed (Felix, Mudryk, Madueke, Cucurella)....and you begin to wonder what the f*ck the club were actually thinking as the transfer strategy just doesn't add up. Why bother bringing Madueke in January if he's not going to play a key role to finish off the season....surely a loan back to PSV would have made more sense (like Gusto at Lyon). Same can be said for Felix, how many goals/assists has he provided? He looks technically great but I'm not sure how he's actually improving our attack

Not sure why Colwill is being mentioned, he's an academy product doing quite well on loan in the Premier League. Similar things can be said for Gusto & Nkunku, they haven't even played a game for Chelsea and you're effectively writing off their careers by saying "they are a waste of money". I get the point of the post but to sum it all up, we're paying the price for signing players that other clubs were interested in. Joao Felix (was wanted by United/Arsenal before they heard the loan fee and they backed off....and for some reason we were stupid enough to pay Atletico to take a player they don't need). Mudryk (was begging to go to Arsenal and play with his best mate Zinchenko yet we paid an extra 10-15 million and Shaktar couldn't believe how easy it was to rob us) Cucurella (was wanted by City as a backup LB yet they never bid more than 35 million for him....and we somehow end up paying 55+ million, it just goes to show how strong City's football department is).

Hopefully it's not a one-sided game. Last chance for the players to actually show that they care on the pitch. Get the feeling that Madrid will just be in second gear for the whole game as they know we can't score and they don't really need to score.

Morata said himself that he didn't enjoy playing in the Premier League, Werner wasn't dragged down, he was just labelled a flop due to all the offsides/misses against his name (mentioned that his relationship with Tuchel broke down and he wanted to leave) and Lukaku wasn't dragged down, he's had a pretty successful career with his other clubs.

Thats why I wonder whether getting another talented young manager like Nagelsmann will actually help this club. You know he'll end up just like Villas Boas at Chelsea, he'll lose the dressing room within a month or two if he tries too many tactical changes.

With the reports of FFP issues on the horizon (especially with no UCL/Europa League football next season), I don't see how we can possibly get Osimhen and the defensive midfielder/controller that we need to fix this broken XI. I wouldn't be surprised to see Lukaku back here next season as you know Inter will try to ask for another cheap 1 season loan but that may fall short of the requirements to help balance the books in the summer.

Such a shame, went from Cech/Courtois to Kepa. Feel like we're stuck with Kepa though as no-one will pay his full wages (part of the reason why Lazio decided not to pursue a loan) Mendy will probably be sold back to a Ligue 1 team

Not sure if that's realistic with the likes of Nagelsmann (apparently lost the dressing room at Bayern, not sure if he'll survive at Chelsea if results don't go his way) & Enrique (takes time to understand & implement his tactics). Hate to say it but to get back to top 4 quickly, we need a manager like Conte/Mourinho.

Probably not next season but the season after (if we're able to sell off all these rubbish players who couldn't care less about the club). Give chances to the players who came through the academy or the players who actually want to prove a point at Chelsea. The players who should be given a shot with the new manager next season are: Kepa, Reece, Fofana, Badi, T.Silva, Colwill, Chilwell, Kante, Enzo, Mudryk, Havertz (if Bayern aren't interested), Madueke. Every other player should be allowed to go.

He wasn't hired at the wrong time, it was his choice to jump ship and leave Brighton. The funny part is, Brighton actually got a much better manager (where even players have said that Potter was more invested in relationships and managing players where as De Zerbi is more focused on ensuring the tactical approach is correct based on the opposition). The problem with Potter (from the beginning) was that he's never had to deal with so much pressure or money in his previous jobs and you could tell the players lost interest in his approach quite quickly. We had a few decent results with key players showing their individual class at times but even with the very few wins that we had under Potter, it was clear as day that there was no "team effort" left at Chelsea. The last half decent showing from this team was that 0-0 against Liverpool and that was with Bruno in charge and rather than build on that, the club decided to turn to Lampard for a farewell tour and honestly, it is just ruining his reputation and his small chances of managing in the PL again will take a massive hit as it'll very likely read as: "Let go by Everton in relegation zone", "Left Chelsea in the bottom 6 of the league".

Does he have the physicality to play in the Premier League? I do recall him being linked to Arsenal but apparently they are more interested in getting in someone like Caicedo/Declan Rice in the next transfer window.

Isn't that the whole point of the forum though? You watch the game as a passionate fan and you expect your team to at least put in the effort to make it a competitive match against arguably the best team in Europe.

From memory, Maatsen was keen on a squad role at Chelsea but Tuchel declined and preferred that he go out on a loan. As for Cucurella, he really wasn't that good for Brighton, he was just "another piece" in their machine. Normally when a "good" player leaves a decent side, they feel a bit of an impact but as of now, Brighton are actually stronger than last season without Cucurella in the side. Even young Colwill has looked better than Cucurella in that Brighton lineup when he has played (no wonder why Brighton originally wanted him on a permanent transfer as part of the Cucurella deal, they could of easily sold him for a nice 15-20 million profit). Best case scenario is we get a component manager in charge and maybe like Kepa, Cucurella has a decent season and we can sell him off for a decent fee the following season.

It would be possible to sign him depending upon how much money we would be able to raise from player sales. i.e. if we were able to offload the likes of Pulisic, Ziyech, Gallagher, Mount (if he's not keen on staying), possibly Sterling for good transfer fees....that would probably help balance the books.