The Sarri Thread

[Unionjack 7,531]

2 minutes ago, Vesper said:

BTW. I have made my mind up after much discussion with my wife. We both now favour Jorginho for captain. New boy or not. Its not uncommon for a noob to handed the armband.

Hell, Marco van Ginkel was named PSV captain as a LOANEE.

Glad to see you are on my bus

[11Drogba 2,000]

3 minutes ago, Vesper said:

BTW. I have made my mind up after much discussion with my wife. We both now favour Jorginho for captain.

She should open an account here as well.

[Vesper 30,178]

8 minutes ago, 11Drogba said:

She should open an account here as well.

I will try, she is not a big comp fangirl, she is a luddite in many aspects (I mean a proper one,from a social anthropological perspective).

[Vesper 30,178]

Chelsea: Sarrismo has no place for a fully defensive N’Golo Kante

https://theprideoflondon.com/2018/09/24/chelsea-sarrismo-ngolo-kante-midfield/

N’Golo Kante has embraced his role as Chelsea’s box-to-box midfielder. Unless Maurizio Sarri ventures into new tactical realms, Kante is not going back to his previous station.

Let’s start with what we know. First, Maurizio Sarri favours the 4-3-3 to the exclusion of almost any other formation. He used it for most of his time at Empoli and all of his time at Napoli. He introduced it on day one at Chelsea, and even as the Blues will occasionally strike a 4-1-4-1 or 4-2-3-1, those are fluid formations in and out of the 4-3-3.

Second, without Jorginho as deep-lying playmaker, there is no Sarrismo at Chelsea. If Sarri had not been able to bring Jorginho with him, well, he may not have taken the job. But if he had come to Stamford Bridge alone, his estimate for Chelsea playing at Liverpool’s level would be more than the single year he quoted after the draw at West Ham. Jorginho’s passing provides the temporal and spatial framework for Sarrismo, accompanied by his explicit on-pitch instructions for his teammates to fill in that framework as best they can. Jorginho could not have this effect if he was in any other role, nor could any other player have his effect in the deep-lying playmaker role. Not now, not yet, not for a while.

 

Against this backdrop, N’Golo Kante. Sarri’s system does not employ a traditional central defensive midfielder, and the deepest midfield spot is already taken. This leaves only option: repurpose Kante into another position.

The club or coach who would dismiss N’Golo Kante  – not sell him because of an incomparable offer, but dismiss him for squad-level tactical reasons – does not exist except in fiction. I’ve seen some stupid things in my day, both in football and out, and yet I cannot believe there is such a club or coach.

Of the two remaining midfield roles in Sarri’s schema, the box-to-box midfielder suits Kante best. The name itself makes one reason obvious: the player has to cover a wide range of the pitch. Kante already does that. Now he needs to initiate and cover transitions, and be versatile on both sides of the play.

Kante has the physical capabilities and the defensive skills, requiring development only in the offensive elements and the specifics of implementing the role. The third midfielder is too far forward and insufficiently defensive for Kante’s talents.

N’Golo Kante is not yet, and may never be, the perfect box-to-box midfielder. But he is already stronger than any other option at Chelsea and most other options available in the transfer market. Similarly, although he is not dedicating himself to defensive midfield, he still has many responsibilities in that realm. Kante as a box-to-box midfielder only shaves about 10% off his contribution to defensive midfield.

 

N’Golo Kante as a box-to-box midfielder – leaving him at 90% of his best – can do more for Chelsea’s midfield defence than all but a half-dozen central defensive midfielders in the world. Ninety-percent of N’Golo Kante would still be starting at a top four team in a big five league, and he still would have started for France all the way through their World Cup win.

The same does not apply to Jorginho. Taking Jorginho out of the deep-lying playmaker role and assigning him elsewhere in the 4-3-3 or changing the formation would slash what he brings to the team. Such a move would take far more out of his game – and therefore out of Chelsea’s game – than Kante experiences as a box-to-box midfielder.

