14 minutes ago, Gol15 said:

Mount is a starter with Kai.

Please let's not be thinking of our team alone, let's be thinking of our opponents' teams. If the opponents are very good, how do you set up our team to be solid defensively? If we don't want teams to just run us over, we need Declan Rice and Kante, if not, if we say Kante alone, I don't think Mount is a defensive midfielder, so I don't think he can be effective in supporting defensively.

I don't think Kante alone can do it. Take a look at PSG, Bayern and Liverpool's midfields and look at how they are set up. It is good for us to be good offensively and also good defensively.

Edited September 4, 20205 yr by hephzibah

Just now, Droopy said:

Mount as an offensive player has zero chance to start over the new signings. This mainly because our midfielders Kovacic, Kante and Jorginho can't score 5 goals combined. Our goals depend on our quarter in front and he has proven that he is not reliable in terms of scoring and assisting. 

But I like Mount as an option right next to Kovacic/Kante. His energy, his speed, stamina, mental and physical toughness can be used quite well for the battles in the middle. But him to start in the quartet? Forget it. 

I want us to erase attack, the attacking ability of Mount, from our minds in that position. What we need in that position is a defensively minded midfielder, who also is good going forward. 

So I think it is Declan Rice (or Ampadu) we need in that position, not Mount.

47 minutes ago, hephzibah said:

Please let's not be thinking of our team alone, let's be thinking of our opponents' teams. If the opponents are very good, how do you set up our team to be solid defensively? If we don't want teams to just run us over, we need Declan Rice and Kante, if not, if we say Kante alone, I don't think Mount is a defensive midfielder, so I don't think he can be effective in supporting defensively.

I don't think Kante alone can do it. Take a look at PSG, Bayern and Liverpool's midfields and look at how they are set up. It is good for us to be good offensively and also good defensively.

If we do observe PSG, Bayern and Liverpool we will see that all of those 3 teams do high press, even in the CL final.

Mount is very good at pressing and complements Kai, our deeper midfielders are good we got Kante, Kovacic, Jorginho and wee Billy...We don't need Rice.

Well that concluded nicely, anyone for a cup of Tea

1 hour ago, hephzibah said:

in the Chelsea versus Bayern match at Stamford bridge last season, the one we lost I think 3 nil, it's like I saw that Mount was not up to that high Champions league standard. 

Singling out Mount, who was still 20 for that game, as not CL standard is a bit fierce on the kid.  None of our team was CL level on those games against Bayern.  Even Kovacic our POTS was abysmal against them.

Interesting move by most leaving out Kova from the starting 11 - our player of the season. To be fair, we are going to be cramming a load of games into a small timeframe this season.

 

Mind that, we are stacked in midfield, I can only assume either Ruben or Ross are on their way out. But to be honest I can’t decide which, thankfully it’s not my job! 

Vision in Blue

Welcome King Kai!

Does anyone have a cool wallpaper with all our new signings?

Happy to see him finally sign. Now the real works starts of integrating these signings and getting results. The fees mean nothing without results.

Lots of reasons to be optimistic about not only the signings watching Mason Mount,  Tammy Abraham and CHO rise to a new level with the extra competition.

4 hours ago, coco said:

Singling out Mount, who was still 20 for that game, as not CL standard is a bit fierce on the kid.  None of our team was CL level on those games against Bayern.  Even Kovacic our POTS was abysmal against them.

That's my point. But I don't want us to continue being abysmal this season too in the Champions league? I don't want that. 

That is why I'm thinking of how we can have a team of players that can come up against teams like Bayern Munich. Look at PSG, their midfield was Marquinho, Herrera and Paredes. 

Look at Bayern, their midfield was Goretzka, Thiago and Muller.

Look at Liverpool, their midfield Fabinho, Henderson and Wijnaldum.

So for me, it is good to have good attacking, pressing players, but also a team should have strong defensive midfielders to protect the defense especially when you are playing against a strong opposition.

When you are playing against smaller teams, u may afford not to think of the defensive part of your team and just use a lot of attacking players, but against big teams, you have to defend very well. 

In France National team for example, I don't think they leave only Kante to do the defensive job in the middle. They play him alongside Matuidi, and both of them do the job together. If it was only Kante, I don't think he will do it well.

So we need to protect of defense well. You don't just line any player up in the middle, you need to look at your oppositions, will they not exploit the defensive frailty of my midfield against me? You need to think of that.

