Seem to spend more time talking about bad decisions, agendas and our manager on tv than the actual football but there seems to be an issue here. How many times since Boxing Day have we actually played well? Swansea away is the high point but we've looked seriously average at times too so what's the issue? Fatigue?

We are not performing anywhere near to the standard we reached at the start of the season.

We look tired, out of ideas and low on confidence.

The way we mess about in the final third really gets to me as we never seem to take a shot at goal but instead try to walk it in.

We've been a shadow of what we were before the Newcastle defeat, but Saturday was definitely more about the performance of Atkinson than ourselves. Shocking refereeing.

 

I'm not quite sure what it is but this year we've been poor by our standards. Maybe the fact we haven't really had a consistent run of games with a full strength side yet. Cesc was out for a while then Costa was banned, them being two of our key players in terms of scoring goals losing them was bound to have some effect.

Edited February 23, 201511 yr by 1905.

How many times in the last 3-4 seasons have we played well (ignoring the first half of this season)?  Maybe I'm just a little too attached to the double season, remember that being very entertaining.

Its always  easy to look at your own team, we all expect chelsea to rampage over everyone because on paper we are right up there.

Unfortunately football isn't played on paper 11 v 11 and a variable in the ref anything can happen on any given day.

 

I have actually watched City quite a bit  the last month and they have stunk the place out every bit as much as us and more. Even stoke was a very misleading score line with a very dodgy pen being the catalyst for the score line but stoke had possession and chances. 

 

The great teams grind out the wins when they are not playing well and thats what we have to do 9/10 when we are up against it we have to find away and maybe we arn't quite there yet. Prehaps city do this better then us right now, although id argue that they have had the rub of the green a bit more then us. United under Ferguson where masters of it. 

 

I actually think we played well against everton just struggled to convert. Everton had two chances in the whole game otherwise showed no ambition at all.

Villa could be bottom of the local pub league and we would struggle there.

 

In general we have been ok,not great but ok to good and we are top of the league for a reason. But I do agree if we are going to win this league we need to find another gear. Yes we should be getting more decisions then we have been but we need to take it out of the referees hands. Its strange that we are scoring more goals on average then Joses first season but you just don't have the same confidence that we could finish teams of as we did then. I guess with Robben, Duff, Lamps, Cole, Ediure and drogba you felt some one was going to pop up and get you a goal. Plus Terry got about 8 goals  that season, Ricky and galas both chimed in  as well. 

 

So this year we still have the goals from the back in set pieces, but fabregas as good as he is is no lampard, yaya is closer in contribution to that. Costa will get us goals, hazard will get us some goals although you feel his ratio could be better, then we are down to oscar, willian I love him but have alwas admited he needs to convert more. 

 

So compare the two, we had 6 likely match winners back then,now we have 3ish... (in attacking positions) This reduces the margin for some one to have a bad day. Maybe I'm being harsh on remy and drogba but I guess you wouldn't back your house on them to get us a goal now. 

 

Any way this has gone of tangent and then some. Just trying to offer explanations for why i feel we arn't playing that  bad but not winning like we should

Our form isn't as bad as people make it out to be.

Our form isn't as bad as people make it out to be.

 

Our form hasn't but some performances have been questionable. Always been told that's a sign of a good team to get results while playing poorly though!

Reason for me that we aren't performing well is lack of squad rotation and personally I feel we lack the quality in depth for Jose to have rotated more.

Our form isn't as bad as people make it out to be.

 

How often have we actually played well recently? We've looked very meek going forward, lost to Bradford and really not put together a great team performance since Swansea.

 

City have been poor as well, but they've had Nasri and Toure out so I'm not that surprised. I think we're a better team than them on our day but how many of those days have we had exactly?

 

How often has our keeper been man of the match recently? That wasn't the case earlier in the season. 

There's room for improvement with regards to the fringe players within the squad I think. 

 

We've used 13 outfield players a lot this season because those in reserve aren't matching anywhere near the performance standards of the preferred XI, the competition for places isn't as strong as I think it could be. 

