TorontoChelsea

Mata-96% passing, 5 key passes.

Hazard scores a lot of bad goals. I mean that as a compliment. Keepers must not see the ball well when he shoots or he must have deceptive dip on the ball or something, but I have seen keepers whiff on his shots a lot!

He needs to be more decisive and quicker on the ball. He's great on counter-attacks but he is so slow in moving the ball in other situations and runs with the ball too much. For me, he seems to be a player to be used in specific system. When we play counter-attack and need speed and energy, he's a good guy to have, but if we want to break down a team, I wouldn't play him.

Good result even if it was a pretty awful game to watch. We were extremely solid defensively and Arsenal didn't threaten us at all until very late in the game. Our back 4 and central midfield all had great games and shut down Arsenal completely. Attacking 4 were limited to a rare counter-attack and were mostly invisible. Substitutes were pretty uninspiring as well. Not sure who is voting for Hazard for MOTM in a 0-0 game. (Hint: you don't always have to vote for an attacking player as MOTM). Tough game to referee because you have to give more leeway in those sorts of conditions.

Yeah, but we've spent around 300M pounds net since we last won the league. The fact that we still need a few signings (and probably another 50M+ pounds) is ridiculous because we've spent what, about 10X the net league average in that period. We should have been easily able to build a complete team and then some. I was hoping for a new sort of model that can build a squad in a better way but we seem to be doing the same thing we've always done under Roman which is just throw money at a wall and see what sticks. Eventually we will get the winning formula (buy enough players) and win, but winning like this is a little hollow.

I don't care so much about these sorts of mistakes. Every defender will make them. Every defender will make a stupid pass, etc...That's not what aggravates me about Luiz. When was the last time you saw Kompany being caught 25 yards out of position? When was the last time you saw Kompany taking 5 shots in a game? Kompany plays the way a defender should play and he does it very well. Anyway, the difference for me can be summed up with these two statistics from last season. Kompany-89.2% passing percentage. Luiz 81.1% Kompany-1 goal on 15 shots. Luiz 2 goals on 56 shots. Luiz just tries to do too much and it hurts us by turning the ball over way too often. Even when you don't play possession football per se, keeping possession and not needlessly turning the ball over is important. That's why when Luiz simplifies his game, he's fantastic. He just intercepts the ball, plays passes well, reads the attack, and so on. He just can't seem to do that for any stretch of time and the next game he'll lob 15 passes up the pitch, try to dribble the ball past two people which leads to a counter-attack chance, and take 3 shots that sail over the net.

As was Sturridge. As Henrique and other point out, Sturridge played very well for us (and Bolton) and able to play a position we had no depth at. We got Ba in instead of Sturridge. If we sold Lukaku now when we have nothing close to an elite striker, would be idiotic. Selling De Bruyne wouldn't be. De Bruyne plays attacking midfield so yes, he may end up being good, but ultimately, you have to choose your players and go with them and Chelsea is choosing 5 young players it likes more than De Bruyne and who fit the system better. You can't keep every player and you can't build around every talented youngster. What is the option? Benching players who have been better than De Bruyne so that KDB gets to try to get a rhythm going? That crazy for a team trying to win.

He never played as a real CM at Bremen. He played central midfielder in a 4-3-3 where he was the most forward player on the pitch. if you look at his average position, he actually played more of a second striker. He played way up field every game often past the striker himself. True, you can't take statistics and apply them to different positions, but those statistics do go with his skills. De Bruyne is a very good crosser, he is very good at setting up scoring chances. He tries a lot of difficult passes though which is why he has a low percentage and he is poor defensively even for an attacking midfielder. I agree with you that he was never given a chance at Chelsea and I was against the Willian signing partly for this reason but it is what it is and Willian is a better fit than De Bruyne for this side. De Bruyne's chances have been limited but, De Bruyne should have done better with his limited chances. He looks like a fish out of water. Anyway, there really is no room for any attacking midfielder on our team until one or two players get sold. You need 4 regular attacking midfielders and 1 other player who gets rotated in. We have 6 players who should be playing regularly somewhere.

