Chelsea 2022/2023 | THIS IS LAST YEARS THREAD YOU NUMPTIES

[Ferrers]

I’m sure many can, not to the point they’re 10th.
There’s worse teams ahead of them that’s actually playing a style while Potter
has got absolutely nothing out of this squad. If anyone can even point out what they’re trying out there I’d be grateful. The problem is he isn’t earning any more time.

I don’t often agree with you but you have hit the nail on the head absolutely no identity to this team. I’m pretty sure I just heard that Kepa had the 3rd most touches for Chelsea I’m the game. So can only assume what patterns of play he has tried to coach are either Misunderstood or more worrying for him being ignored.

The players read the press it wouldn’t take much for the dressing room to go completely and then he is royally screwed!

 

[Atheist]

Chelsea don’t have to worry - they should get in Ralf Rangnick as caretaker. He’ll sort them out.

 

[LordSpud]

They’d be foolish to sack him, he needs to have his own players and time to implement his ideas. Not many managers could get a tune out of that squad of players.

A nobody attempting to tell CL and PL winners what to do? A match made in heaven.

 

[InspiRED]

A nobody attempting to tell CL and PL winners what to do? A match made in heaven.

He doesn’t have trophies but has built up a solid body of work and is very well regarded in the game. ‘Nobody’ is kind of Twitter level analysis.

 

[Red the Bear]

They should focus on cl although I doubt they could go far.

 

[CannonBalls]

The kind of spending spree they are on not sure there would be scope for getting players the manager needs, its mostly you are a coach deal with the players you have kind of model. Even the numerous directors they have now manager will be just a vote and not a big say.

On top of all this they will have to deal with Lukaku again next summer. Nobody is going to touch him now.

 

[SirReginald]

They should focus on cl although I doubt they could go far.

Probably go out in the knockouts at this point but hey can’t win trophies every year. If the current chaos breeds organizational stability and on the field consistency then I’m more than willing to sit by and wait.

 

[Baxter]

James, Chilwell, Kante and Pulisic have had pretty awful injury records for a while and Fofana had a bad one at Leicester too. They had the same issues last year too.

You can’t blame bad luck while having a lot of unreliable players in the squad who repeatedly break down.

 

[Red the Bear]

Probably go out in the knockouts at this point but hey can’t win trophies every year. If the current chaos breeds organizational stability and on the field consistency then I’m more than willing to sit by and wait.

Not too dissimilar to our last season i think.

 

[TheMagicFoolBus]

James, Chilwell, Kante and Pulisic have had pretty awful injury records for a while and Fofana had a bad one at Leicester too. They had the same issues last year too.

You can’t blame bad luck while having a lot of unreliable players in the squad who repeatedly break down.

Agreed on the first 4 but Fofana's spotty record was based on a horrendous single challenge resulting in a contact injury in a preseason match whilst at Leicester - not like the others who have had recurring injuries to the same joints and/or muscle structures.

 

[Dancfc]

Went totally under the radar but Hudson Odoi had the 3rd highest chance created and key pass (per 90) in the league last season.

He's not perfect by any means but criminal he was let go given the alternatives.

 

[TheReligion]

Went totally under the radar but Hudson Odoi had the 3rd highest chance created and key pass (per 90) in the league last season.

He's not perfect by any means but criminal he was let go given the alternatives.

It is criminal especially when you are still playing Pulisic and Ziyech, neither of whom want to be at Chelsea anymore and have been actively seeking moves. Bizarre.

 

[TheReligion]

The more you look at Chelsea at the moment the more it feels there’s a number of off field issues impacting on the club culture.

You have a very mixed up squad with a number of core experienced players not fully committed, happy at the club or leaving imminently.

- Ziyech and Pulisic have been constant starters but neither want to be there and have actively sought moves away in the summer.

- The future of Kante and Jorginho remains unresolved with both contracts expiring within coming months.

- Thiago Silva likely to depart at the end of the season along with Azpilicueta

- Aubamayang as the senior forward totally out of favour having only been at the club a few months. The other senior forward, and record signing, remains on loan in Italy.

This does not strike me as the ideal environment for young players to develop and thrive.

It is also an extremely difficult environment for a relatively inexperienced manager in Graham Potter to come in to and steady.

I’m not sure how this will all play out but it does feel there are some really big problems to fix and Potter has been massively thrown in at the deep end.

 

[WeePat]

Went totally under the radar but Hudson Odoi had the 3rd highest chance created and key pass (per 90) in the league last season.

