Fair enough - honestly though I don't think the prices we got from Saudi clubs were ludicrous at all compared to the market. We even took an FFP loss to sell Koulibaly.
Chelsea 2023/24 season thread.
- Thread starter duffer
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In the latest episode of the United Hour Podcast, Nik (@Rood) and Imran (@Annihilate Now!) are here to discuss United's last 3 games - two much-needed wins vs. Burnley in the Premier League and Palace in the League Cup, as well as a the 4-3 loss away at Bayern. They discuss the defence, new options in midfield with Hannibal and Amrabat now in contention and look forward to games vs. Palace (again!) and Galatasary.
Maybe not, but it wasn't like they had multiple suitors (plus they were on high wages), so expecting "market value" would be high anyway IMO. £30m isn't "market value" for Maguire either given his age, homegrown status and international status, but we accepted it due to wanting to get rid of him and replace him. In that context, unwanted players suddenly being bought for market value prices by specifically PIF owned clubs is worthy of a further look. Especially now that the Saudi involvement in Chelsea seems to be increasing even further if the Riyadh airline sponsorship goes through.
Don't disagree with you about scrutiny being warranted (and in fairness by all accounts the PIF's investment in Clearlake was specifically investigated prior to the takeover), but I don't think £17m for Koulibaly and £16m for Mendy are red flags. Both those fees make significantly more sense for a buying club to me than £30m for Maguire, personally.
Fair enough, I'll let you have this one
All good mate, appreciate the chat as always (especially given the Arrested Development reference!)Fair enough, I'll let you have this one
No you're right the overhaul occurred over 3 seasons, not in 1-2 windows like what Chelsea have done. That was my point, that Chelsea's made a lot of changes all in a very short space of time. No surprises it's going to take some time to all come together.
Any news from Gabriel Moscardo? Chelsea made 2 offers and rejected both. Barcelona is interested but does not have ffp at the moment.
Grim result.
Are Chelsea fans okay with another transition season?
Yes but the kind of transition season that sees us finishing no lower than 5th. Another midtable season would be unacceptable.
Again, how do you spend more than 1 billion... and end up with Nicolas Jackson as striker? What?
You're not finishing ahead of any of Man. City ,Liverpool or Arsenal obviously. Already giving Spurs (8) and Brighton (7 points) decent head starts.
I just looked at Chelsea and see very few goals and consequently very few wins. No one can make a case they're just going to reel off 5-6 prem wins in a row this side of xmas anyway.
In fairness Nkunku was going to be the main CF (I think) and Jackson would've been more plan B off the bench. I think.
And also Sanchez in goal, and a 39 year old center back who takes 15 seconds to decide when to pass
. And did you see their bench today? Filled with kids and no names.It is crazy. I m assuming their recruitment strategy is for 2028 or something
Better than relegation I guess.
Was just reading we only won 2 games in the league out of 16 since Potter was sacked.
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Looks like my initial prediction was optimistic. To get one win out of Luton (h), Forest (h), Bournemouth (a) is dire.
I still believe that Potter is a very good manager. Pochettino is also a very good manager but is evidently struggling with the same issues as Potter.
I was shocked when I looked at the match sheet after the game. They recruited like 50 known players over the past 2 windows but they have their bench filled with academy kids, where are all those recruitsAnd also Sanchez in goal, and a 39 year old center back who takes 15 seconds to decide when to pass
It is crazy. I m assuming their recruitment strategy is for 2028 or something
I don’t know, but that has to be aim. I don’t think we’ll finish above those 3 teams and it’s a tall order to finish above Spurs and Brighton, even United and Villa. But that has to be the goal this season, no lower than 5th.
For that money you should have Michael Jackson, not Nicolas.
Tuchel still won the most before he was sacked. Crazy.
Maybe should just rename him: Miss, Jackson.
Also, these injuries Chelsea have picked up are horrendous. Most of us know how that feels to derail a whole season.
But you can't ignore tradition either so on that note, for the fourth time, Eat Shit Todd!
Still can't get over the Potter appointment. Imagine bringing in a manager because you like the way he sold you a player?
In spite of all the shite you've spouted on this forum, it's impressively and almost unprecedentedly stupid that you'd critique Thiago Silva's ability on the ballAnd also Sanchez in goal, and a 39 year old center back who takes 15 seconds to decide when to pass
It is crazy. I m assuming their recruitment strategy is for 2028 or something
Apparently they have three players over the age of 25 in the entire squad, and one of them is their third-choice keeper. Another is 39.
