Squad Status: 2023/24 Season

[My Blood Is Blue]

New season, new head coach and hopefully a different looking squad and so… new topic!

[Holymoly]

I go back to Boehly's comment way back when and he was spouting off about a moneyball approach. I was confused then by the vast sums of money we were throwing around for basically just "potential". The more I think about it now though, and referencing the film about the Oakland A's, I realise that it's not so much the money it's costing as that is just a function of what money is available to you. It is more about the idea that you're not buying "players", you're buying their stats and dare I say it their effect on xG (there, I've said it, god help me). Following this line of thinking then it doesn't matter if we sell Mount, Havertz, Kante etc as we can "recreate them in the aggregate". And in theory this works, up to a point. We can all think of games last season where we were roundly beaten by teams containing no outstanding individuals but who played as a team greater than the sum of its parts, while we consistently played well below expectations as a group of individuals.

As I said, this can work, up to a point. Over the course of a season a club adopting this approach will quite possibly do very well, reference Brighton, Villa, Brentford, Fulham or dare I say it even Newcastle last season.

However. And this is the thing, and unfortunately it chimes with my fears for Pochettino. It will take you so far but you're always then likely to fall at the final hurdle. At some point you arrive at a game where the sublime brilliance of an individual trumps whatever a good team throws at them. Prosecution presents exhibit A m'lud, Eden Hazard. The number of times the guy got us out of jail in games and papered over the cracks of a hopelessly unbalanced squad is significant. Look at the League Cup final too, Newcastle got to their first final in years with a team that seemed to be consistently over performing and ulimately lost to a United side who had the better players but were misfiring all season. Newcastle lost out to the fickle finger of statistics. If you played the game ten times Newcastle would probably win the majority. However if the teams both played to their individual potential then United would probably win every single time.

So how does this relate to Chelsea 2023/24? Well, in my opnion, it's all very well constructing a squad of potential and sending out a team hoping they play to that potential every single match but you do need leadership and the occasional diamond somewhere on the pitch. At the moment you could argue that an Enzo Fernandez or a fit Reece James can be those diamonds however neither really play in a game defining position on the pitch. They are no Fabregas/Hazard/Costa. We need to rationalise our expectations for the season ahead I think. The squad needs such a radical overhaul that it is unrealistic to expect that everything will have settled down by August in order to produce consistent performances on the pitch.

I hope that this season then will be one of stability which can provide a foundation on which to build and eiter acquire or develop those diamonds we will need in order to challenge for titles in the future.

[Bob Singleton]

I'll hold off commenting in this thread until the window is closed and we know 100% the composition of our squad.

[My Blood Is Blue]

Finally, back in the top 6! 

[Ham]

57 minutes ago, My Blood Is Blue said:

Finally, back in the top 6! 

The Poch effect. 

[My Blood Is Blue]

8 minutes ago, Ham said:

The Poch effect. 

Extend his contract, now! We are back!

[hallgalley]

Not as good as the turn around for Leeds Leicester and Southampton though😀

[paulw66]

Assuming the rumored exits all happen, we are very short in midfield.

Enzo, RLC, Gallagher and Mount, with question marks on 3 of those

[Ham]

1 hour ago, paulw66 said:

Assuming the rumored exits all happen, we are very short in midfield.

Enzo, RLC, Gallagher and Mount, with question marks on 3 of those

SURELY we wouldn't have done this without cast iron guarantees on who we're signing.  SURELY! 

[Mark Kelly]

56 minutes ago, Ham said:

SURELY we wouldn't have done this without cast iron guarantees on who we're signing.  SURELY! 

Didn't someone mention something about big things happening once the outgoings were sorted?  Simon Phillips maybe? 

[paulw66]

2 hours ago, Ham said:

SURELY we wouldn't have done this without cast iron guarantees on who we're signing.  SURELY! 

Sure, I don't expect for a minute we're not buying anyone but at this moment, that is the clear area with gaping holes. 

[Holymoly]

Assuming Azpilicueta gets released who do we see as becoming the next club captain? Obviously (very) short term we have Silva but the language thing would be a barrier.