He's not perfect by any means but criminal he was let go given the alternatives.

Letting him go was good for him. I'm so invested in CHO's development that I would rather he moved away from the shackles of Chelsea and just played every week than just be seen as the 4th or 5th option at Chelsea.

 

[TheReligion]

Letting him go was good for him. I'm so invested in CHO's development that I would rather he moved away from the shackles of Chelsea and just played every week than just be seen as the 4th or 5th option at Chelsea.

I think that’s the issue though. Why is he 4/5th option?

 

[LordSpud]

He doesn’t have trophies but has built up a solid body of work and is very well regarded in the game. ‘Nobody’ is kind of Twitter level analysis.

He's not at the right level. He's a make up the numbers manager. He was doing great with Brighton because there was no expectation. Brighton were't going to be serious contenders for anything, just there ticking along. He's doing the exact same thing at Chelsea except of course theres a bit more expectation.

 

[WeePat]

I think that’s the issue though. Why is he 4/5th option?

No idea, multiple Chelsea managers have simply just seen him as rotational option rather than fully believing in him. His untimely injury didn't help matters either to be fair but I've always felt he deserved to have a run of games as a starter but it never happened. I think the longest run of games he's started is 7 and most of them were Tuchel messing about playing him RWB.

 

[SilentWitness]

Do you have an option on Zakaria? Would probably be the best signing of the Boehly era so far.

 

[TheReligion]

No idea, multiple Chelsea managers have simply just seen him as rotational option rather than fully believing in him. His untimely injury didn't help matters either to be fair but I've always felt he deserved to have a run of games as a starter but it never happened. I think the longest run of games he's started is 7 and most of them were Tuchel messing about playing him RWB.

I think this is what would frustrate me if I were a Chelsea fan.

If those stats are correct and he’s been so creative when playing it seems crazy to send him on loan and instead persist in playing other players in his place who don’t want to be at Chelsea nor do they have any long term future at the club.

It feels from the outside, as touched on in the Havertz thread, there’s been a complete lack of joined up thinking in terms of recruitment, player development and head coach.

Obviously this goes well before Potter.

 

[GoonerBear]

Probably go out in the knockouts at this point but hey can’t win trophies every year. If the current chaos breeds organizational stability and on the field consistency then I’m more than willing to sit by and wait.

Be interesting to see what your organizational consistency is going to look like. Looks very top heavy in terms of sporting directors / technical directors, also with the added influence of Boehly, will he be happy taking a step back now and leaving key decisions to those he's hired?

 

[gorky_utd]

Has to be said you guys look really fecked

Much less stressful watching it happen to someone else’s team. Like light entertainment. How much did you get koulibaly for? Any chance you can get money back as looks like he got broken in transit?

You love to see it happening to other teams . Now imagine how much people have laughed at UTD thanks to woody .

 

[WeePat]

Do you have an option on Zakaria? Would probably be the best signing of the Boehly era so far.

I really like him. He's been pretty fantastic every game he's played. Not sure what went wrong for him in Juve but he looks very good for us. I think his price is around £25m if we want to sign him. I'd want to see how he does the rest of the season before deciding on what to do with him but he's been impressive so far.

 

[Rnd898]

Do you have an option on Zakaria? Would probably be the best signing of the Boehly era so far.

Yeah there's an option for £26M or something along those lines.

Didn't have high hopes for him when he signed and the first couple of months it looked about as pointless as the Saul Niguez loan last season but the few games he's gotten to play lately he's looked decent. He should definitely start as many games as possible from now till the end of the season to get a better look at him before making any decisions though.

 

[mctrials23]

I think a lot of people are underestimating how fecked most teams would be with Chelseas injury issues.

They currently have their first choice

GK,LB, RB, CB, DM, LW out

Take DDG, Shaw, Dalot, Martinez, Casemiro and Rashford out of our squad and we would probably be having a pretty rough time of things too.

I think they have other issues but lets not pretend this is so sort of crisis purely of the owners/managers making. I think Potter is a good manager and will come good with a bit of luck and time.

 

[charlenefan]

I think a lot of people are underestimating how fecked most teams would be with Chelseas injury issues.

They currently have their first choice

GK,LB, RB, CB, DM, LW out

Take DDG, Shaw, Dalot, Martinez, Casemiro and Rashford out of our squad and we would probably be having a pretty rough time of things too.

