N'golo Kante - We are not worthy!

[Gol15]

[Ukraine Bolt]

Not sure if its the system or the player but he just doesn't seem to be what he once was. Could have been on a yellow card within the first 10 minutes yesterday for silly fouls. 

[Argo]

7 hours ago, RIP Mourinho said:

Not sure if its the system or the player but he just doesn't seem to be what he once was. Could have been on a yellow card within the first 10 minutes yesterday for silly fouls. 

He should be getting managed the way Conte managed Cesc in 16/17, play him for games that suit him and keep him well away from games that don't. What's more annoying is that there's two games coming up where his skillset is still really useful and instead of resting him for them we've flogged him for 90 minutes in a type of game where he's next to redundant in.   

[Slojo]

14 hours ago, RIP Mourinho said:

Not sure if its the system or the player but he just doesn't seem to be what he once was. Could have been on a yellow card within the first 10 minutes yesterday for silly fouls. 

Exactly this here... I don't know what it is, it's a shame. 

[PhilH930]

The fouls are costly and his passing leaves a lot to be desired. Still great energy and pressing, but he’s been a square peg in a round hole for a while now. Not sure we have a better option, but it’s a position we need to address. 

[Guest Sindre]

He's lost that edge that made him so great over his first three seasons in England. The only time i can remember recently where he's looked anything like the Kante of old was his cameo against Tottenham. Everyone on the pitch was knackered and then he came on with fresh legs and looked great again for once but when he starts he can't do that anymore it seems.

I'd like to see Jorginho and Kovacic together in midfield again. Kovacic is our best midfielder for me and replacing Kante with him should strengthen us.

[driller97]

Sad to say, but Kante simply just isn't the same player he was a couple years ago.. He doesnt even fit in this team in all honesty. Not surprised Lampard is looking to sell, I think we should cash in as soon as possible

[bisright1]

I really don't understand why Mount isn't playing in the role Kante is. 

Surely Mount can do that role? Didn't he essentially do it at Derby. 

[Gol15]

1 hour ago, bisright1 said:

I really don't understand why Mount isn't playing in the role Kante is. 

Surely Mount can do that role? Didn't he essentially do it at Derby. 

I agree that he can come deeper and fight for the ball because he has done it already, either way in a 4-3-3 Mount and Kai would need a deep midfielder that doesn't push forward with them and just stays back at all times. It's up to Lampard to set it up, I think it's possible.

[reparto corse]

6 hours ago, Sindre said:

He's lost that edge that made him so great over his first three seasons in England. The only time i can remember recently where he's looked anything like the Kante of old was his cameo against Tottenham. Everyone on the pitch was knackered and then he came on with fresh legs and looked great again for once but when he starts he can't do that anymore it seems.

I'd like to see Jorginho and Kovacic together in midfield again. Kovacic is our best midfielder for me and replacing Kante with him should strengthen us.

Kovacic might be the best midfielder we have but he is not particularly good at defending and replacing Kante with Kovacic is only going to make our defence worse I fear.

[Slojo]

3 hours ago, reparto corse said:

Kovacic might be the best midfielder we have but he is not particularly good at defending and replacing Kante with Kovacic is only going to make our defence worse I fear.

That's the only issue, even though I think the Jorginho-Kovacic partnership is the best partnership in the side, it isn't the best defensively. 

But coming to think of it, is it still any good with Kante there? I don't think so... At least with Kovacic there, you've got good distribution and retention, teams can't afford to sit back or give us space. Kante misplaces far too many simple passes. 

Edited October 19, 2020 by Slojo

[Gol15]

10 hours ago, Slojo said:

That's the only issue, even though I think the Jorginho-Kovacic partnership is the best partnership in the side, it isn't the best defensively. 

But coming to think of it, is it still any good with Kante there? I don't think so... At least with Kovacic there, you've got good distribution and retention, teams can't afford to sit back or give us space. Kante misplaces far too many simple passes. 

Kovacic wins duels and runs with the ball and Jorginho gets interceptions and plays 1-2 so they complement each other's game if we go by the stats from last season.

[Argo]

14 hours ago, Slojo said:

That's the only issue, even though I think the Jorginho-Kovacic partnership is the best partnership in the side, it isn't the best defensively. 

