We need a hard working striker that will DEMAND better service from the midfield, wingers and full backs and give them a right mouthful if he doesn't get any. Havertz is too passive for me ... plays like he was locked in a cupboard under the stairs for the first 10 years of his life ... 

 

The new players were the stand outs today. Perhaps we need another 7 of them ?

Reece James needs to sort himself out - he's supposed to be an elite crosser but that was absolute dog sh*t today ... 

Not sure what TT was playing at with his 3 "centre backs" being James, Silva and Azpi at the end there. Not even one 6 footer in those three - inviting trouble if you ask me ...

Chalobah probably thinking WTF when two wing backs are preferred instead of him at centre back. 

 

1 minute ago, Sexyfootball said:

 plays like he was locked in a cupboard under the stairs for the first 10 years of his life ... 

But without the magic 

This was another match where I watch our midfield and think, "this just isn't good enough to compete for the premier league."  What am I missing with Jorginho?  Yet again, I thought he brought absolutely nothing to the table.  Is it possible that this formation with 2 midfielders is never going to allow for a strong midfield?  Kai and Mason were invisible (it's a trend for Kai) but I thought the biggest problem was the group behind them.  I want defenders who defend so that leaves the midfielders to control and create for the forwards (or allow the forwards to create).  I never see that out of our midfielders, with the occasional exception of Kovacic.  Maybe Jorginho and Kante in this formation are just never going to allow that to happen.

1 hour ago, Scott Harris said:

We need to stop saying such and such player is playing in such and such position, especially when it comes to our forwards. Broja wasn't playing on the left wing, Sterling wasn't playing as a striker. They were roaming forwards that were sometimes on the wing and sometimes playing centrally. Football pundits not understanding this shows they don't have a grasp of the modern game, and it's the reason why they are doing punditry and not coaching.

Ahh that’s the reason we ain’t very sharp in front of goal🤣

Goodison out of the way on Gameweek 1 and 3 points. Will never complain about that. 

About half our team look short on fitness. Probably due to heat and travels in the States I think. Expect us to look a lot better very soon.

Desperately need two attackers though in my opinion.

 

1 hour ago, Scott Harris said:

We need to stop saying such and such player is playing in such and such position, especially when it comes to our forwards. Broja wasn't playing on the left wing, Sterling wasn't playing as a striker. They were roaming forwards that were sometimes on the wing and sometimes playing centrally. Football pundits not understanding this shows they don't have a grasp of the modern game, and it's the reason why they are doing punditry and not coaching.

Did you watch the liverpool game, getting the ball in early to a good striker, he might of had 4 goals, just saying play to your strengths, could easily play Sterling off a guy with pace, strength, and a better touch than Werner and Lucky Luk, he’d create plenty for the Nippy Tricky Sterling…

15 minutes ago, floydgator said:

This was another match where I watch our midfield and think, "this just isn't good enough to compete for the premier league."  What am I missing with Jorginho?  Yet again, I thought he brought absolutely nothing to the table.  Is it possible that this formation with 2 midfielders is never going to allow for a strong midfield?  Kai and Mason were invisible (it's a trend for Kai) but I thought the biggest problem was the group behind them.  I want defenders who defend so that leaves the midfielders to control and create for the forwards (or allow the forwards to create).  I never see that out of our midfielders, with the occasional exception of Kovacic.  Maybe Jorginho and Kante in this formation are just never going to allow that to happen.

I would fix this by playing 3-5-2: 

-----------Sterling----Broja-----------

-------Mount/Gallagher---Kante-------

Cucurella------Jorginho-----------James

-------KK------Thiago----(RCB)--------

No more passive Havertz and more control in midfield .

Well that was certainly ugly but 3 points is 3 points and 2 more points than the scouser got today.   Big shout out to the two old men at the back, without them we might be looking at a different scoreline. Silva and KK are stalwart defenders and masters of their craft.  Chillwell, Mount and one or two others out of sorts today but it's the first game of a long season and hopefully things will improve with another 5 defenders, 2 midfielders and 8 forwards arriving over the next couple of weeks....

We didn’t look great as a team but the good news is that all our signings looks fantastic, we have added quality plus AB was a problem when he came on I think he will score goals and be used this season 

21 minutes ago, comtrend said:

-----------Sterling----Broja-----------

-------Mount/Gallagher---Kante-------

We'd have the same issues with Sterling and Broja starving if Kante and Mount or Gallagher were supposed to supply them. All three are bang average passers and lacking in creativity.

 

The attack was hopeless, the buildup pedestrian, we had little plan against the low block, we have no regular goal scorer from corners so they are useless. And we got 3 points  not really a fan of Kante and Jorginho as a pair. Looked better with RLC, cucurella and Broja. Injured old defenders in first game is a worry. 

