Chelsea Legend 11

the poster beanymansports usually posts full post match interviews.

"By introducing someone of Fabregas’ creative quality into a central role, West Brom were no longer able sit so deep and invite Chelsea onto them, while Azpilicueta and Alonso retreating into full-back roles created space in wide areas with Brunt and Phillips no longer charged with a man-marking task. It was here where Costa found joy as, for the first time in the match, he was able to exploit space behind a defence." http://www.squawka.com/news/antonio-conte-twice-reshuffles-chelseas-line-up-to-thwart-the-premier-leagues-master-of-the-rearguard-mentality/849847

Are you joking????

Didn't get credited but could you envision anyone else making a first time hit into space for Diego? He was exactly what the game needed.

lol... he changed the game with the subs. Fab got the assist...

what team has a threat for goals from CM? Liverpool?

Sky is quoting Mirror... its the agent trying to get more money on the negotiating table

The areas in behind the wingbacks are to be defensed by the LCB and RCB. I tried to highlight the defensive responsibilities of the mids and CB's in the diagram. Truly we should have no trouble in this game if we press them high and force them to make passing decisions sooner than they'd like. They are an awful passing team so we should be able to keep the ball and win the ball a lot.

Its funny how almost every Chelsea podcast I listen to has become Gary Cahill apologists. I mean don't get me wrong when he is good he is very good but by the same token when he is shit he is real shit. In 14 games this season he's made at least 7 or 8 critical errors, some that have led to goals and other that have gone unpunished. Can you imagine if David Luiz or Ivanovic had made as many what the backlash would be on them??? I realize he's a great guy and consummate pro but that doesn't exempt him from being a liability at the back. He's just not regained the confidence we saw in 2015 and clearly has lost some of the pace he once had to deal with his rickets. I think if we buy again for the CB position it will put Cahill under threat because on current form he Luiz and Azpi are irreplaceable. You got to wonder what a back three of Luiz, Azpi and Bonucci would look like... Even Koulibaly!

I don't think we get Luiz had Koulibaly signed. I agree with you though

This one worries me a bit only because we haven't really been on the front foot for a few weeks now. Most of our recent successes have been on the counter attack so its gonna be hard to know whether or not attacking Chelsea can come to the foreground. We will no doubt need to get off to a quick start and force them to open up a bit, with that in mind I'd love see Cesc start in the middle again. I realize he's not the most tactically sound player we have in our squad but I don't really envision West Brom coming to the Bridge and playing expansive football and exploiting the gaps Fab may leave. I also think its time we start utilizing the squad more. We're entering into the busiest run of games of the season and for us to come out of it unscathed we will need to rely on what little squad depth we have. I'm not talking wholesale changes but maybe 1 - 2 players tops in any one game. If we don't use them now if/when we encounter an injury we could have a major setback due to the fact the squad players aren't up to the speed of the game. I really believe WBA are punching well above their weight class recently and in truth we should role them over at home but as most have said this is the Premier League where easy games a few and far between. Having said that the lads should be buzzing after two impressive wins against direct rivals! Now we must take it to the teams we're supposed to beat. No predictions but if we play our game they won't be able to cope

Would love to sign him. Has a lot of tools, pure CM.

Listen, we have a squad you can't expect this team to go through the Christmas period without any sort of rotation, that is suicide. I think he still adds value to this team in certain situations, this game against WBA at home is precisely one of them. If you want to win the title you need a squad not an XI... If you don't utilize the squad when you can you run the risk of having them so under cooked that they can't make any impact at all. Conte has established his preferred XI, we know who the horses are. The job of the manager now is to incorporate the squad now so they don't burn out in January. We will see how it goes, I trust Conte and feel he has a strong understanding of how to utilize a squad.

You make it sound like Cesc is a shit player and by playing him we're underestimating our opponent. On the contrary I think this is precisely the game we need someone like Cesc, and the City game is exactly the one you wouldn't want to see him. I have no idea why you keep referencing the City game... It has nothing to do with it. We're at home, we will need to be proactive and in my estimation Cesc provides more of that incisiveness. I think the exact opposite to you, get a lead then bring on Matic to slam the door if he's healthy.

I'm actually thinking we should give him another start against West Brom. We're at home and if City couldn't expose him with all the attacking options they have I can't see West Brom posing much of a threat. He provides us with an elite level passer and basically someone capable of unlocking a Pulis team.

oh okay thanks....

What does that have to do with what I said?

Cahill needs to be cleaning boots and doing the laundry for his teammates. All jokes aside he was shockingly poor.... again. Doesn't read the game well and panics far too often for my liking

He got a yellow card

I really hope we pursue this kid. Looks like he has all the tools to be a big player in the midfield.

