4 hours ago, abramovich said:

Depending on how one feels about the subject, that could be quite a scary thought. When City and Pool give time and money to Pep and Klopp to build their teams filled with their players, that's risky but understandable, given who they are and what they've accomplished. Giving time and lots of money to someone who won nothing yet and having a terrible go of it his first season could potentially turn into a nightmare, where a couple of years from now we'll have spent a few hundred million on a crappy team full of Jorginhos.

The irony is Jorginho would be way better with more of Sarri's players. 

This is not the first time we have being here though is it. Its the THIRD manager and I don't remember a season for the past 5 years that these players have had an outstanding FULL season. 

Saying that Sarri has his faults too, persisting with the same players and being very predictable. Kovacic and Barkley have replaced each other an outstanding 17 times.

For me Jorginho is not good enough atm for that defensive midfield, he cant protect the back four nor can he pass forward like Pirlo or Fabregas. 

Kovacic is not outstanding at anything really, he is a tidy passer and has a bit of skill that's it. We saw him play as a DM and am not convinced nor do I like him playing on the left of the midfield three. I wouldn't buy him even he was £25mill let alone £50mill. 

Pedro and Willian can be outstanding on their day but not good enough for us anymore.

Alonso is too slow and will expose that left side more often than not. 

So, who do we play the Sarri system? I would try the following players 4-3-3:

 

                                 - Kepa

Rb. Azpi - CB. Rudiger  - Cb. Christensen. -  Lb. Palmieri

                                Dm. Luiz

           Rm. Kante                         Lm. Loftus Cheek

 

Hudosn Odoi                                                 Eden Hazard

                                  Higuain

 

We would have Christensen who has played well lately and Palmieri who is quick on the left side of the defence. 

David Luiz is a great passer, has character and has the physical presence to shield the back four. Loftus Cheek from the left side of the midfield can score a few unlike Kovacic and has physical presence.

Hudson Odoi is a great talent and really we have nothing to loose since Pedro and Willian are useless lately. Plus, if Bayern is willing to pay £40 million and play him why shouldn't we?

We would have 3 academy players in the first team and in my opinion that team wouldn't look at out of place. 

 

 

 

39 minutes ago, evissy said:

This post has absolutely no grounds. I don't think I even have to elaborate. 

 

I have no clue what you on about but thank you for your reply. When you compare the previous teams to this one is like Men vs Boys

me too. except the part about Jorginho challenging for a starting berth at City :)

He would 100% be starting over Fernandinho and they wanted him for that purpose.

I can't help but notice that Sarri is still being paid

This month is going to determine his future one way or another. 

Lose the League Cup final, crash out the FA Cup to United and struggle against Malmo in Europe and he’s gone. 

Even a bad result against Spurs in the league at the end of the month alone could be enough to seal his fate. 

If by some miracle he gets through that run of games with more good results than bad then I think he’ll get a stay of execution until the end of the season and the club will evaluate things then. 

But it’s only to be a long month for Sarri, I hope he’s stocked up on fags. 

1 hour ago, ForeverCarefree said:

This month is going to determine his future one way or another. 

Lose the League Cup final, crash out the FA Cup to United and struggle against Malmo in Europe and he’s gone. 

Even a bad result against Spurs in the league at the end of the month alone could be enough to seal his fate. 

If by some miracle he gets through that run of games with more good results than bad then I think he’ll get a stay of execution until the end of the season and the club will evaluate things then. 

But it’s only to be a long month for Sarri, I hope he’s stocked up on fags. 

You've just reminded me that we have a Cup final against City to play for still... 

Jesus f**king christ 

After the Chelsea training session, a source told The Sun: “The atmosphere at the training ground today has been awful. Nobody looked happy at all. Even the more cheery players couldn’t find a smile. Sarri kept himself to himself and his body language wasn’t great.” #CFC

Assistant Gianfranco Zola appeared to be the one leading the session while Sarri was involved in a deep discussion on the touchline with captain Cesar Azpilicueta. #CFC (Mail)

Sarri was not wearing his usual Chelsea kit as he came into the training ground for his post-match debrief & instead watched the practice at Cobham in his own clothing. He looked an isolated figure at times and appeared to be in deep thought while looking at the floor #CFC (Mail)

The final decision [on Sarri’s future] will be in Marina Granovskaia's hands unless Roman Abramovich decides to step in. #CFC (Mail)

Marina Granovskaia does have the power to end Sarri's reign but that would be unlikely given he was her appointment last year. #CFC (Mail)

Edited February 11, 20197 yr by JM7

5 hours ago, evissy said:

Continue with the old Chelsea, results over style? 

