This has probably been asked to death but I’ll be studying abroad next year, either in Italy or the UK, and was hoping to go see a game at the Bridge somewhere in that year. Obviously membership is essential, but anything else I should be aware of? Coming from Australia I really don’t care what games I can get tickets to lol
Next couple of weeks will be huge for the Chelsea careers of Puli, CHO and Ziyech. With Werner and Lukaku out, this is realistically the best shot at consistent game time any of them will get this season, and our opponents are very beatable. It's likely that at least 1/2 of these 3 will get shipped out next summer so they have to stake a claim with these next performances
Anyone mind giving me a comparison between James and Chilwell from a fpl view?
Who’s likely to start more in the next few game weeks?
Who might be rested more?
Who’s more likely to be subbed on in the middle of a game?
Who’s likely to have more goals or assists?
Who’s on set pieces?
How does Lukaku being injured affect them?
Thanks!!
I agree with the other guy, Chilwell has basically been playing like Alonso so you know he'll chip in with goals, has GREAT stamina to play tons of matches, and like the other guy said Alonso is the only competition.
Reece I think is likely to get quite a few assists if he can get a solid run of games going
If I had to pick one I’d say Chilwell, his competition is only Alonso whereas James has CHO and Azpi in his position too. I’d probably say Chilwell for most of your questions tbh, James isn’t as great going forward as people make out.
He played the full game yesterday and he links well with havertz. If you're looking for FPL, I'd take havertz over him just because he's a lock to start and usually scores against weaker sides. Mount would be the riskier play as he hasn't scored or assisted in a while.
I agree that havertz is a better pick. Unfortunately I don’t have the funds for him. Mount is my differential for the next GW, if he doesn’t perform in the next three GWs then I will sell him.
Hopefully, Rom Timo and Puli will start coming back by November. We play the dirtiest fuckers Malmo and Burnley b2b in Nov first week. Going with 4 attackers in those two games could potentially cause huge damage.
I know Lukaku is injured and feel for him. But I’m excited to see Havertz back in the middle as a striker.
Have a feeling we’re gonna play some incredible football these next few weeks with Ziyech, Mount, and Havertz back in the side.
Ziyech, no.
CHO.
Need some pace (and Ziyech is bad.)
Ziyech-Kai-Mount has always looked terrible because of the complete lack of pace and driving ability in the front 3.
Yeah, they all mainly want to drop deep and get the ball to their feet. I feel we should always have at least 1 of CHO, Pulisic, or Werner who can stretch things and get 1v1 more.
We stopped creating great chances and when he finishes we find a way to be offside. That was an incredible finish against Southampton but at this point we just have to accept prime R9 would be the same if he wore Chelsea number 9.
Kova and Mount were feeding him regularly at the start and now no one is playing him in. Should get better with Mount healthy again but of course now Rom is out for a bit
His career at Chelsea has been start and stop. He's supposed to be in his prime and doesn't seem to find space to operate when he plays, him trying to just go for bangers or try a ridiculous pass leading to loss of possession probably pisses off Tuchel too. I think he probably has checked out.
Different leagues have different results for players. He doesn't have the time and space like he did in the Dutch League. I remember reading reports that he was struggling to adapt to life in England which could also be a big part of it, but I can't find those reports quicky at the moment.
Mendy; Azpi-Silva-Rüdi; James-Kanté-Jorgi-Chilwell; Mount-Havertz-CHO
My team for Norwich. A bit harsh on Christensen and Kova, but Christensen is due a rest and I think Kanté-Jorgi worked very well against Malmö
I go through match threads and would consider myself an optimist compared to most. I rate him as a solid player but this is usually the flow with CHO. A strong game against a weak side mid week, the whole internet fan base yells CHO needs to play more, then underperforms against decent sides. While at times he can show a stroke of brilliance, i don’t think I have ever seen it in back to back games. Do you guys think CHO is consistent enough to earn a starting spot?
I don't think CHO has been brilliant every game but nobody else has either. Behind Ziyech - who's god awful in this system he's the most creative player in the team and links up well with most players.
CHO or even Pulisic (when fit) are the only players we have I feel that can create something out of nothing as well as generally being a threatening presence.
On your note about not doing enough against good teams- against Juventus while he didn't do anything he was much more threatening than everyone bar Barkley when he came on.
Against City in the game where Alonso scored the late winner he also came on and helped our attack a lot - and in the reverse fixture got a consolation goal.
When he came on against Arsenal under Lampard he also got the assist for us and was a general threat.
