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01 Oct 2017 13:41:59
Disapointing result yesterday. Held back from posting anything kneejerk as needed time to let it sink in.
Here are my observations:
1) City looked fresher than us and were much better at moving the ball when they had it and closing when they didn't. I think Conte had deliberately set us up to play on the counter because he knew we would be too tired to play a full pressing game after a hard fought game against Ath. Madrid. With the depth of City's squad, they could rotate and still have world class players pressing. Plus they had an extra day's rest. This exposes two things: our lack of depth in squad and the advantage you get from extra rest. Both have been pointed out before but worth noting again.
2) The Morata substitution was the changing point in the game. With Willian introduced, I believe this was an attempt to inject some pressing further up the field to stop their passing game and put pressure on them playing it out from defence. This massively backfired and we were left with no-one to play target man and hold the ball up. When Hazard did receive the ball, he was instantly surrounded by 3 players and starved of a pass. On top of this, Willian was dreadful. I don't think he successfully completed a pass in that first half and wasn't much better in the second. I believe this was a gamble by Conte that backfired and he needs to share in the blame for that decision, despite the player letting him down.
3) Christensen is a real find. If he stays with us, he'll be our captain in the next 5 years.
4) Bakayoko looked lost when asked to play in a midfield 3. He didn't seem sure whether he was supposed to be attacking (like Fabregas) or defending (like Kante) . In the end he did little of both. He's only young though so it's probably just inexperience.
5) We missed David Luiz's ball playing ability. The were quite a few times that we needed him to collect the ball and run with it out of defence, commit a couple of players and then pass it through midfield to our playmakers. Instead we were ponderous, apart from Christensen.
6) WHY DID WE SELL DE BRUYNE? and Robben, Lukaku, and Mata for that matter. ;-)
7) Despite our mistakes, we have to give City credit for playing as well as they did. They look similar to the Barcelona team that spammed people in the later 2000s. Another world class defender and maybe even a galactico striker (Messi next summer? ) and only 3-4 teams would be able to rival them. Currently Chelsea isn't on of them. They have the players, the togetherness, and they are looking much more resilient and hard to beat than they did last year.
8) I have a lot of respect for Cahill, but I don't think he should be in our defence ahead of Rudiger, Christensen, Luiz, and/ or Azpi. His appearances should start to be controlled like Terry's.
1.) 03 Oct 2017 14:17:39
Attacking wise we looked horrible without Morata up front. Batshuayi should've come on for him, but what's done is done.
City looked very good, but our defense was strong as well. They had a hard time creating any good chances, and needed a special shot from KDB to beat us. So if anything, I'm very confident about our defense.
Hopefully Conte trusts Batshuayi to replace Morata while he is injured. He knows how to score, and while his overall play perhaps isn't quite good enough, he does get goals and that's what wins you games.
We'll have better days, and Conte will learn from the mistake of putting Willian on instead of Batshuayi. Onwards and upwards.
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04 Mar 2024 23:29:23
There are so many things wrong at Chelsea that they have a cascading effect on everything else below it:
1) The investment in players. We have bought far too many young players and placed unrealistic expectations on them, creating huge imbalance in the squad. Rather than learn from this mistake, we’ve continued with this ‘strategy’ for two years. All those young players with great potential to develop are in a weird situation in that they are nailed on first teamers so aren’t motivated to fight for a place but also shouldn’t be in the first team in the first place. So it creates a bunch of pressure for a group of players who are less motivated to succeed.
2. Chelsea’s expectations: there are a few clubs in the unique position where they previously won tons of things and the fans now expect wins like ‘the good old days’. See also: Man Utd. This puts a bad type of pressure into each performance as the players fear their own fans turning on them pretty quickly if a game isn’t going well. I’m not saying it doesn’t happen elsewhere, but it happens less at other smaller clubs.
3. Other clubs hate us. We aren’t a team that casual supporters tend to like because we’ve spent so much money in both the A’movich and Boehly eras. Rightly or wrongly, we are seen as the poster child of everything that’s wrong with football currently. This creates a lot of negative headlines and certain pundits are only too happy to jump on us when we are playing badly and don’t credit us when we are good. This has got to be bad for morale.
4. Wage structure: the idea of getting paid less with more performance-related bonuses is probably good for the club right now, but piles on the misery for the players. I think right now, they’ll be thinking ‘damn, I could’ve gone to x or y club on the same money and less pressure. ’ I don’t think it’s a good motivational tool.
