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

[Luca Vialli]

What a good day of Football. 3 points, JT scored for Villa and Stinkle Palace lost again.

Won't be long until Marco Silva is in charge of a top six team, Very impressed again.

Edited October 21, 2017 by Luca Vialli

[Zeta]

Palace might only get 6 points all season and only score in 2 games out of 38, and they would still beat us twice.

[Andy2461]

1 hour ago, JJP said:

Comments like this are just a joke, you're an embarrassment to the club you nonce. Go support Arsenal if you're going to make retarded comments like that after 1 game

And calling people nonces , morons and retards is this working of a totally sane mind you f**king melt 

[dynamite]

United lose 2-1

 

I've said this before on here and I'll say it again, United are overrated so much this season. They've had a cakewalk Champions league group and have had an easy run in the league. I see no reason at all why we can't finish above them. They're nothing special.

[Tambling Dice]

4 minutes ago, Luca Vialli said:

What a good day of Football. 3 points, JT scored for Villa and Stinkle Palace lost again.

Won't be long until Marco Silva is in charge of a top six team, Very impressed again.

And Huddersfield beat Utd.....not too shabby a day after all.

[Osgood is Good]

7 minutes ago, Luca Vialli said:

What a good day of Football. 3 points, JT scored for Villa and Stinkle Palace lost again.

Won't be long until Marco Silva is in charge of a top six team, Very impressed again.

You are probably right, and it could be worth a punt on him being next Chelsea manager.

[coco]

Watford took up the baton from Roma and Palace, and copied their basic strategy of outnumbering in midfield by keeping a narrow shape, and pushing those midfielders up the pitch to engage with our midfield. And again it worked a treat for most parts. I think the only reason we managed to get the win was because Watford could not keep it up for 90 minutes as it involves a lot of mileage on the midfield getting up and down the pitch, but they nearly pulled it off.

Our midfield is hanging by its last finger nail. We just got to hold on till Kante and DD make it back.

[Liam]

Handy 3 points.

Ratings:

Courtois- 5 - Beaten at his near post and lay down for the second goal.

Alonso - 5 - First time ever not rating as 6.

Luiz - 7 - Decent most of the time but looked afraid of getting hurt. 

Cahill - 4 - Why take one touch when you can take 96. Looks like he needs to be taught the basic mechanics of running.

Rudiger - 6 - Limited but at least he looks as if he's not afraid of getting hurt.

Azpilicueta - 7 - Plus one for the goal obviously.

Bakayoko - 3 - Scores one point each for the two times he didn't give the ball away and an extra point for having the imagination to give the ball away differently every time. Looks afraid of getting hurt. We can all have a bad day but try not to look so f**king casual the next time.

Fabregas - 6 = I don't care if he doesn't run around a lot looking intense I like watching him play.

Hazard - 7 - Looked like he really wanted it. We are so lucky to have him.

Morata - 4 - Make a decent run, finally receive a pass, flop down on your backside, look aggrieved. Repeat.  

Pedro - 7 - Looked like he really wanted it.

Subs - 9 - Completely changed the game, I mean completely. Wouldn't mind seeing more of Zappacosta despite the murine appearance. 

 

[boomerdog]

Just got back from the game.

There's still the same problems in midfield and Bakayoko probably had his worst game...

But what a win though!! Thank f**k for that! Although things are going through a rough spell at the moment I think the players want to fight for Conte. At least that looked like it to me today.

And now have heard united have have lost haha, pretty good day this has turned out to be!

[Lexar]

On a side point.. did anyone else notice how many times the commentators got our players names mixed up today? 

[Sing the Blues]

Yasss! 3 points. Well done Bats on the brace. Luiz was great too.

Conte changed the formation and all of sudden we looked much more assured. Maybe give it a go for the next couple of games and see how it pans out cause in the current one our players look like a bunch of amateurs. 

 

[Leonon]

Great response from the bench and hopefully a momentum shifting win. My love affair with Bats continues - his good qualities warrant patience and I loved Azpis celebration, what a warrior. Willian's cameo is proof that form is temporary, we have a class team just lacking confidence.

The PL is so competitive these days that even Watford are a tough proposition and Huddersfield can beat UTD. A lot of the doom and gloom around clubs losing here and there is unnecessary and unfair - these external "crises" every bad patch are far too extreme. The football media doesn't help and loves nothing more than casting clouds over Stamford Bridge. Breath deep and move on , the club doesn't live and die on one, two or even three results 

[CFCCAN]

3 hours ago, ozboy said:

Our midfield is crap this season. That’s why we playing so much long ball. 

