Just now, benjsross said:

Yes. And he hasn't signed a new contract. 

I'm not interested in bending over to him to make him happy anymore in the hope he signs. If he's best played in CF then play him there. The fact it makes him unhappy and therefore might leave shouldn't be a factor. 

I'm more than happy for him to leave in the summer, he will be one of the top 10 Chelsea players in our history. I'll always love him. But we shouldn't think about his happiness when choosing a style of play anymore. 

I just think it's wrong to say that if he stays that he would only do it if Real Madrid doesn't want him anymore.
Otherwise I agree if it happens that Sarri plays him as a cf and if he's not willing to play as a false 9 then obviously he should decide what is the best for him, I think that we really need a striker and that this problem can be fixed with around £80m. 

58 minutes ago, benjsross said:

Lampard and Terry are better players than him and more important. Hazard top 10, maybe top 5. Easily the most talented. But not a mark on our best players for a few reasons. Terry was the best defender in the game for 5 consecutive years. Lampard the most consistent midfielder of his generation in the premier league.

If he goes it will be a shame, but it's not the end of the world. We aren't palace, when hazard doesn't play we often play better - and there are a few arguments for why. 

 

You’re probably right, maybe I should have said most talented and most unplayable on his day.

Curious as to what your arguments are as far as the team playing better without Hazard?

5 hours ago, mwblue10 said:

You’re probably right, maybe I should have said most talented and most unplayable on his day.

Curious as to what your arguments are as far as the team playing better without Hazard?

He sometimes holds onto the ball too long and cause the opposition to recover instead of playing the simple pass. Other times he tries an unnecessary flick without checking his surroundings, leading to a loss of possession(Willian is also guilty of this).  Also,  he doesn't press much, so with him in the team the front press is not very effective (All of Liverpool's and City's forwards press maniacally because their managers demand it). These are the major weaknesses I see in his game. I will not go as far as saying we play better without him, but I can understand why some people may think so. 

Now we must just kick on again and not revert to bad form like has happened in the past. 

Sarri will be sat down supping his coffee and smoking his fine blend, feeling on top of the World. 

It was not a gutsy win with a bit of luck, it was a win with a precise game plan designed in the back room. 

What can become clear to everyone including the rest of the premier league teams, city can be beaten, they have no real plan b for when the wheels come off, just commit yourself to somehow bypass their press,  the grass is much more greener up the other end of the pitch.

Sarri might of shown that he wants Skill and speed as his Striker, small, nippy as per Mertens of Napoli, stunning 2nd half shows what we can do, Pedro was immense with  Dave on the right, Kova looked silky, Hazard last 60 minutes his usual mercurial brilliance, Willi still frustrating, Centre halfs, Rocks, kick on now boys...

1 hour ago, coco said:

Sarri will be sat down supping his coffee and smoking his fine blend, feeling on top of the World. 

It was not a gutsy win with a bit of luck, it was a win with a precise game plan designed in the back room. 

What can become clear to everyone including the rest of the premier league teams, city can be beaten, they have no real plan b for when the wheels come off, just commit yourself to somehow bypass their press,  the grass is much more greener up the other end of the pitch.

That is absolutely right. You need guts to hold on the ball in your own area and make that short pass even though it is risky. When we have 3 seasons of that under our belts we will be very good at it and can win games like City. As you say the grass is greener when you go past their press. Same thing with Chelsea. In the second half we did that. Luiz said they had less oxygen which is probably due to energy and the fact that you are 1-0 down. 

I think in a bigger picture this victory could be really important. It shows we have travelled miles from that Community Shield loss against them and are much closer. City is the measuring stick for us in terms of our playing system. 

12 minutes ago, evissy said:

That is absolutely right. You need guts to hold on the ball in your own area and make that short pass even though it is risky. When we have 3 seasons of that under our belts we will be very good at it and can win games like City. As you say the grass is greener when you go past their press. Same thing with Chelsea. In the second half we did that. Luiz said they had less oxygen which is probably due to energy and the fact that you are 1-0 down. 

I think in a bigger picture this victory could be really important. It shows we have travelled miles from that Community Shield loss against them and are much closer. City is the measuring stick for us in terms of our playing system. 

Yeah agreed.

The energy levels is a good point, if they are vulnerable to bad energy conservation due to their immense pressing, then other teams should try to use the ball rather than just lumping it forwards and into their trap. It's entirely possible to use that tactic and keep the passing moving, keep them chasing and pressing, use the ball to tire them out quicker than your own players, use both the wings to their extreme and stretch them the full width of the pitch, have a deep playing long ball specialist who can play the diagonals over the top, make sure the rest of the team instinctively push forward and support the attack when you get over the top of them. It feels like Peps Pandoras box has been crow bared open. 

 

2 hours ago, TheSage said:

He sometimes holds onto the ball too long and cause the opposition to recover instead of playing the simple pass. Other times he tries an unnecessary flick without checking his surroundings, leading to a loss of possession(Willian is also guilty of this).  Also,  he doesn't press much, so with him in the team the front press is not very effective (All of Liverpool's and City's forwards press maniacally because their managers demand it). These are the major weaknesses I see in his game. I will not go as far as saying we play better without him, but I can understand why some people may think so. 

My main one is we are more balanced. We don't drive our play through one single wide player as much who does - as you say - slow the ball down.

