The Conte Thread

[MrExcalibur100 7,124]

56 minutes ago, Belgiannutt said:

I agree with the first bit. Like i said there are other factors such as like you say we've scored early at times which has allowed us to sit deep and counter.

 

Disagree with your stats. Sorry i find passing success rates to be extremely useless. Kante and Matic might have high succes rate but most of their passes are straightforward. 

Maybe i should have been clearer but i'm indeed talking about passing range. About hitting those 50 yard diagonal balls,  balls over the top, into the corner, finding players in those tight pockets of space.

I'm talking about truly great passers. Right now i feel like the fluidity of the system is doing most of the heavy lifting and allowing Matic and Kante (and the back 3) to play easy and straightforward passes. 

But teams are going to start figuring out ways to deal with us and then we are going to need the players behind the ball to be able to make those quality passes.

 

"The question is whether having that type of deep lying playmaker will work in this system or any sort of system Conte is comfortable in. The answer was presented in the case of Fabregas. No. "

I did say "a great passer that could still do the dirty work". The reason Fabregas isn't playing has nothing to do with him being a DLP and everything to do with him not being able to do the dirty work.

If Fabregas was able to actually do his defensive work then he would be playing instead of Matic. 

 

I agree with the last bit. I think Conte has done an amazing job getting everyone up to their very best. Personally i'd say of all our starters Hazard is probably the only one who still has a higher gear to shift to (2014-2015 form) the rest are all playing at their very best.

But that's kinda the thing though. The way we've played so far is imo close to the best we'll ever see from this group of players so in order to improve even more we're going to need to buy quality players.

We can't settle we have to keep improving as our aim as a club is to go further then just the PL. 

Imo we can improve in four positions. LCB (Cahill), LWB (Alonso), LDM (Matic) and RAM (Willian & Pedro). I know that it's harsh on Alonso and especially Matic as they've done extremely well but that's just how i see it.

 

 

 

 

 

 

"While there are other factors that play a role in our low possession i think the biggest one is the lack of real quality passers in our back 3 and 2 man midfield"

(a) You attributed our "low possession" to a lack of real quality passers and as I showed you, Matic and Kante are hardly ever misplacing passes. I'm not sure what having a great passing range has to do with our low possession in a sample size of 3-4 games. We were 4th in the league in possession stats a few months ago. This has more to do with the manager's tactics and not with Kante and Matic's lack of passing range. I also don't see the relevance in pointing out that most of their passes are straightforward (and I see what you're saying but I don't agree they are). Wouldn't that lend credence to the fact that they are in fact not responsible for our "low possession" to begin with? Anyway, I think your whole premise is faulty as it's obvious Kante and Matic aren't responsible for our low possession the last few games.

 "But teams are going to start figuring out ways to deal with us and then we are going to need the players behind the ball to be able to make those quality passes"

(b) Okay. This is the point I have the biggest problem with. Why not we just wait and see if that happens first? I'm not currently understanding this desire to prognosticate the worst possible outcome for us. We're playing well and the team is balanced, which is something that has been an issue for years now with the Azplicueta playing out position madness. It's also not true to assume that the only way to counter-act whatever way you think teams will "deal with us" is by having "quality passers". Wenger has had quality passers in his teams for years and still hasn't won the league in a decade. Pace has always been a stronger factor in championship PL teams than quality passers.

"I did say "a great passer that could still do the dirty work". The reason Fabregas isn't playing has nothing to do with him being a DLP and everything to do with him not being able to do the dirty work"

(c) I'm not sure how you came to this conclusion. Hazard can't do the "dirty work" but plays every game. Pirlo had similar strengths and weaknesses to Fabregas but was the key cog in Conte's championship winning Juventus teams. You could argue the pace of Serie A is much slower, but Conte didn't even trust him with Kante and Matic at his disposal! The brutal truth is Fabregas is just not that good. For all his passing range,  he's also completely unathletic and laughably slow. 

I agree that we can improve. But I just don't think now is the time to be looking across the road for the next shiny toy we can buy. We have no guarantees of being in the Champions League next season or Hazard staying. And if you really want to bring up names why not try the transfer forum threads? This thread should be about Conte not about who we want to sign next season (In November no less). 

 

 

[Tomo 21,681]

1 hour ago, Belgiannutt said:

I agree with the first bit. Like i said there are other factors such as like you say we've scored early at times which has allowed us to sit deep and counter.

 

Disagree with your stats. Sorry i find passing success rates to be extremely useless. Kante and Matic might have high succes rate but most of their passes are straightforward. 

Maybe i should have been clearer but i'm indeed talking about passing range. About hitting those 50 yard diagonal balls,  balls over the top, into the corner, finding players in those tight pockets of space.

