well there went the delusional pre-season optimism totally outclassed so far all things considered, Luiz is back in my starting line-up, at least you gets some good and occasionally spectacular with the bad
I really want to like Christensen more, but mistakes like the second goal make it tough. Consistent brain farts.
Rudiger seems the only one of our D's not more error prone than desired,( he has one now and again but not often)
His touch is always heavy and slow. He’s best suited to a system with less possession imho. That Jose played him at RB is...very Jose.
Zouma is not the best at playing the ball out, which is odd that Jose played him as our DM at times (Spurs Cup Final). I feel Zouma is good coverage for Rudiger. I wonder if Frank will keep Kenedy in the squad - at least until RLC and CHO come back.
I suspect he will. Then in the January window move Kenedy and all of the other excess players he can so we can load up on new talent once the ban is lifted.
The 40 yard gap that can appear between our midfield and back line when the other team gets a break gives me so much anxiety. So much ********ing about with the ball in general.. lotsa questions about this team I will say that Pulisic is clearly class. Highly intelligent, direct player that despite not wanting to be compared to Hazard, is already going to fill the void as most shifty, most fouled player on the roster
I’m happy with the team as a whole after pre-season. Pros - We seem to have renewed great midfielders out of Kanté, Mount, Jorginho, Kovacic and Barkley (+ RLC later on). This was not exactly the picture we’ve had for quite some time already (since Matic was sold, maybe, and maybe we are better now than then); - Pulisic (he just needs to gain some muscles “because Premier League”); - We seem to have a manager that actually responds to the game and has a hoster of strategies, flexible, which is good when you are not Barcelona, Real Madrid, PSG, Juventus, City, that can always spend on the very best players for each position. Cons - Defensively we are poor (maybe we are better with Kanté, not good to rely that much on one player anyway); - Not sure if I’m fully bought on Abraham. Clear improvement over Giroud and the best stuff we could do considering transfer ban. Anyway…
I think Kante will make a big difference, but yeah not good to "have" to have him every match. Also think pre-seasoin not the best time to judge defence, tired legs and you just don't get the effort there with little on the line, Liverpool shipping goals this summer and looking ragged in defence, but I expect that to change quick in real season. Jorginho impressive in preseason, Kov so much better in new approach, and Jorginho's defence has improved a wee bit, but not enough to be the last line of defense. Our cb's, not named Rudiger, are starting to really worry me, where I thought that was going to be a strength. On the other hand where I was worried about midfield depth in June, now I think it may be hard to play all enough, except at the Kante spot. p.s. rant why the eff did the FA sell rights to everything to a company that only puts it on paid internet and never tv
The problem with our defensive woes is that it's the same issues as last season. That's the problem. We haven't changed it a bit. Getting Rüdiger back helps a little but getting Reece James in helps even more. He's a Wan Bissaka type fullback. Tons of pace, great in the final third and a really good defender to boot.
This squad has a lot of potential, it may just take a bumpy season or two to see it realized. My watch word for this season is patience.
We could end the season with the following 11... Cho (19)——-Tammy (21)——-Pulisic (20) ————Mount(20)———RLC (23)——- ———————-Kante (28)——————- Emerson(25)-AC(23)—Rudy(26)-James(19) ———————Kepa (24)———————— Ages give or take the timing of a bday. This team has so much potential. Patience is def key.
Tammy should have had a hat trick and the idea of placing the ball once he is through may not be his best idea. He gets in and he should just whack them in Jimmy Flyod style. Hit them straight and hit them hard Tammy. Because that is effective for the type of player you are. Tammy is good with a cross as he wins the ball and if the Chelsea players get their awareness together there should be a lot of tap ins.
No way James will displace Az at right back. He is a machine. I still think we lack serious quality at striker from Tammy to Giroud to Michy as an out and out goalscorer. Giroud is the best of the three to help the rest of the team, but that means more goals will need to come from midfield. RLC showed this in very limited action last season.
To be fair I did put “could.” While you’re likely right about Az still being better than James and likely our captain again he doesn’t fit as well as James does. Frank wants his outside backs to attack and Az just isn’t that. As for the striker... 100% agree. There’s a lot of questions around whether or not Tammy will be good enough. We will know by the end of the year if he’s a viable first team option or if we need to go out and reinforce there.