45 minutes ago, forbzy said:

In the past Chilwell has had his best games for us as a wing back in a back 5. I'd say the same with Reece. Recalling our first game of the season, we had Reece and Chilwell as wing backs with Disasi, Thiago, and Colwill in the middle. Both our wing backs impressed in that game. Chilwell definitely doesn't look the same player as a conventional full back and I suspect Reece is the same. I really think we should consider going back to the 5 at the back the way we started the season.

That's because of how this manager is using him. Even when he picks him at LB, he basically plays as a kind of inside forward. He doiesn't stay wide, he drops into the centre and pushes forward and "underlaps", to create space out wide for the LW. But the problem with that, is it creates acres of space in our LB area when we inevitably lose the ball. It's fully a tactical decision. It's not like this manager tells Chilwell to stay at LB and he just decides to ignore that and go play as a LAM.

6 hours ago, Remodez said:

Not to make yet another excuse for him as even with the players we have we should still be doing a bit better but you can see how much better United look when they have their players fit and are able to put out their strongest XI. 

If we didn't have half the team out I would like to think we would be in a better spot. 

I'm one of Poch's biggest supporters on here, but the injury excuse isn't working for last game. We had almost all of our players fit.

He still chose to play Gallagher and Sterling when he had Madueke, Mudryk, and Carney all available. The whole setup just looks awful from top to bottom I have to say... 

The injury excuses are put into perspective when you realise we lost to Middlesbrough who had more injuries than us before the game, then lost 2 more during the game.

11 minutes ago, Victor90 said:

I'm one of Poch's biggest supporters on here, but the injury excuse isn't working for last game. We had almost all of our players fit.

He still chose to play Gallagher and Sterling when he had Madueke, Mudryk, and Carney all available. The whole setup just looks awful from top to bottom I have to say... 

This is a valid point Victor. Whilst i appreciate that some players are still workign their way back we are only really missing James (always injured anyway) Fofana (has barely played for us) and Lavia (ditto) from what we could class as nailed on first 11 starters (Lavia i am not sure of yet, actually)

17 minutes ago, Victor90 said:

He still chose to play Gallagher and Sterling when he had Madueke, Mudryk, and Carney all available. 

Truly an embarrassment of riches.

1 minute ago, WhiteWall said:

This is a valid point Victor. Whilst i appreciate that some players are still workign their way back we are only really missing James (always injured anyway) Fofana (has barely played for us) and Lavia (ditto) from what we could class as nailed on first 11 starters (Lavia i am not sure of yet, actually)

With the first 11 we had out, I was confident we should get a result against Wolves. A bad game at Anfield, lets turn it around and grab a win at home. Instead the players just couldn't give a flying f**k, and our whole setup was just piss poor like it has been for a long time. Caicedo constantly isolated, Gallagher running around like a headless chicken leaving gaps, Enzo wanting to play as a CAM. 

We know the script, the football is just boring. There was something at the start of the season, we were playing well even when we were losing, but since the international break coming into the Newcastle Away game we've been 2nd best in almost every game. Even the last few wins we have were not very good wins. Palace and Sheffield are dog sh*te and we made them look good. 

I can't sit here and pretend things are going well, they aren't. I think sacking Pochettino would only make things worse from here on out that's the horrible part, but at the same time, I can't see our season improving at all. This is the standard. 

1 minute ago, Whats_The_Mata? said:

Truly an embarrassment of riches.

I'm not Mudryks biggest fan at the minute but Sterling is playing like he doesn't give a flying f**k and has barely had a good game for a while. Madueke has hit a bit of form since he came into the fold. And I think Carney is a good player, I liked what I saw from him against West Ham until he got injured. He showed far more in that game than Gallagher has all season. 

3 hours ago, Jezz said:

I'm in the same boat to a certain extent.

Certainly remember a time before Roman where success was a bonus rather than an expectation. It was still a lot of fun at the same time.

However, I think the last 20 years has made most of us spoilt and I'm hoping we can find a way to maintain and be in the upper echelons of English and European football.

