quickpassnmove

Hat-trick for Mr. Automatic reminds me what a centre midfield at Chelsea looked like in 04/05 compared to now. Makelele and Lampard? Nothing remotely like that now, nor since.

As Blue-in-Me-Veins says above, Chelsea don't have enough athletic ability in CM to keep up with top clubs abroad, NOR MID-TABLE AND TOP TEAMS IN THE PREM. If we were starting the season now, Kante should be paired with Chalobah/Fabregas and one of our FBs has no experience at the top level. As others have said about the upcoming season, it doesn't look hopeful unless Chelsea buy a minimum of FOUR MORE PLAYERS: CM, FB, CB The link-up play between CM and the attackers should improve, but I don't see the side going far without major improvement in the back line and CM. The match today was a lot of ineptitude from the two youngsters up top too. Or, as AVB has said... Yes, I agreed with AVB on Chelsea seasons ago. Get your head outta your ass, CFC. Ambitious, or not?

... and I would say it's not enough for the duration of a season, but I guess there's hope with Chalobah(?)

amateur day or budget cuts on ESPN. IDK. ESPN sucks even though they did nice work on the last World cup coverage.

FFS, sign one of the other options and keep pursuing this one the rest of the summer. We probably need two new CBs anyway. Both de Vrij and Koulibaly should be able to play as CMs too.

I don't think Kante alone is enough to fix the problems in the middle. Yes, we need a better back four for the future, but sorry, Chelsea's options in CM don't appear good enough to cope with the speed and quality in the Prem right now. Any of you who think Kante is enough are placing a huge burden on one new player. Chalobah is one potential guy we can rely on, but it seems Matic is shot and we know Mikel... we know Mikel (zzzzzzzz). On the other hand, it seems the Conte imagines Matic being rejuvenated under his management and with more time (and the starting forwards on the pitch), Matic will do well. OK, we cannot predict what will happen, but if we go into this season with just Kante as the addition in CM, I think we're regrettably looking for more help very soon and not residing in the top four. But, yes: whoever said that it's Kante and Fab in CM as starters is probably correct.

How does a centre midfield like this win anything in England or elsewhere?

Not a joke and not just about police.

6 attacking MFs and a lack in CM and FB (not to mention fresh quality at CB). That's Chelsea.

If our new manager is anxious about the thin goalscoring in Chelsea's squad, is splashing out a big sum for a Morata wise? Why would Real Madrid sell him anyway? Also, Riyad Mahrez has been mentioned and there's no doubt he sticks them in the back of the net in the Prem. dunno; should be interesting, but I think we need more at FB and CM --along with that CB signing.

Max Arnold now, Tolisso later. forget abt Fekir; don't need more dribblers here. there's great one developing @Hamburg though... if Barca would let him go.

Disagree.

sign him up. I don't always watch Lazio, but when I do...

I think Barca have done well enough despite not signing a "proper" CB for a while. I prefer to not compare Chelsea to Arsenal.

You're missing the point. Suddenly last decade Chelsea became a club with "big club" aspirations, so why don't we see better quality and depth in all outfield positions during the past 10 years (the way that Bayern, Real, Barca, Juve, etc. TRY to make up a roster for the 1st team)? The fact that fans have criticism for a given club's decisions regardless is entirely different from failing to even behave like a "top club" in Europe with all the money that has been spent. The best areas of the pitch to discuss this topic have been CM, fullback, and previously the attacking wide positions (after Robben and Duff, only Malouda). Big clubs like those in Spain at least make the effort to have quality and depth in fullback and CM. I haven't seen this at Chelsea during the past... IDK: pick a number of transfer windows that have gone by. The 15/16 season was just the culmination and inflection point wherein the back line finally broke down while the CM and FB positions/depth remained weak. How many more transfer windows does it take then, Greavsie, for CFC to look like the "big club" they pretend to be? CFC could have started playing catch-up in the transfer window 4 summers ago. summer 2016 and now it's total mayhem with more money on the market, plus China buying. Great decisions for the MF, FBs, etc. that we never bought for years now. If CFC don't get it right with this manager, I think the metaphorical window will be shutting, not just several more windows on mediocre transfer periods.

Because some of us have been waiting maybe 6-7 years for Chelsea do what "big" clubs do in the transfer windows: acquire quality and depth across the outfield. I would like to enjoy watching this club like that 2004/05 season or at other some other moments before and after. Time and frustration lead to online boards filled with expressions of disgust. The other reaction is: watching progressively less and less football as years go by.

Yes. True. On one hand there's the flood of money into the market, plus, what I perceive as a general lack of quality in this generation of footballers. We'll see if CFC can build something better from the back and MF under Conte though.

He can see a severe lack of poise and anticipation in CM, FB, etc. He knows this squad will not be able to control matches from the back and middle. I HOPE. I feel myself verging on total apathy if the club doesn't fully support this manager's needs/requests. This feels like the last straw for me personally, as a fan who nearly doesn't give a fuck anymore. Either do it right now with this manager or fucking forget it, CFC.

CFC should issue a warning to all the non-white players before entering the U.S. regarding the dangers of being non-white in America: don't stray from the hotel and training ground premises without Chelsea staff, full stop.

add vodka; change your logic.

Very enjoyable match. Our weakest links were Iva and Djilibodji. If we were to assume that Cuadrado can play RB and Ivanivic cannot play there anymore, that still leaves us with Rahman, Aina, Cuadrado, and Azpi for FBs. I think we need to get someone in that position with top notch quality. Sell Mikel, buy another CM, and as someone else mentioned here, a killer forward with a lethal shot might be a good idea (along with the new CB signing. That's four potential signings we should consider. If Chalobah or RLC are going to be CMs, then -maybe- we subract one from that list.

wow, that was great sequence of passing. I could watch this twice a week for sure (and not fall asleep).

goal for Bertie!

Did you try turning it off then on again?

I like the idea of using this 4-2-4 or 4-4-2, but we REALLY need some more quality at fullback. No more Ivanovic. edit: Maybe this is where Cuadrado will play for Conte.