Chelsea Banter Mobile

01 Apr 2026 16:50:40
Following the club's announcement of our annual accounts, coupled with the news that 2 further Premier League clubs have sold their stadiums to their parent companies. I had a look at top level football finance and PSR and I think interesting times are on the horizon.

It is going to be interesting to see if any companies step up to fill the void when 12 clubs lose their current betting firm sponsors in the summer; there could be a lot of blank shirts next season to join the fashion we started. It begs the question: is there a real appetite for shirt sponsorship in football anymore?
Lots of companies have been squeezed harder and harder with the double whammy NI, increased minimum wage, massively increased overheads in general etc.

Are there the advertising budgets available in the first place for all but the big multinationals? A few new tech companies might want a short term deal to get their name out there (as we have seen), but what other industries are actively sponsoring sports in general anymore?

Also, with the price of oil going through the roof, will airlines want to get involved?

Football finance is now so delicately poised with PSR that more and more clubs will surely follow the Blue.co lead and only recruit young prospects simply because the money just won't be there to purchase "ready made" experienced high end players for 50, 60, 70 million pounds on upwards of £200k per week. Maybe, just maybe the owners are on the right path?

01 Apr 2026 18:27:51
Rpd, I may well be wrong but I understand that other clubs are changing their wage strategies towards a more PRP model. To my mind, that should have always been the case.

I have zero time for FFP/PSR.

I think it's seriously flawed. It may have been well intentioned, but the idea of setting boundaries on how wealthy entities can spend their money doesn't sit well with me.

01 Apr 2026 19:24:15
To an extent, I would agree with you, Atom, but when countries with limitless funds own clubs, then I think it's needed, but maybe tweaked.

01 Apr 2026 19:55:51
Bill, I can understand the logic, but I would prefer our club to be owned by the state rather than owners who use debt. For me that's always been a massive concern.

I'm no financial expert, but for some clubs (maybe ours) the only guarantee against debt seems to be the club itself, and that worries me.

I have long held the view that owners need to put up a bond and the value of that bond gives security to the club.

01 Apr 2026 20:30:18
Would not disagree with that, Tom.

01 Apr 2026 21:45:47
Bill, there does need to be financial controls in place, however, they definitely need to be reviewed as the present regime doesn't fulfill the proposed purposes of the rules. I am against state ownership of football clubs.
JBS.
The top clubs will still secure big FOS sponsorship deals. Football is the number 1 sport with the biggest global audience. If belts need to be tightened, football will be last on the list.

Also, top clubs will still pay fees for proven players, and top wages to retain their status and competitiveness.
You mention paying high fees for "ready made" players, but we are paying high fees for young players; Estavou up to EUR53 million; Gitttens £47 million and Quenda up to £44 million. The notion that top clubs will follow the Chelsea approach is laughable, as they have observed the results.

01 Apr 2026 21:51:49
Not transfer fees but PRP.

02 Apr 2026 06:21:16
RPD, I agree that football has to look at itself as a business and entertainment. I also share your general concerns about sponsorship.

If the only thing a crowd of duffers can agree on in a pub is that the majority of football matches are boring, I think it progressively becomes a hard sell.

Just one more small thing: recently I have mates and family who are cancelling their sports subscriptions. They generally feel it's something they can do without. That isn't a good sign about the economy, and maybe about the current pecking order of sport as entertainment.

02 Apr 2026 08:56:15
I have to say, watching teams like Arsenal playing for corners, free kicks and long throw-ins just to play American football in the penalty area is a complete turn-off.

02 Apr 2026 09:08:34
Tom, a lot of ordinary, everyday, working people are feeling the pinch, and are now looking at ways to cut back, and this will only get worse with the ongoing wars, raging around oil and energy. I know so many people who are ditching their Sky and TNT packages, and are now not even feeling connected to football anymore, partly due to the spectacle of the Premier League being at an all time low with the rough house tactics, cheating, time wasting, and ludicrous over coaching and stifling of players talents, together with totally inept match officials and VAR. The Premier League has had its boom years and may well go bust, with fans like me now watching grass roots football and getting far more enjoyment.

