Chelsea 2-1 Crystal Palace

[robsblubot 3,595]

2 minutes ago, LAM09 said:

How does that have any relevance? 

Average players (in the case of the first two) didn't become world beaters because they won a CL medal. What are both up to now?

Where are they playing now? Kovacic is average now? Kai is getting Arsenal points.... if he is average what the fuck is Madueke then?
Pulisic would be a sure starter in this squad... he starts for Milan regularly.

[NikkiCFC 8,326]

With Nkunku back and Palmer being efficient as number 9 against Arsenal it's time to forget about Jackson and Broja for a while if not forever. Mudryk is growing and I guess Madueke will get more chances now plus there is Sterling for wingers positions. 5 players to rotate for 3 positions.

Lavia, Gallagher, Caicedo and Enzo to rotate for 3 MF positions. 

Gusto locked as RB. Chilwell back soon. Petrovic looking good. We may finally put our best team soon.

[robsblubot 3,595]

3 minutes ago, JFKvsNixon said:

Chelsea's XG would put them around 4th, so even a half decent striker would give us at least an extra 10 points this season. Our season, and people's opinion of Poch, would look a lot different with an extra 10 points.

Personally, I'd give up on Broja and Jackson and play Palmer as a false 9, until we can get someone in. He seems to have all the positive attributes that Havertz had with none of his negatives, but more importantly he knowa how to hit the back of the net, and is confident enough to soak up a bad miss.

Honestly, I don't trust these stats on face value. Take the Broja play as an example: it was a long ball (Silva I think) and Broja's first touch was fantastic, and his finish wasn't bad. If the stat counts that as a "should've scored" does it consider the quality of the first touch, or that the ball travelled 50 meters and had quite a bit of weight on it?

Not sure Palmer has the physique for false 9 tbh. I'd prob do similarly, but Nkunku.

[Blue Armour 4,443]

Another game with so many up & down moments.

While you can look at the goal we conceded and blame Caicedo or Colwill, IMO the problem started way before that.

The real cause is our poor game management, as result of having a really young side (in case you dont know by now, the commentators kept bringing this up throughout the game).

In the 1st half we had Palace on the ropes, but towards the end of the half we started moving the ball back into our own half, allowing Palace to advance.  

Gallagher was fantastic today, but in the end of that first half, our midfield slowly conceded the initiative to Palace.

This is just how it's going to be this season until the side matures. 

More up and down moments, and topsy-turvy results.

Just enjoy the wins when it happens.

Still on course for 8th in the league table.

Edited December 27, 2023 by Blue Armour

[Chuckso 17]

I had declared we had turned the corner after the Sheffield game because we had upped - matched and surpassed - the (defensive) intensity of our opponents and carried it into our next match. 
 

I was wrong. 

 

The previous game our opponents upped their intensity/work rate mid-game and we did not respond. This game we did not match through out and the game gradually slipped away. 
 

Football is quite simple when you think of the basics. Score while preventing your opponents from scoring. 
 

For scoring, what gives the advantage is level of talent and elusiveness I.e not being “easy to see” - that is where “pass and move”, “finding space” and work rate and intensity comes in. 
 

The other part is defense, and the evolution of football has gone from catennacio type defense to all round pressing all over the pitch (this has been in combination with the increase in fitness and athleticism of players in the top leagues) - and it is quite simple - if you can prevent your opponents from settling and letting their talents shine through, you have gone some way to nullifying them while giving you confidence. The quality of players in the premier league has increased a great deal so there are fine margins at play here. 
 

Watch this match again and see how the Palace players pressed our players as they are receiving the ball while ours would arrive to press after the opponents have gotten control of the ball and are already making the next decision.

We only play well when the opponents have a lowish intensity which happens “down” teams with the bigger games - Man City, Arsenal etc -  because these opponents would rather not work as hard but let their talents do the work - however unlike us they recognize the smaller teams know they are at a disadvantage talent-wise and have to up their defensive work rate These bigger guys respond in kind to up theirs. Our manager does prepare the team for this. Think of it as a maths problem: Talent + work rate = performance. A 5 Talent + 7 work rate / intensity would defeat an 8 Talent + 2 work rate. This is what we are seeing. 
 

We are at the stage now where even the minnows smell blood and are no longer falling back to press us from their back third of the pitch but looking to match us toe to toe on our home patch, pressing us all over the pitch. 
 

Poch has brought sad times  

 

[JFKvsNixon 55]

Just now, robsblubot said:

Honestly, I don't trust these stats on face value. Take the Broja play as an example: it was a long ball (Silva I think) and Broja's first touch was fantastic, and his finish wasn't bad. If the stat counts that as a "should've scored" does it consider the quality of the first touch, or that the ball travelled 50 meters and had quite a bit of weight on it?

Not sure Palmer has the physique for false 9 tbh. I'd prob do similarly, but Nkunku.

XG takes into account the difficulty of the chance, for example the XG of Jackson's miss would be higher than the XG of Broja's.  So you can see that even though Palace had more shots, and more shots on target, our XG was almost 2 goals better which does accurately reflects how the game panned out.

Even if you don't trust XG completely, and believe that as I suggested, instead of perfuming to our XG, we were only 10 points better off, then our season would be looking a whole lot different. That also doesn't take into account the negativity associated with not scoring chances, it makes all of the team hesitant and insecure, when defenders worry that one mistake will cost us the match.