I'll state the obvious...but it is clear to see the impact that the loss of Kante has, he is the glue that holds it together without we come unstuck.  Conte is having a tough time with all these injuries, especially in the middle of the park. What is also obvious is that teams have now worked on how to play against a back 3.  Our wing backs have hardly been able to get out for the last few games as teams press and squeeze higher up the pitch.  Put a pacy winger against Alonso and or Moses (when he plays) and they are forced to retreat leaving passing options for the midfield at a minimum.   I fully expect to see the Chelsea of last season returning once Kante gets back in the lineup.    

 

[Jezq8]

Credit to conte he changed the game with his subs and tweak in formation.

up until I would say the 65min watford could and probably should have killed the game. But then we started to get back into it and willy and Batman were difference.

its great to get a win under our belt. But, I still think we are papering over the cracks. Something needs to change really. Hopefully with Kante and drinkwater back soon we will look more assured in midfield. 

It seems that teams have found us out with the 3-4-3 formation. We might need to try something different? 

[Krc-fan]

1 hour ago, Liam said:

Handy 3 points.

Ratings:

Courtois- 5 - Beaten at his near post and lay down for the second goal.

Alonso - 5 - First time ever not rating as 6.

Luiz - 7 - Decent most of the time but looked afraid of getting hurt. 

Cahill - 4 - Why take one touch when you can take 96. Looks like he needs to be taught the basic mechanics of running.

Rudiger - 6 - Limited but at least he looks as if he's not afraid of getting hurt.

Azpilicueta - 7 - Plus one for the goal obviously.

Bakayoko - 3 - Scores one point each for the two times he didn't give the ball away and an extra point for having the imagination to give the ball away differently every time. Looks afraid of getting hurt. We can all have a bad day but try not to look so f**king casual the next time.

Fabregas - 6 = I don't care if he doesn't run around a lot looking intense I like watching him play.

Hazard - 7 - Looked like he really wanted it. We are so lucky to have him.

Morata - 4 - Make a decent run, finally receive a pass, flop down on your backside, look aggrieved. Repeat.  

Pedro - 7 - Looked like he really wanted it.

Subs - 9 - Completely changed the game, I mean completely. Wouldn't mind seeing more of Zappacosta despite the murine appearance. 

 

Bats. Give him a 10, Liam.

 

[xXRuufioXx]

Well we made hard work of this one didn't we. Our issues today wasn't so much our defence (I know it really looked like it), but more to do with our lightweight midfield. In losing the midfield battles we put more and more pressure on the defence, and as we all know by now, all you have to do to beat our defence is to press press press! We seriously need more reinforcements in midfield during the January transfer window if we are to stand any chance of competing on all fronts during the second half of the season.

Edited October 21, 2017 by xXRuufioXx

[BordeauxBlue]

A lot of posters here need to have a word with themselves with posts pages 15-18. Talk about doom and gloom...

Bakayoko wasn't great but it's obvious he was carrying a knock.

 

Our défense without Kante In midfield looks horribly exposed. I still reckon three In midfield is something we should consider if we're persisting with Fabregas.

[ChelsaePirate]

2 minutes ago, BordeauxBlue said:

A lot of posters here need to have a word with themselves with posts pages 15-18. Talk about doom and gloom...

Bakayoko wasn't great but it's obvious he was carrying a knock.

 

Our défense without Kante In midfield looks horribly exposed. I still reckon three In midfield is something we should consider if we're persisting with Fabregas.

Please stop mentoring & dictating people what to say

comments here are no different than any other fan on the stands

the whole point of having a forum is exchange of comments

[boomerdog]

People say a lot of things in the heated moments during a game.

You are tense, nervous and today desperate for our team to win...

[EmeraldBlue]

Handy 3 points.
Ratings:
Courtois- 5 - Beaten at his near post and lay down for the second goal.
Alonso - 5 - First time ever not rating as 6.
Luiz - 7 - Decent most of the time but looked afraid of getting hurt. 
Cahill - 4 - Why take one touch when you can take 96. Looks like he needs to be taught the basic mechanics of running.
Rudiger - 6 - Limited but at least he looks as if he's not afraid of getting hurt.
Azpilicueta - 7 - Plus one for the goal obviously.
Bakayoko - 3 - Scores one point each for the two times he didn't give the ball away and an extra point for having the imagination to give the ball away differently every time. Looks afraid of getting hurt. We can all have a bad day but try not to look so f**king casual the next time.
Fabregas - 6 = I don't care if he doesn't run around a lot looking intense I like watching him play.
Hazard - 7 - Looked like he really wanted it. We are so lucky to have him.
Morata - 4 - Make a decent run, finally receive a pass, flop down on your backside, look aggrieved. Repeat.  
Pedro - 7 - Looked like he really wanted it.
Subs - 9 - Completely changed the game, I mean completely. Wouldn't mind seeing more of Zappacosta despite the murine appearance. 
 

