Welcome Mauricio Pochettino

[Reddish-Blue 2,235]

12 hours ago, Laylabelle said:

So predictable! You just know it wasn't going to he straightforward and tbh lucky they did have 10! Probably would've lost to them if was 11. 

I do wonder what is being said in the HT team talks as we have no leaders in the dressing room and then you have Poch who hasn't won anything as a manager

Feel like we need an old school Conte approach to get the team fired up!  

[OneMoSalah 8,619]

Rumours are some of the players want him sacked. Mental. Yes he’s done a shit job but a lot of the players also are in no position to want a manager sacked. We aren’t talking about a dressing room with the likes of Drogba, Lampard, Cole, Cech etc either. If theres any truth in it, they should be taking a long look at themselves.

[lucio 5,418]

1 hour ago, OneMoSalah said:

Rumours are some of the players want him sacked. Mental. Yes he’s done a shit job but a lot of the players also are in no position to want a manager sacked. We aren’t talking about a dressing room with the likes of Drogba, Lampard, Cole, Cech etc either. If theres any truth in it, they should be taking a long look at themselves.

If they have any ambition of improving as players or winning anything they should demand a better coach though , they can’t progress under a second rate loser. 

[OneMoSalah 8,619]

1 hour ago, lucio said:

If they have any ambition of improving as players or winning anything they should demand a better coach though , they can’t progress under a second rate loser. 

They should try performing first before pointing fingers though. 

[MoroccanBlue 5,216]

57 minutes ago, OneMoSalah said:

They should try performing first before pointing fingers though. 

They genuinely had the chance to win their first trophy together before Poch decided to play counter attacking football in extra time against a depleted Liverpool team with three 18-20 year olds on the pitch straight from the academy. 

He's a reactive dinosaur and the premier league has past him by. I'd be fuming too if I were asked to sit back and play for pens. 

[Laylabelle 9,305]

Both bad as each other. There's no heart or desire. You look at Arsenal they lose the ball they go for it! Chelsea lose the ball seems a case of oh well it's gone let's see what happens. 

His half term coaching methods however..who knows what goes on there! 

[NikkiCFC 7,619]

POCH SACKED!

[OneMoSalah 8,619]

3 hours ago, MoroccanBlue said:

They genuinely had the chance to win their first trophy together before Poch decided to play counter attacking football in extra time against a depleted Liverpool team with three 18-20 year olds on the pitch straight from the academy. 

He's a reactive dinosaur and the premier league has past him by. I'd be fuming too if I were asked to sit back and play for pens. 

Hardly as simple as that. 

Re the cup final - in ET Liverpool run over the top of us. Particularly in midfield. We just had to match/better them physically and in terms of intensity but we didn’t. Liverpool get a bit of momentum, smell blood and well we bottle it.

Not as easy as saying it was to do with playing a high block, a low block, possession football or counter attacking football etc because either way, you still need to play with some intensity and physicality in all games regardless. For example, Atletico Madrid are one of these sides who play a low block and counter attacking style but they are a good physical side, very aggressive and play with intensity irrespective. 

And really, do you think that its much different from last season ? We had a naive group that looked so short of work ethic, desire, that sort of nastiness all top teams have a bit of and it hasn’t really changed again this season. We have moved on certain players from that group but a large % of the squad is still the same, particularly the lads who make up the £1bn investments over the summer and January windows.

The players need to take a lot of responsibility and show the fans they have more about them. When their own manager is saying that the team misses something, be it heart or balls or the right mentality or whatever he said, that is extremely alarming. Or it should be for them.

Imagine if Conte said that or Jose said that or Ancelotti said that about past Chelsea teams they’ve managed - you’d be worried.

With this crowd, it doesn’t surprise me. A lot of them are soft, the squad sorely lacks real leadership and quality throughout. Poch isn’t the best manager out there either amongst other things which has its own problems but he isn’t the big reason as to why this group is struggling, the players are. 

Edited April 1 by OneMoSalah

[Mário César 824]

1 hour ago, NikkiCFC said:

POCH SACKED!

?? where?

[lucio 5,418]

1 hour ago, OneMoSalah said:

Hardly as simple as that. 

Re the cup final - in ET Liverpool run over the top of us. Particularly in midfield. We just had to match/better them physically and in terms of intensity but we didn’t. Liverpool get a bit of momentum, smell blood and well we bottle it.

