The Ancelotti Thread

[Kostas 1,468]

Name me one available manager that is better suited for the Chelsea job.

But that's not really the point is it? Technically Ancelotti wasn't available when Hiddink left..

Carlo has put himself forward for one of the most difficult jobs in club football, there is pressure on him from the board, the owner and the media, he doesn't need it from his own fans. He needs to feel that his job is secure, and then he can start to focus on the youth and the academy. The fact is Carlo can't just put McEachran or Kakuta etc into the first team and hope we win. Right now, he needs to put the best players onto the pitch and get them playing well again, because that is the only way we will ever win competitions like the Champions League. Form only comes from playing games.

So what you're saying is that he can't afford to take risks due to the pressure? Don't you realize he brought that pressure on to himself in the fist place?

Not to mention that his play-the-same-XI-until-they-hit-form tactic that you support has in the last 4 months got us from league leaders to Europa League candidates.

If we've won the Champions league come May, I bet alot of you will have changed your tune about him

It'll certainly depend on the way we win it. If we fluke it like Liverpool in 2005 I doubt most reasonable fans will have a sudden change of heart.

[Slam Dunk 1,442]

But that's not really the point is it? Technically Ancelotti wasn't available when Hiddink left..

So what you're saying is that he can't afford to take risks due to the pressure? Don't you realize he brought that pressure on to himself in the fist place?

Not to mention that his play-the-same-XI-until-they-hit-form tactic that you support has in the last 4 months got us from league leaders to Europa League candidates.

Ok then, name me one manager you think should take over from Ancelotti (and please don't say Mourinho because it ain't gonna happen, neither will Hiddink.)

No, he can't take risks. Not now anyway. Our owner/board want results fast. Maybe if he knew his job was secure, he could begin to build his own squad. Look at Wenger, he has restructured the team after many of the 'invincibles' had left. His job was never under threat whilst he was reshaping the squad. Granted he didn't win anything, but look at them now. He has built a great team who play good football. Utd did the same a few years back, was Ferguson's job ever under threat? No. Because everyone knew that it would take time.

How has he bought pressure on himself? He is forced to play the same 11 week-in week-out because there is no-one else to play. The squad is way too thin. Letting go of the likes of Ballack, Carvalho and Deco and replacing them with youth has not worked.The youth is not ready. Do you not realise that you can't just throw a 17yr old onto the pitch and expect him to fit into the team immediately? Josh McEachran made a mistake in the reserve game vs Arsenal which lead to a goal, and you think he's ready to change our season? They need to be gradually integrated into the team. Brief sub appearances and loan moves are the only way to do it.

We're so used to winning everything since Abramovich came along, and now the core of the team is ageing (Terry/Lampard/Drogba), and will need replacing. Teams don't automatically gel in a few matches. Who knows, we may buy several replacements in the summer, and we may have to get used to waiting for the team to click.

[Laylabelle 9,535]

It'll certainly depend on the way we win it. If we fluke it like Liverpool in 2005 I doubt most reasonable fans will have a sudden change of heart.

But some didnt seem to bothered about Carlo being manager when we went on a mini winning streak or the beginning of the season.And if we go on a long run again this thread be forgotten about no doubt until we loose.Had we won Sunday this thread wouldnt have popped up

[Henrique 9,133]

I think he is. This isn't going to be an over night thing and someone did just say is there anyone better suited at the moment? I don't think so, he gets on with whatever Roman does (used to it from Milan with their president), The players respect him... and he is very interested in the youth progression... I really do think we will be a proper force to be reckoned with in a couple of years, heck even now we're playing great football but been unfortunate with injuries and random staff changes. Give him till the end of the season, see what we're doing then. If we've won the Champions league come May, I bet alot of you will have changed your tune about him

It doesnt matter If We will won the CL or not. Hes not great. Benitez also won a CL, is he great? Grant almost won it. If Terry had scored that penalty, would Grant be great ? NO !!!!!

[Lampards Bitch 21]

But some didnt seem to bothered about Carlo being manager when we went on a mini winning streak or the beginning of the season.And if we go on a long run again this thread be forgotten about no doubt until we loose.Had we won Sunday this thread wouldnt have popped up

Its great when we are winning and its going nicely with out major hiccups then easy to say yeah we have the best manager ever. But when the going gets tough, you need a manager to step up and take the bull by the horns and sort the situation out. and this situation is going on for too long. And for me Carlo is not doing that for one reason or another. I cant possibly say he is a shit manager, I like him but I also like Ranieri but I knew he wasnt the man for the tasks ahead with Chelsea.

[spuz 143]

It doesnt matter If We will won the CL or not. Hes not great. Benitez also won a CL, is he great? Grant almost won it. If Terry had scored that penalty, would Grant be great ? NO !!!!!

