Rekin

I think it is for the best. I think he is incredibly talented when it comes to passing and creativity, and could potentially have enjoyed one hell of a career under say Mancini in Yaya's role at Man C. Here though he has been exposed for many, many games. He works hard, but he is just slow and lacks the positional awareness that is essential when you are a central midfielder. I would rather he is shipped away while he can still play, and that we get a hybrid instead of a specialist in the mold of Nainggolan. Matic-Kante has been solid for a few games now, but I still feel a little bit paranoid about Matic dropping off sooner or later.

He is certainly very limited as a winger, would never want him to compete with Willian and Pedro for example. As a wing-back however I think he has enough tools at his disposal to be very good. He is strong, works very hard, knows when to play simple and when he is allowed more creativity. I think its way to early to tell how he will turn out in his new position (after all, opposition always adapt eventually, once they do and find ways to expose him it will be more interesting), but if he is performing at a similar level like 10 games from now, I am prepared to see him as an integral part of the first team.

I have been thinking about our team recently. The current formation together with Conte's micro-managing and passion has improved many performances. I saw warning signs in the early games of the season, where we worked hard but did not appear very coherent and stable, something I think we have improved upon immensely since getting destroyed by Arsenal. The formation has plugged some of the holes in the ship, but there is still room for improvement. I think the weak links currently in the setup we have are Cahill and Pedro. Neither players are terrible per se, but they are far from top class in my opinion. I also have some concerns regarding Moses and Matic, even though both have stepped up a lot in the last four games. I think for the latter two the jury is still out, but I just dont think Cahill and Pedro have the required skills to perform in our current setup. Since we are not playing in CL this year, I wonder of January might be a bit more busy than before. Regardless of whether it is this January or next summer, I am curious whether the club feel that it can justify another CB purchase. I do not see Ivanovic staying after this season, and Terry will most likely either retire or move. While we all love Christensen and Zouma, there are no guarantees Conte will find both/one of them good enough. I would personally love to see a summer purchase of Van Dijk, I think it would be difficult to find a better player for the CB position. I would also love to finally see us buy a truly class right winger. We have been stuck with players who do not perform there for what feels like an eternity. Willian/Pedro are just never going to be good enough to consistently threaten on that flank, and it is unfair on Hazard to carry the brunt each time. I honestly do not know who would be a good transfer here though, any thought? Also, please sell Oscar.

The problem with Oscar, in my opinion, is that due to being slow and not possessing the ability to beat a man, he would need a range of passing at the level of Fabregas to be worth his spot in the starting lineup. Sure, sometimes he plays a killer pass, but he is far to inconsistent at it. When Mata or Fabregas has played, CFC has shown a tendency to score more, but when we rely on the creativity from the likes of Oscar and Matic then our gameplan is to pressure the other team into mistakes, not to score from our own ability (as a team). With Matic and Kante, I think we could afford a player with more flair in front of them. Fabregas is not at his best there, so I dont think he is the answer. We would need a tenacious and creative player who can play as either an advanced CM, or a 10. I honestly cant come up with one that would be a good alternative right now. Perhaps the club couldnt either. I am just tired of CFC for the last few seasons forcing mediocre players on the pitch just because we have no alternatives. I am happy with Costa, Bats, Hazard, Kante, Zouma, Luiz, Azpili, Courtois and possibly Alonso, but the rest are either squad players or just inadequate at the level CFC wants to reach.

I am honestly curious about what his purpose is. I watch Kante and I see a player who is taking shots (terrible shots but still), disrupting play, collecting the ball deep, running everywhere and then I see Matic. Matic sometimes give a half-hearted attempt to win the ball, makes a simple pass but most of the time manages to be missing where the heart of the action is. Is he supposed to be attacking? Is he supposed to be controlling the middle? Whatever his role, he is clearly failing. We are losing so so much from having him and Oscar in the middle. Both are slow players lacking any real creativity, dynamism or flair. Their only purpose seem to be to slow down play and make passes to better players. I might think Willian is as best above average, but he is still far ahead.

I think he did rather well most of the time. He over-commited here and there, but I actually feel like he is clearly the superior choice to Cahill.

I think it is important to remember that we were completely in charge for like 75% of the game. Kante's value is the most obvious during fights for the midfield, a fight we dominated yesterday. As a result, he was not as visible as he might be during other games. Having said that, I felt like he was a constant thorn in Swansea's side, and won the ball back on numerous occasions. His presence is simply felt everywhere, there was a sequence where he started by winning the ball on the left side in our half, and ended by taking a shot outside of the opponents box on the right side. Matic just feels so lethargic in comparison.

