1 hour ago, Bobbywoodhogan said:

There’s a pattern with our managers, Jose in his last season was stubborn and kept choosing out form players, Conte the same. Now Sarri, I don’t get it at all, why be stubborn about who your picking? Given how this season has turned out we may aswell have just stuck with Conte. 

Probably because the alternatives weren't/aren't the upgrades fans make them out to be.

I'm not convinced at all by his style/tactics and I'd be surprised if it ever worked here. After 3/4s of a season I t's really not showing any positive signs at all. Getting worse in fact. However, in his defence, with the players now at his disposal he's got a difficult task to get much out of them and he's got absolutely no chance of making this squad threaten to win the league.

1 hour ago, axman2526 said:

Hey now there will always be a place at Chelsea for Gianfranco Zola.

Zola is a legend mate but the facts don’t lie he’s been pretty bad as a manager / coach

34 minutes ago, Argo said:

Probably because the alternatives weren't/aren't the upgrades fans make them out to be.

Really? RLC isn’t better than Barkley? CHO isn’t able to offer the same as Willian & Pedro? Christensen isn’t a better defender than Luiz? Emerson isn’t great but at least he has pace which is a massive issue for Alonso. The players we play clearly aren’t that great in the first place. In fact we have years of them chucking the towel in when they’re out the running for trophies. What harm can it really do playing them? We’re not making top 4 with that team we had today. They’re sh*te. I’ve never had such a lack of connection with a Chelsea team than this one. 

1 minute ago, EdinburghBlue said:

Really? RLC isn’t better than Barkley? CHO isn’t able to offer the same as Willian & Pedro? Christensen isn’t a better defender than Luiz? Emerson isn’t great but at least he has pace which is a massive issue for Alonso. The players we play clearly aren’t that great in the first place. In fact we have years of them chucking the towel in when they’re out the running for trophies. What harm can it really do playing them? We’re not making top 4 with that team we had today. They’re sh*te. I’ve never had such a lack of connection with a Chelsea team than this one. 

Ruben has been injured for a while until recently (and i think not playing him today was correct as 180 minutes in 72 hours would have been a big risk with his fitness record) and when CHO has played big or bigish opponents he has often looked lost. Emerson and Alonso is like choosing between Susan Boyle and Heather of Eastenders, i genuinely couldn't care who gets that gig because they are both sh*t but in different ways.

I blame Sarri more for mentality than team selection, with the latter his hands are pretty tied.

15 minutes ago, Andy2461 said:

Zola is a legend mate but the facts don’t lie he’s been pretty bad as a manager / coach

Wonder how he would do as director of football? 

1 hour ago, Argo said:

Probably because the alternatives weren't/aren't the upgrades fans make them out to be.

You don’t think the alternatives are better options? Giroud is clearly better on our team than Higuain, Barkley is bang average RLC is a better option. CHO over Pedro/Willian I’ll give you cause Pedro and William do deliver on their days but then again we’ve seen too often Pedro perform like he did today. CHO has earned a chance to have a run at a few starts imo. Emerson isn’t amazing but right now he’s a better option than Alonso who quite frankly looks past his best. We do need to get a LB in when we next can or promote one.

I don’t see what more those players can do. For me Sarri just has his favourites.

16 minutes ago, Bobbywoodhogan said:

You don’t think the alternatives are better options? Giroud is clearly better on our team than Higuain, Barkley is bang average RLC is a better option. CHO over Pedro/Willian I’ll give you cause Pedro and William do deliver on their days but then again we’ve seen too often Pedro perform like he did today. CHO has earned a chance to have a run at a few starts imo. Emerson isn’t amazing but right now he’s a better option than Alonso who quite frankly looks past his best. We do need to get a LB in when we next can or promote one.

I don’t see what more those players can do. For me Sarri just has his favourites.

I already covered my thoughts re RLC, Alonso and CHO responding to @Edinburgh Blue and i think OG18 won't make much difference, we had to go to false 9 in the first place for a reason. The one area that maybe could be switched is Luiz for AC.

It was similar with Jose, he did a lot of things wrong in 15/16 to put it mildly but with team selection what more could he have done? We all wanted Ivan dropped then he had a layoff and his cover was even worse, he rotated JT, Cahill and Zouma yet they were all as bad as eachother, likewise Pedro and Oscar. Although it was his fault most sunk to those depths in the first place.

Out of the gripes i have with Sarri team selection is not on even on the radar.

50 minutes ago, Argo said:

 

Out of the gripes i have with Sarri team selection is not on even on the radar.

That's just you, it doesn't mean that his team selection has much logic anymore. He said Higuain couldn't play 90minutes because he was a bit ill so he subbed him off after 65min, the question is then why does he even start if he's not fit enough?
RLC after some month or two into the season was playing the best football of all our midfielders and got injured, since then he's been on the bench for no reason why is he now a backup for Barkley that can't produce anything?
CHO can't start any game for no reason as well, not even against Dynamo Kiev that has several youth players, even after he always proved himself, what does he have to do to start one game, it's not like he can't be subbed off if he's doing poorly?

