Clockwork

I would like to see AC get a start here, he has played in every league cup to this point, he is one of the players that got you here in this competition. Let him play.

He was quite good for PL, due to his ability to stop high shots. He doesn't bend that well and his reaction is not elite which makes him very vulnerable to low shots.

Hysaj seems severely out of favor at Napoli, think he is a very likely choice.

With Cesc foot pretty much out of the door, and the injuries pilling on i would think this deals happen.

You know what i have realized about Sarri since he has been at Chelsea, is that he is not the idealistic attacking manager i thought he was. He is actually quite balanced, his aim is to achieve balance above everything else. One FB moves high up the pitch, while the other stays low, one CM moves up and the other stays back. It is very cautious and balanced approach, in contrast to Pep who aims to create overload and pin you back above everything else.

Well at least he is the profile this team desperatly can use. Seen the comparison with Kovacic a bit, i personally have never seen Kovacic as a super creative player. In fact at Madrid he was primary used as the deepest in midfield, was a 10 at Inter but that was such a long time ago. I like Kovacic a lot honestly, think he is super silky smooth player on the ball, good work rate+defensively, just a great all around player. It is a shame we have Kante though, because that his best position.

Is he creative? because we desperately need a creative CM in the final third, someone with the final ball to unlock stubborn teams through the middle.

Morata didn't look any different than against any other side, shit example. He just had incredible amount opportunities on a platter. Look at the overall performance and focus on their skill sets. We have seen Willian against much weaker opponents over the past six seasons, i know what he is capable of. Nottinham Forest are a upper Championship team, their quality in defense is not that much different from lower PL. They struggle offensively.

Good enough is not what i will try to justify, the subject is who is more effective. Emerson was quite good against Bournemouth, and he could do things that Alonso can not. It is quite evident who has the physical and technical skills to actually resemble a modern FB. To an less extent same applies with Zappa, much more comfortable on the ball and making runs off the ball than Azpi. For me it comes down to skills, regardless of the opposition Alonso and Azpi just don't have it in their arsenal.

You are wrong buddy, our FB play has everything to do with our inability to create chances against team that play narrow and deep. It is really just simple math, to create opportunities you need FB that can even the numbers against the opposition and force them to mark them and defend the space they occupy. Alonso and Azpi pose no threat on and off the ball, makes it very easy to concentrate the middle.

Yup i keep harping on our FB play, but really that is the biggest issue on this team. Emerson and Zappacosta with their ability and energy really stretched the opposition, can't really play teams who play very deep and have FB that add so little to your attack. Both Zappa and Emerson have the ability to improve, but yet Sarri is wasting time on players that neither haver the technical or physical ability to improve. That is puzzling to me, you can't improve Alonso and to great extent Azpi either. But both Zappa and Emerson can improve, because they have the foundation.

Morata is who i thought he was before his move to Chelsea. I thought he had the talents, concerned that he never put it all together, and had serious question about his mentality. Looking back when we were linked to Lukaku, Morata, and Belotti it seems none of them really are excelling. I wanted Belotti back then, but sometime i guess there is no right answer at all. I wanted him due to his combination of ability and mentality. I valued his work rate and toughness thought he would handle the pressure and the technical abilities to strive.

That is what i mean, obviously Moses would have many suitors if you take transfer fee out of the equation. But Chelsea would want a transfer fee to match his value. Agreed terrible club management.

Victor Moses should have been sold in the summer, he played all of last season he had much more market value. Now after rotting on the bench all season can't think he would have much suitors. Not saying this in hindsight, it was quite clear that he would not play much.

Lucas Piazon was a youth player at Sao Paulo, never made a single appearance for the senior side. I know very little about this guy but clearly he is much better and developed at this stage of his career.

You know i would be much more understanding of that Conte to Sarri angle if our problem at the moment was conceding goals, but our issue at the moment is scoring goals and creating opportunities. I really can't excuse the fact this is not attacking football, this system is quite defensive in all honestly. Alonso and Azpi don't really bomb forward either due to lack of skills or instruction, and you have three hard working midfielders who are very rigid.

I honestly look forward to seeing our second team more atm. Willian, Pedro, and Giroud out. So CHO, Morata, and Hazard start. Midfield likely Cesc, RLC, and Kovacic if fit. Emerson, AC, Ampedu/Rudigar, and Zappa. Hopefully Kepa starts in goal.

Not sure what extra training time would do for this team. Is extra training time going to make our FB contribute more to our attack and create width? No, Alonso will always underlap congest the box and force Hazard to work with less space. Not going to turn Azpi into a modern FB either. Extra training time will not make this midfield any creative. Jorginho, Kante, and Kovacic are good midfielders but none of them will ever be creative in the final third. Nothing to say about Morata and Willian, god knows the only thing that maybe can help them is playing in some Mickey Mouse league. The solution is simple bench some players, buy players, and change your approach.

I think he is, Sarri said RLC is still not 100% and is still pushing through back problems.

another right footed player? smh

Kid performed in pre season, and showed against Arsenal and City he belonged and played better many of the senior players. Sarri showed no confidence in him, in fact even placed him behind freaking Victor Moses.

His contract needs to be renewed, our best player alongside Hazard and kepa for this season.

Is this a serious post? You really think comparing a forward and a defensive midfielder attributes is comparable. Those qualities is a priority for a DM, and Jorginho is excellent at that. We have conceded the second lowest goals in the PL, and Jorginho is a huge part of that. On the other hand we are struggling offensively, and Willian is huge part of the issue.

I don't think that is the issue at all, Guardiola is the poster boy for idealistic football, he is nowhere near as stubborn as Sarri is showing. Pep can change his formation, will drop players and mix it up. The issue is not a lack of plan B, in fact the way he played against City shows that he is pragmatic to that end to get results. The issue with Sarri is his persistence of playing the same underperforming players, for example not sure what Plan A that shithead Alonso fits into; really poor on both ends of the football. He treats him like a untouchable player and a club legend. We have the fewest goals of the top six and the way we are playing that will grow larger and larger. He needs to change it up; he is getting ultra limited play form his FB, no creativity in midfield, and toothless in attack. It is getting to the point of insanity, trying the same things and expecting different result. He simply has to change things.

Our issue goes beyond our forwards, we have a very stale midfield lack the creativity to break teams open. City has the creativity of David and Bernardo Silva, Liverpool has a hard working midfield but they compensate that with two really good FB that exploit team out wide. And City have good FB when healthy. We lack the creativity in midfield to break team open, we have absolutely no threat from our FB to stretch the opposition. Sarri has to make hard to choices to fix those issues, and quite frankly i am not confident. The fact that Alonso has been dog shit for so long, and he has not even given Emerson a single start league play tells me a lot.