halamadrid2 wrote:Why is he still taking penalties. Should give it to the forwards

Because his penalty record puts forwards to shame

another day, another game in which young German boy Havertz looked absolutely lost in the GOAT league

Firenze wrote:all that money spent and they still look like shite

do or die for Fat Frank

he's been bedded in cotton wool so far as a manager

now he has to answer questions like everyone

Nishankly wrote:Half-time substitute Thiago completed more passes (75) than any Chelsea player managed in the entire match.

Since full passing data is available for the Premier League (2003-04), his 75 successful passes are the most by a player who played a maximum of 45 minutes.

yeah seems obvious now that all players seemed so comfortable giving him ball all the time. No hesitation at all. Such an early influence from a player is unbelievable

El Gunner wrote:another day, another game in which young German boy Havertz looked absolutely lost in the GOAT league

Another day played on the wings. Lampard

Looking forward to increasingly desperate hyping of Henderson by Carragher and co. when it's obvious Henderson is not needed in Liverpool's first eleven anymore

apparently Henderson pass to Mané before the red card is the "best pass you'll ever see this season" lmao

BarrileteCosmico wrote:

El Gunner wrote:another day, another game in which young German boy Havertz looked absolutely lost in the GOAT league

Another day played on the wings. Lampard

Nah he was played more as a striker, really

He's not out of position, he's just not integrated at all and also he's surely had a culture shock going from Bosz to this season's Chelsea
He's also not a player who spends a lot of time on the ball, he makes one touch passes, and runs, and he finishes, he's not a very dominating player yet
Which is what will get him in trouble in England very soon, "body language" etc

How was Thiago?

Casciavit wrote:How was Thiago?

as always, brilliant, and of course had all the space and time in the world against 10
gave away a pen though which was another dive by Werner

but there's no doubt he's the best player in this whole league

Lucifer wrote:If we can't knee-jerk, then what is even the point of this forum.

I am with you on this Lucy !

Hapless_Hans wrote:

Casciavit wrote:How was Thiago?

as always, brilliant, and of course had all the space and time in the world against 10
gave away a pen though which was another dive by Werner

but there's no doubt he's the best player in this whole league

@Opta:
75 - Half-time substitute Thiago completed more passes (75) than any Chelsea player managed in the entire match. Since full passing data is available for the Premier League (2003-04), his 75 successful passes are the most by a player who played a maximum of 45 minutes. Control.

Our boy breaking records from now

Liverpool's not worth it

the league's not worth it, really.

This is too easy

Hapless_Hans wrote:

Casciavit wrote:How was Thiago?

as always, brilliant, and of course had all the space and time in the world against 10
gave away a pen though which was another dive by Werner

but there's no doubt he's the best player in this whole league

Not even the best midfielder lol. Best player

Ashley Cole isn't surprised that Havertz can't yet replicate his LEIPZIG performances, having been in England 5 days

Last season, Chelsea's only plan was "play attacking football" but the hows and finer details weren't there. Lampard played 4-3-3, 4-2-3-1 and 3-4-3 at various points, played different midfield and forward combinations, etc. The result was a team that could be exciting but the defending wasn't up to it. He didn't have the individuals in defence to play a proper high line/high press and very rarely dropped his defensive block back.

Now they have a problem where all these new guys have come in and Lampard has to find a system they can all fit into. That's going to take months. Is Havertz going to be a 10 or RW or SS or false 9? Where does Ziyech fit when he's available? Is Werner going to play on the left or down the middle? Say they end up with this:

Jorginho-Kovacic-Ziyech-Havertz-Pulisic-Werner

For me, nobody in that team is going to be patient with the ball except Jorginho. They've got players who want to take risks in the final third, and a forward who thrives on the early pass. That's gonna be so tough to balance against a fragile defence, especially if the full backs go up as well and leave a 36-year-old Silva on his own with whatever partner of the week he gets.

