Jase

But when you made that post, it wasn't about creativity. You simply started comparing the numbers and breaking them down. And you look at Mount differently now? You have been making this very same point about him ever since the start of last season. You used PSG as an example because Pochettino played Kean, Mbappe and Icardi against Barcelona - one of the worse Barcelona ever let's not forget - but then, he also had a strong looking midfield behind them to balance things out, a bit like with Liverpool. Can the same, say, be said about us with our midfield of Jorginho and Kovacic? As decent as they can be on the ball, we all know they are hopeless without it and when it comes to defensive action. And on the flip side, you also had Griezmann, Messi and Dembele as the front 3 for Barcelona and look what happened. We can talk about creativity, attacking numbers and all that till the cows come home but Mount and Ziyech each bring something different to the table. If Tuchel is really all about attacking players, he could have so easily just played Ziyech - or even Pulisic - and played them into form instead of Mount. Take Werner as an example. While he has looked better recently under Tuchel, it didn't fully click for him immediately but Tuchel stuck with him - partly also because what he brings to the table tactically - and look what has happened. And also, worth noting that Ziyech wasn't signed by Tuchel. You gotta wonder if he fancies him much, especially with some rumors going around about Ziyech wanting to leave in the summer. This is probably me reading too much into it but Tuchel's recent comments about Ziyech also seem less enamoured compared to what he said about the others.

Anthony Taylor is the referee for this. 🤣

Too many pundits and journalists are stealing a living, TBH. Very, very few out there that are actually good and done their homework before analyzing things. As you pointed out, there are paid idiots who take pot shots at Tuchel as though he was the one who decided to sack Lampard. There are paid idiots who think that there's been no difference Tuchel's Chelsea and Lampard's Chelsea apart from upturn in results or that Tuchel is keeping everyone happy. There are paid idiots who still think there was nothing with us under Lampard - not the tactics, playing style etc - apart from the results that went south in the December-January period. There are paid idiots who were giving and probably still make excuses for Lampard after 18 months in the job but want to now judge Tuchel after being in the job for only about 3 weeks. There are paid idiots who blame Lampard's sacking on other people and not judge the job that Lampard was actually doing. It was so crazy how many excuses were made for Lampard by the English media. So much forgiving was afforded to him compared to our previous managers. There are paid idiots who judge Lampard based on sentimental reasons and nothing about his coaching credentials. No one mentioned that Lampard got his dream job and no one but himself fucked it up. There are paid idiots who think the likes of Pulisic deserve to start without having a clue. If they have been watching us, they should know Pulisic and some others have done zilch to deserve a start right now. Given we have so many options right now, some will get left out in matches and the stupid is thing, if Tuchel drops someone else for Pulisic, then these paid idiots would be questioning why isn't Tuchel playing that player!

Obviously racking up assists from set pieces doesn't mean that player is creative. However, we used to complain we don't score enough from set pieces because we had people like Willian taking them and failing to beat the first man. Now we are scoring a few more set pieces because we have a better taker in Mount and people are trying to devalue it. We can't have it both ways here. Also, is stats just everything to you in football? On paper, sure, Havertz and Ziyech would get into the team ahead of Mount because of their talent and quality at the moment and whatever numbers they have posted so far but will their inclusion ensure that the team would still be balanced, that they can function properly? It's not always possible to just slap all the talented players into the same XI. This isn't Football Manager or FIFA. Moreover, while Mount may not be blessed with the talent of Havertz or Ziyech right now but that doesn't mean he can't improve and get better in his own right. I mean, who on earth thought Lampard would turn out to be the player that we all saw when he was only 22 years old? Lampard wasn't the most talented players around, he was born with natural talent like some other players but through hard work and dedication, he became one of the best in the world. Would have been interesting to see the fans' reaction on social media had it been big back then. Mount seems like someone with the right mindset and dedication to improve himself and as long as he stays on the right track, there's no reason why he can't be great. Not every great player out there is born with talent.

https://www.bbc.com/sport/football/56075846

Matt Law is/was pro-Lampard.

As you alluded to there, the difference between Kepa and Bakayoko is that Bakayoko wasn't bought for 70 million, didn't get a 7-year contract and isn't the most expensive player in his position.

Am not excusing Werner for his misses. Just stating facts. All title winners have at least a few players hitting at least 15 goals or even 10 at the very least and of course Werner should be one of them. And doesn't matter Ziyech and Havertz haven't been fit this season. We're not going to win it anyway. But going forward, if we want to win it, then they also need to produce. By saying "still somehow 2nd on the list despite going 2 months without a goal", I meant it to illustrate how bad the others have been. Abraham is just only 1 goal ahead and no one else has even overtaken Werner during his drought (Jorginho did before yesterday but all his goals are penalties). It's not as if the likes of CHO, Pulisic, Mount do not get chances to score.

