This is exactly on point. - Chelsea did not have problem scoring goals earlier in the season, now are even their attack had slowed down - I have watched pretty much all Chelsea games and Kepa had been poor. And I meant Burki level poor (from last season). I am not surprised he's the worse keeper in the EPL in terms of save %. He let in some ridiculous goals.
I do think that Sancho is a bit more talented... CP might have a slight advantage in pace but Sancho gets very high marks in pretty much every offensive category. He also has the additional size that helps him fight off defenders better. But it is hard to really compare them this season IMO... Sancho is part of a well-oiled offensive force with tons of quick and creative players to work with. He also plays against inferior defenses every other week. Don't get me wrong... I love the Bundesliga. But the space Sancho and other offensive threats in this league have in the final 3rd is a rarity in the EPL... even when facing the bottom of the league teams. I am eager to see how Sancho does when he comes home to England. At any rate, CP still has a lot to improve on and his ability to get a quick and effective shot off in the box is certainly one of them. But it would certainly help if he an upgrade with respect to the players he is attacking with.
The rest of the league has the book on Chelsea now... Just play the low-block and hit them hard on the counter. This basic setup seems to really stagnate the offense and sooner or later the D/Keeper is going to make a gaff. Simple, but very effective.
Their fans have wanted Kepa replaced for a while too. But it's not all on Kepa. The defense is weak. When Zouma is having a poor game, he's one of the worst CBs I've seen in a top club.
I mean they have the 5th best attack, with the 10th best defense. So by definition it's a pedestrian effort in the back for them. It's especially bad when you consider that their midfield and attack allows them to have a decent amount of the ball every game than say a Newcastle that has one less goal allowed than Chelsea.
The year they had two coaches at BVB he was playing qualifiers for the USMNT and in three competitions for BVB. He was so vital for BVB they even played him a half at fullback. He was a couple of years younger than he is now. I suppose it is arguable about pace/level, but it wasn't youth footie or pick up games.
Yes, it was his 17/18 season. He played 3,000+ minutes for BVB, not counting USMNT minutes. He was clearly exhausted, and which probably played a part in him being often injured the following season and missed about 1/3 of Dortmund's games.
Really interesting and CP positive read here: https://fivethirtyeight.com/features/chelseas-slump-wont-necessarily-be-fixed-by-more-attackers/ His 0.7 XG-XA rate is currently 7th in the entire EPL.. a couple behind Tammy (0.82)... and while Frank has publicly stated that they are having a hard time replacing Hazard's goal creation skills... Eden's XG-XA from last year was quite a bit lower (0.54). Author seems to think that the goal drought can't last... just a run of poor luck.... but the problem at GK is legit. I think the author should have mentioned the hole at LB as well... but the premise still holds. All the talk from Frank makes it seem like another Winger will be coming in. CP needs to keep his stats going.
TBH They do need another winger. Willian/Pedro is not going to last long term. And CHO is still a little ways away from breaking out. Mount has looked like a nice squad player, but not someone that can be a penciled in starter... For this year having another winger gives them cover for injuries, drop in form, while also making squad rotation better which should increase the effectiveness of the guys they already have.
Yeah, they might lose 3 attackers in June. 2 of them are very experienced wingers. Why wouldn't they be looking at wingers? Even if they keep Willian around it would make sense to pursue a player that can create chances and maybe score some goals from wide positions.
