Chelsea banter 2

07 Jan 2026 13:19:24
I liked Liam R's first official. interview as CFC head coach. He cam across as very genuine, passionate but modest. Do hope he can preside over a successful second half to. our season.

07 Jan 2026 14:36:31
JBS, I hope the grass is greener!

07 Jan 2026 14:56:50
We all do Tom.

07 Jan 2026 15:19:23
The grass is rarely greener Tom as I pointed out a few times to Bill who was always calling for Maresca to go.

07 Jan 2026 15:40:31
We will just have to wait and see. It would be nice to have a period of stability but, of course, this is Chelsea. Also be good to get these charges resolved, one way or another.

07 Jan 2026 16:20:23
Hope dread hope Tom!

07 Jan 2026 16:47:00
Greenaway there is no guarantee in life but that does not mean that you do not strive for something better, hopefully LR is that but as I say, there are no guarantees.

07 Jan 2026 21:18:09
Maresca was never going to work. Awful tactician. Everyone got well over excited after the club World Cup.

07 Jan 2026 22:19:36
I’m easily pleased. I was well chuffed before that competition when we finished 4th and qualified for the champions league again.

Having said that, the CWC was a brilliant bonus.

07 Jan 2026 07:39:34
{Ed's Note - Ed001 has posted a new article entitled, Fulham v Liverpool - A Quick Liverpool Perspective

06 Jan 2026 21:48:42
{Ed's Note - Ed001 has posted a new article entitled, Fulham v Liverpool - A Quick Liverpool Perspective

06 Jan 2026 21:19:52
I have decided to have a break from social media, the toxic nature of this site at the moment is becoming a bit too much. I enjoy a chat and an opinion both ways but right now the negativity from a few is questioning my sanity in taking to a keyboard and scrolling.

Thankyou ED01 for all you do and I may return in the future. Good luck to our new coach and best wishes.

06 Jan 2026 21:26:43
That’s very sad RPD, I enjoy your posts. Stay safe mate.

06 Jan 2026 21:59:28
I also enjoy your posts, but its like anything a break every now and then is good for the soul .

In the scheme of things football is not really important at all.

Keep well, hope you return when we have won 20 games in a row.

I don't relly do much social media but the majority of my business is on line and sometimes the Internet does one's head in.

06 Jan 2026 23:43:28
Hope to see you back soon… we all need a break now and then.

07 Jan 2026 07:38:30
There are more posts about people being negative than negative posts.

07 Jan 2026 09:39:35
We have had our agreements and differences but sad to see you leave RPD, hope to see you back soon.

07 Jan 2026 10:03:24
Sorry to hear that RPD. Stay well and take care of yourself.

07 Jan 2026 13:16:56
Ive enjoyed your always well reasoned posts RPD so will hope to see you posting again at some stage. Meanwhile enjoy the break. Reckon many if not all of us have taken a break or contemplated one from time to time!

06 Jan 2026 13:50:10
Can I strongly urge all posters to search out a brilliant and revealing article by Danny Windsor.

He was allowed a rare insight to CFC and for me, it sheds light on our club at all levels.

Absolutely fantastic article and a must read for all Chelsea supporters.

06 Jan 2026 15:11:57
Very good article Tom and it sums up what certain posters on here including myself have been saying for a long time now.

06 Jan 2026 15:26:57
Very good read thanks tomb for pointing this out.

06 Jan 2026 15:35:24
brilliant article Tom and as Bill rightly points out it really does show the owners have a very visionary plan for the club, I like the way it highlights how we have to operate differently to Real Madrid, Barcelona, PSG, Bayern and Man City due to their extraordinary income and state backed finances and also how the head coach has a very strong input into transfers.

It really does put to bed a lot of the non-truths about the ownership model and highlights what a great job is actually being done.

06 Jan 2026 15:52:17
I personally can’t see why the owners don’t allow interviews and the reported conversations like the DW one more often.

I would have liked to paste it on the site but I’m useless with that sort of thing.

