Wolverhampton Wanderers 2 Chelsea 1

[Dwmh]

Merry Christmas.
Was yesterday's turn out in blue a secret tribute to RA?

 

[Holymoly]

Supporting Chelsea at the moment is like being in a toxic relationship. You constantly overlook the flaws hoping that they will change.

[Sciatika]

By tomorrow, it will all be forgotten, and I will try to figure out who can play for us. Why do I keep doing this to myself? Because, without hope there is nothing. Merry Xmas, everyone.

[johnnybozo]

18 minutes ago, Holymoly said:

Supporting Chelsea at the moment is like being in a toxic relationship. You constantly overlook the flaws hoping that they will change.

It won't. This club is washed. £1bn spent and playing like this. Chelski was alright but we'll never live down spending so much to be in a relegation battle. Should've kept Roman or at least Marina and said FU to the government.

[Dwmh]

8 minutes ago, johnnybozo said:

It won't. This club is washed. £1bn spent and playing like this. Chelski was alright but we'll never live down spending so much to be in a relegation battle. Should've kept Roman or at least Marina and said FU to the government.

I really don't think that was possible.  Chelsea are the Spoils of War, that much is a given.
Next question - who started that war.

[Chelsea_Matt]

6 minutes ago, Dwmh said:

I really don't think that was possible.  Chelsea are the Spoils of War, that much is a given.
Next question - who started that war.

It wasn’t Roman. What makes me sick is that the UK has happily taken Russian oligarch money for years and years. Then suddenly it’s dirty? What about dirty Arab money? Or money spent by African dictators at Harrod’s?

[johnnybozo]

14 minutes ago, Chelsea_Matt said:

It wasn’t Roman. What makes me sick is that the UK has happily taken Russian oligarch money for years and years. Then suddenly it’s dirty? What about dirty Arab money? Or money spent by African dictators at Harrod’s?

Exactly. Russian money is probably less dirty than Arab money by a country mile. Also where is that 2.5bn or whatever was supposed to be donated? Oh yeah. Still in limbo. Political point scoring and our club suffers.

[boratsbrother]

People going a bit OTT with the doom and gloom and acting like there's no way out of this difficult situation we're currently in.

Despite the long contracts and money spent, there will always be a way to move players on and I'm sure some will be moved on, starting this summer.  We can change the manager, scouts etc. 

Stating the obvious, but it's the same with every top club who fall away. Make good decisions and they'll get back up there.  Keep making poor ones and they deservedly stay in a rut. 

What gives me faith is this. The people who own and run our club are very wealthy. They did not get there by being stupid and lazy. They've made mistakes, big mistakes,  but we can be damn sure they'll learn from them and be working extremely hard to make things right.

[Dwmh]

49 minutes ago, johnnybozo said:

Exactly. Russian money is probably less dirty than Arab money by a country mile. 

Very modern.

51 minutes ago, johnnybozo said:

Also where is that 2.5bn or whatever was supposed to be donated? Oh yeah. Still in limbo. Political point scoring and our club suffers.

For all victims of the Ukrainian war - anyone want to define who they are?  Anyone counting even?

[east lower]

Here’s a thought, might be a slightly Xmas champagne dampened thought but hopefully a sobering one. 
 

Jackson in pre-season looked a decent player, so what’s happened since? Answer can only be Pochettino’s influence and that’s the real rub. They pretty much all look worse for his coaching and that’s why he’s got to go above any other reason. 
 

The ownership is naive in its thinking but to be fair they’ve stumped-up the cash, they’ve just got the main appointment and speed of change wrong. 
 

Hope that your Christmas’s are all good one’s. 🎅🎄🍺🍾🥂🦃🍗

[johnnybozo]

1 hour ago, Dwmh said:

Very modern.

For all victims of the Ukrainian war - anyone want to define who they are?  Anyone counting even?

My partner is Russian and set up a charity helping Ukrainians. None of that Chelsea money has been seen in Ukraine over a year on. It's frozen by UK government no doubt being held until the war is over so they can use it to house another banana boat load of Algerians in posh hotels.

