Chiellini is probably the best centre back in the world at the minute, I rate him higher that the likes of Boateng and Ramos for sure. But in his early days he was pretty rubbish on the ball, not much better than Zouma is currently. Zouma will come good again, I guarantee it. 

17 hours ago, Hemel Blue said:

Conte out Argo in,job done.

Ok, so everyone who critisised Jose for playing Ivanovic or selling Mata should have infact applied for the job, amazing logic 

On 11/01/2017 at 11:50, Chelsbear said:

Always happens.

Folk tend to have short memories when it comes to football.

Except Liverpool fans 

20 hours ago, Argo said:

I dont have any difficulty, I say things how I see it (I said Cahill wasn't good enough before it was cool, I said Begovic wasn't all that when people thought he was capable of nicking Tibos spot), i like Zouma and he's a decent enough player but vastly overrated by Chelsea fans in general in my opinion as demonstrated by the amount of people that want to move Azpi to wing back as early as the next game to accommodate him.

Not sure about others but I want to see azpi at wing back at least during big games with zouma at RCB not for the purpose of accommodating zouma but to have more than a 5'8 and a 5'10 guy at the back post for balls from our left coming in, do you not think after what Tottenham ham did every team will try and expose our weakness in that position, put a tall header of the ball on our far post and sooner or later you get a goal, especially as hazard doesn't always track back leaving room in a key area for any right footer to whip a ball in, why do you think Eriksen had so much room? 2 things will need addressed that far post and better cover for hazard when he is up the pitch 

This forum has got some very knowledgable posters but it is also plagued by idiots who know as much about football as my dog.Their opinions are cringeworthy.Sorry to speak out but i find myself coming on here less and less because of it.Kurt Zouma is coming back from a serious injury and is working his way back to his best.He is a marvellous prospect so get off his back please.Just had to get that off my chest.....UP THE CHELS !

Do you always feel better after referring to someone who doesn't share your opinion as IDIOT?

Chiellini is probably the best centre back in the world at the minute, I rate him higher that the likes of Boateng and Ramos for sure. But in his early days he was pretty rubbish on the ball, not much better than Zouma is currently. Zouma will come good again, I guarantee it. 

I hope so too

Not sure about others but I want to see azpi at wing back at least during big games with zouma at RCB not for the purpose of accommodating zouma but to have more than a 5'8 and a 5'10 guy at the back post for balls from our left coming in, do you not think after what Tottenham ham did every team will try and expose our weakness in that position, put a tall header of the ball on our far post and sooner or later you get a goal, especially as hazard doesn't always track back leaving room in a key area for any right footer to whip a ball in, why do you think Eriksen had so much room? 2 things will need addressed that far post and better cover for hazard when he is up the pitch 

Am not sure the front 3 in a 3-4-3 necessarily need to track back when we are not playing Barcelona. When defending all the 4 midfielders move back to help the defenders. I think that's enough to help the defense and that's why all our front 3 have been on fire this season. They f**king have enough energy to burn when attacking.

3 hours ago, True Blue23 said:

You don't have to be super technical, but you at least need to be decent. If he even had Cahill's level, which as we all know is far from great, I'd rate him very highly, because of his other attributes, but he's just so clumsy on the ball. And in a philosophy that relies on playing out from the back, a cb with his technical ability is a liability, no matter how good his partners are. Under Mourinho he would have been fine, but under Conte imo he either has to improve drastically, or he won't have a future.

As for Chiellini, I don't know about how comfortable he was on the ball in his younger years, but right now he's ages better than Zouma.

Zouma may looks clumsy but his passing isn't bad at all. There were many occasions last game where Zouma was able to fire an accurate pass through the middle into Batshuayi's feet. I only actually remember him misplacing one blatantly obvious pass. 

 

I know this is an old article (couldn't find much newer because of the injury) from when he was settling in at Chelsea but look at his pass accuracy in his first few games of 93% and 87%: http://www.thinkfootball.co.uk/how-is-kurt-zouma-developing-at-chelsea/

 

You say he has to improve under Conte yet in his previous jobs Conte has always stated he's only ever had one ball player at the back. In Bonnuci he had a player that could build from the back and Barzagli and Chiellini next to that are both incredibly average on the ball and are there basically just to break up play with their athleticism. 

