robsblubot

heh I hope you are wrong. He does deserve to start against Wolves because of his influence against Fulham. We were struggling when he came on and changed the game, not only with his goal, but his runs and link up play. On the other hand, the chatter from player and his agent puts the club in a bind. If he gets a start was it because he deserved or because he moaned? Would the other unhappy player do the same then? The club has to be smart in picking fights, but moaning and agent talk should not get rewarded.

Only on talk chelsea folks compare Bakayoko with Alonso... Bakayoko has no first touch, which is the reason he needs to go to a place where he has the time to chase the ball after his "first touch" fails.

I honestly think RLC is a done deal at the club unless there is a huge fall off that breaks the spell. I mean his progression is so evident that it would be a huge shock if the club were not ready to invest heavily on him. He's already way way past the players you've cited IMO. The goal against Fulham (including the buildup) is the stuff of special players and it's not the first time he's done that. What he still needs to improve is concentration as he still switches off esp when coming on.

Hazard and esp alonso struggled today because the opposition worked hard to block that side. They had physically strong players who were able to bully them and make their life pretty miserable. Thought luiz positioning (too deep) did not help things. No excuse for alonso’s poor crosses though... It is a pretty obvious thing to do since we are much stronger on the left, but kudos to Fulham for at least doing a good job accomplishing that. the issue wasn’t so much hazard and alonso, but kovacic who did fucking nothing on the pitch working exclusively in a line with Jorginho... in the so called dead zone. He’s the one imo who needs to improve immediately to keep his position. Getting subbed off before the 70m mark shouldve told him all he needed to know. Thought that after a whole week moaning about morata and how giroud should start folks would understand that things aren’t that simple. Giroud was probably the worst player on the pitch with his awful first touches. In other words, morata being insufficient does make giroud any better. really happy with RLC contribution. Took a while to get in the game, but what a goal! Goals change games and that goal killed it for us. flawless game by Kepa too.

heh also german descent from one side of the family. They were established there in the late 1800s though: farmers that fell for the Brazilian gov promises at the time: free land and support to build. Some Polish down there, lots of Germans, and even more Italians. It's always a gamble when you consider the amount of money involved, esp these days. In that regard it is usually worthwhile to bet the house in players like RLC and CHO, but then again the club and the player (CHO) need to sit down and set expectations correctly, and sign a new deal otherwise we will need to go shopping anyway. No we don't disagree on Willian, only on Alonso. I don't like his game nor his attitude on and off the pitch. I think when you get a certain level of all-round quality in a footballer you just adapt the system so that he can work in that system. Sometimes the player is too quirky, like Luiz, but thankfully Alonso is not that. Don't think he needs to track back that much. The same way Marcelo does not need to track back... all attacking FBs need support from the system because they will open avenues behind them (however quick they may be). Alonso doesn't need to beat players with dribbling in pace - he does that with intricate passing and excellent first touch in tight spaces. His long passing is pretty impressive too. Wish he were a better crosser though. The goals for me are just the icing on the cake. update: based on the article you posted CHO is gone.

We can definitely disagree on alonso, and many around here do. Heh I'd be all in to move Alonso out of the LB position as I just think he's a good footballer, tho it may be a bit late for that. Now when we are comparing different players from different clubs and systems then it is just speculation. Maybe a well-educated guess at best. Especially when we talk about Emerson in Italy... that's a very different league with very different characteristics. I've seen Emerson a few times for chelsea and have to say that it is hard to imagine the player people say he once was.

Agreed. Well we all have our personal preferences and hyperboles are just so much fun! But yeah a reality check once in a while can do wonders.

