The beginning of a new dawn and new thread – season 2026 to 27 – positive vibes

[Blues1967]

BlueCo appear to be backing Alonso all the way right now and it is fantastic to see. They have finally realised they are financiers and not football managers.

A key signing, 2022 World Cup winners keeper Martinez in from Villa. Surely he has a few good years at the top in him still. Different class to Sanchez in any case, a step up. Hopefully Alonso has the plums to bring him straight in. Brighton and Arsenal both ahead would likely exploit Sanchez’s insecurities. Bring Martinez straight in, no mucking around unless it is decided to give him time to integrate then leave Penders in there. We can’t be dropping too many points this season. Remember his ball distribution against Arsenal last season presenting Rice with a simple shot at goal which rattled the side that were going OK at the time. We can’t be having any more of those either.

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[aindro]

Again it was an entertaining match against Brighton. Our attack was fluid, Rogers Palmer & Joao Pedro were sharp. They could have scored more goals but I am happy with 4 goals.

Nonetheless, I don’t find it normal that Brighton were back into life after going 3-0 down. Something is really wrong with our defense. Arsenal will beat us easy if we defend like in our previous 2 matches. Already it will be hard to score against Arsenal, but our defense is nowhere near top 6 quality.

Colwill looks awkward to say the least. He was always late, he wasn’t comfortable. Why doesn’t Alonso try to switch Colwill & Lacroix? Lacroix can play on the left or right side as Guehi occupied the central one at Palace before. Our midfield without Caicedo is like a colander. While Lavia was superb in these first 2 matches, he needs Caicedo to win the ball. I think in a longer run if Essugo stays, Alonso can try Essugo instead of forcing Gusto or James to play midfield.

I am pessimist for the match against Arsenal, but so far our display especially attacking wise has given a new hope. And Martinez, despite the 3 goals, what a solid and commanding display. Sanchez is a more spectacular GK but Martinez gives much more calm and assurance. It was a bold decision to start Martinez yesterday

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[Ed de Goey]

The 3 goals were not down Martinez and you can tell he provides a much greater presence and air of authority than Sanchez ever did. I think he’s a good signing and will provide a much better example to Penders than Sanchez would have done.

We did pretty well moving people on in the transfer window, and raised a fair sum. I wouldn’t get too excited about the amount raised and how it affects our compliance with financial rules because we don’t have any European football, so that’s a lot of prize money and TV revenue the club is missing out on.

We look good at top, but we look weak in central midfield, especially with Enzo leaving. I’m annoyed at the Enzo transfer because we’ve needlessly strengthened a City team could easily have suffered over the next few years with the loss of key players. On our side, I certainly don’t like the idea of playing Gusto or James in central midfield, and with Caicedo/Henderson injured, we’re low on options. This is part of the problem for our defence, as the midfield 2 have not been offering much protection.

Transfer Window is closed now, and for whatever reasons Monaco pulled a fast one on us. I assume we have some money to spend now but January is always a tricky market to get good value from..

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[aindro]

Ed, it’s sure that we’re lightweight in the midfield. Monaco deceived us by calling off the transfer that had been agreed. James and Lavia are injury prone. Caicedo not sure how bad the injury is but we can see that the team is struggling without him in the midfield. We faced Fulham and Brighton, this weekend against Arsenal I think that they will dominate the match easily. Our midfield isn’t solid enough and our defense hasn’t gelled yet.

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[Ed de Goey]

Arsenal will beat us comfortably.

We were having a great window until the last 24 hours, ludicrous that we are in this position. I wouldn’t be upset if Xabi started in central midfield.

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[aindro]

To be fair, Enzo did not start in both of our previous matches in the league. He wasn’t even even included in the last match. And Caicedo did not start either. So in term of our starting 11, it’s gonna stay more or less the same against Arsenal. We have weakened for a longer run with Enzo being one of the best midfielders in the world that he became. I just hope that Enzo’s departure won’t affect the team that much; I hope that Lavia and Reece James stay healthy and that Caicedo will be available soon.

I am pessismistic this time against Arsenal as I am not convinced yet with our defense. But who knows, our attack has been superb and if Palmer Pedro & Rogers can outplay Gabriel and co who have kept 2 clean sheets from 2 matches, maybe, just maybe, we can outscore Arsenal. They have Calafiori who is good in attacking but not that good in defending if we can exploit their left side. And Konsa/Mosquera isn’t Saliba, they’re not as good as Saliba.

Let’s hope to see an entertaining match and possibly a Chelsea victory or even a draw.

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[Wise-fan]

Chelsea receiving £125 million for a player who has delivered only two average-to-good seasons is an outstanding piece of business. He has not won the Premier League or the Champions League with us, yet Chelsea somehow managed to convince Manchester City to pay the full £125 million upfront, with no add-ons included. Considering that we originally paid £106.5 million for him, I honestly never expected us to recover anything close to the amount we invested.

As for the midfield, I am comfortable with our current options and do not think there is any need to overreact. Caicedo, Lavia, Bako and James give us a solid group of midfield and hybrid options. We also have a very good front three who should carry a significant share of the team’s goal-scoring burden. With only one game week played, there is no reason to rush into a major signing in that department. We can assess how the midfield develops throughout the season and, if necessary, address the position properly in next summer’s transfer window.

