He said Kante was a reason we've had so many clean sheets this season which is utter nonsense as he's only played in one of the clean sheets.
On grass or on paper, our defense is fantastic.
Paul Scholes the pundit
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On grass or on paper, our defense is fantastic.
He's right although he doesn't express it very well.
Schweinsteiger compared Ole to Tuchel in an interview recently and pointed out that we have a poor tactical approach. He framed Tuchel's approach as controlling possession and allowing the defence to 'rest'. If a team plays effective joined up football with top players then the defence has an easier time. If you look back to Lampard's time in charge of Chelsea Rudiger looked like a competition winner.
Chelsea have a great team structure rather than great individuals in defence. They're able to look solid whilst changing personel.
Schweinsteiger compared Ole to Tuchel in an interview recently and pointed out that we have a poor tactical approach. He framed Tuchel's approach as controlling possession and allowing the defence to 'rest'. If a team plays effective joined up football with top players then the defence has an easier time. If you look back to Lampard's time in charge of Chelsea Rudiger looked like a competition winner.
Chelsea have a great team structure rather than great individuals in defence. They're able to look solid whilst changing personel.
Mendy, one of the best keepers in the world currently. Azpilicueta, one of the best in the history of the PL. Thiago Silva, still one of the best CBs in the world. James, one of the best all-round fullbacks, at 21. And then you fill the line out with Chilwell, Rudiger, Christensen and Alonso. How many teams have a better defense on paper than that?
I don't think most of the players you mention would look that good in another system, and then you can make a case that Chelsea has not the best individual players in defense. I don't really think there is a team that has a much stronger defense than those players, I give you that, but it is nothing exceptional for a top club. But almost all of these players perform to the highest level they can as Tuchel really seems to know how to protect their weaknesses and use their strengths.
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Feck sake
fecking hell - he won't live that down
Not really buying this. Chelsea have only conceded 3 goals in the league so far this season with two being penalties and the other a deflected shot and since Tuchel went in they have an insane amount of clean sheets. Isn't it something like 70% of league games?
I get his system is a big factor but the players have to be good enough to implement it. I mean are people seriously thinking if he had Utd's defence the defensive record would be even better?
I think some people underestimate how clueless Lampard was at setting up his team to defend and just how poor of a GK Kepa is outside of PK shootouts.
DDG one of the best keepers in the world. A multiple time player of the year for the biggest clubs in the world.
Harry Maguire - club captain, 80m signing, premier league proven, England international.
Rafael Varane - top player, multiple CL winner, one of the best CBs in the world and isn't as old as Thiago Silva.
Luke Shaw, Utd player of the season, had an amazing year and one of the best LBs in the world (if not the best)
And then you have Wan Bissaka (50m), Victor Lindelof (a very capable defender), Eric Bailly, Alex Telles and Diego Dalot filling up the positions.
See how easy we can play this game. Ours and City's defense is easily better than Chelsea's on paper.
Yes it seems to be an easy game when you talk about DDG as if he's been great for years. And for whatever reason mention transfer fees and age, as if those are relevant.
The only one who could possibly get straight into our team would be Shaw. I wouldn't take any of your CBs over Silva or Christensen. I'm not sure how you could argue, without blinkers, that whatever you wrote down is 'easily better'.
It was so obvious what Scholes was saying after the Atalanta match. He might not be the most articulate, but he was completely correct. We have been shite all season, and that Liverpool result was coming. We are lucky Liverpool eased off.
I can't think of anyone worse. A complete clown.
How many did we win?
Luck comes in many guises. Would Ole have been 'sacked in the morning' if we went on to win 9-0 or 10-0? Of course he would. Conte would already be having his first team talk. Not sure you were lucky at all that we backed off.
Yeah... no. As mcuh as I don't want Ole, losing to Liverpool 9 or 10-0 would be an utter disaster of unprecedented proportions. Ole is gone at this point, the board are just delaying the inevitable, but you spanking us like that would but a very dark cloud over the club and there's no need for that. Not like losing 5-0 at Old Trafford to our most bitter rivals isn't bad enough already.
