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I honestly think this is more about the system than anything else: alonsos lack of pace can only be a detriment if you allow it to be. regarding eden and cho maybe folks here have a point: if eden is really gone, perhaps that gives us leverage regarding cho new deal. my point has always been that any top player would give pause to an offer in the hazard wages range. now whether cho deserves that sort of deal is really up to Chelsea and the myriad of coaches around him.

You see that’s how stats and ratings fool you. You are used to KDB and hazard, so you are overrating lukaku. Lukaku is a player who did and does well in counter attacking situations. That’s why he did ok against Brazil and great for Everton for ex. he will never repeat that for United imo because he will not see the same spaces to run into. so, in terms of valuation, he’s just not that high because for a top club he just doesn’t fit in that well.

Don’t love him, even if it sounds that I do when I defend him, but certainly don’t hate him. alonso is a very good player who is playing well below his level. Whether that’s system or phase, not for me to say. regarding the comment, he’s spot on! Most overrated team in the world - Drogba says hi!

Thanks for the writeup. The only risk here is that we'd lose the first 6mo leverage. The only leverage the club has atm is the 1 and a half year and the fact the club can remove him from rotation entirely (until his contract runs out), which would prob be pretty detrimental to his development. The talk with him, or likely, his agent would be that we cannot guarantee any playing time unless the player extends his contract... In all honestly 30mi for him is peanuts and the club should never take that.

on mac... videos did not play Could have tweaked, but try not do do that on work comp. Could have switched to a windows box though.

was on work computer, so no game... All links ask you to install a lot of (questionable) crap.

Don't think that's the issue with Emerson - there is certainly an issue (likely tactical) because he should be getting minutes with alonso struggling. No, I don't think of him as a liability as others here do, but he's clearly playing below what he used to, even compared to the start of the season. The issue concerning set pieces is that we have a VERY VERY short squad. We really only have 3 players capable of winning headers: the 2 CBs and Alonso. And by headers, I mean any aerial duels being in midfield, attack, or defense. It would be a bit better if we had a proper striker or false nine, but we don't. Eden is really NOT a very good false nine. We lose our key player and gain very little with him there.

he just lost an important game - leave him alone. How did he play (against Spurs)? Considering the lack of understanding with his teammates, naturally. But did he look lively? Tracked back when necessary not letting players walk past him. Did he make runs without the football? The game was held hostage in ESPN+ so likely no one saw it in the US.

When you play false 9, without a dedicated striker, you are far more likely to have possession and far less likely to score goals. It's a choice the manager makes depending on the quality of the opposition. Had we had an actual good striker, or a proper false nine, of course the decision would have been much easier. Even good crossers are wasted since we actually play with midgets up front (no aerial game whatsoever). Spurs are the better side with players who have been playing together much longer.

Hint: this is a test. Do you think Alonso's life is easier or harder that CHO is playing on the left?

He does, but that's something we have to accept about younger players, and especially, youngsters. Otherwise we cannot ask that they get minutes.

Likely the only reason why he's still here (no subs yet).

Fair enough. Like I said, I just had some trouble detecting the nuance in some of your posts sometimes. It's certainly (at least) partly my fault. This clarifies a lot, thank you. Incidentally, not much of a disagreement there. Back to topic (CHO) and in summary: it ate my bullets!! no way I'm writing that again

I basically said: is Sarri, in your opinion, selecting the wrong players? simple question.

So, basically you are saying that the person who not only conceived such system, implements the system, watches these players every day, has a number of paid professionals helping him accessing these players, is a quack? Because I was assuming that Sarri knows what he is doing and he's fairly capable of selecting the best players for *his* system. And yet Willian starts...

