robsblubot

Good points. I wonder if the very tall goalies haven't got more agile (quicker too) recently -- due to better training and fitness. At the same time, I think shooting power has improved, so reach from a goalie would have to match that as well.

Fair enough, I just personally think that the very best goalies are the super tall ones: Courtois being the absolute best in my book. It gets a bit nuanced once you go into systems like City's, but I'd still rate Ederson a lot higher than Kepa. So, it's definitely not just height alone; there is build (power), arm reach, agility... they all play a part.

maybe I misread, but I thought that was implied in Yeah I don't agree Kepa issue is poor decisions, but rather physique/build. He can't dominate the area with his height (lacks power too), and his lack of reach makes him vulnerable from range. I don't see either as fixable. I'm not qualified to speak about his goalkeeping technique, but it seems that he has worked on his hand movement/posture which was criticized by professional goalies/analysts in the past. Still not good enough at this level tho.

error-proneness isn't the problem I have with Kepa. I'd not call Kepa's weaknesses mistakes--he's consistently incapable of making certain saves mostly due to lack of reach. I mentioned Lloris achievements as proof that he has delivered, consistently, at the highest stage... that he has been good enough, even excellent, at times. You are suggesting that Kepa can achieve that, which is where we strongly disagree. BTW, I never said I'd take Lloris right now--think he's too old.

Lloris is a lot better than Kepa imo. He's a bit past his prime now, but he's been very good for Tottenham and even better for France. No, I don't think Lloris was ever one of the top goalies in the world, but I think we are overrating Kepa here when we even compare him with players who have achieve, and shown a lot more than him. De Gea was never that good eh, but I'd still take him over Kepa. 🤷‍♂️

I agree that we used to play with tight lines and that helped in all areas including the GK. On the other hand, Kepa also played under those conditions, and showed the same weaknesses; he has been VERY consistent since joining--that's not the issue. His glaring weakness is reach: that's why he concedes so much from long range. He's just smaller than Mendy for ex, who has better reach. Suppose folks also spotted his incorrect arm posture and movement, but he has prob been working on that. While I agree that Mendy had a run of poor form (+ injuries), the issue I have with Kepa is that his normal/best is nowhere near good enough. I don't think it's very hard to upgrade on him either. We did that w/ Mendy and it worked very well for some time. If you consider where Kepa was playing, and how/when we acquired him, it is really no accident he turned out not being good enough at this level.

sure, I just don't see anyone better than the ones we've got. Enzo would be an upgrade in any of the top clubs, even City. Arsenal is particularly weak in CM, which made that an odd read for me... don't think much of their CMs.

Disagree. CM is is the single area were, in player quality, we are better than most other top teams. Of course, 2-3 CMs can do very little by themselves, so just need to build a team. If you need you CMs to break up play, you retake the football way too deep. Need all players helping out, which is what City does for 90min, Arsenal when they can, and RM whenever they decide to up the tempo.

Yup. Looking at goals conceded to say our defense is good does not quite work in football. It's not AM football where a diff set of players play defense, literally. We defend deep at times, with too many players dropping back, which hurts attacking transitions. We regain the football too far from the opposition goal, which makes the build up a bit slower. That play between Sterling and Felix is what creates chances, and we don't do enough of that--couldn't care less who is playing #9 if we don't produce enough in attack. Madueke showed some skills today, and at the same time suggested he has no place when we face stronger opposition with that decision making. Completely normal for a 21yo, but then again, he's at Chelsea now. Mudryc once again was one of the worst players on the pitch. There are so many problems with the team right now that focusing on one area vs another is silly imo.

wait what? Suppose you mean past glories perhaps? Because wages are mostly set based on past performances as there is no guarantee that the player will reproduce what he has done before. It's the same when signing players too: you sign players expecting that they will be able to reproduce what they've done in the past for you, perhaps even improving along the way if young enough. Now, yes, the club must assess if reproducing past performances is possible, which can be very difficult at time: goes into mentality, physique (age as well), and skill esp around the current needs of the club.

