The Chelsea Thread

[Alcaraz]

Its amazing just how easily brainwashed people can be.

Last year when Benitez finished 3rd this thread was up in arms about how Chelsea always has to challenge for trophies.

This year Mourinho said they're not challenging for trophies and half of fanbase just sheep-accepts it and goes " OK , we'll do it next year".

All Mourinho said was that the title is out of our grasp because we now depend too much on other results. What he is saying is true. So we accept it. What's wrong with that?

And yes Chelsea should be challenging for trophies every season. We did challenge for them this season. Unfortunately it looks like we are going to miss out which is something we are forced to accept. Not quite sure what your point is at the end. Yet most Chelsea fans will be content with how the season went as we see a clear identity within the style of play and we see a massive massive upgrade on our domestic performance. Last season, not only were we **** domestically but their was no clear identity to our style of play

I think every Chelsea fan knew that beating City would be tough. We gave them a proper fight though and if we didn't, then this thread definitely would be up in arms

 

[Alcaraz]

Excuses shmexcuses. Wenger trophy last year and most likely Wenger trophy this year. But I guess its only funny when you're mocking Arsenal.

Except we won the Europa League last year you twit. We have also never been happy with just a 4th place finish. Unlike Wenger who has always pointed to his achievement of Top 4 as a justification of his managerial performance in the past decade. Any allusion to a Wenger trophy is just stupid

 

[Joel`]

And Mourinho did say that but if you thought he was being serious then you are just being delusional. He only did that to ease the pressure on Chelsea. Cue all the Jose hate. Fact is that we did challenge for the title right till the end but at the moment, we are depending too much on other results so realistically the title is out of our grasp which is exactly what every Chelsea fan has been saying on this thread after the palace game

I never denied that he has managerial reasons to want to do it. I'm on about your fans. I've yet to meet one who hasn't been writing yourselves off all season - even when you were firmly in pole position way past the half way mark.

 

[Alcaraz]

I never denied that he has managerial reasons to want to do it. I'm on about your fans. I've yet to meet one who hasn't been writing yourselves off all season - even when you were firmly in pole position way past the half way mark.

We were never really in 'pole' position were we? City always had games in hand on us and they had a much better squad with players in their prime. I think most rational fans of Chelsea would have admitted that winning the league would have been some achievement so it's pretty unfair to be jumped upon when we aren't exactly too sad at the fact that we are out of the race

 

[Joel`]

We were never really in 'pole' position were we? City always had games in hand on us and they had a much better squad with players in their prime. I think most rational fans of Chelsea would have admitted that winning the league would have been some achievement so it's pretty unfair to be jumped upon when we aren't exactly too sad at the fact that we are out of the race

And that's what I mean. It's defeatist. You're calling yourselves out of it before it's even close to over. Teams **** up titles from winning positions all the time, yet you're already convinced you've lost it. Your fans had conceded it 10 games ago, when things looked even better! And 'not too sad'? I'm ******* gutted whenever we don't win, no matter how you rationalise it to how we never had a chance year. I, and I expect most United fans, expect us to be right back up there next year, not be satisfied with just halving the points gap between us and the top.

 

[Tezzz]

We were never really in 'pole' position were we? City always had games in hand on us and they had a much better squad with players in their prime. I think most rational fans of Chelsea would have admitted that winning the league would have been some achievement so it's pretty unfair to be jumped upon when we aren't exactly too sad at the fact that we are out of the race

Maybe not pole position, but you were definitely one of the two most likely winners. According to Jose top 4 was the aim.

Laughable, really.

 

[Aannddyy]

When did Jose brainwash every Chelsea fan? Fair play to him though, he does a fantastic job of diverting the attention away from his players and their awful performances and on to him through the form of his ludicrous and often hilarious statements.

All I know is, if Chelsea get knocked out by PSG and finish 3rd in the league, Jose will not be happy.. And only the most deluded fan will call that a dramatic improvement on what Rafa achieved.

 

[CJACKO11]

Didn't really say much about the game yesterday (as there wasn't much too say) but have thought about us in general and come up with this.