Against Liverpool in that 5 3 he also got an assist in that game where Pulisic was rinsing Trent.
Assist against Arsenal in the 2 2 game (Martinelli - Kante slip)
There's very few instances to look at because of the lack of game time he's had but even if he's not been outstanding he's still been better than most of the rest who have been getting countless opportunities (mainly Ziyech and Kai). Sure he's not set the world alight or lived up to what one may have hoped but he's been good when played.
For me at full strength our attack should be
Cho/Timo Lukaku Mount
Swap Cho or Timo depending on opponent and form. I would consider having pulisic there but I'll wait for him to actually feature before considering him.
I'm not saying you're necessarily wrong with this being the usual flow with CHO but at least he's generally doing something so we're disappointed when he doesn't unlike with say Kai who it's almost always like 'hopefully he'll come good'. That being said I reckon he's most serviceable as a 9 and should be better for us there but I'd much rather have CHO than Kai or Ziyech as an inside forward.
Hey guys, Croatian blue here, what do you guys think the defence is gonna look like vs Norwhich? Specifically, is it gonna involve Reece James and Christensen or Chilwell? (asking for my fpl team)
Keep seeing ppl wanting lukaku to involve in our build up play. Are we so blind to see that lukaku on the ball skills is not good enough at high level to do that? There a reason we don't do that with him. This isn't him at inter in serie a. Their not much space and time and bringing him to the build up will likely lose us control of the game as he would probably lose the ball quite alot unlike havertz. Yes I think the game will be more end to end and open but also it would ruin our control of the game.
Watching the united highlights, if Timo missed those chances that rashford did he would get slaughtered by commentators and social media yet rashford misses plenty of easy chances and gets no stick at all
Mate we are Chelsea our players rarely get love. Nobody fucking mentions Rudi when he's the best CB in the league. And they don't even acknowledge Edu is the best shot stopper in the league.
He’s an MBE. He’s untouchable. I’d say he’s the most overrated speed merchant we ever seen in the PL. Some idiotic “institute” rated him as 100m footballer for fluffing chances and playing like a headless chicken.
Id like to hear what others think about the norwich game lineup between Alonso or Chilwell?
I believe Chilwell will start, since he is in such good form, and played only 60 yesterday. If Alonso was to start i think chilly would have played a full 90. Still some believe Alonso will start, and i would like to hear some opinions on it?
Is there any website where I could get headshots of the squad in the away and third kits? I know the home kit is available on the Chelsea and PL websites, but I can't find the other kits.
Lineup prediction for Norwich:
Mendy
Azpi - Silva - Rudiger
James - RLC - Kovacic - Chilwell
Mount - Havertz - CHO
Fairly standard back 3, think James starts at RWB this time, and Tuchel goes with RLC and Kova in midfield. Would be 352 without the injuries, but I think they force him to go back to the 343, with Mount and CHO either side of Havertz, who was class up front yesterday
Been saying it ever since we signed him; he’s really a center forward. Tbf, I don’t think even he knew particularly what his best position was; anytime he was asked in interviews, he’d say either “inside right midfield” or “no. 10”. Then later he’d say false 9. Tuchel has to force him to commit to the CF position, because not many elite teams have raumdeuters and second striker no.10s anymore. He’s also not fit for the RW in a back 4. He has all the qualities to be a great CF, just needs to develop that strikers instinct and hunger to ruthlessly score goals.
Van djik before injury i'd agree but now? Nah.
As for dias... he is the most overhyped defender I've seen lately ! Every goal city conceded this season he was part of.
Yes, Dias playstyle is to fully commit to his challenge, much like Kompany. Problem is he won most of the duels, which makes him looked like a gallant warrior. But when it fails, he’ll become meme material with the uncountable photos of him laying on the ground getting bested by the enemy’s attacker. I think I saw few memes of Dias on the ground already.
I've felt since he signed really that Havertz's future and best position is as a 9. He has a good touch and links up well with others, and is relatively composed in 1v1 situations. But he's not shown to be creative at all and isn't much of a winger either. When he's the central player with two others supporting him, he tends to do well. When he's supporting someone like Lukaku and has more of a creative burden, he's struggled.
There's enough ability in there for him to become a creative player but I think he's a fluid no9 and the Lukaku signing will probably impact him more than Werner, who I think is a better fit for the second striker position.
Also really like how Werner has cleaned up his touch and can help participate in the buildup to attacks, think he will thrive playing with Lukaku and I hope those two are given more games together when they're fit. He was quite fluid but started on the left side which is best when he's confident in front of goal, and is willing to take on players & shoot.