The sponsors will also see the trend, as will the broadcasters, and the money and revenue coming into the game may well start to decline over the coming years, leaving a number of clubs who have spent large amounts on new stadia, players, training grounds in desperate trouble, and owners will quickly jump ship. Maybe now is the time to tighten the purse strings and sit tight, as imagine having spent 1 billion plus on a 65,000 seat stadium and it is only half full? Remember how football hooliganism had a similar effect in the 80s with dwindling crowds? It could very easily happen again under different circumstances.

02 Apr 2026 10:31:20
RPD, our thoughts are totally in alignment.

It's only a few years ago that I believed that the gravy train would continue to flow. I now believe that has changed, but if others believe we have a product that now pleases the public and there ensures continued cash, that's up to them.

02 Apr 2026 10:55:42
Football may well have to tighten its belt like the rest of us, and yes, the product needs to improve. My point was that the big clubs won't really feel the pinch. Let's hope that the broadcasters still have an appetite for PL football, because we won't be able to make up the difference with gate receipts and non-football events.

Unfortunately, the negative comments about the current PL are all true.
As for football hooliganism, thankfully mostly a thing of the past. Although it felt safer going to football then than in some places now at night, mind you, I could run faster in those days.

31 Mar 2026 23:09:44
A lively few debates on here today following Marc Cucurella's comments so I now pose the question to my fellow posters.

1. Stick with Liam no matter what and let him start next season?

2. Let him have another season if we qualify for next seasons champions league?

3. Appoint a new, more experienced and qualified head coach no matter where we finish this season?

4. Appoint a new, more experienced and qualified head coach only if we fail to qualify for the champions league?

ED033, could we run a poll?

{Ed033's Note -


Liam Rosenior Poll

01 Apr 2026 03:30:05
None of the above gets my vote.

01 Apr 2026 08:37:06
What would get your vote, Tom?

01 Apr 2026 09:30:10
I'm very boring. I do not like mid-season manager change and this is a case of me being happy with an end of season club review.

Obviously, the manager's performance at every level will be reviewed along with the coaches, SD's, and medical teams. I would also like to think that the owners continue to update their BP.

01 Apr 2026 10:01:08
Tom

I think the poll was targeted at what we would want to happen at the end of this season which could only be 8 matches long.

01 Apr 2026 10:14:53
As I said, I will wait until the end of the season to make my own assessment.

01 Apr 2026 16:54:28
I want us to secure UCL football for next season, and I wouldn't let my feelings on a coach influence what I wanted to happen, results wise. However, I don't think Rosenior should continue to coach the club, no matter what happens, UCL qualification wise. I say this whilst recognising the club won't move on from him if we qualify for the UCL.

01 Apr 2026 18:28:15
He can only survive if he gets us CL football.

We went backwards with him, sadly.

31 Mar 2026 12:09:26
This is what Marc Cucurella said in his interview in Spain for those who have not read it.
Maresca's exit just after New Year was a turning point in the BlueCo project, but also in the Chelsea dressing room. Cucurella says the Italian was "the most important" of the six permanent managers he has worked under at Stamford Bridge.

"We knew what Maresca wanted from us, " he says. "Winning a title like the Club World Cup (beating PSG 3-0 in the final) also helps, strengthens the bond, and you create great relationships during the celebrations. When a manager gives you that confidence and offers you a platform to fight for titles, you'd die for him.
The moment Maresca left, it had a big impact on us. These are decisions taken by the club. If you asked me, I would not have made this decision. To make a change like that, the best thing is to wait until the end of the season. You would give everyone, the players and the new manager, time to get ready, have a full pre-season

"The instability around the club comes from this, in a nutshell.

31 Mar 2026 13:26:55
Greenaway,

If only Maresca did not want to leave, we would not have had to bring in a coach half way through the season.