Never understood the notion of dropping him for Kepa, injuries aside or course. I get that Mendy has shortcomings in that position, esp in modern's game, but it's not like we play similarly to City and need a sweeper goalie! I just don't see Mendy and Kepa as comparable goalies at all. Kepa is actually fairly rounded to my laymen's eyes, very rounded and consistently mediocre in all skills needed for a goalie with perhaps the exception of playing his foot. Mendy, on the other hand has the reach, size and command of the area of a top goalie. How do I know that? because he has shown that for a relatively long stretch of time; Kepa on the other hand has never shown anything remotely close to that. With Mendy leaving, perhaps it is really time for him to leave, I just see GK as a major hole in Chelsea's roster. I honestly think it's far more serious than the lack of a pure 9. You can score plenty of goals without a striker (enough perhaps to win CL 😉), but it's kinda hard to win silverware without a competent goalie.

yup every manager coming from smaller clubs knows one thing: how to defend. That's what they do eh. There is no way a manager lasts in a smaller club without building a strong defense. Evidently that's hardly enough at a big club, but we know how that ends.

Kante's just come back... had a first good game back (showed the same movement) then started feeling the lack of match fitness, which is absolutely normal. Why the "manager" felt the need to start him in every game? than's beyond my comprehension. Now will he get back to similar level pre-injuries? I hope the club has people able to assess that.

Sure, I did not even see much point in sacking potter if we were not going to get a competent manager to replace him, but hard to understand these owners. It matters little though: Arsenal would find a way to beat us make no mistake. They are just better in every area, and just to prove how names isn't everything, I'd not take a single one of the CMs they've got to sit on our bench.

This is Potter's team. He was the one with time, and tactics the players practiced for months were his. There is no tweak any manager can make at this time (Pep included) which can turn this team around until the end of the season. Now if are talking about starting lineup and maybe get a point here and there, then literally anyone would be better than Lampard... I mean any real manager that is.

Folks in the business, who know a bit more about footy than I do 😅, claim that competitiveness in high end team sports isn't a switch you can turn on and off. It's hard to get it back once it stops clicking; it takes time to find the right balance, movements, confidence. It's really clockwork if you look at how Arsenal, but specially City play. Madrid is like that, but they are sneak: they look pedantic and slow then up the tempo and hurt you on a whim. Like I said earlier, lots of work ahead.

nah we need a team.... we have the players, but not a team. Whether these players can make a good team is a different story. Prob need to lose some and get some to get the characteristics right, but the squad is a mere reflection from the lack of planning.

Chelsea only needs a striker I read here time and time again. 😅 We play a different sport atm.

Kane is twice the player. Kane improves the team, while Lukaku plays for himself, his goal tally, and nothing else.

or let's hope that's exactly the case if he leaves. 😉

He's a lot better than Kepa tho. 😉 But yeah, he's pure mentality (he's strong mentally), but lacks in goalkeeping skills (not to mention range).

2 bad teams going at it still does not a good game make. Is it entertaining? yeah esp if you have a horse in the race, but the football is poor. Talking about Leicester x Everton btw

Not letting Martinelli (their best player by a long mile) get behind our defense would be a nice start.

As someone who has been warning folks not to pass judgment in a moment like this, I think it's safe to say Mudryk does not look like a world beater. Mudryk and Enzo are both 22yo -- no longer youngsters -- and the difference in skill is abundantly clear between the two. Yes, Enzo has far more experience, esp international, but again, I'm just thinking about ceiling here. Safe to say none of the new signings look like top tier players. I don't even see enough in Mudryk so far to think he will become a starter anytime soon, or ever. Does he look alive and can he pick a pass at times? sure, but we need a bit more than that at this level. For this reason, I think the criticism about the price tag is valid to some degree. Same for Madueke. They can certainly improve and become good PL players, but that again isn't what I'm talking about. Badiashile is the one who looks most promising, but still has ways to go.

I don't think the owners get the importance of a manger in football (their soccer). Players are not running for Lampard likely because he's not even the manager. It makes no difference who Lamps picks, because the next manager may have a completely different idea, as well as requirements. Contrary to am football, and even basketball where all play to some degree, the struggle in the real football is to keep players are not getting minutes hungry, motivated, and ready to fight for a starting XI position. Chelsea players look relaxed as if they couldn't be bothered.