Chelsea 0-2 Brentford

[Blue Armour 4,366]

Didn't watch the game - but why was Gusto dropped for Disasi?

And both Gusto & James on the bench?

[Blue Armour 4,366]

Disasi ball watching for the first goal. 

The 2nd one was just comical.

Ideally Sanchez would have slide tackled the attacker and got himself sent off.

[Mário César 1,066]

mudryk, jackson and madueke 

we spend around 130M with this three players

jesus christ

 

[Seymop 90]

Nothing seems to change !! We pass and we pass and we pass again — mostly sideways and backwards. Nobody takes people on and creates any space — Raheem had a couple of good games but has now reverted to previous mediocrity,as have most of his teammates !! No passion, no spark = no goals . We totally got what we deserved = nothing !!

[King Kante 1,557]

Why are people surprised? This is exactly what I and a couple of others predicted. You cannot put a random collection of kids together and think you're going to have any consistency in the PL. 

Some of the optimism is pre-season was peak delusion. For me, I am ok with how things are going as this is what I expected. We won't be a top 4/5 side for another couple of years if things go well with the development of the group, or the board decide to buy some adults with experience. 

For me, a finish between 8-14th is about right for the quality and level of our squad at this moment in time. 

[Vesper 29,376]

Mauricio Pochettino explains clash with Chelsea fan during Brentford defeat

https://metro.co.uk/2023/10/28/mauricio-pochettino-explains-clash-with-Chelsea-fan-in-brentford-loss-19735637/?ico=mosaic_football

[Vesper 29,376]

Every word of Joe Cole's passionate defence of Mauricio Pochettino amid Chelsea rant

Chelsea news as the former Blues star made his feelings very clear after the side's 2-0 loss to Brentford this afternoon

https://www.football.london/Chelsea-fc/news/Chelsea-brentford-pochettino-joe-cole-28002273

Former Chelsea winger Joe Cole has slammed the club's 'structural weaknesses' and managerial commitments after their 2-0 loss to Brentford at Stamford Bridge.

The Blues came into their second straight London derby unbeaten over their last four matches in all competitions, with a 2-2 draw against Arsenal last weekend a reminder that while there's a project of young players taking hold of the club, they could still give the best teams in the league a run for their money in what has been a difficult time for them.

They started on the front foot once again, dominating possession throughout the first period but were unable to break the deadlock with Noni Madueke's curling left-foot effort that crashed onto the bar their best chance of the half. Despite Cole Palmer's quick feet and often magical passes, Marc Cucurella was unable to convert twice from close range as the Blues went into the break.

In typical Blues fashion, it was Brentford who ended up with the opening goal, a cross from Bryan Mbeumo on the right-hand-side finding the head of defender Ethan Pinnock who arrived at the back post to blast one in from close range. Pochettino's men would go close once more as Palmer and youngster Deivid Washington were both unable to convert Ian Maatsen's cross which floated across the face of goal.

 

With pressure on the Blues to get a result, goalkeeper Robert Sanchez came up for a 95th-minute corner in hopes of a dramatic equaliser but the ball was quickly snuffed out into the path of Neil Maupay who sprinted the length of the pitch and played a ball into Mbeumo who killed the game off.

Following the full-time whistle, Cole launched into a passionate defence of Pochettino and attacked the club's new ownership and structure after admitting he was deflated by the result as a Blues supporter. Here's the full transcript of what Cole had to say after Chelsea's loss...

 

 

READ MORE: Chelsea player ratings vs Brentford as Cole Palmer pulls the strings but Nicolas Jackson toils

READ MORE: Chelsea press conference LIVE - Mauricio Pochettino on Fernandez, Brentford loss and Perez red

 

"I actually feel quite sorry for Mauricio Pochettino. I felt sorry for Frank [Lampard], I felt sorry for [Graham] Potter and Thomas Tuchel because you come to this club as top managers and they came in at an unstable time," Cole told TNT Sports after full-time.

"The new owners, they’ve come in and been in for a while now and one of their points has been ‘we want stability, continuity’. But it’s one thing saying it, and another actually achieving it. On the flip side, you’re changing managers at strange times, the planning on signing players isn’t being explained to the fans, or even the players and the staff so I feel sorry for the coaches.

