With Palmer and Delap out injured, that is reason enough for me for Guiu to get starts. Joao Pedro has shown that he is better behind the striker, so with Palmer injured, there is room for him to play there. He may not score or get a load of chances on goal for himself, but he doesn't have to. We saw against West Ham with Delap how important it was to have a striker there to bring the best out of the rest of the team.

The movement and press of a natural striker is so important to have compared to a winger like George playing there.

1 hour ago, GarnachoCheese said:

Is this the Brazil national team fan forum?

Brazil, they are known to have some instincts and abilities for the game. IF JP is good enough to play no.9 for Brazil, I'm just saying he might be good enough to play no.9 for Chelsea (aka the new blue Brazil). Especially considering that Carlo is the manager advocating for JP at no.9. Carlo a great bloke and manager - who i hope becomes our manager after the World Cup.

• I do like our current Brazilian players - we just need to bring Thiago Silva back as a coach.

Edited October 9, 2025Oct 9 by TheCeleryKing

29 minutes ago, TheCeleryKing said:

Brazil, they are known to have some instincts and abilities for the game. IF JP is good enough to play no.9 for Brazil, I'm just saying he might be good enough to play no.9 for Chelsea (aka the new blue Brazil). Especially considering that Carlo is the manager advocating for JP at no.9. Carlo a great bloke and manager - who i hope becomes our manager after the World Cup.

• I do like our current Brazilian players - we just need to bring Thiago Silva back as a coach.

He is the perfect 9 for Brazil because they also happen to have some of the best goalscoring wingers on the planet right now, and Ancelotti is moving them to a more direct style where the wingers are going to be able to exploit the space in behind when Pedro drops deep. He is also perfect for Brazil right now because they have no other options except Gabriel Jesus (lol), Endrick (lol) or Richarlison (LOL), who are worse versions of the same player. Maybe if Igor Thiago can string three games together without an injury, Pedro might actually have some competition for the NT.

Pedro just isn't that good at 9 in the PL, because against PL-quality defences you need an actual striker in the box. The problem with Pedro dropping deep is he is nowhere near chances to finish them, leaving the shots to Neto/Gittens/Garnacho/Cucurella/Fernandez.

11 minutes ago, SydneyChelsea said:

He is the perfect 9 for Brazil because they also happen to have some of the best goalscoring wingers on the planet right now, and Ancelotti is moving them to a more direct style where the wingers are going to be able to exploit the space in behind when Pedro drops deep. He is also perfect for Brazil right now because they have no other options except Gabriel Jesus (lol), Endrick (lol) or Richarlison (LOL), who are worse versions of the same player. Maybe if Igor Thiago can string three games together without an injury, Pedro might actually have some competition for the NT.

Pedro just isn't that good at 9 in the PL, because against PL-quality defences you need an actual striker in the box. The problem with Pedro dropping deep is he is nowhere near chances to finish them, leaving the shots to Neto/Gittens/Garnacho/Cucurella/Fernandez.

true, but if you really want to see Brazil's main weakness, look at the CMs: that'd be Casemiro and B. Guimaraes with Lucas Paqueta appearing in mix. Is that good enough to compete against the best teams out there? I think not. The much maligned Enzo here usually dominates the midfield when facing Brazil.

Endrik is actually a funny one if you follow his private life a bit. His lifestyle, marital choices, are of much more older players/celebrities. Regardless of what Madrid says, I think Endrik's development -- however high his ceiling may be-- is very much compromised at this point.

1 hour ago, acaeus said:

true, but if you really want to see Brazil's main weakness, look at the CMs: that'd be Casemiro and B. Guimaraes with Lucas Paqueta appearing in mix. Is that good enough to compete against the best teams out there? I think not. The much maligned Enzo here usually dominates the midfield when facing Brazil.

Endrik is actually a funny one if you follow his private life a bit. His lifestyle, marital choices, are of much more older players/celebrities. Regardless of what Madrid says, I think Endrik's development -- however high his ceiling may be-- is very much compromised at this point.

The midfield weakness is why I think Ancelotti is trying to bring in a more direct style where they simply punt the ball to the space in behind the CF when possible. They are not going to be able to control midfield against any other top team but I don't know how much that matters if you can get the ball quickly to players like Raphinha, Vini Jr, Rodrygo or Estevao. I can see them absolutely ripping apart the possession-dominant Euro team (eg Spain, Portugal) on their day and they're going to be a really hard team to beat if they score first.

I agree on Endrick, although he is still young it seems there are many obstacles of his own making. Shades of Pato all over again, but IMO Real Madrid are doing the right thing by not rushing him back from injury. I even wonder if the lack of playtime at this age might save his career in the future, albeit at a lower level than promised.

