We have made some awful decisions in the transfer market that's for sure... 

I've got no confidence in this side at the moment and playing out of form players all the time is annoying, at this point there is no risk of playing youngsters because they can do a better job than a lot of our starting 11. 

I don't think signing Higuain solves our problems, a striker is desperately needed but I would say we need some resurgence from the Midfield. Our midfield looked very promising at the start of the season but Jorginho has the ambition of John Obi Mikel at the moment, keep it simple stupid, at the start of the season he was playing some great balls forward and getting the game flowing, now he's offering absolutely nothing in that role especially defensively. Kovacic not enough, Kante I've said enough on him and still not convinced he'll ever be suitable for that role... It's a bit annoying to watch. 

1 hour ago, Slojo said:

We have made some awful decisions in the transfer market that's for sure... 

I've got no confidence in this side at the moment and playing out of form players all the time is annoying, at this point there is no risk of playing youngsters because they can do a better job than a lot of our starting 11. 

I don't think signing Higuain solves our problems, a striker is desperately needed but I would say we need some resurgence from the Midfield. Our midfield looked very promising at the start of the season but Jorginho has the ambition of John Obi Mikel at the moment, keep it simple stupid, at the start of the season he was playing some great balls forward and getting the game flowing, now he's offering absolutely nothing in that role especially defensively. Kovacic not enough, Kante I've said enough on him and still not convinced he'll ever be suitable for that role... It's a bit annoying to watch. 

I know where you got the John Obi Mikel comment. You read RedCafe. Best stay in there if youre easily influenced by a set of Manchester United fans and then drag that Stupidity in here. Jorginho is out of form because of the intensity of the league and should be dropped to recover. He is no Obi Mikel. 

Jorginho | Chelsea player

Go ahead, deny it. You and I both know its true. 

Edited January 20, 20197 yr by Semper Fi

31 minutes ago, Semper Fi said:

I know where you got the John Obi Mikel comment. You read RedCafe. Best stay in there if youre easily influenced by a set of Manchester United fans and then drag that Stupidity in here. Jorginho is out of form because of the intensity of the league and should be dropped to recover. He is no Obi Mikel. 

Jorginho | Chelsea player

Go ahead, deny it. You and I both know its true. 

I had no idea that visiting Redcafe is a crime nowadays. 

Edited January 20, 20197 yr by abramovich

1 hour ago, abramovich said:

I had no idea that visiting Redcafe is a crime nowadays. 

It's surely not a crime, obviously I go on there too. The problem is clearly he is being influenced on there and that negativity and putrid comes to this website. He can keep that on Redcafe. 

2 hours ago, Semper Fi said:

I know where you got the John Obi Mikel comment. You read RedCafe. Best stay in there if youre easily influenced by a set of Manchester United fans and then drag that Stupidity in here. Jorginho is out of form because of the intensity of the league and should be dropped to recover. He is no Obi Mikel. 

Jorginho | Chelsea player

Go ahead, deny it. You and I both know its true. 

What are you on about? No I don't read Redcafe I'm being hyperbolic because Mikel was always known as the sideways passer and that's what Jorginho lately has become, compared to when we saw him earlier in the season. 

But of course go be the egotistical bell end and quote me with your usual nonsense. 

2 hours ago, abramovich said:

I had no idea that visiting Redcafe is a crime nowadays. 

Wouldn't worry about it, he just has a little obsession with me so anything I say is bad and he can conjure up a "Gotcha!" from nothing. 

The projection is actually laughable because I genuinely had no idea United fans are calling Jorginho Mikel, why on earth would I read a thread dedicated to one of our players on another forum where they'll obviously be slagging that player off? 

Sarri questions the attitude of the players but he is the manager who picks the same underperforming players week in week out, what do you expect? He has the players to change personnel, formation etc and really show who is boss. Would playing CHO over Pedro or Willian really weaken the team? Would giving Emerson a few more chances weaken the team? Would playing RLC over Kovacic weaken the team? Would taking Jorginho out the team and moving Kante back weaken the team? Sarri could have easily made the changes already to show he is number 1 and underperforming players get dropped. There was no need to call them out in public.

4 minutes ago, Ernie_blue said:

Sarri questions the attitude of the players but he is the manager who picks the same underperforming players week in week out, what do you expect? He has the players to change personnel, formation etc and really show who is boss. Would playing CHO over Pedro or Willian really weaken the team? Would giving Emerson a few more chances weaken the team? Would playing RLC over Kovacic weaken the team? Would taking Jorginho out the team and moving Kante back weaken the team? Sarri could have easily made the changes already to show he is number 1 and underperforming players get dropped. There was no need to call them out in public.

I think he has every right to slam the players for underperforming but you're right, the one annoying thing about Sarri is playing underperforming players constantly, I want to see some rotation. 

