The Chelsea Thread

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Scouseinthehouse said:
As much as Arsenal need a change to really progress forward, you do feel it'll be a case of 'be careful what you wish for' Arsenal fans. The grass isn't alway greener
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I don't buy this at all. Sure things might be difficult initially like it was for United with Moyes but Wenger is someone who has consistently underperformed every single season despite spending a lot of money recently. Considering he essentially contrals all aspects of the football operation at Arsenal, the blame lies squarely on him. I have been saying this for 5 seasons now, the game has passed him by. He should retire quietly instead of futher damaging his legacy.

I am confident that with a proper manager and with the huge resources Arsenal have, they can compete right at the very top with the elite again.
 
Alc said:
I don't buy this at all......
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Whats not to buy? It's all relative on the right manager coming in. Conte for example would of potentially been disastrous. You can't follow Wenger with the complete antipathies of a guy. You need the same, similar nature person with a similar football philosophy but one more suited to todays tactical game within that.

Do that and you can take this on. (Guardiola was always my great fear. That whole club from top to bottom was set up for Pep.).

Bring in a Simeone type and you risk imploding everything and looking again 18 months down the line.

Thats what I mean by the grass isn't always greener when you could go from consistent CL football to the complete opposite.

Wenger controlling pretty much everything is something Arsenal need to address and put in a proper structure when they move on from him.
 
Scouse kind of has a point. This isn't like United where they basically print money and Ferguson's retirement didn't even impact their financials despite entering 4th year of garbage results.

But Arsenal are still reliant on that 4th place and CL revenue and the league is more competitive than in over a decade. So it can end up quite badly for them if they slip off the 4th for a couple of years.
 
its a really tricky appointment for Arsenal imo, I agree with Scouse in that Pep was made for Arsenal but there is a serious lack of top level manager available as most are tied up. Tuchel seems to be the name on everyones lips but he is relatively inexperienced for the sheer size of the Arsenal job. Allegri I honestly don't know much about him but why would he want to leave Juve? they are a massive club win the league every year and have a really great squad. Seen murmurings of Ancelotti who would be a good fit but again why leave Bayern? I honestly don't know where they go and I mean if Sanchez and Ozil do go with Cazorla, Cech et al all the wrong side of 30 its a massive rebuilding job imo (be a class FM save lol). I honestly do not know where they go. As much as I love Simeone he is also a horrid fit for them but I think he will end up at Inter personally as its no secret its a job he craves.

Side note on Wenger scouse is right for all people mock Arsenal and Wenger for finishing top 4, at his best he was the invincibles at his worst he was top 4 that's a **** of a record especially relative to what they spend to other clubs.
 
epic terrorist said:
its a really tricky appointment for Arsenal imo, I agree with Scouse in that Pep was made for Arsenal but there is a serious lack of top level manager available as most are tied up. Tuchel seems to be the name on everyones lips but he is relatively inexperienced for the sheer size of the Arsenal job. Allegri I honestly don't know much about him but why would he want to leave Juve?
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I have a feeling Tuchel is going to end up at Bayern, they seem to be quite keen on him and he is respected over there.

Personally I think Allegri really isn't that great. He was absolutely terrible at Milan and even at Juve he hasn't really impressed that much. At least not enough to think he could take over Arsenal's squad and turn **** around because honestly they are heading to the point where they're genuinely gonna need something of a reboot. Lose Ozil and Sanchez in the summer and I'd argue you're down to a 32 yr old Santi Cazorla as your best player, followed by Giroud. Hardly inspiring stuff is it?
 
Subtle said:
I have a feeling Tuchel is going to end up at Bayern, they seem to be quite keen on him and he is respected over there.....
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If they did, then there's only one man Arsenal should be considering for me, Ancelotti.

****, if I were them I'd be tempted to roll with Wenger for another year or two and wait for him.

Related aside (I'm going to link this and another article that lead me to it in the L'pool thread but not everyone goes in there), this is an absolutely brilliant piece of writing that sums up not only Arsenal's current situation but the situation of the PL in general when it comes to putting us up against the real European elite clubs.

Long, but essential reading for everyone: https://tomkinstimes.com/2017/02/br...tough-times-for-arsenal-liverpool-and-others/
 
I do not have a clue how Swansea are level here save for an atrocious piece of defending and a fantastic header to capitalise on it.

Game surprisingly back on.
 
Terrible marking from Chelsea, 2 seconds before the ball was played n Cahill was screaming at Luiz to move and get himself a man. So sunday league not organised, one mistake and you pay for it. That is Llorente's bread and butter, exceptional header.
 
i'm fine with winning, but we don't really deserve the lead. Clear penalty for Swansea.
 