I was never particularly convinced by the Monaco player, so I am actually pleased that we did not overpay for him. A £47.5 million investment would have been excessive for a player who has only played in Ligue 1. Chelsea also needs to be more cautious when dealing with Monaco, given that several recent signings from the club—including Bakayoko, Badiashile, and Disasi—have failed to justify the investment from our perspective.

Overall, I think Chelsea have made the right call: maximize the value of the outgoing transfer, trust the midfield options already in the squad, and avoid spending £47.5 million simply for the sake of making another signing. There is no need to panic after one game week. We have enough quality to assess the squad properly before deciding whether a major midfield investment is necessary next summer.

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[Ed de Goey]

Wise-fan – Enzo wasn’t average last season, he was the one of the best performing midfielders in the Premiership, despite our horrid season, and went to the World Cup final with his country after winning 4 years ago. He was very good for City yesterday and is precisely what we need in midfield.

Arsenal are tearing us to shreds and I can see us shipping 3/4 more goals at this rate. Gabriel should have been sent off, but I doubt that would have made much difference to be honest.

It’s clear our team aren’t up to speed with Alonso’s system and Neto as a wing back is a horrible option. We can’t rely on individual brilliance to sustain us over a full season.

From what I have read, that Camara guy was instrumental in Monaco turning PSG over the other day. This being a guy that expected to be playing for a different club and on a substantial pay rise this weekend. I’d take him over playing James in midfield.

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[Ed de Goey]

Odegaard gets their second. They will overrun us now, we’re far off their level and this could be quite damaging going forward in terms of confidence.

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[Adidas20]

Alonso needs obviously more time as a Manager to adjust back to the Prem and get a proper feel of the game his players and his formation.

You’ve played the Champions and they shown exactly that. Fantastic start and I though we’d be in for a shocker as fans. May have been a draw on another day also that was typically down to Raya’s saves, but there are definitely signs of encouragement with the new signing Rodgers.

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[aindro]

We have to admit that Arsenal played better. They are a better team than us, probably the best in the league at the moment. Yet especially in the first half: we could also have scored more goals. Rogers, and then Neto off the post. What we needed IMO wasn’t Enzo. We needed Caicedo badly. Give Alonso time, we lost, they were by far the better team. But for me it is encouraging to see Chelsea playing like these 3 first matches & scoring goals.

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[Ed de Goey]

I’m not getting on Alonso’s case by any means, I’m just annoyed that the sporting directors (or whoever sorts out transfers) have left us so short in central midfield. Later on in the game our midfield pairing was James and Gusto; we can’t wear that kind of situation against the likes of Arsenal.

Leeds next up in the EFL cup and then Hull on Saturday – both at home, so would be great to secure some convincing wins and hopefully a clean sheet or two.

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[Rover]

Fans saying Reece and Lavia had good games, really? Then why were the dirty goons so dominant in midfield and may i add it applies to all 3 league games so far too. Having said that the fact that Gabrielle the most ugliest detested face in football with Fernandes wasnt sent off for blatantly kicking Martinez in the head was cowardness by the officials. Very sad ineed.

• This reply was modified 1 month, 1 week ago by Rover.

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[srilankanblue]

I thought the front 3 drifted in and out of the game.
Two right backs as our centre midfield. Neto as wingback? They looked lost
Didn’t move the ball forward quick enough for me at times and also holding onto the ball too long.

Gabriel and Rice should have got a booking.

They were the better team.

I read we are still after Alex Scott i think that would be a good addition.
Not many teams will win at the emirates.

A top 4 finish and a cup would be good this season.
onwards and upwards!

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[Ed de Goey]

The Gabriel decision made absolutely no sense at all. His ‘attempt’ at kicking the ball was nowhere near it and caught Martinez flush on the head. At best it was completely reckless, which is still a straight red card.

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[Rover]

Ref is a coward, red card all day long.

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[Ed de Goey]

Rover – not just the Ref, the VAR lot as well. Beholden to Arsenal.

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[Blues1967]

Yeah Arsenal are pretty much the finished product. We are gradually building something to compete consistently for top 4. Nice to see you on here Nil. Hope you are well.

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[aindro]

I agree with you all that it’s outrageous that Gabriel escaped from any punishment after kicking Emi Martinez. At least he should have gotten a yellow card. But nada, nothing.

Arsenal are a better team. It’s the result of trusting Arteta to build and to develop the team. Chelsea aren’t there yet due to our bad policies and bad strategies: only young players, only young managers (headcoaches). What I can see is that we are at the very beginning of building a team capable of challenging for the title with Xabi Alonso.

It just feels right this time with the following factors:

[Ed de Goey]

It’s nice to score 6 but we still conceded 3 at home against Leeds – very leaky defence. I don’t think Penders was at particular fault for either of them.

Rogers looks the real deal, and the forward players are clearly enjoying their football, but that doesn’t mean we can switch off when it comes to defence, but in general Xabi seems to be having a positive effect on things.

Welbeck could turn out to be a really shrewd signing as well.

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