Brian

@mageisbored With what?🤣

@CFCMJordan Some help from ChatGpt on this one? Not piling on you or anything, just wanted to know

I can’t speak for others, but my reasons for not wanting Iraola have nothing to do with his tactical level. He’s a good coach. What he’s done at Bournemouth and Rayo Vallecano is impressive. But Chelsea isn’t that. This is a completely different level of pressure, expectation and environment. You’re dealing with big egos, constant scrutiny and a schedule that doesn’t stop. Three games a week, every week, with no room for error. Iraola hasn’t experienced any of that. Not as a player, not as a coach. He’s never been inside a top dressing room. He’s never won anything. He’s never managed in Europe or had to balance multiple competitions at the same time. He walks into that dressing room and there will be question marks straight away. Players wondering if he’s the one to take them where they want to go. Fans already unsure about the appointment. At a club like Chelsea, that’s dangerous. One bad result, one mistake in a big game, and it escalates quickly. We’ve just seen how that plays out. Then there’s the playing style. It’s very intense and physically demanding. Over a full season at this level — 50, 60+ games — that has to be managed properly or you run into fatigue and injuries. If he has to tone it down to make it work, then you have to ask what you’re actually bringing him in for. Can he adapt it? Maybe. But there’s no proof of it. And right now, we’re not in a position where we should be guessing. What we need is someone who walks in with instant authority. Someone the players respect immediately and believe in. Someone the fans feel confident about even when things aren’t perfect. We also need someone who can build on what’s already there instead of resetting everything again. That’s why I want Xabi Alonso. He’s spent his entire career at the very top — Liverpool, Real Madrid, Bayern Munich — under Mourinho, Ancelotti and Guardiola. He knows exactly what this level looks like. As a coach, he’s already delivered. Unbeaten Bundesliga title with Leverkusen. DFB Pokal. European final. That’s not potential — that’s proof. He's even experienced the biggest dressing room of all as manager of Real Madrid. He’s done it while implementing a clear style, developing young players and handling multiple competitions at the same time. He also has natural authority. Granit Xhaka said it — when Alonso speaks, everyone listens. That matters in a dressing room like this. As a player, he’s won everything. Champions League, World Cup, Euros, league titles. This is someone players grew up watching. So when things go wrong — and they will — he’ll get time. From the players and from the fans. And that stability is something we need right now. Every appointment is a risk. You can’t remove it, only manage it. And when you compare the two, Alonso is clearly the lower risk while still matching the level we’re trying to reach. Iraola might get there one day, but right now isn’t the moment to take that gamble.

There are many ways to run a successful football club. But the non-negotiable is this: elite ambitions must be matched by elite standards — and the consistent enforcement of those standards. That’s where I don’t think the club has been good enough. At the same time, the model itself — if properly executed and actually mastered — is a good one. This hasn’t been a disaster. We’re world champions. We’ve reached two domestic cup finals in three years. And we’ve got a squad full of genuinely top players. We’re not miles off being competitive again. But getting there depends on making the right decisions now. And based on what’s come out so far, there are signs they’re willing to adjust. A proven coach. More experience. Stronger mental profiles. Added physicality. The right kind of upgrades. Players have asked for reassurance — and they’ve been given it. This summer is important. And no one is more aware of that than the people running the club.

@False_Nein_ It is, but my point was about a hell of a lot more than that.

@CFCMJordan You could make the argument that the same logic you mentioned for why the Champions League win wasn’t representative of our standard at the time, also applies to the club World Cup win last summer.

In light of Bobby Fairview’s latest post criticising Behdad Eghbali for what he’s done with the club — I made this. I’d repost it, but I’m blocked. First of all, I understand the frustration. Chelsea Football Club should always be competing for the biggest honours — that’s the standard. But the moment this ownership came in and chose a full rebuild, short-term success was always going to be sacrificed for long-term sustainability. That part wasn’t hidden. That was the trade-off. What is fair criticism, however, is where we are now. Four years in, and we’ve regressed. That’s not acceptable. The club has to take accountability for the decisions that led us here. The stated goal was stability — a long-term coach, a clear direction. Instead, we’re now heading towards a fifth permanent manager in under four years. That’s the opposite of stability. The recruitment also hasn’t been good enough. Between January 2023 and summer 2024, 26 players were signed for the first team. 15 of them — 58% — have already been moved on within 24 months. 11 of those within 12 months. That’s not a sustainable hit rate. That needs to improve, full stop. That said, where I completely disagree with Bobby’s post is the idea that “Roman left a blueprint.” A blueprint for what — 2005? Football changed. PSR/FFP changed everything. The Premier League’s financial growth changed everything. You can’t just outspend everyone anymore — you have to spend smart. So what was actually left behind structurally? A sporting director with no real football pedigree. A recruitment system producing more misses than hits. Minimal use of data in scouting. A wage bill among the highest in the league without performances to match — no top-two finish in five years. Yes, we won the Champions League in 2021 — an incredible achievement. One of the best moments as a fan. But let’s be honest: that wasn’t representative of the club’s overall performance level at the time. The trajectory under Roman was already declining. The first nine years were elite: - 3 Premier League titles - 5 second-place finishes - 10 major honours in 9 years - 6 domestic cup wins from 7 finals - 6 Champions League semi-finals Then compare that to the following decade: - 2 league titles and 1 cup in the first five years - 1 cup + 1 UCL in the next five - Domestic cup record flipped — six losses and only two wins - Only 2 UCL semi-finals in ten years After the original spine — Cech, Terry, Lampard, Drogba — aged out, we never properly replaced it. That’s the reality. So no, there wasn’t some perfect “blueprint” waiting to be continued. It was outdated. A rebuild was necessary. The issue isn’t that they rebuilt — it’s how they’ve executed it. And yes, it hasn’t been good enough. But it’s also not as far off as people are making it out to be. This squad has shown its level — winning the Club World Cup in 2025, reaching a second domestic final in three years. The talent is there. The problem is consistency, leadership, mentality, standards — and enforcing those standards. That’s what should be demanded. Not “BlueCo out” — which isn’t realistic and won’t be taken seriously. 1/2

I didn't ask you to. I asked to name some pieces — not in detail, just in general. Which staff members? I hear the point about players but which players should have been kept on? They kept on Reece James for example. Chilwell was here for a couple of years, as was Thiago Silva. Trev is still here.

