it's a disappointing loss of course, but it was a deserved one.

from kick off, liverpool looked hungrier, wanted more, and controlled the game, which is why we gave away 2 fluke goals.

we played better in the 2nd half, which i think is important to note we controlled them and got a goal, but i don't think it was enough, klopp outwitted us this time.

this defeat also showed our defensive frailties, especially ivanovic. I've stuck by him for quite some time but i can't defend him that much anymore, theres just nothing there from the optimal rb we had years back. that said, alonso should be started ahead of him against leicester in the cup tie, even if he's not ready or whatever, we need something to change in the back. hopefully putting alonso at lb and FINALLY putting azpilicueta in his right back position can work out.

we also need to start playing fabregas a lot more, he has the biggest creative edge than anyone in the team, and id honestly put chalobah or rlc over matic to be in that position.

a deserved loss, but also a good learning point. we know where we have issues, and now we can work to fix them :)

17 hours ago, Sing the Blues said:

Cesc has been a top player! JFC!!  Where and when? A few months here and for a year at Arsenal? 

You are a moron. Imagine putting Pirlo who played in a dedicated position for a decade(He was that bloody good) below Fabregas, a shuffled about  player so good apparently no one knows where to f**king play him!

 

Fabregas:

Games 501

Goals 104

Assists162

 

Pirlo:

Games 445

Goals 41

Assists 62

 

 

Of course, stats are never the whole picture, but that alone should be enough for you to have a little more respect for the man. One good season as Arsenal?

He had a few good seasons at Barca, too, even if Barca didn't do particularly well relative to their ridiculously high standard.

What would Pirlo have done in a quicker league with less time and space  and more physicality? 

Edited September 17, 20169 yr by Kante Conte

5 hours ago, DELBY said:

I could not understand how we started this game. Sitting back, not pressing and just letting them pass around us. When we had the ball in the first half there were far too many floated passes to the left or right slowing the play. There was no quick passing or movement and our shape looked all over the place. Their first goal was a joke. Absolutely no organisation and that's where we missed JT. But that goal started with one of Ivan's usual, needless fouls for their free kick. After we scored our second their was just not enough intensity or inventiveness to get an equaliser. We need to start on the front foot and impose our game on the opposition not the other way round.

I've never seen a Chelsea team sit back with such little pressure on the opposing side the way they did yesterday. 

If that was some daft tactic imported over from Italy Conte'd better realise after this that that crap won't cut it in this league. 

Players were just standing around giving then time to do whatever they felt like. Another thing... Could it be that they were tired from these intense training sessions given that the match was on a Friday with less time to recover? Maybe a mismanagement on that side of things... I just couldn't believe bow utterly flat and lifeless the team looked.

19 hours ago, coco said:

http://www.theshedend.com/donate/

I just paid half my debt...wasn't signed in I dont even get a fancy green badge 

5 minutes ago, DonAntonio said:

I just paid half my debt...wasn't signed in I dont even get a fancy green badge 

Let's see if @Mod Stark can sort that ? 

4 hours ago, Dorset said:

 

 

In fact, the way forward looks clear to me - the adoption of a 3-5-2 formation that sees Alonso given a debut, Cesc a return ticket to the first team, and Batshuayi a chance to show what he can do in tandem with Diego… and the Emirates looks as good a place as any to get on with a job that now needs doing sooner rather than later.   
.
 

Agree with most of your post Dorset. Just one question though, would Hazard be a casualty in the 3-5-2 system as suggested?

1 minute ago, charierre said:

Agree with most of your post Dorset. Just one question though, would Hazard be a casualty in the 3-5-2 system as suggested?

We would have to drop either Oscar, Matic or Willian.

1 minute ago, coco said:

We would have to drop either Oscar, Matic or Willian.

Wouldnt the CM be short of legs though? Hazard in reality could only fit in as second striker in that system.

16 minutes ago, charierre said:

Wouldnt the CM be short of legs though? Hazard in reality could only fit in as second striker in that system.

I meant to fit into Dorset's suggestion of bringing in Batshuayi, Alonso and Cesc.

Something like.. 

----------------Kante

Willian - Cesc  - Hazard - Alonso

------------ Batshuayi

------------------Costa

5 minutes ago, coco said:

I meant to fit into Dorset's suggestion of bringing in Batshuayi, Alonso and Cesc.

