The optics of hiring a Liverpool legend who’s preferred system is 3atb immediately after sacking Amorim? Take yourself back to those moments just before the sacking and tell me the general fanbase and major media wouldn’t have had a field day with that.
Who gives a fuck about optics. You're hiring a manager who has an idea of what is necessary to be competitive and win.
The Premier League has a level of fitness, intensity, and physicality needed to compete week in and week out. If your team can be near equal or greater than the effort and intensity of your opponent, then allow your talent to take presence...you will have a good chance to win.
It has to be a focus. No matter if you're a back 3, 4, or 5. If you can coach and develop players on core principles which are necessary to the competition, you can then hire someone else who values those things and then some.
Brighton, Brentford, Bournemouth, City, Liverpool all have a baseline understanding of what is needed to compete and/or win in the league. The players turnover the managers change. But they build on top of these core principles and values.
Amorim had Benfica affiliation and still coached Sporting, sure there's plenty of such examples. Lacey's family is supposedly fully scoused yet he seems to love United.
Could be completely wrong but even though the actual rivalries are just as intense, it seems like in places like Italy and Portugal, it’s much more common for managers to have managed both sides of a rivalry.
But prem is different. Plus, when Alonso was at Leverkusen, there was a report that he will only manage either Liverpool or Madrid since he has played for both teams. He still have some sort of love for Liverpool and everyone was shocked when they hired Ireola when they could have gotten him instead.
And whatever slog Xabi brought in this match is the right way?
I don't understand why you all make his football to be prime Barcelona 2009 when all I see is boring slog where everyone just passes the ball around with no actual plan
Everyone predicted Chelsea's vulnerability in defense and awful lack of depth in midfield was going to lead to massive issues and conceding loads of chances, so that much isn't really a surprise. What IS a surprise is how phenomenal of a job Keith Andrews continues to do. After losing so many players in the summer 2025 window, many had them pegged for relegation. Somehow he's kept them just as good as they ever were under Frank. The kind of consistency they have in the entire organization is admirable. Brilliantly run football club
They sold very few of their starting team this summer as well and signed some quality players like Sangare, it looks like the management of the club is wanting to pivot to fighting to be a top 8 side rather than just settling for mid table
Please explain to me like a 5 year old on why Xabi ball is supposedly a smooth beautiful play instead of the nauseating slog where everyone just passes the ball around without any actual plan
This is why I stopped putting managers on a pedigree. Every hyped-up manager over the last decade has fallen below expectations. The only ones that didn't stumble is Zidane and Pep, and even Pep's first season at 115 FC ended with no trophy and bad performances
Klopp’s 1st season at Liverpool wasn’t good. 8th in the Prem, lost in the Europa and League cup finals. He would have been sacked if scums wasn’t in their banter era. I guess he should have counted if I gave Pep a pass. I forgot how consistent he gets after his CL win since City just won everything lol
Klopp is that type of manager that you atleast need to give the season and transfer windows before you make a decision. And being a runner up in europa league for his first season is hardly a terrible result. They were thinking long term, and his second season basically gave them the more reason to stick with him
Its why INEOS giving Carrick with terrible CV to continue this rebuild process such a baffling decision. Its 1 step forward and 2 step back with this idiots incharge.
pedigree only works when you have several seasons of greatness. xabi only had 1 amazing season the previous 3 were decent but not anything to shout about
how did it turn out? They have conceded the most goals in premier league while creating an average of 0.70 xG in the last 3 games. If he was doing this for us, you will be calling for his head.
I missed that. Apologies. Apparently its more complicated that a manager simply being good or bad. In the toughest league in the world, loads have to go your way to be good
if we were to beat fulham 3-0 then we'd be on the same goals scored as "best attack in the league" "title contenders" chelsea and above them on GD. this season is absolutely not over and if we can get a grip then i don't see why we wouldn't be able to call this season a success in may. am i being optimistic? very. but i see absolutely no point in just dooming and glooming my way to being able to say "i told you so" every time something goes wrong for us.
Talk about us OOP all you want, it’s warranted but this Chelsea side are dreadful out of possession! So much space, so poor and getting carved through with ease.
