Now What??????

Yes, very fair.

Conte is v volatile and likely to pick a row with Marina and get fired soon, I fear.

He has been provided with a load of injured cattle tbf.

Now I hear Emerson has hardly played too

Can you really expect to buy injured players like Baka and Emerson, who haven't played PL before, and expect them to slot in with no preseason training?

And then top them up with more injured PL players: Drinks, Ross and Olivier

 

Can we afford to line the dressing rooms with mirrors, and employ a stylist, hairdresser, make up artist plus the cost of all the hair gel???

 

I'm pissed off with all of it,not quite sure what i think at the moment.There's no doubt in my mind that a "happy" Conte is
a great manager and an asset of the highest order,i maintain that the Italy v Spain match in the last Euro's was one of the
best team performances i've ever seen.But if the club is not backing there manager with his choice of players what can
he do.........A bloke i know who has contacts in the game tells me Conte is going and Frankie Lamps is taking over
on a temporary basis

 

Dreadful work whoever is responsible, and Conte really has been shafted. But you are right, his temperament is very dodgy and it is best now that he shuts up, reconnects with his players and gets back on track.
RA has shown rare patience and is apparently not siding with the Players as he has always done.
Give peace a chance ?

 

I think you lot are going way over the top with the problems at the present although its nice to see a discussion again on the board. The Watford result was unfortunate inasmuch that it all pinned on a wrongly given second yellow card for Bakayoko. Definitely shades of Burnley but without wanting to add to the witch hunt I think the disappointing results are nothing more than a form blip on top of playing too many games.

Compared to last season where Conte could pick the same team week in week out for our only game of the week he now faces a plethora of games coming thick and fast with no other option than to rotate. Yes, I also agree that the person responsible for acquiring players needs shooting as it turns out we found someone actually worse than Emanalo. Conte needs to stay and there will be no player revolution. I also think a return to 4-3-3 or 4-4-2 would help our cause at times.

One thing for sure is all these new players need a pre-season in them so its a matter of them all looking in the mirror and getting a grip.

 

I agree I don't think it's quite as bad a crisis as is being made out, albeit we could quite easily go from being a top 2 contender to 5th / 6th if we're not careful.

I disagree re the Watford game though. Even before Bakayoko's sending off, we were awful and Watford of all teams were well on top of us. And that was just another in a string of abject performances such as Norwich, Bournemouth and Arsenal. We've been on the slide for a while.

 

Conte will be gone before spring imo.

He is volatile and will pick another row

 

This.

As well as Watford played, I think 4-1 flattered them somewhat in that I thought Watford were edging it until their 2nd goal. We just completely fell to bits in the last 10 minutes of the game.

As I've said before Conte needs to wake up and give Bakayoko some time out, for his own sake as well as the team's. He also needs to stop sticking Hazard up top as some sort of weird false 9, he's nowhere near as effective as he is just off the striker and we look lost for ideas with no out and out striker up there.

Start playing Drinkwater beside Kante and stick Giroud up top. I'd even consider trying 4-3-3, it'd certainly help Fabregas out who is by far our most creative player.

 

This!!!!

I am stating this obvious for so long.

Not all 23 members down tool .. Never.

Managers always do. Didn't expected Tony to be as lowly as Judas.. But I was proven wrong on that one.

Get rid of Tony and salvage 4th.
Or Keep him and finish out of Europa.

 

How long? Can't have been too long. We only won the league about 8 months ago.

I hope this prediction is as good as the one about Bakayoko the other night.

 

Under Jose, the players downed tools. That much is inarguable.
But if Conte has downed tools I dont blame him, he is on a hiding to nothing.
He is not going to be able to turn this squad of injured, mediocre journeymen into champions.
I would argue no one could.

Roman is giving him **** and expecting gold in return.
Rudiger was literally the only target Conte wanted that we actually managed to sign.
As I stated on the PL board:

Instead of Lukaku, he got Morata
Instead of Nainggolan, he was given Bakayoko
Instead of Sandro, he was given Palmieiri
Instead of Bonnucci, he got David Luiz
instead of Dzeko, he was given Giroud

Instead of quality midfield squad players, he was given Barkley and Danny ****ing Drinkwater.