They will certainly need another Winger in the Summer when Willian and Pedro depart... but there is a big difference between bringing in a good winger and breaking the bank on one like Sancho.... especially if it means that they do NOT spend the appropriate money on D and a GK. One has to wonder if they actually will bring in another well-paid GK. Kepa is already one of the highest paid GKs in the world and he has been quite bad. At any rate, all the talk of them spending a ton of money has me thinking about the Winter market... do blockbuster deals often happen in the Winter? Seems like the major moves happen in the Summer. They are going to have to wait until the Summer to get Sancho anyways if they want him. Heck... who wouldn't? I was thinking about the dream Chelsea/USMNT morphing scenario that could (never) occur by next season: CP - Tammy - Sancho Kante - RLC - Odoi Chilwell/Tagliafico - Zouma - Rudiger - Dest Stephen
The owner of the Red Bulls (Dietrich Mateschitz, #53 in Richest Billionaires list) is even wealthier than Abramovich (#151), so the price is going to be huge. Probably even too much. https://www.thesun.co.uk/sport/football/10577992/chelsea-fans-trolled-rb-leipzig-timo-werner/
He's not coming to Chelsea, anyways, even if he didn't just sign an extension and his deal ran out. He'd just go right over to Munich.
The Sun is garbage and you can count on them to always inflate/promote young English players. CHO has shown me nothing this year that warrants a starting role. It would be nice for him to have a real positive effect on O in his substitution appearances and he has yet to do that. Two games in a row with ~40 minutes to play each and all I have seen is a couple of decent crosses into the box. Nothing close to the creativity we have seen from CP. Right now it seems like his entire threat on the pitch is going towards the endline and crossing into the box... and at crunch-time in the last game when almost every Chelsea player was in the box he hit it out of bounds. Don't want to bang him too much for that single play... but it is beyond me why he is getting praise from some outlets.?.? He is very talented and I am a Chelsea fan... so I want him to be a player... but I have reservations about him at this stage of his career and really question whether he even belongs on the left side of the offense. Here is another piece that states that he is the "real deal" and that Chelsea fans have to be patient: https://www.football.london/chelsea-fc/players/callum-hudson-odoi-chelsea-lampard-17449483 Funny how the language from Frank about him is similar to what we heard from him with respect to CP. At any rate, I am not sure why Frank hasn't tried him at right-midfield? Perhaps he and Willian can mesh together and then Kante can come over and help CP. Of course, if Emerson is over there then a lot of the creativity will go out the window. Man, do we need a stud left-back.
I know fatigue probably has something to do with it, but is everyone feeling CP has been taking it a bit too easy/comfortable on the field? I don't his track back and hussels as much in recent strings of games. I always kept going back to his hat trick against Burnley. The first goal was a result of his turnover, he then chased after the opponent with the ball, forced a turnover, take it and drive it straight at goal. I don't see that same level of hunger, tenacity, aggressiveness, and commitment from him in his recent runs of games. Mount kind of touch on this a little bit in this article. PS He was just talking about himself, not CP by any means. “My dad always said when I was younger that you can’t just be a luxury number 10 because you see so many players like that in academy football. “You see so many players who want to get on the ball, do all the good stuff, but never want to track back, work hard or do the defensive side. “You see that so much and he said to me that you need to do the other side of the game too, so that was always in my head.” https://sports.yahoo.com/mount-sets-chelsea-goal-target-084300216.html
I can see where you are coming from and there may be some truth to it... but this is a team game and he has pretty clearly been neutralized in the last two or three games based on the opponent's low block scheme and the inability of Emerson to pass the ball forward. His assist numbers have also suffered recently based on the poor shooting % of the team as a whole... He could quite easily have 4+ assists over his most recent games... the chances are just not getting put home. He has also been in great positions in every game but the last pass just hasn't quite got there... or the deflection in the box is just a bit too far away... I watch so much soccer... and I often forget that a great deal of the statistical numbers are tied in with a bit of chance. I think there is a bit of the whole "ball just not bouncing our way" thing going on. CP plays in a way that makes me think that the next big game for him is the next one on the schedule. My only concern is whether Frank will put too much of their recent lack of success on his shoulders and keep him off the pitch. At any rate, I do hope that the recent run of form is eating away at CP and I would like to see a bit more urgency out of him. I know he likes to be a silent assassin and disappear/reappear on the pitch... but I would like to see him will Chelsea to a big victory on Sunday.
read that frank gave the lads an emotional talk during their christmas lunch so this thing clearly is turning around. stiff upper lip