Superblue

Sarri hasn't got the flexibility to move away from his philosophy, but if it was me I would play 4-3-3 / 4-2-3-1 of: Kepa Azpi, Rudiger, Christensen, Emerson RLC, Kante, Barkley CHO, Giroud, Hazard The full backs are clearly a problem at present, and to do our best to get around that problem the ball needs to be played much quicker and direct at times out wide to get the wide players in 1v1's with the opposition full backs. At present, the build up is way too slow. In that line up CHO and Hazard are clearly the two creative outlets so give them the best possible chance to do that. Giroud up front offers a better focal point to play off, but also is a physical and dominating presence in the box, making it less predictable for Hazard and CHO having to cut inside so regularly. Barkley and RLC should be given free reign in front of Kante to be positive. Both i believe are our best chances of goals from midfield. Barkley I think would play a little deeper as he has a better engine to play in a box to box role and also is very capable of shooting from distance which should be encouraged more often. RLC is probably better suited playing a little higher forward and like Giroud offers another big body in the box when crossing. The two do seem to play with more freedom for England and whether it's sub-conscious, they feel shackled playing for Chelsea at present. We don't need 70% possession and 20 touches in our own half before we move into theirs. We need to start playing football that gets more out of what we have at present.

I'm all for giving someone time if you can see the positives and progress being made, even if it is a little slow. Unfortunately I don't see any of this with Sarri. The only positive spin that can be put on our football this season is that we dominate possession near enough every game now, but in doing so we have sacrificed utilising any pace in our team, and become slow and predictable with the ball making us easy to defend against. In defence our midfield is now set up to be counter attacked and our defence exposed. What we are playing isn't attacking football in my opinion. There are multiple ways to play attack minded football and dominating possession outside the opposition final 3rd and creating few chances is not one of them. The lack of cutting edge and urgency on the ball is the biggest worry for me. We're so laboured and easy to play against. The whole system is way too rigid and stifles a number of players from playing their natural game. Even when we are losing, it's not like we ever seem to be throwing everything at a team. The Chelsea of old would pepper the opposition goal from all angles until it caved in and it's sorry to see no one willing to shoot from distance anymore. Even with a transfer ban in place for me we need to move away from Sarri's project.

This sums up the club and it is frustrating that the club turn a blind eye to it. Without football people in high positions in the club, the structure and identity is lacking. And without a director of football in place there is no plan. I've said it multiple times, if CHO plays regularly he'll sign a new contract. I'm very confident of that and I think his preference at present would be to play for a one of the biggest clubs in England who he has come up through their youth system as opposed to moving abroad to find regular football. He will not be the only one too. City are finding the same problem now with their youth players. If there is no pathway, they're not afraid to move elsewhere.

His record at Napoli was good, but besides Juventus who are head and shoulders above everything in Italy, the rest of the sides are simply not that great at present. We may well be on course for making the Europa League final but the quarter finals in two leg competition is still a good distance away and the way we have been playing so far this calendar year do you really fancy our chances currently of going and winning it? The league cup final ironically showed us playing less 'Sarriball' and more 'Chelseaball' and was far more effective than the 6-0 we got handed a week or so before that. Sometimes managers just 'fit' a job and never have the same success with different players, requirements, pressures, etc. Moyes at Everton, Curbishley at Charlton and I do think Sarri may be in that category whilst at Napoli. His style of football perfectly suits Italian football where the game is slower and there is less pressing through the league giving players more time and space. Jorginho looked like an absolute world beater over there, but with no time here he struggles. Bakayoko is the same, he's being praised to the hills when last season under intense pressure he couldn't even get the ball under control. If we don't make top 4 this season which is looking likely we are already at a level similar to Arsenal now. This season has been poor overall, and the football hasn't been great. So with a transfer ban, how are we going to get any better under Sarri with the same players? I'm not suggesting blooding some youth players in will make us immediately successful, but with the transfer ban in place next season could be afforded a proper transitional year where we did bring 3 or 4 into the squad, as well as giving the likes of Christensen, RLC and CHO more of a first choice role at the club. Some of these players may never be good enough to be first choice at the club, but I'm confident there are some that can make it. And at the very least there are some that can come into the squad and replace the likes of Zappacosta and Drinkwater, rather than squandering more money on such signings. The following season after our ban we can review the situation and if some of these players have shown the progress hoped then it means less players we need to buy which in turn means more money to spend per player improving the quality.