{Ed001's Note - surely it is better to let people go and find it and give whoever done it the clicks?}

06 Jan 2026 16:08:06
Unfortunately football fans are fickle and want everything now. I believe this is why it becomes toxic.
This is why I have decided to remove myself from this forum as I don't deal well with negativity. It seems to breed in me like a cancer. Then affects my everyday tasks.

So you news years resolution was to remove myself from places I can feel it build within me.
Enjoy the rest of the season guys and gals. And don't forget football isn't the end of the world and cfc will be here along time if we are winning or not.

Keep the blue flag flying.

06 Jan 2026 16:26:34
CFB, that’s a shame but your well-being is far more important than any football fan site. Stay safe and I hope you come back soon.

06 Jan 2026 17:05:35
C-f-b, Stay safe mate and I can say I also sometimes wonder why I a look at these forums, my mates tell me I'm stupid sharing a page with a load of old men who sit in their armchairs typing out utter rubbish about our club without having a scooby about what is really going on.

The difference between going to games and chatting with your mates all things Chelsea and visiting web forums is like chalk and cheese but I'm lucky in that I can do both. Come back when you are ready mate.

06 Jan 2026 17:16:43
article is pure propanganda and seems opposed to fact at many points. reads as simply someone brown nosing the club hoping for more access in future. the same wishy washy project we have heard since these owners arrived, for all this woe is us we can't compete with the biggest clubs financially. well we have outspent all of them since these owners arrived and have not much to show for it

the ambition is basically spelled out as top 4 and promises of we might sign to win if we find the missing pieces. almost identiocal to the lines i used to hear from my arsenal supporting mates at the back end of wngers time at the club

the talk of 'the sporting directors are underpressure' as they bloody should be. they should consider themselves extremely lucky to still have jobs.

06 Jan 2026 17:46:16
CFB do whatever keeps you happy keep well.

Tomb enjoyed the aricle although I agree with a lot of it, I also agree with posters who thought it was a bit of a propoganda piece.

I would like to know what mistakes the owners feel they have made . I personally would like to know why we have two sporting directors and do they do anything different to each other.

06 Jan 2026 20:06:19
I totally except that it’s them showing us (the fan) there side of the story. Given it’s there views and plans they are presenting it’s hardly surprising it may seem biased

My big take is, I just want them to communicate more often. Share the vision and sometimes the problems.

06 Jan 2026 20:31:34
Not interested in communications if its the complete opposite to what happens on and off fueld.

06 Jan 2026 20:40:57
It will be results that owners, SD’s, managers and players are judged on. It’s the same at all clubs.

07 Jan 2026 08:40:01
Tom, true corporations and local and national governments only tell you what they want you to hear: there is nothing new in that. Football fans have an emotional bond with their clubs and are not interested in what coaches or players have to say.

As you rightly state fans make their judgements on results and the style of football being played. However, most fans are interested in what their fellow supporters think which is part of the experience of attending games or watching in the pub.

07 Jan 2026 09:13:22
Jimbo, the banter and debate about football is in my opinion a crucial part of football. We all see games differently and we generally have biased opinions.

I personally try not to use the word “wrong” when having a football debate I would also not say any persons view is “embarrassing” but that’s just me.

I also understand that owners communicating more could also lead to it becoming never ending and boring. I think the owners could use the FAB far more effectively. I also except that my desire for information isn’t as important to other fans.

07 Jan 2026 09:42:00
Tom

You are totally correct, we are all different having different views but surely that should be what makes this site interesting.

07 Jan 2026 10:39:07
Bill, absolutely. I assume it would be very rare for someone to be 100% right or 100% wrong when it comes to anything football.

06 Jan 2026 10:09:25
Welcome Liam Rosenior to Chelsea FC the home of the Club World Champions.

I hope you are our manager for a long time and bring us further success.

06 Jan 2026 10:37:42
Good luck to the man. seems a nice fella- bit surprised to see a 6 year contract, they must really believe in him. sure the brighton connection is just a coincidence.

06 Jan 2026 11:09:50
More excited by this appointment than the last couple hope it works out.

Expect to see Santos and Delap benefit in terms of minutes on pitch.

06 Jan 2026 13:53:38
seymns2,

I think all on here hopes he is successful playing good football.