31 Mar 2026 15:06:21
Bill, Maresca never wanted to leave. He just wanted a bigger say in player recruitment. I said it at the time; the sporting directors should have handled it better, placated him, and reviewed the situation in the summer. The players are now coming out and saying the same thing.

31 Mar 2026 15:51:57
Greenaway

I think the issue was that Maresca played everything out in the media, and that only ends one way, which is what he would have known.

31 Mar 2026 17:05:52
Supposedly he had agreed to take on the City job. Let's get over it and move on.
I personally can only support one manager at a time. Maresca isn't our manager anymore so, goodbye!!

31 Mar 2026 17:40:45
Tom, Maresca has gone, as you rightly point out, but today's threads are about Marc Cucurella and what he said. He clearly implies the season started to go wrong when the club departed with Maresca, and that is the debate. The sporting directors could and should have placated Maresca until at least the end of the season, and Cucurella has called them out, as a lot, myself included, did at the time.

He also calls them out for failing to add a little experience, which the likes of TT, Poch and, more recently, Maresca have insisted on.

31 Mar 2026 17:18:53
Rumours also of course that Maresca was wanting the City manager's job in te summer as Pep replacement.

Point is also surely that certain players have prospered more under some managers than others. Yes Sanchez and Cucurella were most oftren at their best under Maresca. EM had built up considerable player belief/credit in whole squad off back of CWC win. Yet he also seemed to have been losing some of that credit with some players at least - though clearly not MC and RS -- by the time he left. I posted at the time that Sanchez's farewell seemed reall heartfelt and MC may have posted something similar but I didn't see it.

On the other hand Palmer was at his best under Poch and Caicedo in the course of Poch short stay at the Bridge transformed into the world class player we know he is - or can be when at his best - today. Both had seemed genuinely sad when he 'parted ways' with the club.

Caicedo was largely superb under Maresca last season but began to lose some of that form this season. also under Maresca.

Jaoa Pedro got better and scored more goals under LIam R. Santos has also had some of his best games under LR too and Hato and TC may be added to the list too perhaps.

In other words I wanted Maresca to stay because I wanted stability and could not see the point of changing managers again and especially not mid-season and with another relatively unknown and inexperienced manager. Yet Maresca had been struggling in the Premier League this season and had ups and downs in Champions League like drawing away to lowly Qarabag - who Newcastle thrashed in their away game there - or losing from what shouod have been a winning position v Atalanta. Though his win against Barcelona - and the style of it - was a highpoint of his season and ours.

Some managers trust some players more than they do others and the opposite can be true. Some managers can plame the players for losses and some players will do the same to managers.My view is the often repeated and obvious one that we do not have a strinmg enough squad to compete with realistic chances of winning either EPL or Champions League, that both managers and players should take credit or blame for wins and losses - and someone might be able to tell us just how many losses of draws recently have been down to individual player errors some of them huge ones - and that as this season is drawing to close competing in that CWC was wonderfiul in that we won it but is quite probably catching up with or energy levels now given that the players had virtually no off season rest. It may begin to explain why we seem to have conceded so many goals in the second half and from winning positions.though I haven't looked at stats of this.

31 Mar 2026 18:49:01
Greenaway, Maresca isn't our manager. I don't care if Cucurella or any other player laments his leaving. Some supporters will support Cucurella's view because it's the same as their own.

If I'm LR, I talk to the player, and if he doesn't trust the manager, I drop him and then sell him. I take the view you are either for me or against me!!

31 Mar 2026 19:08:49
Maresca wasn't great, don't get me wrong, Liam is worse, but I'm all for players to come out, but they're the ones stepping over the line, and he really should look at his game at the minute and evaluate that. Results get managers the boot.

31 Mar 2026 19:55:25
I personally hate players thinking it's ok to make comments about their current manager. How about just shut the f*** up and get on with your job.

{Ed025's Note - im with you Tom..

