Ready Player One

Liverpool are very good. Reigning champions. Champions of Europe the season before. Miles ahead of where we are and able to bring Thiago off the bench. 
Containing them when the squad was depleted was the right call. It didn’t work. Sometimes it doesn’t.
Didn’t expect to get a result here, and we didn’t. Silva, Ziyech, Chilwell, Pulisic, Azpilcueta all out. Plus the new keeper. You’d expect most of them to be starters more often than not. Take 4-6 starters out of this Liverpool team and are they this good? I don’t think so.
Havertz needs to be less passive. We are a power play team, or trying to be. He needed to be making runs, creating options, moving their defenders around. Same against Brighton. You can’t just stand there, get the ball and pass it simple every time. Not at CF, RW, or No.10. He’s drifts through games, and that won’t cut it here. He’s new to the league, and young. There is no writing him off, just saying he needs to offer more. I’ve seen what he’s capable of and he’s an immense talent. But when someone needed to come off for a CB, it shouldn’t be plainly obvious that the sacrifice has to be the £80m signing. He wasn’t doing anything. 
Not mad at Andreas for the red. I’d rather a CB takes a red with some sh*thousery than just allows an easy goal. Almost got away with a yellow too. Mane is an insanely good player. It happens. I think he’s started the season quite well TBH, although I can’t say I’m a fan in general. The back 4 were actually pretty good both before and after the red TBH. No complaints there. 
Liverpool are hard to play against because their widemen become strikers, and their full backs become wingers. You’ve got to have your fullbacks narrow or they overload the middle, so you rely on your widemen to track their fullbacks if you want to stop them. Werner and Mount were tasked with that. They did ok. It’s a thankless task, Robertson and Trent are excellent at what they do, and impossible 10 v 11. But they did ok. Werner looked knackered by it all, but I already really like him. Mount must have chopped up Duracell in his Ready Brek every morning. He just doesn’t stop. 
This game was lost in midfield IMO. 11 vs 11 and we had one shot. The specific incidents that led to the goals don’t matter because we never had control. The incidents are inevitable if you don’t have control. Our midfield couldn’t touch theirs. Kante tried. The other two have qualities but they aren’t starters for a club at the level we want to be at, playing the way we want to play. That’s the worrying take away from the first two games. Our midfield was dominated in both. It’s clear now that’s what the chase for Rice is about. Lamps wants a midfield rock next to Kante. He wants a solid platform. Whether Rice is the answer, I don’t know. 
Saying that, it will all get easier when opponents have to worry about us, as opposed to us having to worry about them. That’s true for everyone in the team. Frank wants us on the front foot, not playing widemen with the sole intent of marking opposition fullbacks, but right now he’s putting out fires and making sacrifices. That’s only bad management if you do it when you don’t have to. 

