Like most of you right now, I am buzzing. I am soaking up this form and these moments we are having, and I am enjoying watching Chelsea and applauding what we are doing.
I am saying well done to Enzo Maresca and those who have built this squad. I am watching the players connections, togetherness, confidence, passion, and spirit, and I am saying, ‘finally, this is the Chelsea we recognise again’.
Our recent form has been incredible and so have some of the results. Thrashing Barcelona last week felt like a dream.
As a Chelsea fan of many years, I’ve seen many high and many lows. But for me, Chelsea has always been a family feel club filled with players who give it there all and bleed blue. Right now, it feels like we have that in our squad. It’s been a while coming, but it finally feels like those players are out there giving everything they’ve got for the badge, as is Maresca, who deserves ALL the praise he is getting right now too.
The squad builders deserve praise for targeting these types of personalities and getting in young talents before they become expensive big names. And the owners deserve massive praise for seeing this vision and sticking with it.
It’s so important for us fans to offer praise, acknowledge all of this, and most importantly, enjoy and soak up these moments. We don’t know how long they will last, but it’s so good to have them back for now.
It’s still a young team that is maturing. Everything around Chelsea is inexperienced; from head coach, players, to owners. For me, that is just a fact. What that will still bring is inconsistencies. We have to expect more bumps. We will see and ask more questions, criticisms, and ups and downs. That will all just be part of it.
I am not getting ahead of myself and I’m not getting carried away with anything. I said from the start of the season that I will assess and offer my conclusions at the end of the season. We haven’t won anything yet this season, and there is a long way to go. If we improve season upon season, then you wont see me complaining too much. Whilst it is my job to always call things as I see them, ask questions, and raise any concerns I have about gaps in the squad or things I feel have been done wrong, I won’t be saying that this project is failing as long as we are improving year on year – and I do think we will see those improvements again this season. But I’m reeling it all in for myself, personally, right now. We can’t get ahead of ourselves, and neither are Chelsea.
I actually like the latest briefings from the club (for once). I like that they are saying that in this project we are not expecting to win the Premier League this season. It’s fair. None of us were expecting that, so why would they be? I think it’s just being realistic, and I don’t have any issues with that.
My gripe has always been that I believe this could have been done quicker with more balance in our squad building. I will always believe and maintain that, regardless of what happens going forward. I believe fully in balance in life in general, not just in football. And I believe that if this project was done with more balance, we would be further ahead of where we are now, without a doubt. I’ve never had a problem with it being a youth-led squad build. I think it’s very smart to sign players before they become too expensive. Estevao Willian is going to prove that. Why would anyone have a problem with that? It’s just like when they gave Thomas Tuchel the recruitment keys and he filled the team with ‘experience’ and it didn’t work. It doesn’t have to be one way or the other, it should have always just been done with more balance. That’s always been my issue and nobody will convince me that we wouldn’t be further ahead with this project right now if we hadn’t built the squad with more balance, adding some proven leaders to our young team early on.
You can debate whether it matters how quickly the project comes together, but for me, we could have avoided a lot of the toxicity if we had done it with more balance. We could have had more fans on side with it early doors, and we could have avoided a lot of the rough feelings we have all felt in the last few years.
Of course, some projects take even longer, and many will be shouting ‘patience’ and they have a point with that. Look at some of the projects around us and see how long they have taken. There is no fool proof guaranteed way of building a successful club. There is no button to press that will guarantee a project will work. It’s not easy. But my gut feeling has always been we would be there by now if we had done this with more balance, and I wont change my mind on that.
However, like I say, I’m not a fan who will be out there waiting for any little thing to criticise. I will be celebrating wins, praising Maresca, praising the players, praising the owners and the board room. I will always give credit where it’s due. I wont jump on any little thing that goes wrong. I will say it how I see it, good or bad. But for me, I have always wanted to be proven wrong. If I am being proven wrong it means my beloved club that I have supported since the late 80s is doing very well. That is ALL I ever want – the best for Chelsea FC. Everything comes from my heart and is passion fuelled and emotion fuelled.
One day soon, hopefully I can and will say ‘Chelsea are back’. But I can’t and wont say that yet because we need to maintain our expectations here with this project. There is a long way to go, but we are very much heading in the right direction and we should be out here right now celebrating all the positives we have been seeing this season.
