Lukaku is gone. No chance of return for him. Broja is coming back from an ACL, hasn't played a game since before the World Cup and has had 0 minutes this preseason. Pretty sure Jackson is nailed on to start the opening game vs Liverpool, unless Poch goes with Nkunku up top but I'd be surprised if that happened. Beyond the first couple of games, I guess it depends on how he performs.
Nicholas Jackson
- Thread starter Amadaeus
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In the latest episode of the United Hour Podcast, Nik @Rood and Imran @Annihilate Now! start with the good news by celebrating Manchester United Women's emphatic FA Cup win over Spurs at Wembley and the future of manager Marc Skinner.
Then it's the bad news and the ever worsening form of our Men with losses to Arsenal and Palace.
Finally the main debate - ETH Out now or keep him until the end of the season - if not longer. Are you Team Nik or Team Imran?
What's your expected formation next year? I can't see you playing with 4 pure attackers (Mudryk/Nkunku/Jackson/Broja/Sterling/Maudueke/Lukaku?) without a proper world class defensive midfielder. Enzo has been exposed several times last season without a cover.
Most don't know what we are going through since costa left. Morata,Werner,batshuayi,Lukaku,aubamyang and havertz. Tammy and Giroud both looked decent but we lost both for Lukaku.
.Jackson compared to that horror striker list relatively looked like prime Ronaldo 9 playing for us. He also can play well across any front 4 positions. Even if any new striker come in jackson will start most games along side nkunku.
Based on how he's set up the team during pre-season and his previous tactical preferences I would assume Poch is planning 4-2-3-1 to be our main formation.
Seemingly the plan would be to bring in Caicedo to partner Enzo at the base of midfield and then have four attacking players further up the pitch with Nkunku playing behind the main center forward and two wingers out of Mudryk/Sterling/Madueke playing out wide. But yeah without Caicedo or some ball winning midfielder of a similar level as him that's probably not going to be solid enough against the top teams so we'll just have to see what happens with our DM pursuit over the next weeks.
Either way you can scratch off Lukaku from the list of attackers. He's not coming back to the squad whether we can flog him off or not, there's simply too much bad blood there for him to ever return like nothing happened. The club don't want him back and the man himself certainly has no intention of returning. He's not been a part of Poch's pre-season squad and I'm not sure if he's even reported back to Cobham to train with the rest of the cast-offs like he was supposed to.
Really enjoyed his performance against Dortmund, even more so than the other matches. Missed a few chances but seems pretty relentless and is always involved in anything good. Welcome change from years of strikers who touch the ball 10 times per game and shy away.
I hope Chelsea don't sign another striker because I like the look of this guy for fantasy.
One will start in the 10 or in a LF esque role, the other is recovering from a serious injury and the other i very much doubt will be invited back into the set up even if we can't shift him.
Nkunku will play with him. Broja has always been potential. Lukaku is forced to train away from the first team. Before preseason Jackson had to beat out Broja, but now it seems Broja needs to move ahead of Jackson. It might get tricky if Vlahovic joins, but I don’t think he really wants the move.
He looks such a handful and hard to deal with. Quick and physical.
His decision making and finishing is still very raw which ultimately feels like he will either live or die by it. If that part doesn’t improve, I’m not sure he’ll be the long term solution. He’s had some pretty decent chances in the first 3 games and not scored yet.
His decision making and finishing is still very raw which ultimately feels like he will either live or die by it. If that part doesn’t improve, I’m not sure he’ll be the long term solution. He’s had some pretty decent chances in the first 3 games and not scored yet.
His main flaw seems to be that people turn into idiots when they receive the ball from him. First Chilwell decides to pass the ball wide when one on one with the goalkeeper from the penalty spot, then Sterling with an absolutely shite first touch when released.
This is what I'm expecting from Højlund
What gives me hope about Hojlund is his shooting technique nearly always has him getting the shot on target. It’s hopefully easier to fine tune and master taking those chances than it is with someone who regularly misses the target like Weghorst.
Also Hojlunds build up play is good and has one of the best stats for progressive passes in final 3rd. So even if he struggles with finishing initially he would still be able to help get the best out of the likes of Rashford.
(and there it is. He scores
Got him in FF so get in!
)Looks pretty good
He's an excellent player. Works so hard off the ball tackling back and is constantly making runs in behind - genuinely I've been blown away at his workrate. Also he's a tremendous dribbler and his first touch is excellent - really does look like a nightmare for most CBs.
Honestly I don't think it's fair to say his decision-making is raw - feels like he's set up teammates regularly with really refined and delicate touches.
