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Chelsea FC | 2016/17 Season

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Abdullah719

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New season, new thread... please leave the old ones and post here guys.
 
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I'm backing my Blues to jump out of the shadows and win the league once again.
 
Rayyman said:
3-0 victory today, Traore, Loftus-Cheek and Chalobah scoring.
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2-0 loss before that. Change of formation was a big factor, we went from a 4-3-3 in the first game to a 4-2-4, which sometimes became a 4-4-2 when Moses and Willian dropped deeper. So far I'm happy, I hope Victor Moses actually provides some competition to Hazard as he's been excellent so far.

Hoping for a big defensive signing, Koulibaly or Manolas, or even Bonucci if we can persuade him.
 
WC-Passion said:
2-0 loss before that. Change of formation was a big factor, we went from a 4-3-3 in the first game to a 4-2-4, which sometimes became a 4-4-2 when Moses and Willian dropped deeper. So far I'm happy, I hope Victor Moses actually provides some competition to Hazard as he's been excellent so far.

Hoping for a big defensive signing, Koulibaly or Manolas, or even Bonucci if we can persuade him.
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Yea, Idk about the 2 central midfielders though, Kante, matic, fabregas and oscar all fighting for a place. Transferring Fabregas could give us enough money for Bonucci.
 
Rayyman said:
Yea, Idk about the 2 central midfielders though, Kante, matic, fabregas and oscar all fighting for a place. Transferring Fabregas could give us enough money for Bonucci.
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I think we should play Oscar and Kante in a 4-2-4, because then we'll have 2 midfielders who are always willing to track back, win the ball and be creative.
 
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Interesting tactics being tried in pre-season... RLC as striker and what not. :13:

With Cuadrado, Moses etc. all back, the squad feels huge. I guess Conte is trying to find the best combination, and determine which of the players can be let go.

The Costa/Lukaku rumours are back, in the meantime. :29:
 
Rayyman said:
Yea, Idk about the 2 central midfielders though, Kante, matic, fabregas and oscar all fighting for a place. Transferring Fabregas could give us enough money for Bonucci.
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Bonucci will never join Chelsea. :)
 
Abdullah719 said:
I saw Wenger talking yesterday... he was saying the transfer fees are 'scary'. :facepalm: When will this guy get with the times?
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Hahaha that was worrying. He will never over pay if the player isn't world class.

With Lacazuette he should take a chance.
 
Abdullah719 said:
His definition of 'over-pay' seems to be different to others'.
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I think if it was a genuine world class player he would pay the money. But if they aren't he will only pay what he thinks there worth, which is extremely fustrating
 
Bought Lukaku to replace Drogba, then Drogba to replace Lukaku, then Costa to replace Drogba, now buying Lukaku to replace Costa!

... Chelsea for you! :)
 
Abdul said:
Bought Lukaku to replace Drogba, then Drogba to replace Lukaku, then Costa to replace Drogba, now buying Lukaku to replace Costa!

... Chelsea for you! :)
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Actually we got Drogba the second time to replace Demba Ba and got Costa to replace Torres. I hope we don't get rid of Costa as I'm too fond of the commentators yelling his name every time I score with him in FIFA 16, Diego Costa!!!
 
Great win by Chelsea last weekend! Should be a tough test against Watford tomorrow with Ighalo and Deeney's physical play.

We really need a CB like Koulibaly and a LB, Ricardo Rodriguez is being mentioned about but we really should have kept Filipe Luis. I'm not confident in the defending abilities of Cahill and Terry, Kante will help them a lot but if they are isolated individually then they will really struggle. Zouma is out till December and Christensen will be back from his loan next year, this team is really crying out for a physical CB with lots of pace.
 
Punisher said:
Great win by Chelsea last weekend! Should be a tough test against Watford tomorrow with Ighalo and Deeney's physical play.

We really need a CB like Koulibaly and a LB, Ricardo Rodriguez is being mentioned about but we really should have kept Filipe Luis. I'm not confident in the defending abilities of Cahill and Terry, Kante will help them a lot but if they are isolated individually then they will really struggle. Zouma is out till December and Christensen will be back from his loan next year, this team is really crying out for a physical CB with lots of pace.
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Yes, we definitely need a new CB. Especially if Cahill or Terry gets injured. Good win against Watford.
 
