robsblubot

For the competing sides, and I consider England to be one of them, the tournament begins in the single-elimination stages. And for that, it's far more important to have a defensively solid side than one which can put on a show against the weak sides in group states. That's one of the notorious pitfalls of the World Cup where many sides playing top football were knockout by defensively built lesser teams. This is time for adjustments, but yeah they will scrutinize the 2 goals conceded against such a weak side... despite the big win.

Maybe it is indeed time for South America once again. Both Brazil and Argentina have a clean bill of health going in. France lost all their best players while England lost their FBs and tbh, they are weak in the middle and defense. Think the winner will be one of the ones above... even the extreme heat may benefit them I suppose.

What you guys at? 😅 Mount is about to sign a huge contract and will remain the centre of the team for years to come. Don't worry -- he will play. Sometimes I forget Mount is only 23. I for one am excited to see how he improves and becomes a better player.

I can agree with that esp regarding the hole that Kante leaves when he's out. While a skillful player, Kovacic's game can be a bit... unclean. It's all relative though. City plays with lots of midgets, skillful (and not particularly physical) players in midfield and dominate the league. Liverpool's CMs are only good players at best, but they do strength. So, while I agree, it really depends on what type of football we are planning to play.

With the possible exception of Madrid and then only because of modric, really don’t see us lacking that much in that specific position. Other top sides play and win with equal or even lesser CMs. However, I do agree with lack in strength in depth esp with kante clearly past his prime and RLC never been the same since the horrific injury. honestly, unless we are talking about ppl like casemiro or Bruno I go aren’t avail, just don’t see a cm signing helping that much atm.

You are right that "nobodies" may have been a bit strong, but my point was the at the very least the contacts they used to work with aren't the same they will now have to work with. They will not necessarily have relationships with the top agents and scouts... something that Marina certainly had. I think it's easy to disregard what they accomplished, I can easily criticize a good number of their signings, but there was quite a bit of silverware in the mix as well. The players you cited (from Brighton guys) are more suited for a team like Brighton IMO... including our own Cucurella (though too early to pass judgement). Thank you for the information... while it does not make optimistic about the future, it does provide some reassurance that it's not a bunch of quacks. it's also good to know some of them have experience with scouting youth, which is IMO the only way we can compete at this level.

what type? they are nobodies 🤷‍♂️😕

May? It’s a huge change for him. The lists he worked with at Brighton aren’t the same he will be working with at Chelsea. Same goes with agents and scouts. another huge bet and immediate downgrade from what we had not long ago. silver lining is that at least it will be a paid professional doing this work once again. Are we turning into Brighton? 😆

Also works for me. Honestly, I don't think it matters much where he plays, but his role is mostly unchanged. We passengers in the team, Mount isn't one of them.

that's where he plays... moves higher up when applying pressure, or lower to fend off pressure. The midfield is where everything happens, but it's not a place governed by (usually) 2 lowly CMs.

If anyone can have regrets here is Real Madrid. Not only did they play top money for Eden at the time, but offered him top player wages, which he clearly isn't anymore... and hasn't been for a while. Eden Hazard will never leave Madrid -- he's just following Bale's retirement advice.

We agree to disagree on whether Potter deserves the shot he's been given, which is absolutely fine. I hope to be 100% wrong here and that he turns things around. I have a harder time with discussing club's sizes, because that's measurable and fairly obvious. You can take wages, club estimated (or factual in our case) value, which include facilities, brand value, revenue, etc... lots of information on this subject. The same, to a lesser degree, applies to players. It gets a little more difficult because we get age and resale value, which may or may not be important. It's easier to measure market demand though: like if our player would've been given free agency, where would he go and for how much money. It's a different discussion tho... the point was about club size.

I don't think I take away what he did at Brighton; I claim it's not applicable to a club like Chelsea. It's akin (as an analogy) to working at a tiny company where you do everything vs working in a international powerhouse, where there is always a team already doing that work you used to do yourself; in the former example being a "doer" is more important, while in the latter being able to integrate is key. In my view even Arteta's experience at City was more relevant than Potter's. I really don't think much about playing career of managers... there are other ways to acquire that experience. None of the managers you mentioned moved from a nothing club (like Brighton) to a powerhouse like a top 10 club in the world. Tuchel in fact was dealing with shits like Neymar before he came to Chelsea. Klopp managed plenty of smaller clubs until getting a shot at Dortmund (once again a little bigger than Brighton). like Potter, there are hundreds coaches/managers who did far more impressive work in other leagues. Abel Ferreira at Palmeiras in Brazil (who played us in the WCC) for ex. I agree that that is what the leadership at the club is thinking, but I disagree it is the right approach. Maybe because I don't see what they see in Potter, or maybe there is nothing to see and he's there because he's English and did a good job at a tiny club--mostly because he's English tho. We will see if the new ownership will be patient with their yes-man, but yeah we have yet to see progress in *some* direction.

I just don't see what Potter did at Brighton relevant to a club like Chelsea. Arteta brought in ideas that worked at a top club, Potter is bringing what exactly? How to have a staunch defense? There is nothing cooler than having a "bet" like Potter work out, but tbf I still don't see how he got the job to begin with. Sounded like owners arrogance to me.

I think it was the deadwood who couldn't press high. I disagree -- I for one always knew where he was going, being a disciple of Pep, I could see what he was trying to do; can't do it if you don't have the players for it. What is Potter trying to do? I don't know

He’s becoming a fairly injury-prone player which is a shame considering his quality. It can really disrupt his career as it has just now with him missing a wc likely as a starter.

Yes, but arteta had a clear and modern vision and we could the improvement even while they struggled. He also had to get rid of some deadwood including our Auba. Honestly, I didn’t and don’t see anything interesting from potter. 🤷‍♂️

I think Broja is getting the nod because Kai is in poor form and looks a tad slow too. Abu may be a good finisher, but he's old and can't press up high (never could). Chelsea atm is not competing... forget about finishing unless we can regain the football, which we currently can't do. I watch and it's just a matter of time until we concede. No defense can withstand pressure like that.

I think I know what's going on with Pulisic (aside from the petulant attitude) and it's a common tale with pacey attackers: he lost quite a bit of pace (recurring injuries take a toll) and he relied a lot on his ability to outpace the opposition. It's a dangerous moment for him. Either he will adjust his game (if he has the quality for that) and adapt to his new physical condition or he will need to drop down a tier... it's looking more like the latter unfortunately.

no, I said previous owner, and you wrote, "Hope Boehly sends 90% of this team packing." So, far Boehly looks completely out of his depth.

The players signed under the previous owner are better than the players he singed. Be careful what you wish for. 😅

Only one side could have won this as only the same side can press high and retake the football from the opposition. team is in shambles… no longer competitive.

same player -- different opposition

At least we dodged Ake... small silver lining in a world of poor signings. Pulisic looks all wrong -- bad attitude on top of poor performances... nice going. Wish Werner had stayed and Puli was gone... yeah with all his deficiencies, he was a very competitive player and we miss that IMO.

The high press is gone. Very predictable because of recent moves (not only w/ signings), but it is still disappointing to see we are nowhere near the competitiveness we once had. Also a reminder why the starters are the starters: often it isn't a matter of skill.