Joao Felix is a wildly bizarre signing. Smacks of desperation to make to books work, and that Chelsea have gotten themselves into a situation where they have to make big money pointless signings so that they don't get into FFP trouble is a huge indictment on the management at that club. Imagine they spent all those billions on buying readymade players, they could winning titles which would have been significantly more lucrative for the owner than this buying young / selling young model that they've gone for.
Chelsea 2024/25
- Thread starter duffer
- Start date
Felix looking like a done deal. The missing part of the jigsaw, it'll all come together now.
It seems like for the three positions behind the striker (LW, RW, most attacking midfielder of a three) Chelsea now have:
Palmer
Nkunku
Felix
Neto
Dewsbury-Hall
Madueke
Sterling
Mudryk
Chukwuemeka
Kellyman
I don't see much of a pathway for any of the bottom five players to get meaningful minutes in the league....maybe Madueke if/when Neto gets hurt. But then next summer Chelsea will be adding Estevao and Paez into the mix and the club will likely prioritize their development, so the long term outlook is even murkier. I'd be trying to get out ASAP as one of the players on the bottom half of that list, especially the younger ones.
Palmer
Nkunku
Felix
Neto
Dewsbury-Hall
Madueke
Sterling
Mudryk
Chukwuemeka
Kellyman
I don't see much of a pathway for any of the bottom five players to get meaningful minutes in the league....maybe Madueke if/when Neto gets hurt. But then next summer Chelsea will be adding Estevao and Paez into the mix and the club will likely prioritize their development, so the long term outlook is even murkier. I'd be trying to get out ASAP as one of the players on the bottom half of that list, especially the younger ones.
Oh yeah, a fan will always try their best to care, even in dire circumstances, it's just way harder when you don't know if a player is going to be sold or play regularly or whatever. Easy to be cynical and not get behind someone because you expect them to leave.
I would hate their policy of selling homegrown players, personally I think that's one of the reasons I would follow a club, and goes against the whole dynamic of fandom and why we do it. It's so important to United that I don't think the fans would stand for it. I'm not surprised they were chanting for Gallagher at the City game. It's not like Gallagher is a world-beater but at least he has some semblance of the soul of the club in him, not to be sold and replaced by a foreign mercenary for the same money just to manipulate accounts.
Jorge Mendes running rings around Boehly and the lads, baited them into Felix after getting a good deal for Neto. Madness that is the player they thought they needed on that deal after everything.
I hate them.
Felix seems like the last thing they need. Really strange transfer.
I thought Lavia was decent yesterday, Enzo was poor and clearly not a 10… Nkunku needs to play there I think, wasted out on the left. Palmer I think is fine on the right. But I’m struggling to see how it all comes together.
Felix exacerbates that.
Does anyone know what their starting / best team is? Presume the midfield three yesterday was a one-off due to playing City.
I thought Lavia was decent yesterday, Enzo was poor and clearly not a 10… Nkunku needs to play there I think, wasted out on the left. Palmer I think is fine on the right. But I’m struggling to see how it all comes together.
Felix exacerbates that.
Does anyone know what their starting / best team is? Presume the midfield three yesterday was a one-off due to playing City.
Oh no.
Mendes doing well out of the ones at Chelsea it seems.
Felix signing is great news. One more deadweight that they will have to be creative about in 12 months. Hopefully Mendes did a great job to get him 250/300k pw so he becomes their new unmovable player.
Would love to be a fly on Chelsea's board meetings... The door closing, meeting over and you hear Todd yelling from inside in his underwear and cowboy hat "just embrace the madness!!" with grinning face and his eyeballs popped out.
Definitely my 2nd favorite team for a good year and a half now.
Definitely my 2nd favorite team for a good year and a half now.
Seems they have swapped Gallagher for Felix (same fees).
Again. Not sure what the plan is here or why Felix?
Again. Not sure what the plan is here or why Felix?
A good player but that profile of player just doesn't make sense to me, given what the Chelsea squad has and and what they lack.
No footballing plan. Gallagher is immediate pure profit whereas they only have to pay one-fifth of Felix's fee this year.
Gallagher was available to sign for someone else on a free transfer in a few months. So we've swapped them but the new guy has years left on the new contract.
As for why Felix, there were not many options at Atletico and apparently the powers that be at Chelsea wanted him to stay after his loan last year.
Ahh didn’t realise Gallagher had so little time on his contact. He had to go then I guess. I’m sure other clubs would have been interested though and possibly paid more? I guess I don’t get the fixation on Felix given the players you have.
