31. Robert Sanchez

[King Kante 1,300]

4 hours ago, Mhsc said:

I'm not that fussed about his pass to Rice, a mistake is a mistake and everyone including the world's best make them, but he was poor for the whole game and couldn't find a way to raise his level which is disappointing. Looked like a man that hadn't played in years. Wonder what's going on there? Lacking in confidence? Still adapting to the football?

Unlike some on here I have the feeling there is a really great keeper in him and we just need to be patient. 

I think you're giving him a bit too much credit. He is 26 in three weeks, he isn't some kid like Slonia who could blow up if things go perfectly with his development. I appreciate GK's mature later than every other position but he is pretty much at the age where, what you see is what you get. 

For me I have seen enough of him to say he is a B grade David James of a GK. He can pull off wonder saves - that he makes look better because of the way he can fling himself at shots - but he has pretty fundermental weaknesses that means he won't be a type of GK that is going to pick you up hard fought points. By this, I mean he clearly lacks in the following areas; 

1) Concentration (probably James' biggest flaw as well, which is also probably the single most important aspect of being a GK due to the nature of the position.) This goes for both his passing and saving. 

2) Positioning/movement of his feet - he allows too many shots in at the posts (both near and far) as he has the habit of trying to cover his angles quite late - this is also why he makes quite a few 'Superman' saves as has to rely on his reflexes (which are of a high level) to bail him out.  

3) (This is where I rate him as a B grade David James, rather than in the same level) a poor ability to judge the ball from crosses - James also had an issue with this but he was able to use his larger build to go through players better and not end up on the deck so much. 

Then there is the issue that Brighton dropped him for a low level PL GK exactly because of what we have seen. This isn't something new with him, he got dropped for exactly the same reasons and I was saying this when we brought him. 

As I said, I am not going to pile in on the guy, anyone who watched him prior should've known these type of performances where coming. Additionally, as a GK2 I think he is perfectly fine, although way overpriced. 

For me, what happened with his signing was that some people got overly excited about his highlight reel of saves and probably looked at the hard data which highlighted some above average/excellent metrics and thought that there was something the people at Brighton had missed - while failing to appreciate his short comings enough. 

Edited October 23, 2023 by King Kante

[Vegetable 788]

I'm not even mad. He is 2nd or 3rd choice Brighton goalkeeper. It is just what it says on the tin.

Do not blame the guy, blame the board.

I don't even think Poch approved this move really, given his previous comments. It looks like we tried to bribe Brighton to sell us Caicedo, as this kind of player would have hard time to come here, given there is no horrid injury to our GK roster or something.

Thing is, that shaky or okay-ish gk with occasional patches of overperformance is just not good enough on Chelsea level. I think the club have binned Mendy for pretty much this rason.

Edited October 23, 2023 by Vegetable

[ZAPHOD2319 3,873]

The momentum definitely shifted after that gift. 

[Fernando 6,376]

49 minutes ago, Vegetable said:

I'm not even mad. He is 2nd or 3rd choice Brighton goalkeeper. It is just what it says on the tin.

Do not blame the guy, blame the board.

I don't even think Poch approved this move really, given his previous comments. It looks like we tried to bribe Brighton to sell us Caicedo, as this kind of player would have hard time to come here, given there is no horrid injury to our GK roster or something.

Thing is, that shaky or okay-ish gk with occasional patches of overperformance is just not good enough on Chelsea level. I think the club have binned Mendy for pretty much this rason.

I think is the new trend. 

Ever since we gone to a goalkeeper that plays from behind. 

If you can name 5 Gk that was wc and playing from behind? 

They are not because the best GK in our history where not high priority for this. Cech was amazing but his ball distribution, I think Sanchez is way better at that. But besides ball distribution Cech was WC. 

Was Peter Smeichel or even Van De Sar great ball distribution? 

I think not and that is something we will have to continue to see, because that trend came with Pep and even then Pep had Valdez, maybe the best GK he had was Nuer, but not many who was good at ball distribution and WC at other areas. 

[robsblubot 3,225]

Second goal had nothing to do with Sanchez.

The second goal is a nice play and a great run by Trossard (so quick), but if you want to blame someone it's quite obvious Gusto switched off then.

