Chelsea 2022-23: Under New Ownership (And New Management)
- Thread starter HowBoutDemSox
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I’m quietly optimistic about Everton.I find it amusing that you think Everton are in Brighton's league
Potter officially announced. That happened so fast you have to imagine it was in the works before Tuchel’s ousting.
https://www.chelseafc.com/en/news/article/welcome-to-chelsea-graham-potter
https://www.chelseafc.com/en/news/article/welcome-to-chelsea-graham-potter
I doubt they would have fired Tuchel without having a replacement in hand. Otherwise that is pretty hard to explain to the new owner.
Imagine being Auba. You leave Barca to reunite with Tuchel and he lasts one game before getting replaced by a guy who wants his CF to be heavily involved in the build up and a pressing machine out of possession. Havertz is going to be Potter's guy. Chilwell can't be loving his odds of beating out Cucurella either.
The Athletic did a podcast with David Ornstein and some Chelsea reporter about the firing of Tuchel. Ornstein made it seem like the decision was a while coming, that there had been a growing sense within Chelsea since the summer tour that Tuchel wasn't fully engaged with the team, and that there was grumbling from some of the players as well as concern from Boehly that some of the players weren't being well utilized.
The reporting felt a bit like spin after the fact and they didn't name any players specifically. But I do really wonder whether Tuchel's treatment of Pulisic in particular might have been an issue. Boehly clearly has some ideas about to market the team and grow revenue, the US market is massive, and nobody is more marketable in the US than Pulisic, but he was rotting under Tuchel. It'll be interesting to see whether he has a more prominent role under Potter and whether that might have been an implicit agreement of the hire.
The Athletic did a podcast with David Ornstein and some Chelsea reporter about the firing of Tuchel. Ornstein made it seem like the decision was a while coming, that there had been a growing sense within Chelsea since the summer tour that Tuchel wasn't fully engaged with the team, and that there was grumbling from some of the players as well as concern from Boehly that some of the players weren't being well utilized.
The reporting felt a bit like spin after the fact and they didn't name any players specifically. But I do really wonder whether Tuchel's treatment of Pulisic in particular might have been an issue. Boehly clearly has some ideas about to market the team and grow revenue, the US market is massive, and nobody is more marketable in the US than Pulisic, but he was rotting under Tuchel. It'll be interesting to see whether he has a more prominent role under Potter and whether that might have been an implicit agreement of the hire.
ANTONIOOOOOOO, ANTONIOOOOOO, AN-TONI-O! AN-TONI-O! AN-TONI-O! ANTONIOOOOOOO! Love that silly I-talian!
I recently found a business of world football podcast that's pretty good, and they spent a good chunk of time on this managerial change. They said the same thing as @Morgan's Magic Snowplow about this opportunity for Potter, and added that he didn't make a ton of money as a player or manager yet, so this is his opportunity to be set for life. I won't ever begrudge anyone that, even though I agree with you all that this is going to be a total slog for him. He's a system/tactical guy, and not a man manager like Zizou. I expect will see a new manager bounce from now until the WC, but since almost all of Chelsea's premier players are going to be in the Q, that's not going to be a chance for him to work with them. I do expect that he will get the ship righted in the second half of the season, but I also think we'll see a pretty drastic change in the XI and rotation.
Oh man, I'd love that for Poch.
So what do the SoSH Blues fans think of Tuchel's stint overall? In the 20/21 season when he took over for Fat Frankie, I think he took the reigns after MW 19 with the Blues sitting in 9th, with 29 points from 19 played. But it should be noted that trying to match the table with MWs during the COVID seasons is a nightmare. In any event, after 19 matches Chelsea had a +10 GD, scoring among the best sides in the EPL, but conceding more than them. Chelsea then earned 38 points from 18 (not sure about that math?) matches to finish 4th. More importantly, he took down Atleti, Porto, Real, and MANC in the final to capture a UCL title. They lost the FA Cup final to LCFC, and they were eliminated by SPURS on pens prior to Tuchel. Overall, things were looking great!
Last season, Chelsea finished a respectable 3rd in a season where MANC and Pool were just another level of dominant. But Chelsea were also pretty clearly the third best side in the EPL*. They sputtered once the calendar turned to April, but their top 4 spot was never really in doubt. They crashed out against Real Madrid in UCL during the QFs. They also somehow lost to Pool in both domestic cups on PKs (gotta love any opportunity to remember the Carabao finish).
Potter will now take over a Chelsea side that somehow sit 6th in the table with a GD that has them tied for 11th(!).
I think Kante's age and injury history have had a lot of impact on Chelsea's overall success. He was mostly healthy down the stretch in 20/21, was hobbled thoughout 21/22, and hasn't played much at all so far this season. However, there's something to be said for finishing 3rd last season essentially without Kante. But it's also clear as day that Chelsea have a crazy talented squad, so maybe Kante is the difference between winning competitions and merely being competitive in them.
