Yeah, I'm also not sure why some still believe CP would have been better off at Liverpool unless they didn't mind less playing time and the fact he'd be firmly stuck behind 2 of the best winger in the Premiere League, Mane and Salah...
They will not be contending unless and until they find a philosophy and/or formation that takes advantage of the talent they have, and helps them blend their skills in complementary ways. That process has to begin at some point before that kind of optimism is warranted.
With the money Chelsea has, the talent and formation will come together....if not under FL, then Roman will find someone else who will quickly piece it together.
The irony is that if you had taken last year's attack and upgraded the defense, they are a contender. Instead, they altered the attack and made a nice change to the defense in the goalkeeper swap.
It has begun, but the 3 major new transfers in attack are either well off-form or out injured, currently. But I agree they are not contenders. They weren't last year, they weren't with these summer transfers, and they aren't right now. It's not that easy to transition from top 4 to serious title challengers just by buying a bunch of talent and trying to throw it out onto the pitch.
Yep. They’d be better off if they had just signed Mendy, Silva, and maybe a true winger to replace Willian and Pedro.
I'd love to give Werner and Havertz the benefit of the doubt, as many Bundisliga guys have taken a while to get going (or never have got going) in the EPL, but I didn't expect Ziyech would look the best of the three. It's a shame he's been so injury prone because Chelsea could've really used his sophistication in some of these games. As for Werner and Havertz, there's little doubt that, eventually, they'd find their feet and be productive in the league, but Chelsea famously, and from their perspective understandably, don't have that time to waste (look at Salah, De Bruyne, Lukaku, etc, etc). But in two back to back 90 minute games, it's obvious CP is in their best 11 and for US and CP fans, that's a very good thing.
https://www.si.com/soccer/chelsea/n...lf-time-against-arsenal?utm_source=reddit.com Lampard 'lost it' in the dressing room at half-time against Arsenal
Here are a few quotes from an article describing an interview with Chris Sutton (former Chelsea striker) that appears in BBC.com. Sutton: "They are flat and that's why Frank needs to get a few wins under his belt and extremely quickly because it can, as we know, turn ugly at Chelsea." Article: "But Sutton believes Lampard has yet to get his side playing "in rhythm"." Sutton: "But I don't think Chelsea can win the title. They have to get back to a way of playing where they really find their rhythm." "Rhythm" implies flowing coordination of the players' actions. Great teamwork. I think the "rhythm" comments are really on point. Chelsea are playing like an uncoordinated collection of individuals, some of which is good and some of which is disruptive and impeding their goal scoring capabilities more or less independent of Werner's personal lack of performance.
Lack of rhythm .... drive ... passion ... desire to win .... No doubt the team is not clicking ... that is either up to the manager or the captain or team leader on the field (who is that for Chelsea) .... I don't think it is a CP problem (he is probably still too young to get that responsibility) .... but in the EPL is there any non English player that is the team leader on the pitch? The good thing (for CP) is that he has been playing his tail off and really pushing it - in spite of the hammie "awareness" .... With the City game postponed due to COVID certainly Chelsea players will have fresh legs .... I would expect them to come out flying in the next match.
They'll probably give both clubs less than four (4) hours noticed just like they did for Tottenham today.
This is what scares me. IF Pulisic doesn't in fact "save" Chelsea, how soon do the fans/British media/FL turn on CP and blame him for not "saving" the club? 3 more matches? 5? 8? ???
Lack of comfort in roles can look like lack of effort, especially to a frustrated coach. The speed at which this game is played in the EPL requires that most actions be the product of instinct or habit, not thought or conscious intent. For all those actions to be collectively effective, the players need to have developed a sense of what their respective roles are. If and when evidence that that is happening (with Wener and Havertz) appears, I will feel optimistic. Others may see that, but I don’t. In any case, it is not a desire or effort problem IMO.
It won't be many. They have already turned on Werder who at least had a stretch of games where he was able to score and assist. CP has been the engine leading to their most recent goals but his scoring/assist drought is getting up there. I think he is getting a bit longer of a leash because the fans have seen what he can do when he is on fire.... he, in fact, already saved the team last season after the covid break. Also... like I said... during the recent run of games he has created opportunities that have led to goals and chances. But make no mistake about it.... the dude needs to score and assist. It is what he is paid for. But man o man... right now.... the Werder/Havertz deals are looking poor... especially the latter. Kai looks slow in this league. Which is odd because he didn't seem like a slow player in Germany.