 

Ramires performance levels have dipped in the last couple of years and although he isn't necessarily doing anything wrong when he plays he is not often the catalyst of a good performance. 

 

Drogba and Remy are undeniably an upgrade on our striking options of last season but I think we could do with a truly top quality striker to be 2nd choice, overall with Remy in particular I've been a bit underwhelmed by his performances. 

 

Schurrle and Salah obviously had disappointing seasons and didn't contribute enough and they've paid for that, Cuadrado has come in and it is obviously early days yet with him but I've not seen an improvement in our options so far. 

 

I appreciate it is difficult to have top quality players in the squad who aren't going to play each week and this is, in my opinion the strongest team we have had for a good few years now but the quality in depth could perhaps improve. 

You look at City in terms of midfield options and they have

Toure

Nasri

Silva

Navas

Then as back ups they can bring in

Fernandinho

Milner

Lampard

Fernando

While we have our starting ones as

Willain

Hazard

Oscar

Cesc

Matic

Then our back ups

Ramires

Mikel

Cuardrado

So in the middle of the park it's clear they have more options and IMO quality in terms of the back up players than we do.

Edited February 23, 201511 yr by Chelsbear

You look at City in terms of midfield options and they have

Toure

Nasri

Silva

Navas

Then as back ups they can bring in

Fernandinho

Milner

Lampard

Fernando

While we have our starting ones as

Willain

Hazard

Cesc

Matic

Then our back ups

Ramires

Mikel

Cuardrado

So in the middle of the park it's clear they have more options and IMO quality in terms of the back up players than we do.

 

 

Did we sell oscar ;)

How could I!!

Knew there was one lol

Performances haven't been ideal recently (particularly away from home) but in terms of results we haven't been doing too badly. Also, I know it's a cliché to point this out, but picking up results while playing poorly is the mark of champions. Remember how sh*t Man Utd were in 2012/13? They still managed to finish eleven points clear!

 

Admittedly we put in a fairly dire performance at Anfield in the League Cup (but ultimately won the tie), and there was the aberration against Bradford in the FA Cup, but since the horror show of New Year's Day, we've only dropped four points in the league. Two were against Man City so we didn't lose any ground, and the other two were obviously against Burnley which presumably fall under 'mitigating circumstances' - our performance wasn't brilliant, but we were on course for a comfortable win until a combination of refereeing incompetence and a single player losing his head lost us the points.

 

We do have some tough fixtures coming up, but City have Liverpool (who are currently the most in-form team in the league) away at the weekend and this time next week we conceivably could still find ourselves five points ahead, albeit with a game and a trophy in hand on everybody else. ForeverCarefree makes a good point that our strength in depth is still lacking compared to Mourinho's previous Chelsea squads ("a car in every driveway and two world-class players in every position"), but we absolutely have to keep our key players fit, in form and unjaded for the title (and potentially European) run-in.

We are simply going to have to have faith in our squad; as long as we rotate in small numbers (i.e. by resting one of Hazard, Fabregas and Willian at a time) we should be fine - our squad members may not be world-class like their first XI counterparts, but they are still better than the majority of first team players in the Premier League.

 

Keep the faith!

I know Newcastle at times played Remy wide, is that an option to maybe freshen things up?

He isn't getting much joy up top as it is.

Forevercarefree mentioned in another thread about selling 2 squad players to bring in 1 and it is a bit strange as we didn't have a huge squad as it was. I know Jose likes working with a smaller group though.

Performances haven't been ideal recently (particularly away from home) but in terms of results we haven't been doing too badly. Also, I know it's a cliché to point this out, but picking up results while playing poorly is the mark of champions. Remember how sh*t Man Utd were in 2012/13? They still managed to finish eleven points clear!

 

Admittedly we put in a fairly dire performance at Anfield in the League Cup (but ultimately won the tie), and there was the aberration against Bradford in the FA Cup, but since the horror show of New Year's Day, we've only dropped four points in the league. Two were against Man City so we didn't lose any ground, and the other two were obviously against Burnley which presumably fall under 'mitigating circumstances' - our performance wasn't brilliant, but we were on course for a comfortable win until a combination of refereeing incompetence and a single player losing his head lost us the points.

