Chelsea 2023/24 season thread.

TheMagicFoolBus said:
I don't understand what has happened to Badiashile - he looked like a very promising player last year, yet this season he has been maybe the worst CB in the top 5 leagues?

Also would continue to reiterate that Gallagher is a complete liability in the final third & Poch insisting on him being there is a sackable offense.

Also also Chelsea should stop trying to make Alfie Gilchrist happen. It's not going to happen.
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He was so good last season. He’s been so bad this season. I think there’s a player in there somewhere but my god the drop off after his injury has been brutal to watch.

I like Gilchrist, and I think he’s a decent squad player but we have like a laundry list of players currently in the academy better than him.
 
Solius said:
Jackson is so bad it actually annoys me.
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He’s good at many things but he’s a truly awful finisher. He’s more of a left winger, second striker or false 9 to me than a proper lone striker. He’s creative, quick, can hold the ball relatively well and has pretty good link up play but he can’t finish a chance to save his life. I actually love watching him except when he gets in front of the goal.
 
WeePat said:
He was so good last season. He’s been so bad this season. I think there’s a player in there somewhere but my god the drop off after his injury has been brutal to watch.

I like Gilchrist, and I think he’s a decent squad player but we have like a laundry list of players currently in the academy better than him.
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Maybe I'm being harsh but I don't think Gilchrist is anywhere near a decent squad player. Comparing him to the likes of Paulo Ferreira, Juliano Belletti, Geremi, Jose Bosingwa, etc who at times were squad players at RB - he's nowhere near.
 
WeePat said:
He’s good at many things but he’s a truly awful finisher. He’s more than f a left winger, second striker or false 9 than a proper lone striker. He’s creative, quick, can hold the ball relatively well and has pretty good link up play but he can’t finish a chance to save his life. I actually love watching him except when he gets in front of the goal.
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If he could be our starting left winger next year I wouldn't hate it - if we can convince someone like Gyokeres to come in
 
TheMagicFoolBus said:
If he could be our starting left winger next year I wouldn't hate it - if we can convince someone like Gyokeres to come in
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I’m not convinced by Gyokeres, but yeah I like the idea of Jackson being our left winger after this season. He’s very creative and he’s quick as feck. He’s very entertaining to watch until he gets into the box and he has to score.
 
TheMagicFoolBus said:
Maybe I'm being harsh but I don't think Gilchrist is anywhere near a decent squad player. Comparing him to the likes of Paulo Ferreira, Juliano Belletti, Geremi, Jose Bosingwa, etc who at times were squad players at RB - he's nowhere near.
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Yeah but he’s almost 4th choice RB here after James, Gusto and even Disasi. That’s not a bad 4th choice to have is what I’m getting at. It’s his first start with 6 games remaining and it’s basically a forced one because we have an injury crisis. I’m fine with him being that kind of squad player.
 
WeePat said:
I’m not convinced by Gyokeres, but yeah I like the idea of Jackson being our left winger after this season. He’s very creative and he’s quick as feck. He’s very entertaining to watch until he gets into the box and he has to score.
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Gyokeres is a channel running demon who can run defenses ragged both vertically and laterally - now that I think about it the dream is to bring Tuchel back and go 3-4-2-1:

Nkunku - Gyokeres - Palmer
Chilwell - Enzo - Caicedo - James
Colwill - Chalobah - Disasi
(Diogo Costa?)

That's an excellent team all things considered. What stands out the most about Gyokeres is his ability to move into wide areas and then find other runners - 12 assists this year for Sporting is nothing to shake a stick at
 
TheMagicFoolBus said:
Gyokeres is a channel running demon who can run defenses ragged both vertically and laterally - now that I think about it the dream is to bring Tuchel back and go 3-4-2-1:

Nkunku - Gyokeres - Palmer
Chilwell - Enzo - Caicedo - James
Colwill - Chalobah - Disasi
(Diogo Costa?)

That's an excellent team all things considered. What stands out the most about Gyokeres is his ability to move into wide areas and then find other runners - 12 assists this year for Sporting is nothing to shake a stick at
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Is Nkunku the left sided forward here or just a forward that can play off Gyokeres and interchange positions with him?

Im not having Chilwell as my starting LWB next season. He’s utterly unreliable and also nowhere near the level he was 3 years ago. He honestly looked washed. We need a new starting LB/LWB. Ideally Maatsen but pure profit innit.
 
