10 minutes ago, RIP Mourinho said:

Yeah i thought Fofana would have been that RCB. Read a lot into Potter and his ability to manage egos/personalities. I wonder if he went with Azpi in his first game purely because he's club captain and doesn't want to upset anyone first match out. 

Potter did a Tuchel, who changed the system to bring Azpi back into the team in his first game. But that was almost 2 years ago and Azpi was a much better player. I don't believe we have a team full of bad players, maybe Potter ( who used to train less talented players ) will be able to work through them.

 

Pottr

1 minute ago, icecoolguy22 said:

Potter did a Tuchel, who changed the system to bring Azpi back into the team in his first game. But that was almost 2 years ago and Azpi was a much better player. I don't believe we have a team full of bad players, maybe Potter ( who used to train less talented players ) will be able to work through them.

 

yep he did what Tuchel did 2 years ago when for senior experience players at the club. 
I expect it to change in the next game it has to.

Tend to agree with this, actually really enjoyed seeing Raheem out on the touchline. Put an incredible ball through into Auba at one point from out wide. 

2 minutes ago, RIP Mourinho said:

Tend to agree with this, actually really enjoyed seeing Raheem out on the touchline. Put an incredible ball through into Auba at one point from out wide. 

He looked really good and got 1v1 on plenty of occasions which I haven’t seen since he joined. He had more 1v1 last night it seems that all the games he’s played for us before.

You want Raheem 1v1 out wide that’s where he does the damage, Tuchel had him through the middle and it didn’t work.

1 hour ago, venom2011 said:

'They've been instructed not to' is one of the most overused, non-sensical arguments. Why would any manager - especially ones as tactically flexible as we've had in recent years - ask players not to play brilliantly weighted, defence-splitting passes? There is a reason why you only see those passes consistently from the likes of Fabregas, Lampard, KDB, Pogba, Kane etc. That is not an easy pass by any stretch. It is perfectly timed and weighted - requiring high level technical ability. I'm not sure how you can watch Kante, Kova, Mount, misplace and overweigh 5 yard passes, but think they can pull that off regularly.

Because it's higher risk. Tuchel dealt in data. No player can consistently hit that pass and when they don't hit it, it turns over possession.  

Same reason why managers don't instruct players to ping it in the top corner from 30 yards. 

I'm not saying you're wrong, I'm just saying it's a bit simplistic to think that an 18yo playing that pass in a youth team means they will be better at it than a senior player in a PL game. 

Do you think Messi suddenly was instructed to, Pick the ball up right midfield, beat 3 players and constantly look to play the long pass to the inside left channel ie Jordi Alba, Jorgino proved he can hit those delightful first time dinks into Auba et al, players play, Tuchel must of instructed don’t cross the ball, even last night Dave and Reece were in free space a tremendous amount of times.

3 hours ago, RIP Mourinho said:

Certainly one for the future but i think he's too raw at the moment to start for us. 

We apparently bid £50m for Romeo Lavia from Southampton, who is the same age, and has played 5 senior games including the game he more than held his own against us. Future is now for these players, we arent going to develop our own players if we dont use them. 

3 hours ago, drjonesy1994 said:

Some takeaways for me from yesterdays performance:

- Result not ideal but there were some aspects of the performance I was pleased with. Thought at times we moved the ball well and quickly. However despite this there keeper didn't have many saves to make.
- Same old Chelsea, going 1-0 up and then not killing a game off. This has been a problem as far back as Conte's second season with us which was 5 years ago now!
- Ziyech with back to back disaster appearances off the bench. Outside of the odd goal or assist he offers very little to this squad. Shouldn't be anywhere near the team imo.
- This isn't a squad of bad players, it's a squad of players that aren't currently playing well. Potter has only had 6 days with this team so difficult to judge based on last nights performance. Last night it looked as though the players were 'still playing with the handbrake on' as they were towards the end of Tuchel's reign. Plus side is we don't play again until the 1st of October so hopefully by then we will look a bit better and attack minded.
- I really like Gallagher and want him to succeed. He's not had a good performance in 5 appearances now and it's a bit concerning.
-Kovacic at his best is so good. Only midfielder who's keen to get on the ball and drive. Just wish he had De Bruyne's passing ability then he would be one of the best midfielders in the league.
-Jorginho is far too weak to play in defensive midfield. He went in for about 5 50/50s last night and lost them all. I hate to keep beating this drum,  but he is such a liability these days.
- Initially didn't understand the decision to play Cucurella and Azpi as the left and right sided centre backs. Cucu made more sense as although Sterling was wing back he never did any defensive work going backwards, so Cucurella was essentially playing LCB and LB. Would prefer if we played natural centre backs considering we spent £100m on two this summer, and one is one of the best young talents in europe.
-Personally I think Chilwell is a better wingback than Cucurella and offers us more going forwards and is solid defensively. I really hope that Potter's reign isn't the beginning of the end for Chilly. 

