Spurs were a point behind you
2019/20 Rivals - Chelsea
- Thread starter AkaAkuma
- Start date
I know. Miles.
You lot were light years and you've got posters giving it the billy big bollocks because you've signed the England U21 second choice full back and some welsh dude from the 2nd division.
It's an outrage!
We’ll be relegated too so no worries.
I don't care tbh, but I do think we'll finish above you lot.If we don’t we really are in trouble.
Willian had been given the number 10 shirt, Chelsea fans on Twitter are not happy.
Presumably we'll sign a Hazard replacement next summer, when no ban. 10 shirt probably be up for grabs again.
Willian a long standing player, coming off Copa victory. Won everything apart from CL with us and shown his loyalty.
Seems a logical decision to me.
The silly romantics (me) wanted CHO as the 10.
Not overly bothered by this. I hope its just a token of goodwill and he is mostly benched in favour of others. He should play the big games because he can only operate well when he has space to attack.
Can see what you mean. He should earn 10 though.
Sign the contract and show us he's good enough for number 10, next year.
He knows he'll get the games this year with Lampard in to play youth.
According to the BBC, Hudson-Odoi has signed a five year contract extension.
Great news!
https://www.bbc.co.uk/sport/football/49091233
Great news!
https://www.bbc.co.uk/sport/football/49091233
It's a ridiculous sum of money for a fairly unproven player but it comes as no surprise especially considering the nonsense wages Rashford some how hypnotized the club into signing.
I just hope these young players aspirations match their bank accounts, if not we will have an abundance of Lingard clones breaking into first team football.
£100K? That's barely Drinkwater money nowadays.
People don’t seem to be able to come to terms with recent inflation. Messi’s contract with Barca is worth £1.6m a week.
I bet even Ravel Morrison is picking up £30k a week and he’s been tossing it off the past 5 years.
Saw him in glimpses last season. Looked pretty good. Any idea when he will be fit to play again.
Rumours are he could make the end of pre season.
Wow thats an amazing recovery. Thought I saw somewhere he could be out till September. I feel Lampard may take slowly with him.
How has Pulisic been doing?
These are his highlights from the 60-odd minutes he played today, which was his first start (he was a late sub against Kawasaki and didn't really do much).
01.15 is decent. I didn't know he was pretty pacey.
Great news on CHO, I imagine he'll be starting when fit this season as one of 3 behind striker, and hopefully develop enough to take 10 shirt next year.
Going to be a very interesting season.
Going to be a very interesting season.
Sound !
Kind of a new excitement I'm feeling this time round, feels strange a bit and is definitely new.
With Mourinho's arrival, return and Conte's appointment I was excited because I knew we we're going to be successful immediately whereas this time I know it's not going to happen (long shot of a written in the stars CL run but a league win this early on just isn't happening) but it genuinely looks like we are building something sustainable with players who "feel" the club, as much as I enjoyed the last two titles we won them with no real plan on how to move forward after the win was secured, especially in 2015.
What system has Lampard been going with then?
Chelsea is the only team of the top 6 that I got no gut feeling about, might dissapoint or do great. Learned to never under-estimate them though.
This.
I understand Chelsea are rivals and most would enjoy seeing them doing poorly. However, I never understood why every season there’s a sizeable portion that assume Chelsea will fade into the abyss. Even when they have a terrible season, they’ve shown over the past 10+ years that they can bounce back the next season.
Frank Lampard is a very talented, capable and smart coach. Saw his Derby give Chelsea a total runaround on Stamford Bridge in Carabao Cup, last November. Derby did lose very narrowly (3:2 and two unfortunate own goals by Derby), but it was on Stamford Bridge, with at-that-point undefeated Chelsea's nearly perfect squad (minus Hazard) and the only thing you could take away from the game was huge respect for Lampard and the job he did with Derby. Also, don't forget that he got Derby very close to promotion to PL.
Nobody should underestimate Lampard's Chelsea this year. Obviously they are in tough spot with transfer ban, but if he was able to succeed with Derby's players, I have no doubt he will also perform very well with whomever he's got at Chelsea. They will definitely fight for top 4, and I won't be surprised if they finish above Arsenal.
Obviously, as a United fan, I hope we will finish above Chelsea, but we absolutely need to get a quality CB (Maguire?) and middle-field reinforcements. Honestly, I am also very unsure of our current attackers. We really need to stop Woodward's cheap-o "gotta recoup money" silliness – sell Lukaku at whatever price Inter is willing to pay and get a quality striker in! Yes our defense was abysmal, but at the end of last year we also couldn't score goals. It wasn't just the defense!