WeePat said:
Is Nkunku the left sided forward here or just a forward that can play off Gyokeres and interchange positions with him?

Im not having Chilwell as my starting LWB next season. He’s utterly unreliable and also nowhere near the level he was 3 years ago. He honestly looked washed. We need a new starting LB/LWB. Ideally Maatsen but pure profit innit.
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I'm envisioning a box midfield rotating clockwise so Nkunku drops into midfield as needed but less so compared to Palmer.

And yeah imagine turning your nose up at the player who will likely be the starter for Bayern Munich next year who is 22 years old on the basis of 409 minutes this year where he's been played out of position. Absolutely shambolic.
 
WeePat said:
Is Nkunku the left sided forward here or just a forward that can play off Gyokeres and interchange positions with him?

Im not having Chilwell as my starting LWB next season. He’s utterly unreliable and also nowhere near the level he was 3 years ago. He honestly looked washed. We need a new starting LB/LWB. Ideally Maatsen but pure profit innit.
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Are you guys going to have another exciting summer transfer window or is all the Boehly money spunked already?
 
bringbackbebe said:
Are you guys going to have another exciting summer transfer window or is all the Boehly money spunked already?
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My guess would be a bunch of outgoings and a few key improvements coming in.

The outgoing bunch will be largely made of players currently shipped out on loan (Maatsen, Broja, Lukaku, Kepa etc.) but also a few first teamers like Silva, Chalobah and sadly Gallagher. There's also a few players I'm sure the club would be happy to get rid of (ie. Sterling, Cucurella) but finding a buyer for them seems unlikely.

Priority for the incomings should be a leading CB and a first choice striker. After that any further signings will depend on clearing space in the squad (ie. if Sterling goes then a new winger needs to come in).
 
I heard about this injury back in October I think. He’s been playing with an injury that requires surgery this whole season?

 
Rnd898 said:
My guess would be a bunch of outgoings and a few key improvements coming in.
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Well, what you're hoping to be improvements. Considering the recent track record, we can all hope you mess up spectacularly again :lol:
WeePat said:
I heard about this injury back in October I think. He’s been playing with an injury that requires surgery this whole season?

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It's not uncommon for players to play through injury that might require surgery. It's also possible the condition may have evolved and now requires surgery. He definitely hasn't particularly looked like he was playing through any particular pain (unlike Rashford a few seasons back).
 
We still have a chance of top 6... a £50m run in the Europa next season can make all the difference to us.

Looking at his performances though, I can see why he'd opt for surgery, if it's hindering him, and we're better off playing someone else.
 
Rooney in Paris said:
It's not uncommon for players to play through injury that might require surgery. It's also possible the condition may have evolved and now requires surgery. He definitely hasn't particularly looked like he was playing through any particular pain (unlike Rashford a few seasons back).
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Rashford looks like he's playing through pain in every match these days. The existential pain of life.
 
duffer said:
£50 million from the Europa? Didn't know it was that much.
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If can win it, I think should be around that these days (not including gates possibly), which would surely be the aim, also get the CL so don't only rely on the league. It's not too be sniffed at. Conference league, not so much...
 
Rooney in Paris said:
It's not uncommon for players to play through injury that might require surgery. It's also possible the condition may have evolved and now requires surgery. He definitely hasn't particularly looked like he was playing through any particular pain (unlike Rashford a few seasons back).
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It might be a situation comparable to Sané‘s at Bayern. He is barely hanging in there and will only feature in CL games or short cameos for the rest of the season. Had Bayern lost to Arsenal they probably would’ve shut him down until the Euros. Similar to what’s now happening to Enzo.
 
Acrobat7 said:
It might be a situation comparable to Sané‘s at Bayern. He is barely hanging in there and will only feature in CL games or short cameos for the rest of the season. Had Bayern lost to Arsenal they probably would’ve shut him down until the Euros. Similar to what’s now happening to Enzo.
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That's not what has been happening with Fernandez, though.
 
Acrobat7 said:
Ag, sorry. I understood it as him playing through pain. No, I do not watch Chelsea.
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I mean, I'm not in his body (I swear) so maybe I'm wrong, but he really hasn't been playing all year like a guy struggling with pain. He's been utilized quite heavily. I don't think it's similar to the situation you're talking about with Sané.
 
