Archie L19

Chelsea release new kit - not good enough with no sponsor Chelsea clear out deadwood - not good enough, too slow. Chelsea sign Jackson - not good enough Chelsea discussing Caicedo deal with no leaks - not good enough too slow. Chelsea have 2 sponsors lined up that fall through - not good enough Chelsea sign emerging talent from South America - not good enough, not first team players …………………………. OR ………………………………… Chelsea release amazing kit, with great 90’s reference and captivating lead up. Chelsea manage to halve wage bill, get rid of players who don’t want to be here and clear bloated squad in record time Nicolas Jackson looks like an exciting player, let’s see how he goes in pre season. Chelsea being intelligent in the transfer market and don’t want to get into a bidding war. Chelsea had an unbelievable deal with Paramount lined up but the PL got cold feet, not our fault. Chelsea finally unearthing young talent that prevents us from having to buy them in 3 years time for 10x the price. It’s optics. You can choose to kick the club you support, or you can choose to support them and understand context in every situation. Ultimately the choice is yours but this is an new era and it’s time to put the past behind us and try and see the positives that are happening at the moment. New manager, new team and new season ahead.

@CFCMJordan I posted something pretty similar today but in less detail! 🫡

We're three years in since "Three" left us as FOS and we still haven't had a permanent one – that despite going into this season with the biggest reputation we've had since 2021, being back in the UCL and being newly crowned world champions. This is at the very least weird and yet another area in which the club should be more transparent with the fanbase on it's intentions. Next I want to do a deep dive into the horrible culture at the club. We're 3.5 years into the rebuild and we still have the pettiest team in the Premier League. The discipline issues has only got worse, we have given away more points from winning positions than any other side, we make more errors leading to goals than any other top side, we're one of the worst sides defending set-pieces in the league, we are close to a record breaking season in terms of red cards, every week we concede goals because our defenders can't be bothered sprinting back. Sorry for my language but what the f*ck is going on? This is simply not acceptable at a club like Chelsea and there is no good reason why this should be happening still after all this time. And the worst part of it all is that most of these issues have been getting worse as time has gone on! Now to finish on a more positive and optimistic note, there are still several aspects I think we have done well. Everything isn't doom and gloom. As I said in the beginning; I do still have faith in the recruitment model, it just needs to be executed better. The model in itself is great, as evidenced by clubs like PSG. We also have many exciting players to build around. Players like Joao Pedro, Cole Palmer, Enzo Fernandez, Estêvão Willian, Geovany Quenda, Moises Caicedo, Andrey Santos, Reece James, Marc Cucurella, Jorrel Hato, Malo Gusto, Levi Colwill, Josh Acheampong and Mike Penders, among others is a tremenously talented group of players. If we can fill the holes we have with a similar level of talent as the players mentioned, we'll be a top side in no time. They've done it with them, I'm sure they are capable of doing it with the rest. I also agree with the rotation policy. In a world where we have 38 games in the Premier League every season – where every game is a massive physical battle and every game requires a super strong team to win because of the quality of every team mixed with two domestic cups and UCL football, it's unrealistic to want to compete in all competitions come May without heavy rotating. However, in order for it to actually work, you need to have TOP quality players to actually bring in – otherwise it's just going to cost you games. Currently we are more the latter than the former. I do think the medical team has done an incredible job. To get Reece James and Wesley Fofana back playing week-in week-out is an incredible accomplishment and I hope Lavia can have that same trajectory now. Our scouts have proven to be really, really good identifying TOP players. I just feel they need to be trusted a little bit more. I also do like our wage structure generally speaking, even though I do agree that it does need to evolve slightly to make room for the occasional superstar signing – something the club initially leaked there was a budget for back in 2023. What happened there? Well, there you have it. My actual thoughts on the project and the club's current situation – for anyone wondering.

