Chelsea 2020/21 - General discussion

el3mel

Full Member
Joined
Oct 23, 2016
Messages
43,735
Location
Egypt
When you say "solve your problems", I don't really know what you mean. All he needs to do is be better than Kepa and that's our defence improved. Is he going to turn us into a 2004 Chelsea defence? Of course not but nobody expects that.

Replacing 3 of the back 5 cannot be described as "done absolutely nothing". Has any team ever replaced more of a defence than that in one window?
I don't expect anything from Mendy to be average at best to be honest. He won't be disastrous as Kepa but I don't think he'll be anything brilliant or worth noting by the end. That's hardly the upgrade you should seek if you asked me. I know the bar with Kepa playing now is very low but it's definitely not enough to replace him with just a no name GK for the future.

Replacing them with cheap, short term, or very old options isn't really solving your defense issues. Solving the issue means spending money om top players that will bring instant impact and solve the issue for the future. Your team simply didn't. You focused the spending on signing attackers and went for some free/cheap options for defense.
 

Dancfc

Full Member
Joined
Oct 28, 2016
Messages
7,392
Supports
Chelsea
You signed a 36 years old CB, a no name keeper and a very good left back (I'll give you the rest). Hardly "strengthening defense", in comparison to the money you splashed on the attackers in the market. Your team needed at least 2 very good center backs at their prime, but you decided to went for cheap and plan b or c options and focus spending on the attack instead.
You're underestimating Silva purely because of his age (you lot should be the last to do that after enjoying Zlatan at the exact same age but I digress), he still has a lot of quality and only recently kept the world's best striker quiet on the biggest stage of all.

As for the "no name" keeper, some players are late bloomers. Keylor Navas was swimming around in mediocrity until a similar age and he did allright for himself. Although he had his success at Ajax wasn't VDS bumming about at Fulham at an even later age after failing at Juve?

Also which defenders "in their prime" were available to justify binning off the chance to sign a generational talent? The best realistically available were probably Ake and Ruben Dias and they've hardly tightened City up have they?
 

duffer

Sensible and not a complete jerk like most oppo's
Scout
Joined
Jun 24, 2004
Messages
50,138
Location
Chelsea (the saviours of football) fan.
I don't expect anything from Mendy to be average at best to be honest. He won't be disastrous as Kepa but I don't think he'll be anything brilliant or worth noting by the end. That's hardly the upgrade you should seek if you asked me. I know the bar with Kepa playing now is very low but it's definitely not enough to replace him with just a no name GK for the future.

Replacing them with cheap, short term, or very old options isn't really solving your defense issues. Solving the issue means spending money om top players that will bring instant impact and solve the issue for the future. Your team simply didn't. You focused the spending on signing attackers and went for some free/cheap options for defense.
You make it sound easy. What if the top players don't want to come? What if the clubs don't want to sell?

Chelsea can't just go and buy Oblak & Van Dijk. It's not a computer game.

Lets wait until our new defensive signings have played a few games before we write them off as not having solved our defensive issues.
 

el3mel

Full Member
Joined
Oct 23, 2016
Messages
43,735
Location
Egypt
You make it sound easy. What if the top players don't want to come? What if the clubs don't want to sell?

Chelsea can't just go and buy Oblak & Van Dijk. It's not a computer game.

Lets wait until our new defensive signings have played a few games before we write them off as not having solved our defensive issues.
You have signed Kai, Werner and Zyach, 3 top attackers up front for ton of money. Of course you can get better options than a no name GK or 36 years old CB on free, but you just decided to focus the majority of your budget on the attack last window.

I don't think these will be enough options and you'll still leak goals throughout the majority of the season but yeah let's wait and see.
 

sammsky1

Pochettino's #1 fan
Joined
Feb 10, 2008
Messages
32,841
Location
London
They didn't sign many players for the defensive structure....same keeper (o.k he'd be out if Mendy was fit), Zouma, James, Azpi, Christensen all there last season and Jorginho and Kante anchoring midfield so Lampard shouldn't have to do too much to get a solid defensive shape....if he's indeed capable of that which I really doubt from what I've seen from his managerial career so far.
Fair point. Yeah their defence is a shit show, even worse than United’s
 

Dancfc

Full Member
Joined
Oct 28, 2016
Messages
7,392
Supports
Chelsea
You have signed Kai, Werner and Zyach, 3 top attackers up front for ton of money. Of course you can get better options than a no name GK or 36 years old CB on free, but you just decided to focus the majority of your budget on the attack last window.

I don't think these will be enough options and you'll still leak goals throughout the majority of the season but yeah let's wait and see.
Ive literally just countered your ludicrous "no name" dig.

How about you put your money where your mouth, name the defenders and keepers realistically available last summer that was worth abandoning a generational talent for? I mean you need a CB to replace Maguire more than you need a RW to replace Greenwood but i'm sure you'll prioritize Sancho over any non elite CB, right?
 

