26 minutes ago, Scott Harris said:

All of those chances came after Forest went down to 10 men. Before then, we weren't creating much outside of Madueke. As for Omorodion, we can't know for sure how well he would have done, but I don't see how he would have made any difference when there was zero service. We don't play the right way against sides that play a low block, and we haven't done for years.

Not at all. We threatened all game. We created 7 chances in the first half and another 4 before the red card, including Madueke's goal. When Forrest went down to 10 they were even more camped in their own box. We are very well tuned to break these teams, just poor finishing let us down 

https://theanalyst.com/2024/10/chelsea-vs-nottingham-forest-stats-opta-premier-league-live 

Omorodion quite literally scored an identical goal that Nkunku missed when he bullied De Ligt for a diving header. 

7 minutes ago, Sconnie Blue said:

Not at all. We threatened all game. We created 7 chances in the first half and another 4 before the red card, including Madueke's goal. When Forrest went down to 10 they were even more camped in their own box. We are very well tuned to break these teams, just poor finishing let us down 

https://theanalyst.com/2024/10/chelsea-vs-nottingham-forest-stats-opta-premier-league-live 

Omorodion quite literally scored an identical goal that Nkunku missed when he bullied De Ligt for a diving header. 

All of those chances you originally mentioned came after the red card, they were the only clear chances we had all game. The chances we created in the first half, if you can call them that, were passes to Madueke where he ended up running at the defence, cutting inside and taking a shot, which backs up my point that it was only Madueke that was looking threatening. It's not like the chance creation was from playing it through the defence, or taking the full back and playing attempting a cross, so somebody like Omorodion would have been useless. Also, Nkunku's chance was possible because we had another player on the pitch that wanted to run at the opposition defence and move them around. If we had started like that, we could have created more chances like that.

 

20 minutes ago, Scott Harris said:

All of those chances you originally mentioned came after the red card, they were the only clear chances we had all game. The chances we created in the first half, if you can call them that, were passes to Madueke where he ended up running at the defence, cutting inside and taking a shot, which backs up my point that it was only Madueke that was looking threatening. It's not like the chance creation was from playing it through the defence, or taking the full back and playing attempting a cross, so somebody like Omorodion would have been useless. Also, Nkunku's chance was possible because we had another player on the pitch that wanted to run at the opposition defence and move them around. If we had started like that, we could have created more chances like that.

 

The bold is confusing me. 

You are saying Omorodion would've been useless because we don't cross the ball, yet both Felix and Nkunku's chances came directly from a cross....

You are also saying Nkunku's chance was possible because we had another runner on the pitch, which completely goes against your argument that we can in fact break these teams down and a player like Omorodion is ideal for this kind of tactic. Something I've expressed alls ummer. 

 

2 hours ago, Sconnie Blue said:

The bold is confusing me. 

You are saying Omorodion would've been useless because we don't cross the ball, yet both Felix and Nkunku's chances came directly from a cross....

You are also saying Nkunku's chance was possible because we had another runner on the pitch, which completely goes against your argument that we can in fact break these teams down and a player like Omorodion is ideal for this kind of tactic. Something I've expressed alls ummer. 

 

Yes, Omorodion would have been useless in those first 80 minutes, because we weren't crossing the ball or taking on the defender. He's irrelevant to the discussion anyway, because we don't need him. We have Nkunku, and if Maresca would just start playing him in the league more, he will score goals and you will quickly forget about Omorodion.

I'm also not saying the players aren't capable of breaking these teams down, I'm saying they won't because we never learn. The next time we come up against a team with a low block, I'm certain we will play the exact same way we did against Forest and Palace, aimlessly passing the ball and looking for that perfect goal, 

14 hours ago, Scott Harris said:

Yes, Omorodion would have been useless in those first 80 minutes, because we weren't crossing the ball or taking on the defender. He's irrelevant to the discussion anyway, because we don't need him. We have Nkunku, and if Maresca would just start playing him in the league more, he will score goals and you will quickly forget about Omorodion.

I'm also not saying the players aren't capable of breaking these teams down, I'm saying they won't because we never learn. The next time we come up against a team with a low block, I'm certain we will play the exact same way we did against Forest and Palace, aimlessly passing the ball and looking for that perfect goal, 

It's not irrelevant. It goes with my whole point. 

I said all summer the profile we are lacking is a proper fox in the box presence to deal with these difficult, disciplined sides. Even Giroud would of been beneficial to us let alone Omorodion who was bullying De Ligt for 90 minutes getting at the end of crosses.

It provides us a way better alternative when plan A isn't working vs what we are seeing with Nkunku as a lone CF. 

 

 

On 09/10/2024 at 01:03, axman2526 said:

City are, I agree. Liverpool? I am not sure on them yet.

But Arsenal worse than last season? From what little I have seen of them I think they look better. Their defence is exceptional.

They're heavily outperforming their xG and create very little outside of set pieces. Playing 6 CB's and playing ultra conservative terrorism-ball isn't sustainable. 

2 hours ago, Sconnie Blue said:

It's not irrelevant. It goes with my whole point. 

I said all summer the profile we are lacking is a proper fox in the box presence to deal with these difficult, disciplined sides. Even Giroud would of been beneficial to us let alone Omorodion who was bullying De Ligt for 90 minutes getting at the end of crosses.

It provides us a way better alternative when plan A isn't working vs what we are seeing with Nkunku as a lone CF. 

 

 

Samu is just a less polished version of Andy Carroll. 

We shouldn't be aiming for hoof ball. 