Xavi and Iniesta have both been played as central midfielders this season and not #10s which is a massive difference in what they are supposed to do. They both have passing rates of over 90% and take a combined 1.9 shots a game. Their job is to set up Messi, Neymar, Fabergas, Alexis, etc...to lead the attack. Oscar himself takes 2.1 shots a game. His role, when done well, should result in good statistics. Your #10 needs to be scoring and setting up goals and chances and Oscar is 7th on our team in key passes per game. he has zero assists and has the lowest passing accuracy of any of our attacking midfielders. It's not near good enough for a #10. Earlier in the season (up until about 10 games ago) it was a little different because he was playing quite well even when he wasn't producing statistically but since then, he's been poor. I certainly don't see him as the hub of what we've done well this season. I think he and Mata should be switching off as #10s depending on the competition and who is playing in central midfield for us but Mourinho doesn't see it that way obviously .

I disagree he's been given the opportunity or that he isn't good enough to build a team around. Two straight years as player of the year for Chelsea proves that he is certainly a good enough player to be playing regularly in his favoured position. I really do think that Mata just isn't ever going to fit in the system Mourinho wants. Managers can, to a large extent, make players succeed or fail. For example, if Mourinho required Ronaldo to work more defensively and to pass in a tight system, then he would obviously be a much worse player. A lot of Ronaldo's success is based around the fact that Real Madrid is set up for Ronaldo and that he has free reign to do whatever he wants even if it means he shoots 10 times in a game from 35 yards. If Mourinho had Ozil try to play like Mata is now, he'd also have struggled. The point is not just that Mata has played largely out of position (which he has) it's that the way Mourinho wants Mata to play is guaranteed so make sure he isn't productive. Mata needs to be in space to create and to be able to have some freedom to move. He needs to get the ball in dangerous areas and do something with it. Our system doesn't allow him any freedom. He barely touches the ball in dangerous areas at all. Mata has taken a total of 10 shots in 9 starts which is the lowest ratio of any of our attacking midfielders. (Yet, still also has the best key pass-start ratio). I understand Chelsea allowed Mata to shirk his defensive duties a little too much the last couple of years, but an in-form Mata is exactly what we're lacking and the main reason we haven't been able to break down teams. There is a balance between getting him to do more defensive work and sidelining him. Chelsea need more balance in their attack because right now it's just dribble, dribble, dribble, shoot from distance. I would have loved to have seen Mata been given a few games in a row as a #10 starting with Hazard and Willian/Schurrle on the right but that isn't going to happen with Mourinho. Mata is going to need to be sold because he is never going to work in Mourinho's system but that says as much about Mourinho's inflexibility as a manager as it does Mata's as a player. BTW, I don't think Oscar has done anything to earn the #10 role either and this is part of what I was talking about allowing players to succeed or fail. Oscar and Hazard are given every chance to succeed and the freedom in the system to do so. Oscar has 5 goals and 0 assists in 14 games which is hardly setting the world on fire and after his great start to the season, he's actually been pretty poor for quite a while. (1 goal and 0 assists in his last 6 Premier League games, 1 goal, 1 assist in his last 9 games overall including a lot of games where he's been invisible).

I think it is far-fetched or rather a case of wish fulfillment. De Bruyne's game is pretty much the opposite of what you'd want from a deep-lying midfielder and his skills are tailor-made for an attacking position. I don't think people appreciate how bad De Bruyne is defensively right now and how much that matters. De Bruyne has started 5 games with Chelsea and has 1 tackle, 7 fouls and 0 interceptions in those games. That's beyond atrocious. Juan Mata is a poor defensive player and has 11 tackles and 6 fouls. Schurrle has 2 more fouls than De Bruyne in the league but has 14 more tackles and 7 more interceptions. Statistics don't tell the whole story though (even though when they are that damning, they are impossible to ignore) and when you watch Chelsea, you can see how easily teams bypass De Bruyne either by doing a quick give and go around him or by running right by him. His pressing is poor, his tackling is poor, his positioning is poor, the lanes he chooses to defend are poor, his defensive instincts are poor, etc...Some teams can choose to ignore than. Mata hasn't had to play much defense in the last 2 seasons for example, but there's a cost to the team as well and in central midfield is utterly impossible to have a player like that. @DYC. Yes, maybe it's theoretically possible but I don't see why we would. He doesn't really remind me of Schweinsteiger in the least because when I think of him, you think work-ethic, determination, etc...Schweinsteiger's first appearance was as a LB. He was always a versatile player capable of playing multiple positions and they just had to find the right position for him. De Bruyne is a finesse player who is hard to envision as anything other than an attacking player. I also don't see why so many people want to force him into our lineup where he doesn't belong. (BTW, Arteta was originally a deep-lying midfielder who Everton moved forward. Wenger just moved him back to his original position)

