Five years that's all we got.

[Thaksinssoldier]

Chelsea will win the league with one world class player in their team: hazard.

Now come on, that's nonsense.

Kante. Courtois. David Luiz(his career to date argues he no doubt is, despite being prone to brain farts).


Chelsea have plenty of world class players.

On paper, we should be better than them. But on paper we're looking at players who haven't been at their peak for a couple of seasons now. Only Silva has really recaptured his form from title winning years. KDB and Kun are a long way off their best, despite their stats saying the opposite.

On paper, we're stacked with used to be world class, or about to be world class. But we're presently in a huge transition.

 

[Marvin]

Now come on, that's nonsense.

Kante. Courtois. David Luiz(his career to date argues he no doubt is, despite being prone to brain farts).


Chelsea have plenty of world class players.

On paper, we should be better than them. But on paper we're looking at players who haven't been at their peak for a couple of seasons now. Only Silva has really recaptured his form from title winning years. KDB and Kun are a long way off their best, despite their stats saying the opposite.

On paper, we're stacked with used to be world class, or about to be world class. But we're presently in a huge transition.

'll give you Kante. I really disagree that we should be better than them. How can we be better when our defence is a an absolute shambles. There are other problems too

 

[Saddleworth2]

If you looked at it objectively, we shouldn't even be in the top 4. We are lucky that a squad that is much more all rounded than ours is in crisis because of the pressure they are under: Arsenal if it isn't obvious. And before some of you laugh at that. Just go through their 1st team squad and compare it player for player. I did and I ended up with more Arsenal players in it than City

We have no full backs. Kompany has only just returned, and without him we only have one good centre-back in Stones. We have Navas at right back (who has done a really good job there, a pity we didn't try that earlier), Kolarov at left centre-back, and behind him a keeper who I think is a good keeper but one very short on confidence. Then progressing down the spine we have Toure who was gone 2 seasons ago, and then just one centre-forward until January, and he got injured. Guardiola has actually had a really difficult job.

Chelsea will win the league with one world class player in their team: hazard. We have two now, but we also have holes in our squad that weaken our game. I am sure we will be a lot lot stronger in August. I thought we'd win the title before the season began, but I'm not objective. I thought players like Zabaleta, Sagna, Kompany etc would keep going, and no one saw the Hart situation coming. That was a killer. How can you hope to win the title if you daren't play your keeper, and even more so if the defence he is behind is shot to pieces.

I didn't see this coming in August. I thought we were really strong. After this season, I can see a lot of players leaving. A lot of blues think likewise. And yet at the same time I read on some message boards, comments about Fraudiola etc. He joined City just in time. half the rebuilding was done last Summer. We'll finish it this Summer.

The point you make about Pep doing a difficult job well is a good one. Compare our first team with Chelsea and we might get three or four players in the Chelsea team. That's all. Last season the signs were there that the squad was well in decline. I have enjoyed this season far better than last. Some of the football has been scintillating. Given the injuries to Gundo and Vinnie and the decline in sagna, clichy and Fern, we are doing way better than we might have. Think Pep is doing a good job and next season will see us continue the rebuild and improve further.

 

[Thaksinssoldier]

'll give you Kante. I really disagree that we should be better than them. How can we be better when our defence is a an absolute shambles. There are other problems too

To clarify, it's a very easy statement to make. On the face of it we should be.

Conte has come in and done what Pep has failed to do, which is immediately achieve success. In fairness, he's done it without the burden of champs league football and with a much younger squad from day one.

But, we're to believe Pep is building for the future, so we'll take the short term loss for long term gains. But we've implemented a system that does not play to the strengths of a lot of our current squad and it's why i wanted Maffeo, Garcia etc given time in the system rather than Sagna, Fernandinho etc. I was happy to take the lost points on the chin, but I still think doing it with Clichy etc was pointless and if we insisted on playing players that cannot play the system, we should have scaled back the implementation of the system.


If it's been the right approach, we'll find out in 3-5 years I guess when we compare what we've done to Chelsea and the rags success in that period(as we all had a new coach this year).

 

[quiet_riot]

Now come on, that's nonsense.

