Vesper

we should buy them both, Rice now and Camavinga in 2022, after we have cleared the books of almost all of the dregs

caveman football

2020-21 English Premier League Wolverhampton Wanderers Southampton http://www.sportnews.to/sports/2020/premier-league-wolverhampton-wanderers-vs-southampton-s1/ https://www.totalsportek.com/wolverhampton-epl/

2020-21 English Premier League Burnley Crystal Palace http://www.sportnews.to/sports/2020/premier-league-burnley-vs-crystal-palace-s1/ https://www.totalsportek.com/crystal-palace-epl/

Loftus-Cheek’s cameo shows Parker he can be better than the bench https://theathletic.com/2214196/2020/11/23/loftus-cheek-fulham/ A game of two halves, or “chalk and cheese”, as Scott Parker put it afterwards. For 45 minutes, Fulham put Carlo Ancelotti’s Everton under the cosh, pinning them back into their half and asking questions with probing passes and off-the-ball movement. It only happened, though, once the game was all but lost. Parker took particular issue with the first half. He’s spoken about individual errors and the learning process before but here, he was critical of the team’s application. Yes, there were bright spells on the ball, and the hosts were a joy to watch when in full possessional swagger. But they were outplayed for the majority of the first period, with Fulham losing the midfield battle. For all of the positives that came after the interval, it was that which warranted his initial attention. “At times we showed a real way about us,” said Parker. “I thought we had courage, we were brave in possession. At times we caused them many problems. But you can’t lose them little duels, the 50-50s, the second balls. The basics of a football match. You can’t fall short on them consistently. In the first half, consistently we fell a little bit short on that.” The numbers certainly support Parker’s assessment. Fulham were second best to Everton in the opening 45 minutes, winning just 33.3 per cent of their duels, a figure that rose notably in the second half to 48.7 per cent. To put that into context, Fulham’s previous lowest duel success rate for a half of Premier League football this season was 45.1 per cent, during the second half against Aston Villa in September. There was also a tactical element to the game too. Fulham have previously combatted teams who line up with a back three by using a back five out of possession, which worked effectively against Wolverhampton Wanderers and Sheffield United. At Craven Cottage, Ancelotti surprised the hosts with an unexpected set-up that saw Alex Iwobi and Lucas Digne deployed at wing-back. Both enjoyed total freedom in the first half, and the overloads they created helped establish a comfortable advantage, one that could easily have seen a greater scoreline than just 3-1. But there was a notable uplift in the second half, partly helped by Everton’s lack of incentive to take the game to Fulham, which helped quell the threat of those rampaging wing-backs. There was also no getting away from the impact of Fulham’s substitutes too, namely Aleksandar Mitrovic, Frank Anguissa and Ruben Loftus-Cheek. The latter duo transformed Fulham’s midfield, which is perhaps unsurprising considering Anguissa’s form this year. He missed out on a start after a returning late to Motspur Park, having travelled to Cameroon and Mozambique for Africa Cup of Nations qualifiers home and away. But he came on here and made more tackles than any of his team-mates in just 21 minutes, winning five of his 11 duels too. His influence on this Fulham cannot be overstated enough, but Loftus-Cheek’s impact felt more poignant. He too added control to midfield, winning the highest percentage of duels of any of Fulham’s midfielders, 62.5 per cent. The 24-year-old’s loan spell hasn’t started in the way in which he would have wanted. There was much excitement about his arrival, with his loan deal regarded as a coup for the club. Many at Chelsea had hoped he would have an impact at Stamford Bridge this season — despite falling down the pecking order, he remains highly regarded by Frank Lampard. But he hasn’t hit the ground running. His first start came at Sheffield United, where he was played as an attacking midfielder, reverting to a right winger without the ball. Against Crystal Palace, he was even more marginalised on the right. In both games, he had a limited impact. Thereafter Loftus-Cheek has been confined to the bench. Everton marked the third consecutive game in which Loftus-Cheek has not made the first XI, which naturally raised eyebrows. But on Sunday, Loftus-Cheek came on and changed the game for Fulham, bringing composure to midfield with 20 successful passes out of 21 (18 of which were in the attacking half of the pitch), as well as chipping in with a goal to pull Fulham back into the contest. Parker was impressed. “I thought he was brilliant,” Parker said. “We’ve worked really hard with Ruben in terms of the information we’re trying to give him, how he can have a big impact this year on the pitch. “Sometimes I feel it’s as if Ruben has a tendency for games to drift him by, and today was everything that we spoke about with him. He came on and made a real difference. He looked every bit of a top, top player. He got the ball, he was brave, scored a goal in the box and was dynamic, getting in between the lines and confident. It’s understanding that he’s got real ability, and he’ll be big for us this year. He needs to keep working on that, keep listening to what we’re saying to him. No doubt he’ll keep improving like we saw today.” Finding where Loftus-Cheek fits into this Fulham team has become something of an unknown since his arrival. He feels his best position is as a driving No 8, with space in front of him when he has the ball. In Parker’s current preferred set-up, that would suggest he would be competing with Anguissa, who has been the primary incumbent of that dynamic role next to the more defensive No 6 and creative No 10. Dislodging Anguissa would be no mean feat, but the fact he too was omitted on Sunday, with Mario Lemina starting instead, made Loftus-Cheek’s absence all the more intriguing. The England international ultimately came on to replace Tom Cairney, who has been in exceptional form and was so again against Everton, proving to be the hosts’ main creative force in the first half. However, he has been playing in the role closest resembling a traditional No 10, and Loftus-Cheek seemed to slip into that role (albeit, slightly deeper) upon entering the field. Parker has previously said he sees Loftus-Cheek becoming a “focal point” for the team in central positions. But the reason for his absences has been less to do with positional competition, and more to do with getting him up to speed. When asked by The Athletic whether working on different elements in his game is the reason behind Loftus-Cheek’s restricted game time, Parker replied: “It probably has, yes, to be honest with you. He played the first couple of games and over the course of the last couple of weeks, we took him out to give him some air, spend a lot of time with him, for him to understand what I want from him, for this team but more importantly what Ruben needs to do for himself — to show the quality he has and how good he can be. Talent, potential, sure, but he needs to keep grasping it. “As I said, I thought today he showed that. He came on and made a real difference. Everything we spoke about in terms of committing to performances, committing to games, making the difference — be that one that can be really brave in certain moments. Drive on the ball and make things happen. He was all of that today.” Loftus-Cheek’s cameo against Everton was certainly his best performance in a Fulham shirt. If he can maintain that standard, then it won’t be long before he returns to Parker’s starting line-up.