Early days but shades of same old Chelsea in there. Hopefully when Potter has had a bit more time with his team they will start to look a bit better. There were one or two improvements yesterday but as I say it's not something that is just going to happen over night.

Mind you I wrote a similar length post last week defending Tuchel after the Zagreb loss, and he was sacked 30 mins later. Fully expect Potter to be sacked now I've done the same this week!

Some good points made there.

I think Potter went with the experienced players in his first game because he has only been with the squad a few days. Also he knows Cucurella well from his days at Brighton. I suspect you will see quite a few changes in the lineup once he has had a chance to work more with the players. Hopefully he can find room to accomodate sufficient playing time for both Cucurella and Chilwell. Perhaps Chilwell could play in the role that sterling had last night, with Cucurella on the left of a back 3?

Gallagher only had about 10 mins from the bench last night so I wouldn't lump that one in with his 2 games against Leeds/Leicester.

3 hours ago, RIP Mourinho said:

Certainly one for the future but i think he's too raw at the moment to start for us. 

He also has to contend with competition from the 2 young midfielders that we just signed this window, who have yet to play for the first team. I'd say he will go out loan before he gets a chance in the first team, beyond perhaps a game in the FA Cup if we get lower league opposition.

15 minutes ago, big blue said:

We apparently bid £50m for Romeo Lavia from Southampton, who is the same age, and has played 5 senior games including the game he more than held his own against us. Future is now for these players, we arent going to develop our own players if we dont use them. 

Playing for Southampton is different than Chelsea though isn't it in regards expectations. I mean look at Gallagher after a season at Palace, looks absolutely lost for us. Would certainly like to see a loan before coming in for us. 

5 minutes ago, forbzy said:

He also has to contend with competition from the 2 young midfielders that we just signed this window, who have yet to play for the first team. I'd say he will go out loan before he gets a chance in the first team, beyond perhaps a game in the FA Cup if we get lower league opposition.

Yeah you would assume Chukwuemeka and Casadei would be getting minutes at some point, however i imagine we won't properly see them until Jorginho and Kante leave in summer.

2 minutes ago, forbzy said:

He also has to contend with competition from the 2 young midfielders that we just signed this window, who have yet to play for the first team. I'd say he will go out loan before he gets a chance in the first team, beyond perhaps a game in the FA Cup if we get lower league opposition.

This is what I dont get, why can pedro, gavi, musiala, Fati, all get regular minutes at 18 or even younger at massive clubs, but we have to roll the dice with the loan system? 

Even in england, Foden, Taa, Saka, all were in and around the team 18 with no loan. 

It's not like we are challenging for the title, or even playing well. Tuchel was guilty of ignoring Vale, I'm hoping Potter sees the bigger picture, the best youngsters should be given opportunities, CHO was in the side at 18, and looked great until his injury. 

I'm not asking for a team of kids by any stretch, but I'm hoping the long term deals we have been handing out to Vale, Webster, Chukwuemeka, and Casadei, mean we will actually develop them in house, as that seems to have a higher hit rate than the loan system imo.

6 minutes ago, RIP Mourinho said:

Playing for Southampton is different than Chelsea though isn't it in regards expectations. I mean look at Gallagher after a season at Palace, looks absolutely lost for us. Would certainly like to see a loan before coming in for us. 

It is, but the club were still willing to pay a massive sum for him. Alot of the best players under 21 now, have cut their teeth at big clubs though. 

Gallagher doesnt suit how we play, and I think he is a little over eager to impress. I also doubt he has the technical ability too. 

It wasn’t great last night but I thought there was glimpses of hope.

Thought the passing was a bit quicker and I thought players had slightly more freedom than normal.