We accepted an offer from Aston Villa a few months ago but he rejected the move.
There's not many clubs out there who (a) have the money, (b) want Gallagher and (c) Gallagher wanted to move to.
Wolfsburg? Some Red Bull franchise? Hertha BSC?
Felix doesn’t even get in Chelsea’s best team
There is a growing sentiment, fans who feel disconnected from the club since the ownership. But honestly, I think it's just because the team isn't winning. Lots of my Arsenal mates also 'felt disconnected' from their club until they started competing at the top again and now they're in love with their club again.
Personally speaking, I dislike the ownership group. I don't believe in what they're selling. The players are pretty easy to like and build a connection with though. Caicedo and Gusto have become two of my favourite players in the world. I adore Jackson, and probably spend too much time online defending him () and I have different levels of attachment to pretty much the entire squad. There are some that I'm not huge fans of (Mudryk, Disasi, Sterling) but that has always been the case. I was never keen on Malouda, despite him being a crucial player for us. I never warmed to Courtois despite winning two titles with him.
If we somehow defied all odds and challenged for the title this season, I'm pretty sure all the disconnect shouts would subside pretty quickly.
Thanks for the response - appreciate you taking the time and it's interesting hearing a fans insight. I think what I find most frustrating about the setup from afar is just how obvious the club is being treated as a means to treat individual players as corporate investments instead of legitimate footballing investments. Dewsbury-Hall is the perfect example of this. Just a means of playing a depressing investment game.
Had no idea he’d rejected Villa. Would have been a good move for him.
Shame it’s not worked out as he looked brilliant at Palace.
Hopefully Artetas saviour complex comes to the rescue again.
But yeah not thrilled with this one, he's basically the flashy inconsistent player that many people deluded themselves into thinking Hazard was.
Does anyone know what the actual plan is?
Saw someone suggest they are trying to corner the market and have so much of the talent that they can name their prices... But great players get produced all the time, and for every hit they have they seem to have two misses.
Saw someone suggest they are trying to corner the market and have so much of the talent that they can name their prices... But great players get produced all the time, and for every hit they have they seem to have two misses.
They are expecting a two year transfer ban and are buying players like a VC firm (1 out of 10 will become great and finance the other 9)?
Ah yes, Felix. Just what the doctor ordered.
Probably been mentioned but seemingly they are after Joe Gomez now for some reason
Jamie is spot on.
Batshit crazy, he's a fancy dan without an end product and with a questionable attitude.
Last player we need in our squad. Also signing him possibly turns Raheem in to the next generation Winston Bogarde. Knocking about in the reserves on 300k a week for the next 3 years.
What is it a jigsaw of though?
I imagine Felix will play as a false 9.
He’s spot on except one point, Maresca said a while ago the group he’s coaching is about 27-28 players. The other players are either training separately, being kept fit by other club coaches or they’re actually academy kids training and playing with the U23s (yes some of the famous oft quoted 40+ players actually 4-5 academy players who sometimes train with the first team).
I agree with you. I was willing to give this ownership a chance in 2022 and 2023 and I spent a lot of time trying to contextualise their actions, hoping I would start seeing the beginnings of whatever the feck they’re trying to accomplish. We’re going into our 3rd season and I’ve realised I just fundamentally don’t agree with their ‘plan’ for my club.
Sterling’s statement clearly shows the issue they are going to have. Players with long contracts will stay. This was clearly a message to Sterling today and his response is “three years, feck off”
Felix will just be another name on the list of players with massive contracts and nowhere to go in a few years. They have created a powder keg here.
Felix will just be another name on the list of players with massive contracts and nowhere to go in a few years. They have created a powder keg here.
Madueke's childish behavior and selfishness is astounding; he definitely has some talent, but he calls his number as often as Ronaldo, which everyone gets sick of, but Ronaldo scores 50 goals a season where as Madueke might get 5.
Howdy, partners, we're after Joe Gomez! High five!!
The correct phrase is 'Stonks', cause that's how they're treating their players.
They must now be running the club the same way people who always pay the minimum payment on their credit cards do, or who take out another loan to pay for a loan they can't afford to pay anymore.
I'm thinking that the plan must have been to add alot of value quickly and sell the club on, as they've always looked in a mad rush with what they're doing, and not much else makes sense, but they've messed it up are now just making things worse.
I'm thinking that the plan must have been to add alot of value quickly and sell the club on, as they've always looked in a mad rush with what they're doing, and not much else makes sense, but they've messed it up are now just making things worse.
They're no longer a football club.