[xceleryx]

3 minutes ago, Holymoly said:

Assuming Azpilicueta gets released who do we see as becoming the next club captain? Obviously (very) short term we have Silva but the language thing would be a barrier.

Silva for the immediate future. 

Longer term there's not really anyone that stands out as a bonafide candidate, I'd have to wait and see if a candidate really shows themselves over this season. 

[Bob Singleton]

36 minutes ago, Holymoly said:

Assuming Azpilicueta gets released who do we see as becoming the next club captain? Obviously (very) short term we have Silva but the language thing would be a barrier.

Silva speaks Portuguese, Italian and French fluently, has enough grasp of English for a changing room (he prefers doing interviews in his native tongue, but he's been here long enough to get his point across to team mates) and also speaks a bit of Spanish. I think he'll be OK communicating with multi-national squad 😉

[JaneB]

1 hour ago, Holymoly said:

Assuming Azpilicueta gets released who do we see as becoming the next club captain? Obviously (very) short term we have Silva but the language thing would be a barrier.

Presumably he won't be playing in every game though.

As long as Kepa isn't chosen.  Don't think goalkeepers make the best captains (sorry @chara) 

[chara]

1 hour ago, JaneB said:

Presumably he won't be playing in every game though.

As long as Kepa isn't chosen.  Don't think goalkeepers make the best captains (sorry @chara) 

Agree absolutely Jane.... the somewhat overblown reports at the weekend of TC being "snubbed" regarding being made captain of Belgium for a one off purely nominal appointment has no bearing on your point or perhaps proves the point!...keepers have enough to do being captain of the goal area and environs (ideally!) without providing leadership from a relatively static position...top keepers fall into the leader category ,,PC ,SFL, DD etc and compliment the natural captain,,JT of course..same principle any era or club.

Wonder if Chelsea should start a new trend and appoint a "coin toss" associate responsible for the end choice, flag swap and handshakes all round?...anyone suggest a title?😁..Todd...are you listening?

 

[Sciatika]

Not too worried, provided it's someone in defence. I think they have a better perspective of what is going on, and they tend to be more vocal given the need to organise a defence.

[Holymoly]

3 hours ago, Bob Singleton said:

Silva speaks Portuguese, Italian and French fluently, has enough grasp of English for a changing room (he prefers doing interviews in his native tongue, but he's been here long enough to get his point across to team mates) and also speaks a bit of Spanish. I think he'll be OK communicating with multi-national squad 😉

Ideally though we WILL require a "figurehead" for media duties. Anyone know what sort of attitude Pochettino has for his captains?

[Bob Singleton]

11 minutes ago, Holymoly said:

Ideally though we WILL require a "figurehead" for media duties. Anyone know what sort of attitude Pochettino has for his captains?

Given the tabloid media tend to make stuff up all the time, I can't see what difference the language our "figurehead" uses anyway.

[My Blood Is Blue]

Not many great candidates based on what we currently have, but I’d be giving it to James myself. He’s Chelsea through and through, will play whenever fit, speaks well in the media, leads by example on the pitch and getting more and more vocal each season. He can be a bit hot headed, but I think he’d flourish in the role.

I also want to be able to say I told you so, as I said he’d be a future Chelsea captain when he was on loan at Wigan.

[Rob B]

If someone told me a month ago, that Kante would be out the door, with Mendy, Ziyech, Kovacic, Havertz and Koulibaly (as good as)  by the 3rd week of June I would have said they were crazy!! 

 Add to that, Ben Jacobs and Fab Romero both reporting this evening that Mount’s people have confirmed to CFC that he wants to join United and therefore we are only working on a sale at this stage.  Furthermore, reports of Azpi being told he can go, AC Milan being back in for RLC and Chalobah being lined up by Inter for a loan with obligation deal!! 

And all of this is before Lukaku and Aubameyang who will both surely not be around either 🤯🤯

This is honestly a staggering exodus of players and if it continues to progress as reports are suggesting, the Directors deserve a lot of credit.  That is a lot of deadwood off the books.  I wouldn’t have sold Mount and Havertz ideally, but if neither are going to extend, the best you can do is get good fees for them, and this looks to be the case. 