[LAM09 7,056]

6 minutes ago, robsblubot said:

Where are they playing now? Kovacic is average now? Kai is getting Arsenal points.... if he is average what the fuck is Madueke then?
Pulisic would be a sure starter in this squad... he starts for Milan regularly.

I stated first two for a reason. One has been forgotten, and the other has been a running joke for his club despite his price tag. Madueke wasn't part of the quote, so....

Just look at my post a page or two back to see where I believe our exceptions are compared to a side that were CWC holders - 

Are we a PL winner or, arguably, a CL-calibre side, probably not. However, we are far from the midtable fodder that Poch is slowly turning us into. If you believe we're tenth place or below standard, fair enough.

[bluesman2610 1,417]

21 minutes ago, robsblubot said:

Agreed, but I don't know to what extent that's already been done or not. It could be that they are doing a good job, but it's taking time for the youngsters to understand, and especially put it into practice.
I've always played (amateur level along some semi-pro players) mid/forward and always struggled in defensive positions. Played FB a few times and it was always a struggle. Reading of the game is hard. 🙂 Trying to guess what pacey players will do is hard. Esp at this level where the opposition plays so quickly, you have to be quick to read the other team's movement.

Like you, I played at a decent level even on trial at Newcastle United and Hearts during my teenage years, but I played as Mid/CB, and reading the game was something my dad who coached me for most of my life drilled into our team from a young age. You have to know where the danger is, in that situation putting yourself between the ball and the nearest attacking player.

[robsblubot 3,595]

Just now, JFKvsNixon said:

XG takes into account the difficulty of the chance, for example the XG of Jackson's miss would be higher than the XG of Broja's.  So you can see that even though Palace had more shots, and more shots on target, our XG was almost 2 goals better which does accurately reflects how the game panned out.

Even if you don't trust XG completely, and believe that as I suggested, instead of perfuming to our XG, we were only 10 points better off, then our season would be looking a whole lot different. That also doesn't take into account the negativity associated with not scoring chances, it makes all of the team hesitant and insecure, when defenders worry that one mistake will cost us the match.

fair enough. 👍

And yes, I definitely agree that a competent striker/attacker esp if ready (not another project) could be making the difference, which would might also improve the confidence of the young players in the team.

1 minute ago, LAM09 said:

I stated first two for a reason. One has been forgotten, and the other has been a running joke for his club despite his price tag. Madueke wasn't part of the quote, so....

Just look at my post a page or two back to see where I believe our exceptions are compared to a side that were CWC holders - 

Are we a PL winner or, arguably, a CL-calibre side, probably not. However, we are far from the midtable fodder that Poch is slowly turning us into. If you believe we're tenth place or below standard, fair enough.

I do. This team as-is is nowhere near CL qualification IMO. It's also a new team built from scratch, which was not the case last season.

[Blue Armour 4,443]

17 minutes ago, Fulham Broadway said:

Poetic justice for Madueke - Palace threw him out as a kid

Well deserved. Palace fans were booing Gallagher throughout the game too. 

Result blew up in their face

[Fulham Broadway 17,319]

Somethings happening though. A lot of people on here getting excited either negatively or positively judging by the number of post match comments - maybe people are sniffing potential.....😘

[Vesper 30,195]

39 minutes ago, Fulham Broadway said:

Commentator said he was red carded 18 times 😄

13

https://www.sportskeeda.com/football/10-players-red-cards-football-history-ramos-pochettino

#9 Mauricio Pochettino- 13 reds

most:

#2 Sergio Ramos- 26 reds

#1 Gerardo Bedoya- 46 reds

[Blue Armour 4,443]

Just now, Vesper said:

13

https://www.sportskeeda.com/football/10-players-red-cards-football-history-ramos-pochettino

#9 Mauricio Pochettino- 13 reds

most:

#2 Sergio Ramos- 26 reds

#1 Gerardo Bedoya- 46 reds

Also fought with Drogba when they played in France, lol.

[Vesper 30,195]

[Blue Armour 4,443]

Also did anyone else also enjoy our youth player Gilchrist's enthusiasm today?

This is what I want to see from Chelsea academy players.

Would like to see more of him on the pitch.

[DDA 9,941]

I thought Lavia looked good when he came on. Could end up being a really important player for us with his playing through the lines.

Caicedo was hurrendous.

[Blue Armour 4,443]

Just now, DDA said:

I thought Lavia looked good when he came on. Could end up being a really important player for us with his playing through the lines.

Caicedo was hurrendous.

Yep, Lavia looked really clued in from the moment he came on.

Didn't show signs of rustiness despite being months out.

And that's saying something, considering he's only a teenager.

 

[Blue Armour 4,443]

4 minutes ago, Blue Armour said:

Also did anyone else also enjoy our youth player Gilchrist's enthusiasm today?

This is what I want to see from Chelsea academy players.

Would like to see more of him on the pitch.

I mean look at this gif

Giving me John Terry vibes 😂

[DDA 9,941]

1 minute ago, Blue Armour said:

I mean look at this gif

Giving me John Terry vibes 😂

Yea i was loving that when he came on and showed that tenacity. We really need that.

[whats happening 1,618]

looks like lavia got injured today