2 hours ago, icecoolguy22 said:

Agree Lavia has to play, either as an extra Midfielder or in place of Enzo ( which will be a brave call). Left side defence will be key, need the extra help to cover Salah and TAA. We will score, the issue is how many we could keep them down to.

When was the last time Lavia played? 

2 hours ago, SydneyChelsea said:

FBRef says that we've conceded more directly from a FK than either Arsenal or City, though it is a moot stat anyway given the tiny sample size of 7 games and actually the majority of the clubs in the league have conceded less than 2 set piece goals anyway.

Zonal marking is a compromise tactic. It was invented to address height differences in amateur football. It gives smaller teams a much better chance at defending set-pieces against bigger teams, but there are diminishing returns. It rarely works without significant adjustment at the top-flight level, because the quality of athlete is much higher. 

The problem with zonal marking in an inexperienced team is always that it is inherently reactive, not proactive. Man-marking schemes require players to proactively disrupt their opponent whereas zonal marking encourages defenders to assess whether the ball will enter their zone, instead of trying to disrupt them directly. Ironically, this means that zonal markers do not effectively handle aerially superior opponents because they ball-watch all too often.

Jury is out for me on the marking scheme. I think the players are way too inexperienced and the current system leads to stupid matchups and situations like the farce against Gent. Happy to give it some time while we are doing well but it really needs to be sorted soon.

I won't comment which system is better, but it is pretty obvious why we play zonal marking. 

We only have 3 player who can compete in the air. The rest are not even in the average category. 

@justlove to make fun of Jackson but Jackson is one of our best aerial player 

Edited October 14, 20241 yr by Bob stark

2 hours ago, Bob stark said:

When was the last time Lavia played? 

First game of the season? So he's rested well 😄

8 hours ago, 19seventyone said:

Key will be the midfield for me. If able to play 90 minutes then Lavia has to start. Their midfield is pretty mobile which is Enzo’s weakness imo. It’s going to be a massive game for Veiga if he’s covering Salah and stepping into midfield.

Maybe Sancho goes to the bench for Neto.

We are more than capable of getting a result there. 

That is asking a lot of Lavia. Freshly back after his latest injury, got no minutes vs Forest. 

He may get through the 90, but in so doing could well break down again. 

May not be popular to say but if we are taking Enzo put of this game due to his lack of speed, then Lavia and KDH should split the minutes alongside Caicedo.

I don't get why everyone is so worried, Liverpool have had the easiest start to the season anyone could have asked for. Not played a single team in hte top 10. Chelsea will be the first game they face where the opponent takes the game to them. 

Ipswich - 2-0 win. As anyone would expect. 17th.

Brentford - 2-0 win. Brentford have started the season poorly only picking up points against minnows. 11th.

Man Utd - 3-0 win. Credit where its due, but Utd are dog sh*t under Ten Haag. 14th.

Forest - 1-0 loss at home. 10th. 

Bournemouth - 3-0 win. Bournemouth have only managed to beat Everton and Southampton all season. sh*te. 13th. 

Wolves - 2-1. Bottom of the league. 20th. 

Crystal Palace. 1-0. Relegation form, their best result was parking the bus against us for 90 minutes. 18th. 

We've just won goal of the month, manager of the month and player of the month. Liverpool should be the ones worried. 

18 hours ago, axman2526 said:

We have not really played anyone either, bar City, who outclassed us completely. 

Both teams have played the also-rans of the league, bar city. So let's see. 

I mean that's not true, like atall.

Lavia should be ready fitness wise. He came on against Brighton for several minutes. Not registered for Conference league so missed Gent, and didn't come on against Forrest as we were chasing a goal. Add the international break, he should be more than ready. 

Veiga inverting with Lavia and Caicedo in midfield just offers so much to combat the work rate of MacAllister, Jones, and Gravenberch. Enzo will likely play, which I 100% disagree with given his form, but if there is a game for him to turn up its this one. 

29 minutes ago, Sconnie Blue said:

Lavia should be ready fitness wise. He came on against Brighton for several minutes. Not registered for Conference league so missed Gent, and didn't come on against Forrest as we were chasing a goal. Add the international break, he should be more than ready. 

Veiga inverting with Lavia and Caicedo in midfield just offers so much to combat the work rate of MacAllister, Jones, and Gravenberch. Enzo will likely play, which I 100% disagree with given his form, but if there is a game for him to turn up its this one. 