@CFCMJordan I’m not going to spell out an entire plan of what they should’ve done, but they didn’t need to fire basically the entire internal staff and there were players that could’ve been kept for continuity while rebuilding in their image. Don’t act stupid, look where the club is.

@alan_hines83 I agree with most of these but it's also important to note that the club knows these things and are aware of them as well. They really are trying to learn and that is important. If that wasn't the case, I would have been calling for their heads as well but it just isn't.

@CFCMJordan The squad churn, contract strategy, recruitment model & lack of structure have been chaotic - & so far, it’s been a disaster. Good intentions don’t mean much when the execution keeps damaging the club. That isn’t emotion. That’s the evidence. (2/2)

I’m vocal about what I believe needs to be better. But I’m also just as vocal about what’s actually positive — like the ambition clearly being there (even if it’s been poorly executed), and the fact that a lot of these players are genuinely good. Football exists outside of your echo chamber. The solution isn’t to just shout about what’s wrong — it’s to find solutions that actually work and move the club back to where it belongs. I believe the club has good intentions. You don’t. That’s fine. We’re all arguing from what we believe is right. Just keep it respectful — and try to take emotion out of it. Because once emotion takes over, objectivity usually goes with it.

I've always said that. No one has ever done this before and it's very much a learning by doing process — and this season has been riddled with more mistakes than correct decisions, imo. I've always been critical to certain aspects, people just don't see it because my criticism isn't disrespectful or absolute (most of the time) — unlike most others on here (these people are f*cking clowns, get out etc).

@CFCMJordan Keep it respectful, but objectivity goes both ways. You can say the ambition is there & some of the players are good, while still admitting that the way Clearlake, the SDs have run Chelsea is unlike anything we’ve seen at this level (1/2)

@bluelensfc I don't know anything. This was just in response to Xavi links.

@CFCMJordan Don’t give me false hope

👀

@_____dig Which pieces?

@CFCMJordan Huh? If they left some pieces in place from the Roman era, we wouldn’t be in this position.

He also played palmer while injured for 94 mins 4-0 down against Bayern which is when he re-tore his groin resulting in him being out for 4 months. The advice in that game was no more than 70. With also multiple other instances where he was over playing players resulting in injuries . Maresca has played a big part in the reason this was implemented

@CFCJacob90 @TheScore01 It's WHAT?🤣🤣🤣

@CFCMJordan @TheScore01 You’re as clueless as @TheScore01 There is nothing balanced about your apparent “view” it’s a AI generated drivel to farm engagement.

In many ways, the negativity we’re now seeing around Chelsea on social media is self-inflicted. The lack of communication — the refusal to properly keep supporters in the loop — has created a vacuum. And that vacuum hasn’t just appeared… it’s been filled with negativity, assumptions, and outright misinterpretations of what the club is actually trying to do. You can’t blame the fanbase for that. That responsibility sits with the club. They have to own it. Over the past few years, I’ve tried to fill that gap with alternative — more balanced — interpretations of what’s going on. Right now, it feels like a losing battle. But I’m not going anywhere. The light will shine on this club again. I genuinely believe that. And I believe the people running it want the same thing. They just haven’t got it right… yet.

@_____dig You can literally say the same thing now, lol.

I think you’re misinterpreting his use of “blueprint” as a sporting model, but I think he means, there was enough pieces left in place (players, staff, culture) that it just needed some tweaks to adhere to this longterm stability based model, but they chose to fire everyone, sell experienced players and play sporting director when knowing nothing about the game.

This is the way that football is heading. With so many games, sports science has to take control to some extent. Bigger squads will become the norm to cater for it. There are so many injuries now and a lot are preventable simply by lowering game time. Most managers will have to accept this going forward, not just at Chelsea.

This should be 100% fair, imo.

@SamCFC_footy Xavi links.

@CFCMJordan Anything?

@LoluBank @TheScore01 two*

@TheScore01 @CFCMJordan No you too are just morons

We’ve genuinely reached a point on here where if you try to be balanced, you get labelled a sell-out. For a certain — and growing — section of this fanbase, everything has to be negative. No nuance, no context, no willingness to acknowledge anything that’s actually working. That’s not “standards”. That’s just lazy. A balanced view isn’t blind support — it’s the baseline for any serious discussion. You look at what’s wrong, you look at what’s working, and you build solutions that actually exist in reality. Right now, the only thing that gets engagement is negativity — and the “solutions” that come with it are completely detached from how football clubs operate. Then you’ve got players like Enzo Fernandez and Marc Cucurella speaking publicly — pointing out issues, yes — but also recognising the quality that’s there and talking about building within it. Meanwhile, the response from parts of this fanbase is: “Everything is wrong. Nothing is good. Just do this” — followed by something that has zero grounding in reality. And it’s always framed as “helping the club”. It’s not. All it does is create noise, drag the narrative down, and pull against the players instead of pushing with them.

People actually believe ChatGPT is running this account🤣 I guess the education system really is failing.