But coming to think of it, is it still any good with Kante there? I don't think so... At least with Kovacic there, you've got good distribution and retention, teams can't afford to sit back or give us space. Kante misplaces far too many simple passes. 

It's better defensively purely based on the fact we keep the ball better when those two are on.

[Droopy]

Lampard and Sarri could not  use him properly and people claiming N'golo is washed? The state of our mid wasn't our biggest concern under Maurizio but now that it is who is to be blame for not using the best DM in the world as an actual DM? 

Lampard of all the people in the world should understand the best what is to have a machine like that behind you. 

[Scott Harris]

34 minutes ago, Droopy said:

Lampard and Sarri could not  use him properly and people claiming N'golo is washed? The state of our mid wasn't our biggest concern under Maurizio but now that it is who is to be blame for not using the best DM in the world as an actual DM? 

Lampard of all the people in the world should understand the best what is to have a machine like that behind you. 

It's been said many times now that Kante is not a DM. I would prefer him staying a bit deeper than being a box to box midfielder in our current set up, but Kante can't play DM. He doesn't have the positional discipline to play there, he would roam too much and leave gaps.

Edited October 20, 2020 by Scott Harris

[Kev56]

So many thoughts and opinions on what is 'his position' does anyone know the true answer.?

[Scott Harris]

3 minutes ago, Kev56 said:

So many thoughts and opinions on what is 'his position' does anyone know the true answer.?

It's box to box, but you need a DM next to him to get the best out of him.

[Munkunku]

4 minutes ago, Kev56 said:

So many thoughts and opinions on what is 'his position' does anyone know the true answer.?

It’s definitely on the pitch and not in goal. That’s as far as I’m willing to go. 

[Argo]

46 minutes ago, Droopy said:

Lampard and Sarri could not  use him properly and people claiming N'golo is washed? The state of our mid wasn't our biggest concern under Maurizio but now that it is who is to be blame for not using the best DM in the world as an actual DM? 

Lampard of all the people in the world should understand the best what is to have a machine like that behind you. 

Off the top of my head Kante has played as a sitting DM for Chelsea 11 times (6 under Conte and 5 under Lampard) and we've conceded 18 goals which scaled for a full season would have had us conceding more than we actually did.

It's not just Lampard and Sarri that were hesitant playing him there Conte was aswell, in his second season when he went to 352 Bakayoko was the sitter not Kante.

Why on earth would you put a player who's main attribute is his engine in one of the least energy consuming positions on the entire pitch? 

[strider6004]

I think Matic was our last true DM, he got a lot of stick yet was in an unglamorous role.

I often thought he looked uncomfortable when we lost the ball so much as to say where is the help yet we won the league in his last season under Conte.

 

 

[dkw]

3 hours ago, Munkworth said:

It’s definitely on the pitch and not in goal. That’s as far as I’m willing to go. 

For you that's some in depth football tactical insight....

[reparto corse]

3 hours ago, Scott Harris said:

It's box to box, but you need a DM next to him to get the best out of him.

I struggle to consider Kante a box to box midfielder considering how little he actually contributes offensively. He does have brilliant moments going forward but he can't do it with any regularity and often is more of a hindrance than a contributor.

[Kev56]

4 minutes ago, reparto corse said:

I struggle to consider Kante a box to box midfielder considering how little he actually contributes offensively. He does have brilliant moments going forward but he can't do it with any regularity and often is more of a hindrance than a contributor.

Agree, but sometimes-

 

[Bonzodog29]

18 hours ago, reparto corse said:

I struggle to consider Kante a box to box midfielder considering how little he actually contributes offensively. He does have brilliant moments going forward but he can't do it with any regularity and often is more of a hindrance than a contributor.

In that case think of him as a box to box destroyer, he hunts the ball breaks up play and then passes to someone with a greater skillset

[Spiller86]

Superb today. Put paid to the Kante can't play the anchor role rubbish again, just as he does every time he plays there. He did it with aplomb against a team who are very organised and press well. 

Shut down every chance Burnley had to counter and his distribution was great. Some of his cross field passing in the 40m/h winds was a joy to watch. 

Between he and Mount for MoM.