Skip to content
View in the app

A better way to browse. Learn more.

The Shed End - Chelsea FC Forums

A full-screen app on your home screen with push notifications, badges and more.

To install this app on iOS and iPadOS
  1. Tap the Share icon in Safari
  2. Scroll the menu and tap Add to Home Screen.
  3. Tap Add in the top-right corner.
To install this app on Android
  1. Tap the 3-dot menu (⋮) in the top-right corner of the browser.
  2. Tap Add to Home screen or Install app.
  3. Confirm by tapping Install.

Chelsea 23/24 Season Friendlies Match Thread

Featured Replies

42 minutes ago, just said:

Bit odd to me that Sterling got a higher rating than Casadei and the same as Jackson who was really good up front.

Also odd that Nkunku gets an 8. He did very well with the goal, but they didnt really include him in the game before that.

Which made him pretty invisible throughout his half (not his fault).

But if the goal alone is a reason for an 8, than there should be 3 more 8's.

4 hours ago, evissy said:

Very good from us apart from some phases of 2nd half. 

Very exciting to see players like Jackson, Nkunku, Casadei and Santos. Who all played very well. 

Casadei especially looks someone who is going to be a star. Still raw but he has the end game. Assisted perfectly Nkunku's goal as well.

The players who remember last season primarily by taking part in it looked the worst; Cucu, Sterling and Gallagher. Gallagher was okay but I don't understand what he brings to the team playing deep. Nothing really...

Malo Gusto looks good as well going forward. Untested as a defender here but looks really composed. 

Jackson's pace really impressed. We will be a very quick side with him and Mudryk especially.

Maatsen played excellently twice with Jackson and got 2 goals. Very well taken both of them. 

This is how I saw it. Second half was markedly different from the first, much more sluggish and moments that took me back to last season. First half was dynamic and dare I say impressive, bar the few bad first touches and errant passes. 

I'm pro-Sterling, but he was dreadful, and Gallagher as per usual was covering a lot of ground in an ineffectual way. Took his goal well, though, but the Wrexham keeper should have saved that shot. Cucurella, off and then on again, had a few good moments, but overall he can stay on the bench for cover if we've got only 2 defenders left in the entire squad.

Other than that, I was mostly busy trying to identify who was who of the new boys :laugh2:

1 hour ago, Valerie said:

Second half was markedly different from the first, much more sluggish and moments that took me back to last season.

I wonder if this is down to those coming on maybe being further from full fitness, or if it's simply the lack of a focal point up front having a negative effect on how we build up.

Not knocking Nkunku, but immediately felt he'd be better playing behind Jackson / a striker.

Casadei was probably my MotM, although Chalobah was a close second.

Will be interested to see what we do with Casadei, he's definitely still raw, but clearly has bags of talent and has such a positive, swashbuckling style to his game.

2 hours ago, Night-T said:

Bit odd to me that Sterling got a higher rating than Casadei and the same as Jackson who was really good up front.

Also odd that Nkunku gets an 8. He did very well with the goal, but they didnt really include him in the game before that.

Which made him pretty invisible throughout his half (not his fault).

But if the goal alone is a reason for an 8, than there should be 3 more 8's.

This shows that they either didn't watch the game or spent most of it not paying attention, Sterling was really poor for a solid portion of the game 

One of the highlight of the game was when Pochettino gave the ref a bollocking for ending the first half when we were on the break. Shows the hunger for goals and a sense of fighting for his team. Goes without saying we never saw that for most of last season, instead it was the "we can't complain" crap when we were obviously robbed.

 

  • Author
11 minutes ago, OriginalS said:

One of the highlight of the game was when Pochettino gave the ref a bollocking for ending the first half when we were on the break. Shows the hunger for goals and a sense of fighting for his team. Goes without saying we never saw that for most of last season, instead it was the "we can't complain" crap when we were obviously robbed.

 

I thought exactly the same at the time. I know Frank had a bite in him at times, more so the first stint, but we hadn’t seen that level of hunger since Tuchel!

A very good performance, especially in the first half. It's only a League Two side so obviously we shouldn't get carried away, the real indicators of our form are yet to come. I have to say this was much better than I expected, everyone played their part and we neutralised their attackers with ease it seemed.

