robsblubot

ah so true! and some (most?) of us want a bye year/season where the right manager can build a squad, and most importantly, a style of play. The club will never be OK with that.

I don't particularly like Conte's tactics, but like his man management. I was pretty upset we missed out on Stones, mistakes and all, but Christensen is similar (less technical but more composed), so I am very happy he's become a key member of the squad. One of my fav players already.

First, I am not playing, so however I might feel is very unlikely to affect the outcome of the game. Second, 1x1 in the first leg at home against strong opposition is never ever a good result. I find it intriguing that folks here are so positive. Of course we have a chance, but it's just not a very good one. BTW, it's NOT bad luck when you play zero strikers, and as a result, have a harder time scoring goals...

If he does stay, and goes ask for a striker in the summer what would the board's response be? Perhaps they should ask, "if we buy a 3rd striker will you play them?" Oldest trick in the book and completely inexcusable when playing at home IMO. Populate the midfield which provides volume of play sacrificing your ability to score. 1x1 at home against a better team in a single-elimination comp is never a good result. Sorry, but he chose to go out in style - by not losing by much - thinking about his resume and next job.

great points esp concerning the youngsters... but I think Stones was good against Hull (and Wigan too despite pundits thinking he was walker ) I disagree about the tactics though: these are cowardly small team tactics IMO. Yes, we had volume of play esp first half, which came with the hefty price of not employing strikers. That's what strikers can help with: they increase your odds of scoring with a specialist in the team, so not playing one at home regardless of opposition is just inexcusable to me. It's also in games like these that I think Hazard is less special than folks here make him out to be - expected more from him.

Nah we are out. Decent performance, but poor result. barcelona are much stronger at home, so expect a much more difficult game.

Nah I got your point - was just pulling your leg. though in terms of characteristics alone I agree with MoSalah above in that he’s far more like a b2b which is toure, not vieira. tbf as good a toure was, vieira was prob one the best holding mids I ever seen play the game.

TC going the extra mile... like insulting Toure just wasn’t enough was it?

The only thing that can get us a goal against Barcelona is pace. Giroud has none whatsoever. (IMO morata is also twice the player but that’s imo). dont think we will get to see much of the football even at SB. At least Baka not playing helps too as he’d be handing the ball back to Barca way too often.

I think it's the other way around: Alonso is described around here as a terrible player, who can't defend and can't attack. So, people like me are just saying he's actually a good (to very good) player, who can attack (unless scoring goals is not attacking) and can defend (unless winning several aerial headers in our box is not defending). I posted a video showcasing his long range passing and overall good technique in his thread a while back. If people think it's not consistent enough, or still not good enough, that's absolutely fair. Just denying his obvious and numerous attributes is silly in my eyes. Anyway, Palmieri looks good indeed. (still need to consider the level of the opposition though)

That’s 3 angles actually, counting the confused one. not really.. sometimes numbers and eyeballs tell different stories.Like he can score goals like a lot of other strikers out there. And he is just isn’t good enough. difficult to know whether Belgium will make due with either, but my money is on that neither will be good enough for them.

he def should! they are similar players: not really great footballers, but competent goal scorers. And Michy is scoring a lot more than Lukaku.

he's not good enough - sell him ASAP while he's still a prospect.

Fair enough, but we are working here on the possibility, or rather likelihood that he will leave in the summer (presumably to real). Of course I speak for myself, but it would be difficult for me to think of him as a Chelsea legend if he plays 4-5 years at real or another big club. It just dilutes his status for me. btw, I think the whole key player thing is a logical fallacy. Clubs can afford a certain number of key players and pay really well for them. Whether they can attract them or not is a diff story, but Liverpool proved that it is possible to replace them even if relying on luck sometimes. the fallacy that fans do, is to always compare the key player, on super high wages, to regular players on regular wages. The logic shouldn’t be, "had he not been here," but rather, "had another key player, on similar wages, been here instead..." interesting summer...

Ironically, Tite used to love him. When Chelsea played Corinthians at the WCC, Tite (coaching Corinthians) spoke numerous time how concerned he was about David Luiz in midfield, and how dominant he was in the prior game. Then, of course the great Benitez moved DL back into defense, against Corinthians. We played like shit and lost with Torres missing his usual sitter. Not now obviously, but when he was younger (25-26) he should IMO have moved to midfield permanently. Training schedule, even some additional stamina focus training, which would make him a much better player. His weaknesses are far less important and his strengths far more important in midfield than defense.

It goes both ways as discussed in other threads: fans need (a least some) talent and definitely commitment. eden has plenty of the former, but does not show enough of the latter, which affects how the fans see him. (e. g. stop talking about fucking RM and zidane)

Kante chose us over Utd when we weren't even in Europe. Not everyone is only worried about their pay packet Fair enough... there are always different reasons and different goals, but is Kante the rule or the exception?

We would be relegated the same season. Sorry but that’s just not how professional football works. It’s a very competitive wage market and the best players earn the biggest wages. The top clubs not only pay higher wages but also can afford to pay high wages to more players, which also attracts footballers. if we could and start pay 400-500k to multiple players, you’d see players talk about moving to chelsea as a career goal. We can’t and they don’t. the vast majority of players Do Not care about the clubs. What clubs can, and should do, though is to try limit players exposure to the media esp when talking about other clubs. Imo players should be cautioned when they disrespect their current employer in the media, which they do when make these comments to the public.

Excellent! Hopefully this run lasts until summer so we can sell him for a decent amount and then buy a better player.

Personally I feel like that about players who are committed not merely talented. I guess it’s a package: commitment and some level of talent. Hazard will def be remembered as a great player, but to become a legend, he would need to stick around and give his best years to the club, like terry and lamps did. no, if he leaves in the summer he’s just another player... a very talented one but def not a legend for me.

hah well he is (a headless chicken), but between two headless chickens, one with loads of technique (good short/long passing and first touch and shooting + goals) and another who can't actually play football, think it would still be a vast improvement until a proper replacement can be found. Either way the manager needs to try different things to improve the team and the system - it is literally his job.

he's also 36, so much much "long-term" left.

He's wasn't as terrible as ppl make it out to be. He's playing his normal limited game as a decent/good player, who is barely good enough for a club with the aspirations we (should) have. The team is broken at the moment which exposes the defense. Bkayoko exposes the defense in particular. However, better footballers can more easily maintain the level of performances during crisis. Limited players are, by definition, more affected by team form. Even missing Alonso, who despite his shortcomings has good technique, for the watford game contributed to that poor performance IMO. It's funny how people forget that technique and skill in handling the football is literally what this is all about.

heh move David Luiz into the midfield, which solves two problems: removes DL from defense and adds a players with an actual first touch, and good overall technique, in midfield. David Luiz is twice the player in any position, because he's just a far superior footballer. Better yet, switch to 4 midfielders so that you add DL and Fabregas can sit deep. Conte needs to wake the fuck up. Would be very nice if Baka's issues were just positional awareness, decisions, or even attitude (which are DL weaknesses). however, his main limitation is complete lack of technique and there is no fixing that. I'm sure he can improve - can't really play any worse - but he will never be remotely good enough.

yeah he looked frustrated at times, but he was still trying which is what is expected from a key player (case in point when he combined with Giroud later in the game). It's not for him to decide whether his teammates are good enough (his wages should be motivation enough until summer) - besides, they were good enough last season (w/ matic). This is indeed the worse squad in years... Some of us warned that the great/good/decent players we had in the squad, some much maligned around here, added quality which we now no longer have. On the other hand, I won't give two fucks about Hazard the moment he's no longer a chelsea player.