13 minutes ago, Scott Harris said:

But even with Enzo in the side, this same thing happens......we lose the game. He's not the main issue of course, and neither is Caicedo next to him, but players with a bit of star quality will step up and get win or snatch a point through brute force, something Essien would do when he first broke through. I don't feel like any of the players the fans are telling me are so special are capable of it. I have seen more star quality and potential from Palmer in 5 games than I have seen from any other player in the squad. 

As for Sterling, I don't think he can make something out of nothing, not against any competent side. His goals have come against the worst teams in the league. Against better sides, I have seen him mess something up more than I have seen him produce quality. The same thing happened today, he had a big chance in the first half and blasted it over the bar. The rest of the game he kept running into his man and losing the ball. He's like this too often to be relied on to be a key player. I don't accept the whole "but he did it in that game".......okay, so he should be doing it in the next game, and the game after that and the game after that. Isn't that why we bought him? If he can't do it, then he's not good enough and shouldn't be getting all of this praise he has been receiving this season. I'm not a big Southgate fan, but people have been on his back about not picking Sterling for England, but I see no reason why Sterling should be picked for England.

I just feel like if these players have so much potential in them, they should be capable of pulling off that something a little bit special. I don't expect it consistently, because consistency would come with experience, something we should expect from Sterling, but just now and again, one of these players should be pulling off something special to get us a win. I feel like Palmer is the only one showing he is capable of it, and he technically did do it again in the first half with the chances he created. None of the others are showing they can do it.

Couldn't agree more on Sterling. Excellent at West Ham and Burnley, but abysmal today. No consistency at all. Not that today was all on him. Brentford have our number and know exactly how to set up against us. They did it very effectively again, defended very well and punished us on the break. We played some good football early on but conceding first is game over for us 99% of the time - Burnley the lone exception.

1 minute ago, forbzy said:

Agreed. Either player may come good but we had promising academy products that many had already given up on by that age.

Just enjoy this season. It will be up and down. We just need to wait till Nkunku and James back. We will be better then. 

 

8 minutes ago, Bob stark said:

Nah both are clearly talented but they are still raw. 

Jackson is not talented. Looks like a Championship player at best.

3 minutes ago, forbzy said:

I always saw Jackson as a squad signing initially but he has been thrust into the first team too regularly because of our lack of alternatives. Especially once Nkunku got injured, I do not understand why we didn't go for a more experienced striker to cover the short term. 

Yeah, we have been incredibly naive about this only buying players of a certain age thing. 

About Jackson, usually when a top team sign Jackson. They use him as backup for their 1st choice guy or at least as rotational option not as nailed down st. 

Jackson is fine, he has far exceeded my expectations. Is he ready now? Nope. 😁😁😁 But we have no option.

5 minutes ago, Backbiter said:

Couldn't agree more on Sterling. Excellent at West Ham and Burnley, but abysmal today. No consistency at all. Not that today was all on him. Brentford have our number and know exactly how to set up against us. They did it very effectively again, defended very well and punished us on the break. We played some good football early on but conceding first is game over for us 99% of the time - Burnley the lone exception.

Nah sterling was not abysmal but we need a lot  more.

 

57 minutes ago, Sexyfootball said:

One saving grace today is that if everyone is fit, then 3 of these 4 starting players in the front 4 don't make the starting line up.

Most PL sides will struggle without their best attacking players being available.

It's not as if our best attacking players have been racking up goals left, right and centre. We've been poor in front of goal since long and it matters little who the coach or the attackers are. People said Werner is the problem, then they blamed Jorginho and Havertz. We've sold all of them and the same problem persists. We think Nkuku will be a magical elixir but don't hold your breath on that one too. Remember Jackson was banging them in pre season but now he can't hit a barn door from 2 yards and looks a cheaper version of Torres.

Problem is this team looks psychologically weak and the draw against le arse was a big blow to their confidence. When you keep drawing games that you should win then it doesn't take much to lose. It will be a very tough season for us. We've blown so much money on average and untested players that it's embarassing now. Todd needs to realize that it isn't baseball where batters get 500 at-bats to prove themselves, teams play 162 games a season and there is no relegation. Here if you don't play well you WILL BE RELEGATED after 38 games.

8 minutes ago, Bob stark said:

Just enjoy this season. It will be up and down. We just need to wait till Nkunku and James back. We will be better then. 

 

It's not been up and down though. It's been down, down, up, down then down again. The only potential I see is the potential to become irrelevant.

Just now, Scott Harris said:

It's not been up and down though. It's been down, down, up, down then down again. The only potential I see is the potential to become irrelevant.

There will be time when things go our way and we will score goal. 

7 minutes ago, Bob stark said:

There will be time when things go our way and we will score goal. 

And still not win a game of football against anybody decent. 3 wins in 10, 2 of them against teams that will very likely be relegated. We can't beat anybody above 14th in the table, because every team above that has that tiny bit extra to their game. We also can't win games at home, 2 all year. This isn't a case of ups and downs, this is just sh*t.

Edited October 28, 20232 yr by Scott Harris

At least the idea that Jackson was the new Drogba has died a death. I just hope that Toney is match fit because we’re going to need him to hit the ground running. Can’t say I’ve seen him play much but boy do we need a competent number 9. 

22 minutes ago, Dr. Socrates said:

At least the idea that Jackson was the new Drogba has died a death. I just hope that Toney is match fit because we’re going to need him to hit the ground running. Can’t say I’ve seen him play much but boy do we need a competent number 9. 