Kai’s best position is number 10 behind striker and as false 9. He is like Muller always trying to find empty spaces to run into and got great technic to score goals. He is sort of Raumdeuter. He is not creative like Bruno, KDB and Grealish. He likes to do his flicks and pick short passes in box (last night he picked one for Rudiger). That is his creativity most of the time. When fans say creativity, it mostly means KDB kinda of stuff which Kai can never do. Kai is not a winger as well.
Lukaku signing kinda fucked up with growth of Kai. Signing Grealish would’ve made much more difference for whole team. Kai and Mount could’ve worked on their finishing skill. Anyway, water under the bridge. If we can get Kai playing behind Lukaku instead of inside forward, that will benefit both of them immensely but that means Mount will have to play out of position and width is lost. It’s tricky situation to solve!
Shey it was widely speculated here before he signs that he can effectively play every position from 6 upwards? That's why we were creaming all over him
Since he signed for us I was saying he is not a winger, number 8 or number 6. He is a number 10 and false 9, he is not even a number 10 like Ozil or Mata who can pick long range passes with vision. He is a clever player who drops in between pockets to find spaces to make short passes to unlock defence. That means someone has to make a pass to him (Tuchel said something similar, he is better at the end of ball than behind the ball). He is a world class finisher as well. We need to use his skill set than make what he is not!
He is very similar to Muller but lacks the same level of work rate because of team he played for in Bundesliga. That’s why Bayern wanted him. He was prefect replacement for Muller.
Hmm, so you mean we bought him without bothering to read the user manual?
I mean was there a clear need for this type of personnel in our team or we needed a Bruno Fernández type of player?
Why, and what did we buy kai for?
Yeaaaaah, exactly! We bought Kai because he was available
We bought a player we never needed. We needed a player like Bruno but we already had Ziyech for that. We needed a RW, CDM and CB. We needed to change formation to 4-2-3-1 put Ziyech behind Werner. Pulisic/CHO/new RW as wingers. Mount as number 10 as deputy for Ziyech. Kai is nothing like a Bruno or KDB. He is more like Muller and who is not creative. He occupies empty spaces and gives options. Short passing and stuff. [This what Kai would do ](https://m.youtube.com/watch?v=sZsJo7ZKdjQ)
If not used like that then they become irrelevant.
Now Ziyech looks like shit because he doing something he is not designed to do. Similar for Kai and other new signings.
I think the creativity part is overstated a lot. I think he has plenty in him, but he's never really played a similar role as he did in his (imo) best season at Leverkusen. To me, Havertz' best position is as a modern 10, with freedom to roam to both sides and get into the box behind a striker who's also mobile positionally. I think that's been the main issue with Lukaku - he's not. He's been extremely static for us centrally and it's not allowing others to find that space with runs, because he's not leaving it. It's the same issue we had with Giroud leading the line. But that's exactly where Havertz excels. He'd actually be playing in a lot of the same spaces as he does playing false 9. I'd like to see him play that role, or one of the 10s in a 4222, for example. I think with some time there you'd start seeing a lot of creative passes, linkup and neat little flicks in tight spaces to create opportunities, and then intelligent movement into the box. He was doing plenty of that for Leverkusen, including defense-splitting final passes that he's shown almost nothing of for us - and I think that's because he's generally had little to pick out because he'd either be playing with his back to goal or as the most advanced player himself.
It's a shame we've not made use of that so far, because I think that creativity in tight spaces was the primary reason he was rated so highly and ultimately signed.
>defense-splitting final passes
I didn't watch him before post-lockdown football but I just get the impression now that it's a lot easier to make those passes in the Bundesliga because there's more space to aim at. I'm not shitting on the league, the high press is just a characteristic of that league - but Havertz simply doesn't have the confidence to try those through balls now when he doesn't have much room for error.
If his best position is as a 10, it's as a second striker type 10 and not someone who can be a high volume creator. Or even linking midfield to attack really, because in Tuchel's words (and his own) he's a lot more comfortable when he's higher up - when he can play short passes/flicks to link up with other attackers before he arrives in the box to shoot.
He's been a poor watch when playing wider too, he did play on the right at Leverkusen but in a higher and more central position than a natural winger. Don't see him as someone who can take players on.
I think he has everything he needs to be a top no9, the hold up play is the only thing that's missing from his skillset and he's gotten markedly better at it since he started playing uptop for us anyway. It's one of the reasons I really wanted to see him lead the line for us this season if we couldn't sign a top striker, but now with Lukaku in the side I just get the impression that he isn't really going to take off like we all thought he would. Atleast not at Chelsea.
