robsblubot

Ok I’m going to go ahead and just say it: morata is the better player. I actually like giroud and think he used to be a great target man, but he’s just too slow nowadays and that’s why he rarely scores. He can come on later and if we are applying any pressure, then he can become an asset esp in the air. But that’s about it.

If every shot from afar gets in because there is someone blocking Kepa's view, then it's not only going to be a very long season, but also a very long career at chelsea. Sorry, nope no excuse. Not even into the corner total blunder for me - he got to stop that regardless of what's in front of him. Only the third he had little to do.

Agree to disagree on the defense then, because I thought the midfield (including the wingers) was shocking. Sure the first was a rocket, but then what kind of keeper is kepa? Is he a top gk, just ok, or poor? at this time I’m convinced he’s not great, and hoping he’s just ok. After today tho, I’m afraid he might be the latter type.

Nope sorry that’s an excuse... second goal was terrible esp without any reaction. not really sure it matters that much after the ga e had been lost due to his two blunders. His teammates might have an argument that the game was lost very quickly which might have deflated them and put Tottenham in a very comfortable position with the big lead.

When the defense is tested a couple of times, or even a few times during a tough match and they fail conceding goals, then I am all for pointing the finger at them. however, we’re completely and utterly dominated especially at the time we were conceding the goals. Two of which were mostly kepa s fault, not the defense. so, no I cannot agree that the defense let us down. The team was bad and the kepa was shocking.

Had already accepted we overpaid for him... panic buy. Already accepted that being shorter than courtois, he will not be as dominant in the air or high shorts (sturridge goal). but this performance against Tottenham got me scared... the first reminded me of sturridge, the second was as big as mistake as a gk can make in my book. Way too far and not even into the corner. Should have been a comfortable save. just hope he improves.

The defense wasn’t terrible they were put under pressure from the start. Luiz is not great, but we already knew that. The midfield went missing as did our gk for the first two goals. Yeah kepa made great saves afterwards, but the game was gone by then - being 2 down away from home. all players up front had a poor game, including Eden (bit lazy or tired). Morata worked hard and had a decent game by his standards, with half chances. Giroud came in fresh against tired defenders and with Tottenham not pressing as much... really not the same thing. Neither is good enough I’m afraid.

This game, Tottenham, has very little to do with the back line. We just did not play well enough esp in the middle, to point fingers to the defense. Kovacic was particularly bad dunno if still not 100% fit. if you want to single out a player, then kepa must be it. We did not have enough time to get into the game since our gk was nowhere to be found for the first two goals.

"a cock balancing on a beach ball" but seriously (not really) what the fuck is that logo?

no, I don't think I said that at all... What I said is that among other Elite players, Hazard is one of the worst at decision making (as in very bad within that group), which is actually very typical of a player who over dribbles. It's a moot point to discuss this here though, since it is what folks are most entertained by when watching Eden play. While I understand that and have also been entertained by dribblers in the past, nowadays I simply value other aspects of the game more, perhaps because football in general has moved in that direction too. Forget Messi, and Ronaldo is a diff type of player. And although in the same group, Eden is well behind Salah in my very unpopular opinion around here.

I stand corrected, but doesn't really affect the point I was making. Netherlands were also much superior as shown in their 3rd place win. Still Brazil only got that far due to pretty outstanding performances by Luiz. Yes he was terrible against germany, or perhaps merely his usual self. Brazil team just wasn't good enough to have reached the semis and got found out.

Luiz was pretty shocking in that game... but Fernandinho was shocking in that midfield (which got overrun by germany), and was shocking too against Belgium in the last WC. Considering Brazil only got to that final against Germany because playing at home, neymar, and a fantastic goal by luiz himself in the semis, I've always felt he gets underservely singled out for what was a terrible and disgraceful overall team performance. BTW, Evertonian Bernard started on the right wing, which makes the final score more about the coach (scolari) than anything else.

seconded! Eden is an elite player, but amongst other elite players, he IMO loses out because of his decision making in the final third. It's not only about scoring goals, but rather what one does to help scoring them. Willian adds to the problem we have: not enough goals, assists, or direct chances created. We already have 3 CMs who will score none to very few goals. A LW who despite being a great player does not score a whole lot (though doing better this season). Then we have a striker which is not elite and misses too many chances. I say thank god we happen to have a left back who can score goals and I hope he starts scoring again soon otherwise... Folks here sometimes forget this game is about scoring goals (and not concening as many).