In Jose's first interview after being re-appointed he said this "this is a long term plan, i plan to build something here. We will not be ready this season but next season (2014/2015) we will be showing signs of being ready". He has said this so many times this season yes the media/haters put it down to "mind games" just because he likes to play them. This was not a mind game not a chance and not slating anyone in particular but anyone who felt this side was/is ready this season is so wrong and i'd question their knowledge about football (which there is nothing wrong with in my eyes, people follow the game as much as they want to and shouldn't be scutinised for it).

Now i'd argue that the only thing which is false in that is that we have started to see signs of it being ready this season probably from the Sunderland defeat in the League cup. Now lets not forget Jose was bought in to try and make us "pretty to watch" and that didn't work and if you remember him after that game he said "we will now go back to my way" and since then you just cannot argue with the form. The side is 90% complete in my eyes and the defeat yesterday wouldn't have hurt so much but it does because the performance was absolutely embarrassing.

But in my opinion and i speak as someone who loves to study the game itself especially the tactical side of the game the defeat for us yesterday and dropped points as the "smaller" sides was down to us being so 1 dimensional. Currently alongside Real Madrid i'd say we are the best counter attacking side in Europe, this is not "parking the bus" this is pressing when you don't have the ball and being able to counter at pace wherever you win the ball on the pitch. We seem to struggle when we come up against sides who are not so good in possession so therefore we have most of the ball which means we cannot use our main and only weapon the counter attack.

I do however think there someone who helps us break down these "smaller" sides who hand us the possession and that is because one way of opening them us is quick link-up play and also willingness to get into good "goal scoring" areas and that person is Samuel Eto'o! 6 points dropped in March in the league against Palace and Villa two sides who let us have possession because they are also best on the counter attack and guess what, Eto'o missed both matches.

What we need is another striker who can link-up like Eto'o does but can also do other things like an all round forward someone in the Aguero/Suarez mould not specifically a striker but someone who does more than just "puts the ball in the back of the net.
Whether we win the league or not (i said from day one we wouldn't) we will finish closer to the eventual winners who finished 14 points and 25 points ahead of us in the past 2 seasons so that however you look at it would be an improvement. And so many players have improved personally too, JT, Cahill, Azpi and Hazard have all improved massively from past season/'s.

The future looks so bright with Chelsea at the moment, so many fantastic young player out on loan who may come into the side in the next couple of years and with this world class manager which is what he is in charge we have a potential recipe for success.

UTC!

 

[CJACKO11]

Amazing how Chelsea fans are so content with writing themselves off.

I never "wrote us on" in the first place.

Its amazing just how easily brainwashed people can be.

Last year when Benitez finished 3rd this thread was up in arms about how Chelsea always has to challenge for trophies.

This year Mourinho said they're not challenging for trophies and half of fanbase just sheep-accepts it and goes " OK , we'll do it next year".

No, on the job he done i said he done what was required. If you think this team is ready then we have to question your knowledge of the game. From Jose's first interview when re-appointed he said "im building something, not this season but next season (2014/2015).

When did Jose brainwash every Chelsea fan? Fair play to him though, he does a fantastic job of diverting the attention away from his players and their awful performances and on to him through the form of his ludicrous and often hilarious statements.

All I know is, if Chelsea get knocked out by PSG and finish 3rd in the league, Jose will not be happy.. And only the most deluded fan will call that a dramatic improvement on what Rafa achieved.

Course he won't be happy, what manager would be happy with that but he also knows this team is not completed yet.

 

[Alcaraz]

And that's what I mean. It's defeatist. You're calling yourselves out of it before it's even close to over. Teams **** up titles from winning positions all the time, yet you're already convinced you've lost it. Your fans had conceded it 10 games ago, when things looked even better! And 'not too sad'? I'm ******* gutted whenever we don't win, no matter how you rationalise it to how we never had a chance year. I, and I expect most United fans, expect us to be right back up there next year, not be satisfied with just halving the points gap between us and the top.

