Chelsea Teams and Match Talk

25 Jul 2024 20:44:26
Thankyou to my fellow posters who have taken the time to point out the areas needed for improvement (red flags! ) from last nights game, saves me from doing it. I shall therefore concentrate on what I saw in the first half as real positives. Our 2 18 year olds in particular, Tyrique George looked very lively, a nice change of pace, a trick, confident and prepared to take his man on and have a shot (which led to the goal), a real plus. Marc Guiu was strong, quick, linked the play, worked hard and for his debut game showed a glimpse of what he might become. I liked him. I also thought Lavia and James controlled that first half in a 2 and allowed Nkunu to support the front 3 and as is usual with him be in the right place at the right time to find the net, nice to have him back. The back 3 first half also looked comfortable and we totally controlled the game.

26 Jul 2024 10:17:38
I’m worried that James isn’t suited to “
Inverting “ and Cuccurella is, which we know,
So does Reece play right back then move to RCB when Cuccurella goes into midfield, if so that removes what Reece offers,

Reece and gusto both good at attacking and crossing, if there not the ones inventing what’s the plan with them,
Unless maresca doesn’t go with exactly what he did at Leicester? Thoughts?

26 Jul 2024 12:51:27
I disagree that James isn't suited to inverting, I think he can do it to a far higher level than Cucurella. However as you say it takes him away from the final third where he is so effective, again much more so than Gusto.

I dislike the fad of inverting fullbacks into midfield. Playing players in their best position is unsexy and not innovative but it produces the best results. If the players we've bought are as good as we have been told they are, they should be able to cope. Jury is out on that though.

Aside from the obvious problem of being wide open on the counter when you have essentially one less defender down one side, it compresses everyone else further forwards and then there is less space to work with. Everyone points to City using this tactic, but no one seems to acknowledge they almost always rely on KDB pulling out some undefendable bit of magic for Haaland to get on the end of. Again, it all comes back to the players.

You saw this in the game against Wrexham, the 'double 8s' were forced forwards and essentially became double 10s and could only receive the ball with their backs to goal when Wrexham sat back. The wingers are then isolated out wide with at least 2 defenders to beat. Nkunku had to problem solve which all comes back to the question of, what is this idea even achieving if you still end up relying on an individual to do something? That's the exact accusation that was levelled at Poch.

25 Jul 2024 09:24:06
Thoughts after the first pre-season game?

I don't care about the result, but the performance had a few red flags to it. Even with the caveat that we arrived a day or so ago and there were the usual raft of half time changes.

In particular, the fact it took about an hour for a League 1 side to figure out the solution to a team playing an inverted fullback is to just spam passes to their winger in acres of space where the fullback would normally be. James looked comfortable in midfield but Gusto did not. Besides, by putting them there you completely annihilate their attacking threat and they are two of our best (which says a lot about our wingers) .

I'll keep my other concerns to myself for now so as not to be accused of overreacting to one game, but I hope to see a vastly improved performance next time out.

25 Jul 2024 09:44:36
Think you are spot on with observations RDB and we must hope that there will be far more cohesive performance and tactics v Celtic.

25 Jul 2024 10:08:47
Agreed JBS, still players yet to return etc.

There were obviously positives as well, no injuries being the main one (although did I see Carney holding his knee late in the game? ) . I also think Lavia and Fofana looked surprisingly sharp having missed all season. NKunku showed us what we missed, I want to see him playing off Jackson as soon as he is fit.

As said above, I'll keep my powder dry until we've seen more, but the alarm bells were ringing throughout.

25 Jul 2024 20:08:06
Only caught the 2nd half and it was mostly injured returning players and youth + first game but it was very poor. There was more 1 or 2 touch passes but still in the same area of the pitch at the back. Instead of the ball being passed between the 2 CB’s and 2 CM’s like last season, it was just passed between the 2 CB’s + Chilwell and Gusto in the CDM role.

Ugochukwu took his goal well but didn’t really look comfortable as an 8, and seemed to lose the ball quite a lot when he received it on the turn either due to a poor touch or just unaware of an opponent closing him down. Acheampong was at fault for both goals, after winning the ball back in our box he then dribbled with the ball towards the centre circle into traffic and lost it. Does Maresca want the RCB to be dribbling in those situations? Seems v risky.

Not writing off any players or the tactic but it was very disjointed, and incredibly boring. Santos barely saw the ball. Gusto didn’t seem the most comfortable in the middle and doesn’t really play to his strengths imo. Doesn’t look like our wingers will be dribbling or taking on the full back in this system. Looks like Maresca wants them to play a 1-2 with them running in behind the FB to receive the ball back. Fofana looked fairly decent and it was good for him to be back. Don’t really have much to say about the rest of the players as hardly anything really happened.

Hopefully with more time and practice it’ll get a lot better. I do have a lot of questions though. Does Maresca believe Acheampongs future is at RCB or is he just being played there to make up the numbers? Is the inverted full back the one who will be dictating play more than the DM? Santos barely saw the ball at all. And what’s the actual attacking plan? Once the balls progressed up the pitch to our wingers (if they’re in behind) are they getting to the byline and crossing it, cutting it back to an 8 coming into the box etc. Didn’t really get to see what the plan was as it only happened like once in the 2nd half.