After all my threads "defending" the project it's time for me to say what I really feel about it on a personal level – as objectively as I can. For the past couple of years I have tried to explain what the project actually is and why decisions are being made. I've always chosen to have faith in the project as long as visible progression has been evident. Up until this point I believe it has, now, however, it looks more and more like the project – with it's current execution – has arrived at a standstill. To start I will talk about the model. The "model" refers to several different things. Transfer strategy, wage structure, staff setup, dividing of power and control etc. I will start talking about the transfer model. When it comes to our transfer strategy, I do agree and I do have high belief in it, in theory. The theory of signing the best young players in the world and having them develop together is a genuinely good theory. However, in order for it to work, you have to actually sign the best talents. Signing random talents or signing players because they can be "saved" should not be as big of a part of our strategy as it has been up until this point. If you look at our squad now, only a few players actually fits into the category of signing we actually should be looking to make all the time (Estêvão, Quenda, Enzo, Caicedo, Hato, Gusto). Keep in mind, I'm not talking about how they have done at the club, I'm talking about the stature of the player the moment we signed him. Some signings have turned out well because our directors knew them already (Palmer, Joao Pedro, Caicedo). And some signings is a product of actually good scouting, most of which initially ends up at Strasbourg (Santos, Penders, Barco, Sarr, Panichelli, Satpayev etc). In conclusion on this point, I think we're signing too many players below the shelf we should be signing from and I think we're ignoring the advice of scouts too often (obvious and reportedly). This brings me to my next point – dividing of power and control. The point of this entire project was initially supposed to be that we have a massive teamwork between different sections of the club. The coach and players are responsible for what's happening on the pitch. The scouts are responsible for identifying the perfect profiles. Medical team is responsible for keeping players fit. Sporting directors are responsible for signing the players the scouts recommend and the coach needs and for overseeing the other sections. The owners are responsible for overseeing that the work the sporting directors are doing is actually bearing fruit. This, however is, at least from the outside, seemingly not how the project has evolved. The coach and players are still responsible for whats happening on the pitch but the coach seems to have very little, if any power at all. If the coach is responsible for on-pitch performances, he should also be allowed to ask for specific profiles to perfect the system. For example, if the coach wants a winger with specific qualities, he should get that if he doesn't already have it – without being questioned and/or being told that he doesn't need it (which currently seems to be the case). As I alluded to above, the scouts should carry the load of finding the IDEAL players to be signed to fill specific profiles requested by the coach. They are the experts in this field and they should be trusted by the sporting directors – otherwise, what's the point of even having scouts at all? I do agree with the intervention of the medical team. They are the experts in this field and their main job is to keep players fit. A coach wanting to play his best players at all times or a player wanting to play a big game should not overrule that. 1/

Massive fan of Said El Mala. Direct, relentless, physical (6ft 2) and has that “street baller” style that fans will love. Fantastic work rate off the ball too. Would he be the solution at LW? No. He would have been an ideal back up to Yildiz though. Instead of Gittens and Garnacho, those are the two I would have bought. I would obviously be delighted if we get him.

@CFCMJordan @GoldbergCFC @CFCPys I know he is a striker and is 6ft 4 but never seen him play so can’t really say anything else

@ArchieStanding @GoldbergCFC @CFCPys Sounds positive enough. Our attack is the one part of the team I actually don't mind a raw addition (assuming he's a world class talent). What about his brother? Know anything about him?🤔

🚨 BREAKING: A local Köln Newspaper claims Chelsea have communicated an offer to buy Said El Mala and his brother : - £38.8m + bonuses - £4.3m salary per year - For Said, unclear if Chelsea or Strasbourg, he is a left wing and there is lot of competition at #CFC - For his brother Malek, he would play in Chelsea’s development side.

More than Gittens and Garnacho for a start 😂 I do. He is raw still (would be at that age and price) however has broken into the German national team and has that “street baller” mentality. Will go at a defender relentlessly throughout a game and can do something out of nothing. Very direct. He is also 6ft 2 and I think our attack out wide lacks physicality sometimes. Would I have bought him as our first choice LW? No. But I would have loved him last summer as the back up to a Yildiz etc. Would be happy to get him though. Not sure who he replaces.