This is a failure of the people in charge of transfers wanting to keep our wage bill down, that is what is happening here.

 

This is what our first XI would have looked like had Conte had his way.

----------------Courtois-----------------

---Rudiger---Bonnucci---Christensen

Alonso--Kante---Nainggolan--Sandro

Pedro-------------------------------Hazard
------------------Lukaku-----------------------

Subs: Dzeko, Cahill, Fabregas, Caballero, Moses, Willian

This team would challenge for the PL and CL.

This team however

----------------Courtois-----------------

---Rudiger---Cahill---Christensen

Alonso--Kante---Bakayoko--Palmieiri

Pedro-------------------------------Hazard
------------------Morata-----------------------

Subs: Giroud, Luiz, Willian, Caballero, Moses, Fabregas

Is unbalanced as ****. Morata cannot play up top on his own, Bakayoko is pants, Cahill is past it, and we cannot judge Palmieri yet, but by all accounts he is far inferior to Sandro and on par with Moses at best.

If we are going to play one up top, Giroud needs to be our first choice striker.
I would like to see him and Morata together as a front two, I think that could work however.
(Dzeko and Morata together would have been awesome Stupid ****ing Marina ****face and her over 30 rules).

We desperately need a world class CB and CM for me.

Courtois needs to live up to his early hype as well, too many abject performances for me.

 

Pensioner

Why would you want Moses & Alonso to stay.....Moses is back to where he was three years ago...& Alonso is good for a free kick...that's about it

 

Alonso is a cracking player, as can Moses be.
Great squad players that can do a job, I would also keep both.

 

Alonso is a fine squad player, think we can do better though so hoping this new left back we have is decent.

Moses is also a squad player for me. He's actually been very disappointing this year imo. Before he used to run at players nowadays he just stops and starts and passes it back. Much prefer Zappacosta who seems more dynamic but loses the ball more and only has 70 minutes in him

 

Short of changing the entire squad, I went for players who have something to contribute in their playing position. Alonnso , Kante and Azpi have all played way ,way too much, and Alonso is showing real signs of weariness, which is why he is rested at the mo. He has been one of our best all season for me, even with the ineffective Cahill as his provider most games. Can't agree he's not any good. Moses also came back after an injury a, took a few games but has been playing well lately in a team of dud performances. At worst, he is a very good player of the type every club needs.
I see enough to think that with a great midfield player and striker, they will up their games simply because they will become part of a much better whole. Now they are stuck out wife in an unbalanced misfiring mess.

 

You don't mention Contes' selections and the playing options he chooses not to use.
I do agree with your sentiment that Management ,players and manager have to stop, breath deeply, then all step up together.
Like you I suggested that Morata and Michy were tried as a strike pair, now I am wondering if we played Luiz in front of the back 3 of Azpi, Christensen and Rudiger, we could afford to start Fabregas more often ? Or Luiz beside Kante with Fabregas in behind the front men?
Something needs trying because the usual ploys are not working.
Sensible post as always.

 

The most sensible post I’ve read on here or in the tabloid press regarding the current dip in form. My view is also that the current problems started with the loss of Diego Costa. My one main criticism of Antonio Conte is that he didn’t seem to handle the Diego Costa situation well. Part of Antonio Conte’s role is to man manage the players and I think he could have done better with Diego Costa in maybe keeping him as a player here until his January move to Atletico de Madrid.

 

again, I don't get it..

He had the will to keep Diego under the rein last season?
But he couldn't do it this season until January?

Something doesn't add up..

 

My take on Bristols' post is that he feels Conte really stuffed up Costa and is doing the same with Luiz.
Even though Costa was determined to leave and went about it the wrong way, Conte did himself and Chelsea no favours with poor man management. Contes immature and petulant manner meant Costa virtually walked out on strike.
A more mature Conte could have had him stay and play for us until the January transfer time, then leave. Everyone would have benefited, instead we lost out, Costa lost out and Atletico got him not match fit.
Dumb and poor work by Conte, and in BRISTOLS' opinion, a character fault in Conte.