Papering Over The Cracks

[JMaher94]

This is my first ever mini rant on TSE so bare with me, probably won't be as explosive as certain ones i've seen on here but more constructive.

 

I've been thinking it since the Newcastle game which in turn, we were absolutely shocking and were lucky to come back and grab a point. A shot out of nowhere from Ramires who either scores screamers or dosen't score at all and a free kick by Willian identical to the one he scored against Tel Aviv for me proves we are a long way from where we want to be.

 

We won three games on the bounce after a treacherous start but I still felt something wasn't quite right. Yes, we beat Arsenal but to be quite honest that's not all that surprising. Mourinho could field a team of hedgehogs and still get one over on Wenger. Before and after that, we beat an extremely poor Israeli side who accumulated 1 or 2 chances during the game and Wallsall who if I'm correct are a league one side? Now the saying goes that you can only beat what's in front of you but in my opinion those three games have really warped us into thinking we're back on the up. You could tell from the first 20/30 minutes of the Newcastle game that we were back to our early season form. Slow, lethargic, easy to break through and extremely static in our play. Now without sounding detrimental because goals are goals, the last game Chelsea scored a great team goal in the Premier League was in the loss against Palace. That in itself is worrying as we look so slow going forward and even slower in the middle and at the back.

 

Now onto the players..

 

Branislav Ivanovic MUST be dropped because whilst he is in the side, we look obscenely unbalanced. Teams attack the right side of our defence nine times out of ten. I wrote an article on it last year after the game against Tottenham as that's where it started to become exposed. He's poor going forward, he dosen't know whether to go to the player or stand off. Usually when he goes to the player, he gets skinned alive and when stands off and puts his arms behind his back, he allows them to get a cross in. In my opinion, the biggest problem in our team. We have a £25m left back who we have just bought who was rated the best in the Bundesliga last season yet he dosen't even make the squad for PL games, not sure what's going on there.

 

Nemanja Matic has disappointed me now since last January. Everyone talks about Cesc's dip of form since then but Matic's has been quite average since then as well. It does feel like he has to cover two positions at once because Cesc does push forward or go missing but Matic's ability on the ball has become poor. Loses his concentration and gives the ball away far too easily. Dosen't seem that beast who came onto the scene against City and dominated Toure and other teams for the next year. He has to improve, he was in the top 3 reasons we won the league last year, he's probably been in our top 4 worst performers since the start of the year.

 

Cesc Fabregas could possibly be one of the slowest midfielders I have seen play football. My god, he is slow. There's a reason we are conceding so many goals (he is the most dribbled past player in the Premier League) and a lot of that has to do with his pace. It's so easy for strong, pacy midfielders to knock the ball past him and get on the end of it. Now I don't believe all this cock and bull about giving youth a chance but on this occasion, Ruben Loftus Cheek has to start the next game against the Saints next to Matic. Put Cesc on the bench and make him fight for his place.

 

Eden Hazard is off next year, i'm almost certain of it. These performances are those of a professional who dosen't seem that bothered. He comes back every pre season overweight and it usually shakes off within two or three games bar the first season he was here where he was fantastic from the off. He still looks overweight, he dawdles on the ball too much and completely kills counter attacks because he decides to stop running. Unlike Cesc, I don't think we should drop him because he is the player that makes things happen. Hazard needs to play centrally and be given the luxury of not having to track back constantly as it may be taking it's toll on him and he could be suffering from burnout.

 

and finally..

 

Jose Mourinho is a phenomenal coach. I love the guy and what he means to Chelsea Football Club but he needs to take a HUGE part in the blame for our early season form. Same favourites being picked over and over again, no change in tactics. The game against City was absolutely mindboggling. An axis of Cesc and Matic with Ramires on the wing against Silva, Yaya and Sterling? You don't have to be a genius to know that we were going to be pummelled and we rightly were. José mentioned that were getting unlucky and every mistake we're making is being punished. That's because we're making a lot of mistakes! I have never seen a Chelsea team in the last 10/11 years look so utterly clueless everywhere on the pitch. It's almost been similar to our AVB era *shudders*. I'm sorry José, Wenger might be a dick but bringing him up and making up excuses to save the team from the press is no longer working. Teams, managers and the media alike are seeing right through it. You have to start changing the team and winning games otherwise Roman's going to start loading up again. I don't want him to be sacked, that's the last thing I want but if things don't change then we may have a problem. (Not that there's anyone to go for anyway)

