Mauricio Pochettino leaves Chelsea by mutual consent

[My Blood Is Blue]

I hope this  is true. They need to be out at the same time as Poch if not before.

[thevelourfog]

27 minutes ago, Bert19 said:

Given how much they paid for the Club and how much their astonishing body of work has a) cost them and b) devalued the asset they bought, are we really thinking that Clearlake are going to be selling up?

What would they get if they did that now? They’ve probably knocked at least 50% off the price they paid for it in less than two years. Even more given how much a new buyer is going to have to fix quite quickly. 
 

That's why you'd sell ASAP though, isn't it. Do I lose 50% of my investment now, or 75% next year? 

Clearlake is worth an incomprehensible sum. Losing a few billion on us will hardly ripple if they get some of it back and invest  it more successfully. Losing it at all, and worse having the ongoing cost of running the club ... That will hit differently.

[east lower]

43 minutes ago, Bert19 said:

Given how much they paid for the Club and how much their astonishing body of work has a) cost them and b) devalued the asset they bought, are we really thinking that Clearlake are going to be selling up?

What would they get if they did that now? They’ve probably knocked at least 50% off the price they paid for it in less than two years. Even more given how much a new buyer is going to have to fix quite quickly. 
 

@thevelourfog has put forward good arguments for shifting the club on. But to do so and as I understood the scenario, they were obliged (by what type of agreement/legality I don’t know)  to keep the club in their ownership for 10 years. That might be a sticking point but if Roman agrees to a change and for the betterment of the club he might do.

One of the key skills in investing money is knowing when to get out.

[east lower]

37 minutes ago, My Blood Is Blue said:

I hope this  is true. They need to be out at the same time as Poch if not before.

Maybe Tommy was right after all?

[Dwmh]

1 hour ago, Chelsea_Matt said:

I know it’s utterly impossible of course but I’d love it (and the reaction) if Roman did an absolute madness and…

That NS2 was blown up purely to stop Europe ever reneging on what US perceives as its commitment to US by co-operating with Asia.
RA is not coming back - or at least if RA even comes back it will be a lot more than CFC in the UK that has collapsed to unimaginable levels.  

[Max Fowler]

 

 

[Mark Kelly]

18 minutes ago, Max Fowler said:

 

 

If bet none of them think he's an elite coach any more .

[east lower]

22 minutes ago, Mark Kelly said:

If bet none of them think he's an elite coach any more .

Doing well isn’t he.

1989 - 35 years since this happened, let that sink in. That’s the level of managerial mismanagement we are experiencing. 

[Original 21]

What a shambles…

Following Chelsea’s 4-2 defeat to Wolves on Sunday, the extent of just how poor it is behind the scenes can be revealed.

In recent weeks The Byline has been told that performance analysts within the club have been told to reduce the length of analysis packages because the players can’t take on board the feedback given and overall it’s not well received. Training has been described as a “s**t show.”

In regards to Mauricio Pochettino, he believes his time at Stamford Bridge is coming to an end, with sources regarding the former Tottenham boss as a “dead man walking” and knows he will not be in the dugout come the start of the 24/25 Premier League season.

Pochettino has not enjoyed his time at Chelsea, even putting results aside. The Byline has been told that the Argentine has not liked working with some specific people and the working relationship is described as “not good.”

As of today Pochettino is still likely to walk out at Wembley against Liverpool at the end of the month in the Carabao Cup Final. But with Chelsea playing Aston Villa, Crystal Palace and Manchester City before the showcase event at Wembley, the unpredictability of Chelsea’s decision making could end up becoming a factor.

https://thebylineshow.com/news/pochettino-knows-his-time-is-coming-to-an-end/#google_vignette

[Miguelito07]

23 minutes ago, Original 21 said:

Training has been described as a “s**t show.”

But they all look so happy from the Chelsea training videos 😔

[east lower]

3 minutes ago, Miguelito07 said:

But they all look so happy from the Chelsea training videos 😔

It’s wind

[Dwmh]

1 minute ago, Max Fowler said:

 

 

I know a lot of this is just hacks making stuff up. (perhaps riffing on the delicious twist that JM may be given Poch's job just days before Poch should be taking us to the LC final for his first ever chance of a trophy in England)

But there seems to be some effort to create the impression Poch is under pressure.
Normally when a manager is under pressure the leaks are all about votes of confidence in him.

