ja1

Very harsh to be hypercritical of Lukaku with the formation and lineup we had today. Obviously he could have done better holding the ball up but we basically had two attacking players...
 
They way we line up, I doubt our offense will ever be very good. The 3-4-2-1 suits our team the best but when we go down a goal or two, Tuchel needs to mix things up and give us a better chance. Whenever we take the lead first, we are the best team in the world at holding it.
Still think Lukaku will come good and play better but he also needs some help. We basically run three holding midfielders and none are good in the final 3rd. 

Think the abysmal performance of our midfielders and the lack of open space to properly transition the ball mixed in with Tuchel’s poor tactics to counter Ciry’s press was the main reason but to each their own mate. 

If you think Lukaku was the highlight of our defeat as you’ve abundantly made clear then I’m sorry because that’s something I won’t ever agree with. 

Jesus talk about knee jerk. Honestly, you’d think it was Wycombe Wanderers who beat us today. 

What do you mean? We essentially continued where we left off last season under Tuchel. Goals from everyone in the big games. 7 points from Liverpool, Arsenal, and Spurs. All away. 
 
Last season we drop points against Zenit and Villa without Lukaku. Without a shadow of a doubt. That is my point. These are the matches we really need Lukaku. 

He was beyond hopeless today. A clownish display!

Alonso statistically is one of the worst crosses in the big 5 euro leagues
he is shit

Disagree. Who did threat Villa more? 

The amount of hype and expectation on this guy, sometimes I feel sorry for him. He makes three cross field passes with no pressure on him in a half and Chelsea Twitter once again explodes with hyperbolic praise and sweeping statements. I don’t think there’s any other footballer out there his age with so much hysteria around him. I know they’re fans who are supporting him, but Christ. 

The amount of hype and expectation on this guy, sometimes I feel sorry for him. He makes three cross field passes with no pressure on him in a half and Chelsea Twitter once again explodes with hyperbolic praise and sweeping statements. I don’t think there’s any other footballer out there his age with so much hysteria around him. I know they’re fans who are supporting him, but Christ. 

Bottled his chance, I expected him to do that he's fucking bang average.

Good sub but cannot play the whole game. Not effective.

I'm not fooled by flashy outside of the foot passes across the field and the fact he once again slowed down when driving at people.
The lad is nowhere near as good people make out, just another middle of the road winger.

Average performance 

Criminal how under the radar Tammy has gone this season. I feel he has been our best striker so far. If puli and ziyech are fit, they should be flanking Tammy. 
 

I agree. Not only stylistically but also statistically.
I am sure some will see this as hating on him as always but can we really say he is the real deal for the future? Many, including pundits and Frank speak like he will 100% be starter for Chelsea and England in the next decade.
But to be that he must improve massively in the final 3rd. After he scored 4 goals in his first 8 games for Chelsea I thought he is going to be easily that 10-15 goals per season MF.
But in the next 65 games for us he scored just 5. That is on average 1 goal per 13 games. And one is DDG howler and one is free kick. Also he is great set piece taker, 6 of his 10 assists are corners and free kicks. But from open play not so much.
So maybe thinking of him as attacking midfielder was a mistake? This season if you take away corners he would have 1 goal and 0 assists in the PL. This is Kova level numbers or Essian like Tomo said.
I did not used any forums back than so maybe same of you can say what was a general opinion about Oscar in his first two years here?
His numbers (same age as Mount when started at Chelsea):
12/13: 12g 12a
13/14: 11g 10a
Also Mount played 14 CL games: 0g 1a. Oscar in his first 14 CL games for Chelsea had 6g and 6a.  
In his first 2 seasons here Oscar also delivered numbers against top teams like Juve, Spurs, Arse, Liverpool, UTD... 
Can Mount deliver against top opponents? So far he played 19 games against top6 teams and has 1g - DDG howler and 1a - Leno howler after FK. 
So Mount and Kova at the moment look better than Kai but we are never going to reach heights with them as number 8 duo because they do not produce enough.
I mentioned Oscar because we know how that ended.
 

Tammy would be better than any of those three but if we really need to fill the RWB slot I'd go with Tino Livramento.

Another fantastic performance from him. Type of performance that encapsulates his growth in character and application - best player on the pitch, instigating moves, really bringing the game to Everton on that right hand side. 

Another fantastic performance from him. Type of performance that encapsulates his growth in character and application - best player on the pitch, instigating moves, really bringing the game to Everton on that right hand side. 

Another fantastic performance from him. Type of performance that encapsulates his growth in character and application - best player on the pitch, instigating moves, really bringing the game to Everton on that right hand side. 

The Athletic's Chelsea journalists mentioned the same thing in their recent podcast and that he is very similar to Kante in that he becomes this dominant, assertive player on the field but off it, he is actually pretty quiet, low key etc. They also said it's a reason why Mount, among the young players, tends to get sent to do post-match interviews etc, even though James has done a few here and there. 

Since Reece's youth team days a lot of fans have been saying that he would one day be captain of this club. Insiders like Jody Morris have apparently been thinking it for longer than that. I was among those fans but I now have doubts. There is no doubt about Reece's on pitch leadership, he demonstrated it beyond dispute while leading the U18s to quadruple glory in 2017/18. Like all players Reece can show that kind of leadership with or without the armband but captaining a Premier League club carries other responsibilities. Responsibilities Reece is not ready for.
For example, Reece is very uncomfortable with media duties. In front of a TV camera he goes into his shell and can barely get a word out. Being club captain is about representing, championing and defending club and squad off the pitch as well as on it. Reece is nowhere ready for the off field stuff yet. He may or he may not ever get there but as long as he's contributing on the pitch that's probably all you, me, or any Chels fan will care about.

Reece James assists stats should be one of the best for a fullback, similar to Robertson and TAA. He puts in great crosses every game, however most the times, it goes unanswered. It almost feels that we only need to post in this thread if he has a bad game, as you just know every game he plays, he is solid. Every game, he looks so good, defensively and offensively. Just love watching his play and the way some players think they can get past him and he just oozes them off the ball with pure strength. 

He has improved his ability to shield the ball and bring it down whilst under pressure in my opinion. There are still some flaws with his game, erratic finishing and lack of anticipation (although this has improved.) For me, he is developing well but it is hard to judge if he can continue to do so and also, maybe more importantly, become more consistent. This season is a big one for him as I think if he tails off again we may look for another CF. 
That said, I have always been fairly confident he would be at the least a decent CF2 for us, so even if he does not go on to be great, I still see him as a player that will be an important squad member for the long term. 

Is it only me or is his all round game improving. He is still erratic and frustrating but signs are there. On the other hand he also started last season on fire and completely faded so let’s see