He’s a brilliant pundit.
Maguire is a better player than Silva now and that is a fact.
He’s better on the ball and stronger but the facts are it’s a tactical problem at United as well as midfield issue so he doesn’t get protected.
In the Euros Maguire was a monster for England when he came into the side. He strikes up a good partnership with Varane with a new manager the rest of the league should be worried. Shaw is world class also when things are normal again. Chelsea just don’t have that level of players but the coach makes up for it.
AWB I agree not so good but change the system and use him better he’s just fine. Conte could look at using him in a back 3 could work. His tackling is just insane at times as a last line of defence.
Exactly, it's all about diminishing returns. You've already been embarrassed beyond memeification. Hope for any league points has already been lost. The dark hue of that cloud between 5-0 and 30 minutes of static humiliation or 9-0 would be just about acceptable if the silver lining beyond was Ole gone immediately.
Well, can't argue with facts ay
I agree. scholes as pundit is the opposite.
Not really. Ole is a dead man walking anyway. We defeated Chelsea 4-0 last season, you defeated us with 1 goal more. Its bad, very bad, but its not the end of the world. A 8-0 or a 9-0 would have been catastrophic.
He’s a great cheerleader and hypeman for the club but otherwise a pretty crap pundit. He’s had his head in the sand the entire time during Ole’s tenure.
I feel like he's the sort to not give a damnfecking hell - he won't live that down
To be fair, Ferdinand was pretty scathing of the management/coaching setup in a podcast interview for his FIVE YouTube channel on Monday. He said he disagreed completely with Neville’s claim post-match that our attackers are incapable or executing a press or being coached in how to do so. Ferdinand said (rightly in my view) that this is nonsense and all players are, if coached correctly.
It was the first time I recall him criticising the coaching staff so openly, however, you are correct, he’s pretty much buried his head in the sand for the past 18-24 months on the issue.
Far from it. An inarticulate fanboy.
Genius of a footballer.
As a pundit he offers no insight whatsoever.
It's like they just grabbed some internet fan off the cyber streets.
As a pundit he offers no insight whatsoever.
It's like they just grabbed some internet fan off the cyber streets.
You’ve said this at about the weirdest time humanly possible; a juncture where Scholes is looking like a prophet who foretold impending doom in the most concise and accurate way possible in the face of derision and claims of him being negative for the sake of being negative.
I’m pretty sure that’ll remain one of, if not the greatest, call a pundit will make this season, and I bet the next time Scholes opens his mouth for public consumption (toes accepted), he’ll be listened to intently.
Scholes cut us to the bone calling the Liverpool capitulation; it mightn’t be Cruyffian tactical breakdown, but it hit the mark, brutally.
I think that's unfair to Rio.
I watch his stuff every Monday and he has been, along with Scholesy and Neville, questioning our style of play. Rio has repeatedly said that, in tough times, players fall back on their style of play but he doesn't know what ours is. He has repeatedly said United were a counter attacking team but now he doesn't know what we are. Neville has said the same things. In fact, I think there's a thread on the CAF dedicated to him saying we have no style of play. I remember Neville saying after the international break that he was worried about us because we hadn't played anyone yet and we'd get exposed soon.
Now, of course, none of them is going to say their old teammates and friends should be sacked. However, they have come as close as you can reasonably expect to saying: 'You're getting it wrong, change it before you're changed.'
Its just a pity that instead of engaging constructively with the criticism the coaches at United have just carried on ignoring the warning signs. We could have reverted to a compact shape and counter attacking football long ago. We should have. We did not and the result has been a once in 100 year result against our worst rivals, at our own ground.
It was hardly a masterful insight. Half the matchday thread were expecting a thrashing, especially once the team was announced.
It's been said many times but he's one of those players who has no idea why they were so good.
Slow start but eventually I think he'll be honoured by the queen for services to slow start to punditry.
Yet he was the only pundit who not only put his neck on the line, but said 'watch and see' to the ire of how much of our support?
