Chelsea thread 2018/19

[CityInWashingtonState]

Have to agree. Saw most of the Huddersfield game and there were some moments of top quality link up play. The potential is there, it’s just about how long it takes to fully grasp Sarri’s methods.

Chelsea have tremendous talent and are very good when Hazard is on the pitch - they'll beat non-top-6 teams most of the time.

The trouble is, Chelsea do not fit Sari's aggressive press tactics; Fabregas and Barkley (for example) lack the stamina to employ Sari's tactics. Against top-6 competition they're going to struggle.

And... if Hazard is not on the pitch... Chelsea have trouble generating any kind of offense. Chelsea are a Hazard-injury away from dropping far too many points against set defenses.

For me, this is a 6th-place side, possibly 5th with some luck or if Mou completely melts down at ManU and massively derails their season.

 

[Easy]

Chelsea have tremendous talent and are very good when Hazard is on the pitch - they'll beat non-top-6 teams most of the time.

The trouble is, Chelsea do not fit Sari's aggressive press tactics; Fabregas and Barkley (for example) lack the stamina to employ Sari's tactics. Against top-6 competition they're going to struggle.

And... if Hazard is not on the pitch... Chelsea have trouble generating any kind of offense. Chelsea are a Hazard-injury away from dropping far too many points against set defenses.

For me, this is a 6th-place side, possibly 5th with some luck or if Mou completely melts down at ManU and massively derails their season.

This is what I thought before watching them play.

But now I’m convinced they’ll make top 4.

Fabregas and Barkley won’t be regulars in the starting eleven. I think it’ll be Kovacic-Jorginho-Kante in midfield and once they click it’ll be a very strong one.

The question mark is at striker. Will Morata finally score goals? Giroud imo is useless. I don’t know why the loaned out Michu and bought him, which is baffling.

Sarri is smart enough to realize that Chelsea will not replicate Napoli’s style exactly. He’ll make some changes and adjustments that’s for sure.

 

[Vienna_70]

Chelsea have tremendous talent and are very good when Hazard is on the pitch - they'll beat non-top-6 teams most of the time.

The trouble is, Chelsea do not fit Sari's aggressive press tactics; Fabregas and Barkley (for example) lack the stamina to employ Sari's tactics. Against top-6 competition they're going to struggle.

And... if Hazard is not on the pitch... Chelsea have trouble generating any kind of offense. Chelsea are a Hazard-injury away from dropping far too many points against set defenses.

For me, this is a 6th-place side, possibly 5th with some luck or if Mou completely melts down at ManU and massively derails their season.

If that’s the case, Sarri will have to implement a fitness regime that improves the players' stamina.

 

[CityInWashingtonState]

If that’s the case, Sarri will have to implement a fitness regime that improves the players' stamina.

He'll do that for sure; an emphasis on fitness is required for the intensive high-press that's a cornerstone of his system.

Let's see how Chelsea fare against another in-transition side - Arsenal on Saturday. Arsenal are no great shakes, but they're dangerous on offense (unlike Huddersfield) and if an all-out press leaves gaps, Arsenal are good enough to punish. Should be a good game.
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Edit: Rereading my remarks, I seem to be overemphasizing lack of fitness and inability to high press for long duration. Other problems are evident.

Against Huddersfield, Chelsea's attack consisted largely of sidewards and backwards passes, slowly moving the ball around the pitch. The attack was dreadful in the first half.

Jorginho seemed to almost never get the ball - he's a key part of the high-octane offense; win the ball back, feed it to Jorginho and let him link play. This rarely (never?) occurred v. Huddersfield.

When Hazard took the field, things instantly changed. Hazard took the ball, drove forward at pace and challenged the defense. He beat men one-on-one and attackers surged forward creating extremely dangerous situations.

As I've previously mentioned, Chelsea are a completely different proposition when Hazard is on the pitch. But they're a Hazard injury away from dropping out of contention for a top-4 finish.

Moreover, the lack of offense when Hazard isn't in the side and the inability to find Jorginho to link up play is very worrying.

 

[Vialli98]

We were brilliant going forward, but again, pretty disastrous defensively, especially in those last 15-20 mins in the first half. Having a period like that vs City or Liverpool, would have meant going into half time 5-2 down.

We need sort that out. Sarri did comment on it - he said without the high press, we're basically sitting ducks, and we need to get better at sustaining the high press for longer periods, and when the players do get tired, which is inevitable, we should be able to rest on the ball by keeping meaningless possession for a short period. We did this much better in the 2nd half, where it was basically attack vs defence and we eventually, deservedly, found winner - but I would much rather beat Arsenal 3-0 than 3-2.