Once again I can't asses who is "better" than willian esp because most of them play in entirely different leagues and teams. While I am not a fan o Willian, I have to say he starts for Brazil all the time and for different managers too. So, the point is that as much as we may disagree, it is still not a crazy thing to think that (that he's a top player). Many of the alternatives you listed are either not available or big expensive gambles. It's not that easy to scout and sign players. That's why some of these scouts make fortunes and become very famous sometimes even influencing clubs and their signings. I happen to know Douglas Costa very well since he came from Gremio Porto Alegre (my hometown). He's very overrated, good player, but very inconsistent and kinda one trick pony. Of course, IMO.

Of course Sessegnon is not a normal 18yo, otherwise he wouldn't be playing in the PL even if for fucking fulham. Now how many 18 yolds start for top clubs in the world, esp in defense? When he becomes good enough to move to a top club, then he will. I said that for me Alonso was the best LB in the league, like the PL. Sarri was the one who said he could be the best in the world if he improved defensively. I wouldn't go that far. Not sure what you mean exactly by better? Do you you mean they would all fit "better" in the system that Sarri is now trying to implement at Chelsea? Maybe, maybe not. I can't possibly imagine that you just "know" that every single one would do better. Or maybe you believe that, but to be honest I think you are comparing the incomparable: different leagues, different teams, and especially different requirements. Also, I'm not even sure Sarriball is the future of this club or the style that will bring success for Chelsea. It's actually quite different from the style that has actually brought success to this club over the years. Ranieri is indeed a good manager, and there are many really good managers in the PL. Fulham can improve tremendously given enough time and practice, and by acquiring the such much needed chemistry. However, time is limited and a blub that fucks up the preseason is already behind the others. Add to that that the team is already a big underdog, then I'm going to stick to my very original comment that Fulham is the weakest opposition we are going to find. I did not focus on Andre - you mentioned him as an asset. There are a lot of players in the world. It's not my job nor is it fun for me to know them all (tho it might be for you which is fine of course). I just pay attention to the players who catch my attention. And Fulham as a team hasn't. However, if I were to believe you in that Fulham isn't all that bad, then I'd definitely say no fucking CHO. And if fulham isn't the weakest opposition then who is it? When will CHO play then? Certainly not against City...

football is not only about names... they are at the bottom of the table for a reason. Perhaps also because they field an 18yo as LF? BTW, not really something we are going to agree with as I rate Alonse very highly (best LF in the league for me). Schurrie is shit. I've watched him play plenty of times and actually liked him (as a good/decent player) when he was at chelsea, but his game has regressed. Watched him a few times in Germany as he was mostly coming off the bench and he was pretty bad. He's very frail without any upper body strength.

This is a tough one for Sarri: this is as weak an opponent as you are going to find in the PL esp at home. So, with all things equal, the manager would normally opt to give the game to the starter of tougher matches a chance to do well (not an opinion). However, I think he might not do that for two reasons: a. he has already decided to switch, which would make it a good opportunity to give Giroud more confidence or b. he believes giving morata an easy game will actually not work at this time (due to his current level of play). It probably does not matter anyway since it's going to be difficult to draw conclusions against such opposition.

great post. I'd add defending high balls as an obvious advantage that Alonso has, as well as his physicality (lacks pace, but loads of power). In attack I think he is WAY better on the ball than folks give him credit for esp passing. On the other hand I do agree he does not add width and cuts inside, which brings me to my other point: "Our midfield is more a provider than a scorer, our strikers stink so there is not much to whom to provide to." I think not even that at the moment... they are more about ball retention and defending, and that's why Ross usually adds in attack. None of our AMs is great at assisting... (see disc of willian choosing to shoot vs passing). Our lack of width, with every winger and our LB (the RB does not count in the final third) cutting inside as opposed to producing a quick cross or pass, hurts our attacking esp the strikers. I'm not saying that either should be leading our line, but I'm confident both could be having better luck in a different team and setup elsewhere. Like others have said, it's a work in progress...Also consider that Sarri does not work alone. That as soon as he joined the club, all chelsea coaches started providing him with information about each player. The players are constantly being assessed in practice, training, and matches... Concerning the "if he had done this..." thing, it is cute and all, but in the end it is just a product of people's imaginations. They are "what if" moments complete biased by personal preference. I do that too like just everybody else (because it's fun!), but in the end it's up to us to know what's realistic and what is not.

