Elliott

Another match, same woeful football. Bye Sarri!

For me, he has to go. For Sarri to say he doesn’t know what the problems are, is at best slightly concerning & at worst, inexcusable. I’ve seen no evidence of any improvement in this team in last 6 months - in fact, we’ve gone completely backwards where even the basics are not being covered. Coupled with that, there are too many red flags to ignore. If you were Roman today, would you really support this guy with another couple of hundred million quid?!? Absolutely no chance.

Christ, if ever there was a player (Jorginho aside) who looks completely shot right now, it’s Alonso. On another note, I hope our hapless board didn’t budget for the champions league next season. They’re in for a nasty shock.

Quite interesting comments from Sarri today. Basically reiterating that the team haven't yet learnt his methods and are continuing to do their own thing. This apparently includes still having the counter-atttacking mindset previously drummed into them by Conte, which he says is going to take time to move away from. He's also said that he's not thinking about other formations until they've gotten better at this one.... Trouble is, there need to be visible signs of the team grasping this soon, otherwise his time will come to an abrubt end. He's not going to get the 5 years that Klopp has had.

I think we've all come to the conclusion that, despite how 'key' Jorginho is to Sarri's preferred style of football (whatever that is), not conceding silly goals is more important right now, and that can be nullified by Kante. That said, Sarri would need to swallow some pride in order to do that. Something I just can't see happening.

As much as I despise the manager merry-go-round, all the signs point towards an early exit for Sarri. An unwillingness to adapt.... Players not showing up.... The basics not being done correctly.... Everything screams a manager that has lost control of the situation, and the club simply cannot afford to not be in the 'big money' euro competition next season. Sure there are players that need getting rid of, but the shortcomings of the manager outweigh that right now, in my opinion. The latest example of the club not having a joined up approach and collective way forward that everybody, from the top down, buys into. If you don't have a proper vision and structure, and continually make short-term snap decisions, what else should you expect.

What a farce. Teams sit back and we can’t break them down. Teams counter, we can’t defend. We get into the final third, and we seem hell-bent on not getting the ball in. Sideways, backwards, sideways. I just don’t know what we’re trying to achieve with this football and it stops with the manager.

Though these sorts of deals don't usually work out, I think this one will. He and Sarri clearly get on, and you don't move to England for a crack at the Premier League unless you like a challenge. Higuain didn't have to come here. He could've quite easily coasted at Milan and continued to pick up his wages. I quite like that. Plus, there's no doubting his pedigree. Fitness with him is a bit of a concern (he's not particularly athletic) but Sarri and the coaching staff will be on that straight away. I think the main question here is how well the team plays. He's more likely to struggle if the rest of the team carry on playing as they have been recently i.e. slow build-up, inconsistent pressing etc. but this signing may give them a boost (they couldn't have particularly enjoyed the 'false 9' system) and when Hazard goes back to his best position, it could all click. P.S. Nice work from the board. If he does well, £15m for another loan next season or £31m to buy (although I can't see us doing that given his age) doesn't seem too bad to me.

I may be in a small number here, but I actually think the recent Jorginho criticism is over the top. He showed his class in the first few months of this season and when you factor in a new team, a new league etc, plus the number of consecutive games he's played, is it any surprise he's fallen away. The more urgent issue is the complete lack of like-for-like player, especially since Cesc left and given Kante isn't the type of player that Sarri wants in that role. The crazy thing is, I can't remember another situation where a new manager comes in, and then immediately, there isn't a place in the side for one of their best players due to the preferred system. Kante shouldn't really be in the team as a number 8, but Sarri doesn't want him as the number 6 either, so he's shoe-horning him in. Arguably we'd be a better team with two natural number 8's in those positions but that means leaving Kante out. Which is mental.

I think it’s abundantly clear to all that it’s make or break time. 6 months in & the honeymoon period is over. We all knew this would come. The system now seems a farce with the manager unwilling to change it, and the players clearly no longer buy into it. The question in my mind is; how bad do things have to get before Roman rips it up & starts again. What a mess.

Anyone else had enough of this sh*t? I well and truly have.

I can't see too many downsides with this deal. Signing him on a massive transfer fee at 31 would've been nonsensical therefore I can completely understand Granovskaia's reluctance to do that, and I think she's been smart with the arrangement. Worst case scenario; he doesn't score more than a few goals and we send him back in 6 months having paid something in the region of £15-20m (I'd imagine) and if this means we don't make the top four, it won't be Higuain's fault, as he won't be any worse than our current options. Morata is one of the worst forwards I've ever seen for Chelsea in terms of comittment and attitude. At least Higuain will put a shift in, even if things are going against him. He has to improve our team. Best case scenario; he scores 15+ goals and helps us solidify our champions league place, meaning we sign him up for another 12 months. That in total (inc. wages) would probably cost something in the region of £25-30m. Not ideal that we find ourselves in this position, but not the end of the world, and I'd rather that than spend £50m+ on Wilson. If we also manage to sell Morata and Batshuayi for a decent fee (£45m and £40m reported) that'll be good business in my opinion.

Morata has the demeanour of a man who knows his time with us is up.

Regarding the 'benched by Sancho' point. He's not 25, he's 20 years old. How many 20 year olds are bossing it for their team, week-in, week-out (i.e. not spending some time on the bench)? We don't get every single transfer right (nobody does), but credit to the club for showing some ambition. Isn't that what we all want?

Interestingly, I found this article produced in February '18 which quotes the top under 20 European prospects according to the CIES Football Observatory, and Pusilic rates pretty highly. https://www.bbc.co.uk/sport/football/43115781 Not suggesting that this means Pusilic will become the next Messi, Ronaldo, Hazard etc... but it does statistically back up what we know to be true, i.e. within his age range, he has been on the radar of top European clubs for quite some time. Further, paying £58m to secure his signature ahead of the likes of Bayern, Spurs, Liverpool etc doesn't seem ludicrous to me. Not when you consider how inflated the market is now, and given this guy could be with us for another 10-12 years. Really don't understand the pessimism, but hey, it is January Blues time.