06 Jan 2026 14:33:28
Bill, I have abandoned all hope. The only credentials he has for the job is that he is an in-house Blue Co yes man. It will probably end in tears but it won’t matter: the Billionaire owners will still be Billionaires, the jumped-up scouts in the hierarchy will still have jobs and the coach will get some compo and being sacked by Chelsea is unlikely to tarnish your reputation.

The only people who will suffer are the fans. This set-up has no ambition and no football soul.

06 Jan 2026 14:46:56
I may well be wrong but I think he only played
for Brighton. Not that it makes any difference to me!

06 Jan 2026 14:57:08
Jimbo sadly I don't think any top club has a football soul anymore.

06 Jan 2026 15:13:06
But some do have ambition Seymns2.

06 Jan 2026 15:39:37
Bill1955, I think our owners have ambition, it's only an impression but I think Egbahli has an ambition to make money any which way, but I see Boehly as wanting to make money and having a winning team.

Apart from the state owned teams most teams are owned by Business Men and it's about making cash these days Roman was the last sugar daddy owner with unlimited funds.

06 Jan 2026 15:48:41
Bill, I think the article mentioned above clearly expressed the club’s ambitions and attempted to put to bed some of the myths.

I would like more articles like that and a more transparent ownership or FAB. Bring back CTV.

06 Jan 2026 17:02:10
Seymns, there are a lot more easier ways for Billionaires and corporations to make money than to invest in football clubs. One would hope that part of the reason it to enhance their reputations by building a successful team.


As for the article : who is Danny Windsor? It reads like he has been converted to a cult: he is basically reporting what he was told like a Russian journalist interviewing Putin.

06 Jan 2026 18:23:19
Tom, Seymns2

I really beleive deep down that the owners want us to succeed but I beleive the issue is that they have differing views as to how that should happen.

06 Jan 2026 18:44:38
Bill, the most important thing is they come together as one voice rather than going public with any splits. I think they call it collective responsibility.

Of course projecting such a singular image isn’t always easy. Plus of course you have some who just convince themselves things are all positive or negative.

06 Jan 2026 19:12:39
Bill, the owners idea of success is probably different to the fans.

06 Jan 2026 19:35:51
Seymns
Former Bayern president Uli Hoeneß: "We could charge more than €120 per season ticket. If we charge €350 per season ticket we would get €2m extra, but what does that mean for us?
The difference for a fan between €120 and €350 is enormous and we do not believe that fans are like cows, which are milked.

Football has to be for everyone. That is the biggest difference between us and England. "

Some big clubs do have a football soul.

06 Jan 2026 20:44:20
I wouldn’t know how many home games BM play at home each season but if it’s 25 ish €50m seems a lot to be so dismissive about.

Anyway, good luck to BM and their very lucky supporters.

{Ed001's Note - it is not relevant how many games Tom, Hoeness was talking about season ticket prices, so it would be one payment, not one per home match.}

06 Jan 2026 20:59:24
Ed, good point. Silly me and still very lucky BM.

06 Jan 2026 21:01:47
Ed, on reflection that’s bonkers even for a 20 match season ticket. It’s about £5 per match. Truly amazing.

{Ed001's Note - very common in the Bundesliga because clubs have to be 51% owned by fans. There are a few exceptions, such as the detested RB Leipzig. It makes a huge difference having a league that gives a toss about fans.}

06 Jan 2026 21:15:36
At £5 a game it leaves a lot of change for a few JD’s.

06 Jan 2026 21:55:00
The quote I posted is probably a couple of years old: a BM season ticket now costs €175: extortionate for an elite European club with a top class stadium! Some of you are missing the point.

06 Jan 2026 22:44:15
Outrageous a nearly 40% increase. So about £7 a game. That’s ok I’m still on the large JD’s.

I’ve never been to see Dortmund. At least the natch ticket is affordable.

07 Jan 2026 08:54:20
Tom. Germany is a great beer and football country. One- off tickets for Bayern would be more expensive so you would have to cut back on the JDs. The Bundesliga has the highest average attendance in Europe and it still is the people’s game over there.

