The Conte Thread

[El P. 1,354]

Things are going pretty well, considering our squad and that bad start to the season.

Finally we saw Rudiger - Christensen - Azpi starting, and he played Drinkwater from the start instead of Bakayoko. Hope Rudiger will slowly fade out Cahill to the bench and hope Drinkwater will play from start until Bakayoko improves. Our last season first XI squad in fact is totally reshaped. No more Luiz, Matić, Pedro nor Diego Costa. Cahill and Rudiger sharing the spot. Fabregas starter. And it looks good.

I am very pleased with his work. He may not be reacting very fast, but he always reacts, this game or another.

We won't ever catch City, nor we need to. We've won title last year, let's keep on building! If we continue with improving, we'll have less work in the market.

[Strike 7,853]

Agree with EI P. The club has replaced 3 relatively old players in the starting lineup with younger players who will likely be around to form the core of the team for years to come. 

Morata for Costa. 9 goals, holding up well in his first season, without backup as well. Would love a target striker to rotate him with. 

Bakayoko for Matic. Shined in their 1v1 duel in the United game but still finding his feet. I think Matic was a more reliable option here and could have been kept around for another season when Bakayoko settled, especially without having signed a replacement and having to splash the cash on Drinkwater. 

Christensen replaced Luiz. Rudiger is also rotating with Gary Cahill. Not exactly rock solid but I think the defense of Azpilicueta Christen Rudiger - with the right wing backs and Kante in front of them will be impregnable. 

Few more players need replacing/competition. Alonso, Moses, Cesc, Pedro and Willian. But this season, in spite of dropping to third in the league, is a step in the right direction. Conte is doing an admirable job of the transition. 

[the wes 7,212]

Antonio Conte 'will be just fine' at Chelsea - Michael Emenalo

http://www.espn.co.uk/football/chelsea/story/3297364/antonio-conte-will-be-just-fine-at-chelsea-michael-emenalo?src=com

[Leif 6,006]

always loved that guy

[Blusan Alamb 295]

 

[Jase 43,479]

13 minutes ago, Blusan Alamb said:

 

Well said, Michael! Just look at the support Conte got in the transfer market...oh wait!

[kellzfresh 7,229]

Conte has finally settled down the team. He takes time but eventually gets it right, hes found a way to get our three most creative players on the pitch (fabregas, hazard, morata) without hampering the shape of the team. 

But we have some areas of improvements we should treat, Wingbacks and Box to box midfielder. The 3-5-2 means the wingbacks are the only people that provide width for the team, it means if they arent quality, we have no quality on our wings. We've all been disappointed in Zappacosta, but see how an above average player in moses improves the right wing by his presence and dribbling style. Just imagine if we had genuine quality on both flanks, especially the Left wingback position. Conte saw this and wanted sandro, who can dribble, cross, defend better and is  faster than what we have but our board couldn't pull through.  

Hopefully we can improve the quality just like Mancity have so that we don't get left behind quality-wise.

[Beigl 1,387]

I just came here to appreciate that now we have a manager, who isn´t afraid to play good football against a top team. In both games against Atletico we were the far better side and yesterday only our abysmal finishing prevented us from winning by atleast three goals. I know we were weaker when we played Atletico in 2014, but it´s good to see that the days when we had 7 defenders in the starting XI to paper over the managers deficits are gone. 

[Yeboii 1,844]

1 hour ago, Beigl said:

I just came here to appreciate that now we have a manager, who isn´t afraid to play good football against a top team. In both games against Atletico we were the far better side and yesterday only our abysmal finishing prevented us from winning by atleast three goals. I know we were weaker when we played Atletico in 2014, but it´s good to see that the days when we had 7 defenders in the starting XI to paper over the managers deficits are gone. 

Not only against Atletico either. This season we have been making good chances. All our games this season that we have lost/drawn could have been victories if the players really took their chances, and yes I am taking the Roma 3-0 into account here.

[Blusan Alamb 295]

29 minutes ago, Yeboii said:

Not only against Atletico either. This season we have been making good chances. All our games this season that we have lost/drawn could have been victories if the players really took their chances, and yes I am taking the Roma 3-0 into account here.

except City...... 

[Henrique 9,133]

I hope Conte leaves at the end of this season. The team isn't going nowhere as long as he is the manager. He was the right man to bring stability back, but he is not he man to bring the team to the next level. 

[El P. 1,354]

15 minutes ago, Henrique said:

I hope Conte leaves at the end of this season. The team isn't going nowhere as long as he is the manager. He was the right man to bring stability back, but he is not he man to bring the team to the next level. 

I totally agree. Abramovič is the man who should bring this team to the next level, not Conte.

[Henrique 9,133]

24 minutes ago, El P. said:

I totally agree. Abramovič is the man who should bring this team to the next level, not Conte.