Dancfc

Full Member
Joined
Oct 28, 2016
Messages
7,392
Supports
Chelsea
Fair point. Yeah their defence is a shit show, even worse than United’s
Difference is our main culprits won't sniff the pitch with everyone available, you lot will still persist with DDG, Lindelof and Maguire.
 

el3mel

Full Member
Joined
Oct 23, 2016
Messages
43,735
Location
Egypt
Ive literally just countered your ludicrous "no name" dig.

How about you put your money where your mouth, name the defenders and keepers realistically available last summer that was worth abandoning a generational talent for? I mean you need a CB to replace Maguire more than you need a RW to replace Greenwood but i'm sure you'll prioritize Sancho over any non elite CB, right?
Sorry, didn't see your post above.

You're underestimating Silva purely because of his age (you lot should be the last to do that after enjoying Zlatan at the exact same age but I digress), he still has a lot of quality and only recently kept the world's best striker quiet on the biggest stage of all.

As for the "no name" keeper, some players are late bloomers. Keylor Navas was swimming around in mediocrity until a similar age and he did allright for himself. Although he had his success at Ajax wasn't VDS bumming about at Fulham at an even later age after failing at Juve?

Also which defenders "in their prime" were available to justify binning off the chance to sign a generational talent? The best realistically available were probably Ake and Ruben Dias and they've hardly tightened City up have they?
It's not dig though. Why would I have a dig at him ? It's just the fact. He's a no name keeper at this point. Your response is that some mediocre keepers managed to become good after that, yeah that doesn't change the point about Mendy. I bet you didn't even know his name last season but you're now considering mentioning it a "dig". Pretty weird response really. Beside Navas wasn't really a great keeper in my opinion, he was just a keeper that can do the job. Madrid kept on dreaming of getting De Gea and Courtois even while he was doing decently well for them.

No we're not underestimating Silva, and it's totally different to compare a striker to a CB in terms of position requirement. A slow striker can still do well in PL imo, but a 36 years old CB at the end of his career will have ton of problems adapting to the pace and intensity of the PL attackers in comparison to the French and Italian leagues he played in throughout his entire career. I said it before the season and maintain that if you're depending on Silva to solve your defensive issues from last season then great news for your rivals. Let's wait and see.
 

sammsky1

Pochettino's #1 fan
Joined
Feb 10, 2008
Messages
32,841
Location
London
Out of interest, is there a FrankOUT campaign amongst Chelsea fans yet?
 
Last edited:

el3mel

Full Member
Joined
Oct 23, 2016
Messages
43,735
Location
Egypt
I have seen some on Theshedend forum starting to turn on Lampard today, actually.
 

Dancfc

Full Member
Joined
Oct 28, 2016
Messages
7,392
Supports
Chelsea
Sorry, didn't see your post above.



It's not dig though. Why would I have a dig at him ? It's just the fact. He's a no name keeper at this point. Your response is that some mediocre keepers managed to become good after that, yeah that doesn't change the point about Mendy. I bet you didn't even know his name last season but you're now considering mentioning it a "dig". Pretty weird response really. Beside Navas wasn't really a great keeper in my opinion, he was just a keeper that can do the job. Madrid kept on dreaming of getting De Gea and Courtois even while he was doing decently well for them.

No we're not underestimating Silva, and it's totally different to compare a striker to a CB in terms of position requirement. A slow striker can still do well in PL imo, but a 36 years old CB at the end of his career will have ton of problems adapting to the pace and intensity of the PL attackers in comparison to the French and Italian leagues he played in throughout his entire career. I said it before the season and maintain that if you're depending on Silva to solve your defensive issues from last season then great news for your rivals. Let's wait and see.
Ive liked what I seen of Silva so far although admittedly early days. Despite the mistake at WBA he's organized us well and his positioning is still top class, we played a high line Vs a dangerous and pacey counter attacking side (Palace who have won more away games vs big six sides in recent years than big six sides themselves) with Silva in and didn't give them a sniff.

Will he improve us to 2005 standards? Obviously not but I feel he can have a similar type of impact Samuel Eto'o did when he came to us in his twilight years.
 

duffer

Sensible and not a complete jerk like most oppo's
Scout
Joined
Jun 24, 2004
Messages
50,138
Location
Chelsea (the saviours of football) fan.
I have seen some on Theshedend forum starting to turn on Lampard today, actually.
I say someone start a thread there (a new user of course) calling for him to be sacked. This was the entirity of his/her post:

I think Lampard took enough chance but

he didn’t be successful

now in beginning the season must to leaves Chelse

I think if someone can't spell Chelsea, they are probably not the most die-hard of Chelsea fans.
 

el3mel

Full Member
Joined
Oct 23, 2016
Messages
43,735
Location
Egypt
I say someone start a thread there (a new user of course) calling for him to be sacked. This was the entirity of his/her post:

I think Lampard took enough chance but

he didn’t be successful

now in beginning the season must to leaves Chelse

I think if someone can't spell Chelsea, they are probably not the most die-hard of Chelsea fans.
Was actually talking about Lampard performance thread. Haven't seen this one yet.
 

