Now with Terry gone (why didn't LA try to sign him? he seemed the type of player they'd go for), they may keep Matt around as their #5 CB. That'd be quite terrible, IMO.
I'm guessing there was someone of basic intellect who looked at Cole and thought Hmmmmm, let's wait on John Terry" and then the moment passed.
I meant in the sense that they didnt wanna make the decision too quickly. And a good decision indeed. Nobody wants him in the league. He has no goodwill.
Plus all the talent they're targeting in the offseason. You really only need one or two central defenders in a back three with the other two being guys like Azpilicueta. Chelsea ain't where ol' Matty is going to earn his stripes in the next 4-5 years.
It's hard to know what we're doing in the offseason, to be honest - the entire situation is fluid. Azpilicueta is a right back originally; that he's been a very good CB is a very pleasant surprise, but his lack of height is a bit of an issue. In the away game against Spurs, in particular, Pocchetino exploited it. In addition, Azpilicueta is currently our only other player who can legitimately play RWB, a key position for a 3-4-3. Zouma may not fit a 3-4-3 at all, because of his questionably ability on the ball (he's better suited for a 4-4-2 imho). Cahill will be 32 in December, and is also not quite as nimble on the ball as we'd like (and has more gaffes than you'd prefer), so he may be replaced. Ake is a bit of an unknown quantity right now, and there are already rumors he may be used in an exchange for somenoe like van Dijk from Southampton. Ake is very highly rated, still young (22) and has just gotten called up to the Dutch senior squad. But, we don't know where he fits yet. Christensen is a total wild card. Who knows, Conte might not like him.......or he might be a Chelsea starter at CB for the next 10 years. We literally have no idea. Really, other than Luiz, our backline is a bit less settled than you might think.
The #5 CB is like the #3 GK: the number, beyond a point, doesn't really matter. It only means they won't be playing at all.
That's not true in a formation that uses 3 CBs. Anyway, the real issue is that Miazga isn't good enough at this point to play for Chelsea, not that there are too many players ahead of him. If Chelsea are calling him back to start, it'll mean he's either developed a lot (which is good!) or something has gone wrong for Chelsea.
If you take that attitude, you'll only ever play proven players. Miazga had a pretty good season at Vitesse, and wasn't really given much of a chance before he went out on loan. He's went from one of the best CB's in a league equivalent to the Championship to a very good starter in a pretty good league for a team that qualified for Europe. I don't know why he wouldn't be worth a chance, but he won't get that at Chelsea. He should probably just transfer somewhere in the upcoming transfer window. Chelsea wants no part of playing him for their first team, regardless of whether he's deserving of a chance. Why play the loan game another season?
Chelsea are currently starting a Spanish international, a Brazilian international and England's best CB (admittedly, not the mantle this used to be), and you want them to give Miazga a chance, ahead of Zouma (capped by France), Ake (in the current Dutch squad) and Christensen (a starter for Denmark at an earlier age) because Miazga had a good but not great season for a club that finished fifth in a league whose recent imports have not done especially well in England? That's why he's probably not going to get a shot this year. In another year? Who knows. He can certainly try to transfer, but the history of American players who go to smaller clubs in Europe is hardly a series of unqualified successes either. If Miazga gets a good loan where he plays consistently (and gets paid a Chelsea salary), I don't see the issue. If Miazga was being loaned to a league in the Faroe Islands and sitting on the bench, I'd agree he was wasting his career. As things stand, I find that argument hard to make.
Why are you bringing nationalities into this? Miazga will fail or succeed due to being American? And frankly, I'm not so sure being a Danish international or a Dutch international is much more glorious than being an American international (or at least a player who should be an American international). If a player isn't going to be able to earn a shot to play for the big parent club after having a successful loan, I'm not sure how the player benefits. Their decisions are made by the club. If the club isn't sure whether they'll get a center-back in before the end of the window (like what happened with Miazga at the beginning of this season), they might have to stay just to give the club an extra number that won't play or they have to wait until the last hour of the transfer window to transfer, missing a month of the season already. How does it benefit a player to always be going back and forth, switching to this club, that club, coming in at this time of year, that time of year? Maybe if Miazga had been loaned to Vitesse in June, he'd have won a starting spot earlier. Its not so easy to join a team in September, and be a starter immediately. Is the pay so different? I can understand why a player would do this if they actually had a chance at playing with the parent club after a successful loan, but it doesn't seem like Chelsea want to give Miazga that chance. And the way I see it, Azpi is not a CB next season. He should be playing RWB. Terry will go, maybe Zouma goes. Cahill will probably remain, but as a starter? I'm not so sure. I'd think that Luiz, Cahill and maybe Zouma remain for the CB position, therefore Chelsea needs another two CB's. Buying players isn't always the answer. Why not give a chance to Miazga, Christensen, Ake?
So glad he finished the season so strongly. Was worried months ago when he was riding the bench and making cameo appearances. Maybe he never appears for Chelsea again, but not the worst thing in the world. Maybe he grows into a big fish in a small pond (a star defender in the Dutch league isn't the worst thing) or even being the star man at a small club in the Bundesliga or PL
What I like very much of this chap is his willingness to learn. He was confronted with his weaknesses (from Dutch perspective) and grabbed the bull by the horns. Kind of a Dirk Kuyt attitude, work relentless to improve.
You're ignoring the reality that is the largest English clubs, and even more specifically, Chelsea. Players just aren't given chances like that. Why would a manager give a chance to a player hoping he could possibly reach the same level as the first team when he can just go out and buy a world class player? And, on top of that, Conte already has chosen Ake as the CB he wants to develop. I highly doubt he's going to take two young centerbacks on as projects in the same year. There's no indication he even rates Miazga whatsoever.
These world class players they bring in evidently aren't so World Class, given that all these English clubs struggle every Champions League against teams with World Class players. Sometimes they struggle against teams that don't even have World Class players. And I completely agree that Miazga won't be getting any chance. Doesn't help that he originally comes from a league that Conte said "you can pay the consequences" for playing in that league. He should transfer this window instead of going out on loan again.
And yet if he goes out on loan again to a better league this year and performs he'll probably get a better transfer the following season. He doesn't need to leave now. Not when he has a good opportunity to get a quality loan after proving he can succeed at ED level. Matt at La Liga, Serie A, or Bundesliga club is a huge step up and that's where we should hope he gets the chance to go. Leaving Chelsea at this stage may not get him a permanent move to that type of club and would only sell himself short at this stage.
I would love to see you make a post in 50 words or less. Most people likely just ignore the word salads you toss up a dozen times per hour.
Ignore whatever you want, I don't care. I'm pretty sure the purpose of the website is to have in-depth soccer discussions, not use this as a chat room to have random short conversations with strangers. Happy with the word count lol?
That's an improvement, as any writing teacher worth her salt will tell you brevity is the soul of wit. I think you have some interesting things to say, but far too many TLDRs.