 

We do have some tough fixtures coming up, but City have Liverpool (who are currently the most in-form team in the league) away at the weekend and this time next week we conceivably could still find ourselves five points ahead, albeit with a game and a trophy in hand on everybody else. ForeverCarefree makes a good point that our strength in depth is still lacking compared to Mourinho's previous Chelsea squads ("a car in every driveway and two world-class players in every position"), but we absolutely have to keep our key players fit, in form and unjaded for the title (and potentially European) run-in.

We are simply going to have to have faith in our squad; as long as we rotate in small numbers (i.e. by resting one of Hazard, Fabregas and Willian at a time) we should be fine - our squad members may not be world-class like their first XI counterparts, but they are still better than the majority of first team players in the Premier League.

 

Keep the faith!

 

Good points and the results have been coming, but bad performances will eventually lead to bad results and we were lucky against Everton because we really didn't create very much from open play. That's the issue for me, and it was also there on Saturday against a fairly average team.

I am worried that a Matic-less Chelsea will see the wheels come off.

However even with him in the side we seem to have lost some mojo. Not sure whats up.

I think even though we had 2 clear pens denied the issue of our creativity and shots on goal is a growing concern.

I mean how many shots outside the box did we try against Burnley?

For years we had the surging and ever realiable Lamps who could score from everywhere and anywhere. We really are missing that kind of midfielder who can grab 10-15 goals a season. Matic isnt a goalscorer and Cesc is more suited to setting them up.

It comes down to the inability of our attacking mids not chipping in enough bar Hazard. Willian won us 2 points against Everton granted but it's still not enough from him IMO. Oscar needs to add more goals to his game too, we only play one up top and he is the closest to Costa so needs to be a big threat goal wise too.

When Costa isn't scoring which has been the case in the past few games then it seesm it's Hazard or resorting to Super Ivan to score the goals...in a team littered with attacking players it's a little bit of a concern.

Of course we are 1st in the table, in a cup final this weekend and a home game away from the last 16 of the CL so it does seem overly 'picky' given all of that but the warning signs are starting to show in the past month IMO.

The next week or two is going to be huge for us.

Good points and the results have been coming, but bad performances will eventually lead to bad results and we were lucky against Everton because we really didn't create very much from open play. That's the issue for me, and it was also there on Saturday against a fairly average team.

 

Yeah it's undoubtedly a concern, especially considering that spring is usually when we start to pick up steam. Personally I wouldn't mind seeing us alter our strategy a bit and play more reactively considering we've been a bit limp going forward and far from secure defensively - I think a lot of the squad would be more comfortable with it, and it has usually served us well in the past during 'squeaky bum time' (double-winning season excepted).

What I have found quite odd about the team recently is that we play well up until we score the first goal, after that we dont know whether to stick or twist. It is incredibly frustrating considering we are managed by Mourinho the master of 1-0's

 

After taking the lead I think the team plan is to become more compact and play on the counter but that takes our attacking instinct away and the boys seem a little bit confused on whether to sit back or search for the 2nd goal

 

I think Mourinho should allow the players to express themselves regardless of the scoreline, they play within themselves after taking the lead and that halts all the momentum and they find it difficult getting back the momentum once opposition equalises

What I have found quite odd about the team recently is that we play well up until we score the first goal, after that we dont know whether to stick or twist. It is incredibly frustrating considering we are managed by Mourinho the master of 1-0's

 

After taking the lead I think the team plan is to become more compact and play on the counter but that takes our attacking instinct away and the boys seem a little bit confused on whether to sit back or search for the 2nd goal

 

I think Mourinho should allow the players to express themselves regardless of the scoreline, they play within themselves after taking the lead and that halts all the momentum and they find it difficult getting back the momentum once opposition equalises

 

In 4 out of the last 5 games, we've taken the lead and then been pegged back. In only one of those have we got another goal.

 

Actually that's happened in 6 of the last 8, except against Bradford we were TWO up before conceding four. The other two games have been 1-0 wins, with both goals being late (one in extra-time). 10 goals in 8 games, two of which came against Bradford and two against Villa.