07 Jan 2026 09:19:43
Jimbo, my daughter, her husband and my grandchildren has just moved to Frankfurt. So I’m hoping to visit them soon and hopefully see a game.

My other daughter and her family have just moved to Amsterdam. So, that should be fun as well.

The reasons they are both leaving the UK are not very complimentary to country I love. The upside side is I don’t have to watch so much German and Dutch football.

06 Jan 2026 07:39:35
{Ed's Note - Red Man has posted a new article entitled, Time to Reflect on Manchester United

05 Jan 2026 20:34:26
Will Chelsea’s goals against record ever be beaten?

06 Jan 2026 12:49:18
I hope and believe it won't.

06 Jan 2026 21:23:47
I don't think so even if current Arsenal side have a v good defense. Most top sides also generally play a more open game in virtually every match than many did in the past. But CFC defense that created that record was very special indeed.

05 Jan 2026 10:44:40
Hi Guys,

Personally I don't understand all the negative stuff about the owners, there spending money and doing things there way by buying young, we all want experience but look at sterling and KK, they were terrible buys, all that was needed was to keep Dave, Kante, silva etc.
RA was a great owner for our club and of it wasn't for his money I don't believe we would of won the PL or CL, but he also made plenty of mistakes buying players, Ben haim, baka, sidwell, boularouz, del horno, SWP, morata, etc etc.
All I'm saying is we've moved on from that era and the fans need to as well, the new owners have got things wrong but have done more things right, I'm not convinced by rosineir, but if that's there choice then I will get behind him 100%, negative and toxic atmosphere isn't going to help the club over forward.
Loads of points and trophies left to play for.
Up the blues x.

05 Jan 2026 11:22:42
great post Steve and fully agree mate.

05 Jan 2026 11:59:14
Steve, while I might not always give the owners my 100% support. I will try my best to understand what they are trying to achieve.

05 Jan 2026 16:15:49
SteveCfc I don't know why the owners haven't tried a judicous combination of buying young players who will then hopefully be of sufficient quality and stay for some time at club. Hence becoming experienced/battle hardened to EPL in time. But also not shy away from carefully adding one or two already proven quality players eg at CB or striker to give us a chance of challenging for EPL or ECL now not just in the 2030s. Yes one expects hits and misses in terms of quality of incomings but the new owners also don't always seem to have key positions covered. Why also sell likes of a Madueke - who was developing into a v good player for us and had great understanding with Cole Palmer - to bring in a Gittens or Garnacho?

Another issue. I don't know how often you try and get a ticket to an EPL game at Stamford Bridge lately? But in the last couple of seasons under the new owners this is almost impossible unless you are willing to pay 180 pounds for a home game v Burnley or 400 for a home game v Arsenal say. In the Abromovich era it was usually possible as a member to get a ticket to an EPL game with even Westview tickets having a top price of 70 pounds. In other words unless you are a season ticket holder - but for years travelling for work purposes didn't make this a sensible option for me - bar the season ticket holders any other available tickets still seem to be going to bumped up price touting sites (one owned by Todd Boehly at one stage) or pay those Westview prices.

Having said all that yes I can see there is a Vision 2030 and that we may be slowly moving in the right direction. plus if we ever get a bigger stadium perhaps getting tickets at affordable price may be easier again.

05 Jan 2026 18:22:19
Again all this talk of the owners getting things right. such as? at this point we have a 1/10 hit rate on transfers and that's probably being generous. Maybe they show less arrogance accept they got things wrong and change this bone headed approach. can't see it with the ego of eghbali.

05 Jan 2026 19:32:52
Out of a squad of 25, that’s not many hits.

I have no idea about the egos of our owners. They are mega rich so I assume they have egos!

05 Jan 2026 20:45:00
squad of 25 and another 25 that have been quicksold or are hanging around as unsellable + a few 14 year olds thrown in cos they might be good in 15 years.

05 Jan 2026 21:05:21
The number of players doesn’t change the ratio.

As I said it would we appear we don’t have many hits.