Our defense is weak and Sarri didn't improve much there at all, our attack is still poor even with the new possession based football, seems that the only thing our squad trains is to pass the ball around, Hazard bailed us out vs Wolves with a shot outside the box, otherwise we would have lost 2 games in a row now, and we barely managed to beat Fulham that is without a real manager, our players are not as bad compared to how Sarri is bad as a manager here.

We seem to have got our two season boom bust cycle down to half a season each.

Not good enough.

8 hours ago, Argo said:

Ruben has been injured for a while until recently (and i think not playing him today was correct as 180 minutes in 72 hours would have been a big risk with his fitness record) and when CHO has played big or bigish opponents he has often looked lost. Emerson and Alonso is like choosing between Susan Boyle and Heather of Eastenders, i genuinely couldn't care who gets that gig because they are both sh*t but in different ways.

I blame Sarri more for mentality than team selection, with the latter his hands are pretty tied.

He didn’t have to play the full 90 though, did he? He could have at least got a start as appreciation for the good performance midweek, Alonso got one. If he’s struggling take him off at HT or 50/60 minutes when we’re hopefully winning. 

 

Pedro looked lost today, all to often his head is down and he’s like a headless chicken and he fires shots everywhere but on target, as I’ve said before Willian & Pedro aren’t going to improve at their age. CHO is going to improve, Everton aren’t a big opponent this season, they’ve been well below their usual standards IMO and are a mid table team this year.

 

I agree, both aren’t good enough but as I said previously - at least Emerson has pace, that is so important for a full back, if for anything else other than to recover when out of position or cover across for Luiz. Alonso is far too slow to do that. 

 

But he keeps saying it’s a mental problem the team has, and then he picks that exact same team the next week, how is that not his fault? 

Reading about RLC coming back from injury has been an excuse for a while now, his been back for nearly a month now and he only missed 2 games before that. He could have easily played less minutes Thursday and started yesterday.

12 hours ago, Le Fantôme Noir said:

A terrible, clueless board appointed the wrong man. All of them need to go.

Even with the transfer ban, the future will be brighter with them not around.

 

Roman appointed the board. They answer to him. I’d be completely staggered if he did not verify every major decision.

They are placemen. Is it sacrilegious to criticise the main man himself?

If he does want to sell, I don’t know whether splashing money or players makes sense or not. It would probably be reflected in the book price of the club, however it could also be viewed as feeding hay to a dead horse.

That is if, a big if, we can circumvent the signings ban.

 

Edited March 18, 20197 yr by Ewell CFC

Based on results, he should have gone after the City game. The little turn around after the cup final is over, just not sure how he is going to pick up the pieces after yesterday. Everytime we lost, he talked about lack of motivation and mental problem, now looks like we do have one. As long as we don't score, we started to panic. I used to believe possession football could wear the opposition out, but lately I have seen us out of gas  before the opposition. I don't think a good manager would lose so many games the same way in a single season, he must find to overcome that, I just haven't seen Sarri able to do it. Am I confident about winning the Europa league? Not really, but we got a good draw, we should get to the final. Once we get there, hopefully the players take charge and win it at all cost.

22 minutes ago, icecoolguy22 said:

I used to believe possession football could wear the opposition out, but lately I have seen us out of gas  before the opposition.

Possession football can work if your moving the other team around constantly and they need 100% concentration and energy just to stop you getting in on goal or behind their full backs.

Teams don't need energy and concentration to keep us out because our Italian style of football is way too slow, ponderous and predictable, they just need to make sure they don't make any catastrophic errors.  

Edited March 18, 20197 yr by 2211

I’m happy to see him go. 

Had enough of his boring football. What’s the point in having 80% of the ball when we’re not going to score?

I really tried my best to keep faith in the manager but it has reached a point where enough is enough for me. We’re rubbish in defence, midfield and attack!

37 minutes ago, icecoolguy22 said:

As long as we don't score, we started to panic

This is the biggest issue for me. It's like we expect our early domination to put us 2-3 goals ahead, and when it doesn't happen we don't know what to do next. When teams absorb that pressure and then have a go at us and inevitably score, we are beaten. I might as well have turned that game off after they went 1-0 up yesterday because there was no way we was going to get back into it. It's like we don't prepare for the possibility that we might actually go 1-0 down. 

