I think we robbed Benfica. We should return Enzo to them and then buy him back for 200 million. He is pure class

If these signings go through, you know who will love to spoil the party - West Ham!  Get ready hahah

Very nervous start and could easily have been 2 down. VAR saved us and it seemed to wake us up. Thought we looked comfortable in the second half, played some nice football and might even have won the game if our finishing was more clinical. Enzo was outstanding and a shout out to Chilwell, James, Silva, Colwill, Gallagher and Jackson who all put in solid shifts. Sterling too looked quite sharp out on the right. 

Such a shame Nkunku is going to be out for so long as he would’ve been so good in linking up with Jackson who seemed quite isolated at times.

Caicedo is really going to anchor that midfield and a couple more signings upfront should really make us formidable.

Not convinced by Sanchez but we protected him quite well. 

7 hours ago, Scott Harris said:

Good strikers score goals, if Jackson doesn't score goals, then he isn't a good striker. Every league has good goalkeepers and defenders, but the good strikers find a way to score. The players we have signed already struggle to score goals as it is, so Jackson will need to be relied on for goals.

I don't think players like Nkunku, Madueke, James, Chilwell, even our central defenders etc. will struggle to score goals this season. Now that weve gotten Caicedo. No need to ask only the striker to score goals. This was the mistake when we didn't have good players all round the team. If the team altogether is not okay, you cannot be saying the striker should score by all means. It will be unfair on the striker to expect the best from him when the team is having problems.

I'm just asking you to be reasonable. You highlighting that I said the premier league is full of great goalkeepers and good defenders. Is it not the truth? 

Today, he played against Van Dijk and Konate. Is that going to be an easy day for him? He is not Erling Haaland. It will become an easy day for him very soon when the squad is complete with Caicedo, Enzo, Nkunku etc. assisting him.

If there was an explosive striker better than him in the world, and he is available, we would have signed him. But he's what we have. Learn to manage what you have to have success.

The right approach will not be to start hating on him, after just a game, when the squad is not complete yet and we played against a top team.

I'm sure some of the fans are already counting the number of matches he has played without a goal after just one match without considering that the squad is not complete yet. You need to take into account everything that happens in a club before hating a player, and not just push a player out of the club because he didn't score after four matches without considering the circumstances within that time. 

If a striker does not get service or he doesn't get a chance to score in a match because the opponents were difficult, he may not score goals. that doesn't make him a bad striker. Everybody is not Erling Haaland. Manage what you have.

Edited August 14, 20232 yr by hephzibah

A few interesting point from the game.

It thought it was going to be 343 but it was 4231 with chilwell as lw and Colwill as lb. 

Gallagher showed us how to play as a dm defensively. There is no such thing as sitting dm defensively. That is just a myth. You track runner, you tackle, you win duel. 

On the ball, Gallagher was pool pressing trigger. He really struggled to keep the ball when he received it in the middle, it was much better when he receive the ball slightly to the side (probably people who understands football technique can explain it better than me) 

Enzo was unleashed. People say Enzo will be better once we signed a dm. Nope, enzo was free to move up and down even attack the box yesterday with Gallagher cleaning up everything behind him. 

Carney struggled early but got better as the game went on. He is still a kid so not a suprise. We just need Nkunku back. 

Disasi was a disaster early and that goal woke him up. 

Jackson was fantastic. He lead the line very well. Win header, pin cb, run behind, back the goal play, he did everything and no more bs false 9.

The biggest drawback from this game was our defensive shape. It was kinda sketchy in pre season and it was still still sketchy at times. 

 

7 hours ago, ozboy said:

Usual great photos from you. I look at them every game. 

They are from Getty Images. I just post them.😀Glad you like them anyway. Cheers.

10 hours ago, chelseablueboy said:

I am it has to be said a little suprised at the lack of enthusiasm on here after that...
We played more entertaining football in the last hour today than in a month last season.
I enjoyed the game (can't remember the last time i said that !) and most of our young players looked hungry and energetic.
Very positive start for me, only concern is James ??

That must be tongue in cheek, because I haven't seen so many happy and positive reactions to a match in ages!

Onwards and upwards! My only criticism is the 80th minute sub with Mudryk. Much too late to be effective.

11 hours ago, chelseablueboy said:

I am it has to be said a little suprised at the lack of enthusiasm on here after that...
We played more entertaining football in the last hour today than in a month last season.
I enjoyed the game (can't remember the last time i said that !) and most of our young players looked hungry and energetic.
Very positive start for me, only concern is James ??

Dont worry too much about Reece, apparently it was fatigue not injury 🙏🙏🙏

I still don't understand this playing out from the back when being closed down. It infuriates me and no doubt we will drop points this season because of it. If the keeper has 2 or 3 options to pass to in space then fair enough but even I could see that Nunez chance coming. Just boot it upfield to Jackson to win the second ball or on the wing that could get us a throw in. Jheeeeze!

6 minutes ago, KonaKai Blue said:

I still don't understand this playing out from the back when being closed down. It infuriates me and no doubt we will drop points this season because of it. If the keeper has 2 or 3 options to pass to in space then fair enough but even I could see that Nunez chance coming. Just boot it upfield to Jackson to win the second ball or on the wing that could get us a throw in. Jheeeeze!

the GK and 2 of the CBs are relatively new to each other. Give them a bit of time to gel. Playing out from the back is the way to go. Once perfected, its the key.

