Hybrid Angel

I'm not one to usually engage in these dramas but the certain mod's tyrannical and 'power-tripping' attitude should be as clear as daylight by now as I've lost counted of the number of times a similar type of situation has happened. I would usually take these matters to private message to one of the other mods but @Stats has mentioned that his complaints have been ignored therefore I don't see any option other than voicing my concern here over what seems to be an increasing number of situations of the mod who has a reputation for abusing his power over personal problems with some fine members of the forum.

Fucking love Geezer. He was a great player for us in his first spell and he will be a great player for us again. Very solid transfer window in my opinion.

Do you expect anything else? It's a panic bid at the end of the transfer window. PSG know we're desperate as fuck and lack quantity and quality at the back. It doesn't matter who we're gonna get, at the end of the day they're gonna be overpriced as fuck even in today's market because the board once again failed to wrap things up early in the transfer window.

I have found some positives in a lot of the players we've been linked too but I simply don't get this one. Imo Ogbonna is fucking shite.

This made me lol

Him being a poor defender is a myth. David Luiz is very good CB and there is a reason he starts for one of the best clubs in the world. You talk about the odd mistake in him, yet someone like Cahill makes idiotic mistakes much more than Luiz. Also, David Luiz was always great for us. How he performed for Brazil or anyone else does not concern me. He would easily be by far our best center-back, and he is also very good with the ball. It would be a great signing imo.

It's criminal how this guy is so underrated by our fanbase. Cahill even at his peak couldn't even lace this guy's boots, yet we seem to be afraid of having someone who would easily start for us back again. If this rumor is true, then it's basically Marquinhos 2.0, panic bid in the last seconds.

I think some people are still suffering from the traumatic experiences from our last few signings under Mourinho so much that they disregard any player they have never heard of or watched before. Brozovic would easily start in our current midfield. Knowing Conte from his Juventus and Italy days, Antonio loves proper box to box mids, players who can hold their own when defending but also contribute a lot offensively. Brozovic is exactly that type of player and I can easily see why Conte thinks we need a player like him. We need a player like Brozovic. Matic is looking completely out of his depth playing the box to box role and it's down to him not being able to provide the attacking qualities that's needed from a player in this role. The role he should be playing in is occupied by a far superior player in Kante. It's pretty clear what Conte is trying to do with the midfield. A destroyer in Kante who is also very good at passing the ball will be the one sitting deep and two box to box mids (Oscar and Brozovic) with Brozovic being the more defensive of the two. I think Nainggolan would be his ideal choice but that ship has probably long sailed by now. This is a Conte signing. Let's trust our coach and his ideas. He has earned that through his work with Italy and Juventus and also the promise we've showed so far not in terms of results but most importantly the way we've played and improved in every aspect.

True. In our case with our backline doing that would basically be the equivalent of offering yourself to get fucked in the arse.

It's late in the transfer window so it would be hard to find a replacement but mostly it's the other clubs knowing we're desperate as fuck not only because of our lack of quality but also lack of time to purchase a CB. So much for negotiating for a 'better deal' for all these players we're linked to. Just pay the money and wrap it up at the start. This isn't a world record fee for Pogba we're negotiating. The team's CB options are nothing more than mid-table standard and we are pissing around till the last hour of the transfer window. I'm still slightly hopeful for Koulibaly and happy if the deal for de Vrij pulls through, but at the same time I wouldn't be surprised if we start chucking random panic bids for CBs on deadline day like we did last year.

The price would be nowhere near 28m if we went for him earlier in the transfer market. Just saying. So many people on this forum think if we negotiate more and more we can get better deals. I'm no expert in the process of signing a player, but recent history shows that wrapping up the deal early in the transfer market is more profitable and allows the player to mold with the squad.

You know I would be very happy with Maksimovic or Manolas or whoever it is we're linked to but I would be absolutely over the moon if we signed Koulibaly. This guy has pace, agility, strength, short and long passing, ability to carry the ball forward and is a great defender. What makes Koulibaly a clear level or two above the other names we're linked to for me is that not only he is the complete package, but also he is superior to others in every aspect that develops the overall quality of a CB. There is something about us not doing anything about Napoli taking Maksimovic right in front of our eyes that still gives me hope that we might be able to pull this one off.

