Chelsea (A) | PL | Post-Match Thread

Gingers Dad said:
The problem with sticking with the same system is that the opposition work out how to stop you playing. Look at Spain in the World Cup.
I applaud Pep for trying something new and for changing what wasn't working. Maybe this formation would have worked if Walker and Cancelo had been back around a bit longer?
Rodri was superb at alternating between centre back and defensive mid. That bit definitely worked.
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I get that oppos can work you out over time. However, trying to put square pegs in round holes is not going to help us.

For instance Cancelos role last night was never going to work really. He’s in terrible form recently and then playing him out of position is not going to do him or us any favours.

Rodri dropping into CB and Walker looking like he could see that the lads in front of him didn’t know where to be!

Ake, bloody hell! I like him as a CB but at left back he isn’t the same player or a left back! He won’t overlap Foden and he won’t pass him the ball anywhere near enough or correctly, he has Phil constantly playing away from the opposition goal because the pass isn’t creative enough. Easy for a full back to shadow get tight and Shepard a player away from goal. Sometimes Ake then runs and ends up inside foden and in the opposition penalty box! He’s a CB ffs! Zero threat from runs from deep. It’s not his fault he’s asked to play that position. But bloody hell. Zinchenko didn’t even make that run! He stayed on the edge of box to recycle possession or cross, sometimes shoot.

Watching it I just get the impression that some of the lads are not being utilised correctly. And it shows. He thinks Rico is the missing link? Really? In a multiple title Winning team a 18 year old that’s played half a dozen games is the man that makes us play? I don’t understand it. But I’m not Pep and he does know best.
 
theres only one carlito said:
I get that oppos can work you out over time. However, trying to put square pegs in round holes is not going to help us.

For instance Cancelos role last night was never going to work really. He’s in terrible form recently and then playing him out of position is not going to do him or us any favours.

Rodri dropping into CB and Walker looking like he could see that the lads in front of him didn’t know where to be!

Ake, bloody hell! I like him as a CB but at left back he isn’t the same player or a left back! He won’t overlap Foden and he won’t pass him the ball anywhere near enough or correctly, he has Phil constantly playing away from the opposition goal because the pass isn’t creative enough. Easy for a full back to shadow get tight and Shepard a player away from goal. Sometimes Ake then runs and ends up inside foden and in the opposition penalty box! He’s a CB ffs! Zero threat from runs from deep. It’s not his fault he’s asked to play that position. But bloody hell. Zinchenko didn’t even make that run! He stayed on the edge of box to recycle possession or cross, sometimes shoot.

Watching it I just get the impression that some of the lads are not being utilised correctly. And it shows. He thinks Rico is the missing link? Really? In a multiple title Winning team a 18 year old that’s played half a dozen games is the man that makes us play? I don’t understand it. But I’m not Pep and he does know best.
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Just before Foden was taken off Ake had a great chance to slide a ball through to him which would have put him in behind the defence but cut back inside and the pass was cut out.
Late on I thought he looked quite shaky up against that young lad Hutchinson and kicked the ball away a few times when a better full back would have kept possession
 
Jesus H Gabz said:
Somethings off, might just be getting back to being a team again (not a country) or the fact it’s January (Bernie?) either way KDB KW Joao Phil Bernie Gundy look well off it, with a number of others short too, as well as the injuries to Laporte & Dias, leaving the side very thin in terms of consistent performers, Ake & Stones are holding this team together at the minute
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To be fair, several fans are saying the same about their teams.

To me, the Carabao Cup against the Dippers felt like a Community Shield game, but the playing levels were switched as opposed to what happened in August.

The game against Leeds felt like the first match of the season, & strangely the first round of post-World Cup PL matches went the way expectations would dictate.

This week was the third set of PL matches back, & points are being dropped by all, left right & centre.

No one knows what effect having an early start & a stupid World Cup in the middle of the season will have, but my thinking is the quality teams, with a decent level of squad depth, with no domestic cups or Europe to worry about, will be strongest come April/May.

It's why the likes of Arsenal, Newcastle or ManUre can't be discounted as title contenders, alongside the Dippers who're well capable of going on a winning run. This season matches the 2019/20 season for being so fragmented & strange.
 