Well put dude.:goodpost:

[Kostas 1,468]

How has he bought pressure on himself? He is forced to play the same 11 week-in week-out because there is no-one else to play. The squad is way too thin. Letting go of the likes of Ballack, Carvalho and Deco and replacing them with youth has not worked.The youth is not ready. Do you not realise that you can't just throw a 17yr old onto the pitch and expect him to fit into the team immediately? Josh McEachran made a mistake in the reserve game vs Arsenal which lead to a goal, and you think he's ready to change our season? They need to be gradually integrated into the team. Brief sub appearances and loan moves are the only way to do it.

But it's not like he had only a 17yr old at his disposal.

21 year old Daniel Sturridge has only started 2 PL games under Ancelotti and he rarely got more than 10 minutes during our "bad moment". No matter how bad Drogba, Anelka or Kalou played he never got his chance.I could argue Bruma couldn't do worse than Ferreira at CB and his performance against Aston Villa certainly didn't prove Ancelotti right.

I've been criticizing the lack of squad depth from August but even with this squad we should have never had our CL spot in doubt. With the thinnest squad in the league, Ancelotti started the season with one hand tied behind his back. However, his use of his other hand leaves a lot to be desired.

We're so used to winning everything since Abramovich came along, and now the core of the team is ageing (Terry/Lampard/Drogba), and will need replacing. Teams don't automatically gel in a few matches. Who knows, we may buy several replacements in the summer, and we may have to get used to waiting for the team to click.

That would mean everything said about youth development was a lie. I can't be bothered digging up quotes about promises about how we were going to promote some players to the first team but I'm sure the regulars remember.

[Slam Dunk 1,442]

But it's not like he had only a 17yr old at his disposal.

21 year old Daniel Sturridge has only started 2 PL games under Ancelotti and he rarely got more than 10 minutes during our "bad moment". No matter how bad Drogba, Anelka or Kalou played he never got his chance.I could argue Bruma couldn't do worse than Ferreira at CB and his performance against Aston Villa certainly didn't prove Ancelotti right.

I've been criticizing the lack of squad depth from August but even with this squad we should have never had our CL spot in doubt. With the thinnest squad in the league, Ancelotti started the season with one hand tied behind his back. However, his use of his other hand leaves a lot to be desired.

That would mean everything said about youth development was a lie. I can't be bothered digging up quotes about promises about how we were going to promote some players to the first team but I'm sure the regulars remember.

He started the season with one hand behind his back, but that wasn't his decision, was it? We all know where the decisions are made within this club, Carlo merely has to do the best with what he's given. We needed to cut down on wages/spending, and promised to promote youth to the first team squad. We've done that, 5 youth players were promoted to the first team squad. Squad, not team. There is a big difference.

It wasn't a lie, players like Josh, PVA, Bruma and Kakuta were not meant to be put straight into the team. Training with the first team and being involved with the first squad and matchday practice are all vital for their development. Sturridge is a little different, and i'll concede that he probably should've been given a better chance. As for the others, obviously Carlo feels that they would be under too much pressure to rescue our season, and I trust his judgement more than anyone on here.

All i'm saying that Carlo hasn't had a fair chance. He inherited an ageing squad which was then cut down to a bare minimum first team and a few youth players. Injuries and suspensions hit us hard this year, and Carlo didn't have the players to call upon to fill the void.

[LDN Blue 7,903]

He started the season with one hand behind his back, but that wasn't his decision, was it? We all know where the decisions are made within this club, Carlo merely has to do the best with what he's given. We needed to cut down on wages/spending, and promised to promote youth to the first team.

I don't buy this excuse. Carlo is not a stupid man, he knows when a squad is too weak to defend a title and his failure to recognise this is one of his flaws. All he had to do was tell Roman "this squad will not win you the Champions League or retain the double"

[Slam Dunk 1,442]

I don't buy this excuse. Carlo is not a stupid man, he knows when a squad is too weak to defend a title and his failure to recognise this is one of his flaws. All he had to do was tell Roman "this squad will not win you the Champions League or retain the double"

Well, at the beginning of the season, I imagine it was a little different. Cost-cutting within the club was obvious, releasing/selling players like Ballack & Carvalho to cut the wage bill. The club thought they could manage with the current squad, and then reassess the team in the January window. Don't forget the way we started the season, the goals we scored/conceded and the way we were controlling the games. We then lost Alex/Ivanovic/Drogba/Lampard/Mikel/Benayoun at vital points in the season. This meant that everyone was forced to play every match, and there was no longer any experience to call upon. Imagine how different the season would've been if we'd have had Benayoun fit all season (a natural playmaker), or Drogba didn't contract malaria. I'm not saying we'd be top of the league and running away with it, but we would have had the experience to call upon.

[neel 257]

But it's not like he had only a 17yr old at his disposal.

