OneMoSalah

Not sure why Kepa is in this worst players in 21st century thread, he wouldn’t even be in the top 25. If he kept up his level from last season or didn't have that dodgy spell he wouldn't even be in the running. Weird to see that what maybe a dodgy spell that accumulates to maybe 7 or 8 games defines someone who was one of our better players and the better GKs in the PL last season to be in the running for worst Chelsea player of the 21st century..... People can mention the fee but it was a buyout clause. At a club who have only sold their other key players (Javi Martinez and Herrera for instance and rejecting offers lower than the buyouts for Muniain and Williams over the years) for their buyout clauses because they have a recruitment policy where they try recruit players from the Basque provinces (right way to word it I think). With some of the fee probably being paid in instalments and other bonuses over the basis of a 7 year contract. Or even then if not, still, did the money come out of their pockets directly or mines or whoever elses? I mean realistically who is worth 71mn? In a realistic world where football transfers weren't inflated? Maybe 15 or 20 players? Out of thousands? Also, In a realistic world there really isnt anyone in our squad who you would justify paying that fee for. But the market’s inflated which has been an accumulation built upon spending by the likes of Real Madrid, us, Man City, Man United, PSG and the high prices of television deals and sponsorships.... so these thing are going to continue to happen unless Covid totally sends it the other way. Even then if youve been watching Chelsea for any reasonable length of time and Kepa still makes your list of worst players in 21st century at the club, I really dont know. I can probably think of at least 20 others who were much much worse. Perhaps more if you went into real depth. edit:whoops should of read back a bit further... idiot... apologies... delete?

Hes certainly not slow but have to agree hes not as fast as some other fullbacks, likes of Walker, Cancelo, Robertson, Wan Bissaka but at the same time look at Alexander Arnold, he isnt exactly really quick and he is widely regarded as one of the best in that position now a days although defensively he isnt great. Takes more than just pace or physicality to decide how good a player is. For someone who is small he is certainly strong enough and would say he is definitely quick enough to get away from folk. Technically he has a lot of decent attributes as he has shown at Wigan and here. Final ball is good but needs more consistency.

No surprise Billy looks a bit rusty. This is his first match since whenever and even then its been tough for us because Leicester press really well and collectively. Plus he isnt limited to just one position. He can play as a 6, 8 or a 10. He's played higher up for the youth teams with Jody Morris beforehand and at Rangers so its nothing to do with hes only limited to playing as a 6. I do think it really is just more rustiness as well as the expectation he has to perform as good as he has done based off those last 2 games v Liverpool and Everton. Hes still only a kid. Our ability to play through a press has decreased since Sarri left. As boring as the football was final third at times, you knew that the boys would be comfortable taking it and there would always be options off the ball. We can go longer to Tammy but again Leicester probably are happy to defend against him in long ball scenarios.

Definitely but it is a stretch to say that when he came from Genk or even back from Bremen he was our best player straight away which is what I was replying to. Mata had just come off a huge couple of seasons. Hazard was also here. There was also a great deal of hope around Willian when he signed (maybe because how he played against us the previous season and I also think because Spurs wanted him) and I think that the signing of him and the clubs persistence in bringing Schurrle that summer always meant at least 2 of the attacking midfield players would always struggle for playing time and ultimately end up leaving either on loan or permanently. It is a shame that it was Mata and De Bruyne who didnt stay as opposed to Oscar and Schurrle but at the time, the 55mn recouped was well invested considering Matic cost 21mn and Salah (who for me I think seeing what he has done now in a position we’ve really lacked a regular goalscoring player in was just as big a loss if not more - imagine him playing where Pedro did in Conte’s system for instance or Sarri’s) for 11mn. Both obviously were hugely talented and we've seen the aftermath and heard all the quotes from Conte, several sky sports pundits and De Bruyne going on about Mourinho mentioning the running/tackling/interception stats to him in a meeting as well as whoever else has gone on about it. Those mistakes will scar Mourinho’s reputation a wee bit but still what he's done in the game in the last 20 years its hardly going to affect him hugely. I still think those moves definitely would of made them better than Mourinho would have as well. Young players haven't really been hugely common in Mourinho’s most successful teams plus his short term mindset was always going to work against the clubs idea of developing young players just like Villas-Boas’ lack of prioritising the present worked against him here too among other things. Plus in terms of how that season finished with Jose and then next year when we won the league next season, I dont think people really complained overly too much about missing Mata or De Bruyne either because their was always more talk of us needing a top CF (Costa), LB (Filipe Luis) and a deep lying playmaker (Cesc) to make that team work and compete for the league. It was always said, Jose had said it himself, many might have recognised Kevin and Salah’s talent but I do believe that nobody was saying when we finished 3rd and went into the summer window that we really lacked those players especially. That squad after making those signings (Cesc, Costa, Filipe Luis, recalling Courtois), again nobody really talked about Chelsea lacking De Bruyne or Salah.