Don't stop posting. Always appreciate differing views.

I can sympathise with this. I was thinking the other day that Chelsea might have passed the peak we'd ever get to in my lifetime. Given what we've seen and the successes we've had I thought... I could hardly complain. I've seen us win every single trophy, most of them more than once, and I remember wondering when I was a kid whether I'd ever see us win the league in my lifetime; I ended up seeing us win it five times before I was thirty. In an odd way, becoming world champions (especially after having f**ked it up the first time under FSW) felt like a fitting (if bittersweet) end to the Roman era.

On the other hand it feels defeatist to expect any less from the club after having been at the top (or near it) of world football for the past twenty years. With the resources at our disposal, the ownership and management have no excuse not to do better than the shambles they have given us so far. If the circumstances were different, if say we had just sold our best player by miles and had a transfer ban imposed on us when the squad was crying out for renewal, it would be easier to accept, there would be a valid reason. (Even if under those very circumstances Frank managed to get us into the top four and was an Anthony Taylor Specsavers prescription away from winning the FA Cup too).

It is difficult to accept that the reason we are in such a mess is the hubris and rank incompetence of the people running the club. They've completely cleared out a playing squad and a management infrastructure that consistently performed to a [relatively] high level, then replaced it with chaos and a squad full of expensive players on ridiculously long contracts who are (in the vast majority of cases) either useless, a poor fit, or poor in combination with each other. It's left us in a very difficult situation to unpick, and hasn't really given the manager a leg to stand on. I don't think Poch has done well at all, but it's hard not to feel for him under the circumstances. I'm not sure I would trust anyone to do much better. 

How do you resolve that as a fan? Do you accept that we will be mediocre for at least the next decade, knowing that we've seen it all? Better for peace of mind but hardly the heady stuff of childhood dreams. Having to accept probably getting battered home and away by Liverpool, Arsenal, Man Utd, Man City, likely Newcastle year after year? (God forbid even Tottenham). Or do we keep trying to kick against the pricks and protest in vain, knowing that the feckless owners will never, ever give a single sh*t what we have to say?

24 minutes ago, Victor90 said:

I'm one of Poch's biggest supporters on here, but the injury excuse isn't working for last game. We had almost all of our players fit.

We did?

No Sanchez, who Poch picks as his number 1 regardless of how we feel

No James, first choice RB

No Wes Fofana, first choice CB

No Colwill, who Poch always picks.

No Cucurella, better LB option for Chilwell when defending.

Imo Poches first choice back 4 would be James, Fofana, Colwill and Cucurella.

No DM option with both Lavia and understudy Ugochukwu out.

Did I forget anyone? Not sure. Either way that is either 5 or 6 (if Cucu is preferred to Ben) absent and all of them are defensive options.

Edited February 5, 20242 yr by axman2526

Does anyone think he'll still be here by the 30th March?

 

Our games till then are

Villa away

Palace away

City away

Liverpool

Brentford away

Newcastle 

Arsenal away

5 minutes ago, Victor90 said:

I'm not Mudryks biggest fan at the minute but Sterling is playing like he doesn't give a flying f**k 

He does not, his half a$$Ed tracking back shows this.

1 minute ago, Drogba1 said:

Our games till then are

Villa away - Loss

Palace away - Draw though could see a sneaky win.

City away - Win 🤣 no seriously loss

Liverpool - loss

Brentford away - loss

Newcastle - draw

Arsenal away - loss

Oh I do enjoy predictions.

I backed him but he has to do better this is totally unacceptable 

I don’t care anymore who’s injured it’s your job to setup the team so it accommodates these factors. Your sole purpose is to manage the team which means during injuries make adjustments so the team stay solid.

Whatever he’s doing now is not working and he needs to make drastic changes.

Edited February 5, 20242 yr by El regreso

8 minutes ago, axman2526 said:

No Cucurella, better LB option for Chilwell when defending.

Thought you'd slip that one in unnoticed??