*Quick tangential question: is there any term to describe England and Wales together geographically? It wouldn't be correct to say that the best team in the EPL is the best team in Britain, the UK, nor the British Isles, but it would be accurate to say that they're the best team in England and Wales? CMON, this is England we're talking about! They love unnecessary organization and nomenclature, don't let me down!
Is Lampard Pt. 2 the worst hiring in the history of Chelsea? The league is lost, that's clear. Real Madrid would be a ridiculously tall order under any circumstances, but isn't Fat Frank a white flag? There's a difference to me between a caretaker/placeholder and a guy that's going to pour fuel on the fire.
I didn't see Frank Pt. 1 as a great idea. It seemed like all risk with a low chance of reward for him personally. It was very likely he'd tarnish himself a bit, club legend or not. This second go-round isn't going to help at all.
Todd Boehly isn't doing himself any favors, either. It seems unwise for him to be showing up in the media making grandiose predictions (3-0 against Madrid? Really?), and beyond stupid for him to be getting into it with the fans. What's the record for the shortest time before an ownership protest? We're going to see it here.
I didn't see Frank Pt. 1 as a great idea. It seemed like all risk with a low chance of reward for him personally. It was very likely he'd tarnish himself a bit, club legend or not. This second go-round isn't going to help at all.
Todd Boehly isn't doing himself any favors, either. It seems unwise for him to be showing up in the media making grandiose predictions (3-0 against Madrid? Really?), and beyond stupid for him to be getting into it with the fans. What's the record for the shortest time before an ownership protest? We're going to see it here.
None of this will end well, Fat Frank is not to blame. Lots of individuals and no team, no striker and no defense. Tuesday against Real Madrid could be a bloodbath, but I hope not.
How many phone calls were made, emails sent to other potential short term managers?
Back in the day there was a guy we used to go to for weed if there was no other person available. Terrible deals. We used to call this guy Jonathan Ross, cos the real Jonathon Ross presented a show on TV called The Last Resort. Lampard might be the Jonnie Ross in this instance.
https://www.transfermarkt.co.uk/fc-chelsea/transfers/verein/631
I was looking at Chelsea's recent transfers - a mind boggling amount of money spent. I wonder if this is the worst 'expensive' team in football history. It has to be up there. No doubt someone will come along and turn it around at some point. Some players will leave, some will stay and a team will be built and a squad fit for purpose assembled...but half a billion quids to be mid table and get cuffed at home by Brighton. The job, even as caretaker manager is way too big for Lampard. He needs to get back down to the Championship and earn some stripes.
Looking at your link, @fletcherpost, it's almost as damning to see who they've let go on free transfers. This was part of Liverpool's nightmare with Salah. There's a tipping point where it's worse to overpay salaries to retain than it is to allow a player to move on a free. There needs to be a longer-term plan in place, and right now Chelsea look like they're just trying to buy the best players each window without any clue how they fit into the fabric of the side.
And yet, it might not even be the worst manager appointment of the month. Just look a bit North in Foggy London Towne.
I think Lamps isn't a terrible hire in a vacuum. I just can't imagine there were a ton of people lining up for 3 months where you're solely judged if you beat Madrid with a very expensive but shite squad.
This season was doomed from the day they decided RLC was going to be in a position to see big minutes in CM. And that Rudiger was not coming back. It's been a spiral since.
The half and eye to the future makes sense but their moves for the now haven't planned out aside from Enzo. KK never seemed up for the PL. Fofana promptly got hurt. James got hurt. Mount got relegated to bystander. Just a shitty season that no manager was fixing in April.
If you take lamps at face value that none of the player are fit enough, it puts a lot more into perspective. I wonder if they tried to get too cute in preseason with the WC in the fall.
Nothing has made sense and yet if they 3-0 Tuesday (lol) it's relatively ok. Need project restart Puli to go super Saiyan.
This season was doomed from the day they decided RLC was going to be in a position to see big minutes in CM. And that Rudiger was not coming back. It's been a spiral since.
The half and eye to the future makes sense but their moves for the now haven't planned out aside from Enzo. KK never seemed up for the PL. Fofana promptly got hurt. James got hurt. Mount got relegated to bystander. Just a shitty season that no manager was fixing in April.
If you take lamps at face value that none of the player are fit enough, it puts a lot more into perspective. I wonder if they tried to get too cute in preseason with the WC in the fall.
Nothing has made sense and yet if they 3-0 Tuesday (lol) it's relatively ok. Need project restart Puli to go super Saiyan.
Losing Rudiger was a huge problem that hasn't been filled. Chelsea may be the present most expensive team ever but I think every year will have a new team at that spot now.
