On 29/04/2018 at 03:40, DG19 said:

Conte explanation for struggles to get into the top four: "Our top scorer has scored only 12 goals, when your top scorer only gets 12 goals then it is hard to fight for something important"

 

Well he's not wrong is he? 

Premier League stats for most goals and assists (combined) 

That our players are nowhere near the top of that list speaks volumes and Morata has (so far) failed to live up to expectations. At this moment in time it looks like we've taken a massive downgrade by selling Diego and bringing him in. 

On 29/04/2018 at 13:37, mwblue10 said:

I like the role he has had the past few matches, coming off the bench, fresh, in matches that we have a lead.  Good time for him to build back up the confidence he had earlier this season.

Wish he would’ve came on a few minutes earlier yesterday but glad he got some time in there.

This is the role he had at Juve and Real Madrid though, and it's why he left Real Madrid. There seems to be a pattern emerging with Morata, he can't seem to hold on to a first 11 spot at a big club. 

If he doesn't grow as a footballer next season, then i doubt he will ever reach the heights of the top strikers in the game.

I think it’s safe now to say he’s been a massive disappointment. I thought he was going to have a great season after a bright start, but as soon as opponents started closing Azpi down his goals have dried up and he kept missing easy chances.

I think he’s a good second striker, not good enough to be the main striker. Hopefully he improves next season, especially if we improve as a team too.

But yeah, a big disappointment so far.

4 hours ago, Scott Harris said:

This is the role he had at Juve and Real Madrid though, and it's why he left Real Madrid. There seems to be a pattern emerging with Morata, he can't seem to hold on to a first 11 spot at a big club. 

If he doesn't grow as a footballer next season, then i doubt he will ever reach the heights of the top strikers in the game.

Sorry, I should have been more clear.  I like this role in a temporary sense, to help him build back up his confidence and restore his place in the first 11.

On 30/04/2018 at 10:03, ForeverCarefree said:

Well he's not wrong is he? 

Premier League stats for most goals and assists (combined) 

That our players are nowhere near the top of that list speaks volumes and Morata has (so far) failed to live up to expectations. At this moment in time it looks like we've taken a massive downgrade by selling Diego and bringing him in. 

Problem is in the top 20 (right up to Sanchez) you only have 2 target men; Lukaku & Morata. Begs the question why is he insistent on playing target men when stats show they are not productive enough?

On 01/05/2018 at 12:33, Scott Harris said:

This is the role he had at Juve and Real Madrid though, and it's why he left Real Madrid. There seems to be a pattern emerging with Morata, he can't seem to hold on to a first 11 spot at a big club. 

If he doesn't grow as a footballer next season, then i doubt he will ever reach the heights of the top strikers in the game.

My thoughts exactly.  It was his first time leading a line this year and the experiment failed.  But he's young and has never done it before.  If he fails next year, at 26 yo (I think) then he probably won't ever make it, at least not in the prem.  Sometimes this league can just beat players down...you need a certain temperament to make it in the PL and I haven't seen it from Morata.  He has a bit too much of the la liga dive in him... learned from the best in Ronaldo

He definitely looks like a princess when you compare him to the animal Diego Costa.

Interesting read, especially about the referee's.

 

http://www.dailymail.co.uk/sport/football/article-5694127/Chelsea-striker-Alvaro-Morata-opens-painful-struggle-mystery-injury.html

Quote

One of them told me that he knew it had been a foul but that he was not going to blow it

After what Clattenburg said last year, i really wouldn't be surprised if a ref said this to Morata.

4 minutes ago, Scott Harris said:

After what Clattenburg said last year, i really wouldn't be surprised if a ref said this to Morata.

If Clattenburg came out and said that about a game which hurt Liverpool or United there would have been an absolute sh*t storm. Every Sky pundit, MOTD pundit, they would all be talking about it and covering it wanting justice and stricter refereeing. 

Instead, the media headlines were "Clattenburg let Tottenham implode" Yeah Tottenham were the victims in that game, not two of our players who were almost severely injured by disgusting tackles. 

'I wanted to dedicate a goal to the baby and from there I got it into my head 

Read more: http://www.dailymail.co.uk/sport/football/article-5694127/Chelsea-striker-Alvaro-Morata-opens-painful-struggle-mystery-injury.html#ixzz5EiLuZsyK 
Follow us: @MailOnline on Twitter | DailyMail on Facebook

 

This stuck out to me. Says a lot about him imo. Trying to score for the wrong reasons. A goal is to help Chelsea win the game, not so you can do some girly celebration for your wife/baby. Needs to sort his priorities out. 

It was a win in the end but the game today was crying out for a bit if pace today during the last 15 minutes. 

Let's be honest though, whilst he has played poorly he probably should've had 5/6 penalties this season. It's a complete disgrace how the refs are behaving this season.

Our defence has leaked just 5 goals more than at the same point last season, when we were Champions. So we have to look elsewhere for the reasons behind this seasons debacle.

Here are some clues.

Hasn't scored a league goal at the Bridge with his feet.

Scored with his right foot against Stoke (sept)

Scored against WBA with his left foot (nov)

Scored against 7 teams with headers (6 at home 1 away)

And we smashed out transfer record to buy him.

Difficult first season for him, those niggling injuries throughout the season didn't help his cause. For me, although he missed loads of chances, he's always there to be able to get on the end of a chance, at least he's not hiding on the field. A game like today, he'd get a couple of chances running through the channels where Giroud had no chance of, sure he could miss a couple of sitters, just as likely he could pop one in by chance.