When the luck shines on you.

Swansea non-penalty to absolutely shocking howler from Fabianski the other end.
 
One game closer to title number 5 Chelsea fans! Kante is an absolute joke of a footballer, man of the match by a country mile (no doubt a mile he'll like to run). As i said earlier in the week on here how crucial Pedro is to us, a goal and an assist today, key player.
 
Big question, what would you guys do to the squad in the summer? I think teams are going to be better prepared for us next year and better themselves, so we need to keep moving forwards.

For me, the priority is a top class wingback, a new striker who can play alone if Conte doesn't fancy Bats for that role and possibly bringing Baker into the first team. The latter I'm not totally sure of, because he needs to keep playing if he's going to reach his level, but he is clearly talented and I'd be reluctant to sign a rotational CM that might stunt his chances.
 
Subtle said:
Big question, what would you guys do to the squad in the summer? I think teams are going to be better prepared for us next year and better themselves, so we need to keep moving forwards.

For me, the priority is a top class wingback, a new striker who can play alone if Conte doesn't fancy Bats for that role and possibly bringing Baker into the first team. The latter I'm not totally sure of, because he needs to keep playing if he's going to reach his level, but he is clearly talented and I'd be reluctant to sign a rotational CM that might stunt his chances.
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1. Top class striker if Costa leaves. If not, another back-up striker that Conte trusts to deputize for Costa and ideally, someone who can play alongside him as well. Morata is not really a back-up striker but he would be ideal in either scenario.

2. Wingbacks. We lack quality in this area and depth.

3. Top class CB. We have a spot open once Terry leaves. Christensen coming back will be huge and like a new signing in and of itself. Zouma looks to be going from strength to strength. I know Zouma is still not adept tactically but his physical attributes are awesome and he will be an excellent CB if he learns properly under Conte. For me, this signing is not a priority.

4. All-round energetic midfielder in the mould of Nainggolan. Again not a priority for me but would add immensely to our tactical options.

5. World-Class RW. Not a priority again but my god would be excellent to have one.
 
Alc said:
1. Top class striker if Costa leaves. If not, another back-up striker that Conte trusts to deputize for Costa and ideally, someone who can play alongside him as well. Morata is not really a back-up striker but he would be ideal in either scenario.

2. Wingbacks. We lack quality in this area and depth.

3. Top class CB. We have a spot open once Terry leaves. Christensen coming back will be huge and like a new signing in and of itself. Zouma looks to be going from strength to strength. I know Zouma is still not adept tactically but his physical attributes are awesome and he will be an excellent CB if he learns properly under Conte. For me, this signing is not a priority.

4. All-round energetic midfielder in the mould of Nainggolan. Again not a priority for me but would add immensely to our tactical options.

5. World-Class RW. Not a priority again but my god would be excellent to have one.
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I'm hesitant about getting a new, top class CB in next season, purely because it doesn't leave a lot of spaces. Assuming Dave and Luiz are nailed on starters, which they probably should be, that already only leaves 1 slot, with Christensen, Zouma, Cahill and potentially Ake to fill it. That's already 3 starters and 3 backups, and I worry that if we get a really great player in there, there will be very little time for the 2/3 younger lads to get a look in.

Squad depth and some more options would be great though. Got any names in mind for wingbacks?
 
Cuadrado would have been the ideal player for you guys. Kind of surprised he didn't want to stay around and give Conte a chance, although I guess there was no need for him to speculate on fitting your system when he had the alternative of a sure thing in Juventus.
 
Subtle said:
I'm hesitant about getting a new, top class CB in next season, purely because it doesn't leave a lot of spaces. Assuming Dave and Luiz are nailed on starters, which they probably should be, that already only leaves 1 slot, with Christensen, Zouma, Cahill and potentially Ake to fill it. That's already 3 starters and 3 backups, and I worry that if we get a really great player in there, there will be very little time for the 2/3 younger lads to get a look in.

Squad depth and some more options would be great though. Got any names in mind for wingbacks?
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You are probably right on CBs. It all comes down to just how much Conte trusts Christensen, Zouma and to a certain extent, Ake to step up and play significant minutes especially as we will be in the CL next season. My standard rule of thumb to determine whether a back-up is good enough really is - Do you trust him to play for an extended period in our first team if our first choice XI players are injured?

So do you trust Zouma or Ake to play an extended run of games if Azpi, Luiz or Cahill get injured? Either way, I agree that CB is not a priority.

I have no idea about wing-backs but I believe damola suggested some names from Serie A a few pages back.
 
The new stadium got a "blue" light. Looks like next season is the last on Stamford Bridge for a few years.
 
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