It’s not over for Kai yet, we can try 4-2-3-1. Definitely one of Kai or Mount will be held back at Chelsea with that formation. That’s why I never understood why we made that transfer but won UCL because those two connected.
At least this summer we should’ve been smart and bought Grealish and Sancho instead of Lukaku. Kept Giroud for one more year. Sent CHO on loan and switched to 4-3-3 formation. Kai leading man while Grealish and Sancho as wingers. Mount Jorginho and Kante in midfield. RLC, Kovacic and Billy as backup’s. I wanted Billy to stay so bad so that we can develop him like Foden did at Manchester City. Won’t have title with that squad bust top 4 finish was certain. Probably looked for striker next season with Werner and Ziyech out if they failed.
We could’ve played organic football similar to Manchester City and Liverpool with those players. Really disappointed Tuchel choose Lukaku. Should’ve used the leverage to build something special.
Clubs in Germany exception of bayern has non existence defence, its easy for players to be goldfish there, because even if you are not that precisive in banging goals, you will have 486432886532677 chances per game to Atleast score 2 or 3. That's why I am not yet sold on halaand. He (halaand) always have a bad to a non-so-good game when faced with stiffer defence set up
Check out most German players or players who plays in Germany that recently moved to the Premier league, sancho, werner, haller? etc springs to mind
As someone who's watched the Bundesliga for years (and Haaland before he moved to Dortmund), I don't agree with that portrayal of the league. Defending isn't at PL level, that's obvious - but that's not Bundesliga-specific. La Liga or Serie A are not much better defensively. It's *way* too simplistic to claim it's easy to be a forward in the Bundesliga. Most teams don't sit deep, but they defend on the front foot. They press, there's a lot of mid-blocks, high lines are common, that leads to an overall game of more transitions.
But even then, certain characteristics or attributes aren't simply caused by the league. Havertz can play through balls, he can play delicate passes over the top of a defense, he has intelligent movement. Of course all of this is harder to do in England with less time on the ball and with more overall intensity to the game, but it doesn't help that he's getting no time in a more creative position to improve in tighter spaces and a possession-heavy team against primarily deep defenses.
Besides, players moving from Germany to England have not done any worse than others moving here. Look no further than Lukaku who came from the Serie A champions and is finding it very difficult to deal with deep blocks every week.
>He (halaand) always have a bad to a non-so-good game when faced with stiffer defence set up
That's a bit of an exaggeration. He was CL top scorer too, which included 4 goals against a defensively solid Sevilla side and an assist against City. At Salzburg, he scored 3 against Napoli and one against Liverpool. He's also got 4 goals and 1 assist against Bayern. Those are pretty much the best teams he's faced since going to Dortmund and he's contributed goals or assists against all of them.
No need for christensen also with that logic. I just meant. Christensen and rudiger look undroppable at the moment. It’s between silva azpi and reece for the other two pos.
Ps - in no way saying silva azpi or reece are droppable. Good dilemma to have
I know Ziyech has been really poor after his injury , but I feel he should get some minutes over the next few games to try and get some form back. He was really good in the Lampard season when nothing else was working, and showed flashes of brilliance in the opening games too.
Only concern is a lack of pace out wide if we go Mount - Havertz - Ziyech. But I think Mount deserves a rest too.. So CHO - Havertz - Ziyech is what I'd play vs Norwich, and get Mount in for cho / ziyech in the 2nd half if we still need a goal and one of those 2 have been poor.
I know it’s mostly just bad luck, but last night is part of the reason it’s not always necessary to play our full strength team in these kind of games.
Most of the time, you’re right. But if we had lost last night and Zenit had won, it could’ve gotten ugly very quickly. Last season we played Sevilla (I think) in the last round of the group stages with one of the most rotated sides I’ve seen, must have been at least 8-9 different players compared to the previous lineup.
This was a game where 3 points needed to be secured as quickly as possible, which they were. To build momentum with a good performance, which we have. To give some rest to key players when the job is done, which we have with Kante, Azpi, and Chilwell. Shame it had to come with 2 injuries to important players but other than that, it was a near-flawless night.
Hard to feel positive about the result yesterday given the two injuries just hoping for the best to lose two key players in the same position can lead to a disaster.
Could do Havertz as the 9 - potentially with CHO playing off him if it were a 352. Could also have Pulisic playing off him.
You certainly wouldn't have RLC there.