I'm talking about truly great passers. Right now i feel like the fluidity of the system is doing most of the heavy lifting and allowing Matic and Kante (and the back 3) to play easy and straightforward passes. 

But teams are going to start figuring out ways to deal with us and then we are going to need the players behind the ball to be able to make those quality passes.

 

"The question is whether having that type of deep lying playmaker will work in this system or any sort of system Conte is comfortable in. The answer was presented in the case of Fabregas. No. "

I did say "a great passer that could still do the dirty work". The reason Fabregas isn't playing has nothing to do with him being a DLP and everything to do with him not being able to do the dirty work.

If Fabregas was able to actually do his defensive work then he would be playing instead of Matic. 

 

I agree with the last bit. I think Conte has done an amazing job getting everyone up to their very best. Personally i'd say of all our starters Hazard is probably the only one who still has a higher gear to shift to (2014-2015 form) the rest are all playing at their very best.

But that's kinda the thing though. The way we've played so far is imo close to the best we'll ever see from this group of players so in order to improve even more we're going to need to buy quality players.

We can't settle we have to keep improving as our aim as a club is to go further then just the PL. 

Imo we can improve in four positions. LCB (Cahill), LWB (Alonso), LDM (Matic) and RAM (Willian & Pedro). I know that it's harsh on Alonso and especially Matic as they've done extremely well but that's just how i see it.

 

 

 

 

 

 

It's not really harsh on Alonso tbh, he will do for now but I hope we can find an upgrade soon, he isn't a very good defender and in a flat back four he would get exposed probably more than Ivanovic did.

[Belgiannutt 3,201]

2 hours ago, MrExcalibur100 said:

"While there are other factors that play a role in our low possession i think the biggest one is the lack of real quality passers in our back 3 and 2 man midfield"

(a) You attributed our "low possession" to a lack of real quality passers and as I showed you, Matic and Kante are hardly ever misplacing passes. I'm not sure what having a great passing range has to do with our low possession in a sample size of 3-4 games. We were 4th in the league in possession stats a few months ago. This has more to do with the manager's tactics and not with Kante and Matic's lack of passing range. I also don't see the relevance in pointing out that most of their passes are straightforward (and I see what you're saying but I don't agree they are). Wouldn't that lend credence to the fact that they are in fact not responsible for our "low possession" to begin with? Anyway, I think your whole premise is faulty as it's obvious Kante and Matic aren't responsible for our low possession the last few games.

 "But teams are going to start figuring out ways to deal with us and then we are going to need the players behind the ball to be able to make those quality passes"

(b) Okay. This is the point I have the biggest problem with. Why not we just wait and see if that happens first? I'm not currently understanding this desire to prognosticate the worst possible outcome for us. We're playing well and the team is balanced, which is something that has been an issue for years now with the Azplicueta playing out position madness. It's also not true to assume that the only way to counter-act whatever way you think teams will "deal with us" is by having "quality passers". Wenger has had quality passers in his teams for years and still hasn't won the league in a decade. Pace has always been a stronger factor in championship PL teams than quality passers.

"I did say "a great passer that could still do the dirty work". The reason Fabregas isn't playing has nothing to do with him being a DLP and everything to do with him not being able to do the dirty work"

(c) I'm not sure how you came to this conclusion. Hazard can't do the "dirty work" but plays every game. Pirlo had similar strengths and weaknesses to Fabregas but was the key cog in Conte's championship winning Juventus teams. You could argue the pace of Serie A is much slower, but Conte didn't even trust him with Kante and Matic at his disposal! The brutal truth is Fabregas is just not that good. For all his passing range,  he's also completely unathletic and laughably slow. 

I agree that we can improve. But I just don't think now is the time to be looking across the road for the next shiny toy we can buy. We have no guarantees of being in the Champions League next season or Hazard staying. And if you really want to bring up names why not try the transfer forum threads? This thread should be about Conte not about who we want to sign next season (In November no less). 

 

 

a) I never said they misplaced passes. We do at times struggle to find solutions (circumvent the oppositions pressure) and end up getting forced to pass back to courtois and have him kick it long or have one of our 3 cb's kick it long.

That's where imo the lack of quality passers comes in. 

It's not just about passing range but just general quality on the ball. You stick a player like Modric or Verratti (not saying we're getting these players just using them as examples) and we're going to become more comfortable on the ball. Why because they're simply better.

They see things Matic wouldn't see, they're capable of making passes Matic wouldn't be able to make. 

 

 "Why not we just wait and see if that happens first?"  

