Blue Armour

You can tell that he had Abramovich on his mind when he said that. Roman is like the ideal owner, and there won't be too many like him. Very naive to think that every owner should follow that model.

What I meant is that if the club already had him on a long term contract like James, he wouldn't have been able to push for a move so easily. With all our new signings on long term contracts, the club is making sure they don't jump ship easily if the season becomes worse.

Have most hope for Jackson among the 3, as long as his confidence doesn't become shot like Werner's. Madueke - I don't know. The same problems from last season persist. Doesn't release the ball when he's supposed to, doesn't lift his head up when dribbling. He can make an impact against very low level opposition, but his ability atm is hardly at Malouda or even Kalou level IMO. Mudryk seems to have lost all composure to play at this level. Can see why Poch is shielding him. Ever since that controversy over the rap song last season, right after his debut against Liverpool, he hasn't looked like the same player. He was fantastic on his debut, full of invention and confidence, that he wooed all pundits and fans. Now, he looks like a U21 kid trying to make the step up. All the endless mocking from opposition fans over his price tag hasn't helped either.

It was a gamble on their part, as is the case with ours. It may pay off eventually, but boy is it going to be painful along the way. I guess that's where all the long term contracts come in. To prevent our development players from jumping ship the moment things go to shit. Case in point, Mr. Mount.

You mean Poch?

That focus on pure youth is a very high risk gamble. Hopefully they'll come to their senses sooner rather than later. Nothing against youth signings, but they need to mix it up.

And now Tottenham apparently, as well. All these past years laughing at the pair of them. Well if it's anything, they didn't win anything last season. And Tottenham already got dumped out of the EFL cup.

Lifted this off another forum, but can't help but feel it's applicable here.Their cavalier approach to tearing down and rebuilding the squad (and the club for that matter), is what has led us here. Maybe given more time, it will pay off, but who knows what that means for success on the pitch. My suspicion is that they are trying to run Chelsea the same way they ran the Dodgers. In the first couple of years under Boehly, the Dodgers invested wildly and unsustainably into their team, were hit with financial penalties, paid them, and won the World Series. Move fast and break things. In baseball, a much more individualistic sport than football, high levels of squad churn doesn't really matter if you're fielding better pitchers and better hitters than you had last year. Team chemistry and tactics are much less important than the raw ability of the players. In football, not so much.

It's not just about talent. It's about experience. Because of the lack of it, a team like this will blow hot and cold. When it clicks, it can be fantastic, but it can also easily churn up embarrassing results like this. Then there's the mentality. If the team goes on a losing run, we could be in for a repeat of last season., because there aren't enough leaders on the pitch to take control of the game. Ironically in today's game, one of the few leaders we have in Silva was also embarrassed for the goal we conceded. Hopefully Poch can arrest this slide after the international break., with a couple of more players potentially returning from injury.

But apparently, the manager is to blame for the young inexperienced squad. Smh. Edit: I don't really believe the club had an agenda against older players, else we wouldn't have Nkunku. But this transfer window in particular has been all about chasing the next big thing. I just hope these new incomings aren't here to just use Chelsea as a stepping stone to for a bigger payday. We need players to who want and know how to compete.

This. I'm surprised that more people are turning on Poch, when the root cause has been the same problem that it's always been for the past year. It's the new administration. The lack of experience is what makes for results like these. Colwill, Caicedo are all great players that can fulfill their potential in a few years. But there will be mistakes, and without leaders to control the game on the pitch., this will continue to happen. And the inexperienced squad is down to the club, not Poch I keep bringing up Arsenal from Wengers last few seasons and after, because that's a good example for where we are right now. A factory of youth players that won fuck all. Hopefully players like Enzo can be molded into leaders, that is, if they stick around with us after back to back seasons like this one.

The 3 atb is mostly to accommodate Silva. Else we have little experience on the pitch Maybe when James returns, we may see a change in formation. The lack of leaders in the squad is down to the club, not Poch. There's no one to take control of the game and prevent things from breaking down completely. The Caicedo-Gallagher mixup today typifies that. And once a young side goes behind, their heads drop. For now, I'm glad for the international break. Hopefully this gives the squad a chance to reset.

The 3 atb formation is also to accommodate Silva IMO. Bit of a dilemma here, he's our most experienced player and best defender. But his slowing reactions and loss of physicality is being exposed these days Think Poch has to look at dropping him and trusting our younger CBs. They might concede more, but at least we might look a better team moving forward

Yes, maybe Poch shouldn't be so cautious. But what do you expect? The side is very inexperienced. Even with a back 5, it still conceded because of a mixup in central midfield. Those kind of mistakes will continue to happen this season with this lot, regardless of the manager. If anything, you should be looking at the administration that decided it was okay to flood the squad with talented youth and barely any players from the upper age brackets. It's a gamble, which would be excellent if it pays off - but the risks are always there. So yes, you will see more of these see saw performances.

Nottingham are sitting back after scoring the 1. That's another thing to consider. Not just our starting 11

It's the result of having a very inexperienced side almost all over the pitch. Individually, some good players in there. But as a whole - this side lacks direction on the pitch. That fuck up between Caicedo and Gallagher is symptomatic of this

Time to boost that GD

Huh. I wasn't even aware it was Mount. I can't really even see it on the mobile version of the forum. FYI. I haven't selected a favorite player since Hazard left. And the forum doesn't allow you to select ex players, else it would have stayed as Drogba. I'll probably change it when I know we have a player of that quality again.

Think he will slot into the #10 role in place of Gallagher.

Why? Would be a waste. We have Jackson this season, and Palmer/Nkunku (once he returns) are more than enough cover IMO.

IMO 2006-2007 Drogba (which is probably his prime version) is the epitome of a CF. Could create, could score out of nowhere. That's the thing about Drogba. He would bring other attackers into the game, either by occupying opposition defenders or setting up play himself. Remember that cross he gave from the wing for Ballack to head in against United? Typical of the man. I see a few of those attributes in Jackson too.

This. I disagree with your points about Jackson - I think he is fantastic, and his performance since preseason, including today, has made me a lot more optimistic about this season (with hopefully players returning from injury sooner ) But that doesn't mean I should attack you or anyone else for having a different opinion. At the risk of sounding like a hypocrite., this forum has become more toxic, especially after that shite we saw last season. Hope Poch and team can continue with a lot more wins and improve the mood of Chelsea fans everywhere.

True, I would love a more fluid team - but I also don't mind having that focal point to rely on, if only to drag us out of tough spots. Hopefully we are close to getting that player again.

Also, any comparisons to Morata are premature. Morata had a very weak mentality. I don't get any of these vibes from Jackson. He keeps going despite all the near misses.

Think he has a lot more power than Anelka., able to hold the ball up well. And you have to remember he is only 22. You would expect him to develop his physical strength further.