So the smart question is always not what is said, but why does anyone want to say it.

I am pushing a long odds pov right now, but for me it all points to the top not the guy in the middle.



 

[Ham]

26 minutes ago, Dwmh said:

I know a lot of this is just hacks making stuff up. (perhaps riffing on the delicious twist that JM may be given Poch's job just days before Poch should be taking us to the LC final for his first ever chance of a trophy in England)

But there seems to be some effort to create the impression Poch is under pressure.
Normally when a manager is under pressure the leaks are all about votes of confidence in him.

So the smart question is always not what is said, but why does anyone want to say it.

I am pushing a long odds pov right now, but for me it all points to the top not the guy in the middle.



 

Alex Goldberg has real beef with the owners as a result of their perceived poor treatment of Mount. 

I'd take this with a bucketful of salt.  

 

[east lower]

28 minutes ago, Dwmh said:

But there seems to be some effort to create the impression Poch is under pressure.
Normally when a manager is under pressure the leaks are all about votes of confidence in him.

So the smart question is always not what is said, but why does anyone want to say it.

I am pushing a long odds pov right now, but for me it all points to the top not the guy in the middle.



 

 

The stuff coming out since yesterday are all over the place with all blaming everyone else. It sounds like the club is almost eating itself.

The reality being that you just cannot rip-up a club and start from scratch, even though you believe you are recruiting experienced people. Winners are just that, people who move you up from 17th to 11th are just that also. Crapcakes were the archetypal American my way or the highway and we know best, who clearly didn’t - have they within them the strength of character, patience, deeper pockets and inward facing critical analysis of the mess they’ve made to be able to turn this sh*t-show around, personally I doubt it.
 

A strategically strong infrastructure such as we had with Roman and who maintained various levels of success (always winning titles and cups) wasn’t made in a couple of seasons and people trusted in that - place was a circus at times but a winning team and that attracts high achievers.

[Rob B]

15 minutes ago, Dwmh said:

Normally when a manager is under pressure the leaks are all about votes of confidence in him.

So the smart question is always not what is said, but why does anyone want to say it.

I am pushing a long odds pov right now, but for me it all points to the top not the guy in the middle.
 

Genuinely curious here… Who are you defining as the top?

Clearlake as a controlling entity which is owned by Eghbali and Jose Feliciano, Todd Boehly as the largest single individual shareholder (who by all accounts may have already stepped back) or the two Sporting Directors?    Or something / someone else?   A combination perhaps? 

It’s widely reported (and perfectly feasible when you think about it) that due to lack of “hierarchy” on the football side that the two SD’s are glorified scouts, pitching against Joe Shields to demonstrate their worth. 

I wonder if the ownership would be better focused on getting a proven DoF that the existing (or streamlined version) recruitment team report into.   Get them in now and they could lead the hunt for a new manager in the summer

I think we’re too invested to back out now, we need to fight through the pain..

[Max Fowler]

 

 

[Max Fowler]

 

 

[Dwmh]

36 minutes ago, east lower said:

Crapcakes

Please - you are ruining one of the few delights left to me.
(obvs I mean the cakes, not the Lackeys)

38 minutes ago, east lower said:

were the archetypal American my way or the highway and we know best, who clearly didn’t - have they within them the strength of character, patience, deeper pockets and inward facing critical analysis of the mess they’ve made to be able to turn this sh*t-show around, personally I doubt it.

When the target is 30% return per year and every year you stay invested, then no the have no tolerance for delay.  I'm pretty sure they are good at cutting their losses quick though.

40 minutes ago, east lower said:

A strategically strong infrastructure such as we had with Roman and who maintained various levels of success (always winning titles and cups) wasn’t made in a couple of seasons and people trusted in that - place was a circus at times but a winning team and that attracts high achievers.

