Mhsc

Bit of an agenda you've got eh

Wouldn't have even had a review if it had been the other way around.

Referee defos had a bet on about something in the first half

Commentator is so brain dead, saying that Nkunku is mostly a wide player and we don't have anyone to play behind Jackson even when the team is fit. Lol.

Reminds me of Azpi when he first joined, a little. Came with a rep as an attacking RB but actually looks v good defending in 1v1s and not crazy threatening going forward but consistently runs and helps out, plays a good supporting role for those around them, churns out 7/10s games.

Of course it is a handball when it touches NJ's hand but would never be if it was a Villa defender.

I suspect the high-level strategy is a Boehly / Eghbali strategy, probably one they already had in mind before acquisition as part of their mission / vision for the new Chelsea that they sold to their fellow investors. Then the team they have hired (PW/LS etc) is the group of people they think can execute their strategy to deliver short/medium/long term success within the scope of the company values and mission they have defined. Of course, you can argue that Poch, PW, LS etc should have found a way to make a winning squad with the amount of money available in summer and money was spent excessively in the wrong areas (e.g. Caicedo+Lavia for huge fees vs finding a cheap supporting option for Enzo - like just buy Ugo, keep Andrey Santos, and then spend the rest of that money on buying goals)

At least Poch has a decent time with the squad this week to work. Leaves him with little excuse on the weekend. We absolutely have enough fit players to beat Villa.

Definitely not Poch's fault in entirety, I think a series of bad decision from him has not helped us but can't blame all of this on him. Of his many mistakes playing Nkunku in that preseason game on the dodgiest pitch I've ever seen and getting him injured killed our season before it started. But the fact we are nothing without Nkunku is not his fault in entirety. Obviously, he could have been stronger willed in pre-season about who he wanted and let the others have less say but that's not easy when you're new to a club. The club should have backed him a little more with some more players with experience which he asked for repeatedly all preseason. I still think given the money and long term thinking involved EVENTUALLY we'll become a really good team, but the pressure to win immediately only seems to be felt by Poch - I can't believe PW or LS would have snubbed so many ready made options if they felt that pressure.

The squad today sure, but a fully fit squad with Reece James and Nkunku (nevermind the rest) is different level to Palace.

Chilwell's injuries have finished him IMO, been thinking it for a while, but hoping that there is gonna be a turnaround. He's our new Alonso.

Sanchez MOTM so far?

Enzo had a poor game by his standards

Somehow have to learn how to enjoy the journey I guess. Cause we are a mile off of being a finished article

How have we not scored there lmao

So does Chilwell and Cucu maybe Maatsen is good 1v1 but not had a chance to see it

What a fucking save. Kepa literally never.

Chilwell also gets repeatedly cooked in 1v1s defensively by pacy players, and needs help to 2v1 them. Only Malo Gusto in our squad looks like a great 1v1 defender.

Personally I think the Colwill at LB experiment is the more interesting/clever of the stuff we've seen so far that is a bit odd on paper. Can totally see the reasoning behind it at least.

Mudryk / Colwill is actually a pretty good left hand side potentially, imo. Chilwell would want to occupy the same spaces as Mudryk. Colwill will let him cook and try to play him through instead of stepping on his heels. Whether it will actually work is another matter, but I reckon the concept is sound.

No one saw this lineup coming at least. I'm interested. Lets see what we're cooking. Main disappointment is Palmer on the bench.

Well, it is an interesting move. Don't know what to make of it. Caicedo on the bench? Oh wait, not even in the squad?

Hoping just to not see Chilwell play out of position again. Not that fussed about the rest. Just stop this meme.

Most are concerned about his injury record and sky high salary combination. He can obviously score goals. Just don't think many are convinced we should buy another really expensive player on huge wages with a persistent injury problem. I was on the fence about it all summer but was up for it if Juve would offer a fair deal. Don't think they ever did.

It is almost definitely the right business decision, if we could get that much money for him, but could we? Maybe if he had an injury-free run into a transfer window and a top club had a big need. I don't think many will jump to buy him at the mo for big money or big wages unless he can be seen to 'turn a corner', like if he had some surgery that was supposedly going to fix things and then he had a good run. Of course, if that happened, we'd probably then not sell and before long he'd be injured again. It is a shame he is on such massive wages, he got quite lucky with the timing of it (/ he didn't fuck around and said yes immediately). Might be the best academy product since JT but the injuries are unreal.