This is very much like the Mourinho days when Ivanovic wouldn't get dropped despite being skinned every game. 

On 19/01/2019 at 17:13, Spiller86 said:

I'll say again Luiz and Willian chucked a wobbly last season under Conte and should have been moved on. 

Luiz is a leader in the dressing room but it would surprise me greatly if that was in the right direction. We've had this ever since our little Brazilian clique formed. 

I've maintained for a while that if we don't already we should pay closer attention to mentality when recruiting. We need a new generation of leaders and hardnosed pricks to add some steel.

I’ve always perceived Luiz as more of the good teammate, class clown type that everyone likes, rather than a leader, but I would agree that there seems to be a trend of issues with the Brazilian players and our managers.

On the perception that Chelsea teams have been "mentally weak" or "hard to motivate" since Mourinho 15-16. I looked into the players that are still in the squad from 2015 to now, and the list narrows down to:

Cahill

Azpi

Fab (until recently)

Pedro

Willian

Hazard

Also, Luiz was still at PSG for that season. RLC was still a youngster. 

Of the above, Cahill has hardly played this season. Fab was on the fringes as well and now no longer here.

Azpi and Pedro, I don't think they've ever moaned to the press, and whenever i watch them, they always give maximum effort, no matter what the instructions are. Willian we all know his issues, but I don't think he's enough of a leader in the clubhouse to really have a large effect on collective team spirit. 

This leads me to think.........Hazard? 

We all know his rumored rifts with Mourinho, and then Conte. It looks to be happening again with Sarri. While he always seems to know what to say to the press, what's he like behind the scenes? Especially when he disagrees with the manager, does he put on a straight face and get on with it? Or does he have a whinge and moan about it with his teammates? Or maybe he's the type to shrug his shoulders, "do what the boss says", and then decide not to take any responsibility? 

As the undisputed best player at Chelsea, even if he isn't the Captain, I think the rest of the team looks to him. And history seems to suggest, when Hazard loses interest, the rest of the team crumbles. 

Now, I am in no way blaming this all on Eden. Sarri needs to take at least half the responsibility for the mess we're in right now, because it's his job to get the best out of his best player. BUT....maybe Hazard's behind the scenes behaviour is a lot more toxic than we're led to believe? 

Short Term Fix

Hopefully the Higuan deal goes through, and Sarri will continue his stubborn ways and, goals or no goals, stick Gonzalo up front for the rest of the season. This means Hazard moves back to his favored LW which hopefully solves a bit of the problem. If Hazard can get going again (Sheff Wed, Bournemouth and Huddersfield after Spurs), it could kickstart our season again. It'll still be a fight for 4th place, but at least we won't implode like last year. 

Long Term Fix

Hazard won us 2 PL titles, 1 FA Cup, 1 League Cup and 1 Europa league. That's pretty much legend status. But, with this whole Real Madrid situation, I think his time with us has passed. In my opinion, over the last 3-4 years, the team has become too reliant on him, and our year-to-year see-saw performances in the league may be an unintended by product of this situation. It's time to sell and reinvest in the squad. Remember the good times....but perhaps it's time to move on. 

 

 

 

 

 

Edited January 21, 20197 yr by dustbin719
Pressed wrong button and submitted before finishing my post

If he fails to finish in the top four, he's gone in my opinion. 

It would be a massive failure on Sarri's part if he were to fail to achieve Champions League football. 

He's inherited a squad of players that only two years ago won the league, there's the foundations of a good team already there and he's been significantly backed to implement his preferred style. 

He's competing for a top four place against a Spurs team that literally haven't invested a penny into player recruitment this season, a United side that were apparently in such disarray that they've sacked their manager and have an interim manager who's only previous Premier League experience ended in relegation and an Arsenal team under a massive transition having appointed their first new manager in over two decades and with minimal investment in their squad during the summer. 

It's all well and good saying Sarri is implementing a different playing style but we're in serious risk of losing out on the top 4 right now which will be the 3rd time in the last 4 seasons and with a record like that the top talent isn't going to want to join us and were we to lose Hazard come the summer we could be staring down the barrel of the most average Chelsea team of the Roman era. 

We need to turn things around and fast and Sarri's projection of stubbornness regarding team selection and tactics isn't feeling me with a whole lot of confidence right now.  

I thought it was pretty desperate of him to throw everyone but himself under the bus. Either everyone get fired up and put some good results together, or we will some dressing room riot pretty shortly. Saying players can't be motivated is a slap on the face for both the players and himself, and some players like Emerson or CHO could be excused for not being motivated for never given a chance by Sarri. At the end of the day, manager is always the more expandable one compares to players, and considering he hasn't put any runs on the board for Chelsea in comparison to most players we have, it will be an easy decision if results don't turn around soon.

