Two finals + 3rd in his first season is on paper a very successful year. If he wins the Europa League it's an excellent season for the club.
But it still feels a strange match.
Maurizio Sarri - Chelsea coach
- Thread starter roonster09
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But it still feels a strange match.
It's so odd how Chelsea finished 3rd and might win the EL. Sarri got the most negative press over the whole season out of all EPL coaches that didnt get fired at some point. That's my impression at least.
He's done very well, despite looking like he was going to get sacked at one point. I'm not sure what that shows but I'm sure it shows something.
Don't forget the massive contribution of Hazard. He has got Chelsea out of a hole on many occasions.
He is a good coach. You could see the type of football he wants to play, and he is doing a decent job so far. He is the kind of manager you invest in, give more time and back in the transfer market. Chelsea should exercise more patience.
If he is sacked by Chelsea, United should get him.
And if you both didn't go on title winning form for a couple of months earlier in the season we wouldn't have even had to worry about either of you, swings and roundabouts.
72 points is usually enough for top four, I'd say we would have actually been unlucky to have missed out on that total.
I love that other Chelsea fans say it’s the most boring football they’ve ever seen at the club but Jose was putting out utter shit with BETTER options at his disposal. Madness.
It's not even the worst football in two years. Football under Sarri is a lot better than the garbage Conte was serving up last year.
6 points behind Pep's first season, same amount of goals concedeed, yes, less goals scored...
I know City looked better than Chelsea comparing both seasons, but the wages Sarri is on, the hype and the backing he'll get from Chelsea won't be the same as Pep had in City, so all in all, I think he's not that bad for a first year manager in the EPL
I know City looked better than Chelsea comparing both seasons, but the wages Sarri is on, the hype and the backing he'll get from Chelsea won't be the same as Pep had in City, so all in all, I think he's not that bad for a first year manager in the EPL
Aye. Which was worse - the 3-4-3 with Willian, Pedro and Bakayoko being shite, or the 3-5-1-1 when he dropped the wingers and let Eden just try to create something?
If you’re gonna compare their first seasons, you have to look at the quality of the squads too. Sarri did a heck of a job finishing only 6 points off of Pep’s first season. But you’re right. Long term, we don’t have the free spending oil money anymore.
I think the 433 with the two offensive midfielders being Kovacic who offers nothing going forward & Kante who is the best defensive midfielder in the world, combined with our deepest lying midfielder being slow and rubbish at tackling is far worse. It's not like he hasn't been playing that losing hand...all season? He makes like-for-like substitutions and does not attempt to change our approach or the formation when we need a goal. He is fecking bobbins. I try and get to about 10 games a year but after those shite shows at City and Everton away I was done for the season. We had one match with Conte which was an absolute disgrace and that was the away game at City, but at least it wasn't six fecking nil. Or what about his genius substitution in the FA cup? Needing a goal when 2 nil down to United. I know. Let's bring on Zappacosta for Dave. Defend him all you like but he'll be gone by Christmas.
For christ’s sake, how many times does it have to be pointed out that Kante is not and had never been a defensive midfielder?
Would take his sarri ball over any of the crap that Jose and Ole have dished up this season.
Nothing but depressing we have the worst set of management and coaches in the top 8 yet somehow we are all supposed to be excited for next season and looking forward to it.
Nothing but depressing we have the worst set of management and coaches in the top 8 yet somehow we are all supposed to be excited for next season and looking forward to it.
Revisionism and nonsense. He's always been a defensive midfielder. His best attributes are his tackling, intercepting, closing down players & space and his positioning in stopping counters. But yes. Not a defensive midfielder. Because that is not what they do. "For Christ's sake" back at you.
But, he has rarely played as a deep lying midfielder in his career. He has always been more box to box.
Love posts like this.
Any rumours of who would come in, if Hazard goes and if you can make signings?
His best attribute is his ability to cover absurd amounts of ground. When he has to play as a defensive midfielder and his movement is restricted, he is never effective. Or are you forgetting that Conte played him there initially and we got absolutely bummed 3-0 vs. Arsenal? Or how France struggled to play with Kante, Pogba, and Matuidi in midfield until Deschamps switched to 4-2-3-1 and moved Matuidi wide left?
The great advantage of Kante is that he allows a 2 man midfield to compete with a 3. This is why Leicester were so successful - Kante effectively lets them play with a spare man elsewhere. Restricting his movement vertically by making him play as a defensive midfielder takes away most of what makes him world class. If he is going to play in a 3 man midfield, he has to be used exactly the way Sarri has done - as a relentless high presser who is capable of recovering should the opponent play it out successfully.
Good post.
Just one game? 3-0 Bournemouth, 4-1 Watford, 1-1 Huddersfield, 3-0 Newcastle, blowing the Spurs record, the second half of last season was second worse only to Mourinho's meltdown in the Roman era.
So for argument sake you play Kante as a DM would you tell him to sit therefore neglecting his biggest asset or tell him to keep proactively pressing and leave holes in behind with no Matic/Drinkwater behind him?
Woodward "Hmm,*thinking*we dont have a cigarette brand."
And what was the result for Conte at the end of that year? It was adios even after he won us the FA Cup and the league the season before. At least Conte has his record to fall back on, Sarri doesn't even have that. And yes the six-nil and four-nil were both worse than all of the results you've listed. You'll have to go back to 1996 to find a worse one.