 

In my opinion, if we don't beat Southampton then we are in massive trouble. I know it's still early on and a lot of things can change but we could be going from title challengers to top four challengers thick and fast. Luckily, we have some much easier fixtures on paper coming up so we should be able to chase the pack with ease but not if we continute to perform how we have been this season

 

Special mention to Begovic, Dave, Pedro and maybe Willian who have still done a decent job this season.

 

I hope you enjoyed my mini rant, wasn't really a rant more of a discussion. Let me know what you guys think, do you think those three wins have papered over the cracks slightly? Thanks for reading.

[Blueblur]

I agree with every single thing you said, JMaher, apart from the bit about Hazard going next year. He's not going anywhere.

 

Good, accurate post.

[JMaher94]

I agree with every single thing you said, JMaher, apart from the bit about Hazard going next year. He's not going anywhere.

Good, accurate post.

Thank you BlueBlur.

I understand your point, also.

[bola]

so when this kind of thread is not started by newbie, the knee jerk reaction from jose's holy fans are in hiding.. another proof they didn't see things objectively, just jump into that blind faith and newbie wum bandwagon.. 

[Droogba]

What is your problem? JMaher94 has been around long enough to be respected. His post was balanced, open, not antagonistic.

If others haven't responded to him as yet it's probably because they're busy helping Jose find the dressing room, or have jobs and such like.

[bola]

and who doesn't respect him again? 

 

what's my problem? it seems like ya're the one who's having problem with anyone who's not on the same page with ya when it comes to jose.. 

 

Your last statement is typical sarcasm that people dish out when they're pissed.. 

[Bobbywoodhogan]

Bola just read the differences in your posts and his. He gives well reasoned posts whereas yours an antagonistic.

[Gladstonian Liber]

A lot of good points.

Fabregas is painfully slow which really does put more of a burden on Matic, so hardly surprising he's not at his best either.

Hazard is operating at 80% (he doesn't seem to have the same va va voom of last year) and it wouldn't surprise me if he goes should a Madrid, Bayern or Barcelona come in for him.

Ivanovic is a liability at right back and needs to be dropped.

As for up front Costa's indiscipline I'd say is as much frustration at his poor form possibly due to the fact he's been found out in his second season, players get to know how to play against him etc.

Willian, Oscar and Ramires are still class acts and Pedro after a bright start has struggled as many players do when first exposed to the Premier League.

You need to replace Terry and Ivanovic with top class replacements and maybe convert Fabregas into a squad player rather than a starter. He is not a number 10 and I'd say an Ozil or Iniesta type in the role would create so many more chances than you do now. That's where you are really lacking in my view.

[bola]

Well, I have to admit I focus a lil bit more on the manager than the players but ya know the old saying about the buck has to stop with the manager.. 

 

Did it sound antagonistic? maybe but should be understandable, it's from his least fan after all.. hands up.. However, it's not too bad, I still recognize his quality and mentioned about them

[Cfcstevens]

No the 3 wins haven't papered over the cracks in my opinion. As suggested above Chelsea under 12's cud beat wenger under Jose. People are panicking way too early, these players that are having bad spells haven't become bad players overnight. They are having a bad run. In my opinion it's pure arrogance on the clubs behalf during the transfer window why we are here now. We all knew jt was getting older, we all knew cesc can't play defensive all the time, we all knew we needed a rb and a lb and we all knew diegos hamstrings are shot. We panicked after the season started and bought pedro amongst others. Last season our transfer dealings were done before pre season. This year we are a laughing stock. We have to concentrate on getting top 4 and maybe a domestic cup. We are gonna have to suck it up this year and get on with having a rough ride. Keep the faith everybody and stick with our greatest manager in the clubs history.

