Sarri But Not Sarri Thread

[Unionjack 7,531]

Interesting read

Chelsea: Marcos Alonso, Mateo Kovacic add the twist to a 4-1-4-1

https://theprideoflondon.com/2018/09/18/chelsea-marcos-alonso-mateo-kovacic/

Predictability is a fatal characteristic in modern coaching. No matter how effective or innovative one’s methods are, they will not be for long (cough cough, Mourinho). Maurizio Sarri is on the right track by building on what he did at Napoli without trying to replicate it.

[Sideshow Luiz 2,310]

Besides our style of play which is coming along much quicker than I (or most) would have anticipated.  I think something that's been underrated (because it's not really mentioned) is whatever Sarri is doing at half time.  Besides Newcastle, which was kind of a freak goal, I don't remember any team having a sniff in the second half of our matches.  Before half time against Arsenal, they were cutting balls back to the penalty spot for fun, like they were playing a video game and had found a way to score over and over (and we were lucky to not concede 4).  Second half?  Nothing.  Last week against Cardiff, it seemed like they would launch a clearance/long ball down field and it would immediately be snuffed out.  I don't recall them being on the ball much in any kind of dangerous positions.  Opening match against Huddersfield, it felt like a goal was coming against them in the first half.  Absolutely nothing in the second.

[Unionjack 7,531]

On 9/18/2018 at 3:04 PM, Sideshow Luiz said:

Besides our style of play which is coming along much quicker than I (or most) would have anticipated.  I think something that's been underrated (because it's not really mentioned) is whatever Sarri is doing at half time.  Besides Newcastle, which was kind of a freak goal, I don't remember any team having a sniff in the second half of our matches.  Before half time against Arsenal, they were cutting balls back to the penalty spot for fun, like they were playing a video game and had found a way to score over and over (and we were lucky to not concede 4).  Second half?  Nothing.  Last week against Cardiff, it seemed like they would launch a clearance/long ball down field and it would immediately be snuffed out.  I don't recall them being on the ball much in any kind of dangerous positions.  Opening match against Huddersfield, it felt like a goal was coming against them in the first half.  Absolutely nothing in the second.

You are right mate. He does seem to have a very good eye for detail and manages to get across to the lads just whats goimg wrong. Which have mostly been defending issues.

All we have to do now is find out how not to get in them positions to start with. We are bound to make mistakes in some matches. Just as long as we learn from them and we go down fighting I can live with that. 

The scouse gits will be a good test , just would have been nice to have those 3 games in a few weeks time just to get some more practice in. But at the same time it could just be what we need now to show up our weaknesses and do summet about them.

Klopps had 2 years with the scouse gits. Sarris had 2 months with us.

 

[Vesper 27,280]

6 hours ago, Unionjack said:

You are right mate. He does seem to have a very good eye for detail and manages to get across to the lads just whats goimg wrong. Which have mostly been defending issues.

All we have to do now is find out how not to get in them positions to start with. We are bound to make mistakes in some matches. Just as long as we learn from them and we go down fighting I can live with that. 

The scouse gits will be a good test , just would have been nice to have those 3 games in a few weeks time just to get some more practice in. But at the same time it could just be what we need now to show up our weaknesses and do summet about them.

Klopps had 2 years with the scouse gits. Sarris had 2 months with us.

 

Klopp also is bold enough to play ultra talented really young players and has been massively rewarded in Alexander-Arnold (18 when he started getting a tonne of game time), Joe Gomez (19 and 20 when he got significant game time, now is already a rock at CB) and to a lesser extent (because he is 24 now) Andrew Robertson.

I can see Sarri not giving much but scraps to Ampadu (not so worried as he just renewed and only turned 18 a few days back), and especially CHO (who has not renewed, I AM worried here) and AC (who may bolt as well).

[Unionjack 7,531]

1 minute ago, Vesper said:

Klopp also is bold enough to play ultra talented really young players

Rotation and youth are his achiles heel eh/

I can understand him wanting stability in these early days of course I can but I would still see no problem at all throwing them in as he is doing with Willian/Pedro for the odd few minutes. No harm in that I really cant see.

[Vesper 27,280]

Maurizio Sarri says Chelsea captaincy issue not a major concern

https://www.givemesport.com/1392959-maurizio-sarri-says-chelsea-captaincy-issue-not-a-major-concern?autoplay=off

Cesar Azpilicueta assumed the captain’s armband on Thursday night but Maurizio Sarri still will not confirm his permanent Chelsea skipper.

Azpilicueta began on the substitutes’ bench at PAOK, but came on and took the captaincy from Willian in the second half as Chelsea began their Europa League campaign with a 1-0 win in Greece.

With Gary Cahill, skipper under Sarri’s predecessor Antonio Conte, out of favour and ready to leave in January if his exile continues, there is intrigue over the captaincy – although not from Sarri who barely considers the matter important.

Asked whether Azpilicueta was now his permanent captain, the 59-year-old Italian said: “I don’t remember who was the captain at the beginning of the game. Who was the captain? Willian.

