OneMoSalah

For me, Ivanovic was one of the most solid defenders we have had in the last 15 years and the list is pretty impressive. In his best years he was a no thrills rock solid defended. Nobody liked playing against him because he was fast, strong and for what he lacked in technical attributes he made up for through his defensive ability. He was also a big game player and sure he faded but that happens. Cahill for a lack of natural talent also has done pretty well. His successes as a player was through hard work.

Tbf we hired the guy to do a job of changing the style more than anything. Definitely time to change 6-8 players in the summer and go again. Pulisic is already coming in. Possibly sign a few others and Sabaria from Seville. Club needs a huge change with actual long term planning in place for once. A manager has to be given time. Players need to give maximum effort. Short termis was always going to affect us in the long run. Look at what Sarri did in Naples with lesser players (lets be honest, Pepe Reina, Raul Albiol, Dries Mertens, Jose Callejon, Zielenski, Hysaj, Milik, good players but hardly be regarded as outstanding before he went there although he took Zielenski and Hysaj with him) it was extremely good to watch, a lot of players improved hugely but they were hungry to improve, take information on board and to push on and try challenge Juventus. Theres obviously a struggle or issue with the players here because Sarri keeps saying he cant see his football, be that because the players arent suited to it (dont buy it, these guys are better than that) ,arent taking everything on board or just dont want to change. He has been stubborn but he was stubborn at Empoli and Napoli too. It worked for him in terms of implementing his style.

There are weaknesses in Klopp and Peps teams, getting intobehind the fullbacks who advance high. Always has been.

Hes not Spains no 1 RB because Dani Carjaval is better. Plain and simple. Maybe not defensively but his physical and technical attributes are very impressive. Always a threat when getting forward. Its nothing to do with Azpi being poor. Defensibdly not many players in world football are as consistently solid as he usually is. Being exposed is difficult for every player.

Selling Azpi is a ridiculous idea. No disrespect but you cannot say that he has run his race. The team is struggling, he has shown more than enough at times this season to show he still has plenty to offer (or so I think). Reece James is a big talent but again, not to rush him, he needs more experience firstly. Sterling would give most players a tough game. What about the 2-0 where he was immense and had Sane in his pocket? Or the countless other big games hes played in where he has been ridiculously good defensively? Offensively he can still improve but his final ball as weve seen over the last few seasons is actually good. Crossing for a false 9 that is 5 ft 8 is hardly ideal.

Yes save our season with 2 trophies, paper over the cracks again. Maybe finishing outsids the top 4 with no trophies is the wake up call the club undoubtly needs. It would show the board that managers havent always been the issue. Theres a air of complacency here. The managers always pay the price. No doubt the squad when motivated and improved (Costa, Cesc, Filipe Luis, Courtois returning, that window fot example) with a few players can do well but theres almost an arrogance that leads to these seasons like were having now. The players are good but complacent. The managers changed and it is almost as if theyll get off with absolutely shocking perfirmances. I dont see why the likes of Luiz, Willian, Hazard, Alonso, whoever else who yoyo their performances, all these guys can just be excused because Jose was too defensive minded or Conte was too defensive minded. Sarri is as offensive minded as many coaches out there but the complacency is still in the squad. Conte was right to freeze out David Luiz and drop Willian in his last season. Jose should of dropped Courtois and Hazard (never 100% fit but performances werent there either) among others in his last season. He dropped Matic who was his signing. These guys need a wake up call. Dont even get me started on the board... after that year when we got Matic, Cesc, Costa, Luis Courtois returning etc they seemed to think okay we dont need to improve any more or plan 3-5 years down the line when these guys age out. John Stones maybe not the best CB out there but was wanted specifically by the manager. Conte wanted some top level players never got them. No Bonucci, no Sandro, no Lukaku, no Candreva (curious but at RWB he could have been excellently suited to that role). If Sarri gets the sack, he will take the blunt of the blame. The players, will get some but not enough in my eyes. Theyve gone from first 10 games buying into Sarris coaching to doing the opposite now, as he has said in post match interviews, the phrase I did not see my football is becoming very common. Is that his fault or the players?

Id say crisis is about right. More problems than just Sarri though. From top t.bottom there is problems. Board, lack of vision and poor recruitment. Manager, failing to motivate players. Players struggling to get to grips with the managers instructions or perform at times. Lack of youth being integrated over the last 10 years.

I dont get why he didnt consider whipping that in behind the right sided CB to Higuain either. Higuain is basically primed to make the run and theres plenty space. The delivery if its right finds him and he probably hits the target or scores. Or yes play it to Eden.

Well even then in that Barca team, the midfield had flexibility. Busquets, Xavi, Iniesta could all control and influence games. Some games Jorginho undoubtedly needs help because hes manmarked but Kante and Barkley/Kovacic lack the quality to do what he does with the ball. This is why I think Cesc had to be utlisied more with Jorginho as opposed to as his back up. Cesc can drop, get the ball out from deep by playing through the lines. You stand somebody on Jorginho and Kante/Kovacic are going to get the ball but struggle to dictate the game in a similar way because its not their strength. People talk about a lack of assists but Jorginhos primary function in that system is to set the tempo and build the game so we can get into the final third. At Napoli for instance Hamsik, an extremely versatile and rounded midfield player with a lot of strengths, could come deeper to relieve the responsibility on Jorginho and do that as well. Like at Madrid, if Kroos, an amazing midfielder in terms of dictating matches, was marked he could rely on Modric to come help him out and vice versa. Jorginho gets man marked and we struggle to get through the midfield because Kovacic and Kante dont have that same strengths. We do need variation yes but at the same time somebody like Cesc on his day can pick amazing passes and break teams presses.

