Chelsea Thread | 2025/26

[Ric]

In:
Joao Pedro
Liam Delap
Estevao
Dario Essugo
Mamadou Sarr

Out:
Bashir Humphreys
Kepa Arrizabalaga
Marcus Bettinelli

 

[Blue Hefner]

I might regret this come May but every time I see a Chelsea line up I do wonder, where has all the money gone

They seem to have loads of players who might/might not turn out ok but no one, less Caciedo, who you can hang your hat on

 

[Ric]

I might regret this come May but every time I see a Chelsea line up I do wonder, where has all the money gone

They seem to have loads of players who might/might not turn out ok but no one, less Caciedo, who you can hang your hat on

Yeah, not sure any of their players (except maybe a fully fit Reece James) would get into our strongest starting XI?

 

[dadnlad]

Yeah, not sure any of their players (except maybe a fully fit Reece James) would get into our strongest starting XI?

Palmer fan boy's on way ;)

 

[Ric]

Palmer fan boy's on way ;)

Doh, I forgot about him!

 

[Vialli98]

I might regret this come May but every time I see a Chelsea line up I do wonder, where has all the money gone

They seem to have loads of players who might/might not turn out ok but no one, less Caciedo, who you can hang your hat on

We have signed loads of decent, good players. Nice players. But not enough players that actually move the needle. Joao Pedro is a great example. I like him. Perfectly good PL player but is he really a level above Jackson and Delap? I don't think so.

Gittens, Madueke, Neto, Mudryk, Sterling. That's about 240m on wingers ranging for decent-ish with good potential but nothing particularly special to outright shit or bang average.

At CB, we have Fofana, Badiashile, Disasi, Tosin, Anselmino plus a few academy products like Colwill, Chalobah and Acheampong. Again that's about 140m spent on a distinctly average group of a CB, the best of whom, and the most reliable, are actually the Cobham kids we developed ourselves.

I'm happy with the players we have in midfield in Enzo, Lavia, Caicedo and Santos. But even there there's an unbelievable amount of excess spend we could have done without. Ugochukwu, Drewsbury-Hall, Essugo (bit harsh as he's just arrived but he's like 5th choice CM/DM). That's about 100m between just those 3.

The situation are GK is absolute disaster, and again another position that has seen unbelievable investment.

The players I have feel have been good signings.

Enzo
Caicedo
Lavia
Palmer
Jackson
Madueke
Cucurella
Tosin
Gusto
Estevao (a leap of faith as he hasn't played for us yet but he looks like a star)

Maybe one or two others like Santos, Pedro, Neto and Delap will become unbelievable for us in the years to come but even we include them, we're still only at about 12-16 players. Clearlake have signed 38 players since 2022. That's a success rate ranging from 31% to 42%. Hardly something to proud of.

 

[mancboy]

We have signed loads of decent, good players. Nice players. But not enough players that actually move the needle. Joao Pedro is a great example. I like him. Perfectly good PL player but is he really a level above Jackson and Delap? I don't think so.

Gittens, Madueke, Neto, Mudryk, Sterling. That's about 240m on wingers ranging for decent-ish with good potential but nothing particularly special to outright shit or bang average.

At CB, we have Fofana, Badiashile, Disasi, Tosin, Anselmino plus a few academy products like Colwill, Chalobah and Acheampong. Again that's about 140m spent on a distinctly average group of a CB, the best of whom, and the most reliable, are actually the Cobham kids we developed ourselves.

I'm happy with the players we have in midfield in Enzo, Lavia, Caicedo and Santos. But even there there's an unbelievable amount of excess spend we could have done without. Ugochukwu, Drewsbury-Hall, Essugo (bit harsh as he's just arrived but he's like 5th choice CM/DM). That's about 100m between just those 3.

The situation are GK is absolute disaster, and again another position that has seen unbelievable investment.

The players I have feel have been good signings.

Enzo
Caicedo
Lavia
Palmer
Jackson
Madueke
Cucurella
Tosin
Gusto
Estevao (a leap of faith as he hasn't played for us yet but he looks like a star)

Maybe one or two others like Santos, Pedro, Neto and Delap will become unbelievable for us in the years to come but even we include them, we're still only at about 12-16 players. Clearlake have signed 38 players since 2022. That's a success rate ranging from 31% to 42%. Hardly something to proud of.

Maybe you are following the pl modus operandi of throwing enough rubbish at it until something works

 

[Salford_Blue]

There's that much coming and going, I'll be surprised if Maresca has a defined best XI.

