12 hours ago, Scott Harris said:

Yet all of the best teams right now are managed by the opposite. 

I have to agree with this. I feel Pep, Klopp and Arteta are micromanaging in games and probably outside of it. 

 

19 hours ago, Bob stark said:

This is the problem with this team. You can't be ruthless. You basically have player playing outside their level. 

Jackson, a backup/rotational level st player playing as nailed down st. 

Palmer has been freaking impressive but nobody here talk about that this season is his debut in senior season and he is playing as a star man. 

Mudryk n Madueke should be on loan but they are rotational player for is. 

Enzo a spectacular talent, still need to learn how to manage game. and defend as midfielder, if you want him to be a nailed down starter you want to surround him with very experience midfielder to make his game easier. 

If you are ruthless and expect this player to play a the level that you expect, nobody will play. 

 

 

I have never once believed this group of players where good enough over the whole season to get top 6. I said from the start I expected us to finish anywhere from 7th to 10th (With a cup or at least make the final), so for me we are exactly where we should be. 

15 minutes ago, Remodez said:

I have never once believed this group of players where good enough over the whole season to get top 6. I said from the start I expected us to finish anywhere from 7th to 10th (With a cup or at least make the final), so for me we are exactly where we should be. 

Does this mean you think Poch has overachieved if we finish 6th?

Chelsea have ended their “U25 transfer rule” and are looking to balance out the squad in the summer. [Simon Philips]

I've put this in  the Boehly group, but here it sparks a different conversation. Has Pochettino done enough to at least see a balanced squad in his final season? i.e a mix of seasoned vets/experienced players of higher quality (can't be average that's where we went wrong last time or cheaper fixes).

Or do we bring in an elite coach like we should have done last season and let them build their team from the scraps we have and the possible market. On the one hand buying older players could be cheaper as you're no longer paying over the odds for potential you're buying what you see. Unless of course we find another Salah or Gyokeres type of player who will explode at their next club. 

Either way this is both good news and it also removes this excuse for any of our potential managers now that it's not them but the young inconsistent youngsters in the team. Now we have no excuse not to be at the very least maintaining top 6 standards from next season onwards.

 

Edited April 26, 20242 yr by LongtimerLurker

28 minutes ago, bisright1 said:

Does this mean you think Poch has overachieved if we finish 6th?

I think I said top 6 would be a miracle and I stand by that. Top 6 with this bunch is an overachievement. 

I'm sick of Pochettinho's tactics. Team selection. Game management. Futile substitutions. Utter bilge that he pours out at every press conference. Weak man-management. Poor communications and language skills. Bigging up the opposition before and after every game. Taking home obscene amounts of money for total failure. Sick of him making our great team a laughing stock. Sick of that stupid bangle he wears on his wrist and the lemons. Just go man and take your technical team with you. 

2 hours ago, bisright1 said:

Does this mean you think Poch has overachieved if we finish 6th?

I said at the start of this season I could forsee situations where I'd be unhappy with Poch despite a top four finish but equally a situation where I'm reasonably content/hopeful with him despite finishing 9th.

This year was more about just results for obvious reasons. Had we had Nkunku, James, Fofana and Lavia fit we'd probably be top 6 if not 4th but it would be "progress" akin to United and Ten Hag last season, still filled with multiple clear and obvious red flags that will eventually come home to roost.

Another 12 players out injured this week. 

It's the in-game management that has let down Poch this season, and it was a red flag that was raised by many when he was rumored to be appointed. 

Another thing we need clarity on is if Poch's training methods have anything to do with influx of injuries, and/or are these players simply not at that level physically. If more so the latter, who is responsible?

Edited April 26, 20242 yr by Sconnie Blue

a loss incoming.

 

Bring her home!

22 minutes ago, timetowaste said:

Bring her home!

I think her comment is more about taking the piss due to taking the club to court.... but with different ownership (and every f**king thing else) she should definitely come back! Have been saying this since the crazy Chelsea injury list started! She'd sort it out!

8 hours ago, Sconnie Blue said:

It's the in-game management that has let down Poch this season, and it was a red flag that was raised by many when he was rumored to be appointed. 

Another thing we need clarity on is if Poch's training methods have anything to do with influx of injuries, and/or are these players simply not at that level physically. If more so the latter, who is responsible?

Hard to say really, I feel like it's gotten much worse but at the same time we've been having injury problems for years.

I noticed it started to get really bad after Sarri left. Not saying there's any direct correlation there but that's when I noticed it starting to happen a lot. It's been that way under Frank, Tuchel, Potter, and Poch. 

5 hours ago, timetowaste said:

Bring her home!

As @Victor90said we were still next to flawless injury wise for about 4 years after she left (thankgod, our second choice lineup in Conte's title winning season was even worse than the lineup we put out at Arsenal).

She was part of an excellent medical team not the reason we were avoiding injuries.

2 hours ago, Victor90 said:

Hard to say really, I feel like it's gotten much worse but at the same time we've been having injury problems for years.

I noticed it started to get really bad after Sarri left. Not saying there's any direct correlation there but that's when I noticed it starting to happen a lot. It's been that way under Frank, Tuchel, Potter, and Poch. 

With Lampard and Potter you could blame players being overplayed. (Kante, James, Kovacic, etc). 