Ourt of the two I would guess Maresca picks Gusto over Veiga to invert.

 

 

 

5 minutes ago, Argo said:

 

 

 

Got to be Taylor or Oliver. Prime Fixture needs a top ref, and apparently they are the two best the PL has.

Damn, I’ll be watching John-Luke Roberts doing 5 hours of stand-up for a second Sunday in a row…

4 hours ago, Munkunku said:

Damn, I’ll be watching John-Luke Roberts doing 5 hours of stand-up for a second Sunday in a row…

Do your best Anthony Taylor impression. YC John-Luke every time he blows a punchline.

16 hours ago, axman2526 said:

Got to be Taylor or Oliver. Prime Fixture needs a top ref, and apparently they are the two best the PL has.

John Brooks. VAR : Michael Oliver

30 minutes ago, Sconnie Blue said:

John Brooks. VAR : Michael Oliver

Ah so Oliver will need to do something from the control room to get some headlines.

On 14/10/2024 at 09:59, axman2526 said:

Ourt of the two I would guess Maresca picks Gusto over Veiga to invert.

Would be the right choice. Much rather gift Diaz more space than Salah. 

Although with Lavia in the team this kind of defeats the need of Gusto to invert. He can play as a traditional full back and underlap Madueke. 

On 14/10/2024 at 13:48, Argo said:

I mean that's not true, like atall.

True. City AND Bournemouth outclassed us !

On 14/10/2024 at 08:49, Ukraine Bolt said:

I don't get why everyone is so worried, Liverpool have had the easiest start to the season anyone could have asked for. Not played a single team in hte top 10. Chelsea will be the first game they face where the opponent takes the game to them. 

Ipswich - 2-0 win. As anyone would expect. 17th.

Brentford - 2-0 win. Brentford have started the season poorly only picking up points against minnows. 11th.

Man Utd - 3-0 win. Credit where its due, but Utd are dog sh*t under Ten Haag. 14th.

Forest - 1-0 loss at home. 10th. 

Bournemouth - 3-0 win. Bournemouth have only managed to beat Everton and Southampton all season. sh*te. 13th. 

Wolves - 2-1. Bottom of the league. 20th. 

Crystal Palace. 1-0. Relegation form, their best result was parking the bus against us for 90 minutes. 18th. 

We've just won goal of the month, manager of the month and player of the month. Liverpool should be the ones worried. 

Winning manager of the month is usually a curse. Hopefully not this time.

Come on you BLUES!

Not looking forward to this game - too often we come undone with the Anfield emotion.  Perhaps Enzo will have them more focused.

Anyway, not that bothered as the result won't define our season.  We're trending in a much better direction!!

Chelsea 1 - 0 Arse Slut's Kidspitters

We’ve actually managed to scrape past the international break without any injuries 

4 minutes ago, Sconnie Blue said:

We’ve actually managed to scrape past the international break without any injuries 

🫠

 

3 hours ago, Sconnie Blue said:

We’ve actually managed to scrape past the international break without any injuries 

Probably because we don't have any USMNT players

Always one of the biggest games of the season and will be a stern test to see where Maresca's team is at.

I heard a scouser on one of the phone-ins confident they will beat us as they have a settled side whereas they think we have too many options and Maresca doesn't know his starting 11. True to an extent but we can beat anyone on our day when everything clicks so just pray for one of those days Sunday.

Worry about Sanchez and the defence. We simply cannot afford to piss about with it and gift them a goal - if we do I will be fuming. Hopefully fit squad to chose from and Lavia starts over Enzo.

COME ON THE CHELS!

  

1 hour ago, Nibs said:

Always one of the biggest games of the season and will be a stern test to see where Maresca's team is at.

I heard a scouser on one of the phone-ins confident they will beat us as they have a settled side whereas they think we have too many options and Maresca doesn't know his starting 11. True to an extent but we can beat anyone on our day when everything clicks so just pray for one of those days Sunday.

Worry about Sanchez and the defence. We simply cannot afford to piss about with it and gift them a goal - if we do I will be fuming. Hopefully fit squad to chose from and Lavia starts over Enzo.

COME ON THE CHELS!

  

Is it? Right now the PL Xl feels even more set in stone than it was under Sarri.

This has only two outcomes, win or lose big there will be no in between!!

We need a basketball match end to end so we can utilise our attacking talent.