Clockwork

Not knocking Ivanovic, Cahill, or Azpi just saying they are quite a level down from Terry. I personally rate Azpi somewhere between Ivanovic and Cahill, while i rate Ivanovic higher i rate Azpi closer to Cahill. Also Azpi is not a RB, he has hardly played the position since arriving at Chelsea. Mou played him as LB for defensive purpose to give cover for Hazard, and Conte played him as a CB. Even some of the most negative managers saw his lack of offensive ability. Terry resurgence was honestly was due to bringing back Mou tbh, not sure he would have enjoyed that comeback with most managers.

Azpi is more of a Cahill/Ivanovic than a Terry; Terry is arguably the best CB of his generation. On the other hand Azpi just a decent player. I do agree Azpi doesn't need to be sold though, unless someone comes with a great offer which i don't really expect.

I don't know why these players would be upset at Sarri, they play like shit and they continue to be rewarded with more playing time. If anything Sarri has given more powers to the players. He has done nothing to shake up the dressing room. If the players are not responding, it will largely be due to losing faith in the manager and tactics. It kinda makes sense, if you continue to play the same tactics and it yields the same results. Undoubtedly at one point players will lose faith, trying the same thing again and again is insanity. I would be shocked to see any deviation from Sarri as players selection and tactics go. He will continue to largely play the same players, because he has invested a lot of time in those core players. If he is going to go down, he will go down with the players largely responsible for it. I think a player like Azpilicueta perfectly demonstrates why this system does not work with a bunch of core players Sarri has chosen. Not only he lacks the technical traits for this type of football, but more importantly he lacks the mindset. We have seen at times Azpi demonstrate the ability to play Sarriball, but for the majority he reverts back to his natural tendency becoming a one way FB again. For Azpi to play Sarriball he has to stretch himself pretty far, and one can live in that state for a very short time. Same goes for Kante, he is asked to play in a way that is far from his natural game. Show glimpses of that excellent football, but often time reverts to his natural tendency. Barkley is another one, who has never played in a 3 CM midfield and the style Sarri is asking him to do. There is Alonso of course too, he is not a LB. I could go on and on about others on the squad too. That is the big issue with Sarri at Chelsea, he is attempting to play in a style that forces a lot of players into positions they are not comfortable with. You could get away with 1-2 players slowly getting adjusted to this football, but not when the pitch is filled with them. Sarri has taken the worst path imo, he has not adjusted to his players, chosen players that are far suited to his football and neglected the young players that would probably more tuned into his philosophy and football.

No and i am far from being a Sarri backer, but i look at this way i personally see the squad a bigger issue and maintain that Sarri is not the right manager. For me at least there is the foundation for the next guy. I consider the current squad a bigger issue than Sarri.

The most convincing argument i can make for Sarri is that if he stays on, we will more likely to see a much needed revamp of the squad. If a new manager comes in, the players will definitely get a fresh start and a new beginning.

Well i am assuming with Sarri or no Sarri this is the direction the club wants to go. But no doubt it would be the most Chelsea thing to do, and we hire Simeone or a similar manager.

He is one of the issues though, and his position should absolutely not be safe. As others have there is a reason that Azpi has been seldomly selected for Spain, despite the ample of managers they have had over the years. He just doesn't fit this type of football as a RB. I think he could still be an effective squad player, but he is absolutely one of the tough decisions the manager has to make. He is getting close to 30, and has played as much minutes as anyone in Europe over the past few years. That has undoubtedly accumulated.

How does Kante continue to escape criticism? if anyone watched the game objectively, they could see how much at fault he was. He was piss poor, extremely ineffective at pressing, leaving incredible amount of space of Jorginho for to clean up. Than there is also the amount of space Barkley left behind for Jorginho. It is all Jorginho fault, always.

City hired a bunch of ex Barca executives well before they hired Pep, they laid the foundation to play this type of football well before the manager was hired. There was a bit of planning, support, and football intelligence on their part. City spending power is undoubtedly a huge factor too. There is no question of the achievement of Abramovich since he purchased the club, but simply the current Roman is not the same man. First of all the excitement and interest in the club is no longer the same, he is having trouble entering the country and that fire has faded. Secondly his money is not the same and has been surpassed by bigger spenders, his spending power is not the same. Back than for 32m he could buy arguably one of the biggest players in the world, nowadays you get players like Zappacosta with that type of money. If things stand we will miss out of the CL for 3rd time in 4 years, that is mediocrity and a huge fall from Roman early days. There are issues at the top, there should be no convincing needed to see that.

Against City, i am not sure how much fault i put on Jorginho. The way i saw it there was massive amount of space to the left and right of Jorginho. Yeah good luck to anyone trying to cover all that space.

Jorginho could be positioned on the RCM, where he could still effectively help the buildup and distribute while being relived of protecting the back four. I personally think Jorginho role is very difficult what he is asked to do, he is basically asked to be Busquets and Xavi on this team. Kante alone can definitely not fill Jorginho role, and i am not sure how can do that definitely no one at Chelsea though.

For a moment i completely forgot Cahill was still here.

Who is that 1 player btw? i don't think we have anyone from AVD days. Hazard arrived the season after AVB was sacked.

What are you guys thoughts, does he stay on or get sacked? honestly i have no clue.

Sarri is not the issue if we are being honest, the issue is much larger than him. This squad needs a deep revamp. That said Sarri is not the answer, i have seen enough of him to know he can not be one leading this club in the future.

Are you guys freaking serious, there is nothing conflicting about this. I will always root for scenarios that in the best interest of Chelsea. Who cares if Liverpool win the title, fuck them and City.

I have no issue with Sarri not hand shaking, too much niceness and beta attitudes in football.

Seem like the most sensible thing, that was his formation at Empoli.

I don't consider that a little run. But i get your point regarding Zappa. That is the problem with Sarri; he has invested a lot of time in some players and at this point he is way too stubborn to give players like Emerson, Zappa, Christensen, CHO, and RLC an oppertunity. So basically he will go down with the players that put him in the position he is right now, if that makes sense.

Emerson got a little run? when did that happen?

Sarri = Lopetegui

Kovacic is our best press resistance midfielder, no idea why he is not playing. Same with Emerson.

Going to depend on if Solari is retained, usually there is a fresh start when a new manager is hired.

Brooks played through the middle and drifted more to the other side, sometime i wonder if you actually watch the matches.