EFL Cup match tomorrow against Bristol Rovers. Need to test the bench strength and I would like starts given to Aina, Chalobah and Loftus Cheek. My lineup would be: Begovic, Aina, Cahill, Terry, Azpilicueta, Chalobah, Fabregas, Loftus Cheek, Moses, Batshuayi, Pedro.

Board really needs to pick up its act and sign some defensive reinforcements, we are now entering panic buying mode after being linked with talented but inexperienced defenders like Romagnoli and Maksimovic since Koulibaly signed his extension.
 
Punisher said:
EFL Cup match tomorrow against Bristol Rovers. Need to test the bench strength and I would like starts given to Aina, Chalobah and Loftus Cheek. My lineup would be: Begovic, Aina, Cahill, Terry, Azpilicueta, Chalobah, Fabregas, Loftus Cheek, Moses, Batshuayi, Pedro.

Board really needs to pick up its act and sign some defensive reinforcements, we are now entering panic buying mode after being linked with talented but inexperienced defenders like Romagnoli and Maksimovic since Koulibaly signed his extension.
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Need a Left-Back. Maybe Ghoulam from Napoli or Kolasinac from Schalke 04?
 
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Going for Ghoulam will repeat the whole Koulibaly saga, ADL is the Daniel a Levy of Italian football. Need to go for experienced LB someone like Rodriguez, De Sciglio or Hector.
 
Rayyman said:
Good win.
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Yes good performance from the team and from what I hear it was pure domination, the challenge now is to replicate this against the top teams. I'm worried about our lack of depth, the board has been very short sighted allowing the likes of Ake and Baba to go on loan. Now we are one injury to Azpi or a CB away from disaster, this is the last week of the transfer window, we should sign a CB and FB for cover.

We have done well so far but our squad has been severely weakened and we don't have the depth of a title winning squad at all. Man United and City have vastly improved their squads and they will be a much stronger force to contend with this season.
 
Punisher said:
We have done well so far but our squad has been severely weakened and we don't have the depth of a title winning squad at all. Man United and City have vastly improved their squads and they will be a much stronger force to contend with this season.
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I don't care if we win this year. I want a top-5 finish.
 
WOW! Busy deadline day!

<blockquote class="twitter-tweet" data-lang="en"><p lang="en" dir="ltr">And here he is! Welcome to Chelsea, <a href="https://twitter.com/marcosalonso03">@marcosalonso03</a>! <a href="https://t.co/FX7x6E3nlC">pic.twitter.com/FX7x6E3nlC</a></p>— Chelsea FC (@ChelseaFC) <a href="https://twitter.com/ChelseaFC/status/771022499836493824">August 31, 2016</a></blockquote>
<script async src="//platform.twitter.com/widgets.js" charset="utf-8"></script>

<blockquote class="twitter-tweet" data-lang="en"><p lang="en" dir="ltr">Meanwhile, Juan Cuadrado is returning to Juventus with a new three-year loan agreement finalised today... <a href="https://t.co/1F3lb1qS2k">https://t.co/1F3lb1qS2k</a></p>— Chelsea FC (@ChelseaFC) <a href="https://twitter.com/ChelseaFC/status/771031799694782465">August 31, 2016</a></blockquote>
<script async src="//platform.twitter.com/widgets.js" charset="utf-8"></script>

<blockquote class="twitter-tweet" data-lang="en"><p lang="en" dir="ltr">.<a href="https://twitter.com/ChelseaFC">@ChelseaFC</a> and Paris Saint-Germain have agreed terms for the transfer of David Luiz back to London... <a href="https://t.co/oaz3h0bEHb">https://t.co/oaz3h0bEHb</a></p>— Chelsea FC (@ChelseaFC) <a href="https://twitter.com/ChelseaFC/status/771038342871969792">August 31, 2016</a></blockquote>
<script async src="//platform.twitter.com/widgets.js" charset="utf-8"></script>
 
Chelsea is one disorganized club i must say.
David Liz doesn't address our short comings at CB IMHO.
He has pace as to Cahill, Terry and Ivanovic but that's it.
He makes costly blunders, he's like an out of control PlayStation player at times. Apart from Kante its been a disappointing window
 
Even though we signed David Luiz, I still want Cahill and Terry to start. The Carrol goal was Courtois and Azpi's fault while the Capoue goal was Ivanovic's fault. Luiz is just a back-up, we have only conceded 2 goals in 3 games. We aren't Liverpool. Lol. :D
 
soso_killer said:
Chelsea is one disorganized club i must say.
David Liz doesn't address our short comings at CB IMHO.
He has pace as to Cahill, Terry and Ivanovic but that's it.
He makes costly blunders, he's like an out of control PlayStation player at times. Apart from Kante its been a disappointing window
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Alonso is a good enough backup player, which gives us the option to play Ivanovic at CB and Azplicueta at RB.