Edited October 10, 2025Oct 10 by SydneyChelsea

4 hours ago, SydneyChelsea said:

The midfield weakness is why I think Ancelotti is trying to bring in a more direct style where they simply punt the ball to the space in behind the CF when possible. They are not going to be able to control midfield against any other top team but I don't know how much that matters if you can get the ball quickly to players like Raphinha, Vini Jr, Rodrygo or Estevao. I can see them absolutely ripping apart the possession-dominant Euro team (eg Spain, Portugal) on their day and they're going to be a really hard team to beat if they score first.

I agree on Endrick, although he is still young it seems there are many obstacles of his own making. Shades of Pato all over again, but IMO Real Madrid are doing the right thing by not rushing him back from injury. I even wonder if the lack of playtime at this age might save his career in the future, albeit at a lower level than promised.

Agreed. Ancelotti is definitely going for a direct strategy with quick transition. The D line is also nothing to write home about, so let's see. If Thiago Silva is fit (as in playing well) I'd definitely take him to the WC; he's that much better than the ones there.

9 hours ago, Scott Harris said:

With Palmer and Delap out injured, that is reason enough for me for Guiu to get starts. Joao Pedro has shown that he is better behind the striker, so with Palmer injured, there is room for him to play there. He may not score or get a load of chances on goal for himself, but he doesn't have to. We saw against West Ham with Delap how important it was to have a striker there to bring the best out of the rest of the team.

The movement and press of a natural striker is so important to have compared to a winger like George playing there.

Bang on Scott, there's more to being a striker than the goal count, even more so when its a lone striker in this kind of formation and playing style, unfortunately some see it as just black and white and only look at stats.

One of our greatest strikers of all time in Drogba wasn't a prolific goal scorer, but he was hugely effective on our game, cause defences nightmares and was possibly the our best set piece defender also. He was the ultimate scorer of big goals, not big goal scorer.

I`m obviously not comparing Guiu to him but the point is an actual striker who knows the position has a massive impact on the game compared to wingers shoved there.

7 hours ago, TheCeleryKing said:

Brazil, they are known to have some instincts and abilities for the game. IF JP is good enough to play no.9 for Brazil, I'm just saying he might be good enough to play no.9 for Chelsea (aka the new blue Brazil). Especially considering that Carlo is the manager advocating for JP at no.9. Carlo a great bloke and manager - who i hope becomes our manager after the World Cup.

• I do like our current Brazilian players - we just need to bring Thiago Silva back as a coach.

But we dont play anything like the way Brazil do, its a completely different type of football compared to our tediously slow build up that allows defences and midfields to get into position to stop us, so there is no space at all for the kind of forward Pedro (and George) are. Our game is much more suited to an old school striker, which is what Guiu is.

João Pedro Junqueira de Jesus is a better no.9 than Marc Guiu at this moment in time.

That is my opinion. I think Marc Guiu should get more time sure. But João Pedro is a better player.

Edited October 10, 2025Oct 10 by TheCeleryKing

My opinion is he isn't a better "number 9" at all. he obviously a better all round player, but thats a completely different argument.

6 hours ago, acaeus said:

Agreed. Ancelotti is definitely going for a direct strategy with quick transition. The D line is also nothing to write home about, so let's see. If Thiago Silva is fit (as in playing well) I'd definitely take him to the WC; he's that much better than the ones there.

This feels like the “I will take Giroud back in a flash” we used to have on this forum when he was playing in Milan, and it was clear his legs were gone. Thiago Silva is 41yrs old already, and is currently being phased out by Fluminese. With all due respect, he has no business playing for Brazil anymore.

You can’t convince me a defence with Marquinhos, Militao, Gabriel, Lucas Beraldo, Ribeiro, Murillo, Bremer as CB options needs Thiago. Brazil have problems but not in their back line.

The only conundrum is that if Guiu should start with Pedro supporting him, it likely means Caicedo will be isolated in midfield again considering Maresca won't drop Enzo. This means Cucurella will be all over the place trying to play 3 positions at once.

I'm all for continuing with Pedro to start but Maresca needs to be braver with Guiu and bringing him on more.

JP is a better football player than Marc Guiu, Marc Guiu is a better ‘9’ than JP.

2 hours ago, Sconnie Blue said:

This means Cucurella will be all over the place trying to play 3 positions at once.

So, just a normal 90 minutes for him.

3 hours ago, markpitts said:

This feels like the “I will take Giroud back in a flash” we used to have on this forum when he was playing in Milan, and it was clear his legs were gone. Thiago Silva is 41yrs old already, and is currently being phased out by Fluminese. With all due respect, he has no business playing for Brazil anymore.

You can’t convince me a defence with Marquinhos, Militao, Gabriel, Lucas Beraldo, Ribeiro, Murillo, Bremer as CB options needs Thiago. Brazil have problems but not in their back line.