A lot of focus on the negatives today, but another huge game for the small guy. This guy has me more excited than Hazard in his first season. Watching City vs United I was thinking to myself how important it is to have at least one or two truly WC players, the kind of players that could almost walk into any team in the world and have a tangible impact on a result. Does Kante qualify? I think it is too early to say, but if he keeps this up then I feel inclined to say yes. I wish there was a better player next to him. I am losing faith in Matic with each game. Our problem in the team in my opinion comes from two parts; a lack of creativity in the middle, and a lack of pace from the defenders. Today was a good example of why both these issues will make a title challenge difficult. In terms of defenders I think we are in a better position now, but the midfield is still a huge issue. Fabregas has a lot of flaws, but he is the best passer we have, his presence makes a huge difference. If we are to truly become a challenger, we need to replace both Matic and Oscar, both are average at best right now. I dont know of Maia is the right solution, but Nainggolan would have been perfect. Regardless, I am really happy we got Kante, amazing player.

I am very curious about what Conte is trying to create for us. Is the idea in defence Alonso - X - Zouma - Azpilicueta? If X is left-footed and has some pace, then we have a quick and agile defense that will allow us a higher defensive line that we have seen for ages. Zouma and Azpilicueta are not the best technically, but it would still be an overall upgrade. I think we shouldnt overlook that Alonso actually has some PL experience as well. Sure, its a cliche to mention it, but it is never a disadvantage to be aware of what you can expect. I also wonder how quick the potential signings are expected to be integrated. Is it likely that we in January play with Alonso - Maksimovic - Zouma - Azpilicueta? Of course it depends on how well any new signings perform, but never the less if we are looking at quality purchases then the idea must be to play them. Regardless, it looks solid. The CFC team has some serious balance and performance issues that must be dealt with. In my opinion Cahill, Ivanovic and Oscar are players that should not start in a team at our level. Matic, Costa, Terry, Fabregas and Willian are examples of players that are not bad, but sacrifice some sides of their play in order to deliver in others, but I see a role for them. In other words, this summer should put emphasis on the three players mentioned before, and Alonso + Maksimovic would deal with that. It is extremely risky to try and solve all problems at the same time. Defence could potentially be solved or at least heavily improved this summer. Bats is giving us more safety up top, and midfield will get better with Kante. In other words, if these two defensive transfers take place, it is a large success for us.

Well, we need a left-back, so if we can get a consistent performer then it is hard to complain too much. I havent seen Alonso enough to have a strong opinion, but from the little I have seen he seems like your jack of all trades. I think he might benefit from playing with a good defensive coach such as Conte. Overall, if our summer i Kante, Bats, Maksimovic and Alonso I would be happy.

And if we finally sign a defender of his level, or a better one, will you finally just shut the fuck up? You have completely on your own lowered the standard of this forum by several levels the last weeks. It's unbearable, day in and day out you just have to flood this forum with knee-jerk reactions to every single piece of news, regardless of how reliable they are. I honestly cant decide whether you are 10 years old or a troll. On a more relevant note, I feel pretty certain that this will be our player.

I agree with Diego, Koulibaly was obviously the absolute nr 1 choice for us. It is not unlikely that Maksimovic was considered the whole time, but that as a second choice he would only be pursued should we fail with the primary signings. It was not entirely foolish to try with Romagnoli and Koulibaly IF there was some certainty that Maksimovic would be available should we fail with the others. I guess we just have to wait and see for a few more days. People go apeshit because of the horrible, just horrible situation where the new players miss pre-season, but the truth is that the club is looking long-term. If they have to negotiate longer, but get who they really want, its worth it. If they still fail, get their second choice and it happens at the end of the window then its not ideal, but at least the ambition was there to get the best they could. The situation where we can all be unhappy and complain with some degree of entitlement is if no new, or a papi-level, defender signs. Not every fucking time a report says something about a failed bid. Seriously, what is the point of just whining day in and day out about whether an alleged bid has been accepted or not? Wait for some solid facts first ffs.

