Belgiannutt

Lol a dive is when someone simulates contact when there isn't any. Both in Luiz and Hazard's situations there was contact. It's really simple, Bellerin didn't get the ball and kicked Hazard on the inside of the foot. It's a penalty all day long. I don't care how hard or how soft it was. Contact = penalty. Honestly i don't get why people have such difficult time with this.

lol calm down. I'm talking about Costa in the second half of the season. He always had jekyll and hyde seasons for us where he'd be amazign 1 half of the season only to go completely cold the other. I give a shit because it's frustrating when a striker isn't scoring and seems more interested in picking fights then scoring goals. If a striker is struggling you want him to focus on his game. It's not that i want to belittle Costa but the way people talk about Costa sometimes as if he never missed big chances or played like shit.

This. Costa would be more concerned with yelling at the ref and getting into petty fights with opponents then actually scoring goals. And the Torres comparisons are just

It's the biggest problem i have with him. I knew he was limited technique wise but i though he was gonna be a lot better defensively. I though he was gonna be a more mobile defensive partner for Kante. He just completely unaware of what's going on behind him. The amount of times Ozil and Sanchez were able to drop off and pick up the ball behind him was just ridiculous. Drinkwater >>> Bakayoko

oh ffs. Why settle for a draw Conte why ? edit: lol Alonso nvm

I think he's just dissapointed with the lack of spending and trying to put more pressure on the board. He's been quite vocal about it. Like i said i'm sure he'd like to have full control. About the phone number thing not sure how true that is. Maybe he wanted to just emhasis that he's not of any negotiations with the manager or player. He also wasn't in control at Juventus so why didn't he change his phone number then as it would have been pointless aswell. The quote is" i give my opinion but the club decides" nowhere does it say "if asked". Also again if you look at the player we've bought. The ones i mentioned. It's clear that Conte has a strong influence on who we go after. Before we weren't as interested in the italian league as we are now.

Our manager does have a major say in the transfers we do. Just take a look at the players we've been linked with and have bought since Conte was appointed and you'll clearly see it. A lot of italians or players that play or played in italy. We bought Alonso, Zappacosta, and Rudiger. All three played in Italy before we bought them. We' were heavily linked with Koulibaly, Nainggolan and Sandro. Considering how Conte is i'm sure he'd want full control but how many teams actually give complete control to their managers ? Also why would they ? Most managers don't last very long. They either get sacked or move on to something better. Imo the club should always have the last say while the manager should have a major say in what players we get. The club should always have a vision, a direction where it wants the club to go while balancing that with the wishes of the manager. Now i'm not happy with the lack of spending but that's a different issue.

The outrage over the tackle on De Bruyne is pretty funny. Hazard gets hit with late tackles like that all the time.

I see, well like you say personal preference. For me it's dribbling >>> vision. Would agree with you on that. I don't really see the point in forcing him to stay and have him run down his contract and have an unhappy player in the squad. Silly from Arsenal about Sanchez. Even if we get say 150 million for Hazard who are we gonna spend it on ? I don't see a realistic target that could replace Hazard. Also we're likely going to run into the same problem Barcelona did when they tried to replace Neymar. Everyone knows you've gotten a ton of money so the prices are gonna go up when we come calling. So getting 2 quality players for that money will be difficult. I don't think hazard's reason for wanting to go to Real have much to do with money. Witht he way he idolizes Zidane. Playing for Real is likely a childhood wish/dream for him. Besides that Real Madrid is still generally considered the absolute top of world football. It has a pull that isn't comparable to any other club.

Sorry but i don't really understand the second sentence. I did claim he was enjoying his football. I don't believe i've mentioned Hazard being up there with Ronaldo ? We' ll have to agree to disagree on that.

While i understand the logic you're using i don't think it applies to Hazard because of how efficient he is with the ball. It's true that a club can only divide a certain number of goals and assists to all the attacking players but we're not talking about a player who takes 150 shots a season, scores 30 + goals a season and "wastes" the ball a lot. Last season he scored 16 goals but he only took 77 shots. Hazard rarely "wastes" possession. Even when taking on players he has an extremely high success rate. Last season he had a 78% success rate. This season halfway through the season he has an 80 % success rate. So his take on the overall collective pool is small. I just don't see in what part of Hazard's game he'd have to cut back on if he moved to a more attacking side. Also you're forgetting that a more attacking team will score more goals, so more goals and assists to spread to the attacking players. "when a top side really wants a player they ultimately get him." Disagree. If a player really doesn't want to move then there isn't anything a club can do. Seems like Hazard only wants to go to Real or stay here. He didn't want to go to PSG so he didn't go. It's not in his personality to forcibly push for a move. He wants to enjoy his football. He doesn't want any kind of drama off the pitch.

