closed Man City 1-0 Chelsea

[Clockwork 1,762]

3 minutes ago, Jase said:

Is it really a surprise Tuchel reverted to the back 3? 

No I tend to think most people are predictable, but starting Sarr against City is another level.

[Jase 43,479]

Just now, OneMoSalah said:

Hes still only 22 years old though and thats probably going to buy him a bit more patience alongside his obvious talent and the fact he’s probably had many better games than the likes of Timo, Hakim and Pulisic since he arrived last summer. 

No doubt TT and he himself should rightfully demand more in terms of goals and assists but I still really don’t think he’s cut out in the long run to be a CF. And thats why I felt it was 100% necessary to sign a number 9 this summer because for all the play, running the channels and being involved outside the box, he doesn’t have the numbers or strikers instincts to be a top teams number 9. False 9 or not. 

He is wildly inconsistent which is infuriating but when he is playing as a false 9, he seems to struggle scoring goals and I think that is because he really lacks the predatory instincts in and around the box from crosses/cut backs/saves etc that all good strikers seem to have. He doesn’t seem to anticipate where the ball might go/land and just seems lacking in that part. 

He can be 22 years old and still at least show what he's really good at, at least in glimpses, but so far, I have yet to see what that is. What made people call him Germany's generational talent? 

If you don't think he's cut out to be a ST in the long run, then is he cut out to be a goal creator? He hasn't looked like someone who creates plenty of chances etc. 

[Magic Lamps 11,449]

Just now, Jase said:

You said that and yet, Lukaku has not been a difference maker in cup games. Yet to win a cup competition in his career. 

He won the FA Cup with us in 2012, having played once in the earlier rounds he did receive medal.

He has a record of dominating Arsenal and the sides we face at the CWC should be his calibre as well. Pretty confident he will do fine there.

After days like today ppl will always  have a go at him for being completely useless. While it is extremely frustrating having shed out 100m for a player who offers very little in big games (a fact which 80% of the forum predicted), it is easy to forget that Lukaku can be very clinical vs mediocre defences when afforded space. A scenario which is likely gonna happen in the aformentioned scenario.

[Jase 43,479]

2 minutes ago, Clockwork said:

No I tend to think most people are predictable, but starting Sarr against City is another level.

TBF, Sarr may not be top quality but he has been OK, especially since that Brentford game last October.

It's also not as if Tuchel had much of a choice. Chalobah and Christensen are both out and I don't think Silva would work in a back 4, especially against City. So either we play Rudiger and Sarr in a back 4 or we go with the back 3 that we saw today. Maybe we could have played Azpi at CB instead of RWB and then one of CHO/Pulisic at RWB but that's about it really. 

[Clockwork 1,762]

I see people consistently shitting on every attacking player, but at point does Tuchel get blame for it?
 

I just have a hard time believing out of Havertz, Pulisic, Werner, Ziyech, Mount, CHO, etc you can get even one solid reliable contributor. 
 

 

 

 

 

[Jase 43,479]

1 minute ago, Magic Lamps said:

He won the FA Cup with us in 2012, having played once in the earlier rounds he did receive medal.

Not sure what's the FA Cup trophy requirement but didn't see it on his Wikipedia page. Either way, I meant him leading a team to win a cup competition. 

4 minutes ago, Magic Lamps said:

He has a record of dominating Arsenal and the sides we face at the CWC should be his calibre as well. Pretty confident he will do fine there.

We shall see...

[Pizy 17,860]

We need to somehow identify some top class wide players who can score goals. Find the next players in the Mané/Salah/prime Pedro/Robben mould. And then build around Havertz up top. 

Fuck all these frail, dainty, soft wide players with mouse mentality like we have. We need aggressive, athletic guys who put unbelievable pressure on teams. That may be the only way we can haul City in and it’s what Liverpool have done these last few years.

[Fulham Broadway 16,393]

Tuchel is right -we have played similar games against the moneybags and won.