Even if coaching could make him into a defensive midfielder which is extremely doubtful (the fact that you can name the players who made the move shows you how few actually do), it would take some time. He's not almost ready to be moved there, he needs a lot of work to work on his game meaning he'd need to be loaned out to a team willing to play him in central midfield.

De Bruyne was never going to play in central midfield and I don't know why people go on about this. His skill set just doesn't work at all there. (And yes, I know he played some there with Genk, but that's a different world entirely) De Bruyne is terrible defensively and is a low percentage passer and his main skills are crossing and key passes which means that he should be playing up the pitch. He's a #10 or maybe the attacking midfield of a 4-3-3. He could play winger in the right system even. I can see Oscar being moved to the pivot as he has the right skills to make it work but De Bruyne never made any sense there anymore than putting Mata in the pivot makes sense.

Nice! Congrats.

This is it. We don't have any strikers who are good enough to be starting for Chelsea but we also play in a way where it is impossible for any striker to succeed.

It's not a masterclass performance or nothing else. He was awful and it's not even arguable. Some performances are subjective. Many are. This performance had almost nothing. Your level of "OK" for an attacking player is absurd. He forced a save!!! OH MY GOD. HE"S AMAZING! !!! In 120 minutes, he forced one save and had a good cross and a couple of nice passes against the worst team in the Premier League. He also made no tackles, passed the ball to the other team in front of our net, had a lot of loose passes, had 3 fouls and was invisible for about 118 of those 120 minutes. That is pretty much the definition of an awful performance. (This also goes to the absurd difference in expectations people have for different positions on here. Central midfielders have to protect and cover for the back four, move the ball quickly, set up the attack, distribute and press. Attacking midfielders have to make a couple of nice passes or shots.) Yes, Willian and Schurrle etc...don't have the best stats but they have played very well in a number of games and have all been better than De Bruyne. They press well, they look involved, and so on. Both, also do a lot of good defensive work. De Bruyne is an atrocious defensive player is successful on about 25% of tackles attempts and has generally looked lost. He is never going to do what he did for Bremen or he does for Belgium because that free role doesn't exist at Chelsea and if it did, it would still go to Mata or Oscar or Hazard and not De Bruyne. Having offensive success for Bremen where he had no defensive responsibilities and in a system built for attacking midfielders (with Hunt as well) was never going to happen at Chelsea. People couldn't understand that De Bruyne was never going to come in and be a starter right away. He was going to have to earn his playing time and he hasn't. You have some fantasy of De Bruyne coming in and doing what he did for Bremen and you refuse to let it go. You really think Mourinho should be playing De Bruyne more to get him going? Who cares if he's been awful, right? Who cares if other players are more deserving. I mean, the purpose of Chelsea is not to win, it's to get De Bruyne in a good rhythm? Let's suffer through a few bad games just to get him going, right? Let's sit down five players who have all been better than him, cost ourselves a shot at the Premier League crown so we can get De Bruyne playing with confidence. Anyways, I'm so sick of the "poor KDB" stuff. Yes, it's hard to play well once a month, but it's not that hard not to be terrible every time you play. The situation is what it is at Chelsea. It's crowded so you have to earn playing time. It's not complicated. If he played well, he'd get more time. He isn't getting playing time not because of some conspiracy it;'s because he's been awful and he doesn't fit the system. Mata, Azpilicueta, Willian, and Schurle all had to sit for long stretches. It's hurt their play, but they've still contributed and have good games. De Bruyne hasn't.