I think we need to Continue in this path. I'm not talking about losing 6-0. We are trying to adapt to possession based football but with players incapable of doing it. 

Sack Sarri now and we will fall back to the old way. I feel the club will back Sarri this season but will guide him to compromise with his style so we can fight for 4th spot. 

Sarri has the ball now. Use your intelligence and make some changes. 

The problem we have is that there are two clubs ahead of us right now who are combining style WITH substance. Both Liverpool and Man City have a built identity. So if we go back to the old Chelsea all we'll do is a) lose hazard and b) play defensive football with good players and hopefully sneak a title or two with a lot of luck. Conte's Chelsea would have only lost that game 2-0 and have not even 1 min of controlling the game. As strange as it sounds, there were actually periods in the 6-0 drubbing where City were being outplayed. I notice that more than anything. And I want more of it. And I want the club to make that happen.

Just out of curiosity - What changes would you like him to make?

I do feel sorry for Sarri. His first major job after all the years slogging away with rubbish teams and he could be sacked within a year. I know he would get a pay off but I feel for him. 

3 minutes ago, venom2011 said:

The problem we have is that there are two clubs ahead of us right now who are combining style WITH substance. Both Liverpool and Man City have a built identity. So if we go back to the old Chelsea all we'll do is a) lose hazard and b) play defensive football with good players and hopefully sneak a title or two with a lot of luck. Conte's Chelsea would have only lost that game 2-0 and have not even 1 min of controlling the game. As strange as it sounds, there were actually periods in the 6-0 drubbing where City were being outplayed. I notice that more than anything. And I want more of it. And I want the club to make that happen.

Just out of curiosity - What changes would you like him to make?

City was 4 -0 up after 25mins and should have been 5, played Wednesday and had a easy Sunday stroll. They didn't even get out of 2nd gear and didn't need to, even when Chelsea did have possession we only created 1 good chance in 90mins. You go head to head against City away and you will nearly always get punished, managers need to sometimes adapt.

3 hours ago, venom2011 said:

5 hours ago, Dean said:

me too. except the part about Jorginho challenging for a starting berth at City :)

He would 100% be starting over Fernandinho and they wanted him for that purpose.

it may well have been the plan, but i doubt it would be the reality. obvs will never know so no point pursuing it. 

City was 4 -0 up after 25mins and should have been 5, played Wednesday and had a easy Sunday stroll. They didn't even get out of 2nd gear and didn't need to, even when Chelsea did have possession we only created 1 good chance in 90mins. You go head to head against City away and you will nearly always get punished, managers need to sometimes adapt.

Easy to make those arguments in the hindsight of a drubbing (Sunday stroll - never got out of 2nd gear). They went full tilt from minute 1.

14 minutes ago, Dean said:

it may well have been the plan, but i doubt it would be the reality. obvs will never know so no point pursuing it. 

Just because he hasn't done well here, doesn't mean he'd have flopped at city 

26 minutes ago, JM7 said:

After the Chelsea training session, a source told The Sun: “The atmosphere at the training ground today has been awful. Nobody looked happy at all. Even the more cheery players couldn’t find a smile. Sarri kept himself to himself and his body language wasn’t great.” #CFC

Assistant Gianfranco Zola appeared to be the one leading the session while Sarri was involved in a deep discussion on the touchline with captain Cesar Azpilicueta. #CFC (Mail)

Sarri was not wearing his usual Chelsea kit as he came into the training ground for his post-match debrief & instead watched the practice at Cobham in his own clothing. He looked an isolated figure at times and appeared to be in deep thought while looking at the floor #CFC (Mail)

The final decision [on Sarri’s future] will be in Marina Granovskaia's hands unless Roman Abramovich decides to step in. #CFC (Mail)

Marina Granovskaia does have the power to end Sarri's reign but that would be unlikely given he was her appointment last year. #CFC (Mail)

That’s to be expected after a drubbing. I think we need to keep faith in Sarri and persist with him through tough times.