Edited February 23, 201511 yr by Blue Daze

What I have found quite odd about the team recently is that we play well up until we score the first goal, after that we dont know whether to stick or twist. It is incredibly frustrating considering we are managed by Mourinho the master of 1-0's

After taking the lead I think the team plan is to become more compact and play on the counter but that takes our attacking instinct away and the boys seem a little bit confused on whether to sit back or search for the 2nd goal

I think Mourinho should allow the players to express themselves regardless of the scoreline, they play within themselves after taking the lead and that halts all the momentum and they find it difficult getting back the momentum once opposition equalises

I think it’s about getting a balance right.

Jose had a perfect balance before where the squad could chase a lead or sit on one with much comfort, we had the players and tactics to do both equally well.

Right now I don’t ever feel confident when we are just a goal up, we seem not to be well equipped to soak up pressure and when we sit back we usually end up conceding vital goals. PSG, Burnley, United and City spring to mind regarding this.

It’s strange as last season we struggled to get leads against a whole host of teams but when we got one against the better ones we could keep them from scoring. The changes from that side are really only Cole, Luiz and lamps. I don’t know if it’s a confidence/mental issue more than anything else

I think it’s about getting a balance right.

Jose had a perfect balance before where the squad could chase a lead or sit on one with much comfort, we had the players and tactics to do both equally well.

Right now I don’t ever feel confident when we are just a goal up, we seem not to be well equipped to soak up pressure and when we sit back we usually end up conceding vital goals. PSG, Burnley, United and City spring to mind regarding this.

It’s strange as last season we struggled to get leads against a whole host of teams but when we got one against the better ones we could keep them from scoring. The changes from that side are really only Cole, Luiz and lamps. I don’t know if it’s a confidence/mental issue more than anything else

 

I do agree it's about getting the balance right but it is also about playing to your teams strengths,I strongly believe that even after taking a lead if we keep pressing higher up rather than sitting back we will score more goals and play to our strength because quite frankly even when we attack we do not expose our back 4 (Matic factor)

 

I think the biggest difference is Cahills form, Cahill and Terry of the last couple of seasons would enable us to drop off and defend deep. Cahills form has dropped and this has led to Terry losing that level of trust in his partner affecting his positioning (Perfect Example-Cavanis equaliser in Paris). Zouma is a fanastic Centre back but he still has a great deal to learn especially when defending deep.

I do agree it's about getting the balance right but it is also about playing to your teams strengths,I strongly believe that even after taking a lead if we keep pressing higher up rather than sitting back we will score more goals and play to our strength because quite frankly even when we attack we do not expose our back 4 (Matic factor)

 

I think the biggest difference is Cahills form, Cahill and Terry of the last couple of seasons would enable us to drop off and defend deep. Cahills form has dropped and this has led to Terry losing that level of trust in his partner affecting his positioning (Perfect Example-Cavanis equaliser in Paris). Zouma is a fanastic Centre back but he still has a great deal to learn especially when defending deep.

 

What's worrying for me is that Jose seems incapable of defending a one-goal lead since the new year. That's been his bread and butter for years.

I think like others have mentioned, we lack squad depth, and this has meant Mourinho has relied heavily on 11/12 players, and fatigue is setting in at the wrong time.

At the moment I'd say there's only really hazard, zouma, Terry and Ivanovic that are in form. Matic was getting back to his best, but cesc and costa haven't been as good since they were out the team with injuries/suspensions.

We have a thin squad at the moment and centre midfield is real worry, as ramires and mikel are such a drop in quality when they come. I'd even say up top remy and drogba, are not good enough to put a little competitive kick up costa's arse.

The plus side of having a thin squad should be more opportunities for the young players, and Zouma has really stepped up. I think ake could do the same and get himself ahead of Mikel and ramires in the pecking order, but he hasn't had the opportunity. Maybe if Matic is suspended, it could be the chance every youngster needs.

I still think that we can win the league this year, but we really need fabregas, Oscar, and costa to start putting in dominant displays.