1 hour ago, Sindre said:

And when everything is said and done it's the job of the manager to get the best out of his players. Yes it is glaringly obvious that several players have been shockingly poor this season but most of them have proved that they are class players if you use them correctly and Sarri has completely failed to do so.

And what i mean by serial-winners is that we have a squad full of players capable of winning titles. So clearly they aren't "impossible to motivate" as we have heard as an bullsh*t excuse from our manager.

Gotta say you are one negative poster.

Were sh*t, the managers useless, you’ve no confidence in us making the top four.

I don’t imagine I’m alone in feeling like sticking my head in the over after absorbing your numerous, doom laden offerings.

Have a few beers, let your hair down, lighten up FFS

Not just me then?

8 minutes ago, Sindre said:

 

What a terribly simplistic view on how to manage a football team.

Football is a very simple game, in case you did not know.

6 minutes ago, Ewell CFC said:

Gotta say you are one negative poster.

Were sh*t, the managers useless, you’ve no confidence in us making the top four.

I don’t imagine I’m alone in feeling like sticking my head in the over after absorbing your numerous, doom laden offerings.

Have a few beers, let your hair down, lighten up FFS

I like winning.

I dislike being in sixth and getting embarrased repeatedly. The way i see it there is not too much to be positive about at the moment.

And funnily enough i seem to be one of the few to actually defend our players currently. Seems like everyone else is perfectly happy to blame them for our failings while i think our problems stem from our naive and overly romantic and stubborn manager who can't adjust to this league.

Edited February 14, 20197 yr by Sindre

16 minutes ago, Brutos said:

Difference is they didn't bottle in against the top teams they knew when it came to the big games whether they liked the manager or not you play for the fans

Last thing i'll say on this subject. You are incorrect.
We were spanked by United, Arsenal, Liverpool and Napoli under Villas Boas that season.

I was asked a question today but didn't know the answer. Can anyone definitively say when we last lost to Tottenham home and away in the league in the same season? I think it was 1961 or 1962???

I read Sarri has a 65% win ratio at Chelsea, does anyone have the stats to compare that to previous managers

It's about the same as Jose and Conte, they are about 65/64% I think.

And yet they still have the same amount of points as us, woopeedoo!. If Sarri kept changing the formation every game, defenders etc people would be criticising him for that too saying he doesn't know his best team, etc.

I have no idea how you totally miss the point! I never said he changed the formation every game, my point is, he knew the team isn't defensively solid, so he tried various formation in the beginning of the season in order to find the ones that can get the best out that team. If they are playing away to a big team or tougher team, he usually plays the 3-5-2 formation that make the defensive midfielders help shield the defence. He did all that not because he wanted to, but because he had to find a way to manage the team till he gradually start getting players that fits his pattern of play in the team. He is a much better manager than Sarri will ever be, Sarri has a much better squad but am not surprised about how it was easy for them to beat us recently, we are too predictable, everyone already knows how Sarri will set up his team! Once you put our defenders under lots of pressure in the beginning of any game, they will eventually succumb and when we go behind, the game ends there.
Sometimes I just wondered how we ends up with Sarri, it shows a big lack of ambition. And if you are fine with Sarri playing the same formation every game with Jorginho still in that defensive midfield, well you are sure going to have a lot of fun this season!

Why? 

If you work the same place I do, you will certainly watch replays of almost all EPL games of the week except if you have a strong dislike for football.

Arsenal fan?

Whatever

JM first time and Avram grant 67%, Hiddink over about 20 matches 74%.

55 minutes ago, Zeta said:

It's about the same as Jose and Conte, they are about 65/64% I think.

 

Cheers Strider and Zeta.   Interesting list of win ratio's

 

