Chelsea (A) - Thu 5th Jan, 20:00 | Pre-Match Thread

[madloaf]

Any eleven you like with the instructions of "play the ball forward quickly."

When you have some of the best footballers in the world, why make them go slow?

 

[Fordyboy46]

Ederson
Walker
Stones
Laporte
Cancelo
Rodri
De Bruyne
Gundogan
Alvarez
Foden
Haaland

De Bruyne and Gundogan mate, I'd pick one of the two

 

[Fordyboy46]

Any eleven you like with the instructions of "play the ball forward quickly."

When you have some of the best footballers in the world, why make them go slow?

Exactly, when we used to start games at a high tempo we were unstoppable, blew teams away. Now you know how a game is going to go in the first five or ten mins if we start off at a snail's pace. We lack energy badly

 

[richards30]

De Bruyne and Gundogan mate, I'd pick one of the two

Worked against Leeds mate? I think gundogan brings a huge amount of control and discipline to the midfield and allows Kev to be Kev?

 

[blueparrot]

Any eleven you like with the instructions of "play the ball forward quickly."

When you have some of the best footballers in the world, why make them go slow?

Because the other team are trying to make us go slow and recycle and setting up to do that, to give them a chance to get a turnover and get in behind our high line. We are trying to keep possession to open up a chance without losing the ball and the opponent countering. This isn’t new, just more oponents realising it’s the only way to beat us.
To be fair more team are setting up against liverpool like that too to stop their fast attacking. Which is why games between us and liverpool end up so open.

 

[madloaf]

Because the other team are trying to make us go slow and recycle and setting up to do that, to give them a chance to get a turnover and get in behind our high line. We are trying to keep possession to open up a chance without losing the ball and the opponent countering. This isn’t new, just more oponents realising it’s the only way to beat us.
To be fair more team are setting up against liverpool like that too to stop their fast attacking. Which is why games between us and liverpool end up so open.

I know "why" we're playing slow, it's just it works both ways. We create more chaos and take advantage of our superior footballers when we play at pace and play more direct. You risk something for the reward.

 

[JWCH-99]

Worked against Leeds mate? I think gundogan brings a huge amount of control and discipline to the midfield and allows Kev to be Kev?

Gundogan was at his best against Leeds. I’m not sure he lost the ball once and some of his turns under pressure were class personified. I think gundogan at his best offers more cutting edge threat and ability to break the lines than Bernardo also with his goals. We shouldn’t be outworked in that midfield so I’m not sure we need Bernardo. Chelsea’s midfield is very low energy and centred around keeping the ball.

 

[Crooked_rain]

Not panicking i just don't think a traditional CF suits us really - i mean Haaland is likely to get injured at some point, he has a history of long lay off's. You can't expect us to revert to the old pattern of deep lying midfielders to attack the box at the right time as we have in prev seasons. Takes some work getting those patterns of play going. Just think in the long run may not be the best way to play for us (having a CF). Hope i'm wrong..I am a big Haaland fan though of course, his attitude is refreshing one of the most confident and hungry players we have ever had.. Trevor Francis on par re confidence. If we had the right manager TF would have saved us from the dross and driven us on, our recent history could have been very different

I don’t see how it doesn’t suit us. We have scored way more goals than last season after 16 games and only two points behind what we were on.

It’s the defence that needs sharpen up. I’m not even sure what our best back line is but we should at least try to get a settled one. And also we need to stop relaxing after going ahead, thinking the job is done.

I don’t think having a centre forward like Haaland is a problem because the numbers show we are much better in attack. We just need to get a more settled defence and start managing games a bit better.

 

[blueparrot]

I know "why" we're playing slow, it's just it works both ways. We create more chaos and take advantage of our superior footballers when we play at pace and play more direct. You risk something for the reward.

You can do but Pep will never sacrifice much control for chaos, Klopp will. Pep has sacrificed some control for the chaos of Haaland. He explained countless times tough why he prefers the extra pass of Greealish to Foden forcing it. That won’t change and I for one won’t argue with Pep over that because most seasons he’s proved right.
Looking at where I expect Pep and Klopp to finish in the league this season I think he’ll be proved right again.
Arsenal are the one, teams haven’t quite caught on to doing the same to them, they will though and it will be interesting how they try and cope with it.

 

[blueparrot]

I don’t see how it doesn’t suit us. We have scored way more goals than last season after 16 games and only two points behind what we were on.

It’s the defence that needs sharpen up. I’m not even sure what our best back line is but we should at least try to get a settled one. And also we need to stop relaxing after going ahead, thinking the job is done.

I don’t think having a centre forward like Haaland is a problem because the numbers show we are much better in attack. We just need to get a more settled defence and start managing games a bit better.

True, but one of the reasons we aren’t managing the game as well is because we have one less ‘manager’ with Haaland over a false 9 or Jesus.

