Rekin

I know its easy to feel like it doesnt matter what Chelsea does because everything is so grim, but the club needs to look forward, and there is no reason at all to let rivals get the best prospects in the world. Last year I was so excited about our three central players. We had gone from Ramires and Lampard to Matic and Fabregas, how amazing is that? We also played in a way that suggested that they offered the perfect balance, and Oscar still felt exciting. Nowadays it looks like our greater weakness. Fabregas offers little protection and is basically only good for forward play, but has failed to even that for quite some time now. Matic is the opposite, but has also felt a lot more lethargic lately. Ruben Neves is young, but sometimes being young and hungry is far more valuable than being old(er) and accomplished. I feel certain that this player if allowed to, will be playing in Real Madrid not too far in the future, he has great potential and I would much rather see money invested into his type of players than left backs that barely make the bench.

A Serbian user on WAGNH wrote this in their article about the player: "I am from Serbia and I tell you, HE IS THE REAL BEAST ON THE FIELD! I watched every game he played this season, and I can tell you, he is astonishing player. He is by far the best player of Red Star, despite of his age. I don’t know which words to use to describe how good he is. He is definitely not "Matic type of player", he is more like Dejan Stankovic, central midfielder with great technique, great shooting ability, phenomenal work rate and very good vision on the field. He is also a leading player of Serbia U21 team which got all four victories in qualification group so far. Last summer he became U20 world champion with national team, but because of his age, he played only a few minutes. In these four, five months, he developed so much, whole Serbia speaks about him and how great player he is. This weekend Red Star played against Borac, and that game was a must win for Red Star because of a difference in quality between these two teams. At half time score was 2:2, then Gruja took the ball, scored 3rd and assisted for the 4th goal, and game finished 4:2. He plays practiacally the same position as RLC, and I know many of you won’t like this, but he is for sure already better player than Ruben. You can say that he only played in Serbia, but that is not so important, look at our Youth teams, we are always among the best teams in every Euro competitions, I guess that’s the proof of their quality. Despite having many talents as Andrija Zivkovic, or Lazar Markovic, etc. Serbia didn’t have this caliber of player since Nemanja Vidic and Dejan Stankovic. We should buy him, otherwise we will regret, I can see him being one of the best players in his position in Europe!"

Lucien Favre would be an option, at least for the time. Did a great job with Gladbach, where lost key players and injuries led to a very poor start this season. If nothing else, at least someone to carry us through the storm until summer. Mourinho is passé, he belongs to a school of football that is being phased out. These negative tactics of his doesnt belong at the highest of levels. Look at City, except for their performance in CL they are exactly what we should be, and now they have KDB.

Most likely wont get sacked until the end of the season (unless it continues the way it has). His football is just mind numbingly boring. Sure, the players must take some of the blame, but I feel like everyone is suddenly over 30. Last season in the beginning I would not blame someone for thinking we had the perfect squad, but the last months of it showed that there were some blatant issues. Other teams learned how to play against us, but we have learned nothing. You can only get away with playing the same way over and over when your squad is superior by quite a distance, and ours clearly isnt. I used to worship Mou, he was my favorite in football. Now I despise him, he is just so incredibly narcissistic, his football is fucking boring, and I see zero reason to stand behind him. This summer will require a lot of work.

Honestly, he has been good 50% of his time here. While the good portion was amazing, the bad part has been bad. This whole team feels just devoid of spirit, I would honestly prefer to have like 2-3 youngsters on that will at least have something to play for.

100% correct decision. Fuck, one year ago Jose and Matic could do no wrong in my opinion. Now Im sick and tired of both.

I wish we knew what is going on behind the scenes. Jose lacks class and is a bully, we all knew that, but if simply has his hands tied due to people in the club then even less of the blame is on him. Players seem to have lost some of their hunger that was more present the last seasons. It is not uncommon to see this in teams that have been winning lately. Maybe he was denied players he felt he needed? I dont know, I think people in our position need to be careful before throwing all the blame for an outcome on one person. Having said that, I want this guy out due to him being an absolute prick. He lacks respect for anything and anyone except himself and the people who pay him. His football represents his character perfectly. It is boring to watch, and now it isnt even providing results. No, Im seriously tired of seeing my passion for the club go down with each season, regardless of results. If we would sack him now the obvious question is who will replace him? Klopp has done a lot with little before, but I dont think there are any obvious candidates at this point in time. Managers at this level do not simply jump ship for higher offers.