[chara]

Well...Merry Christmas to everyone...got up to a blanket of snow and -28C,,,as cold as my feelings towards the present squad in general with a few honorable exceptions....I can't speak for anyone else but I cannot relate to this Chelsea squad in anything but the basic Chelsea Loyalty. That includes coaching staff and admin up to the top,

Opinions are just that and all are entitled to voice them but to read of put down of Silva breaks my loyal heart...way past his prime but still putting in a shift and his past input is enough to give him a pass in a difficult time when he is being forced to play far more than he should be asked due to injuries.....when JT reached the end of his shelf life no one,as I recall. turned on him...should be the same for Silva....accept his limitations but also accept he is being overplayed at a time he should be a cameo player not forced to carry a changing back line every week.

The Poch is not the problem but not the solution either...as long as Chelsea survive this most difficult season..self inflicted in some ways but still part of the widening ripples from the HMG assault...then I can tolerate him until a better option becomes available or identified...that is the rub,,there is no spine to the side both in football line up terms and inner strength terms....into battle with the likes of DD,Diego JT  or Ossie Chopper Webbie....compare ..Conor has the heart but although improving in many aspects of his game is close to his ceiling I believe..a polishing of his attributes will hopefully produce a very good pro for his career,,,but not..imho..a very top player.

Long days ahead,,,a return to my younger days when weekly results were the focus without expectations of great triumphs...... BUT,,I have seen Chelsea win the Title,,FA cups the Euro top twice and a myriad of "other" cups...so not too shabby..I can take some down times....but not for long!

[east lower]

22 minutes ago, chara said:

Long days ahead,,,a return to my younger days when weekly results were the focus without expectations of great triumphs...... BUT,,I have seen Chelsea win the Title,,FA cups the Euro top twice and a myriad of "other" cups...so not too shabby..I can take some down times....but not for long!

And when I was down such as on the way home yesterday I think of those…….BUT moments.

I went to Moscow and couldn’t feel much lower - a s**t day throughout, BUT then there was Munich and my words here just couldn’t describe or do justice to that day, perfect throughout and then Porto a game we weren’t supposed to witness but did. 
 

No matter what happens to us those DAYS won’t diminish in importance, significance and emotion.

KTBFFH friends.

[Michael Tucker]

Can we  please stick to football? Whatever your political views, please keep them to yourselves. 

[Bones]

8 hours ago, Dwmh said:

Merry Christmas.
Was yesterday's turn out in blue a secret tribute to RA?

 

Thats deep mate 😂

[Bones]

10 hours ago, Ham said:

I don't think Jackson was an option for the sideways pass from Sterling as, true to form, he looked offside.  

Absolutely. And this highlights again how poor he was yesterday, completely lost focus. He had one job there, stay onside!!!

[Bones]

9 hours ago, Thiago97 said:

A few observations from the game and my view at the club,whilst I prepare Turkey for Xmas ,and with the dust having settled a little more following the game yesterday.

I wish this was a more positive post. However, for the first time I am really worried about the future of the club. Not so much worried that we are in a relegation battle, but worried to the extent that I think we are well and truly in a period of time similar to what has been going on at Man Utd for the last decade. 

I'm not really going to get involved in comments on the manager, because it is clear to me that he is not the issue here. That's not to say he is exempt from any criticism. It's also not to say he is definitively the right manager for the club either. I just think any manager would have difficulties with this group of players.

I have lost faith with a number of the players being good enough to succeed here. I think many of the players we have are talented, but I find it hard to give them too much rope for just basic mistakes game after game. They do not seem to learn from these mistakes. This is not a coaching issue as to why these mistakes happen. These mistakes happen because many of these players cannot cope with the pressure and scrutiny of playing for Chelsea. They cannot deal with adversity when they are faced with it, and they cannot deal with the pressure of producing clinical moments, that helps alleviate  the severity of the adversity they will face.

I think we have a number of players who I will continue to give my full support to whilst they play for the club, but in my mind, they are already short term custodians of a squad position over the next 12-18 months. They are modern day Terry Phelan, Mick Harford, Clive Allen, Tony Cascarino type Chelsea players, who I don't see being here long term.  These players include Disasi, Badiashille , Gusto, Broja. I just don't believe these players have the right mentality to make it at a elite level club........then some players were also close to joining this list and they are Mudryk, Colwill, Gallagher, Jackson. In my mind, these lads get a little longer to prove their worth for various reasons. Mudryk/Jackson as it is quite ridiculous how naive and raw they both are. Gallagher for all his endeavour and effort, I just think he lacks real quality at times. I give him some slack for his effort and he may be getting reduced down to the low mental fragile level of the team around him.