32 minutes ago, Ukraine Bolt said:

They're heavily outperforming their xG and create very little outside of set pieces. Playing 6 CB's and playing ultra conservative terrorism-ball isn't sustainable. 

Outperforming is not a bad thing man.

1 hour ago, Ukraine Bolt said:

Samu is just a less polished version of Andy Carroll. 

We shouldn't be aiming for hoof ball. 

I'd certainly like an Andy Carroll coming off the bench if we are in need of a goal against a side parking their 6'0"+ players inside the box. 

Options. 

Options. 

Options. 

4 hours ago, axman2526 said:

Outperforming is not a bad thing man.

Its not, but its also not sustainable. 

3 hours ago, Sconnie Blue said:

I'd certainly like an Andy Carroll coming off the bench if we are in need of a goal against a side parking their 6'0"+ players inside the box. 

Options. 

Options. 

Options. 

If you want a player like that you sign a Giroud, not a 20 year old lad and stunt his development. 

On 10/10/2024 at 01:33, Scott Harris said:

All of those chances came after Forest went down to 10 men. Before then, we weren't creating much outside of Madueke. As for Omorodion, we can't know for sure how well he would have done, but I don't see how he would have made any difference when there was zero service. We don't play the right way against sides that play a low block, and we haven't done for years.

Forest didn't really play low block against us. 

 

Edited October 11, 20241 yr by Bob stark

On 08/10/2024 at 09:19, SydneyChelsea said:

5.57 on average per game, in fact. For context, here's our company: we're conceding similar amounts of shots on target to relegation fodder and the underachievers




By contrast, last season saw Man City (2.79) and Arsenal (2.11) concede less than 3 per game, to give you an idea of where we need to improve to.

Not sure it is a surprise. We don't really keep the ball and we don't press. 

 

55 minutes ago, Bob stark said:

Not sure it is a surprise. We don't really keep the ball and we don't press. 

 

We keep the ball but our pressing is awful. I'm surprised as Enzo being a Pep disciple i thought a high press would be something we'd be improving on. 

We're 18th in the league when it comes to tackles in the attacking 1/3.  

16 hours ago, Ukraine Bolt said:

If you want a player like that you sign a Giroud, not a 20 year old lad and stunt his development. 

Regardless of who it is, its a profile we lack and need. That is my only point. 

He’s won manager of the month, all downhill from here ladies and gents😂😂

16 minutes ago, El regreso said:

He’s won manager of the month, all downhill from here ladies and gents😂😂

Still, when you look at the first few pages of this thread it's a miracle he's still here 😂

39 minutes ago, El regreso said:

He’s won manager of the month, all downhill from here ladies and gents😂😂

Given who we play after the break the "curse" of manager of thw month will be an excuse used if we get poor results.

Won't affect Palmer in the slightest with his player of the month award though in my opinion. 

On 27/05/2024 at 08:53, Sconnie Blue said:

Couple reasons I reckon. On the face of it its a poor appointment, but...

 

A.) Transition should be smooth. His football is very similar to what Poch was playing at the end of the season (Inverted full back, 3-2-2-3 set up.) The only difference being that Poch very much preferred quick transition whereas Maresca is more possession focused. 

B.) A lot of our players are tailored to his football. Added bonus he has coached Palmer and Lavia at the City youth level. 

 

Looks like ownership want to try their luck with the Pep disciple experiment. What worries me the most is his hard focus on possession where it allows the opposition to sit back, however after watching some of Leicester's football they did seem to play the ball rather quickly when needed. The other issue is that Maresca wanted control over a lot of aspects of the club. Wouldn't he find the exact same issue here, much like Poch? Unless this is where Joe Shields comes in given they've worked together?

 

Well transition has been smooth so far. Palmer and the little dose of Lavia has shown they are going to do well under Maresca. Part in bold I would like to think I was right given the way we move the ball quickly on the counter with the zonal marking in place. 

As far as wanting more control, early days but seems like he isn't bothered. 

2 hours ago, El regreso said:

He’s won manager of the month, all downhill from here ladies and gents😂😂

They've only given him the award to f**k us up. 

Oh well, it was good while it lasted..😂,,!

 

9 hours ago, Bob stark said:

Forest didn't really play low block against us. 

 

Yes they did. They were packed defensively and tried to hit on the counter.

5 hours ago, axman2526 said:

Given who we play after the break the "curse" of manager of thw month will be an excuse used if we get poor results.

Won't affect Palmer in the slightest with his player of the month award though in my opinion. 

Technically it's already happened as the Forest game was in October.

I don’t know about any curses, but I am definitely worried about the overall “shift” in how media is handling Chelsea. I thought the over the top negative coverage, in a way, brought the coaches and players together. Nothing better in sports than having the whole world tell you you suck when you know you can prove them wrong.

NOW, there has been a complete 180: “Palmer is the best player in the league!”, “Chelsea: title challengers!”, “Maresca manager of the month”

That kind of attention worries me more. It can make players lower their guard a bit, can create jealousy inside the team, players try too hard for their piece of attention.

This could, in some ways, be a bigger test for Enzo than the start of the season, keeping the team together and maintaining success.

15 hours ago, Ukraine Bolt said:

We keep the ball but our pressing is awful. I'm surprised as Enzo being a Pep disciple i thought a high press would be something we'd be improving on. 

We're 18th in the league when it comes to tackles in the attacking 1/3.  

Our offense is quite direct (just look at our possesion number). It looks better to last season because our turnover is better(Sancho vs Mudryk).

In term of pressing, I think the ideal way of how maresca want to play is closer to how we played in pre season (high press, man to man) but it was a complete disaster with this squad.