[Vesper 27,326]

44 minutes ago, robsblubot said:

Second goal had nothing to do with Sanchez.

The second goal is a nice play and a great run by Trossard (so quick), but if you want to blame someone it's quite obvious Gusto switched off then.

disagree

‘Could have helped’: ESPN pundit slams 25-year-old Chelsea man for not bailing out ‘tremendous’ teammate

https://www.thechelseachronicle.com/news/could-have-helped-espn-pundit-slams-25-year-old-Chelsea-man-for-not-bailing-out-tremendous-teammate/

 

Edited October 23, 2023 by Vesper

[robsblubot 3,225]

3 minutes ago, Vesper said:

disagree

‘Could have helped’: ESPN pundit slams 25-year-old Chelsea man for not bailing out ‘tremendous’ teammate

https://www.thechelseachronicle.com/news/could-have-helped-espn-pundit-slams-25-year-old-Chelsea-man-for-not-bailing-out-tremendous-teammate/

 

"You can certainly point the finger at Sanchez for Arsenal’s first goal, but blaming him for the second does seem a bit harsh."

right below... 🤷‍♂️

[Vesper 27,326]

Robert Sanchez has big shoes to fill at Chelsea – they are empty so far

https://theathletic.com/4984675/2023/10/23/robert-sanchez-Chelsea-goalkeepers-arsenal/

Chelsea’s inability to replace Diego Costa should no longer be considered the only key reason why they are finding it hard to become a major force at the summit of the Premier League again.

Whenever their failure to compete for the title comes up, the lack of a top-class centre-forward is usually highlighted as the main issue. It remains a valid point, because Costa is the last Chelsea player to register 20 goals in a top-flight season, which coincided with the last occasion they finished in first place, six years ago.

But, surely, Chelsea’s struggle to find an elite goalkeeper who can perform consistently has had just as much of a detrimental impact on their ambitions.

The latest example came at Stamford Bridge on Saturday evening.

Chelsea should have secured their first home league win over London rivals Arsenal since 2018, but squandered a 2-0 lead with 13 minutes to go to emerge with only a draw. The game turned on a terrible mistake by summer-signing goalkeeper Robert Sanchez, who passed the ball straight to Declan Rice, who then scored into an empty net.

The club’s current No 1 was also unconvincing for the equaliser seven minutes later, caught on his line as Bukayo Saka’s fine cross found Leandro Trossard unmarked at the back post, although the defending by Malo Gusto to allow Trossard to run into such a position unchallenged was the greater error.

Sanchez has three clean sheets in his first 11 Chelsea appearances. That is not to suggest all of the goals conceded with him in the side have been his fault. There are also inevitable teething problems as a variety of players, some of them recent signings themselves, adapt to the tactical demands of new head coach Mauricio Pochettino.

It has not been all bad for Sanchez since he joined from Brighton for £25million in August.

Only last week, he was presented with the Premier League’s Save of the Month trophy for the way he prevented a volley from Aston Villa’s Nicolo Zaniolo finding the Chelsea net in September.

But just as Nicolas Jackson and Armando Broja have the challenge of being compared with Chelsea’s Premier League-winning strikers in Didier Drogba and Costa, Sanchez has to be measured against a couple of goalkeeping greats from the club’s not-so-distant past.

Former manager Jose Mourinho once declared that Petr Cech, who stood between the posts for Chelsea between 2004 and 2015 and claimed 13 major honours in that time, was worth several points a season because of the key saves he made.

Cech, who was No 1 for the titles won by Chelsea in 2005, 2006 and 2010, was succeeded as first choice by Thibaut Courtois in 2014 (Cech spent one more season at Stamford Bridge as the reserve ’keeper before joining Arsenal). The Belgium international helped add the 2015 and 2017 Premier League trophies to the cabinet.

Courtois remains unpopular among the fanbase for the manner of his departure to Real Madrid in 2018 — he went on strike to force the £35million move. He was booed and abused loudly on his return with the Spaniards in Champions League ties in 2022 and 2023. But just like Cech, Courtois’ ability to make the difference in close games has been sorely missed.