“And in the second part, Azpilicueta. I don’t know. I don’t remember. I understand that in England it is important. For me it is not so important.

“I have my idea. I want to speak to the players and I want to speak to my club. It was not possible this week. Maybe it will be possible in the next week.”

It is an interesting take from the boss of a club synonymous with ‘captain, leader, legend’ John Terry. Terry was Chelsea captain on 580 of his 717 Blues appearances.

Cahill was in the Blues’ squad for the first time this season, but did not feature, at PAOK and could again return to being outside the squad for Sunday’s Premier League clash at West Ham.

 

snip

[Jase 43,479]

51 minutes ago, Vesper said:

Maurizio Sarri says Chelsea captaincy issue not a major concern

https://www.givemesport.com/1392959-maurizio-sarri-says-chelsea-captaincy-issue-not-a-major-concern?autoplay=off

Cesar Azpilicueta assumed the captain’s armband on Thursday night but Maurizio Sarri still will not confirm his permanent Chelsea skipper.

Azpilicueta began on the substitutes’ bench at PAOK, but came on and took the captaincy from Willian in the second half as Chelsea began their Europa League campaign with a 1-0 win in Greece.

With Gary Cahill, skipper under Sarri’s predecessor Antonio Conte, out of favour and ready to leave in January if his exile continues, there is intrigue over the captaincy – although not from Sarri who barely considers the matter important.

Asked whether Azpilicueta was now his permanent captain, the 59-year-old Italian said: “I don’t remember who was the captain at the beginning of the game. Who was the captain? Willian.

“And in the second part, Azpilicueta. I don’t know. I don’t remember. I understand that in England it is important. For me it is not so important.

“I have my idea. I want to speak to the players and I want to speak to my club. It was not possible this week. Maybe it will be possible in the next week.”

It is an interesting take from the boss of a club synonymous with ‘captain, leader, legend’ John Terry. Terry was Chelsea captain on 580 of his 717 Blues appearances.

Cahill was in the Blues’ squad for the first time this season, but did not feature, at PAOK and could again return to being outside the squad for Sunday’s Premier League clash at West Ham.

 

snip

Why is Sarri taking so long to confirm the captain? It's been weeks since the season started!

[Vesper 27,280]

5 minutes ago, Jason said:

Why is Sarri taking so long to confirm the captain? It's been weeks since the season started!

Plotting multiple escape routes for when he names LUIZ?

[Vesper 27,280]

BTW. I have made my mind up after much discussion with my wife. We both now favour Jorginho for captain. New boy or not. Its not uncommon for a noob to be handed the armband.

Hell, Marco van Ginkel was named PSV captain as a LOANEE.

[Unionjack 7,531]

2 hours ago, Vesper said:

Plotting multiple escape routes for when he names LUIZ?

Well it was bloody hard enough on the soul to see the armband on Willian.

It's like the club agrees with the Emoji king.

[Unionjack 7,531]

2 minutes ago, Vesper said:

BTW. I have made my mind up after much discussion with my wife. We both now favour Jorginho for captain. New boy or not. Its not uncommon for a noob to handed the armband.

Hell, Marco van Ginkel was named PSV captain as a LOANEE.

Glad to see you are on my bus

[11Drogba 2,000]

3 minutes ago, Vesper said:

BTW. I have made my mind up after much discussion with my wife. We both now favour Jorginho for captain.

She should open an account here as well.

[Vesper 27,280]

8 minutes ago, 11Drogba said:

She should open an account here as well.

I will try, she is not a big comp fangirl, she is a luddite in many aspects (I mean a proper one,from a social anthropological perspective).

[Vesper 27,280]

Chelsea: Sarrismo has no place for a fully defensive N’Golo Kante

https://theprideoflondon.com/2018/09/24/chelsea-sarrismo-ngolo-kante-midfield/

N’Golo Kante has embraced his role as Chelsea’s box-to-box midfielder. Unless Maurizio Sarri ventures into new tactical realms, Kante is not going back to his previous station.

Let’s start with what we know. First, Maurizio Sarri favours the 4-3-3 to the exclusion of almost any other formation. He used it for most of his time at Empoli and all of his time at Napoli. He introduced it on day one at Chelsea, and even as the Blues will occasionally strike a 4-1-4-1 or 4-2-3-1, those are fluid formations in and out of the 4-3-3.

Second, without Jorginho as deep-lying playmaker, there is no Sarrismo at Chelsea. If Sarri had not been able to bring Jorginho with him, well, he may not have taken the job. But if he had come to Stamford Bridge alone, his estimate for Chelsea playing at Liverpool’s level would be more than the single year he quoted after the draw at West Ham. Jorginho’s passing provides the temporal and spatial framework for Sarrismo, accompanied by his explicit on-pitch instructions for his teammates to fill in that framework as best they can. Jorginho could not have this effect if he was in any other role, nor could any other player have his effect in the deep-lying playmaker role. Not now, not yet, not for a while.

