Wishes for next season

loz

The Schoolmaster
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And this is being realistic (I.e. not spending £800m replacing half the first team)

1. A proper centre forward.

2. A consistent goalkeeper (either another new one or one-off the 408 we already have to settle down as our long term option...not you Sanchez)

3. Palmer to be given the opportunity to be the player we all know he can be

4. Lavia to stay fit and replace Enzo as a first team regular

5. Esteavo Willian to show some signs of being the player he has been built up to be (but for fans to accept he is young and needs time)

6. A proper solid no nonsense centre half (Braithwaite for me)

7. Send Sancho back

8. Sell Nkunku, Enzo,Broja, Chilwell, Washington, Fofana, Disasi, and Felix, (I still think there is a player in him but he has failed too many times),

9. Decide on Baba Rahman's future

10. Hide Sterling somewhere he won't be found

 
  1. Goals.
We need goals in the team. I'd like at least 2 attacking players (striker and winger/second striker) that can contribute at least 10-15 league goals each. This on top of Palmer and Jackson's contributions, but ideally the latter isn't anywhere near the XI.

  1. Santos & Estevao being integrated.
Both exciting prospects with the former looking like to be an immediate boost for the team.

  1. Centre Back
Need an aerially strong, no nonsense CB that can ideally provide some quality, leadership and experience.

These 3 things before anything else. Than we can address whether Petrovic can start over Sanchez as well as getting rid of the enormous squad we have.

 
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To play, fast paced, energetic, two touch football and to press with real intent and togetherness when not in possession.

A couple of statement signings, such as an elite striker and a major winger or second striker (something headline making, such as Enzo to Real Madrid for Rodrygo to us)

A strong, experienced CB.

Multiple departures (too many to name) but all of the high earners that prevent us from stepping outside of the wage structure for the occasional elite player.

A complete restructuring of the goalkeeping department from the Head down.

 
And this is being realistic (I.e. not spending £800m replacing half the first team)

1. A proper centre forward.

2. A consistent goalkeeper (either another new one or one-off the 408 we already have to settle down as our long term option...not you Sanchez)

3. Palmer to be given the opportunity to be the player we all know he can be

4. Lavia to stay fit and replace Enzo as a first team regular

5. Esteavo Willian to show some signs of being the player he has been built up to be (but for fans to accept he is young and needs time)

6. A proper solid no nonsense centre half (Braithwaite for me)

7. Send Sancho back

8. Sell Nkunku, Enzo,Broja, Chilwell, Washington, Fofana, Disasi, and Felix, (I still think there is a player in him but he has failed too many times),

9. Decide on Baba Rahman's future

10. Hide Sterling somewhere he won't be found
  1. Agree
  2. Petrovic has earned it
  3. Not 100% this is something the coach can help.
  4. Enzo is always available and a top top player. I agree Lavia fits the football we try to play maybe better.
  5. Yes.
  6. I think we are looking for a CB.
  7. If we don't find a top player here I am okay with him staying.
  8. Not Enzo for me.
  9. Fine
  10. Fine
 
  1. Sell / shoot Jackson
  2. New goalkeeper
  3. New striker
  4. New back up striker
  5. integrate the brazilians
  6. Sell sterling, DDF, washington, nkunku, disaster, baddy, KDH, Sanchez, Mudryk
  7. Buy timo werner - he is a lovely boy,
  8. sign jorginho - and never play him (just to wind up gol)
 
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Wish for next season.

Sell everyone that we bought last summer.
I am hoping for an avoidance of the recruitment mistakes in not buying players that don't immediately improve the starting eleven !

Granted it did look like a few of them ought to be doing that, but none of them did, and the rest of last summer's huge £200m+ spend was highly speculative and totally un-necessary.

 
I am hoping for an avoidance of the recruitment mistakes in not buying players that don't immediately improve the starting eleven !

Granted it did look like a few of them ought to be doing that, but none of them did, and the rest of last summer's huge £200m+ spend was highly speculative and totally un-necessary.
We probably would be better off if they spent the 200m getting new hammy 😂😂 for fofana n James. Ooop totally forget about mythical creature called Lavia

 
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Focus more on integration that recruitment, Santos, Estevao, Petrovic all need merging into the XI. Essugo, Paez, Sarr need evaluating before being sent on loan.

Bring in Murillo from Forest &, now we have Champions League football one of Gyokeres or Delap to lead the line.

Don’t waste a whole summer chasing Osimhen again who has bust written all over him. Stay well clear of that.

If we can’t shift some of the deadwood then refer back to the old Bosnich/Mutu approach to terminate the contracts.

 
Focus more on integration that recruitment, Santos, Estevao, Petrovic all need merging into the XI. Essugo, Paez, Sarr need evaluating before being sent on loan.

Bring in Murillo from Forest &, now we have Champions League football one of Gyokeres or Delap to lead the line.

Don’t waste a whole summer chasing Osimhen again who has bust written all over him. Stay well clear of that.

If we can’t shift some of the deadwood then refer back to the old Bosnich/Mutu approach to terminate the contracts.
Must say I did like what I saw of Murillo yesterday, and I think he'd fit in well with our group, especially with fellow Brazilians Andrey Santos and Estevao coming in as well.