You are assuming we will get Toney. We are probably more likely to sign another unproven 20 year old for the same fee.

19 minutes ago, forbzy said:

You are assuming we will get Toney. We are probably more likely to sign another unproven 20 year old for the same fee.

Just looked into my crystal ball and it said...we'll buy Toney for £1zillion and then loan out Jackson to Brentford...Jackson starts banging in goals left,right and center and Toney gets injured in his 1st game and out for the rest of the season....😂

1 league win at home in 9 months. 9 months guys and gals.

11 minutes ago, Womble said:

Just looked into my crystal ball and it said...we'll buy Toney for £1zillion and then loan out Jackson to Brentford...Jackson starts banging in goals left,right and center and Toney gets injured in his 1st game and out for the rest of the season....😂

I can say the same for Osimen. Will be like that.

1 hour ago, Backbiter said:

Couldn't agree more on Sterling. Excellent at West Ham and Burnley, but abysmal today. No consistency at all. Not that today was all on him. Brentford have our number and know exactly how to set up against us. They did it very effectively again, defended very well and punished us on the break. We played some good football early on but conceding first is game over for us 99% of the time - Burnley the lone exception.

I've made it clear on this forum that Sterling is by no means the standard we want at Chelsea. He doesn't start at City, other players start ahead of him, this tells you that there can be better players that can start ahead of him. 

Today, if we had had Mudryk, Poch may still start Sterling ahead of Mudryk. Mudryk and Madueke should be starting ahead of Sterling.

I put the problem of the team on Poch.

 

Edited October 28, 20232 yr by hephzibah

Same script we’ve seen over and over again for the last 3 seasons at least. Teams sit back and hit on the counter. Once we’re down, we can’t break a low block. We should have been in front by half time, but we’ve missed clear chances. I knew it was coming. The worrying thing is that we’ve changed coaches and players several times in the last few years and still can’t break a low block. Maybe it’s time to renovate the Bridge and move out to a new temporal place to try and break the spell.

24 minutes ago, hephzibah said:

I've made it clear on this forum that Sterling is by no means the standard we want at Chelsea. He doesn't start at City, other players start ahead of him, this tells you that there can be better players that can start ahead of him. 

Today, if we had had Mudryk, Poch may still start Sterling ahead of Mudryk. Mudryk and Madueke should be starting ahead of Sterling.

I put the problem of the team on Poch.

 

I can’t remember a thing Madueke did apart from that one shot.. didn’t complete a single take on.. he needs to raise his standard just like the rest of the team..

https://www.telegraph.co.uk/football/2023/10/28/chelsea-vs-brentford-live-premier-league-latest-score/

 

Bit of a depressing one in the end. Not going to comment much on the overall game, nothing that we haven't seen already this year. 

Few player specific observations; 

- Palmer is great. Him playing in the 10 first half was outstanding. However with Sterling coming inside, Gallagher pushing on and Jackson dropping in, it became very congested. I'd have preferred sterling to stay wide, allowing Cucu to arrive late centrally if needed and Jackson to be constantly moving across the back three looking for space. 

- Jackson struggles against low blocks. He doesn't seem to move intelligently enough to create space unless the line is high/we are countering. He also offers nothing in the air. Money on an alternative in January seems like the only way. Broja can't stay fit long enough to keep him on his toes. 

- Gallagher is shutting up a large amount of the fanbase, including me. I can't fault him to be honest, looked good in tight spaces, worked hard and actually looked bothered. His ability to sit deeper if needed makes him vital for the squad moving forward.

There's no way of hiding it, its a set back we should have avoided. But we've got to kick on and get some big results now to turn it around.

Culturally, we aren’t the same club and there’s not the same pressure and standards to win. 

Edited October 28, 20232 yr by Sconnie Blue

2 hours ago, forbzy said:

You are assuming we will get Toney. We are probably more likely to sign another unproven 20 year old for the same fee.

🤭🤭🤭

Toney is good but he will be very expensive and he will be 28 in March. 

4 hours ago, Bob stark said:

There is no point analyzing this game ,because I can just copy and paste the same thing from before

Our biggest problem in final third will be very hard to solve without additional help. Reece James being healthy will definitely help. Nkunku will be back soon and that will help. 

Sterling situation is complicated. Sterling is our best player by far. I don't know what happen but he always stop running after 60/70 min. He has done this almost every game. I said before it is hard for Sterling to be the guy every game but he kinda have to. Poch need to find a way to squeeze more out of him. 

He has been a 60 minute footballer his whole career

19 minutes ago, Bob stark said:

🤭🤭🤭

Toney is good but he will be very expensive and he will be 28 in March. 

A whole 28 years! I can imagine our owners crumbling into a foetal position at the mere thought.

4 hours ago, Frankie8Lampard said:

The Premier League is a global game now "tourist fans" are just part of the game now and I don't think they are the reason for the stadium being quiet. Every team has them yet we still see their stadiums lod.The real reason is that we've been sh*t for a while now and its hard for match going fans to have the desire to cheer for what's currently being displayed.

Nobody is able to continually sing and roar the team on when all of the players get to 30 yards from goal and then just cheat by passing to the nearest bloke and then jogging forward 5 yards before just standing there. Granted the crowd should be generating atmosphere but christ, it's a two way street. No way would I put my hand in my pocket going to SB, for this gutless, boring, brain bleeding brand of football.