Have the wheels fallen off the chelsea bus?

squallkid

They sacked avb, beat napoli and a league one side in the cup and have now gone back to the average performances that saw them lose at city and barely had a shot against the scum.

Has the new manager syndrome worn off already and caused chelsea to revert to their normal form for the season? Watching them play yesterday it wasn't any different to the avb performances.

Maybe it wasn't avb's fault at all and chelsea just have an aging squad.

lorddulaarsenal

Theyll have a hell of a job to fix it all this summer

Klaus

They put too much faith into a few final big signings before the fair play initiative limited their spendings. Players like Torres and Luiz, who were supposed to carry them for the next few years, have been failures. Of the _£130 million they've spent in the last 18 months only Mata has been good value for money.

Captain

Ramires has done very well for them.

Claudius

Agreed, Capi. I like Ramires a lot. One of the better DMs in the league.

Chelsea have a tough time ahead replenishing their squad. They spent a lot of money but didn't necessarily end up with stars they can build around. Mata is the closest thing, and I'm not quite sure that he has enough to be The Man on a contending team just yet. Probably more likely a sidekick to a Robin or Rooney.

I hope they crash and burn hard. Worst fans in the world. Worse than the knuckle-dragging, beetle-eating Spurs fans.

Claudius

... and I hope Newcastle finish ahead of them. It's probably too big an ask for them to overhaul Spurs as well, but I'd absolutely love it.

Captain

I dunno. I think they have the nucleus of a good side but, a bit like Liverpool, they are suffering for not developing anyone in the last few years.

Cahill, Luiz, Ramires and Sturridge are all good players who can provide a platform to build from going forward but it will be difficult for them without a manager who is both astute in the market and influential enough to hold off Abramovich's involvement in transfers.

Claudius

That's 5 players, Capi. You can add in Cole because he still has a few years at/near the top. And then what?
Cole, Cahill, Luiz, Ramires, Sturridge, Mata.
It's no mistake they are 8 points behind an Arsenal team that has been shocking at times.

Captain

well those are the five to build on going forward; the next generation if you like.

As you quite rightly say, Cole can still do a job and then you have Essien (if he can stay fit), Ivanovic, Mikel, Cech, Torres who can all perform a role over the next 2-3 seasons.

Claudius

In all fairness, Abramovich has tried to replace his old guard by spending big money on the players mentioned above. The biggest problem, I guess, is the tension between old and new. Maybe Chelsea would benefit from just tossing out one or two guys - e.g. Drogba and Terry, and then focusing on the younger lot. They could keep Lampard on as captain as he seems to have a good head on his shoulders (and honestly gets too much stick from fans for a guy who has been the most consistently good player in the league over the past 10 years).

Rex

Think Romeu has looked quite good for them as well. He has potential.

Ray

The old guard of Cech, Terry, Cole, Essien, Lampard, and Drogba look finished, the new generation of Luiz, Ramires, Mata, Torres and Sturridge look suspect in their system if they want to be as competitive as they used to be. And in recent years they have relied a lot on Terry Lampard and drogba to get them out of trouble. Add to that no manager would want to touch them i can see them struggling to get back to where they were.

But then abramovic could just decide to spend the millions again.

Rex

The Chelsea job will continue to be one of the most coveted jobs in world football.

Ray

I dont think it will rex. AVB sacked caused a lot of stir (new young manager just one 4 trophies sacked afer 6 months) of course some may be tempted by money but i doubt any one who wants a reputation intact will go there.

Captain

Reckon big managers will still fancy it. Chelsea don't carry the same reputation but look at the madness that frequently occurs at Real Madrid and that is still considered one of, if not the, top jobs in the world.

lorddulaarsenal

Sturridge is pants

Rex

With the financial backing that is Abramovich the Chelsea job will continue to be one of the most sought after jobs in the managerial world. They will have no trouble whatsoever to attract another "name" manager despite their history with previous managers.

I think good managers are like good players in the sense that they have the confidence to think that they will succeed where others have failed.

Pepe LeFrits

Klaus wrote:
They put too much faith into a few final big signings before the fair play initiative limited their spending.

Hope thats the case; without major investment they'll fall behind us again at long last.

Kel Varnsen

i haven't seen chelsea too much this season, but from what i have seen their defending has been fucking awful. bosingwa is a joke at rb and their cb's are laughable.

GaelForce

John Carter wrote:
Sturridge is pants

He's so annoying to watch, must be a nightmare to play with.