 

[madloaf]

You can do but Pep will never sacrifice much control for chaos, Klopp will. Pep has sacrificed some control for the chaos of Haaland. He explained countless times tough why he prefers the extra pass of Greealish to Foden forcing it. That won’t change and I for one won’t argue with Pep over that because most seasons he’s proved right.
Looking at where I expect Pep and Klopp to finish in the league this season I think he’ll be proved right again.
Arsenal are the one, teams haven’t quite caught on to doing the same to them, they will though and it will be interesting how they try and cope with it.

Fair points. Tbf to Liverpool, which I am not usually, they sold their best player (imo) from last season, lost his replacement to long term injury and they replaced the replacement with a uruguayan clown where as we added maybe the best no.9 in the world. When they beat Brentford tonight on a dodgy penalty they'll be 5pts behind us.

I don't want us to play like Liverpool, I just want us to play faster than we do.

 

[Tolmie scores]

I don’t see how it doesn’t suit us. We have scored way more goals than last season after 16 games and only two points behind what we were on.

It’s the defence that needs sharpen up. I’m not even sure what our best back line is but we should at least try to get a settled one. And also we need to stop relaxing after going ahead, thinking the job is done.

I don’t think having a centre forward like Haaland is a problem because the numbers show we are much better in attack. We just need to get a more settled defence and start managing games a bit better.

2017 - 60 goals in 19 games / 2018 41 goals in 16 / 2019 44 goals in 19 / last two seasons yes 26 in 18
15 and 33 I think last year, BUT our style from 2016 or so on wards reaped as many goals or iif not more with Augero not being our only or key scorer - just a risk i think with current style of play and midfield being too lazy to get in great areas - or Gundy not being composed in front of goal!

 

[mayo31]

Anyone still waiting for tickets in the post

 

[Crooked_rain]

True, but one of the reasons we aren’t managing the game as well is because we have one less ‘manager’ with Haaland over a false 9 or Jesus.

I think it’s been more of a mentality thing

Look at the Everton game, as soon as we scored, we dropped our intensity compared to before the goal. I don’t think that’s down to having any particular players in the team that can’t see out a game.

I don’t buy into this “false 9” thing being better for the team. We’re much better attacking than we were last year and have the best finisher in world football breaking records. If the team is thinking the job is done because we’re 1-0 in games, then the problem is an overall mentality that needs to sharpen up. Look at the Everton goal the other day, the lad had time to fall over, get back up and score without being closed down. A false 9 wouldn’t have changed that poor defending and lack of desire/concentration to stop him.

We just need to get more organised in defence and stay switched on for 90 minutes and we’ll be ok.

I don’t think this inverted fullbacks trick is helping matters much either, but that’s another topic probably.

 

[sir baconface]

Just need to concentrate on getting enough points for top 4 now seems like a transition season for us and the Premier league are hell bent on making sure we don't win it.

Ederson

Walker
Stones
Ake
Cancelo

Rodri
Gundogan
Kdb

Bernardo
Haaland
Foden

We improve a title winning squad with one of the best strikers in the world, plus one of the best up and coming, and it’s a “transition season”? How does that work?

 

[Damanino]

10 points behind imo when we step on the pitch on Thursday.

our mentality will be tested first and foremost. Phillips being a fat ass, Pep mentioning body language issues with others, wtf, we need to pull together now if we dont want to look into a 10+ points gap very soon.

 

[BamberBridgeBlue]

We improve a title winning squad with one of the best strikers in the world, plus one of the best up and coming, and it’s a “transition season”? How does that work?

We lost Sterling, Zinchenko, Jesus and most notably Fernandinho (admittedly more for dressing room influence as playing time last season). Four out, four in isn’t insignificant. Especially as one of those going was the Club captain.

Although to be honest, the biggest factor this season (imho) is a dirty great World Cup right when we usually put a run together.

 

[Tb1981]

Agree with the first three names, but Bernardo really needs a kick up the arse, absolutely nothing is coming from him , no assists or goals for quite a while

He is a big game player and these games coming up are very big

 

[citymad]

IMO that’d narrow our play, take out 2 of our safest ball keepers and inject a load of exciting / direct but less controlled play.
I wouldn’t mind seeing that myself but suspect that it would be the recipe for plunging possession stats and a far more open / end to end game - maybe that’s what we need to make the most of Haaland?

Good post. Gong on what we saw against the toffees I'd rather we inject some pace and get behind their defense a bit more. It's going to be an interesting game because Chelsea are a tidy outfit, plenty of possession but toothless up front.

 

[Tangled up in blue.]

I don’t see how it doesn’t suit us. We have scored way more goals than last season after 16 games and only two points behind what we were on.

It’s the defence that needs sharpen up. I’m not even sure what our best back line is but we should at least try to get a settled one. And also we need to stop relaxing after going ahead, thinking the job is done.

I don’t think having a centre forward like Haaland is a problem because the numbers show we are much better in attack. We just need to get a more settled defence and start managing games a bit better.

That's what pisses me off with Pep, he's not happy unless he's chopping and changing the defence, I know we've got injuries but when they're all fit he's still always messing around with it