Jorginho’s relative lack of versatility gives his role the job security that N’Golo Kante does not need. The closest option would be for him to play further forward in Cesc Fabregas territory. But there his passes would need to be select and incisive, rather than rhythmic and geared towards possession. He could almost certaintly learn to do it, but it would come at a much greater loss of his contribution to the team, and therefore of the team’s already-limited ability to execute Sarrismo. The move would reset the team’s learning curve until someone came up to Jorginho’s level as deep-lying playmaker and Jorginho came up to the necessary level in the forward creative role.

 

If Maurizio Sarri is unsatisfied with N’Golo Kante as the box-to-box midfielder, he must overhaul one of the two tenets we opened this article with. The most likely option would be to veer away from the 4-3-3 into a system that allows N’Golo Kante and Jorginho each to play their archtypal position.

 

SNIP (more at the link)

[Vesper 30,178]

CIES Football Observatory

n°234 - 24/09/2018

Performance

Minutes for a shot: European rankings

http://www.football-observatory.com/IMG/sites/b5wp/2018/234/en/

 

Issue number 234 of the CIES Football Observatory Weekly Post ranks clubs across Europe according to the number of minutes per shot attempted. The following teams head the table in the five major European leagues: Manchester City, Juventus, Olympique Lyonnais, Barcelona and Bayern Munich. Slavia Praha tops the rankings outside of the big-5.

So far this season, Manchester City players only needed 4'02'' to take a shot. At the opposite end of the table, Huddersfield Town is the Premier League team needing the most minutes to shot: 12'08''. The highest figure overall in the 35 competitions surveyed was recorded for Hamilton Academical (Scotland): 18'12''.

The biggest gap within the same league was observed in Greece: from 5'00'' for Olympiacos up to 18'07'' for Panetolikos. Data used comes from OptaPro for the big-5 leagues and the English Championship and InStat for the remaining competitions. More information is published from our Twitter account (@CIES_Football) or available on demand at [email protected].

 

 

[Vesper 30,178]

Probably the most idiotic premiss for an article I have seen in a year plus.

CHELSEA KEEPING TABS ON BENFICA’S £54M VALUED GOALKEEPER

https://readchelsea.com/2018/09/24/chelsea-keeping-tabs-on-benficas-54m-valued-goalkeeper/

[Special Juan 28,141]

37 minutes ago, Vesper said:

Probably the most idiotic premiss for an article I have seen in a year plus.

CHELSEA KEEPING TABS ON BENFICA’S £54M VALUED GOALKEEPER

https://readchelsea.com/2018/09/24/chelsea-keeping-tabs-on-benficas-54m-valued-goalkeeper/

Keep away from shit and pathetic articles, you won't get the hours back in your lifetime.

[the wes 7,212]

On 25/09/2018 at 0:44 PM, Vesper said:

Probably the most idiotic premiss for an article I have seen in a year plus.

CHELSEA KEEPING TABS ON BENFICA’S £54M VALUED GOALKEEPER

https://readchelsea.com/2018/09/24/chelsea-keeping-tabs-on-benficas-54m-valued-goalkeeper/

I doubt we are going to spend that much on 2nd choice keeper our main target should be a striker who can score goals 

[Sideshow Luiz 2,310]

https://statsbomb.com/2018/09/sarris-chelsea-are-just-getting-started/

 

[the wes 7,212]

 

[Unionjack 7,531]

It looks like he is trying to get his head around the 1 good season then one bad season - GOOD LUCK MATE!

Eden Hazard told to push himself by Chelsea boss Maurizio Sarri in shock response to midweek wondergoal

Blues' new manager calls brilliant Belgian a "unique genius" but says he could improve as much as 30% by working harder

“The history of this club is a little bit strange: 2014/15, I think 87 points. 2015/16, 50 points. That's very strange, with the same coach and the same group.