People are quick to slag us off but City are the best team in England at the moment

[Jase 43,479]

10 minutes ago, Clockwork said:

I see people consistently shitting on every attacking player, but at point does Tuchel get blame for it?

I just have a hard time believing out of Havertz, Pulisic, Werner, Ziyech, Mount, CHO, etc you can get even one solid reliable contributor. 

What I'd say is, I like that our attacking players are versatile to play in different positions but I some times wonder whether Tuchel abuses that for whatever reason. I mean, yeah, our attacking players aren't perfect but it can't be easy for them to be consistent if Tuchel is constantly changing the front 3 setup from game to game. One game, it's two 10s and one ST. The next, it's one 10 and two STs. After that, it's two STs and three in midfield. At times, it feels like we have too many options for our own good.

[DH1988 1,194]

We have wingers that struggle to beat a man for pace other than CHO, and even that burst pace hasn't reached the heights pre-injury. 

Can't say Tuchel takes the blame today overall, our attackers are/were inept. Havertz alleviates that to a degree with his movement and interchange.

I saw today as a must not lose, and we lost. 

[MoroccanBlue 5,195]

11 minutes ago, Jase said:

Not sure what's the FA Cup trophy requirement but didn't see it on his Wikipedia page. Either way, I meant him leading a team to win a cup competition. 

We shall see...

He has to be a part of the squad in the final to actually win the trophy, hence why Ballack didn't win one in 2007 or Rio during his entire United career.  Strange rule but Lukaku was hardly influential during that run. 

Edited January 15, 2022 by MoroccanBlue

[milka 3,307]

The last time when Chelsea have two wins in a row in PL was  from October ( 7:0 Norwich , 0:3 Newcastle ) OCTOBER .

[MoroccanBlue 5,195]

8 minutes ago, Pizy said:

We need to somehow identify some top class wide players who can score goals. Find the next players in the Mané/Salah/prime Pedro/Robben mould. And then build around Havertz up top. 

Fuck all these frail, dainty, soft wide players with mouse mentality like we have. We need aggressive, athletic guys who put unbelievable pressure on teams. That may be the only way we can haul City in and it’s what Liverpool have done these last few years.

These wide attacking players are hard to come by when you consider the PL proven remark is well and truly returning. 

[SomethingSomething 17]

Tuchel and this system works only when Chilwell and James are both fit and inform.

Simple as that. They are the most important players in the squad. 

Its super easy to see we struggle without them. Defence, linkup play and variety of threat upfront is halved without those two.

[Tomo 21,681]

38 minutes ago, Pizy said:

Lukaku is getting all the heat and he was indeed terrible overall but Ziyech and CP were shocking as well.

They were but the difference is they're getting held to account. They got hauled off and probably won't start again for a while bar the Plymouth game.

Lukaku was given the 90 and will likely be rewarded with another start on Tuesday.

[NikkiCFC 7,579]

1 hour ago, LAM09 said:

Finishing second (at worst) and closing the considerable cap of 19 points to City would be seen as an improvement by anyone. Not sure how this is even being questioned.

Last season Lampard was 12 points behind City when sacked. Tuchel 7. Overall 19. Now 13. So TT is doing worse than last season counting both him and Lampard. 

[Tomo 21,681]

5 minutes ago, MoroccanBlue said:

These wide attacking players are hard to come by when you consider the PL proven remark is well and truly returning. 

Whether we could attract him is another matter but Karim Adeyemi would be perfect for a LF role

[Blue Armour 4,164]

8 minutes ago, SomethingSomething said:

Tuchel and this system works only when Chilwell and James are both fit and inform.

Simple as that. They are the most important players in the squad. 

Its super easy to see we struggle without them. Defence, linkup play and variety of threat upfront is halved without those two.

Seems like instead we need to invest in quality second choice full-backs like City did, instead of additional strikers/attackers.

Else, we need to change up the formation and go to the back 4 like we did in recent games.