manpe

Maybe it was partly because they had more training time? I also don't think it is the main reason, there isn't one, it's a mixture of everything... the most visible though are shit players.

Truth according to whom or what?

Can't agree with those parts at all.

People seem to forget our botched pre-season, the most important and most productive time to prepare the team for a new style. Started with Conte, Sarri arrived a few weeks later, key players were given extra holidays so they missed pre-season altogether and returned only after season had already started. Considering all this, the fact we have never had a longer period on the training ground with all the players available, then at the moment we are where we logically should be or even punching above our weight a little bit. Post of the year.

Maybe if he was shorter, he would reach places that tall goalies wouldn't

No, I never said that game was bus parking. Also Soton didn't, throughout the game they tried to attack, only in the last minutes they went full bus to keep the draw. With your second statement I disagree and I'll leave it at that. I think that not many will agree with you on this, we didn't become notorious for it for playing only 2 games like that. Even the final against Bayern in 2012 was a bus job, won the damn thing by some cosmic luck.

You say we never played that way, then proceed to bring two examples. You are either confused or haven't seen us play enough these past 15 years. We have parked the bus MUCH more than only those two times, heck the saying "park the bus" was coined after us. For example just look at last season against City, it was much much worse than what Soton was doing. You are making it sound like they played only defence and nothing else, I however remember quite a few instances being nervous when they got too close to our box and goal, I actually thought we would bottle the draw. So I really don't understand what you're talking about, I guess our subjective views and opinions are just very different.

We, as Chelsea fans, are really in no position to ridicule or criticize others for employing a tactic that we ourselves introduced and employed to great success (and unsuccess). It is only the first season in which we are trying to break out from this mould.

Southampton weren't poor, come on, they were resilient and worked hard in defence. They never looked like switching off apart from the Morata disallowed goal. It was the type of performance from them that if it was us playing Barcelona in CL and we needed at least a draw, the manager would be branded a genius like Mourinho always was for performances and results like that. They forced us to play poorly as they seemed to know very well how to neutralise our threats, it wasn't only because we were bad, it was also because they were good.

Don't think they have ever stopped doing that, which is great. We've been going after talented players for ages now, it's what we do with them after getting them is what is ass. Bakayoko even counts towards that, we bought him for big money thinking he was the next coming of Vieira, but some punts just backfire in your face...

There's a reason for that, they don't produce many quality players fit for this level. We could have bought Americans or Chinese much earlier if we'd wanted and crashed their markets, but marketability needs to come with skill, because it counts for little if you sink into mediocrity with these players. Pulisic is an exception after a long time and that's why we have acted decisively, he ticks both boxes. Let's just hope he isn't another Freddy Adu.

Glad you liked it. You posted this 3 hours ago and you're online now, have you slept at all mate?

Shit, that's not good. Sent from my Mi A1 using Tapatalk

I know I have posted this video here several times before, but I can't find it and I'm not even sure this thread is the correct place for this. It's my favourite Chelsea video of all time hands down. Uploaded in 2006, it was also one of the first I ever saw on youtube. I remember the emotions it gave me when I first saw it... goosebumps, made my hair sit up.It's just so awesome and the shitquality.exe video makes it tad bit more special, I don't know why I still rewatch it once in a while, I just watched it again after a few years and decided to share it here again. Also started listening to Oasis thanks to this, The Masterplan remains my favourite song from them. The most perfect song ever to accompany this emotional rollercoaster. Who hasn't seen, enjoy...

2012 May

We just have to...

I think 3 major factors: 1) Teams learned to counter us and we haven't yet learned to counter their counter, 2) Fatigue, both physical and mental, partly due to poor rotation (in my opinion), 3) Injuries (Pedro, for example, is actually crucial for us) He might. Conte and Mou got some backing in the beginning, but as things started to turn sour and we reverted to archaic football again each time, the board might have felt that this shit wouldn't last long and wouldn't buy players solely for their styles. Sarri promises to bring the type of football that Roman has reportedly always wanted, so he might be more forthcoming.

Yup, I would take Emenalo back. Don't think anymore he was THE problem, by the sounds of it he actually seemed to side with the managers more often than not... There were strong reports that he was fighting Conte's battles in the board room and Conte was left frustrated when he'd left. I do think we need this football knowledgeable intermediary between the coaching staff and the board, somebody to draw a vision together with the manager and help implement it with the suits upstairs.

Heh I managed to edit my post before you replied. Added the bit about Sarri needing backing and yada yada, same old song. However Icardi or Dybala are never happening so you can fuck them off this instant

You were fooling yourself if you thought it was going to be smooth sailing. We fire Sarri and hire another Mourinho, how would that help us? It's evident that this archaic defensive approach is not the way forward, football is evolving and we've been left behind exactly because we have refused to go with the times. Do you want to stay in one place and stagnate forever? Patience... But of course he needs the backing from the club, to get rid of the shit Mou/Conte era players and introduce more technical modern footballers.

So apparently your real gripe isn't with Jorginho, it's with Sarri and the board.

Is there point in playing anybody then if the team can't do shit? Flawed logic. Kante is playing next to him in defence, how it should be. How would him staying deep next to Jorginho in attack help us get goals and thus win games?

Retaining possession is his primary job, yes. That's why he was brought in and yes, he has improved us in that regard. It does and has helped win us games, because the more possession we have, the more chance there is that we can use it to score. He has never been a scorer or an assister, so if you mean "winning games" solely by direct contribution to goals, then yes, but I'd argue that his indirect contribution to goals has helped us big time. Make no mistake, we'd be struggling much more if we didn't have him and had to go the season with Fabregas and Drinkwater playing his role. Whatever way you look at it, he IS a lot better than any other option we have. As others have pointed out, once Jorginho's done his job in the bottom 2/3 of the pitch, it's up to the guys in the last 1/3 to make something of it... They don't, they are fulfilling their duties far worse than Jorginho. We are far too static up front.

Good, means it isn't a hype or panic signing. He's been shit this season I've heard, but the club still goes after him, which shows thorough scouting and determination to get him. The price is too fat I agree, but at least the club is locking down long-term targets and it is much more important than signing stop-gaps for short-term benefits. Also good to know that for the right players the club is not shy to splash some cash... Jorginho, Kepa, Pulisic. Morata too, only he didn't work out so well.

He's a full-back forced winger. His lack of scoring and creativity just doesn't fit winger's criteria.