The Conte Thread

[Blue-in-me-Veins 4,067]

We invited pressure in the first half, misplaced many passes, and struggled to clear out our lines on multiple occasions, and we were punished. 

It's only Conte's first loss and his forst major tactic screw up, it happens. 

It's clear Conte wants us to play through the wings, but when our wing play is bad (like it was today), we're done for. The lack of penetration through the middle has to be addressed sooner or later.

[blues.bridge 340]

I do not know what you wait from Conte , I'm Italian and I saw Conte for years , and he in offensive tactical level is little better than mourinho ! only single skills or episodes , but no team plots and ideas !
Then , needless to blame for an oscar o matic or more , the Truth is What The Whole Team And Low Medium Level !
blame the inability of the leadership to renew in time the team , if not as a soloist with alleged great champions come " cuadrado , marin etc. Up to pedro , Willian etc ! Still keeping players olders and not more be able to give enough like Ivanovic and Cahill ! and The Proof of this inability to renewal and the Return of Luiz !
always keeping the " safe use " although getting older and poorer , instead of renewing with young people who are always routed around at random !

I hate to say it but as long as the leadership does not change and does a team development program , young people etc in a long time will never win ! maybe the occasional victory!

[ElCholo 11]

I got the perception that many people are ignoring the CL-record of Conte. He has been total bullshit in the Champions League.

He is good at fucking up at big occasions.

Please don't make excuses concerning our players. Mourinho brought us near the title and the semi final in the CL with virtually no striker.

[Azpinator 2,325]

If he doesn't take full responsibility for the defeat I'm gonna start losing interest in supporting him.

[Spike 12,049]

2 minutes ago, ElCholo said:

I got the perception that many people are ignoring the CL-record of Conte. He has been total bullshit in the Champions League.

He is good at fucking up at big occasions.

Please don't make excuses concerning our players. Mourinho brought us near the title and the seli final in the CL with virtually no striker.

Ban evasion is pretty pathetic.

[Tomo 21,681]

3 minutes ago, ElCholo said:

I got the perception that many people are ignoring the CL-record of Conte. He has been total bullshit in the Champions League.

He is good at fucking up at big occasions.

Please don't make excuses concerning our players. Mourinho brought us near the title and the semi final in the CL with virtually no striker.

Hes played two CL season's, one of which he got knocked out by that Bayern team no one was beating.

Second season fair enough he did screw that up.

[Jase 43,479]

15 minutes ago, Blue-in-me-Veins said:

It's only Conte's first loss and his forst major tactic screw up, it happens. 

Yes, it happens but this was his first big test and he failed. I don't want to be negative but from what we saw tonight, it doesn't bode well for the upcoming games - Arsenal, Leicester (twice) and Man United.

[Jase 43,479]

10 minutes ago, Azpinator said:

If he doesn't take full responsibility for the defeat I'm gonna start losing interest in supporting him.

This worries me though...

 

[Mceachran 109]

I thought it was clear we only look cohesive with the ball when fabs is on it.  Plus I can't say enough that what is the point of playing 6 defenders (i.e. both matic and kante) if defensively it doesn't even seem to matter!?  Pushing oscar up higher and letting matic stay back was nice to see.  

 

It just seems that our offensive players in this modern game are not getting the same support from proper outside backs as other teams' flanks are.  I thought an early switch of bringing alonso (not even a fan yet, just the only real LB we have) on and letting him and  azpi give our wingers some movement outside.  it's so easy to defend us because of this.  And again, it's not like we're getting clean sheets to justify it!  

 

I'm not losing faith, but I'm definitely a bit suspicious as to how this season is starting.

[Azpinator 2,325]

1 minute ago, Jason said:

This worries me though...

 

Oh well, fair enough. At least he didn't pull a Mourinho and say players had failed him.

You're absolutely right on the 2nd part. I hope he watches the game back a couple of times.

 

[Essien19 1,415]

He'll bounce back. If he plays a new guy and that guy happens to make a mistake, hell breaks loose anyways. Conte knows stuff, the team will go back to the winning days.

What should he have done differently apart from not subbing on Batshuayi?

[Mceachran 109]

From www.chelseafc.com

Conte:  ‘I’m guilty because I’m the coach and it means I have to work more. We must feel the danger in every single moment of the game if we want to win and think like a great team. We must pay attention and be focused."

[Amblève. 4,995]

1 minute ago, Essien19 said:

He'll bounce back. If he plays a new guy and that guy happens to make a mistake, hell breaks loose anyways. Conte knows stuff, the team will go back to the winning days.

What should he have done differently apart from not subbing on Batshuayi?

Starting your best passer would be a start; Oscar and Matic are too weak at resisting counter-pressing and you KNEW a Klopp-coached away team press the hell out of you. Granted Fabregas isn't a monster in that area himself to put it mildly but that midfield-3 consisting of Kante, Matic, and Oscar didn't work in the 1st half at all and you were already losing 0:2 anyway. Bringing on Fabregas for one of Oscar/Matic should have been a priority at half-time.