I agree we have to build a system and stick to it and unfortunately, that means jettisoning players who don't fit even if they are talented. However, even in a specific, system, you need players who can give you a little something else to help give your attack variety. Willian, Schurrle, Oscar, and Hazard all fit Mourinho's style but they all do the same thing offensively. They all prefer to come through the middle. They dribble past players, cut into the middle and shoot. You need something else. You either need a magician sort of player in the middle there who can create for others like Ozil did at Real Madrid or at least a natural wide player who can pull defenders away from the middle and cross the ball into the box. It means we will have a lot of trouble breaking down solid defensive teams. Our offensive predictability makes it too easy to play us and also ensures that we are too reliant on spectacular individual play.

The lengths people go through to defend KDB's play is baffling. The players you mention have all had some bad games and some good games. They have all had great games even carrying us, showing energy, drive, defensive effort, etc... De Bruyne has now started 5 games with Chelsea and been awful in 4 of them. He isn't creating chances and he is a pylon defensively. He has no goals and 1 assist in 9 appearances. He didn't "start the season well" he had one great half. How long is a team supposed to keep starting a player because of one great half at home against Hull? He has potential and he could turn out to be a very good player, but he doesn't deserve to play right now. Part of playing on a team with depth is learning to be able to play when you get your opportunities. Every player does better with more consistent player time but you have to be able to contribute even if you're sitting down for a month. People are not handed roles, they have to earn them and in those little chances, you have to show something and De Bruyne has shown absolutely nothing.

I actually think we are playing worse than we have in a long time disguised only by some rather extreme and unsustainable luck (blown calls, very easy CL group, etc...). I don't know exactly what's wrong, but it's a lot. How many good games have we played? I'm talking about dominating a team, just playing fluidly and coherently. Maybe 2-5 games all season? I was thinking today that we don't have a single player particularly well. Who is our Player of the Season so far? I can't think of a single deserving player. People like to divide our players up into "good player/bad player" categories but the truth is that our team has been almost all mediocre. Our entire attack seems to consist of our attacking midfielders trying to dribble past players and shooting from distance. We have no fluidity at all. It's frustrating because with all the money we spent and all the talent we have, we should be seeing results. I'm not talking about winning every game 6-0 or anything unrealistic, just a string of good play and some team cohesion.

This is exactly it. Nobody expects someone not getting regular time to be at their best, but they can't be the worst player on the pitch game after game.

Dull half. Might as well leave the same players on for a while to rest the starters for the other competitions (all of which are more important than this one). Nobody playing particularly well but really only De Bruyne has been awful too. Sunderland don't look dangerous at all.

It hit the part of his arm that was close to his body and in a natural position. If it had hit his forearm, it would have been a penalty.

Not a penalty. Arm was too close to his body there.

He's 4 or 5 years younger than Giggs who was playing regularly 4 and 5 years ago. Giggs now shouldn't be playing at all. He';s not good enough for United even a mediocre United. Lampard shouldn't be playing 3 times a week though or even in quick turnaround games. This signing is fine by me. We badly need another central midfielder and not everyone you buy can be a 40M pound player who has a lot of hype. Guarin will improve the squad and allow us to rotate better and he has some upside.

This is what I agree with. For me, I can live with the mistakes that he makes that other defenders make as well. For me, the problem I have with Luiz is innate to his game. Being caught upfield too often, hoofing balls up the pitch hoping to hit someone, shooting the ball way too much, being poor in the air, etc..On a certain team, it's OK for your central defender to wander upfield and to have an 81% passing rate and take 2 shots (which are pretty much always off target) twice a game. (On Barcelona for example, where defenders don't really ever have to defend) On most teams, it's going to really hurt you because ball retention does really matter. In order to fit Luiz in the lineup, you have to build your team so he fits in. You need to play him next to someone conservative. You need to have a defensive midfielder who covers for his runs. Etc... And the criticisms are justified. He is our best defender when his head is in the game and when he's more conservative but after 2 years, you need to see some consistency and he needs to stop just hitting the ball down-field and it just isn't going to happen. Also, the people who claim he's a top-5 defender or whatever do him no justice. It's pretty obvious he's nowhere near that level. He's been benched by just about every manager we've had and for defenders like Alex and Cahill. It's a case of his supporters so immensely exaggerating how good he is, that it's impossible to not to react.