8 hours ago, Bob stark said:

Talking about vs low block. We are not the only one who struggle vs low block.

There is no magic tactical solution vs low block as you have less space to operate and it is hard to get overload.

The easiest solution is to sign winger who is strong at 1v1 aka dribbler (better yet if you have one please don't sell him), get good crosser/passer (Cesc/KDB/Reece), load the box with player who is good in the box (st).

You can always take more risk by giving up the ball, add more rotation, or play more attacker (play estevao over Enzo or Cucu) but you need to asses the risk of doing this

The easiest thing to fight the low block is quicker football that doesn't allow teams to get back into shape. It's the reason why Liverpool were so good at it under Klopp. They used to hit teams hard as early as possible, without giving teams a breather. We are the complete opposite. We can sign the best 1v1 winger in the world, but that won't work against low blocks because there will never be 1v1 situations. It will be 1v2 with the winger stopping and playing a pass 5 yards backwards.

13 hours ago, strider6004 said:

Failure, with less of a third of the season gone that sounds like hyperbole.

We are in the 1/4s of the league cup and in a good position to go further in the Champions league and still in the top half of the league.

Sure we have problems on the pitch yet it is hardly a crisis and there is still time to turn things around. If we are in the bottom four at Christmas I would be more inclined to agree we are heading for failure.

I do think he will sacked if we don't get to top four unless of course he wins a major cup.

I don't think you understand the sh*tty situation we will be in if we miss out on Champions League football. It would be a big hit on us financially and I suspect some big players will start pushing for moves away. This risk the club has taken requires consistent steps forward for it to work, it can't have off seasons where we are in and out of the Champions League.

In ‘Caught Offside’ today

 

A reputable transfer insider has now revealed that Chelsea are laying the groundwork for a potential managerial change, with plans already being made to bring in a new head coach should results fail to improve.

As per his latest information, Chelsea are making plans to bring in Bournemouth manager Andoni Iraola as replacement for Maresca who is ‘on thin ice’ with certain officials at the club.

 It’s understood that key decision-makers at Chelsea view Iraola as the next big thing in world football, believing he has the tactical acumen and leadership qualities to take the club to the next level.

We really haven't looked particularly convincing this season. Every game we've played there's been vulnerability in our game, but especially defensively. It is odd because towards the end of last season our defence was looking more solid, but it was more so the chances we created and scored that was the bigger problem.

Enzo Maresca responds to Juventus approach with Chelsea demands clear

Reports earlier this season suggested Maresca's long-term future at Chelsea is far from certain, with tensions existing between the Italian and his club hierarchy.

As well as this, journalist Simon Phillips reported that both Cole Palmer and Reece James aren't fully behind Maresca's methodology, so if results continue to be topsy-turvy, this situation is worth keeping an eye on.

Now, Phillips has provided another update on the 45-year-old's future.

Writing via his Substack, the reporter shares news that Juve approached Maresca's camp on Wednesday amid their search for a new manager.

However, the tactician's response is clear — he's not looking to leave midway through the campaign.

While a move to Turin at the end of the season isn't ruled out, Chelsea will demand a huge compensation fee — which could reach up to £10 million.

JUST RELEASE HIM AND LET HIM GO NOW

1 hour ago, Scott Harris said:

I don't think you understand the sh*tty situation we will be in if we miss out on Champions League football. It would be a big hit on us financially and I suspect some big players will start pushing for moves away. This risk the club has taken requires consistent steps forward for it to work, it can't have off seasons where we are in and out of the Champions League.

Agree we need CL football to keep the money-ball rolling and am sure they will take a decision if things don't improve.

9 minutes ago, strider6004 said:

Agree we need CL football to keep the money-ball rolling and am sure they will take a decision if things don't improve.

Any decision would be an interim, unless we buy Iraola/Glasner out of their contract that expires in the summer.

Reckon Iraola is any good? He’s done well at Bournemouth but the challenge is whether he can aim higher and play better style of football.

6 minutes ago, JM7 said:

Reckon Iraola is any good? He’s done well at Bournemouth but the challenge is whether he can aim higher and play better style of football.

He already plays better football and likes his team to play quicker

10 hours ago, Scott Harris said:

The easiest thing to fight the low block is quicker football that doesn't allow teams to get back into shape. It's the reason why Liverpool were so good at it under Klopp. They used to hit teams hard as early as possible, without giving teams a breather. We are the complete opposite. We can sign the best 1v1 winger in the world, but that won't work against low blocks because there will never be 1v1 situations. It will be 1v2 with the winger stopping and playing a pass 5 yards backwards.

You regain the ball and you get the ball forward to your attacker fast. You attack, you bring your midfielder to support.

As you said the opp cannot get back into shape but you also can't get into shape.

You lose the ball and now you are the one that is open. You mentioned Klopp, klopp played 3 ball winner in midfield.

16 hours ago, Bob stark said:

Your reply is so good that I simply can't counter

I believe they used to, quickly, launch long diagonals to each of them on the wing and then either Mane of Salah would run it into the box, kick it in or switch play to the other, who would then do the same again to beat the opposition's defense...

