Perisic isnt a done deal mind you. Italian outlets say that report was false. 
 

Kounde looks an utter liability as well. 

4 minutes ago, axman2526 said:

One more sub slot for extra time. I believe you get an extra sub too.

So in total you get 6 subs. But can you like sub 3 players in 3 separated moments and then use that final "extra sub stop" to put 3 players in?

Really confused about that rule anyway haha

27 minutes ago, Brigadeiro Mk II said:

So in total you get 6 subs. But can you like sub 3 players in 3 separated moments and then use that final "extra sub stop" to put 3 players in?

Really confused about that rule anyway haha

Me too. I just remember a game in the CL where an extra sub could be used in extra time.

39 minutes ago, Sconnie Blue said:

Perisic isnt a done deal mind you. Italian outlets say that report was false. 
 

Kounde looks an utter liability as well. 

Has anyone watched Kounde play? We've flushed so much money down the toilet it's hard to be optimistic about any big money signing these days

 

Worried his height might hurt him in the Prem (though maybe it won't matter too much in a back 3)

17 minutes ago, Drogba1 said:

Has anyone watched Kounde play? We've flushed so much money down the toilet it's hard to be optimistic about any big money signing these days

 

Worried his height might hurt him in the Prem (though maybe it won't matter too much in a back 3)

I watched a bit of him last season and this season. He looked okay when I watched him last season, but this season I haven't been as impressed. Still, I haven't seen enough of him to be 100% sure either way.

18 minutes ago, Drogba1 said:

Has anyone watched Kounde play? We've flushed so much money down the toilet it's hard to be optimistic about any big money signing these days

 

Worried his height might hurt him in the Prem (though maybe it won't matter too much in a back 3)

I don't trust the people making transfer signings for the club anymore. Too many duds. Wish the new owners had done away with all of them.

2 hours ago, axman2526 said:

No one is ever a certain pen scorer. However Rom is very good at Pens, is a bit like having Lamps on but subbing him ahead of a shootout. 

After I knew that timo was injured, it made me reconsider Tuchel's decision to sub rom out. Ruben cameo as a st was total disaster and puli as a 9 stopped our long ball game. 

56 minutes ago, axman2526 said:

I don't trust the people making transfer signings for the club anymore. Too many duds. Wish the new owners had done away with all of them.

Would honestly take Emenalo back in a heartbeat the way things have gone

TT has yet to have his meeting with Todd Boehly to confirm his position for next season apparently, unlike Bruce and Marina.

10 hours ago, JPH said:

The next season will be much more difficult with likes Rudiger gone and the club sale sealed too late to acquire enough good new players.

It’s still this season, take over will complete in time, and all transfers are completed during pre season for next season???

4 hours ago, axman2526 said:

TT has yet to have his meeting with Todd Boehly to confirm his position for next season apparently, unlike Bruce and Marina.

Didn't he meet with both TT and Emma at the training ground the other day? TT will stay, you can see he is committed to the cause and will have the opportunity to bring players he wants in.

Edited May 15, 20224 yr by Malcolm9

8 hours ago, Sconnie Blue said:

It’s embarrassing. Some actually think our cancerous attack would’ve cured itself had Chilwell not torn his ACL

Our attacking (and defensive) play relies so much on the wing backs performing well. So losing one and both wbs at various stages is about the worst thing that could have happened to our system. I do think TT should have tried to adapt to a 4 at the back when we we’re really struggling over winter though.

I’ve said this a few times so sorry to sound like a broken record - but you can really see why Tuchel wanted Hakimi now!

The wingback-talk is pretty interesting at this point. We were flying with Chilly and James early in the season. Both got injured and everything went sideways. Liverpool imploded last season when their main centerbacks got injured. 

We are going to lose Alonso which for me is a loss but if we replace him well we can actually improve. Chilly is also back. 

Functioning wingbacks won't solve everything but it sure will help a lot. Our attacking mainly comes from wings and when you have players who can deliver and make plays you have the upper hand even if your attack starts slow. 