I think they have other issues but lets not pretend this is so sort of crisis purely of the owners/managers making. I think Potter is a good manager and will come good with a bit of luck and time.

Kepa had already displaced Mendy

Fofana definitely isn't their first choice CB. 2nd choice at a push

Fair enough on the rest even though Sterling's been shit

 

[cyberman]

I think a lot of people are underestimating how fecked most teams would be with Chelseas injury issues.

They currently have their first choice

GK,LB, RB, CB, DM, LW out

Take DDG, Shaw, Dalot, Martinez, Casemiro and Rashford out of our squad and we would probably be having a pretty rough time of things too.

I think they have other issues but lets not pretend this is so sort of crisis purely of the owners/managers making. I think Potter is a good manager and will come good with a bit of luck and time.

A lot of those were already injury prone to the point it’s on the club who relies on them and a few recent injuries. If we can all remember back to just before the World Cup and Potter getting booed all the way back then

 

[TrustInJanuzaj]

I think a lot of people are underestimating how fecked most teams would be with Chelseas injury issues.

They currently have their first choice

GK,LB, RB, CB, DM, LW out

Take DDG, Shaw, Dalot, Martinez, Casemiro and Rashford out of our squad and we would probably be having a pretty rough time of things too.

I think they have other issues but lets not pretend this is so sort of crisis purely of the owners/managers making. I think Potter is a good manager and will come good with a bit of luck and time.

—————————Butland—————————
AWB—Varane—————Maguire—Malacia
—————McTominay——Eriksen—————
——————————Bruno——————————
Antony——————Martial————Garnacho

Honestly that team still looks reasonably decent to me. I reckon that Utd team would still pick up a normal amount of points and not free fall. That’s not even counting Sancho either.

I think Chelsea have had a pretty overrated squad for a while now and it’s showing badly with the injuries. The signings also haven’t helped one bit as they have arguably weakened themselves in key positions.

 

[GoonerBear]

I think a lot of people are underestimating how fecked most teams would be with Chelseas injury issues.

They currently have their first choice

GK,LB, RB, CB, DM, LW out

Take DDG, Shaw, Dalot, Martinez, Casemiro and Rashford out of our squad and we would probably be having a pretty rough time of things too.

I think they have other issues but lets not pretend this is so sort of crisis purely of the owners/managers making. I think Potter is a good manager and will come good with a bit of luck and time.

Yeah, we lost some key guys at the end of last season and it showed in certain games. We were playing guys like Holding, Tavares and Elneny mind you, Chelsea are still able to field Koulibaly, Cucurella and Jorginho, so I wouldn't exactly say it's like for like in terms of squad depth even now!

 

[Rnd898]

I think a lot of people are underestimating how fecked most teams would be with Chelseas injury issues.

They currently have their first choice

GK,LB, RB, CB, DM, LW out

Yep, something like 9-10 injuries and counting.

Mendy injury has been quite insignificant because Kepa has been Potter's first choice from the start but some of the others are really bad.

James, Chilwell and Kante being out for pretty much the entirety of Potter's time at the club has seriously hurt us. Even Tuchel struggled badly last season with those three out. With mediocre/underperforming wingers our attacking play has been overly reliant on James and Chilwell for a couple of seasons now so when they're out it affects us at both ends of the pitch, leading to a leakier defense and a stale attack. For the price he cost Cucurella should be able to cover for Chilwell but so far it's just been a steep drop in quality when Chilwell is out. And don't even get me started on James vs Azpilicueta. Azpi has been a wonderful servant to the club for more than a decade but he should have been let go last summer when it's obvious his legs aren't up to it anymore.

Kante being out all season has been a huge miss and without him we really fail to control the midfield. Even at Tuchel's peak it was always Kante paired with either Jorginho or Kovacic which worked to a reasonably good effect but without Kante it all fell apart because Jorginho-Kovacic just doesn't work as a pairing. While Jorginho and Kovacic are both good/decent players in their own right they just don't complement each other in the slightest. Recently Potter has tried to work around that by using Zakaria more but it's still too early to say whether he's an answer or not. Even at his best Zakaria is no Kante, that's for sure.

The other injuries (Fofana, RLC, Broja and the more recent ones Pulisic + Sterling) by themselves probably wouldn't affect us too much but when you pile them on top of the already bad misses it's gotten to be a very serious issue overall. Having so many players out at the same time allows for very little flexibility when you basically just have to play whoever's fit regardless of form or tactical aspects, let alone having a bit of rotation every once in a while.