Something like.. 

----------------Kante

Willian - Cesc  - Hazard - Alonso

------------ Batshuayi

------------------Costa

That side would be good with the ball, not so sure without it.

2 hours ago, coco said:

Let's see if @Mod Stark can sort that ? 

@coco @DonAntonio

Sorted

2 hours ago, coco said:

I meant to fit into Dorset's suggestion of bringing in Batshuayi, Alonso and Cesc.

Something like.. 

----------------Kante

Willian - Cesc  - Hazard - Alonso

------------ Batshuayi

------------------Costa

I'm willing Conte to try anything new to be honest. Last night gave me flashbacks to last season and i really didn't want to see us slip into kind of form again. Our current formation seems to have run it's course with this group of players. I think we need to try something new and bring a few different faces into the first team.

Edited September 17, 20169 yr by Scott Harris

2 hours ago, coco said:

I meant to fit into Dorset's suggestion of bringing in Batshuayi, Alonso and Cesc.

Something like.. 

----------------Kante

Willian - Cesc  - Hazard - Alonso

------------ Batshuayi

------------------Costa

 

What about a diamond?:
 

Courtois

Azpilicueta, Cahill, Luiz, Alonso

Kante

Fabregas, RLC or Chalobah

Hazard

Batshuayi, Costa

 

Once Zouma returns in place of Cahill and assuming he has maintained his physical gifts, we can play the high line we have long been asking for. Seeing as we didn't bring a B2B midfielder over the summer, there is an opportunity for a youth player, perhaps RLC if we're attacking more and Chalobah if we're defending. 

 

8 hours ago, charierre said:

That side would be good with the ball, not so sure without it.

then work it out in the gameplan.. It's the manager's cue, that's what he's hired for, not for giving fan service with his comedy show on the touchline...

do you know how city line up? I look at their team, player vs player is not much different to ours in term of quality.. Pep is looking good so far, he doesn't have someone who is particularly good at defending and playing all those attacking players together in an attacking formation but still managed to keep it tight at the back means his work is significantly felt.. He also managed it by keep changing the back line, didn't see him have any issue..

 

Conte wanted a bed at cobham suggesting he's 24 hours workaholic employee but what has he achieved with all the so called time that he used to work? His plan A is hardly working and unfortunately it seems like he's yet ready to concede defeat on that with his reluctance on change..

3 hours ago, bola said:

 

Conte wanted a bed at cobham suggesting he's 24 hours workaholic employee but what has he achieved with all the so called time that he used to work? His plan A is hardly working and unfortunately it seems like he's yet ready to concede defeat on that with his reluctance on change..

You call 1defeat hardly working? 

5 games in, 1 defeat, 1 draw and 3 wins.. 2 of those 3 wins is because of the 'plan B' so basically only 1 win against poor burnley.. Hmm, come to think about it, 'hardly working' is an understatement, should be close to not working at all...

5 minutes ago, bola said:

so basically only 1 win against poor burnley.. 

Well no, it's three wins.

 

2 minutes ago, ForeverCarefree said:

Well no, it's three wins.

 

Actually I reckon it's five wins if you take account of Plan A, Plan B and Plan C.

17 hours ago, charierre said:

Agree with most of your post Dorset. Just one question though, would Hazard be a casualty in the 3-5-2 system as suggested?

I don’t think we can afford to make Hazard the casualty of any system overhaul, charriere, especially when you consider that one of the main reasons for making the change in the first place would be to give us more attacking options and he is one of our pre-eminent option-providers, not a finisher. The conundrum for Conte is that Edin is at his imperious best going at defenders from deep and is not ideally suited to a second striker role, which must surely go to Batshuayi in any future 3-5-2 formation. Indeed, even if he does tinker with the front two in order to wedge a midfielder in somewhere to partner Costa up front, Conte’s already hinted that he feels RLC would do a good job there and I too would prefer this, if only to hide our real intentions from the opposition. 

