Gonzalo Higuain

[communicate 2,703]

How is his holdup play? Did he fall down a lot under pressure from behind? 

[OhForAGreavsie 5,869]

3 hours ago, communicate said:

How is his holdup play? Did he fall down a lot under pressure from behind? 

Been reminded that bullet points don't work here. Everything I put into those points has disappeared and can't be bothered to type it out again so deleted for now.

[Unionjack 7,531]

9 hours ago, communicate said:

How is his holdup play? Did he fall down a lot under pressure from behind? 

Seemed pretty strong actually.

I know peeps will say awww bless him for letting Willian take the penalty but one side of my 1 grey cell would prefer to see him really keen to get off that duck egg so his nerves could go.

Thought he played pretty good. Good hold up playm ran around finding space. Not got fed enough I didn't think.

[Special Juan 27,387]

7/10 decent debut, only really had that one sniff but his all round game was decent.

Plenty more from him to come.

[Superblue 6,370]

1 hour ago, Special Juan said:

7/10 decent debut, only really had that one sniff but his all round game was decent.

Plenty more from him to come.

Yeah I thought he was fairly quiet but everything he did was tidy and crisp. Just seeing his ability and strength to hold the ball up was fantastic after 18 months of Morata trying to.

Made a couple of good runs too. His movement looks excellent as at times he'll drop deeper which should give opportunities for Hazard/Pedro/Willian, etc to run in behind and exploit. We could really do with the offensive midfielder (Barkley/Kovacic/RLC) getting on a good wavelength with him too to make runs in behind. And his movement in behind the defence looks good too. 

Promising debut and I do fancy him to score a few goals for us.

[kellzfresh 7,228]

 

[kellzfresh 7,228]

 

[Iomie142 2]

Ruud Gullit has claimed ‘old fashioned’ Gonzalo Higuain will struggle at Chelsea after completing his move.

Higuaín finally completed his move to the club after months of speculation, but Gullit claims that he will struggle to adapt to life in the premier League.

Higuaín struggled for goals at Milan and only managed 8 in 22 appearances, which is not much better than what Alvaro Morata managed this season.

Gullit said this on   Icchelseanews.com: ‘I hope I am wrong, I really do, but Higuain is an old-fashioned striker who needs crosses and, if he plays up front all the time, he will not see many balls there because of the way Eden Hazard and Willian play.

‘Those two always come inside, and dribble or shoot, and try to do things themselves.

‘So they don’t need a player up there who is a target man, because Chelsea don’t use one and, under Sarri, they never do.

‘Instead they need a centre-forward who can play in midfield too, and be effective on the ball as well as be a finisher inside the box. Roberto Firmino, who comes so deep for Liverpool, is the perfect example.

‘That is how Chelsea’s front man has to play too, which is why I am not sure Higuain is the answer. At the very least, he has a difficult job because, with the way they are set-up, he will not be able to play the way he wants.

‘We will have to wait and see, but Alvaro Morata and Olivier Giroud are both good strikers, and it has not worked out for them.’

Do you guys agreed with what he said?

[Vesper 28,349]

If he is right we are well and truly fucked. Willian deffo needs to put more crosses in from the right as he is right-footed. Shame he is a ball hog. Azpi needs to do more too, but he has to lag back because Alonso couldn't defend Barbie from Domestic Abuse Ken. Alonso is also statistically the worst crosser in all of the Big Five leagues. Get him off our team!!!

[Special Juan 27,387]

Ruud Gullit He talks as much shite as Pochettino did today.

[mccg 1,528]

Former German Star Questions Why Chelsea Signed Higuain

http://chelseafconline.com/2019/01/former-german-star-questions-why-chelsea-signed-higuain/

[BlueSunshine 672]

3 hours ago, Vesper said:

If he is right we are well and truly fucked. Willian deffo needs to put more crosses in from the right as he is right-footed. Shame he is a ball hog. Azpi needs to do more too, but he has to lag back because Alonso couldn't defend Barbie from Domestic Abuse Ken. Alonso is also statistically the worst crosser in all of the Big Five leagues. Get him off our team!!!

Crossing has been one of our bigger weaknesses for so many years, yet the board has failed to address that problem (no surprise there tbh), but the good news is that even with the current roster, we can instantly get vastly better at that aspect by just playing Emerson and Odoi over the two donkeys that you mentioned.

Emerson in particular has shown that he can put good crosses in the box no matter if he is near the corner flag or from a deeper position, and even though crossing isn't Odoi's strongest attribute, he is making some very good low crosses in the near post with his runs. In theory, Higuain can take advantage of those plays since he has good aerial ability and positioning.

We just need to be optimistic that Gonzalo isn't past it and that Sarri won't go back to the deadly (for us) duo of Alonso and Willian.

[Magic Lamps 11,635]

Everyone said no one could score for AC Milan and now Piatek socres 2 out of nothing. Worrying signs, HIguains time is quickly running out so he needs to be adapting asap. Still would have taken the Piatek dude over Higuain 100% but the board nowadays is reluctant to make these kind of deals. 

[Alabama 1,992]

1 minute ago, Magic Lamps said:

Everyone said no one could score for AC Milan and now Piatek socres 2 out of nothing. Worrying signs, HIguains time is quickly running out so he needs to be adapting asap. Still would have taken the Piatek dude over Higuain 100% but the board nowadays is reluctant to make these kind of deals. 

only reason why Higuain is here is Sarri...

