How much did Chelsea ruin us this season?

[oadby.fox]

3 minutes ago, honeybradger said:

The KDH and Maresca sales were not in the same accounting period as the Skipp, Reid etc buys. Selling kristiansen would have resulted in a further loss as sales go on the accounting books as (sell value) - (purchase value)*(years since purchase/contract length) and we wouldnt have been able to sell for £10mil.

Ah okay, that makes more sense then. Last Summer feels like an age ago. It still doesn’t explain the transfers we did make which were by and large pretty horrendous. I honestly think we may have been better off playing academy prospects but there you go. 

[Bert]

9 hours ago, Finnegan said:

I know a lot of people will disagree but I still believe sincerely we'd have survived if he'd stayed. 

 

We'd have still sold KDH, just to Brighton instead and probably still have replaced with him with Bounanotte as a result. 

 

We wouldn't have bombed the cash on Skipp, we wouldn't have wasted time with Ayew, BDCR and Edouard. The squad wouldn't be infinitely better but we'd probably have picked up a couple of promising young loans or something instead who would have had more impact. 

 

But mostly, the squad would have just had some self belief, some fight, some actual direction and a bit of morale. 

 

You can complain the players are too weak mentally or they don't care enough or they're too entitled and you might be right in some cases. But they've basically had zero coaching and off field leadership all season and what you're witnessing currently is the result of that. 

 

I'm not suggesting Enzo is the best coach in the league or that his style of football would have been ideal for us this year but his sheer presence and his bond with the squad would have been a massive difference maker. 

 

At very, very least we'd be taking it down to the last day with Wolves instead of going out with a whimper but I honestly don't think it'd have come to that. 

 

I think more importantly we’d have continued with a clear way of playing, the players comfortable in a system they’d been in for a season already. It’s hard enough to transition whenever a new manager comes in, then going from what we had under Maresca to what we went to under Cooper really did set us back. The players loved playing under Maresca and that was clear as day. 
 

 

[Parker Pen]

11 hours ago, An Away Move said:

This season has been an abomination. How different would it have been if Chelsea didn’t knee cap us on arrival into The Premier League by poaching Maresca. I think it really ****ed us up. The fantasy is that he might have kept us up if he’d stayed. But you have to look at Ipswich who kept their highly rated manager and barely doing better than us at the moment. 

I think they massively ruined any good feeling towards looking forward to the start of the season for the fans which can never ever be forgiven.

 

What followed though has been a panicked shambles, the pre season matches with Cooper rang alarm bells as did the signings of Ayew, Reid and Edouard.

[LFEFox23]

It could of been a whole lot different but everything happens for a reason I guess... Clearly Maresca was using us for a stepping stone but he did the job he was asked to do.

[Terraloon]

15 minutes ago, Bert said:

I think more importantly we’d have continued with a clear way of playing, the players comfortable in a system they’d been in for a season already. It’s hard enough to transition whenever a new manager comes in, then going from what we had under Maresca to what we went to under Cooper really did set us back. The players loved playing under Maresca and that was clear as day. 
 

 

I just find this type of comment incredible.

 

Just about every poster detested the style under Maresca I can’t recall reading any poster wanting the style to continue into 24/25. Ironically had the club wanted that style to continue then recruitment of a HC wedded to the same style would have been the option.

Of course the players loved playing under Meresca they were winning and gained promotion but how would they have been if that style had been used this season but relegation and season long struggles were how it panned out ?

[An Away Move]

7 minutes ago, Terraloon said:

I just find this type of comment incredible.

 

Just about every poster detested the style under Maresca I can’t recall reading any poster wanting the style to continue into 24/25. Ironically had the club wanted that style to continue then recruitment of a HC wedded to the same style would have been the option.

Of course the players loved playing under Meresca they were winning and gained promotion but how would they have been if that style had been used this season but relegation and season long struggles were how it panned out ?

There were plenty of people here who could see the value of Maresca’s system. I was one of them. 
Re: the style and how we would have done if he’d have stayed one just has to look to the Bournemouth FA Cup game last season, which we won. It would have been tough, we might have still got relegated, but we’d have been more competitive. 

[Terraloon]

15 minutes ago, An Away Move said:

There were plenty of people here who could see the value of Maresca’s system. I was one of them. 
Re: the style and how we would have done if he’d have stayed one just has to look to the Bournemouth FA Cup game last season, which we won. It would have been tough, we might have still got relegated, but we’d have been more competitive. 

