Chelsea 2020/21 - General discussion

Sylar

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Chelsea charging 75£ per ticket (well majority I believe) ?
Crazy price
 

Cloud7

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That Pickford vs Mendy discussion on the previous page is one of the stranger things I've seen on here for some time. Pickford is one of the worst keepers I've seen in the top flight. Off the top of my head there hasn't been a keeper as bad in a top 8 club since Mignolet.
 

Pow

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That Pickford vs Mendy discussion on the previous page is one of the stranger things I've seen on here for some time. Pickford is one of the worst keepers I've seen in the top flight. Off the top of my head there hasn't been a keeper as bad in a top 8 club since Mignolet
It boggles the mind. They are the complete opposite as keepers.
Pickford - reckless too small error prone
Mendy - calm collects crosses for fun and solid.
 

Sylar

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Starting at £40, up to £75, it's the normal prices.

It maybe crazy but it's the same as it's been since 2012 (that was the last time our ticket prices went up).
You think normal prices is fine?

Was reading its highest in league for the new 2k fans (surprised arsenal isn't highest) and the 75£ is for the majority of the tickets rather than it being range of 40 to 75 (though that's Leeds game whilst the CL dead game will be 35£)?

Then again I think any club charging more than 35 given the limitations is clearly taking advantage to maximize profits?
I dunno, but I guess United may be similar (though id be very surprised if highest tickets exceed 50)
 

TheMagicFoolBus

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That Pickford vs Mendy discussion on the previous page is one of the stranger things I've seen on here for some time. Pickford is one of the worst keepers I've seen in the top flight. Off the top of my head there hasn't been a keeper as bad in a top 8 club since Mignolet.
Aside from Kepa last year I'd assume?

Regardless, as a participant in that discussion I found it equally baffling and infuriating. Could not come up with a more apples to oranges comparison if I was pressed.
 

GlastonSpur

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Yep. If I goto a pub, cinema, restaurant or any other place where the numbers who can attend has been reduced I don't expect a cheaper meal, pint or popcorn.
How do you think the match tomorrow will pan out?
 

Sylar

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Yep. If I goto a pub, cinema, restaurant or any other place where the numbers who can attend has been reduced I don't expect a cheaper meal, pint or popcorn.
Fair enough

As I said I wanna see what other teams are doing too but good to get your thoughts on this
 

GlastonSpur

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No idea, both sides are playing well.

Everyone is expecting Jose to park the bus and go for us on the counter but it would not surprise me if you come out blazing.

my prediction? 5-0 to Chelsea.
Like you, I've no idea how the match will pan out. Obviously any result is possible (apart from 5 - 0), but I'm feeling strangely relaxed about it.

We rested almost all our 1st XI in mid-week (although Alderweireld is out with an injury anyway), so fatigue shouldn't be an issue for us.

My prediction, is a draw or a Spurs' win, but I could easily be wrong.
 

Klopper76

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No idea, both sides are playing well.

Everyone is expecting Jose to park the bus and go for us on the counter but it would not surprise me if you come out blazing.

my prediction? 5-0 to Chelsea.
Like you, I've no idea how the match will pan out. Obviously any result is possible (apart from 5 - 0), but I'm feeling strangely relaxed about it.

We rested almost all our 1st XI in mid-week (although Alderweireld is out with an injury anyway), so fatigue shouldn't be an issue for us.

My prediction, is a draw or a Spurs' win, but I could easily be wrong.
I think a victory for either of you is a huge boost in terms of the title race.

We’re not going to be getting over 90 points this season, City have been way off the pace and you both look capable of reaching the high 80’s.

Interesting game coming up.
 

WeePat

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We're at home and I think we're the better team, but I'd accept a draw if it was offered to me right now.
 

Dave Smith

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I think a victory for either of you is a huge boost in terms of the title race.

We’re not going to be getting over 90 points this season, City have been way off the pace and you both look capable of reaching the high 80’s.

Interesting game coming up.
I agree. I reckon 86+ points wins the league this season. For that reason it will be likely that 4-5 clubs could challenge at various points this season with them coming and going. In my opinion, your team will still win the league as you've been the most consistent team for the past 36 months and typically in seasons like this the team with the most experience of winning handles the most difficult situations best.