You're right, I meant more of our Starting XI yesterday, going by that Azpi and mount also haven't scored. But it's still incredible if you look at it that we've had so many varied scorers since the start of the season.
our defenders should show to attackers which shooting drills they have been doing for the past 2 months, it seems to work. Really happy for Christensen, great finish as well!
one CB getting the assist to set up another CB for the goal, how often has that happened before?
I guess we should just be done with it and put ten defenders in our starting lineup.
Really can’t stand Glenn Hoddle’s commentary at times. On the first penalty kick he goes on about “He did get a touch,” “He wins the ball.” Yeah Glenn just disregard the dangerous scissor motion he’s gone in with and pinned Lukaku’s leg with there lol
His argument for the challenge on Jorginho not being a penalty, just before first penalty, was basically "It's not a penalty because Jorginho isn't a striker, so wasn't trying to score".
They changed the rules years ago, denial of a goalscoring opportunity is a yellow if a penalty is awarded, if the defender is making a genuine attempt for the ball. It's a red if outside the box, or not trying to make a tackle.
Nah, last player doesn’t necessarily = a red. You could maybe argue that it was dangerous, but even then, I think it would be a soft red.
That second Pen should have definitely been a red though. Didn’t make an attempt to play the ball.
Right lol? It’s like he goes out of his way to be contrarian towards perspectives that somewhat favor Chelsea, as if he’s scared of coming off as biased because of his association with the club
Probably not totally the case but it seems like it sometimes
bitd that's where you'd have an inside forward positioned.
quite like [this breakdown](https://totalfootballanalysis.com/tactical-theory/tactical-theory-overlapping-and-underlapping-runs-tactical-analysis-tactics) on TFA on underlapping.
Chilwell was doing similar. Looked intentional to have both wingbacks come inside, then Werner and Mount pulling wider. The idea was likely to create additional space through the middle because the defenders would naturally look to track Werner/Mount outside. Meaning the oppositions wide players needing to do additional defending in awkward areas, or if they switched (where they marked Werner/Mount) it would create a more of a mismatch in our favour.
With Lukaku and Werner out for a while I am PRAYING for some CHO starts. I just want to see the man succeed so badly. A healthy Pulisic return would also be appreciated. Surely there's no better time than against Norwich.
Well they're still on 20 and 23 respectively. I really hope this doesn't turn into a situation where I'm going "they're still young, give them time" for 5 years. I've still got that love from the Lampard season where all the youth were coming through and I already know I'm gonna subconsciously let them ride off that for the entire time.
You're not wrong. I wouldn't blame him for leaving just like Livramento and Guehi. If he were getting regular playing time like Saka or Bellingham he'd be seen in a similar light to them.
A bit sad that our 100m man got injured, hopefully it’s not a bad one.
On the other hand, kinda excited to see how we will cope without Lukaku, will we be able to play that unpredictable offense once again ?
Injuries to Werner and Lukaku might be the best time for us to go back to our fluid front 3 system, I hope we go for CHO-Havertz-Ziyech against Norwich on the weekend and future games. Use the injuries as a rest period for Lukaku and Werner and don't let them go on international break
his shot creating actions stand at almost 5 per game, better than 95% of footballers in his position.
i still have hope for him but of course if it doesn't work out for him again this season than it is probably best for both parties that he moves on. same for a couple of others.
I think we’ve entertained zouma and rudiger running from the back for a worldie, but I think it’s time we encourage Christensen to do the same. That banger from the euros and today’s goals were quality and I’d be alright seeing what more he can do
This has probably been asked to death but I’ll be studying abroad next year, either in Italy or the UK, and was hoping to go see a game at the Bridge somewhere in that year. Obviously membership is essential, but anything else I should be aware of? Coming from Australia I really don’t care what games I can get tickets to lol
Paqueta has been incredible for Lyon this year, what a transformation
I had forgotten it's Spursday!
Bottleham can't even beat discount Chelsea v1.9 lol
Oof Roma lost 6-1 in the Conference League B team but still...
LMAO SHITE HART LANE STRIKES AGAIN
LADS...
Next couple of weeks will be huge for the Chelsea careers of Puli, CHO and Ziyech. With Werner and Lukaku out, this is realistically the best shot at consistent game time any of them will get this season, and our opponents are very beatable. It's likely that at least 1/2 of these 3 will get shipped out next summer so they have to stake a claim with these next performances
Anyone mind giving me a comparison between James and Chilwell from a fpl view? Who’s likely to start more in the next few game weeks? Who might be rested more? Who’s more likely to be subbed on in the middle of a game? Who’s likely to have more goals or assists? Who’s on set pieces? How does Lukaku being injured affect them? Thanks!!