05 Jan 2026 21:34:25
Yeah cause we have brought loads of 14 year old.

05 Jan 2026 22:54:54
finally got something right Tom- we don't have many hits yet the clowns in charge of recruitment still have their jobs. jealous almost. if i messed up that badly at work id have my P45 before the end of the day.

06 Jan 2026 03:14:27
My maths was right on both occasions. In my opinion it’s your ratio that’s wrong.

05 Jan 2026 10:28:36
I see Amorin is gone now for having a dig so it's not just us.

05 Jan 2026 11:23:24
Amorim was sacked Bill.
Maresca resigned. Big difference.

05 Jan 2026 11:48:19
Jumped he was pushed.

05 Jan 2026 12:14:17
True Greenaway but the common denominator was an issue with the SD.

05 Jan 2026 12:26:25
As per Kaveh Solhekol on Sky Sports.

Maresca decided to step down from his role as Chelsea head coach because he felt his position was untenable, while it has been revealed his cryptic criticism earlier this month was directed at the club's medical team.

05 Jan 2026 12:46:49
I can only repeat what I posted several weeks ago. EM was asked questions about certain players by the SD’s and he told them to talk to the medical department. I have no idea if the question was about players playing more or less time than the medical department advised.

It would appear what I was told was roughly correct.

I would have liked to thought any such discussions should have happened behind closed doors but I was also told that a player heard the question and answer.

05 Jan 2026 13:09:37
I accept what you have said Greenaway but it still comes down to a disagreement between the coach and club staff.

I have said in an earlier post that I had to apologise to Maresca as I hated the rotation process but in fact it was the medical team who rules who the coach can play or can't play.

05 Jan 2026 13:58:15
Bill, that simply isn’t true. The medical department can only advise on injured players and I guess maybe players who have played a lot of mins.

There seems little point in having an autonomous medical department that is ignored by the manager.

05 Jan 2026 18:56:21
Sorry Tom, what is not true?

05 Jan 2026 19:34:07
The medical team did not influence the manager about players who are fit.

05 Jan 2026 20:32:05
Sorry I'm sure I saw that the reason for his high rotation was the medical team saying who could play and what minutes they could have on the field.
If I'm wrong Tom, what did upset him, causing him to walk away.

05 Jan 2026 20:46:52
Tom, you don’t know that; it has been widely reported that is was more pressure than influence.

05 Jan 2026 20:53:02
Bill, I’m only guessing but my information was that when asked by the SD’s about the playing times for previously injured players playing time, he just said ask the medical department. I honestly haven’t got a clue if was because the player or players had played more or less than the medical department had recommended. Another guess would be it that it was more than the recommended mins.

I repeat the medical department didn’t have any input on fit players.

05 Jan 2026 21:46:44
Jimbo, I can only post what I’ve been told. I have no way of knowing if it was because the player or players played more mins than they were supposed to or less mins than they were supposed to. When I was told I didn’t ask that question. Hence I’ve made it very clear that I am guessing on that subject.

05 Jan 2026 23:26:49
sorry Tom that makes no sense. everything i've read and heard suggests the medical team had more influence over returning players that maresca was happy with and rightly so, the manager is the one thattakes responsibilty and thus he should have final say.

06 Jan 2026 03:21:40
I sorry you feel it makes no sense.

Maresca obviously wasn’t happy about asked about players mins after returning from injury hence that’s why he referred the question from the SD’s to the medical staff. I hope that’s clear.

I seem to remember him saying something about other conversations with the SD’s but I can’t what the topic was.

I passed this in as a rumour a couple of weeks before he left. I wasn’t there.

06 Jan 2026 09:48:20
The problem is Tom, we have had a lot of injuries this season hence a large input to Maresca by our medical team.

I guess if nobody plays, then the medical team can say they have looked after all the players.

06 Jan 2026 11:00:23
Bill, for the last two seasons our medical department were getting pelters on this sight. This season with haven’t had anywhere near as many injuries and my guess is that is down to the medical team and better management for players returning from injury.

They are autonomous for a reason. Time will tell if that rationale is justified.

05 Jan 2026 08:01:22
{Ed's Note - Ed001 has posted a new article entitled, Liverpool v Leeds United - A Quick Liverpool Perspective