"Their heads could roll like the three before them. If you’re going to have these morals, these points that you live and die by as the Chelsea owner, ‘we’re going to have continuity’, ‘we’re going to go and buy young players’, then you’ve got to stick with the manager. You can’t just write them down on a bit of paper, have them painted on your training ground so you walk past it every day and tell them to the media.

"I don’t know the structure, I know there’s three or four guys on recruitment, Todd Boehly has taken a back seat after last year, he’s never at the stadium anymore. The communication with the fans needs to be better, it’s not where it needs to be with the fans."

Cole continued to pile on Boehly and company at the top of teh club, claiming that they're making it harder for Pochettino to do his job if there's no conversation with the supporters in the matter. He also touched on how they can help the Blues boss and his players out by opening those channels with fans which could ultimately make them play better on the pitch.

"When Mauricio came in, I thought he was the perfect person to rebuild this team with. But he’ll always be viewed with that Tottenham history, especially with their slow start to the season, because fans are tribal and their instinct is to lash out and they’re lashing out at Pochettino.

"Ultimately, he’s in there trying his best, the players are trying their best, but there’s something in the structure at the club that isn’t right yet. There’s no point in us coming on here and saying they need to play better - it’s down to the people at the top making much better decisions on recruitment, what we are as a club, and living those things - not just saying them and going away.

"This is Chelsea, let’s get ourselves on the right path again, make sure we’re doing things correctly, explain what’s going on to the fans and it’ll start to calm down a bit. Then the players will be able to breathe on the pitch easier because they won’t be as nervous. Ultimately, those 11 players, 15, 16 whatever it is after your subs, they need to be confident and they need to feel like they’re part of something.

"It’s got to come from the structure, and I do feel sorry for Mauricio, I do."

[Laylabelle 9,442]

Agree with what he has said!

[Vesper 29,376]

Chelsea have only themselves to blame as Liverpool enjoy last laugh on Moises Caicedo transfer

Liverpool arguably still need to sign a long-replacement for Fabinho but will have no regrets about missing out on Moises Caicedo to Chelsea

https://www.liverpoolecho.co.uk/sport/football/transfer-news/Chelsea-only-themselves-blame-liverpool-28002536

A penny for Moises Caicedo’s thoughts. At one point it looked like he would become Liverpool’s record signing this summer. Instead, the Ecuadorian and his agent toyed with the Reds, using their late interest to ensure his desired, drawn-out switch to Chelsea actually went through.

In need of a new holding midfielder after Fabinho and Jordan Henderson’s unexpected moves to Saudi Arabia, Liverpool had an £111m bid accepted for Caceido by & Hove Albion and got us far as booking in a medical for the 21-year-old. But it soon became clear, despite calls with Jurgen Klopp, Stamford Bridge was his desired destination.

Sure enough, he got his move as Chelsea belatedly agreed a deal worth up to £115m with the Seagulls. To rub salt in the Reds' wounds, the Londoners would then also beat them to the signing of alternative target Romeo Lavia, snapping the Belgium international up for £58m including add-ons from Southampton.

Klopp was privately convinced that the Saints had overvalued the 19-year-old anyway. Consequently, Liverpool would make a surprise move for 30-year-old Japan captain Wataru Endo instead, signing him from VfB Stuttgart for £16.2m.

Chelsea fans would rejoice, delighted at having seemingly won the transfer battle. Two and a half months later and they clearly didn’t win the war, with it proving to be the Reds who are enjoying the last laugh.

Owner Todd Boehly might have spent over £1bn since taking over at Stamford Bridge last year, but Chelsea remain a mess. Mauricio Pochettino was appointed as manager in the summer in a bid to arrest flailing fortunes, after the Londoners, having got through three managers last season, finished the season in 12th.

Now 10 games into the current Premier League campaign, and without the desired lucrative distractions of European football, they sit 11th in the table on 12 points. It is progress of sorts, I suppose.

Winning just three league matches so far this season, Chelsea might have drawn at home to Liverpool and Arsenal, but they also lost at Stamford Bridge to Nottingham Forest, Aston Villa and, most recently, Brentford. Throw in a 3-1 defeat away at London rivals West Ham United and it is already proving to be another campaign to forget.

In 2023, only Everton and AFC Bournemouth have recorded fewer points than Chelsea’s total of 32. They have played 33 matches, three more than Liverpool’s Merseyside neighbours, with it perfectly plausible that they would actually be bottom of the annual table after the same total of games played.