I really doubt he’s going to lead us to a 10th place like Mourinho did. I think we’ll be fighting for 4th to the wire, I just hope it’s enough to keep him on.

If we sack him I’ll be really displeased with the board.

7 minutes ago, venom2011 said:

22 minutes ago, Ernie_blue said:

City was 4 -0 up after 25mins and should have been 5, played Wednesday and had a easy Sunday stroll. They didn't even get out of 2nd gear and didn't need to, even when Chelsea did have possession we only created 1 good chance in 90mins. You go head to head against City away and you will nearly always get punished, managers need to sometimes adapt.

Easy to make those arguments in the hindsight of a drubbing (Sunday stroll - never got out of 2nd gear). They went full tilt from minute 1.

Of course they did and the game was over after 20mins, no need to use more energy than needed when 4 up and you have played Wednesday. Like I said 1 chance in 90mins isn't great, City knew we don't create much, it's been the theme for a while now. 

Of course they did and the game was over after 20mins, no need to use more energy than needed when 4 up and you have played Wednesday. Like I said 1 chance in 90mins isn't great, City knew we don't create much, it's been the theme for a while now. 

Of course. And I'm sure that was why Pep was remonstrating on the touchline to get them to push harder and control the game when we had the ball.

6 minutes ago, venom2011 said:

 

 

Of course. And I'm sure that was why Pep was remonstrating on the touchline to get them to push harder and control the game when we had the ball.

 

A manager is never happy, wonderful game at the weekend, we outplayed them and should have be 6-6.

4 hours ago, wallosh said:

6 hours ago, Gentian said:

Unfortunately no manager can sort out this mess including Guardiola because these players have no heart. 

United fans were saying the same thing before Solksjaer took over!

New manager bounces are a thing. 

We've done pretty well off them too. 

If your board genuinely think of them as a tactic on the sport side, you're setting yourself up for a lot of boom and bust. 

I don't doubt that someone could come in, play more conservatively and go on a run, probably get us top 4. But then the next season you've got the same pressures as the last and the board will do the same the next time things go tits up. So you don't gamble on youth players you've never seen play, cos every loss is one step closer to you being axed for the next bounce. The players who've been there and done that will get the nod on rep alone. No manager who knows they are a bad 10 game run from the sack even if they won the CL or League a few months before is playing unknown quantities. And it creates an atmosphere where those core players can "stop playing for the manager" cos the manager is expendable and they are untouchable, and every set-back just ramps up the pressure on the manager because the club absolutely will sack you for the short term fix. 

We set that in stone years ago. 

It's not right or wrong TBF. Like I say, we've done well out of it. But it's boom and bust. 

One thing it is though, is depressing to watch over and over. Someone asks you if you're excited about your new manager, and you say "yeah, but he'll be gone by christmas". And it's only half joking. But hey. There's been great times too. Never thought I'd see us win what we have. Never thought we'd have this many cup finals and crunch games. Even now, trip to Wembley coming up. Big game. Cup final. Can't ask for much more than that as a fan. Que sera sera. 

4 hours ago, venom2011 said:

6 hours ago, Dean said:

me too. except the part about Jorginho challenging for a starting berth at City :)

He would 100% be starting over Fernandinho and they wanted him for that purpose.

Not a f**king chance. And even if he did they would be immeasurably worse for his non-presence.  For physical presence alone Fernandinho eats him alive. I also think he is a more creative passer of the ball than Jorginho.

Mr J's performances have generally been as disappointing as Bakayoko's were. Hey, he's doing well in Italy isn't he?

Not a f**king chance. And even if he did they would be immeasurably worse for his non-presence.  For physical presence alone Fernandinho eats him alive. I also think he is a more creative passer of the ball than Jorginho.
Mr J's performances have generally been as disappointing as Bakayoko's were. Hey, he's doing well in Italy isn't he?

