Chelsea Vs Watford (PL) Sat 21 Oct 2017 KO 12:30 GMT

[bloodyfool0]

If not for anything, this game really got me right on the edge.  What a come from behind performance when we looked doomed. 

[IndianaBlue85]

Well f**k ya!!!! That’s a hectic yet exciting way to start the morning! KTBFFH!

[54veteran]

You have to say Conte knew what to change and when to change it, which makes him a great manager

[carrickblue]

Bakayoko and Rudiger look shell-shocked by the intensity of the PL.

Cesc is just Cesc, he does what a Cesc will do, nothing more, nothing less. Conte must be really struggling to work out how to use Cesc best amongst the other talent we have and he doesn't work as a replacement for Kante. 

[Barrettinator]

Survived a scare there. Morata was awful and frankly, I didn't expect Batshuayi to have any sort of impact but I'm happy he did. Looks like Conte recognised that strength was vital up front. Something Morata seems to shy away from. Willian's also put in perhaps his best performance of the season in 20 mins or so. 

What's puzzling is, I couldn't really point a finger at one glaring issue in that match apart from Alonso being w**k. Watford weren't even pressing us that hardly. Not sure what the issue was but I'm not the one getting paid 13 odd million a year to figure it out to credit to Conte for doing so in a timely fashion. We're shaky at the moment and limping along but we're still moving, thankfully. 

Wouldn't mind how we pick up 3 points weekly for the next 3 weeks tbh. Hopefully we can pick up maximum points pending the return of Kante, Moses and Drinkwater.

[Scott Harris]

Each time Conte makes a change in formation with a sub, we see a huge improvement in our performance. Maybe it's time to start a game with a new formation now instead of starting with something that isn't working anymore and then changing it later.

[enigma]

granted watford played well second half, but put that down to individual mistakes again. the first half we were clearly the better side and played well, but our passing was off in the final third. 2 shots on target for watford and 2 goals, bloody typical. we need to tighten up at the back and cahill needs to be blamed for not tracking the man for their 2nd goal; that right side being exploited again. alonso's lack of pace is concerning. 

Edited October 21, 2017 by enigma

[JPH]

Not a very good performance from us. Bats was ok today but it doesn't change the fact that I don't like the lad. Morata was a huge disappontment today. Baka's touch was awfull througout the whole game. Pedro was energic and a good choice to the starting eleven.

 

[bluedave]

That was an interesting match. A massively important result for many reasons, and obviously it's great to see Batshuayi and Willian making such important contributions. Having both of those at their best will make a huge difference going forwards.

When Kante is back we will be a lot more solid in midfield, which seems to be our achiles heel at the moment. Add Drinkwater to that and things are looking quite positive.

[TheBluesBrother]

What a rollercoaster of a game? We learnt we need Kante and Drinkwater fit asap. Baka and Fabregas are the problem. No protection of the the back three. You need steel in there and an enforcer. Neither Baka  nor Fab are enforcers. If Fab plays he should play further forward. Batman saved the day and I never saw that coming. Is this the start of our comeback? We shall see.Happy for the win.

[Chigzzer]

Loved how Azpi pointed and tapped the badge when he scored 

[JT_<3]

Make AZPI captain!

[bloodyfool0]

37 minutes ago, RIP Mourinho said:

Suppose sarcasm is hard to understand over the internet.

What, is it different?

[dan_cfc]

Great subs by Conte all completely changed the game. Was it a 442 towards the end?

[carrickblue]

that was a great header from Bats - just watching the replay. great movement, great finish 

[Scott Harris]

8 minutes ago, 54veteran said:

You have to say Conte knew what to change and when to change it, which makes him a great manager

It wasn't so much the players he bought on, but the change in shape. We went 4 at the back and pushed the midfield forward which gave us more time to breath defensively and gave our attackers a chance to actually make an impact on the game. We are pushed too deep in our current formation and relying on a Fabregas long ball and Hazard / Morata flick around the corner. That won't get us far and it just leaves us defending for huge chunks of the game which we can't cope with. The change in formation gave us some freedom.

Edited October 21, 2017 by Scott Harris

[ChelsaePirate]

Less than convinced by Morata now

[evissy]

Chelsea made me buy beer. Very irresponsible if you ask me.

[dan_cfc]

Didn't think Batshuyai had that kind of performance in him bullied the back line when he came on. Hopefully that gives him a huge confidence boost and he can kick on and be that 30m+ player we signed.

[carrickblue]

to be fair to Bakayoko our 3rd and 4th goals came about because he pushed much further forward - I wonder was he told to do that by Conte

[dan_cfc]

Just now, evissy said:

Chelsea made me buy beer. Very irresponsible if you ask me.

I'm the same every week

[ChelsaePirate]

Conte played 4-4-2 after subs

[Scott Harris]

1 minute ago, ChelsaePirate said:

Less than convinced by Morata now

To be fair, it's one game and he's still learning about the league. Don't forget the good things he has done so far.

[brownindian]

12 minutes ago, carrickblue said:

Bakayoko and Rudiger look shell-shocked by the intensity of the PL.

Cesc is just Cesc, he does what a Cesc will do, nothing more, nothing less. Conte must be really struggling to work out how to use Cesc best amongst the other talent we have and he doesn't work as a replacement for Kante. 

THIS. Cesc is a lot of things but a Kante he is not. We really need a player, a forward who can get the ball from Cesc's precise pass and be able to hold/spread or score from them. Costa was the perfect guy for that. Llorente would have been decent too. 

EDIT: Be decent i mean holding and spreading - not scoring. so dont go blasting me.

Edited October 21, 2017 by brownindian

[Theafonis]

10 minutes ago, Barrettinator said:

Survived a scare there. Morata was awful and frankly, I didn't expect Batshuayi to have any sort of impact but I'm happy he did. Looks like Conte recognised that strength was vital up front. Something Morata seems to shy away from. Willian's also put in perhaps his best performance of the season in 20 mins or so. 

What's puzzling is, I couldn't really point a finger at one glaring issue in that match apart from Alonso being w**k. Watford weren't even pressing us that hardly. Not sure what the issue was but I'm not the one getting paid 13 odd million a year to figure it out to credit to Conte for doing so in a timely fashion. We're shaky at the moment and limping along but we're still moving, thankfully. 

Wouldn't mind how we pick up 3 points weekly for the next 3 weeks tbh. Hopefully we can pick up maximum points pending the return of Kante, Moses and Drinkwater.

The problem is we can’t string 2 passes in midfield. Can’t keep the ball and we bypass the middle with too many long balls. Morata is forced to chase down long balls and is forced to play as a target man in some sense. 

Clearly the midfield 2 isn’t working but we have no players to do anything else.

I really hope Conte considers reverting to a 4-3-3 with David Luiz as a defensive midfielder