Yes.  It is funny, for a long time people felt everything at Chelsea was seat of the pants flying.  Post Marina it seemed more stable, but the fist 10 years always felt a bit crazy.  I guess in retrospect it was much more stable than it felt, and some areas, medics, support coaches, Academy, had a lot more stability than we realised.

39 minutes ago, Rob B said:

Genuinely curious here… Who are you defining as the top?

I was being vague there.  But what I really think is that Chelsea as a high return high risk project is done.  The upside is no longer there.  If there were to be an ESL in 2025 (ie real upside potential for the top clubs) Chelsea wouldn't be in it.
So I really expect Clearlake to exit as an investor and probably TB with them (I can't see any new investor wanting his presence).
But certainly there must be a lot of chaos somewhere in US right now and the finger is being pointed a lot higher than Poch.  He is safe IMO (he is irrelevant IMO).
Now it may be that there is an adjustment period where the club is refocused in the direction they think a new owner would want it to be.  But that is unlikely to be the Window 2 & 3 mode of sell to raise buying power and invest in 7 year contracts for 21 yos.

In which case the SDs are certainly vulnerable as they are closely involved with the player churning strategy.  (Actually player selection may not be all that bad despite what everyone says.  It has been squad balance that has killed both the team performance and the player performances.  20 over 21 players 4 Gks, 3 known crocks in Sept - seriously bizarre.)

Investment funds like Clearlake and Eghbali are in a strange position.  They are Shareholders, Supervisory Board and Executive board all at once.  They expect to get it wrong sometimes that is OK.  But they are terrified of Zombie investments.  Not good enough to invest more or to sell for a profit.  Not bad enough to close down.  These projects just eat up management time and drag down average returns.  I can't believe Clearlake would stay involved in a Zombie project.

 

[Miguelito07]

Whoever did the due diligence on these guys should be looked at

[xceleryx]

32 minutes ago, Rob B said:

I wonder if the ownership would be better focused on getting a proven DoF that the existing (or streamlined version) recruitment team report into.   Get them in now and they could lead the hunt for a new manager in the summer

What constitutes as a "proven" Director of Football? 

You look around the league at the names holding such roles at other Premier League clubs and outside of Monchi and Bergiristain you'd hardly call the others familiar. You could've maybe thrown Fabio Paratici in there if one followed Serie A prior, until his FIFA ban due to the Plusvalenza situation at Juventus and since seen him replaced by former Villa Sporting Director/Global Sports Director Johan Lange - who's own history largely resides back in Denmark. 

Schmadtke at Liverpool for example came from Wolfsburg, with a previous period at Koln. Garlick at Arsenal has held only one other club level job which was at WBA and ended in 2018, otherwise had worked with the FA IIRC. Brighton don't have a DoF but instead employ former Everton man David Weir as Technical Director. John Murtough is DoF at Man Utd with a background in the women's game, Man Ute's academy, and similar posts at Everton and other clubs prior. West Ham hired Mark Noble for the role after his retirement. With Newcastle hiring former Brighton Technical Director Dan Ashworth after their takeover happened, who is another with a career largely residing at WBA and lower league clubs. 

Not sure who'd we even consider, much less hire, to take up such a role. As you can see it's a pretty wide canvas of candidates that hold similar positions at other clubs with many hardly being renown. I don't see it as one of those situations where hiring a named candidate magically makes amends. 

[chara]

OK... some musing after a day of debate on here and waffle in the media and social platforms.

Given that anyone prepared and interested enough to come on our Forum has awareness of the game and a depth of knowledge of the game..(not just confined to Chelsea faithful) I hazard a guess that two somewhat whimsical thoughts following from me may gain some response..I hope so....

Some of our members are far better at expressing an analysis of games and players,,again I believe everyone here can read such deep analysis and make their own agreement or disagreement with pithy responses or less expansive breakdowns but with and understanding of the points being made.

So....my offerings..first,,,,take ANY two members of here...give them a sh*t load of money, a comfortable office and endless access to every aspect of the game and I'm convinced they would come up with a far better balanced squad than we see today,,,and I'm saying that about any two regardless of outlook and possibly differing football philosophies'.