5. Long contracts - a lot of players’ contracts will expire after seven years. Again, not much of a motivator to perform once you’re on a cash cow contract until 2030.
6. Injuries - a mix of poor management of player fitness and bad luck. Hard to tell what is what.
1.) 05 Mar 2024 03:52:14
Fantastic post dantheblue. I was originally very optimistic with Boehly as I thought errors were made in the abramovic era. However, it has been utterly disastrous and they're not learning from there mistakes. A billion pounds should have cemented this clubs spot in the top 4 wigh many trophies for a decade however it's put us from 3rd to 11th. The 'advice' they've taken has been shambling and I'd trust many more people on here to do a better job with the finances, and I'm not even joking with that comment. Put Tomb in charge, and we'd have bought better players.
2.) 05 Mar 2024 07:07:45
I wouldn’t have done a better job but I would have done a different job and no doubt we would now be in the bottom three.
Jut a few points from the Danetheblue post.
I cannot see any player being less motivated if they have a five year contract or a seven year contract. I think motivation is a self discipline/ desire.
I believe strongly in performance related contracts. I also believe that workers have to think that performance bonuses are achievable.
Strangely in London I think Spurs are the most disliked club by football supporters. Across the country I think it’s probably Liverpool and Utd who are disliked the most.
The current crop of football fans probably have higher expectations than older fans and we live in a society with limited patience and an overwhelming desire to name and blame. I want success every season but I there are no guarantees in football and over the years I’ve witnessed lots of failure as well as success.
The signing of lots of young players by our new owners is an interesting development. For me it wasn’t about the age but more about how many new signings have been made but they were left with contracts expiring in several key areas.
3.) 05 Mar 2024 11:27:27
Agree with a lot of the above.
Motivation is an interesting concept it should be a given
A few years ago I played about 15 mins in a charity game to raise funds for a community project mainly against ex birmingham and villa players, we were a cobbled together side we knew we were in trouble when they celebrated every goal and it really appeared to matter to them.
Think motivation is in built to the pysche of the players they all want to win, there are obviously degrees of hard work some probably put in more hard yards than others.
Having said that we could do with an obvious motivator / senior pro on the pitch so the crowd can see how much they care, not sure who that is or if he exists.
4.) 05 Mar 2024 13:49:31
Selling yourself short there Tom. Think you'd have more sense in your transfer strategy than we did in ours.
5.) 05 Mar 2024 14:49:22
Yeah, thanks - I don't doubt our players are motivated. I just think there's a ton of stuff that weighs on us like an anchor on and off the field and nudges us below the level of other premier league sides. Mourninho was a master of harnessing this feeling and making us feel like underdogs and that it was 'us against the world'. Although if that didn't work, he just found a scapegoat and blamed them ;-)
It's a bit like Dave Brailsford's incremental gains idea in reverse. If you concentrate on all the little things that give you 1% advance over your competition, that soon ads up to 5-10% advantage. I think what's happening with Chelsea is that there are a bunch of these little 1% differences across different areas of the club that are negatively impacting us, which results in a 5-10% drop in form. Against Premier League clubs, that's massive and leads to our erratic form.
Man Utd are the same. They chop and change managers, but they haven't solved the structural problems that are the underlying issue.
6.) 05 Mar 2024 16:22:48
Dan, you make a very good point about small differences and attention to detail.
Small margins can win or lose a game and there have been occasions over the last two seasons when players have switched off. Part of that can be put down to “learning a trade” but it can also become normalised if not worked on as a skill.
11 Aug 2023 08:09:52
I’m not too bothered about Caceido to be honest. My reasoning is that we need a decent holding midfielder who can break up play, resist pressing in possession, and make key passes out to more creative players, and there are a bunch of cheaper players who can do that. It’s not worth paying £110 million for that. I think you can tell by the club’s reluctance to spend that amount on Caceido that they liked him but not THAT much.
1.) 11 Aug 2023 09:10:26
I don’t agree. I think he’s one of the best at that. Lavia is decent but he does have a lot of loose passes in him.
2.) 11 Aug 2023 08:59:30
Well we didn't pay much less for EF but perhaps he offers a bit more?
3.) 11 Aug 2023 11:14:35
JBS, agreed, yes if we can get a good holding player then we can unlock EF’s playmaker ability this year. He’s definitely worth the money in comparison.