31 Mar 2026 21:33:43
Maresca isn't going to get the City job (unless they get relegated, which isn't going to happen anytime soon). Fortunately, LR doesn't have the authority to sell any player.

31 Mar 2026 21:40:40
The owners have the ability to sell a player and I think the Cucarella statement was directed more at them than LR.

31 Mar 2026 22:09:24
Of course they do: stating the obvious. However, a player has the right to see out his contract, as we know too well.

31 Mar 2026 22:14:52
Stating the obvious, of course, a player has the ability to see out his contract, but given his quotes about the owners, I would suggest he has burnt his bridges.

01 Apr 2026 03:39:58
Jbs, I enjoyed your post. Just my own observation on the recent Caicedo performances and his drop in form, albeit from a very high level. I think this is because he is being asked to play in a slightly different role.


I have always seen Caicedo as a Kante type player. Box to box and break up play. To my eyes, under LR, he is being asked to play in a more rigid role. I'm sure he will come to terms with this change, at least, I hope he does.

30 Mar 2026 08:54:22
I think Badiashile, Tosin, Enzo, Delap, Jorgensen and Palmer will leave the club this summer.
Not all of these would be my choices to leave.

30 Mar 2026 09:53:49
Apparently Disasi is doing well at West Ham, so I certainly see him being sold. George is not getting many minutes at Everton, so he will likely come back, and Jackson is also likely to come back as well. Penders will almost certainly start the new season as our number 1 keeper, so one of Sanchez or Jorgensen will be off. As Liam prefers Jorgensen (as his decision to drop Sanchez in Paris proved), I think it will be Sanchez (unless Liam leaves). Guiu will almost certainly leave on loan. After that, it will all be about where we finish in the table, and who the gaffer is.

If we miss the Champions League, and Liam stays in charge, then expect the likes of Cucurella (did you see the way he looked at Liam after the Everton defeat?), Moises, Enzo, Joao Pedro et al to all want to jump ship. The top players and their agents can all see how far Liam is out of his depth, and it will be revolving doors unless the Sporting Directors come to their senses and appoint a new head coach to lead this hugely talented squad of players forward. The mismanagement of the Maresca situation is really biting the club.

30 Mar 2026 10:33:19
I think Tom is right about which players will leave. It would be a big blow to lose Enzo and Palmer. Equally worrying, is who might be brought in. Players like Enzo and Palmer want to play for top clubs who have ambitions on the pitch.

The days of us retaining and signing top players are over. The owners and hierarchy are either unwilling or unable to build a team to return to the top table. To some extent, they have been successful; they have turned us into Brighton.

30 Mar 2026 10:58:19
I assume that Chelsea have ambitions.

I look at other owners who have come in at other clubs and it has taken them several seasons to make their respective clubs trophy winners.

30 Mar 2026 11:08:01
You assume wrong, Tom - whatever the plan is, it certainly isn't competing at the top level. Dortmund in blue is how I look at us nowadays.

30 Mar 2026 11:08:11
I think the club already has a replacement for Palmer, plus a CF and RW joining us from Strasbourg and Sporting Lisbon in the summer.

Enzo leaving will give the club something different to think about. I personally don't think we have seen the best of Caicedo over the last few games because he is being asked by LR to play more as a DM. I think Caicedo is more of a Kante type player. So, what type of player in midfield does the club go for? Will it be a DM or a more creative type midfielder? That choice will be interesting to watch.



I mentioned a few days ago our interest in a young Swiss CH, or we might go for the lad at Bournemouth, who I think might be a free transfer.

I assume we will also sell Disasi, and I'm told Lamps has already asked about the loan availability of George.

I would also sell Gusto and keep Josh, but I expect that Josh is more of a CH and will probably go out on loan.

I would keep Delap, but his playing time might be limited, and I assume Guiu will be sold.

30 Mar 2026 11:14:58
If the club is successful, then the value of their investment increases. So, I doubt my assumption of our owners having ambitions is wrong!!