That pitch always seems narrow and congested when we play it, unlike the our place and the shithole down the road.
 
theres only one carlito said:
I get that oppos can work you out over time. However, trying to put square pegs in round holes is not going to help us.

For instance Cancelos role last night was never going to work really. He’s in terrible form recently and then playing him out of position is not going to do him or us any favours.

Rodri dropping into CB and Walker looking like he could see that the lads in front of him didn’t know where to be!

Ake, bloody hell! I like him as a CB but at left back he isn’t the same player or a left back! He won’t overlap Foden and he won’t pass him the ball anywhere near enough or correctly, he has Phil constantly playing away from the opposition goal because the pass isn’t creative enough. Easy for a full back to shadow get tight and Shepard a player away from goal. Sometimes Ake then runs and ends up inside foden and in the opposition penalty box! He’s a CB ffs! Zero threat from runs from deep. It’s not his fault he’s asked to play that position. But bloody hell. Zinchenko didn’t even make that run! He stayed on the edge of box to recycle possession or cross, sometimes shoot.

Watching it I just get the impression that some of the lads are not being utilised correctly. And it shows. He thinks Rico is the missing link? Really? In a multiple title Winning team a 18 year old that’s played half a dozen games is the man that makes us play? I don’t understand it. But I’m not Pep and he does know best.
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Good points. Pep obviously thought the Walker and Cancelo combo was worth a punt. It didn't work and he changed it. Maybe the timing was wrong with it being their first game back?
I went last night and I thought Ake was excellent defensively but take your point about the overlapping. Maybe Cancelo should have played LB? But like you say his form is on the floor.
Phil was properly off it. There were two Chelsea attacks in the first half down our right. When the ball went through to the left Phil was caught napping the wrong side of his man. He left Ake to deal with a two on one early in the second half. I put it down to just rustiness.
 
Ederson, 6 - what did he have to do?

Walker, 5 - clearly not fit yet, but wasn't completely awful
Stones, 9 - MOTM, classy throughout and made that great tackle in the first half
Ake, 7 - solid without being brilliant, starting to look comfortable now
Cancelo, 5 - played out of position and didn't look ready but wasn't horrendous

Rodri, 7 - was asked to play in two different positions first half, looked settled after half-time
De Bruyne, 4 - whatever's going on with you Kev, just shake it off please
Gundogan, 5 - quiet, wasn't helped by that strange formation Pep played from the start

Foden, 4 - what's up with him? Starting to become a problem now
Haaland, 6 - should have buried both his chances, looked alright otherwise
Bernardo, 6 - another one not helped by the strange formation but played alright

Subs
Lewis, 8 - came on and looked very composed, helped change the game
Akanji, 7 - came in and played quite well, helped us get back to normal
Grealish, 9 - did exactly what was asked of him, provided the one moment of genuine quality
Mahrez, 8 - got that goal and looked dangerous otherwise
Phillips, N/A - hope he plays more
 
Great 3 points the main thing. It’ll have been said to death but pulling Rodri out of the midfield nearly cost us last night - he’s the best in the world in his position so play him there. Pep was silly to do it. It was a fairly rusty display but United are usually good for a hiding so hopefully it can be the start of some momentum for one of those mid season string of wins we’ve become accustomed to.

Great to see Rico getting a good run!
 
Gingers Dad said:
Good points. Pep obviously thought the Walker and Cancelo combo was worth a punt. It didn't work and he changed it. Maybe the timing was wrong with it being their first game back?
I went last night and I thought Ake was excellent defensively but take your point about the overlapping. Maybe Cancelo should have played LB? But like you say his form is on the floor.
Phil was properly off it. There were two Chelsea attacks in the first half down our right. When the ball went through to the left Phil was caught napping the wrong side of his man. He left Ake to deal with a two on one early in the second half. I put it down to just rustiness.
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It just looks like hard work for them at moment. Frustrating to watch. From numerous players. I can’t make my mind up if it’s tactical, personnel or form! Or all three! But on we go, hopefully it’ll start to click as the season progresses.
 
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