Official Chelsea FC Thread

Post #1241 » by **fatlever** » Sat Jan 16, 2016 7:34 pm

At some point we have to stop playing Matic, right? And especially not next to Mikel or Cesc, right? The Mikel/Cesc combo has been the best thing under Guus (along with Costa finding a little bit of form). Any other combo involving Matic has been rather awful. So bizarre to see a player that was so great last year, look so awful this year.

Matic and Mikel sits too deep, invites too much pressure, creates disconnect between CDM and AM. Matic and Cesc, Cesc can't help Matic defensively and Matic wanders all over the place leaving the defense exposed. Mikel and Cesc works because Mikel will stay and home and defend allow Cesc to be the link in the midfield to the attack w/out having the defense get too exposed.

Of course, nothing in the midfield can help the fact that Ivanovic is garbage these days, Azpi isn't leftfooted and is being played on the wrong side of the field to protect Terry and Terry is too slow to recover if he gets beat.

J-Mezzy · Post #1242 » by **J-Mezzy** » Sat Jan 16, 2016 11:36 pm

Cesc finally picks up his form, but you are right. Matic, Ivanovic, and Terry have all been a problem this season

Post #1243 » by **fatlever** » Tue Jan 19, 2016 8:41 pm

http://weaintgotnohistory.sbnation.com/2016/1/19/10791660/bamford-atsu-baba-loftus-cheek-aina-chelsea-qpr-friendly-loan-showcase-final-score-5-0

Chelsea rolled out a U-21 All-Star team today in a 5-0 win vs QPR

Aina, Rahman, Loftus-Cheek, Atsu, Traore, Musonda and Bamford all started.

Navas · Post #1244 » by **Navas** » Wed Jan 20, 2016 7:53 pm

We had the perfect CM to get and that guy was Schneiderlin.

Why we haven't addressed that amazes me, and yet we're going after Pato.

Post #1245 » by **LittleOzzy** » Sat Jan 30, 2016 2:17 pm

[tweet]https://twitter.com/SoccerInsider/status/693434419697340416[/tweet]

[tweet]https://twitter.com/SkySportsNewsHQ/status/693434282547789824[/tweet]

[tweet]https://twitter.com/SoccerInsider/status/693434888901521408[/tweet]

[tweet]https://twitter.com/theScore/status/693435957748432897[/tweet]

One day MLS will be able to hang onto talent like him, but for now I wish him luck overseas.

Post #1246 » by **magik9113** » Sat Jan 30, 2016 2:21 pm

Miazga is legit, I am happy for him.

Post #1247 » by **fatlever** » Tue Feb 9, 2016 9:03 pm

Zouma out for the rest of the season, and probably start of next year, such a crushing blow. He has been fantastic this season. With the John Terry saga not sorted out, who the hell is going to starting at the back line next year? Cahill had been replaced for good reason. Deep down I still believe Terry is back next year, for one last year. The club and Terry will figure it out. Hopefully by 2017 we will have Christensen back from Germany, ready to be integrated into the 1st team. We really need to buy at least one first team quality CB this summer.

In other thoughts, can Guus, please, for the love of god, stop playing Mikel and Matic together. Matic needs to be dropped. Mikel is in better form right now and Mikel fits better with Cesc, who needs to be playing deeper. We all saw our midfield get destroyed in the 1st half of the Man U game due to the huge spaces between the lines and little to no pressing being done up front.

Silver linings, apparently Musonda looked really good in his 1st appearance in La Liga.
http://weaintgotnohistory.sbnation.com/2016/2/8/10934928/charly-musonda-real-betis-individual-highlights

DD12 · Post #1248 » by **DD12** » Wed Feb 10, 2016 4:27 am

It seems like Chelsea is trying to get rid of Pedro.

Post #1249 » by **Baphomet** » Wed Feb 10, 2016 1:31 pm

I don't think I've ever seen a player regress quite as hard as Matic has.

He's been simply shocking at times.

Post #1250 » by **fatlever** » Wed Feb 10, 2016 4:59 pm

Baphomet wrote:I don't think I've ever seen a player regress quite as hard as Matic has.

He's been simply shocking at times.

Yeah, he's been a trainwreck and the formation and is partners in the pivot have not helped. Yet both managers have mostly stuck by him and the formation. I don't think either manager has been quick enough to bench the guys that have been in poor form at various times this season - Ivanovic, Cesc, Matic and Costa early in the season and Matic still to this day.

#FreeLoftus-Cheek

Post #1251 » by **fatlever** » Wed Feb 10, 2016 5:07 pm

DD12 wrote:It seems like Chelsea is trying to get rid of Pedro.

Probably for the best. You were right about him. He's not a good fit for the EPL it seems. He seems to work hard most games, but he's just too small and doesn't have the skills to make up for the lack of size. Maybe next summer will finally be the transfer window that brings us another attacking mid who can actually break into the 11 - Thanks Jose for running off the good ones that we had - Mata and De Bruyne. Even Salah and Schurrle would have been better than Cuadrado and Pedro. Or play the young guys who are just as good, Kenedy and Traore. Or just wait on Musonda.