Nice word that: murine
God bless him I think he looks like an extra from those old spaghetti western but he had an instant and positive influence. Having said that I didn't realise how much we would miss Moses.

[BordeauxBlue]

47 minutes ago, ChelsaePirate said:

Please stop mentoring & dictating people what to say

comments here are no different than any other fan on the stands

the whole point of having a forum is exchange of comments

I would never presume to dictate anyone's words. Freedom of speech exists for a reason, but some of it was over the top is all. Not making à huge deal of it though - I'm sure I've been guilty of it before myself.

Some of the reaction was over the top though, and I'm chuffed at Willian and Bats stepping up to the plate to prove the naysayers wrong.

 

Watford are a very solid outfit under Silva and could end up higher than expected this season. They have plenty In all départements to cause problèms save maybe a top striker.

As for us, we need à few players to have a rest and recharge their batteries / recover from their knocks and minor injuries.

Onwards! I'm also convinced that In the José trainwreck season we would have been twatted this game.

[erskblue]

Well, we got a win. Just. However they all count and all that I was looking for today was a win. A decent performance,would for me have been a nice bonus. Watch the game as I was working,but recorded it.

[The Don Antonio]

Wow that was a huge relief. A flawed performance but admittedly 10 times better than Roma. Having watched us sit back and show way too much respect to Roma I was very pleased to see the return of 343 and especially Pedro. Willian is an excellent player but he has been off the boil recently whereas Pedro is direct and been lively whenever he has played this season. 

First half I thought we dominated and clearly Cesc could have finished the game before it begun. He was excellent though in that first half and with him in the side our attack functions so much better. Bakayoko was an injury doubt for this game and certainly played like it. He is a talented player and those that are writing him off are clearly forgetting him and Kante dominating Atleti just a few weeks ago. He is 23 and learning a new league so let's give him some time. If we had anyone else in the squad that could effectively play centre midfield I doubt he would have been risked today. 

We have developed a bad habit of giving away free kicks and this is a concern. The first 20 mins of the second half I thought I was watching Man city again and we do seem to struggle when a team really are up for it. Kante a huge miss obviously but one injury shouldn't be so decisive. 

At the game on Wednesday at around 60 minutes I saw both Morata and Hazard gasping for breath and clearly running on empty. I was surprised to see both start because of this but less surprised that Morata struggled. He is coming off the back of a hamstring injury and playing two games in a few days. Should have had an assist today and he's an excellent player that I have no concerns with.

I thought Hazard was very good first half and decent second which succeeded my expectations of him today. He is getting sharper and sharper and I cannot wait to see him and Morata at their best. Pedro is also important alongside them to provide a directness we perhaps lack elsewhere. 

I expect us to rest many for the cup and would be surprised if we win. We have a thread bare squad which only a couple of injuries have exposed. The season is not over and if we can get to January still in the CL and top 4 we can bring in a few extra bodies to see us through. Conte has clearly made his feelings known about the squad side we just need to hope the board listen. 

[Richard P]

Wow! Back from the game just read through match thread. We were poor to start but came into to it, should have gone 2 up with Fabregas chance. Bakayoko had a poor game, the defence was poor when wing backs were out of place. When we were losing Luiz was all over the place and The other 2 were out of position for the two chances Watford missed. We didn't actually change formation Pedro became right wing back then Zappacosta. Some of the insults to our players on here are poor. Conte's substitutions were good all made an impact. We need to work on crosses and movement of players to communicate who is picking up who. Pointing and shouting when the ball is in the net is too late.

[TheChelsRVA]

5 hours ago, JJP said:

Sick of seeing sh*te comments like that before the games even over

And I’m sick of seeing sh*te comments like yours in hindsight. 

No one wants to see michy do poorly. My comment was in jest, of course conte isn’t trying to lose his job. I applauded michy both times he scored, check my posts. Telling posters to f**k off and calling them morons is ridiculous. So, relax. 

Edited October 21, 2017 by TheChelsRVA