I don’t worry too much about that even if your predictions are right. CP is young and has demonstrated his skill set/value to the world. He is a commodity in demand. They will play him or sell him. Chelsea will not be Phil Spector to Pulisic’s Darlene Love.
I do think what we're seeing now is akin to the complaint people had a BVB: bags of talent, lacking an end product. He needs to start to produce something on the regular. I have no doubt he is probably the most talented American product, but he does have that one last bit of polishing to do, to start racking up the stats that truly turn heads. We know he is dangerous in the final third. We know he can terrorize defenders. He just has to slow things down in his brain and unlock the right choice with that last touch, either picking a shot where the keeper isn't or finding a way to not hit the defender between him and the guy waiting for that assist pass.
If I'm an unbiased fan of Chelsea I've viewing CP's recent games as: + good playmaking and "guile" in attack - missed a few sitters/half chances - doesn't work hard enough or bring enough intensity on d It's the last one that sticks in my mind when watching him. The 10 on his back seems to be weighing heavily and it seems like he's thinking 'I don't *need* to defend, but I *need* to attack, immediately, at pace, and score or assist right tf now. He's obviously not their problem and is at least trying to be their solution. I don't think Werner is suited to how they're using him and Havertz looks lost as well. Giroud has gotten the short end of the stick but on his current form he should be starting; if Lamps were to play 2 up top they'd probably be a better spot for Werner and Giroud/Tammy combined. It seems like they have a plethora of wingers/guys they're trying to make wingers and Lamps wants to get two of CP/CHO/Ziyech/Werner (who's not a winger) on the field at the same time. It's a tough call -- both Werner and Giroud probably perform better with a strike partner but putting two up top opens up a bunch of other tactical questions that Lamps seems to be unwilling to ask, like: if you have wing backs as opposed to fullbacks, where do your current wingers line up?
The goals and assists will come. They always have with him. He's finally getting fit again and his sharpness is improving.
To me, the fact is that Abraham is just a better striker for Chelsea than Werner. Instead of trying to force Werner on the field, I think Werner just needs to be a super sub.
I agree with you, but I think it’s impossible to ignore the importance of him being put in a comfortable position to maximize his output. It’s not a coincidence that he produced a lot after the restart when he was healthy and consistently playing on the left, without a lot of other changes to the lineup. At Dortmund, he was often hugging the touch line on the right side, and playing without a good goal scoring forward, and recently at Chelsea he’s been playing on the right a lot after a pretty long injury lay-off. He’s only been playing consistently on the left for the past couple games, and his performance has been solid. The results will come in time if he keeps playing there, and Lampard doesn’t keep making a bunch of other changes to the lineup.
So now we worry about lack of stats? He will get his share of assists and goals before seasons end. He also does a lot of very good things when he does not get a stat. CP10 is not CFC problem. The midfield and the tactics are the main problem. They have scored plenty of goals this year. He needs more touches and CFC needs to be more route one and direct. They are fairly easy to defend right now. Go ahead and let them go wide left like they like to do. Deny CP any space, force a cross in from Chilly, and mark the target guys. I think they only need two of Mount, Kante, Kova, and Gilmour. I don't know what happened to Billy, but if fit he looked to be good enough. NO more Jorgi and no more Christensen. I have seen nothing to suggest that Kai is going to work out. With the way CHO is playing, I would think about putting Ziyech as center midfielder in a 4-3-3. I think with some positioning tweaks there is then a threat in the middle of the field and some interesting triangles in the half spaces to force the defense to cover the entire field. I want CP to play 10 like he was born to do, but he looks to be locked in the LAM spot so it is what it is. SO it would be Kante as 6 Mount as 8 and Hakim as 10. CHO RAM and Puli LAM. I know folks don't rate Tammy but I like him and he scores goals, he gets minutes on my team. I like Werner for balls in behind against teams more likely to try and come at you. Giroud against bunkers and as a late sub.
Whatever happens will happen. CP will be fine because he brings a uniques skill set that people want. You don’t have to score to be menacing and create opportunities. It’s up to the coaches to exploit that skill set (and those of the other players) to maximize team performance. Wise coaches know this, which is why CP (barring injury) will be fine.