closed Chelsea 1-0 Norwich

[OhForAGreavsie 6,076]

1 minute ago, OneMoSalah said:

True maybe his working back helped him out but in attack at times he looked like he was more than contempt to slow it down as well as the fact maybe the movement wasnt there also.

Yep, when the magic isn't with him, this kind of performance is what we've come to expect from Willian. The kind that annoys people so much. Me, I'm not in a mood to moan at any of them. Our situation reminds me of the old Irish joke. The one that goes, "If you're trying to get to Dublin, I wouldn't start from here."  If we're looking to attack a season, none of us would choose to start with the squad we have now, but we are where we are.

[OhForAGreavsie 6,076]

9 minutes ago, Jason said:

It's a hypothetical question. Of course we want to win all the games but what is our top priority right now? The team already starting to look gassed out.

I don't believe you mean that. I think you mean you hope to win all the games but if you were picking the side for Sunday, your line up would betray the fact that you don't care all that much. I do want to win them all and expect the manager to pick a side which reflects that he does too.

[DANILA 290]

Do you think international talents care that we won the FA Cup? That will have zero pull with transfers. If we win the cup, it'll be a nice feeling for a day or two but getting top 4 is much. much better for us as a club 

[OhForAGreavsie 6,076]

13 minutes ago, Jason said:

True but the one issue is we have Liverpool 3 days after the semi-final and depending on the results over the next 2 days, we may need a result at Anfield. Does this team still have enough left in the tank to play 3 very tough games in 7 days against United, Liverpool and Wolves? 

I genuinely don't think giving 100% on Sunday is going to make any difference to the results of our other two games. Get out there and try to win at Wembley, then we can think about Anfield.

[El P. 1,354]

Man United will play with mixed squad and we should too. Good thing is - our bench is much stronger than theirs. We have CHO, Mount, Abraham, James, Christensen, Barkley... Shouldn't really bother much about that game.

[OhForAGreavsie 6,076]

3 minutes ago, DANILA said:

Do you think international talents care that we won the FA Cup?

Then stuff 'em. If they join us we are paying them to play for us, not to tell us what impresses them. I don't hire a gardener to take care of my mum's garden so he can plant what he wants. I hire him to plant what she wants.

Sorry, but I'm completely intransigent on this. The FA Cup is a major target each season. I accept that we will fail to win it almost every season, but I will never accept that we fail to try even for just one season.

[Pizy 18,928]

I truly cannot even remember who won the FA Cup just 2 years ago. That's how quickly the memory of that trophy leaves my mind.

We miss out on the CL and it hurts us for years. We go full strength and fatigue our players (thus harming our CL hopes) for a trophy people will forget about in a year just isn't worth it in my eyes.

[DANILA 290]

Just now, OhForAGreavsie said:

Then stuff 'em. If they join us we are paying them to play for us, not to tell us what impresses them. I don't hire a gardener to take care of my mum's garden so he can plant what he wants. I hire him to plant what she wants.

Sorry, but I'm completely intransigent on this. The FA Cup is a major target each season. I accept that we will fail to win it almost every season, but I will never accept that we fail to try even for just one season.

That's COMPLETELY not the point - I am talking about getting them here in the first place. Also, this season is obviously very different and we are in the battle of our lives to get champions league - a massive source of revenue we'll need

[DANILA 290]

Just now, Pizy said:

I truly cannot even remember who won the FA Cup just 2 years ago. That's how quickly the memory of that trophy leaves my mind.

We miss out on the CL and it hurts us for years. We go full strength and fatigue our players (thus harming our CL hopes) for a trophy people will forget about in a year just isn't worth it in my eyes.

Finally someone with logic...

[OhForAGreavsie 6,076]

Anyway, let's hope United loose on Thursday so that Ole is the one with with the headache about resting players on Sunday.

[Vesper 30,200]

1 minute ago, Tomo said:

Today shown exactly why we're buying a lot of attackers before we "fix our defense". I wouldn't have blamed the defense if this ended 1-1 even if one of them made an absolute howler, it would have been all on the attack.