20 Oct 2020 22:17:20
Thoughts on the Sevilla game:
Oddly flat performance - maybe because everyone is knackered from all the games in quick succession. I also think there were some nerves in there because of the amount of goals we've conceided. That was the biggest positive - a ruddy clean sheet! Take a picture, it won't last long.
I think we should have brought on CHD and Tammy much earlier than 91 mins as impact subs. In fairness, Ziyech made some great incisive passes, but those two represent a different, more direct style of player that could've won us the game if they'd had 30-odd minutes.
Chilwell worked really hard in defence and battled hard so good game mostly. Downside was that his passing wasn't as good as usual.
Mendy was awesome and unflappable. Really happy we have a dependable keeper (touch wood) .
Zouma made several unforced errors and they all seem to be to do with his ability to control the ball played into him. Physically he is immense, but I don't think he has the technical attributes needed to be on the level of a Silva or a Laporte. He also is criminally slow at recovery - there were two instances where he lost the ball and then half-jogged/ half-ran back and let others sort out the problem. Not good. I still think we need two CB's cos Silva is only a temp solution.
Werner looked lively but faded in the second half. I think a 65 min sub for Big Oli would've given the team something different.
Havertz, i'm not sure what he was doing, but he didn't seem to have much impact on the game at all. Maybe asking too much from a 21 year old?
Same with Pulisic, especially coming back from injury. Definitely one to be patient with. He would also probably benefit from being played higher up in a 4-3-3.
I would be super happy if we sold Jorginho for say £60m and got in someone with a bit more bite in midfield in Jan. Liverpool have Fabinho, Man City have Fernandinho, Man Utd have Matic, we have Kante BUT Kante (as discussed on numerous occasions on here) he is not a holding midfielder, he is box-to-box, so we need someone who is an excellent tackler and has a high work rate and will properly cover our defence.
At least we made defensive progress - looking forward to when we put it all together against Manutd now.
1.) 21 Oct 2020 00:28:24
Zouma, Rudiger, Christensen and Tomori are all error prown. How I wish we had David Luiz.
2.) 21 Oct 2020 07:13:30
No one is buying Jorginho for 60 million. Yet again we've made poor signings and need a DOF.
3.) 21 Oct 2020 08:48:53
Some v good points Dantheblue had also though Werner faded second half as well as jorginho after ok start. Think Mount and Havertz also looked tired and might have played a half each.
4.) 21 Oct 2020 10:52:50
Im sorry, we have made poor signings? You want David Luiz back? This better all be tongue in cheek or you are all delusional!
I swear this forum is for Chelsea trolls and not supporters.
We are 5 games in to a new, and very disrupted, season. Look at the results around the world not just in the prem!
We have signed a boat load of new players who have barely played a game together and we are questioning their ability It is not a computer game, things take time.
I don't like Mount of the left wing either but do you really think CHO offers us more in general? He has been good against weaker teams or coming off the bench as he doesn't put a shift in and can't defend. We have been leaking goals like crazy so your answer to this is to take off one of the main players we have who presses and replace him with a passenger?
{Ed002's Note - You are right - the regulars are doing no more than trolling the site again. We are going to have a clean up of members and move on those who are making it unusable.}
5.) 21 Oct 2020 11:48:31
Trust me Shak is not a troll and I’m sure the DL comment was totally tongue in cheek.
We have posters who only come the site after a poor performance and make iMO outrageous comments about certain players and the manager.
Criticism is good as long as it’s constructive.
03 Oct 2020 18:13:02
We showed real promise today. I don't think everything has clicked into place yet, but we looked more defensively compact which is a massive relief. Chilwell bossed our previously weaker left side.
We need to work on switching up our play a bit to break teams down but that will come with the addition of arguably our two most creative players, Ziyech and Pulisic.
Mildly annoying that there's an international break now, but nevermind. On the plus side, it gives Ziyech more time to come back from injury, and Pulisic to work on his fitness.
KTBFFH!
29 Sep 2020 09:15:46
With the transfer window nearly closed, it's clear that we've had one of the best, if not the best window of all clubs in the PL. With that in mind, it's great to see that the club have got the right infrastructure and personnel in place to really compete at the top level again. Everything now depends on this group of very talented individual players coming together and playing as a team.
1.) 29 Sep 2020 10:04:12
Very true Dantheblue.