To compile the misery, it will surely get worse for the Londoners before it gets better, with Pochettino’s side currently in a wretched run of daunting fixtures. Having drawn 2-2 at home to Arsenal, conceding a late equaliser, they travel to league-leaders Tottenham Hotspur and host Manchester City before the November international break.

After that, a home meeting with Brighton is sandwiched between trips to Newcastle United and Manchester United. On paper, Saturday’s home clash with Brentford was by far the easiest match of this seven-game run, and yet they fell to another dismal defeat following another pathetic performance.

Consequently, Caicedo’s dream move is already turning into something of a nightmare. Making eight Premier League appearances for Chelsea to date, starting seven, he’s conceded penalties, been at fault for goals, and been left unable to single-handedly boss midfield as he had repeatedly done so memorably for Brighton.

Of course, he is not the only one to blame for the Londoners’ poor form. But that won’t stop Kopites smirking at his misfortune. Meanwhile, the fact that Lavia is yet to even make a matchday squad, let alone play, for Chelsea because of injury won’t be lost on those of a Reds persuasion either.

Like Chelsea, Liverpool were a shadow of their former selves last season also. Failing to qualify for the Champions League, Klopp had no choice but to implement an £150m midfield overhaul with four summer signings as he conducted surgery on an ageing squad.

Such a total could have perhaps stood at £246m or £195m if Caicedo or Lavia had opted for a move to Anfield over Stamford Bridge.

For reference, Chelsea’s first-choice midfield pairing of the Ecuadorian and Enzo Fernandez cost a combined £221.8m, with the £106.8m signing of the Argentine from Benfica in January responsible for bumping up the prices of Caicedo, Lavia, and pretty much every other midfield transfer this summer. They have only themselves to blame.

But it’s not as though the Reds are left regretting the pair’s rejections. They sit fourth in the table, after all, and have one foot in the Europa League knock-out stages courtesy of winning their first three games, with only controversial officiating away at Tottenham costing them an unbeaten record.

Meanwhile, all four of their new midfield signings are already more than proving their worth. Dominik Szoboszlai has already established himself as a firm fan-favourite, while Alexis Mac Allister is proving to be a £35m bargain - even if he is yet to play in his preferred position.

Endo is admittedly taking a little longer to adjust to English football but continues to take steps in the right direction, as demonstrated by his impressive performance, capped off with a goal, in Liverpool’s 5-1 thrashing of Toulouse on Thursday night. Meanwhile, Ryan Gravenberch is another to quickly win over the terraces and leave supporters salivating at his potential, as he makes up for lost time following a year predominantly spent on the sidelines at Bayern Munich.

Yet for as impressive as the Reds’ midfield revamp has proven to be, one thing remains quietly missing. After all, Liverpool fans are in agreement on three things when it comes to assessing Mac Allister and his start to life at Anfield.

Firstly and secondly, he’s a very good midfielder and one the Reds snapped up at a snip from Brighton after activating his £35m release clause. But as talented as the World Cup winner is, Kopites are yet to really see the best of him. A natural holding midfielder, he is not.

Very much a square peg in a round hole, only time will tell if Endo will inherit the deeper position when fully up to speed with English football. Still, Mac Allister is still enjoying a more successful start to the season than his Argentina and former Brighton team-mates at Stamford Bridge.

Admittedly, the prospect of Caicedo following Mac Allister from Brighton to Liverpool remains an intriguing one in hindsight. After all, he was wanted by Klopp to be first choice at Anfield, playing in a midfield trio with Szoboszlai and his Seagulls former team-mate.

But with that record £111m bid accepted and a medical booked in, the Ecuadorian had other ideas. Digging his heels in to join Chelsea, it is easy to suggest that he chose poorly with the two clubs contrasting fortunes rubbing more salt in the wounds than any transfer rejection.

Had Caicedo, or even Lavia, chosen Liverpool, they would have been first-choice for the Reds with Klopp’s next generation engine-room seemingly in place for years to come. Instead, the vacancy remains open.

Regardless of who the German selects in the deeper role, they still appear to be a stop-gap only following Fabinho’s unexpected departure. Liverpool might have spent £150m on four new midfielders this summer, but there is a feeling that their revamp is not yet complete.