It's his wet/weak attitude on the pitch rather than lack of goals that pisses me off the most...diego had his dry spells but he'd still let the opposition know the majority of the time that they were in for a tough game...morata is so easily bullied off the ball and still flops to the ground looking for fouls that a ref is never going to give...some say didier was like that too when he first joined, but his problem was diving, not lack of strength and character against defenders...

Just look at what Giroud has done since he arrived...he is a short term solution and is not top drawer...but everyone likes him because at least he looks like he's trying, he cares, he's giving his all, not sulking.

 

if Morata  stays, and I'm not sure he wants to, I hope he learns from where he went wrong and raises his game next season.

Edited May 7, 20188 yr by The Brit

4 minutes ago, The Brit said:

It's his wet/weak attitude on the pitch rather than lack of goals that pisses me off the most...diego had his dry spells but he'd still let the opposition know the majority of the time that they were in for a tough game...morata is so easily bullied off the ball and still flops to the ground looking for fouls that a ref is never going to give...some say didier was like that too when he first joined, but his problem was diving, not lack of strength and character against defenders...

Just look at what Giroud has done since he arrived...he is a short term solution and is not top drawer...but everyone likes him because at least he looks like he's trying, he cares, he's giving his all, not sulking.

 

if Morata  stays, and I'm not sure he wants to, I hope he learns from where he went wrong and raises his game next season.

Giroud - man

Morata - boy

That's the impression you get when watching the two.

I want him to stay, but if he goes, someone like Icardi could be a good choice for that type of player. 

He's still a class striker for me, hasn't ever had to be the main striker like Conte mentions, so not dealt with the pressure before. 

New country, new language, wife had first child, problematic injury, the team have been a little off as a whole too, this season... I would stick with him.

Not that many quality strikers around... Prices are going to astronomical levels, too.

Edited May 7, 20188 yr by Bluefog

Do fans of other teams moan about HOW their players score goals?

Yes, most probably. If they don't score as many as they should, and miss a lot of glaring one on ones and easy chances. :p

26 minutes ago, Stim said:

Do fans of other teams moan about HOW their players score goals?

I can assure you they do. 

On 01/05/2018 at 23:03, ducavis said:

Problem is in the top 20 (right up to Sanchez) you only have 2 target men; Lukaku & Morata. Begs the question why is he insistent on playing target men when stats show they are not productive enough?

Kane...?

We can't tell if course but you wonder how many Giroud would have got here as the main striker from the start of the season. 

 

Edited May 7, 20188 yr by Bluefog

1 hour ago, The Brit said:

It's his wet/weak attitude on the pitch rather than lack of goals that pisses me off the most...diego had his dry spells but he'd still let the opposition know the majority of the time that they were in for a tough game...morata is so easily bullied off the ball and still flops to the ground looking for fouls that a ref is never going to give...some say didier was like that too when he first joined, but his problem was diving, not lack of strength and character against defenders...

Just look at what Giroud has done since he arrived...he is a short term solution and is not top drawer...but everyone likes him because at least he looks like he's trying, he cares, he's giving his all, not sulking.

 

if Morata  stays, and I'm not sure he wants to, I hope he learns from where he went wrong and raises his game next season.

I agree. I actually believe he's got everything in his locker to become top class but it seems he's got weak mentality. Every center forward in the league gets rough treatment from the opposition, pushing, shoving elbows in the back, kicks here and there, etc. but they just get on with it, it's part of their job. Morata is clearly not used to this type of physical approach and expects a foul called every time it happens. When referees ignore it he loses his cool and starts moaning and complaining, acting out and getting yellows for making silly challenges himself, which completely distracts him and throws him off his game and the team suffers for it. The worst thing is, the opponents have figured him out and set out to provoke him right from the kick off, while the refs also tend to ignore his pleas because he's already got a reputation for being a soft moanbag.

By the way, I do believe he has a point when it comes to the standards of PL refereeing that have gone downhill lately, but it doesn't justify his weak attitude. He needs to toughen up because the next season will be a make or break time for him at the club.

Edited May 7, 20188 yr by abramovich

No good him moaning about refs, Salah is getting battered and still outscored him x4. And all this "he's got it in the locker" stuff is grasping at straws imo. It's just one of those things, he isn't good enough to lead a top team, cant blame the club for buying him, we all got caught up in the expectation. What we mustn't do is rely on him next season, maybe with less pressure he can improve ?

9 minutes ago, coco said:

No good him moaning about refs, Salah is getting battered and still outscored him x4. And all this "he's got it in the locker" stuff is grasping at straws imo. It's just one of those things, he isn't good enough to lead a top team, cant blame the club for buying him, we all got caught up in the expectation. What we mustn't do is rely on him next season, maybe with less pressure he can improve ?

Serious question, do you want us to just roll with Giroud as the main striker then, or buy another and have 3 options?

Juventus have an agreement with the entourage of Alvaro Morata, and are ready to spread his salary. Marotta proposes a two-year loan with a redemption obligation in 2020 (Rai Sports)

Juventus have agreed personal terms with Alvaro Morata, who is keen to leave #Chelsea this summer and return to his former club. [Rai Sport]

 

Eh?!!

Edited May 7, 20188 yr by JM7