Luke, I found myself wanting to write to support your views, but thankfully a lot of people have beaten me to it with their eloquent thoughts. I would stress the point about how, in 12 months they have ripped up an entire squad (for the right reasons). Therefore even one season will not be enough for any manager to take a squad of players that is amongst the youngest the premier league has ever seen and turn them into a machine. Because that’s the Project. What will the review offer at the end of the season and how much progress were they expecting in a league where the general standard of all teams has risen significantly since we dominated. A lot of reference is made to ‘super manager’s’ but what were the objectives given to Poch - An aspiration is CL because we are Chelsea, but realistically, that’s a 2-3 year journey and champions is a 3-5 year journey. Keep up the great work mate.
Thank you Luke for writing a well prepared and logical article. As I’ve have used before as an expression “a voice of reason”. It’s absolutely unbelievable that there are so called supporters out there that really believe that everything was going to be turned around in two minutes and we would be up top challenging for the league or at least a Champions League place. The real damage was done 3 to 5 years ago and a lot of work was required to get us back on track. Plus they believe that we have the right to expect to beat the lights of Middlesbrough.
In reality, we are a PROJECT as you say, and one that will take a couple of years at least to come to fruition. You also said patience is required. PATIENCE has been my mantra all season and sometimes I get bated for using the word. I’m glad to see that the majority if not all of the comments who received have been positive.
If you’re not better, get well soon. Onwards and upwards towards beating Fulham and then turning the semi-final round in the second leg. #GetBehindChelseaAndSupportThem
Think the majority of Chels fans genuinely want to give a manager time but Poch has done nothing to warrant time... a full pre season and half a season now & we’re not improving. For context, look at what Ange, O’Neil & Areola have done at their clubs having joined at the start of the season, they’re doing a far better job than Poch is with lesser squads and far less resources. Also don’t really care about stats we’re terrible to watch, no game plan, no confidence and just look clueless all over the pitch. I knew this season would be up & down but I at least thought we’d be exciting - a young team full of hunger & potential but it’s nothing like that. All boils down to if the manager is getting the most out of the squad and I don’t think he’s actually improved one player and many have regressed. Look at what Emery has done at Villa and compare that to Poch ffs, he’s not doing a good job whatsoever - fans have lost patience as there’s no signs of improvement, if there was we’d all be behind him.
We need a winner, if there’s not dramatic improvements by summer he should go & bring in Simeone.
Most of the managers mentioned had a somewhat settled squad to start with. How many of our players were at the club 18 months ago?
You can’t make wholesale changes and not expect disruption and poor results. Which is on both the previous ownership (lack of future planning re: rudiger contracts, and bringing in youth early), current ownership (bringing in no experience and too many changes at once), and a little bit of our government (sanctions crucified us).
But I agree. Let’s see how we are at the end of the season.
Luke congratulations for the analysis that is more business than football; this team is not a failure. In reality it wouldn't even be a project, I would say more of an experiment. It could work and at this point in the year it might be worth seeing how it turns out. However, it is necessary to clearly identify the responsibilities which in the case of this match lie solely with the coach. Colwill could not oppose without risking another yellow card and this lightness allowed the opponent to send Hackney through on goal. In a Chelsea team that was fragile in defence, he needed to be replaced immediately. The opposing coach understood and was smarter. That's all.
Thank you, Luke!!! I don't get this urge to sack every time things don't go our way. Overall, Chelsea have improved in a lot of aspects compared to last season. Teething was bound to happen, come on.
City were knocked out of the FA Cup by Wigan in 17/18 in Pep's 2nd season, Madrid shockingly knocked out of the CL by that Ajax team in 18/19 even though they were the reigning champs, Liverpool were leaking goals in Klopp's first few seasons, etc. That's all in the past now & no one remembers. My point is that these things happen when managers/teams are still trying to piece it together & the "But we're the mighty Chels" statements/attitude does need to be toned down a bit. We weren't gonna be a powerhouse just after 27 games under Poch, it's a project. We're levels better than we were under Potter for sure, PROGRESS is what I've seen. We'll turn it around at the Bridge v Boro. Up the Chels & stay off Twitter, guys!