That said, I have said since the start of the season, that this season is tailor made for Jose as the constant run of games plays well with his tactical side. The problem is that Spuds always implode at some point so history tells us that they're unreliable. As for City if they put a consistent 9 games together then they can certainly get back into it so I do not think they can be written off. Leicester I expect to do something similar to last season. As for Chelsea they're the wild card in this as they are essentially a new team so it is too early to tell where they will end up, I suspect top 3 but that is a guess.

As for Utd, this season is playing out like the past three or four. I suspect a run of games to arrive where they win a lot get themselves into the top 6, where they finally land will depend on what the others do in terms of consistency.
 

Zaphod2319

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If we can rest some players...Silva, Mount, Werner, Ziyech and get a win, the last UCL group game becomes a friendly and we can rest a lot of players ahead of this crazt congested schedule coming that has matches as close as two days apart.
 

WeePat

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A point a lot of us here made several times last season. We're barely even conceding any chances now. It sometimes looks like Mendy isn't even doing a lot but the confidence and security he gives the defenders is immeasurable.

We started Christensen and Rudiger tonight, two players who came in for HEAVY criticism last season but they looked extremely secure all night.
 
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WeePat

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0-4 Away at Sevilla is pretty impressive.
To be fair, Sevilla were missing a lot of players, as Chelsea did. We have significantly better backups to call upon. But yeah, either way, it's an impressive result.
 
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Sylar

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A point a lot of here made several times last season. We're barely even conceding any chances now. It sometimes looks Mendy isn't even doing a lot but the confidence and security he gives the defenders is immeasurable.

We started Christensen and Rudiger tonight, two players who came in for HEAVY criticism last season but they looked extremely secure all night.
Kepa was letting in shots straight at him or diving over them.
It's weird as he looked decent in his first season
 

Dancfc

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Kepa was letting in shots straight at him or diving over them.
It's weird as he looked decent in his first season
The flaws were there even then, we just tried to convince ourselves it was a first season in England thing.
 

united_99

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To be fair, Sevilla were missing a lot of players, as Chelsea did. We have significantly better backups to call upon. But yeah, either way, it's an impressive result.
Yeah, good result for you and your first big win (win against a good side) this season.
Why were Sevilla missing players? COVID?
 

Sylar

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The flaws were there even then, we just tried to convince ourselves it was a first season in England thing.
Fair enough
I think just having a keeper who does the basics is a huge improvement

Also think giroud has been either underrated or under appreciated, maybe the latter.
 

TheMagicFoolBus

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Yeah, good result for you and your first big win (win against a good side) this season.
Why were Sevilla missing players? COVID?
Both sides had already qualified for the RO16 and this game was solely for first in the group, so both managers opted to give players who've played heavy minutes a rest.

That said, it's not like either team put out a youth side or anything; Sevilla's XI was overall quite decent and likely would have troubled us more a few weeks ago. Our improvement across the board since matchday 1 (a boring if credible 0-0 at home to Sevilla) has been stark.
 

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Giroud is now the oldest player ever to score 4 goals in the CL, taking the record away from Ronaldo with about 20 days.
 

Pow

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Both sides had already qualified for the RO16 and this game was solely for first in the group, so both managers opted to give players who've played heavy minutes a rest.

That said, it's not like either team put out a youth side or anything; Sevilla's XI was overall quite decent and likely would have troubled us more a few weeks ago. Our improvement across the board since matchday 1 (a boring if credible 0-0 at home to Sevilla) has been stark.
Those 2 0 0s vs Man Utd and sevilla really gave us the platform defensively to go forward.
 

WeePat

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Fair enough
I think just having a keeper who does the basics is a huge improvement

Also think giroud has been either underrated or under appreciated, maybe the latter.
Last season I said we could literally pick any keeper from the top 2 English divisions, and as long as they do the basics right, we could have been about 7-10 points better off. Obviously we will see how Mendy fares as the season goes on, but we have so far conceded 2 goals in 11 games and kept 9 clean sheets. He hasn't really had to that actual shot saving in that stretch - the United game was probably the busiest game for him - but yet his presence in the box, snuffing out crosses with ease, making routine saves etc has already produced sparkling results. Credit to Cech who suggested him, because I had never heard of the lad before we were linked with him.
 

