closed Newcastle 0-3 Chelsea

[Clockwork 1,794]

2 hours ago, OneMoSalah said:

Have to admit I had my doubts but so far so good, Ruben has improved with Tuchel tactically - he looks as if he understands his role more, what to do without having to be continually reminded in terms of positioning with the ball and without the ball. He’s playing deeper, more box to box, suits him more than at 10 as he probably isn’t going to get enough goals or assists. 

I still think he might eventually get sick of playing maybe one week from the start then 20/30 mins for a few weeks etc though. Usually at his age you want to be a permanent fixture in the starting 11.

Although how much does Kante have left though? He turns 31 this season, and he has been nowhere near his best when available. Like I said previously some difficult choices coming up for all parties. And there is Gallagher who is having a superb loan.

[King Kante 1,643]

1 hour ago, Jase said:

Had the feeling that we might squeeze out a goal from somewhere in the second half and if we could do that, it would be game over because Newcastle were just parking the bus and were hopeless going forward. 

As for the offensive trio, yes, Ziyech, Havertz and CHO might not have played a lot of minutes together but one would still expect better from them, especially against a side like Newcastle. Ziyech had a few dangerous shots but did nothing much again. Havertz also didn't do much and CHO looked the liveliest of those three. And I agree with you that the WBs are attackers in the offensive phase but at the same time, we also can't expect James to smash in those two kind of finishes every game. Newcastle actually did alright in preventing us from creating anything clear cut (we had 0 shots on target in the first half, for example) but had James not finished like he had, we might have been sitting here potentially complaining about a 0-0 draw and our attacking play malfunctioned against the side second from bottom. 

I think this is a case of how you watch the game. I don't really disagree with your analysis however I calculated that we were in control and were wearing them down. 

As for James, he is one of the few players we have that are capable of such shots. For sure, cannot expect quite the level of that one week in week out, however from my perspective the Chilwell, Alonso and James are all capable of taking chances that present themselves if given time, which they should get if they overload properly. Chilwell in particular has impressed me with his finishing recently as it seems to have improved. 

[King Kante 1,643]

2 minutes ago, Clockwork said:

Although how much does Kante have left though? He turns 31 this season, and he has been nowhere near his best when available. Like I said previously some difficult choices coming up for all parties. And there is Gallagher who is having a superb loan.

I think Kante rides out most of the rest of his career with us now. There was an argument that he should've been sold in Summer 2020 as we would've still got very good money for him however now I see a situation where he is happy to stay in London and the club won't push someone out that is so loved. 

In future seasons, it may be we just manage his time rather that run him into the ground. 

[milka 3,393]

 

[Clockwork 1,794]

7 minutes ago, King Kante said:

I think Kante rides out most of the rest of his career with us now. There was an argument that he should've been sold in Summer 2020 as we would've still got very good money for him however now I see a situation where he is happy to stay in London and the club won't push someone out that is so loved. 

In future seasons, it may be we just manage his time rather that run him into the ground. 

Yeah I don’t think he will be sold, I do wonder if Tuchel will continue to treat him as a preferred starter. I think Kovacic has been better, and our best midfielder so far. And Ruben has made most of his limited opportunities this season.

I guess we will see how Tuchel keeps everyone happy. But he might never be put in that position as the way things are going, Kante was dealing with injuries before now Kovacic is out for a couple of weeks.

[Magic Lamps 11,692]

We still struggle vs parked buses but we seem to be more adept at wearing them down eventually. Also our individual qualtiy seems to have improved a bit in the younger player taking more responsibility.

The wingbacks are hugely important for TT's system and the main reason why we get away with not having effective, prolific attackers. The offensive players create space for the wingbacks to get into shooting positions or force set pieces for heading opps. Both seem to be frequent patterns for us these days. Havertz and ziyech were their frustrating selves but they kept Newcastle busy till they finally cracked. As long as we can keep this up, creating chances in the channels and having surefiring defenders coming inside, we might get by. Question remains if we really can replicate this vs higher quality opposition.

[NikkiCFC 8,327]

Many complained how 7 attackers are ott for 3 positions yet today we started with 3 and had zero on the bench.

[bigbluewillie 1,930]

14 hours ago, Tomo said:

Barkley and Ruben being unable to find a new home this summer is coming to our benefit now.

They'd be good players to bring on with a fully fit squad let alone one ripped to shreds by injuries.

I don't think so bruv, I can't believe we still have Barkley here and poor Billy Gilmour stuck at Norwich ffs it must be heartbreaking for him, it should be the other way round.

[Jase 43,479]

17 hours ago, King Kante said:

Chilwell in particular has impressed me with his finishing recently as it seems to have improved. 

Wonder how many people that were pining for Reguilon, Telles or Tagliafico would chose them over Chilwell now. 

[Tomo 21,751]

6 hours ago, bigbluewillie said:

I don't think so bruv, I can't believe we still have Barkley here and poor Billy Gilmour stuck at Norwich ffs it must be heartbreaking for him, it should be the other way round.

Completely different type of players, you may aswell compare Barkley to Mendy.

Gilmour direct replacement in the squad was Saul.

[King Kante 1,643]

6 hours ago, Jase said:

Wonder how many people that were pining for Reguilon, Telles or Tagliafico would chose them over Chilwell now. 

I'll admit that I thought Chilwell was overpriced (still do tbf) however, credit where credit was due, he has improved this season and if he continues to do so then yes, he'll be a great player. That said, I still have issues with how one footed he is as when ever he receives on his right, 95% of the time he has to play it straight back as he doesn't trust it enough to turn with it. For me, he'll need to work on that if he wants to become world class. 