Maresca himself made comment after the Bournemouth game as to where Leicester were against a Bournemouth team who had been significantly rotated and indeed had 20+ shots in the game. Had it been a league game the result wouldn’t have been a LFCFC victory as it was only won in extra time 
Irrespective and I can’t remember your comments re Maresca the overwhelming majority were glad to see him gone. 
 

[ClaphamFox]

33 minutes ago, Terraloon said:

I just find this type of comment incredible.

 

Just about every poster detested the style under Maresca I can’t recall reading any poster wanting the style to continue into 24/25. Ironically had the club wanted that style to continue then recruitment of a HC wedded to the same style would have been the option.

Of course the players loved playing under Meresca they were winning and gained promotion but how would they have been if that style had been used this season but relegation and season long struggles were how it panned out ?

That is simply not true. Plenty of us liked it. 

[Bert]

59 minutes ago, Terraloon said:

I just find this type of comment incredible.

 

Just about every poster detested the style under Maresca I can’t recall reading any poster wanting the style to continue into 24/25. Ironically had the club wanted that style to continue then recruitment of a HC wedded to the same style would have been the option.

Of course the players loved playing under Meresca they were winning and gained promotion but how would they have been if that style had been used this season but relegation and season long struggles were how it panned out ?

Well, not just about every poster. That’s a ridiculous exaggeration and it’s certainly doesn’t matter what style some of the fans were moaning about, the bigger picture is the players playing in it, enjoyed it and consistently played that way. If you understand football, that’s massive. Just look at Forest, Villa, Brighton, even Bournemouth. They all play very different styles of football, but it’s been consistent and they’re now reaping the rewards of that. We lost that momentum when the style totally changed which is another big thing in football.  
 

Your last paragraph is all if buts and maybes so not really any valid argument because how can you argue over something that might or might not have happened? 

[adejo92]

We'd still be down with Enzo.

 

I'll always believe that any professional football manager would have got us promoted from the Championship, in fact, many would have done it more convincingly.

 

The quality Chelsea have is masking Enzo's poor management - They're horrific to watch, just like we were.

 

[Nolucklcfc]

See Southampton with Martin. Would have probably been the same outcome. 

[Bilo]

Let's have it straight- we were largely flat track bullies in the Championship under Maresca. We passed it around teams like Stoke and Rotherham as if they were training cones and won very easily because they were afraid of us.

 

As soon as teams got up in our faces and didn't let us settle, we looked dire. 

[Aleksz]

Maresca merely having an actual style of play (no matter what you think of it in particular) and his man management and actually having certain players on his side would have made night and day difference to where we are right now. Recruitment would have been entirely different too. 
 

We’d be on more points than Ipswich at the very least.

 

But overall, it’s a moot point, because without him and KDH going we’d be in a world of PSR shit. But yes, he’d of been better.
 

 

[SouthStandUpperTier]

1 hour ago, Aleksz said:

Recruitment would have been entirely different too. 

But probably no better. There were more misses than hits under Maresca. Coady, Cannon, Akgun and Casedei were all either peripheral figures or non-factors. He also wanted Sensi, who is pretty much Serie A's equivalent of BDCR and Ayew.

 

Mads, Fatawu and Winks were all hits. But Enzo gave Glover all the credit for finding Fatawu, and Winks has been proven to be completely washed at PL level.

[Thebluefox85]

If it wasnt for Chelsea bank rolling us the past few seasons where do you think we would be now? Top and his clowns are to blame no1 else

[Nods]

It would have been a lot different. People saying it would be exactly the same have short memories.

 

Probably still would have ended in relegation, but the likes of Kristiansen and Justin, who are beyond poor, wouldn't have had a look in under Enzo. We also wouldn't have recruited Ayew, BDCR, or Skipp. They're all so far away from 'Enzo players'. 

 

We'd still have had Rudkin negotiating contracts and transfers, so I'm not saying we'd have stayed up playing like 08/09 Barca. 

 

The likelihood is we'd have still been relegated, but it wouldn't have been as pathetic as this.

[pmcla26]

6 hours ago, Terraloon said:

Maresca himself made comment after the Bournemouth game as to where Leicester were against a Bournemouth team who had been significantly rotated and indeed had 20+ shots in the game. Had it been a league game the result wouldn’t have been a LFCFC victory as it was only won in extra time 
Irrespective and I can’t remember your comments re Maresca the overwhelming majority were glad to see him gone. 
 

We heavily rotated against Bournemouth, too. 

[Chrysalis]

10 hours ago, oadby.fox said:

Can someone explain to me why KDH and Maresca leaving was beneficial for financial reasons?

