8. Enzo Fernandez

[King Kante 1,476]

49 minutes ago, Pizy said:

For me, if Enzo plays against the very biggest teams he HAS to play deep or not at all. 

Pretty much this. He has to play in the pivot. At no point should he be played as an AM, despite how much he may want to. 

[IMissEden 20]

He wants to play a way wherein he in a regular midfield is the one who always ends up edge of the box, same as with Argentina and Benfica. He has not pined to be deployed and stay behind the striker. That’s a social media narrative. He wants instructions and system that supports himself being the most advanced midfielder. Essentially Lampard role. 
 

edit to add - key being, the right balanced approach in achieving this, as opposed to the unbalanced approaches so far that leave too much behind him, and thus too much expectation for him to perform defensively / or be more reserved going forward. Either or mounts pressure, which effects his primary output. It’s set up to fail, as so far is the case with Nkunku, will keep tying him to Enzo chat, so it’s seen better. Nkunku looked like Tammy. Explain that. They both suffer here. They are showing glimpses of what’s above them. 

All said, Enzo had the most goal scoring opportunities, while also creating the most goals scoring opportunities, vs City. First game of season, most unstable shoddy club impersonating top clubs today. Half-baked Narratives are easier to go along with than not. Football to politics, the most common input comes from passing the buck and riding the train of others opinions. Which is why most fans are wrong every year when it comes to who’s good and who isn’t. Every few weeks a new Take is cooked up and becomes a “thought” so many share. 

Edited August 20 by IMissEden

[YorkshireBlue 3,122]

58 minutes ago, Magic Lamps said:

Haha good point but you have to see it in context. When he is making a run into the box closely marked  like vs city he has less time and more pressure to make a proper connection. A lose control will be an instant turnover . I don’t think he always miscontrols these kind of balls but he is more likely to when in a more advanced position which he is less experienced at at the top level.
When he receives the ball deeper in midfield he does not necessarily need to touch it towards goal but has more options to divert it away from the opponent. Plus a pass in midfield is more likely to be a straightforward ball without much spin. The flat crosses he miscontrolled vs city were fizzed in. 

I just feel even playing deeper in this league he won't the time he needs.

[robsblubot 3,504]

2 hours ago, YorkshireBlue said:

I just feel even playing deeper in this league he won't the time he needs.

Maybe. Evidence to the contrary was the last Copa America. He played deeper and did very well (winner too); he was just as wasteful closer to the opposition goal too.

The last copa America was played in NFL football fields, which are narrower (and slightly shorter), which made "time on the ball" inexistent. 

Edited August 20 by robsblubot

[Vegetable 830]

Time on ball is one thing, opposition players is another. This seems to be typical problem with people who look great in slow-motion leagues. Suddenly the "easiest" opponent in PL runs faster, thinks faster, acts faster, has twice the muscle mass and twice broader vision, than most difficult opponent from Portugal or WC and has already tactically worked out your next five moves. National Teams, even the top ones, still rely more on freestyle and individual talent because what kind of tactical sophistication can you pull during four training sessions with people you see twice a year. Either keep your head down, work hard and adapt or be forgotten, as I don't thing trying to boss around to make up for the difference is no way to do it. I think almost every player coming to PL have to make significant step up to keep up and not everyone is able to. 

Edited August 20 by Vegetable

[robsblubot 3,504]

I happen to believe it's all about skill and Enzo has plenty, so I still think he's got the tools to deliver at this level.

If you take the CMs in the absolute best teams in the world you will see an abundance of skill; yes, even the energetic mobile players will be excellent on the ball. It's pretty much the same if we focus on the PL. The top clubs have an abundance of skill in midfield as in passing machines. The less good clubs would have more of mix with "fighters" and "physical" players in there.

That's from observation, and not really a completely formed opinion.

Edited August 21 by robsblubot

[IMissEden 20]

2 games in a row now cutting the opposition open and playing passes -nobody in the top 5 leagues- are. Wake up. 

[Mário César 975]

how we paid so much money for him?

what a waste of money

[milka 3,346]

He is a problem - not a number 8 , not a number 6 he cannot be box to box cuz he is lazy very unbalanced middle because of him Caicedo cannot do everything alone that's why Gallagher is much value by the true fans cuz you can see the chemestry he gave to the team last year but these clowns don't give a shit they care only for money . Some fans (football manager specialist) same dont' give a shit about proper Chelsea like Gallagher  , Chalobah (our best defender with Tiago and they replace him with Tosin on free  what a comedy)

Edited September 1 by milka

[Mário César 975]

7 minutes ago, milka said:

He is a problem - not a number 8 , not a number 6 he cannot be box to box cuz he is lazy very unbalanced middle because of him Caicedo cannot do everything alone that's why Gallagher is much value by the true fans cuz you can see the chemestry he gave to the team last year but these clowns don't give a shit they care only for money . Some fans (football manager specialist) same dont' give a shit about proper Chelsea like Gallagher  , Chalobah (our best defender with Tiago and they replace him with Tosin on free  what a comedy)

and add goalkeeper problems

[milka 3,346]

Sanchez was 3th choice  in  Seagulls before we get him with no reason another masterclass decision to put him as 1st choice this season . Petro  win the battle between them last season and they force him out too and like we know this is not a football logical project so everything is possible with clownlake . And the fact speaks for  themselves for the defence and goalkeeper - no clean sheet . For sure we are cooking .

