Kepa - 7 - Good game, no mistakes, dealt with everything he could realistically deal with.

Azpilicueta - 4 - It's the usual now, his body just can't do it anymore. He's struggling badly at this level.

Koulibaly - 2 - Azpi's legs have gone, but this guy is something else. Can't track back, can't defend 1v1's, lazy tackles because he doesn't have the pace anymore. The guy next to him has 6 years on him and still looks like he has plenty more in him. What has he done to win his spot back ahead of Chalobah? Potter has had a full month with Chalobah whilst Koulibaly has been at the world cup. Poor management from Potter.

Silva - 7 - The only player that played at the required level today. The team should be looking at him and feel embarassed at the sh*t they are serving. 38 years old and looks more hungry and fitter than anybody in this squad.

Cucurella - 4 - Where is the player that won Brighton's player of the year? Doesn't offer us anything defensively or going forward. No better than Emerson at the moment.

Jorginho - 3 - DId he play? Houdini would have been proud of this disappearing act. Probably the reason why Potter didn't take him off is because he forgot he was on the pitch.

Zakaria - 6 - Some nice bits of play here and there, don't really know why he was subbed off.

Mount - 4 - Rubbish, nothing would stick. Looked more interested in getting into fights than playing football.

Sterling - 4 - Get's extra points for the goal, but he gave everything away, terrible overall game from him.

Pulisic - 3 - Softest player in the league. Just so easy to tackle.

Havertz - 4 - Made some nice runs in the first half, but it was back to his frustrating self where he was giving away needless fouls when things got tough. Also at fault for the goal with a poor defensive header.

Subs

Ziyech - 6 - Did okay when he came on, should have had an assist for the winning goal.

Gallagher and Kovacic - 5 - Ineffective.

Aubameyang - 3 - Missed a sitter.

Chukwuemeka - 5 - Bought on too late to make a difference.

Edited January 1, 20233 yr by Scott Harris

1 minute ago, Sconnie Blue said:

Not sure what else Potter could do really. 

We have zero presence in midfield to provide any creativity. 

Havertz, Pulisic, and Sterling did f**k all, to which Ziyech and Aubameyang also contributed to f**k all. 

Forest were clearly targeting Azpilicueta and Koulibaly. 

 

Mount was the only one trying to make things happen. 

 

Oh please CL winners all over the pitch, none are bad players it's tactics training and mentality. Potter hasn't answered any of those.

1 minute ago, Lang7 said:

That’ll be how he left us in 6th place before he was sacked, eh? Enough of the cognitive dissonance.

He didn't leave us in 6th, he was fired when we were 6th due to organizational reasons 

1 minute ago, Sconnie Blue said:

Not sure what else Potter could do really. 

We have zero presence in midfield to provide any creativity. 

Havertz, Pulisic, and Sterling did f**k all, to which Ziyech and Aubameyang also contributed to f**k all. 

Forest were clearly targeting Azpilicueta and Koulibaly. 

 

Mount was the only one trying to make things happen. 

 

At the very least, he can inspire them, motivate them, shout at them. Ziyech I thought did make a notable difference, including playing a ball in of real quality that could have been a match winner. A better manager could get more out of these players. 

1 minute ago, Deino said:

The thing is this manager had a month to work out a solution and didn't. 

So the "continue regardless of manager" line is not true. 

 

Not defending Potter but a lot of people are acting like if a new manager comes in all our problems are going to magically fix which is far from the truth. We might have bump under a WC manager like Simone but the team will regress back into playing like this eventually if the necessary personnel aren't changed.

Keep saying the same thing - we look bang average. The team looks devoid of creativity and goal threat and it's unbelievable, how in such a short space of time we have fallen so far behind Arsenal.

We had some decent options on the bench today but Potter didn't have the balls to roll the dice (until too late in the day).

Not so much Happy New Year but more a case of Same Old, Same Old.

Edited January 1, 20233 yr by Nibs

1 minute ago, Dean said:

I think you may be slightly putting words in his mouth. It’s possible to think both: that it wasn’t sunshine and rainbows under Tuchel and also that Potter wasn’t/isn’t the answer. You have to have a really good reason to sack a coach THAT early in the season, given their track record, especially versus that of the replacement… which was/is zilch.

1 minute ago, coco said:

And before that he had proven he is an elite manager, instead of backing the players we should of backed Tuchel.

There’s a snobby, dare I say cult-like, perception of TT in the Chelsea fanbase. He took us on a fantastic run for 4 months and won the Champions League.
Besides that, what has he done in the rest of his career to suggest he’s “elite”?

3 minutes ago, coco said:

And before that he had proven he is an elite manager, instead of backing the players we should of backed Tuchel.

The players were backed time and time again in the past though. That has been a recurring issue

Forrest spent a bunch of money but they are not Premier league quality, yet we draw with them, a side thrashed by several other sides. We get thrashed by Potters old side and have been playing sh*t for many games bar one half vs Bouremouth. 