We do see Maresca coaching our wingers to try and emulate the above but the problem is we're so bloody slow getting the ball to them that they're normally facing two defenders by the time they have to make the decision! That being should I: run it in by myself ? not a goer; cross it? err also not a goer so switch play to other side then? err tricky so PASS IT BACK LOL 😁

10 hours ago, Caps_Lock_King said:

Enzo Maresca responds to Juventus approach with Chelsea demands clear

Reports earlier this season suggested Maresca's long-term future at Chelsea is far from certain, with tensions existing between the Italian and his club hierarchy.

As well as this, journalist Simon Phillips reported that both Cole Palmer and Reece James aren't fully behind Maresca's methodology, so if results continue to be topsy-turvy, this situation is worth keeping an eye on.

Now, Phillips has provided another update on the 45-year-old's future.

Writing via his Substack, the reporter shares news that Juve approached Maresca's camp on Wednesday amid their search for a new manager.

However, the tactician's response is clear — he's not looking to leave midway through the campaign.

While a move to Turin at the end of the season isn't ruled out, Chelsea will demand a huge compensation fee — which could reach up to £10 million.

JUST RELEASE HIM AND LET HIM GO NOW

BBC Interim appointment of Spalletti ties in with this...

50 minutes ago, Bob stark said:

You regain the ball and you get the ball forward to your attacker fast. You attack, you bring your midfielder to support.

As you said the opp cannot get back into shape but you also can't get into shape.

You lose the ball and now you are the one that is open. You mentioned Klopp, klopp played 3 ball winner in midfield.

Their only strategy is to counter-attack with a long pass forward to try and get a forward 1v1 with the defenders, which is no different to the current system. Playing faster doesn't lose the current system's "advantage" of restricting teams to only one or two viable ways of scoring. The issue is our defenders keep losing their 1v1 moments so shape or no shape, it doesn't matter if our players can't actually win the ball or block shots in crucial moments.

The issue I have is that we are doing exactly as you describe, except slowly. We are still trying to get as many players in-and-around the box as possible, which is why Maresca has Fernandez and Cucurella in the roles they are currently in, but we are doing it at a tempo that completely negates any possible numerical advantage.

Klopp is but one of many managers in the last decade (Flick, Enrique, Ancelotti, Tuchel) who was successful in Europe by quickly counter-attacking with a 'trident'. The aim isn't to control possession to allow for 5 attackers (Guardiola's preference), but to get the ball forward quick enough to allow quick wide forwards to exploit 2v3 or 3v4 situations.

1 hour ago, Bob stark said:

You regain the ball and you get the ball forward to your attacker fast. You attack, you bring your midfielder to support.

As you said the opp cannot get back into shape but you also can't get into shape.

You lose the ball and now you are the one that is open. You mentioned Klopp, klopp played 3 ball winner in midfield.

we keep having this conversation Bob. You seem to think that attack and defence is a binary thing, and that if we try to move the ball fast and attack, then all of a sudden we will be terrible in defence, out of position and let in 12.

My rebuttal to this:

• it isn't binary. We can move the ball faster to the attacking 4 or 5 players, and confirmed to have the defenders and caicedo stay in shape to clear up any counter in the event we lose the ball.

• our defence is already horrible at trying to hold possession, so there isn't anything to lose by telling them to get it up the pitch quicker.

• Balance is the key. Not reckless all out attack with all 10 outfield players dreaming up the pitch - but a general mindset of moving the ball quicker up the pitch into areas where our attacking players can get into the game. we do not want to see tosin and chalobah pass the ball between themselves 500 times every game. This is both boring to watch, and incredibly ineffective at breaking teams down.

1 hour ago, nonotnowjim said:

we keep having this conversation Bob. You seem to think that attack and defence is a binary thing, and that if we try to move the ball fast and attack, then all of a sudden we will be terrible in defence, out of position and let in 12.

My rebuttal to this:

• it isn't binary. We can move the ball faster to the attacking 4 or 5 players, and confirmed to have the defenders and caicedo stay in shape to clear up any counter in the event we lose the ball.

• our defence is already horrible at trying to hold possession, so there isn't anything to lose by telling them to get it up the pitch quicker.

• Balance is the key. Not reckless all out attack with all 10 outfield players dreaming up the pitch - but a general mindset of moving the ball quicker up the pitch into areas where our attacking players can get into the game. we do not want to see tosin and chalobah pass the ball between themselves 500 times every game. This is both boring to watch, and incredibly ineffective at breaking teams down.

Binary 😵‍💫😵‍💫😵‍💫

It is not binary, in fact because I understand that they are absolutely connected I can say this.

4 minutes ago, Bob stark said:

Binary 😵‍💫😵‍💫😵‍💫

It is not binary, in fact because I understand that they are absolutely connected I can say this.

What do you actually believe are the risks if we move the ball faster (but keep the same formation etc)

1 minute ago, SydneyChelsea said:

What do you actually believe are the risks if we move the ball faster (but keep the same formation etc)

How do you move the ball faster?

You can move the ball between cb as fast as you want, nothing change.

