What a club
Chelsea 2024/25
- Thread starter duffer
- Start date
Chelsea are sliding towards irrelevancy. One more badly managed season will go a long way in cementing their position in mid-table. Unless they find new ownership. Fast.
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Beyond just accumulating talent, I really don't understand the moves for Guiu and Omorodion. How many young, physical, athletic raw strikers without a lot of refined footballing skills can one club want? They're the same profile as Jackson and Datro Fofana.
If you're going to load up on strikers just because, at least get some different profiles like a false 9 or a really technical combination player or something.
Guiu cost £5 mil so was a low risk punt with a high possibility of making a profit.
The Omorodion move seems more like a real investment in someone they think will either make it at Chelsea or at least do well enough somewhere that we'll make a profit.
It’s turning into a real mess there. So much volatility. Way, way too many players and they are all of a similar level.
I don’t think they have signed a single player this summer that will be a starter come seasons’ end. No identity, no leaders/senior players with authority and no security for anyone. It’s just not the way to build a football team.
I don’t think they have signed a single player this summer that will be a starter come seasons’ end. No identity, no leaders/senior players with authority and no security for anyone. It’s just not the way to build a football team.
Before any incoming business was done I would have said we needed a new leading CB, an experienced striker and maybe a left-back to compete with first choice Cucurella because it was clear Maresca wouldn't fancy Chilwell.
For those positions we've now gotten:
Tosin Adarabioyo for CB
Marc Guiu and Samu Omorodion for CF
Renato Veiga for the inverted LB role
Veiga at least makes some sense because a starting quality player was never needed for that position. But for center-back Tosin is a very underwhelming signing to me and the two new strikers just seem like raw potential and nowhere near the finished article as of now. I think both Guiu and Samu have a high skill ceiling and I think it's very much possible at least one of them will be huge for us eventually but I would have preferred someone to improve the team right now because we're in for a really important season and for the credibility of the whole 'project' it's vital for the team to show some development and really push for that UCL qualification.
I wouldn't even have minded if the new striker wasn't starting quality because I rate Jackson highly enough to give him the chance to be first choice for next season as well but at the very least I would have then wanted the backup striker option to be someone with enough experience to be relied upon to do a consistent job whenever needed. Someone like for example Callum Wilson is for Newcastle as Isak's backup. Definitely not him in particular but as a player type someone of similar profile if you get what I mean.
Despite this kind of transfer business I'm still somewhat optimistic about our chances, because the biggest improvement possible this season will be to make sure we don't have 8-12 players out injured for just about every single gameweek of the season. Players like Nkunku and Lavia are basically like new signings given they managed a total of two starts between them in all of last season and both of them have played very good pre-seasons. And unlike last year we can only hope players like James and Fofana can contribute in any meaningful way as well. But I'd still be a lot more confident if we'd have had a stronger transfer season.
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I just wanted players that would fit into a cohesive long-term vision for the team.
Don't disagree that we could use a 9 but not at all enamoured with the options especially compared to Jackson.
That’s fecking ridiculous. seven fecking goalkeepers?
Well, 2 of them were former academy keepers who have just returned from loan. Kepa too, who they’re trying to find a buyer for.
They do need to sell one of Sanchez and Petrovic though, most likely Petrovic, since signing Jorgensen.
I’m always optimistic going into a new season, and this season is no different. A lot of what you say is true though, sadly.
Fair enough then.
The two of them together, I don't understand it either. Jackson already occupied the raw but talented with more potential to unluck role. If we were signing a striker it should have been an experienced one, though I was perfectly OK with Jackson being the starting striker for next season. In fact, I preferred it. One of Guiu and Omorodion kind of makes sense if you squint and think hard. Both of them is just maddening to me. Now one of them has to go on loan and it won't be Omorodion, who we just paid £35m for, which is more than what we paid for Jackson.
I also agree with the bolded.
Don't really agree that Jackson is the same profile. Very much raw in his finishing and decision making but he is the technical combination player you're describing. He drops deep and links play, progresses the ball forward from deep with dribbling. This Omorodion fella seems more a penalty box striker in the mould of a Haaland, which is completely different from Jackson.
Fully agree.
Experienced top class first choice striker with a raw youngster as backup -> good
Raw but talented player as first choice with a reliable experienced veteran as backup -> good
Only raw potential -> big gamble
Personally I'd have been happy with either of the first two choices with Jackson either being backed up by a good but not great striker with some actual experience, or Jackson himself backing up someone like say Osimhen. But this club's obsession with young unproven players is something else. Maybe this route will be more beneficial in the long term but I can't say I'm fully convinced by this strategy as far as the 2024/25 season is concerned.
Chelsea fans - Is Nkunu fit? Did he play in the preseason? If yes, in what position?
Also, how is Meresca lining up the team? Is it a 433 or a 4231 or some other formation.