 

Against this backdrop, N’Golo Kante. Sarri’s system does not employ a traditional central defensive midfielder, and the deepest midfield spot is already taken. This leaves only option: repurpose Kante into another position.

The club or coach who would dismiss N’Golo Kante  – not sell him because of an incomparable offer, but dismiss him for squad-level tactical reasons – does not exist except in fiction. I’ve seen some stupid things in my day, both in football and out, and yet I cannot believe there is such a club or coach.

Of the two remaining midfield roles in Sarri’s schema, the box-to-box midfielder suits Kante best. The name itself makes one reason obvious: the player has to cover a wide range of the pitch. Kante already does that. Now he needs to initiate and cover transitions, and be versatile on both sides of the play.

Kante has the physical capabilities and the defensive skills, requiring development only in the offensive elements and the specifics of implementing the role. The third midfielder is too far forward and insufficiently defensive for Kante’s talents.

N’Golo Kante is not yet, and may never be, the perfect box-to-box midfielder. But he is already stronger than any other option at Chelsea and most other options available in the transfer market. Similarly, although he is not dedicating himself to defensive midfield, he still has many responsibilities in that realm. Kante as a box-to-box midfielder only shaves about 10% off his contribution to defensive midfield.

 

N’Golo Kante as a box-to-box midfielder – leaving him at 90% of his best – can do more for Chelsea’s midfield defence than all but a half-dozen central defensive midfielders in the world. Ninety-percent of N’Golo Kante would still be starting at a top four team in a big five league, and he still would have started for France all the way through their World Cup win.

The same does not apply to Jorginho. Taking Jorginho out of the deep-lying playmaker role and assigning him elsewhere in the 4-3-3 or changing the formation would slash what he brings to the team. Such a move would take far more out of his game – and therefore out of Chelsea’s game – than Kante experiences as a box-to-box midfielder.

Jorginho’s relative lack of versatility gives his role the job security that N’Golo Kante does not need. The closest option would be for him to play further forward in Cesc Fabregas territory. But there his passes would need to be select and incisive, rather than rhythmic and geared towards possession. He could almost certaintly learn to do it, but it would come at a much greater loss of his contribution to the team, and therefore of the team’s already-limited ability to execute Sarrismo. The move would reset the team’s learning curve until someone came up to Jorginho’s level as deep-lying playmaker and Jorginho came up to the necessary level in the forward creative role.

 

If Maurizio Sarri is unsatisfied with N’Golo Kante as the box-to-box midfielder, he must overhaul one of the two tenets we opened this article with. The most likely option would be to veer away from the 4-3-3 into a system that allows N’Golo Kante and Jorginho each to play their archtypal position.

 

SNIP (more at the link)

[Vesper 27,280]

CIES Football Observatory

n°234 - 24/09/2018

Performance

Minutes for a shot: European rankings

http://www.football-observatory.com/IMG/sites/b5wp/2018/234/en/

 

Issue number 234 of the CIES Football Observatory Weekly Post ranks clubs across Europe according to the number of minutes per shot attempted. The following teams head the table in the five major European leagues: Manchester City, Juventus, Olympique Lyonnais, Barcelona and Bayern Munich. Slavia Praha tops the rankings outside of the big-5.

So far this season, Manchester City players only needed 4'02'' to take a shot. At the opposite end of the table, Huddersfield Town is the Premier League team needing the most minutes to shot: 12'08''. The highest figure overall in the 35 competitions surveyed was recorded for Hamilton Academical (Scotland): 18'12''.

The biggest gap within the same league was observed in Greece: from 5'00'' for Olympiacos up to 18'07'' for Panetolikos. Data used comes from OptaPro for the big-5 leagues and the English Championship and InStat for the remaining competitions. More information is published from our Twitter account (@CIES_Football) or available on demand at [email protected].

 

 

[Vesper 27,280]

Probably the most idiotic premiss for an article I have seen in a year plus.

CHELSEA KEEPING TABS ON BENFICA’S £54M VALUED GOALKEEPER

https://readchelsea.com/2018/09/24/chelsea-keeping-tabs-on-benficas-54m-valued-goalkeeper/

[Special Juan 27,092]

37 minutes ago, Vesper said:

Probably the most idiotic premiss for an article I have seen in a year plus.

CHELSEA KEEPING TABS ON BENFICA’S £54M VALUED GOALKEEPER

https://readchelsea.com/2018/09/24/chelsea-keeping-tabs-on-benficas-54m-valued-goalkeeper/

Keep away from shit and pathetic articles, you won't get the hours back in your lifetime.

[the wes 7,212]

On 25/09/2018 at 0:44 PM, Vesper said:

Probably the most idiotic premiss for an article I have seen in a year plus.

CHELSEA KEEPING TABS ON BENFICA’S £54M VALUED GOALKEEPER

https://readchelsea.com/2018/09/24/chelsea-keeping-tabs-on-benficas-54m-valued-goalkeeper/

I doubt we are going to spend that much on 2nd choice keeper our main target should be a striker who can score goals