If we lose Alonso Perisic for free would be a good solution. Perisic is a very good player. Experienced and he also knows Kovacic well. It helps too. Him and Chilly as options on the left sounds good to me.

The Right side is a bit trickier. James is the main man but we need Azpi defending if he stays that is. Not sure if we have anyone kn our system who could take that role...

You can see the team is ALMOST there with the squad and Tuchel is right that it needs minor tweaks. The biggest issue is that we don’t finish teams off and kill them. Liverpool were there to be killed yday and we couldn’t do it.
 

That’s down to the forwards and strikers - none of them are ruthless and can drag us over the line. Too many trying to score the perfect goal and too many passes. 

Whoever we do sign, I hope it includes a few players who will go straight into the first eleven ... we don't need better back ups, we need better starters !

 

46 minutes ago, JM7 said:

You can see the team is ALMOST there with the squad and Tuchel is right that it needs minor tweaks. The biggest issue is that we don’t finish teams off and kill them. Liverpool were there to be killed yday and we couldn’t do it.

Liverpool have scored 2 open play goals against us in 5 games since Tuchel has got here.

Tuchel has Klopp sussed out but sadly that will go under the radar due to losing the tie breakers.

Edited May 15, 20224 yr by Argo

I'm can't get my head around anyone questioning Pulisic going off. He could barely walk anymore let alone run. Keeping him on would have been liking playing with ten men, or playing with Odoi as its called. 

The after the event info that Werner wasn't fit does make the Lukaku change more questionable although he was having a...well a Lukaku. That said with no real credible alternative it probably would have been better to grin and bear it and leave him on the park. 

It's been said elsewhere but we simply don't have the quality back up to change a game. Even if Werner and Havertz had been fit I wouldn't have fancied them to come into that game and change anything dramatically. 

13 hours ago, axman2526 said:

Has come up in this thread and various others but why do we keep going on about Ben Flipin Chilwell like he is Messi?

 

Exactly! No question it’s Chilwell > Messi!

Despite my optimism I can't help but thinking issues will remain regardless of having everybody fit next season. Even if we do bring in some elite forwards. Structurally this system with 3 cbs means our build-up will be heavily reliant on passing from the back. 

What I appreciate about Tuchel is that he created a system in which he brought total football to Stamford Bridge.

Yet playing with 3 cbs means a lot of our passing involves passing around from the back and it kills our attacks more often than not. It was evident last night, the contrast between how quickly Liverpools passing patterns turned into attacks vs ours which regularly regardless of who we play just consisted of recycling the ball between the midfield and cbs but mostly the defenders. 

It's only natural that having more defensive players means it will be harder to score goals, but will also make it harder for the opposition to score.

Back to the system when James and Chilwell play they are flying wingers who get in behind which means we always have more passing avenues. Alonso whereas struggles for pace so playing him in behind is always a 50/50 at best.

What I don't understand is why can we play the ball quickly to the wingers but not the forwards? Also why do we always have to make an extra pass rather than play the early through ball? Like our players will see the striker running through and can pass it through vertically but would prefer to pass to the wing and have someone cross into a more crowded box. 

It's why despite being optimistic about next season and the summer window, I wonder whether our attack will always flatter to decieve as long as we play 3atb. It's been discussed regularly on here and it seems regardless of what we think TT will stick with it.

So if it's here to stay how can we bring out the best of this systems attacking facets? If you look at Conte at spurs and their attack it couldn't be more lethal, but they rely heavily on the counter and do possess two of the top attacking talents in world football (important to note our 3atb system differs to Conte's we play possession while he likes to counter especially against bigger teams).

This suggests two important assumptions about 3atb systems, firstly when on the counter players need to be as efficient as possible. This is to compensate for having less attackers and therefore presumably fewer chances.

This then leads to the next point, for the players to be efficient, we are in need of truly top quality elite players. I think TTs system works and could win the league, if firstly he has the elite forward line and secondly he has the players in midfield/defence that can consistently find them.

