@TheScore. Sorry, I’ve been unavailable for the last few days and catching up on various articles from the past 48/72 hours. I as always read your article with interest as I find you one of the most levelheaded commentators on CFC that is out there. Firstly, you know I don’t need to say this, stay away from social media. It’s imbalanced, largely negative and not good for your heart.
As you may know from previous comments, I have been a support for over 50 years, I mean that from perspective of being in the stadium initially thanks to my father taking me. I’ve seen it all and some of it was seriously bad, a lot worse than today. I like you see the vision, I understand the plan and I agree with you that currently the execution is failing. I see the anger towards the sporting directors, I understand it but the reality is they are puppets. Until Behdad sits down and takes a backseat or passes the reigns over to Todd i’m worried that we’re going to be swimming against the tide. You make two stand out comments below both of which I 100% agree with.
“I see what the project is and how it can succeed, I believe it’s an issue of poor execution. Respectfully, I believe a change in personnel at the top, the Sporting Directors and our GK man Ben Roberts, and Behdad taking a step back from interfering so much and trusting an elite, proven top class Sporting Director and CEO of Football would benefit Chelsea.”
“ This is Clearlake and the sporting directors mess, they need to front up, take responsibility and do something about it.”
Let’s be clear we have no immediate right to maintain opposition as a leading club in the Premier League and Europe. That honour has to be worked for and earned. Good decisions need to be made otherwise we will go into periods of negativity and poor performance just as Manchester United, Liverpool, Arsenal and others have for periods of time over the past 20 to 30 years. The club needs to be better run as you rightly say and we need to model ourselves on the better running clubs, a.k.a. Manchester City, Aston Villa, Liverpool, Brighton and one or two others. I have omitted on purpose Arsenal, who like us have been crying out for a CF for 2/3 years but failed to purchase it and Tottenham who we are looking more like day by day and they are ultimately a club that has never exceeded in the last 30 to 40 years.
I guess my positivity keeps me thinking that we are close to getting it right but in reality even I am having my doubts today. The last few games have not come as a shock to me but a severely disappointed me. The run of matches did not need to happen and all parties concerned need to look at themselves and acknowledge the mistakes that have been made. One of those is definitely having Roberts involved in any form, without him we probably don’t have the goalkeeping errors that we have currently. For the number of goalkeepers we have purchased in the past three years we could’ve gone out and bought the best goalkeeper in Europe.
The Peter Principle says an employee will rise to his own level of incompetence. Boris Johnson and Liz Truss are perfect examples of this. Sadly so are both of our Sporting Defectives, whose level of competence was working at a mid level club, with an entirely different brief and model, not an elite one competing for the league and the Champions league.
Behdad is a terrible owner and should allow Todd to take control. Look at how massive the Dodgers are; they get every elite free agent, young prospects want to play for them, they know how to beat the financial luxury tax limits like they wrote the rules on it! They have a great blend of old, mid, and young players and aren't afraid to splash the cash to win the World Series and it pays off. This is the person we need leading us, Mr Boehly please!!
PS- restructure the board and put the SD's where they belong in spotting & following talent. We need a proven SD who's ruthless and doesn't take crap. And let Maresca play who he needs to make his system work, which certainly doesn't include Sanchez.
I’ve just passed 65 years following his club. At home to Leicester City in January 1960 being my first game - a 2-2 draw.
In that time, we’ve been relegated from the old Division 1, although never from the Premier League, four times. Each time, it was painful, even to me as a 13 year old in 1962. I didn’t cry though!!! Despite all the setbacks, there really are more important things in life.
However, and I may well be wrong here, I can’t remember this level of anger from fans, me included, than the 60+ hours following that shambles against City. It may be to do with the wide availability of social media which allows us to scream in anger.
As I say, I too have been furious about Saturday, even staying awake on Twitter till one o’clock in the morning these last two nights eager to see what others are saying, and replying/commenting if I feel the need. This isn’t what retirement was meant to be like!!!
I rather agree that we need Eghbali to take a step away from the football side. The SDs have got away with murder with what passes for their “squad build”, so they can go as soon as they like. And then, there’s Maresca. Sadly he’s a stubborn man who has been over promoted. He did a good job at Leicester but our aims should be at a higher level than what an ex-Championship manager can achieve.
We shouldn’t yet write this season off although there’s not a lot to be optimistic about in the short term. Maybe by the start of pre-season we’ll have a genuinely qualified elite head coach who doesn’t use our club as a personal game of Football Manager, with his dumping of full backs in order to shove them in to midfield.
Sorry, this is a bit of a jumble. Just rattling off my thoughts which will probably change later in the day.
Keep the faith everyone and let’s hope for better things are round the corner. (The Europa Conference maybe???)