Think Serie A will suit him. Not sure he will win a lot with Roma but they have some exciting younger players and he is a top pro who has won everything, so will be a good influence around as well as being able to still contribute. Hopefully he can get a few goals before the end of the season.

Still think his best moments even under Sarri have been on the right. That’s excluding the pre season games he played on the left with Sarri but I think as soon as Eden was back it was obvious he would either feature more on the right or as rotation from the left. I think on the left he is a bit predictable. Pulisic ice cold for his goal. Sucked in Mendy and went past him with ease as well. Really hoping he can maintain his fitness for the remaining games and next season, really think hes capable of getting 10-15 goals and assists if he plays every week.

True. I think United have just managed phases of the games against us better as well as having been more clinical. With regards to teams being clinical, it has been a bit of a recurring theme this season too that we haven't scored when our play has warranted it, ie that first half v United we were on top and didnt take advantage then United ended up winning the game quite comfortably in score. The Norwich and Sheffield United games as well come to mind which ties in with the dropped points v smaller teams.

The points weve dropped against smaller teams has been a disappointment as well. Top 4 would of been 100% sealed by now if we hadn’t dropped as many points. Overall (before even mentioning tonights result), there is still plenty to do.

He wasnt. Think people tend to forget that he really kicked on at Wolfsburg for 18 months. He wasnt given a fair crack here maybe but that cup game he played against a league 1 team he was so poor. The Hull game he was good but there was more inform and better suited players to our team when he was here. Saying otherwise is daft.

Mount that is poor. Have to hit the target. Poor.

I think having spent time in Germany has really helped that side of his game. Hes always getting in the box or looking to run from out to in. Was a really good finish too. He is capable of getting to 10 PL goals this season easily.

Still a bit shocked Kovacic didnt start giving Citys press and he can receive the ball under pressure but great finish Pulisic. Have to get up the park a bit more though.

Clever signing for Dortmund. Not an exceptional player but someone who fits in with what Favre wants from his fullbacks and with the uncertainty around Hakimi, getting a replacement on a free is a shrewd move. Think he is still defensively suspect to a certain level and didn't think we would ever be interested in him at all. Or United tbf. Can see why Spurs would be after him as he isnt as bad as Aurier.

In England it has. From 2000 to say I dont know 2012, there were a much much better quality of CBs playing in the PL. Particularly at the top teams. Now there aren't anywhere near as many of top level CBs in the PL. The quality of CBs maybe isn't dropping all around Europe but most of the very very best ones do not play in the Premier League. Where beforehand your Rios, Terrys, Stams, Vidics, Carvalhos, Campbells, Adams and the rest of them did. I do agree football has moved away from playing deeper and defending but even then, teams defending in general and organisation at corners and free kicks has steadily gotten worse in the PL, championship and SPL. While the average possession or passes per game in the PL might be higher than Spain/Italy/Germany and there may be more goals, the fact that we are now regularly talking about us, Arsenal and United severely lacking top CBs, holding all teams back to an extent sums it up. Even more so that all the names being linked to us, United and Arsenal in those positions are always from Spain, Germany or Italy. Obviously defending isn't just down to CBs but you see the difference VVD made to Liverpools back 4. Or when Vincent Kompany made big big strides at City when they started winning trophies with Mancini, you could see the difference when he played in their backline and when he didn't. You see how in stark contrast for instance David Luiz at Arsenal, when he plays and is seen as more of a ‘leadership’ figure, they are all over the place. As well obviously there is the coaching element, it is not unlikely that some coaches very rarely do shape or any defensive set play work as they think it isn't as important/will be monotonous/or whatever else out of 10000 reasons there could be which I think is mental. Could you imagine Italians not doing shape? Or defensive set plays? But it is also obvious to see that Man United dont have quality CBs like Jaap Stam, Rio Ferdinand or Nemanja Vidic or that we don't have quality CBs such as Marcel Desailly, John Terry or Ricardo Carvalho or Arsenal dont have quality CBs such as Sol Campbell or Tony Adams. The quality of CBs playing in the PL at the top clubs isnt what it was.