Claudio Ranieri	17th September 2000 - 31st May 2004	Played 199	Won 107 (54%)	Drawn 46 (23%)	Lost 46 (23%)
Jose Mourinho	2nd June 2004 - 19th September 2007	Played 185	Won 124 (67%)	Drawn 40 (22%)	Lost 21 (11%)
Avram Grant	20th September 2007 - 24th May 2008	Played 54	Won 36 (67%)	Drawn 13 (24%)	Lost 5 (9%)
Luiz Felipe Scolari	1st July 2008 - 9th February 2009	Played 36	Won 20 (56%)	Drawn 11 (31%)	Lost 5 (14%)
Guus Hiddink	11th February 2009 - 30th May 2009	Played 23	Won 17 (74%)	Drawn 5 (22%)	Lost 1 (4%)
Carlo Ancelotti	1st July 2009 - 22nd May 2011	Played 109	Won 67 (61%)	Drawn 20 (18%)	Lost 22 (20%)
Andre Villas-Boas	22nd June 2011 - 4th March 2012	Played 40	Won 19 (48%)	Drawn 11 (28%)	Lost 10 (25%)
Roberto Di Matteo	4th March 2012 - 21st November 2012	Played 42	Won 24 (57%)	Drawn 9 (21%)	Lost 9 (21%)
Rafael Benitez	21st November 2012 - 27th May 2013	Played 48	Won 28 (58%)	Drawn 10 (21%)	Lost 10 (21%)
Jose Mourinho	3rd June 2013 - 17th December 2015	Played 136	Won 80 (59%)	Drawn 29 (21%)	Lost 27 (20%)
Guus Hiddink	19th December 2015 - 30th June 2016	Played 28	Won 11 (39%)	Drawn 11 (39%)	Lost 6 (21%)
Antonio Conte	1st July 2016 - 12th July 2018	Played 106	Won 69 (65%)	Drawn 17 (16%)	Lost 20 (19%)
Maurizio Sarri	14th July 2018 -	Played 40	Won 26 (65%)	Drawn 6 (15%)	Lost 8 (20%)

A more tactically naive than AVB with substitutions more uninspiring than Benitez. 

3 hours ago, Osgood is Good said:

Cheers Strider and Zeta.   Interesting list of win ratio's

 

Claudio Ranieri	17th September 2000 - 31st May 2004	Played 199	Won 107 (54%)	Drawn 46 (23%)	Lost 46 (23%)
Jose Mourinho	2nd June 2004 - 19th September 2007	Played 185	Won 124 (67%)	Drawn 40 (22%)	Lost 21 (11%)
Avram Grant	20th September 2007 - 24th May 2008	Played 54	Won 36 (67%)	Drawn 13 (24%)	Lost 5 (9%)
Luiz Felipe Scolari	1st July 2008 - 9th February 2009	Played 36	Won 20 (56%)	Drawn 11 (31%)	Lost 5 (14%)
Guus Hiddink	11th February 2009 - 30th May 2009	Played 23	Won 17 (74%)	Drawn 5 (22%)	Lost 1 (4%)
Carlo Ancelotti	1st July 2009 - 22nd May 2011	Played 109	Won 67 (61%)	Drawn 20 (18%)	Lost 22 (20%)
Andre Villas-Boas	22nd June 2011 - 4th March 2012	Played 40	Won 19 (48%)	Drawn 11 (28%)	Lost 10 (25%)
Roberto Di Matteo	4th March 2012 - 21st November 2012	Played 42	Won 24 (57%)	Drawn 9 (21%)	Lost 9 (21%)
Rafael Benitez	21st November 2012 - 27th May 2013	Played 48	Won 28 (58%)	Drawn 10 (21%)	Lost 10 (21%)
Jose Mourinho	3rd June 2013 - 17th December 2015	Played 136	Won 80 (59%)	Drawn 29 (21%)	Lost 27 (20%)
Guus Hiddink	19th December 2015 - 30th June 2016	Played 28	Won 11 (39%)	Drawn 11 (39%)	Lost 6 (21%)
Antonio Conte	1st July 2016 - 12th July 2018	Played 106	Won 69 (65%)	Drawn 17 (16%)	Lost 20 (19%)
Maurizio Sarri	14th July 2018 -	Played 40	Won 26 (65%)	Drawn 6 (15%)	Lost 8 (20%)

Butch Wilkins & Steve Holland have a 100% record - ok you can knock me because both have only coached 1 match for CFC

Cue the impatient fans comparing Sarri to Benitez and AVB......... despite having the higher win percentage.

Give the guy a break !

7 hours ago, just said:

I was asked a question today but didn't know the answer. Can anyone definitively say when we last lost to Tottenham home and away in the league in the same season? I think it was 1961 or 1962???

Answer is on the internet https://www.11v11.com/teams/chelsea/tab/opposingTeams/opposition/Tottenham Hotspur/ 

Looks like '61 but then there will some blank years when we weren't in the same division. 