In limited minutes, Michy has got us 3 goals and 1 assist. He's looking like he can actually battle Costa for the ST position.

David Luiz is disappointing, would have preferred Maksimovic.
 
WC-Passion said:
Alonso is a good enough backup player, which gives us the option to play Ivanovic at CB and Azplicueta at RB.

In limited minutes, Michy has got us 3 goals and 1 assist. He's looking like he can actually battle Costa for the ST position.

David Luiz is disappointing, would have preferred Maksimovic.
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yeah Michy has impressed so far with his cameos and looks good enough to lead the line should Diego get suspended or injured.

What disappoints me the most is the lack of identity from the top (include Roman and the Board). I had this conversation before with [MENTION=5943]Punisher[/MENTION]

What type of football do they want us to play? Who are the managers who can help us achieve that?

It started when Mourinho was reappointed. He was never the right manager for the profile of players we had. Mourinho likes workhorses than diminutive magicians. He came and made a wholesale of changes for a short term fix.
With Mata, KdB, Hazard and Oscar we had an attack to rival Europe's best. What we needed at the time was defensive options including a CDM. Khedira was available on the cheap (yeah sure he is injury prone but....)
This club has been in need of a quick ball playing CB for sometime now. Even before Mourinho came along.
Last summer we wasted so much time bidding for Stones who wasn't for sale at the time. Where there no young alternatives? Coz for sometime this club has needed to play a high line in order to be effective on the counter or to dictate terms. This is where we've been exposed in Europe recently, including Mourinho's title winning season. We are sitting to deep to protect Terry and Cahill, with Ivanovich slowing down as well it's a catastrophe.
Why only bid now for Alessio Romagnoli after Milan bought him last summer and were never gonna let him go after one season? Why didn't we outbid them? Why was he not an alternative to Stones (being of similar age and potential). Where there no other alternatives all together?

As good as Azpi has been from a defensive perspective at left back, from an offensive perspective it limits us. Opposition know there will be no crosses or width from the left flank and simply gang up on Hazard. We moan that he doesn't score enough but he needs a decoy runner in order to have more space.
Signing a backup LB is underwhelming to say the least.

If it wasn't for Kante (to some extent Michy) this would have been a massively disappointing window.
Next summer we need to invest and address areas of need. But i won't hold my breath i know this club tends to underspend in the second season of a managerial stint.
 
I'm not saying we should spend crazy money but it would have been nice if we had Koulibaly with A. Christensen coming back next year that would have been some partnership.

Willan needs a challenge from the right flank hopefully we get an upgrade next season. But we need to sort out our defence first.
 
Good game v.s. Swansea. A draw is fine. Especially in an away game. Need to beat Liverpool though.
 
Rayyman said:
Good game v.s. Swansea. A draw is fine. Especially in an away game. Need to beat Liverpool though.
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Huh?!? Fer kicked Cahill in the back of the legs twice and should have got a red card, should never have had scored. We lost 2 important points that could be the difference of being a title winner or a runner up through bad refereeing!

Honestly surprised how tame your comments are.
 
WC-Passion said:
Huh?!? Fer kicked Cahill in the back of the legs twice and should have got a red card, should never have had scored. We lost 2 important points that could be the difference of being a title winner or a runner up through bad refereeing!

Honestly surprised how tame your comments are.
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It's just a game chill out. :moali
 
<blockquote class="twitter-tweet" data-lang="en"><p lang="und" dir="ltr">3-0 &#55357;&#56833;&#55357;&#56833;&#55357;&#56833;&#55357;&#56833;&#55357;&#56833;&#55357;&#56833; <a href="https://t.co/2gQndQMxzE">pic.twitter.com/2gQndQMxzE</a></p>— Theo Walcott (@theowalcott) <a href="https://twitter.com/theowalcott/status/779760890962903040">September 24, 2016</a></blockquote>
<script async src="//platform.twitter.com/widgets.js" charset="utf-8"></script>

