robsblubot

That’s really not what I’ve been asking of him. salah exploded IN the CL won many tough matches being the key player for his team. I ask the same of hazard. could not care less what salah did against pub players or what hazard does against the same level of opposition. They are both well beyond that. dont get me wrong, it’s great for him to get the numbers, confidence esp, which will drive him to do better against tougher opposition. still have to sign a new deal though, otherwise we will be in the market for a replacement soon.

That’s really not what I’ve been asking of him. salah exploded IN the CL won many tough matches being the key player for his team. I ask the same of hazard. could not care less what salah did against pub players or what hazard does against the same level of opposition. They are both well beyond that. dont get me wrong, it’s great for him to get the numbers, confidence esp, which will drive him to do better against tougher opposition. still have to sign a new deal though, otherwise we will be in the market for a replacement soon.

Lucio often hits the spot

Yeah while the rant may be irrelevant, there is always some truth in numbers. IMO ignoring stats and numbers would be as myopic as taking them at face value. Notice that the stats presented are mostly around UEFA, and I'd add tough matches. Yes, Eden has had an excellent start of the season. However, I'm most interested in Eden's performances in tough (esp away) games where we need our star player to make a difference. Hope the new system will help him do just that.

True on alonso, but that does not mean he cannot join in in attack if we are chasing a goal for ex. Different case for Luiz though. He played many many games as a CM under Jose, and very good ones at that. Played tough away matches in that position with great success. Not exactly attacking mid, but he certainly showed qualities for that role. Reckon he did not want to pursue it because of Brazil, which was a mistake IMO.

I’m sure he has a lot on his mind atm, and congrats to him, but as one who actually praises his play even when he does not score, there is very little to praise about his performance against Bournemouth... giroud came in and did his regular slow thing and it was a hell lot more than what morata did. needs to do a lot more to remain at this club.

Now when you say “his goal” do you mean better defending or moving him closer to our goal... deeper. pretty sure it’s the former, but just to point out it would be a bit wasteful to try to make him what he is not. I do agree with sarri that if alonso improves defensively he will become the best lb in the word. Not sure that’s possible due to his build, but don’t think it is necessary either because then he’d leave for greener pastures. that one-two between Eden and alonso is literally why I whatch football.

aha true. I stand corrected. The dutch de Boers', Frank and Ronald. The two were fantastic defenders though - could read the game and had the pace to follow through. They were always employed in a very high defense line.

Mostly agreed. Though I think David Luiz technique is not overrated and his passing is pretty impressive esp for a CB (range and precision). I mean I've seen mikel play for years and years and not hit a single one of DL long balls (and he did try ). The thing is that there isn't such a thing as an attacking CB is there? I mean if there were, DL would've been king. So, as good as he may be with the ball at this feet, it cannot possibly make up for his defending or lack thereof. For all his mistakes with us, I think Jose got this one right when he smartly moved Luiz into midfield and he did really well there (even scoring important goals) esp considering how short-lived the experiment was. If Luiz were smarter, he would have embraced it and become a solid mid. But reckon he still had Brazil CB position as a tangible goal. In the end whatever affects his decisions on the pitch is still there when he goes home.

It will happen once Sarri realizes how bad the AMR situation actually is. As soon as Pedro goes on a slump, picks up an injury, or is tired...

Nothing else to do really. He needs to develop in all aspects, esp physicality. Hope he will have the support to do that at Villa - and please do hit the gym and often!

While I'm glad he's thinking about defense, it does worry me. Not so much Alonso defensive frailties, which is to be expected IMO (as I mentioned above attacking FBs...), but David Luiz next to him is like having another player who needs covering and a system to help him. So, it might become too great a task for any system. Wonder how Sarri can address that. One option, which I've seen employed (a long time ago in a g...) by Scolari actually, before he got the ridiculous tag of being an attacking manager (he's always been a Mourinho type): he had a LB similar to Azpi (who's now a good manager in Brazil) and an attacking RB (also a manager in Paraguay). So, instead of moving the CM/DMs to cover the FB, the defense would shift right, turning into 3CB system when the attacking FB bombed forward. So, the defensive LD would become a CB and position himself like that temporarily. He also had two players in midfield who could defend well. Now, while that system worked wonders (very diff to break) he did not have a D. Luiz in defense...

Heh watch him plenty. Great technique with silky passing doing one twos all the time with his teammates (like the pk against newcastle). His end product... what would that be then? What’s the reason to attack, to link up play, if not to score? Scoring is the goal of all attacking (no pun intended ). when you say that he’s not a good attacking FB, while I completely disagree, fair enough. One can argue he does not overlap as much as he should because of his lack of pace. But then when talking about him being targeted, then you lose me. every attacking fullback is a weakness in defense and is targeted by the opposition. Not only because of his skill set but also the fact he will often leave his position in defense unguarded, well ... to attack. Marcelo is a mule defending, prob the worst I’ve ever seen. And yet Real Madrid does not leak goals from his side on every game. It’s a choice they make (to employ him) and adjust the system to support him. same way that when Eden beats a player or players with dribbling, often the defense adjusts and does not break. The system defends, not a single player. At least he's good in the air in defense.