 

Very uninspiring performance tonight but a win is a win. Can’t argue with that.

I guess we’ll know a lot more about ourselves after this month.

I mean, our defence are very prone to mistakes and when you make a mistake against a team like City, you’re f*cked.

Aside from the City game I think we’re doing okay. A few shockers here and there but despite the shockers, we are still in the fight for top 4 and still in all competitions.

I really hope Sarri’s persistence pays off.

As far as attacking build up goes, you can see the players dont have it embedded in them yet. When we get down to the final 1/3 too many of them stand around and negate any passing lanes for themselves or teammates. 

This cant possibly be what they're asked to do because it flies in the face of positional fundamentals. Today we had CMs or wingers standing in Girouds passing lanes as if they didnt understand basic principles of posession play. Giroud was in perfect positions to split defenders at the top of the box all the time. When he did get a pass he did very well to lay it off to an oncoming player but too often he didn't receive a ball in bc a teammate was standing in his way. 

I think we're golden once the players figure that out. 2/3 of our buildup is at a high level in general, just missing the last third. 

My biggest concern is the players know what happens when going gets tough. They drop their heads and wait for the manager to be sacked. It feels they don't want to fight with the manager whoever it is. This is the players and the culture not the manager. 

Sarri has done a major change to our football. We try to play from the back and play possession football. We don't have players for it yet and this is what shows in the league table. Current players still need to work on it and they need time. 

Hope we give Sarri time. We know his history. Under him teams have played some great football. We only have seen glimpses of it. 

13 hours ago, just said:

I was asked a question today but didn't know the answer. Can anyone definitively say when we last lost to Tottenham home and away in the league in the same season? I think it was 1961 or 1962???

1970/71

7 hours ago, hutchslongthrow said:

Answer is on the internet https://www.11v11.com/teams/chelsea/tab/opposingTeams/opposition/Tottenham Hotspur/ 

Looks like '61 but then there will some blank years when we weren't in the same division. 

 

Cheers Hutch, but checking through that link it looks we were wrong and @charierre is right with 1970/71. 48 years since they last did a league double over us.

15 hours ago, Osgood is Good said:

I read Sarri has a 65% win ratio at Chelsea, does anyone have the stats to compare that to previous managers

That isn't unimpressive but a bit pointless and miss-leading until full season completed when we have played everyone home & away.

I'm wondering, would Sarri insist on this particular style of football if he got a job at Huddersfield or Fulham? Whenever asked, he keeps repeating the same mantra about sticking to his principles of how football should be played. I also keep reading from his fans here this argument about square pegs and round holes. Well, my question is, does he even know how to play any other way? And if he does, why not try modifying it a bit here and there, until you get the pegs you need to fill the holes you've got? Even if you're such a purist and perfectionist, surely you live in a real world and should know by now that you may not get another opportunity at a top club if you insist on this suicidal tactics with players that aren't suited to them?

Can he play more direct instead of passing everyone into a coma? Why is our buildup so slow and predictable? Why do we create so few goalscoring opportunities per game? Why do we look like conceding every time we lose the ball? I'd love to know who's in charge of coaching defence in this Sarri's staff because this man is stealing a living. And isn't Sarriball, among other things, supposed to be about pressing the opposition in their own half and forcing them to turn over the ball so that we could pounce and ideally score? I keep seeing the opposite of that. So once again, either those players aren't coached properly or don't follow his instructions or aren't suited to that style of football. Whatever it is, after watching this for months, shouldn't you as a manager draw some conclusions and try another approach? After all, one thing we know about this group of players is that aside from being flaky and prone to turn on their managers on occasion, they do win trophies fairly regularly, so they must have some characteristics you could use to help you in a winning column. Why not use that, at least to protect yourself from getting sacked until the right players arrive and make your job easier?

Going back to what I started with, I remember Sam Allardyse and his Bolton from 2005 or so, seems like a good example. If you google 'long ball football' you'll probably get his ugly face among search results. That team was big, physical and nasty. No team enjoyed going to Bolton and facing those bastards. And it's not as if they didn't have a couple of technically gifted players like Okocha, but the manager knew how to use the players at his disposal to the fullest of their abilities. If Sarri got the Bolton job back then, he'd probably get them relegated in his first year.

6 minutes ago, Nibs said:

That isn't unimpressive but a bit pointless and miss-leading

So is comparing him to past managers after 6 months in the job.