Right now, our players are getting injured during training. 

Edit* Meant Tuchel. Not Potter. 

53 minutes ago, Sconnie Blue said:

With Lampard and Potter you could blame players being overplayed. (Kante, James, Kovacic, etc). 

Right now, our players are getting injured during training. 

Well Spurs, PSG and now us have all suffered a lot of injuries with Poch in charge, and on each occasion insiders have blamed his rigid, one size fits all run to you drop methods.

17 hours ago, Remodez said:

I have never once believed this group of players where good enough over the whole season to get top 6. I said from the start I expected us to finish anywhere from 7th to 10th (With a cup or at least make the final), so for me we are exactly where we should be. 

I thought without europe, we would have very little injury maybe we can get top 6 and even top 4. But then Fofana, Nkunku, Chuku, James and Chilwell all went down 😭😭😭

 

 

 

 

 

2 hours ago, Bob stark said:

I thought without europe, we would have very little injury maybe we can get top 6 and even top 4. But then Fofana, Nkunku, Chuku, James and Chilwell all went down 😭😭😭

 

 

 

 

 

And a number of others. And stay down Bob. That's the issue for me. Injuries happen to all players not just the injury prone. But for players to disappear for months on end and to continually break down during rehab is questionable to say the least. Colwill and Ugochukwu the latest to just disappear.

What is poch offensive tactic this season. 

I won't bother with screen shot. It is basic 4231/442  with freedom to move around plus one winger tucked in and the other stay wide, with one fb stay the other push up. Unlike Potter who change the way he want his team to attack almost every game (puli and Sterling as wb, diamond no diamond) , poch offensive game is almost the same every game. 😴😴😴 Boring to analyze. 

What Poch does is he try to put his player in their favorite position and just let them play. So you don't get TT Mount and Kai playing as two out n out winger with Sterling playing as false 9. 

The key word here is try. Because there is the team side and also the other side of the ball that you need to consider when you decide what tactic you want to use. 

Usually with basic structure plus freedom you see offensive player flourish.  Jackson has been getting chances after chances every game , he probably will end up close to 20 xg this season. That is crazy number but he obviously have problem with finishing (that is whole another story). Palmer is allowed to play almost like 2nd st and he is competing for golden boot this season. Sterling when he bother to show up has been terrific at times (the guy is just so lazy).

But but what about mudryk n madueke? 🤐🤐🤐

The problem with freedom is that the way you play is very susceptible to your player quality. If you watch city play they almost always play the same way no matter who is on the field (almost is important here, because the construction of city squad support how pep want to play, why do you think pep picked city in the 1st place). 

We started this season with controlled performances. Chilwell on one side, Sterling on the other. Then with Palmer we are more chaotic and the most chaotic was Everton lineup. 

When you play controlled football and your player doesn't just lose the ball whenever they please, it is much easier for you to defend.The space between player will be smaller because everyone is not running everywhere and you give your defense time to squeeze the space before you lose the ball. 

The drawback with controlled game is that it is harder to score. Our "tactical and patterned offense" last season produced only 38 goals. You can talk about player quality all you want but 38 goals is relegation candidate number.

My biggest criticism on Poch this season other than set pieces is his inability to squeeze result. (maybe injury as well). 

This is not about the final and semi final that we lost. We outplayed both city n pool just can't freaking score. 

Inability to squeeze result also does not mean +10 points, probably +4 points. If you are in tight battle for title then I don't think poch is your guy. 

 

Edited April 27, 20242 yr by Bob stark

He’s throwing shade at the recruiting so either he knows he’s gone or he knows he can’t be sacked.

10 minutes ago, El regreso said:

He’s throwing shade at the recruiting so either he knows he’s gone or he knows he can’t be sacked.

It seems to be a goading tactic if he knows he is gone in the summer on a reduced payout. If so, it's all very Conte, not just here but he has done this elsewhere. It wouldn't surprise me at all if we start to see some even more bizarre line ups and in game strategies. Today will be interesting as I think this is the last hurrah, realistically.  Lose and we are truly on the beach, surely.

Who's betting these idiot owners and SDs make the totally wrong decision and back us even further into the corner that they have already got us into.

8 hours ago, Sconnie Blue said:

With Lampard and Potter you could blame players being overplayed. (Kante, James, Kovacic, etc). 

Right now, our players are getting injured during training. 

In some cases before we even signed them.

24 minutes ago, WhiteWall said:

It seems to be a goading tactic if he knows he is gone in the summer on a reduced payout. If so, it's all very Conte, not just here but he has done this elsewhere. It wouldn't surprise me at all if we start to see some even more bizarre line ups and in game strategies. Today will be interesting as I think this is the last hurrah, realistically.  Lose and we are truly on the beach, surely.

Who's betting these idiot owners and SDs make the totally wrong decision and back us even further into the corner that they have already got us into.

There cant be much further left in that corner.

1 hour ago, El regreso said:

He’s throwing shade at the recruiting so either he knows he’s gone or he knows he can’t be sacked.

If our manager is still TT, I am pretty sure he would have done this before even the start of the season. 😂😂😂

This season would have been firework on the get go. 

Edited April 27, 20242 yr by Bob stark