Positionally, we're still having a lot of issues. Jorginho isn't covering the spaces he is meant to, Luiz and Rudiger aren't doing that either, Alonso is just a poor defender who is either constantly out of position, or just too slow to track his opponent.

Sarri's Napoli were excellent both offensively and defensively. It will take time to get those positional issues correctted and for the team to be able to execute the high press for longer periods, and be smarter without the ball.

The good thing is our next 4 games are Newcastle, Bournemouth, Cardiff and West Ham before we play Liverpool at the end of September - I don't think any of those 4 teams can sustain our attack, especially if Hazard and Kovacic start the game.

 

[Vialli98]

Kovacic's 30 min cameo was incredible IMO. The difference between him and Barkley was immediately noticeable. I don't think Arsenal managed to get out of their own half when Kovacic and Hazard entered the game. It's going to be a lot of fun watching those 2 play with eachother.

 

[Henkeman]

We were brilliant going forward, but again, pretty disastrous defensively, especially in those last 15-20 mins in the first half. Having a period like that vs City or Liverpool, would have meant going into half time 5-2 down.

We need sort that out. Sarri did comment on it - he said without the high press, we're basically sitting ducks, and we need to get better at sustaining the high press for longer periods, and when the players do get tired, which is inevitable, we should be able to rest on the ball by keeping meaningless possession for a short period. We did this much better in the 2nd half, where it was basically attack vs defence and we eventually, deservedly, found winner - but I would much rather beat Arsenal 3-0 than 3-2.

Positionally, we're still having a lot of issues. Jorginho isn't covering the spaces he is meant to, Luiz and Rudiger aren't doing that either, Alonso is just a poor defender who is either constantly out of position, or just too slow to track his opponent.

Sarri's Napoli were excellent both offensively and defensively. It will take time to get those positional issues correctted and for the team to be able to execute the high press for longer periods, and be smarter without the ball.

The good thing is our next 4 games are Newcastle, Bournemouth, Cardiff and West Ham before we play Liverpool at the end of September - I don't think any of those 4 teams can sustain our attack, especially if Hazard and Kovacic start the game.

Honestly, it seems to me that they're learning quite quickly. It does take time, but it's fascinating to watch them going through that process - especially the parts where they forget and get it all wrong, realise and try and get back into position. It's really not that often that you watch a team having to learn on the hoof (Sarri's late arrival meant no time to practise it pre-season) at that level, and it's a footballing education to see it.

 

[Vialli98]

Honestly, it seems to me that they're learning quite quickly. It does take time, but it's fascinating to watch them going through that process - especially the parts where they forget and get it all wrong, realise and try and get back into position. It's really not that often that you watch a team having to learn on the hoof (Sarri's late arrival meant no time to practise it pre-season) at that level, and it's a footballing education to see it.

I re-watched the entire game yesterday evening - I was surprised at just how good we were outside of those last 20 minutes in the first half. We were able to pin them back deep inside their own half for pretty much the entire 2nd half. Okay, it wasn't chances galore, but there was enough there to suggest we could score 2-3 goals against most teams outside outside top 6 with that kind of sustained pressure.

It's really nice to be able to be this exited for upcoming games. Conte and Mourinho really did suck the life out of our football - even if the 13 match winning streak was incredible.

And you're spot on, watching the team go through this process is a genuine educational experience - not just for Chelsea fans

 

[Vialli98]

Also, I think Pedro might just be Chelsea's Dries Mertens - the man has scored 2 goals in 2 games (also scored 2 or 3 goals in pre-season). He is an incredible finisher, and Sarri might just revive his career.

 

[bornblueegg]

I re-watched the entire game yesterday evening - I was surprised at just how good we were outside of those last 20 minutes in the first half. We were able to pin them back deep inside their own half for pretty much the entire 2nd half. Okay, it wasn't chances galore, but there was enough there to suggest we could score 2-3 goals against most teams outside outside top 6 with that kind of sustained pressure.

It's really nice to be able to be this exited for upcoming games. Conte and Mourinho really did suck the life out of our football - even if the 13 match winning streak was incredible.

And you're spot on, watching the team go through this process is a genuine educational experience - not just for Chelsea fans

Have to say I really enjoy your comments on Bluemoon, sensible and erudite.