Fun that the fans see new faces come in, but the squad just seems 'chaotic', insofar as the appearance being literally no focus on getting the best players for specific positions/roles in the team.

Just buy several for several positions and crack on.

Genuine questions Vialli98, what are the expectations of the owners?
Do they expect the Premier League in next few years?

 

[Vialli98]

Maybe you are following the pl modus operandi of throwing enough rubbish at it until something works

The annoying thing is I can see their plan. I can see what they're trying to do. I just disagree with it. I think it's an awful approach that may eventually yield good results but most likely won't yield the kind of results I want (winning titles and CLs).

 

[Vialli98]

There's that much coming and going, I'll be surprised if Maresca has a defined best XI.

Fun that the fans see new faces come in, but the squad just seems 'chaotic', insofar as the appearance being literally no focus on getting the best players for specific positions/roles in the team.

Just buy several for several positions and crack on.

Genuine questions Vialli98, what are the expectations of the owners?
Do they expect the Premier League in next few years?

In complete fairness to Maresca, he has avoided the issues of squad size because he openly said he's working with a group of 24-25 players and everyone else it's up to the club to find loans and sales for.

In the list above I forgot to mention Felix and Nkunku, another 100m between just them two.

The funny thing about expectations is, when you spent this much, you would naturally expect a title challenge at the very least and to be one of the top favourites for the title every year, but then looking at what they've spent most of the money on, and the squad they've put together, I end up more inclined to say Maresca needs more time. He's a novice manager in charge of a group a young, inexperienced players with almost zero winning experience.

I do not like the owners.

 

[Platt Lane 59]

Surely the "revolving door" policy on signings does not create a stable, collective team spirit ?
I think Chelsea have seldom received the media support and admiration their teams have deserved.
But, most importantly, the Chelsea board needs to give the head coach at least 3 seasons to build a team.
Unfortunately, don't think they will give Maresca until Christmas, unless they are in the top 3...

 

[Colin Bells Boots]

In complete fairness to Maresca, he has avoided the issues of squad size because he openly said he's working with a group of 24-25 players and everyone else it's up to the club to find loans and sales for.

In the list above I forgot to mention Felix and Nkunku, another 100m between just them two.

The funny thing about expectations is, when you spent this much, you would naturally expect a title challenge at the very least and to be one of the top favourites for the title every year, but then looking at what they've spent most of the money on, and the squad they've put together, I end up more inclined to say Maresca needs more time. He's a novice manager in charge of a group a young, inexperienced players with almost zero winning experience.

I do not like the owners.

But they really seem to appreciate City's youth set-up judging by the signings.

They clearly are prepared to take a risk on players City weren't convinced about, or the player felt the need to jump ship for playing time/ opportunities.

In the main, it's worked out ok for us. ( and I am not convinced Palmer would have got the same chance with us )

 

[Blue Hefner]

We have signed loads of decent, good players. Nice players. But not enough players that actually move the needle. Joao Pedro is a great example. I like him. Perfectly good PL player but is he really a level above Jackson and Delap? I don't think so.

Gittens, Madueke, Neto, Mudryk, Sterling. That's about 240m on wingers ranging for decent-ish with good potential but nothing particularly special to outright shit or bang average.

At CB, we have Fofana, Badiashile, Disasi, Tosin, Anselmino plus a few academy products like Colwill, Chalobah and Acheampong. Again that's about 140m spent on a distinctly average group of a CB, the best of whom, and the most reliable, are actually the Cobham kids we developed ourselves.

I'm happy with the players we have in midfield in Enzo, Lavia, Caicedo and Santos. But even there there's an unbelievable amount of excess spend we could have done without. Ugochukwu, Drewsbury-Hall, Essugo (bit harsh as he's just arrived but he's like 5th choice CM/DM). That's about 100m between just those 3.

The situation are GK is absolute disaster, and again another position that has seen unbelievable investment.

The players I have feel have been good signings.

Enzo
Caicedo
Lavia
Palmer
Jackson
Madueke
Cucurella
Tosin
Gusto
Estevao (a leap of faith as he hasn't played for us yet but he looks like a star)

Maybe one or two others like Santos, Pedro, Neto and Delap will become unbelievable for us in the years to come but even we include them, we're still only at about 12-16 players. Clearlake have signed 38 players since 2022. That's a success rate ranging from 31% to 42%. Hardly something to proud of.

I don’t see it in Madueke but you obviously watch him more than me

 

[ninjamonkey]

Got pelters for saying they'd finish top 4 this time last season. I actually thought they'd start of poorly but get stronger but it almost turned out to be the opposite in the end. Maresca has a job on his hands this year, the player turnover isnt going to help him build upon last season but the expectations now go up.