Unless a bonafide WC safe bet CB option comes along then it can wait. Get a proper LB, competent keeper, play Zouma and Rudiger together and stick with them and i don't think things will look half as bad as they are currently, and that's before we mention Ziyech, Werner and (hopefully) Havertz will kill games like tonight and Arsenal at home off before the defense have a chance to self combust.

here is a wild card play

swap AC straight up for Evan N'Dicka of Frankfurt

left-footed, and would be our tallest CB, he is young but is a  2 and a half year starter

Eintract want around €30-35m

about what AC is worth, he may be worth a wee bit more, but in swaps you often loos a few million in valuation

he certainly is not as bad as AC

and AC is far better in the Bundesliga, as it is less physical and more suited to his playing style, as proven before by his great play there already

 

 

Scouting Report – Evan N’Dicka

https://www.prostinternational.com/2020/06/11/scouting-report-evan-ndicka/

 

Eintracht Frankfurt defender Evan N’Dicka has been linked with a move to several Premier League clubs in recent weeks, most notably Arsenal and Southampton. (Liverpool too)

But is the young Frenchman ready for that move? Here we look at the attributes that make the defender a target for these clubs in need of defensive reinforcements.

This scouting report will consist of two aspects; an ‘Eye Test’ – looking at his performance against Bayern Munich in the DFB Pokal – the toughest of opponents in Germany. We will also take a dive into his data from the rest of the 19/20 season and paint a picture as to what makes him such a wanted asset.

Name: Obite Evan N’Dicka
Club: Eintracht Frankfurt
Previous Clubs: Auxerre
DOB: August 20 1999
Position: CB/LB

The Eye Test

N’Dicka started the game in a back three, deployed on the left hand side of the trio. The role provided the Frenchman with the ability to cover for the wing back, due to his experience in playing in that position. In the early minutes he was seen commanding his teammates on who to mark as they dealt with the movement of Bayern’s forward players.

An example of the positioning sense and pace held by N’Dicka was displayed early as he beat the lively Kingsley Coman in a foot race in the opening stages.

A momentary lapse meant N’Dicka lost sight of Coman at the back post, giving his opposite a glorious chance to put Bayern 2-0 up, as Coman exploited the space between N’Dicka and Timothy Chandler at full back.

N’Dicka made significant contributions in terms of last ditch defending to ensure the game stayed at 1-0 for the first half, his desire to defend was clear to see, making vital clearances from within the penalty area and making himself big to block a shot from Robert Lewandowski.

The second half saw Frankfurt squeeze further up the pitch, with the defensive line sat on the halfway line, N’Dicka often showing his ability to track runners and close up the space left behind the defence when Bayern attempted to break through.

The license given to take the game to Bayern helped N’Dicka show his proactive side, the defender was an aggressive winner of the ball, attacking it at every opportunity. On occasion, this desire to win the ball led to the defender either being caught out of position when the ball was shifted quickly in small spaces where a more experienced head may have read the situation.

The Data

N’Dicka has made 18 appearances for Frankfurt this season, starting 16 of those games deployed either as a central defender or a left back.

Using data and visuals from Soccerment, we can compare the young Frenchman to a recent signing Arsenal made for the future in William Saliba.

Using the defender template, it is shown by the data that N’Dicka boasts similar stats to Saliba over the course of the season so far, with the Frankfurt man contributing to greater chances created due to his deployment at left back.

Completing 84.2% of his dribble attempts and 1.1 dribbles per 90, he is perfectly capable of bringing the ball out from defence and advancing the play, an attribute which is highly sought after in the modern central defender. Note that the sides linked with a move for the defender, Arsenal and Southampton, currently use David Luiz and Jack Stephens in these roles.

A key aspect of the modern defender is to be involved with the build up of attacks, their passing has to be accurate and forward thinking. The graphic below shows how often N’Dicka looks to move the ball forward, with 44% of his passes advancing the play.

