Good summary of Chelsea's financial health. http://www.espnfc.us/club/chelsea/3...s-tv-deal-leaves-chelsea-books-in-rude-health
1. That win over Everton qualified us for the Champions League. 2. I think our win over Everton -the first 5-0 win - was the pinnacle of our season in terms of a complete performance. I don't think we played a better game than that one. Koeman tried to match our 3-4-3 and we just blew them away in every department. 3. See the transfer thread...
We haven't played a game like this since probably the Carlo days and won't for a long, long time. That performance was an anomaly. Sure we went on an amazing winning streak, but we did not come even close to matching what we were that day, nor do I actually expect us to. That was something else.
Possible stadium delay or pot stirring. http://www.dailymail.co.uk/sport/fo...sea-face-FOUR-year-exile-Stamford-Bridge.html
probably true on the carlo comparison, but i think it was just the pinnacle of chelsea being comfortable in the new system, and opponents not yet adapting. there were a few other games in that run that i mentioned i'd never seen the spacing and passing that we'd put together in a few of those games. there was ALWAYS an easy pass option. there were triangles everywhere. no opponent understood how to get close to the system for about an 8 game period. one of the reasons moses looked like a monster. so i wouldn't say everton was a total outlier. there was a trend up, that pinnacle, then the trend down as teams became more aware. one thing that i love about this system though is how flexible it is. you can play just about any way you want with it. it's only tactical and slight role adjustments. you can play defensive, offensive, counter, control, long, short, horizontal, vertical. it's supremely adaptable.
Apparently Mbappe trialed with chelsea when he was 14....... welp http://www.dailymail.co.uk/sport/fo.../Chelsea-Real-Madrid-Kylian-Mbappe-trial.html
Honestly, I get where you're coming from, but I couldn't disagree more in terms of what that Everton game was. That was total football. We were unbelievable. Yes we played quite well after the fact for a few games, but that game was nutty man. Altho yes, people figured the system out, Matic kind of fell off a cliff. As did Diego. That hampered us badly.. or has BEEN hampering us I should say. People figuring us out doesn't quite make up for poor individual performances. Aka Moses not getting crosses past the first man. That's on him. Or Diego getting disposed a record number of times against Arsenal and severely dropping off for several months.
True, there have been some glaringly poor performances here and there. Seems the team is trying to get back on track and finish strong though.
I find those sorts of comments extremely valuable. It tells you precisely which people know sod all about football and whom you can safely ignore in the future.
Cool read on Diego Costa. http://bleacherreport.com/articles/...orgets-the-great-contradiction-of-diego-costa "the school's director showed up to the town gymnasium to watch Costa play in a futsal match. It took six minutes. An opponent nutmegged Costa, so he turned around and punched him in the face."
As Tom Petty would say, it's good to be king. http://www.dailymail.co.uk/sport/fo...s-1M-supercar-keys-Chelsea-title-winners.html
Well deserved. Congratulations to @ChelseaFC boss Antonio Conte - @Barclays Premier League Manager of the Season for 2016/17! pic.twitter.com/DcyznfRDV1— Premier League (@premierleague) May 22, 2017
It is. I can't tell you how happy this makes me. When CFC first hired him and so many people, supporters and pundits alike, questioned the decision, I believed that he would surprise everybody. But even I never imagined that he would be this successful. I thought nothing he could possibly achieve could surprise me, but even by his own standards what he's done this season is truly astonishing and I couldn't be happier for him. Finally, people outside of Italy are beginning to understand and appreciate just what an amazing manager he is. I hope his success at Chelsea continues, and that next season exceeds even what he's accomplished this year (as long as it's not at the expense of my Juve ).
Not really sure Hazard deserved the Players Away. He disappeared for whole stretches during the campaign (especially towards the end). Still would have given it Kante for a clean sweep.
TV revenue is in. We snagged roughly £151m just in TV revenue. When you include the amount for winning the league that is £200m in profit.