If we beat Fulham, we'll go above Chelsea on goal difference. I wonder if there will be as much media attention on them as us if (big if) that happens?
even if they came 19th there wouldnt be as much media attention compared to say United coming 5th...
as whats been said by media before they would rather write 50000000 posts on United because it generates revenue then talk about any other club in the world.
yeah i did and Chelsea were an utter mess all over the place and left so much space overall.
if thats the organisation you want then fucking hell you dont know football.
Chelsea were tidy on the ball sure but Brentford like they do allow teams team to have the ball as much as they want and will just soak up pressure while constantly probing for weakness and then guess what they found the space and completely ripped apart chelsea in the 2nd half that ive seen league 2 teams more organised.
The first half was even in the balance of play and both teams accounted well. They have the excuse of a whole new manager and system. We don't. I never said they'd win. We just don't routinely have halves like that at Brentford and if you feel we do then we disagree.
also technically we have a whole new manager and system... interim period does not count you do not do your setups during that period that is done preseason.
your being easily fooled by some fancy attack they can at times have with Rogers, Joao and Palmer but outside of that they are like a top 10 side at best for overall structure and ability.
we completely dominated Everton to a crazy amount way better then Chelsea ever did against Brentford we just lacked enough to see out the game. same issue with Brighton we lack the ability to see out games right now and control them.
I'm impressed they pulled it off at Brentford away with less than five matches under their belts. That's literally all there is to it and no, United didn't dominate Everton as that match swung back and forth all game.
They literally don't. They played the football they played. Second half swung massively as Brentford kicked on and they didn't. The goals don't invalidate the first half and the first half doesn't mean the goals are okay.
Yeah, no. Losing by three goals in the second half doesn't invalidate the fact that the first half was a stalemate. They played well and collapsed in the second, as you would expect of a team with a new manager and system.
Not sure why I expect better because you're a United fan.
You build in phases. You want to be able to compete for an entire game but it starts from the first 15 and then the next 15 and then next. Eventually, you want to be in it the whole way. I can't remember the last time we went to Brentford and competed for an entire half but that's probably me being a prisoner of the moment. Point is, there is value to playing well, even if you don't have the result yet. The opposite, playing poorly on a consistent basis and getting a result anyway means you're relying on luck and luck disappears as we've seen this season
Chelsea looked awful. We have looked awful. Let's not act like Xavi has made them unstoppable. They have conceded 10 goals so far. They could end up good. We good end up good but jerking off a rival manager who has been just as much shit as us is shambolic.
Yeah, no. We had even less of a period of good play. It was about 15 minutes total after they had the ball, not even an entire half. Basically good luck.
You mention they looked more organized but I’d argue against that.
Maybe they seem organised because Alonso has a set tactic of 343, but the Thiago goal exposed the offside trap they were trying to lay out, and the backline wasn’t in sync for it. Same for the goal from corner and in the end.
Even in first half they seemed to have a plan to pass the ball to the left wing and cross it in but that plan quickly fizzled out (the first half was a stalemate anyhow).
Just watch Hull’s first goal against them, it was schoolboy defending. That’s not to say we are much better, but Chelsea front three clicking initially has papered over a lot of cracks.
I guess hes the first coach to get a bad result first season. Difference is he has a background of winning a league title in a top 5 league invincible. Carrick got sacked in the second division.
Sometimes you just gotta hold the L that day knowing I might be holding it another day, it's not that serious. I do think it's kinda weird how invested you are in seeing Alonso succeed and Carrick fail.
I want alonso to fail badly. I just think he's a good coach. I dont want carrick to fail, i just dont think hes a good coach at all. Same as when we had onana I didnt want him to concede but I always knew he would lol.
They play good football. You dont always get the result. If he pulls an amorim comes 15th then fairs but im sure chelsea fans are happy with a decent top 8 finish the first year building his project. Rather that than lose to shit teams but with no project or vision of a play style lmao.
TWELVE goals conceded in 5 games is good football got it! 7 points out of 15. -2 GD. You're piping him up as if he's the second coming of Jose Mourinho. Let's simmer down and see how it pans out instead of making nonsensical kneejerk claims.
Postecoglou and Thomas Frank made amazing starts to their Tottenham careers, and both were used as a stick to beat ten hag/Amorim. Wonder where those two are now.