Casadei MOTM, so excited to see more of him, obviously a top talent. Also Maatsen, Jackson and Santos (who did what Kroos does for Real Madrid) stood out for me. 

Wow, really good start to pre season. Exactly what we (or maybe just I) needed after the way the end of last season went. Of course its only Wrexham but it was really exciting to see so many of the young players putting in a performance that makes you question if they could make the squad for this year. 

Can't wait to see if the levels are maintained if/when they become more integrated with the more established starters. 

Casadei could be an absolute revelation as midfield depth. Jackson looks rapid and very comfortable on the ball. Cucu was probably having palpitations watching the attacking threat Maatsen provided down the left.  

I'd see this against Brighton. 

Cumming

Gusto Silva Colwill Chilwell

Santos Casadei

Gabriel Nkunku Mudryk

Jackson

 

Kepa

Chalobah Humphreys Cucurella

Gallagher         Hall   Enzo             Maatsen

Madueke          Carney

Sterling

 

I thought the only downside was Sterling, Cucurella, Gallagher who gave me PTSD flashbacks of last season. Thought the youngsters in the first half were slick, quick and looked to get forward. Casadei, Gusto and Jackson were all excellent. Real shame about Fofana as he’d slot right in at the back and saw him as our key defender this season. Chalobah, not so much. Interesting to see Humphreys get an extended run out. Still raw but looked composed even if it was against weak opposition. 

16 hours ago, Argo said:

Not looking forward to the Brighton game to be honest, if Colwill and Caicedo play it's going to be a media circus.

Same will be true if either don't play honestly

First game vs league 2 opp. 

Let's over analyze everything

😁😁😁 But honestly It was 4231 and it was quite flexible and dynamic. 

Sometimes we build with 4, sometimes with 3.

The fb take turn going narrow which is a good thing. (Under Potter, this was one of my biggest complaint. The fb was just too wide, for James and Chilwell this didn't matter because they can dribble past player but for Cucu it was a complete disaster) 

The movement between fb and winger are also quite flexible. When the winger drop narrow, the fb will go wide and vice versa. 

Up front, our 9 play like a real 9. This is as expected because with 3 player behind you, it is difficult to move everywhere. 

I thought the pressing was quite good and the movement of our dm in term of closing the passing lane quite good. 

If this is how we play next season then next season can be very exciting. 

 

 

Screenshot_20230721_131644_Chrome.jpg

Screenshot_20230721_130711_Chrome.jpg

 

 

Edited by Bob stark

It looked to me that it was Casedi dropping deep as much as Santos, but maybe I wasn’t watching properly. 
the players are clearly still learning the system several times midfielders ran into each other which was kind of amusing. 
we also gave the ball away more than I would have liked and against better opposition that will be costly. 
as compared to last season Casedi and Chukwumeka have goals in them. Chukwumeka’ s assist for Maatsens 2nd was simple but perfectly executed and he was in the right spot fo receive. 

Did anyone else think we looked a little dodgy defensively?  I know we kept a clean sheet, but I felt there was a few times a better side would have punished us.

Early days yet and probably our second string defence, Brighton are going to be a better measure.

2 hours ago, DarkMata said:

Did anyone else think we looked a little dodgy defensively?  I know we kept a clean sheet, but I felt there was a few times a better side would have punished us.

Early days yet and probably our second string defence, Brighton are going to be a better measure.

Bar the tactical switch the 2nd half I thought our back line handled everything fine, even when some of our midfield/attackers lost the ball and led to a counter. 

 

i know HALL  thinks of himself as a midfielder , but didnt like him in that position. raheem crap again. some promise shown ,early days . heard forfana out for season. again knee?? this should have been seen in medical at beginning b4 we signed him.

Create an account or sign in to comment

Recently Browsing 0

  • No registered users viewing this page.
Background Picker
Customize Layout

Account

Navigation

Search

Search

Configure browser push notifications

Chrome (Android)
  1. Tap the lock icon next to the address bar.
  2. Tap Permissions → Notifications.
  3. Adjust your preference.
Chrome (Desktop)
  1. Click the padlock icon in the address bar.
  2. Select Site settings.
  3. Find Notifications and adjust your preference.