Jase

CECH IS BACK Y'ALL!

Does this ease your worries a little, @Tomo?

IT'S CONFIRMED! LOL

12 subs allowed to be on the bench. So...

5 subs allowed in the Champions League this season. Alonso suspended for the first 2 games.

????????????????????????????????????????????????

3 changes from the weekend - Mendy, Silva, James for Kepa, Christensen and Azpi...

Matt Law said Mendy will start tonight, unless there is a late set-back...

The points mentioned from 2:46 here sum up perfectly why there are so many doubts and question marks over Lampard's management of the team.

The problem with Kante is that he is not a defensive midfielder who sits in and just mops everything up. He's a defensive midfielder who seeks and destroys attacks before they even get near the defence. That's why we had success last time he was used alongside Matic for example. Kante went around to stop danger while Matic was the one who sat in and mopped things up behind and around him.

Apparently, Chilwell can play as a left centre-back???

Agree but Jorginho's limitations are way too glaring for a top side. Yes, we played a False 9 system against Liverpool but the plan was clearly to use Werner get in behind TAA on the counter. Below isn't all Jorginho but look at the number of runs ready to be made forward but nobody played that damn pass over the top! https://twitter.com/centromid/status/1308041719296950274 Are you gonna tell me those are cases of forcing passes with no one making runs? Go through other games and I'm sure you would find similar moments that the runners aren't picked out by the person on the ball, be it Jorginho or even someone else. And even Fabregas was praising Werner's runs during the Liverpool game... Who cares what Fabregas did for Arsenal/Barcelona/Spain? The point is he played as the deep lying playmaker for us and his creative play was exceptional, more so than someone like Jorginho. He had his limitations, especially defensively but at least he compensated it with his creativity and passing ability. I was talking about his second tenure at the club. That Schurrle goal at Man City was one of the very, very few goals, if not the only the one, we scored from a counter attack. And I definitely recall saying back then that for a side coached by Mourinho, we were pretty useless in counter attacks because we always fucked it up one way or another.

Okay...what prompted him to suddenly say that?

No, Saturday’s game wasn’t the main reason why I said Jorginho is a limited player. It just merely emphasized it. Go back and read some of the old posts in this thread and there are lots of reason why he is a limited player. Yeah, we don’t play Southampton and a high defensive line every week but let’s not act as if there aren’t moments in games where some teams, who tend to sit deep, open themselves up because they try to attack or chase the game and we fail to exploit it. And also, take the recent Liverpool game for example. They played a high line against us but how often did we look to play balls in behind their defence, especially when we had 11 men? Nikki literally posted a video of Jorginho playing those passes under Sarri, even after the first 4 months or whatever it was. If he could do it then, why can’t he do it now? Another key difference between Fabregas and Jorginho is that Fabregas would always look to pass forward, always look to create chances for someone else. Jorginho? He would often play it safe by passing it sideways and backwards, which is frustrating and makes it all the more frustrating when you see that video of him playing forward passes. Coordinated movements under Mourinho in transitions? We barely scored any goals from counter attacks because we always fucked it up and let’s not pretend like Mourinho coached any attacking patterns from open play either. He may have ensured the team had structure but he always relied on individuals to do their thing in attacks. Expectations are getting a bit ridiculous? I don’t think there is anything to expect from a limited player but it doesn’t make it any less frustrating when you see a player being so limited and doesn’t do much out there.

Kepa is very lucky that no fans are allowed into stadiums right now...

When he got back to the goal..? And even if he did touch the ball the first time, it will only be an indirect FK...

THE FUCKING SHEER INCOMPETENCY OF THIS...

No worries. I'll move them.

@Vesper You posted all the above in the wrong thread...

All I'll say is that Chelsea Youth fella is embarrassing and a prick. Makes me wish that we will sell all our youth players right now, just to see his reaction!

I don't know why you went on a rant about the defensive issues when that wasn't even the point I was making. In fact, I have been making this point from time to time. It's one thing to play forward passes on the ground, it's another to play it over the top for players to run into. I mean, isn't that why we liked Fabregas so much last time, especially that combination with Costa? So what if we are scoring 3 goals per game etc? Liverpool have been scoring goals for fun under Klopp but that didn't stop them from getting someone like Thiago into the side. Yeah, it's all good showing a video of Jorginho with those passes but how often has he been doing that if he could do it? It's not like the attacking players suddenly stopped making runs off the ball after Sarri left. And since you brought up the defensive issues, yes, Jorginho hasn't been directly at fault for any goals we conceded this season but on the bigger picture, his limitations as a player is a reason why we have problems with our team structure.