<blockquote class="twitter-tweet" data-lang="en"><p lang="en" dir="ltr">Congrats on your win bro <a href="https://twitter.com/theowalcott">@theowalcott</a> but it is easy for the mouses to dance when the cats aren't there &#55357;&#56844;&#55357;&#56844;&#55357;&#56841;&#55357;&#56860; <a href="https://t.co/Zv4AdbK30G">https://t.co/Zv4AdbK30G</a></p>— Didier Drogba (@didierdrogba) <a href="https://twitter.com/didierdrogba/status/779799413900374016">September 24, 2016</a></blockquote>
<script async src="//platform.twitter.com/widgets.js" charset="utf-8"></script>

:hafeez2
 
Bad loss today, Cahill is really a nothing defender at the moment. Zouma can't return fast enough.
 
Rayyman said:
I would still have Cahill over Luiz though.
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Not really. Luiz is prone to making the odd mistake but Cahill is just very average overall. Luiz brings another dimension to the team with his passing also while Cahill looks scared with the ball at his feet. Ideally we'd have better defenders than both though.
 
Abdullah719 said:
Not really. Luiz is prone to making the odd mistake but Cahill is just very average overall. Luiz brings another dimension to the team with his passing also while Cahill looks scared with the ball at his feet. Ideally we'd have better defenders than both though.
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Honestly it should be Terry and Ivanovic.
 
Abdullah719 said:
I assume you're being sarcastic.
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No. Terry is good for now. Ivanovic struggles with speed and passing-wise, but his tackling and heading is awesome. Still remember that header clearance from the box last game. The ball went into the other half of the field.
 
Rayyman said:
No. Terry is good for now. Ivanovic struggles with speed and passing-wise, but his tackling and heading is awesome. Still remember that header clearance from the box last game. The ball went into the other half of the field.
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I think we need to move forward. We can not play a low block forever due to slow defenders. Gotta play higher up the pitch.
 
Abdullah719 said:
I think we need to move forward. We can not play a low block forever due to slow defenders. Gotta play higher up the pitch.
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If Conte has any type of spine he will bring youngsters like Chalobah and Aina into the lineup against Hull.

Honestly won't be surprised if we beat West Ham in the cup 7-5 or something, it will be the derby of the worst defences for sure.

If I was the manager, I'd play a team like this, just as a statement to the players showing poor attitude, maybe in the cup or something.

Begovic
Azpi Terry Alonso (can play CB) Aina
Chalobah Oscar Kante
Moses Costa Willian

I'm not sure if it would be Hull at this point, but I'd rather give youth who want to play for the shirt and players who have had injustice done to them than players with bad attitude thinking they don't need to work hard anymore.

When Zouma is back from injury, we need to play him with Terry alongside Azpi and Alonso. No organisation without Terry, even if he is past his prime now.

Luiz and Cahill need to be given a reality check and some lessons on how to defend. Kante literally had a physical breakdown on the pitch and stopped running and running like he did at Leicester, thanks to Matic and Cesc.
 
WC-Passion said:
If Conte has any type of spine he will bring youngsters like Chalobah and Aina into the lineup against Hull.

Honestly won't be surprised if we beat West Ham in the cup 7-5 or something, it will be the derby of the worst defences for sure.

If I was the manager, I'd play a team like this, just as a statement to the players showing poor attitude, maybe in the cup or something.

Begovic
Azpi Terry Alonso (can play CB) Aina
Chalobah Oscar Kante
Moses Costa Willian

I'm not sure if it would be Hull at this point, but I'd rather give youth who want to play for the shirt and players who have had injustice done to them than players with bad attitude thinking they don't need to work hard anymore.

When Zouma is back from injury, we need to play him with Terry alongside Azpi and Alonso. No organisation without Terry, even if he is past his prime now.

Luiz and Cahill need to be given a reality check and some lessons on how to defend. Kante literally had a physical breakdown on the pitch and stopped running and running like he did at Leicester, thanks to Matic and Cesc.
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I would play this against Hull:
Begovic
Azpi Ivanovic Terry Alonso
Kante
Oscar Matic
Pedro Costa Moses
 
Feel bad for Conte. Imagine going from having world class defenders like Bonnuci, Chielini, Barzagli to absolute rubbish like Cahill and Luiz. Cahill is another overhyped English player who is and was nothing special. I never rated him.
 