It’s his first match so we have to give him time for the players to get used to his tactics.

Like some others have said I think picking Azpi was probably a lot to do with getting the club captain onside and not coming in and turning everything upside down straight away.

I remember people was up in arms when Tuchel didn’t start with Mount in his first match against Wolves, but he was back in the starting 11 before long.

I think it is harsh to judge him properly until he’s managed around 5 matches.

We have also got to remember that some of these players just aren’t up to the required level and clearly don’t put in the extra sessions after training the likes of Zola & Lampard did to improve their game.

Moaning on social media or to anybody who’ll listen about lack of game time is obviously much easier than staying behind after training and working on their weaknesses.

 

1 hour ago, bisright1 said:

I'm not saying you're wrong, I'm just saying it's a bit simplistic to think that an 18yo playing that pass in a youth team means they will be better at it than a senior player in a PL game. 

I agree that is too simplistic... and I'm not sure how you inferred that from I've said, which is quite plainly - there is not a midfielder at the club who could hit that pass consistently. Which is true.

It's a higher risk pass for Kante than it is for Fabregas because of the difference in their skill levels. Tuchel, Potter, Lampard all have an appreciation for high tempo, high-risk passing but Kante would instinctively not try that pass (if he'd even see it) because he knows the end result is misplaced 99% of the time.

No game now for 2 and a half weeks ffs. At least it gives Potter a bit of time with the players not called up to their national teams to work on his ideas.

Which players are unlikely to go on international duty? Kepa, Cucurella, Azpi?

30 minutes ago, big blue said:

It is, but the club were still willing to pay a massive sum for him. Alot of the best players under 21 now, have cut their teeth at big clubs though. 

Gallagher doesnt suit how we play, and I think he is a little over eager to impress. I also doubt he has the technical ability too. 

Gallagher didn't suit Tuchel's system for sure. It remains to be seen if Potter can find a way to accomodate him. Too early to say.

I want to see who he improves on a performance level. 

 

4 hours ago, Sindre said:

So he's already doomed then. We don't give anyone a long, long time. Especially to someone who's completely unproven.

Perhaps we can bring Tuchel back when we sack Potter. I'd be all for it.

 

Sorry to be so intrusive in your time of grief. You’re obviously suffering from the loss of TT.  But really, I have to ask - are you expecting Tuchel’s baby? Or are you just a bit of a tart.

Condolences either way

2 hours ago, El regreso said:

Pottr

yep he did what Tuchel did 2 years ago when for senior experience players at the club. 
I expect it to change in the next game it has to.

The difference is that 2 years ago Azpi was a premier league level player.

Now he wouldn't get a game for any team in the league.

Playing a completely finished RB at CB in a back 4 with a 37 year old while you have such expensive quality on the bench Is strange.   Koulibaly himself is 31 and has played dozens of champions league games as CB in a back 4.

It's just a very strange team selection by Potter whichever way you look at it.

12 minutes ago, HazardousChoice said:

The difference is that 2 years ago Azpi was a premier league level player.

Now he wouldn't get a game for any team in the league.

Playing a completely finished RB at CB in a back 4 with a 37 year old while you have such expensive quality on the bench Is strange.   Koulibaly himself is 31 and has played dozens of champions league games as CB in a back 4.

It's just a very strange team selection by Potter whichever way you look at it.

I'll be surprised if Potter starts Azpi regularly. I think last night was more based on his experience and seniority at the club. But we shall see....

I personally want to see Carny being used. 

Kepa

James Fofana Koulibaly Cucurella

Zakaria Kovacic

Broja    Carny    Sterling

Aubameyang

6 hours ago, big blue said:

How many of our midfielders see or hit that pass? If we are talking about giving young players a chance, and seriously building for the future. Why not give Webster a chance? 

A quick YouTube search will show Billy Gilmour hitting loads of those with either foot!

1 hour ago, RIP Mourinho said:

No game now for 2 and a half weeks ffs. At least it gives Potter a bit of time with the players not called up to their national teams to work on his ideas.

Which players are unlikely to go on international duty? Kepa, Cucurella, Azpi?

Neither Gallagher nor RLC are in the England squad, so this could be a good opportunity for both of them to get more acquainted with Potters style

Not sure who else hasnt received a call up, possibly Mendy if his knee is still an issue?