Chelsea- proof money can't just buy you success like people were claiming about Roman's Chelsea or current Man City. You need to actually know how to spend your money and on which players.

 

I think Chelsea's strategy is quite good, but they clearly have bought too many players and trying to do too much too soon. Probbaly not helped by the Nkuku injury, but not sure he is a striker still. Probbaly the worrying thing for Chelsea is this clever accounting can only go so far in they don't reach the Champions League..

Wonder how Raheem Sterling must be feeling around now? as soon as he leaves City he misses out on the trophies they've won since just to be mid table at Chelsea. All of this goes to show that periods of success in football don't last forever. Stamford Bridge used to be a stadium where Chelsea simply did not lose in the league, now it's like a gift shop for opposition teams.

I think Chelsea's strategy is quite good, but they clearly have bought too many players and trying to do too much too soon. Probbaly not helped by the Nkuku injury, but not sure he is a striker still. Probbaly the worrying thing for Chelsea is this clever accounting can only go so far in they don't reach the Champions League..

 

It's an absolutely braindead strategy by an owner who doesn't have a f***ing clue what he's doing. 8 year contracts on unproven youngsters both ruins their careers and means the club is stuck with no hopers like Mudryk for years. It's absolutely hilarious to watch and gives me some comfort that as badly as we're run, we're still billions of years away from that shitshow.

 

I thought Poch would be able to manage something there but clearly he's waaay out of his depth. They'll be closer to relegation than Europe this season, in the entirety of 2023 only Everton have fewer wins than Chelsea (excluding promoted teams).

It's an absolutely braindead strategy by an owner who doesn't have a f***ing clue what he's doing. 8 year contracts on unproven youngsters both ruins their careers and means the club is stuck with no hopers like Mudryk for years. It's absolutely hilarious to watch and gives me some comfort that as badly as we're run, we're still billions of years away from that shitshow.

 

I thought Poch would be able to manage something there but clearly he's waaay out of his depth. They'll be closer to relegation than Europe this season, in the entirety of 2023 only Everton have fewer wins than Chelsea (excluding promoted teams).

 

The players they’re buying all have good re-sale value though, so they can cook the books. They’re also just buying players for the sale of it or to stop other players from having them. The Premier League seems to be heading towards an era of young athleticism with the best players being between (22-26). Buying really good prospects is good, but they are young players who will be inconsistent. I don’t think there’s the environment to do that at the moment. Pochettino is a bit of a fraud mananager imo, not convinced he’s the one. I give it a few weeks before they try for De Zerbi or Xabi Alonso.

They only have good re-sale value if they actually perform though. Who is going to want to buy any of their players giving how the whole team is performing? How they managed to con Arsenal £65M for Havertz was remarkable and, given what the Arsenal fans are saying, a huge mistake. We're no doubt gonna lose a massive amount on Sancho when he inevitably leaves but for Chelsea that's pretty much their entire squad.

 

They're pretty much the exact opposite of Brighton who find complete unknown gems and sell them on for insane amounts.

Edited September 25, 20231 yr by Dobbo

They only have good re-sale value if they actually perform though. Who is going to want to buy any of their players giving how the whole team is performing? How they managed to con Arsenal £65M for Havertz was remarkable and, given what the Arsenal fans are saying, a huge mistake. We're no doubt gonna lose a massive amount on Sancho when he inevitably leaves but for Chelsea that's pretty much their entire squad.

 

They're pretty much the exact opposite of Brighton who find complete unknown gems and sell them on for insane amounts.

 

The players all have good re-sale value, the problem Chelsea have (and where I think they have messed up) and it is similar to Utd too, is the wages they pay. To get a player off a large contract like the ones the clubs are offering, you’re going to either have to pay up a lot more. Players like Caicedo, Lavia, Disasi, Doyle etc. will all have good value even if they don’t perform.

 

Arsenal buying Chelsea and City cast offs is just weird in general. I think Havertz was an opportunist signing from Arteta. Still plenty of time to work out, but don’t think he’s an 8.

Guys there’s 6 games gone still plenty of time to change and teams to gel!

The players they’re buying all have good re-sale value though, so they can cook the books. They’re also just buying players for the sale of it or to stop other players from having them. The Premier League seems to be heading towards an era of young athleticism with the best players being between (22-26). Buying really good prospects is good, but they are young players who will be inconsistent. I don’t think there’s the environment to do that at the moment. Pochettino is a bit of a fraud mananager imo, not convinced he’s the one. I give it a few weeks before they try for De Zerbi or Xabi Alonso.