The_KING said:
Feel bad for Conte. Imagine going from having world class defenders like Bonnuci, Chielini, Barzagli to absolute rubbish like Cahill and Luiz. Cahill is another overhyped English player who is and was nothing special. I never rated him.
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People thought that he would be the next John Terry.
 
Rayyman said:
Yeah. I agree. I want to finish in top 9. Even if it is slight improvement on last season, I am happy.
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Mmm?
Do you understand the consequences and the ramifications of that?

1) That would mean £80 million lost on potential earnings, from participating in CL football alone over the last two seasons.
2) The club losses it's appeal, and won't be able to attract marquee signings. By that I mean established players who must improve the squad immediately. Not expensive potential, who won't hit the ground running.
3) One of our key players (Hazard, Costa, Courtois who has his nose out of joint already) might ask for a transfer.
4) Puts us in a weak spot regarding negotiations of big sponsors.

Champions League football is paramount.
 
As poor as we are defensively, i still think this squad posses enough threat going forward.
I personally feel that our offensive threat can nullify our defensive ineptitude. Ironically it's the same defence that hinders our offensive output.
It sounds like a cliché but the best form of defense is to attack.
By no means am i implying we go overboard, and expose ourselves. But let's be honest, we're too easy to play against at the moment.

Opposition know we have no width or pace down the flanks. As a result all our attacks are through the middle.
My solution? Playing players in their natural position is a good start.
Bye-bye Cahill and Ivanovich from the starting XI.
I'm no David Luiz fan, but he fits my system (which I'll get to in a moment). Offers more pace and mobility than either Cahill and Ivanovich. Alongside Terry his brain farts will be manageable.

I'd employ a 3-5-2 system. We've look so dangerous with two up top. That will keep the opposition backline in order. Not many teams would look to overlap, as such we already on the front foot and alleviating pressure on our defenders.

Courtois
Zuma-Terry-Luiz
Azpi. Alonso
Willian-Kante-Hazard
Michy-Costa
 
soso_killer said:
As poor as we are defensively, i still think this squad posses enough threat going forward.
I personally feel that our offensive threat can nullify our defensive ineptitude. Ironically it's the same defence that hinders our offensive output.
It sounds like a cliché but the best form of defense is to attack.
By no means am i implying we go overboard, and expose ourselves. But let's be honest, we're too easy to play against at the moment.

Opposition know we have no width or pace down the flanks. As a result all our attacks are through the middle.
My solution? Playing players in their natural position is a good start.
Bye-bye Cahill and Ivanovich from the starting XI.
I'm no David Luiz fan, but he fits my system (which I'll get to in a moment). Offers more pace and mobility than either Cahill and Ivanovich. Alongside Terry his brain farts will be manageable.

I'd employ a 3-5-2 system. We've look so dangerous with two up top. That will keep the opposition backline in order. Not many teams would look to overlap, as such we already on the front foot and alleviating pressure on our defenders.

Courtois
Zuma-Terry-Luiz
Azpi. Alonso
Willian-Kante-Hazard
Michy-Costa
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Problem is that we don't actually get the ball forward quick enough. We pass round the back for 20 mins and we let Liverpool off big time in that game. Matic actually decided to take it forward, played a 1-2 with Hazard and did a little chip ball to Costa which he put away.

I was hoping that Fabregas could return to that CDM role and pick up the ball from deep and play balls forward but he got no space against Arsenal and Willian and Hazard out-wide got the few chances we had, other than the Michy chance we got when the defence was tiring. Hopefully against Hull, Fabregas can put us back on track as he'll get some more space.

Also, in your formation, are you playing Azpi and Alonso as LWB/RWB? If so, our central midfield is very attacking and we will leak goals with Hazard's work rate, we need someone like Oscar in there to help the defence, especially if there is only 3. Matic, Ivanovic and Cahill are looking like they will be sold in the summer, if not January, which is very exciting considering the fact that it means some fresh legs will be introduced. Maybe a Matuidi and a Fabinho could be nice, but it would be difficult.

I've heard Zouma will be back if everything goes swimmingly after the international break which is amazing news, as he can play next to Terry in a CB pairing.
 
Interesting 3-4-3 formation Conte is implementing. Didn't think it was likely to succeed, but so far it's fine. Real test coming up next week.
 
soso_killer said:
As poor as we are defensively, i still think this squad posses enough threat going forward.
I personally feel that our offensive threat can nullify our defensive ineptitude. Ironically it's the same defence that hinders our offensive output.
It sounds like a cliché but the best form of defense is to attack.
By no means am i implying we go overboard, and expose ourselves. But let's be honest, we're too easy to play against at the moment.