WeePat

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Those 2 0 0s vs Man Utd and sevilla really gave us the platform defensively to go forward.
Could those two games be the '3-0 to Arsenal' moment we had with Conte a couple of years ago?
 

Dancfc

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Those 2 0 0s vs Man Utd and sevilla really gave us the platform defensively to go forward.
Could those two games be the '3-0 to Arsenal' moment we had with Conte a couple of years ago?
I would say the Krasnodar away game was more of a turning point.

As decent as it was to keep two clean sheets against good teams like Sevilla and United given what we went through the previous year we were absolute pony going forward in both and it was a similar song in Russia for about an hour. Those two games and that hour in Krasnodar we played 4-2-3-1 and it just wasn't working (our XG rate in those games upto that point was Arsenal this season level bad) but suddenly in game against Krasnodar we changed to 4-3-3 and everything clicked almost instantly, a dodgy unconvincing 1-0 changed to a comprehensive 4-0 and since then we haven't looked back.
 

WeePat

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I would say the Krasnodar away game was more of a turning point.

As decent as it was to keep two clean sheets against good teams like Sevilla and United given what we went through the previous year we were absolute pony going forward in both and it was a similar song in Russia for about an hour. Those two games and that hour we played 4-2-3-1 and it just wasn't working (our XG rate in those games upto that point was Arsenal this season level bad) but suddenly in game against Krasnodar we changed to 4-3-3 and everything clicked almost instantly, a dodgy unconvincing 1-0 changed to a comprehensive 4-0 and since then we haven't looked back.
You're right, and I remember chatting to you about at it at the time - the change to 433 was certainly pivotal - both Havertz and Mount, in that game, went from being on the fringes of the game not really contributing much to absolutely running the show.
 

Dancfc

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You're right, and I remember chatting to you about at it at the time - the change to 433 was certainly pivotal - both Havertz and Mount, in that game, went from being on the fringes of the game not really contributing much to absolutely running the show.
Tbh at that point I was saying it (was a turning point) more in hope than expectation because a few times prior Lampard seemed to have found something good only to rip the blueprint up (main case in point Gilmour dumped straight back on the bench after his spectacular breakthrough), was half expecting a 352 rolled out at Burnley the following game :lol:

Thankfully this time he stuck to what worked and we're reaping the rewards.
 

WeePat

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Giroud has scored Chelsea's last 5 goals, starting him against Leeds is a no brainer. Nothing against Abraham specifically, as I think he has been just fine when he’s played, but sometimes another guy is in the kind of form that cannot be ignored. Giroud did the same thing last season, and we wouldn’t even in the CL if Lampard hadn’t rewarded his great form with regular starts. Not even Abraham argue with 4 goals in a single game.
 

Mb194dc

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I have a feeling Abraham will start v Leeds. Lampard is thinking long term and whilst Giroud is obviously the better finisher, Abraham won't improve on the bench and we need to play him.

We don't want to overplay Giroud as well, given he's 34 will get injured more easily. Not an issue so far.... but he can't start two games a week.
 

WeePat

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I have a feeling Abraham will start v Leeds. Lampard is thinking long term and whilst Giroud is obviously the better finisher, Abraham won't improve on the bench and we need to play him.

We don't want to overplay Giroud as well, given he's 34 will get injured more easily. Not an issue so far.... but he can't start two games a week.
He has had two starts so far, we're in no danger of overplaying Giroud just yet :)

I do hear what you're saying though, but if scoring 4 goals midweek doesn't earn you a start in the following game, then we need to review the meritocracy process. Abraham will have plenty of chances to win his place back, because Giroud will need to be managed properly, and given ample rest, if he does become the first choice CF again. Giroud took advantage Abraham being rested, Abraham will be afforded the same opportunities.
 

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Leeds style of play has left them open to pacy forwards getting behind their line. The best way to attack them would be a 4-3-3 with Pulisic-Werner-Ziyech.