I think with those level of signings, even with Ole who isn't or never will be as highly regarded as those others, they'd still be very formidable. He doesn't strike me as the sort of guy who would alienate/burn people out like we seen with Mourinho and Conte here and they've bought into what hes trying to do. Fair enough Pep, Klopp as well as a few other managers would be better tactically and maybe make tactical tweaks to alter games but very good players are very good players and ultimately they make the difference in key moments. This is another reason why Frank has got to get the correct backing and recruitment here (Ziyech and Werner are in the correct mould along with Kovacic, Jorginho and Pulisic). Just as it would be the same with Jose at Spurs or Arteta at Arsenal. Good recruitment is so vital. If you take Son, Kane and Lo Celso out of Spurs team for instance or Lacazette and Aubamayang out of Arsenals team, they are very average but those guys can make the difference which ultimately can get you another X amount of points a season. Surrounded by the right players that can be the difference between finishing 1st or 2nd or 4th and 5th. Obviously managers are important but we seen what Pep needed to win trophies at City and what Klopp needed to get titles at Liverpool. I still think if City had Pellegrini or Mancini they would still be up there to win the league with the squad they have now. Just like whenever Pep leaves and they continue recruiting as they have been since 2010 they will still be competing.

Tbf I think regarding Ruben before last season: Mourinho seen him more Ruben as a 6/8 in his team, Conte seen him as more of a striker in his team, Hodgson seen him as a winger in his team, Sarri seen him as a CM in his team and Gareth Southgate seen him as a CM/CAM for England. His biggest problem has probably been the fact he was always seen as someone where nobody was completely sure of his best position until Roy and Sarri played him more consistently at first team level. Even then before last year he didnt really have consistent end product or numbers and none of the other guys beforehand had ever given him persistent playing time either in one position to cement it and make it his own. Frank played him more off the left but I do feel based on last season he is a central midfielder in a 3 or a 10. Whether or not he will persist with him there on the long term or not, we will find out.

Agree. Would say Lindelof has improved under Ole (after a few seasons where he struggled under Jose) and Wan Bissaka, who is very good defensively but they are lacking half a defence basically so if they ever play a bit more openly they will get caught out. Even then you ideally need 4 good fullbacks and 4 good CBs to compete for titles. We are no different. We have issues at LB and CB except Tomori and Rudiger (who can play much much better). Zouma will never suit us if we continue down the path we are going, he still struggles reading the game and playing out from the back. I do still have a slight hope that Christensen can turn it around but if he is here next season and doesn't really improve he could go. Well thats if Frank is going to be ruthless like he was with Luiz. Few others in the same situation in other positions. Maguire for 80mn is still nowhere near as good as he was ever made out to be and while Shaw has kicked on he has really not hit the heights you'd have expected (although his consistency has improved a bit but he would be a bench player at City or Liverpool). Their roles in that goal v Spurs the other night was shocking, laughable really, Maguire looked like a Championship player the way he was beaten and Shaw just didn't look around him and ran forward without thinking. The overall quality of defenders in the PL really has decreased though. Bar van Dijk and Laporte who for me are the standout ones, I don't really see any real quality at other teams. Guys like Joe Gomez, Lindelof, Rudi, Matip, Vertonghen and Alderweireld as well as a few others I will have missed are maybe in/were the bracket below but even then the gap between those and VVD and Laporte is big. That young Turkish fella at Leicester has got potential but I do think he has to be careful guys like Christensen and Davinson Sanchez have done well then faded so will reserve proper judgement to see how he does next season. It is weird though at a lot of clubs, I get the feeling coaches don't seem to focus on defensive set plays or shape anywhere near as much now and it has shown more than ever in the last 7 or 8 years in British football imo.

If they didn't have Son and Kane back fit and available I wouldn't see it either. Same with United having Rashford, Pogba and Bruno Fernandes all fit for this run in. I also cant see us beating both of City and Liverpool in the remaining games. Just have to see what happens as mentioned beforehand we still have Wolves as well. Hopefully a few teams can take points off those others but I do think it is less likely and we will need to do our part including those 2 massive games which if we do manage to win/not lose, will push us along nicely.

Cedric and maybe Mari are decent players but hardly outstanding or likely to pick the other boys up around them. They really need to get new CBs in, it is embarrassing watching them try to defend. I mean imagine how their fans feel 😂 I know our CBs haven't been particularly good or consistent this season but would happily rather ours than theirs.

If we get beat v City, it is still very possible because then we will all have played 31 games and the point difference will be 3 between us and United, Wolves and then Spurs will be 4 behind (assuming United and Wolves win their next fixture). If we get a win, it will be much more comfortable in the run in but if not, a draw is maybe decent enough but with Liverpool at Anfield we really need to give ourselves every chance. All three can still make the ground up considering people will probably expect us to drop points v Liverpool at Anfield and then we still have Wolves to play who have shown time and time again, are very capable of beating big sides. Spurs have got Arsenal and Leicester to play yet but would imagine they will get those results. I would be shocked if quite a couple of teams don't take points off Arsenal based on those games since coming back because defensively they are so soft. United have also got an easy enough run in bar Leicester, although again I think theyd fancy getting that result also. Wolves as well really have only got us and Arsenal (who I reckon they can beat on the day without a doubt), maybe Everton throw a spanner in the works but wouldn't count on it.