Lampard just seemed like the guy to prevent a revolt by the fans at the games
Apparently Todd made a post-match speech to get their spirits up Todd Boehly tells Chelsea squad season is ‘embarrassing’ in post-game speech | Chelsea | The Guardian
Apparently Todd made a post-match speech to get their spirits up Todd Boehly tells Chelsea squad season is ‘embarrassing’ in post-game speech | Chelsea | The Guardian
View: https://twitter.com/SkySportsPL/status/1649403513947017216?s=20
Would Kompany really go there? His Burnley team probably wins vs this team
Would Kompany really go there? His Burnley team probably wins vs this team
Poch reportedly on the verge of taking the Chelsea job. Matt Law is a Chelsea mouthpiece so I would trust this.
Terrible hire IMO. I like Poch but he hasn't shown himself capable of matching wits tactically with the top managers and his greatest success came with a young hungry team of lesser known players out to make a reputation in the game, not a bloated roster largely consisting of disgruntled fading stars or young players bought for megamillions who think they've already got it made.
View: https://twitter.com/Matt_Law_DT/status/1650561244057804800
Terrible hire IMO. I like Poch but he hasn't shown himself capable of matching wits tactically with the top managers and his greatest success came with a young hungry team of lesser known players out to make a reputation in the game, not a bloated roster largely consisting of disgruntled fading stars or young players bought for megamillions who think they've already got it made.
View: https://twitter.com/Matt_Law_DT/status/1650561244057804800
Agree it's not a good fit. One of the keys of Pochettino's success at Spurs is that he was allowed to spend his whole first year cleaning house and weeding out the overpaid loafers and malcontents, as well as the players who didn't fit his style or weren't up to snuff . In his first 18 months he shipped out, by my count, 16 first-team players.* Obviously he won't be allowed to do anything like that at Chelsea.
*Gylfi Sigurdsson, Sandro, Jake Livermore, Kyle Naughton, Roberto Soldado, Andros Townsend, Paulinho, Etienne Capoue, Vlad Chiriches, Lewis Holtby, Aaron Lennon, Younes Kaboul, Emanuel Adebayor, Michael Dawson, Tom Carroll, and Benoit Assou-Ekotto.
Yup, good point.
I think this is one of the things that makes the Chelsea job so tricky right now. You've got plenty of overpaid loafers and malcontents who are even harder to ship out than they were pre-pandemic because of financial trends in the game (ie, huge salaries that very few clubs will take on). But to a substantial degree Boehly has already done the shopping to build his new version of Chelsea so you don't really get to build a new team with your own ideas either. If you count returning loanees and Nkunku, they've got 38 first team players under contract for next year and that's even before re-signing Kante (which is rumored) or possibly signing Felix permanently. Poch could get rid of 16 players and still have a close-to-full roster without even signing anybody new.
The concerns re Poch are valid (maybe not in whole, but I digress), but then who's the right choice for this Chelsea and its bizarre squad? My best suggestion in a vacuum would be Ancelotti, because the guy is a legend and knows how to handle just about every situation. Does anyone else fit the bill? Zidane would work, but would he consider the EPL? Does he keep waiting for the French NT? Would he go for PSG? Lucho would kind of be interesting, but he just doesn't seem that in demand. Whether that's fair to his abilities or not, I don't know. I go back and forth on him honestly. Is it time for a Conte reunion? On the topic of reunions, how about trying to pry Mourinho out of Rome? I don't see Rodgers as a real candidate.
Ideally they want a manager with:
-Experience working with really big stars and egos and bringing them into line.
-But also capable of matching tactical wits with the best.
-A history of winning trophies.
-Experience in the PL a significant plus.
There is one guy out there, somewhat of a unicorn, who would be perfect candidate...
The question was, "What did you learn from this experience?"
Boehly's answer:
View: https://youtu.be/TQaxVldIE-0?t=65
Boehly's answer:
View: https://youtu.be/TQaxVldIE-0?t=65
Well hospital Chelsea back in mid season form.
With 9 blokes already out it's an auspicious start.
Losing Nkunku til the end of the calendar year or so in preseason is bad enough. But they just lost Chucky with an MCL tear and Broja still trying to get back to fitness, it's not ideal since we don't really have any central attackers now besides Jackson fit.
Defense is rough shape with Fofana, James, Badiashile out as well. James just can't seem to stay healthy. He needs a Steph Curry injury turn around. This after losing Azpi among others.
Going to be a rough start which is amazing considering Boehly has spent enough to buy a sliver of Twitter.
With 9 blokes already out it's an auspicious start.
Losing Nkunku til the end of the calendar year or so in preseason is bad enough. But they just lost Chucky with an MCL tear and Broja still trying to get back to fitness, it's not ideal since we don't really have any central attackers now besides Jackson fit.
Defense is rough shape with Fofana, James, Badiashile out as well. James just can't seem to stay healthy. He needs a Steph Curry injury turn around. This after losing Azpi among others.
Going to be a rough start which is amazing considering Boehly has spent enough to buy a sliver of Twitter.