25 Jul 2024 08:00:20
Well a draw against mighty Wrexham after a. lamentable second half by us that included two defensive errors. OK v early days and only a pre season friendly. and some players not on tour. Yet not v inspiring of of great expectations for coming season. Problem for Maresca is that end to last one generated expectations of Top 4. then Poch parting of ways amid considerable fan disbelief. We must get off to a good start to this one and take good preseason form into it to have us up and running from the start.

25 Jul 2024 08:47:50
JBS, I just thought it was just a horrible disjointed performance and typical of an early pre-season game.

Flashes of good play and that was about it as a plus.

25 Jul 2024 09:43:12
Yes there were a few good moments Tom. Largely to my mind in attack - e. g. Guiu and Nkunku - in first half.

But lots of red flags if particularly in defense that looked supremely disjointed at times. Wrexham were all over us for much of the second half and I don't recall us being that poor in pre-season this time last year.

But yes first pre-season match it was and Wrexham had already had one v Bournemouth. However given they also made plenty of changes second half and we on paper have so much greater resources in terms of talent in depth it was hard not feel just a tad dismayed at the performance overall.

25 Jul 2024 11:43:44
When was our convincing 5-0 win v Wrexham last pre-season? In other words had we played other friendlies beforehand then?

18 Jul 2024 10:46:46
One week from today it will be our first of six pre-season friendlies.

For the first time in a few seasons I'm really buzzing about next season. I'm sure there will be more squad changes before the start of the season but I'm cautiously optimistic.

18 Jul 2024 15:31:39
I'm now 6 months away from coming home and will be the first time I see the blues in person in 19 years. Very, very excited to say the least.

18 Jul 2024 15:32:55
What positions, if any, would you strenghen?

18 Jul 2024 18:34:51
If we sell a LB I guess we may need a replacement but we have Pickens player that can cove three positions including LB.

If a top keep became available then I suppose that would be ok.

I would still like Osimhen but not to the same degree that I did at the start of last season. I would be happy to go with what we have an make sure we get the right player.

At this moment in time I’m more concerned about the players leaving and I don’t mean CG or NC.

18 Jul 2024 22:22:08
Not sure who Pickens is Tom? You have too much time on your hands and drink too much JD mate. lol.

18 Jul 2024 22:40:25
Very true on both counts.

It’s hard to imagine but “Pickings” was meant to be “signed” and “cove” was meant to be “cover. ”.

18 Jul 2024 23:23:54
I enjoy the banter with you Tom. sleep well.

30 Jun 2024 20:53:50
I no its the chelsea page but well done boys, ye made hard work of that but as an irish man and a chelsea fan I always like to see england do well,

Never sat right with me that 80 percent of irish people follow english clubs and go over for games several times a season yet love when england get dumped out of competitions

Why would u not want to see players you watch every week do well?‍⚕️?.

10 Jul 2024 22:31:37
I think it's an older generation thing. I never have understood nationalism and wishing for national teams to loss.

30 Jun 2024 10:41:30
Watched the Germany v Denmark game last night and realised that the game as we once new it is finished. The semi-automated VAR decision was ludicrous as was the penalty. Add in the joke which is FFP and the way clubs are playing the system to avoid breaching it by stockpiling young players to avoid paying inflated sums in years to come and give themselves future income to offset costs and you wonder what has it come to! Money is yet again at the source and I really wonder how long it will be before punters like us say enough is enough and stop subscribing to ever increasing media costs? Anyway, rant over and looking forward to watching everyones best friend Mr Southgate try to snatch defeat from the jaws of victory today.

30 Jun 2024 12:00:30
G8, I have said this many times but I will now say it yet again. Football is a business and just like lots, but not all, other businesses they will not always be based/ run to everyone’s liking.

30 Jun 2024 15:04:23
I'm not sure what VAR has to do with business Tom? It is ruining the game.

30 Jun 2024 16:06:43
You mentioned “stockpiling young players” and “playing the system” in relation to FFP. I didn’t.

01 Jul 2024 16:18:41
The handball law is massive problem,

The automated var showed he was offside, by millimetres but offside is offside. The automated car with the chip inside clear and simple for everyone to see,

But that design belongs to adidas so in premier league we will have a watered down version of this,

This system knows when the ball was kicked and automated system shows players,

Our version in premier league won’t have the chip in the ball to see when kicked so lines and replays will still be needed,

26 Jun 2024 14:50:03
At the start of last season there were three players who I was looking forward to seeing play in Chelsea blue.

Nkunku, Lavia and Caicedo. Please note I did not expect the unbelievable performances of Palmer.

Anyway and with fingers crossed I can now look forward to seeing two of them playing this season. It's already like having two new signings.

19 Jun 2024 10:04:10
The Georgia v Turkey game last night was fantastic. Kochorashvili, Mikautadze and Kadioglu were the stand outs for me.

Looking forward to seeing Broja play again this afternoon.

