Not bad for a team filled with midgets

6 hours ago, DidierDrogbalala said:

The only thing this table seems to show is that there isn't a big difference in the quality of shots created at set pieces, but some teams just create way more of them.

As mad as it sounds, If City v Forest ends in a draw next week we are 3rd.

23 hours ago, DidierDrogbalala said:

Our problem is that also takes the conference league games in account, doesn't it? Iirc We've scored a lot of set piece goals there because we were playing Disasi & Tosin against crappy defences.

2 hours ago, Sconnie Blue said:

As mad as it sounds, If City v Forest ends in a draw next week we are 3rd.

Crazy. We are going to need to build up a little bit of a gap because we have some tough games coming up so we will need a buffer.

5 hours ago, Sconnie Blue said:

As mad as it sounds, If City v Forest ends in a draw next week we are 3rd.

Let's not get ahead of ourselves.....we still need to beat Leicester.

On 04/03/2025 at 09:26, Sconnie Blue said:

As mad as it sounds, If City v Forest ends in a draw next week we are 3rd.

The reality is that we have some very good players, despite the rigid tactics of our manager and the appalling intelligence of our owners, we have some very good footballers. IF only . . .x,y,z,. . . .we would be title contenders.

34 minutes ago, TheCeleryKing said:

The reality is that we have some very good players, despite the rigid tactics of our manager and the appalling intelligence of our owners, we have some very good footballers. IF only . . .x,y,z,. . . .we would be title contenders.

It’s been a domino effect since Lavia’s injury. Fofana too. Truth is we relied a lot on Jackson + Palmer’s goals. Confidence is shattered.

There’s just too much predictability in our attack now given our wingers are so restricted in their positioning and we are striker less. Defending is a whole other issue but that’s been the case for 2 years.

Starting to think Maresca doesn't own any clothes other than club-issued kit ... 😀

Why the f**k do we start games with a set up good teams use after half time when they’re 3-0 up? Our tactics kill the game immediately. It only works for a team that doesn’t concede many alongside a frontline that is clinical. We are neither.

He’s been brainwashed by Pep. Not the way we play but a blind loyalty to the system. It’s patently obvious it’s not working.

If this squad finishes top 5 it’s in spite of Maresca not because of him.

Its worse than Sarri-ball

35 minutes ago, Ukraine Bolt said:

Its worse than Sarri-ball

We have gone from a team many neutrals like to watch to one of the dullest I can ever recall. Only those suffering from insomnia and needing something to induce some good sleep will bother turning on to watch us now.

#MarescaOut

First half was probably the most boring performance I can remember for a long long time.

23 minutes ago, Zeta said:

First half was probably the most boring performance I can remember for a long long time.

Agreed, I had to stream it on my phone on the train and I feel like invoicing the club for my data back. Complete waste of my time, I've never been more convinced that Maresca needs to go no matter what happens this season.

He needs to go, I agree, but together with the SDs and the board. We have an expensive team full of mediocre players, players that do not run the channels or move at all, they just stand waiting for the ball to arrive at their feet. Players that are mid table quality. What we're seeing is partly because of Maresca and partly because of a lack of quality throughout the team.

Sanchez

Chalobah Tosin Badiashille/Colwill Gusto/Cucurella

Caicedo/Fernández James

George Palmer/Sancho KDH

Mheuke/Nkunku

I mean, do we expect much from the above lineup? The tactics are not very good, but other than Caicedo, James (out of position but did well) and Palmer, we've got a mix of championship players (Sanchez, KDH, Badi), mid table players (Chalobah, Tosin, Colwill, Gusto, Cucu, Enzo, Nkunku) and youngsters. The way we play is sh*t, but the quality is also sh*t.

And the problem is that we rely on those youngsters that are coming in the next one or two seasons and who are going to settle into the team with the above players becoming their seniors!! It's just so sad how the board is showing that they've got no f**king clue about how to rebuild a team that was champion of Europe right before they came.

Maresca has sucked the life out of every player in the squad. None of them look like they are enjoying it anymore.

At the start of the season I was pleasantly surprised that we were a good watch (was fully expecting a Sarriball style borefest). At the time I was hearing Liam Twomey, on the Straight Out of Cobham podcast, saying that this is not Maresca’s style as he prefers more control and slow build up. I was thinking “surely not” but f*** me, was he right…. If only we had Hazard still with us (the Hazard of then) he’d stick two fingers up to Pep-Lite like he did with Sarri but unlike Sarri, Maresca would probably drop him.

Can only assume that the good play at the start of the season was a hangover from Poch. F***** hate Pep. Destroyed enjoyable football for boring keep ball, pass for the sake of passing. He’s started to go long now, due to Haaland, so just waiting for Pep to go full on Wimbledon, and all his “familiars” copying him “as the almighty genius” they think he is. F****** long ball Wimbledon style is better than this!

Said it before, but it becomes more obvious as more time passes. The more time he has with the players, the worse everyone is getting.

5 hours ago, Scott Harris said:

Maresca has sucked the life out of every player in the squad. None of them look like they are enjoying it anymore.

Sucking the life out of every fan as well and none of us are enjoying games either.

Lot of sucking going on

16 minutes ago, Sconnie Blue said:

Lot of sucking going on

And little pleasure.

In the past 20 years when we had sub par managers/ coaches like this chap e.g. Grant, Scolari, AVB, FSW, Sarri, SFL we had some mitigating factors - excellent players in the squad, a few senior players who weren't having it and an owner who always binned failure. So although at the time things seemed bleak, the passage of time always took care of them. A better replacement rocked up at Cobham and success on the pitch followed as usual. We saw this cycle play out over nearly 20 years with CFC bagging every trophy in club footy except the UCL (ironically within reach currently).

That culture has been replaced with one of mediocrity, the owners don't care about success on the pitch. They want staff who are aligned with their goals (Yes men). Maresca is one of their yes men team, like the DsOF, that's all he is. He has some pedigree of course, more suited imo for a championship level team not a top EPL one. The only 'line in the sand' the new owners will have is no relegation, they bought the club for 2.5 billion pounds its value is predicted to double within another 5 years without sizeable investment (see link - Banker who brokered purchase). Some might point to the fact that the new owners have spent a fortune on players, I would say not for success on the pitch but to jump start their main business goal - buying young unknown players for a song and selling them on for a fortune (how are they doing at that ? lol).

The Straits Times

Football: 'Not a big leap' to say Chelsea's value will do...

Boss of bank which brokered deal tells what was special about this deal for seller and buyer. Read more at straitstimes.com.

So unfortunately the mostly boring football (credit where its due- was a good run of match results late last year until the game I went to Fulham at home) will continue, as will Maresca most likely in the dug out. This is the new club culture, our new reality. A lot of us are browned off about it but ultimately we are powerless over this situation, how did that recent protest go ?

I have been so detached the last month haven’t watched or looked at anything related to Chelsea.

I posted before that I'd read that Enzo has been striving to achieve this slow, controlled possession based football all season .

We are actually playing the way Enzo wants us to play. I had dismissed Leicester fans criticism of Enzo as being ridiculous after our entertaining, winning run of games, but it looks like they were correct.. That first half was as coma inducing I've seen in a long time.