30 Mar 2026 11:25:09
The owners may have ambitions, but not a lot to do with football, of which they have limited knowledge. Someone described Chelsea as "a financial experiment by a hedge fund". Not far off the mark.

30 Mar 2026 11:37:58
I'm not sure how much experience other current owners of other clubs had before taking up the challenge of Premiership football club ownership.

As I said before, when I look at a lot of other club owners, it seems to be a common theme that it takes time for trophy success to be achieved.

I think the majority of fans chose our current owners as the preferred entity to take over from Ra.

Their CV was there for all to see, but if my memory serves me right, there was a time issue involved as well.

Anyway, I'm more interested in people's views about players leaving and potential players joining.

30 Mar 2026 12:02:48
You have created a lively debate, Tom, and all posters' views will differ, but the bottom line is our current owners have invested a lot of their own money in buying players. You don't splash £100 million on a single player if you don't have lofty ambitions of competing at the top table.

Fact. They might have got some of the recruitment wrong, but we still have a very good squad of players who just need the right coach, plus a few experienced top-level additions, and we are not far away at all.

30 Mar 2026 12:39:32
Greenaway, I doubt that it is "their own money".

30 Mar 2026 12:49:12
Jimbo, you are right, it is of course Clearlake's money, which is the company owned by Egghead, but either way it is his funds under management which are behind the purchases, and that is why he calls the shots and not Todd.

30 Mar 2026 13:05:13
I think the owners want success. However, in my opinion, they won't get it.

The continuing trading of buying and selling players, particularly if Ef, Cp and Jp leave.

The players we bring in will not be of the same standard.

30 Mar 2026 13:13:37
Bill, if Liam stays in charge, the whole squad will want to leave, along with most of the fanbase, the tea ladies and Stamford the Lion.

30 Mar 2026 13:58:50
Gladys can't leave. Offer her what she wants, maybe an SD role.

30 Mar 2026 14:05:51
Stamford is ambitious, and if he leaves, we are finished.

30 Mar 2026 15:03:13
I was rather hoping this would be a debate about people's views on transfers, incoming and outgoing, rather than trying to find another way of digging out the owners, but ho hum!!

30 Mar 2026 15:25:10
Think Enzo Diasi, Guiu Garnacho, Badiashile, Tosin, Jackson, Jorgenson will go, maybe Delap, I really hope not.

I would be surprised if Palmer is sold.

30 Mar 2026 15:28:46
Personally I don't have a problem with Enzo, Palmer or Pedro leaving, if they request a move. Other than Palmer, who set the world alight for 18 months, Enzo and Joao haven't done a lot to pull us out of the muck we're in. Joao has had a good run of form, but outside of those 6 weeks, he has mostly been missing in games. Tactics and service haven't helped him, for sure. Palmer is a shadow of the player he was. Injuries obviously don't help, but if we can get 130m now, and he isn't happy here, let someone else worry if he'll ever rediscover his spark.

We already have one of the brightest attacking talents coming in Quenda, and a much more physical forward in Emegha, who has experience playing alone up top. Unfortunately, both are now under injury clouds. We need to sort the defence out, but if Cucu also requested a transfer, I'd be happy to give Hato 6 months to prove his worth.

My preference, once the defence is sorted, would be to go all out for a player alongside Moises.

Someone who plays similar to him in that they can create with long balls, but is also defensively capable. Tonali seems available, although looks Manchester bound. The young lad at Barca, Bernal, looks very promising, but Barca aren't easy to deal with. Barco from Strasbourg seems a decent player, but tends to follow the ball rather than read the game. I think Santos will be an incredible player, if he can rediscover his Strasbourg form, and hopefully gets the second year bounce. The other player I'd make a priority would be Kenan Yildiz at Juve. He is absolute class, although I think he recently signed a new deal. His ability to dribble and create is outstanding, top drawer finishing, and he isn't the type to stand and watch when the ball is lost. He puts in huge shifts, and I think he could be a massive player for a decade for whoever snaps him up. I'd break the bank and spend 100-120m if possible, and especially if Enzo/Cole leave.