Kante. Courtois. David Luiz(his career to date argues he no doubt is, despite being prone to brain farts).


Chelsea have plenty of world class players.

None of those are World Class. Yet again, the phrase is overused, and incorrectly used aplenty.

 

[Saddleworth2]

Now come on, that's nonsense.

Kante. Courtois. David Luiz(his career to date argues he no doubt is, despite being prone to brain farts).


Chelsea have plenty of world class players.

On paper, we should be better than them. But on paper we're looking at players who haven't been at their peak for a couple of seasons now. Only Silva has really recaptured his form from title winning years. KDB and Kun are a long way off their best, despite their stats saying the opposite.

On paper, we're stacked with used to be world class, or about to be world class. But we're presently in a huge transition.

On paper we are way behind them in key positions. Goalkeeper, full backs, one centre back, defensive midfield. That's at least 5 positions that they are some way ahead of us with the other 6 positions we might shade but it would be close. Maybe three or four of our players would get into their first team at present. I think a lot of us are guilty of blue tinted glasses when we look at our squad this season.

 

[Thaksinssoldier]

None of those are World Class. Yet again, the phrase is overused, and incorrectly used aplenty.

Kante isn't world class? So getting to the Euro final, making Pogba look a 100 mil player on the way, and single handedly winning Leicester a title isn't world class?

Or Luiz, who has won every major trophy there is, isn't world class?

Courtois hasn't done it internationally but has played great in champs league and was good enough to send Cech packing? Easily top 3 keepers in the world.

I think it's you mate doesn't understand how the phrase is used.

 

[FrankSwift1]

IMO from 2011/12 to the end of season 2014/15 we had the best team in the PL. If we played to our potential against anyone in the league especially at home we would normally win. Every game I watched I felt and there was no team really held a fear factor for me.


Of course we won two league titles in this period but what really disappoints me is that we didn’t challenge at all in seasons 12/13 & 14/15. We were not close to winning the league and it was effectively over with 8-10 games to go. This has to be classed as under achievement.


Domestic Cups winning 1 out of 8 I think is an underachievement. Beating Wigan in 12/13 would make this about par for me.


CL. Have to say this was underachievement considering our squad strength and wage bill. Mitigated slightly by tough draws.


Season 15/16 domestically has to be seen as underachievement. Beating Everton and Liverpool was great fun in the League Cup though.


In Europe getting to the semi-final saved our season as was IMO an over achievement.


So overall I’m ecstatically happy I’ve seen my team win trophies over the last few years. I never even dreamed we’d win so much, however given our squad and financial advantage I think we slightly under achieved.

 

[TBooksbluearmy]

We have a lot of aging players, which will take at least another 2 transfer windows if not more to sort out. Apart form John Stones the whole of the back 4 needs changing, also need to see if Tosin has the ability to play along side John Stones or not. I don't like the idea of allowing him to walk away on a free transfer to another club. Always looked good when he was playing seemed to make everything look easy, and can play a bit as well.

Also need 2 defensive midfielders, 1 should be similar to Yaya, a box to box player, if Pep wants to play with just 1 up front. Also need cover for Kevin and Ilkay should either or both of them get injured.

Also need another world class striker, Nolito is just not good enough for where we want to go, Pep needs to get shut.

 

[blueparrot]

We have a lot of aging players, which will take at least another 2 transfer windows if not more to sort out. Apart form John Stones the whole of the back 4 needs changing, also need to see if Tosin has the ability to play along side John Stones or not. I don't like the idea of allowing him to walk away on a free transfer to another club. Always looked good when he was playing seemed to make everything look easy, and can play a bit as well.

Also need 2 defensive midfielders, 1 should be similar to Yaya, a box to box player, if Pep wants to play with just 1 up front. Also need cover for Kevin and Ilkay should either or both of them get injured.

Also need another world class striker, Nolito is just not good enough for where we want to go, Pep needs to get shut.

Normally that would take 2 windows, but we are in the unique position of having 6 players out of contract, all in positions you've listed 3 fullbacks and goalkeeper, centre midfield, and Navas so we have no choice but to do it in this window. Right or Wrong I think it's been allowed to happen like this from at least the summer of 2015