Liverpool are very good. Reigning champions. Champions of Europe the season before. Miles ahead of where we are and able to bring Thiago off the bench. 
Containing them when the squad was depleted was the right call. It didn’t work. Sometimes it doesn’t.
Didn’t expect to get a result here, and we didn’t. Silva, Ziyech, Chilwell, Pulisic, Azpilcueta all out. Plus the new keeper. You’d expect most of them to be starters more often than not. Take 4-6 starters out of this Liverpool team and are they this good? I don’t think so.
Havertz needs to be less passive. We are a power play team, or trying to be. He needed to be making runs, creating options, moving their defenders around. Same against Brighton. You can’t just stand there, get the ball and pass it simple every time. Not at CF, RW, or No.10. He’s drifts through games, and that won’t cut it here. He’s new to the league, and young. There is no writing him off, just saying he needs to offer more. I’ve seen what he’s capable of and he’s an immense talent. But when someone needed to come off for a CB, it shouldn’t be plainly obvious that the sacrifice has to be the £80m signing. He wasn’t doing anything. 
Not mad at Andreas for the red. I’d rather a CB takes a red with some sh*thousery than just allows an easy goal. Almost got away with a yellow too. Mane is an insanely good player. It happens. I think he’s started the season quite well TBH, although I can’t say I’m a fan in general. The back 4 were actually pretty good both before and after the red TBH. No complaints there. 
Liverpool are hard to play against because their widemen become strikers, and their full backs become wingers. You’ve got to have your fullbacks narrow or they overload the middle, so you rely on your widemen to track their fullbacks if you want to stop them. Werner and Mount were tasked with that. They did ok. It’s a thankless task, Robertson and Trent are excellent at what they do, and impossible 10 v 11. But they did ok. Werner looked knackered by it all, but I already really like him. Mount must have chopped up Duracell in his Ready Brek every morning. He just doesn’t stop. 
This game was lost in midfield IMO. 11 vs 11 and we had one shot. The specific incidents that led to the goals don’t matter because we never had control. The incidents are inevitable if you don’t have control. Our midfield couldn’t touch theirs. Kante tried. The other two have qualities but they aren’t starters for a club at the level we want to be at, playing the way we want to play. That’s the worrying take away from the first two games. Our midfield was dominated in both. It’s clear now that’s what the chase for Rice is about. Lamps wants a midfield rock next to Kante. He wants a solid platform. Whether Rice is the answer, I don’t know. 
Saying that, it will all get easier when opponents have to worry about us, as opposed to us having to worry about them. That’s true for everyone in the team. Frank wants us on the front foot, not playing widemen with the sole intent of marking opposition fullbacks, but right now he’s putting out fires and making sacrifices. That’s only bad management if you do it when you don’t have to. 

Liverpool are very good. Reigning champions. Champions of Europe the season before. Miles ahead of where we are and able to bring Thiago off the bench. 
Containing them when the squad was depleted was the right call. It didn’t work. Sometimes it doesn’t.
Didn’t expect to get a result here, and we didn’t. Silva, Ziyech, Chilwell, Pulisic, Azpilcueta all out. Plus the new keeper. You’d expect most of them to be starters more often than not. Take 4-6 starters out of this Liverpool team and are they this good? I don’t think so.
Havertz needs to be less passive. We are a power play team, or trying to be. He needed to be making runs, creating options, moving their defenders around. Same against Brighton. You can’t just stand there, get the ball and pass it simple every time. Not at CF, RW, or No.10. He’s drifts through games, and that won’t cut it here. He’s new to the league, and young. There is no writing him off, just saying he needs to offer more. I’ve seen what he’s capable of and he’s an immense talent. But when someone needed to come off for a CB, it shouldn’t be plainly obvious that the sacrifice has to be the £80m signing. He wasn’t doing anything. 
Not mad at Andreas for the red. I’d rather a CB takes a red with some sh*thousery than just allows an easy goal. Almost got away with a yellow too. Mane is an insanely good player. It happens. I think he’s started the season quite well TBH, although I can’t say I’m a fan in general. The back 4 were actually pretty good both before and after the red TBH. No complaints there. 
Liverpool are hard to play against because their widemen become strikers, and their full backs become wingers. You’ve got to have your fullbacks narrow or they overload the middle, so you rely on your widemen to track their fullbacks if you want to stop them. Werner and Mount were tasked with that. They did ok. It’s a thankless task, Robertson and Trent are excellent at what they do, and impossible 10 v 11. But they did ok. Werner looked knackered by it all, but I already really like him. Mount must have chopped up Duracell in his Ready Brek every morning. He just doesn’t stop. 
This game was lost in midfield IMO. 11 vs 11 and we had one shot. The specific incidents that led to the goals don’t matter because we never had control. The incidents are inevitable if you don’t have control. Our midfield couldn’t touch theirs. Kante tried. The other two have qualities but they aren’t starters for a club at the level we want to be at, playing the way we want to play. That’s the worrying take away from the first two games. Our midfield was dominated in both. It’s clear now that’s what the chase for Rice is about. Lamps wants a midfield rock next to Kante. He wants a solid platform. Whether Rice is the answer, I don’t know. 
Saying that, it will all get easier when opponents have to worry about us, as opposed to us having to worry about them. That’s true for everyone in the team. Frank wants us on the front foot, not playing widemen with the sole intent of marking opposition fullbacks, but right now he’s putting out fires and making sacrifices. That’s only bad management if you do it when you don’t have to. 