26 minutes ago, icecoolguy22 said:

I thought it was pretty desperate of him to throw everyone but himself under the bus. Either everyone get fired up and put some good results together, or we will some dressing room riot pretty shortly. Saying players can't be motivated is a slap on the face for both the players and himself, and some players like Emerson or CHO could be excused for not being motivated for never given a chance by Sarri. At the end of the day, manager is always the more expandable one compares to players, and considering he hasn't put any runs on the board for Chelsea in comparison to most players we have, it will be an easy decision if results don't turn around soon.

I guess it depends on whether they agree with why he said it, if they do and understand they failed to carry out his instructions then probably no issues.

If they feel they did what he asked or they don't have the personnel to carry out his wishes then we have problems.

If Higuaín arrives and we start winning, the problems may be papered over for a while until the next time we get beaten comprehensively.

 

 

David Luiz has come out and said the players are completely behind Sarri, that he's achieved amazing things in a short space of time, and that changing tactics would be pointless while they're getting used to this new way of playing.

Strange how the view from the dressing room can be so totally different to the knee jerking of some of the fans.

1 minute ago, Kentonio said:

David Luiz has come out and said the players are completely behind Sarri, that he's achieved amazing things in a short space of time, and that changing tactics would be pointless while they're getting used to this new way of playing.

Strange how the view from the dressing room can be so totally different to the knee jerking of some of the fans.

Players publicly backing the manager usually ends with the manager not surviving too much longer. See also the board giving the manager the dreaded 'vote of confidence' and then sacking him 2 weeks later...

I think Sarri keeps his place even without CL football if:

He has good relationship with his players 

The game progresses in the second half of the season 

Has a good run in one of the cups

 

6 minutes ago, drjonesy1994 said:

Players publicly backing the manager usually ends with the manager not surviving too much longer. See also the board giving the manager the dreaded 'vote of confidence' and then sacking him 2 weeks later...

It was far more than a 'we're all behind the boss' comment though.

Quote

Luiz said the manager “was not happy” after the match “but nobody was happy, so it was normal.”

And regarding the way Chelsea have been playing, he said: “It is our style, it is our philosophy.

“I think if you asked at the beginning of the season, ‘can Chelsea keep the ball?’ – you would have said no.

“And now we are able to do that, like the best teams in the world, but then we have (to) improve our last 25 metres.”

The Brazil international added, when asked if it was harder to trust the philosophy when Chelsea lost: “It is part of the process, when you try to do something and this is inside your mind, if you believe in it you can arrive there.

“Because of the results if you start to change and change, you don’t go anywhere.

“So this is our philosophy, I believe in it, I trust in it, so I just know we have to improve, like every team in the world.

“What Sarri (who took charge last summer) has done until now is unbelievable, amazing, because normally (for) a team to understand this philosophy needs one or two years, like Manchester City and Liverpool, who are playing very well with the ball now.

“What he has done has been amazing, so we have to try to improve the details now.”

When then asked if some players were less sure now, Luiz said: “I don’t think so, everybody is trusting his job and everybody is with him.”

https://www.givemesport.com/1445096-david-luiz-insists-players-all-believe-in-sarris-vision-for-chelsea?autoplay=on

Edited January 21, 20197 yr by Kentonio

1 minute ago, Kentonio said:

It was far more than a 'we're all behind the boss' comment though.

 

 

Fair enough. Wasn't aware of the full quote so thanks for posting. I hope it works out for Sarri but in all honesty i think he is 1 or 2 bad results away from losing his job. This isn't reactionary from me, it's just we have a history of not sticking with managers through sticky patches. Hope I am wrong in this case.

Although sarri needs time,he also has to concede defeat with jorginio/Kante situation i 'm not slagging   jorginio off also hopefully higuan coming in will free up hazard.with the players we have  in Hudson  odoi ,rlc  Emerson and   ampadu  etc we can shake things up a bit ,still a lot to play for ,bring on the sh*te  UP THE CHELS

46 minutes ago, drjonesy1994 said:

Fair enough. Wasn't aware of the full quote so thanks for posting. I hope it works out for Sarri but in all honesty i think he is 1 or 2 bad results away from losing his job. This isn't reactionary from me, it's just we have a history of not sticking with managers through sticky patches. Hope I am wrong in this case.

I would give you 50-1 odds on Sari being sacked if we have 2 bad results.

1 minute ago, Ewell CFC said:

I would give you 50-1 odds on Sari being sacked if we have 2 bad results.

ok, i'll have a tenner on it then 

1 hour ago, ForeverCarefree said:

If he fails to finish in the top four, he's gone in my opinion. 

It would be a massive failure on Sarri's part if he were to fail to achieve Champions League football. 

He's inherited a squad of players that only two years ago won the league, there's the foundations of a good team already there and he's been significantly backed to implement his preferred style. 

