Ha! Watching the BVB game yesterday I was thinking that an English announcer probably would have named Sancho the BVB player of the game for drawing defensive attention away from CP (even after Sancho kept the play alive on WB's 2nd by being slow to push up). Earlier this year I remember a British announcer talking about how Bale had been such a high performer for Real Madrid, unlike the struggling Benzema - who, in the same seasons, had more goals for Real Madrid at the time and has a lot more now. It ain't just the leagues getting promoted... [/end threadjack]
I'm not sure if Sarri has ever had an American on his squads before. That may not be by design, but we'll soon find out just how willing he is to pencil Yanks in his starting lineups.
Seriously how can Sarri not be fired after the season he's had at the club? Is the only requirement (for his staying) is that they will have CL in the Fall?
He is supposed to be the guy who transforms their style of play and coming into the season many expected it be a process. And with a possible transfer ban I doubt a lot of managers are desperate to leave their club for Chelsea. Obviously they are probably going to look for Frank Lampard to eventually take over since seems to be doing a good job for Derby County but, he is in his first full season as a manager.
Chelsea's squad is kind of shit, and they're going to finish 3rd or 4th while making a European final. Sarri has done a terrific job with them this season.
They're probably the 3rd most talented side in the league and they'll finish 3rd. For all the talk of Tottenham, they don't have a superstar like Eden Hazard, and kante is better than anyone there as well. Of course Kane is either the 2nd or best striker in the league but he's hurt, while Son is quite excellent, but both Willian and Pedro are.quire.good still. Basically, I think the top 6 are finishing where their talent dictate. You could argue that Utd have more talented than Arsenal, but at this point that's debatable. Next season is going to be much of the same. There's not enough affordable talent for Chelsea to catch either Liverpool or City. Tottenham have been surpassed, though with that new stadium perhaps levy will be willing to spend a lot more. I don't trust either Arsenal nor Utd'd decision makers to do a proper rebuild.
We're off topic here, but hard to argue that United doesn't have at least the third most talent in the EPL. If you're talking about their current form, sure, but that's circular logic. How to sort Chelsea, Arsenal, and Spurs is more open for debate.
This Chelsea squad is fairly unbalanced and even if at first Sarri was making some big mistakes, specially around the locker room, it seems, by the end things fell into place and the tactics were good, as expected from a solid Italian manager. The question is whether the players can stomach the man-management style. Maurizio doesn't suffer fools gladly, and kids have issues with old guys who are like that.
It's one of only two requirement for them to even consider keeping him, and even if they do make it to the CL he could still be sacked. The other is whether they can get a good coach to replace him. If they can't, he may still stay on because there's nobody worthwhile ready to take on a big club with a demanding fans and owner but also under embargo. Otherwise they'll drop him in a New York minute.
They squad has a good deal of top talent, but the squad is also unbalanced and too many of the top talents are also extremely inconsistent. Either is a problem; both is a recipe for failure.
Perhaps. But this is Chelsea we're talking about. A previous poster mentioned maybe they couldn't find a suitable replacement and that makes sense.
BREAKING: @ChelseaFC have lost their appeal against FIFA's decision to ban them from signing players in the next two transfer windows. — Sky Sports News (@SkySportsNews) May 8, 2019
Not sure this is good news for Matt. Seems to increase (however slightly) the chance that he doesn’t go on loan and is needed for back-up. Not sure he would get a lot of playing time in that case.
I agree this could break either way, but it just might be the moment for Miazga to step up and stake his claim.
This year could be Chelsea's last big pay day. They have some players at the end of their very best and a trade ban would def hurt the replenishment needed. If they were to off load big names like Hazard and Higuian, not sure he even has any interest, but moving some big names would bring in cash. Other than that, CP's mental toughness will be tested. If Hazard does not move, it will be a plus for CP as I feel he will get a lot of time to play with him. Could be good for MM also. They will need help in the back for sure. He may not walk into a starting position, but come to think about it, Reading was the first time he did. His other loans, he worked his way into starting. I hardly count the French excursion because of the amount of time he was there. Gonna be interesting.
"No surprises here, and Chelsea will now appeal to the Court of Arbitration for Sport. Expect the CAS to stay Chelsea’s ban on registering new players until the appeal is concluded, thereby allowing Chelsea to conduct business as usual this summer. https://t.co/oB55DMdUAI — Jake Cohen (@JakeFCohen) May 8, 2019"
An injury or 2 here and he may get a few months as a legit starter. Even if he's depth, there's enough matches where he will have a SHOT.
Matt Miazga is married, married!- Tyler Adams, Weston McKennie & Tim Weah pic.twitter.com/Kj7dYUiLe0— Arthur Kogan (@artur_kogan) May 9, 2019
At this point, I think you can consider the Prem to be the best league in the world. 4 different teams represented in European finals, none of which are the likely league champions.