@ArchieStanding @GoldbergCFC @CFCPys You rate him?

@GoldbergCFC @CFCPys Just seen 👀👀

@CFCPys @ArchieStanding

👀👀👀

@jonallenpt @playmaker9208 It’s not too dissimilar to when Klopp came in and got Allision and VVD. Is Penders that level? Could be. Hope he is. We need our VVD to play next to Colwill

@ArchieStanding @playmaker9208 With regards the defence, they would point to Penders and Colwill So that’s arguably 4 of the back 5 positions covered with suitable backups in 3 of those positions So essentially it comes down to buying 1-3 CBs. They would argue that’s pretty close to being sorted

The only way this ownership is going to get fans back onside is rectifying the following issue with a fair level of transparency: Not in any particular order: 1. FOS Sponsor 2. Stadium plans 3. SD accountability 4. Less PR fluff 5. Clearly defined goals. Is the focus primarily to generate revenue from player purchases/sales or to create a winning squad. 6. Manager options/choice. I have never known such a chasm between the reality of a situation and the situation that is being sold to us. I am abundantly aware of the financial difficulties that now exist that didn’t feature during Romans era. With stringent regulations in place, there is a requirement to balance the books and stadium revenue is a major factor in all of this. Every year I try to give the benefit of the doubt that things will turn a corner and lessons will be learnt but it seems to me that unless radical changes are implemented this summer on numerous fronts, we will just be digging a bigger and bigger hole for ourselves. As I have always said. I believe in the fundamental elements of the “project” Buying the “best” young players in the world and creating a formidable team was/is an achievable target. But we haven’t executed the plan. In order to do this, these types of players need an experienced manager to guide them and a sprinkle of experienced (not necessarily age but years spent in a winning environment) players who will provide the glue to move the team forward and help them get over the line when times are tough. I am not here saying we need to buy a bunch of overpriced 30 year olds to compete. I just want us to factor in players temperaments, ambition, drive and desire to win when we buy them. Are we building a squad or are we simply purchasing assets? I still feel we have a core group of very exciting players but it only counts for half a squad at best. The most successful teams in the history of football and always built from the back. Sort out your GK and defence and build from there. Football doesn’t have to be complicated. There are many challenging times ahead. I will always give my unwavering support to CFC because that’s who I am. But I am finding it harder to maintain the love that I have. Instead of it being happy marriage, it is becoming more of a chore. This summer is the final chance to make a change otherwise I think the damage done might just be too hard to rectify.

@CFCDaily Good luck finding him. 😂

🚨NEW: UK Government have confirmed they are taking further action against former owner Roman Abramovich. Gov spokesperson has said: "We gave Roman Abramovich his last chance to do the right thing. Once again, he has failed to make the donation he committed to. "We will now take further steps to ensure that the promise he made at the time of the Chelsea sale is kept." [sky]

@DareToAmr Thank you 🙏🏼

@ArchieStanding Just repeating your words: PSG’s team is basically a youth camp compared to ours..

باريس طلع معدل اعمارهم اصغر مننا

@jonallenpt I think Hato deserves more game time. He has been very good recently

Everton away. No Chalobah means I’ll be watching this one. Wasn’t expecting that. Hopefully he gets well soon Up the Chels

The irony of it is PSG has a younger team than us. But they have WC players. They bought Kvara and we bought Garnacho. They bought Barcola and Doue and we bought Neto and Gittens. I don’t hate buying the best young players in the world. I do hate buying shit young players.

Sarr got stripped by Kvara and of an AFCON medal in one night……😂

This AFCON news is mad 😂

@Criss_Crossv2 Ankle I think 🤷🏽‍♂️

Trev ACL then

Total and compete apathy.

Santos has been truly shocking tonight

How is Santos not sprinting back to try and win the ball back?? This is what makes me more angry than anything else. It’s the lack of desire

This referee went from being our lucky charm to our arch nemesis.