Edited September 28, 2015 by Cfcstevens

[CFCflynn]

Costas poor form? I think he's been playing really well in all honesty, just not finding the onion bag

[CFCholland]

so when this kind of thread is not started by newbie, the knee jerk reaction from jose's holy fans are in hiding.. another proof they didn't see things objectively, just jump into that blind faith and newbie wum bandwagon.. 

 

I'm not sure what threads you've started and what exact posts you've made but if it's along the lines of ''Jose needs to be sacked'' without any arguments or reasoning behind it whatsoever you should find another forum. No one will disslike you for posting your opinion with arguments. Usually if people on here don't like you, there's a reason for it.

[Peckham Blue]

A lot of good points.

Fabregas is painfully slow which really does put more of a burden on Matic, so hardly surprising he's not at his best either.

Hazard is operating at 80% (he doesn't seem to have the same va va voom of last year) and it wouldn't surprise me if he goes should a Madrid, Bayern or Barcelona come in for him.

Ivanovic is a liability at right back and needs to be dropped.

As for up front Costa's indiscipline I'd say is as much frustration at his poor form possibly due to the fact he's been found out in his second season, players get to know how to play against him etc.

Willian, Oscar and Ramires are still class acts and Pedro after a bright start has struggled as many players do when first exposed to the Premier League.

You need to replace Terry and Ivanovic with top class replacements and maybe convert Fabregas into a squad player rather than a starter. He is not a number 10 and I'd say an Ozil or Iniesta type in the role would create so many more chances than you do now. That's where you are really lacking in my view.

I can't say I disagree with too much of that other than I don't think Ramires is class although he has his moments but is very frustrating and no way is Terry ready to be replaced until we have a decent replacement.

Edited September 28, 2015 by Peckham Blue

[carrickblue]

I think we are nearly all agreed that actually it's the players' performances which are unacceptable. That may or may not be Jose's fault but none of us can really tell. I take that view that these guys are professionals, they are the current champions and in all probability Jose is sending them out there expecting great things. Why shouldn't he?

 

So it seems to me that some of our first XI have begun this season with a certain complacency, as if they just expect to win without trying too hard, as if on reputation alone they can put the frighteners on the opposition. But the Premier League simply doesn't work that way. You have to graft to get anything. 

 

Some of our players look as though they just don't have the stomach for it at the minute - Ivan, Fab, Hazard all shadows of themselves. I think this will end in one of two ways. Either they get their mojo back and their hunger for the game or Jose will start dropping them and playing some of the younger guys. He obviously doesn't want to do that...who in his shoes would? If you drop those 3 and lose the game there will be a media frenzy and the knives will truly be out. But his comments after Newcastle suggest to me that Jose is reaching his own line in the sand with these guys, it sounded as though he believes that he's given them every opportunity but if they fail to respond things will change.

 

I reckon we will see them all again tomorrow night for the Porto game, we can expect them all to put a shift in at Porto. But will they turn up on Saturday for Southampton?? I don't know and I bet Jose doesn't know either.          

[bola]

I'm not sure what threads you've started and what exact posts you've made but if it's along the lines of ''Jose needs to be sacked'' without any arguments or reasoning behind it whatsoever you should find another forum. No one will disslike you for posting your opinion with arguments. Usually if people on here don't like you, there's a reason for it.

Well I didn't start any thread and the way I see it, the argument/reasoning were there even by the original poster.. whether that's taken into account or not is of course another story..The knee jerk reaction on here over that is mildly overwhelming.. 

[axman2526]

A lot of good points.

Fabregas is painfully slow which really does put more of a burden on Matic, so hardly surprising he's not at his best either.

Hazard is operating at 80% (he doesn't seem to have the same va va voom of last year) and it wouldn't surprise me if he goes should a Madrid, Bayern or Barcelona come in for him.

Ivanovic is a liability at right back and needs to be dropped.

As for up front Costa's indiscipline I'd say is as much frustration at his poor form possibly due to the fact he's been found out in his second season, players get to know how to play against him etc.

Willian, Oscar and Ramires are still class acts and Pedro after a bright start has struggled as many players do when first exposed to the Premier League.

You need to replace Terry and Ivanovic with top class replacements and maybe convert Fabregas into a squad player rather than a starter. He is not a number 10 and I'd say an Ozil or Iniesta type in the role would create so many more chances than you do now. That's where you are really lacking in my view.