Abramovich is the team is the who brought Chelsea to another level. You are too late mate.

[DDA 10,284]

35 minutes ago, Henrique said:

Abramovich is the team is the who brought Chelsea to another level. You are too late mate.

🤔

[xPetrCechx 13,598]

2 hours ago, Henrique said:

I hope Conte leaves at the end of this season. The team isn't going nowhere as long as he is the manager. He was the right man to bring stability back, but he is not he man to bring the team to the next level. 

Who will do it?

[Jase 43,479]

8 hours ago, Beigl said:

I just came here to appreciate that now we have a manager, who isn´t afraid to play good football against a top team. In both games against Atletico we were the far better side and yesterday only our abysmal finishing prevented us from winning by atleast three goals. I know we were weaker when we played Atletico in 2014, but it´s good to see that the days when we had 7 defenders in the starting XI to paper over the managers deficits are gone. 

Were we really weaker in 2014 than now? If you compare the players we've got now and back then, it feels they're pretty much the same. At the end of the day, it all came down to the manager's approach. One chose to be negative, the other chose to be positive. That being said, it'll be interesting to see how Conte approaches 2-legged ties. It's one thing to be attack-minded in the group stage, it's another to do in the knockout stage, where the stakes are a lot higher.

[OhForAGreavsie 6,128]

2 hours ago, Henrique said:

I hope Conte leaves at the end of this season. The team isn't going nowhere as long as he is the manager. He was the right man to bring stability back, but he is not he man to bring the team to the next level. 

What?

Also, if the team ISN’T going nowhere, then where is it going?

[OhForAGreavsie 6,128]

9 hours ago, Beigl said:

I just came here to appreciate that now we have a manager, who isn´t afraid to play good football against a top team. In both games against Atletico we were the far better side and yesterday only our abysmal finishing prevented us from winning by atleast three goals. I know we were weaker when we played Atletico in 2014, but it´s good to see that the days when we had 7 defenders in the starting XI to paper over the managers deficits are gone. 

I read this post in a comment where @Jason had quoted it and, knowing the attitude of many posters on this topic, expected it to attract plenty of likes. Unsurpringly, it has done but this does not stop it being wrong, and it is wrong. Antonio cuts his clothes to suit his cloth. Give him the 13/14 squad and he’d produce a different game plan. As his predecessors did with the squads at their disposal.

By the way, there was a post yesterday expressing exasperation with Antonio’s defensive tactics so, as usual, not everyone sees things the same way. The boss is doing what he can with what he’s got. Meanwhile, I love what he’s saying about building for the future. Let’s hope Roman backs him with patience and transfer activity. 

[Beigl 1,387]

I read this post in a comment where [mention=4712]Jason[/mention] had quoted it and, knowing the attitude of many posters on this topic, expected it to attract plenty of likes. Unsurpringly, it has done but this does not stop it being wrong, and it is wrong. Antonio cuts his clothes to suit his cloth. Give him the 13/14 squad and he’d produce a different game plan. As his predecessors did. 
By the way, there was a post yesterday expressing exasperation with Antonio’s defensive tactics so, as usual, not everyone sees things the same way. The boss is doing what he can with what he’s got. Meanwhile, I love what he’s saying about building for the future. Let’s hope Roman backs him with patience and transfer activity. 

I feel that Mourinho's approach was too defensive minded in the away game, our squad was top 10 material in europe. For me there is a big difference between playing good defensively like Atletico or just park the bus and give the ball to Hazard and hope for the best. It's not like we played against a very attacking minded opponent. With an away goal we probably would have gone trough to the final.

[Jase 43,479]

47 minutes ago, OhForAGreavsie said:

I read this post in a comment where @Jason quoted it and expected it to be popular. Unsurpringly, knowing the attitudes of many posters on this topic, it is indeed so. That does not stop it being wrong however, and it is wrong. Antonio cuts his clothes to suit his cloth. Give him the 13/14 squad and he’d produce a different game plan. As his predecessors did. 

By the way, there was a post yesterday expressing exasperation with Antonio’s defensive tactics. The boss is doing what he can with what he’s got. Meanwhile, I love what he’s saying about building for the future. Let’s hope Roman backs him with patience and transfer activity. 

Wow, really? Not suggesting for one moment Conte will park the bus and hope for the best like we did under Mourinho. Pretty sure we won't. But is it wrong to suggest Conte may approach the knockout stage games more cautiously than he has in the group stage given it will be two-legged affairs and there's the away goals rule? For the record, I for one am liking how Conte is managing the squad right now, especially given the players he has at his disposal. Certainly not going overboard like some has and demanding we should be playing attacking football in every game just for the sake of it. Our squad has its limits at the moment and I applaud Conte for maximizing that as much as possible. If you read the post-match reactions in this forum, especially after big games, maybe you might notice all that.