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That was crazy to suspend a game with 4 minutes to go when theres were only clouds around and no lightning, throws players right off plus can’t expect people to hang around that long whether at the stadium or at home. I fall asleep and woke up early dreaming Chelsea lost on a penalty shootout. Can’t sleep again now.
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I too ended up falling asleep when the game was interrupted. It started at 11 PM for us, and by the time it was interrupted, it was almost 1 AM. I had to work the next day, so after hanging around for about 30 minutes, I decided to sleep. When I woke up this morning, I saw that Benfica lost 1-4 to Chelsea.
The most intriguing part was that the match was interrupted for two hours, and after returning, Benfica managed to equalize. To be honest, I expected that. But for Chelsea to score three more goals after that was impressive.
Now, with Caicedo suspended for our quarterfinals, Maresca did well to protect Lavia and Enzo, as we may need them in the next round. Palmer also showed a much-improved performance, even though he looked tired. At least Caicedo’s suspension will give him some much-needed rest since he has been playing regularly.
Next up is Palmeiras and Estevao. This presents a great opportunity to assess Estevao against Cucurella, as you won’t find a tougher left-back to challenge him.
My only concern as we progress deeper into this tournament is how it will impact our preparations for next season, especially with the additional Champions League games and the fight to retain our position in the top four or five, whichever it may be.
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Personally I think we will battle to get a top 4 finish if you see the top quality players other clubs have brought in, we only got Delap while young or new players like Gittens, William, Santos and so on will have to prove themselves and thats even if Maresca gives them decent game time, who they going to leave out to accommodate them? Need to offload a whole batch of players quickly most of them not even in the squad. Whose so stupid to pay employed people who do nothing or are not needed.
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I tend to agree. We jagged 4th only because we went on a good streak of points collecting during the last few months of April and May and others around us kept dropping points. With more consistency like they had for most of the season both Newcastle and Villa should probably have finished above us. Our main problem will be our ability to be successfully picking up points in the Prem whilst also competing in the Champions League Group stage which will run all the way to mid December. We will not have the same luxury we had in the season just gone using a 2nd 11 in the Conference League to get us through so our higher quality players will be playing much more football all the way through, especially if they are good enough to get out of the Group stage in the CL. Note how only a week or two after completion of the Conference League Group stage, we fell apart for almost 10 weeks beyond Christmas. It was the earlier months of the season up to mid December that we picked up a large number of our points with our key players focusing just on the Prem. Have we strengthened with our personnel yet heading to the new season – answer NO – like for like purchases. Delap will likely score a decent number of goals but what is the back up if he runs out of gas or is injured? Surely not Jackson who I have given up on. No goals in how many and 2 reds in a few weeks because he has an anger management issue. Get the moron out of our club NOW!!
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Jackson flatters to deceive and his finishing is woefully inconsistent. He’s actually much better coming in off the left wing than he is as a centre forward; I also don’t see Joao Pedro as a proper centre forward, so that leaves us with Delap and Guiu (and I would much prefer to see Guiu go out on loan to get decent minutes). The team definitely needs another centre forward.
Asides from that, whichever centre back pairing we go with still lacks a mature and seasoned individual, notwithstanding the talent that some of our CBs have. Colwill could genuinely become world class, but he still needs a few years to mature and would benefit from having a seasoned CB partner. Terry had Desailly, Lebouef, Gallas and Carvalho all before he was 26. Fofana could also be good, but always comes across as rash, and of course often injured.
And it goes without saying that we need a top-class keeper. This is one position where the board should really relent on the whole buying a young keeper with ‘potential’. Keepers can be top class well into their 30s.
Outgoings – need to get rid of Sterling, Nkunku should probably go and Badiashile isn’t needed. I personally wouldn’t miss Madueke but I can’t see him leaving.
Loan outgoings – Guiu, Penders/Slonina, Kellyman, George, Anselmino, would all benefit from consistent game time.
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£263m given to Brighton in 3 years by Chelsea on players 😂
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And what have Brighton done with all that money, they didn’t buy players. But ok they a useful feeder club. The owners are probably getting richer very year.
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My understanding of the transactions on each players I would led to believe this being spread payments for a number of years. You could then question whether Brighton themselves have actually had those funds available to replace what they have lost.
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Nike – Brighton can book the headline sum straightaway and then spend it as if it were already in their bank account. PSR hasn’t been gamed out properly in the minds of the people who created it, but it could be argued that whilst Chelsea have to spread the cost of their spending over 5 years, the clubs who receive the transfer fee can spend as if they have all the funds available to them today.
How ‘sustainable’ that all is, is another question. The smaller club would still have to spread their payments over a longer period, even if by the book they have the fully received transfer fee available for spending, otherwise they would be illiquid.
The rules definitely aren’t perfect.
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By the way, a bit of a hello to the Chelsea posters. Over many years I dipped into the Teamtalk forum to gauge the discussion and mood without contributing myself. I tried to join the Teamtalk forum a few times over the last few years but the register process was broken and even in dialogue with the site admin, it wasn’t possible.