We need to be proactive. We need to keep improving. 

c) Oranges and apples, you can't compare the 2, different positions.

The pace of the italian league is indeed slower  then the PL. The 3-5-2 would probably struggle in the PL. The beauty of our 3-4-3 is that when we defend it's a 5-4-1.

While hazard and Pedro aren't tasked with tracking back they do have an important role to play as they tuck into the midfield and force teams to play the ball wide giving the rest of the team valuable second to get into position.

Our 3-4-3 is a lot more solid then a 3-5-2 would be.

 

Why not ? What's the harm in thinking ahead ? I'm not saying we should immediately make these improvements but if we get into the champions league next season then i do believe we should make these improvements. 

Now maybe i'll change my mind over the course of this season. Who knows what's gonna happen but i don't see the harm in expressing my opinion on how to move forward.

 

[ZOS 580]

17 hours ago, Cosmin said:

Why? Our results improved as soon as our possesion dropped. The low possesion is not a bad thing, if you do it the way we are doing it now.

There was a time, during the previous seasons, when we didn't retain possesion and our playing style was ugly and boring. Can you say that Chelsea play ugly football now? No way. We look very strong and there are moments when we speed it up beautifully. The percentage is not as relevant as the quality of the time when you have the ball. The way we play now, sometimes you don't even notice that the opponent has it for a longer time than us. Because they don't do with it anything that comes even close to what we do with the ball during the shorter time that we have it. Look at the games against Man United and Soton. They had more possesion, but the great opportunities and actions were created by us.

My only wish is that we keep playing with the same discipline and wish for victory and, most importantly, we keep not using dirty tactics! Look at Costa, for Christ's sake! He looks like a lamb, so peaceful and quiet! 

I see what you mean, but there will be times when we'll have to have the ball more than the opponent. Its all good when we score early like in the last two games. What if we couldn't do that or, even worse, what if we concede early? I believe we need to improve on our passing game and ball retention (thinking Diego and Pedro). I'm sure Conte wants better pressing to force mistake but we've never played that game. I guess it takes some getting used to.

[Cosmin 2,484]

@ZOS - fair points, there are things that can be improven. And I am sure that against weaker opponents, we will retain possesion more. But against Manchester United (after putting one in so early in the game) and Southampton (that's a very difficult ground to have a good possesion, let alone actually winning) it's been kind of logical to give away the ball. I think what Conte has and our previous manager hasn't is the capacity to adapt. I really can't see us defending against Burnley or Bournemouth. We will go at them, at least while playing home. I'm sure we'll get better on this aspect too. 

[xPetrCechx 13,546]

Vote for your Barclays Manager of the Month

https://www.premierleague.com/news/133118

[Unionjack 7,531]

I wonder why Gus dropped by?

http://www.chelseafc.com/news/latest-news/2016/11/hiddink-calls-in-to-cobham.html

[xPetrCechx 13,546]

Press conference = the only place you'll see conte seating

[xPetrCechx 13,546]

2 minutes ago, Unionjack said:

I wonder why Gus dropped by?

?

[Unionjack 7,531]

1 hour ago, xPetrCechx said:

Vote for your Barclays Manager of the Month

https://www.premierleague.com/news/133118

Even if I was unbiased I dont see a choice. The turnaround has to be impressive to our biggest opponents.

Its obviously Moiu!!!!

[Unionjack 7,531]

2 minutes ago, xPetrCechx said:

?

The link Petr.

[Special Juan 27,093]

Fabregas and Zouma trained this week with the team. Bot available for selection after the international break.

Zouma will play against Oxford at SB in the check a trade trophy game.

Terry in a good way after training for 2 weeks

[xPetrCechx 13,546]

7 minutes ago, Unionjack said:

The link Petr.

I saw it... but who dropped Guus?

[Unionjack 7,531]

3 minutes ago, xPetrCechx said:

I saw it... but who dropped Guus?

hahaa No he dropped by the Bridge ya nutter

[quickpassnmove 924]

Alonso's not terrible and we don't need to discuss his inflated transfer fee (that's just the market and maybe our shitty board), but we could still use wingbacks/fullbacks who have pace on both sides.  Alonso has been OK but lacking in pace. He does look more like a CB with good crossing ability.

Moses has been a greater gift for our side at the moment and it makes me wonder what Conte was thinking with Cuadrado in the summer. Watching him, watching Moses, watching Aina, Traore? 

We have some backup players for centre midfield and I think with Zouma returning and Alonso a capable CB, our weakness right now is depth at left back or LWB  ---AND--- our right attacking player.  Without Costa or Hazard in the lineup, we might be looking for 0-0 draws, 1-1 draws and 1-0 wins.