So my point is if we play this system then our front 3 has to be elite and I mean 2/3 attackers can get into any or most starting 11s in the world. Meanwhile the rest of the team has to move the ball much quicker in transition and in possession.

We've spoke about this plenty of times, realistically some of our attackers need to be moved on, I let sentiment hold me back but I've accepted it now. While I do love all our players some of them just won't cut it if we want to challenge the big two over a 38 game season, in cup competitions maybe but not when consistency is essential.

My biggest issue is who in the world is good enough to flourish under our current conditions? It's a hard job to be a top goal scorer and creator in world football and even more so in the Premier League of all places. It's not squad depth that we need, as pointed out by a good few on here we need new starters.

Lastly I can't help but think that a simple switch to a back 4 with a dm as so many have asked for would just solve everything. The dm just sits between the two cbs on attacks and forms the back 3, the fullbacks get forward like wingbacks the same way modern fullbacks operate these days anyway.

We then can keep the midfield pivot but because we have a dm we can play two 8s instead of two 6s meaning one of the two can be Kova/Kante while the other could be a 10 with the work rate of an 8 Mount/Gallagher.

Finally this allows for a front 3 of specific forwards not midfielders playing as forwards, so out and out attackers that have the service of the fullbacks, the midfield 3 and their fellow forwards. 

Only issue I see is Thiago in a back 4 at 37, but if he's sat next to a speedy cb and a mobile dm then maybe it would be ok. 

13 hours ago, axman2526 said:

Has come up in this thread and various others but why do we keep going on about Ben Flipin Chilwell like he is Messi?

Yes it was a blow losing him for the season to injury and he was playing well but come on if the house of cards folds so badly because of him it was built poorly in the first place.

I agree but it's more to do with the house of cards point that I think you've hit the nail on the head with. 

Losing Chilwell was merely the first nail in the coffin, James was the second. TT built this system relying heavily on the wingbacks providing creativity and the attacking spark. Once we lost them it just wasn't the same.

Thing is we probably have when fit and on form the best two wingbacks in world football add in Alonso and that's probably 3/5 of the best wingbacks in the game. Sadly Alonso struggles with pace and this effects his impact on how TT wants to play.

The house was built poorly because we had no plan b, we had 3 wingbacks in the squad 4 if you include Dave. The difference between Alonso and Dave vs James and Chilwell is purely athletic imo. The best part about the team last season under TT is he showcased their athleticism we looked like the fittest team on the planet, the intensity, workrate, speed and power was great to see.

This season we've failed to showcase this and I think that starts from the wingbacks, Kanté and Kova constant injuries and other factors.

I think by failing to get in sufficient wingback cover last summer we risked this scenario unlikely as it was, it was the worst timeline regarding the squad.

1 hour ago, loz said:

I'm can't get my head around anyone questioning Pulisic going off. He could barely walk anymore let alone run. Keeping him on would have been liking playing with ten men, or playing with Odoi as its called. 

The after the event info that Werner wasn't fit does make the Lukaku change more questionable although he was having a...well a Lukaku. That said with no real credible alternative it probably would have been better to grin and bear it and leave him on the park. 

It's been said elsewhere but we simply don't have the quality back up to change a game. Even if Werner and Havertz had been fit I wouldn't have fancied them to come into that game and change anything dramatically. 

We suffer from having (and let's take lukaku out of consideration given how things have gone for a moment) a lot of good forward players but no great ones. 

Often this is portrayed as us having lots of depth and options, which is true, but it also means that none can be sure of a long run in the team to really hit their best form. 

4 minutes ago, g3.7 said:

We suffer from having (and let's take lukaku out of consideration given how things have gone for a moment) a lot of good forward players but no great ones. 

Often this is portrayed as us having lots of depth and options, which is true, but it also means that none can be sure of a long run in the team to really hit their best form. 

This, hard to find form being in and out of a team. It's damning that no one besides Mount has really nailed a starting place in attack and he's not even a forward by trade more of a midfielder who can play forward.