Boring fucking game to begin with, and now we are even losing. I am sick and tired of the negative tactics employed by Chelsea.

Sad to see her go. I really feel like there is a lot more to the story that is kept internally, and as a result people everywhere speculate based on what outcome they would like. Either way she seemed to me like a fine doctor and role model, and unless it turns out otherwise, this is a loss to Chelsea.

Disgusting. While I laughed my way throughout the game, what he did does not belong on a pitch. The guy is more clever than his actions suggest (havent gotten a straight red since 2010 if I understand it right), but he is an embarrassment to the club.

Fuck this, poor results due to bad luck are one thing. So much money have been put into players, and I still hardly feel any excitement when I see CFC play nowadays. I was defending Jose for a long time, saying that he needed time to rebuild the squad, that the boring as fuck defensive tactics were meant to carry us until a new more offensive strategy could be created. Well, that time is over. I watch football for entertainment, and while wins sure are entertaining, even that excitement runs dry after 87 games worth of grinding out results for 90 min. I honestly dont know whether there is a mismatch between the vision of Mou and the board (the new contract suggests otherwise), but I am seriously starting to wonder if it was worth it bringing Mou back. Last summer I felt optimistic, and it was not just because a lot of money was spent, but because the money spent adressed weaknesses. The club actually showed an ability to learn from mistakes, and it felt like a construction project that was starting to come together. What if last season was the actual anomaly? City, United, Arsenal and even Liverpool all struggled with results and injuries, while CFC basically went through the whole season comfortably. Several results that felt undeserved went our way. You would think the club would see what every rival was going through and would prepare themselves, but no. Chelsea have one plan, and a set of players that go with that plan. When that plan doesnt work, there is no come back. The CL game against PSG represents what Chelsea have been turned to under Mou 2.0 for me. An inflexible, un-meritocratic team that is more worried about not losing than they are focused on winning. Problems such as the central midfield go completely non-adressed, while the right back gets an insanely expensive backup who has yet to be seen in action one month in. I just dont want Mou in the club anymore. The last time he was here he felt like a breath of fresh air, now he feels like the complete opposite. This is not a knee-jerk reaction to the horrible season, but a reaction to a building realisation that he will never change, while football has. There are actually interesting candidates out there. Guardiolas contract will expire soon, Klopp is available. Both have a great reputation, arent afraid to develop their own strategies and nurture youth. On paper far superior candidates than the current coach.

Not sure what your point is. We cant play a high line with Terry, everyone knows that. Just because we were able to beat worse teams last two seasons while playing in an entertaining way does not mean that its simply a matter of "not clicking" this season. Other teams learn and adapt from their mistakes, Chelsea however needs to do that as well.

I'm not panicking. Im stating that we have problems. It is in no way about "not clicking", thats just a lazy excuse.

There is just such a mismatch. Great pass and move players such as Fabregas, Hazard & Pedro, but then you throw in a midfield with Mikel & Matic who lack the creativity to distribute it to the attacking players. You also have Costa, who is an animal but limited technically and creatively, and you suddenly are unable to neither bully nor out-pass the opposition. Whats the game-plan here? Ivanovic and Terry are old-school defenders who both need very specific circumstances to shine, but the team keep adding on players that require a different style of football to have an impact. We cant have it both ways. Im genuinely worried that this will get progressively worse. Then again, if we could replace those two defenders with Baba (KIA?) and Stones/Varane/Laporte it would look much better. We _really_ need to change the midfield. Matic should be our anchor, and have a more creative yet defensively capable player next to him, Koke strikes me as the ideal candidate. I honestly have problems seeing a place for Fabregas in the team. He cant play next to Matic, as he is a liability against every team that has a higher quality of players, and I have yet to see him have a good game as a 10. Mikel needs to go. For the attacking midfielders there needs to be at least one big purchase. Hazard and Pedro I'm happy with, but either Oscar or Willian needs to be replaced. There is a real chance that either Götze or Isco will be sold next summer, Chelsea should be looking in that direction, just as in the direction of Pogba and Koke. Ive also had more and more doubts about Costa. Its kinda been there from the beginning, but he kept getting his goals in PL and it was easy to forget, but he seems too clumsy and hot-blooded to be put in the category of a "world-class" striker. He does not require replacement just yet, but some monitoring needs to be done here. His injuries are also a source of concern.