Liverpool are very good. Reigning champions. Champions of Europe the season before. Miles ahead of where we are and able to bring Thiago off the bench. 
Containing them when the squad was depleted was the right call. It didn’t work. Sometimes it doesn’t.
Didn’t expect to get a result here, and we didn’t. Silva, Ziyech, Chilwell, Pulisic, Azpilcueta all out. Plus the new keeper. You’d expect most of them to be starters more often than not. Take 4-6 starters out of this Liverpool team and are they this good? I don’t think so.
Havertz needs to be less passive. We are a power play team, or trying to be. He needed to be making runs, creating options, moving their defenders around. Same against Brighton. You can’t just stand there, get the ball and pass it simple every time. Not at CF, RW, or No.10. He’s drifts through games, and that won’t cut it here. He’s new to the league, and young. There is no writing him off, just saying he needs to offer more. I’ve seen what he’s capable of and he’s an immense talent. But when someone needed to come off for a CB, it shouldn’t be plainly obvious that the sacrifice has to be the £80m signing. He wasn’t doing anything. 
Not mad at Andreas for the red. I’d rather a CB takes a red with some sh*thousery than just allows an easy goal. Almost got away with a yellow too. Mane is an insanely good player. It happens. I think he’s started the season quite well TBH, although I can’t say I’m a fan in general. The back 4 were actually pretty good both before and after the red TBH. No complaints there. 
Liverpool are hard to play against because their widemen become strikers, and their full backs become wingers. You’ve got to have your fullbacks narrow or they overload the middle, so you rely on your widemen to track their fullbacks if you want to stop them. Werner and Mount were tasked with that. They did ok. It’s a thankless task, Robertson and Trent are excellent at what they do, and impossible 10 v 11. But they did ok. Werner looked knackered by it all, but I already really like him. Mount must have chopped up Duracell in his Ready Brek every morning. He just doesn’t stop. 
This game was lost in midfield IMO. 11 vs 11 and we had one shot. The specific incidents that led to the goals don’t matter because we never had control. The incidents are inevitable if you don’t have control. Our midfield couldn’t touch theirs. Kante tried. The other two have qualities but they aren’t starters for a club at the level we want to be at, playing the way we want to play. That’s the worrying take away from the first two games. Our midfield was dominated in both. It’s clear now that’s what the chase for Rice is about. Lamps wants a midfield rock next to Kante. He wants a solid platform. Whether Rice is the answer, I don’t know. 
Saying that, it will all get easier when opponents have to worry about us, as opposed to us having to worry about them. That’s true for everyone in the team. Frank wants us on the front foot, not playing widemen with the sole intent of marking opposition fullbacks, but right now he’s putting out fires and making sacrifices. That’s only bad management if you do it when you don’t have to. 

The back 4 won us that game. 
Reece, Zouma, and Andreas in particular were faultless. 
Kepa is toast. Not good enough. Targeted. By opponents. Not trusted by his team mates. He’s a liability. 

We need to take care of the ball better. That will make it easier for everyone. 

I never labelled him a joke then (although I was accused of doing so), didn't here either.
The problem with "idiots like me" (and thanks for going straight to abusive, you are clearly a charmer) is that we realise that reality is complicated.
Sarri wouldn't be teaching Hazard anything he doesn't know, just like he couldn't possibly teach Ronaldo anything he doesn't already know, but I still think he's a good manager, although he was what I consider a "fundamentalist" rather than "pragmatist". Neither is right or wrong, they are just less and more effective, or appropriate, for different circumstances. No manager worth his salt was walking into Chelsea last year and identifying the problem as our best player standing in the wrong places. It was super weird that some Chelsea fans thought he would.
And oddly, at the time I was saying that Hazard probably would benefit from a more attacking coach after two years of Conte, but I was still getting called "mental" because I didn't think Sarri would be "teaching" him anything. I thought of it today. I thought the problem was clearly that Ronaldo didn't want to learn from Sarri. Had a chuckle. I wondered if things have changed here, or whether I'd get called an idiot straight off the bat. Question answered. Cheers.
TBH, I accept that what happened was that everyone was super-excited about their shiny new toy and was swinging straight off his nuts, refusing to hear any criticism. That is well past now, for most anyway.
There is a sorta mentality that means everyone is either brilliant or sh*te, and anyone who says someone isn't brilliant is saying that they are sh*te, and everyone who says someone isn't sh*te is saying they are brilliant. It's an intellectual vacuousness that you have fallen into I'm afraid. Reality is complicated.
Anyway, KTBFFH. I doubt I'll be back, so enjoy the football (even if right now isn't the best time to say that).