Also, we've won every game he hasn't started this season. Main point is we are the exact opposite of palace and zaha. When he doesn't play at the moment, we win and shouldn't be overly worried if he leaves. Sarri will get someone in who fits the mould and we will be fine. 

29 minutes ago, benjsross said:

My main one is we are more balanced. We don't drive our play through one single wide player as much who does - as you say - slow the ball down.

Also, we've won every game he hasn't started this season. Main point is we are the exact opposite of palace and zaha. When he doesn't play at the moment, we win and shouldn't be overly worried if he leaves. Sarri will get someone in who fits the mould and we will be fine. 

You’re both welcome to your opinion but I disagree.  Does he hold the ball too long sometimes?  Sure.  And yes, those flick ons drive me crazy too.

But the only games he isn’t starting are cup ties and Europa games that are against second rate opponents.  The PL games he hasn’t started, he has come on and had a direct impact on the result (home against Arsenal) or a fine contribution (away to Huddersfield).

I’m much more comfortable keeping Hazard and adding some good players so that he doesn’t need to hold the ball too long as often. You can’t sell your best players and expect to win the league or in Europe.

Edited December 9, 20187 yr by mwblue10

I love Eden but the pressing thing is a definite weakness in his game and holds us back - watch the difference in pressing between him and Pedro .. I reckon pedros pressing led to unforced errors/us getting the ball back about 5/6 times yesterday .. that's 5/6 less chances for city to score and 5/6 chances more to counter attack .. I've always found Pedro frustrating but I'd say he's been our most consistent attacker this season ..

 

also something about Willian doesn't sit right with me I honestly think it's since summer with his blocking conte out on his fa cup winning pics which was pathetic, did you see his face yesterday when he got subbed off? It annoyed me we're half way through putting in our season best performance it isn't all about you get off the pitch and think of the bigger picture .. again don't know if I just have a problem with him now but I keep noticing things about him that makes me think he has a bad attitude 

I agree we have more pace in the attacking half when Hazard is in the centre though Hazard does not seem keen on playing there for too long. 

The city game could turn out to be like the Arsenal game when we were 3-0 down and changed to a back 3 and then went on the record win streak.

If we continue with the false 9, when required, we could use 5 players, Hazard Willian Pedro Hudson-Odi RLC. Between them five we could have some real good permutations, and plenty of options for Sarri off the bench to change things in attack. We were becoming very predictable with our attacking personnel.

 

11 minutes ago, coco said:

The city game could turn out to be like the Arsenal game when we were 3-0 down and changed to a back 3 and then went on the record win streak.

If we continue with the false 9, when required, we could use 5 players, Hazard Willian Pedro Hudson-Odi RLC. Between them five we could have some real good permutations, and plenty of options for Sarri off the bench to change things in attack. We were becoming very predictable with our attacking personnel.

Agreed, this was the big win that Sarri desperately needed. I know we had the win against Arsenal in our second game but it was during the so called honeymoon period and against a team still settling with their new manager. Yesterday's win feels like a major milestone for Sarri at Chelsea and comes at the perfect time as we head into the congested holiday fixtures  Lets hope we can put together a winning run now. I am also hoping that the club may take note and support Sarri by signing another striker in January.

31 minutes ago, enigma said:

 

Which is why if we go for a false 9 hazard has to go through the middle

19 hours ago, mwblue10 said:

Because he’s the best player we have ever had and fans want him to stay

And he's been to every game, home and away for the last six years, which is a lot more than most of these "so called fans"

So for me going forward Hazard is the new no.9 with Pedro and Willian the others in a front three.

Conte tried it a couple of times, once with success and then it fizzled out though I would like to see it tried again against Brighton.

Not for me. It utterly wastes Hazard.

18 hours ago, enigma said:

 

I'm no Pep fan, but it's fascinating to hear a top level tactician explain something like this. It makes perfect sense when he says it so simply.

19 hours ago, coco said:

The city game could turn out to be like the Arsenal game when we were 3-0 down and changed to a back 3 and then went on the record win streak.

If we continue with the false 9, when required, we could use 5 players, Hazard Willian Pedro Hudson-Odi RLC. Between them five we could have some real good permutations, and plenty of options for Sarri off the bench to change things in attack. We were becoming very predictable with our attacking personnel.

Im still not a fan of Loftus Cheek playing out wide though.

30 minutes ago, jack_super_class said:

Im still not a fan of Loftus Cheek playing out wide though.

RLC and Hazard rotate the central role, the other three share the two wide positions. 

 

3 hours ago, Zeta said:

Not for me. It utterly wastes Hazard.

Got two assists and we scored two, not saying it will work long term yet deserves to be tried again and if we keep winning............

https://www.standard.co.uk/sport/football/chelsea/how-terrifying-maurizio-sarri-inspired-chelsea-to-win-over-man-city-after-pain-of-wolves-loss-a4012941.html

That's probably the happiest I've been after a game since the Champions League final. I don't know why but this performance really affected me - absolutely delighted. 

Playing Hazard through the middle was a masterstroke from Sarri, I like the tactic a lot as Willian and especially Pedro are both excellent at pressing the opposition. Hazard didn't seem overly keen on playing through the middle as he didn't get as many touches of the ball as usual, but we were playing against City. He'll still see a lot of the ball through the middle against most other clubs - plus I think he'll also score a lot more goals!