Opposition know we have no width or pace down the flanks. As a result all our attacks are through the middle.
My solution? Playing players in their natural position is a good start.
Bye-bye Cahill and Ivanovich from the starting XI.
I'm no David Luiz fan, but he fits my system (which I'll get to in a moment). Offers more pace and mobility than either Cahill and Ivanovich. Alongside Terry his brain farts will be manageable.

I'd employ a 3-5-2 system. We've look so dangerous with two up top. That will keep the opposition backline in order. Not many teams would look to overlap, as such we already on the front foot and alleviating pressure on our defenders.

Courtois
Zuma-Terry-Luiz
Azpi. Alonso
Willian-Kante-Hazard
Michy-Costa
Click to expand...

Azpiliqueta has done decently as a centre-back, which is surprising, but he seems fairly versatile.

Funny to see Moses playing in the RWB role, though; didn't see that coming, but definitely reckon loaning him out last season was a major blunder by Mourinho, after his impressive pre-season display.
 
Muhammad10 said:
Azpiliqueta has done decently as a centre-back, which is surprising, but he seems fairly versatile.

Funny to see Moses playing in the RWB role, though; didn't see that coming, but definitely reckon loaning him out last season was a major blunder by Mourinho, after his impressive pre-season display.
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Azpi will be found out w/his short height on crosses. I hope Moses doesn't get brain fades and stop playing defense.
 
Rayyman said:
Azpi will be found out w/his short height on crosses. I hope Moses doesn't get brain fades and stop playing defense.
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Agreed. Moses should not be underutilised. Provides great energy in attack and should be played on the right wing regularly rather than being pigeonholed as a defender.
 
Good win against Leicester.

Don't think we will challenge for the title but top 4 is certainly on. Just have to be consistent against the big teams.

Would like us to go on a deep run in the FA Cup.
 
I love Conte's passion. The guy knows how to motivate the players and is on the same wavelength as the fans.

I hope Chelsea persist with him even if he goes trophy-less for a few seasons because he has the heart and will to take Chelsea to the top again.

Abramovic should be patient for once.
 
Mamoon said:
I love Conte's passion. The guy knows how to motivate the players and is on the same wavelength as the fans.

I hope Chelsea persist with him even if he goes trophy-less for a few seasons because he has the heart and will to take Chelsea to the top again.

Abramovic should be patient for once.
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Abramovich and patience shouldn't be in the same sentence really.

I do love Conte and his work, and how much passion he puts in. He's extremely stubborn with his systems and won't change the personnel involved. I feel like Oscar and Fabregas will find it difficult to get game time this season now.

Only player I'd like to see back right now is Zouma, I feel that he would be much better than Luiz or Cahill, who are prone to massive mistake. Luiz was lucky to be on the pitch today, with a dangerous challenge on Fellaini.

Interms of trophies, we have the potential to win one of the domestic cups for sure.

Not sure about the Premiership atm.
 
Great win but I still don't think we are good enough for the title yet.

Consistency is key now. Dropping points vs. Tottenham and City is acceptable but we have to find ways to beat the Stokes, Everton, Bournemouths, West Hams of the world if we want to make a strong claim for top 4 or top 3.
 
msb314 said:
Great win but I still don't think we are good enough for the title yet.

Consistency is key now. Dropping points vs. Tottenham and City is acceptable but we have to find ways to beat the Stokes, Everton, Bournemouths, West Hams of the world if we want to make a strong claim for top 4 or top 3.
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Agreed on this, but I'm still hopeful of at least a top-four finish, in shaa Allah. Our attack, in particular, appears to be thoroughly rejuvenated under Conte.
 
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WC-Passion said:
Abramovich and patience shouldn't be in the same sentence really.

I do love Conte and his work, and how much passion he puts in. He's extremely stubborn with his systems and won't change the personnel involved. I feel like Oscar and Fabregas will find it difficult to get game time this season now.

Only player I'd like to see back right now is Zouma, I feel that he would be much better than Luiz or Cahill, who are prone to massive mistake. Luiz was lucky to be on the pitch today, with a dangerous challenge on Fellaini.

Interms of trophies, we have the potential to win one of the domestic cups for sure.