So that is alot of players that I have severe long term questions about. Yet, we cannot afford to go out and buy 10 and sell 10 again throughout the summer. It's just not sustainable to do this again, and why would we have faith the owners/scouts would do a better job second/third time around. In conclusion, we are at least 5 years away from getting back to being a top 4 club.

We have a core group we can focus on and they are Palmer, Caicedo , Enzo (concerns the PL is the right place for him), Nkunku, Sterling (short time for 2 seasons), James (injury permitting), Madueke, Chilwell , Fofana and the GKs.

Time to focus on these key players starting as many matches as possible. I know Madueke name here will surprise a few, but he warrants some time dedicating to him on the pitch. He may not end up good enough, but he has more personality, self belief, positivity and fight in him, than quite a few others in this squad. He won't crumble under the slightest pressure, he will keep showing for the ball and trying to make something happen.

Sorry it is not a more positive post, and sorry it is very long for one of mine. It's the hope that kills you supporting a football club and a squad of players, and I am at the stage where I have lost a lot of hope with many in this squad. The club is a huge ship that is going to prove very difficult to turn around over the next 5 years.

Completely agreed with the assessment.

Also, I am with you on Madueke, he does seem to have a good character. Also I’d mention Chuku, he has been pretty good and unlucky to get injured.

What is more we do have some crazily good talent on loan. I was so impressed by Casadei in pre season. He was voted as best player in U21 championship which Italy has won and considered one of the best young italian talents. I thought he was ready to play even this season with us and with Lavia, Ugochukwu and other midfield issues he def could have had a chance.

[Chelsea_Matt]

10 minutes ago, Bones said:

Completely agreed with the assessment.

Also, I am with you on Madueke, he does seem to have a good character. Also I’d mention Chuku, he has been pretty good and unlucky to get injured.

What is more we do have some crazily good talent on loan. I was so impressed by Casadei in pre season. He was voted as best player in U21 championship which Italy has won and considered one of the best young italian talents. I thought he was ready to play even this season with us and with Lavia, Ugochukwu and other midfield issues he def could have had a chance.

We’ve no identity. We’ve thrown money at the wall in hopes that it’ll change things but all it’s done is destroy the club’s soul. The club isn’t Chelsea anymore. It just isn’t. I still can’t believe how we’ve handled the manager situations and the incoming transfers. In the space of 18 months, we’ve been sent back a decade.

[boratsbrother]

10 hours ago, Chelsea_Matt said:

Singling out Sterling imo is wrong. He’s no worse than anyone else. And while Thiago is finishing up, you just made a blanket statement saying they’re crap. That’s why I disagree. 

But anyway merry Xmas one and all 🎄⭐️💙

Sorry, but I never said either were crap! 

I've been a fan of Silva and think he's been a great signing. I just think it's time we moved on now to a younger, quicker player.

As for Sterling. Is 6 goals in half a season worth £350 k a week, and that after a very modest return the season before. Is that really anywhere near good enough for that kind of money?  We need a much better main striker than him to move the needle forward and at his age he simply isn't going to get any better. At least Jackson has age on his side to significantly improve, just like Drogba did after a less than quality first season.

 

[xceleryx]

14 hours ago, Mark Kelly said:

Bonus point . Chelsea are apparently the only side in the premier league not to trail a game at half time according to the Daily mail.

More proof that Pochettino must be doing something awful at half time considering the amount of games we've gone on to lose .

The coach who stole Chelsea.

Could also be the simple matter of a young side that lose concentration after half time. We've seen it a number of times already this season when we come out after the break and witness an individual lapse costing us, or something like our concentration on set pieces with who marks who, or tracking a runner. 

The players are just as accountable, if not more so, in a lot of dropped points this season. There's only so much a manager can do, he's not exactly responsible for some of the gaffs we've seen at either end of the pitch. 