Yes. This isn't like Pep or Mourinho who can point to an extensive track record of success if you buy into their philosophy and requirements. His style has yet to win anything, so do we want to be investing heavily in something largely unproven? Also the players Sarri has brought in for his 'style' (Jorginho, Kovacic and Higuain) have hardly set the club alight. Can we trust him to get things right or will we see more signings that struggle to adapt or succeed. This isn't just Sarri though, it's a root problem at the club of not having a long term plan. That plan doesn't have to be holding on to the same manager, but there needs to be continuity in managers so that players under a previous regime are still well suited to a new manager. We spent a fortune in the 2017 summer window and just over 18 months later, only Rudiger seems to be wanted by Sarri. The way the club operated 5 - 10 years ago is no longer working and papering over the cracks no longer will suffice. We need a full rebuild of the club with a much clearer picture moving forward, and for me that starts with a director of football with a vision the board are prepared to commit and work towards and bring in the right youth and loan players to start this. Then once these are in place, key areas of the first team that need improving can be identified and good money spent to do so. Until we make proper changes the wheels in my opinion will keep spinning at the club.

I completely agree with your assessments on Kakuta and McEachran. At the time there was a clamouring for a young prospect to come through the academy to make it at Chelsea. I think the crop over the last few years are of a far higher all round standard than back then. I hold your opinion in high regard on this forum and I know you watch a lot of football beyond the first team for the club. If the transfer ban holds up, and the only way to refresh our squad is through the academy and loan players, what players in your opinion are best equipped to make this possible transition next season?

I'm not disputing we haven't got players from the academy or out on loan to come in and refresh the squad. A part of me would actually prefer this ban to stick and force us to do this rather than start rebuilding immediately through the transfer market. But my point is will Sarri trust these young players to come in and play regularly? He has already admitted this season that under Pep's advice, he has pretty much focused on about 15/16 players to teach his philosophy to. Is he likely to be prepared to change much from that core group of players who he's been training for a season? His stubborn nature and his track record (previously at Napoli also) of unwilling to rotate much would suggest not.

At current we have a transfer ban and until otherwise we have to assume this will remain the case. Therefore the only way we can change things is through integrating loan or youth players and I don't have faith that Sarri will do this willingly and successfully.

The club definitely needs to start covering themselves with all bases. There is definitely a shift for young players wanting to play much earlier now because the platform is being offered to them to do this, particularly in Germany. We need to start offering more opportunities for young players in our first team for starters because they need to see the route into the first team is a possibility. This starts with CHO and hopefully more will follow. However that doesn't mean that all our young players will be good enough. The club will need to make a decision on these boys and if indeed they feel it is best to sell then do so with a buy-back clause. We do not want another instance we had with De Bruyne. The club should also start making more of this current strategy in Germany of hoovering up young talent from England and start loaning players out more to there instead of the Championship and Holland. The most success we've had to date with a youth player being loaned out and eventually coming back to the club is Christensen and he clearly benefited immensely from his loan spell in Germany.

I'm all for giving a manager time and I can appreciate that what Sarri is trying to do is a big culture shift area to the style and philosophy of Conte and Mourinho before him, but ultimately you need to be able to identify progress and positives still and I don't see this. If we don't qualify for the Champions League again this season (through our league position) it will be 2 years with largely the same squad not making top 4. I do not see next season how we will magically improve. Especially if you take into account the likelihood of this transfer ban standing, so no new players to come in and Hazard likely to leave. Whilst I've backed Sarri to a degree with how he's blooded Hudson-Odoi in, he needs to start playing him more now and we're talking about a real top drawer academy prospect. Will he be willing to give opportunities to other academy prospects over experienced players who he's worked with for a year already next season...I have huge doubts. I don't even think the football we play is that great. At times it feels like possession for the sake of it, and most of the time there's no speed or urgency. It's predictable and to be honest boring to watch. Our team has become so reliant on Hazard producing something because there's so little penetration in our play it's embarrassing. I still stand by my hope that they would give Lampard the job next season. He may be inexperienced, but he'll be all the better prepared from this season at Derby. He's already said previously in interviews that he wants his team to get on the ball and play and be aggressive both attacking and pressing when they don't have the ball, but he also expects his team to be adaptable too. He knows the club, would bring back to the dressing room some of that experience and belief we had when he was here, and I do believe his standing at Chelsea is so high that his reputation amongst supporters wouldn't be ruined which is why I believe somebody like him would be more willing than any to risk blooding through younger players. If supporters can see this club is trying to rebuild and is willing to give some younger players opportunities then there will be patience. If the club is going to give a manager sufficient time now it has to be with someone who is able to start the rebuild of this club with the resources at their disposal and I just don't see that in Sarri.

It purely comes down to the board. Zappacosta will be able to be shifted whether permanently or on loan, someone would take him in Italy. Zappacosta himself would also likely prefer to leave to somewhere he has more chance playing. If the transfer ban stands, the board must be prepared to let some players leave and replace them and refresh the squad with some of our loan and/or academy players and take the chance. If we don't make top 4 this season it will be 2 in a row with largely the same squad, so surely any sane mind will be able to see that form will unlikely be reversed a third time. If the transfer ban is reversed or deferred, the club must still make a bold decision. We need to rebuild this club and spreading a transfer budget out over 5 or 6 players could be a disaster like the 2017 summer window. Instead we should be filling our squad out with academy prospects and using our budget on say 3 key players to improve the first team. As Reece James is one of the better players from our academy in recent times and with a season of football under his belt, he should be one of the 3 or 4 we look at integrating into the squad.

