robsblubot

It seems to me that by pinpointing very specific players from top clubs at that (except that lazy fuck Anderson ), and very unique in their leadership role, they'd be by definition not average? It's like saying Kante was "just" a workhorse at Leicester. And honestly, think he's pretty good skill wise: he's got quick feet, can work in tight spaces, and scores regularly. underrated.

TBH, thought chilwell was in a bad patch even before the whole Tuchel and formation change. We are not even playing wingbacks, but left and right midfielders. Alonso and Odoi/James always roam and start from the midfield line, which IMO is key for this system to work and not become too defensive. Chilwell can prob play on the left, but I can definitely see why Alonso has been selected for now.

Good game against Atletico. People talk about his first touch, but I see that it is just not very consistent atm like the rest of his game. That turn and shot (stopped by the goalie) was really good and the first touch, perfect. Just needs to settle a bit more and start turning some of the shots into goals. He does not have to become a prolific scorer to be a great player imo, just improve that final pass/shot. Perhaps now playing in a better system (imo it is) will give him the confidence to do just that. BTW, has been diving a bit too much for my taste.

While we all love to talk about individuals, football is a team sport and you can imagine that whoever may be the manager, Mount will play. He makes the team better, and being a team sport, that's no small feat. We can certainly go into what we'd like him to do better, esp when comparing him to other players, but in fairness, we'd also need to say that that other player may not do certain things that mount does on the pitch. You always need a player like that and It does not really matter which position he starts from "on paper" his role is being that guy who makes things click. The fact we have more creative options in the squad can only be a good thing for any manager.

Christensen is a good player - the most technical Cb we've got excluding silva obviously. Overall a really strong performance. Voted on Giroud for the fantastic goal, but so many good performances today.

hey we used to play like that... (Jose) 😃

heheh true. speaking of which, don't really understand how can one be a Chelsea fan and not appreciate what Mount does on the pitch - even on an off day. Maybe we will lose, but strong performances from a number of players. Odoi doing very well in attack and defense - nice to see that energy.

Regarding Alonso, isn't it a bit obvious that *several* managers see something in his game that folks here may not be seeing? Myself, and a few others here, do as well, even if I'm not crazy when he's playing LB.

Good game so far. We are slowing down play and keeping possession nicely. Just need to take care of the sloppiness at the back - sometimes you do have to kick it upfield. Atletico will come back with more intent, so need to get more focused. Maybe we can find that elusive final pass in the second half.

I'm not dismissing the criticism on werner as he's been very poor lately, but again, it's his first season in the PL and he's not the finished product. Even his first touch has been better... he just seems a bit off atm imo. Way too soon to give up on him.

Heh fair enough, but that’s a problem of the system, not the player. abraham is also not that great in the air, which would make giroud our only option in that system. a lot of top teams (most of them including City) play with mobile CFs just like Werner.

@OneMoSalah Giroud was signed as a competent sub, which is exactly his role in the squad - doing very well at that. Abraham is clearly not good enough at this level - every top club in the PL have better options there (some WAY better). That leaves Werner who is the prospect, in his first season in the PL strangely playing most games as a winger. If Werner isn't it, then fine, we will go find someone else, but it's silly not to give him a fair shot as a striker. If he's in a bad patch, sit him and play either Giroud or Tammy, it's OK, but then only play him centralized. Odoi can cover the wings, and so can mount. Players do what they train to do in both practice sessions and games. In my experience, moving players around in different positions always has a cost. Some players are naturally more versatile than others, but it's never too easy to change things up esp in a game like football where much of it comes from intuition.

The danger here is that he enjoys a free role at villa, which no player has in a top club. We already have a problem of too much of a good thing, and Grealish would just add to that.

I know... just a jest and a bit of personal preference in terms of characteristics: think KDB is the rarer commodity. Belgium will suffer when he's gone. Big fooballing countries go decades without that type of player.

Match(sic) against city showcased all my concerns with Zouma's passing. He's a good defender, but the game nowadays demands a bit more than that in a CB. I don't feel as strongly as I once did that the others in the squad should be playing instead of him, but an upgrade here would help us reach the next level esp against strongest opposition. Thinking someone like Soyuncu depending how well he recovers from his injury (though he's young enough for that).

just sold the wrong Belgian at the time - honest mistake.

Some responsibility lies with the manager. Even though Werner was supposed to play striker today against city, he played very much like he always plays: as a winger but more central. did not make enough runs to catch crosses and passes. Players don’t do what they are told, but what they are used to doing in practice and games.

not inflation-adjusted though. He did not spend that much in today's market esp considering we did not spend in the previous summer window. We also went for younger players with lots of potential. That's what most on here wanted.

that's what've been saying! Give Alonso the #9 and it's all good!

heheh fair enough, but like I said, just a silver lining as he was't even doing that in the past few games. That's the thing with young(er) players tho. We seem to be forgetting what we asked not long ago.

Those final 20 minutes or so were perfect for Giroud... :/ The officiating was atrocious today; he also let Villa run down the clock at their own leisure... One silver lining to me was Kai's performance today. While not world beating level, it was vastly improved from his recent appearances.

their stat output isn't that similar actually, esp the one that bothers me the most about Abraham: unsuccessful touches: 2.95 – 1.43 from https://www.football365.com/news/comparing-giroud-abraham-stats-chelsea-lampard Another thing not mentioned is the difference in body mass: while they are roughly the same height, Giroud adds 10kg as the far more powerful player. The stat dump above does not go into the importance of each goal, but I feel Giroud leads there too (against who and at which point in the game). The thing is that the player @Killer describes above is not good enough to lead the line for Chelsea, and yet Abraham starts all the time. On the other hand, Giroud is playing the exact same role he was signed for: a strong sub. So, I don't think Abraham is unfairly judged, but rather he's been overexposed by his current role in the team. At this point, I'm also not sure all the trust the club, and manager, are putting in Abraham is warranted. Now, if he were to accept a smaller role, rotation/backup, then maybe, given that he improves his heading (as @killer said above), he might become a good and useful player.

Insipid performance made the game very very easy for arsenal. big fan of Reece but what a fucking stupid penalty to give.

Speaking of which, aside from the endgame tap-in, when the game was already lost, Abraham was very poor against Arsenal. Tbf several players were below their usual selves, but just worried about abrahams pattern against tougher opposition.

I think both are valid excuses: out of position and new to the league esp the latter as he gets less time on the ball and time to adjust before he can apply the finish. Running a diagonal from the wing (plus some defensive tasks) is VERY different from staying positioned in the center of the pitch. Winger is a far more tasking position that involves far more energy and dedication than a positioned, or even a false 9, striker.