11 hours ago, Sconnie Blue said:

Perisic isnt a done deal mind you. Italian outlets say that report was false. 
 

Kounde looks an utter liability as well. 

The same Kounde thats part of the best defence in La Liga?.

The same Kounde who was in the LA Liga team of the season last year.

2 hours ago, loz said:

I'm can't get my head around anyone questioning Pulisic going off. He could barely walk anymore let alone run. Keeping him on would have been liking playing with ten men, or playing with Odoi as its called. 

The after the event info that Werner wasn't fit does make the Lukaku change more questionable although he was having a...well a Lukaku. That said with no real credible alternative it probably would have been better to grin and bear it and leave him on the park. 

It's been said elsewhere but we simply don't have the quality back up to change a game. Even if Werner and Havertz had been fit I wouldn't have fancied them to come into that game and change anything dramatically. 

Very much agreed.

Lukaku was also very much out of the limited gas he does have when he was subbed off at 85 minutes in my opinion. And with Ziyech and Loftus Cheek as the only two somewhat attacking options on the bench, what excactly should Tuchel have done?

57 minutes ago, LongtimerLurker said:

 

Back to the system when James and Chilwell play they are flying wingers who get in behind which means we always have more passing avenues. Alonso whereas struggles for pace so playing him in behind is always a 50/50 at best.

What I don't understand is why can we play the ball quickly to the wingers but not the forwards? Also why do we always have to make an extra pass rather than play the early through ball? Like our players will see the striker running through and can pass it through vertically but would prefer to pass to the wing and have someone cross into a more crowded box. 

It's why despite being optimistic about next season and the summer window, I wonder whether our attack will always flatter to decieve as long as we play 3atb. It's been discussed regularly on here and it seems regardless of what we think TT will stick with it.

So if it's here to stay how can we bring out the best of this systems attacking facets? If you look at Conte at spurs and their attack it couldn't be more lethal, but they rely heavily on the counter and do possess two of the top attacking talents in world football (important to note our 3atb system differs to Conte's we play possession while he likes to counter especially against bigger teams).

This suggests two important assumptions about 3atb systems, firstly when on the counter players need to be as efficient as possible. This is to compensate for having less attackers and therefore presumably fewer chances.

This then leads to the next point, for the players to be efficient, we are in need of truly top quality elite players. I think TTs system works and could win the league, if firstly he has the elite forward line and secondly he has the players in midfield/defence that can consistently find them.

So my point is if we play this system then our front 3 has to be elite and I mean 2/3 attackers can get into any or most starting 11s in the world. Meanwhile the rest of the team has to move the ball much quicker in transition and in possession.

We've spoke about this plenty of times, realistically some of our attackers need to be moved on, I let sentiment hold me back but I've accepted it now. While I do love all our players some of them just won't cut it if we want to challenge the big two over a 38 game season, in cup competitions maybe but not when consistency is essential.

My biggest issue is who in the world is good enough to flourish under our current conditions? It's a hard job to be a top goal scorer and creator in world football and even more so in the Premier League of all places. It's not squad depth that we need, as pointed out by a good few on here we need new starters.

Lastly I can't help but think that a simple switch to a back 4 with a dm as so many have asked for would just solve everything. The dm just sits between the two cbs on attacks and forms the back 3, the fullbacks get forward like wingbacks the same way modern fullbacks operate these days anyway.

We then can keep the midfield pivot but because we have a dm we can play two 8s instead of two 6s meaning one of the two can be Kova/Kante while the other could be a 10 with the work rate of an 8 Mount/Gallagher.

Finally this allows for a front 3 of specific forwards not midfielders playing as forwards, so out and out attackers that have the service of the fullbacks, the midfield 3 and their fellow forwards. 

Only issue I see is Thiago in a back 4 at 37, but if he's sat next to a speedy cb and a mobile dm then maybe it would be ok. 

Back 3, back 4 really does not matter in term of how fast do or how offensive you want to be.