46 minutes ago, Bob stark said:

Bielsa is a good shout. 

 

It will always be high risk as proved under Bielsa. One or more players  lose their man, the system implodes.

1 hour ago, El regreso said:

Does anyone remember seeing our CBs tracking forwards all the way into the opposition half in our pre-season games and wondered what the hell is going on? Well listen to this and you will see it’s Enzo telling defenders to do so🤦🏾‍♂️

This will be catastrophic in the PL.

Watch from 5:45 Marc Albrighton explaining this.

https://youtu.be/fZQ2lByAYyg?si=FJwDy0Lt71ULN9qm

I won't dismiss the idea. It is as @dermott said risky but as we have seen from many instances of "different" idea in football, as long as you have the player for it, it can work.

 

44 minutes ago, Bob stark said:

I won't dismiss the idea. It is as @dermott said risky but as we have seen from many instances of "different" idea in football, as long as you have the player for it, it can work.

 

Understood but you are leaving a gaping hole in the defence and according to Albrighton the covering CB and FBs gets exposed.

I hope it works however I can see us conceding goals if teams know we will be doing that and exploit that space.

2 minutes ago, El regreso said:

Understood but you are leaving a gaping hole in the defence and according to Albrighton the covering CB and FBs gets exposed.

I hope it works however I can see us conceding goals if teams know we will be doing that and exploit that space.

As long as all your defenders are athletic and strong 1 v 1 and your pressing up top is on point, I think you should be OK. 

 

3 minutes ago, Bob stark said:

As long as all your defenders are athletic and strong 1 v 1 and your pressing up top is on point, I think you should be OK. 

 

In short, not currently suitable.

13 hours ago, Scott Harris said:

No it doesn't. Having more money to spend to watch Chelsea makes you no more of a fan than somebody who may only be able to go watch their team once in their lifetime. Circumstances may mean it's impossible for them to do it. Physical problems are one, mental issues another, maybe they don't have the transport options available to them, maybe they have other hobbies and interests, maybe they live in a different country, or maybe they just don't have the money. Or maybe they just work on days when Chelsea play which makes it impossible for them to go. 

I would love to go to as many games as possible, but a mix of most of the above makes it impossible for me.

At least once a year we get people taking jabs at others for how much more of a fan they are of the club and how bad others are according to them, it's that time of the year again. 

And fans get very defensive when it's brought up. Circumstances change people get married, can't afford it move away etc I entirely get that. What I'm talking about is people who say they are passionate about Chelsea who cause things aren't going well say they can't be bothered watching an illegal stream that is the modern football  fan in a nutshell.

I'm from a different generation if you supported a club you went to games simple as that the team you support defines you to an extent. You went home and away with your mates and met people some you might not even know their surnames maybe just their nicknames but you went regardless even though Chelsea were mostly terrible.

The fact is once football got really big late 90's people who never liked football had to start following a team cause they felt left out of conversations at work or the pub I know loads of geezers who started mainly supporting Arsenal a few Chelsea you always had Man United fans who were laughed at cause they sat in the pub with a Man United top on while they dominated football but these people would never go to games.

That's why my generation are so sneery at internet fans cause it's easy to watch a stream you haven't paid for and just parrot Neville and Carragher talking about inverted full backs it's bo**ocks. The idea of them supporting Luton if it's their local side especially when they were in the non league would never happen instead of being part of something they'd rather latch on to a Premier League team and watch on the telly. Italian football was televised live on Sundays after Italia 90 most of my generation would look at it through a hungover glaze when we would have gone from football on a Saturday afternoon to a rave till the early hours and English football was piss poor I don't know a single person who started supporting AC Milan or Juve or Napoli. Lastly for example the Rolling Stones have been going for 60 years who would you say is the most passionate fan the one who buys all the records went to all the gigs they could or the ones who illegally download their music and have never been to a concert ?.

Anyone reading this can you tell me why you got into Chelsea I've given you my story I'm genuinely interested.

1 hour ago, dermott said:

In short, not currently suitable.

I don't believe this. Colwill, Badiashile, Tosin, Fofana, and even Chalobah have good to great recovery speed. 

Both Real Madrid goals came from laborious defending more than systematic issues. Badiashile literally jogging and doing nothing as he looks at the ball that's literally an arm length away go across the goal line, then Colwill jogging back and then not having a care in the world of who to man mark for Real's second. 

 

6 minutes ago, Sconnie Blue said:

I don't believe this. Colwill, Badiashile, Tosin, Fofana, and even Chalobah have good to great recovery speed. 

Both Real Madrid goals came from laborious defending more than systematic issues. Badiashile literally jogging and doing nothing as he looks at the ball that's literally an arm length away go across the goal line, then Colwill jogging back and then not having a care in the world of who to man mark for Real's second. 

 

Except the system doesn't allow for laborious defending and, if this pre-season has had a constant, it's laborious defending.

4 minutes ago, Sconnie Blue said:

I don't believe this. Colwill, Badiashile, Tosin, Fofana, and even Chalobah have good to great recovery speed. 

