Didn’t you just sign the GK from Turkey today?
2019/20 Rivals - Chelsea
- Thread starter AkaAkuma
- Start date
That's a load of bollocks.
After Bournemouth leicester have to play Sheffield, Spurs and us. I still fancy Chelsea to finish in a ucl spot
It's quite annoying how many players at the 'top clubs' are just so incredibly average at best yet made it so far because of someone they knew or a stroke of luck somewhere. Rudiger wouldn't look out of place at the other end of the table, Jorginho offers nothing meaningful to any attacking team, Abraham is hilariously bad.
As was said earlier, Chelsea do not have a centre half leader. Putting Jorginho back in today was a mistake, a thousand sideways passes hurts no one and he lacks the dynamism for the PL. Giroud is a better centre forward than Abraham, there are times to develop a player and in a dogfight for CL at the end of a season isn’t it.
So two poor selections today, and some lovely attacking talent coming in but who is that centre half who materials a defence? Who is the first choice midfielder who raises everyone else’s level?
So two poor selections today, and some lovely attacking talent coming in but who is that centre half who materials a defence? Who is the first choice midfielder who raises everyone else’s level?
Chelsea have been leaning on that good run of form back in the autumn when they won 6 on the spin for a long time now. Since then they've picked up 34 points from 22 games, which isnt even close to top 4 form. They've been very lucky that we only picked up so late in the season and that Leicester's form has gone off a cliff since December, along with Spurs and Arsenal's travails. 60 points after 35 games would put them 7th in the table last year.
They have some good players there, but there's a junky feel about their squad, like its made of random parts left over from other eras. They don't have the youth and fitness to press from the front, they don't have the quality to dominate possession, they don't have the defenders to sit deep and counter, or the pace in midfield and defence to play a high line. When they attack they leave spaces all over the defence. Everything's a bad fit.
I think they're where we were a year ago, trying to figure out how to clear a lot of deadwood while also building something new, wrestling with where exactly to start the rebuild. It'll be interesting to see if Lampard is as ruthless as Ole was.
They have some good players there, but there's a junky feel about their squad, like its made of random parts left over from other eras. They don't have the youth and fitness to press from the front, they don't have the quality to dominate possession, they don't have the defenders to sit deep and counter, or the pace in midfield and defence to play a high line. When they attack they leave spaces all over the defence. Everything's a bad fit.
I think they're where we were a year ago, trying to figure out how to clear a lot of deadwood while also building something new, wrestling with where exactly to start the rebuild. It'll be interesting to see if Lampard is as ruthless as Ole was.
He didn't really have a choice re Jorginho. Gimour, Kante and Kovacic all injured. Plus Jorginho played really well when he came on earler in the week.
I disagree with that replacing Hazard with a decent winger is like replacing the best player in the history of the game with a decent winger in a team that has been built around said player for 10 years.
Kovacic was on the bench today.
They are reinforcing well though. Roman always spends the money when he needs to add quality. They have reinforced the attack, and they will do the same with the defence.
We are definitely looking better than them at the moment, but the investment they can make this summer could spring them back up.
They don't have budget restrictions, unlike us where we are limited by net spend and Glazeronomics.
Just to think if City actually showed up against them we would already be ahead of them and moving 4 clear of them if we win at Soton. Well, I'll take the 1 point clear come Monday still pretty please.
Yep, making up the numbers with Lewis Bate because there was nobody else. Even Batshuayi made the bench today!
Pulisic was shite today but has been by far their best player post covid
Didn’t have a choice with Giroud either. He is 33, so can’t play every game let alone one after 3 days.
I don’t think Lampards been great. If he wasn’t a ex player there would be more criticism from Chelsea fans. But next season he’d definitely will need to improve.
Honest opinion from Chelsea fans, do you guys think Lampard is good enough to take you guys forward?
Everytime I watch Chelsea, all the danger comes down their right side.
Maybe its a bit early for James? He seems to get lost defensively at times.
Maybe its a bit early for James? He seems to get lost defensively at times.
If the season finished tomorrow (after we drop to 5th) and we miss out on Champions league, I reckon it''s about as expected at the start of the season.
Going forward, once he is able to get some of his own players in then we'll see. He needs to sort out the goalie. Put Kepa or Willy in goal for Man United or Leicester and you'd have less points as well!
They need to sort out the defence first, but seem to be buying all in attack.
When's the last time Kepa was picked for the national team?
The point is that Lampard set his midfield today with no balance. Kovacic & Jorginho play together with one of Mount or Barkley will provide more balance than how he set it up today.