Mike, I’m late reading this article due to a variety of reasons, one being no desire to read anything about Chelsea after the Manchester City game. Most of what you do resonates with me, being 65, attending my first game in 1965 and seeing most of those relegations as you did And also witnessing us getting close to being relegated to the third tier. I therefore understand a lot of what you say and your sentiments, somewhere which I commented above today before I read your message. The only comment I can add is I’m willing to give the manager the chance if he gets the right backing and structure around him.
PS Enjoy your retirement and stay away from that cesspit called Twitter (X) and other forms of social media which are only gonna make you feel worse, mate.
It’s taken many of the fans 12 months to get to where I was with the sporting Directors over their failure to give Poche what was needed and when we said a goalkeeper was needed an elite number 1 they went out and splashed the cash on 7 or 8 youth goalkeepers that won’t be ready for 5-7 years if ever besides they will have been sold and moved on by then.
It’s beginning to look to me as though Petrovic was moved out on loan to reduce competition for Sanchez and what a disaster that was as he is playing well at Strasbourg perhaps we could send Sanchez to Strasbourg and bring Petrovic back if we can’t sign an elite Goalkeeper?
So and I’ll say this again if you add up the money splashed out on kids because they can it would have funded easily 3 elite players that would have us in the top 3 challenging.
It gives me no satisfaction that I saw this coming I only wish I had been wrong but Mr Score if you were Chelsea’s HR dept perhaps the various plonkers in top position would already have been moved on!
We have needed a true striker since Diego Costa left, a decent goalkeeper since Snake left us high and dry,last true 6 we had was Matic. The failure to address those needs continues year after year. Sanchez makes the mental errors of a primary student, no physical skillset will make up for lack of football IQ. Not planning on watching any games that he starts anymore
I believe the Owners want to win, because winning earns the big bucks. The problem is they've put their faith in second raters in the sd's and particularly the GK boss. The defenders can have little confidence in the keeper, whatever the coach and backroom staff may say in public. It's also clear that Chelsea need a Striker and should bring Andrey back. What are these people thinking, when the Champions League could be likely with a couple of recruits?
heads should roll regardless where we finish in the table.
but Behdad, Winstanley and Stewart looks like a boys club who think they are too smart and smug.
They have not yet fully destroyed the club as you said but once cultural rot sets in then slowly but surely clubs slide into mediocrity... and we are on the way towards that.
@TheScore. Sorry, I’ve been unavailable for the last few days and catching up on various articles from the past 48/72 hours. I as always read your article with interest as I find you one of the most levelheaded commentators on CFC that is out there. Firstly, you know I don’t need to say this, stay away from social media. It’s imbalanced, largely negative and not good for your heart.
As you may know from previous comments, I have been a support for over 50 years, I mean that from perspective of being in the stadium initially thanks to my father taking me. I’ve seen it all and some of it was seriously bad, a lot worse than today. I like you see the vision, I understand the plan and I agree with you that currently the execution is failing. I see the anger towards the sporting directors, I understand it but the reality is they are puppets. Until Behdad sits down and takes a backseat or passes the reigns over to Todd i’m worried that we’re going to be swimming against the tide. You make two stand out comments below both of which I 100% agree with.
“I see what the project is and how it can succeed, I believe it’s an issue of poor execution. Respectfully, I believe a change in personnel at the top, the Sporting Directors and our GK man Ben Roberts, and Behdad taking a step back from interfering so much and trusting an elite, proven top class Sporting Director and CEO of Football would benefit Chelsea.”
“ This is Clearlake and the sporting directors mess, they need to front up, take responsibility and do something about it.”
Let’s be clear we have no immediate right to maintain opposition as a leading club in the Premier League and Europe. That honour has to be worked for and earned. Good decisions need to be made otherwise we will go into periods of negativity and poor performance just as Manchester United, Liverpool, Arsenal and others have for periods of time over the past 20 to 30 years. The club needs to be better run as you rightly say and we need to model ourselves on the better running clubs, a.k.a. Manchester City, Aston Villa, Liverpool, Brighton and one or two others. I have omitted on purpose Arsenal, who like us have been crying out for a CF for 2/3 years but failed to purchase it and Tottenham who we are looking more like day by day and they are ultimately a club that has never exceeded in the last 30 to 40 years.
I guess my positivity keeps me thinking that we are close to getting it right but in reality even I am having my doubts today. The last few games have not come as a shock to me but a severely disappointed me. The run of matches did not need to happen and all parties concerned need to look at themselves and acknowledge the mistakes that have been made. One of those is definitely having Roberts involved in any form, without him we probably don’t have the goalkeeping errors that we have currently. For the number of goalkeepers we have purchased in the past three years we could’ve gone out and bought the best goalkeeper in Europe.