18 Jun 2024 09:02:53
First game Man City at home, great to start with a home win and 3 points.

18 Jun 2024 10:03:34
Wry happy with getting them first game of the season. Easy, Easy!

17 Jun 2024 21:46:35
OMG how good is Kante? Very sad day when he left our club. Would have been a very good role model for our youngsters and would play most games.

08 Jun 2024 14:35:34
I know we are being linked to a goalkeeper, another centre back, a left back and a striker and possibly even an attacking midfielder depending on departures but I really would like to see Marc C stay and make that left back spot his own. The way he inverts into midfield would surely suit Enzo Maresca's style? Reece James could invert to centre back on the other side? Or will he want Reece to invert into midfield and bring in a left back with more height to invert into a left sided centre back? Going to be fun finding out. Either way I would keep Marc C over Chilly if Maatsen is leaving as it being reported.

09 Jun 2024 11:21:17
Reece inverting would bring his ability to shoot from range into the picture – we've really missed having that threat for some time now. RJ staying fit for one whole season is surely more important though – you'd think inverting to CB would be more helpful in that regard.

10 Jun 2024 10:29:41
By inverting Cucurella into midfield you prevent him from being directly responsible for goals being conceded down the left which I suppose in of itself is an improvement, but he's not a midfielder so what exactly is the gain? You also leave a huge gap for the opposition RW to attack, which is ironically, how Leicester conceded a lot of their goals last season.

I'd rather just have a good left back playing left back and a good midfielder playing in midfield.

But I guess I'm old fashioned.

10 Jun 2024 14:11:15
Good point Edw about Reece James, he could be very in that position and might help manage his fitness as well. RBD, I think Marc's one on one defending improved after his surgery and I would like him to stay. I fully understand your view on traditional line ups as well but it does appear that the new gaffer will be inverting his full backs.

10 Jun 2024 14:47:47
Sorry G8, I didn't mean to sound snide. I just think that a lot of the flavour of the week tactics are things that players have been doing for years.

You didn't need to tell Ashley Cole to invert into midfield, or overlap/ underlap, he knew what was needed depending on what was happening in the game because he was a class player. My overall scepticism of inverted full backs stems from the fact the ones asked to do it aren't very good at defending (Cancelo, Zinchenko, Lewis, TAA), which can maximise their good attributes but throws a huge amount of work on the covering CB. If you have a really good and well-rounded full back, to me it makes more sense to let them do their thing while shutting down the opposing attacker.

If we do rigidly stick to this dogmatic inversion of the full backs, then I wouldn't be shocked to see Lavia/ Caicedo starting as the nominal 'left-back' against teams we are expected to beat. Ultimately you're hoping to dominate the ball and have the LB spend 70% of his time in midfield, so why even bother playing Cucurella or Chilwell? That would enable you to have the full complement of midfielders and attackers.

10 Jun 2024 15:06:00
You certainly didn't appear snide RBD, far from it mate. I do agree about Ashley Cole, what a player. He new exactly where to go. It appears that we now have most coaches telling players exactly where to be and what to do. Pep is the master of this and is so regimented and I see the same with Arteta so I guess Enzo will be the same. It does work for them so hopefully it works for us. King Carlo gives his players more freedom but look at that squad! I think they all know what to do! I remember CHO saying he hated being on the side where TT was, constantly being barked at with more instructions! the game has evolved for sure.

10 Jun 2024 18:04:39
Carlo is one of a dying breed - but there are plenty of examples of him using box midfields and 3-2 builds from back in the day, it's not complete freeform like the chronically online basement dwellers would have us believe!

Maybe I am being blinded by nostalgia but there is nothing like seeing the top attackers in full flow. Problem solving on the fly is what creates the enduring memories of footballers. There is something that just doesn't sit right with me when I watch Saka storming down the wing on the counter, only to turn around and pass it backwards when he gets into the opposition half!

11 Jun 2024 18:44:18
If we play tika taka next season il be fuming it is the worst form of football ever created its so boring to watch
Yes city have won 526 trophies recently but they are a hard boring watch.

11 Jun 2024 20:59:08
Hate to break it to you Gola, but that seems to have been one of the key issues between Poch and the sporting directors that led to his departure. Their vision for us appears to be as a City/ Brighton-style structure-first, possession-based team. I completely agree with your opinion that it's boring as all hell, by the way. I don't know why anyone would look at the season Cole Palmer just had and say to themselves 'a really rigid, possession-based approach would really bring the best out of him'.

11 Jun 2024 22:35:14
I haven’t got a clue about our new managers so called preferred style of play. So, I will wait for a period of time before I praise or criticise.

12 Jun 2024 07:51:54
I wasnt crticising the manager i was criticising a style of play
And if he plays it i still won't criticise him personally.

15 Jun 2024 10:47:25
Very good thread of posts above and thanks for them. I can only add that a reason for my possible over reaction to Poch 'parting ways' was that we had conststently played exciting football - compare say with TT, Conte, Sarri {too often too sideways for too long along the backline, etc] - even if with inconsistent results. Then we gained consistency towards the end of his stay. The players also seemed to really enjoy it and him. Expectations from fans is certainly to win but we would really like to win in styl and Ed001 post about the Brazilian side of 1970 reminded us of what the 'beautiful game'can be capable of.