Chelsea Banter 3

22 Apr 2026 17:08:45
{Ed's Note - Ed001 has posted a new article entitled, Matchday 33 - Quick Round Up

22 Apr 2026 15:48:02
Estavao apparently out for six months. The poor lad will miss a World Cup.

22 Apr 2026 17:39:05
Grade 4 hamstring tear being reported. Really hope not. That's a career changer.

22 Apr 2026 14:24:17
It never is just the players or just the manager. In this case it is the whole thing including the decision makers at the top. The Premier League is different than other leagues. It is naive and foolish to think you can parachute managers and players from other leagues and they can take off.

Only top talent can do that like Joao Pedro. The rest collapse from the demands of the league.

22 Apr 2026 11:15:45
So if the players are to blame, lack of quality etc, etc which some are saying, does that mean we were over achieving under Maresca who had us sat comfortable in 4th spot off the back of winning 2 trophies and making the Champions League?

Or, are the players half decent and just lack basic structure in their play and confidence in the system caused by Liam?

If Liam stays, we will finish the season in the bottom half of the table and be tanked by Leeds on Sunday because of his quite ridiculous playing instructions. If he starts as our coach next season, we will be relegated. Yes, relegated. Look at the form, 5 straight defeats, no goals scored, lost 8 of the last 9 games.

That is relegation form.

He needs to go today. Put a temp in for the biggest game of the season on Sunday and let the players play how they did under Maresca, no silly, trying to be clever 3 at the back and playing through the centre of the pitch, no playing Moises out of position, no trying to be AVB in disguise.

Get to the Cup Final and try to win it, let the players have freedom and confidence.

Then, review who is available in the summer and make the right appointment, Chelsea is still a huge draw for managers and sometimes taking over when the chips are down is far more attractive than taking over from a club legend, think Man U and Alex.

22 Apr 2026 12:29:30
Greenaway

Whilst the current SD's are in situ, nothing will change, and, as Tom always says to us, an end of season review will take place.

The problem is that the SD's will mark their own homework.

22 Apr 2026 12:45:40
It's hard to imagine that the owners will not be asking the SD's some serious questions.

22 Apr 2026 12:48:32
Gotta say, I'm surprised he hasn't been sacked after that game. Wild to think we need so many reinforcements in so many positions after all the money spent. Club's a mess.

22 Apr 2026 13:12:09
I feel Maresca was probably at par, doing what he had to do without excelling. All the dirty linen about him talking to other clubs and criticising the medical team, etc, being played out in public, along with his own bad run of results, was the main reason he left the club - no need to go back over that.

Whilst some wanted Maresca to go (myself included), you won't find many who wanted Rosenior and thought the grass in that particular garden would be greener.



There is talk that he's been sacked, said his goodbyes after yesterday's game without doing a post match team talk. Although it's very much unconfirmed, the same report indicates that McFarlane will apparently run the show till the end of the season.

22 Apr 2026 13:14:21
Greenaway, Maresca had a string of poor results in the EPL before he parted ways because he was speaking to other clubs. We were 5th, not 4th at the time, and he was averaging only c 1.5 points per EPL game.

Yet I still did not want him to leave. He had shown tactical skill in the CWC final v PSG, and the players were used to his system, and Sanchez had shown considerable improvement.

I put a lot of Maresca's relative struggle in EPL games against 'lower' sides - and he couldn't beat City or Arsenal either for that matter - down to weakness in the overall squad. This remains a problem, surely beyond 8 to 10 players? But he may have prevented this from falling apart on the pitch we are seeing now.

22 Apr 2026 10:46:46
How’s he still got a job? What they waiting for.

22 Apr 2026 07:34:46
I am still angry after last night's non-performance.

LR made his feelings very clear and I think his assessment was just about spot on. Of course there will be the usual chorus of, “If you criticise the players you lose the dressing room crap”, but that performance and those players deserved criticism.

Also the manager, the SD’s and the owners also need to look in the mirror and give an honest assessment of their role in this situation.

I hope no poster ever says “things can’t get worse” again. They can and have and not for the first time.

22 Apr 2026 08:18:10
Things will get worse!

22 Apr 2026 08:19:51
Tom, last night's performance was an embarrassment. The owners need to go back to the drawing board, sack the sporting directors and the other directors, and start again. Get people in who know the club and bring a feel good factor back to the place.

They have had 4 years now and we have got so much worse.

Season ticket holders are now being offered 3 extra tickets for the FA Cup semi final at Wembley, which goes to show how uninterested we are.

I really can't see anything improving for a long, long time.

22 Apr 2026 08:39:17
Experience tells me that things can change very quickly, but before that change can happen, decision makers need to look at themselves and the structure, and make the necessary changes/adjustments. Accountability has to happen.

22 Apr 2026 09:08:39
Tom,

It's quite clear that the players have lost confidence in LR and his tactics, so, therefore, nothing will change quickly.

That being said, I believe we will limp to the end of the season with LR, falling further down the table and winning nothing.