For example, a 4-1-4-1 set up [on paper] of Azpi, JT,Luiz, Alonzo, Kante, Willian, Cesc, RLC, Hazard, Costa could just as easily play in a 3-5-2 formation with either RLC or Edin as that second striker, although it would, of course, mean that either Azpi or Alonzo would be in the central three and, of necessity, Willian would take the wide role on that particular flank. For the set of players given above, with Geezer’s preference being on the left side of the three, Alonzo would probably play wide, but if Conte doesn’t bring him in and stays loyal to Branna that would alter things and he’d go right-central, with Azpi being the left wing back. Apparently, if ChelseaTV is to be believed, there has been a lot of behind-closed-doors training sessions recently and we can only hope that this is the sort of surreptitious fine tuning that has been going on.

But to my mind, the most interesting upshot of any shake-up that might take place is how it affects those three players put forward for an ‘outing’ by Coco (namely Oscar, Matic and Willian) and what happens if, given his chance, Batshuayi starts banging ‘em in from the word go. All three incumbents were ineffectual against Liverpool, so you have to wonder if Conte will consider a cull against Leicester, or simply throw them back in again to see if there is an improvement. Should it be more of the same, well quite frankly I wouldn’t be too disappointed, as it would serve to resolve a few issues before the crunch game against the Arse, but Alonso could be bedded-in without fuss and a really brave Italian might even try Chalobah somewhere (anywhere!?) to provide the proverbial ’freshen up’, preferably in midfield alongside Kante at the expense of Matic, citing ‘rested’ as the excuse if he feels so inclined.

And finally, as far as Batshuayi is concerned, the repercussions of any sudden and successful inclusion in the side could be quite devastatingly domino in its effect, forcing the removal of some midfield mediocrity whilst at the same time highlighting the importance of more back-up to be readied, for what was originally perceived to be a back-up player when he was bought. Hampered by injury against United in the Under-23s a week or two ago, Dominic Solanke is next in line on a Development Squad conveyer belt that has habitually dropped off talent well short of the complete package stage and I would hate to think that his most recent of setbacks would put everything else on a backburner, purely for fear of injury to Diego and our having nobody [other than a warmly-benched Batshuayi ] to turn to. 

This current striker situation highlights what was undoubtedly the poorest part of our preparations for this campaign - insufficient cover in the striker department should we ever decide to play two up front regularly during the season. It now appears we need to do exactly this and the knock-on effect with regard lack of numbers is that we are likely to merely make do and match instead, our Italian manager being forced to cut his attacking cloth accordingly…. and it simply wont suit you, sir.  

Edited September 18, 20169 yr by Dorset

16 minutes ago, Dorset said:

I don’t think we can afford to make Hazard the casualty of any system overhaul, charriere, especially when you consider that one of the main reasons for making the change in the first place would be to give us more attacking options and he is one of our pre-eminent option-providers, not a finisher. The conundrum for Conte is that Edin is at his imperious best going at defenders from deep and is not ideally suited to a second striker role, which must surely go to Batshuayi in any future 3-5-2 formation. Indeed, even if he does tinker with the front two in order to wedge a midfielder in somewhere to partner Costa up front, Conte’s already hinted that he feels RLC would do a good job there and I too would prefer this, if only to hide our real intentions from the opposition. 

For example, a 4-1-4-1 set up [on paper] of Azpi, JT,Luiz, Alonzo, Kante, Willian, Cesc, RLC, Hazard, Costa could just as easily play in a 3-5-2 formation with either RLC or Edin as that second striker, although it would, of course, mean that either Azpi or Alonzo would be in the central three and, of necessity, Willian would take the wide role on that particular flank. For the set of players given above, with Geezer’s preference being on the left side of the three, Alonzo would probably play wide, but if Conte doesn’t bring him in and stays loyal to Branna that would alter things and he’d go right-central, with Azpi being the left wing back. Apparently, if ChelseaTV is to be believed, there has been a lot of behind-closed-doors training sessions recently and we can only hope that this is the sort of surreptitious fine tuning that has been going on.

But to my mind, the most interesting upshot of any shake-up that might take place is how it affects those three players put forward for an ‘outing’ by Coco (namely Oscar, Matic and Willian) and what happens if, given his chance, Batshuayi starts banging ‘em in from the word go. All three incumbents were ineffectual against Liverpool, so you have to wonder if Conte will cull against Leicester, or simply throw them back in again to see if there is an improvement. Should it be more of the same, well quite frankly I wouldn’t be too disappointed, as it would serve to resolve a few issues before the crunch game against the Arse, but Alonso could be bedded-in without fuss and a really brave Italian might even try Chalobah somewhere (anywhere!?) to provide the proverbial ’freshen up’, preferably in midfield alongside Kante at the expense of Matic, citing ‘rested’ as the excuse if he feels so inclined.