Also, how is Meresca lining up the team? Is it a 433 or a 4231 or some other formation.
Yeah he's fit. According to the man himself he's not yet been in the best shape of his career but getting there. He's started all 5 pre-season games and probably played more minutes than anyone else at ~400. Scored three goals too, though two of them have been penalties which are going to be Palmer's responsibility once he's back.
Nkunku has mostly played as an attacking midfielder but also been moved up front sometimes when Guiu has been taken off.
Starts as a 4-2-3-1 and then moves to a 3-box-3 in possession. The wrinkle is that our box looks like more of a trapezoid so we are conceding a bit of dominance in the centre in order to create consistent 2v1s down the wings - likely because we haven't had Jackson this preseason and we are missing a striker who can hold the ball up.
Here is how we lined up in the second half against City:
Nkunku has played all preseason and has looked like our best player (along with Lavia probably). He's played all over the place; personally I think he's looked best when he's played in that Enzo spot as a 10 who can attack the right half-space and combine with the RW. Once Palmer is back that could be a very effective combination. Enzo's tendency isn't to run in behind defenses and that's been a limiting factor at times especially in transition (though in fairness often when Enzo stays deeper Gusto will get in behind).
@Rnd898 @TheMagicFoolBus Cheers!
No worries mate, any time!
A-A-Ron secured.
Would honestly be more concerned about them if they had retained Poch. I think Maresca is a nothing manager.
I think the jury is still out on Maresca but I certainly wouldn't write him off.
For me the biggest question is whether the club's expectations (top four) are in line with the reality of a very inexperienced manager implementing a new and very different system with a group of players he inherited rather than picked. Even if Maresca does a good job, there will be a lot of growing pains and matches where the team looks like crap.
Other than City and Arsenal I don't think anybody else is clearly above them. But you've got five other ambitious sides too to contend with in Liverpool, United, Spurs, Villa, and Newcastle. I could see them finishing anywhere from 3rd to 8th and it wouldn't be that surprising.
Good fecking grief! Why do they need this kid?
We don't. It's best to assume 50-60% of the players linked with Chelsea or actually signed by Chelsea are just part of the profit making machine. They'll stay on loan and then sold for huge or marginal profits or they go to play for Strasbourg.
In the event that they somehow become too good for that project, they get fast tracked into Chelsea's team.
It's a grim way to run a football club, but it is what it is. I've come to terms with the fact that we have crazy owners. I've stopped trying to make sense of everything they do. As long as I have a decent-ish football team to watch every weekend, I'm OK.
They really are treating players like stocks. Buy them and then sell them off when their value increases, they don't have an intention of playing any in the first team. They were doing similar under Abramovich as well but Boely has taken this into overdrive.
The issue is that none of these signings will improve the first team. There are still massive issues in the first XI that they are trying to fill with young potential players rather than already proven/established ones. Don't think they'll be better much better this season compared to last.
starting to sound a lot like a guard at treblinka.
There are a couple of reasons I think we could be better than last season. The main one is we have our injured players back. So, Nkunku, Lavia, James, Fofana, even Enzo who played injured the second half of the season until he underwent surgery. That's a good portion of starting players missing in action last season who will hopefully be fit and ready for this season.
Another reason I think we could potentially be better is Palmer. I'm excited to see if he can maintain the levels he showed last season. Madueke looks much more threatening now compared to when we signed him. Jackson too. So the young players we've signed, some of them are improving.
I'm concerned about the defence. We've shipped 12 goals in 4 preseason games. We've scored 9, so in the attack we're OK but defensively we're just all over the place, especially when we're in possession trying to beat a press. Probably half the goals we've conceded have come from a mistake in possession.
So I'll choose to stay optimistic going into the season, until I see enough evidence that it isn't going to work.
So Chelsea have Kepa (72m), Sanchez (25m) Petrovic (14m), Jorgensen (21m) on their books for goalkeepers and have now bought Penders for 17m. Makes sense. They also have Bettinelli, Bergstrom and Beach as part of the first team squad. So that’s 8 first team goalkeepers now. I saw on twitter the count is actually 9, but I’m forgetting who the 9th is.
Edit: Slonina (8m)
Edit: Slonina (8m)
Don’t get how they are allowed to do this
Must feel great for Palmer, Nkunku& co seeing their boss splash hundreds of millions on kids that will never wear their shirt while pissing away their career.
Can anyone explain me how they are not affected by the PSR?
It’s been explained a few times before, but the short end of it is, Chelsea sell well. Ill advised sales at times, but they do sell for good fees. Gallagher, Maatsen, Hall and Hutchinson bring in about £120m of pure profit.
And 60m for Mount to us who could have left them for free this summer..
But still, I got this feeling they spend much more than what they regenerate, no?
I wonder what's the catch still youngsters signed for us despite we used them as soulless properties. I don't know the answer.