 

Firstly, weren’t the issues regarding PSR concerning our prior stint in the league? Secondly, if we did need the money, then our transfer business didn’t really reflect that. Couldn’t we have (hypothetically) kept both KDH and Maresca, and simply not signed Skipps, Edouard, and one of Ayew or DCR? Similarly, we could’ve sold Kristiansen to Bologna and done some mixture of the above. Skipps only cost a little bit less than KDH and offers pretty much 0 footballing value. None of it made any financial sense at the time and still doesn’t. I suppose my ultimate point is that, once again, we’ve gone out to sign players who most of us could’ve predicted would add very little quality, players that will now be on good wages and hard to shift in the championship. KDH didn’t want to leave and was one of our best players. So to replace him with Skipp and co at cost makes very little sense. 

You making the mistake of thinking the manager not the DoF signs and sells the players.

Edited 8 April by Chrysalis

[Chrysalis]

5 hours ago, Nods said:

It would have been a lot different. People saying it would be exactly the same have short memories.

 

Probably still would have ended in relegation, but the likes of Kristiansen and Justin, who are beyond poor, wouldn't have had a look in under Enzo. We also wouldn't have recruited Ayew, BDCR, or Skipp. They're all so far away from 'Enzo players'. 

 

We'd still have had Rudkin negotiating contracts and transfers, so I'm not saying we'd have stayed up playing like 08/09 Barca. 

 

The likelihood is we'd have still been relegated, but it wouldn't have been as pathetic as this.

We would be on around 10 points, it would be worse.

[Nods]

5 minutes ago, Chrysalis said:

We would be on around 10 points, it would be worse.

Let's put it another way, who gets more points in the Championship? Ruud or Enzo?

 

You're allowed to find his style boring, but there was at least a plan, and it involved keeping our worst players off the pitch. Call me crazy but that beats no plan and playing lads who struggle to kick a ball every time.

[Chrysalis]

1 minute ago, Nods said:

Let's put it another way, who gets more points in the Championship? Ruud or Enzo?

 

You're allowed to find his style boring, but there was at least a plan, and it involved keeping our worst players off the pitch. Call me crazy but that beats no plan and playing lads who struggle to kick a ball every time.

What do you mean by a plan? and arent we in the EPL this season not the championship?

Enzo is a better manager than Ruud, but we still wouldnt have much points as the style of play would be a disaster in this league.  

Edited 8 April by Chrysalis

[Nods]

9 minutes ago, Chrysalis said:

You making the mistake of thinking the manager not the DoF signs and sells the players.

They do have input. 

 

Would Ruud have gone in for Sensi? Would Enzo have blown our load on 'Premier League experience' in the shape of Ayew, Skipp and BDCR? Of course not. 

 

Even we, one of the most poorly ran clubs in the country, try to align recruitment policy to our management and intended style of play.

[Chrysalis]

4 minutes ago, Nods said:

They do have input. 

 

Would Ruud have gone in for Sensi? Would Enzo have blown our load on 'Premier League experience' in the shape of Ayew, Skipp and BDCR? Of course not. 

 

Even we, one of the most poorly ran clubs in the country, try to align recruitment policy to our management and intended style of play.

They have input but dont sign the players, Edouard (dunno if spelt right) we have been linked with for years e.g.

I also dont think Rodgers as an example wanted Saints defenders.
A manager might ask for a Striker who is young and scored 40 goals last season with pace, and then get given a 30 year old who scored 5 goals last season by the DoF.  What can the manager do about it?
The first thing we need to do is detach from this obsession with the style of play, its causing huge damage to the club, Top needs to get over it.  Not just financial but its actually split the fan base.

Edited 8 April by Chrysalis

[Claudio Fannieri]

I am sorry no way do we end up worse off under Enzo than we currently are, for a start off we wouldn’t have had the change in ‘style’ under Cooper so more likely we would have hit the ground running, recruitment would have been different and players like Abdul and Riccy would have been 1st choices. 
 

I am not saying we would be mid table but I reckon we would be much closer to Wolves than we are now, even if we still went down. 
 

I have no doubt we would have taken some beatings under Enzo, but we have under Cooper and Ruud, but i do feel we would have been far more competitive in games against teams in mid and lower reaches of the table. 

[everton carr]

On 07/04/2025 at 21:06, honeybradger said:

I think if we invest the 25mil we spent on skipp on 3 good players we have a chance of staying up. We were more likely to spend our budget wisely under Enzo than Cooper.

It was 20M and we are in 2025 not 2005 highly unlikely you are getting 3 decent ready for the prem players for 20M