Heh you may be right. I just don’t rate the cbs very highly especially Marquinhos — don’t see a whole lot of strengths in his game (rounded but in a bad way). Gabriel I feel is very physical and that’s about it.

Yeah maybe they just need a chance to prove they are good enough. FBs have changed in every call up btw. Anyway should prob pin this for next year anyway—some ways to go.

Edited October 10, 2025Oct 10 by acaeus

3 hours ago, Sconnie Blue said:

The only conundrum is that if Guiu should start with Pedro supporting him, it likely means Caicedo will be isolated in midfield again considering Maresca won't drop Enzo. This means Cucurella will be all over the place trying to play 3 positions at once.

I'm all for continuing with Pedro to start but Maresca needs to be braver with Guiu and bringing him on more.

Agreed. It is better if Pedro, or Palmer, or whoever else that is not not Enzo, are playing 10 that Enzo is dropped and Caicedo has Lavia, or Santos, or Essugo with him instead.

Makes the team a lot more balanced.

On 08/10/2025 at 08:43, GarnachoCheese said:

no option other than keeping him after we gave him minutes.

JP does naff all as a 9 so give Guiu 90 every week until Delap is back.

He can still go back on loan to Sunderland in January.

Had Lavia not been injured so many times it would have been interesting to see how many games Enzo would have had if Lavia was fit. Maresca clearly rates Enzo but it’s also very clear that Maresca rates Lavia just as highly. A fit Lavia is a game changer imo. Whether we ever get to see that is another question entirely.

I also think that Lavia’s game is closer to Enzo rather than Caicedo.

Edited October 10, 2025Oct 10 by 19seventyone

8 hours ago, Sconnie Blue said:

The only conundrum is that if Guiu should start with Pedro supporting him, it likely means Caicedo will be isolated in midfield again considering Maresca won't drop Enzo. This means Cucurella will be all over the place trying to play 3 positions at once.

I'm all for continuing with Pedro to start but Maresca needs to be braver with Guiu and bringing him on more.

I guess it also depends on who we are playing? Also, the perfect starting XI doesn’t really matter that much anymore as you get 5 subs per game - the question for the modern manager is who are your XVI. Who are the core 16 players. Looking at the Liverpool game you can see it - how many players finished the game in the same position they started in? (yes there were injuries – but still).  It is almost a given that you shall be Rotating your 4 wingers and they will all 4 of them get some game time every week. Then there are all sorts of opportunities for changing formations, etc. Enzo knows this and he’s usually quite bad at it, especially if we go down to ten men he goes with the take all the attacking players off and go with an “I give up” formation. But he is still learning, bless him. There is real opportunity for a manager to mix it up and the manager who can utilise 16 players every week he might be the winner.

Read Guiu talking about what went on in the window and I really like the lad’s attitude. He believes he will score goals for Chelsea and I think he will as well.

Still think a PL loan will do him wonders but happy he’s back and in the squad.

On 10/10/2025 at 19:57, Sconnie Blue said:

The only conundrum is that if Guiu should start with Pedro supporting him, it likely means Caicedo will be isolated in midfield again considering Maresca won't drop Enzo. This means Cucurella will be all over the place trying to play 3 positions at once.

I'm all for continuing with Pedro to start but Maresca needs to be braver with Guiu and bringing him on more.

Hmm not really

Neto - Guiu - Gusto

Jp

Cucu - Caicedo - Enzo

3 cb

3 diamond 3.

The only discussion with Guiu is that how low does Maresca rate him because he can't play over Jp / George who both have struggled big time as 9.

5 hours ago, Bob stark said:

Hmm not really

Neto - Guiu - Gusto

Jp

Cucu - Caicedo - Enzo

3 cb

3 diamond 3.

Sack Maresca if he ever plays that

Made a massive difference when he came on again. Forced two defenders to mark him from Neto's cross which gave Acheampong an easy header. Then won the freekick for the second goal. Pedro has been struggling as a striker, it's just not his natural position, and his form has dipped a lot because of that. Guiu has a lot to learn, especially with his touch and finishing, but he plays like a striker should. His movement is excellent and takes up positions strikers should take up.

He has to start more games until we get Palmer and Delap back.

Said it in the match thread.

• We didnt have a corner in the first half. Guiu won us one within the first 2 mins of being on the pitch.

• He was there in the mix causing problems, and distracting the defence for the opening goal.

• He won the free kick for the 2nd goal.

The young lad changed the game.

He is a player who looks to understand the striker role and plays it with intelligence. He fights and chases everything with energy. Genuinely think he looks as good as, if not better than Delap has for us (I like Delap as well). Multiple times the player that Jackson is.

Edited October 18, 2025Oct 18 by nonotnowjim