Tomori out, Rudiger in? The latest on Chelsea’s centre-back situation https://theathletic.com/2212518/2020/11/22/chelsea-defence-tomori-rudiger/ The January transfer window can’t come soon enough for Fikayo Tomori. Sources have told The Athletic that of the five centre-backs in Chelsea’s squad, he is the one most likely to leave, and it could be on loan. To say 2020 has not been a good year for the England defender is an understatement and Chelsea’s victory over Newcastle provided another reality check over where he stands in the pecking order at Stamford Bridge. Even with the inspirational Thiago Silva left out of proceedings — he only arrived back from playing for Brazil on Thursday — Tomori couldn’t get a place on Chelsea’s bench. It means his total playing time in the Premier League over the last ten months or so remains at 109 minutes (one start, one as a sub). The other four appearances were in the FA Cup and Carabao Cup. What a contrast to 2019. He was named Derby’s Player of the Year having enjoyed a successful loan in the Championship before becoming a Chelsea regular (19 games in all competitions). He also scored a fantastic goal at Wolves to get off the mark for his boyhood club, was given a new five-year contract and earned a first England cap against Kosovo. The Athletic first looked into his situation back in February when things had started to go awry, but it is much bleaker nine months on. There have been no major fall-outs between himself and coach Frank Lampard, who was also his manager at Derby and still regards him as a player of great promise. Tomori made the headlines earlier this month after photos emerged of him attending a dinner with team-mate Callum Hudson-Odoi at a London restaurant, which broke lockdown rules. But it is understood the incident wasn’t deemed that serious by the club or management staff. A combination of factors has been the cause of Tomori’s regular absence. He suffered a drop in form to begin with and when he was recalled against Bournemouth in February, he struggled during the 2-2 draw. There was some misfortune as he suffered a muscular injury in June, just before the season restarted. By the time he had recovered, Chelsea were in a real battle to secure a top-four finish and couldn’t afford to pick someone who was short of match fitness, even though the defence was leaking goals. The arrival of Silva as a free agent from Paris Saint-Germain in the last window was always going to make competition for places even more intense and so it has proved. After a shaky start on debut against West Brom, the 36-year-old has established himself as Chelsea’s best defender and his displays have also had a positive impact on Kurt Zouma’s form. Lampard trusts the pair. Chelsea have kept seven clean sheets in their last nine matches and they have been the central defensive partnership for five of them. Understandably he doesn’t want to rotate too much now there are such signs of progress. The other two clean sheets, including the one at Newcastle on Saturday, were when Antonio Rudiger was brought in for the rested Silva and herein lies another part of the Tomori saga. Tomori had offers to leave Chelsea on loan in the last window, however moves to Everton and Rennes fell through as Lampard wanted Rudiger to leave instead. By the time it emerged that Rudiger wasn’t going to secure a switch and opted to stay, Tomori had just a few days before the deadline to look for something new. He came close to joining West Ham only to change his mind with minutes to spare because he wasn’t convinced about how much he would play under David Moyes. Tomori must have hoped that he would stay above Rudiger in Lampard’s thoughts and he was on the bench for the three games which immediately followed the window closing, while Rudiger was nowhere to be seen. But positive talks between Rudiger and Lampard changed things. The Germany international was picked as a substitute instead of Tomori for the 0-0 draw at Manchester United. Four days later he was the one trusted to play alongside Zouma when Silva didn’t make the trip to Krasnodar. The Athletic has been told that Rudiger’s attitude and performances in training have been a key reason why. He has responded really well to the challenge of being left out and showed much better form too. The fact he is a popular character and quite a leader in the dressing room has been to his benefit too. It also helped that Rudiger’s two appearances were against rather weak opposition in Krasnodar and Newcastle. How Tomori and another ignored defender in Andreas Christensen would have loved that opportunity. But Lampard was full of praise for Rudiger following the victory at the weekend. He said: “I was pleased with the performance. It’s not easy (to play well after a spell out the side). That means they have to have a good attitude through the week, how they prepare. I have confidence in Toni and his performance alongside Kurt was very strong. For Toni to come in and show what he did, for the team to keep a clean sheet, is brilliant for him, brilliant for me.” So should Tomori start getting mentally ready to play elsewhere now? Not necessarily because there is still some uncertainty. Chelsea won’t make a definitive decision to let him go just yet because of the possibility of injuries. And with the European Championships next summer, there are no guarantees Rudiger or Denmark international Christensen, who hasn’t played for Chelsea for two months, will be happy acting as a back-up to Silva and Zouma. It is believed Christensen is still part of Chelsea’s plans. He is regarded as the second-best passing centre-back at the club after Silva so they don’t want to lose him as an option. When Lampard was asked about Tomori’s situation at the beginning of November, he suggested that he is a victim of circumstance rather than any major issue being at fault. He said: “I’ve got no problem with Fikayo. I rely on him. That’s clear from when I took him to Derby and how I handled him last year. He’s been a fantastic player for me. He trains very well and when he gets his opportunity, like he had when he came on against Liverpool (in September) and in the Carabao Cup, it’s important he takes them. “He’s still a developing player. When I say developing, he’s had a great two years. He got himself in the England team, was one of the best defenders in the Championship and then played 20-plus games for Chelsea. It’s normal for a young player sometimes, in a squad as competitive as ours, where there are periods where you maybe aren’t playing every week.” But given his potential, it would only be normal for Tomori to make sure a loan happens so 2021 has a better outcome.