[xceleryx]

2 hours ago, Chelsea_Matt said:

We’ve no identity. We’ve thrown money at the wall in hopes that it’ll change things but all it’s done is destroy the club’s soul. The club isn’t Chelsea anymore. It just isn’t. I still can’t believe how we’ve handled the manager situations and the incoming transfers. In the space of 18 months, we’ve been sent back a decade.

There's time for that to still change in fairness. We've been in a constant state of flux for 18 months, I think it would've been highly optimistic thinking we weren't going to go backwards before going forwards. We're only 6 months in with the young side we've assembled - and still haven't managed to field our best eleven this season, even on just one occasion.

While I do agree we've not got a real identity at present, I see the way we've built our squad more along the lines of gathering together a nucleus of a team first. Now, some may not end up being part of that moving forward, but with the amount of upheaval we had it was never going to be likely that we construct a team in a conventional way because we needed numbers first and foremost. 

What we need to do now is establish a spine. That's going to start with getting in a genuine CF that can spearhead the attack (and team), then a commanding GK that has presence, composure and quality. With Thiago Silva on borrowed time, and the unit of CB's we have on hand currently, I do think a commanding CB that demonstrates leadership and organisational skills is a must. 

The midfield could still use some attending but it's not as important as the three areas above, and I'd say finding another supporting attacker probably ranks as more important. 

The big question I suppose is whether we make those right signings or not, that I can certainly understand having reservations about. 

[Mark Kelly]

6 hours ago, xceleryx said:

Could also be the simple matter of a young side that lose concentration after half time. We've seen it a number of times already this season when we come out after the break and witness an individual lapse costing us, or something like our concentration on set pieces with who marks who, or tracking a runner. 

The players are just as accountable, if not more so, in a lot of dropped points this season. There's only so much a manager can do, he's not exactly responsible for some of the gaffs we've seen at either end of the pitch. 

If it wasn't for the fact that he's been here half a season with a reputation as THE man who can train young kids into top players and the longer he's "working" with them the worse they are getting ,  I'd agree .

They look un-coached if anything , can't defend set pieces , can't take them , no defensive fortitude , a midfield that is neither a shield for the defence or a support to the attack , there's no cohesive plan when attacking , nobody appears to know their roles they play as individuals not a unit . When we do spring an attack the opposition then counter and were all over the place , nobody in positions you d expect them to be in , it's like under tens football where they're all chasing the ball on mass!

Any ideas what they do all week? Is he in pointless meetings ?. Where the evidence of the coaching ? One player is exceeding expectations and like Lampard before him Gallagher seems to be driving himself on.

Pochettino isn't earning his money .

[kev61]

We can drive ourselves mad going round in circles of why we are crap."it's the owners" -"it's the players are young and will come good" both valid arguments,but the truth is we have a coach that has no idea.

Have you ever listened to a manager with less passion?.Imagine the young players that need a mentor.

As I said before Poch is not the only reason why we are crap but he is first person we should get rid of.

[Chelsea_Matt]

11 hours ago, boratsbrother said:

Sorry, but I never said either were crap! 

I've been a fan of Silva and think he's been a great signing. I just think it's time we moved on now to a younger, quicker player.

As for Sterling. Is 6 goals in half a season worth £350 k a week, and that after a very modest return the season before. Is that really anywhere near good enough for that kind of money?  We need a much better main striker than him to move the needle forward and at his age he simply isn't going to get any better. At least Jackson has age on his side to significantly improve, just like Drogba did after a less than quality first season.

 

Apologies - it was @Bison

[Chelsea_Matt]

3 hours ago, Mark Kelly said:

If it wasn't for the fact that he's been here half a season with a reputation as THE man who can train young kids into top players and the longer he's "working" with them the worse they are getting ,  I'd agree .

They look un-coached if anything , can't defend set pieces , can't take them , no defensive fortitude , a midfield that is neither a shield for the defence or a support to the attack , there's no cohesive plan when attacking , nobody appears to know their roles they play as individuals not a unit . When we do spring an attack the opposition then counter and were all over the place , nobody in positions you d expect them to be in , it's like under tens football where they're all chasing the ball on mass!

Any ideas what they do all week? Is he in pointless meetings ?. Where the evidence of the coaching ? One player is exceeding expectations and like Lampard before him Gallagher seems to be driving himself on.

Pochettino isn't earning his money .

It’s basically Graham Potter with an accent.