Links with Andre Trindade continue, with Fluminense willing to sell the Brazil international in January, while Thiago is expected to leave Anfield at the end of his contract next summer. Consequently, there remains a possible midfield vacancy at Anfield, with Fabinho still not satisfactorily replaced.

It’s not ideal but Mac Allister is only keeping the seat warm as the Reds’ holding midfielder. The Argentine is not the long-term answer, nor is the 30-year-old Endo, but Liverpool don’t intend either of them to be.

Caicedo could have been, of course, but he made his choice. Even if it was one many were left bemused by at the time, never mind now, months down the line in hindsight. After all, these ongoing Stamford Bridge struggles are no surprise to onlookers after a free-for-all transfer strategy and managerial merry-go-round.

As the Ecuadorian struggles for solutions of his own at an out of control Chelsea, the Reds have long since moved on. If you don’t want Liverpool, then they don’t want you.

While the Londoners continue to collect players like stickers or trading cards rather than actually build a competitive team, Reds bosses take such rejections in their stride and will already be eyeing up alternative targets. There is always a method to their madness.

‘Winning the transfer market’ by any means necessary is all well and good but not if you don’t make it count on the pitch, as Boehly continues to find out to his club’s cost.

Admittedly, deep down, few will realistically believe that Chelsea will remain mid-table fodder with an £115m flop in midfield for long. Sooner rather than later, things will click again at Stamford Bridge.

But they are already playing catch-up on Klopp’s Reds. And if Chelsea aren’t careful, Liverpool’s eventual signing of a natural holding midfielder, at the third time of asking after being snubbed by both Caicedo and Lavia, will be enough to see them disappear into the distance.

The Reds might be on a different path, for now, having had to take a brief detour following such rejections, but they will have no regrets. Whether Caicedo and Chelsea can claim the same in an over-populated, under-performing Stamford Bridge dressing room is a different matter entirely.

[ZAPHOD2319 4,593]

The game was a hard watch, but at least the shrimping was good. 
 

I am past the point of losing games putting a damper on my weekend. I wish I expected us to win these matches.

[OneMoSalah 8,831]

  On 28/10/2023 at 13:11, lucio said:

Killed our entire season and doesn’t get dropped for it 👏 

Expand  

Killed our entire season? Oh fuck off with that pish 🤣

Sanchez not good enough to be number 1 for what we should be aiming to achieve yes but to say he killed our season, what 10 games in? When we have been pretty pish so far is absolutely typical OTT lets find a scapegoat and tip toe around the real issues.

Our recruitment (or lack of recruitment for the positions we desperately need quality in) has been piss poor since Boehly let those 2 idiots from Brighton and Monaco dig their claws in but people had a hard on because Caicedo (who was pretty poor today) and Lavia (when is he going to play?) joined here and not Liverpool - whilst they signed two creative type midfielders who can play deeper, the type we could of done with today to bring a spark to the game. 

And Poch isn’t a miracle worker. You give him over £300m worth of central midfield players and there isn’t any goals or really someone who offers creativity in the final third between them but choose to moan about a GK after watching us pass the ball backwards and sideways without really penetrating through the lines consistently? Ridiculous take.

There is no point even talking about the lack of a really good number 9 because it has been an issue since Diego Costa left. 

 

Edited October 28, 2023 by OneMoSalah

[Mário César 1,066]

our problem is our attack 

our wingers and cf's aren't good enough

simples as that 

[robsblubot 3,595]

like @King Kante wrote above, none of this should be a surprise. There will be misfiring at home, young frail players getting muscled out of plays (ex second goal), and there will be good performances too.

I know folks will focus on the couple of excellent chances we missed in the first half, but we just did not produce enough in the 90 min to win this match. The level of performance was nowhere near good enough. Brentford realized we were not good enough and played far more aggressively in the second, which worked because they were better.

We've got one world class player who could not play today. Sterling (good first half tho) used to be in that ballpark once, but when we say Thiago had to play alongside Disasi today, Sterling was exchanging passes with Jackson, and Madueke too (w/ Conor behind him). I won't really discuss Madueke at this time, because he should be nowhere near the starting XI, but Jackson's performance was scary today. Possibly his worst game for us so far... held to the ball way too long, and did not make enough runs without it.

Did not think Caicedo had a bad game, just a bit ponderous in passing at times. Did not like Conor though.. dunno why he's being praised today. Palmer was the one player playing well today, which shows how poor we were.

