Chelsea should pony up the 120M it will take to buy Adams from Leipzig. He'd have to toughen up Nogoal Kante but the 2 of them together would get things moving out of the back b.t.w. - How about that Arteta guy managing things for Arsenal? He faced Lampard in midfield many times in the prem. They should put a big S on his chest already after that performance today v. Chelski.
With coaches it's like with players: the trick is to keep looking awesome after the rest have figured you out.
That wasn't good but there should not have been a player dribbling free and at speed at a lone defender on the midfield stripe after a corner. You can't just let the defense escape from a corner freely especially when you are up a man. It seems to be a sign of a team that isn't taking their responsibilities in all phases of the game seriously.
I agree with this statement. Rooting for an individual while rooting against his team is a bit poor. I know that we all want to see Pulisic succeed, but sticking pins in voodoo dolls dressed like Callum-Odoi, Mount, Willian, etc is odd.
Not that hard. Frank continues to play Kante after repeatedly poor games while Kovacic sits on the bench. Not to mention he plays him out of position and not to his strengths. Kante is not an offensive midfielder. He plays so high up the pitch you might have mistaken him as a second/support striker. Kante did not put himself out on the pitch, Frank did. Frank even refused to sub him with his poor showings. This one is on Frank, no matter how you look at it. At home, up a man for 2/3 of the game, and leading by a goal only to let Arsenal tied it up at the 87' min.
I had to laugh this morning when one of the Grumpy Pundit commentators said that Kante made his 1st mistake in the last five years on that play. Kante is still a good player but he is no longer the elite CDM some people still give him credit for... and when you place him higher up the pitch his value drops even more. Back to CHO... he has played better of late... but last night he was the best offensive player on the pitch. He looked a bit like CP in the first half and had several very good crosses in the 2nd. He and CP both need to work on their D... but the two of them playing together is an exciting prospect IMO. I am starting to warm on the idea of re-signing Willian and then looking for another winger to compliment CP and CHO. Mount continues to come back to earth after a relatively fast start to the season. One goal in his last 15 games and he shoots a lot. Last night he had zero influence.
Chelsea admits they miss USMNT's Pulisic: https://soccer.nbcsports.com/2020/01/21/chelsea-christian-pulisic-injury-update/ Contains an injury update and some praise from Frank and Azpi.
The idea of letting Kante forge forward is that he'd be able to press high-up and break-up passes closer to opposition's box which would lead to better/more goal chances.... If Kante main skill-set is pressing and breaking-up plays, it's not a bad idea to let him roam forward and close down defenders high-up, but having watched him very close for the past 2 months, I'm not seeing him influence matches like his world-class status says he should. Apparently, he did well in a more advanced role during the past 2 years, so not sure what's the problem...Maybe all the injuries are catching-up to him? This is a debate among Chelsea fan with some believing Kante should be played as a holding midfielder while others claimed he did well last year in the same role Lampard is currently playing him...but playing Kante as a holder would make Jorginho role obsolete since he's also a holding-midfielder....This explains why Kante is playing a more advanced role. I personally don't think it's about Kante playing out of position..Noticed how when he returned, Chelsea form declined when they had won 7 straight matches while he was injured. I'd give him a rest and see how the squad does.
It's one of those ideas that works on paper, but in the real world leaves a glaring hole in front of the CBs.
This is true. His return has certainly disrupted the team's chemistry and momentum. The midfield trio of Mount, Kovacic, and Jorginho was doing pretty damnwell. Force fitting Kante into the 11 screwed it up big time. And that falls squarely on Lamp.
The selection certainly is on Frank... but just assuming that's the reason for the results being what they are is specious. I mean... it may be true! But I don't think anyone has shown that work, linking that specific A to B, here in this thread. Kante started the Arsenal match that was a win a few weeks ago, didn't he? So if we're thinking he's the problem, there's at least one piece of evidence that hurts that case. Barkley also got a result or two starting recently... so is he the answer? Bench Kante for Barkley? It's more complicated than that. This Arsenal match in particular, it was a weird one. Chelsea dominated in many ways... 19 shots to 2?
Thats no at all what he is doing. He is playing as a number 8 and getting into the attack. He is not quite as good at that as in shielding the defense. He certainly is not a world class playmaker. At all.
In keeping w/ the major theme of the thread surely Chelsea has been losing because CP hasn't been on the field In all seriousness, the fact that Chelsea has their ban lifted and has not brought in a legit transfer on O and D is kind of mind-boggling. Tammy has been over-used and it shows... he is starting to fall apart and Bats is not getting it done. Mount and Willian have been over-used and it has resulted in less productivity. CHO is starting to really come around but if he plays every minute then he is going to post decreasing returns. Yes... they could certainly use CP right now... but they should have already gotten another offensive weapon to help out. Lastly, they seem to be snakebit on D... where an unreal percentage of attacks result in goals... often of unreal quality. Kepa and the D deserve a lot of the blame but I have to think they will go through a stretch where the other team just doesn't hit their shots.
It's almost like he's their best player and a taslismanic figure in the attack who glides by defenders, and creates chances for his teammates. Almost.
O/T but Chelsea related. https://www.thesun.co.uk/sport/football/10770372/chelsea-kepa-worst-premier-league/
2 shots on target, 2 goals. It has been known for quite sometimes now that Kepa is one of the worse keepers in the EPL, statistically. Chelsea scouting team needs a reboot. Their recent signings had been terrible. Kepa, Higuain, Morata, Drinkwater, Bakayako, Zapacosta, Bats, etc.
Yup. I have only watched Miazga play live twice this season on ESPN+... he played quite well in both games... Perhaps I just saw his good performances? Not sure.... because not getting playing time for Reading on the regular is kind of telling.