Change is needed and it definitely wont be easy. There is a huge air of complacency from top to bottom at the club, board to manager to players. For me, Sarri should get to see the season out, stubborn or not. He has more about him than Villas-Boas, who many have compared him to, and quite frankly as I mentioned in another thread, this changing manager every year or whatever is clearly not sustainable anymore. Its works for 12 months then its same again. A serious reboot is needed all across the club lol. People wanted attractive football when we won playing uglier under Jose and Conte. Roman included. Its not been good recently but its one of them where if we change again its like starting from scratch, papering over the cracks, pinning all the blame on the manager as opposed to everyone from board level to the players. No planning or no consistency. Sarri wants revolution as opposed to an evolution, clearly, although its not working. Even if he doesnt see this season out, its clear that it is desperstely needed.

Been thinking a lot the past few seasons about this so, lets be honest. This clubs downfall is a byproduct that has been because of its success. Complacency has kicked in all across the club because weve won a lot in the years Romans been here by doing things a certain way. Everyone is partially responsible. Players, managers and the board. In recent years the players and managers seem to drop off every 2 seasons and theres no long term vision or real method of maintaining that success while the club actually progresses. Its too easy to change the manager, spend another 200m and think only in the short term or in the next project. This is how weve achieved almost all our successes since 2012. Its at a tipping point for me now because weve almost exhausted every avenue in terms of hiring the top top managers like the Joses, Carlos, Contes. We need to look long term in a way, to look to utilise the academy players more and develop an identity. Winning trophies is great yes but the cycle this club seems to go through is win big trophies for a year or two and then at least 3 or 4 years going through huge ups and downs as well as many changes. There really cant be any other obvious explination for it other than complacency. When I look at the Barcelonas, Man Uniteds, Bayerns, Juventus' of past and present, I can sense that mindset of long term planning but its there along without losing that short term ambition. Yes we can hire Manager X, rejuvenate the squad for 6-18 months and then repeat that another year later. It will come to a point where its no longer sustainable, or perhaps it already has. The sort of planning and long term vision those clubs have has led to them all having hugely sustained periods of success in the last 20 years. Weve had a lot of success too yes but in the last 8 years or so weve had a lot of ups and downs. A lot down of it is down to poor planning and complacency. The top class managers now probably dont see Chelsea as being as attractive an option as they did 15 years ago because the demand is huge but theres little patience or vision.

Theres no doubt the majority of players here have a weak mentality though. We go a goal down and its game over there and then. Bournemouth, City, Arsenal... whoever else this season. Its really pathetic, imagine JT or Lamps or Drogba in this dressing room. Guys like Alonso, Hazard, Willian, Morata etc would be told straight.

No chance Lampard comes here. Roman is hardly going to appoint him because we all know he will either want another similar idealistic manager to Sarri or a big name like Diego Simeone or something. Simeone would pusg every player physically and mentally, get rid of the weak mentality that we clearly have... wouldn't be a bad thing.

As long as Harry Redknapp, David Moyes or Big Sam arent in the running aye

Yeah Sarri isnt surviving after this. And in all fairness neither should the likes of Luiz, Alonso, Emerson, Willian... maybe even Barkley.

He was only a regular under Zidane when Balr was injured and he played a MF diamond of Modric and Kroos either side of Casemiro with Isco at the tip. He put good performances in but he was given complete freedom basically.

2 new left backs please. Also as if Eden was gonna track there 😂

Rio Ferdinand an ex pro at the top level said he cant defend or tackle too 😂 Dont see why the likes of idiotic cunts like Rio Ferdinand, Danny Murphy and Jermaine Jenas can end up in media roles analysing football... if its based on actual knowledge.. its hugely questionable. Its ridiculous isnt it? Journalists and the Likes of Jenas, Ferdinand, Keown, Murphy, Michael Owen, Owen Hargreaves... holy shit. Still wont get over Jenas saying Spurs should of gone through against us in that 4-2 cup game because theyre performance was better or whatever pish he was giving it. Semi finals are all about the result. Dickhead. Can tell he won next to fuck all in his career 🤣 Journalists are always going to have something to say about Jorginho because he plays in Kantes position, who is world class, although Kante has never played as a 6 for Leicester or Chelsea except the games under Conte before the 343.

Didn't realise Emenalo managed Monaco. Monaco manager and players are the reason Monaco are fighting for survival. We won a fair bit with Emenalo in his role, he wasnt exactly terrible but he wasn't outstanding. In terms of churning profit on squad players/undesirables he and the board did well at times. Everyone always expects the best players to sign like we did 10 plus years ago but they simply either dont want to come or clubs wont sell at a lower price. Cant pin that on one guy or managers wanting other players too at times.

Well Emerson is apparently the reincarnation of Roberto Carlos in comparison to Alonso... both are painfully average. Emerson is the worst of the two for me. Defensively hes useless.

Regardless. If there is or isnt, theres every chance a deal can be done. Madrid dont miss Kovacic and the player himself is happier playing here than rotting on a bench. Was rumours last year we were talking about making the move permanent.

Honestly Emerson vs Sterling or Mahrez geniuenly gives me the fear. David Brooks made him look naive...

Injuries, managerial changes and lack of form has helped him too. He is going to be a top top player though undoubtedly, if he can continue to develop at this rate in the next few seasons. The ceiling he has is huge.

I wouldnt be so sure in all fairness. Even then if Kova was to show desire to stay here and Madrid were open to selling him, it would be worth looking into. It depends on Modric this summer too, if Inter renew interest and push for him? Kovacic is undoubtedly viewed as Madrids successor for Modric. But again if Modric stays would he be happy splitting minutes?

Ive seen it. Duncan Castle also exposed it. Still, hardly surprising.