Zappacosta has had 13 appearances so far this season and he is terrible in all facets of the game, and is clearly not trusted by Sarri hence why Azpi is flogged to death. Even Azpi having a poor season is still far better than Zappacosta in my opinion. I'm pretty sure if Reece James was brought back in place of Zappacosta in the summer, minimum games he'd play next season is 20 across all comps and if he plays well there's no reason he won't play more games than that.

I agree, unfortunately it's becoming a much harder art form because even average players nowadays are commanding huge transfer fees from everywhere. I would expect Celtic would still demand in excess of £20m because they know the current market can command this. The South American market was something I felt quite strongly about years ago when we were paying huge money for the likes of Ramires and David Luiz only a season or so after they had some over to Europe from Brazil and felt we could be saving millions if we had identified these players sooner. The only player I can think of who we successfully took in that way was Alex. Work permits, whilst not insurmountable, probably help deter from the attractiveness of this strategy but also I don't think the quality in South America is currently as good as it has been over the years. Brazil and Argentina in particular just aren't that great at present. I still believe our most important strategy with regards to squad re-building at present should be to integrate some of our young players. Loftus-Cheek should have been given the opportunity instead of buying Drinkwater. Reece James should be given the opportunity to replace Zappacosta in the squad next season. We shouldn't look to buy to replace Hazard, we should give Hudson-Odoi the opportunity. Same with Christensen over Luiz. There should be a strategy in place where gaps in the squad are filled by academy players. They won't be expected to start immediately but they'll be blooded over a season or two with increasing exposure to the first team, trusted to fill in when required, and hopefully develop to challenge for a first team spot or if not they are settled as a good valued squad player. This will save millions being squandered on average players who we hope might turn good, but the majority of time won't like the Drinkwaters and Zappacostas and allow us potentially to focus on just a couple of key areas each season to improve the first team quality, which would allow us to compete more at the higher end of the market because our transfer budget doesn't need stretching out so much.

Pulisic will need time, so I wouldn't just discard Pedro and Willian. Both need to stay in my opinion if Hazard leaves in the summer and we cannot buy players. In the right environment we could take a massive shift next season to trusting our younger group of players but that still needs experience in and around the squad to lean on and help them. I agree with the CHO and Willian comment and actually I would take it one further, to me it's always felt like Willian seems to play better without Hazard. Not sure if its just more space to shine, thriving from more responsibility or just plainly stepping up. To put it bluntly replacing Hazard is a near impossible task unless we got incredibly lucky with a new signing just clicking. It's like replacing Lampard's goals from midfield, was never going to happen. But it doesn't mean that the club won't recover in time. A big rebuilding job is needed anyway, coping without Hazard just adds extra to that job.

Assuming there's no movement on our ban, it's either that or Willian and Pedro as our starting wingers. There will be some inconsistency naturally from two young players but with the right tactics there is a lot of potential having two very pacy, tricky and raw wingers. CHO in particular I do think could become a world beater in time.

This is exactly it, CHO may be the option with the greater rewards but he will still be viewed as the riskier option to the experience of Pedro and Willian. I've actually backed Sarri over his use and development of CHO, although I do think he should have given him a start or two by now in the Premier League. It is getting to the point now however where Sarri could gain some major and much needed credit with CHO. The fans are desperate to see him play as an academy star and also because nobody wants to see him leave, and with the fans becoming more disillusioned with the team and performances each and every week, I think his inclusion would lift the club as a whole and get the fans on side more, which in turn would buy Sarri more time which he is running out of at present. Either way though this will come to a head in the summer. The board have to 'prove' to CHO their backing and faith in him and the way in which they can do this is letting Hazard (possibly Willian) leave without replacing them with a star signing and instead making CHO their direct replacement. Certainly in Hazard's case, I see CHO as the only viable replacement that fans will give time and patience to. Any big signing to replace Hazard would be expected to hit the ground running and directly compared to Hazard throughout their career here and unless we got ridiculously lucky, it'll lead to a "no-win" situation for club and player.