class fucking ac t

what did they say that was so bad as to warrant a rebuke? seems pretty innocuous dog cock? in Japan they say 犬のたわごとよりも犬のコックの方がいい better to be a dog's cock than a dog's shit

Yes nil 1 Fucking Xavi Alonso

2020-21 English Premier League Liverpool Leicester City http://www.sportnews.to/sports/2020/premier-league-liverpool-vs-leicester-city-s1/ https://www.totalsportek.com/highlights/arsenal-vs-everton-2016-match/

so unlucky so far (Leeds) have hit the post repeatedly

2020-21 English Premier League Leeds United Arsenal http://www.sportnews.to/sports/2020/premier-league-leeds-united-vs-arsenal-s1/ https://www.totalsportek.com/arsenal-streams/

they are fucked

the only player where I would say a double pivot would not hurt in terms of fluidity is my usual bang on Camavinga, as he is so multi-dimensional maybe maybe Bruno Guimarães

and the funny thing (in terms of what that poster said) is that I am one of the most neutral Mount people here, I neither bash him nor ramble on in praise, I do not even talk about him that much and all one needs to do in terms of Rice and me is go look at some of my hundreds to scouting/targeting posts In terms of DMFs I have been a huge Zakaria and Partey fangirl but now Partey is at arse and and Zakaria shredded his knee I also, DMF wise have been a crazy booster of Camavinga I have leaned towards Rice often as a CB option but I think he is a good buy for either, and the club seems hell bent on buying him soon Zakaria is too much of a risk now, maybe down the road after he has shown for a full year (2021/22 and maybe even 2022/23 on top of that) that he is fully sound Rice and Kante would work as a double pivot imho so would Camavinga and Kante and Camavinga and Rice and Camavinga can play CMF too, and Rice CB (or has the potential to at least, as he was not poor at all there in the past) but I love a 4 3 3 more Rice deffo strengthens the team no matter what and is a smart future-forward buy as Kante and Thiago are not going to be around in 3 years or so

I do not see Ampadu as Chels level never really have, save for a really short time when he first came up to 1st team

Ampadu pwned by Bowen

he played far up the pitch, not in a carrying/burst role his timing was far better though

good, you had me worried for a sec

the WC you mean, not that shit sand league?

can anyone explain to me what exactly Rice¨s supposed 'technical deficiencies' are? I keep seeing it in articles like this Interestingly, some at the club are not convinced he has actually addressed the ‘technical deficiencies’ that prompted that decision to let him go and are not in favour of the signing as a result. Read more: https://metro.co.uk/2020/09/16/chelsea-hierarchy-disagree-with-frank-lampard-over-declan-rice-transfer-13279679/?ito=cbshare in terms of DMF's he is very technical, great on the ball, passes well, has great instincts, good positional sense I see nothing in his game at all in terms of these so-called issues I think it is 100% bullshit

he was actually great scored a goal, drew a pen and set up 2 or 3 other good chances

Ampadu starting too

Declan time