Like I said, could of had a hattrick had it not been for Pickford and his usual blinder against us.

His groove? His GROOVE? What kind of headline is that?

I'm not really looking for my inner Jim here, but one goal this calendar year while being sh*t for the rest of his playing minutes hardly constitutes a re-found groove.

Edited April 29, 20251 yr by Valerie

On 28/04/2025 at 15:53, Sconnie Blue said:

Like I said, could of had a hattrick had it not been for Pickford and his usual blinder against us.

Sorry but this is a huge stretch to say the least.

The first shot was a very routine save I would expect any keeper at high level to make, second was a standard near post save and the third shot was his best but again I would expect most keepers to get to that, if it had some height I would agree it should have been a goal.

6 minutes ago, Remodez said:

Sorry but this is a huge stretch to say the least.

The first shot was a very routine save I would expect any keeper at high level to make, second was a standard near post save and the third shot was his best but again I would expect most keepers to get to that, if it had some height I would agree it should have been a goal.

I know you've made it no secret that Madueke isn't your cup of tea, but even this is incredibly over critical.

1 minute ago, Sconnie Blue said:

I know you've made it no secret that Madueke isn't your cup of tea, but even this is incredibly over critical.

Not overly critical at all and if we have any analysis worth their salt at the club they would be saying the same thing to him when reviewing the match.

Both the first and third shot are too central to the keeper to be of any real concern, although if the third had got a deflection it was a certain goal so unlucky in that regard. The second shot is never going in, Pickford didn't need to turn into Prime Cech for that it's just a normal near post save.

Have you watched the shots/highlights again by any chance? It's possible you are thinking they are better than they actually were.

Just now, Remodez said:

Not overly critical at all and if we have any analysis worth their salt at the club they would be saying the same thing to him when reviewing the match.

Both the first and third shot are too central to the keeper to be of any real concern, although if the third had got a deflection it was a certain goal so unlucky in that regard. The second shot is never going in, Pickford didn't need to turn into Prime Cech for that it's just a normal near post save.

Have you watched the shots/highlights again by any chance? It's possible you are thinking they are better than they actually were.

They were good attempts. I'm not going to die on a hill saying they should've been goals, but they were enough to challenge any keeper. Hence me saying he could've had a hattrick.

Positioning of the goal keeper is just as critical as the save itself. Pickford had to stretch his entire body to get to Noni's first and third attempts, and low shots like that make GKs the most uncomfortable. As for the second attempt, I'm not going to pretend we don't see shots like that sneak past the GKs near post almost every other weekend.

25 minutes ago, Sconnie Blue said:

They were good attempts. I'm not going to die on a hill saying they should've been goals, but they were enough to challenge any keeper. Hence me saying he could've had a hattrick.

Positioning of the goal keeper is just as critical as the save itself. Pickford had to stretch his entire body to get to Noni's first and third attempts, and low shots like that make GKs the most uncomfortable. As for the second attempt, I'm not going to pretend we don't see shots like that sneak past the GKs near post almost every other weekend.

I don't believe Pickford did anything special for those positionings. For the third shot (I think) he pretty much just falls down and extends his arm. Didn't need to even dive properly for it like he did the first. I assume cause Noni has no right foot so not enough accuracy and power generated.

They were definitely good attempts won't disagree there but they didn't require Pickford to have a blinder, unlike most of the other shots he did save.

1 hour ago, Valerie said:

His groove? His GROOVE? What kind of headline is that?

I'm not really looking for my inner Jim here, but one goal this calendar year while being sh*t for the rest of his playing minutes hardly constitutes a re-found groove.

I'm also still looking for my inner Jim.... I find that tickling helps coax it out into visibility....

....sorry..... Mod can ban me now for that!

46 minutes ago, Sconnie Blue said:

They were good attempts. I'm not going to die on a hill saying they should've been goals, but they were enough to challenge any keeper we have on our books . Hence me saying he could've had a hattrick.

fixed....

Big disappointed this season.. he isn’t good enough to start every game and pedro is a better back up player.. estevao woulOf be an improvement hopefully.

The Chelsea Chronicle

Djurgarden’s Keita Kosugi admits he simply couldn't handl...

Djurgarden left-back Keita Kosugi admits that he couldn't handle Chelsea winger Noni Madueke in the Conference League semi-final fixture.

Edited May 3, 20251 yr by just

Unfortunately, that's the level our Swedish friends Djurgarden are at!

6 hours ago, just said:

The Chelsea Chronicle

Djurgarden’s Keita Kosugi admits he simply couldn't handl...

Djurgarden left-back Keita Kosugi admits that he couldn't handle Chelsea winger Noni Madueke in the Conference League semi-final fixture.

What has happened in the picture? was he trying to control the ball, but let it slip under his foot?

More of the same unfortunately.

Up against Trent who we all know isn't very good defensively and barely made him break a sweat and when he did get into good positions he made the wrong choices as usual.

I’m struggling to see areas this guy has improved in apart from defending more.

Another good game. Always prepared to take on opponents and go past them. Always looking to provide an out ball for players in possession.

Must be hugely frustrating for him having a player who isn't an actual centre-forward playing, and who doesn't know how to position himself properly or time his runs, as a number 9.

I thought he looked a bit lost at times in his new position, especially off the ball. Once he got into attacking positions, he looked better, but he should have played Enzo in instead of shooting in the first half.

I actually enjoy him more on the left to be honest. Much more enthusiastic in taking players on. Half the time he makes the wrong decision in the box but I’ve accepted that about him. Still a good player to have in the squad.

14 minutes ago, Scott Harris said:

I thought he looked a bit lost at times in his new position, especially off the ball. Once he got into attacking positions, he looked better, but he should have played Enzo in instead of shooting in the first half.

I think he's better on the left as on the right he is pretty one dimensional. If we had Palmer cutting in from the right wing and a better striker I'm sure he would have a couple more assists.

Maresca could do worse than playing him at CF for the last few games. He has a lot of advantages over Jackson in and around the box. Better movement. Better in the air. Better anticipation.

4 hours ago, Sconnie Blue said:

I actually enjoy him more on the left to be honest. Much more enthusiastic in taking players on. Half the time he makes the wrong decision in the box but I’ve accepted that about him. Still a good player to have in the squad.

I like having at least one winger on the side of their stronger foot. Brings back good memories of Duff and robben.

3 hours ago, just said:

Maresca could do worse than playing him at CF for the last few games. He has a lot of advantages over Jackson in and around the box. Better movement. Better in the air. Better anticipation.

So does a tree....

Though I have championed for Noni up front before and would like to see it tried.

I'm really enjoying him on the left. Another great first-half performance. Neto clearly prefers being on the right too so I think it's best for the team overall.

Need to convert him into a wing back like Moses. Not good enough to lead the attack from the wing.

Very bad. Almost as bad as Neto. At least he pressed with intensity towards the end.

Away from home, both he and Neto are just so clumsy and have zero intelligence. Running aimlessly into players or out wide without ever having the cleverness you'd want in a tricky winger.

How do you go from spending weeks trying to get a profile like Olise, only to settle on Neto? What sense does that make?