He also said: "If I have to choose one way to defend I prefer to attack. The best way to defend is to go forward. When you stay behind the ball for too long, anything can happen. We are improving also in this aspect.“ [Telegraph] Finally we have a manager who understands the best way to defend in modern football. Too many times under Mourinho's and Hiddink's last time here we sat deep against any level of opposition and it ended up costing us points. When you're sitting deep and allowing the opposition to pass the ball around, there is always a high chance for a goal or even a jammy one to be scored. Against West Ham after Eden scored the penalty I could somewhat see that the players were still being slightly restricted by Mourinho's mentality of being way too defensive. We are getting better and better at defending and pressing high and holding a higher defensive line despite the lack of pace in our CBs. This is the main reason we're letting fewer shots on target against us.

I sort of agree, imo the reason Matic keeps starting is that he is the only one who can help out Kante defensively. If we had someone like Nainggolan who offers plenty both defensively and offensively nobody would be talking about being over-defensive in the middle of the park. About the decision to play Matic specifically against Burnley, to be fair I think Conte saw Burnley's performance against Liverpool and predicted we would have the same amount of possession Liverpool had, and the way Burnley countered against Liverpool with the two very decent strikers they have up top who could cause havoc if they went head to head with Cahill and Terry. I think Conte was trying to protect the back 4 rather than try to create a balance in midfield against a shambolic Burnley side. Tbf to Matic and Kante, they stopped a lot of attacks and recovered a lot of loose balls, but maybe that was because Burnley couldn't pass to save their lives. Overall I'm with you in a sense that I think we should do much better than the current midfield however I'm not fully confident with going into a match with a midfield of Kante-Oscar-Fabregas, no matter who the opponent is. I agree about players starting that should'n't start. If it were up to me, I would pay whatever it takes to get Nainggolan. He is magnificent. A midfield with Kante-Nainggolan-Oscar/Fabregas would be elite imo. The thing I'm most pissed off about is how Ivanovic is still starting for this club. I swear if someone at the end of last season told me he would be a starter come the next season I would shoot myself. The LB and CB issues have been evident for ages, especially CB which has been a glaring hole in this club for ages. When was the last time we had a top CB? I still believe we're expecting Conte to perform a miracle with his current squad if we're expecting a title challenge.

"If we had the right players we would have scored 8 goals." The score could have entered double digits if it wasn't for lack of incisiveness and Heaton playing out of his mind. It was clear we stepped off the gas pedal once we scored the second goal. It wasn't the case of not choosing the right individuals. Your statement regarding us having the same approach and way more importantly team couldn't be any more ridiculous. We are ever so different from Mourinho's team. This team can actually hold on to the ball for more than a minute(as seen against West Ham and today). Our press resistance is getting stronger day by day. Under Mourinho a throw in could be enough for us to lose possession. Our pressing itself can finally be called 'pressing' since we're actually pressing as a unit and we're doing it well. The biggest improvement is the ability to create goal scoring chances in different ways. Last season under Mourinho I can barely recall any goals that weren't from set pieces, individual pieces of brilliance or major opponent mistakes. Conte actually trains his team to play attacking football. His understanding of movements in the opposition half is top notch. He made aveage players like Eder and Pelle look good because of this. Sure, Hazard is a major key to our attack but it's not like we can't score without him. There are significant improvements in regards to our attacking play. People are not 'seeing just results.' There are clear improvements which you seem to fail to see in the team in many different aspects which I have outlined above. At the same time, I think our supporters are not being blinded by results. I'm fairly certain everyone knows that there are certain gaping holes specifically at the back but to disregard the major improvements we have made due to the board not addressing the CB and LB issue is simply wrong.

Better than Fabregas for what we're expecting from our midfielders. Yes is nowhere near Fabregas creativity wise but he adds way more than him in terms of pace, energy, pressing, and defending. He isn't exactly bad at attacking either. We shouldn't be relying on individuals to create goal scoring chances, the majority of our attack should come from practice in attacking movements in training. That being said, Oscar still shouldn't get into an 'ideal' Chelsea starting XI. If we're gonna buy someone for that role it's important that they have the same profile as Oscar but the new player possesses superior qualities.