[Magic Lamps 11,635]

Just now, eemanyooel said:

only reason why Higuain is here is Sarri...

sure but would we have taken PIatek if Sarri was not here? I doubt it. The board would have tried to sign an experienced striker. Maybe even Callum Wilson or Arnautovic. We somehow always get stuck in the middle with these kind of signings. NOt a proven worldbeater for a huge sum, nor an up and coming youngster for an ok to mid-sum. Rather an average, overpriced player because of some shitty reason like having previously worked with the manager, knowing the league or having had a good partnership with another player in our team. I wonder when we are gonna make quality the first and foremost priority in our signings. From a business perspective the way the board works often makes sense but more often than not it goes wrong because they do not really care about the football. I think fans sometimes have clearer view of what is good for the team than the board. Fans really care about the club, what happens on the pitch and also might well be more passionate about football than whoever Roman put in charge. Secondly, fans have less information about players, mostly just videos and streams of games but this is per se the most relevant part of information you need when judging a player. The board have so much more information they base their decisions on more than footballing reasons. in some cases this can avert disasters but it is no guarantee as many flops have demonstrated. But in most cases this limited information helps to concentrate on what a player really is about. That does not mean every fan is always right but often fan choices are more grounded by footballing reasons than the board's

I usually make my call whether I want a player here or not early and many guys on here usually agree with opinion. Honestly, if we would just let a poll on here decide who to sign and who to sell, I doubt we would be worse off than we are now squad-wise. Sure we probably would have a few shit players on here but we would have been rid of Willian, Alonso for sure, never would have sold KDB and probably Salah. 

The worry is Higuain felt like an underwhelming signing since the moment Sarri became our manager. I hope that I am wrong but I would be  surprised if he is the guy to save our season. 

[Alabama 1,992]

17 minutes ago, Magic Lamps said:

sure but would we have taken PIatek if Sarri was not here? I doubt it. The board would have tried to sign an experienced striker. Maybe even Callum Wilson or Arnautovic. We somehow always get stuck in the middle with these kind of signings. NOt a proven worldbeater for a huge sum, nor an up and coming youngster for an ok to mid-sum. Rather an average, overpriced player because of some shitty reason like having previously worked with the manager, knowing the league or having had a good partnership with another player in our team. I wonder when we are gonna make quality the first and foremost priority in our signings. From a business perspective the way the board works often makes sense but more often than not it goes wrong because they do not really care about the football. I think fans sometimes have clearer view of what is good for the team than the board. Fans really care about the club, what happens on the pitch and also might well be more passionate about football than whoever Roman put in charge. Secondly, fans have less information about players, mostly just videos and streams of games but this is per se the most relevant part of information you need when judging a player. The board have so much more information they base their decisions on more than footballing reasons. in some cases this can avert disasters but it is no guarantee as many flops have demonstrated. But in most cases this limited information helps to concentrate on what a player really is about. That does not mean every fan is always right but often fan choices are more grounded by footballing reasons than the board's

I usually make my call whether I want a player here or not early and many guys on here usually agree with opinion. Honestly, if we would just let a poll on here decide who to sign and who to sell, I doubt we would be worse off than we are now squad-wise. Sure we probably would have a few shit players on here but we would have been rid of Willian, Alonso for sure, never would have sold KDB and probably Salah. 

The worry is Higuain felt like an underwhelming signing since the moment Sarri became our manager. I hope that I am wrong but I would be  surprised if he is the guy to save our season. 

while all you have said is spot on...I could remember late Oct/Nov last year we were heavily linked with Piatek...all of a sudden...the window opens we are back to Higuain...just like I said Higuain is here due to Sarri and I think the board would want to back him atleast sign him his targets to see how far he can fair with them..

[Vesper 28,349]

55 minutes ago, Magic Lamps said:

Everyone said no one could score for AC Milan and now Piatek socres 2 out of nothing. Worrying signs, HIguains time is quickly running out so he needs to be adapting asap. Still would have taken the Piatek dude over Higuain 100% but the board nowadays is reluctant to make these kind of deals. 

the kind of deals where we spend £31.5m and OWN a great young striker outright

or do an 18 month loan for a 30 something  that costs £27m

and have shit to show for it at loans end

so a BEST case scenario (Piatek is only worth the same)

we lose £27m because HAVE NO STRIKER

worst case scenario

Piatek truly blows up and is worth £100m or more

in which case we lost £70m in valuation and still have no striker

lets say we have to spend £80m in 18 months

that is a total swing in valuation and outlays

of £150m against us

yep those type of deals

Russian idiots!!!!

no wonder Roman has lost over £12 to £15 billion in net worth over the last 8, 10 years or so

 

[Magic Lamps 11,635]

2 minutes ago, Vesper said:

the kind of deals where we spend £31.5m and OWN a great young striker outright

or do an 18 month loan for a 30 something  that costs £27m

and have shit to show for it at loans end

so a BEST case scenario (Piatek is only worth the same)

we lose £27m because HAVE NO STRIKER

worst case scenario

Piatek truly blows up and is worth £100m or more

in which case we lost £70m in valuation and still have no striker

lets say we have to spend £80m in 18 months

that is a total swing in valuation and outlays

of £150m against us

yep those type of deals

Russian idiots!!!!

no wonder Roman has lost over £12 to £15 billion in net worth over the last 8, 10 years or so

 

I actually don't think Roman is in charge of it tbf. But I dont doubt the people who run the club for him are similar in this. Business men with no clue about football. They give Alonso this stupid 5 year deal bc all they see is the player has played a lot, scored a few goals, has gone up in market value, Barca Real shown interest, called up for spain - alright must be a good player give him what he wants when all it takes to see what a fraud he is a look at the pitch. But all they see is numbers, they are doing money ball and not even doing it right.