30 Mar 2026 16:03:13
Thanks, Seymns and Melbourne. Your constructive contribution is useful and informative.

Melbourne, I will have a look at the players you have suggested.

30 Mar 2026 16:54:30
Melbourne, I would have a problem about Enzo, Palmer and Pedro leaving; they are our top 3 goal scorers. Although I do believe Enzo and Palmer will go. I just wonder who you think would replace them. I understand what you say about Pedro; I am on the fence about him. I still don't see him as a No 9. However, he could get close to 20 PL goals this season.
Apart from the two players who will be registered with us in the summer, I don't see any of the other players you mentioned joining us.

Why would a promising player from Barca join us? I have never seen Yildiz, but he has great reviews and will be sought after by top clubs in Europe. I also do not agree with you about Santos; clearly, we see things differently. The first thing he needs to do is stay fit enough to get minutes on the pitch.
We shall see how things pan out in August.

31 Mar 2026 00:35:59
Just to be clear, Jimbo, I don't want Cole or Joao to be sold, nor do I think the club is even considering selling them. The only way I can see it happening is if they request a transfer.

Enzo is different as he is a mercenary. Making him vice captain was another mistake, in a long list of mistakes, as he was always going to want out, isn't an amazing bloke nor is he a great example for the young squad.



In terms of why would players join us, the obvious answer would be salary. If we don't qualify for CL things become trickier, but the allure of the PL and the money that comes with it is strong.

Andrey hasn't had an incredible season, although there have been some top performances sprinkled in. He was the second best midfielder in France last season, so I'm hoping he rediscovers that form.

31 Mar 2026 07:15:23
Other than his regrettable singalong, I have no idea about Enzo as a person or his personality. I just think if RM are bending his and his agent's ear, then he will leave. Just for
the record, I think for the same reason, and if the media stories are correct, Cucarella might well leave for Barcelona.



We have a history of not keeping players who want to leave.

I think Pedro will not be sold.

31 Mar 2026 08:37:08
Melbourne, I agree with what you say about Enzo. The problem is that we don't really have any leaders in the squad. Reece is quiet and far too reserved on the pitch. In fact, the only player who engages with the crowd to gee them up is Stevo. I expect him to get far more minutes next season, and I believe he will have a great season.


Unfortunately, it's not just a wages issue. We are no longer the attraction we used to be. If a top class player is on the market, we are not very high in the pecking order. Also, top coaches can have an influence on which club a player chooses.

31 Mar 2026 08:54:37
I'm not sure what our history is of not keeping unhappy players, but that is universal. If a top player wants to leave and a profit can be made, it will happen. A disillusioned player's form is generally affected, as is the relationship with the coach, teammates, and even the supporters.

31 Mar 2026 11:27:51
You don't think anyone would be interested in having Liam help them age and join the pre game ball respect ritual?

31 Mar 2026 13:01:45
Melbourne, could try the local primary schools.

31 Mar 2026 13:51:54
After 4 years, Jimbo, it might be time we try somewhere else for our recruitment.

31 Mar 2026 17:18:27
It's not universal. There have been plenty of times when a club has refused a transfer or not allowed a player to go to a certain club.

29 Mar 2026 15:51:56
A mate down the pub told me that Ten Arsenal players have pulled out of international duty over the last couple of days. I am sure all there reasons are valid.

29 Mar 2026 21:39:16
Of course, Tom, isn't the first time this has happened either.

30 Mar 2026 01:13:26
Don't blame them, tbh. They're playing in nothing friendlies when they are in pole position in the PL. Tbh, I'm surprised that not more players are pulling out from international duty. It's ridiculous to have an international break during this period of the season.

31 Mar 2026 07:18:03
It may well be ridiculous to have these friendlies at this time of the season, but if these players play for the Gooners, it could, I suppose, have an effect on other clubs.

It's an F.A. Cup week, so no need to play a lot of them anyway.