“Then 93 points (in 2016/17), then 70 points last season with the same coach and group.

“So the numbers of this group are a little bit strange. I need to understand why. I am studying. I think that these numbers tell us something. I don't know what, at the moment. But I want to understand and I want to help my players to be at the same level.

“Maybe if you are lucky or unlucky, you can gain 85 points or 80, but the difference in one season is 43 points! I have to understand why. Then, if I am able to do it, I have to help my players be at the same level for a long period.”

 

https://www.mirror.co.uk/sport/football/news/eden-hazard-told-pull-finger-13326784

[Jase 43,479]

 

[Vesper 30,178]

Maurizio Sarri: Chelsea are closer to Liverpool’s level than he thought

https://www.101greatgoals.com/news/maurizio-sarri-chelsea-are-closer-to-liverpools-level-than-he-thought/

After Chelsea drew with Liverpool on Saturday, Maurizio Sarri believes his side are a lot closer to Liverpool and Manchester City’s level than he originally thought.

 

 

‘I think also that we are more close than I thought’

Speaking after the game with Liverpool, Sarri stated:

“I think they are a step forward, but I think also that we are more close than I thought one week ago.

 “[To finish] in the first two for me it’s very difficult, because City and Liverpool are a step forward to us. But I can think we can fight for the [Champions League].

“Here it’s very difficult to arrive in the first four. There are six or seven top teams, top in Europe, not only in England, so it’s not easy to get into the Champions League. We have to try of course, and we have to try to stay very close in the table to the top level teams, and we have to improve more.

“I’m disappointed because they scored in the last minutes, but at the end I’m really very happy with the performance, and also [because] the draw maybe is the right result.

 “The match was wonderful.”

snip

[Unionjack 7,531]

5 hours ago, Vesper said:

“I’m disappointed because they scored in the last minutes

This is what all of us think I am sure.

Did Sarri just say these things for some reason or does he really think it?

He is obviously not a manager that plays the blame game or to diss players publicly he thinks needs upgrading but I  will be interested to see what players HE gets linked with in 3 months.

Roll on New Years Day. Hopefully it will be a Happy Blue NewYear!

And lets hope Eden gives us a nice Xmas prezzy!

[Special Juan 28,141]

Nothing short of so refreshing is what we are seeing with Sarri, not just the football but his none ego style, no slagging managers or players and it was great to see him embracing Klopp on Wednesday and Saturday, two excellent managers who love good football.

 

[petre.ispirescu 4,928]

46 minutes ago, Special Juan said:

Nothing short of so refreshing is what we are seeing with Sarri, not just the football but his none ego style, no slagging managers or players and it was great to see him embracing Klopp on Wednesday and Saturday, two excellent managers who love good football.

 

Indeed mate, also David Luiz's comments after the match are encouraging. Said Sarri wants them to be happy when they are on the pitch because football is fun and they are privileged to have one of the best jobs in this world. This is a manager that works hard through enjoyable drills and pleasant football, gone are the days when Hazard had to play left back and take care of fucking Robert Snodgrass or God knows who other bang average winger just because the manager could not go out of his comfort zone and in the modern era of football still played/plays dinosaur tactics. 

Look at this team of ours now - a midfield of Jorginho, Kovacic, Kante, Barkley, Fabregas. No tall, rigid midfielders, just ballers because this is what modern football is about. Compare this to Matic, Fellaini, Herrera, Fred. My God we were fooled into thinking football is all about having enforcers all over the pitch and every match is like WW2. Hell fucking no mate and I am glad we have a manager that not only gives us an identity now, but will surely change the 'rigid, park the bus' image Chelsea have as a club and makes sure we never go back to Mourinho type of managers. 