Also i think ive seen the reactionary stuff for many years it’s often stoked by click bait operators knowing the incoming response- we are a short time into a long term investment give Poch a full season and a transfer window and then we can start to see what the project is going to look like
Thanks Luke for the article - I don’t actually disagree with the points, the frustration I personally find is the lack of commentary from the club not Poch I want to see Clearlake start to open a dialogue with the supporters I think it could go a long way in calming the tension between them and the fanbase I felt sorry for the fans who paid a lot of money to travel see that display last night hard work and effort cost nothing and some players defitely blow hot and cold in that department. Anyway I’ll be cheering them on as always love this Substack subscription I know I’m suffering alongside my fellow fans :-)
Luke first of all I hope you’re feeling a lot better.
On to the main stuff as reading your article I found myself nodding in agreement.
I’m afraid in my book those reactionary X posters your right to unfollow because they aren’t supporters, rather they are as bad as the wage mercenaries we had in the team last year.
Let me explain they quite simply are adrenaline junkies nothing more nothing less and if they don’t get their win fix they lash out.
I still maintain the silent majority are onside and in the current environment afraid almost to post.
So as I said last night win 6 lose 2 played 8 that’s progress. I actually saw the look on Poche face last night and he wasn’t happy.
Personally there are some I admit who are reasoned in their approach and I engage with those but the majority just haven’t got a clue.
Going forward if we win 6 out of the next and only lose a couple I’ll be over the moon and the semi final isn’t over yet as a club the team has come back from worse positions at Stamford bridge.
So thanks again for being a reactionary because you did it in the right way many didn’t !
Great post Luke! Last night was frustrating but we do need to be patient and understand the position we’re in this season. The ups and down are all part of the project and sometimes consistency doesn’t magically happen straight away like we all expect it to. Would love for a slight change in the recruitment team in the summer where there’s a DOF and 1 SD. Both aligned with their ideas and realising what the manager and squad need in order to progress further and help us challenge eventually.
I agree to an extent with this, particularly on the reactionary stuff. However, as has been mentioned, when I look at a performance like last night (and there’s been a lot this season) I just see no cohesion or plan. What part of the project involves knocking it around the centre backs, out to a full back, back to the centre backs. No patterns of play, no movement, no desire. And that’s against a mid table championship team. That’s on Poch. It’s a really frustrating watch, which I understand a project is at times, there’s just nothing that excites me about the ‘style’ of football we play and I don’t think he knows how to utilise the players he has. What’s the style of play? One player presses, no one else does. We don’t move the ball quick enough in the attacking third. His substitutions and in game management are increasingly questionable as well. I’m not calling for him to go (I don’t think there’s anyone available right now) but I don’t see it working itself out with him as manager. I hope I’m proved wrong. Up the Chels!
This is the same place I am at currently (and I don’t like it). I’ve been pretty sanguine most of this season but it’s flagging these days. I keep waiting for something to click in the team and even if the results don’t massively improve, the play will and I’m just not seeing it. I know the squad has a lot of holes and question marks but I’m not seeing Poch getting what we need from the players we have (either by playing them out of position or not trusting them). It’s bringing me back to the Potter days, where he keep doing the same thing, it doesn’t work and yet no change is made. There’s certainly not much upside to sacking him at this point in the season (although I will breathe easier once we get to 40 points!) and am glad there will be a ‘review’ by both sides to see if it’s working as needed. Mostly, I just want get back to enjoying the watching them play, even if the results aren’t what we need. Playing boring, slow football and still losing is a really tough pill to swallow.