Youth is nice and all, but you can't get rid of all of a club's experienced players and expect it to work out.
Youth is nice and all, but you can't get rid of all of a club's experienced players and expect it to work out.
Southampton tried it last year and it worked amazingly for them.
I think we should lock all threads except this one and just camp out here rejoicing the fact Chelsea are still shitter than us.
Less about utd. Stick to the topic. It’s a Chelsea thread.Could easily be flirting with relegation by January at this rate
Only we have a worse underperformence in terms of expected goals and expected points so far!
Forgive me for leaping to Amadaeus’ defence here but I feel he’s kinda right about what Silva brings on the ball. It might not be all his fault, the lack of movement in front of him and the constant organising he has to do, you can sometimes tell he’s waiting for Disasi or Gallagher to move into the position they’re supposed to be but he does hold the ball for SO long before releasing it sideways or backwards. Colwill and Disasi on the other hand are much quicker to just get on with it and move the ball on. I don’t think Silva brings that special ball playing quality to the table as much as he used to. I mean he’s 39, so understandable but it is what it is.
That's an issue with the midfielders not showing for the ball, not with Silva. Enzo was clearly still exhausted given his midweek travel and wasn't nearly as active coming towards the ball as usual, Ugochukwu is raw, and Gallagher is Gallagher.
Also the wide CBs can take more risks with possession than the guy in the middle.
Maybe, and I do see that as a problem structurally with this team, but I still see clear decline in how Silva uses the ball. Saw it last season too. If you go back and watch games from 4 seasons ago when he first got here and compare his ball playing to the last 18 months or so, there's a huge difference.
Injured
I would give my left arm for Nicolas Jackson as a striker. He hasn't had much luck yet with the ball going in the net, but he looks brilliant! I have no doubt that the goals will come, unfortunately.
I don’t think we are setting out attacking enough either. Even Mudryk starting and it felt like he was wingback most of the game.
I assume this is why Chilwell has been starting in order to play deep.
When the season started I wasn’t convinced at all in the signing of Poch and really wanted Postecoglu as he tells players to be brave on the ball and fearless. He takes players to another level.
Poch for me, has never really had any level of success. I really hope I’m wrong but the constant changing of the team (outwith injuries) is not helping the team at all.
It does look as though this will be another transition year indeed from the start we have had. Considering we have no European football if we don’t finish top 6 it will be a terrible season.
I assume this is why Chilwell has been starting in order to play deep.
When the season started I wasn’t convinced at all in the signing of Poch and really wanted Postecoglu as he tells players to be brave on the ball and fearless. He takes players to another level.
Poch for me, has never really had any level of success. I really hope I’m wrong but the constant changing of the team (outwith injuries) is not helping the team at all.
It does look as though this will be another transition year indeed from the start we have had. Considering we have no European football if we don’t finish top 6 it will be a terrible season.
Don't think that's down to ability at all though. Would say that's in large part a product of Potter's chaotic nonsense of a system and/or bringing in young players who are still figuring out how to play at the top level and with each other.
If there's movement in front of him and players coming free, I'd still rather entrust Thiago Silva to find them than I think literally any other CB in the world. The man has played at the top level for almost 2 decades - he hasn't forgotten how to pass. He's just properly evaluating risk vs reward in teams that lack optimal structure for one reason or another.
Only thing I critique is that it takes him a long time to release the ball when a more direct faster approach would have led to better goalscoring opportunity. Thiago Silva has good vision and his passing is good, but what I was critiquing was his time on the ball. When you see colwill and diasi, they dont hold the ball that much and allow faster attacking play. You can also blame lack of movement, but I believe that is an excuse because there are multiple option when I see Silva do that.
No need to apologize. @TheMagicFoolBus definitely had a agenda with the way he posted what he posted. His agenda was not to tell the truth but rather try to undermine my post.
Ok, let's see some examples where Thiago Silva taking too long on the ball led to goalscoring opportunities being impaired.
As extra credit that you obviously won't be able to complete, let's see some examples of attacks that Colwill and Disasi created by moving the ball quickly.
And finally for full marks, here's a simple true/false for you - playing as central CB is the same as playing as a wide CB, true or false?
No need for me to give examples when another chelsea support on this forum just confirmed what I stated that he does hold the ball too long at times. You just have to watch the game.