 

The gap between Brighton and. Chelsea is bigger now than it was a year ago when Chelsea lured Graham Potter away (in Brighton's favour of course). Chelsea can, presumably, still offer De Zerbi more money than he is getting at Brighton. Would that be enough?

 

They only have good re-sale value if they actually perform though. Who is going to want to buy any of their players giving how the whole team is performing? How they managed to con Arsenal £65M for Havertz was remarkable and, given what the Arsenal fans are saying, a huge mistake. We're no doubt gonna lose a massive amount on Sancho when he inevitably leaves but for Chelsea that's pretty much their entire squad.

 

They're pretty much the exact opposite of Brighton who find complete unknown gems and sell them on for insane amounts.

 

The scouting operation that Tony Bloom has built up must be one of the best in the game at the moment. It extends to managers as well as players. Graham Potter had obviously been identified as a target before Chris Hughton was sacked. The club had equally obviously been following De Zerbi on the assumption that Potter would eventually leave for a "bigger" club. The fact that De Zerbi was out of work (after the invasion of Ukraine) meant they didn't even have to pay any compensation for him.

Not a good day for any of our teams. Looks like Tottenham will be the elephant on the tree this season.

Was quite the day indeed!

 

Not much to discuss from the Spurs game 🤣, imagine they won the league this year with Kane gone!

Spurs will be absolutely nowhere near the top of the league come the end of the season. They play some good stuff, but they're not good enough defensively. At least one of Liverpool or City will get 90 points and Spurs will be nowhere near that.

Massive win that for arsenal! (And the rest)!

Good that Man City have lost back-to-back matches in the league, hopefully more to come for them. I guess Arsenal fans will think they're going to win the league now.

Massive win that for arsenal! (And the rest)!

 

Not sure if it tells us City can be got at, OR if they don't have Rodri, they are very beatable. Thought they were extremely lucky with Kovacic not seeing red, so justice served. Both teams were happy with a point though.. the head to head games this year will be so telling in where the title goes. Personally I think it is way too early to start talking about who is/is not a contender, as it's only by February time I think the pressure and consistency starts to show.

Think Rodri and also De Bruyne being so injury prone will be telling for them!

Think Rodri and also De Bruyne being so injury prone will be telling for them!

 

Not sure KDB being out is such a big thing. Alvarez has done really well in the role, but it's the 'big' games where KDB always excels imo. City have had a fairly easy ride with their fixtures recently, proably missed him today although I thought both teams were a bit toothless. Arsenal seem to be a lot more solid defensively, but their attack isn't quite clicking. Arsenal will point to their injuries too though.

 

Mad how evenly poised the top 6 are currently. Think if any team can put a 8-10 game winning streak in, they'll be hard to catch.

Yeh we don’t have an obvious favourite currently although due to the history City will be favourites in most peoples minds!

Rodri is everything to them, he's the one player they can't afford to lose. Their record without him is like only a 40% win rate I read.

 

I'm sure the narrative will be well they won the treble last season so what's their motivation but realistically all the other teams have so many weaknesses, I can't say anyone breaching the 90 point barrier you usually need to finish ahead of City. The table is so compact, we're apparently having the worst season of all time yet we're only 1 point behind Newcastle who are suddenly the best thing since sliced bread.

Rodri is everything to them, he's the one player they can't afford to lose. Their record without him is like only a 40% win rate I read.

 

I'm sure the narrative will be well they won the treble last season so what's their motivation but realistically all the other teams have so many weaknesses, I can't say anyone breaching the 90 point barrier you usually need to finish ahead of City. The table is so compact, we're apparently having the worst season of all time yet we're only 1 point behind Newcastle who are suddenly the best thing since sliced bread.

 

They’re definitely still motivated, they started the season in great form. Two back to back defeats and the narrative changes- just shows you how fickle football is. Even Chelsea have looked ok recently, their fixtures change now and become much harder on paper but it will be interesting to see if they can take points off each other. Like Pep alluded, I think City are better when they are the chasers, rather than being chased and the international break has come at a good time for a lot of teams.

 

It makes for an exciting season and like you, not sure I feel any of the teams right now stand out like they will get to 90 points. That opens for the door for an Arsenal victory. Really can’t see any of the other teams reaching 90 points.

Yes City have always tended to start the season slowly then after new year go on these 20-odd game winning streaks.