Very interesting and well thought out piece. Get well soon
Luke, I found myself wanting to write to support your views, but thankfully a lot of people have beaten me to it with their eloquent thoughts. I would stress the point about how, in 12 months they have ripped up an entire squad (for the right reasons). Therefore even one season will not be enough for any manager to take a squad of players that is amongst the youngest the premier league has ever seen and turn them into a machine. Because that’s the Project. What will the review offer at the end of the season and how much progress were they expecting in a league where the general standard of all teams has risen significantly since we dominated. A lot of reference is made to ‘super manager’s’ but what were the objectives given to Poch - An aspiration is CL because we are Chelsea, but realistically, that’s a 2-3 year journey and champions is a 3-5 year journey. Keep up the great work mate.
100% agree - work in progress
Luke, I agree less. Our base both on X and YouTube are not helping matters. Thanks for your write up.
Thank you Luke for writing a well prepared and logical article. As I’ve have used before as an expression “a voice of reason”. It’s absolutely unbelievable that there are so called supporters out there that really believe that everything was going to be turned around in two minutes and we would be up top challenging for the league or at least a Champions League place. The real damage was done 3 to 5 years ago and a lot of work was required to get us back on track. Plus they believe that we have the right to expect to beat the lights of Middlesbrough.
In reality, we are a PROJECT as you say, and one that will take a couple of years at least to come to fruition. You also said patience is required. PATIENCE has been my mantra all season and sometimes I get bated for using the word. I’m glad to see that the majority if not all of the comments who received have been positive.
If you’re not better, get well soon. Onwards and upwards towards beating Fulham and then turning the semi-final round in the second leg. #GetBehindChelseaAndSupportThem
Think the majority of Chels fans genuinely want to give a manager time but Poch has done nothing to warrant time... a full pre season and half a season now & we’re not improving. For context, look at what Ange, O’Neil & Areola have done at their clubs having joined at the start of the season, they’re doing a far better job than Poch is with lesser squads and far less resources. Also don’t really care about stats we’re terrible to watch, no game plan, no confidence and just look clueless all over the pitch. I knew this season would be up & down but I at least thought we’d be exciting - a young team full of hunger & potential but it’s nothing like that. All boils down to if the manager is getting the most out of the squad and I don’t think he’s actually improved one player and many have regressed. Look at what Emery has done at Villa and compare that to Poch ffs, he’s not doing a good job whatsoever - fans have lost patience as there’s no signs of improvement, if there was we’d all be behind him.
We need a winner, if there’s not dramatic improvements by summer he should go & bring in Simeone.
Most of the managers mentioned had a somewhat settled squad to start with. How many of our players were at the club 18 months ago?
You can’t make wholesale changes and not expect disruption and poor results. Which is on both the previous ownership (lack of future planning re: rudiger contracts, and bringing in youth early), current ownership (bringing in no experience and too many changes at once), and a little bit of our government (sanctions crucified us).
But I agree. Let’s see how we are at the end of the season.
Luke congratulations for the analysis that is more business than football; this team is not a failure. In reality it wouldn't even be a project, I would say more of an experiment. It could work and at this point in the year it might be worth seeing how it turns out. However, it is necessary to clearly identify the responsibilities which in the case of this match lie solely with the coach. Colwill could not oppose without risking another yellow card and this lightness allowed the opponent to send Hackney through on goal. In a Chelsea team that was fragile in defence, he needed to be replaced immediately. The opposing coach understood and was smarter. That's all.
Thank you, Luke!!! I don't get this urge to sack every time things don't go our way. Overall, Chelsea have improved in a lot of aspects compared to last season. Teething was bound to happen, come on.
City were knocked out of the FA Cup by Wigan in 17/18 in Pep's 2nd season, Madrid shockingly knocked out of the CL by that Ajax team in 18/19 even though they were the reigning champs, Liverpool were leaking goals in Klopp's first few seasons, etc. That's all in the past now & no one remembers. My point is that these things happen when managers/teams are still trying to piece it together & the "But we're the mighty Chels" statements/attitude does need to be toned down a bit. We weren't gonna be a powerhouse just after 27 games under Poch, it's a project. We're levels better than we were under Potter for sure, PROGRESS is what I've seen. We'll turn it around at the Bridge v Boro. Up the Chels & stay off Twitter, guys!