Joao Pedro is a good player but hes not a needle mover, he slots into an established squad nicely as good competition and backup across the line but not sure Chelsea should be prioritizing that kind of signing when theres greater need elsewhere.

For me, their defence is piss weak. Fullback they're sound if players stay fit, James is a perma-crock and gusto picks up injuries too though. cb is just a collection of distinctly average cb's infront of a dodgy keeper. Colwill hasnt progressed as expected but hes still young enough to make that step, Tosin is competent cover, chalobah likewise with club trained status, they should be the options behind 2 standout starters though and not the best they've got.

Their midfield is good and I think Delap will be a huge success for them upfront. If they get a couple of top defenders and a good keeper, they'll be a threat to anybody.

 

[Vialli98]

But they really seem to appreciate City's youth set-up judging by the signings.

They clearly are prepared to take a risk on players City weren't convinced about, or the player felt the need to jump ship for playing time/ opportunities.

In the main, it's worked out ok for us. ( and I am not convinced Palmer would have got the same chance with us )

That's Joe Shields. His big recruitment idea is seemingly to just collect as many City youth products as possible. One of our sporting directors is Paul Winstanley, who we poached from Brighton and his big idea is just repeatedly sign players from Brighton.

 

[Alan Harper's Tash]

Transfer dealings so far.

In:
25 new players

Out:
Hotel
Women’s Team
Team Bus
Tea Ladies
Club Shop

 

[Colin Bells Boots]

That's Joe Shields. His big recruitment idea is seemingly to just collect as many City youth products as possible. One of our sporting directors is Paul Winstanley, who we poached from Brighton and his big idea is just repeatedly sign players from Brighton.

Seems a very sensible way of recruiting !

 

[Vialli98]

Seems a very sensible way of recruiting !

In fairness, every ex City youth player we've signed has performed pretty good. Palmer is obvious, Lavia is injury prone but shows his class every time he plays and Tosin has been much better than I expected. Delap is TBD.

The Brighton lot is a bit more of a mixed bag. Caicedo has been a resounding success, Cucurella took a long time to settle but he's now one of our most important players, and then we have Robert fucking Sanchez, an actual joke of a keeper. Joao Pedro is TBD.

 

[Colin Bells Boots]

In fairness, every ex City youth player we've signed has performed pretty good. Palmer is obvious, Lavia is injury prone but shows his class every time he plays and Tosin has been much better than I expected. Delap is TBD.

The Brighton lot is a bit more of a mixed bag. Caicedo has been a resounding success, Cucurella took a long time to settle but he's now one of our most important players, and then we have Robert fucking Sanchez, an actual joke of a keeper. Joao Pedro is TBD.

I was poking a bit of fun really.

I believe the standard of many young players who go through City's academy and youth teams is actually high compared to other clubs.

 

[BigJoe#1]

We have signed loads of decent, good players. Nice players. But not enough players that actually move the needle. Joao Pedro is a great example. I like him. Perfectly good PL player but is he really a level above Jackson and Delap? I don't think so.

Gittens, Madueke, Neto, Mudryk, Sterling. That's about 240m on wingers ranging for decent-ish with good potential but nothing particularly special to outright shit or bang average.

At CB, we have Fofana, Badiashile, Disasi, Tosin, Anselmino plus a few academy products like Colwill, Chalobah and Acheampong. Again that's about 140m spent on a distinctly average group of a CB, the best of whom, and the most reliable, are actually the Cobham kids we developed ourselves.

I'm happy with the players we have in midfield in Enzo, Lavia, Caicedo and Santos. But even there there's an unbelievable amount of excess spend we could have done without. Ugochukwu, Drewsbury-Hall, Essugo (bit harsh as he's just arrived but he's like 5th choice CM/DM). That's about 100m between just those 3.

The situation are GK is absolute disaster, and again another position that has seen unbelievable investment.

The players I have feel have been good signings.

Enzo
Caicedo
Lavia
Palmer
Jackson
Madueke
Cucurella
Tosin
Gusto
Estevao (a leap of faith as he hasn't played for us yet but he looks like a star)

Maybe one or two others like Santos, Pedro, Neto and Delap will become unbelievable for us in the years to come but even we include them, we're still only at about 12-16 players. Clearlake have signed 38 players since 2022. That's a success rate ranging from 31% to 42%. Hardly something to proud of.

Having spent all that money, how, aside from selling a hotel (and womens team - I think) how the fuck are Chelsea conforming with the in place regulations?