Dr. Gonzo

That was a while ago, since then he looked bad at one of the richest clubs in Europe & has spent £1b to not actually do anything other than lose a final to a side they priced out of 2 players & trusts their academy as more than a source of funding.

I think they’re just going to add on 4 points deducted for the second offense (even though it covers the same period as the first offense, so it’s really just a second punishment for the same offense) - so they end up back at their original 10 so they can pat themselves on the back for getting it right in their minds the first time. But that’s because like @RandoEFC I have pretty much no faith in the league using their brains and them somehow thinking this makes them look good.

Don’t get me wrong I think Chelsea need to get a new manager before getting rid of any players. But I do think anyone young, underperforming, and getting regular minutes and still not improving at all… it’s going to take something special, like a genuinely world class manager, to turn them around when they’re on a massive long term contract. And I’d be more worried about players like Enzo and the dogshit Ukrainian lad than Caicedo. And at the same time, it does send a message to Chelsea players again that despite the ownership change, the club will always get rid of a bad manager first. It doesn’t really do anything to change the perception that players can down tools when they want a new manager. Good players are well rounded in this era of football. Alexis is not a #6 & the Brighton fan I spoke to said we’d get the best of him box to box. Yet he performed more than capably as a #6 and we’re now seeing him play more in his best position and he’s looking immense. I think it’s not a good sign if a player worth more than £100m+ looks a shadow of himself when put in another midfield role.

I’ve only talked to one Brighton fan regarding those transfers but they said Mac Allister was the real star of their midfield. And let’s also not forget once Mac Allister came into the Argentina midfield as a starter, that’s really when Enzo started to shine in that World Cup. And also let’s not forget that international football is very different to club level football. We’re just lucky he had a low release clause. Not to say Caicedo is bad or that he can’t turn it around - on paper he’s got all the attributes to be a top box to box midfielder. And he’s shown he can do that in this league. But he’s had some rubbish performances where he’s not put in the sort of shift required. I think Enzo made a massive mistake leaving Benfica too early when he could have been developing as the focal point of that side. That he’s being asked to do more off the ball isn’t surprising when he’s in a bigger league. Especially in a match like this final when even with all the injuries - our midfield is a good midfield. Endo, who cost just a fraction of both men absolutely dominated the two of them. Showing more work rate and quality than both. The midfield’s the engine room and heartbeat of a side. And when you’ve got one hard working midfielder paired with 2 expensive players that don’t put in a good shift, I think any manager’s going to prefer the guy who’s putting in the effort. Don’t get me wrong, I think Poch is clearly up to nothing at Chelsea. But I think Enzo’s a massive problem for any Chelsea manager. He’s got potential and technique but that’s not enough to be considered a top midfielder in this league. And Chelsea’s not a place where managers can be patient with a player.

I think Gallagher’s made himself undroppable by actually having a work ethic and being able to read the game better than the expensive signings he’s paired with. He fluffed his chances, but I don’t think he’s the problem with the Chelsea midfield. Enzo is the biggest problem. He’s clearly got quality but his work rate is dogshit and he has far too few good performances.

Yeah but they don’t though because the refs didn’t have to dissect every decision with VAR, which is also not why VAR was introduced.

Klopp turned us around after Rodgers lost the plot almost immediately. Poch is basically just Lampard with more excuses & less “no but seriously”

Lol do Chelsea fans hate Gallagher now? He’s one of the 3 Chelsea players I think actually shows some quality - would be funny if he’s forced out next

If that’s applied consistently, I think 80+% of set piece goals wouldn’t count

I think only you and the ESPN pundits really agree with that VAR decision. That sort of thing happens all the time, Arsenal even have a set piece tactic where players start in an offside position and they move to interfere with opponents runs. I’ve only seen goals disallowed for it twice. Both times, this season. Both times either the local rival or competitive rival of a side owned by a country these refs are allowed to moonlight for. But I’m told they’re more inept than corrupt so I’ll take peoples word for it. Thought it was a disgraceful referee performance all around. Players have been sent off for less than Caicedo - who didn’t even get a card. Gallagher avoiding a yellow is also baffling. Meanwhile a teenager gets booked because Chilwell lashed out at him. I think the ref and VAR are lucky they’re not slated more.

I think you’ll survive and in all honesty I think receiving 2 points deductions for the same time period doesn’t really make sense

I’m probably going to think it’s funny if the second points deduction is 4 points to bring them back to 10.

Yet the guy who replaced him got more out of that front 3.

Nah, when people use the argument “lots of managers need time, look at Klopp and look at Pep” it ignores things like Klopp immediately turning our performances around and getting to 2 finals despite the dogshit form Rodgers had us in for half a season & Pep implementing his style at a club and needing to get players that actually fit in with that style. Poch got to a final, but Chelsea’s performances have been pretty unconvincing all season. There’s no clear improvement of any Chelsea players, it just looks like Gallagher, Gusto, and Palmer are better than their teammates by some distance. And he couldn’t even build a convincing looking attack with Messi, Mbappe & Neymar. To me it looks as though a patch at Spurs where he really got the most out of Kane and Son until his tactics got figured out might actually be the peak of his management abilities. If results were bad but performances were good, I think it would be a different story. You could say he’s building something and Chelsea need to re-learn how to be patient with a manager after decades of short term success. He’s probably not helped by the club signing players for him and the club seemingly just signing players because they’re highly rated rather than because they’ve been identified as a good fit… but lots of managers have no real say in signings at all in Europe and it’s not as though Chelsea are signing players that are genuinely shite. For me, he’s someone like Rodgers. He’s good, up to a point. But even then, Rodgers couldn’t even truly fuck up having genuine world class talents in Suarez & Gerrard, until he lost Suarez and put Gerrard in the wrong position for having no legs left. And he managed to do pretty decently at Leicester after his purple patch with us, unlike Poch with his purple patch with Kane.

Why not both?

Future looks pretty bright when you can take off senior players for academy players to go into extra time, then hang on and once into extra time they go on look the better side (even though if Chelsea could have been clinical late on in regular time they probably would have stolen a win).

Get fucked Chelsea and PMGOL

At least he’s off now but I don’t understand how Gallagher avoided a booking all match.

Officials are clearly and obviously not capable of officiating a cup final.

We’ve got to have some decent kid striker on the bench.

Howard Webb’s PMGOL is an absolute clown show.

Now I think they’re going to.

Get in! How many times can Gallagher and Caicedo get away with fouling Mac Allister before getting a booking by the way? But okay Gallagher, if you want to foul there - go for it.

The referee’s a joke.

Malo Gusto’s Chelsea’s best player by far imo.