 
It's hard to say realistic wish

Jackson/Guiu

Sancho/Madueke - Paez/Palmer - Neto/Estevao

Lavia/Santos - Caicedo/Enzo

Cucu/Gusto - Colwill/Badi - Tosin/Fofana - James/Chalobah

Sanchez/Petrovic/Jorgensen

I already asumme no KDH, Nkunku, Felix, Chuku, Chilwell, Sterling, Disasi (this list is insane and growing )

Maybe a box st and that is it

 
I'm going to go with my ideal scenario, but as long as things are loosely like this I'd be happy.

Squad

Sign - 2 strikers (Gyokeres/Osimhen and Sesko/Delap), a LW (Nico Williams/Barcola), a CB (Murillo/Mosquera)

Sell - Sterling, Disasi, D Fofana, Madueke, Broja, Nkunku, Chilwell, Jackson, Carney, Ugochukwu, Felix, Badiashile/Chalobah

Loan - Washington, Essugo, Jorgensen, Paez, George

Returning loanees to integrate with the squad - Santos, Petrovic and Estevao

Return from rehab to integrate with the squad - Mudryk

Objectives

League - Title challenge

Champions league - minimum quarter final

FA Cup/League Cup - win one of these

Maresca

Stop the boring tactics, you can have this build up from the back style without making it a mind numbing watch, will a top striker, CB and LW help Maresca take the handbreak off? Who knows, but I hope so. Also, stop limiting Palmer, for all of Poch's faults he gave every future Chelsea and England manager the blueprint on how to play him, but Maresca is hell bent on doing the opposite. I think if we are well behind our expectations by Christmas we should replace him, not wait until the end of the season.

 
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It's hard to say realistic wish

Jackson/Guiu

Sancho/Madueke - Paez/Palmer - Neto/Estevao

Lavia/Santos - Caicedo/Enzo

Cucu/Gusto - Colwill/Badi - Tosin/Fofana - James/Chalobah

Sanchez/Petrovic/Jorgensen

I already asumme no KDH, Nkunku, Felix, Chuku, Chilwell, Sterling, Disasi (this list is insane and growing )

Maybe a box st and that is it
Your realistic wish is to have Jackson as our main striker, keeping Sancho and signing no new defenders? Good lord...

 
I'm going to go with my ideal scenario, but as long as things are loosely like this I'd be happy.

Squad

Sign - 2 strikers (Gyokeres/Osimhen and Sesko/Delap), a LW (Nico Williams/Barcola), a CB (Murillo/Mosquera)

Sell - Sterling, Disasi, D Fofana, Madueke, Broja, Nkunku, Chilwell, Jackson, Carney, Ugochukwu, Felix, Badiashile/Chalobah

Loan - Washington, Essugo, Jorgensen, Paez, George

Returning loanees to integrate with the squad - Santos, Petrovic and Estevao

Return from rehab to integrate with the squad - Mudryk

Objectives

League - Title challenge

Champions league - minimum quarter final

FA Cup/League Cup - win one of these

Maresca

Stop the boring tactics, you can have this build up from the back style without making it a mind numbing watch, will a top striker, CB and LW help Maresca take the handbreak off? Who knows, but I hope so. Also, stop limiting Palmer, for all of Poch's faults he gave every future Chelsea and England manager the blueprint on how to play him, but Maresca is hell bent on doing the opposite. I think if we are well behind our expectations by Christmas we should replace him, not wait until the end of the season.
Agree with most of that.

I don't think we buy a winger though, as they already have Quenda coming in 25/26. Instead, I'd keep Tyrique George and re-integrate Sterling to mentor him and Estevao Willian. I also think Carney and Felix are worth some perseverance as there is definite quality there, plus in the case of Felix some versatility to play across the front 4 positions as required.

I like the objectives and view on Maresca. Spot on.

My take on what I'd do with the playing staff :

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Reality no doubt that we'll be lucky to shift even 25% of the sales list

 
I think we took the right steps so far in our new "era" of American owners.

12th, 6th and now 4th and back to CL football. All this while a pretty much total rebrand as a whole.

The squad is filled with an abundance of talent and the core is basically set - Caicedo (23 years old), Enzo (24), Palmer (23), Colwill (22), James (25) and Cucurella (26).

Others around them are quality, others will be sold and there are some incredible talents on loan already that IMHO will turn into future world class players such as Estevao, Andrey Santos, Quenda and Penders.

It's imperative now we bring in at least three top players with an instant impact that take the team to a new level.

Still, not the finished article IMHO. Even with these top signings, next season I will be happy with another top four finish and a good run in the Champions League. With the new format and the 24 teams that go through, we will have no problems going past the first phase. We are also in Pot 1. A good run would mean Quarter Finals and who knows what happenes from there. A good draw and you are in the Semifinals.

And then 2026/27 season will be the one we finally can say we are ready to challenge for all the major stuff every single season.

This summer I am more interested in getting those clutch players into the club and making sure that next season we have a team, and I mean have a first "11" that start and play together in at least 80% of the matches. The only times we rotate to be in those early FA Cup and League Cup matches. Other than that we must build the first "11" starting with the Club World Cup and have the settled one starting in the very 1st PL round. And the only switches throughout the season to be only because of injuries or fatigue.

I will take another season of development if that means a next decade of challenging for major trophies every season.

 
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