Then that's your opinion and I have mine ... I have seen enough this season to be very confident of the future. Their is a clear identity within our style of play. Jose has promised us the signings that we need. For the first time ever probably, we actually look like we will have stability in the managerial position. Their have also been massive massive improvements in some of our players (Eg. Azpi, Cahill, Hazard)

Maybe not pole position, but you were definitely one of the two most likely winners. According to Jose top 4 was the aim.

Laughable, really.

And the fact that you actually took his words at face value is even more laughable

 

[Subtle]

This is a ******* stupid argument.

I'm not sure where this idea about us being a mini Arsenal comes from: I don't think any of our fans started the season hoping for top 4, and I can't remember anyone here saying that top 4 was all we wanted this year. In fact, I can't remember a single Chelsea fan expressing that sentiment. We want to challenge in every competition we're in and we have been. I know that we're not filling page after page with moaning and feeling sorry for ourselves, or flying banners over the bridge demanding our manager's head, or flooding social media with some entitled whining but that doesn't mean we aren't ******.

3rd is not good enough. Dropping these stupid games to ****** teams is not good enough. Bottling it this late is not good enough. It ****** me off and I think that most fans agree with me. We want the CL back at the bridge, along with the Premier League title and every other trophy we can possibly get.

That doesn't meant that Alc and Carl can't recognise the positive things that have come from this year though. We're playing better than we did under Benitez, even if we do sometimes turn in the odd ****** performance. Jose's made us leaner and meaner and I think most of us are pleased with that improvement because of how slack we've been in recent years. That 3-0 to 3-3 vs United, for example, still stings.

That's encouraging. After years of uncertainty and new starts, changing styles and personnel, we look to be heading towards stability with a manager who's a fan favourite. In that sense we are content: there are positive signs and we've really performed in the big games this season. Overall, we've definitely improved. It's still not good enough, but I think most of us are feeling positive about the summer when the final pieces ought to be slotting into the puzzle.

Now if you want, we can ramble on for a few pages about how we lack penetration without Hazard pulling something out of his ***, or how we struggle against opponents that sit tight and deep, or how ******* soul destroyingly **** Torres still is, but I've done all that like a dozen times this season. It's boring after a while because when the same **** repeats itself all you can end saying is "****, we lost." I grew up watching Whitstable town get obliterated week after week: I know how to lose. I know this must be a hard concept for United fans, and an impossible one for Liverpool ones, but wallowing in self pity doesn't help.

 

[Nick Chelsea]

I never "wrote us on" in the first place.



No, on the job he done i said he done what was required. If you think this team is ready then we have to question your knowledge of the game. From Jose's first interview when re-appointed he said "im building something, not this season but next season (2014/2015).



Course he won't be happy, what manager would be happy with that but he also knows this team is not completed yet.

We have "fear of failure" mate.

 

[Joel`]

And the fact that you actually took his words at face value is even more laughable

I like how you cherry pick when Jose is playing the media game and when he is not to suit you/him.

You've all been wheeling out the excuse that you're in transition for about 5 seasons now. The best teams expect to win regardless of whether they're in "transition" or not, anything else is bitterly disappointing. I fail to see how you can go into a season being satisfied that what's being "built" is good and not wanting anything this year. You're supposed to want to win every single season.

 

[CJACKO11]

We have "fear of failure" mate.

Oh yeah that thing again lol. I do find it hilarious that all the time Jose has been saying "we are not favourties for the title because City have it in their hands" its called "mind games" or even some calling him mad and stupid. But now Rodgers is saying it even though they do have it in their own hands if they win all their games nothing is made of it! Double standards!

 

[CJACKO11]

I like how you cherry pick when Jose is playing the media game and when he is not to suit you/him.

You've all been wheeling out the excuse that you're in transition for about 5 seasons now. The best teams expect to win regardless of whether they're in "transition" or not, anything else is bitterly disappointing. I fail to see how you can go into a season being satisfied that what's being "built" is good and not wanting anything this year. You're supposed to want to win every single season.

