manpe

Fulham 1-2 Chelsea, Ziyech, 38

Bored so am going FM mode with one of those line-up posts. 😄 Mendy - Picks himself. James - If there is ANY doubt in his fitness, let Azpi start. No point in risking rushing Reece back against relegation fodder. Zouma - Picks himself. Silva - Picks himself. Chilwell - Picks himself. Kovacic - Originally had Kante here, but he's suspended, so Mateo comes in. Mount - One of them nailed-on starters. Havertz - He's been improving lately, let him continue gaining momentum. Ziyech - Picks himself. This guy has an x-factor about him, f**king magician. Pulisic - Spices

It's a bit bewildering why Lampard has totally ditched 3 CB formations. It's worked well for us in games where we need more defensive solidity, with a few hiccups here and there, but in general this formation's been useful in certain types of games. The backline you proposed + Mount/Kovacic and Kante in midfield + Ziyech, Pulisic, Werner/Tammy in attack. Yes please! 🙂

Azpi's pace is gone. He was never the fastest, but it was better and he compensated it with superb positioning and anticipation, much like JT. Unfortunately pace is too important for full-backs, moreso than for CBs. In foot races he can't keep up with opposing wingers...hell, he even let Declan Rice storm past him like he was a lamppost. BUT as a backup, there are few or none better we could have.

Bayern's pulling power isn't as strong as it was a few years ago. Havertz was supposedly tapped up by them, but he preferred us. He liked the project and implied that winning with Bayern is a lesser accomplishment than winning in the EPL. Upamecano also played with Werner, Timo could perhaps have some influence on his decision. You never know... I never thought we'd be able to pull off the transfers we did either, but here they are. Players must be looking at what we're building and I bet Havertz isn't the only one to get excited by the prospect of being a part of it.

@Slojo what have you done here? Are you up to your old tricks? 😂

Do you mean it works only for those who donated? Or are you implying that it's not supposed to work because it's not worth it?

Surely an upgrade over AC and Rüdi. Not to forget we also have Malang Sarr out on loan, although I'm not sure how he's doing there. Upamecano, Zouma and Silva (if we extend) would be very decent and balanced choices to have for the starting XI next season.

I use Tapatalk, but am unable to log in to the forum on there. It says "you are not logged in or you do not have permission to do this action" when trying to log in. Is this a known issue? Or am I perhaps doing something wrong...

Hello everybody! Long-time Talk Chelsea Forum member here. Been on TC since 2006/07, but it's been down for some days now and no word if it's ever coming back up again. Anyway... I need my dose of Chelsea chatter, so The Shed End seems like the place to be. 🙂 These days I'm mostly a reader than a poster, but sometimes I like to chip in with a few thoughts here and there, so decided to create an account and introduce myself. Looking forward to getting acquainted with the atmosphere here. A few words about myself. I'm a 29yo fella from Estonia, been following Chelsea since around 2005