#FreeMusonda
#FreeKenedy
#FreeTraore

DD12 · Post #1252 » by **DD12** » Wed Feb 10, 2016 5:27 pm

fatlever wrote:
DD12 wrote:It seems like Chelsea is trying to get rid of Pedro.

Probably for the best. You were right about him. He's not a good fit for the EPL it seems. He seems to work hard most games, but he's just too small and doesn't have the skills to make up for the lack of size. Maybe next summer will finally be the transfer window that brings us another attacking mid who can actually break into the 11 - Thanks Jose for running off the good ones that we had - Mata and De Bruyne. Even Salah and Schurrle would have been better than Cuadrado and Pedro. Or play the young guys who are just as good, Kenedy and Traore. Or just wait on Musonda.

#FreeMusonda
#FreeKenedy
#FreeTraore

I told you before. These players are produced by system not based on their actual skills. Take anyone out of the system, result will be similar. Some may not be as bad as Pedro but you'll always get a worse performance than what they had at Barcelona.

Bojan was another one. Same failure. If you look at coaches, Rijkaard, Martino etc all suck other places. There are players like Alexis Sanchez and Yaya Toure who play extremely well at other teams is because they weren't a part of La Masia. That's why they couldn't do well in Barcelona, couldn't adjust their style into their system and Barcelona let them go.

Barcelona is all about the system. That's why I always rate Cr7 highly is because he built everything what he has done so far. He is proven in biggest two leagues in the world whereas Messi doesn't even look out of the Barcelona's facility. He might be the best for many people but just because of that reason, I have Ronaldo ahead of him.

Post #1253 » by **Baphomet** » Wed Feb 10, 2016 5:58 pm

fatlever wrote:Yeah, he's been a trainwreck and the formation and is partners in the pivot have not helped. Yet both managers have mostly stuck by him and the formation. I don't think either manager has been quick enough to bench the guys that have been in poor form at various times this season - Ivanovic, Cesc, Matic and Costa early in the season and Matic still to this day.

#FreeLoftus-Cheek

I feel like that's been a big part of why Chelsea have struggled so much this season. In addition to the tactical issues we're seeing with faster more athletic teams, the drastic drop in form has caused a psychological malaise with Matic. His sendings off and body language are pretty clearly indicative of that. It's amazing that he hasn't been dropped.

Who do you like as your next long-term manager? Allegri is currently odds on favourite, with Conte and Simeone closely following.

Post #1254 » by **fatlever** » Wed Feb 10, 2016 9:12 pm

Baphomet wrote:
fatlever wrote:Yeah, he's been a trainwreck and the formation and is partners in the pivot have not helped. Yet both managers have mostly stuck by him and the formation. I don't think either manager has been quick enough to bench the guys that have been in poor form at various times this season - Ivanovic, Cesc, Matic and Costa early in the season and Matic still to this day.

#FreeLoftus-Cheek

I feel like that's been a big part of why Chelsea have struggled so much this season. In addition to the tactical issues we're seeing with faster more athletic teams, the drastic drop in form has caused a psychological malaise with Matic. His sendings off and body language are pretty clearly indicative of that. It's amazing that he hasn't been dropped.

Who do you like as your next long-term manager? Allegri is currently odds on favourite, with Conte and Simeone closely following.

Honestly, I really don't know. A part of me is afraid that Simeone is too much like Jose in terms of style and set up and I'd kinda like to see something a little different moving forward. But, more than anything I want a manager who is not afraid to be aggressive, to try new formations and to most importantly figure out a way to integrate some of the youth.

Side Rant - Its absurd that Chelsea has had one of the top youth teams U-18 and U-21 over the last few years and we have yet to see any of them get a sniff at regular first team action. There is no reason for us not to be playing at least one youth player every single week in the PL moving forward. I'm not asking for a whole team of youngsters, just one a week, just one of the guys who is on the first team roster - Baba, Kenedy, Traore, Loftus-Cheek. This weekend we have Newcastle, followed by the CL match vs PSG in mid-week. The big names need to be 100% fresh for PSG, since the CL and FA Cup are most important right now. Guus needs to play some youth vs Newcastle. I'd much rather see Kenedy and Traore getting minutes than Pedro and Remy. We already know those two aren't good enough.

Anyway...
There was a good article today on 7 possible new managers for Chelsea
http://www.getwestlondon.co.uk/sport/football/football-news/next-chelsea-manager-seven-contenders-10863580

Simeone, Allegri, Conte, Pellegrini, Emery, Pochettino, Howe

DD12 · Post #1255 » by **DD12** » Wed Feb 10, 2016 11:28 pm

fatlever wrote:
Baphomet wrote:
fatlever wrote:Yeah, he's been a trainwreck and the formation and is partners in the pivot have not helped. Yet both managers have mostly stuck by him and the formation. I don't think either manager has been quick enough to bench the guys that have been in poor form at various times this season - Ivanovic, Cesc, Matic and Costa early in the season and Matic still to this day.