I hear you, but FBs have two jobs: one is to defend and the other is to contribute in attack. Some would say that an attacking FB's job is to attack first, again esp because the other one we got produces little in the final third. You literally cannot contribute more in attack than scoring a goal. And as mentioned above, these are important goals who change/changed games. Dribbling and linking up play nicely may or may not change games... Goals always do.

Interesting that other attacking FBs don’t get the same criticism for lacking in defense (and most are not good in the air). Teams balance that out esp if you already have a purely defensive FB on the other side. Which makes covering even easier. The system should play to the strength of the players you’ve got. Alonso is a threat to the opposition. If he is poor in defense get someone to cover him when he goes up. Who? Anyone who does not contribute as much as he does. pretty common practice actually.

heh the penalty he got, which was debatable but not an absurd call, was the result of a great overlap, which admittedly he could indeed do more of, esp in the final third. He tends to operate a bit deeper in midfield, which made him a good fit for a 5 in the middle IMO. Still quality guy and we prob would one him in the squad one way or another. Considering his quality inside the box, perhaps we should try him up front on occasion. Perhaps when chasing a goal, stick Emerson in LF and push Alsonso up.

yeah good point. Then again, that was last season. Go back enough and he has few goals and still plays and is not sold to buy a "proper" striker. There are personal preferences at play here. I have no problem if the club can sign Luis Suarez or Lewandowski (who tends to vanish in tough matches in CL), but those folks are not available. Lukaku, Higuain, they are not better than what we have, just different.

sure, that'd be great, but hard and expensive to find. Not sure Higuain is that either. My point is that it's not a necessity. RM did not drop Benzema when he stopped scoring, which has been quite a while. They like what he does on the pitch even when he does not score. My second point is that when you employ a striker who's only a goal scorer, which also applies to other strikers like lukaku, you gain some but also lose some. Great if they are scoring, but close to a liability when they are not. With many teams playing with mobile strikers, or (real :)) false nines, I just feel this idea of having a striker responsible for most of the goals is passe. For ex, Firmino is far more of a Morata type than a Higuain or Lukaku. He scores few goals and works well in that system because the team is good and the players around him gel well with his style of play. Now, of course, we could discuss whether we have enough goal scorers in the squad right now. Or whether the style in which we now play could actually help our attackers in terms of scoring goals. Reckon we will find out very soon.

heh let this one pass... football has changed and it's simply no longer as important for the strikers to be the sole source of goals. CL has been dominated by a team with Benzema up front, who's more of a setter holder than proper striker. WC was won by a team whose striker did not score a single goal during the competition (happens to be in our roster). Really really top strikers and goal scorers are a an extremely rare product and only a few teams have - and won't let them go very easy. Having a player like Morata, who's not a prolific scorer, but contributes to the team is absolutely fine IMO.

Sure, but why would it be any different than the other WC players in other teams? I mean every team has the (or more than one) high earner. No other player in the squad is as famous or as impactful as Hazard. Kante comes close, but attacking players, esp creative types will always earn more. Look at it from a diff perspective: if we go into the market looking for a Hazard type, a player ready to do what he does, we would have to break the bank (if we find and manage to convince him to join us). So, in all likelihood, the only other option (to hazard staying) would be making bets on youngsters/not yet ready players - hardly the same thing. So, if there is an opening, the club should def go all in. Now, if there is no opening no chance of him staying (the club has to know either way!), then I'd say we are wasting time and should be already making those bets and/or trying to attract a replacement.

lol he managed to not complete a single pass in the first half... and he did not play as a striker.

VDK is probably better than any defender we currently have (Andrea's potential aside). He was always a good player. The questions were around around his injuries and fitness level. Still early days, but it seems he has been able to remain fit for long periods of time.

As one who does not rate Hazard as highly as others around here do, for very specific reasons (that I won't revisit at this time), I'd be totally OK if Chelsea made him one of the highest paid footballers in order to keep him. If that's what we have to do to compete with the likes of RM and Barcelona, then so be it. Call it the london tax, or the "not being Barca/RM fee", whatever. If there is an opening, that he is indeed settled in london, and there is price to retain his services, then just fucking do it!

Reckon It's the beginning of the season factor. All players are somewhat unfit, but some more than others due to longer vacation, niggling injuries, or their own physique/natural fitness level.

not a great debut (at the bridge), but a good/decent one. Imagine his nerves playing to that crowd the first time in a frenetic derby with everything moving a hell lot faster than he was used to.