Edited September 1 by milka

[Vesper 28,801]

starting to think he needs to go

he is just not athletic enough and is also lazy

bad bad combo

[robsblubot 3,504]

As I wrote in the Chelsea x Crystal game thread, I disagree.

It's teamwork problem at the moment; clear as day when the opposition always has a 3rd or 4th man available to receive a pass in midfield. Enzo and Caicedo were often the piggy in the middle.

I simply can't see how replacing one or another player would made a whole lot of difference today. The wingers in particular were too focused on beating their man than making the team click. That will have to be adjusted.

One could actually make an argument of making a more possession-able pairing, but I won't suggest that here -- people do love tackles around here.

I honestly don't understand what people expected from a brand new team with way too many changes from last year: both in personal as well as strategy/philosophy.

[Billy. 2,742]

Waste of money for me.

he is far too weak, has no pace at all, 

he only picks out one good pass out of 10.

Lavia walks into his spot when he is fit again. 

 

[dimmas 126]

I have a lot of criticism about his recent performances.
But what I really hope is that Maresca will be ruthless with him. Drop him if necessary, if he continues to perform like that. If Maresca struggles, need too much adjustment or need much longer time, only to integrate Enzo when he’s positioned higher up, he should just put him deeper.

His display yesterday was so poor. Even his passing, which is one of his best attributes, was trully poor. Combining with his lack of mobility, lack of aggression, minimal contribution to the attack, and inability to do much in tight spaces or higher up the pitch, his performance was truly abysmal. Something need to change

Edited September 2 by dimmas

[Fulham Broadway 16,841]

Chelsea star Enzo Fernandez has been banned from driving for six months following two motoring offences in west Wales.

The Argentine footballer had already been found guilty of failing to identify the driver of a Porsche that allegedly drove through a red light in Llanelli, Carmarthenshire, in November 2023.

The 23-year-old was also found guilty of a similar offence relating to the same car allegedly caught speeding in Swansea a month later.

The Premier League star already had nine penalty points on his driving licence for previous speeding offences.

BBC

[Vesper 28,801]

Does Enzo Fernandez fit into this Chelsea team?

https://www.nytimes.com/athletic/5828173/2024/10/09/enzo-fernandez-Chelsea-enzo-maresca-analysis/

No player at Chelsea divides opinion more starkly these days than their captain on the pitch.

It has taken less than two years for Enzo Fernandez to lose the shine of a World Cup triumph and a £106million ($139m) transfer fee in the eyes of many supporters, to the point where his continued presence in Chelsea’s starting XI is becoming a topic of increasingly fierce debate.

The lingering memory of him live streaming what team-mate Wesley Fofana subsequently labelled “uninhibited racism” on Argentina’s team bus after last summer’s Copa America victory does him no favours, but the bulk of the current criticism coming his way — some of which manifested audibly at Stamford Bridge against Nottingham Forest on Sunday — relates to his merits as a footballer. Does he add more to Chelsea’s midfield than he takes away and what even is his best position?

Both questions are startling given Chelsea’s level of investment in Fernandez, but his critics are not the first to ask them. Last season, Mauricio Pochettino privately queried whether his countryman was destructive enough to be a No 6 or creative enough to be a more attacking midfielder and doubted that he and Moises Caicedo possessed the size and power to be a dominant pairing in the Premier League.

Enzo Maresca has a markedly different view of Fernandez’s importance to his Chelsea team and laid out his thinking in a press conference last month.

“I think it’s very difficult in the way we play to find a midfielder that can attack like an attacking midfielder and defend like a holding midfielder,” he said. “For instance, Arsenal are using Declan Rice as an attacking midfielder on the ball and as a holding midfielder when defending. Manchester City, in the past, have done this with Ilkay Gundogan.

“In our case, we are trying to find the balance and find the players who can give us this kind of solution. At the moment, Enzo is the only one. When we have the ball, he is playing like an attacking midfielder and is dropping next to Moises when we don’t have the ball to help us and give us defensive balance.

“In the first game (against City), we used Romeo (Lavia) and Moises as holding midfielders, but Enzo in this moment is playing on the ball as an attacking midfielder and off the ball as a holding midfielder. He is doing very good with us and the idea is to continue with that.”

Why have one position when you can play two? In the graphic below, you can see that Fernandez took the bulk of his touches in the centre of midfield under Pochettino, while operating more on the left side of the middle third of the pitch than the right.

So far this season, as the left-sided No 8 in Maresca’s system, Fernandez is getting more of his touches slightly higher up the pitch and even more focused on the left side. The shifts in where the ball is finding him are subtle but clearly noticeable.