Johnny Evans has been a pretty good PL CB for over 10 years and is someone with vast international and top end PL experience as well as winning 11 trophies. He played at Manchester United over 100 times, don’t think many players do that if their below average from the period he was there. Man City wanted him as well when Pep came over while he was at West Brom. Okay he isn't world class but hes very solid, comfortable with the ball and doesn't overcomplicate It. I think his career has always been very under appreciated even more so when you consider some of the CBs he played with and mixed with during his time at United. Plus I think Rodgers has managed him very well since going in to Leicester as well. I am still baffled that an Everton or even Arsenal didn't take him when he left WBA or even before he went there, especially Arsenal in all fairness. I totally agree regarding the coaching aspect here though and kept mentioning it before over the course of the season and even when FL was at Derby, his team struggled to keep clean sheets and defend corners. I do think set pieces will continue to be an issue throughout his tenure here though, I haven't seen any real improvement in that aspect in terms of organisation and would say it is worst than it was with Maurizio and that wasn't very solid either. These sort of things will continue to affect us in games against smaller teams who look to capitalise on these situations, the likes or Burnley, Sheffield United, Villa, Newcastle. Games we cant afford to lose points in because I don't fancy us going and beating the likes of Liverpool or City yet despite the supercup performance. Still think even with Ziyech, Werner and if Havertz come we are still soft in out backline. Chilwell is good but never worth more than 50mn, Kepa has to get back up to his level from last season and at CB we still lack a real leader and organisation.

Anne Budge is being really bitter about this. Hearts if they werent in a relegation spot would never in a million years have talked about this and the restructure didnt receive enough support so dont see how they can complain. 3/4s of Scottish football fans can see this but she cant. Partick Thistle got done a bit of a shitter though in the division below they had a game in hand and if theyd have won that theyd have not been in the relegation spot. Think Stranraer maybe in similar position but Hearts are not doing this for the good of the SPFL its so they dont go down. 100%. Be interesting to see how quickly their laughed out of court.

I would hope it causes some issues but I think Fernandes and Pogba can work together in the same way Pep had David Silva and Kevin de Bruyne in the same midfield and even when Jose had Oscar and Cesc interchanging positions when we were playing that great football the first half of that season in 2014-15. It utterly depends on what Pogba does now because I do think based on his time with Juve and even if you look at his stats last season, he can score more goals. Fernandes is a huge improvement on what they had in terms of creativity and willingness to take risks playing forward so he could be the key, plus having Rashford back gives them a boost because he has been their best player this season. It will be interesting to see how they click everything in place because if you look at their attacking players on paper over the last few years, they have underachieved in terms of output. Maybe Fernandes and Pogba working well together can be the key to changing that. On paper they certainly look strong but I said the same before they sold Lukaku. They just lack regular goalscorers who will bag them guaranteed goals every season. Like us really but we have created more chances just havent been clinical enough.

Totally agree about it being cancelled it should be but it likely wont. Yes it isnt fair but lets be honest the CL isnt fair regardless from the get go because certain league champions have to go through 4 rounds of qualifying to get to a group stage anyway so I mean a few top clubs with 100s of millions worth of talent missing 2 or 3 players isnt exactly a hardship. I can also see the argument of if they are gonna finish some major leagues then they will argue that they should play to finish the CL and Europa. It makes no sense to me already that some leagues have finished early and some havent but if some leagues will continue obviously many will want the CL to as well seeing as its in the knockout stage now. Clubs all across Europe will be without many players if they dont sign small extensions of their contract to finish like the PL (for example us with Pedro, Spurs with Vertonghen, City with David Silva among many others) and no clubs will be able to register more players for the CL/Europa anyway I dont think. It isnt going to necessarily be an even playing field but all the leagues should of followed 1 decision to make this easier to decide. In Belgium, Holland, France and Scotland they ended the seasons prematurely and awarded trophies to the teams at the top. Italy, Germany, Spain and now the PL will/have resume games. Its a real mess tbf, UEFA should of said okay everyones season either finishes prematurely and no trophies awarded/award trophies or everyone keeps playing when its safe to do so. If PSG play CL they will not have the same match fitness as say any German or English clubs who will be resuming league fixtures soon because they wont be playing competitive league fixtures.

75m for Chilwell? Fucking hell. Avoid. Good player but never worth 75m and never will be even in an inflated market. Other LBs out there for much better value for money. Would pay 45/50m tops for Chilwell nothing more.