His aerial duels are nothing to be sniffed at either, winning over half (54.7%) of these. Compare this to the highly rated 23-year-old Fikayo Tomori of Chelsea, who wins a similar amount with exactly 55%.

Summary

Against Bayern Munich, the defender was under immense pressure for the duration of the game and battled for everything that was thrown at him despite the defeat.

At 20-years-old, the Frenchman has a lot to learn and improve on, but the talent is there to see. His desire to defend would make him a great fit for the Premier League.

Although it is to be noted that with the improvements needed, it would be better for his development to arrive at a club who thrive on developing young players, rather than relying on N’Dicka to be the linchpin of a defensive unit.

 

[OhForAGreavsie 6,076]

1 minute ago, DANILA said:

Finally someone with logic...

There is logic on both sides. Disagreement is not a failure of logic it's a difference of perspective. If people don't care about The FA Cup, I can't cause them to change their minds. I can only attempt to explain why i take a different view and rejoice in the fact that our club have never yet contemplated playing a weakened side in a semi-final. Don't let me down Frank.

[DANILA 290]

Just now, OhForAGreavsie said:

There is logic on both sides. Disagreement is not a failure of logic it's a difference of perspective. If people don't care about The FA Cup, I can't cause them to change their minds. I can only attempt to explain why i take a different view and rejoice in the fact that our club have never yet contemplated playing a weakened side in a semi-final. Don't let me down Frank.

I didn't mean that offensively and apologies if it came across like that

[Superblue 6,372]

10 minutes ago, DANILA said:

Do you think international talents care that we won the FA Cup? That will have zero pull with transfers. If we win the cup, it'll be a nice feeling for a day or two but getting top 4 is much. much better for us as a club 

Whilst everyone knows the importance of Champions League football, I think it will also be hugely important for a number of these younger players to win a trophy and for those here last season who won the Europa League it's a continuation of winning trophies. We go 2-3 years without winning anything whilst trying to rebuild and trophies will be much harder to come by.

When in a semi final of anything we shouldn't be treating it as anything but a big game. 

[OhForAGreavsie 6,076]

9 minutes ago, DANILA said:

I didn't mean that offensively and apologies if it came across like that

I genuinely like everybody here. I don't get annoyed by people with opinions who are able to articulate them. We seem to have scared away pretty much all of the people who want to throw insults around, or say stuff just to sound clever. What we're left with is a collection of posters who have something worthwhile to say. I enjoy the forum very much.

People who can't articulate their thoughts are more likely to annoy me. For example, I only personally know one Trump supporter. I'd love to hear from him what he sees in the president, but he is utterly incapable of explaining himself. I suspect that he may just be too embarrassed to admit the real reasons and I find that very frustrating.

[Jase 43,479]

Just now, OhForAGreavsie said:

We seem to have scared away pretty much all of the people who want to throw insults around

For some reason, I like how you phrased that.  

[Jase 43,479]

 

[Supermonkey92 1,428]

I truly cannot even remember who won the FA Cup just 2 years ago. That's how quickly the memory of that trophy leaves my mind.
We miss out on the CL and it hurts us for years. We go full strength and fatigue our players (thus harming our CL hopes) for a trophy people will forget about in a year just isn't worth it in my eyes.

We did lol

Sent from my SM-G973F using Tapatalk

[OhForAGreavsie 6,076]

Just now, Supermonkey92 said:

We did lol

Sent from my SM-G973F using Tapatalk
 

I didn't like to mention that.

[Iggy Doonican 4,186]

5 minutes ago, OhForAGreavsie said:

9 minutes ago, DANILA said:

I didn't mean that offensively and apologies if it came across like that

I genuinely like everybody here. I don't get annoyed by people with opinions who are able to articulate them. We seem to have scared away pretty much all of the people who want to throw insults around,

I'm back Greavsie and I agree with you mate best thing about this forum is there's no fence sitters say what you believe and if you ruffle some feathers so fucking what we're Chelsea home to rebels 60's skins, 70's punks, 80's casuals