N'Golo Kante

[Styles 9,790]

38 minutes ago, Gilvorak said:

I'm starting to like the idea of playing 3 at the back more & more. RWB would be Willian's best position(would hide his glaring flaws), Hazard would be given the ultimate freedom as a #10, Conte/Michy play best with a strike partner & it could potentially prolong JT's career as a starter if we sign Koulibaly.

I think we'd have to bin Cesc though. He's just too slow. What does everyone else think?

I'm in favour of binning Fabregas, never mind the formation / tactics. Think Conte will figure things out pretty quickly.

[Supermonkey92 1,428]

23 minutes ago, Adnane said:

Zouma - JT - Koulibaly ( or else ) 

Willian-Kanté-Matic-Azpilicueta(Baba)

Hazard

Costa-Bashuayi

 

Could be brilliant indeed, but we need a good LWB, the 3-5-2 relies heavily on the offensive contribution of the wingers, we all know that Azpilicueta on his bad foot is struggling offensively and we're still waiting to see how Baba will perform on his second year. 

But assuming we drop Cesc, yeah, the potential is there.

Notice how flexible that is. If apzi drops back its a straight forward back for, hazard drifts to his normal position on the left and we have a 442. 

Also easy for a switch to a diamond. Apzi drops back, matic or Kante moves to a LCM. It's all really fluid. 

I remember AVB once saying that formations aren't that important as it changes so much in a match. 

But from my limited knowledge of Conte, a 352 has certain stricture to it i.e some positions aren't fluid but a player has his area on the pitch. At least it's very easy to switch during a match without subs. 

[AK-3001 286]

Funny how people think Conte will bin Fabregas.

 

This is the same Conte that got Pirlo into the Juventus side and played him to his strengths and very much hid his weaknesses (which were a lot for a Juventus player in a 3 man midfield). 

 

It's needless to say that Fabregas in form is one of the best players in squad. He is one of the best passers of the ball in the football world and against clubs that sit back, he's the key to the lock. 

[Persona 29]

It'll be interesting to see how they line up tomorrow against Rapid Wien. Obviously not all the regulars will be there but I don't see Conte playing a formation that he has no intention of using with the full squad.

[avroneelbiswas 33]

 

Kante deal is done.

[bababoom 4,478]

 

[Eidur the Spider 4,515]

Come home from a tiring ass week at work to see Kante is coming!

 

FUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUCK YEAAAH!

[Supermonkey92 1,428]

1 minute ago, AK-3001 said:

Funny how people think Conte will bin Fabregas.

 

This is the same Conte that got Pirlo into the Juventus side and played him to his strengths and very much hid his weaknesses (which were a lot for a Juventus player in a 3 man midfield). 

 

It's needless to say that Fabregas in form is one of the best players in squad. He is one of the best passers of the ball in the football world and against clubs that sit back, he's the key to the lock. 

Do you think fabregas, like Pirlo or say Alonso, can run a game from deep? Choosing where the ball goes, when to get possession and slow it down, when to go straight to the striker or wide players, when to play the vertical pass as opposed to moving it around first it a better position? I don't think his brain works that way. 

I think he always wants to lookforward and if the pass isn't on then he plays it simple. Pirlo takes control and manoeuvres the ball with 2 or 3 passes until the forward pass is on. That's the difference between a deep lying playmaker and a midfielder with a good eye for a pass. 

Just my 2 cents of course, but from pretty much the moment we bought him I think most people on here have commented on how he isn't a deep lying playmaker but a very good passers around the box and in counterattacking situations. 

I don't see how playing him in a midfield 3, even with many options in front of him, changes the way he plays football. 

If it does I will forever hail Conte as the emperor from Italy!!!!

[FabHazard 655]

This is a signing that could guarantee us top 4 spot and make us challenge for the title.We desperately needed to revamp our midfield and add more protection to our defense. We can add much more dynamism to our midfield. Hopefully he will be our player by the weekend.

Attraction of Champions league is way too overrated.For all we know Leicester can be eliminated in CL group stages itself.Chelsea are more likely to achieve CL spot next season than Leicester.

I am glad that Conte and Board are working together and getting the deals done early.

[Blue Colored Sky 1,807]

7 minutes ago, Supermonkey92 said:

Do you think fabregas, like Pirlo or say Alonso, can run a game from deep? Choosing where the ball goes, when to get possession and slow it down, when to go straight to the striker or wide players, when to play the vertical pass as opposed to moving it around first it a better position? I don't think his brain works that way. 

I think he always wants to lookforward and if the pass isn't on then he plays it simple. Pirlo takes control and manoeuvres the ball with 2 or 3 passes until the forward pass is on. That's the difference between a deep lying playmaker and a midfielder with a good eye for a pass. 

Just my 2 cents of course, but from pretty much the moment we bought him I think most people on here have commented on how he isn't a deep lying playmaker but a very good passers around the box and in counterattacking situations. 

I don't see how playing him in a midfield 3, even with many options in front of him, changes the way he plays football. 

If it does I will forever hail Conte as the emperor from Italy!!!!

Do you remember Pirlo-forward ? There was a time when Pirlo was playing as a second striker and he was so direct ! Fabregas is intelligent enough to start be more of a controller than a killer. Besides he has to do that if he wants to prolong his career.

I'm sure Cesc can play deeper if he will have protector(s) ahead of him.

[Blue_Fox_ 2,086]

That 3-5-2 that's been posted a page back is actually good. We'd be too thin with defenders though and isn't really Premier League-friendly (it could work against certain sides, way less against others) still think it's not going to be our formation, people seem obsessed with it.

I'll just repeat myself out of inertia, comparing Fabregas to Pirlo is like comparing wine to pepsi.

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

Lmfaoooo 

[Blue Colored Sky 1,807]

I can't say enough how brilliant this signing is. Just you know, perfect.

We have the best defensive midfielder in 2014/15 season in Matic and the best defensive midfielder in 2015/16 season in Kante. Surely we won't need to score 3 goals a match to win a game ?

[jernej93 569]

4 minutes ago, Blue_Fox_ said:

That 3-5-2 that's been posted a page back is actually good. We'd be too thin with defenders though and isn't really Premier League-friendly (it could work against certain sides, way less against others) still think it's not going to be our formation, people seem obsessed with it.

I'll just repeat myself out of inertia, comparing Fabregas to Pirlo is like comparing wine to pepsi.

 

Fabregas is in much much better position than Pirlo was before 2011/2012 season  He is very intelligent player, his season is coming   I love it when our players or signings are underrated so much 

[Blue_Fox_ 2,086]

19 minutes ago, Blue Colored Sky said:

Do you remember Pirlo-forward ? There was a time when Pirlo was playing as a second striker and he was so direct ! Fabregas is intelligent enough to start be more of a controller than a killer. Besides he has to do that if he wants to prolong his career.

I'm sure Cesc can play deeper if he will have protector(s) ahead of him.

In the earliest stage of his career, that doesn't mean he was as shit as Fabregas, who is 28, in defending. I can't help but thinking of Fabregas playing deeper, sitting in front of a defence, as a complete liability. He doesn't even have the basics to do some sort of defending right, he doesn't even have awareness for that position.
He is a smart player, I agree, but that's just not his role, he needs to stay up the pitch in a midfield 3.