1 hour ago, KonaKai Blue said:

I still don't understand this playing out from the back when being closed down. It infuriates me and no doubt we will drop points this season because of it. If the keeper has 2 or 3 options to pass to in space then fair enough but even I could see that Nunez chance coming. Just boot it upfield to Jackson to win the second ball or on the wing that could get us a throw in. Jheeeeze!

Then you will be crazy watching brighton because de zerbi system is all about baiting press. 

Thought it was encouraging on the right with James and Sterling linking up, Sterling was always a threat positionally. Enzo just controlled that midfield, looking forward to Caicedo playing along side him. I can see Mudryk starting at West ham in a 4231, Chillwell and him seem to have a good bond off the pitch. James/Sterling on the right and Mudryk/Chillwell on the left could be perfect.

I do think we need a striker/nkunku replacement more than anything now though. When Jackson was hit in the nether regions my heart sank as I thought he pulled up, we need someone that offers a different profile to him.

Edited August 14, 20232 yr by Sheva

Very encouraged by this game. When it looked like we were 2.0 down I thought oh dear this could be embarrassing.

But we came back into game and the second half we were the best team. Very attack minded and although we might concede goals this season we sure will score some too.

Credit to Liverpool fans for showing respect to John Hollins but boy weren’t they quiet.

I think we might surprise a few people this season.

What I found really encouraging is that there wasn't a big drop off in energy or intensity. Even when Liverpool had a decent spell at the very end, the effort and willingness to run from our boys was still there.

Absolutely night and day compared to last season, I remember that opening game against Everton half the side looked like they were playing a friendly.

20 minutes ago, cfr95 said:

What I found really encouraging is that there wasn't a big drop off in energy or intensity. Even when Liverpool had a decent spell at the very end, the effort and willingness to run from our boys was still there.

Absolutely night and day compared to last season, I remember that opening game against Everton half the side looked like they were playing a friendly.

Agreed, high energy was evident even if at times we looked a tad incoherent as a team. 

Probably all been said already

More pace and energy in the team now, more enjoyable to watch

f**king around at the back with the keeper nearly threw it away. But overall , pleased especially after the first 20 mins when I thought that lot were going to run away with it. Could have won it, could have lost it, so probably fair result

Also fair play to their fans for respecting and joining in the applause for John Hollins.

Come on you BLUES!

2 hours ago, Bob stark said:

Then you will be crazy watching brighton because de zerbi system is all about baiting press. 

That's true, at Arsenal last season they almost gave a suicide pass out from the keeper that just missed an Arsenal player who would have been in on goal.

I can't stand it when we do it, I clutched the arm of the bloke standing next to me !

1 hour ago, cfr95 said:

What I found really encouraging is that there wasn't a big drop off in energy or intensity. Even when Liverpool had a decent spell at the very end, the effort and willingness to run from our boys was still there.

Absolutely night and day compared to last season, I remember that opening game against Everton half the side looked like they were playing a friendly.

I dare to say that because of this thing you pointed out, that there wasn't a drop in intensity, that we haven't played like that vs Liverpool not only last season but at the very least the last 3 seasons! We always had a huge drop in energy in the recent years but not yesterday!

Seen the full replay now. Not a bad performance given the squad. Jackson unlucky not to snag a couple. 

5 hours ago, Valerie said:

That must be tongue in cheek, because I haven't seen so many happy and positive reactions to a match in ages!

 @Snedger  hasn't been on yet though, to spray a little sunshine and positivity on yesterday's performance.

Probably sitting in a darkened room rocking himself backwards and forwards whilst listening to Radiohead.

Very encouraging performance. Obviously far from a finished product, but I really liked the energy and attacking mindset we displayed.

I think it's going to be an enjoyable season to watch this team grow and progress.

Enzo was MOTM. Loved his performance.

31 minutes ago, just said:

 @Snedger  hasn't been on yet though, to spray a little sunshine and positivity on yesterday's performance.

Probably sitting in a darkened room rocking himself backwards and forwards whilst listening to Radiohead.

Well, we're already two points adrift of the leaders and nearer the bottom than the top. Dragged into a relegation battle on the opening weekend!

1 hour ago, Snedger said:

Well, we're already two points adrift of the leaders and nearer the bottom than the top. Dragged into a relegation battle on the opening weekend!

And it's STILL raining. ☔

Just watched the highlights again before our next league match tomorrow - for all the imperfections and aspects needing more work, gotta say still feeling much more positive about our prospects this season.

As others have mentioned, just felt so different to most of last season. Was actually an exciting competitive game, and a lot better energy and spirit in the team, which was really encouraging.

Really hope the team builds on the good efforts from the match, and could have a surprisingly good season ahead potentially!

 

46 minutes ago, Salato said:

Just watched the highlights again before our next league match tomorrow - for all the imperfections and aspects needing more work, gotta say still feeling much more positive about our prospects this season.

As others have mentioned, just felt so different to most of last season. Was actually an exciting competitive game, and a lot better energy and spirit in the team, which was really encouraging.

Really hope the team builds on the good efforts from the match, and could have a surprisingly good season ahead potentially!

 

have you got a link to highlights ..I want to watch again  🙂