Nobody should underestimate Lampard's Chelsea this year. Obviously they are in tough spot with transfer ban, but if he was able to succeed with Derby's players, I have no doubt he will also perform very well with whomever he's got at Chelsea. They will definitely fight for top 4, and I won't be surprised if they finish above Arsenal.
Obviously, as a United fan, I hope we will finish above Chelsea, but we absolutely need to get a quality CB (Maguire?) and middle-field reinforcements. Honestly, I am also very unsure of our current attackers. We really need to stop Woodward's cheap-o "gotta recoup money" silliness – sell Lukaku at whatever price Inter is willing to pay and get a quality striker in! Yes our defense was abysmal, but at the end of last year we also couldn't score goals. It wasn't just the defense!
Impressive pace. Reminds me of our Dan James. Pulisic seems to also have a problem with quality finishing, just like James. In that video, not only Pulisic went wide, he also chose the wrong corner, should have gone for the far corner, harder for goalkeeper to defend. But we know Dan James is young and not ready to start matches. Pulisic should be more experienced and a starting player, he should do better with shots, much better.
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Pulisic is a year younger than Dan James.
Dan James is older but inexperienced. Pulisic is experienced and year younger.
They’re finishing 8th this season
Yes he is. I didn't say anything about age, I said he was more experienced. Pulisic played in Bundesliga and Europa League (granted: not as a starter). Dan James only played in the Championship. But more importantly, I *think* Lampard wants Pulisic to be his regular, where we know Dan James will need to grow and will probably only play cup games, be a substitute, for a while.
When you said James was "young" I took that as a reference to age. You must have been using its other, secret meaning.
Probably, because we will not end up in the Top6 next season.
I am not sold on that. Actually, I did not see anything that suggests he is a very talended coach. He did alright with Derby, but he will need to improve. There is no doubt about that.
We could finish better or worse. I guess that 8th is indeed the most likely outcome.
Gold!I don't think finishing 8th is even a probable outcome let alone the most likely.
I'd say 5th and get to a final are the goals this season.
Lampard in first premier League season, no Hazard means any better not realistic imo.
Kids could step up and push us in top 4 but a big ask.
Lampard in first premier League season, no Hazard means any better not realistic imo.
Kids could step up and push us in top 4 but a big ask.
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I can be pessimistic with the best of them but top 4 is very much open with question marks over both United and Arsenal too.
Right now i'd make Chelsea favourites to get 4th, if United get Maguire they probably just go ahead in my thinking.
Right now i'd make Chelsea favourites to get 4th, if United get Maguire they probably just go ahead in my thinking.
We lost the player who pretty much carried us for the past seasons.
Pulisic is the only addition to the squad, a player that still needs a few years to hit his peak.
We have several important players that are injured. We have a manager with no top level experience. How can anyone expect a Top 4 finish is beyond me...
Pulisic is the only addition to the squad, a player that still needs a few years to hit his peak.
We have several important players that are injured. We have a manager with no top level experience. How can anyone expect a Top 4 finish is beyond me...
Honestly, "top level experience" is overrated, for some coaches. Both Pep and Zidane won Champions League in their first seasons at Barca and Real Madrid. Pep actually won treble, and Zidane finished 2nd (one point behind Barca) in La Liga. Neither of them had that legendary "top level experience" before that. Compared to them Lampard is immensely experienced with his impressive record at Derby, last year.
Losing Hazard and transfer ban are definitely big problems, but Lampard's inexperience - not so much. He's good, he will impress, more so when the ban is lifted, but I wouldn't dismiss him in this season, either. What he has over some of those "top level experience" coaches (*cough*, Mourinho) - he can make team without stars perform very well.
I think Lampard was a very smart appointment. But then again, I also think Ole was a good appointment, so maybe I am just sentimental?
Time will show 
If you mean me, it's not that I expect top 4. I think as things stand Chelsea have the best equipped squad of the contenders (I think City, Liverpool and Spurs are decently ahead)
Hazard is obviously a loss but I think there has also been a tendency to overly rely on him.
Compare the teams that Zidande and Pep took over with the team that Lampard is inheriting. It is not a reasonable comparison.Honestly, "top level experience" is overrated, for some coaches. Both Pep and Zidane won Champions League in their first seasons at Barca and Real Madrid. .......
I think Lampard was a very smart appointment. But then again, I also think Ole was a good appointment, so maybe I am just sentimental?
Yes, I did mean you. Well, as things stand I would pick Man Utd above us (they do not have a snake in their nest anymore and AWB is decent transfer; also it's not like we were miles above 4th, 5th and 6th last season.)
I agree that Arsenal has not strengthened properly, so if it stays like that (for which there are no guarantees, becase they can actually sign players this window.) I would not necessarily expect them in the top 6.
You also should consider what they achieved. No one is expecting Lampard to win the league and CL? It should be good enough for top 4.