OH YEAH! Ivanovic is great and Mou will get us the title!

Ivanovic is just not closing down players at all, both times he have been given them the space to cross/shoot. The midfield has also not been present there at all. The question is whether the players or the manager are to blame?

Wow, this season is just getting worse and worse.

I feel like your argument is based on the assumption that this signing is a panic buy; barely scouted and a poor player. It does not have to be black and white here either, it could just be that he fits the profile of a back-up perfectly, not amazing but reliable when called upon. Also, I am in the group of people who thinks Kalas, Omeruo and Christensen wont make it big, neither here nor in another club. If we had a better prospect then I would be all for an internal solution.

Sure, N'Kolou is actually a player I like, but I personally dont see him as a player good enough to be a starter in Chelsea. I think you know yourself that Djilo isnt meant to be a starter, so why pay the much larger fee that Marseille would surely demand, when the club is very likely to be on the market for a CB next summer again? N'Kolou is also good enough to have higher demands than to be a reserve/rotation option. Let me put it this way. Would you rather get Djilo this summer and then Stones/Laporte the next one, or N'Kolou now and no one next summer? This is Bilbao, check how easy it was for other clubs to buy Herrera, Martinez and Llorente.

What are peoples problem here? Chelsea _really_ tried to buy Stones. They made several bids, the player put in a transfer request but in the end Everton simply did not want to sell. Rumours about Marquinhos and Laporte were fun and all, but who the fuck is stupid enough to think we would get one of the two best young centre backs a few days before the transfer window closes. If you need to reinforce your backline, but cant get your primary target this window, you have two options. You either dont buy anything, and keep the problem you wanted to solve, or you compromise and buy a temporary solution. This guy costs €3,5m, Im sure Chelsea spends a similar amount of money on grass maintenance each season. I prefer them to get this guy and next season try with Stones/Laporte again rather then just remain in the same position. Chelsea bought and got rid of Cuadrado in half a season, and he cost more than 10 times more. This guy will either be a great buy, or a horrible one, but will either way not stand in the way of next seasons real targets. Also, this is not fucking Football Manager, I wish some people would stop acting like spoiled children and think that every club in the world is just waiting to sell their star players, and that the Chelsea board is cruising in Saint Tropez and simply came back to late to negotiate properly, or that they didnt want to put in that extra million. It is a lot more complicated, as every deal involves boards on both sides, players, agents, coaches and other commercial considerations. You dont simply send an email titled "£50m", and get one back saying "Yes" or "No", its a little more to it than that. Also, you are all very comfortable judging the club not knowing anything about long term plans. Maybe they already have several targets in mind that cant/wont be touched until next season for one reason or another?

Rofl at people who think he will get sacked anytime soon. Yeah, the team is playing like shit, and its not just this season, but he just got a new contract. Honestly, I can still see us win the league, its hardly impossible. To me its not about that, there is a limit for how many excuses you can make for your manager before your own patience runs out. I just find him to be so unlikable, the charm he used to have is gone with the wind.

Im so fucking tired of this guy. Im tired of the way every game is a long grind, how he is always complaining, how he completely lacks class, how everything is about him, how unsympathetic he always come off, his favoritism for some players, and so much more. It is nice winning games, and there are a lot of managers I prefer him to, but overall I just feel like my passion for both Chelsea and the team is slowly dying with every game.

These are the moments my doubt about mourinho grow. I know its hard, and much depends on the team as well, but every fucking game feels like a grind. The strategy is basically to keep it tight in the back and hope for some individual magic, but it doesnt always happen. Also, it is high time players like Ivanovic & Willian become rotation options rather than starting players.

Pedro has defended better than Ivanovic this game

Honestly, could we not loan them Zouma as a counterweight? That would help with the urgent need of a replacement this late in the window for Everton. I of course want him to come back as I think he has the potential to be right up there. I just think that if we have both Zouma and Stones in the squad, one will see his game time reduced by quite a lot, and it will not be the £35m signing. This way we get who we want, while our other promising CB gets a seasons worth of football at a high level. Win-win (except for Everton I guess, but who gives a fuck) in my opinion.