Who said anything about not wanting to win? Of course we WANT to win but there was one thing which was more important than trophies in this finishing the transition year and that was to keep the same manager for more than a year so he can complete it! At the start of the season i said in a blog i wrote that i believed top 4 and keeping Jose in charge this time next season was/should be our goal this season and i still stand by that.

Yes the best teams are still expected to win trophies whilst in "transition" and yes it seems as if its been going on for 5 years (4 to be exact) but we have never been able to complete this transition and why????? STABILITY! Stability is the key component required to complete a transitional period and we have never had that. Manager Z comes in and has to hit the ground running otherwise he is sacked so he sticks with the tried and tested therefore stalling the "transition". He is then sacked because of a number of reasons and manager Y comes in and the process is continued! Now we actually seem to have settled with a coach who is using this season as a bedding in season improving certain players, seeing which areas need replacements and this summer he will sort them out. This summer will be massive for Chelsea and next season i fully expect us to win a major trophy.

 

[Alcaraz]

I like how you cherry pick when Jose is playing the media game and when he is not to suit you/him.


You've all been wheeling out the excuse that you're in transition for about 5 seasons now. The best teams expect to win regardless of whether they're in "transition" or not, anything else is bitterly disappointing. I fail to see how you can go into a season being satisfied that what's being "built" is good and not wanting anything this year. You're supposed to want to win every single season.

Thats bullshit ... I am not cherry picking anything. It's plainly obvious that Jose was trying to ease the pressure on his team with his comment. What he said was partially true but anyone who thinks that he would have been content with a Top 4 place is being stupid


Oh and on the second part, Subtle replied to it very nicely. Just because we are not downing in self-pity and flying banners over Stamford Bridhe calling for Jose's head doesn't mean we are not disappointed with how the season has panned out. Realistically speaking we are going to end the season with 0 trophies but that doesn't mean we can't be happy with the positives that have come out this season which hasn't been present in previous seasons

 

[Tyton]

No, on the job he done i said he done what was required. If you think this team is ready then we have to question your knowledge of the game. From Jose's first interview when re-appointed he said "im building something, not this season but next season (2014/2015).

He said it and it was complete nonsense from the start. You have easily 2nd best squad in the league, if you don't see that, there's something wrong with your knowledge of the game, not mine.

And this whole transition excuse is just laughably wrong. Out of last year's top 7, only two managers are still around. Everybody is in transition this season.

 

[CJACKO11]

He said it and it was complete nonsense from the start. You have easily 2nd best squad in the league, if you don't see that, there's something wrong with your knowledge of the game, not mine.

And this whole transition excuse is just laughably wrong. Out of last year's top 7, only two managers are still around. Everybody is in transition this season.

But we are changing a whole backbone, a whole era, philosophy a system of play. We are changing everything! That's your opinion if you think it was nonsense, do we have a great squad, yes we do but it was/is massively unbalanced and we lacked a world class striker too. I have been encouraged from what i have seen especially from January on wards and i suspect Jose said that right from the off because he is "scared of failure", he said it for a reason!

 

[JDY]

"Last year when Benitez finished 3rd this thread was up in arms about how Chelsea always has to challenge for trophies."

I don't know about the others in here, but I was happy with last season and thought we did well under the circumstances. Going into this season my aim was top 3, but to be much closer to the top than the previous season, which we are. I don't see how that's being brainwashed to be honest, especially when you have no clue about people's aims and targets in the first place.

As far as I'm concerned, a top 2/3 place if City don't mess up, filling a major weakness in signing Matic, the evolution of players like Hazard, Azpi, and Cahill, whilst most importantly seeing progression in the way we want to play and going into the summer to address other issues, I see that as improvement and I'll be happy with that.

 

[Alcaraz]

He said it and it was complete nonsense from the start. You have easily 2nd best squad in the league, if you don't see that, there's something wrong with your knowledge of the game, not mine.

And this whole transition excuse is just laughably wrong. Out of last year's top 7, only two managers are still around. Everybody is in transition this season.

And their is a sizeable difference in quality between the best squad in the league and the second best squad if you haven't noticed