Well, it’s diffcult to detect any nuance when one defines a number of players as shit. I used similar hyperbole there to make a point, because in general youngster are all shit. They are not yet ready to play full time hence your point of getting minutes, which I have nothing against. He lacks in other areas though and will struggle which is normal. my point remains that if you call Willian, who has been average for a long time, shit then it’s difficult to rate the aspiring substitute any different.

heh you seem to have a very binary way to define players, one which I strongly disagree with. Not sure why you mentioned Robinho and Pato since they were never really good players (Willian has done more than either). Cesc's legs were gone long ago. Most players are not merely good or bad, or better or worse. They are above all different in what they do. Most of our players are at least decent and would easily play elsewhere. If we play City or Pool and we start CHO instead of Willian (something no sane manager would ever do), we'd be more likely to lose the game. Not because Willian will produce more in attack, but because he would not do so many things that Willian does, which would hurt the team and our chances against such opposition. Willian is a good team player even if lacks in the final third. Now if the discussion is around finding a better player than Willian in the market, one who does what Willian does and also has an end product, then that would be a far more interesting one to have. @scargo Well for me CHO is utter shit right now. He's a fucking youngster who has not done anything yet, literally. He's naive in his game, does not track back at all (low work rate), has no physicality and therefore will likely vanish in any remotely competitive match. He's got potential but that does not make him ready for us. Will he become a good player in a couple/few years? Probably, but maybe not. He will likely never reach Eden's level (few do). If he does not sign a new deal I honestly couldn't care less.

Sorry, another comparison I strongly disagree with. There are players who do well against stronger opposition and players who do poorly against stronger opposition. In general, younger players do poorly against stronger opposition, which is why you don't see a whole lot of them starting for the top clubs. The physical and mental aspects of the game play a very big part in tough matches. Willian has had really good single-elimination CL games (more than Eden for ex). Willian does well against stronger opposition because he is a team player, regardless of his end product. There is a reason many top clubs and managers rate him - don't really understand why folks choose to ignore this fact. Odoi was very poor against Watford. Eden has had poor games against smaller sides where he's contained by physicality. The same would happen to Odoi, but far more often. He's an 18yo player who will get opportunities as he should. Now, if folks here think he is right now better than Willian, then it's really a discussion that does not interest me. And I'm far from a WIllian fan.

Good for him, but people are disregarding the opposition, which is something fans often do. Please don’t compare completely unequal things... it’s silly. otherwise, to be consistent, we’d have to say morata is great too! The quality of the opposition is basically everything.

Careful here... only recall if there is a solid pl club interested. Take morata’s 2 goals against weaker opposition when considering Tammy’s goal tally. He looked very green last time playing for us.

He's just good enough for a top club IMO - not even for free. Lacks work rate and concentration - very inconsistent player, even if got better lately.

out of respect for people in certain countries, wish folks would refrain from using anything "great again." I hate Diego. I really do... fucking nutcase. Had everything and started forcing a move first to china then back to madrid. End of the day, the guy did not adapt to life in london and there is really no reason to expect it will be any different if back.

He has. I've always thought DL would fit a possession side like a glove. I've been involved in numerous arguments about that over the years... many on this very thread. It's a interesting way of thinking about defending, which can be a bit counter-intuitive. It applies to other players too who are considered "bad defenders" and yet work well in a possession system, because they can pass the ball well, even under pressure. You cannot be attacked and therefore don't have to chase and tackle the opponent as much if you keep the football most of the time. And the weird part of it is that much superior defenders, at reading the game and tackling, would not work at all in possession systems. Godin from Atletico for ex, or even our great Carvalho. I remember Terry (when he still had legs) playing a high line under AVB... something to forget actually. Cahill at his peak would still be a terrible player in this system.

I honestly do NOT get the the outrage about him no getting minutes. OK maybe there is a point about Cups, but not PL. He's 18 and not nearly at the level of the senior players at a club like Chelsea. If he has indeed already agreed with Bayern and is not going to sign an extension, then do NOT sell him. Drop him to the youth team and let him rot there for an year and a half. Sometimes it's more important to show to the other players and the next CHOs that the club can play hardball. There are a lot of players at his age that show as much potential as he does, or more. The development from now on will determine what he will do in football... forcing an exit at 18 is definitely NOT a good start.

That's the thing (goals) Ross and RLC can bring to the Cm trio. Nothing is for free, so we lose solidity to get more attacking minded players in CM. Kante has been doing that pretty well and he has the dynamism to make those runs and get into position to score. While I agree that the starting trio does not have many goals in them, I think Kovacic can potentailly play the Jorginho role well enough. He's got very similar characteristics and excellent short passing. Yes, he's more nimble and dynamic, but you never get the exact same player when rotating.