coolhead23

Seriously!!! U can always ignore, mate ... There is no compulsion!!!

Not really ... how many such saves has Tibo made while he was here (I cant remember even one) ... it comes down to the timing of the leap, Kepa could have done it if it was a second quicker ... but wouldnt criticize Kepa on this. It was a near perfect shot and he still managed a touch.

For now I couldnt find someone with the spark the next big thing in the u25... there are a few which I kept tab some time back but not sure if they are still on the top. Alisson was top of my list, near to having everything perfect... He could have been the perfect replacement for Courtois in all aspect. Strakosha - the one who i thought had that spark ... perfectly built for a keeper (big and strong) ... amazing reflexes, great agility for someone so big ... however the few games I checked him he parries the ball into dangerous place. Timo Horn (Wild card some year back) - Lot was riding on him. I liked what he brought to the table when he was 21 -22 but now I dont think he has manage to keep up Kepa - I'm hoping he lives up to the expectation. I can be bias

Madrid went for him because they couldnt get De Gea ... Prerez fucked up with it, they could have it on the platter with De Gea waiting for the deal to happen. I m not obsessed with the height thing in a goalie though it makes a big difference ... for me it is the positioning of the keeper and the timing of his leap is the difference (among the other attributes). Thats what makes De Gea special, its not a coincidence that he manages to have the most stretched saves among the others. Donnarumma is a prefect example of a tall keeper and yet falling short on his leap. Not seen much of Kepa in Spain but of what I have seen in Chelsea, not fully convinced. He mite be a good jumper but I felt he hesitates a little to go for the ball when away from the body. It could very well be a confidence stuff, hoping it will work out for him. Fingers crossed!

Agreed on this 100% He is the best out there without a doubt ... not in the best of form but that bloke is purely determination. I still have my doubts on Kepa though but I have my fingers crossed.

Superb!!! Would have to say it took me some time to go through it but was truly an interesting read with few new names which I wasnt aware of Just one query ... You have included Kepa assuming your first choice and have not included Donnarumma. Do you really think Kepa is the next big thing in goalkeeper, just trying to get a perspective because honestly I have my doubts on both.

Wow ... great poster. love the knowledge. On a flyer ... based on your knowledge what would your team (current under 23ish/24ish) be like?

A win is win and is important specially against Arsenal ... will take it as is. Take-away for me Positives: - First 15-20 mins, going forward was pure magic and WOOOOW!!! Great link up, one touch, pressing off the ball and getting into good position. - During the first 20 mins, we had a different Morata ... thats what u want from him ... Adapt! Adapt! Adapt! He put in the shifts ... aggressive, falls back, physical and more importantly putting the ball in the net. - In the last game, Jorginho wasnt getting the ball despite being in position (we bypassed him quite a few times) however this week most of the play was going through him which is a plus. - 3rd goal ... good link up and more importantly Alonso being the difference while in the box and final third. Not so positives: - Defense ... We arent organized as compared to our offensive play. Yes I would put it down to early days but there is loads & loads of work. - Morata ... After the initial 20 mins, he was strolling in the park between the 2 Arsenal defenders. - Kante in an advance role. Good to see that he is being unleashed but that can be a huge problem for us. Jorginho cannot defend, not sure about Kovačić defense and Barkey was lively but he is no where the level of Kante. If you look at all the chances, you will see that the position which Kante generally falls into (edge of the box) when the opposition has the ball in the final third ... he wasnt there (he was following the defense & was moving deep) and Arsenal could end up with 4 goals. I'm divided on this one, maybe it might just fall in place when we are in steady stage but I have my doubts. - Jorginho for all the positives in terms of being the deep lying point man, the better oppositions could easily take us down. All you need to do is mark him out of game and it could be a huge issue for us. Yes early days but this could be a gap for us. - Willian & Pedro ... I think we need to start investing into the likes of CHO & Musoda. High time. All in all looks good ... This can be start of a new era for us if everything falls into place.

Currently Alisson is hands down better than Kepa ... With Oblak, at par. Kepa has lot to learn (the potential is there) and with the world expensive tag he would be under tremendous pressure. Have my fingers crossed.

Fuck!!!

This is where I feel the board's inefficiency by not putting a buy back (hoping it is there & we arent knowing abt it) ... Kovacic would surely get more game time here than Madrid ... if he lives up to the expectation he goes back to Madrid next season to replace Modric if not Chelsea will buy him. We are basically giving him a platform to justify him as a player and if he succeeds then Madrid takes him away.

The Miracles are done, mate .... was done yesterday!