 

I can't say I disagree with too much of that other than I don't think Ramires is class although he has his moments but is very frustrating and no way is Terry ready to be replaced until we have a decent replacement.

I would disagree with the 80% part, Eden is not even hitting 50% imo. 

[Barry Bridges]

Just wanted to say that I think that qualifies as a full blown rant and not a mini one, based on length :P

Will read when I have more time as it appears a properly thought out post and not some two sentence snide judgement on the most successful manager in our history.

[JMaher94]

Just wanted to say that I think that qualifies as a full blown rant and not a mini one, based on length :P

Will read when I have more time as it appears a properly thought out post and not some two sentence snide judgement on the most successful manager in our history.

 

No worries, let me know once you've giving it a read.

 

Thank you for the replies on this :)

[Barry Bridges]

so when this kind of thread is not started by newbie, the knee jerk reaction from jose's holy fans are in hiding.. another proof they didn't see things objectively, just jump into that blind faith and newbie wum bandwagon..

...or simply proof that you are equating the well reasoned and rather thoroughly thought out opening post of this thread with the likes of ..

jose you want to play crap boring football then F*** off back to spain or wherever. i know this aint gonna go down well but im sick and tired of watching this slow crap and have been since xmas. Take fabregas with you

If you can't see the difference then no offence but this may not be the forum for uou. I say this because you seem very unhappy amongst this community. Sorry but if you make a post like rusty did there, you're going to get the same kind in response. How could you expect otherwise? So actually I am not sorry, but I am Canadian so sorry for that too. By the way I am no authority here so feel free not to listen, just don't know why you'd want to be here if you don't like the content or community.

I've seen numerous people including openly stated opposition fans take massively unpopular opinions, share them and receive nothing in return but fair responses or even kudos, if you will. But that's because their posts are like JMaher's opening post, and not full of hate but thought. It contains serious opinions which are usually backed with some justifications and not venomous insults as its content. It provides constructive criticism more than just flaming the club or its agents.

So if you like threads started in the manner of JMaher, then this is probably a good place to stay and visit for a while. If you're inclined to participate in such a manner, I'm sure I can speak for most here when I say you'd be more than welcome. It's how you present your opinion and not what it is in this context. I think that's fair and especially so for newbies. As with anywhere else in life, where would you expect to be welcomed when your first acts are to shout abuse and negativity?

[Barry Bridges]

I agree with most. Someone needs to be holding Mourinho accountable/questioning why he isn't mixing things up a bit more but perhaps this is his message to the board after not getting what he wanted in the transfer window. Doesn't deter that he is still the best man for the job and I'd still give him next season even if we end up without a single trophy and no European football. He is still the best man for the job and you don't dump such a proven winner because of short term results. Aka lessons that should have been learned by now.

Matic hasn't been up to his world class form of yesteryear but I think that's partly because too much is being asked. It's not even just the lack of support protecting a back 4 in abysmal form but also the lack of threat going forward which gives the opposition the confidence to pour more men forward.

Like you're pretty much saying with Ivanovic, we might not know if Baba is good enough but we certainly know that Ivanovic isn't right now. So let's go with the uncertainty of success rather than the near guarantee of failure.

The only person I think should be a certain starter right now is Begovic. Even Hazard could be dropped in my books and I mourn for the Mourinho of old who'd do it. I have no doubt that both will bounce back but you can't drop the manager for a game or two. Crazy to drop Hazard? Maybe, but I'd rather a game or two without Eden if a message is sent rather than more of the status quo with hopes of better.

Think Cesc needs to ride the bench for a few games. On his top form we might not have much competition for his spot but on current form we have plenty. It's not just the poor play, but also the poor effort...more so the poor effort. That aside, you can't have a player like him in a side that's playing like this. Even on top form. You need defensive solidity in those situations and what good is creativity when the forward's are poor? A misfiring team needs steel before silk. Think any of RLC/Ramires or Mikel ( as many assist as Cesc in a fraction of the play time) is better for the team at this point. If we can only bank on one or two goals a game, if any, we need a midfield better suited to stopping than creating goals.