3 minutes ago, PloKoon13 said:

Thought you'd slip that one in unnoticed??

With you about, of course not ;)

Is this Poches preferred 11 if all are fit? I reckon it could well be:

Sanchez 

 

James

Fofana

Colwill

Chilwell (maybe cucurella)

 

Caicedo (or Enzo)

Lavia

 

Palmer

Gallagher

Sterling

 

Nkunku

Still, on the bright side, at least we have found that level of consistency that has eluded us for so long.

1 minute ago, WhiteWall said:

Still, on the bright side, at least we have found that level of consistency that has eluded us for so long.

In fairness Poch is doing a lot better than Potter.

That Graphic doesn't show Tuchel got half of Graham's points in 6 games.

Progress.

49 minutes ago, dkw said:

The injury excuses are put into perspective when you realise we lost to Middlesbrough who had more injuries than us before the game, then lost 2 more during the game.

I think the biggest eye opener with regards to the injuries argument is the midfield. Enzo/Caicedo/Gallagher/Palmer have been fit and played with each other almost every week for the past 7 months, and yet they still look like they were handpicked yesterday. Now we are hearing some claims that Lavia is apparently the answer, just like Nkunku was for the attack and yet he looked sh*t yesterday to no surprise. 

The injuries excuse can only go so far when our most promising area, the midfield, has been fit all season and Poch still can't sort it out. 

6 minutes ago, PloKoon13 said:

Thought you'd slip that one in unnoticed??

Cucurella absolutely flogs Chilwell on the FBRef Scouting Report if you are comparing defensive ability 

 

Different story if you want a more advanced wing back, but in a back 4 where you need your left back to do more defending than attacking then you'd pick Cucurella over Chilwell all day long if he was fit. 

Just now, Sexyfootball said:

Cucurella absolutely flogs Chilwell on the FBRef Scouting Report if you are comparing defensive ability 

 

Different story if you want a more advanced wing back, but in a back 4 where you need your left back to do more defending than attacking then you'd pick Cucurella over Chilwell all day long if he was fit. 

The narrative that Chilwell was better defensively over Cucurella always confused me. Neither are great. 

 

9 minutes ago, Sconnie Blue said:

The narrative that Chilwell was better defensively over Cucurella always confused me. Neither are great. 

Hence why Pochettino preferred Levi !

Pretty sure that Cucurella was bought with the intention that he was a starter ... you don't pay £56m for a back up full back, especially when you've given him £175K a week and handed him the #3 shirt.

In terms of our club team/squad "planning" (particularly bearing in mind wages being paid) you'd have to think that all five of our intended first choice defensive players are currently side-lined.

                   Sanchez

James ; Fofana ; Colwill ; Cucurella

 

Edited February 5, 20242 yr by Sexyfootball

12 minutes ago, evissy said:

 

"Progress"

 

- Narrow victory against Fulham. Saved by a penalty. 

- Narrowly beat Luton after almost giving up a 3-0 lead. 

- Narrowly beat Palace and saved by a penalty. 

- Lost to Boro away, who had 10 missing players

- Couldn't beat Villa at home and are forced into a replay. 

 

 

Absolutely pathetic that he's still here. Keeping him around is the nail in the coffin for our chances of European football next season. Nothing is gonna change, we're gonna get a few wins at home to some absolute garbage team in the bottom half of the table and stay about where we are now, no chance we beat Liverpool in the cup final because not only are his tactics poor, the players don't believe in anything that he's doing.

2 minutes ago, timetowaste said:

Absolutely pathetic that he's still here. Keeping him around is the nail in the coffin for our chances of European football next season. Nothing is gonna change, we're gonna get a few wins at home to some absolute garbage team in the bottom half of the table and stay about where we are now, no chance we beat Liverpool in the cup final because not only are his tactics poor, the players don't believe in anything that he's doing.

Some suggestions that FFP may also be part of the decision as it would cost an estimated 10m to pay off the existing staff if they were to make a change now, not to mention the cost of hiring new staff.