Put it this way, a regular follower of Chelsea would have to admit, as much as it pains them, that they would rather still have Courtois in goal than the men who have succeeded him, let alone Cech, who is arguably the best goalkeeper in the club’s history.

Kepa Arrizabalaga, currently on loan at Real Madrid as cover for Courtois while he recovers from a serious knee injury, did not convince after arriving for £71.6million, a world-record fee for a goalkeeper, in 2018.

For a good 12 to 18 months, Edouard Mendy looked like he may have been the solution. He was superb as Chelsea went on to win their second Champions League in 2021. But the Senegal international’s confidence and form evaporated and he was sold to Saudi Arabian club Al Ahli in June.

Now it is Sanchez’s turn to try to solve the problem, but the moans and groans you already hear from the stands when the 25-year-old Spaniard does something wrong suggests it is going to take some effort to win them over. What happened against Arsenal will make his task to earn their approval even harder, but it has just been 11 games. There is still plenty of time and opportunities for that to happen.

That is one of the reasons why Pochettino refused to single out Sanchez for criticism after the game and offered support instead. He said: “We are so happy with him. Of course, he is disappointed and upset with his decision, but mistakes happen in football.

“This (Rice) goal gave the belief to Arsenal. We can maybe read better the situation, the tempo, the timing. We can take risks on 77 minutes because it’s our philosophy, but maybe there is another decision you can take.”

Pochettino’s desire for his goalkeeper to play out from the back obviously comes with the risk of giving the ball away in dangerous positions, but in saying that, Sanchez knew what the demands were going to be when he joined.

Waiting for a chance to impress is 24-year-old Serbia international Djordje Petrovic, who joined Chelsea three weeks after Sanchez in August.

Pochettino seems committed to standing by Sanchez for now but the spotlight and questions over the position will inevitably continue until he can prove as reliable as Cech and Courtois once were.

[Strike 6,964]

On 23/10/2023 at 20:32, Vegetable said:

I'm not even mad. He is 2nd or 3rd choice Brighton goalkeeper. It is just what it says on the tin.

Do not blame the guy, blame the board.

I don't even think Poch approved this move really, given his previous comments. It looks like we tried to bribe Brighton to sell us Caicedo, as this kind of player would have hard time to come here, given there is no horrid injury to our GK roster or something.

Thing is, that shaky or okay-ish gk with occasional patches of overperformance is just not good enough on Chelsea level. I think the club have binned Mendy for pretty much this rason.

Every PL keeper is now having to deal with this sort of "pass out of the back" moments. Its the way the game has changed. Raya has had plenty of moments at Arsenal, Ederson and Allison too have had their moments. 

I am not too worried about Sanchez error yet. He's had a few shaky moments but also few good games (Bournemouth, Fulham)

Also think, mids (Gallagher?) should not have been on their heels and should have been ready for a pass that came through the lines. 

[OneMoSalah 8,615]

7 hours ago, Strike said:

Every PL keeper is now having to deal with this sort of "pass out of the back" moments. Its the way the game has changed. Raya has had plenty of moments at Arsenal, Ederson and Allison too have had their moments. 

I am not too worried about Sanchez error yet. He's had a few shaky moments but also few good games (Bournemouth, Fulham)

Also think, mids (Gallagher?) should not have been on their heels and should have been ready for a pass that came through the lines. 

Regardless he isn’t good enough. Its that simple. A very good number 2 yes but never an elite level number 1. Just like Raya. 

[Fulham Broadway 16,395]

The club will be micro scrutinising his distribution now, hes good at most other aspects, braver than Kepa at coming out. 

Onana went from clown to hero last night. I'm up for giving Sanchez more leeway, every player fucks up, its just a question of if its habitual

[bigbluewillie 1,807]

Get rid of.

Get Mamardashvili

For the time being play Petrovic

Edited October 26, 2023 by bigbluewillie

[James 5,140]

See you on the Bench

 

[nyikolajevics 2,422]

52 minutes ago, James said:

See you on the Bench

 

Nothing more relaxing during treatment than browsing an Excel-sheet!

 

Hope they are curing the part of his leg which is responsible for giving away the ball nearby our box.