But Chelsea and their 210,000,000 worth of players is only 4 points behind Brentford and their collective 30,000,000 salary, so things aren't *that* dire...
Yes, one site had him as Chelsea's lowest rated player. Clearly, the draw at home against a sad sack team is the fault of the one guy with a positive +/- ratio. Anyway, he looked good. He didn't appear to be that tired, but he'd taken a foul from behind that must have hurt, and got whacked in the head by a free kick. You could look at him and see something wasn't quite right. Best to take him off, but I might have waited about ten more minutes. For me, I'm happy. I'm always complaining that CP isn't getting into games where he can make a difference. Winnable opponent at home, guys who are dynamic who he can play off of and vice versa (esp. Felix). He got that chance today. And it more or less worked (not that it couldn't have been better). CP's game is usually based on quick moves and quick passes. People get irritated when he tries something that doesn't work, but that is going to happen with a person who is trying to destabilize the defense. You won't get as many bad passes from Mount and Gallagher, but while they are good at possession, they aren't capable of disrupting the defense in the same way. Clearly, CP was able to put Everton (who played very well defensively, I think) off balance. It wasn't his fault that Havertz and Felix didn't finish anything he produced. I think they will if Chelsea keeps this front line. Yes, he can do better. But I think if you stick with that front line you will get results. Plus, when CP gets tired around 70', you can bring on Mudryk who can blast past some worn out defenders. This lineup was a really good development for me. CP is on the right track to me. I was happy to see that Kovacic was back as well. He links up very well with CP (I know there are some who disagree, but he can anticipate CP's next move, which most of the Chelsea folks aren't so good at).
I watched the game. I thought it was a learning process for some players that have never played a game together. CP's first start since before half those guys were acquired. And to be fair, I think the chemistry was forming. Felix, Enzo and Pulisic make a fun triangle. Chillwell looked good along side of them. James too. We'll see what happens next.
Chelsea are willing to offer Christian Pulisic to Napoli as part of the deal for Victor Osimhen.{Calciomercatoweb}— Vince™ (@Blue_Footy) March 19, 2023
Make it happen. Napoli is miles ahead of Chelsea at the moment, and probably so for the next few years if their coach doesn't leave. Napoli is running away with the Serie A title this season, and they are in position to compete for the league title at least for the next several seasons. I am not seeing the same for the Chelsea, they are probably not even worthy of top 4 in the EPL for the next few years without drastic changes. Chelsea as a GD of exactly +1, and they effectively scored 1 goal per game this season in the league.
There’s a very good chance Napoli wins the Champions League this year, both because of their draw and also because of how good they’ve been.
I find it more likely that richer clubs buy 3-4 of Napoli’s key players and Chelsea stabilizes in the next 6 to 24 months into a juggernaut. Chelsea has much more competition than Napoli but they should still be competing in the champions league wit Lu their talent and a good coach. Even Porter might work out once he has a summer to mold them, but I find it more likely that we see him removed and an elite manager put in charge.
I have no idea how the odds makers don’t have them as most likely because of the draw. I don’t think they are more likely to beat Bayern, City, or Madrid in the final than they are to lose, but…they are way more likely to get there. Even if they only have 40% chance to win against those teams, I don’t think any of those teams have a 40% chance of making the final. This draw was quite kind to Napoli.
Just getting their path to the final makes them a very possible champion. But ESPN did a very good write up earlier this year about how their statistical profile is most in line with past champions compared to the other top teams. https://www.espn.com/sports/insider...icking-champions-league-winner-2022-23-season
Chelsea just seems rudderless and they've been that way for a while. I'd bet they're more likely to stay that way next season then to get squared away. If Pulisic can get somewhere more stable with more playing time then go. Chelsea has like 30 guys on the 1st team roster. They're going to be selling during the summer.
Theyve always had a scattergun approach, but they were fine in the 2000s because they didn’t have a lot of competition in terms of spending. Then City started spending a lot and evaluating better, and now even Arsenal and Liverpool are spending competitively and building teams more efficiently. I don’t think things will be bad for Chelsea in the coming years, and I’m not afraid of CP staying, but I would expect more of the same if he does. A club like Napoli would be reasonably competitive while also treating him like a major investment.
He’s probably going for closer to 100 million. He’s a top target for Man U as well (and possibly others).
But as wrench said, they showed signs of synergy that we haven't seen much this year. If this lineup clicks, it may indeed become a more likely occurrence. That attack looked good. Havertz looked about as good on the right as Sterling has all season (bar a few moments). CP links up with Felix pretty well. Add the healthy wingbacks and a healthy Kante, and this offense could go places. Not saying it will, but it could. But I guess who cares about any of this if the defense plays like it did against Everton.
Yeah he was ok. Combined real well a few times to create good chances, and cleared space for the opening goal as well.