Also i think ive seen the reactionary stuff for many years it’s often stoked by click bait operators knowing the incoming response- we are a short time into a long term investment give Poch a full season and a transfer window and then we can start to see what the project is going to look like
Thanks Luke for the article - I don’t actually disagree with the points, the frustration I personally find is the lack of commentary from the club not Poch I want to see Clearlake start to open a dialogue with the supporters I think it could go a long way in calming the tension between them and the fanbase I felt sorry for the fans who paid a lot of money to travel see that display last night hard work and effort cost nothing and some players defitely blow hot and cold in that department. Anyway I’ll be cheering them on as always love this Substack subscription I know I’m suffering alongside my fellow fans :-)
P.s. do you know if Substacks has an unfollow button for this site lol
Luke first of all I hope you’re feeling a lot better.
On to the main stuff as reading your article I found myself nodding in agreement.
I’m afraid in my book those reactionary X posters your right to unfollow because they aren’t supporters, rather they are as bad as the wage mercenaries we had in the team last year.
Let me explain they quite simply are adrenaline junkies nothing more nothing less and if they don’t get their win fix they lash out.
I still maintain the silent majority are onside and in the current environment afraid almost to post.
So as I said last night win 6 lose 2 played 8 that’s progress. I actually saw the look on Poche face last night and he wasn’t happy.
Personally there are some I admit who are reasoned in their approach and I engage with those but the majority just haven’t got a clue.
Going forward if we win 6 out of the next and only lose a couple I’ll be over the moon and the semi final isn’t over yet as a club the team has come back from worse positions at Stamford bridge.
So thanks again for being a reactionary because you did it in the right way many didn’t !
Well said and stick with your consistent views. Andy
You can only believe the project if we are going In the right direction. Patience with him will yield marginal fruits.
Great post Luke! Last night was frustrating but we do need to be patient and understand the position we’re in this season. The ups and down are all part of the project and sometimes consistency doesn’t magically happen straight away like we all expect it to. Would love for a slight change in the recruitment team in the summer where there’s a DOF and 1 SD. Both aligned with their ideas and realising what the manager and squad need in order to progress further and help us challenge eventually.
Agree 100%, Luke! Up the Chels! 💙
I agree to an extent with this, particularly on the reactionary stuff. However, as has been mentioned, when I look at a performance like last night (and there’s been a lot this season) I just see no cohesion or plan. What part of the project involves knocking it around the centre backs, out to a full back, back to the centre backs. No patterns of play, no movement, no desire. And that’s against a mid table championship team. That’s on Poch. It’s a really frustrating watch, which I understand a project is at times, there’s just nothing that excites me about the ‘style’ of football we play and I don’t think he knows how to utilise the players he has. What’s the style of play? One player presses, no one else does. We don’t move the ball quick enough in the attacking third. His substitutions and in game management are increasingly questionable as well. I’m not calling for him to go (I don’t think there’s anyone available right now) but I don’t see it working itself out with him as manager. I hope I’m proved wrong. Up the Chels!
This is the same place I am at currently (and I don’t like it). I’ve been pretty sanguine most of this season but it’s flagging these days. I keep waiting for something to click in the team and even if the results don’t massively improve, the play will and I’m just not seeing it. I know the squad has a lot of holes and question marks but I’m not seeing Poch getting what we need from the players we have (either by playing them out of position or not trusting them). It’s bringing me back to the Potter days, where he keep doing the same thing, it doesn’t work and yet no change is made. There’s certainly not much upside to sacking him at this point in the season (although I will breathe easier once we get to 40 points!) and am glad there will be a ‘review’ by both sides to see if it’s working as needed. Mostly, I just want get back to enjoying the watching them play, even if the results aren’t what we need. Playing boring, slow football and still losing is a really tough pill to swallow.
Thanks for the comment mate much appreciated