Sometimes 3
Who would you have picked, without Kante, Kovacic and Gilmour?
I’ve said for ages and been slated but even with reinforcements this Chelsea team is miles away from the title.
Are you not reading? Kovacic is on the bench today, he's available.
I am reading, no need to be rude.
Why do you think he didn't come off the bench today despite us having 5 available subs? He's missed the last few games thought injury and was making up the numbers alongside Bate and Batsuayi because we didn't have any other players available.
Thank you, saw this on Reddit pre-lockdown and it's a pretty damning stat. De Gea's wobbles don't change that.
If that's rude then you are softy mate.
Why bring Kovacic from the bench when you were already behind.
Because he might improve the side. Don't bother replying again to a softy like me.
Improve what? You were already 2-0 behind, too late to bring him on. You needed goals, bringing Kovacic on in that situation doesn't make sense and that's why he brought on players who can score goals. I know you're upset for today's result but doesn't mean you can be sensitive and take everything into personal.
Their new shirt sponsor will be happy though.
Their defense its playind ridiculously bad, that feck up from Rudiger in the third goal was something else.
I dont think its only due to the players, their defence wasnt that bad before the break, Lampard is failing there.
I dont think its only due to the players, their defence wasnt that bad before the break, Lampard is failing there.
I wouldn't know where to start when it comes to chelsea, I've still no idea how Conte won that league so convincingly with that team, I've still no idea how they finished top 4 last season and battered Arsenal the way they did in the EL final, I've no idea how Lampard has kept them in the top 4 this season with an even worse side than Conte had, when I look back I assume I just continually underrate them and they're not as bad as I think but then I see the likes of Kepa, Rudiger, Mount and they just look so average. Feck knows, weird team
What you mean? Conte team was good.
You had Kante and Matic in front protecting the defence. Luiz protected by having two other CBs by him. Alonso and Moses were decent that season and obviously again had good protection around them. Then you had two game changers Costa and Hazard.
So why is it hard to imagine that team winning the league?
And if Huddersfield won every game last season they'd have won the league.
First time this season I felt Lampard let the team down. Starting Tammy against 3 CBs made no sense given that they were always going to play deeper, the subs were questionable (Pulisic was again the best among a shower of shit, why take him off and leave on Willian), and switching to 3 at the back so we could just aimlessly ping crosses into a single target who is mediocre in the air (until Giroud came on, at least) was never going to work.
I always hate playing 4-3-3 into 3-5-2; the latter is more or less designed to counter the former - it's 3v3 in midfield so little advantage there, if the 4-3-3 team wants to push its FBs forward then it's for only the marginal gain of a slightly better crossing position (into a feckton of bodies anyway) whilst the 3-5-2 team has a 2v3 more or less all the time (more like a 2v2 given one of the 3 is Jorginho). 4-2-3-1 was badly needed today. That said, if Kovacic wasn't fit then who the hell knows; perhaps I'm being harsh and Lampard's hands were tied more or less.
I always hate playing 4-3-3 into 3-5-2; the latter is more or less designed to counter the former - it's 3v3 in midfield so little advantage there, if the 4-3-3 team wants to push its FBs forward then it's for only the marginal gain of a slightly better crossing position (into a feckton of bodies anyway) whilst the 3-5-2 team has a 2v3 more or less all the time (more like a 2v2 given one of the 3 is Jorginho). 4-2-3-1 was badly needed today. That said, if Kovacic wasn't fit then who the hell knows; perhaps I'm being harsh and Lampard's hands were tied more or less.
You've answered the question yourself; Luiz, Moses, Alonso, everything says those 3 shouldn't be part of a starting XI that wins a league and yet they did and let's take it even further other regular starters were Cahill, Pedro, not bad players by any means but that's half their outfield players, normally title winning teams will carry 1 maybe 2 players of a less than stellar standard but Chelsea did it with half their regular starting XI
But fair play, all those players had seasons of their lives and all looked world beaters and won the league by a canter and Conte deserved massive credit as well especially as before the change to 3 at the back they looked like they would have a season that level of players should have had
Salty much...
Indeed.
No just pointing out that your logic is absolutely ridiculous.
Barkely's a weird one,isn't he.
Very tidy on the ball and has a great knack of finding spaces but,when on the ball, seems to do very little with it.
Very surprised he took the freekick today with Willian beside him too. Perfect Willian territory . Oh well.
Very tidy on the ball and has a great knack of finding spaces but,when on the ball, seems to do very little with it.
Very surprised he took the freekick today with Willian beside him too. Perfect Willian territory . Oh well.