Very important.

5 hours ago, Gol15 said:

If we do observe PSG, Bayern and Liverpool we will see that all of those 3 teams do high press, even in the CL final.

Mount is very good at pressing and complements Kai, our deeper midfielders are good we got Kante, Kovacic, Jorginho and wee Billy...We don't need Rice.

Yes even though they do high pressing, they must still be able to rise up to the occasion when their opponents do a counter attack, they must be able to defend it. Anytime the opponents are attacking they must be able to defend.

Well I don't know the way it will work for us this season, I also like high pressing, I like fluid midfielders, I hope we can have defensively strong and yet fluid midfielders, that will really be great.

Frank likes to play with the ball, recycle quickly and to do that you need a high press, you take the ball back before the other teams can get a tempo, we have the players to do it I can’t see him not playing a high block. 

Welcome Kai.

What a great summer it has been 😎

2 hours ago, hephzibah said:

That's my point. But I don't want us to continue being abysmal this season too in the Champions league? I don't want that. 

That is why I'm thinking of how we can have a team of players that can come up against teams like Bayern Munich. Look at PSG, their midfield was Marquinho, Herrera and Paredes. 

Look at Bayern, their midfield was Goretzka, Thiago and Muller.

Look at Liverpool, their midfield Fabinho, Henderson and Wijnaldum.

So for me, it is good to have good attacking, pressing players, but also a team should have strong defensive midfielders to protect the defense especially when you are playing against a strong opposition.

When you are playing against smaller teams, u may afford not to think of the defensive part of your team and just use a lot of attacking players, but against big teams, you have to defend very well. 

In France National team for example, I don't think they leave only Kante to do the defensive job in the middle. They play him alongside Matuidi, and both of them do the job together. If it was only Kante, I don't think he will do it well.

So we need to protect of defense well. You don't just line any player up in the middle, you need to look at your oppositions, will they not exploit the defensive frailty of my midfield against me? You need to think of that.

Very important.

I think the primary plan was to flog Jorginho to Juve and replace with Rice to give us more variety of styles. Unfortunately it’s a very difficult summer to ship out players for fair fees.

44 minutes ago, Jezz said:

Welcome Kai.

What a great summer it has been 😎

Agreed.😀

7 hours ago, Ballack & Blu said:

Well that concluded nicely, anyone for a cup of Tea

Yes came out the blue that transfer, didn’t even know we were linked with this guy? 

We’ve made some great signings and we really should be more potent up front this season. Still a bit concerned about the defence letting things down though.

What is really encouraging though is the online reaction from supporters of other clubs. They’re apoplectic with rage over our spending and this says to me they are worried. So much concern about our academy players being tossed aside. It’s sweet that they care so much about Tammy etc.

1 hour ago, chi blue said:

Yes came out the blue that transfer, didn’t even know we were linked with this guy? 

Panic signing written all over it 

30 minutes ago, Valerie said:

Panic signing written all over it 

I heard we were all in for Zaha but Palace were hard-balling us so we settled last minute on this Havertz guy. Remember that time we signed the „German-Messi“? Whatever happened to him? 

1 hour ago, Snedger said:

We’ve made some great signings and we really should be more potent up front this season. Still a bit concerned about the defence letting things down though.

What is really encouraging though is the online reaction from supporters of other clubs. They’re apoplectic with rage over our spending and this says to me they are worried. So much concern about our academy players being tossed aside. It’s sweet that they care so much about Tammy etc.

I've seen that and it is so funny. They all assume we will never play Tammy, Mount, James etc yet for me they'll be even better playing with our new class signings, let alone Silva's natural leadership.

Edited September 5, 20205 yr by Malcolm9

4 minutes ago, bluedave said:

I heard we were all in for Zaha but Palace were hard-balling us so we settled last minute on this Havertz guy. Remember that time we signed the „German-Messi“? Whatever happened to him? 

I remember back in the summer 2012 we bought this little Belgium pip squeak from Lille, he played out wide, f**k knows what ever happened to him, his name was Edith, Edna, Ethel something like that, anyway, this new signing seems like history repeating itself, really wish I could remember that Belgium’s name, probably find he’s  scratching around in the conference now

I would rather we go with the midfield two and push Kai more forward personally? I think most posters are right though, it will likely be Kai and Mount in the midfield with Kante behind.