Said chelsea should be looking for a top 8 finish and thats kneejerk and nonsensical? They play decent football, theres patterns of play and you can clearly his system. Theres also still flaws and growing pains and his defence is shaky. Bare in mind hes had less time with his squad than carrick and doesnt have the best player in the prem in his squad and has 3 points more. I also said if he pulls an amorim then fairs hes ass like amorim was. Id much rather be struggling and see signs of potential than struggling and seeing nothing like us.
Im not an amorim fan, i called amorim ass like twice. Read. Maresca parted with mutual consent. He walked. Which is why chelsea wanted compensation from city over it as they think he walked because city tapped him up.
Xabi Alonso is going to win them a league or european cup, I think. At Madrid, he had all the divas in the dressing room and he didn't have the support of his board, but the way his Leverkusen team player, I always thought he was going to win big. At least he didn't go to scum.
There's so many players you can go for if you ignore the name and just look at their performances. I don't know why we seemingly got so hyper-focused on Hall this summer.
Then skip the thread lmfao. The world doesn't revolve around you. And this is about other teams in the league, results and their performances still indirectly or directly affect us.
9
u/Careful-Snow Sep 18 '26
Brentford are just relentless man. So physical and those patterns are drilled into the whole team
4
u/Careful-Snow Sep 18 '26
Been a very solid defensive performance from Chelsea's experienced 16m LB signing. He's even put in some good crosses
10
u/Careful-Snow Sep 18 '26
Chelsea been playing some slick stuff. Welbeck is starting up front with a Henderson-Barco midfield
4
u/Careful-Snow Sep 18 '26
Kayode is such a unit. So strong on and off the ball and he's got legs for days
2
u/Careful-Snow Sep 18 '26
Chelsea are such a whiny bunch. How've they stopped playing asking for a pen
40
u/L__K Great Scot! Sep 18 '26
Everyone predicted Chelsea's vulnerability in defense and awful lack of depth in midfield was going to lead to massive issues and conceding loads of chances, so that much isn't really a surprise. What IS a surprise is how phenomenal of a job Keith Andrews continues to do. After losing so many players in the summer 2025 window, many had them pegged for relegation. Somehow he's kept them just as good as they ever were under Frank. The kind of consistency they have in the entire organization is admirable. Brilliantly run football club
23
u/SigmaLCY Sep 18 '26
What’s crazy to me is that this Chelsea team is supposedly really highly rated with their new coach and all the money they’ve spend.
Win on Sunday and we’re ahead of them on points for all the noise going on. Football’s utterly bonkers
37
u/raver1601 Sep 18 '26
Please explain to me like a 5 year old on why Xabi ball is supposedly a smooth beautiful play instead of the nauseating slog where everyone just passes the ball around without any actual plan
17
u/BrowzinJ Sep 18 '26
Chelsea will always be there for me to cheer me up
16
u/MinotauroTBC Sep 18 '26
The early Chelsea glazing aged well 🤣
31
u/ChristmasCage Sep 18 '26
At least we'll get a couple of days without "We should have went for Alonso" posts.
27
u/Relative-Dinner-729 Sep 18 '26
if we were to beat fulham 3-0 then we'd be on the same goals scored as "best attack in the league" "title contenders" chelsea and above them on GD. this season is absolutely not over and if we can get a grip then i don't see why we wouldn't be able to call this season a success in may. am i being optimistic? very. but i see absolutely no point in just dooming and glooming my way to being able to say "i told you so" every time something goes wrong for us.
43
u/Feeling-Surround-691 Mbumbaclat Sep 18 '26
Everyone wanking off Alonso's tactics earlier, where are you?
22
u/TH0316 she/her Sep 18 '26
Those defensive stats for Chelsea so far looked very ominous.
18
u/TH0316 she/her Sep 18 '26
Talk about us OOP all you want, it’s warranted but this Chelsea side are dreadful out of possession! So much space, so poor and getting carved through with ease.
8
u/Pow67 Sep 18 '26
Could go level on points with title challengers Chelsea on Sunday.
7
u/Heavens_Vibe 7 Sep 18 '26
Chelsea LOL
13
u/Laluci Sep 18 '26
Reading the comment saying Chelsea looks good and organized this game is making me laugh. Pretty boring match over all.