[Captain Ahmed 528]

*-Conference call: Hard work ahead-*

Quote

Antonio Conte, reflecting on our 2-1 defeat to Liverpool, felt we paid the price for a collective lack of concentration at vital times in the game.Liverpool scored twice in the opening 45 minutes to gain the ascendancy in the contest, before Diego Costa pulled one back midway through the second half.Conte, though, felt we only had ourselves to blame for the manner in which we allowed Liverpool to score their goals.

‘In the first half, I must be honest, I think we gave away two goals,’ said the Italian. ‘The first goal came after a free-kick which they took very quickly and the second after a throw-in. From long distance it was a great goal but when you give away two goals in that way it’s very difficult.‘These are tough games and I think you must pay attention in every moment, every single minute of the game, because that makes the difference. In this case we paid because after the first half we were losing 2-0 and then it’s very difficult.‘In the second half we scored the goal and then missed a chance to draw level through Costa. We had some chances to draw but it was too late.’

Conte explained why he waited until late in the game to make three substitutions

‘In the second half we started with the same players and you saw another game, with great intensity. We scored the goal and created chances so for this reason I waited to make the substitutions. In the last 10 minutes I changed three players to try to give freshness and change the result.‘In that moment I had to decide whether or not to put two wingers in. I wanted to change a midfielder to put Fabregas on but it could have been Batshuayi and not either Moses or Pedro. I needed to put Hazard closer to Diego.’

The Chelsea head coach, who said David Luiz played very well, believes there is a lot of hard work ahead

‘Every single game is very tough and we mustn’t forget last season. That’s important because it was a bad season and I don’t want to repeat that. When you finish in 10th place it’s something strange, it’s not natural or simple. It means we have to work very hard to improve.

 ‘I’m guilty because I’m the coach and it means I have to work more. We must feel the danger in every single moment of the game if we want to win and think like a great team. We must pay attention and be focused.’

chelseafc.com

 

[petre.ispirescu 4,928]

Hopefully a wake up call this match. Must understand some things, such as:

- We're fed up with negative tactics, especially against big teams. 

- Fabregas is Chelsea's best midfielder by a mile.

- No Chelsea fan is going to cry for Ivanovic, Oscar, Matic, Cahill if these frauds are benched.

- Ivanovic's contract is due to end next summer. Conte must be against the board offering him a new deal. These 9 months must be the last for Ivanovic in a Chelsea shirt.

- 7 minutes is not enough for three new players to turn around a football match, no matter how tired the opposition is. 

 

 

[DDA 9,570]

Conte did have a mare tonight but calling for him to be sacked!? Just lol.

 

I have to say thought, if aivanovic isnt dropped after this bullshit then I can't defend his decision at all!

[Supermonkey92 1,428]

Ive always felt top 4 was a fight for us this season, i was getting annoyed when othets talked like we are title contenders. 

First things first, Conte is a great manager. His league form with Juve showed that and the way he took a below average Italy team to neutralise Spain and Belgium made me think he is as good as Mourinho, Guardiola and Simeone if he was different. I think he's as capable as the first 2 with a good team . . . 

But we dont have a good team. We had the whole of last season to show us that. Kantr is the only first team change (until Luiz) remember. That's not enough to bridge the gap against the bigger teams. Matic and Oscar are not good enough. Period. Fabregas is unable to play the way Conte wants to play - he just doesnt have the legs! 

Our defence is on stand by until Zouma returns, and even then we are hoping he comes back as good as he was. Then theres more hope than expectation that Alonso is good enough. Only then can we finally escape Ivanovic and Cahill. 

But our wingers and midfielders are toothless. Willian runs with the ball until the final third and then nothing happens. We know this. Hazard is world class but does not have a good enough shot or final pass. We know this. Matic is a headless chicken defensively (and a lazy one in the first half today). Heck, the only reason Oscar is starting for us in midfield is because he can RUN. Thats his ace card. As a professional footballer he can run (that may pass as a second striker/ no 10, but as a CM he has no intelligence in pressing and leaves so much room. 

So that is what Conte is dealing with. A midfield of Kante and two crap players that have to make up for each others faults. A winger that is only good when the game is quick enough so he doesnt think and the other which is world class except the all important final touch. 

I dont doubt Conte, but he wont work this miracle. If Alonso comes in to kick Ivanovic out, we would still need to fix the gaping holes that are Oscar and Matic. Until then, judge Conte as he should be judged, with a team that finished 10th last season plus a quality midfielder. 

 

 

[Supermonkey92 1,428]

20 minutes ago, Essien19 said:

He'll bounce back. If he plays a new guy and that guy happens to make a mistake, hell breaks loose anyways. Conte knows stuff, the team will go back to the winning days.

What should he have done differently apart from not subbing on Batshuayi?

Exactly. Apart from Batshuayi there was not much i can fault him on. The players just performed poorly. After a team talk they improved. 

Remember, Pedro slips on rubber floors and Moses was born with tunnel vision. Fabregas and Batshuayi were the only choices, and against liverpool especially a 2 man midfield with cesc is risky.