And finally, as far as Batshuayi is concerned, the repercussions of any sudden and successful inclusion in the side could be quite devastatingly domino in its effect, forcing the removal of some midfield mediocrity whilst at the same time highlighting the importance of more back-up to be readied, for what was originally perceived to be a back-up player when he was bought. Hampered by injury against United in the Under-23s a week or two ago, Dominic Solanke is next in line on a Development Squad conveyer belt that has habitually dropped off talent well short of the complete package stage and I would hate to think that his most recent of setbacks would put everything else on a backburner, purely for fear of injury to Diego and our having nobody [other than a warmly-benched Batshuayi ] to turn to. 

This current striker situation highlights what was undoubtedly the poorest part of our preparations for this campaign - insufficient cover in the striker department should we ever decide to play two up front regularly during the season. It now appears we need to do exactly this and the knock-on effect with regard lack of numbers is that we are likely to merely make do and match instead, our Italian manager being forced to cut his attacking cloth accordingly…. and it simply wont suit you, sir.  

Its an interesting conundrum for Conte. My point on Hazard is to where he would play if we brought Batshuayi in as second striker in a 3/5/2. I think Willian could quite easily fit in as wing back or even on the right hand side of the inner three in the five. Hazard though would be restricted by a wing back role which would be best suited to Alonso. Playing him in the inner trio alongside Fabregas would leave us horribly exposed in CM without the ball, especially against the better sides. We undoubtably have several players who are underperforming or inconsistant at present and finding the right formation to get the best out of our attacking players will no doubt be giving Conte a few sleepless nights. He no doubt has to find a way of getting Fabregas into the starting eleven.

 

Edited September 18, 20169 yr by charierre

22 minutes ago, Dorset said:

But to my mind, the most interesting upshot of any shake-up that might take place is how it affects those three players put forward for an ‘outing’ by Coco (namely Oscar, Matic and Willian) and what happens if, given his chance, Batshuayi starts banging ‘em in from the word go. All three incumbents were ineffectual against Liverpool, so you have to wonder if Conte will consider a cull against Leicester, or simply throw them back in again to see if there is an improvement. Should it be more of the same, well quite frankly I wouldn’t be too disappointed, as it would serve to resolve a few issues before the crunch game against the Arse, but Alonso could be bedded-in without fuss and a really brave Italian might even try Chalobah somewhere (anywhere!?) to provide the proverbial ’freshen up’, preferably in midfield alongside Kante at the expense of Matic, citing ‘rested’ as the excuse if he feels so inclined.

 

Giving them another chance to prove themselves, it will be against weaker opposition next time, our man in Leicester says they will rest players for that game. The chance to shine against a top four contender was on Friday night. 

If Terry is back he could drop Matic, Cahill and Oscar, for Alonso, Luiz and Batshuayi.

 

------Ivanovic---Luiz---Terry

Azpilcueta------Kante-----Alonso

--------Willian---------Hazard

-----------Batshuayi

-------------------Costa

 

 

2 hours ago, bola said:

5 games in, 1 defeat, 1 draw and 3 wins.. 2 of those 3 wins is because of the 'plan B' so basically only 1 win against poor burnley.. Hmm, come to think about it, 'hardly working' is an understatement, should be close to not working at all...

You're an idiot.

25 minutes ago, dkw said:

You're an idiot.

Pot calling the kettle black..
 

1 hour ago, ForeverCarefree said:

Well no, it's three wins.

 

 

In relevance to my earlier statement conte's 'plan A is hardly working', it's 1 win.. We only got the wins in the 1st 2 games after he ditched his plan A..

1 hour ago, bola said:

 

In relevance to my earlier statement conte's 'plan A is hardly working', it's 1 win.. We only got the wins in the 1st 2 games after he ditched his plan A..

But you're making it sound like a manager who is able to influence the outcome of a game is a bad thing?

The changes you make to change a draw into a win wouldn't necessarily have got you a win if you'd started with that system/line up from the beginning.

I've seen a lot more to be positive about with Conte than negative.