You can kick the ball long to one of your winger and Sunderland will be happy to let their fb go 1v 1 vs long ball against neto/Garnacho all game long which is what they did

Edited October 31, 2025Oct 31 by Bob stark

5 minutes ago, Bob stark said:

How do you move the ball faster?

You can move the ball between cb as fast as you want, nothing change.

You can kick the ball long to one of your winger and Sunderland will be happy to let their fb go 1v 1 vs long ball against neto/Garnacho all game long which is what they did

This play is actually a bad a example because 1) we are 1-0 up, Sunderland need to grab the momentum so were slightly more aggressive in defence and 2) we actually moved the ball quickly in this specific passage of play, in fact the next play was a long ball from Reece over the top for Cucurella, with Garnacho winning the second ball and immediately running at the defence. Also, we actually moved the ball quickly in the preceding 10 seconds to break Sunderland's press, but instead of playing the ball out wide to a free Neto, James actually passes back to Tosin. Risk-free mentality.

The question is, why did this passage of play disappear completely at 1-1 when we actually needed a goal?

The reason why fast passing is better is because it forces defenders to move faster, which makes them a lot easier to unseat when you're attacking them. If the defender is moving too slow to be caught off-balance or have difficulty changing direction, defending is much easier.

Edited October 31, 2025Oct 31 by SydneyChelsea

Just now, SydneyChelsea said:

This play is actually a bad a example because 1) we are 1-0 up, Sunderland need to grab the momentum so were slightly more aggressive in defence and 2) we actually moved the ball quickly in this specific passage of play, in fact the next play was a long ball from Reece over the top for Cucurella, with Garnacho winning the second ball and immediately running at the defence.

IMO it was the wrong play because both James and Acheampong could have stepped further up on the ball but still, it was faster and more direct than we typically play.

The question is, why did this passage of play disappear completely at 1-1 when we actually needed a goal?

Long ball to Cucurella that Sunderland defenders botched. Sunderland will be happy to do this all game long.

Your 2nd point is the key, there is a space on the right. Why won't Reece step up and dribble into that space. In fact if you want to play fast, after passing the ball for neto, you want Reece to then overlap/underlap for neto. That will open up space for neto and the whole offensive sequence will be fluid and fast.

I think basically the only issue I have with Maresca is he hasn't solved the primary problem we have, which is how to beat teams consistently who sit back and counter us.

Every other issue that seems to surface isn't a factor.

Estevao not starting games, fine, he's young and I accept that. Our defence is fine for the personnel available, Sanchez has improved a lot. The discipline in silly bookings just is what it is and will be fixed, I can't pin that on him yet. He rotates a lot, cool we need to because half our team are one game away from an injury.

But until he fixes our play so that we play faster, take risks, and overpower teams like Sunderland, Brentford etc, he will never be elite. That's the separation he has from being a solid manager to a great one. It's a step Arteta has made.

Conversely, we will probably end up still winning a trophy. We could end up in the semis of the CL and win the league/FA cup this year and it wouldn't surprise me at all. Because we have the players and the structure to beat teams "on our day". Funnily enough that's the ability Arteta doesn't have. But I think Arteta is more likely to develop that this year than Maresca is his weakness.

13 minutes ago, bisright1 said:

I think basically the only issue I have with Maresca is he hasn't solved the primary problem we have, which is how to beat teams consistently who sit back and counter us.

Every other issue that seems to surface isn't a factor.

Estevao not starting games, fine, he's young and I accept that. Our defence is fine for the personnel available, Sanchez has improved a lot. The discipline in silly bookings just is what it is and will be fixed, I can't pin that on him yet. He rotates a lot, cool we need to because half our team are one game away from an injury.

But until he fixes our play so that we play faster, take risks, and overpower teams like Sunderland, Brentford etc, he will never be elite. That's the separation he has from being a solid manager to a great one. It's a step Arteta has made.

Conversely, we will probably end up still winning a trophy. We could end up in the semis of the CL and win the league/FA cup this year and it wouldn't surprise me at all. Because we have the players and the structure to beat teams "on our day". Funnily enough that's the ability Arteta doesn't have. But I think Arteta is more likely to develop that this year than Maresca is his weakness.

Great post, my opinion is similar

I was surprised to see Sunderland go to 2nd after beating us suggesting they are decent and they didn't score the winner until past 90 mins we were not outplayed though they ran more distance than our chaps.

Beating defensive teams is often tricky.

You can maybe do it having a Crouch type figure playing long with guided knockdowns for supporting players to score.

The other method is to play well in wide areas winning corners and converting these.

The other point is when they seem to be marking your players over the halfway line is having a CB bringing the ball forward to try and create space, he needs to find a pass without it being cut-out n opening you up. Terry could do that a bit and of course scored from corners too.

David Luiz could do it differently from a wide deep defensive position yet he was a bit special in that regard.

it is difficult to judge our CBs really as they are not playing regularly so cannot build up good understandings as they are nearly always makeshift partnerships.

Haven't verified this, but...

12 minutes ago, PloKoon13 said:

Haven't verified this, but...

So basically we’re better with less possession