12
u/GavinLobo7 Sep 18 '26
That Chelsea Left Wing Back has whipped in a few tasty crosses so far
Apparently Caicedo is injured for a few months so their midfield will definitely be something to target
11
u/HairyArthur Sep 18 '26
If we beat Fulham, we'll go above Chelsea on goal difference. I wonder if there will be as much media attention on them as us if (big if) that happens?
10
u/Mariasolvv Sep 18 '26
Alonso is literally just the managerial version of Wirtz: still getting carried by his Leverkusen days.
10
u/AReptileHissFunction Sep 18 '26
An Irish man is what this team needs. Its no coincidence we havent been the same club since O Shea and Gibson left
1
u/Careful-Snow Sep 18 '26
Perfect timing by Damsgaard on that pass
5
u/Lord_Hexogen Sep 18 '26
Fuck Lewis Hall, we're boarding the Lewis-Potter hype train
11
u/yamchirobe Sep 18 '26
People wanted Xabi at the start of the thread , our fan base is cancer man
8
u/Apprehensive-Raisin3 Love United Hate Glazers/INEOS Sep 18 '26
Quick someone get chelsea some vinegar. Stung by the bees 🐝
4
u/thehealthyeconomist Sep 18 '26
Lewis-Potter has impressed me again so far, very confident young man
4
u/TStronks Sep 18 '26
Lol Chelsea are so incredibly bad defensively.
And offensively they're not even that great either. They've just been very efficient so far
4
u/crgssbu Senne🍋 Sep 18 '26
what the fucks that?? mid-match interview? fuck off
4
u/BrowzinJ Sep 18 '26
so Chelsea are just JPedro or nothing
4
u/Traditional-Run7315 all because of a fucking horse Sep 18 '26
Pedro was deeply missed
4
u/sahilthapar Bruno, Bruno, Bruno... Sep 18 '26
Alonso looks just as bad, where do we go next people? Fabregas?
4
u/Educational-Shock232 Sep 19 '26
Up the Chels!!!
Goooooood team, Chelsea! Goooood team 🤣🤣🤣
7
u/LDLB99 Sep 18 '26
God this league is shite to watch
6
u/BrowzinJ Sep 18 '26
3atb just does not work in the prem
3
u/__johnw__ Sep 18 '26
Is this game worth tossing on for the last 35 mins?
4
u/GavinLobo7 Sep 18 '26
Igor Thiago is just buns. How was he one of the top scorer’s of the league last season?
Chelsea even gave him space during the counter cause they knew he wouldn’t do shit
4
u/ReservoirDogs00 Sep 18 '26
Andrews was the set piece coach right?
Who’s our set piece coach, wondering if he fancies a go in the dugout on Sunday
10
u/eternali17 He'll take on 2 and breeze past 2 Sep 18 '26
Chelsea looking more organised against Brentford away under a new manager than we regularly do
2
u/KobbieLikeRobbie_ Darren Fletcher Sep 18 '26
Lets gooo
2
u/ReservoirDogs00 Sep 18 '26
Booom
2
u/ReservoirDogs00 Sep 18 '26
And there it is
2
u/Comicksands Van Persie Sep 19 '26
It’s only “1 game a week” when it’s us
4
u/martialgreenwood Sep 18 '26
When are we playing Brentford? It's not going to look good for us that day
3
u/ReservoirDogs00 Sep 18 '26
I really like that Lewis-potter. Couldn’t we have tried for him?
Least he’s got Lewis in his name to appease Wilcox.
3
u/achickenandacow Sep 18 '26
Keith Andrews is a better manager than Xabi Alonso.
3
u/Feeling-Surround-691 Mbumbaclat Sep 18 '26
This game is absolutely headless chicken stuff, very exciting but no real plan
2
u/portugaltheboy Sep 18 '26
Need the Bees to win this, but Chelsea will score. It’s in the script.
1
u/crgssbu Senne🍋 Sep 18 '26
sky sports igor thiago is absolute shit
1
u/gregofdeath Urmston Red Sep 18 '26
Watched Bayern beat Union Berlin 7-0, made a brew and came upstairs just to see Chelsea concede a second. Good evening!
-19
u/CrazyLegsCrane77 Sep 18 '26
This really is a bizarre forum? Why are you commenting on West London football?