Hazard improving in a more attacking side is just logical. Sure it's a hypothetical because he hasn't left us for one (yet) but it's based on logic. A more attacking side + more quality will no doubt help attacking players. Especially if they've been playing for one of the most pragmatic top teams in the world before and still managed to perform at a high level. .Because Hazard doesn't have a release clause. Hazard is our best player. Aslong as Hazard isn't pushing for a move himself i don't think we could be persuaded to sell for any kind of money. Now why hasn't he pushed for a move himself ? Well there are a number of reasons. His personality is one. He's a laid back, family man type of guy. He's not a money grabbing a'hole. He's not a diva looking to be in the spotlights all the time. There's also the fact that even if he'd push for the move it would still take a considerable amount of money to make it happen. Most teams don't have the money to buy Hazard. He's also not interested in leaving to any other club but Real or Barcelona.(mostly Real though) PSG have been wanting Hazard for years but Hazard himself doesn't want to go back to the french league. The german and Italian leagues don't interest him at all. So the amount of clubs that can afford him and that Hazard would want to go to are just 2. People can complain about wanting Hazard to be more ambitious but if Hazard were more ambitious i don't think he would have stayed with us for as long as he has. About it affecting his game. Look people have different personalities. Not every football player in the world has to be as driven as Ronaldo to succeed. Hazard is who he is. His primary goal is to enjoy his football (his life). Considering he's making millions and is widely viewed as one of the top players in the world i'd say it's working for him. Have you actually been watching us ? During and since the European Cup KDB has been the one who's been subdued while Hazard has been the one that performs. KDB is actually going through a considerable goal drought for our NT. The last time he scored dates back to the 26th of march 2016 against Switserland before the EC. 20 games without a goal. Hazard on the other hand has 8 goals and 9 assists in 16 games since the EC (including the EC)

If we got him it would have to be for the wingback role. He wouldn't be an improvement over Willian or Pedro. Problem is he's been very underwhelming for the NT playing that LWB position. While he's also made no secret about the fact he doesn't like playing there and feels he's better suited to a more advanced role. So i doubt he's gonna go to a club where he's gonna play that position all the time. He could be a solid wingback if he applied himself to it but i just don't think he wants to. Personally i wouldn't go for him unless it was really cheap. I'd be looking for better and more exciting players to play the wingback positions but maybe this is the best we can do.

The way a team plays has an effect on the output of attacking players. The more pragmatic (defensive) the lower the output. The more free flowing (attacking) the higher the output. We've been a very pragmatic side over the years. Then there's also the matter of the quality of your teammates. If you have a lot of creative teammates, goalscorers and/or a lot of dribblers in your team then you're going to find it easier to score and assist. We don't have a lot of creativity, goalscorers or dribblers in our team. Comparing the output of players like Sterling or Neymar to Hazard is just silly. Both of them play or have played in teams who have been ultra attacking and who were or are packed with creativity, goalscorers and dribblers. Hazard hasn't.

Being able to switch to a back 4 would be nice but even if we switch to a 4 Conte isn't suddenly going to change into an ultra attacking manager. With a back four only 1 of the fullbacks will be pushing up while the other one will tuck in and form a back three again. I don't think a back four is going to help us that much going forward. The 3-5-2 i want to play has 2 wingers, 2 creative CM's, Morata and Hazard up top. That's 6 attacking players against 6-9 defenders. Honestly i think a back three can help and play a part in breaking down teams. We've seen that last season with Azpi or Cahill pushing forward into wide midfield and attract a midfielder towards them. I feel like last season we did that a lot while this season it looks like we're playing a lot more cautious. I agree that it's frustrating watching our back three pass the ball to eachother but normally you'd expect your outside cb's to ask questions of the defending team by pushing forward into wide midfield and not stopping until they draw out an opponent.

Hazard didn't do much either tbh. Disagree with that. Didn't really matter what he did though. For over 60 minutes he was our only creative player on the pitch while also being the only real goal threat. That's like being the quarterback while having to catch your own freaking passes. I don't understand why, if you only have 2 creative players, you'd only start 1 of them against a team that was always gonna park the bus. I'm not in the Conte out group but he's really making some odd decisions this season.

While that's true i do feel with us it runs deeper then just "one of those days". There is a lack of quality in the wider areas on the ball. It allows teams to focus all their attention on the central areas and it just makes life really hard for us. I'm not basing this on just the Everton game. I wanted upgrades on the wingback positions last season. "Calling for heads" I just want to see the team improve. Alonso and Moses aren't good enough going forward for me. While i didn't mention it in my post wingers and another creative midfielder would help us deal with opponents pressing us aswell. You can beat the pressing game by quick passing and movement or players individually beating their marker with the ball. An extra creative player would help with the first, the wingers would help with the second. Our biggest struggles have either been teams that sit really deep and narrow or teams that press us aggressively high up the pitch.