This isn't just based on their first two games, but Chelsea to me are going to end up a high-scoring attacking team who smart teams are going to pick off. Which will probably be enough for top four but certainly not for a title challenge.

i was the first to say it, and i will be proven right, you can't just buy a lot of expensive players and have a lot of hype around the team and expect instant impact from them, especially when the manager isn't known to be a master systemic tactician (yet). Chelsea won't make top four this season if Man Utd is up to the task.

Hapless_Hans wrote:Liverpool's not worth it

the league's not worth it, really.

This is too easy

watch how Xhaka dominates him next Monday night

Jay29 wrote:
For me, nobody in that team is going to be patient with the ball except Jorginho. They've got players who want to take risks in the final third, and a forward who thrives on the early pass. That's gonna be so tough to balance against a fragile defence,

This is really exactly the crucial point. They need to find a way to compose themselves as a team and get some modicum of control.
So far they played so rash and so disjointed, and so all over the place that they're never actually in any kind of shape to either press, or stop counters, or with the ball recycle an attack and probe for an opening.
I think their defense needs to push up higher to make spaces smaller. But Lampard is apparently too afraid of conceding. And the mixture of attacking players, maybe Ziyech is the one who can playmake, I don't know him. Pulisic not, he will always want to go for the jugular too. But where do they all fit in? I Said it before, I think Havertz will prove a dumb move for both the player and the club.

El Gunner wrote:

Hapless_Hans wrote:Liverpool's not worth it

the league's not worth it, really.

This is too easy

watch how Xhaka dominates him next Monday night

*XHAKA

@RG pls edit his post

El Gunner wrote:

Hapless_Hans wrote:Liverpool's not worth it

the league's not worth it, really.

This is too easy

watch how Xhaka dominates him next Monday night

lmaoooooooo

man Arsenal beat us in a meaningless league game and a glorified friendly match on PKs, and now talk of dominating us at Anfield.

like, pretty good start to Arteta's career there and good signs of progress, but geez, you had fewer expected goals than bloody Westham at home last night.

Take the chill pill bro

Leicester are still a fun team. Their recent additions will only help the barclays entertaining league

16 games, 0 draws and a whopping 3.875 goals per game so far.

Hapless_Hans wrote:

Jay29 wrote:
For me, nobody in that team is going to be patient with the ball except Jorginho. They've got players who want to take risks in the final third, and a forward who thrives on the early pass. That's gonna be so tough to balance against a fragile defence,

This is really exactly the crucial point. They need to find a way to compose themselves as a team and get some modicum of control.
So far they played so rash and so disjointed, and so all over the place that they're never actually in any kind of shape to either press, or stop counters, or with the ball recycle an attack and probe for an opening.
I think their defense needs to push up higher to make spaces smaller. But Lampard is apparently too afraid of conceding. And the mixture of attacking players, maybe Ziyech is the one who can playmake, I don't know him. Pulisic not, he will always want to go for the jugular too. But where do they all fit in? I Said it before, I think Havertz will prove a dumb move for both the player and the club.

I was talking about something similar in Havertz thread. Will Chelsea owner keep enough patience with Lampard if the results or position does not improve when they hit bad form over the course of season? El Gunner also talks about Lampard is still learning on the job. Lampard has to quickly evolve if he wants to achieve anything more than top 4, which I think he will definitely improve.

There is clear lack of cohesion in Chelsea's team although possibly due to new signings. Then their game plan looked much better last season at Stamford Bridge compared to this season. It will be interesting to see if Chelsea always rely on their attack to win games as season progresses.

Thiago is unbelievably good while also being very graciously elegant

WATTB a liverpool fan

*Thiago touches football*

Me: pic.twitter.com/JMMtVlmDZ1

— Ben Webb (@BenWebbLFC) September 20, 2020

Liverpool what a team.... Still dominating and pressing like none. its like they resumed where they left in the last season. They also got Thiago now. I don see Man city competing this team.
I feel sorry for Chelsea, such a stupid keeping by Kepa. it could be a draw too if Kepa and Jorginho did their job. They had their fair chances in the first half and could even take the lead on counter. I think they will improve. Watching Chelsea is atleast much better than Man Utd.