I’ve a feeling there’ll be even more to follow too - eg Ampadu, Maatsen, Sarr, Hudson-Odoi which I can only see followed by another fairly aggressive spending spree. 

A GK, MF x2, Attacker x2 etc 

I just hope that Poch takes a really good look at the likes of Hall, Colwill, Broja, Gallagher etc because it’ll be a shame to lose some of the academy lads (eg Mount, Trev, RLC and CHO potentially all linked elsewhere) and with Tomori and Tammy already gone, it’s could be an end of an era with that group

[xceleryx]

6 hours ago, Rob B said:

If someone told me a month ago, that Kante would be out the door, with Mendy, Ziyech, Kovacic, Havertz and Koulibaly (as good as)  by the 3rd week of June I would have said they were crazy!! 

 Add to that, Ben Jacobs and Fab Romero both reporting this evening that Mount’s people have confirmed to CFC that he wants to join United and therefore we are only working on a sale at this stage.  Furthermore, reports of Azpi being told he can go, AC Milan being back in for RLC and Chalobah being lined up by Inter for a loan with obligation deal!! 

And all of this is before Lukaku and Aubameyang who will both surely not be around either 🤯🤯

This is honestly a staggering exodus of players and if it continues to progress as reports are suggesting, the Directors deserve a lot of credit.  That is a lot of deadwood off the books.  I wouldn’t have sold Mount and Havertz ideally, but if neither are going to extend, the best you can do is get good fees for them, and this looks to be the case. 

I’ve a feeling there’ll be even more to follow too - eg Ampadu, Maatsen, Sarr, Hudson-Odoi which I can only see followed by another fairly aggressive spending spree. 

A GK, MF x2, Attacker x2 etc 

I just hope that Poch takes a really good look at the likes of Hall, Colwill, Broja, Gallagher etc because it’ll be a shame to lose some of the academy lads (eg Mount, Trev, RLC and CHO potentially all linked elsewhere) and with Tomori and Tammy already gone, it’s could be an end of an era with that group

I'm of the opinion we should keep Gallagher and Colwill in the side for next season, both I think can play useful roles for us. In Gallaghers case, while a bit rough technically, the rest of his game lends itself to Poch's type of football. The fact he's also wants to be here and fight only reaffirms what I'd keep him. I'd use him as a backup to Nkunku in that #10 role, where if we need a bit more run and energy he can slot in at the #10 and drop back into midfield to form a three when needed. Plus Nkunku's flexible enough to move out to the left or upfront should we want to have both in the same side together. 

Broja I'd be selling, although probably harder to do when returning from injury. He ain't it as far as I'm concerned and miles away from being good enough even at Southampton the other year. A loan is probably best for all given he simply needs regular football at this point. I'd also explore a loan for Hall, either one to start the season with where we have an option in January to recall if needed, or keep him for the first half of the season and if he's not getting enough of a look send him out in January for the second half of the year. 

[ROTG]

2 hours ago, xceleryx said:

I'd use him as a backup to Nkunku in that #10 role, where if we need a bit more run and energy he can slot in at the #10 and drop back into midfield to form a three when needed. Plus Nkunku's flexible enough to move out to the left or upfront should we want to have both in the same side together. 

You seem to be putting a lot of eggs in one basket - good on yer

[asvaberg]

20 hours ago, Bob Singleton said:

Silva speaks Portuguese, Italian and French fluently, has enough grasp of English for a changing room (he prefers doing interviews in his native tongue, but he's been here long enough to get his point across to team mates) and also speaks a bit of Spanish. I think he'll be OK communicating with multi-national squad 😉

Shouldn't a captain be able to do TV/radio-interviews in English

[ROTG]

2 minutes ago, asvaberg said:

Shouldn't a captain be able to do TV/radio-interviews in English

Should not be a problem, don't think the club are on Sky or MoTD premium list of match coverage for next season 😃