2.) 29 Sep 2020 10:07:17
You missed one key and significant point your point.
Everything depends on this group of talented players coming and playing as a team. However the manager is key. let's hope Frank Lampard is the man to make this work for the team. I have every faith that he has solutions to the problems we are seeing regularly. There is nobody else better that I would like to succedd than him. However, my ties in the end are with the club and not any single individual.
I can't kid myself, our team is one of the best in the league and I'm sure top 4 would be minimum this year. I don't expect 1st or 2nd but we should be the next closest rival.
3.) 29 Sep 2020 10:12:17
The infrastructure and hierarchy are there. The only thing is this team has no identity or style yet. Lampards tactics just seem to hope for the best from individual players like Havertz and Werner. I hope something changes as I’d love nothing more than Frank to succeed but at this moment I do have big doubts.
He can throw Alonso under the bus but at the end of the day it’s Frank that picks him. Should have been Azpi at LB Saturday at least until Chilwell can play a full 90. He’s also picked Kepa far too many times when Caballero is better. He’s not a good keeper but he’s stable and gives the defence more confidence than Kepa does.
4.) 29 Sep 2020 11:43:08
Alonso being “thrown under the bus†was about something that happened after the game not during the game and has absolutely nothing to do with “picking†Alonso.
Lamps highlighted the individual mistakes and the players that made those mistakes. The stuff that’s come out in the press has nothing to do with performance just team ethic and IMO Lamps is perfectly justified in calling the player out. It getting out in the press is unfortunate but not surprising.
Of course, given the performance of Alonso was poor and I’m sure NO manager picks a player to have a bad game, he picks what he thinks is the best team to get a job done. If it doesn’t work he gets criticism and that’s the way it should be.
I wouldn’t have picked Alonso but i wouldn’t have picked Christensen and he had a good game. Unfortunately managers can’t use hindsight but they have to except the decisions they make can cost them there job.
5.) 29 Sep 2020 16:58:02
It's the same in every job tom
Enjoy match tonight mate I'm going 4 1 to us any less Frank can do one that's a joke lol.
6.) 29 Sep 2020 17:52:37
Absolutely Gianfranco.
This is a man who took a penalty in a Champions League game against Liverpool about two days after his mum had passed away. That’s pressure!
He knows the game. Be successful or be sacked. Simple.
I think we win 3-0 with Werner getting two!
21 Sep 2020 10:13:22
Yeah, it's true that he doesn't offer goals of key passes, but I think the thing that Kante has that Frank loves is his workrate and uncannot ability to intercept passes and make key tackles. If you imagine that being done further up the pitch as part of a press, it will put pressure on ball playing defenses and hopefully cause a bunch of problems for teams. And unlike some other players, he has the engine to do that all game.
05 Mar 2024 19:26:54
Also totally agree with your point about a failure to sell the project. They need to get better at calming fears in the fan base during the tougher times with clearer communication that isn’t just from whichever hapless manager we’ve got at the time.
05 Mar 2024 14:49:22
Yeah, thanks - I don't doubt our players are motivated. I just think there's a ton of stuff that weighs on us like an anchor on and off the field and nudges us below the level of other premier league sides. Mourninho was a master of harnessing this feeling and making us feel like underdogs and that it was 'us against the world'. Although if that didn't work, he just found a scapegoat and blamed them ;-)
It's a bit like Dave Brailsford's incremental gains idea in reverse. If you concentrate on all the little things that give you 1% advance over your competition, that soon ads up to 5-10% advantage. I think what's happening with Chelsea is that there are a bunch of these little 1% differences across different areas of the club that are negatively impacting us, which results in a 5-10% drop in form. Against Premier League clubs, that's massive and leads to our erratic form.
Man Utd are the same. They chop and change managers, but they haven't solved the structural problems that are the underlying issue.
11 Aug 2023 14:39:47
My guess for ins and outs before the close of the window:
In:
Caicedo
Kudus
Adams
[unknown Goalkeeper]
Out:
Kepa (even though Poch has said he is 'slightly ahead' at the moment - that's just keeping him happy for now)
Lukaku
Ziyech
Chalobah
50:50 on Gallagher.
11 Aug 2023 11:14:35
JBS, agreed, yes if we can get a good holding player then we can unlock EF’s playmaker ability this year. He’s definitely worth the money in comparison.
24 Oct 2020 19:41:08
Definitely a pen!