My first game – Chelsea/Forest in 1994 – Spencer got the winner in a 1-0 home victory. Dad surprised me with it all as we had been up in London visiting museums before he took me to the game. Dad was directly in front of Ted Drake when he lifted the 54/55 First Division trophy – and the newspaper clipping is safely stored.
I’ve been out in Hong Kong for almost 10 years so I don’t get to see all the games but stay up/wake up where I can.
Maresca – we looked great and I was excited after that Wolves game. We’ve looked ponderous since then but the team is filled with talent.
Hope to have a good debate with you all. CYOB.
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Thanks E D Goey, it explains a bit better and clarifies it. Bit like selling and buying a house.
Warm Welcome To the Site!
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A sound analogy, and thanks for the welcome.
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Between Neto and Madueke, I feel more comfortable retaining Madueke as a right winger. Despite Neto’s efforts, he doesn’t provide the same impact that Madueke does. I understand the club’s perspective, though. Ideally, I would loan out Estevao to a Premier League team and keep Madueke and Neto to compete for the right wing position. The left wing seems to be a toss-up between João Pedro and Gittens, with George as a potential outsider.
We also need a backup for Cucurella. I’ve been reading that Maresca is introducing a new system where wingers will play as inside forwards, and the fullbacks will provide width. This means that fullbacks won’t need to invert into midfield. If that’s the case, why not retain Chilwell? His style fits perfectly with this system, and the only reason against him was his inability to invert into midfield. Instead of spending money on a new backup, we should consider using the players we already have.
Additionally, I read that Chelsea is interested in Benfica center-back Antonio Silva. From what I observed during the Chelsea game, he performed well, but whether he can handle the physicality of the Premier League remains to be seen.
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Maresca knows what his doing but imo is too sympathetic to the more senior players although they also still young, the very young ones are already playing for their national teams so there’s no excuses for Maresca not to include them.
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The way Ben Chilwell was treated was a disgrace. I’d hate to see him be USED for convenience to be honest. The damage done is irreparable. I hope Palace offer him a contract and Chelsea sell then he can plan for the next few years of his career. For him to sit on the outside looking in for way too long at Chelsea was simply wrong and there’s still 2 years contract at Chelsea to go. I was so happy when Palace took him on loan to give him an opportunity to do what footballers like to do the most – play football!!
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The media is currently spreading a false narrative that Delap will not play at Chelsea due to Jao Pedro being prioritized over him. This claim, largely promoted by former Manchester United professionals, is misleading. Just because Delap chose Chelsea over United does not imply that he will struggle for playing time. In fact, I believe Delap will play regularly, as he is the only natural number nine at the club capable of holding up the ball and thriving in physical battles.
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Wise-Fan, we need a striker who can play with his back to goal and occupy both opposition CBs in the same way Drogba and Costa did. Delap is the closest player to fit that bill that we’ve had since Costa, and is also young and English. I want to see him given a run. Jackson has a role still in the club, but more as an advanced left winger who cuts in on his right foot; he’s never been a genuine CF for me. Pedro? Who knows.. again, not a genuine CF.
I’m sick and tired of listening to ‘Carra’, ‘Nev’, ‘Roy’ and the rest of the commentators who are coated in red. It doesn’t matter what these people say, they act out altercations & disagreements on air simply so they can sell their podcasts, social media feeds, and live performances in theatres. They’re performative morons.
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No matter the outcome on Sunday, Chelsea has already emerged as winners in the Club World Cup. We’ve earned nearly £100 million, which will help fund our summer transfers. The Chelsea squad for next season is shaping up nicely. We know which players we want and which ones we don’t, and we’ve acted decisively to strengthen key areas where we were lacking. Something we couldn’t do at this stage last season.
We have a young team and a promising manager who will grow together over the next 3-5 years. Our finances are stable, and we’ve managed to reduce our wage bill significantly without sacrificing the quality of the team. While we missed out on marquee signings like Osimhen, we’ve compensated by bringing in young, hungry players eager to prove themselves.
Jao Pedro is focused on making the Brazil squad for the 2026 World Cup, and this motivation will drive him to perform well for Chelsea. Delap is determined to earn a spot in the first eleven and has aspirations of featuring for England’s senior team. Similarly, Gittens is looking to establish himself at Chelsea and make an impact for England.
Players like Colwill, Reece James, and Palmer are also aiming to secure their places in the England squad for 2026, which means they’ll need to perform consistently to catch the attention of the England manager (Tuchel). M. Caicedo is playing the best football of his career, dominating the midfield, and E. Fernandez is finally showing us why Chelsea was so keen to sign him. Cucurella is also in top form, justifying his hefty transfer fee.
On the sales front, Chelsea is doing fantastic! We’ve sold Madueke to Arsenal for £52 million, making a great profit. We also sold Petrovic to Bournemouth for £25 million, which is another impressive gain. Next up could be Jackson, and I’ve heard Chelsea is asking for a high price.
What do we still need? We require a world-class goalkeeper, an experienced right-sided center-back to guide Colwill, another attacker—possibly Rodygo from Real Madrid—to complement Gittens and Neto, and a backup for Cucurella. If we can address these needs, I believe we’ll be well sorted!
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