The difference between now and then is that Werner is playing a lot higher and operating in the half spaces, allowing him better opportunities to attack the space in behind while also not have many players to beat. Under Lampard, he was playing as a winger and operating in wider/deeper areas. Also has less emphasis on defensive duties and can focus on going forward. Our passing then was also slow and ponderous, thus giving the opposition so much time to get back into shape and deny the space that Werner likes to get into. Put that altogether, he has to dribble past players and beat them - which we know it's not his strength - and that's different from simply beating players for pace like he did yesterday. Also has more room and space to do that against Newcastle. And not to mention, it also helps that we have much more coordinated movement with the players under Tuchel than Lampard. Previously, it looked as though as the players were just moving into random positions and not creating space as well as options for the others.

He was the **** one of the good bunch.

4-4-2, as the second striker behind the #9. And since Klopp wanted him as well, I'd imagine him in the left side in a 4-3-3 is a possibility but obviously, more of an inside forward than a winger. Let's not get carried away with the Jorginho-Kovacic midfield combo just yet. Yes, on the ball, they can be good but at the same time, we also know they are far from best defensively, especially Jorginho. In a back 4, they just have to do as much work defensively as they do offensively. In a back 3/5, there's perhaps a bit less to worry defensively because we will have at least 3 defenders behind them. Also, we have a lot of tough teams coming up - Atletico, Man United, Everton, Liverpool etc. Let's see how Tuchel's midfield setup will fare against those lot. Tuchel tried to sign Kante at PSG but the ironic thing is, he's barely played him so far. So... 🤷‍♂️ At the moment, it's hard to tell what exactly Tuchel wants because he's come in right in the middle of the season and has to work with what he has for now. At the same time, it also feels like he's trying to keep everyone happy for now. So he may make his decision regarding the players with the board once he sees enough of them come May. He's also played CHO further forward recently at Sheffield United and I don't think Werner and Havertz require the back 3 specifically to operate. And here's a breakdown of the formations and the number of times he used them in league games at Dortmund and PSG: Dortmund 4-2-3-1 = 24 4-1-4-1 = 15 3-4-3 = 13 4-3-3 = 6 3-1-4-2 = 5 PSG 4-3-3 = 26 4-4-2 = 14 4-2-2-2 = 10 4-2-3-1 = 8 3-5-2 = 7

I guess this is the problem when we have so many players in their early 20s in the attacking areas. We are used to having finished articles in the attacking positions to score/create goals. Now, we have all these early 20s players and they aren't great (yet, hopefully) at creating/scoring regularly. Only Ziyech is at that peak age but even he is more of a creator than a goalscorer.

Given Tuchel's history of playing different formations, I don't think the current back 3 will be our main formation. In the long term, I suspect we'll alternate between both the back 3 and 4. He likes his teams to be able to play different systems. One of the reasons I think Tuchel has gone with a back 3 is because he hasn't had the time to properly work with the players on different systems - he's picked one and just focused on it - and he's just gone with the safest - if you like - system to help us achieve what we want to achieve this season. As we saw under Lampard, there are numerous problems with the back 4 because of players' defensive deficiencies - e.g. the midfield. The back 3 currently offers a bit more defensive protection. Heck, we have players who look better in a back 3 and players who look better in a back 4. Playing the back 3 also means we have one less space for the attacking players. So, we need to find a good balance here. And worth remembering that Tuchel did switch to a back 4 in the second half against Barnsley. I did say Werner is not a winger or a #9 but IIRC, I believe he's played in a back 4 before at Leipzig. When we do play a back 4, I'd trust Tuchel more than Lampard to find a role that suits Werner. As for Haaland, well, I'd not get my hopes up at all on us signing him when the likes of Man City are also interested in him. We will also likely have to sell players to generate funds to have a chance of getting Haaland.

If we want to win the title, then we also need others to chip with the goals, not just Werner TBH. You look at our league goalscorers this season and the numbers...and it's kinda miserable. Abraham - 6 Werner - 5 (still somehow 2nd on the list despite going 2 months without a goal!) Jorginho - 5 (all penalties) Zouma & Giroud - 4 (each on 4) Mount - 3 Chilwell, CHO, Silva - 2 (each on 2) Azpi, Pulisic, Ziyech, Havertz, Alonso, James - 1 (each on 1) Never mind Werner, we're never going to win the league if the supporting casts - e.g. Abraham, Havertz, Pulisic, Ziyech, Mount - are posting that kind of numbers. Gonna likely need at least 3 players to hit at least 15 goals each.

Considering we face Atletico all the way in Romania next Tuesday, I suspect there will be a few changes for this game from the Newcastle game.

What are the odds we give them the win? 😂

Tuchel revealed that he's given the players 2 days off. Will be back training on Thursday.

Southampton 1-1 Chelsea PRE/POST-MATCH DISCUSSION, LIVE CHAT AND ANALYSIS 2020/21 Premier League Match 25 20th February, Saturday 2021 St. Mary's Stadium 12:30 Kick Off (UK time)

It's 2021...how are people still spelling Atletico wrong!?

Apparently Alaba will announce his decision to leave Bayern later today, Tuesday.

CHRIST! LET US CELEBRATE FOR ONCE!

Also this... It's nothing big but it's nice to see a manager barking out orders again on the touchline after what we saw with Lampard.

Looking forward to the inevitable Tuchel v Marina fight! 🤣