It's good to have a manager that is proper Chels. Since we sacked Jose the second time, I've known full well that our managers have seen us as a stepping stone, no intention of sticking around. No offence to them, but they were never long term things. It's hard to put my finger on, but it honestly feels a bit mercenary. Managers who are here for the quick buck. Players with so little pride in the badge they'll down tools for a season if they don't like the training or whatever. 
Frank may or may not last a while, but I know he cares about the club. I know he's a fan, just like us. It actually feels like we could get some of the identity back that we have been missing. We're not a clone of what the "next big thing" gaffer did at his last club. We're Chelsea. We're not a stepping stone, or an easy ride. We're Chelsea. 
I don't know how well you'll do, I don't know if you're a good manager or not. But good luck Frank. Great to have you back.

It's good to have a manager that is proper Chels. Since we sacked Jose the second time, I've known full well that our managers have seen us as a stepping stone, no intention of sticking around. No offence to them, but they were never long term things. It's hard to put my finger on, but it honestly feels a bit mercenary. Managers who are here for the quick buck. Players with so little pride in the badge they'll down tools for a season if they don't like the training or whatever. 
Frank may or may not last a while, but I know he cares about the club. I know he's a fan, just like us. It actually feels like we could get some of the identity back that we have been missing. We're not a clone of what the "next big thing" gaffer did at his last club. We're Chelsea. We're not a stepping stone, or an easy ride. We're Chelsea. 
I don't know how well you'll do, I don't know if you're a good manager or not. But good luck Frank. Great to have you back.

It's good to have a manager that is proper Chels. Since we sacked Jose the second time, I've known full well that our managers have seen us as a stepping stone, no intention of sticking around. No offence to them, but they were never long term things. It's hard to put my finger on, but it honestly feels a bit mercenary. Managers who are here for the quick buck. Players with so little pride in the badge they'll down tools for a season if they don't like the training or whatever. 
Frank may or may not last a while, but I know he cares about the club. I know he's a fan, just like us. It actually feels like we could get some of the identity back that we have been missing. We're not a clone of what the "next big thing" gaffer did at his last club. We're Chelsea. We're not a stepping stone, or an easy ride. We're Chelsea. 
I don't know how well you'll do, I don't know if you're a good manager or not. But good luck Frank. Great to have you back.

It's good to have a manager that is proper Chels. Since we sacked Jose the second time, I've known full well that our managers have seen us as a stepping stone, no intention of sticking around. No offence to them, but they were never long term things. It's hard to put my finger on, but it honestly feels a bit mercenary. Managers who are here for the quick buck. Players with so little pride in the badge they'll down tools for a season if they don't like the training or whatever. 
Frank may or may not last a while, but I know he cares about the club. I know he's a fan, just like us. It actually feels like we could get some of the identity back that we have been missing. We're not a clone of what the "next big thing" gaffer did at his last club. We're Chelsea. We're not a stepping stone, or an easy ride. We're Chelsea. 
I don't know how well you'll do, I don't know if you're a good manager or not. But good luck Frank. Great to have you back.

It's good to have a manager that is proper Chels. Since we sacked Jose the second time, I've known full well that our managers have seen us as a stepping stone, no intention of sticking around. No offence to them, but they were never long term things. It's hard to put my finger on, but it honestly feels a bit mercenary. Managers who are here for the quick buck. Players with so little pride in the badge they'll down tools for a season if they don't like the training or whatever. 
Frank may or may not last a while, but I know he cares about the club. I know he's a fan, just like us. It actually feels like we could get some of the identity back that we have been missing. We're not a clone of what the "next big thing" gaffer did at his last club. We're Chelsea. We're not a stepping stone, or an easy ride. We're Chelsea. 
I don't know how well you'll do, I don't know if you're a good manager or not. But good luck Frank. Great to have you back.

here's that 6 month bump i promised you. 
lulz. 

here's that 6 month bump i promised you. 
lulz. 

here's that 6 month bump i promised you. 
lulz. 

