Chelsea's board = a disgrace

[Madmax 9,219]

I'm very upset. And I think I have reason to be. From what I've read (unsure about here, my internet's being a bitch and I haven't logged in for 2 days), most others are as well. So bear with me if you find what follows boring/repetitive/moanful/lengthy. I think I'm entitled to a rant and to vent out my feelings about yesterday. No better place than this.

Seriously, wtf? How can you dishonour a manager like Carlo who despite and inspite of all that's gone on around him all year long, and who's been let down massively by everyone connected with the club, in this crude a manner? Forget football for a moment, this is basic human apathy at play here. In situations like these, the manager is always the fall guy. The scapegoat. Because fact is, it is just too simple to make him one. I've said all season long that it's incredibly convenient to sack one guy than sack many, regardless of how big a hand they've played in the situation gone wrong.

A year ago, he was the toast of the club and English football in some ways. The most successful season in 105 years of the club's existence. And 12 months on, you're telling me that he's crap because he came second? For perfectly legitimate reasons, they decided to let 5 high earners go, but thought it better to not sign replacements for the departed. Instead, a bunch of 17-19 year olds were expected to slot in straight away and help us keep winning stuff. We aren't Barcelona, ffs. I didn't hear any alarm bells ringing when we were conquering opposition by tennis scores in August and September. Then for some inexplicable reason, the board decides things are going too well for their liking, so let's spice it up a tad and show his right hand and club legend Ray the door. Still, he didn't complain, got on with the job that he was paid handsomely to do. A couple of months of tedious, disjointed performances combined with unsatisfactory results followed, which admittedly are not the standards Chelsea aspires to. And the blame has to be shared by the manager and the players. We lose and win as a team, and the team includes the coaching staff. Hence it's so baffling to find people crediting players for all successes and mob-lynching the gaffer for all failures.

Now the part that concerns me the most. We don't have a divine right to win trophies every year. You have to fucking earn them. The sooner Roman gets this into his head, the better. By sacking a manager for coming second, the message we've just sent out to the rest of the football world is that we're of the belief that we have a right to win the league every year. That we should somehow be entitled to a shiny cup regardless of how we perform and indeed, regardless of how other teams perform. And if that doesn't happen, Roman will throw his toys out of the pram. Ambition is very normal and even healthy, but what this event shows is not ambition, it is mere ill-informed and a covering-up operation. Papering over the cracks is the right term, I believe.

For years player power in Chelsea's dressing room is a well known secret. This sacking has only ensured that this will continue no matter what happens, no matter who is the manager. Because as soon as results don't go our way, the wise men on the board will sack the manager and not bother looking into the real underperformers - the players. This means the players can be safe in the knowledge that their insipid displays will affect the manager's future, and not their own. It is often said that this squad is Mourinho's and that a lot of the players from that era continue to be regulars even today. Hence, the obvious question - seeing that we've won the league just once in the 4 years since Mourinho left, with much of the squad still the same, who are the real underpeformers? The plyers who played for 4 years and won 1 league, or the manager who was here for half that period and got us that league?

It should be noted that I'm in no way implying that Carlo is faultless and had no role to play in the remarkable decline this year. I've admitted his shortcomings in multiple threads earlier. In a way I expected this decision but didn't realise it would still hit me so hard when it actually happened.

All said and done, thank you and good bye Carlo, you're a Chelsea legend forever and nobody can take that away from you. I wish you'd been treated better and I hope you find success wherever life takes you next. I will love and respect you always.

King Carlo - more than special.

[HRiver 1,512]

Great post, pal.

[Fulham Broadway 16,801]

Agree with the sentiment -but some of his tactics and substitutes have been so wrong and predictable. Hes a nice bloke, but it seems the Russian way of doing things is sack and replace.

How that dummy Emanalo escapes the chop is another story though.....

[Kojo 4,676]

Im very upset but you can't keep saying he got sacked for a trophyless season. He had no control over his team, made stupid subs, played the same Players who where out of form. The players lack so much discipline and don't even care, sorry but Carlo needs to have control over that. I love Carlo and it's a shame but there's more to it than a trophyless season.

[jeannie 6]

Totally agree!This decision will come back to haunt us!

[termninja 5,290]

Indeed. I am grateful to our board for all ambition and investments they show and do, but they simply shouldn't have sacked Carlo. They should have let him stay one more season, let him bring players he wanted and then we would see. What if next season under him went great? He'd have his contract extended then. If it went bad, then simply let his contract expire. Both Carlo and Chelsea, but especially Chelsea would keep their dignity and our bank account would be 6 millions heavier. Who knows, perhaps Mourinho would be available next year, perhaps Guardiola would decide to leave Barcelona and perhaps Villas-Boas would leave Porto after CL. In my opinion we'd certainly get a better manager then we will now.