Another tough game. Hope we play the way we are capable of. If we do from the start,then I reckon that will enable us to win.

As usual,I'll take 1-0 Chelsea.

1 hour ago, wallosh said:

Am not sure the front 3 in a 3-4-3 necessarily need to track back when we are not playing Barcelona. When defending all the 4 midfielders move back to help the defenders. I think that's enough to help the defense and that's why all our front 3 have been on fire this season. They f**king have enough energy to burn when attacking.

Think you missed the point hazard not tracking back (which I don't expect him to do every time) led to eriksen getting too much space, the dm's and/or wingback needs to be aware when he is and isn't in that space, it wasn't Barcelona that dominated our midfield and put 2 past us it was Tottenham, issue needs to be addressed obviously 

1 hour ago, RIP Mourinho said:

Zouma may looks clumsy but his passing isn't bad at all. There were many occasions last game where Zouma was able to fire an accurate pass through the middle into Batshuayi's feet. I only actually remember him misplacing one blatantly obvious pass. 

 

I know this is an old article (couldn't find much newer because of the injury) from when he was settling in at Chelsea but look at his pass accuracy in his first few games of 93% and 87%: http://www.thinkfootball.co.uk/how-is-kurt-zouma-developing-at-chelsea/

 

You say he has to improve under Conte yet in his previous jobs Conte has always stated he's only ever had one ball player at the back. In Bonnuci he had a player that could build from the back and Barzagli and Chiellini next to that are both incredibly average on the ball and are there basically just to break up play with their athleticism. 

I know he's decent passer of the ball. I actually mentioned it in a post about 1 or two months ago, that I rate his passing, when he has time and space above Cahills. I always quite liked his long balls. But the problem is he's so clumsy on the ball and always gets nervous when being pressed so he can't show his passing too often. He's also not a good carrier of the ball at all.

You don't need 3 ball players in defence, but I think you need your defenders to be at least decent on the ball like for example Cahill (and even he got slated multiple times on here for being bad on the ball) for Contes philosophy to work. Let's hope Zouma can improve in those areas, because his physical profile is sublime and I don't think his positioning and concentration are as bad as they are made out to be by some posters, but if he can't, I think Ake and especially Christensen, have better chances of making it here as regulars under Conte.

 

Edited January 12, 20179 yr by True Blue23

Think you missed the point hazard not tracking back (which I don't expect him to do every time) led to eriksen getting too much space, the dm's and/or wingback needs to be aware when he is and isn't in that space, it wasn't Barcelona that dominated our midfield and put 2 past us it was Tottenham, issue needs to be addressed obviously 

Alright

5 hours ago, Hemel Blue said:

This forum has got some very knowledgable posters but it is also plagued by idiots who know as much about football as my dog.Their opinions are cringeworthy.Sorry to speak out but i find myself coming on here less and less because of it.Kurt Zouma is coming back from a serious injury and is working his way back to his best.He is a marvellous prospect so get off his back please.Just had to get that off my chest.....UP THE CHELS !

Clearly you are one of the latter. You're not even capable of having an objective factual debate about some valid points that have been raised. Very little of what has been written here, was a knee jerk reaction based on his last game, but rather a discussion of whether his profile as a player suits Conte's needs and our current system. Unless he proves otherwise it's a valid question. Especially with us having more than one talented CB's on our books...

18 hours ago, wallosh said:

I think those who want Cesar at RWB are confused! They dont actually know what they want.
They need to go back and watch us against West Ham in the League cup before telling where Cesar should play.

Yup, we are going to need our A players playing their A game. given how our opponents are not losing points - this is a must win game for us.

Leicester 0 Chelsea 3 (Zouma hat trick) and my dog agrees.....UP THE CHELS !

