Probably the worst piece of announcing I've ever heard in my life. (That's how this works right? Or does it need more butthurt do you think?)
Lack of sharpness today. Had chances and didn't posses the quality needed to convert. VAR has been pretty tedious to deal with. Lots of stop start for no real reason.
Are we talking about Craig Burley? He's hated us since we gave him the elbow after he gifted ManU the winning goal in an FA cup final, IIRC.
You see a lot of these calls and you STILL can't tell what the correct decision is even after seeing the replay.
I know he is getting tired and it's common to sub off attackers, but can Hazard not play the full 90? 5 min of stoppage time at home and we didn't even sniff getting a shot off
Did it feel like it was used a lot for really inconsequential decisions to you too? I thought it would have been for goal scoring/denying types of situations or if the ref thinks someone is going to get a red card but needs to confirm first. But felt like a bunch of pretty minor fouls were reviewed. Not a fan so far and I'm not averse in general to some form of review system.
We just aren't all that good. It's time to shelve 352 and go back to 343. Has to be Willian right now too and that's damn near impossible for me to say as I'm not a fan. We just lack any real quality. Our midfield, regardless of who the third mid is just lacks anything going forward. You have to think Barkley having watched the last two matches as a Chelsea player has to be salivating at his chance. I'd be half tempted to throw Willian in a midfield 3 just to see what he could do.
It looked and felt tedious. Why were we reviewing everything. Perhaps it'll change wankers falling over and laying there and that wasted time will be replaced by reviews. Football (Americano) has been ruined for me because of their review process. I hope football doesn't go that route.
I was at work and on a call for the entirety of the second half, so perhaps I'm being harsh. I saw quite a few chances that lead to ********all. To me, we just look tired and sad. Fabergas tried his ass off, as did Alonso, but no one else looked up for it for me. Also, Zappacosta has to start. He offers so much more in the final third.
i was reluctant to say it out loud but that game really need a Barkley type player. no one in midfield was really pushing forward and getting in the box. Fabregas tried a few times but someone with some directness and pace would have helped a ton. overall though i agree, the real difference in formations for me is the 3-5-2 is reactive and the 3-4-3 is proactive. Hazard still looks better out wide or at least when there is a third genuine attacking option. it would probably help Morata as well, he's focusing too much on linking with ONE player than just being a striker. the 3-4-3 just had so much balance both defending and attacking, and forced teams to be stretched, we need to occupy the defense with another run, another body, another threat. unless hazard or Morata gets a flick on, we got nothing. also i'm totally willing to let Musonda have a go as the other forward, at least he'd be willing to try to make something happen to earn a spot.
I will agree with you on Fabregas. He's been giving it all these past few months. Have to applaud that. Alonso has been so consistent since he's joined. Can't think of a time when I cursed him on defense.
I don’t think the 3-5-2 is necessarily the issue, especially after watching us against Norwich in the 3-4-3 the other day. For me the lack of quality in midfield (I realize this has been spelled out as a problem spot for the last few years, but it’s gotten far worse this season) hampers either system. Someone on another forum, when talking about the 3-5-2, said we are lacking a player in the Pogba-role of Conte’s Juve. My reply was “Not just Pogba’s role either - we don’t have anyone who fills the spots in midfield apart from Kante in the most defensive position. Barkley at the very peak of his performance could be what we need for one of the other places, but it’s a complete gamble whether or not he gets there, especially considering how long it has been since he’s played a competitive match. Bakayoko needs to develop as quickly as possible if he wants to be seen as a serious contender for one of those spots going forward, and Fabregas, as phenomenal as he is creatively, is aging rather quickly. To get the most out of this system in the near future we need a world class box-to-box player in the midfield and probably another wing back. A creative CM like Cesc but preferably more mobile wouldn’t hurt either. I don’t think we are a terrible team by any means, especially when playing at our highest level like the players showed in the first leg against Atletico, but we definitely need reinforcements if the 3-5-2 is going to be the way going forward.” I was a bit against the idea of signing Vidal when I first heard the rumors, but he is honestly just what we need in midfield to get the team looking a lot better in practice. For me, if we switch to a 3-4-3, both Pedro and Willian provide problems unless they’re playing at the highest of their ability. We really just lack the necessary quality to make the current systems work consistently
On another note, it’s kind of scary how we can’t handle Arsenal like we used to. I just am not sure how Conte hasn’t been able to get the players up against them - we clearly possess more quality, especially today given all of their injuries. The whole squad just seems unbelievably tired. I want to wait until the Barcelona games to make any sort of conclusive judgment, but the last few matches have me more worried for Conte’s future than I have been before. Know that sounds knee-jerky and we’ve just gotten out of the holiday period, but the matches aren’t stopping. Really hope I’m just a bit overly worried atm
well, as Conte said in his post match interview, there would be a lot more to worry about if chelsea weren't creating any chances or getting shots off. the team is doing both. Conte can't be on the pitch to finish chances. right now i think it's a classic case of being worried about a manager when the players need to be looked at as well. that being said, of course there has been some dire systematic play at times, but could easily be poor execution instead of poor game planning. all that is to say, the team is having a rough patch, i'm hoping Conte doesn't pay the price for a lot of things out of his control.
Probably not the right thread to get into this, but our squad just has some serious holes and it goes all the way back to Jose Mk II. We've never replaced the quality we allowed to leave our midfield is still a mess. Our attacking quality isn't actually quality. This isn't Conte's fault because he obviously isn't getting his targets which is while he'll likely be off in the summer or the summer after. But his body language and his quotes are pointing to this summer. My issue with Conte right now is his inability to adapt outside of 3 at the back. 352, today, isn't working because Morata isn't on form and we don't have the midfield to support it. We aren't trying the 343 with our best players either, we're using it with players who just can't get enough matches to be good. He also has this weird substitution policy of not allowing our substitutions of getting much time to make a difference. He also takes our best players off at the 85th minute. I don't know what the solution is. We are not the rich club we once were and everyone makes us out to be. We have to have a manager who is willing to go along with the clubs vision at this point. We have AC locked up long-term. Time to start building a squad around him.
additionally Azpi is 28 so still has time, but Rudiger is only 24. if we can lock up Courtios then at least we have a strong backline going forward. Kante is 26, Morata 25. we have the building blocks for sure. RLC or Baka panning out would be another great step.