[Unionjack 7,531]

1 hour ago, petre.ispirescu said:

Indeed mate, also David Luiz's comments after the match are encouraging. Said Sarri wants them to be happy when they are on the pitch because football is fun and they are privileged to have one of the best jobs in this world. This is a manager that works hard through enjoyable drills and pleasant football, gone are the days when Hazard had to play left back and take care of fucking Robert Snodgrass or God knows who other bang average winger just because the manager could not go out of his comfort zone and in the modern era of football still played/plays dinosaur tactics. 

Look at this team of ours now - a midfield of Jorginho, Kovacic, Kante, Barkley, Fabregas. No tall, rigid midfielders, just ballers because this is what modern football is about. Compare this to Matic, Fellaini, Herrera, Fred. My God we were fooled into thinking football is all about having enforcers all over the pitch and every match is like WW2. Hell fucking no mate and I am glad we have a manager that not only gives us an identity now, but will surely change the 'rigid, park the bus' image Chelsea have as a club and makes sure we never go back to Mourinho type of managers. 

But I think also that English football is evolving too towards the more technical,fast game instead of the big boot up the pitch. So the players have changed to suit it. Or would that be the other way round?

We made a start in Conte year 1 where we also played some of the best football I had seen us play for years.

Ive said it before but its amazing to think that Sarri has been with us for such a short tim wheras Peps had 2 years and Klopps had 3 plus theyve had muliple transfer windows to bring in the players they need to play their styles of football.

We are by no means a finished article and we need positions upgrading if we are serious about wanting to be real contenders in the PL AND of course the CL. But how much will we have changed by this time next season let alone 2 or 3 if Roman is content with how we are going.

[Vesper 30,178]

6 minutes ago, Unionjack said:

 

We are by no means a finished article and we need positions upgrading if we are serious about wanting to be real contenders in the PL AND of course the CL. 

If we dont get a striker soon, and a RW if Pedro isnt going to start almost every league match and all hard cup ties, then we can forget about winning shit, and really may have trouble qualifying for CL next year, which deffo seals Hazard leaving.

I am down to a laser focus on CF, RW, and Hazard contract/sake situ. Those 3 are clear and present dangers to the future of the team, along with the brewing ownership nightmare.

[Unionjack 7,531]

2 hours ago, Vesper said:

If we dont get a striker soon, and a RW if Pedro isnt going to start almost every league match and all hard cup ties, then we can forget about winning shit, and really may have trouble qualifying for CL next year, which deffo seals Hazard leaving.

I am down to a laser focus on CF, RW, and Hazard contract/sake situ. Those 3 are clear and present dangers to the future of the team, along with the brewing ownership nightmare.

Wouldn't that mean giving Kovacic back?I see your reasoning but  I'd prefer to overpay if necessary for a guy up front cause right now we have 2 thats offering us no goals no matter how hard they try. So my main goals are same but gimme a striker instead.

But saying that IF the chance of a WC CF was to happen then of course I wouldn't  say no. Its all about the team not individuals no matter how much we might like them.

[Vesper 30,178]

1 hour ago, Unionjack said:

Wouldn't that mean giving Kovacic back?I see your reasoning but  I'd prefer to overpay if necessary for a guy up front cause right now we have 2 thats offering us no goals no matter how hard they try. So my main goals are same but gimme a striker instead.

But saying that IF the chance of a WC CF was to happen then of course I wouldn't  say no. Its all about the team not individuals no matter how much we might like them.

Why would any of that mean no Kovacic? I hope it is a given we try like hell to buy him on a perm basis. At Least we have him to play, and at least he wants to stay (if Real sells him)

The other issues are far worse (unless RM pulls Kova back), as we have no remotely acceptable striker, nor a WC RW, and I just have a terrible feeling Hazard wont renew. I think he looks at it as even a 3 year extension takes him to 32/33yo (and thus not in prime anymore) in the first year with a new team, if he left after the end of the extension.A full 5 year NEW deal would mean he would be 34/35 in first post Chelsea year.That's basically USA/China cash in age (or a year away from it) It basically locks him into Chelsea for his entire career peak years. I just get the feeling that bothers him.