I think we are a super far cry from panic of not making top 4 even if we drop the next few games. City showed last season very clearly that 12 point gaps can be closed and recreated at a pretty alarming rate. Worst comes to worst and I bet Mourinho is backed in January. Roman might want to pull an Arsenal with the stadium build but I doubt he has either the patience or the purse strings to follow through on not spending when he needs to in order to compete. I certainly think he is smart enough not to get impatient with the manager himself again. Not only is there Mourinho's success here for Roman to consider, but also the fact Mourinho is the only manager in nearly a decade to win the title whilst making a profit in transfers.

[Amputechture]

We couldn't even string a few passes together without losing the ball against Newcastle during the first half, and I just don't see how José (or any manager for that matter) could be blamed for it. We're talking about professional footballers. They don't need a manager to learn how to string 5 passes together.

Having said that, José must be held accountable for refusing to drop certain players. He said he wanted to make 6 subs at half time and yet he made none.

I wouldn't be too bothered about missing out on trophies this season as long as we finish in the top four. Under current circumstances anything else would be a bonus.

Us fans have been crying out for managerial stability for so long, and now that we've got one of the best in the business, it just seems silly to turn against him so quickly. Be careful what you wish for.

Edit: This post isn't a aimed at you JMaher. I agree with most of what you've said.

Edited September 29, 2015 by Amputechture

[ForeverCarefree]

Branislav Ivanovic MUST be dropped because whilst he is in the side, we look obscenely unbalanced. Teams attack the right side of our defence nine times out of ten. I wrote an article on it last year after the game against Tottenham as that's where it started to become exposed. He's poor going forward, he dosen't know whether to go to the player or stand off. Usually when he goes to the player, he gets skinned alive and when stands off and puts his arms behind his back, he allows them to get a cross in. In my opinion, the biggest problem in our team. We have a £25m left back who we have just bought who was rated the best in the Bundesliga last season yet he dosen't even make the squad for PL games, not sure what's going on there.

 

I think part of the issue is that not all of the signings the club makes are Mourinho's signings. 

 

He'll identify an area that needs replacing/improving and sometimes the board scouts out what they feel is the best deal. 

 

This looks to be the case with Baba who from board point of view probably felt he ticked all the right boxes in regards to being a good addition at fullback. 

 

The drawback to these types of signings is that Jose is a lot more wary about giving that a crack in team and despite Ivanovic's poor form there is a lack of faith in Baba that he'll do the job that is asked of him. 

 

He's looked a decent left back in the couple of appearances he has had so far but he's made some very rash tackles and made some really sloppy passes too and in truth I do see the point Mourinho has made about him possibly not being ready to start all the time just yet. 

 

That said, I think he needs to start giving him some minutes, even if he brings him on for the last 10/15 minutes of league games playing on the left of midfield because right now we really need more options in defence. 

 

 

Nemanja Matic has disappointed me now since last January. Everyone talks about Cesc's dip of form since then but Matic's has been quite average since then as well. It does feel like he has to cover two positions at once because Cesc does push forward or go missing but Matic's ability on the ball has become poor. Loses his concentration and gives the ball away far too easily. Dosen't seem that beast who came onto the scene against City and dominated Toure and other teams for the next year. He has to improve, he was in the top 3 reasons we won the league last year, he's probably been in our top 4 worst performers since the start of the year.

 

He's not playing well at all, I agree and to be honest I think Fabregas' complete drop in form is a big contributing factor but it shouldn't excuse just how poorly Matic has been performing, even in the Everton game when he had Mikel alongside him the opposition were finding gaps in middle far too easily. 

 

Don't know what the answer is personally, I think he could benefit from being given a Makalele type role for a few games where he is the sole midfielder who sits in front of the defence... Take away his attacking duties for now and get him concentrating on getting the basics of his role back up to scratch, mainly intercepting play and getting the ball moving forwards quickly and efficiently. 