[El P. 1,354]

One big task for Conte is to figure out formation he wants this team to play, by summer. Should we stick to this 3-4-3 and get some great wing-backs, or try to switch back to 4-3-3/4-2-3-1 and pursue some more creative midfielders?

You cannot go into transfer market not knowing would you buy to improve 4-3-3 or 3-4-3.

[Unionjack 7,531]

1 hour ago, quickpassnmove said:

Alonso's not terrible and we don't need to discuss his inflated transfer fee (that's just the market and maybe our shitty board), but we could still use wingbacks/fullbacks who have pace on both sides.  Alonso has been OK but lacking in pace. He does look more like a CB with good crossing ability.

Moses has been a greater gift for our side at the moment and it makes me wonder what Conte was thinking with Cuadrado in the summer. Watching him, watching Moses, watching Aina, Traore? 

We have some backup players for centre midfield and I think with Zouma returning and Alonso a capable CB, our weakness right now is depth at left back or LWB  ---AND--- our right attacking player.  Without Costa or Hazard in the lineup, we might be looking for 0-0 draws, 1-1 draws and 1-0 wins.

I still think Bats would turn good given more time. He needs his confidence boosting and get that by given playing time. Maybe in a 3-5-2 at the right time against the right club.

RAM upgrades a must IMHO. Its always been a ballance problem with Eden on left. I love Willian but he just dont offer enough and I'm sorry but a goal from Pep wont change my mind about him. IF Willian wants to be a team player and be on the bench that would be great but I cant see it.

A LWB and a backup RWB is important too. We dont have anyone decent on the bench to fill their boots (Tho I reckon Oscar MIGHT just make a RWB IF NECESSARY. Hes nippy, runs all day and pretty gpod at top end defence)

We are cool for central midfielders with Matic,N'Golo,Chalobah. I cant see Cescy staying sadly but its all about the team.

We gotta hope Happy will repair body and mind. As a CB in this system I reckon he would shine. BUT IF It was possible to get us a world class CB then Id take them at any cost (If they were a good age that we could use a few years) Someone with some power,control,experience to take JTs job. Cahills doing OK but I'd still be happy to upgrade him.

We dont need troo many playerrs, Just the right ones that play in this sytem ideally.

What we have been crying out for for along time is our identity back. What we have been doing is changing to each managers style. Conte has given us a formation that both players and supporters are happy with. (Its obviously not the only formation the lads practice tho)

What we need to do when/if the time comes and the Don leaves is to bring in a manager to keep our system alive and not take a season whatever to make them play his way.

That is of course October is just a dream and we will wake up with Mou as manager and Pog/Ibra play for us!!!

Nightmare eh!

[quickpassnmove 924]

8 hours ago, Unionjack said:

I still think Bats would turn good given more time. He needs his confidence boosting and get that by given playing time. Maybe in a 3-5-2 at the right time against the right club.

RAM upgrades a must IMHO. Its always been a ballance problem with Eden on left. I love Willian but he just dont offer enough and I'm sorry but a goal from Pep wont change my mind about him. IF Willian wants to be a team player and be on the bench that would be great but I cant see it.

A LWB and a backup RWB is important too. We dont have anyone decent on the bench to fill their boots (Tho I reckon Oscar MIGHT just make a RWB IF NECESSARY. Hes nippy, runs all day and pretty gpod at top end defence)

We are cool for central midfielders with Matic,N'Golo,Chalobah. I cant see Cescy staying sadly but its all about the team.

We gotta hope Happy will repair body and mind. As a CB in this system I reckon he would shine. BUT IF It was possible to get us a world class CB then Id take them at any cost (If they were a good age that we could use a few years) Someone with some power,control,experience to take JTs job. Cahills doing OK but I'd still be happy to upgrade him.

We dont need troo many playerrs, Just the right ones that play in this sytem ideally.

What we have been crying out for for along time is our identity back. What we have been doing is changing to each managers style. Conte has given us a formation that both players and supporters are happy with. (Its obviously not the only formation the lads practice tho)

What we need to do when/if the time comes and the Don leaves is to bring in a manager to keep our system alive and not take a season whatever to make them play his way.

That is of course October is just a dream and we will wake up with Mou as manager and Pog/Ibra play for us!!!

Nightmare eh!

Wow. You even found a place in the side for Oscar! I'm impressed.

Personally, I would rather have gotten a couple of swift CMs for our side last summer, so even though we're doing well at the moment (some might think we're above our level, but I think the next three months will show us how many GOALS this side have in them). I truly want to see Chalobah get time on the pitch and I do not have ill wishes for Matic, but I doubt that Matic gives us an edge this year or next; he's not our future.