21 year old Daniel Sturridge has only started 2 PL games under Ancelotti and he rarely got more than 10 minutes during our "bad moment". No matter how bad Drogba, Anelka or Kalou played he never got his chance.I could argue Bruma couldn't do worse than Ferreira at CB and his performance against Aston Villa certainly didn't prove Ancelotti right.

:goodpost:

[bombayblue™ 55]

Points taken and IMO Bullshit. What the fuck are we? Real Madrid, sacking a manager every season, no thanks give him a chance and he will grow into this job even more... This is mental, if we beat Fulham 4-0 on Monday you'll be calling him King Carlo etc etc... so fickle

Short and Sweet :goodpost:

[jeannie 6]

I don't buy this excuse. Carlo is not a stupid man, he knows when a squad is too weak to defend a title and his failure to recognise this is one of his flaws. All he had to do was tell Roman "this squad will not win you the Champions League or retain the double"

Too true!

Reckon though he has well recognised this.....Romans answer was Torres and Luiz!

While Torres will undoubtably score goals and Luiz appears a great buy, our whole squad needs some serious adds, not just for this season....for the future. All our main players are ageing and next season (without big changes) will see us having major probs!

[Duppy Conqueror 1,537]

We've changed managers enough, we find a manager that wins us the double and you want to change him? The fickleness of some of our fans is embarrassing.

that is just the second post of this thread i`ve read but i doubt if it could be put any better.especially the last part...

folks we are living in the golden era of Chelsea Football club..maybe it`s because i`ve lived through two relegations,atleast two times when we were on the verge of extinction,our owner wanting to put electric fences at the bridge, rotherham putting 6 on us forest putting 7 etc...all the false dawns we`ve had..etc.. but when fans complain to this extent about our club NOW of all times..to me you kind of fans just sound like a bunch of spoilt cunts who demand a brand new car off daddy every year and throw a tantrum if you don`t get it.

[LDN Blue 7,903]

I don't understand how you can call fans "fickle" for being honest and providing a good argument.

[Kostas 1,468]

Questioning ones judgment is always easier than countering his arguments.

[Guest justin_3d]

Nope I say wait till the end of the season.

As i remember a lot of fans saying sack Carlo last season, till he won the double and then they where kissing his feet and calling him King Carlo.....

Now the same thing, we started good, killing teams, worshiping Carlo, and now he is the worst....

Nothing but hypocrisy here from people.

The season is not over, and just like everything turn last year, same can happen this year. CL is the trophy Chelsea really wants, and if all hope is lost in the EPL, then we can exclusively focus on the CL.

Having Torres will help. Torres will take time to gel with the team, but i expect that by April he shall be good for the latter stage of the CL.

Last, people forget to mention how bad our team went when we sack Ray!

He was very vital last season and was vital this season.

We can also see how Clark was a very good assistant at Chelsea and how awesome he is doing in helping Liverpool. (NOTE that Kenny had Clark as his first person to come to the club)

Carlo now has a very bad staff. If anything this an area where "sacking" should be focus on.

An assistant like Zola or Di Matteo will help a lot.

And if we do get a good assistant, i hope the club treat them with respect. Not like they did with a great servant like Ray!

[eldo 868]

I don't understand how you can call fans "fickle" for being honest and providing a good argument.

This is unfair. Can we wait for the season to finish first?

Well some of them said how last season's achievements were pure luck. That's why.

[LDN Blue 7,903]

Well some of them said how last season's achievements were pure luck. That's why.

The posts you've chosen to highlight clearly show this thread is not as simply black & white as "sacked because we won't retain the double". There's points here which talk about how he can improve, what we wouldn't mind if Carlo changed.. ect. Like Kostas said, last years achievements, while epic as they are, masked problems/flaws that can be seen now.

I stand by what I say when I say, stick with him till summer and then see what's happened/what will happen before/after that time.

[Shane 2,275]

We finally have a manager who brought some stabillity to the club, Promoted the youth and won a double and people want him to go. Who's going to replace him? Honestly? There is not a manager out there who would fancy the Chelsea job if Ancelloti goes, Knowing that one great season and one poor one and they won't have a job, The only kind I can think of the manager who would be looking for the payoff when he gets sacked.

Our squad is ageing, key players are getting old and not being replaced with players with equal quality. Is that Carlo's fault? No. Carlo seemed to have nothing to do with the Torres deal, probably had something to do with the Luiz and Ramires deals. We have been leaking goals for the majority of the season, A young and exciting centre half is signed. We are lacking goals this season, a world class striker is signed. We have no creativity in midfield, and we will fix that in the summer.

Don't forget, Its a well known fact that Mourinho wouldn't put up with Roman getting involved in team affairs, but Ancelloti praises it. The fact that people want him sacked is ridiclious. If Ancelloti goes, everything honest and right with football will be gone. The man has done a cracking job, and the best is yet to come.