Not as easy as saying it was to do with playing a high block, a low block, possession football or counter attacking football etc because either way, you still need to play with some intensity and physicality in all games regardless. For example, Atletico Madrid are one of these sides who play a low block and counter attacking style but they are a good physical side, very aggressive and play with intensity irrespective. 

And really, do you think that its much different from last season ? We had a naive group that looked so short of work ethic, desire, that sort of nastiness all top teams have a bit of and it hasn’t really changed again this season. We have moved on certain players from that group but a large % of the squad is still the same, particularly the lads who make up the £1bn investments over the summer and January windows.

The players need to take a lot of responsibility and show the fans they have more about them. When their own manager is saying that the team misses something, be it heart or balls or the right mentality or whatever he said, that is extremely alarming. Or it should be for them.

Imagine if Conte said that or Jose said that or Ancelotti said that about past Chelsea teams they’ve managed - you’d be worried.

With this crowd, it doesn’t surprise me. A lot of them are soft, the squad sorely lacks real leadership and quality throughout. Poch isn’t the best manager out there either amongst other things which has its own problems but he isn’t the big reason as to why this group is struggling, the players are. 

If all the players are performing below their potential that's on the manager. Either that or they are playing at their potential in which case we need an entirely new squad again which is impossible

Only thing they can really do is get a new coach and try to tweak the squad in the right direction 

[OneMoSalah 8,619]

43 minutes ago, lucio said:

If all the players are performing below their potential that's on the manager. Either that or they are playing at their potential in which case we need an entirely new squad again which is impossible

Only thing they can really do is get a new coach and try to tweak the squad in the right direction 

But is it though? It’s never as black and white as that.

Do the players look like they are giving their all? To me they don’t. There is no fight within that group when things get tough. They crumble.

Yes it is clear based on performances that we lack a lot of quality in certain areas but it looks like a good amount of them don’t care enough or aren’t up for it when games get tough.

Poch is an issue on his own - the playing style is a mystery - but sacking him and appointing someone else of that level isn’t going to change anything. Not with this squad, we need to chop and change 5 or 6 players in this group as the group lacks quality, experience, leadership and ultimately people who will be demanding of their team mates. These lot are all pushovers & far too nice.

Do you think at Liverpool or City or Arsenal that their players in the dressing room, never mind the managers, would have accepted how that Burnley game went? Not a fat chance. 

[JFKvsNixon 27]

2 minutes ago, OneMoSalah said:

But is it though? It’s never as black and white as that.

Do the players look like they are giving their all? To me they don’t. There is no fight within that group when things get tough. They crumble.

Yes it is clear based on performances that we lack a lot of quality in certain areas but it looks like a good amount of them don’t care enough or aren’t up for it when games get tough.

Poch is an issue on his own - the playing style is a mystery - but sacking him and appointing someone else of that level isn’t going to change anything. Not with this squad, we need to chop and change 5 or 6 players in this group as the group lacks quality, experience, leadership and ultimately people who will be demanding of their team mates. These lot are all pushovers & far too nice.

Do you think at Liverpool or City or Arsenal that their players in the dressing room, never mind the managers, would have accepted how that Burnley game went? Not a fat chance. 

The days of Premier League teams fighting their way to victory ended a long time ago. A team of average players, playing a system that everyone understands will almost always beat a team of individuals. 

With other teams like Brighton, the players know exactly where their teammates are and what they're going to do. When you watch Chelsea it looks look their making it up as they're going along, which fills the team with uncertainty.

 

This is evidenced by Chelsea's players consistently struggling to beat the press and break a low block in offence and press effectively as a team, and maintain a high line in defence.  Looking back, all of Chelsea's best results are built upon moments of individual brilliance, not patterns of play.

All these things are achieved on the training ground, which leaves the question, who does Chelsea actually do when they train?

 

[NikkiCFC 7,619]

3 hours ago, Mário César said:

?? where?

Edited April 1 by NikkiCFC

[robsblubot 3,262]

I think I disagree with most here, but lean towards @OneMoSalah's take.

I don't believe in "desire" alone having that much importance at this level, otherwise let's exclusively sign players from the championship, which would be far cheaper. Desire, conviction, and then confidence come naturally for better players (skill, physical, and mental) who constantly have advantage when competing against their rivals.