Mb194dc said:
If can win it, I think should be around that these days (not including gates possibly), which would surely be the aim, also get the CL so don't only rely on the league. It's not too be sniffed at. Conference league, not so much...
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duffer said:
£50 million from the Europa? Didn't know it was that much.
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You probably gotta include some 20M matchday income to get to 50M….

The new format will give more money and is heavily performance based, but the EL doesn’t give you 50M yet.

”The maximum amount a club could earn in prize money, including the participation fee, has increased by €9m (40%) from €24m to €33m ”
 
Rooney in Paris said:
I mean, I'm not in his body (I swear) so maybe I'm wrong, but he really hasn't been playing all year like a guy struggling with pain. He's been utilized quite heavily. I don't think it's similar to the situation you're talking about with Sané.
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In fairness Enzo is a tough SOB - you don't have a fully blacked out arm at age 21 unless you have a high pain tolerance...
 
Pintu said:
You probably gotta include some 20M matchday income to get to 50M….

The new format will give more money and is heavily performance based, but the EL doesn’t give you 50M yet.

”The maximum amount a club could earn in prize money, including the participation fee, has increased by €9m (40%) from €24m to €33m ”
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We made €40m out of it in 2019, possibly doesn't include the English TV pot split?
 
Rooney in Paris said:
I mean, I'm not in his body (I swear) so maybe I'm wrong, but he really hasn't been playing all year like a guy struggling with pain. He's been utilized quite heavily. I don't think it's similar to the situation you're talking about with Sané.
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I misread the article and immediately assumed that Inguinal Hernia was a South American striker that Boehly had brought in on a 10 year contract.
 
Has to be said that there are some quality young players in the current Chelsea team, as you´d expect for a 1.000.000.000€. Nevertheless with the announcement of Tiago Silva leaving, I am still amazed that they kicked their whole 2021 CL winning side to the curb.

Mendy 32
James 24 - Christensen 28 - Rudiger 31 - Chilwell 27
X - X - Mount 25
Pulisic 25 - Havertz 24 - Werner 28

That´s their ages right now! Three years later that is still a young core. Jorginho and Kovacic are still very valuable starters/squad players for two of the best teams in Europe. Add Palmer, Gallagher and Enzo Fernandez to that team and you are done.

Can you imagine if Liverpool or United won a Champions League with a core of an average age around 25-26 years and literally decided to can over 80% of that team within the next 18 months. It would literally be like Liverpool immediately selling their whole CL-winning team except Trent and Robertson. Oh and they´d have to fire Klopp, too. That´s what Chelsea did.

Absolutely mental. Doesn´t get nearly enough attention.
 
LilienFan said:
Has to be said that there are some quality young players in the current Chelsea team, as you´d expect for a 1.000.000.000€. Nevertheless with the announcement of Tiago Silva leaving, I am still amazed that they kicked their whole 2021 CL winning side to the curb.

Mendy 32
James 24 - Christensen 28 - Rudiger 31 - Chilwell 27
X - X - Mount 25
Pulisic 25 - Havertz 24 - Werner 28
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We didn't "kick the whole side to the curb". Christensen, Rudiger and Mount all rejected contract extensions. Chilly and James are still there.

I don't think any Chelsea fan would want back Werner, Mendy, Pulisic or Havertz. Maybe Kova and/or Jorgi but that's two.
 
duffer said:
We didn't "kick the whole side to the curb". Christensen, Rudiger and Mount all rejected contract extensions. Chilly and James are still there.

I don't think any Chelsea fan would want back Werner, Mendy, Pulisic or Havertz. Maybe Kova and/or Jorgi but that's two.
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These guys just won the Champions League. They are on top of the world and you have had unlimited resources. That translates to "if you wanted them to stay, they would have". You just didn´t fight hard enough.

Also the front four of Werner, Havertz, Pulisic and Mount worked, cause they are all mental workhorses and create insane pressure offensively and defensively. There was nothing flukey about that CL win, unlike the Bayern Munich one.

I get that some fans don´t want to look beyond goals. I get that some are easily manipulated by media bias, but a professional club is supposed to be above that. You ride that team/front four until it does not work anymore. Some teams search for that kind of cohesion for years. And these guys were all young, so you could expect individual growth from each player.

You f***** up a great thing, so you can finish in 7th-10th place. Only comparable team I can come up with are the 2011 Mavericks, but at least they were old.
 
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