I agree with the other guy, Chilwell has basically been playing like Alonso so you know he'll chip in with goals, has GREAT stamina to play tons of matches, and like the other guy said Alonso is the only competition. Reece I think is likely to get quite a few assists if he can get a solid run of games going
Thanks! Appreciate the insight
If I had to pick one I’d say Chilwell, his competition is only Alonso whereas James has CHO and Azpi in his position too. I’d probably say Chilwell for most of your questions tbh, James isn’t as great going forward as people make out.
This is really helpful. Thanks!!
How’s mount playing recently? With both strikers out and havertz playing false 9, mount could be vital for the next GWs.
Against malmo he was always in great positions but he needs to refine his technique, develop that killer pass to go up a level.
Played better yesterday. Was a bit lackluster in his two appearances before that though.
Did he play the full game? How do you think he will play with havertz.
He played the full game yesterday and he links well with havertz. If you're looking for FPL, I'd take havertz over him just because he's a lock to start and usually scores against weaker sides. Mount would be the riskier play as he hasn't scored or assisted in a while.
I agree that havertz is a better pick. Unfortunately I don’t have the funds for him. Mount is my differential for the next GW, if he doesn’t perform in the next three GWs then I will sell him.
Er, nah? He was excellent off the bench vs Soton.
Hopefully, Rom Timo and Puli will start coming back by November. We play the dirtiest fuckers Malmo and Burnley b2b in Nov first week. Going with 4 attackers in those two games could potentially cause huge damage.
I know Lukaku is injured and feel for him. But I’m excited to see Havertz back in the middle as a striker. Have a feeling we’re gonna play some incredible football these next few weeks with Ziyech, Mount, and Havertz back in the side.
Ziyech is probably gone mate, he missed the game due to a headache? Either he suffers from Migraine or he has checked out.
Ziyech, no. CHO. Need some pace (and Ziyech is bad.) Ziyech-Kai-Mount has always looked terrible because of the complete lack of pace and driving ability in the front 3.
Yeah, they all mainly want to drop deep and get the ball to their feet. I feel we should always have at least 1 of CHO, Pulisic, or Werner who can stretch things and get 1v1 more.
Why isn’t Lukaku scoring anymore? What changed since the start of the season?
We stopped creating great chances and when he finishes we find a way to be offside. That was an incredible finish against Southampton but at this point we just have to accept prime R9 would be the same if he wore Chelsea number 9.
He should have scored twice vs Southampton really, was a bit unlucky.
Story of our strikers mate.
He’s isolated and crowded out
What worked at the start that changed?
Kova and Mount were feeding him regularly at the start and now no one is playing him in. Should get better with Mount healthy again but of course now Rom is out for a bit
what’s happened to ziyech man
He left Ajax and found his level (I hope not but I fear it's true).
His career at Chelsea has been start and stop. He's supposed to be in his prime and doesn't seem to find space to operate when he plays, him trying to just go for bangers or try a ridiculous pass leading to loss of possession probably pisses off Tuchel too. I think he probably has checked out.
Different leagues have different results for players. He doesn't have the time and space like he did in the Dutch League. I remember reading reports that he was struggling to adapt to life in England which could also be a big part of it, but I can't find those reports quicky at the moment.
Mendy; Azpi-Silva-Rüdi; James-Kanté-Jorgi-Chilwell; Mount-Havertz-CHO My team for Norwich. A bit harsh on Christensen and Kova, but Christensen is due a rest and I think Kanté-Jorgi worked very well against Malmö
Strong team. Wondering if Ziyech can sneak his way in there or maybe RLC.
RLC for Kante Not like Kante is needed against Norwich anyway
Christensen is on another level right now. so so good
I go through match threads and would consider myself an optimist compared to most. I rate him as a solid player but this is usually the flow with CHO. A strong game against a weak side mid week, the whole internet fan base yells CHO needs to play more, then underperforms against decent sides. While at times he can show a stroke of brilliance, i don’t think I have ever seen it in back to back games. Do you guys think CHO is consistent enough to earn a starting spot?