[Strike 7,492]

18 hours ago, Tomo said:

Completely different type of players, you may aswell compare Barkley to Mendy.

Gilmour direct replacement in the squad was Saul.

Gilmour and Gallagher both look like good additions to the midfield next year. Saul obviously goes back and we sell Barkley

[Tomo 21,751]

22 hours ago, Jase said:

Wonder how many people that were pining for Reguilon, Telles or Tagliafico would chose them over Chilwell now. 

Happy to hold my hands up on that one, most of the issues I had with Chilwell from Leicester are almost completely gone.

Hopefully I'm saying the same thing this time next year just with "Lukaku from United" in the place or Chilwell from Leicester.

That said, I do think the former two of those trio you named would be good in our system aswell, Ben has one big advantage over those two in that he's being properly coached. 

[MoroccanBlue 5,383]

3 hours ago, Strike said:

Gilmour and Gallagher both look like good additions to the midfield next year. Saul obviously goes back and we sell Barkley

And Ruben? 6 midfielders for 2 roles? 

[Strike 7,492]

1 hour ago, MoroccanBlue said:

And Ruben? 6 midfielders for 2 roles? 

I see Gallagher as one of the two no 10s. Billy in the pivot.

[MoroccanBlue 5,383]

57 minutes ago, Strike said:

I see Gallagher as one of the two no 10s. Billy in the pivot.

So he replaces Ziyech?

[Jase 43,479]

4 hours ago, Tomo said:

Hopefully I'm saying the same thing this time next year just with "Lukaku from United" in the place or Chilwell from Leicester.

Not hoping Conte will take Lukaku to Spurs? 👀

4 hours ago, Tomo said:

That said, I do think the former two of those trio you named would be good in our system aswell, Ben has one big advantage over those two in that he's being properly coached. 

The coaching part is one thing but hardly think they have been pulling up any trees at Spurs and United. Telles is getting benched by Shaw while Reguilon is dodgy defensively and hardly great going forward. 

[NikkiCFC 8,327]

2 hours ago, Strike said:

Billy in the pivot.

Billy needs to do something to deserve potential place here. At the moment he is just another Ampadu. 

[Tomo 21,751]

57 minutes ago, Jase said:

Not hoping Conte will take Lukaku to Spurs? 👀

I said what I said yesterday in jest (sort of) but you're right I won't lose a great deal of sleep if it actually happens.

58 minutes ago, Jase said:

Not hoping Conte will take Lukaku to Spurs? 👀

The coaching part is one thing but hardly think they have been pulling up any trees at Spurs and United. Telles is getting benched by Shaw while Reguilon is dodgy defensively and hardly great going forward. 

I'd say getting benched by Ole is closer to a badge of honour than an insult on their abilities. He's taken two of the most promising young players in Europe (Van De Beek and Sancho) and given them next to no minutes because he doesn't know what to do with them.

If we weren't so stacked in midfield I'd happily have VDB here, he's a wonderful player in a proper system.

[King Kante 1,643]

8 hours ago, Strike said:

Gilmour and Gallagher both look like good additions to the midfield next year. Saul obviously goes back and we sell Barkley

Be interesting to see how CM plays itself out as it is actually quite complex when you take contracts into consideration. I would break the players down into five categories. 

Cat 1 - 100% safe/certain to be here next season

Kovacic - Peak age and playing well. No chance he leaves.

Kante - only way he doesn't stay is if Newcastle or PSG (possible if they fail in the CL as their CM is their weakest position) go mental and offer £70m+ or something (this however I do not see due to age and injury record over the past 18 months.) However, even if one of them do, I cannot see him being keen as by all reports he is super settled. Maybe 99% certain rather than 100%. 

Cat 2 - Contract situation 

Jorginho - Only has one year after this season. 30 in Dec and reportedly was in contact negotiations that have gone very quite. Agent has made some comments about him going back to Italy. I think he'll see out his contact but wouldn't rule out a Summer move 100% as club will probably want to avoid another Rudiger. 

Cat 3 - Not good enough/not needed/difficult to move 

Saul - goes back after loan. Still think he is a decent player but looks lost at sea in the PL. 

Barkley - Ok, he is getting a few minutes here and there but he is clearly just making up numbers. Issue however is contract as I reckon the only reason he isn't sold/loaned again is due to his wages. Could end up just being loaned until contract expires. Outside chance of a sale. 

Cat 4 - Sold to raise some cash, possibly one more year.

RLC - This one may be controversial. In midfield we have a lot of players and he is now at an age where you cannot class him as consistent enough to depend on (injured again and not enough of a track record.) For me, I reckon a bid of over £20m (his wages caps his fee) gets him. May get another year depending on what happens with Jorgi/Gallagher. 

Cat 5 - Loan players

Gilmour - Don't see him back next season. Should really have been loaned last season and is now not playing again. Still only 19. In my opinion, loan him out to Spain or Italy (why didn't he go there instead of Norwich this season as he is a prefect fit there?) Personally, I think it is in everyone's interests for him to get 80+ games before he returns as his type of position/play style requires experience/maturity. 

Only way he comes back is if the Jorgi situation doesn't resolve itself. However, even then he'll need a full half season operating at a very good level. 

Gallagher - Looks ready to come back. Situation is complicated however due to the above players. Personally, I don't see the point of him coming back to initially play the CM4 role. With Kova and Kante here for certain at best he starts at CM3 (if Jorgi leaves.) If Jorgi stays then it will be a toss up between him and RLC. If RLC is able to keep himself fit this season, I can see a situation where it is decided that he is best off at Palace being a top dog, playing week in, week out for another season for the experience. 

Edited November 1, 2021 by King Kante