Had a good game today. Him and Kante double teaming opposition players has been very effective this season. He will start until we get new center-backs or a b2b mid. It would be madness to drop him even against Burnley because that backline needs protection.

A quick at your post history and figured an obvious troll is obvious. So many of you guys around here lately.

Have you even watched Joao Mario outside of the Euros(which he was great at also)? The Portuguese lads here you know, those who actually watch him on consistent basis, regard Joao Mario as one of the most talented mids in Europe. And before you say it's biased this viewpoint comes from the fans of sporting's rivals as well.

Get him and maksimovic and possibly a b2b mid and call it a transfer window.

Really tall but surprisingly very decent technically. I watch Serie A and imo this guy is very solid. Very good at offering an attacking threat and pretty solid defensively. Definitely better than Rodriguez imo.

It's down to you Nikola lad. Don't you dare reject us.

A 4-2-3-1 is technically still a midfield three and completely different to how the midfield in the 4-2-4 operates. Midfielders in the latter formation need a good balance of pace, agility, defensive ability, technique and passing ability. Kante is the only one who fits the bill. We looked really bad starting with this formation in pre season for a reason. With a Nainggolan/Joao Mario however things would be different.

So you are assuming it's Conte's decision to stick with the same back-line? We've been linked to many Serie A defenders: Bonucci, Rudiger, Maksimovic, Koulibaly, Romagnoli. It's clear that Conte fancies a CB and other than to give the board a list of players he can't do anything else. To blame Conte for our lack of CB signings is very illogical on your behalf. Oscar has been given a new role by Conte and has done a better job than expected so far. He had a terrific game versus West Ham and was decent against Watford. And as for other managers 'having balls', let's not forget Conte has benched Fabregas in our first two league games because he doesn't suit his high pressing game. Jose and Guss never 'had the balls' to do it even in big games. Also, subbing off Hazard against West Ham when we needed a goal was something we would have not seen if Mourinho or Hiddink were manager. This is absolute nonsense and clearly shows you either haven't been paying attention to the way we played last season or you've simply forgotten about them. Last season under Mourinho we struggled to score a single goal from open play. I'm always surprised when people don't remember this. Most of our goals came from set pieces and individual mistakes from opposition players. All of this came down to the fact that Mourinho didn't practice attacking combinations and cohesion in training. Our attacking players were sent out to 'do their own thing' and often looked lost when it came to the final third. Under Mourinho, the team couldn't hold on to the ball for long periods of time, our press resistance was zero and we lacked any sort of pressing ability as a unit. Under Conte however, we look far more organized going forward. The players have a clear idea of what do in regards of movement and creating goal scoring opportunities. Even when we need a goal and play two up top, we still maintain that sense of cohesion as Conte has actually trained the team to use this formation. Our press resistance looks far more impressive out from the back even though we still have CBs who do not possess very good ball-playing abilities. Gone are the days where I would shit my pants if we had a throw-in because I know we would immediately lose the ball. As for us applying pressure ourselves, this seems to be the most improved aspect of our game. We limited West Ham to almost zero opportunities the entire game because of how good we were at holding them back in their own half. Finally we are pressing as a unit and not as individual players. I think you're letting your frustration cloud your judgement of what is going on the pitch. I am with you in regards to us needing a proper CB who also possesses ball playing abilities. I think this kind of player would immediately take us to a new level. For now we shouldn't be blind to the liabilities we have at the back but at the same time we shouldn't ignore the positives from the start of the Conte era. I think we can all agree Conte knows what the problems are and we can't blame him for the board's incompetence.

I've been thinking about which striker around Europe is most similar to him and I can't get the name of Robert Lewandowski off my mind. Both are fairly big and use their strength very well, both have pace, good technique and link-up play, use both feet, and are clinical finishers. One particular similarity I found is how they seem to score the same type of goals, even with the same technique. Granted, Michy has got a long way to go reach Lewandowski level, but I've seen enough about his good attitude and talent to know he can definitely get there. One of the smartest signings we've made in a while for what seems to be as of now a bargain.