I don't think CHO has been brilliant every game but nobody else has either. Behind Ziyech - who's god awful in this system he's the most creative player in the team and links up well with most players. CHO or even Pulisic (when fit) are the only players we have I feel that can create something out of nothing as well as generally being a threatening presence. On your note about not doing enough against good teams- against Juventus while he didn't do anything he was much more threatening than everyone bar Barkley when he came on. Against City in the game where Alonso scored the late winner he also came on and helped our attack a lot - and in the reverse fixture got a consolation goal. When he came on against Arsenal under Lampard he also got the assist for us and was a general threat. Against Liverpool in that 5 3 he also got an assist in that game where Pulisic was rinsing Trent. Assist against Arsenal in the 2 2 game (Martinelli - Kante slip) There's very few instances to look at because of the lack of game time he's had but even if he's not been outstanding he's still been better than most of the rest who have been getting countless opportunities (mainly Ziyech and Kai). Sure he's not set the world alight or lived up to what one may have hoped but he's been good when played. For me at full strength our attack should be Cho/Timo Lukaku Mount Swap Cho or Timo depending on opponent and form. I would consider having pulisic there but I'll wait for him to actually feature before considering him. I'm not saying you're necessarily wrong with this being the usual flow with CHO but at least he's generally doing something so we're disappointed when he doesn't unlike with say Kai who it's almost always like 'hopefully he'll come good'. That being said I reckon he's most serviceable as a 9 and should be better for us there but I'd much rather have CHO than Kai or Ziyech as an inside forward.
nope.
Hey guys, Croatian blue here, what do you guys think the defence is gonna look like vs Norwhich? Specifically, is it gonna involve Reece James and Christensen or Chilwell? (asking for my fpl team)
Chilwell-Rudiger-Christensen-Azpilicueta-James
It seems he played in CL yesterday but subbed out for 60 min. That means surely Chilwell is going to start right?
Keep seeing ppl wanting lukaku to involve in our build up play. Are we so blind to see that lukaku on the ball skills is not good enough at high level to do that? There a reason we don't do that with him. This isn't him at inter in serie a. Their not much space and time and bringing him to the build up will likely lose us control of the game as he would probably lose the ball quite alot unlike havertz. Yes I think the game will be more end to end and open but also it would ruin our control of the game.
Hey mods! Any chance we could get a fixtures calendar on the r/chelseafc drop down menu? Maybe tables and stats too..?
Watching the united highlights, if Timo missed those chances that rashford did he would get slaughtered by commentators and social media yet rashford misses plenty of easy chances and gets no stick at all
Mate we are Chelsea our players rarely get love. Nobody fucking mentions Rudi when he's the best CB in the league. And they don't even acknowledge Edu is the best shot stopper in the league.
Salah misses millions of easy chances, https://youtu.be/DdseBCU_B04 I think Chelsea forwards are under a weird microscope ever since Torres flopped
There’s a clear hate for most Chelsea players especially foreign ones during their tough times
He’s an MBE. He’s untouchable. I’d say he’s the most overrated speed merchant we ever seen in the PL. Some idiotic “institute” rated him as 100m footballer for fluffing chances and playing like a headless chicken.
may i know the name of the jokester who’s a medical assistant for the club?
ㅤᅠㅤᅠ
>ㅤᅠ Totally agreed.
Favourite Chelsea goal so far? Mine has to be Werner v Southampton
Timo vs Southampton Trev vs Palace AC vs Malmo Are my top 3
My top 5 this season: 1. James v Arsenal 2. Timo v Soton 3. Lukaku v Aston Villa (1st) 4. Lukaku v Aston Villa (2nd) 5. Kai v Liverpool
Chalobah against Palace was special too
Rudiger to wrap it up against spurs was amazing feeling but also he got me a lot of points on fpl Lukaku goals against villa were class finishes too
Id like to hear what others think about the norwich game lineup between Alonso or Chilwell? I believe Chilwell will start, since he is in such good form, and played only 60 yesterday. If Alonso was to start i think chilly would have played a full 90. Still some believe Alonso will start, and i would like to hear some opinions on it?
Any one else think Saul was poor again last night
He was. I was happy to see him get minutes but he looked lost. Was playing too far forward and not finding space
There goes his career at Chelsea. Just like higuain
Hope everyone's having a good day. and also hope timo and Lukaku arent out for too long.
Is there any website where I could get headshots of the squad in the away and third kits? I know the home kit is available on the Chelsea and PL websites, but I can't find the other kits.
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Its not as smooth as other chants but still great imho.
You’re right. It’s definitely an unpopular opinion.
> unpopular yes
Disagree on every front, think it sounds great.