 

 

Cesc Fabregas could possibly be one of the slowest midfielders I have seen play football. My god, he is slow. There's a reason we are conceding so many goals (he is the most dribbled past player in the Premier League) and a lot of that has to do with his pace. It's so easy for strong, pacy midfielders to knock the ball past him and get on the end of it. Now I don't believe all this cock and bull about giving youth a chance but on this occasion, Ruben Loftus Cheek has to start the next game against the Saints next to Matic. Put Cesc on the bench and make him fight for his place.

 

Speeds not the issue for me, midfielders like Pirlo barely ever bust a gut to get around the pitch but that only works if the quality of distribution is there and Fabregas is using the ball badly right now. 

 

At the beginning of last season I think his pass success rate was something ridiculous like 90% completion, currently it's sitting closer to 80%. Sometimes it just seems like a game is completely passing him by and he's not able to play his way back into it. When he's on form he completely dictates play and engineers a lot of good things we do but I do think he needs Oscar in the side to bring out the best in his game because Oscar does a lot of pressing and moves around in a way which creates time and space for Fabregas to excel. Oscar also drops a lot deeper than anyone else who plays in the #10 role and it allows Fabregas to get forward and influence play and generally makes us a lot more unpredictable.   

[bola]

...or simply proof that you are equating the well reasoned and rather thoroughly thought out opening post of this thread with the likes of ..

If you can't see the difference then no offence but this may not be the forum for uou. I say this because you seem very unhappy amongst this community. Sorry but if you make a post like rusty did there, you're going to get the same kind in response. How could you expect otherwise? So actually I am not sorry, but I am Canadian so sorry for that too. By the way I am no authority here so feel free not to listen, just don't know why you'd want to be here if you don't like the content or community.

I've seen numerous people including openly stated opposition fans take massively unpopular opinions, share them and receive nothing in return but fair responses or even kudos, if you will. But that's because their posts are like JMaher's opening post, and not full of hate but thought. It contains serious opinions which are usually backed with some justifications and not venomous insults as its content. It provides constructive criticism more than just flaming the club or its agents.

So if you like threads started in the manner of JMaher, then this is probably a good place to stay and visit for a while. If you're inclined to participate in such a manner, I'm sure I can speak for most here when I say you'd be more than welcome. It's how you present your opinion and not what it is in this context. I think that's fair and especially so for newbies. As with anywhere else in life, where would you expect to be welcomed when your first acts are to shout abuse and negativity?

 

Hmm.. Having read that rusty post, it does seem a lil bit out of order because of the swearing.. Btw, I was comparing this thread and mine.. Sure, I was more critical but it's not as if I plucked it out of thin air.. 

 

In a short summary, I just stated that I don't have the same 'love' as ya lot for jose mourinho and just merely stated the reasons but many can't handle it and giving out the knee jerk reaction.. 

 

Whether this forum is for me or not, I'll know when I realize if certain individual is treated more important than the club.. if that's the case then as ya said, we can all go back to square one

[Barry Bridges]

Hmm.. Having read that rusty post, it does seem a lil bit out of order because of the swearing.. Btw, I was comparing this thread and mine.. Sure, I was more critical but it's not as if I plucked it out of thin air.. 

 

In a short summary, I just stated that I don't have the same 'love' as ya lot for jose mourinho and just merely stated the reasons but many can't handle it and giving out the knee jerk reaction.. 

 

Whether this forum is for me or not, I'll know when I realize if certain individual is treated more important than the club.. if that's the case then as ya said, we can all go back to square one

Think you might be confusing the belief that many here hold, that Mourinho as manager is best for Chelsea right now, with some notion that we support Mourinho over the club.

I have no doubt that at least 99% of regular posters here support the club before Mourinho. We just happen to think Mourinho is best for the club.

[Kentonio]

I agree with most. Someone needs to be holding Mourinho accountable/questioning why he isn't mixing things up a bit more but perhaps this is his message to the board after not getting what he wanted in the transfer window.

 

I think he has a lot less choices than we tend to assume. Most of the complaints have been around Ivanovich and Fab, yet those require us to play Rahman (who looked not at all ready for first team play in the Walsall game) and Ruben, who is going to be immense for us but is still awfully young. Jose is seeing who is showing what in training, and if he's not picking players I think its safer to assume they aren't impressing between matches, rather than this fallback a lot of people have about 'favourites'.