Palmer and Gusto seem to do just fine despite Poch's tactics. Jackson has been playing well despite Poch (although finishing still lacking). Caicedo has been regular in what he does, which is both what I expected from him and also not impressive.

The choice of a low block makes perfect sense to me, esp when you consider how slow Disasi is. It's also protecting a very young goalie who is (surprise!) faltering at the moment.

So, although I have no problem with the notion of improving on the manager, I can't see that as the biggest problem with this roster. Especially considering that half of the players are, and have been, injured for most of the season.

[lucio 5,418]

4 hours ago, OneMoSalah said:

But is it though? It’s never as black and white as that.

Do the players look like they are giving their all? To me they don’t. There is no fight within that group when things get tough. They crumble.

Yes it is clear based on performances that we lack a lot of quality in certain areas but it looks like a good amount of them don’t care enough or aren’t up for it when games get tough.

Poch is an issue on his own - the playing style is a mystery - but sacking him and appointing someone else of that level isn’t going to change anything. Not with this squad, we need to chop and change 5 or 6 players in this group as the group lacks quality, experience, leadership and ultimately people who will be demanding of their team mates. These lot are all pushovers & far too nice.

Do you think at Liverpool or City or Arsenal that their players in the dressing room, never mind the managers, would have accepted how that Burnley game went? Not a fat chance. 

Motivation is also part of the managers job. He’s too soft like potter , even a shit tier coach like dyche would get them to play with aggression and intensity 

if players are being lazy and not engaging fully , the manager needs to address that 

[robsblubot 3,262]

1 hour ago, lucio said:

Motivation is also part of the managers job. He’s too soft like potter , even a shit tier coach like dyche would get them to play with aggression and intensity 

if players are being lazy and not engaging fully , the manager needs to address that 

yes, better managers are really good at motivating players. The best managers are even better at signing players they know can be motivated and have the necessary quality (including aggression) for the task at hand. The best managers are VERY specific in the type of player they go after.

I honestly don't see motivation being a problem. I can't point to many players and say they aren't intense enough; quite on the contrary, I see very aggressive and intense players like Caicedo and Gusto. I see players giving the best and trying to participate as much as possible. Someone mentioned Mudryk, but that's just the player he is, as he's clearly limited by his skill (esp first touch). Is Gallagher not motivated and intense?!

We have players who lack skill, not desire.

Perhaps it is just easier for fans to think the players lack motivation vs that they simply aren't good enough. That gives them hope that a different manager will magically make everything better. That won't work.

Edited April 2 by robsblubot

[lucio 5,418]

1 hour ago, robsblubot said:

yes, better managers are really good at motivating players. The best managers are even better at signing players they know can be motivated and have the necessary quality (including aggression) for the task at hand. The best managers are VERY specific in the type of player they go after.

I honestly don't see motivation being a problem. I can't point to many players and say they aren't intense enough; quite on the contrary, I see very aggressive and intense players like Caicedo and Gusto. I see players giving the best and trying to participate as much as possible. Someone mentioned Mudryk, but that's just the player he is, as he's clearly limited by his skill (esp first touch). Is Gallagher not motivated and intense?!

We have players who lack skill, not desire.

Perhaps it is just easier for fans to think the players lack motivation vs that they simply aren't good enough. That gives them hope that a different manager will magically make everything better. That won't work.

Every time managers implode the narrative is “the players downed tools , they don’t care” when in reality the manager couldn’t do anything tactically and the players were lost on the pitch 

[robsblubot 3,262]

6 minutes ago, lucio said:

Every time managers implode the narrative is “the players downed tools , they don’t care” when in reality the manager couldn’t do anything tactically and the players were lost on the pitch 

Yeah it definitely happens. The obvious hint to know it's happening is when the manager starts criticizing the players publicly. It rarely ever works because that's the people he relies on to make something happen. It can only be a very specific criticism, and even then, only done once at most.

On the other hand, I just don't see the skill in this squad. I see power, I see intensity, I see work rate, and see very little actual skill. There is an abundance of it from a player like Palmer, and very rare moments from Enzo, but that's about it. Gusto looks great, but I'm specifically looking for key players who can make things happen up front.

I'm especially concerned about Enzo, and I'm afraid it's not just tactics. I think Sterling issue is physical: not to become the great finisher he never was, but to get back to that intense player I used to like.