Still, all this is something I can't change and all I can do is to keep the faith and support the man who is the current manager. Que sera sera.

[Fulham Broadway 16,801]

He could have shown that he could change when change was needed. He continued to play players out of form, in the apparent hope that they would come good. He never attempted to try anything differant as far as formations were concerned. He refused in the main to blood youngsters.

I was one who thought consistency was needed -maybe the pack and Ace needs to be shuffled regularly to keep every one on their toes .....

[Sheva. 5,373]

Im very upset but you can't keep saying he got sacked for a trophyless season. He had no control over his team, made stupid subs, played the same Players who where out of form. The players lack so much discipline and don't even care, sorry but Carlo needs to have control over that. I love Carlo and it's a shame but there's more to it than a trophyless season.

Exactly what i have been saying mate. It is NOT just about the fact that we did not win a trophy; we were very poor this season, we played horrible football, some players didn't even try, we faltered once again in the CL, lost 4 times to Man utd; all this things (and more) imo also contributed to him getting the sack.

Anyway i will surely miss him and his epic brow, good luck where-ever Carlo!

[zolayes 14,489]

one of the most offensive parts is Roman's way of dealing with people.

When he wants a player or coach he woos them like a suitor ...spending sometimes a great deal of time convincing them how they are wanted .

When he decides to get rid ,,,he uses one of his hired suits to do the dirty work for him ...

Then our official web site publishes the usual 10 line bullshit post ...

[HRiver 1,512]

I think that the home fans didn't give enough support to Carlo. They could've brought a big Carlo banner at the Bridge, chant his name during games - last game v Newcastle especially. Roman would've noticed that. I feel that some of us who post on the forum and who have never set foot at the Bridge are way more passionate than the majority of regular fans who go to home games.

Bayern Munich call 'Bratwurst and Beer fans' the ones who just sit there, eat a hot dog and drink a beer rather than sing to give support to the team during the game. I've noticed many of those at the Bridge. It's a stadium ffs, not a theatre. I don't want to hear the Stamford Bridge regulars complain about Roman sacking Carlo, you could've influenced the decision but you didn't.

[Styles 9,790]

I have to admit I'm finding it really hard to feel sorry for a man who has made £18m for just two seasons work.

He is a nice man and the club should have waited a few days before letting him go but that's life. This season has been an abolsute disaster and he has been responsible for a large part of that.

[Fulham Broadway 16,801]

Personnel are there for the filthy lucre, the outrageous salaries, and bow and scrape to the owners wishes , becoming filthy rich in a very short space of time.

Its only fans allegiance to a brand name, which is a business, that keeps it going. Sorry, thats the reality

[zolayes 14,489]

I have to admit I'm finding it really hard to feel sorry for a man who has made £18m for just two seasons work.

He is a nice man and the club should have waited a few days before letting him go but that's life. This season has been an abolsute disaster and he has been responsible for a large part of that.

If ever you are fired from your job I hope it will be better done than in this case.

[Styles 9,790]

If ever you are fired from your job I hope it will be better done than in this case.

If I underperform to the level Ancelotti did this season I EXPECT TO BE FIRED FROM WORK. And trust me, I wouldn't be sent packing with an extra £6m for doing a bad job.

He was sacked so he could say goodbye to the whole squad before they all flew off on holiday. I thought that was a bit classy myself.

[TotallySnivy 3]

This is a win thread. The man won 2 trophies in 2 seasons. And with the amount of injuries, he can't have done better. Yes, he could have got Josh (and others) involved in the 1st Team more but it's hard when:

1) Lampard, Drogba ect. are injured.

2) Players like Essien were injured a bit but lost form when returning.

and

3) When Roman expects you to do well with a group of misfits and youngsters.

[steve5221 91]

Personnel are there for the filthy lucre, the outrageous salaries, and bow and scrape to the owners wishes , becoming filthy rich in a very short space of time.

Its only fans allegiance to a brand name, which is a business, that keeps it going. Sorry, thats the reality

Plus to have a role on our board, you need to have lost your forskin.....

[zolayes 14,489]

If I underperform to the level Ancelotti did this season I EXPECT TO BE FIRED FROM WORK. And trust me, I wouldn't be sent packing with an extra £6m for doing a bad job.

He was sacked so he could say goodbye to the whole squad before they all flew off on holiday. I thought that was a bit classy myself.

you have a strange concept of what counts as class ,,,Did you think the way Wilkins was sacked was classy as well?

[Styles 9,790]

you have a strange concept of what counts as class ,,,Did you think the way Wilkins was sacked was classy as well?

Do you think it was classy from Ancelotti when he was discussing things with Roman in 2006 when Jose Mourinho was our manager at the time?