A win is a win

Though it was far from impressive, but expected with team building there sharpnesses. Our new signings looked good. And I thought cucurella was good when. He came on. 
 

still can see why we need another CB as if koulibaly or silva get injured we will be in trouble. 
 

I hope we add more quality to this squad as I think there could be potential there with another defender, attacker and maybe a midfielder 

6 minutes ago, Sindre said:

We'd have the same issues with Sterling and Broja starving if Kante and Mount or Gallagher were supposed to supply them. All three are bang average passers and lacking in creativity.

 

I think Mounts performance in that position have been good for England in recent games, despite their results. Starting alot of their attacks from midfield and he is more difficult to track from there. We all saw how good Gallagher was for Palace in that position last season as well. 

It's still such a chore to watch us play. This formation is doing my head in. Lumping long balls to our forwards doesn't work very well, someone please tell Tuchel.

2 hours ago, Bob stark said:

Havertz on the wing = trash 

Havertz in the middle = good

It is very simple 

Havertz on the bench would be better. He’s been dining out too long on one goal. Generational talent? Clearly generations these days are just six months. Seriously though, I had high hopes for him, he hasn’t shown up for the majority of our games and needs a rocket up his arse.

I hope we can improve. Title is out the question but let's pray this era is used for building something special. Anyway no matter what happens, Chelsea till we f**king die!!!!!!!!!!

A win and a clean sheet, could we ask for more? Football is entertaining, we weren’t 

Sterling had a good first half, faded into mediocrity second with the rest

If your going to play Havertz and Mount wide play them on the wing they prefer as a result both were very poor

Our defence was on the whole good, Silva masterful in his positioning 

Reece was very poor, possibly his worst game in blue

Cucarella had a good cameo, Koulibaly felt the pace of the game on the hour…our fitness looked suspect overall 

Our problems though start in midfield, we move the ball so slow, hang onto the ball too long, creation is poor

3 points are what counts, massive improvement though is needed 

 

 

1 hour ago, Sindre said:

We'd have the same issues with Sterling and Broja starving if Kante and Mount or Gallagher were supposed to supply them. All three are bang average passers and lacking in creativity.

Ever since 19/20 our best football aesthetically speaking has almost always come with the Jorginho, Kovacic and Mount trio.

Kante still has a role to play but him being a bonafide untouchable like it's still 2017 is infuriating.

If Everton had a striker there's no chance we win, but the only way we score is a penalty. Very very lucky to come away with a win. Sterling looks a cut above the average attackers overflowing the squad, Silva is top draw and stops so many opportunities from the opposition. Havertz Chelsea career lives on one goal while at least William's is for one season, I honestly dont see what Havertz excels at.

 

3 hours ago, Sindre said:

We'd have the same issues with Sterling and Broja starving if Kante and Mount or Gallagher were supposed to supply them. All three are bang average passers and lacking in creativity.

 

But all three of those can carry the ball over distance. Beat a player. Have a yard of pace. Turn quickly with the ball. Draw opponents towards them. 

And all that, Sindre, commits opponents and open spaces. Little 5 and 10 yard sideways passes don't.

-

Edited August 7, 20223 yr by Argo

2 hours ago, charierre said:

Havertz on the bench would be better. He’s been dining out too long on one goal. Generational talent? Clearly generations these days are just six months. Seriously though, I had high hopes for him, he hasn’t shown up for the majority of our games and needs a rocket up his arse.

It is hard to blame kai. It is the same as last year, he started playing well after we played him in the middle. Whenever he played on the side he was just trash. 

Today he was asked to play very wide stretch the defense. He was s=%t at this but we all know this. 

3 hours ago, charierre said:

Havertz on the bench would be better. He’s been dining out too long on one goal. Generational talent? Clearly generations these days are just six months. Seriously though, I had high hopes for him, he hasn’t shown up for the majority of our games and needs a rocket up his arse.

Very True. 

 

He scored the CL Final goal & has been living off of it for over a year.

He is no better than Pulisic, Ziyech or Werner. 

Been very underwhelming for the price tag!

That was a pre-season kind of performance, lots of mistakes, lack of cohesion, just glad to get all 3 points in the end. We have a poor record against them in recent time, so 1:0 do just fine given where we are right now. New signings all contributed effectively. Chiwell is a long way from his best in terms of fitness and performance, so the little cameo by Curru just proved it was the right move. We do need another striker, have the feeling Werner and Ziyech will be gone in a week or two, need more options there. If Chalobah stays fit and Colwill stay, we will have too many defenders in the team. So either we get a proven quality defender, it's almost pointless just to buy another one for the sake of it.