And the barometer here isn't online fans, rather, other pundits and the things they choose to say in foresight, not hindsight, which is where what he said massively stands him out from the rest. Everyone's a genius after the fact, yet there's not a peep out of them prior to the event, which is common theme in pretty much every facet of life.
That last sentence is not accurate as far as I can see: a central midfielder like Scholes, who has a consummate understanding of making the ball do the work and wrestling control of central midfield via possession, is going to recognise chaos before those who played with a ridiculous gas tank that afforded them many chances to do the hard running to rectify their mistakes as well as those of others, will. He spent the latter stages of his career putting out fires before they could be anything but tinder; I'd say his Spidey-sense for that area of the pitch is spot-on.
It's put forward on here that he is inarticulate and thus clueless, but he says what needs to be said and can identify problems - particularly in his old hunting grounds - succinctly enough. You're not going to get some genial, tactical breakdown and set of tactical or formational insights from Scholes as if he's from the Dutch school of conveyance and implementation, but he isn't this dunce people like to portray him as, either.
Every man and his dog in real life and on the internet were pointing out how performances have been shit this season and it would all catch up on us sooner or later.
He's a muppet of a pundit.
I can recall him saying in 2015 Schweinsteger was a world class signing and alongside the other signings we'd challenge for the league.
A couple of months later he'd be moaning we need at least 5 new signings to challenge
I'm sure there are loads more other examples
So let's say, when even Scholes is able to identify an issue, than it really is an obvious and massive issue.Every man and his dog in real life and on the internet were pointing out how performances have been shit this season and it would all catch up on us sooner or later.
He's a muppet of a pundit.
I can recall him saying in 2015 Schweinsteger was a world class signing and alongside the other signings we'd challenge for the league.
A couple of months later he'd be moaning we need at least 5 new signings to challenge
I'm sure there are loads more other examples
But the point is, he's a pundit, who put his neck on the line, and called it exactly how it happened.Every man and his dog in real life and on the internet were pointing out how performances have been shit this season and it would all catch up on us sooner or later.
He's a muppet of a pundit.
I can recall him saying in 2015 Schweinsteger was a world class signing and alongside the other signings we'd challenge for the league.
A couple of months later he'd be moaning we need at least 5 new signings to challenge
I'm sure there are loads more other examples
People pointing out what was or was not happening on the internet - where, actually, thoughts were not unanimous, as some on here believed we had a chance - are not particularly relevant, especially so when so many came out berating him for calling it whilst there was an air of [misplaced] euphoria.
The kind of insight you're talking about is someone like Pep, Tuchel or Klopp <interchange with any coach/ foreign pundit who divulges deeper information> breaking a game down in terms of tactical minutiae, but insight isn't exclusively about that - observing play, pre-empting a future event so assuredly and going against the grain by remaining steadfast in his take away from what he saw, is showing insight, even more so than was said at the time given he wasn't duped by the raa-raa of the 2nd half and was at pains to say he's 'happy' but very concerned.
It's funny to me that it was an easy call to make, yet no other pundit made it beforehand, that I know of, at least. It's an easy way to make a name for yourself, after all, yet nobody but Scholes were so forthright in drawing a conclusion.
Anyway, I won't belabour, as I'm hardly calling Scholes the second-coming of Rinus Michels, I'm just saying he showed acute insight on this one and was spot on to the wire, uncomfortably so for some of our support.
As catastrophic as 9-0 would have been, you would had Conte by now. Ole is more Walking Dead than dead man walking, he just keeps going on and on and on with no end in sight.
Klopp played that perfectly if he meant it.
Don’t be ridiculous
Scholes is great. Now everyoe's clever but the Caf was full of 'we' ll get them pn the counter' before Liverpool.
It's obvious he was chuffed after Atalanta's comeback but he's not as jovial a character as to turn the blind eye to real issues.
It's obvious he was chuffed after Atalanta's comeback but he's not as jovial a character as to turn the blind eye to real issues.
Looked like he was thinking "They've gotten away with it again..." after the equaliser...
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