Perhaps... because we need our striker to hold the ball, which might be a bigger problem actually. Then giroud is indeed the better option since he’s clearly better at that. Giroud is slow as fuck while morata plays with a lot more pace. Morata needs early quick crosses and passes and none of our wingers, perhaps exception to CHO, does that.

These are one of those really bad statistics which imply causality when there isn't really much correlation. Perhaps Morata being the chosen striker plays against far strong opposition and/or different conditions (starting vs coming off the bench)? Now, if hazard prefers and does better with Giroud, then it is something the manager has to consider. On the other hand, Morata could argue that he does not receive enough crosses or passes into the box in a timely matter, that all our wingers cut inside and go for the goal or look for slow build up. There have been discussions around that.

Well they do see him practice, like every day... (With lucio here) While I am also unsure whether CHO will be a good vs amazing player (only an amazing player would play at 18), there is really no reason not to play him against certain PL opposition, say Fulham? esp considering Willian produces so little in the final third. There is team management involved (not to lose the starters and then the locker room), but yeah Pedro should be the starter on the right when fit, esp against stronger opposition IMO.

This is the bizarro world thread where Kepa was flawless and Aurier destroyed alonso, against spurs... Maybe if I repeat that 10x I will start believing it - as opposed to what I actually saw...

well to be fair, a 2-window ban would fuck up any club...

heh Marina works under Roman and does his bidding. Can't imagine her with that much leverage considering how Roman runs the club. All managers get sacked in a season or two. Don't think Eden leaving will have that much impact to be honest (too inconsistent for me esp in CL), and think the club will be fine either way. Yes, unless we add some quality we won't compete in the PL, but with hazard we do NOT compete in CL anyway.

yup well that's how certain government officials end up getting elected...

lol yeah sure I assumed he did... as a portuguese speaker myself, it is quite obvious to see that he's talking about different things, but it may not be that obvious to others. Also, people may not know why he was acting like he did - he was definitely on a rant there.

lol the video is obviously fake tho. He was talking about match fixing, which he was accused of - hence the "passion."

thanks for sharing and it is an interesting problem in the current system. On the other hand, I think it is literally Sarri's job to find the better system and formation for the player he has, not the other way around. I do not believe Kante can be as effective in attack as he is defending. It's simply not in his toolbox.

Heh we are not going to agree on this because I don’t think the striker position is only about scoring, after all giroud himself won the World Cup without scoring a single goal. We just don’t create enough chances for any striker to succeed nor do we have enough goal scorers to circumvent that... in other words it’s just not a great team. while I agree they are not good enough, I thought morata had a decent game by his standards linking up play well enough and even finishing from a difficult half change from a Willian cross early on. After the game turned sour, then our gameplan was gone. apologize for the double-posting lazy iPad...

Defending was really bad starting with our front players who did not press or chase well enough. Tottenham defended better and put us under pressure with a high line at all times. They were the far better team. they were having s laugh and strolling in our half because they were not contained in midfield. Our defense was mediocre, just like the rest of the team. Focusing on them is missing the whole picture imo. funny how people minimize the impact of the two goals. Goals change games and being 2 down away from home against strong opposition must have been deflating, with our gameplan down the drain.

I don’t disagree that luiz had a poor game, but then again I’ve seen it before for both Brazil and Chelsea. So, well, forgive me if I don’t act surprised. however, I’ve heard from folks who know a lot more han I about defending that a good CB is always a well-protected one. I see luiz as a special kind of CB that needs even more protection. Luiz is a player who will enhance your winning dominant side with his exquisite passing, but if the team is struggling and you need him to step up, well then that’s not going to happen. what I saw however was that Tottenham players were roaming in our half, constantly applying pressure against our defense... that goes beyond defensive woes.