Yeah the cost/benefit assessment seems completely off here. Heh it would have been off even with the perception of wrongdoing, since the benefits are question at best.

One thing is the player who's match fit and playing often, and has the support and protection of the starters, not to mention the chemistry. Another is a player who's lacking match fitness and ends up playing with other players who are also lacking match fitness. Not really fair comparisons, but that's really all they have to make a case: as to why they should be in the starting lineup. Understanding the system Sarri uses, just a bit since I never cared for napoli, I do see why passing is so important to him. So I totally get why he likes Alonso, and even Luiz. They are great passers, while Gary's passing was never really his forte.

heh I don't think it's criticism on kovacic directly - one must be blind not to see he's a very good player. The issue is regarding the team setup and the fact we have zero goals coming from our 3 CMs. Heh David Luiz is more likely to score, or even assist with a long ball, than any of them.

Perhaps, but my point remains that the ‘test’ has a cost, and it could be a high one. It’s not like we have wingers of edens quality lying around...

Moving Hazard up front means losing your key player and getting little in return. He's not a great finisher either... we are talking about a game where we did not create much. The best chance in the game was actually his (Eden's), and he put it wide. Hazard scores goals because of his overall skill, but you put him up front and he will vanish, because he will be more easily contained (lack of spaces to move into). I know you are looking for solutions, but we have none until Jan. If the two we have aren't enough we will need to sign players. We just don't have any player in the squad who can switch to a false 9 role, IMO.

I will partially disagree with you there, because I don't think our attacking output today was anywhere near good enough. So, while a top striker might have won the game for us, we know Morata isn't one. I just fail to be surprised by the same thing over and over again... it's not an american sitcom after all...

I can agree with that if some consider him a match winner, which he is not IMO. However, I think the issue is that he is too similar to jorginho, and the two plus Kante makes just too much of the same thing. That's the reason Ross often improves the team when he comes on, with his directness.

Think it was the other way around between Salah and Cuadrado. Salah was also much younger then (20) while Cuadrado was already experienced. We historically fucked up with Salah... there is no way around it IMO. The coaches and scouts are there to assess potential otherwise what's the point? One of our poorest overall performances... completely contained at home by Everton. Had Bernard not been the shitty player I know he is, and we'd have lost the match.

Yes Morata was his usual uninspired and disinterested self (against Everton). But that's NOT the story today! We played like shit and Morata was just one of the poor performances. Was also disappointed with Sarri today... too slow (to make changes) and conservative.

Yeah Arthur at city would’ve been disastrous. Brazil has not had a midfielder like that for quite some time. He will change the Brazil team and fix their most glaring weakness: midfield. He’s very iniesta or xavi in his off-the-ball movement. Don’t quite see any other young player out that that does the same. Tielemans looks good when I watch him, but diff style. city does have a weakness and it is Fernandinho. He’s not a big game player and will turn off and it will cost them. He always does that when under pressure... decent passer, nothing else to his game. overrated player in my book. They will miss kdb if he does not get fit, because he’s the guy who works best in tight spaces. not entirely convinced on nerves btw. Looks good on the ball, but still not sure if a sure slot in for a top club, prob the reason why he’s not at one.

That happens. You saw a powerful midfielder making good runs a la Yaya. The thing however is that not even the club that once had Yaya as their most important player would want another at this time. it’s just the trend of the game and the most successful systems use passers not carriers. Diitto on the other names, but still not entirely convinced about any of them (mbappe aside). There is showing something at Monaco and then there is doing the same at a big club - very diff things. I’ve seen so many potentially wonderful players fail at top clubs that I usually take all that with a grain of salt.

As someone who never saw anything special about him at Monaco (much less with us), scouting and signing is never a sure thing and things are much easier in hindsight. hiwever, I cannot imagine a club like Barcelona or even city (with Guardiola or not given they embraced the style) ever going for a player who never really showed the particular things those clubs look for. I am glad that our new signings are going the right direction.