Both Real Madrid goals came from laborious defending more than systematic issues. Badiashile literally jogging and doing nothing as he looks at the ball that's literally an arm length away go across the goal line, then Colwill jogging back and then not having a care in the world of who to man mark for Real's second. 

 

If your defensive plan is to have your CB have a sprint race vs attacker with passer free to deliver pass, then any defender will look stupid. 

 

2 minutes ago, dermott said:

Except the system doesn't allow for laborious defending and, if this pre-season has had a constant, it's laborious defending.

Then questions need to be asked regarding fitness if we have CBs jogging to track back. Or they need a slap in the face. 

2 minutes ago, Bob stark said:

If your defensive plan is to have your CB have a sprint race vs attacker with passer free to deliver pass, then any defender will look stupid. 

I agree, but on the occasion that a pass does go over the top the CBs need to be switched on, which we hardly saw this preseason. 

1 hour ago, bluehaze said:

And fans get very defensive when it's brought up. Circumstances change people get married, can't afford it move away etc I entirely get that. What I'm talking about is people who say they are passionate about Chelsea who cause things aren't going well say they can't be bothered watching an illegal stream that is the modern football  fan in a nutshell.

I'm from a different generation if you supported a club you went to games simple as that the team you support defines you to an extent. You went home and away with your mates and met people some you might not even know their surnames maybe just their nicknames but you went regardless even though Chelsea were mostly terrible.

The fact is once football got really big late 90's people who never liked football had to start following a team cause they felt left out of conversations at work or the pub I know loads of geezers who started mainly supporting Arsenal a few Chelsea you always had Man United fans who were laughed at cause they sat in the pub with a Man United top on while they dominated football but these people would never go to games.

That's why my generation are so sneery at internet fans cause it's easy to watch a stream you haven't paid for and just parrot Neville and Carragher talking about inverted full backs it's bo**ocks. The idea of them supporting Luton if it's their local side especially when they were in the non league would never happen instead of being part of something they'd rather latch on to a Premier League team and watch on the telly. Italian football was televised live on Sundays after Italia 90 most of my generation would look at it through a hungover glaze when we would have gone from football on a Saturday afternoon to a rave till the early hours and English football was piss poor I don't know a single person who started supporting AC Milan or Juve or Napoli. Lastly for example the Rolling Stones have been going for 60 years who would you say is the most passionate fan the one who buys all the records went to all the gigs they could or the ones who illegally download their music and have never been to a concert ?.

Anyone reading this can you tell me why you got into Chelsea I've given you my story I'm genuinely interested.

When i was a kid aged 5/6 I played FIFA 06 or fifa 08 thats all I knew about football at the time I always used to play with Chelsea and Juventus not sure why but I loved them teams. Then when I grew up I thought if I picked it as a kid then I must have liked it so I supported them since then been to a couple games as I am 6 hours away frm London. 

But recently am losing the love for the club, I liked the way roman dominated football and we had inferior teams but beat the best and won trophies (2 champs leagues), I was also a massive admirer of Conte and Tuchel. 

Pochs last 6 games gave me hope but it's lost. Am not sure about maresca though i dont think itll go well

20 hours ago, The Rising Sun said:

They might not be good enough , but as long as they are in blue, they get my support.

I absolutely hate any booing of our team by our own fans no matter how poor we might be.

Absolutely. Will get all the support they should from me. 

The love though,for the individuals, comes over time.

No point going to watch them if you will go and boo them. Staying at home and tossing shoes at the box or ranting on a forum is different though. And I think whilst some might consider it toxic, it's healthy to an extent as the person gets a release.

20 hours ago, The Rising Sun said:

They might not be good enough , but as long as they are in blue, they get my support.

I absolutely hate any booing of our team by our own fans no matter how poor we might be.

Absolutely. Will get all the support they should from me. 

The love though,for the individuals, comes over time.

No point going to watch them if you will go and boo them. Staying at home and tossing shoes at the box or ranting on a forum is different though. And I think whilst some might consider it toxic, it's healthy to an extent as the person gets a release.

20 hours ago, The Rising Sun said:

They might not be good enough , but as long as they are in blue, they get my support.

I absolutely hate any booing of our team by our own fans no matter how poor we might be.

Absolutely. Will get all the support they should from me. 

The love though,for the individuals, comes over time.

No point going to watch them if you will go and boo them. Staying at home and tossing shoes at the box or ranting on a forum is different though. And I think whilst some might consider it toxic, it's healthy to an extent as the person gets a release.

20 hours ago, The Rising Sun said:

They might not be good enough , but as long as they are in blue, they get my support.

I absolutely hate any booing of our team by our own fans no matter how poor we might be.

Absolutely. Will get all the support they should from me. 

The love though,for the individuals, comes over time.

No point going to watch them if you will go and boo them. Staying at home and tossing shoes at the box or ranting on a forum is different though. And I think whilst some might consider it toxic, it's healthy to an extent as the person gets a release.