On the bright side, the owners have to worry about clashing with Strasbourg on a European issue, and therefore can hold onto the ownership of CFC.

22 Apr 2026 09:35:30
Man Utd are evidence of how fortunes can change quickly, but infrastructure needs to be permanently changed for the upturn to be more than a flash in the pan.

It's easy for Rosenior to say those things and not worry about losing the dressing room. It's clearly already happened. Under most circumstances, I would say limping over the line with Rosenior makes the most sense, but for me, the only chance we have of progressing through the Cup semi-final is without Rosenior.

Like it or not, if that's what's needed to give this group of players a boost, just do it now.

Their continued involvement with Chelsea Football Club, along with everyone else on the football side of the club, can be reviewed at the end of the season.

BlueCo are going nowhere, things may improve if one faction buys the other out, but that's unlikely. They need to knock this project down and rebuild it, learning from their mistakes.

22 Apr 2026 09:49:48
J, as always, a very well considered post. I agree with the vast majority of it.

The only thing I would say is, I think the players will turn up in the semifinal, and in some ways that is worse.

22 Apr 2026 09:55:40
In the past, when we have had a disappointing season, a change of coach has invigorated the club to go on to success. Unfortunately, the problems are much deeper, and go from top to bottom. Joe 90 will probably get the sack, but who would replace him? No top coach is going to come anywhere near this club.

This has been a very poor Premier League, and yet we are effectively mid-table. If there aren't any drastic changes, next season will be even more difficult, as I believe Liverpool and Man Utd will step up, and we will fall even lower down the pecking order. To be honest, I am beginning not to care.

22 Apr 2026 10:37:22
Rosenior, whilst hopeless, is not the problem here. The problem is above, with the same guys who have made repeated terrible decisions and have taken no accountability for it. Replace them, and you may see progress.

22 Apr 2026 05:19:16
Was v tired lasr night adter long haul flight and thpught we'd come a xropper v Brighton so went to bed early. Just woke up and saw score and Tom's report and glad I matessed it.

Agree with Melbourne that probably besr to give rest of this seasons games a miss though will probavly find myself unable not to watch cup game v Leeds and the Spurs game.

But am expecting a Lampard noble if foolish caretaker already awful end of season run to continue.

New season new manager with no European football looks probable now.

Did any of our playes have a half decent game Tom?

22 Apr 2026 06:14:27
Sanchez made some saves, but also made a mistake. It didn't cost us a goal. Hato played well, but his poor header gave them the opener. Chalaboa was solid enough, as was Cucarella.
You win or lose games in midfield, and all had very poor games.


I have no idea why Gusto continues to be picked in front of Josh.
The whole team lacked effort, no press and no movement without the ball. Tactically, we looked lost.

22 Apr 2026 11:09:10
Thanks for the feedback, Tom. Chalbao might just have been our most consistently solid performer this season. Yes, he may not be the most naturally gifted of CBs, but I don't think I've ever not seen him put in a professional performance in which he seems to care about playing his best for CFC.

Cucurella has also been among our best performers in almost every outing in recent times.

Hato has shown us his quality, but is still liable for the odd howler.

He is still young, and, if not more importantly, young to the EPL.

Looks inevitable now that the manager will go, and I just hope that most of the SDs would go too. Owners will stay whether we like it or not. The next CFC manager appointment has to be a top notch one.

Why Josh was not given this game to start in beats me. Could have made him more readily a starter for the semi-final.

21 Apr 2026 07:39:17
{Ed's Note - Ed001 has posted a new article entitled, Everton v Liverpool - A Quick Liverpool Perspective

20 Apr 2026 19:09:23
{Ed's Note - Ed001 has posted a new article entitled, Everton v Liverpool - A Quick Liverpool Perspective

20 Apr 2026 09:47:14
The only ray of light in recent performances has been the emergence of Hato. What a talent this boy is and can play both LB and LCB. Such a shame Liam won't give Josh a start of games because he may well prove to be a real talent as well, and what it tells us all is that players, particularly young players, need a run of games to find their rhythm and confidence.


I see way too many young players written off in their first season with us only to go on and prove people wrong, think Caicedo, Cucurella to name but 2.

20 Apr 2026 14:18:50
Looked at top talent in Holland, and I was well chuffed when we managed to sign him. He still has a lot to Lutnick, as he can get himself to square to an attacker, but he is very young and will learn. He was judged by some after one poor early season performance, and that, in my opinion, is never a good idea.


The lad should continue to improve, but that's not always a given, and he should be happy with his first season at the club.

Just one point in giving young players a run of games. I do believe this is necessary, and I am disappointed that Josh hasn't started more games, as I rate him far higher than Gusto.

21 Apr 2026 00:25:15
Agreed. Don't forget he was captain at Ajax at 18 years old, which speaks a lot to his character. I'd expect, when he came over, he probably kept his head down and wasn't too vocal, but hopefully he becomes a leader within the group. We all know how important a defensive leader can be.