Gringo

Full Member
Joined
Jul 4, 2019
Messages
3,396
Supports
Portugal
How long did Liverpool look clueless for under Klopp ? Was it more than a season ? Time is ticking for Frank.
 

Amadaeus

Pochémon Fan Club Chairman
Joined
May 8, 2013
Messages
9,233
Location
Amongst footballing managerial 'Gods'
Out of interest, is there a FrankOUT campaign amongst Chelsea fans yet?
They are playing positive football in the attack. Why should there be? Even though they have a poor defense, you can expect entertaining football from Chelsea with lots of goals. The fix at Chelsea isn’t that complex. You can’t say the same at United under Ole where we look like we don’t have a clue how to play football in attack or defense unless our players feels up to it that day.
 

WeePat

Full Member
Joined
Apr 13, 2015
Messages
17,187
Supports
Chelsea
Lampard will need to figure out a way to get some defensive structure in the team because we look like we'll concede every time a team attacks. A little bit of press and our midfield gets completely overrun

Yes we can point to individual errors costing us dearly, but that second half was all Southampton and on balance they deserved at least a draw.

Team was incredible the first 35 mins and we got a glimpse into what this team can do in an attacking sense, but once Southampton realised they didn't have really have to sit back like that, the writing was on the wall.
 

Dancfc

Full Member
Joined
Oct 28, 2016
Messages
7,392
Supports
Chelsea
I mean he should care about his career......another loan move would have made no sense.
A lot of players value the security of being associated to the club.

Can often get you moves at a level you wouldn't normally get (for example Bamford got FOUR shots at a PL team despite flopping every time) and most importantly we have coaches back here watching their games and giving them feedback, we don't just send them out to fend for themselves.

It's a mutually beneficial thing especially for players like Baba who without being on our books could well have been a free agent who fell into oblivion.
 

PedroMendez

Acolyte
Joined
Aug 9, 2013
Messages
9,466
Location
the other Santa Teresa
A lot of players value the security of being associated to the club.

Can often get you moves at a level you wouldn't normally get (for example Bamford got FOUR shots at a PL team despite flopping every time) and most importantly we have coaches back here watching their games and giving them feedback, we don't just send them out to fend for themselves.

It's a mutually beneficial thing especially for players like Baba who without being on our books could well have been a free agent who fell into oblivion.
:lol:
 

WeePat

Full Member
Joined
Apr 13, 2015
Messages
17,187
Supports
Chelsea
A lot of players value the security of being associated to the club.

Can often get you moves at a level you wouldn't normally get (for example Bamford got FOUR shots at a PL team despite flopping every time) and most importantly we have coaches back here watching their games and giving them feedback, we don't just send them out to fend for themselves.

It's a mutually beneficial thing especially for players like Baba who without being on our books could well have been a free agent who fell into oblivion.
Wasn't Baba in the Bundesliga team of the season the year before we signed him? I think he would have managed his career just fine without being associated with Chelsea. His problem has been untimely serious injuries.
 

Sean_RedDevil

Twitter bot
Joined
Sep 12, 2004
Messages
21,364
Location
NYC (Before Manchester+Hamburg)
A lot of players value the security of being associated to the club.

Can often get you moves at a level you wouldn't normally get (for example Bamford got FOUR shots at a PL team despite flopping every time) and most importantly we have coaches back here watching their games and giving them feedback, we don't just send them out to fend for themselves.

It's a mutually beneficial thing especially for players like Baba who without being on our books could well have been a free agent who fell into oblivion.
He's suffered from horrendous injuries and had issues rehabilitating - why would he want to cut short a contract he'd have no hopes of signing now?
Yes my fault that i thought it would be a bit important to play football as a football player.
 

Castia

Full Member
Joined
Jun 18, 2011
Messages
18,284
I can’t believe if we beat them next week we go above them with a game in hand :lol:
 

NoLogo

Full Member
Joined
Jun 15, 2009
Messages
19,750
Location
I can't remember why I joined this war.
Just like last year, their shocking defense and awful GK will prevent them from winning anything. Talented squad no doubt but they need to find some defensive stability if they want to be title contenders again.
 

Needham

Full Member
Joined
Dec 7, 2013
Messages
11,747
Not been the same since Abramovich's visa problems. Like the kids knowing the scary headmaster is out of the country for the foreseeable. Kids are all just talking the piss until he gets back.
 

#07

makes new threads with tweets in the OP
Joined
Oct 25, 2010
Messages
23,258
Our defence is bad but Chelsea's is much worse. Their summer spending spree increasingly looks like something Florentino Perez would have done 15-20 years ago: f investing in defence, with enough firepower it's irrelevant.