He's competing for a top four place against a Spurs team that literally haven't invested a penny into player recruitment this season, a United side that were apparently in such disarray that they've sacked their manager and have an interim manager who's only previous Premier League experience ended in relegation and an Arsenal team under a massive transition having appointed their first new manager in over two decades and with minimal investment in their squad during the summer. 

It's all well and good saying Sarri is implementing a different playing style but we're in serious risk of losing out on the top 4 right now which will be the 3rd time in the last 4 seasons and with a record like that the top talent isn't going to want to join us and were we to lose Hazard come the summer we could be staring down the barrel of the most average Chelsea team of the Roman era. 

We need to turn things around and fast and Sarri's projection of stubbornness regarding team selection and tactics isn't feeling me with a whole lot of confidence right now.  

I say we stick by him regardless, we should never have hired him in the first place if we didn't believe in his philosophy. Top 4 should be the target but if he can't achieve it then give him more support.

I think managers have it way more difficult than they should here, I think a large part of why we don't play youth is because not one manager would dare take any risks here, they obviously don't feel like they have the backing to put so much trust into a youngster because one loss and you're one yard closer to the edge of the cliff. 

It'll be interesting to see if Sarri makes some changes to his preferred 11 now - I think he has to. He couldn't really justify dropping Willian or Pedro against Arsenal as they are the senior pros and both scored against Newcastle. It's easier to make changes after a bad defeat, so I think we'll see some in our next few matches. Willian and Pedro to be dropped with Hudson Odoi - Giroud/Higuain coming in. I'd also be tempted to see what Ampadu can offer us as CDM, but I don't think Sarri is ready to drop Jorginho for an 18 year old just yet.

I still don't think we're too far away from being a top side and challenging for the league, it's just the final 3rd that is really letting us down - we're lacking in the energy, speed and pressing department. Hazard isn't the best at pressing and Willian seems to be playing in 3rd gear this season. Things need freshening up.

Our defensive shape has been good for a couple of months now, but we were awful at dealing with crosses against Arsenal. Both of there their goals were from crosses - to be fair the first goal was brilliant from Lacazzette although he should never have had that much space in the box. Their 2nd goal was a fluke, but we should have still dealt with it much better. We're not getting the rub of the green this season.

6 hours ago, ForeverCarefree said:

If he fails to finish in the top four, he's gone in my opinion. 

It would be a massive failure on Sarri's part if he were to fail to achieve Champions League football. 

He's inherited a squad of players that only two years ago won the league, there's the foundations of a good team already there and he's been significantly backed to implement his preferred style. 

He's competing for a top four place against a Spurs team that literally haven't invested a penny into player recruitment this season, a United side that were apparently in such disarray that they've sacked their manager and have an interim manager who's only previous Premier League experience ended in relegation and an Arsenal team under a massive transition having appointed their first new manager in over two decades and with minimal investment in their squad during the summer. 

It's all well and good saying Sarri is implementing a different playing style but we're in serious risk of losing out on the top 4 right now which will be the 3rd time in the last 4 seasons and with a record like that the top talent isn't going to want to join us and were we to lose Hazard come the summer we could be staring down the barrel of the most average Chelsea team of the Roman era. 

We need to turn things around and fast and Sarri's projection of stubbornness regarding team selection and tactics isn't feeling me with a whole lot of confidence right now.  

It's a big failure to finish behind a poor Arsenal team and Utd who was 11 points behind us at Christmas. Spurs are just better than Chelsea IMO but Kane missing for 2 months with the other players they have missing evens it up in my eyes. 

6 hours ago, ForeverCarefree said:

If he fails to finish in the top four, he's gone in my opinion. 

It would be a massive failure on Sarri's part if he were to fail to achieve Champions League football. 

He's inherited a squad of players that only two years ago won the league, there's the foundations of a good team already there and he's been significantly backed to implement his preferred style. 

He's competing for a top four place against a Spurs team that literally haven't invested a penny into player recruitment this season, a United side that were apparently in such disarray that they've sacked their manager and have an interim manager who's only previous Premier League experience ended in relegation and an Arsenal team under a massive transition having appointed their first new manager in over two decades and with minimal investment in their squad during the summer. 

It's all well and good saying Sarri is implementing a different playing style but we're in serious risk of losing out on the top 4 right now which will be the 3rd time in the last 4 seasons and with a record like that the top talent isn't going to want to join us and were we to lose Hazard come the summer we could be staring down the barrel of the most average Chelsea team of the Roman era. 

We need to turn things around and fast and Sarri's projection of stubbornness regarding team selection and tactics isn't feeling me with a whole lot of confidence right now.  

Theoretically we could miss out on top 4, while advancing to the Europa League final, right around the same time in May.  I think if we miss top 4 and don't win the Europa League, he will be gone, but a Europa League trophy would probably save him.