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So just to clarify. A midfielder whose primary job is to tackle, make interceptions and to recycle the ball quickly to the more attack minded players is not a defensive midfielder? Under Conte he did this and would occassionally surge forward if there was space in front but would usually be behind the play around the half way line when we were in possession in the final third. Under Sarri he spends most of his time in the final third joining in with supposed intricate, fast paced build up play.
Most people would classify Gennaro Gattuso as a Defensive Midfielder but, I do not think anyone would have wanted him in Pirlo's role. In Sarri's system the deepest midfielder needs to be someone who can dicate tempo with his passes. Jorginho was a disappointment in that role this season but, Kante would not have been any better and would have created different issues if played there.
I'm not arguing that. I said Kante is a defensive midfielder. This is because he is a) a midfielder and b) his best attributes are defensive. I'm also not saying that playing Kante in that role in this system would have been better. I'm saying this system is shite if it requires Kante to be heavily involved in our final third play against 2 banks of four and requires we have a deep lying midfielder who can hardly defend.
I think the biggest issue was Kovacic if he was getting forward more effectively Kante would not need to.
Yes and I said earlier that he is also awful at attacking. It took Sarri the full season to realise that maybe RLC might be a better fit when it was glaringly obvious to everyone months before.
For how much crap they were for parts of the season, that was a pretty decent end to it, 3rd and in El final. I think most Chelsea fans would have taken that.
If Hazard leaves and with the transfer ban, next season will interesting though.
If Hazard leaves and with the transfer ban, next season will interesting though.
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Not a sitting DM no, it waste's his most valuable asset.
Under Conte and Ranieri he was proactively hunting for tackles and interceptions safe in the knowledge Drinkwater, Matic and the brief period he was playing well Bakayoko were shielding in behind for when his proactive nature wiped him out of play. He didn't play as high up as now but he certainly wasn't playing the Makelele role either.
Now I'm not saying he couldn't do well in that position in himself but it would be like when we played Essien at RB/DM, did great in isolation but we badly missed his energy in a B2B capacity. This isn't a Sarri thing either, even if my opinion of Sarri switches to out in the future i will still maintain he's playing the best place he can within the current system.
Not entirely on topic but, I think Essien was excellent playing as a sitting DM and was also a good RB. Which is why I think prime Essien was a better player than Kante.
He was, but whenever he played either role we were weaker as a team, not because of him but because we lost his energy and drive going up and down.
To be fair prime Essien was one of the finest midfielders I’ve ever seen, so it’s probably no insult to Kante.
It is probably true. But he had his moments, for example when a player refused to be subbed. That is an indicator that there might have been problems within the squad. And the problems might still be there.
He has done well results wise. But these are fine margins. We were not challenged by United and by Arsenal in the latter stages of the season. If United and Arsenal had been able to turnaround a few games we would have been 5th or 6th. And because of the quality of the side even the worst manager would have reached the 6th spot with Chelsea.
I agree with some parts of this statement. i like his IDEA of football. What I do not like is his inclination to bring in former players of his.
The boring football bit is definitely not true. It was quite good a times. But at times, I struggled to see the difference between Conte's and Sarri's team when we were attacking. It was all too often: give the ball to Eden and we'll see what happens! I can understand fans being disappointed with that.
One game that stands out for me was his performance in i think the 3 1 win at anfield under guus. Where he completely overran gerrard for 90 mins. Could do everything in his prime before injuries crippled him.
Yeah, it was a truly sad thing when his injuries ruined that boundless talent. I'll always wonder what we could have achieved if both him and Joe Cole hadn't had their full potential ruined.
They have to keep him next season because they couldn't attract a top manager in a season when they can't buy new players. On top of that they are losing their best player.
I was sickened by the 6-0 against City and the Bournemouth result. I couldn't look at the team for 2 weeks and wanted Sarri out immediately. Given they somehow got Champions league football, 2 finals and can't attract a top manager they will be stuck with him unless something extraordinary happens.
That extraordinary thing could be John Terry building a new team using youth instead of new transfers. Hmmm!
I was sickened by the 6-0 against City and the Bournemouth result. I couldn't look at the team for 2 weeks and wanted Sarri out immediately. Given they somehow got Champions league football, 2 finals and can't attract a top manager they will be stuck with him unless something extraordinary happens.
That extraordinary thing could be John Terry building a new team using youth instead of new transfers. Hmmm!
I don't think it's fair to say we only got top four because of United and Arsenal flopping, yes they flaked at a very convenient time but on the flip side you can say without their respective runs of title winning form we would have made it comfortably.
Regarding your last paragraph, I think part of the reason his football is getting so much stick is because of Sarri's reputation, had this been say Jardim who oversaw this season I don't think as many people would be as critical of the football because they wouldn't be expecting swashbuckling stuff.
That would be a truly, truly terrible idea. I've seen us get relegated before, I have no desire to watch it happen again.
A defensive midfielder is a player who sits in front of the back four and rarely advances past his fellow midfielders. This is wasteful of Kante's best attribute - even under Conte he was never as restricted in his position as Matic was. He'd regularly carry the ball forward / fill forward pressing gaps which again, is absolutely the best way to utilise his talents.
Prime Essien was perhaps the best midfielder I've ever seen and was comfortably better than Kante. I cannot recall a player so capable of completely bossing the opposition single-handedly without any weak aspects to his game.