Looking at the next 2 windows. This is what i feel we need to look for. A creative midfielder. Out of the 4 midfield options we have only 1 is a creative player. The other 3 are defensive players. That just doesn't make any sense. Whenever we rest Fabregas we have no other creative midfield options. and also if we play a midfield 3 against a team that defends deep then we need 2 out of the 3 to be creative players. You don't need 2 defensive midfielders against defensive teams. Besides all that there's also the problem that the one actual creative midfield player we have lacks any real mobility which always puts a lot of pressure on his midfield partener(s). A second striker. Clearly Conte doesn't trust Batshuayi. We need a dependable striker who can be counted on to lead the line when Morata is injured, suspended or rested. Just take a look at Man City. Aguero: 12 goals Jesus: 8 goals. 2 dependable strikers. Squad depth is important. 2 wingers for the wingback positions. Yes that's not a typo, wingers. Not fullbacks, not wingbacks, wingers. We need players who have the ability to hurt the opposition in the wide areas. Who thrive on 1on1 situations. Right now teams are more then happy to 1 on 1 it with our wingbacks. We need to reverse that. Teams need to worry about our wingbacks. Teams need to crap their pants when they see our wingbacks go into a 1 on 1 with their player. Also some added goalscoring ability would be nice as right now all the focus is on Morata and Hazard. If they aren't scoring we aren't scoring. Man City's front 5 all have 5 goals or more. With us only Hazard and Morata have 5 or more goals. Now i know what you're thinking "but what about their defending ?" We have a very solid back three and an absolute monster playing in midfield. The third cb provides extra cover. Aslong as they possess the stamina and willingness (workrate) to move up and down the line we should be fine. I mean let's face it Alonso and Moses aren't all that great ,defensively, yet we've done well defensively. Also a lot of winger type players don't play for top teams so they're used to having to work back and defend. Besides i'd happily sacrifice a bit of defensive solidity if it meant us being more potent going forward. Looking at formations if feel like the 3-5-2 is the best fit for us. It allows Hazard and Kante to maximize their influence. Morata and Hazard flanked by some proper wingers supported by 2 creative midfielder( Fabregas+ new creative midfielder) with Kante and our back three covering we should be able to even break down those teams that sit deep and defend really narrow. Against the top teams we could switch out Fabregas and put in Bakayoko or Drinkwater if we need more workrate in the midfield area. 4 signings, 3 starters 1 squad depth signing. That's really doable over 2 transfer windows imo.

Well it would be pretty ridiculous if we were poor defensively considering how pragmatic we play and how many defensive players we have in our starting lineup.

We just lack quality on the ball. Pedro, Wilian just aren't good enough. Bakayoko shouldn't be playing against teams that sit deep against us. Not sure why Fabregas didn't start this game ? Alonso did he actually do anything today ? Zappacosta... that attempt at a cross pretty much sums him up.

Maybe the big fish wants more room to swim ? Ever stop to think that a big reason for Sané and Sterling's form might be Guardiola's sytem ? Ofcourse it could just be a coincidence that every single attacking player under Guardiola is currently flourishing in his ultra attacking, heavily focused possession system... Let's get real though. Hazard would start in Pep's system and he'd flourish there with all the quality around him and possession he'd get.

http://www.totalsportek.com/chelsea-live-stream/ Link 2 workd for me.

Imo the 3-5-2 is our best formation when we go up against top teams. We've seen in the past that the 3-4-3 is vulnerable against teams that overload the central areas. The 3-5-2 allows us to remain solid in the central reas while allowing Hazard a free role to cause damage. It even allows us to play Fabregas against the top teams. Something which isnt possible in the 3-4-3. Ofcourse that extra solidity in midfield comes at a price. We basically take out an attacker and add a midfielder so we lose something going forward. So the 3-4-3 is probably better suited for playing against teams that defend deep and narrow.

Agreed. Problem is indeed our setup when playing the false 9. The entire purpose of a false 9 is to create an overload in the midfield area or force a cb to commit to the false 9 leaving just 1 cb to defend the central area, opening up space for runs from wide and deep. Problem is you gotta force the oppositions midfielders to commit to your midfielders not to mention you gotta have an equal amount of midfielders as your opponent to begin with to create an overload with your false 9. That simply never happened. Southampton played in a 5-4-1. Even with Hazard dropping deep they still outnumbered us 4 to 3 in the midfield area. It gets even worse when you realize in our 3-4-3 Kante and Bakayoko have controlling roles and aren't really alllowed to make any forward runs.

@The Skipper When you look at the pics you posted and the way blackface was used in the past don't you feel like there's a massive difference between how it was used then and how Griezmann used it now ? In the past it was used in a racist, derogatory way. Often ridiculing black people. Griezmann isn't doing any of that. He's simply imitating a black globe trotter. There's no ridiculing. He's not using it in a derogatory way. I could understand it if he had a thick nose or puffed up lips cause those are clear racist stereotypes. Imo intentions matter. How a person uses blackface matters. I have no problem with it aslong as it's used solely to imitate a black person. The moment it becomes derogatory or gets used to ridicule black people then that person deserves to get a shitstorm at his adress.