It seems clear that Maksimovic or Romagnoli will be our new CB this season. Both are young ball-playing defenders that are highly rated but the question is whether they can deliver right away. The market this summer seems difficult, and while it may be questioned that what we need is another prospect (however promising) rather than someone who can deliver straight away, it would be quite nice to sit on two of the most promising centre backs in the world (if we get Romagnoli that is). I would love to see Terry mentor whoever we get, it is important as we have seen the improvement in Kurt already from playing next to him.

I have read the transfer threads for a few weeks here now, and god does it bring out the worst in people. The club can basically only do one thing right, and it is to sign the best players for low to reasonable prices (which they have managed in at least one case this summer so far). Anything else, and heads MUST ROLL for their incompetence. Circumstances does not matter, only what the fans WANT RIGHT NOW!!. It is not how a business works to begin with, and that isnt even the largest issue. This sense of entitlement is disgusting to be honest. People who mention Pogba, Modric and Stones should think about it for a while. Modric was not sold to Chelsea because Spurs did not wish to strengthen a direct rival, it was not down to the fee (which at the time was substantial). Stones had fees approaching the one he got sold for this summer rejected last year, most likely due to his not so stellar 2015-2016. In both cases the players had transfer requests denied, and in both cases the clubs saw that it would be a struggle to keep those players. When it comes to Pogba we know very little. Maybe he was overvalued according to CFC, maybe we were not deemed to need him last summer (in relation to his fee), maybe he or his agent werent ready to move yet etc. If Chelsea tries to pay a lower transfer fee for a highly rated player, and manages to do so, they are geniuses. If they fail, they are idiots. If Chelsea tries to over-bid for a player, then there will be complaints that they are insane, and that the player is not worth the price. If Chelsea looks at other players, then everyone is unhappy either with us targeting hard-to-get players, or for looking at what is deemed as "average" replacements (or Papi as it is spelled in these parts). There is basically always something wrong with our strategy according to people here. This even though we have signed two players that appear to be excellent for reasonable prices, and some serious effort to adress the CB issue. Things could be better from a relative point of view, but that does not mean that things could have been handled better. For all we know, the transfer people might just have been supremely unlucky, and are doing their absolute best to get us what the team needs.

Im far from an expert about Italian football, so Ill just relay what I have heard from my friend and my Italian co-worker. Both say that losing Allegri would be devastating to Italian football as he is the sharpest coach they have, only competing with Conte. I asked my co-worker (who is a Juve fan) whether he preferred Conte or Allegri, and he said Allegri without any doubt. Perhaps he would not be such a terrible option?

You guys do realize that Mou is/was an employee, and not your daddy? It has always been part of his modus operandi to manipulate circumstances to make himself look like a victim, like he does everything right but referees/players/media/Football organisations conspire against him. It makes his players and fans feel like they are struggling together, isolating them from the "enemy" and become almost a cult of personality. Jose acted terribly, the football was boring, he got us engaged in a terrible situation with Eva, he kept spreading words of a conspiracy, turned the players against him and now even the results have been absolute garbage. This is the man so many are defending. A man who pounds his chest a few times, say he is "one of us", and collects a fat check at the end of the day. Get fucking real people, I liked him when he had charisma, but ever since he came back he has been like the old man from "Up" before he re-discovered his happiness. Stop being so easily manipulated. As for the blame, it is very much with the players too. Jose is not innocent though, and when you can either get rid of your coach, or of your players, it is always the coach who will go, provided we arent talking about singular cases of "mutiny". Let us get Pep or Simeone, and put this circus behind us. Bye Jose, you just werent that special in the end.

100% agree with this. If not for the terrible start Gladbach had this season, his stock would be much higher. I think being an interim manager is an attractive job for a manager who feels he needs to re-ignite his career, such as Benitez before. Ramos would therefore make sense. I do think its pretty obvious it will be Hiddink though, the greater question is who will replace him. Pep/Conte/Simeone are all ex-players and could perhaps adress the dressing room chemistry a bit better than Mou.

Im sure Guardiola would enjoy fixing what many would consider Mou's mess. With Bayern he got what basically was a self-playing piano, so maybe he would enjoy a bigger project where he gets to insert his philosophy. I do not think we will get him though, but it would be great if we did.