Second ,,,pick ANY two on here with roughly compatible football philosophies and they would come up with possibly at least a 10% "smoother" squad,,not necessarily better just more in tune with each others views,,,,

Just whimsy...anyone care to comment?

[Chelsea_Matt]

@east lower Crapcakes 🤣🤣🤣🤣🤣

[My Blood Is Blue]

6 hours ago, xceleryx said:

What constitutes as a "proven" Director of Football? 

You look around the league at the names holding such roles at other Premier League clubs and outside of Monchi and Bergiristain you'd hardly call the others familiar. You could've maybe thrown Fabio Paratici in there if one followed Serie A prior, until his FIFA ban due to the Plusvalenza situation at Juventus and since seen him replaced by former Villa Sporting Director/Global Sports Director Johan Lange - who's own history largely resides back in Denmark. 

Schmadtke at Liverpool for example came from Wolfsburg, with a previous period at Koln. Garlick at Arsenal has held only one other club level job which was at WBA and ended in 2018, otherwise had worked with the FA IIRC. Brighton don't have a DoF but instead employ former Everton man David Weir as Technical Director. John Murtough is DoF at Man Utd with a background in the women's game, Man Ute's academy, and similar posts at Everton and other clubs prior. West Ham hired Mark Noble for the role after his retirement. With Newcastle hiring former Brighton Technical Director Dan Ashworth after their takeover happened, who is another with a career largely residing at WBA and lower league clubs. 

Not sure who'd we even consider, much less hire, to take up such a role. As you can see it's a pretty wide canvas of candidates that hold similar positions at other clubs with many hardly being renown. I don't see it as one of those situations where hiring a named candidate magically makes amends. 

Do you know who I think would be really good in this role, but I can never see them taking the job… Frank Lampard. I do think he has an eye for talent and he is clearly a smart guy with a very good understanding of the game. He also has the connection with the club and would have the respect of almost anyone in the game.

[My Blood Is Blue]

5 hours ago, chara said:

OK... some musing after a day of debate on here and waffle in the media and social platforms.

Given that anyone prepared and interested enough to come on our Forum has awareness of the game and a depth of knowledge of the game..(not just confined to Chelsea faithful) I hazard a guess that two somewhat whimsical thoughts following from me may gain some response..I hope so....

Some of our members are far better at expressing an analysis of games and players,,again I believe everyone here can read such deep analysis and make their own agreement or disagreement with pithy responses or less expansive breakdowns but with and understanding of the points being made.

So....my offerings..first,,,,take ANY two members of here...give them a sh*t load of money, a comfortable office and endless access to every aspect of the game and I'm convinced they would come up with a far better balanced squad than we see today,,,and I'm saying that about any two regardless of outlook and possibly differing football philosophies'.

Second ,,,pick ANY two on here with roughly compatible football philosophies and they would come up with possibly at least a 10% "smoother" squad,,not necessarily better just more in tune with each others views,,,,

Just whimsy...anyone care to comment?

Sadly, you’re probably not far wrong. I actually don’t think our squad is too far away from being competitive, under the right manager and with the medical side of things in the club being fixed.

I put a post in the squad status topic outlining what I’d do this summer and it’s mainly bringing in about 5 new players, who have experience and are proven in their position.

I might be out of a job soon, so maybe I’ll apply for a role at the club!

[east lower]

24 minutes ago, My Blood Is Blue said:

Sadly, you’re probably not far wrong. I actually don’t think our squad is too far away from being competitive, under the right manager and with the medical side of things in the club being fixed.

I put a post in the squad status topic outlining what I’d do this summer and it’s mainly bringing in about 5 new players, who have experience and are proven in their position.

I might be out of a job soon, so maybe I’ll apply for a role at the club!

Imagine the job interview:

Are you American - ✅

Shiny Teeth, Slicked Back Hair, Cheesy Grin and Know Lots About Sports Played in the USA -✅

Do You Know Lots About Brighton & Monaco FC -✅

Can You Make Every Possible Incorrect Decision - ✅

Do You Lack Accountability -✅

You’ll fit in fine here, have a 8 year contract.

On a serious note, hope your employment situation resolves itself. There’s a dearth of good people out there, even if the worst happens there’s a better job waiting.