The biggest change is that Fernandez is touching the ball a lot less overall: he is averaging 66.3 touches per 90 minutes in the Premier League this season according to FBref, down from 86.9 touches per 90 minutes in 2023-24. That is a big drop, which is due to him being far less involved in Chelsea’s possession build-up in the defensive and middle thirds — his attacking third touches per 90 minutes are virtually identical this season and last.

Maresca’s preference for a full-back to invert into central midfield alongside Caicedo means there is far less need — or indeed space — for Fernandez to drop deep and contribute to Chelsea’s ball progression before they cross the halfway line. He does still occasionally move into his favourite left-back position to receive the ball and from there his sharp switches of play to the right flank can be an effective way to beat opposition pressure.

Fernandez’s single best attribute might be his ability to identify and play progressive passes, so it is fair to ask if moving him higher in midfield — and giving him the ball to feet much less often — truly maximises him. As a No 8 underlapping Jadon Sancho (a pass-first winger who is best surrounded by runners than other passers), he often looks awkward; in the below sequence he is not quick enough to create separation for a first-time cross, so instead attempts a blind backheel that results in an immediate turnover.

That particular combination is much more dangerous when Sancho decides to be the runner. Here against Brighton, he beats a man and then initiates a one-two with Fernandez, who stops to create space for himself after shaping to underlap and is fouled as he tries to dart onto a perfectly weighted return pass, winning Chelsea a penalty.

Maresca appears to be trying to focus Fernandez’s incisive passing instincts in the opposition half. His 5.4 progressive passes per 90 minutes are way down from his average of 8.6 per 90 minutes last season, as are his passes into the final third per 90 minutes (six, down from 7.2) and his passes into the penalty area (0.5, down from 1.8).

His key passes (passes that lead directly to a shot attempt) have remained relatively consistent, up to 1.4 per 90 minutes from 1.3 in 2023-24. His shot-creating actions per 90 minutes have dipped from 3.3 last season to 2.8 so far under Maresca but, considering the big reduction in the volume of his touches and passes, these more decisive attacking actions represent a higher proportion of his overall contribution to Chelsea’s play.

Yet it is not as if Maresca has reinvented Fernandez as a Gundogan-style goalscorer from midfield, or even a hub of attacking creation: he has had only four shot attempts in 511 minutes played in the Premier League this season, with a cumulative expected goals (xG) value of 0.3. He does not have any assists either, an underperformance on one expected assist (xA).

There have still been sensational passing flashes from Fernandez in these opening weeks. Here he drops a little deeper to counter Brighton’s high press, receives a sharp pass from Levi Colwill on the half-turn, and slips Cole Palmer clean through on goal in a matter of seconds.

This one is classic Fernandez, manufacturing a great scoring chance out of nothing for Noni Madueke with a measured golf shot that drops into his stride in the six-yard box:

But too often it feels like Fernandez is simply occupying a plot of space in Chelsea’s attacking system, receiving the ball with his back to goal rather than with the game in front of him. This was a big problem when it happened under Pochettino because when the ball was lost, he was too far behind the developing opposition counter-attack to offer any form of assistance to Caicedo or the defenders behind him.

That is still the case this season, but Maresca’s deployment of a full-back in midfield next to Caicedo makes Chelsea less immediately vulnerable in transition. Fernandez can instead focus on helping win the ball back higher up the pitch and he has had some good moments in this regard — not least this tackle which led directly to a Madueke goal against Wolves.

Fernandez’s effort and energy are not in question. He presses as hard as his body will allow as part of Chelsea’s broader structure without the ball and he generally works hard to regain a more defensive midfield position nearer to Caicedo when the situation requires him to do so.

But he remains somewhat of a liability defensively. No player has been dribbled past more times than his 13 occasions in the Premier League this season. His body position often disadvantages him and he lacks the athletic explosiveness to keep up with most opponents in space.

Here is an example from the opening minute against Brighton. Fernandez makes a half-tackle without winning the ball, does not give up on the play and closes down the impressive Carlos Baleba, who easily wrong-foots him with a deft first touch and leaves him in the dust as he spins away upfield into space.

It is still preferable for Maresca to have Fernandez pressing higher up the pitch than guarding deeper areas because he too often provides insufficient resistance. Here, he moves across to confront the advancing Pervis Estupinan, but the Brighton left-back simply slips the ball through him into a dangerous shooting position for Baleba.

Fernandez is averaging more attempted tackles per 90 minutes (3.9) in the Premier League than any Chelsea player not named Caicedo this season, but his success rate is 40.9 per cent, only marginally better than Madueke (40 per cent). Caicedo, by comparison, wins the ball 70.4 per cent of the time.

Chelsea did not buy Fernandez to be a defensive force. In six months at Benfica and a handful of World Cup matches with Argentina, he appeared to be a highly polished deep-lying playmaker, capable of controlling matches for his teams at the highest level. That has not yet transpired consistently at Stamford Bridge, though it is fair to point out there has been very little control around him in his first two years.

In the early weeks of Maresca’s tenure, the challenge of accounting for Fernandez’s considerable strengths and significant weaknesses in midfield has become no simpler and the conversation about his importance to this team — and even his place in it — is unlikely to go away.

[TheHulk 1,855]

This maybe explains why he's been poor this season.