Not sure about the Premiership atm.
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Conte has a system in mind and he should be allowed a free hand to buy the right players of his system. So far he is only working with the team that he inherited from Mourinho.

He should be given at least 3 years, so that he is able to buy/sell the right players and create his own identity. Luiz can be a quality player in the right system; Conte did not buy him for nothing, he surely has a plan for him in mind.
 
Mamoon said:
Conte has a system in mind and he should be allowed a free hand to buy the right players of his system. So far he is only working with the team that he inherited from Mourinho.

He should be given at least 3 years, so that he is able to buy/sell the right players and create his own identity. Luiz can be a quality player in the right system; Conte did not buy him for nothing, he surely has a plan for him in mind.
Click to expand...

I agree, Conte should be allowed to buy the right players for the system, but the club aren't getting their first choice players, and he's not even given full control over transfers.

We wanted Morata, Koulibaly/Bonucci and someone like Ricardo Rodriguez or Hector for the full back postion. We ended up just getting panic deadline day buys in Luiz and Alonso, luckily for us, it's worked out really well in this new system, and Conte has made the most of what he's got.

It's very different to someone like Mourinho who spends millions and can't even get the best out of his players.

Pogba looks far from the player who was consistently playing well for Juventus and nearly got Juve through against Bayern in the UCL, now he can only performagainst terrible Turkish sides like Fenerbahçe. No idea what happened to Zlatan and where they've hidden Mkhitaryan.
 
WC-Passion said:
I agree, Conte should be allowed to buy the right players for the system, but the club aren't getting their first choice players, and he's not even given full control over transfers.

We wanted Morata, Koulibaly/Bonucci and someone like Ricardo Rodriguez or Hector for the full back postion. We ended up just getting panic deadline day buys in Luiz and Alonso, luckily for us, it's worked out really well in this new system, and Conte has made the most of what he's got.

It's very different to someone like Mourinho who spends millions and can't even get the best out of his players.

Pogba looks far from the player who was consistently playing well for Juventus and nearly got Juve through against Bayern in the UCL, now he can only performagainst terrible Turkish sides like Fenerbahçe. No idea what happened to Zlatan and where they've hidden Mkhitaryan.
Click to expand...

I think we should stick w/this lineup now. Even if we have 1 or 2 bad games. We have to be patient.
 
Rayyman said:
I think we should stick w/this lineup now. Even if we have 1 or 2 bad games. We have to be patient.
Click to expand...

Personally would want to experiment with the lineup a bit more vs the lower teams. I want to see who's better in the RW position in the formation, Willian or Pedro, and whether Oscar can play there efffectively or not.

I'd also like to try Oscar in the CM role next to Kante rather than Matic sometime. Zouma going in one of those left or right CB roles would be good, ahead of Cahill if anyone, as he has pace and strength to help against players like Lukaku in the box.
 
WC-Passion said:
Personally would want to experiment with the lineup a bit more vs the lower teams. I want to see who's better in the RW position in the formation, Willian or Pedro, and whether Oscar can play there efffectively or not.

I'd also like to try Oscar in the CM role next to Kante rather than Matic sometime. Zouma going in one of those left or right CB roles would be good, ahead of Cahill if anyone, as he has pace and strength to help against players like Lukaku in the box.
Click to expand...

I want Conte to experiment with the right flank also. I'm not sure who will come out now at CB. All 3 are doing well right now, but we have 3 others waiting for a chance on the bench. I think playing Azpi at CB might be a risk, seeing how Ibra got on top of him for a header in the last match.
 
WC-Passion said:
Personally would want to experiment with the lineup a bit more vs the lower teams. I want to see who's better in the RW position in the formation, Willian or Pedro, and whether Oscar can play there efffectively or not.

I'd also like to try Oscar in the CM role next to Kante rather than Matic sometime. Zouma going in one of those left or right CB roles would be good, ahead of Cahill if anyone, as he has pace and strength to help against players like Lukaku in the box.
Click to expand...

Zouma is apparently nearing a return. Played a game for the reserves (but conceded a penalty). :D

How Chelsea's defence has missed him, though. After his injury, it all fell apart under Mourinho.
 
Muhammad10 said:
Zouma is apparently nearing a return. Played a game for the reserves (but conceded a penalty). :D

How Chelsea's defence has missed him, though. After his injury, it all fell apart under Mourinho.
Click to expand...

Zouma got injured after Mourinho's sack.
 
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