His finishing definitely looked better in preseason, and I think if you had to pick out one specific flaw it's that he doesn't look to be especially good at directing his heading. But honestly I think he does so so much for the team in terms of moving us up the pitch via his excellent hold-up play - even if he doesn't become a prolific scorer I think he'd still be a very valuable player.
Yeah he looks very promising. It must be an absolute breath of fresh air to go from the worst forward ever in Havertz to an all action Jackson. What a contrast!
It really is night and day in terms of space createdYeah he looks very promising. It must be an absolute breath of fresh air to go from the worst forward ever in Havertz to an all action Jackson. What a contrast!
£32m is a steal.Yeah he looks very promising. It must be an absolute breath of fresh air to go from the worst forward ever in Havertz to an all action Jackson. What a contrast!
He looks good. Possibly the only Boehly signing Chelsea have made that doesn’t look like they’ve overpaid hugely?
Hes pretty athletic but not as talented as Alvarez.
We paid double amount to get Hojlund. I hope after three games, his overall contribution is at least on par with Jackson.What gives me hope about Hojlund is his shooting technique nearly always has him getting the shot on target. It’s hopefully easier to fine tune and master taking those chances than it is with someone who regularly misses the target like Weghorst.
Also Hojlunds build up play is good and has one of the best stats for progressive passes in final 3rd. So even if he struggles with finishing initially he would still be able to help get the best out of the likes of Rashford.
(and there it is. He scores
If anything his first touch and dribbling look quite off tonight.
Lots of miscontrols and clumsy carries tonight. Don’t know if it was the pressure or if he’s naturally clumsy.
He looked pretty bad in first half, played better in second half. Kudos to him
Mediocre player from what I saw
Gusto belongs in that bracket as well I'd argue. €35m looks entirely reasonable if not a bargain given his age.
If you’re going to have expectations of returns based on price paid then you’re going to be regularly disappointed. Chelsea paid triple the amount on Mudryk than Jackson. They aren’t expecting triple the end product.
That price does look good for Gusto. Looks a great alternative for Reece James.
Reminiscent of Drogba that. There were times when Drogba looked absolutely shocking and then came out 2nd half a different player.
The problem here is my expectation is only about “on par”. Even for that, I am not confident at all at the moment. Are you confident about that? Honestly?
If this is a poor game by his standards then he's a tremendous player. He set up 2 different 1v1 situations for teammates only for them both to bottle them. Can't really be arsed to care if he looks clumsy if this is the level of tangible output we're getting.
A player. fecking Chelsea
Yeah there were question marks over his defending and physicality but he's been a rock for all of preseason and in his limited minutes thus far. The attacking output makes sense given what he's shown but if he continues on this trajectory of developing his all-around game the ceiling is incredibly high.
His off ball movement is good and does a lot of other things well like pressing, one touches, hold up, work ethic, etc., but I still don’t see a 20 goals player a season unless they get a creative attacking midfielder like olise or cheriki.
but once again, chelsea are not playing at their full strength. He looked better with nkunku In the team. I can’t really judge him properly till they fix their attack or have a fully fit team.
but once again, chelsea are not playing at their full strength. He looked better with nkunku In the team. I can’t really judge him properly till they fix their attack or have a fully fit team.
Am I confident Hojlund can get 1 goal and 0 assists every 3 games. Erm, yes.
Fun to watch but can't see him being their long term #9.
Well he was objectively bad in the first half. You’re the one who brought up his technical qualities and now you’re saying only his output matters.
During the first half he barely touched the ball, lots of miscontrols and bad runs. Let’s also remember he’s playing possibly the team with lowest quality in the league.
He had a better second half, got more involved and even managed to score a goal so I’m happy for the kid
I thought he was very good, especially second half. Did lots of number 9 stuff and got a poacher’s goal.
Let’s not get carried away. Drogba was a different gravy.
It’s way too early to draw any parallels between Jackson and Drogba. Let the kid adapt to the team and the league first
Its night and day in terms of ability.
I really hope you are right. Otherwise, this summer transfer window will be defined as a disaster.
My point is his technical qualities were fully on display as he set up two gilt-edged chances - the first touch backheel for Chilwell onto and then through on goal, and the adjustment to a long ball followed by chest control and a perfectly weighted half-volley through ball to Sterling to put him in on goal.
If he's losing the ball because he's trying to create excellent chances via his quality on the ball then I won't complain. Also for all your fixation on his having "lots of miscontrols", according to WhoScored he was dispossessed twice and completed 86% of his passes. Obviously the opposition is a factor but in what world is this "objectively bad"? Throwing around phrases like this don't really help your argument since you haven't actually provided any tangible or objective evidence in favour of your point?
Love him.