I don't think that at all. The Spurs couldn't maintain their press we didn't figure out how to break it in my opinion

I finally feel I've seen enough of Antonio Conte to make an assessment of him as a manager. A friend of mine who is a Spurs fan after the game said our man of the match was Conte. I really didn't understand what he mean't until I saw a video posted that showed him from the sidelines. Antonio Conte is the Captain of this team. Normally a manager uses his captain as his extension onto the pitch, under Conte he is the vocal leader responsible for getting people in the right position during the flow of the game. He looks like a maniac but its most likely the only way he's been able to stay connected to the game from the sidelines. During his playing career he was mostly an 8, the player most responsible for linking the play from defense to offense and also setting tempo. While the responsibilities has changed since he's played(8's have to do a helluva lot more now because there are more bodies in the midfield and a lot of the game is decided by midfield presence) Conte has found a way to keep himself as the brain of the team even if from the sidelines. As a midfielder you have to understand both aspects of the game tactically and Conte is channelling his tactical nous from the sidelines to great affect. For the most part we knew we had a good-great team, we won the title in 2015 and a lot of players from that title season haven't forgotten how to play they just suffered from low confidence. What Conte's sideline leadership has given this team is a rudder; someone who will tell you exactly what to do until you gain the confidence to trust your natural instincts within a given system. For the first time in a long time this may be the perfect storm. Jose coming to Chelsea after winning Europe and getting the full backing of the Roman Empire was the first instance of everything being aligned perfectly. Mourinho's greatest asset back then was his ability to get his team to believe they are the best, and of course winning breeds confidence and moreover 8 straight wins over the Christmas period has lasting affects. He was able to drive his message home because it proved to be successful. Under Conte we are witnessing what I'd like to think is the second coming(of a perfect storm). We have a team with title winning credentials that lost its way but not its football. No one at the club wants to feel that way again so it gives Antonio the reigns to shape what was a team without a soul last season. We look a tactically well organized side who are gaining an understanding of how the manager wants to play. For the first time I can say we look like we are developing a "style" and dare I say "football philosophy"? In his first few months in the Prem he has been very good at identifying problems and solving them quickly. We stumbled in September against two sides that were clearly ahead in their development. Both teams knew how they were gonna play and were clearly more settled in their tactics. The biggest problem a new manager will face is identifying what his best XI is, I feel the best find the system first then implement the players who fit the mould. 3-4-3 is the system that best suits our squad because it allows our best players to concentrate on how to hurt teams and utilizes are hardest workers in role that exalts their work rate. This team seems so perfectly balanced right now, when we are clicking on all cylinders we score boatloads and concede nothing. When we're not at it we have the ability to absorb pressure and be clinical in the final 3rd. In short this system of play is both expansive and stingy at the same time. There is loads of room for improvement, while we have won 7 straight there have been a few areas where we have looked vulnerable. The Spurs game highlighted the importance of precision passing and quick decisions. We couldn't get out because they played three midfielders versus our two and our midfielders aren't sleek enough to make quick accurate passes under pressure(This is why I think Verratti would be a huge signing, with both he and Luiz able to make precise passes we could be very dangerous to press high against) Fortunately the system that seems to be the toughest for us to play our football is also the toughest to implement for 90mins. The Spurs had a midweek game, and lets be honest, it took a lot out of them. They started well and faded because what they were doing and being successful at couldn't be sustained. The hope was to get the lead early and sit back late, it almost worked but the Pedro goal ruined them. We need midfielder capable of breaking the press with a quick accurate pass... we don't have that anywhere in the squad. And I don't mean a clever back flick that comes off once every 7 times. We need someone who can receive the ball and make a pinpoint pass to someone breaking either from the wingback spot or deep lying strikers. Its the only way to expose an aggressive press that doesn't allow you to play out from the back. If Matic had any sort of right foot he'd be okay here but he's overly reliant on his left peg. Anyway that's what I've been able to deduce from the first 13 games, next week will be another litmus test. As strange as it seems I think we match up better with City than we do with Tottenham. City doesn't press effectively from what I've seen and they leave a lot of gaps in the back for Hazard to exploit. If Conte can get them up for an early kickoff away against a team with title credentials.... Oh man... I'll say no more. Forza Antonio!

100% problem with him is he can't stay healthy.

One thing to consider is the Spurs have a very important away game vs Monaco on Tuesday, its pretty much a must win so you can bet they will be employing a high press in that one. They don't really have the squad to compete on both fronts so I would imagine they press against Monaco and switch to 3-4-3 against us on saturday.