'It’s really important for him but, I need to be honest, I think he needs to use this kind of game to score a goal, feel the net, and to improve,' said Pochettino.

'Improve not only in his fitness or his capacity to work, but in his body language also. He needs to step up and go forward, smile, be a little bit more positive.

'I told him when he goes out there to smile. In a positive way, he needs to enjoy it more, smile and laugh, fill himself with more good energy and be a happy boy.

'That is the way he needs to improve to improve his game. The potential is amazing. We are talking about one of the young strikers in England or in Europe with the most potential. But now he needs to push himself and we are going to try to help to realise it is never enough and work really hard.

'He suffered in the past a big injury, he was away nearly one year, so of course now he needs time. It is not easy for him to perform and be at the level we expect, because our expectation is massive. We really believe in him and for sure we are going to push him to improve every day.'

7 minutes ago, Jangz said:

i was extremely disappointed by NJ and Broja and then i saw Nunez..

Was thinking watching the match yesterday that’s there’s so much talk around Nunez, about his strength, work rate etc and he gets very mixed reviews. Would I want him here …………. No!!!

 

3 hours ago, goose said:

Was thinking watching the match yesterday that’s there’s so much talk around Nunez, about his strength, work rate etc and he gets very mixed reviews. Would I want him here …………. No!!!

 

I wouldn't want Nunez here especially not for the big money he cost but every manager in the sports history would take him over Broja.

The Biggest problem with Broja is just how little he offers.

He was very Darwin Nunez himself after his goal, putting an easier header over the bar, a heavy touch round the keeper and a weak shot and then bundling over a defender but he was in the game unlike the first half and it was a massive improvement.

You're never going to get much quality from Broja but with his build and his pace he has the physical tools to be putting himself about and fighting for every ball but he just rarely does it.

Comes on strolls around or stands still in the box. Not good enough! 

4 minutes ago, turnyitb said:

Comes on strolls around or stands still in the box. Not good enough! 

It sums it up that the only centre forward we have who looks like he understands how to play the role, with the right movement and positioning, is a raw 18 year old with 2 career goals at senior level (and none for Chelsea). I say 18, but he could be 15 as it looks like he isn't even shaving yet LOL. 

Oh boy ... 🙂 

 

24 minutes ago, turnyitb said:

Comes on strolls around or stands still in the box. Not good enough! 

Broja is the worst striker I can recall us having but i wont have it said he stands still in the box.

Watch the game back and count how many times he runs away from the goal and leaves Sterling or Palmer as the only players in the box whenever it goes out wide or runs back towards our goal to get it and play a pass straight back to whoever passed it to him.

I said in the match thread How have we ended up with the only 6'3 mule of a striker that actively tries to avoid being in the box.

Absolutely no strikers instinct.

Edited January 9, 20242 yr by Whats_The_Mata?

Aside from the goal Broja was godawful against Preston. Having said that I think if ever there was the perfect opportunity to start him it was tonight - with his confidence a little higher, and against another weaker side. But Poch decides to bench him.

Broja should probably have a bit more resilience though - despite being sub it was not really any excuse to appear so utterly disinterested. The guy looks bored and depressed the majority of time he's on the pitch.

If he thinks playing in this side is so bad he should try being a fan.

Edited January 9, 20242 yr by Gonoir Beniashile

He seems to act like a wall a lot of the time. Someone passes it into him and he immediately passes it first time back. Then they try again and he does it again. No desire to turn and do anything with it.

2 minutes ago, Zeta said:

He seems to act like a wall a lot of the time. Someone passes it into him and he immediately passes it first time back. Then they try again and he does it again. No desire to turn and do anything with it.

Yes, I can recall an exact passage of play like that toward the end of the game. He passed it straight back twice and was then demanding it a third time. Baffling.

Reading between the lines of what Poch said about Broja after the Preston game, you can tell he's incredibly frustrated with him. On face value he has all the tools, but he seems to be lazy and disinterested, and stuck in first gear, and, as Whats_The_Mata? said, he has "absolutely no strikers instinct".

If any team actually wants  to buy Broja, I think I'd be moving him on sharply and giving a chance to someone else instead. To be honest I like the look of Washington much more, albeit we've only seen him for about 20 minutes in a  Chelsea shirt all season.

We so need to buy a decent striker ... 

 

I suspect Broja will be sold if we get an acceptable offer for him. Possibly even this window.

That said, he seemed the only attacking player tonight that gave a sh*t when he came on!

If I was him, I'd be touting myself around for offers pronto and jump ship this month! He won't get far at this club at the moment!

Nice to see we've adequately replaced DD Fofana for the "can't be worse" player actually being worse.

6 hours ago, Zeta said:

He seems to act like a wall a lot of the time. Someone passes it into him and he immediately passes it first time back. Then they try again and he does it again. No desire to turn and do anything with it.

Jorginho invented that.

https://www.thechelseachronicle.com/news/mauricio-pochettino-simply-must-start-22-year-old-for-chelsea-from-now-after-what-happened-last-night/

If Broja works his socks off and gets a run of games I reckon he'll start to be spoken of in the same breath as Neil Shipperley.

31 minutes ago, Gonoir Beniashile said:

If Broja works his socks off and gets a run of games I reckon he'll start to be spoken of in the same breath as Neil Shipperley.

He's got his work cut out just to get to Robert Fleck levels 🙂 

10 hours ago, Gonoir Beniashile said:

If Broja works his socks off and gets a run of games I reckon he'll start to be spoken of in the same breath as Neil Shipperley.

Ships was pretty prolific for his first half season or so. Ultimately his unhealthy diet probably didn't help.

17 hours ago, Sexyfootball said:

He's got his work cut out just to get to Robert Fleck levels 🙂 

Or even Roberta Flack.

Proper center forwards display today.

Moving in and out trying to get runs on the defenders, sometimes worked sometimes not. 

Worked hard for the team. Clearly still limited by his injury too. Good job Mando.

Yep have to hold my hands up, much better today! 

That's not what they said on the radio when he came off. They said he was basically useless and hadn't done anything.

Held the ball up better today but offers no goal scoring threat whatsoever.

Can't say I saw too much that was encouraging today. Maybe held the ball up a bit better but largely ineffective and rightly hooked albeit I'd have preferred to see him replaced with another striker.

Not the answer for us, I know he’s had a big injury but not a striker to fire us into European places, would struggle to hit double figures.

Needs a loan to see if he has a real future at this club IMO.