 

Is not good enough for who we are under Roman, but we are not that club anymore. Looking forward to Potter getting 130mill Enzo and making him look like Jokanovic 

Also do we expect mercenaries to put a shift in? In spite of Grant our players almost won the CL, and did under RDM, two clueless managers. Why not under Potter?

Cause Sterling, Koulibaly, Cucurella, Auba et AL are here for big money and nothing else.

1 minute ago, smileysmiles said:

Oh please CL winners all over the pitch, none are bad players it's tactics training and mentality. Potter hasn't answered any of those.

So were the tactics, training, and mentality bad under Tuchel too?

We are a cup team at best. To evolve away from that is proving to be difficult. 

Just now, Dean said:

At the very least, he can inspire them, motivate them, shout at them. Ziyech I thought did make a notable difference, including playing a ball in of real quality that could have been a match winner. A better manager could get more out of these players. 

Yeah felt Ziyech should've came on earlier but we really need to understand pattern recognition. At this point, we know what we are going to get with virtually all of these players.

1 good game in 5. 

3 minutes ago, Sconnie Blue said:

Not sure what else Potter could do really. 

We have zero presence in midfield to provide any creativity. 

Havertz, Pulisic, and Sterling did f**k all, to which Ziyech and Aubameyang also contributed to f**k all. 

Forest were clearly targeting Azpilicueta and Koulibaly. 

 

Mount was the only one trying to make things happen. 

 

Potter trained the kids for a whole month and Chalobah doesn't even get a sniff and Chukwuwhatever was the last sub in a game where we needed a win. 

Potter could have literally used the month to recall any loanees that could make his system work, he could have made newer offensive structure, he could have retweaked certain things. 

Against Notts Forest is where a manager would try bold plans because they are a team of mercenaries and our team once had the unity and organization to dig deep and won the most coveted trophy in the world. 

This lethargic football is not normal. 

1 minute ago, Deino said:

Potter trained the kids for a whole month and Chalobah doesn't even get a sniff and Chukwuwhatever was the last sub in a game where we needed a win. 

Potter could have literally used the month to recall any loanees that could make his system work, he could have made newer offensive structure, he could have retweaked certain things. 

Against Notts Forest is where a manager would try bold plans because they are a team of mercenaries and our team once had the unity and organization to dig deep and won the most coveted trophy in the world. 

This lethargic football is not normal. 

But in the first half against Bournemouth and even tonight in the first half, you could see what Potter wanted to do. 

Our players are soft as sh*t and react poorly to adversity, hence why the second half in both matches went to sh*t. 

Just now, Sconnie Blue said:

So were the tactics, training, and mentality bad under Tuchel too?

Tuchel came out and said he made mistakes early in the season. The bigger problem is Tuchel could win games, feels like Potter floats through games.

5 minutes ago, Deino said:

He didn't leave us in 6th, he was fired when we were 6th due to organizational reasons 

Fired after beating West Ham. The good ole days.

2 minutes ago, Sconnie Blue said:

So were the tactics, training, and mentality bad under Tuchel too?

We are a cup team at best. To evolve away from that is proving to be difficult. 

Yeah felt Ziyech should've came on earlier but we really need to understand pattern recognition. At this point, we know what we are going to get with virtually all of these players.

1 good game in 5. 

We have become a cup team over the last 5-6 years. When was the last time we really looked like contenders for the league? 

42 minutes ago, SFL82 said:

Ive never been less interested in watching Chelsea, game day excitement is near nil 

12:00pm Sunday 15th January, Emirates Stadium. Second placed Arsenal host top place Chelsea. Chelsea have sold out our allocation but, if you sign up for a free account you can buy a ticket from Arsenal. Exciting game to start the second half of the WSL season. Way better than watching Potter's team at the moment.

https://www.chelseafc.com/en/match/arsenal-women-vs-chelsea-women-english-womens-super-league-2023-01-15

Edited January 1, 20233 yr by OhForAGreavsie

Other than Reece, How many of our players would get a regular start in a top 6 team? Answer - none … which probably explains why we’re not now or will be this season a top 6 team! 
 

Man C next … Azpi and KK against Foden, Grealish, Mahrez etc … oh dear, oh dear ….

1 minute ago, Lang7 said:

There’s a snobby, dare I say cult-like, perception of TT in the Chelsea fanbase. He took us on a fantastic run for 4 months and won the Champions League.
Besides that, what has he done in the rest of his career to suggest he’s “elite”?

It was the relative part I was more focused on. Tuchel versus Potter. Forget football for a second. From a business / investment perspective, it’s a terrible risk/reward to sack Tuchel for Potter. Why not wait till the end of the season or at least till Christmas?. One can think this without being snobby, and without being a fan of either Tuchel or Potter. Is it a move you would have made if you were in charge?

4 minutes ago, Frankie8Lampard said:

Not defending Potter but a lot of people are acting like if a new manager comes in all our problems are going to magically fix which is far from the truth. We might have bump under a WC manager like Simone but the team will regress back into playing like this eventually if the necessary personnel aren't changed.

