robsblubot

Odd goal?! He’s got 6 this season and very important ones at that: like the only goal we scored against Soton. The one goal we could score from open play against arsenal. He has 2 MotM for us this season alone. I know, Matic had several and it did not help him around here. Scoring goals is hard and they change games! that’s why they pay so much to players who can do that consistently. R Carlos made a career out of that - Alonso has far better technique (yes I’ve watched R.Carlos play ... live too). are we going to erase his aerial contribution, defense and attack, because it’s tertiary for a WB? Perhaps having Alonso heading the ball in our box covers for azpi who does not have the stature to win headers (which is primary for a cb)? agree to disagree on his overall game which I think is pretty good esp around technique passing and first touch. The club and the manager wanted him just the way he is. I cannot imagine that they are disppointed by his contribution so far,considering his characteristics as a player were well known beforehand.

A very wide gulf separates Alonso and Moses IMO. Don't personally know anyone who rates Moses and I'm not a fan of his game either - not to mention he's very injury-prone. Alonso on the other hand is a good player; one who we could move very easily IMO if we wanted to. Personally, I think replacing alonso with Santro would be a huge mistake. I'm not saying that Alonso is better than Sandro, but he's not far behind, albeit with completely diff characteristics. The squad has so many other weaknesses that spending a lot of money to improve the one position we actually have some quality, which often gives an edge (aka goals), would be silly.

that's not correct: contact does not mean penalty or a foul and there is def diving even with contact. Contact happens all the time in football. By the rulebook contact does not equate foul, even though we hear it all the time. The question is always does the illegal contact (there is also legal contact e.g shoulder to shoulder) cause enough disruption to prevent the player from proceeding? If the answer is yes, then it is a PK or a foul, but if no, then it isn't and it could perhaps be a bookable offense if the ref thinks it's too blatant. This is very difficult to assess esp live, and like I said, sometimes players protect themselves by jumping or falling. With that out of the way, I kinda agree with you that it might have been a PK, even if a soft one. His foot was kicked in the air, and it might have been just enough to throw him off balance, which automatically makes it a non-bookable offence even if you think it's was dive (it prob wasn't).

As much as I agree with you about diving, not sure that’d be a bookable offence. retroactive bans for diving would solve the issue imo. the difficult thing is that some dives aren’t really about gaining an advantage but for protection. It’s known that when being tackled it is a lot safer to not have your feet fully planted on the ground. Not in edens case here though as his foot was high up anyway. The David luiz incident was not even a dive... he was laughing because the opponent lost his head and fouled him, which was desirable at the moment - we were ahead and also led to a red. Always thought ppl read that incorrectly as a dive.

Isn't the only reason he is bound to spain the reason he played and lived there for so long? Brings a new perspective around loans, esp the ones away from london... As good as he may be (and he's a top gk), if his family is living in spain, and he wants to join them, there is little point forcing the issue: we must find a suitable replacement and preferably before he leaves.

agreed he was really good when came on against arsenal: better than moses in both defense and attack deserves more games

he was rested the game before... managers sub players for different reasons. Perhaps he just wanted something different in attack, or a bit more effectiveness? He might have subbed Morata for the same reason had him had a better striker option than Bats. We had a lot of chances to score before and after Hazard, so effectiveness was def the issue. Conte does not have a lot to work with squad wise though.

while I agree with your view of baka, my expectations were very different as I thought we already had a player capable of breaking up play - and a darn good one at that. Now, I'm actually confused with what Chelsea (and Conte) thought, because we often see him deployed in a more advanced position, which is frankly a waste of space.

That excuse works so well on hazard thread though ...

Whoever has him won’t sell to us. thats why we need to make bets such as Morata. consider that even when his finishing was shit, he played well. While other players go through same patches while producing little to nothing. ^^They were not sitters - it’s not a sitter when you are the one who creates the chance...

Again also mad with him for missing 3 1v1s, but just the silver lining here: he made great runs and plays to be able to get to up to 3 1v1s. my point is that other players wouldn’t have scored either because they perhaps wouldn’t have been in those positions. At least not 3 times. ^^ when strikers are off, esp in the same game, the trend usually follows. Same when they are on, hence why not subbing scorers.

Nah when his final touch does not connect (to goal or another player) that’s on him, esp when he has support around him. he did play well (arsenal) but final touch could have been better.

I’m also frustrated with his Terri le finishing against arsenal, but finishing can be fixed, trained... it happens all the time when strikers go hot and cold. you cannot teach one to be a good footballer, and Morata is already a very good one. He made some great runs against arsenal. again, he needs to do better, but better is def possible without getting desperate.

I honestly don’t understand the hate: Alonso is a great player. yeah he’s got weaknesses, but he brings so much to the table imo

Wow Morata and hazard are combining well please just apply the finish once just once

For the record I liked Moses sub - thought he was as poor as Baka.

Come on that was good run by Morata, but once again no finish to show for it. bakayoko can’t even win 50/50s so poor.

Slow from Conte - arsenal are dominating and have for 15min wff

Morata actually played well in the first half - just his finishing was nowhere to be found. alonso is playing well too. Moses not so much. Tibo is just fantastic... a bit better final touch from either hazard (who’s also moving well) or Morata and we will score.

wrong choice by alonso: too close to bend it. SHould've tried to blast it in. ^^ indeed Cest is playing very well

Time to recall?

Finishing is a lot easier to improve than the other technical skills. Practice and drills can do wonders over time. Far more diff to tech one to become a footballer. cant imagine anyone singing, scouting, or watching morata and imagining him as the finished product. for me the issue isn’t so much morata but the fact we abruptly lost our established striker due to his instability (him being a nut job). the second issue we have is, again, lack of strength in depth esp considering how inapt moratas sub is (bats). Anyone asking for bats to start is... just stop please. Grass is always greener when sitting on the bench.

Super strong arguments! You had me at FIFA. I will be sticking with my ridiculous opinion though - thank you.

Well, do you really have to watch more of him to see that he has better technique than Baka? How long does it take, and how natural is it, for him to take the ball and move it along? Pretty good first touch and passing. No, he’s not that agile and his runs will be mostly be of the simpler kind, but solid player.

Yeah that (that bit that was cut short) pertained attacking sides and number of goals scored... I think it has more to do with the league than anything else, but like you said, we disagree. we may have a slight disagreement on where hazard stand, as I seem to rate him a a bit lower than you and others around here do. Not really sure he’s better than coutinho for example, and I am not a fan of coutinho. Given a choice right now and I’d pick kdb over him, again personal preference (vision >>> dribbling). Perhaps because I’m originally from Brazil and dribblers are a dime-a-dozen there. On the contract situation, I say sell him for a very high sum sooner rather than later... don’t do another Sanchez. If the club cannot replace him with another key player or, at least 2 quality players, then it’s anither issue altogether. get attached to players at your own peril... it’s a very short career and they ultimately make decisions solely based on money. If you are a hazard fan first, fine, but as a chelsea fan, life goes on just fine.