On 07/08/2024 at 16:39, big blue said:

Appreciate it's going to take time for Maresca. He would never have been my choice, but now he is here, he needs time, and he also needs the right players too. 

There are a couple of issues that I think is really going to make things difficult.

1st is how high the defensive line is, but then with the lack of pace we actually have. Badiashille is really slow. Disasi, Colwill, and Fofana, not exactly quick either. Tosin looks to have decent pace, but maybe not starting level. Chalobah frozen out. 

This group of centre backs is so underwhelming. No leaders, no pace. I know we were linked with Murillo, so maybe they are looking at it, Todibo is still available, very quick defender. We are going to get caught out with balls in behind all season I think.

2nd is the winger situation. With the full backs inverting, the wingers have nowhere to hide. The system is designed to get our wide players in 1v1s often, the trouble is, none of the wingers are really at good level. Sterling awful, Mudryk brain dead, Madueke inconsistent. Even if Palmer plays there, he isnt really a 1v1 winger. 

We had Olise lined up, so obviously it is an area we wanted to strengthen but there doesn't seem to be an alternative. 

Both of these areas are bottle necks for the system. Can't blame Maresca, sd have assembled this squad. At the moment I think we are a top 6 team at best.

Looks like the club had the same concerns, Neto done under the radar. 

Let's see what happens with the defence, maybe that is more a structural issue that will be fixed on the training ground.

We have to get at least 10 out the door before the window shuts.

Of the players who have played first team football I’d get rid of

Keepers. Petrovic, Slonina, Kepa

Defenders. Disasi, Bada, Chillwell , Trev, 

Midfielders. Lesley, Gallagher, Casedei,

Forwards, Lukaku, Washington, Broja, Angelo, Moriera.

Thats 15 and we still need to loan out some more.

Unvelievable

No one is addressing a very big reason we conceded goals pre season.

Forget about the high line.

Playing out from the back gifted goals to the opposition many times. Why isn't this being addressed?

Because if we keep on doing it we're going to be f**ked .

 

4 hours ago, bluehaze said:

And fans get very defensive when it's brought up. Circumstances change people get married, can't afford it move away etc I entirely get that. What I'm talking about is people who say they are passionate about Chelsea who cause things aren't going well say they can't be bothered watching an illegal stream that is the modern football  fan in a nutshell.

I'm from a different generation if you supported a club you went to games simple as that the team you support defines you to an extent. You went home and away with your mates and met people some you might not even know their surnames maybe just their nicknames but you went regardless even though Chelsea were mostly terrible.

The fact is once football got really big late 90's people who never liked football had to start following a team cause they felt left out of conversations at work or the pub I know loads of geezers who started mainly supporting Arsenal a few Chelsea you always had Man United fans who were laughed at cause they sat in the pub with a Man United top on while they dominated football but these people would never go to games.

That's why my generation are so sneery at internet fans cause it's easy to watch a stream you haven't paid for and just parrot Neville and Carragher talking about inverted full backs it's bo**ocks. The idea of them supporting Luton if it's their local side especially when they were in the non league would never happen instead of being part of something they'd rather latch on to a Premier League team and watch on the telly. Italian football was televised live on Sundays after Italia 90 most of my generation would look at it through a hungover glaze when we would have gone from football on a Saturday afternoon to a rave till the early hours and English football was piss poor I don't know a single person who started supporting AC Milan or Juve or Napoli. Lastly for example the Rolling Stones have been going for 60 years who would you say is the most passionate fan the one who buys all the records went to all the gigs they could or the ones who illegally download their music and have never been to a concert ?.

Anyone reading this can you tell me why you got into Chelsea I've given you my story I'm genuinely interested.

I think the internet generation get overly critical, nasty and angry when things aren't going well.

After we lost at home to Brentford I walked into the pub and the conversation went something like this 

"Well that was f**king sh*t , whose round is it?"

No vitriol , its Chelsea, the conversation continues.."where we meeting up for the next game " ? 

I don't like losing as much as any fan, but no one loses their minds over it .

Come on you BLUES!

23 minutes ago, The Rising Sun said:

No one is addressing a very big reason we conceded goals pre season.

Forget about the high line.

Playing out from the back gifted goals to the opposition many times. Why isn't this being addressed?

Because if we keep on doing it we're going to be f**ked .

 

Playing out from the back is the tactic du jour. Everyone does it regardless of competence. We are not alone.

Maresca has already said the squad hadn’t really started on the defensive shape  in the US.

That would suggest we will be much better defensively against City next week.

The guy is f**ked from day one.  Honestly our transfer strategy is embarrassing we sign another player we don’t need injured half the season and expect him to compete with the top clubs . The owners have f**ked us 

How many First team players do we have now?

Are we back to Potter levels?

He'll make millions then move on somewhere else. He knows our chances of wining anything under the current conditions are in the single digits but to Enzo M. it seems  worth the load of cash the club are paying.

We have 43 first team players on the web site!  Training must be fun, jumpers for goal posts and 20 a side!  Some of them look like park players!