Unfortunately, it's Sarri out for me at this point. I've been on the fence for a while, and really wanted to wait till the end of the season to make a definitive call. I really, really hate the managerial merry go round, BUT if we do stick with someone, he has to show that he deserves it. Based on the following 3 issues, I don't believe Sarri to be the right man, and I don't think he will change for as long as he is in charge:

1.) He cares more about his system working than winning. All the negatives about him in this thread basically point to this. Square pegs in round holes. Sticking to his favorites no matter their form or situation. Being unable to adjust his tactics when he's clearly been found out by the league. He is banging his head against a wall at this point, and I really don't see him stopping. Nor do I see the wall breaking. He adjusted when pushed to the very brink (Man City, Spurs), but has reverted back to his plan A since then. 

2.) Lack of faith in youth. Using age as a reason for not playing CHO more is just ridiculous. And I think the same can be said for Ampadu, RLC and even Christensen (270 PL min) and Emerson (300 PL min). All of them have seen their first team counterpart play poorly. All have hardly gotten a sniff at PL minutes. 

3.) He cannot motivate this team to go out and get a result. Perhaps not many managers can, but I suspect he's well below average in this regard. We had 2 "finals" against Wolves and Everton, and we got 2 damp squibs. This team does not look well prepared when it comes to the details. I don't know what it is, but the lack of set piece goals. Azpi's awkward penalty coin flip indecision in the final.  No in game situational changes (if we go 2 goals up, this is what we need to do. If we go 1 goal down, don't panic, this is what we need to do) Just these little things. I just get the feeling Sarri does not prepare the squad well enough from situation to situation, and hence, we easily lose spirit when faced with adversity. There is no belief in him from the squad. 

The transfer ban is coming up, and we may very well lose our best creative player. We might even lose his heir apparent. Sarri is not going to get a window to bring in his type of players. It's looking like our squad will remain largely the same, with a bit more influx of youth. Can you stomach another season of Willian, Pedro, Barkley, Jorginho, Luiz and Alonso? One year older and playing the exact same broken tactics as we are now? Taking up valuable Premier League playing time for CHO (if he's still around), RLC, Ampadu, Christensen, James, Mount, Tammy etc. Because if history is any indication, that's who will be playing on opening day next year if Sarri is around.  

Let's face it. We are not a Top 4 team now. We will be even worse next year. We need to ensure that we at least have the ingredients for a Top 4 team by 2020/2021. Next year should be about giving our youth a healthy amount of minutes, sink or swim. Then, reevaluate the squad and spend wisely when the ban is lifted. I don't think Sarri is the right person for the rebuild ahead. 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Done!!!! That’s It!!!! Completely over him now

Was hoping this game would be different (how dumb was I), someone summed it up earlier. He’s a stubborn dick who is clearly out of his depth. 

Leave now and take Jorginho with you, bring in Frankie, play Kante in his rightful place, play with inform players and hope to god we win the Europa League 

Whoever the moron is that keeps defending him on here is either related to Sarri or on his payroll, surely nobody is that stupid that they can’t see that he’s toxic and is killing our team. 

Sarri is either that f**king stupid and ignorant or he’s deliberately trying to be sacked

51 minutes ago, 2211 said:

Possession football can work if your moving the other team around constantly and they need 100% concentration and energy just to stop you getting in on goal or behind their full backs.

Teams don't need energy and concentration to keep us out because our Italian style of football is way too slow, ponderous and predictable, they just need to make sure they don't make any catastrophic errors.  

Absolutely spot on. Guardiola's Barca and now City wear the opposition out with their intelligent passing and movement off the ball. Sarri's Chelsea is indeed slow, ponderous and predictable and players exhaust themselves far more than they do the opponent. It's almost like they're trying their best to pass the 'keep the ball' test instead of playing actual football. It's possession for the sake of possession, and without the ball the team is just as clueless as it is with it.

In the 10 Premier League games we have played this calendar year:

4 wins, 4 losses, 2 draws. 

14 points from a possible 30. 

12 goals scored, 17 conceded giving a -5 goal difference. 

We have scored a first half goal in only 3 of these 10 games.  

 

Doesn't make for pretty reading does it? Personally I don't think it's good enough and think a change of manager at the end of the season is the best way to take us forward. 

3 minutes ago, ForeverCarefree said:

In the 10 Premier League games we have played this calendar year:

4 wins, 4 losses, 2 draws. 

14 points from a possible 30. 

12 goals scored, 17 conceded giving a -5 goal difference. 

We have scored a first half goal in only 3 of these 10 games.  

 

Doesn't make for pretty reading does it? Personally I don't think it's good enough and think a change of manager at the end of the season is the best way to take us forward. 

Add to that, 5 were against a poor huddersfield side. 

I guess the board is so clueless, they won't sack him to let us suffer even more. I am pretty sure we will miss out on the Top 4 and let's be honest, till now we didn't face one strong team in Europa. Maybe we will eliminate Praha, but how we play at the moment, we will surely not win against Arsenal/Napoli. That's how far we've fallen. I hope I am wrong

9 minutes ago, drjonesy1994 said:

Add to that, 5 were against a poor huddersfield side. 

And then add to that 2 was against Fulham and another was an own goal against Spurs.