 

[TheReligion]

@Rnd898

I thought Kante was not considered that good anymore by most of your fanbase and was being ushered out the door?

Any updates on his and Jorginho contacts or do they both look like going in the summer?

 

[weetee]

Even at Tuchel's peak it was always Kante paired with either Jorginho or Kovacic which worked to a reasonably good effect but without Kante it all fell apart because Jorginho-Kovacic just doesn't work as a pairing.

Didn't look that way to me. I always thought Kova was great when they sat back, soaked up the attacks and played it out from behind where Kovacic's quick dribbling and sound passing was preferable to Kanté's while Kanté was great when they actually wanted to press high and keep possession a lot. It was when Jorgi started to do some more slip ups and easy mistakes after the Euro IIR without having a back-up and Kovacic having knee problems being in/out often and not really fit (that's when RLC had to come in more often and that didn't really work out great although he had very good games in-between) while Kanté was injured that the midfield became a problem.

 

[TheMagicFoolBus]

@Rnd898

I thought Kante was not considered that good anymore by most of your fanbase and was being ushered out the door?

Any updates on his and Jorginho contacts or do they both look like going in the summer?

The latest news is that Kante looks like he will extend. I don't think any Chelsea supporter thinks he's not that good anymore but the wisdom of signing him to a large extension when he's been so injury-plagued is murky at best. Granted he was horrendous in the second leg vs Real Madrid last year and basically cost us the tie along with Mendy, but for the most part he's still very very good at what he does. Personally I'd have sold him to PSG this past summer but maybe I'm off my rocker.

Jorginho looks likely to leave by all accounts.

 

[TheReligion]

The latest news is that Kante looks like he will extend. I don't think any Chelsea supporter thinks he's not that good anymore but the wisdom of signing him to a large extension when he's been so injury-plagued is murky at best. Granted he was horrendous in the second leg vs Real Madrid last year and basically cost us the tie along with Mendy, but for the most part he's still very very good at what he does. Personally I'd have sold him to PSG this past summer but maybe I'm off my rocker.

Jorginho looks likely to leave by all accounts.

Thanks mate. Yeah tricky one at his age and with his record. He’s on big money already and will most likely want a 3-4 year deal at minimum.

 

[Rnd898]

@Rnd898

I thought Kante was not considered that good anymore by most of your fanbase and was being ushered out the door?

Any updates on his and Jorginho contacts or do they both look like going in the summer?

What on earth gave you that idea?

The only reason people have started to think about letting Kante go is because of the injuries but whenever fit he was still a very important player last season. Given the injury problems in recent years he's not exactly been the peak-Kante of 2016-2018 anymore but still a very good one and with no new permanent senior midfielders signed since 2018 right now he's a huge miss when he's out.

At the moment I too am on the fence about offering him a new deal or letting him go but that's only because he's been injured all season and there's no way to know how that's affected his level. Mind you this latest injury is the worst one he's had at Chelsea by far, all the others have been a maximum 1-2 months at a time but now it's been around 5 months already and it doesn't look like he's returning anytime soon.

As long as we don't continue being overly reliant on Kante staying fit I'm more than open to him staying at the club. If reduced to a rotational role and playing when fit, while still having other (new) quality midfielders in the squad I think it could still be very useful to have Kante around but sadly the time of him being a key figure is over because his fitness is too unpredictable.

But yeah, like stated above it's being reported Kante could well be extending his deal and at the moment it's said to be 50/50 whether he signs or not. The latest talk is of a 3-year deal on a slightly reduced salary but close to what he's currently earning. It's a bit of a gamble for sure. At best we get a very high quality rotational player for a couple more years but at worst it's money down the drain if the injury worries continue being as bad as this season and/or his level has just dropped too much with the latest injury lay off.

As for Jorginho I very much hope he's gone after the season.

 

[TheReligion]

I love him but the injuries seem more frequent and the top performances less so. I'd sell in the summer.

People in here are dramatically overstating how much he has fallen off. Clear who watches him closely and who doesn’t. While it’s true that he is frequently picking up annoying little injuries, he still makes a big difference in our team when fit and has a run of games.

He’s certainly not the terminator he was a few years ago where he could play 60 matches in a season and barely look phased but he is still capable of world class performances if managed properly. Take our entire CL winning run last season for example where he destroyed everyone.

I wouldn’t be shocked if we do allow him to move this summer but I would be shocked if it was to a PL team and especially one who is going to be competing with us directly. He would be a HUGE upgrade in your midfield even if he’s only about 70% the Kante he was a couple of years ago now.