#FreeLoftus-Cheek

I feel like that's been a big part of why Chelsea have struggled so much this season. In addition to the tactical issues we're seeing with faster more athletic teams, the drastic drop in form has caused a psychological malaise with Matic. His sendings off and body language are pretty clearly indicative of that. It's amazing that he hasn't been dropped.

Who do you like as your next long-term manager? Allegri is currently odds on favourite, with Conte and Simeone closely following.

Honestly, I really don't know. A part of me is afraid that Simeone is too much like Jose in terms of style and set up and I'd kinda like to see something a little different moving forward. But, more than anything I want a manager who is not afraid to be aggressive, to try new formations a-manager-seven-contenders-10863

So you want Fatih Terim.

Post #1256 » by **fatlever** » Sat Feb 13, 2016 11:44 pm

ChelseaRelated ‏@ChelseaRelated 4h4 hours ago
Hiddink: "Two days' rest for teams competing in Europe is not enough. We need at least three days." #UCL #CFC

So maybe you should have started a couple of those highly promising youth players you have on the team instead of trotting out 9 of the 11 guys you probably planned to start on Tuesday, only Mikel and Oscar were rested. Chelsea could have won today with a youth reserve team. Tuesday is the biggest game of the season. Today was essentially meaningless. And lets face it, the home crowd would have been ecstatic to see some of the young guns start.

On top of that, we have only two healthy center backs, one of which is 35 years old, the other also over 30, but sure, lets play both and also play them again on Tuesday. Oops, can't do that now, cause Terry got hurt.

NBC Sports Soccer ‏@NBCSportsSoccer 3h3 hours ago
Injury update: Hiddink not hopeful John Terry will face PSG in Champions League this week - http://wp.me/p2g4vo-1wfP | #CFC #UCL #BPLonNBC

At least the expected starting back four for PSG (Azpi, Cahill, Ivan, Baba) got some minutes together today after Terry was hurt.

Basically, you don't get to complain about a tight fixture schedule if you aren't willing to rotate players in a game such as today.

Post #1257 » by **fatlever** » Sun Feb 14, 2016 12:40 am

In positive news, Traore looked really good. He should be ahead of Remy, Pato and Falcao in the striker pecking order.

Post #1258 » by **fatlever** » Thu Feb 18, 2016 9:09 pm

fair criticism against Oscar regarding his near miss vs PSG?

[tweet]https://twitter.com/ChelseaRelated/status/700423061766565888[/tweet]

Post #1259 » by **fatlever** » Sun Mar 6, 2016 5:16 pm

Finally getting to see some of the highly touted youth get playing time is both exciting and disappointing. Traore and Kenedy have impressed just about every time they have stepped on the field this year. Both players are deserving of more minutes going forward, even at the expense of some of the bigger named vets.

Baba has been up and down, but he has still down enough promise to think that he could be a quality starting left back in two years. He was fantastic vs PSG before having a big let down game a week later, leading to him getting benched for Kenedy (who, in all fairness, should never be playing left back).

Musonda has apparently been playing fantastically in Spain and appears to be every bit as good as all the hype surrounding him.

Christensen has been earning playing time all year in Germany, even to the point they want to buy him permanently.

And then there is Ruben Loftus-Cheek. RLC might be the most talked about youth player in the entire set-up. People have been comparing him to Pogba due to his impressive size for his age. He just signed a new five year deal with a big pay raise, especially for a young player has done nothing yet.

But, RLC has done nothing but disappoint me this year. I still have yet to figure out why he is so highly rated. Is he just one of those youths who was so much bigger and stronger than his peers he stood out at a young age? Every time he plays he just slowly jogs around the field, except when he isnt walking. He only shows interest when the ball is at his feet, and even then, he doesn't do much. For a player his age, who is fighting for a spot, he should be playing his ass off every minute he is on the field, especially when he comes on with 20 minutes left.

Maybe RLC has something that I just havent seen yet. I've been wrong plenty of times before. He's still young with time to grow, but the hype for him seems to be way out of control. He is one youth player that I will not be lobbying for to get more minutes. He is not the next Pogba. He'll be sold in the next 3 years to a mid to low level side. He is not the answer to the midfield. He is not a direct replacement for Ramires. I'd probably rather bring Van Ginkel back than to give RLC more minutes.

/rant

Post #1260 » by **fatlever** » Sun Mar 6, 2016 5:32 pm

And lets not forget Ake who has been really solid for Watford all season.

Anyway, am I being too hard on RLC? Been reading a lot of other Chelsea forums, seems the opinions on him are all over the place. Some agreeing with me, saying he was lazy off the ball, jogging around, showing no sense of urgency etc... others with the stance of him being young, he's not a runner type player, needs more time, would be better in 4-3-3, not a #10, not a guy for 2-man midfield, etc...

There is no doubt he has skills when he has the ball especially for a player his size.

We'll see.