I just hope that the leadership knows what they've done this season -- this is really going to be try out -- and don't start sacking managers. Because if they do, then things could get ugly.

[lucio 5,418]

  On 28/10/2023 at 19:43, OneMoSalah said:

Killed our entire season? Oh fuck off with that pish 🤣

Sanchez not good enough to be number 1 for what we should be aiming to achieve yes but to say he killed our season, what 10 games in? When we have been pretty pish so far is absolutely typical OTT lets find a scapegoat and tip toe around the real issues.

Our recruitment (or lack of recruitment for the positions we desperately need quality in) has been piss poor since Boehly let those 2 idiots from Brighton and Monaco dig their claws in but people had a hard on because Caicedo (who was pretty poor today) and Lavia (when is he going to play?) joined here and not Liverpool - whilst they signed two creative type midfielders who can play deeper, the type we could of done with today to bring a spark to the game. 

And Poch isn’t a miracle worker. You give him over £300m worth of central midfield players and there isn’t any goals or really someone who offers creativity in the final third between them but choose to moan about a GK after watching us pass the ball backwards and sideways without really penetrating through the lines consistently? Ridiculous take.

There is no point even talking about the lack of a really good number 9 because it has been an issue since Diego Costa left. 

 

Expand  

Cope 

[milka 3,373]

The whole setup in the team is wrong  from top to the bottom  wrong balance , quality  .  Even from the last season we are downgrade from all departments like points and players ( Mendy >Sanchez , Kova>Enzo , Kante > Caicedo , Jorginho > Gallagher , Pulisic > Madueke ) .
Zero mentality   with this bunch of kids in the squad .If we concede  1st we are done.

1 billion spent
what we doing

Ted lasso gutted this team almost for  2 years 

 

 

Edited October 28, 2023 by milka

[Mário César 1,066]

  On 28/10/2023 at 21:43, milka said:

The whole setup in the team is wrong  from top to the bottom  wrong balance , quality  .  Even from the last season we are downgrade from all departments like points and players ( Mendy >Sanchez , Kova>Enzo , Kante > Caicedo , Jorginho > Gallagher , Pulisic > Madueke ) .
Zero mentality   with this bunch of kids in the squad .If we concede  1st we are done.

1 billion spent
what we doing

 

 

Expand  

exactly

lukaku > jackson

pulisic > madueke & mudryk

what are we doing jesus christ 

[DDA 9,769]

Had all day to process the loss and I'm still furious with this shower of shit. 

This squad is pathetic. 

Potch better fix this up fast otherwise he can fuck off too.

[Reddish-Blue 2,423]

  On 28/10/2023 at 19:43, OneMoSalah said:

Killed our entire season? Oh fuck off with that pish 🤣

Sanchez not good enough to be number 1 for what we should be aiming to achieve yes but to say he killed our season, what 10 games in? When we have been pretty pish so far is absolutely typical OTT lets find a scapegoat and tip toe around the real issues.

Our recruitment (or lack of recruitment for the positions we desperately need quality in) has been piss poor since Boehly let those 2 idiots from Brighton and Monaco dig their claws in but people had a hard on because Caicedo (who was pretty poor today) and Lavia (when is he going to play?) joined here and not Liverpool - whilst they signed two creative type midfielders who can play deeper, the type we could of done with today to bring a spark to the game. 

And Poch isn’t a miracle worker. You give him over £300m worth of central midfield players and there isn’t any goals or really someone who offers creativity in the final third between them but choose to moan about a GK after watching us pass the ball backwards and sideways without really penetrating through the lines consistently? Ridiculous take.

There is no point even talking about the lack of a really good number 9 because it has been an issue since Diego Costa left. 

 

Expand  

I still don't get the Lavia signing.  Like we got Caicedo and then we also got a talented young midfielder in Ugo, not sure why we needed to sign 3 DM's in the same transfer window. 

The saddest part is, we sign all this talent but when it comes to attackers and creativity we decide to sign only Nkunku and hope for the best.   Surely the plan wasn't to rely on Jackson/Broja for a whole season up front with some brazilian kid being their back-up. 

The only positives so far this season: Colwill, Enzo, Palmer and Mudryk scoring a goal. 

I don't mind losses but you have to score at home in front of your own fans.