He can't be thought of as a starter next sesson. He isn't reliable enough for that, so yeah he'll be a squad player in rotation. Load managing him through the season.

@Rnd898

Just a few bits from the transfer thread of summer. Not been though it all but I sensed he’d dropped off for you and wasn’t particularly important anymore.

 

[mctrials23]

James, Chilwell and Kante being out for pretty much the entirety of Potter's time at the club has seriously hurt us. Even Tuchel struggled badly last season with those three out. With mediocre/underperforming wingers our attacking play has been overly reliant on James and Chilwell for a couple of seasons now so when they're out it affects us at both ends of the pitch, leading to a leakier defense and a stale attack.

Chelsea were flying last season with Chilwell and James I seem to remember. They both got injured and it completely killed Chelseas momentum. Imagine if Liverpool didn't have Robertson or TAA. Thats a huge amount of their attacking threat gone.

I like Potter and I want him to do well. I just fear he will be gone within a few more poor results.

 

[Rnd898]

@Rnd898

Just a few bits from the transfer thread of summer. Not been though it all but I sensed he’d dropped off for you and wasn’t particularly important anymore.

Nothing about that contradicts what I said though? Everyone agreed he's not the same peak-Kante he once was and the injuries had already started to be a problem but still a very good player when fit.

Also, if you look at the dates for the posts you quoted they are all from May 2022 when last season had just ended and the transfer window hadn't even opened yet. I'm pretty sure the thinking of @duffer @Orc and @WeePat was that if properly replaced Kante could be let go of because of the growing injury problems but in reality the midfield was neglected all summer with only Zakaria picked up on a cheap loan on deadline day, so obviously going into the season Kante was still thought of as a very important player. That plan just hasn't worked out in the slightest with him getting a long term injury on GW2 during what was a very good Kante performance against Tottenham.

 

[TheReligion]

Nothing about that contradicts what I said though? Everyone agreed he's not the same peak-Kante he once was and the injuries had already started to be a problem but still a very good player when fit.

Also, if you look at the dates for the posts you quoted they are all from May 2022 when last season had just ended and the transfer window hadn't even opened yet. I'm pretty sure the thinking of @duffer @Orc and @WeePat was that if properly replaced Kante could be let go of because of the growing injury problems but in reality the midfield was neglected all summer with only Zakaria picked up on a cheap loan on deadline day, so obviously going into the season Kante was still thought of as a very important player. That plan just hasn't worked out in the slightest with him getting a long term injury on GW2 during what was a very good Kante performance against Tottenham.

You said Kante not playing had been a huge miss and has stopped you controlling games.

I got the impression from Chelsea fans he was no longer that important, a squad player at best and someone who many wouldn’t have minded leaving in the summer.

That’s why I was wondering just how detrimental his absence has been this season.

 

[WeePat]

Nothing about that contradicts what I said though? Everyone agreed he's not the same peak-Kante he once was and the injuries had already started to be a problem but still a very good player when fit.

Also, if you look at the dates for the posts you quoted they are all from May 2022 when last season had just ended and the transfer window hadn't even opened yet. I'm pretty sure the thinking of @duffer @Orc and @WeePat was that if properly replaced Kante could be let go of because of the growing injury problems but in reality the midfield was neglected all summer with only Zakaria picked up on a cheap loan on deadline day, so obviously going into the season Kante was still thought of as a very important player. That plan just hasn't worked out in the slightest with him getting a long term injury on GW2 during what was a very good Kante performance against Tottenham.

I didn't even say sell him. I said we should load manage him through the season, and that we should stop thinking of him as a starter because he is now an extremely injury prone player. He lasted 1 game this season before he broke down again.

 

[Rnd898]

You said Kante not playing had been a huge miss and has stopped you controlling games.

Yes, and without any other new quality midfielders coming in that is all very much true IMO.

I got the impression from Chelsea fans he was no longer that important, a squad player at best and someone who many wouldn’t have minded leaving in the summer.

That’s why I was wondering just how detrimental his absence has been this season.

Well then your impression is just wrong.

I'm pretty sure anyone who said that only meant the 'squad player' bit as something related to the injury problems and not about his quality as a player, no? If a player is injured for around half of the games, he can't exactly be relied upon over the course of a full season, wouldn't you agree? That doesn't mean he's still not one of the first names on the team sheet whenever he is fit.