I complete agree with the answer ... there is a distinct reason why they are there & we here. Whatever you mentioned is THE obvious. However if there are things which happens once or twice it can be passed off but if there is constant inefficiency then fans will voice it, come up with theories with whatever info or no info we have. Fans will voice their frustration, take out time and write/speak because they love their the club even if it means that no one in the officially capacity are going to hear them or there wouldnt be any solution. Isnt that the purpose of all these forums else we all will be only nodding our heads in agreement on what the club does.

Without the dingling dangling and waiting till eternity to sign. For me, Timing is the key and if what the reports says 2 m+ here or there (referring to financials) was the issue, then pay it & move forward. In the larger scheme of things, 2m would be just changes. Imagine Sarri coming in a month earlier along side the signings ... today we would be in a better position. What is going to happen now is while Sarri tries to built and the results are not going in our favor (which it wouldnt), there would be unnecessary pressure from all corners on the coaching staff with loads of ideas thrown in. Rest I m sure u know what happens next ....

Completely true and agree on both points.

Sorry it must be just me ... but I never understood the hype around him. From what I saw he looked a decent player nothing more.

Not upset on his leaving ... Yes he could have gone out graciously and thats what spoils it I guess. For me I'm disappointed/upset that he could have turned out to be one of the best in the world and he has not been able to make it infact he plateaued early after a phenomenal rise at the start. Anyways all the best which he would really need because he wouldnt have his way at Madrid like he did it here.

Yes ... we made 2 signings .. YAY!!! But should we be impressed in the way the Board or Marina went about handling the situation, well ... Hell NO!!! Lot us would be like we did sign good, potential players so why the fuss ... So what if it was late!!! Thats exactly the issue here. With a new manager on board (which in itself took a while to be on-boarded), why were we not able to get him the squad early. We should be aiming first 2 positions if not the top in the league which is right now dominated by City. Yes it takes time for transfers to happen but these players were already available on the first day just they are on the last day, also mind you we havent got Kepa on a cut price for buying in the end instead he's the most expensive goalkeeper. We can sing praises of Marina/board all we want after these 2 signing maybe more today but the fact stays that we're very inefficient in our operations at the club. Constant change in managers, no vision, transfers, issues in integrating youth, expansion r just a few. Chelsea as a club will have to really think about how effective we can become in all aspects. I should be over the moon that we got 2 potential signings but then when I think that in 2-3 years time we would be doing the same makes me worried. Well ... maybe till then ... as always fingers crossed &

I get he wants to leave blab blab blab .. etc etc etc ... But where is he going ... Real Madrid already has Navas who has been better than him and is liked by team/fans, Atlectio has Oblak who is a starter & hasnt come along as someone who needs to leave. Basically Courtois is going to be a non starter!!! Strange. Having said that, I still dont want him in here. Bye bye Courtois.

The reason I mentioned irrelevant because we dont have our main players in ... Once they're back then we would understand where we stand on day one and where on day let say thirty. Right now we got badly exposed as explained in the video

Why dont we have an official fan forum/club/group who can interact with the Board or the ppl in the management and provide an insight on issues/opinions etc etc from the Fans side. Do we have anything on those lines ... I m assuming in this modern age of technology and exposure we should be having something on this line ...

The issue is that the so called best available ones wouldnt come in cheap ... because the clubs know that we are fucked already.

Giroud was integral to France's system. Yes he mite not have a single shot to show for but his hold up play picking up defenders and allowing space for the others to score is why he played through out. Yes if you look at the stats it surely is a lousy data but football is not always about data Having said that, I dont think Giroud mite have a chance in Sarri's system. In his system, he like striker who make runs between the defensive line hence Bats mite get a chance over Giroud. Morata for me is non existent for me at this point. Tammy not sure.

Honestly the so called analysis r just irrelevant at this stage ... In Sarri's strategy, you need someone doing the dirty work to cover the deep lying midfield and cover the defense. We didnt have a specialist hence the distance between back line & front, hence the reason why defensive kept falling back while no one pressed the striker who had a free run to the goal. Now put in one of the best i.e. Kante besides Jorginho and the results will be so much better. because now Kante is covering his deep lying playmaker allowing him space and doubling up while the defense is holding it's line & moving back. I didnt get a chance to see the match but looking at the score line against a well oiled machinery says that we didnt do badly in our defense specially when it's a make shift one. The problem at hand (Jorginho is not a strong lad when it comes to defense - my opinion) is that whether we get a creative no 10 (Fabregas) or a physical midfield with work rate (the ones we have are Barley & RLC). Both would come with Pros & Cons. Thats is something Sarri will have a tough time with the current squad. I feel we wouldnt do well in the first few games until the system is ingrained in the players. Once it is done, then it will all come down to discipline of the players because this will only work if players show the discipline.