The thing is all of us know we don't have the personnel changes yet so why doesn't Potter do anything different? 

Here are things he can do:

1) Recall loanees

2) Play the kids

3) Galvanize the squad

4) Try out/formulate new offensive patterns

He can't send dossiers/documents/files/binders to players during their days off after they got eliminated from the WC? 

Heck, Todd and Eghbali are flying across the world and back spending hundreds of millions to build a better team yet Potter can just fail and fail without making any changes?

12 minutes ago, Scott Harris said:

Kepa - 7 - Good game, no mistakes, dealt with everything he could realistically deal with.

Azpilicueta - 4 - It's the usual now, his body just can't do it anymore. He's struggling badly at this level.

Koulibaly - 2 - Azpi's legs have gone, but this guy is something else. Can't track back, can't defend 1v1's, lazy tackles because he doesn't have the pace anymore. The guy next to him has 6 years on him and still looks like he has plenty more in him. What has he done to win his spot back ahead of Chalobah? Potter has had a full month with Chalobah whilst Koulibaly has been at the world cup. Poor management from Potter.

Silva - 7 - The only player that played at the required level today. The team should be looking at him and feel embarassed at the sh*t they are serving. 38 years old and looks more hungry and fitter than anybody in this squad.

Cucurella - 4 - Where is the player that one Brighton's player of the year? Doesn't offer us anything defensively or going forward. No better than Emerson at the moment.

Jorginho - 3 - DId he play? Houdini would have been proud of this disappearing act. Probably the reason why Potter didn't take him off is because he forgot he was on the pitch.

Zakaria - 6 - Some nice bits of play here and there, don't really know why he was subbed off.

Mount - 4 - Rubbish, nothing would stick. Looked more interested in getting into fights than playing football.

Sterling - 4 - Get's extra points for the goal, but he gave everything away, terrible overall game from him.

Pulisic - 3 - Softest player in the league. Just so easy to tackle.

Havertz - 4 - Made some nice runs in the first half, but it was back to his frustrating self where he was giving away needless fouls when things got tough. Also at fault for the goal with a poor defensive header.

Subs

Ziyech - 6 - Did okay when he came on, should have had an assist for the winning goal.

Gallagher and Kovacic - 5 - Ineffective.

Aubameyang - 3 - Missed a sitter.

Chukwuemeka - 5 - Bought on too late to make a difference.

Thought Kepa could have done better in stopping the goal but agree with everything else

We are shyte.

It's a shame they didn't try to build a team around the academy players they had coming through when FL was there...

Seems like they've got rid of a lot of those and replaced them with very mediocre but costly signings.

Given a choice I don't think Mount, Havertz, Sterling, Azpilicueta, Jorginio, Cucurella, Koulibaly or Pulisic should be regular starters for us...

I cannot understand people moaning about Gallagher.

Potter will be bulleted in the summer if this type of performance continues. He is well out of his depth. Mind you, with some third tier Swedish team, Swansea, and Brighton on your CV, it’s been a dream move for him. Probably quadrupled his wages and got a long contract. Easy money.

4 minutes ago, Dean said:

It was the relative part I was more focused on. Tuchel versus Potter. Forget football for a second. From a business / investment perspective, it’s a terrible risk/reward to sack Tuchel for Potter. Why not wait till the end of the season or at least till Christmas?. One can think this without being snobby, and without being a fan of either Tuchel or Potter. Is it a move you would have made if you were in charge?

So football manager Thomas Tuchel shouldn’t be judged on his ability to manage a football team first and foremost?

Would I have sacked TT 10 games in to a season after giving him £200M to spend? No, I’d have sacked him in the summer given the horrendous standard of football we’d been playing for well over 6 months.
However, giving Potter a 5 year deal was also ludicrous and screams of the naivety of Boehly et al. at this level.

42 minutes ago, Scott Harris said:

Cucurella looked like a perfect back up to Chilwell at Brighton, but he's such a nothing player for us. Well below Chilwell at the moment. Even Alonso had more to his game and he could barely run.

A lot of imprecise transfer activity in the summer. We can, and should, excuse Boehly for his first window but it mustn't happen again. Patience is the key. We can't fix our issues in a single window so don't waste money trying. I'm not sold on the Enso deal, though this may be because I didn't see the world cup. I'm much more excited about the prospect of signing Arsen Zakharyan in January. Different positions I know.

5 minutes ago, Sconnie Blue said:

But in the first half against Bournemouth and even tonight in the first half, you could see what Potter wanted to do. 

Our players are soft as sh*t and react poorly to adversity, hence why the second half in both matches went to sh*t. 

If a good half of football is enough to justify today's performance? 

In both 2nd halves we started on a position of strength. These players don't react poorly to adversities, they have overcame far greater adversities.

If Potter doesn't want certain players that doesn't fit his style, he can always bench them yet he picks almost the same spine every time.