Has anyone watched much of him at Milan? Is all of this praise he seems to keep getting justified and how possible would it be to relay that form back here in the Prem? I understand he doesn't suit Sarri's system, but if Sarri moved on and we changed to a 4-2-3-1 could he play alongside or be an alternative to Kante? I still have nightmares of him trying to control and pass balls last season and I just cannot see how his technical ability could improve so vastly. If it has, is that down to the standard and pace of Italian football? (considering Jorginho's struggles with the pace over here)

Played very well last night when he came on for England. Firstly it showed what a complete hopeless waste it is for England to play both Henderson and Dier in the middle (who provide a combined creative outlet of exactly zero) but I was also impressed Barkley playing that little bit deeper more in a 4-2-3-1 formation which I believe is the way forward for Chelsea. His work rate and honesty have always been there and he has improved tactically this season and can be more trusted to play in a disciplined manner. The problem is I believe it's gone too far the other way. When he plays for Chelsea he plays the safe ball too often, just trying to recycle possession when we need him to be more of a driving force and making things happen in the final third. The ability is there, I've no doubts about that and I still think for a homegrown England international in his mid 20's that £15m in the current climate is an absolute snip. He just needs the right role and manager to bring that extra out of him that he showed last night and hasn't been recently for Chelsea.

To Kroenke's credit what the Rams have done over the last couple of years in relocating a poor franchise, rebuilding the team to an elite championship challenging team with a young, progressive head coach has been pretty phenomenal. Arsenal fans won't take any consolation in that mind, because his lack of enthusiasm with them is laughable.

I do like the stance because as you outlined a number of players do start declining, maybe not at 30 but very few remain at their peak by around 32. However I do think the 'policy' should be considered on each individual basis as opposed to just a blanket policy. The likes of Cole, Terry, Lampard and Drogba all played big roles in winning trophies well into their 30's and it could very well be argued some of their better seasons individually all took place the wrong side of 30. Also I just wonder whether the club's policy would remain in place if this was Kante or Hazard. Would we seriously risk losing players of that calibre by only offering one year extensions? In the case of Willian and Luiz, neither in my eyes are indispensable and as a result i do agree with only offering one year contract extensions. Both are still well capable with playing relatively important roles at the club, but there is an argument in both cases will they continue to block opportunities for some of our more talented younger players, namely in this example Christensen and CHO. I've always felt with the majority of players in the situation of Luiz and Willian we should offer one year deals with an additional year option based on number of appearances or certain goals for that next season to be achieved. It keeps these players highly motivated to get the extra year and if they are still playing well and playing regularly in the first team then its good to be retaining them for an extra year.

It's not really much different to loaning out players we already own. We've shown in the past we have no problem loaning out expensive players (Bakayoko, Morata, etc) and weighing up that getting them playing well and either back here eventually or selling them on without losing out or even turning a profit is a risk worth taking against potential injuries. The fact we now seem to have a good chance of getting our money back on Bakayoko in the summer after last season is astounding. We've shown too with the Pulisic deal that we're not averse to such a plan. If there is a real top player this summer available. Let's just say the club has identified Jovic as the striker they want and feel they could build around for the next 8-10 years potentially. The risk of losing out on him I believe is far higher than the risk he got injured when loaned back out. And I would far rather see a player playing regularly than what Barca did buying players unregistered who couldn't then play anywhere for 6 months.

In a 4-2-3-1 formation, him and Kante as a 2 I think would be excellent.

It's not going to help next season, but we can still buy players this summer on a loan back with an agreement then to move for summer 2020. In fact if we are in that position and the board play their cards right we could be viewed as an attractive proposition by selling clubs, especially smaller clubs like Frankfurt with Jovic, Cagliari with Barella, etc because it means they get the sale but also an extra season of the player.

The more I think about this situation, the more I believe we need to target a manager that's biggest strength is their man management. Obviously they need to be tactically solid, but even looking at a side like the above I don't see big egos and difficult players to manage within that group. We need someone capable of putting their arm around some of these young players and giving them the confidence and trust to go out and play with no fear or inhibitions. There are other young players who should be given chances next season like Pulisic and Mount. Retain some of the older guard who are good pro's that can help guide some of these younger players and also play games and give the team much needed experience like Pedro and Azpilicueta. I think 95% of our fan base would be supportive and patient with this approach even if it meant another season outside the top 4. I think the Bridge would be buzzing again too with some of these younger boys coming in. With regards to the team you posted up, I would prefer us to play more of a 4-2-3-1 formation. We don't get enough goals from our midfield and playing one further forward I think may be essential. RLC could potentially thrive in that position but also can adapt to playing deeper if we're winning a game by the odd goal and need to hold on to a lead to revert back to more of a 4-3-3. Someone else who I think would thrive in such a system and with more of a man management manager is Barkley. It's clear he struggles tactically (he was the same at Everton) and I do think playing in a more rigid role takes away from his game. The work rate is good, but it does feel like he plays well within himself which is so frustrating at present. Potentially playing as a number 10 with licence to make things happen I think would also bring more out of him.

I think it will, and hopefully also works the other way where it pushes Sarri/the club to continue using him more too.