Any team would miss three players of the quality of Moi, Reece and Joao. As we saw on Saturday Brighton are a very good team. Brentford have been underestimated for the past two years. An early red card against Arsenal and it's three points in the bag as we were already one up. It's been far from perfect, but so much doom and gloom, there are no easy games in the PL theses days , ask Arsenal, Sunderland scared the shit out of City yesterday. 5th place was the target before the season and once injuries clear up and Xabi gets to grips with the players we will be a lot more consistent. As I said last week though, I am yet to be convinced by LaCroix, Fofana has always worried me and Levi needs time. Josh has a dangerous mistake in him every game and our centre half problem is a massive concern.
Just to say I wholeheartedly agree with your piece Simon but not when you say that fans haven't seen this at Chelsea before. Young fans maybe but I am not ancient and have seen John Neal and Glenn Hoddle do similar jobs. It just takes time. I think maybe some Chelsea fans now have become a bit entitled, perhaps understandably, but success you have had to work at is much sweeter than when it is given to you! Every other club is trying to be better than us and we have no right to be better than them.
Yes I do think some of the younger fans who only know success are a bit entitled. That John Neal team with Dixon, Nevin etc is one of my favourite Chelsea teams. I can’t think I’ve warmed to any of the BlueCo teams because it’s a constant restart.
Bob John Neal's transformation of the team was almost immediate. The big difference was that we signed Dixon, Nevin, Speedie, Spackman, Rougvie, Joey Mac, Joey Jones and Mickey Thomas (off the top of my head) plus a top keeper in Eddie. All top players with a burning desire to win. When people talk about our great managers Neal almost Never gets a mention. To me he is top 3, he did a truly remarkable job and so sad he had to retire due to ill health.
I certainly wasn’t sucked into this belief that we would win anything this season. Qualifying for the champions league was the best we could hope for. Please don’t keep using Arsenal as an example it’s clearly different. Don’t keep using the term process because it’s meaningless if you keep having to reset every season. That second half was disturbing and showed we are still nowhere. We can’t even laugh at Spuds because we are as awful as them but just managed to scrape up a few more points. Both clubs mentality stinks and feels like they are rotten to the core. The arrogance to think just because you are a so called big club you can just beat the so called smaller clubs.
Unrealistic fans will be a headache for the board and manager and team. We don’t need a self fulfilling spiral of doom and another change in managers and players.
I posted the following elsewhere this morning but reading your excellent piece above I thought I’d share my comment here too.
“I’m firmly in the In Alonso We Trust camp but I have to remind myself that the poor guy’s only human. The Summer buzz of landing Alonso and then seeing him sign “his” players did get me carried away for a moment (it was fun so that’s fine) only of course to be brought crashing to earth by the incomprehensible fiasco of deadline day. That was grounding, indeed. Anyway it’s going to take time and the injuries have hampered that start but as many others also say: now there’s an adult in the room. Up the Chels!”
Any team would miss three players of the quality of Moi, Reece and Joao. As we saw on Saturday Brighton are a very good team. Brentford have been underestimated for the past two years. An early red card against Arsenal and it's three points in the bag as we were already one up. It's been far from perfect, but so much doom and gloom, there are no easy games in the PL theses days , ask Arsenal, Sunderland scared the shit out of City yesterday. 5th place was the target before the season and once injuries clear up and Xabi gets to grips with the players we will be a lot more consistent. As I said last week though, I am yet to be convinced by LaCroix, Fofana has always worried me and Levi needs time. Josh has a dangerous mistake in him every game and our centre half problem is a massive concern.
Just to say I wholeheartedly agree with your piece Simon but not when you say that fans haven't seen this at Chelsea before. Young fans maybe but I am not ancient and have seen John Neal and Glenn Hoddle do similar jobs. It just takes time. I think maybe some Chelsea fans now have become a bit entitled, perhaps understandably, but success you have had to work at is much sweeter than when it is given to you! Every other club is trying to be better than us and we have no right to be better than them.
Yes I do think some of the younger fans who only know success are a bit entitled. That John Neal team with Dixon, Nevin etc is one of my favourite Chelsea teams. I can’t think I’ve warmed to any of the BlueCo teams because it’s a constant restart.
Bob John Neal's transformation of the team was almost immediate. The big difference was that we signed Dixon, Nevin, Speedie, Spackman, Rougvie, Joey Mac, Joey Jones and Mickey Thomas (off the top of my head) plus a top keeper in Eddie. All top players with a burning desire to win. When people talk about our great managers Neal almost Never gets a mention. To me he is top 3, he did a truly remarkable job and so sad he had to retire due to ill health.
Very sad and definitely one of our best!
I certainly wasn’t sucked into this belief that we would win anything this season. Qualifying for the champions league was the best we could hope for. Please don’t keep using Arsenal as an example it’s clearly different. Don’t keep using the term process because it’s meaningless if you keep having to reset every season. That second half was disturbing and showed we are still nowhere. We can’t even laugh at Spuds because we are as awful as them but just managed to scrape up a few more points. Both clubs mentality stinks and feels like they are rotten to the core. The arrogance to think just because you are a so called big club you can just beat the so called smaller clubs.
Unrealistic fans will be a headache for the board and manager and team. We don’t need a self fulfilling spiral of doom and another change in managers and players.
I posted the following elsewhere this morning but reading your excellent piece above I thought I’d share my comment here too.
“I’m firmly in the In Alonso We Trust camp but I have to remind myself that the poor guy’s only human. The Summer buzz of landing Alonso and then seeing him sign “his” players did get me carried away for a moment (it was fun so that’s fine) only of course to be brought crashing to earth by the incomprehensible fiasco of deadline day. That was grounding, indeed. Anyway it’s going to take time and the injuries have hampered that start but as many others also say: now there’s an adult in the room. Up the Chels!”