I also thought he was excellent against Spurs. And I thought Emerson was very good against City. And Azpilicueta was very good in both games. 
The benefit to the FBs of playing slightly more defensively and actually giving them some cover is the main difference tho, rather than them magically becoming better players. The constant pressing regardless of situation wasn't working, and was exposing our defence. the idea that they need help isn't a knock on any of them. It's a team game. All of these guys can look like good players in the right system, and all of them will get slaughtered if we leave them constantly exposed. I'm glad Sarri has adapted a little bit, because he needed to. What we were doing was making the whole team look worse than it is. Right now, it's two good performances on the spin, against two very good teams. 

I also thought he was excellent against Spurs. And I thought Emerson was very good against City. And Azpilicueta was very good in both games. 
The benefit to the FBs of playing slightly more defensively and actually giving them some cover is the main difference tho, rather than them magically becoming better players. The constant pressing regardless of situation wasn't working, and was exposing our defence. the idea that they need help isn't a knock on any of them. It's a team game. All of these guys can look like good players in the right system, and all of them will get slaughtered if we leave them constantly exposed. I'm glad Sarri has adapted a little bit, because he needed to. What we were doing was making the whole team look worse than it is. Right now, it's two good performances on the spin, against two very good teams. 

I also thought he was excellent against Spurs. And I thought Emerson was very good against City. And Azpilicueta was very good in both games. 
The benefit to the FBs of playing slightly more defensively and actually giving them some cover is the main difference tho, rather than them magically becoming better players. The constant pressing regardless of situation wasn't working, and was exposing our defence. the idea that they need help isn't a knock on any of them. It's a team game. All of these guys can look like good players in the right system, and all of them will get slaughtered if we leave them constantly exposed. I'm glad Sarri has adapted a little bit, because he needed to. What we were doing was making the whole team look worse than it is. Right now, it's two good performances on the spin, against two very good teams. 

I also thought he was excellent against Spurs. And I thought Emerson was very good against City. And Azpilicueta was very good in both games. 
The benefit to the FBs of playing slightly more defensively and actually giving them some cover is the main difference tho, rather than them magically becoming better players. The constant pressing regardless of situation wasn't working, and was exposing our defence. the idea that they need help isn't a knock on any of them. It's a team game. All of these guys can look like good players in the right system, and all of them will get slaughtered if we leave them constantly exposed. I'm glad Sarri has adapted a little bit, because he needed to. What we were doing was making the whole team look worse than it is. Right now, it's two good performances on the spin, against two very good teams. 

I also thought he was excellent against Spurs. And I thought Emerson was very good against City. And Azpilicueta was very good in both games. 
The benefit to the FBs of playing slightly more defensively and actually giving them some cover is the main difference tho, rather than them magically becoming better players. The constant pressing regardless of situation wasn't working, and was exposing our defence. the idea that they need help isn't a knock on any of them. It's a team game. All of these guys can look like good players in the right system, and all of them will get slaughtered if we leave them constantly exposed. I'm glad Sarri has adapted a little bit, because he needed to. What we were doing was making the whole team look worse than it is. Right now, it's two good performances on the spin, against two very good teams. 

TBH a lot of the frustration with Sarri seems to be that he doesn't change things when things are going badly. 
The like for like FB swap in a couple of recent defeats in particular has been a bit cringe. 
I think he'd get more support from the matchday fans if he at least tried something different, whether it worked or not. We can see it's not working. He must be able to see it's not working. Everyone can see it's not working. Why keep doing it? Change things up for 20 mins. 
I think that's what the "f*ck Sarriball" chants were about. We're getting beat by Utd. Planning for next season be bollocksed. Do something to get us back in the game. Don't fiddle about with the fullbacks. 

Why? 

Why? 

Why? 

Why? 

Why?