I think its a good decision. People dont exist in vacuum, they respond to their environment. Mourinho have always seemed to me like a person who will not change or adapt to anything but himself. This is why he is unable to stay in one club for too long, eventually he runs out of backers. I for one am tired of all the controversy, I want an adult as coach, and someone who is less rigid. Jose is freaking Stannis Baratheon. The players have a lot of blame here, they have played horribly at times. It might be a combination of their ambition disappearing due to last seasons success, but also no doubt many of them lack loyalty to the manager. It doesnt matter who the manager is, but when you dont have the backing of your team, you are done. There is a lot of talent in the squad, we just need a way to activate it. I am not too thrilled with Hiddink for now, but it is understandable as we will not get a top candidate in the middle of the season. There are some fun names in the summer though; Guardiola, Conte and De Boer are all talented managers who could do quite some work here.

Fabregas has been atrocious. Considering how much of a gap in the midfield he leaves, he needs to add so much with his vision and passing and that is something he has not done for quite a while.

Chelsea have some very good players, but they lack the type who can make things happen right now. Costa's movement has at times been atrocious, absolutely zero engagement. Oscar is simply a rotation player at this point. I think Hazard and Willian are good enough to be first team players, but the 10 and striker position needs a higher quality of competition. As someone wrote before, Texeira has been absolutely on fire this season, and is a very quick and technical player. Together with someone like Aubameyang our striking options would become much better. Having said that, we still have defensive problems. I have no problem with a relatively poor season if it means we are blooding in some younger players who can become starters next season, such as Baba and Zouma, but we also need more steel in the midfield, and a more reliable CB. I really have a hard time seeing us getting any of Texeira, Stones and Aubameyang this winter, even if they wont be playing in champions league. They are all players who have been one of the best in their teams, so they are not going to be let go without a pricey fight.

Why do people keep talking about how we will "realize what we lost only once he is gone"? What will we lose exactly? A manager who antagonises everyone and everything, keeps talking about conspiracies to the degree where you feel ashamed for him, sits in the dugout and looks completely uninterested in the goal Chelsea just scored, causes controversies by firing staff, plays atrocious football that is painful to watch and so on? Mourinho has done a lot for Chelsea. Having said that, the good does not remove the bad, and the collapse this season is bringing out feelings that have been brewing for some time now. When he arrived long ago he felt like a breath of fresh air in PL, an outspoken manager with a strong personality and new tactical ideas. He inspired many younger managers, but has failed to understand that football has changed. He has gone from being cool to an old grumpy grandpa who yells at kids who skateboard at the sidewalk. His personality has fallen to the same level of his football. I felt that it was a different Mourinho that arrived from Madrid, a man who had lost much of his confidence and passion, and I have never stopped feeling it since. We didnt get Mourinho, we got his shadow, and it is only becoming apparent now. The fact that he still managed to win trophies just shows how great of a manager he once was. No, everything ends sooner or later, and Mourinho's time has come. It is my opinion at least, which makes me sad as I looked up to him for so long. Emotion should not be allowed to cloud judgement however, the board must take decisions based on what is in front of them.

Dude, that means absolutely nothing. Its just a simplistic way to win over people who are purely run by emotions. Mourinho's heart only beats for himself (no shit) and while I have no doubt that he likes CFC, I also have no doubt that he would leave us the moment a better opportunity came.

I am aware of that argument, but I disagree. Barcelona had some absolutely amazing players that had simply not hit their stride/stepped up/utilized properly before Pep came in. Credit to him for finding a system that worked, but to compare it with Chelsea would mean that we have some truly top world-class players that just need a different coach/system to be amazing. While neither of us are in a position to state whether this is the case, I have my doubts (not saying that Chelsea have bad players, but I dont believe us to have the equivalents of a prime/young Xavi, Iniesta, Puyol, Messi etc). Having said that, I would be very happy if Pep came in. I just think that Simeone would feel like someone I would get behind easier.

So, I read that The Times have claimed that Mourinho is one "big" loss away from the sack. The idea from what I understand is to have a temporary manager until summer (the names I have heard are Hiddink and Ancelotti, although I cant see Carlo accepting such an offer for several reasons), and then get another one for the new season. Im not sure whether it is Times or a less reliable source, but I read that the main candidates are Pep Guardiola and Diego Simeone. How would people here feel about those two names? Guardiola has an excellent track record,but both his teams were already very, very good before him. I would personally prefer Simeone, I think he has the perfect combination of tactical knowledge and leadership skills that would ensure him success. He signed a new contract with Atletico recently, so I cant see him being cheap though. Sacking Mou and hiring Simeone could be an extremely expensive affair, but surely Chelsea were smart enough to include some kind of "minimum performance" clause in Mou's contract?