It's difficult to have a considerable midfield presence when the number 1 tactic against your team is to mark you out of the game. He is not a forward where you are free to move around to counter being marked. Considering everything he's had an ok start. Not great, not terrible. I think he would be a boss in that City team.

13 hours ago, 2211 said:

There are so many problems at Chelsea it’s hard to know where to start.

The players are obviously a problem with their attitude when we fall behind in matches.

When we go a goal behind I feel that chances are we won’t be winning that match (no matter who the opposition is or how much time is left) as we are really struggling to score goals.

I’ll be happy to stick with Sarri if he was more flexible with his team selections, he has his favourites (Jorginho, Willian, Luiz etc..) and will continuously pick them regardless of current form.

 

Sarri has left Willian out for two of the past three games and has picked Pedro more often than the not when it's been a direct choice between both.

It's a myth he's a Sarri favourite.

2 hours ago, Slojo said:

You've just reminded me that we have a Cup final against City to play for still... 

Jesus f**king christ 

I have no doubt that game will be a lot closer.

For all the faults this squad have one thing you can't take away from them is they almost always show up and deliver when a trophy is within touching distance.

39 minutes ago, venom2011 said:

48 minutes ago, just said:

Not a f**king chance. And even if he did they would be immeasurably worse for his non-presence.  For physical presence alone Fernandinho eats him alive. I also think he is a more creative passer of the ball than Jorginho.
Mr J's performances have generally been as disappointing as Bakayoko's were. Hey, he's doing well in Italy isn't he?

It's difficult to have a considerable midfield presence when the number 1 tactic against your team is to mark you out of the game. He is not a forward where you are free to move around to counter being marked. Considering everything he's had an ok start. Not great, not terrible. I think he would be a boss in that City team.

You see IMO, you are not doing your argument any favours there venom. I whole-heartedly agree, he isn't an attacking midfielder. He doesn't have the vision and creativity. And he most definitely isn't a defensive midfielder. And he isn't a box-to-box midfielder either. And that's the point. What is he?

A regista I am told. Someone who passes the ball. OK, let's go with that then. He passes the ball, but as we see every week mostly simple passes over short distances. And very often to other midfielders / defenders players who are often being closed down themselves. He can't move away from players when closed down quickly because he has no pace or dribbling skills. And he can't plough past them because physically he is a lightweight and doesn't have the power or the strength.

Jorginho's limitations have been a massive part of our problems. He is looking a dreadful signing for the price right now. Absolutely bang average

Edited February 12, 20197 yr by just

You see IMO, you are not doing your argument any favours there venom. I whole-heartedly agree, he isn't an attacking midfielder. He doesn't have the vision and creativity. And he most definitely isn't a defensive midfielder. And he isn't he box-to-box midfielder either. And that's the point. What is he?
A regista I am told. Someone who passes the ball. OK, let's go with that then. He passes the ball, but as we see every week mostly simple passes over short distances. And very often to other midfielders / defenders players who are being closed down themselves. He can't move away from players when closed down quickly because he has no pace or dribbling skills. And he can't plough past them because physically he is a lightweight and doesn't have the power or the strength.
Jorginho's limitations have been a massive part of our problems. He is looking a dreadful signing for the price right now. Absolutely bang average

A regista doesn't necessarily need pace or dribbling skills. And even being a lightweight he is still contributing defensively and is not far off Fernandinho statistically.

What is he you ask? A regista, more than any other position on the field, is nothing without a functioning team. If the players around him are static, he can't pass. If they struggle to pass the ball or create space for him to operate, he can't receive the ball. I have watched every match that Jorginho has played, with an intense focus on him specifically because I'm fascinated by his position on the field. And I have almost never thought he's had bad game. Same with Rudiger. Azpi and Kante. Like the rest, his effect had been increasingly marginalised because of the performance of the team as a whole.

You see simple passes over short distances. I see someone who thinks as quick as Fabregas when he receives the ball. I see someone who has covered more ground than literally every other player in the league, to get into good receiving positions and attempt to keep our play as fluid as possible. And I've seen someone who hasn't yet come to terms with the league and has been suffering a bit lately because of the added pressure.

When/if we see the team functioning how Sarri wants, I think the average fan will begin to appreciate his skillset a bit more.