If Leicester were smart they'd play this team:

 

--------------------------------Schmeichel

Simpson----------------Morgan-----------Huth-------------Fuchs

------------------------------------Ndidi

----------------------Mendy--------------Drinkwater

---------Gray------------------------------------------------Musa

------------------------------------Vardy

20 hours ago, DonAntonio said:

Not sure about others but I want to see azpi at wing back at least during big games with zouma at RCB not for the purpose of accommodating zouma but to have more than a 5'8 and a 5'10 guy at the back post for balls from our left coming in, do you not think after what Tottenham ham did every team will try and expose our weakness in that position, put a tall header of the ball on our far post and sooner or later you get a goal, especially as hazard doesn't always track back leaving room in a key area for any right footer to whip a ball in, why do you think Eriksen had so much room? 2 things will need addressed that far post and better cover for hazard when he is up the pitch 

Your observations are spot on.  I felt the same that Alonso did not provide enough cover and so it was easy to Eriksen to make them crosses.  On the changes though to bring Zouma in at the moment I disagree because he looks off it!  He still has a lot of work to do to get to the level required.  It was a good move to bring Ake back - he's been playing consistently in EPL at Bournemouth and has done a good job.  I think he is a better bet than Zouma at the moment.  I don't know about his ability at LWB but I'm sure Conte knows cause I think they have tried all solutions at the moment in training.  I trust the manager will pick the best team against Leicester and I expect a good win.  Don't forget with the weaknesses we already have, I.e. short Azpi and not covering Alonso - we won 13 on the trot, we are a good side who can adapt and I also expect Alonso to have seen his mistakes and work on improving them as well.

Edited January 13, 20179 yr by dhidza

I think I'd go:

 

Courtois

 

Cahill

Luiz

Azpilicueta

 

Alonso

Kante

Fabregas

Moses

 

Hazard

Costa

Pedro

Given the Arsenal and Pool games we've coming up, its these sort of games against sides out of the top 6 we 100% have to win.

Theres 54 points (18 games) left to play for and we've a 5 point lead at the moment.

I genuinely think if we win 12 of our last 18 games we'll be champions, that will give us at least 85 points, assuming we lose the other 6 games left, I cant see anyone toping 85 points this year.

I dont care how we do it as long as we get to 85 points, we'll be champions but winning all the games outside of the top 6 is where we have to aim for considering we have Hull after Leicester too, we should hopefully see 6 points picked up in the next 2 games.

I just heard that Alan Birchenall was taken ill at the Leicester Mercury sports awards ceremony last night with a suspected heart attack. He is currently in hospital.

In his role as club ambassador, the Birch is a key part of Leicester City's matchday experience, and a beloved and enthusiastic fan. As such, I imagine there will be some sort of applause or song for him; I would hope that, in light of his years as a Blue, any away fans would join in with the Leicester lot in support of a man who has history in both blue camps.

On 11/01/2017 at 12:50, Chelsbear said:

Always happens.

Folk tend to have short memories when it comes to football.

Agree but you must understand that the context is now different. Zouma has great potential but people have their doubts now (as they had then) about his passing ability which (as the popular perception goes) is integral to our play now. Our defenders have to be composed on the ball under pressure and need to be able to pass out of the back. 

Let's see how he is integrated into the team. Maybe the optimal solution does include Zouma.

On 1/12/2017 at 11:35, Hemel Blue said:

This forum has got some very knowledgable posters but it is also plagued by idiots who know as much about football as my dog.Their opinions are cringeworthy.Sorry to speak out but i find myself coming on here less and less because of it.Kurt Zouma is coming back from a serious injury and is working his way back to his best.He is a marvellous prospect so get off his back please.Just had to get that off my chest.....UP THE CHELS !

Were you one of the people that thought Oscar was going to be world class and Bamford and Kalas deserved chances?

Edited January 13, 20179 yr by Argo

22 hours ago, wallosh said:

Do you always feel better after referring to someone who doesn't share your opinion as IDIOT?

Hemel Blue is probably not posting as much these days because he's building his Kim Jong-un shrine.

Edited January 13, 20179 yr by Argo

I am usually very confident this season, no matter the opposition but this game will be tricky. I just hope we score first as they will look to close the shop if they score first and hit us on the counters. Good thing is that Mahrez and Slimani are on International duty which is a plus for us. The boys fully rested and hopefully eager to go.

COYB

If Leicester were smart they'd play this team:
 
--------------------------------Schmeichel
Simpson----------------Morgan-----------Huth-------------Fuchs
------------------------------------Ndidi
----------------------Mendy--------------Drinkwater
---------Gray------------------------------------------------Musa
------------------------------------Vardy

If there motive is to be defensive with this team selection, we will have a tough time breaking them up.