The Peter Principle says an employee will rise to his own level of incompetence. Boris Johnson and Liz Truss are perfect examples of this. Sadly so are both of our Sporting Defectives, whose level of competence was working at a mid level club, with an entirely different brief and model, not an elite one competing for the league and the Champions league.
Behdad is a terrible owner and should allow Todd to take control. Look at how massive the Dodgers are; they get every elite free agent, young prospects want to play for them, they know how to beat the financial luxury tax limits like they wrote the rules on it! They have a great blend of old, mid, and young players and aren't afraid to splash the cash to win the World Series and it pays off. This is the person we need leading us, Mr Boehly please!!
PS- restructure the board and put the SD's where they belong in spotting & following talent. We need a proven SD who's ruthless and doesn't take crap. And let Maresca play who he needs to make his system work, which certainly doesn't include Sanchez.
I’ve just passed 65 years following his club. At home to Leicester City in January 1960 being my first game - a 2-2 draw.
In that time, we’ve been relegated from the old Division 1, although never from the Premier League, four times. Each time, it was painful, even to me as a 13 year old in 1962. I didn’t cry though!!! Despite all the setbacks, there really are more important things in life.
However, and I may well be wrong here, I can’t remember this level of anger from fans, me included, than the 60+ hours following that shambles against City. It may be to do with the wide availability of social media which allows us to scream in anger.
As I say, I too have been furious about Saturday, even staying awake on Twitter till one o’clock in the morning these last two nights eager to see what others are saying, and replying/commenting if I feel the need. This isn’t what retirement was meant to be like!!!
I rather agree that we need Eghbali to take a step away from the football side. The SDs have got away with murder with what passes for their “squad build”, so they can go as soon as they like. And then, there’s Maresca. Sadly he’s a stubborn man who has been over promoted. He did a good job at Leicester but our aims should be at a higher level than what an ex-Championship manager can achieve.
We shouldn’t yet write this season off although there’s not a lot to be optimistic about in the short term. Maybe by the start of pre-season we’ll have a genuinely qualified elite head coach who doesn’t use our club as a personal game of Football Manager, with his dumping of full backs in order to shove them in to midfield.
Sorry, this is a bit of a jumble. Just rattling off my thoughts which will probably change later in the day.
Keep the faith everyone and let’s hope for better things are round the corner. (The Europa Conference maybe???)
Mike, I’m late reading this article due to a variety of reasons, one being no desire to read anything about Chelsea after the Manchester City game. Most of what you do resonates with me, being 65, attending my first game in 1965 and seeing most of those relegations as you did And also witnessing us getting close to being relegated to the third tier. I therefore understand a lot of what you say and your sentiments, somewhere which I commented above today before I read your message. The only comment I can add is I’m willing to give the manager the chance if he gets the right backing and structure around him.
PS Enjoy your retirement and stay away from that cesspit called Twitter (X) and other forms of social media which are only gonna make you feel worse, mate.
VAR "Clearlake and Obvious Error" not just a joke line on a T shirt
https://chelseafancast.com/2024/05/a-clearlake-obvious-error-mug/
Just had to get this mug
It’s taken many of the fans 12 months to get to where I was with the sporting Directors over their failure to give Poche what was needed and when we said a goalkeeper was needed an elite number 1 they went out and splashed the cash on 7 or 8 youth goalkeepers that won’t be ready for 5-7 years if ever besides they will have been sold and moved on by then.
It’s beginning to look to me as though Petrovic was moved out on loan to reduce competition for Sanchez and what a disaster that was as he is playing well at Strasbourg perhaps we could send Sanchez to Strasbourg and bring Petrovic back if we can’t sign an elite Goalkeeper?
So and I’ll say this again if you add up the money splashed out on kids because they can it would have funded easily 3 elite players that would have us in the top 3 challenging.
It gives me no satisfaction that I saw this coming I only wish I had been wrong but Mr Score if you were Chelsea’s HR dept perhaps the various plonkers in top position would already have been moved on!
We have needed a true striker since Diego Costa left, a decent goalkeeper since Snake left us high and dry,last true 6 we had was Matic. The failure to address those needs continues year after year. Sanchez makes the mental errors of a primary student, no physical skillset will make up for lack of football IQ. Not planning on watching any games that he starts anymore
I believe the Owners want to win, because winning earns the big bucks. The problem is they've put their faith in second raters in the sd's and particularly the GK boss. The defenders can have little confidence in the keeper, whatever the coach and backroom staff may say in public. It's also clear that Chelsea need a Striker and should bring Andrey back. What are these people thinking, when the Champions League could be likely with a couple of recruits?
heads should roll regardless where we finish in the table.
but Behdad, Winstanley and Stewart looks like a boys club who think they are too smart and smug.
They have not yet fully destroyed the club as you said but once cultural rot sets in then slowly but surely clubs slide into mediocrity... and we are on the way towards that.