Vagabond

It's more down to Jorgis inability to play in a pivot with Kante and vice versa. I thought we looked good with a Kova-Kanté midfield as well. Kovacic seems to be the only one flexible enough to play with either of the other two. So if Frank insists on playing Mount I'd bench Jorginho, because he doesn't offer anything (besides penalties) the other two don't and he has very obvious drawbacks. We can bring him on if Kante or Kova need a break or if Barkley wants to go for another penalty.

I disagree with him on the physical part. We have a few weak players in Pulisic, Jorgi, Christensen, Tammy and Willian, but the likes of Zouma, Reece, Kante are monsters and the rest of the squad is perfectly fine physically. Personality is another story, but ask yourself this: how can any player develop a strong personality and how can the team accept a leader when we change the lineup every game and nobody feels like a starter? The only two players Frank pushed in that regard are Tammy and Mason (and maybe Kante who isn't known to be very vocal or a leader), but they are both still kids living the dream and Tammy will never turn into a nasty player like Diego. I'm sorry to say this, but imho the lack of personality is down to our manager.

Jorgi is a fine player, he's very good at penalties, short passes and understands the game well. But if you think he's anywhere near Kovacic in terms of skill, physicality, even shooting and what he offers to break up opponents, I really don't see a point. The fact that you need to mention Jorgis vice captaincy and the last season -when Sarri did everything to accomodate teacher's pet- shows that you're grasping at straws when I comes to analyzing the player. Since you even went so far to say Kova is only better at dribbling and running with the ball imho you either have a terrible confirmation bias or you just don't have what it takes to understand what is actually happening on the pitch. In both cases it would be a waste of energy to convince you otherwise. No hard feelings though.

Shy? No. I still think 4 3 3 with Jorgi, Kante and Kova is our strongest midfield. But imo benching Kovacic for Jorgi is stupid because Kovacic is definitely a better player. Kanté is world class in his prefered role, but no world beater up the pitch. I also don't like how Mount can be underwhelming but keep his spot in the starting XI when most other players would not. It doesn't look like the meritocracy Frank has promised at the beginning of the season, but most fans seem to prefer playing the youth over winning trophies, so he gets a pass it seems. Imo we desperately need a fullback, a striker and a keeper to compete for titles, so nothing changed. *edit* Still doesn't change the fact that you should stop repeating that Kova is only better at running with the ball and dribbling. It's wrong.

I didn't say Kanté was the problem. But you said the only thing Kova does better than Kanté or Jorgi is dribbling and running with the ball, which is factually incorrect. Simple as.

"Kovacic has three assists this season with Kante having 0. Passes forward are in Kovacic's favour with 327, with Kante only making 225, Kante therefore being counter productive with the ball. Pass percentage is in Kovacic's favour again at 89.72%, Kante being sloppy with the ball and only managing 83.52%. Through balls is a good one, Kovacic has attempted 8 this season. Kante? 0. Not a single through ball attempted in 15 games from one of our attacking mids. Kovacic has been dispossessed 20 times, in less minutes Kante has been dispossessed 27 times." Literally from the post you answered. Did you even read it? *edit* Also, Kovacic is a better player than Jorgi in many aspects of the game.

He's not a very good keeper and probably thr worst transfer in recent history. 70M for a below average keeper that didn't get better in the time since he came here. *edit* Did anybody ever see him leaving the goal line and control the 5y box? I can't remember a single time in over a year. He doesn't put players on the posts at set pieces either and then we wonder why we're so weak at them?

So Mount doesnt get a pass because he's such a pompey lad anymore? 😬

Agreed. Our CBs had zero consistency this season.

Heh. I simply think it's natural that Mason is inconsistent at his age and that he needs a break now and then, especially since fatigue will set in later this season and there's a higher risk of fractures and muscle injuries if a young player gets overburdened. I don't understand why Frank doesn't allow it. I also thought he rushed N'Golo, which not only hurt the player but the team as well.

My point wasn't about your personal opinion but about the picture you painted regarding an appaling double-standard towards one player. Kovacic was compared to Bakayoko and many people didn't even want him in the squad only half a year ago. At the moment most of his haters are quiet, but that's because he was one of our best performers this season, not because people hate Jorgi for whatever reason. Most fans I know actually like Jorgi, and even those that would bench him think highly of him and regard him as a real asset. Fans are fans. Some people will bash players because they want another in the starting XI, some don't like the body-language of certain players, some can't forgive mistakes a player made etcetc. Everybody has their favourites (even Lampard *cough* Mount *cough*). My issue with your post was that you said Kova is somehow safe from being the target of unreasonable critique, when not even players like Eden or N'Golo are exempt from fans venting their frustration after a loss or a bad performance. PS: But let's talk about N'Golo, I really hate being off topic. Any news on when he'll be back? Hamstring injuries usually take a lot of time.

Really? Half this forum was bashing Kovacic last season and didn't want to sign him, despite a transfer ban and RLC/Kanté being injured. Just check his thread, everything is still there. Even the text underlining the whole "Chelsea Match Chat"-forum was something alone the line that Kovacic makes people miss Bakayoko iirc. How is that "an appaling display of double-standards"? Fact is, it's a bit of banter and reasonable critique most of the time. You're simply far too thin-skinned when it's about Jorginho, because you think he's better than he actually is. As I have said many times since the start of this season; our midfield lineup was never the reason for dropping points. It's our set pieces, our defence and our inconsistency in attack that costs us. Against Burnley we had a can opener with the penalty and some support from VAR, which made things a lot easier. I'll take it of course, but that's not going to happen every game. Acting like this was somehow a midfield masterclass as opposed to games when Jorgi was missing is a bit silly.

To an extent its about confidence. We have a goalkeeper that the defence has no confidence in when it comes to commanding his area and coming for balls. Consequently there is anxiety whenever the ball comes into the box whether that be from a cross or a set piece. It's much more about putting a player on each post. Kepa never did this up until now, I hated it with a passion. But this time he did (even two players on the near post) and immediatly Barkley saved a certain goal and us from a very nervy finish @ 2:1.

How many quality strikers can we sign if they know they are not even fighting for a place the starting XI but only for the position of 1st backup?

Depends on what country you're from, but I believe it's only illegal to host a stream not to watch one. 😁