The Conte Thread

[Belgiannutt 3,201]

26 minutes ago, Jason said:

That too. But with this 3-5-2, 3-4-3, you do feel like they have run their course, at least for now. If our WBs get shut down, which opponents seem to be doing easily these days, then we're pretty much dead offensively because everything will go through midfield and we become utterly predictable.

Yeah the back 5 system has been found out. Problem is that i don't think we have got the players to switch to a back four. I don't trust alonso in the left back position. He absolutely needs the cover of an extra CB. 

I also have my doubts about Luiz in a back four. 

I don't think the system is the problem. It's the lack of quality. 

The back 5 system did great last season as teams were struggling to deal with it. The system carried the average players in our team but not anymore. Teams have figured it out. 

Only answer is to add more quality. 

[Jase 43,479]

 

[positivefootball 195]

34 minutes ago, MrExcalibur100 said:

Our board is doing everything to break this man. They seem to derive some joy from it. God forbid the manager ever be the most important club at Chelsea FC. 

Not going to happen in 1 summer. We need another 200M investment in the squad at least. Starting this January....

[The Skipper 20,593]

32 minutes ago, positivefootball said:

Not going to happen in 1 summer. We need another 200M investment in the squad at least. Starting this January....

We haven’t even spent this summer technically. We’re -30m in player sales. 

I think it might be time for a back 4. 433:

Courtois

Azpi Christensen Luiz Alonso

Bakayoko Kante

Fabregas

Pedro Morata Hazard

[Jase 43,479]

1 hour ago, Belgiannutt said:

Yeah the back 5 system has been found out. Problem is that i don't think we have got the players to switch to a back four. I don't trust alonso in the left back position. He absolutely needs the cover of an extra CB. 

I also have my doubts about Luiz in a back four. 

I don't think the system is the problem. It's the lack of quality. 

The back 5 system did great last season as teams were struggling to deal with it. The system carried the average players in our team but not anymore. Teams have figured it out. 

Only answer is to add more quality. 

Valid points but we can't do anything about quality until January at least. Right now, we need changes from somewhere to hopefully change things around before they get even worse.

[Styles 9,790]

Typical cowardly display against a proper football team. 38% possession at home, chasing shadows for most of the game. Surely for everybody involved this must get boring at some point? It's the same story all the time:  we play a decent team and we revert to our usual brand of shit on a stick and rely on disjointed counter attacks and low block.

Year in year out nothing changes. Give us a fucking break for once. Damn.

[OneMoSalah 8,607]

Board can be blamed and a lot of it is deserved due to poor summer recruitment/lack of recruitment but tonight Antonio must take the brunt of the blame for how he set the team up and how he didn’t react to what Roma were doing.

The 352 was a disaster because we sat in with a back 5 and their full backs were spare every time they had the ball until we went to a 343 and pushed up. It was blatantly obvious it wasn’t working the whole first half, he should of changed it at half time, it was painful watching us at times. Roma just pinned our wing backs back and we couldn’t get out. They looked like a real top team, they are good yes but we made it easy for them.

[The Skipper 20,593]

All you have to do to stop a Conte back 5 system is genuinely pin the wingbacks back to their own defensive third. 

[Styles 9,790]

2 minutes ago, The Skipper said:

All you have to do to stop a Conte back 5 system is genuinely pin the wingbacks back to their own defensive third. 

He's supposed to be some master tactician but keeps losing the tactical battles. It doesn't add up.

[!Hazard! 3,394]

Should have spent that 100 million in wingbacks like City and a lot of things would be different right now but it didn't happen and here we are in midst of a crisis thinking about switching the system. Let's remember that the wingback position is arguably the most important in this system, and our players for those positions are the weakest link in this squad. Alonso and Moses/Zappacosta would have hard time making it to the starting lineup at Everton nevermind other actual top clubs.

Then there is midfield which was in ruins during the games against City, Palace and Roma. It's still early days but Bakayoko doesn't seem to be the player we were looking for. The board should have bought a more mobile and more technical version of Matic but instead they bought a bigger version of Ramires. Let's hope Drinkwater turns out to be a good signing as there is still hope if he and Kante can once again form a solid midfield partnership.

[Jase 43,479]

13 minutes ago, The Skipper said:

All you have to do to stop a Conte back 5 system is genuinely pin the wingbacks back to their own defensive third. 

To be fair, that's the main weakness of any back 5 system. Stop the wingbacks and you basically take away at least half of the attacking threat. And the lack of quality isn't helping either.

[RoyalBlues 4,050]

Time for formation change, 433 or 442. Surely couldn’t be any worse.

[TheWiz 109]

1 hour ago, !Hazard! said:

 

The board should have bought a more mobile and more technical version of Matic ...

Aha ... And who would that be?

[Strike 6,951]

What I like is that whenever the team performs badly, regardless of the result, he comes out saying we need to do better. I genuinely think that the football played by the team is leaving Conte sleepless and he's working to find a strategy that works for this squad. That's the right attitude you want to see in a manager and I will back Conte for the next two seasons.

It would be a mistake to sack him 

[communicate 2,703]

5 hours ago, !Hazard! said:

Should have spent that 100 million in wingbacks like City and a lot of things would be different right now but it didn't happen and here we are in midst of a crisis thinking about switching the system. Let's remember that the wingback position is arguably the most important in this system, and our players for those positions are the weakest link in this squad. Alonso and Moses/Zappacosta would have hard time making it to the starting lineup at Everton nevermind other actual top clubs.

Then there is midfield which was in ruins during the games against City, Palace and Roma. It's still early days but Bakayoko doesn't seem to be the player we were looking for. The board should have bought a more mobile and more technical version of Matic but instead they bought a bigger version of Ramires. Let's hope Drinkwater turns out to be a good signing as there is still hope if he and Kante can once again form a solid midfield partnership.

Our nett spend this season is less than 100 m. We basically only spend on drinkwater + rudiger. 

Baka <> Matic

Zapp <> Ake

Morata <> Costa

 

[OhForAGreavsie 5,773]

17 minutes ago, communicate said:

Our nett spend this season is less than 100 m. We basically only spend on drinkwater + rudiger. 

Baka <> Matic

Zapp <> Ake

Morata <> Costa

 

According to Transfermarkt, our net spend is less than £3m. That result includes their guesstimation of loan fees, but the numbers are within a margin of error so the net figure could even be in surplus. In other words, we may have made a profit this summer.

Those are the facts. What the reason might be is up for debate and speculation. 

[communicate 2,703]

4 minutes ago, OhForAGreavsie said:

According to Transfermarkt, our net spend is less than £3m. That result includes their guesstimation of loan fees, but the numbers are within a margin of error so the net figure could even be in surplus. In other words, we may have made a profit this summer.

Those are the facts. What the reason might be is up for debate and speculation. 

Oh I forget that we sell begovic, Cuardrado and traore. Then yes our net spending is almost nothing. 

So what people expect ? Us to compete with City and United where both spend over 100 M in nett spend.

We all know that there are tons of position that need to be improved in this squad. I am pretty sure the board is not dumb but if they are not willing to spend any money than it is going to be a long and gruesome process. 

[Styles 9,790]

People talking about net spend when the issues is shit, cowardly managers who have zero imagination and ability to construct and make dominant teams. It's always the same negative, 1970s football no matter how much we spend.