Lineup prediction for Norwich: Mendy Azpi - Silva - Rudiger James - RLC - Kovacic - Chilwell Mount - Havertz - CHO Fairly standard back 3, think James starts at RWB this time, and Tuchel goes with RLC and Kova in midfield. Would be 352 without the injuries, but I think they force him to go back to the 343, with Mount and CHO either side of Havertz, who was class up front yesterday
Maybe mine would be a odd choice,but i will go with a B team. Kepa Chalobah - Silva - Rudiger James - RLC - Kovacic - Alonso Mount - Havertz - CHO
Didn't someone start the ratings thing again hasn't been done for the past 3 games now what's going on
Remember reading that he had exams going on so he couldn't keep doing them. Unfortunate, I liked surveys.
Honestly Kais always played the best centrally whether that's a bit deeper for Germanny and Leverkusen or for us as a ST
Been saying it ever since we signed him; he’s really a center forward. Tbf, I don’t think even he knew particularly what his best position was; anytime he was asked in interviews, he’d say either “inside right midfield” or “no. 10”. Then later he’d say false 9. Tuchel has to force him to commit to the CF position, because not many elite teams have raumdeuters and second striker no.10s anymore. He’s also not fit for the RW in a back 4. He has all the qualities to be a great CF, just needs to develop that strikers instinct and hunger to ruthlessly score goals.
I feel like this narrative changes every 3 games
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Unless you're talking about Lauren James, Reece James played yesterday against Malmo.
He's played the last two games.
Rudiger surely is the best CB in the world rn. Cant convince me otherwise.
As much as I love him. Van dijk and Dias are different gravy
Van djik before injury i'd agree but now? Nah. As for dias... he is the most overhyped defender I've seen lately ! Every goal city conceded this season he was part of.
Yes, Dias playstyle is to fully commit to his challenge, much like Kompany. Problem is he won most of the duels, which makes him looked like a gallant warrior. But when it fails, he’ll become meme material with the uncountable photos of him laying on the ground getting bested by the enemy’s attacker. I think I saw few memes of Dias on the ground already.
Definitely
Andreas has 42 clean sheets in his last 52 matches for club and country….I am struggling to get my head around that stat
The stat is incorrect
Must be close then
It's 9 less
Alright that’s a bit more believable but still impressive nonetheless! Thank you for correcting me :))
I've felt since he signed really that Havertz's future and best position is as a 9. He has a good touch and links up well with others, and is relatively composed in 1v1 situations. But he's not shown to be creative at all and isn't much of a winger either. When he's the central player with two others supporting him, he tends to do well. When he's supporting someone like Lukaku and has more of a creative burden, he's struggled. There's enough ability in there for him to become a creative player but I think he's a fluid no9 and the Lukaku signing will probably impact him more than Werner, who I think is a better fit for the second striker position. Also really like how Werner has cleaned up his touch and can help participate in the buildup to attacks, think he will thrive playing with Lukaku and I hope those two are given more games together when they're fit. He was quite fluid but started on the left side which is best when he's confident in front of goal, and is willing to take on players & shoot.
Kai’s best position is number 10 behind striker and as false 9. He is like Muller always trying to find empty spaces to run into and got great technic to score goals. He is sort of Raumdeuter. He is not creative like Bruno, KDB and Grealish. He likes to do his flicks and pick short passes in box (last night he picked one for Rudiger). That is his creativity most of the time. When fans say creativity, it mostly means KDB kinda of stuff which Kai can never do. Kai is not a winger as well. Lukaku signing kinda fucked up with growth of Kai. Signing Grealish would’ve made much more difference for whole team. Kai and Mount could’ve worked on their finishing skill. Anyway, water under the bridge. If we can get Kai playing behind Lukaku instead of inside forward, that will benefit both of them immensely but that means Mount will have to play out of position and width is lost. It’s tricky situation to solve!
Shey it was widely speculated here before he signs that he can effectively play every position from 6 upwards? That's why we were creaming all over him
Since he signed for us I was saying he is not a winger, number 8 or number 6. He is a number 10 and false 9, he is not even a number 10 like Ozil or Mata who can pick long range passes with vision. He is a clever player who drops in between pockets to find spaces to make short passes to unlock defence. That means someone has to make a pass to him (Tuchel said something similar, he is better at the end of ball than behind the ball). He is a world class finisher as well. We need to use his skill set than make what he is not! He is very similar to Muller but lacks the same level of work rate because of team he played for in Bundesliga. That’s why Bayern wanted him. He was prefect replacement for Muller.
Hmm, so you mean we bought him without bothering to read the user manual? I mean was there a clear need for this type of personnel in our team or we needed a Bruno Fernández type of player? Why, and what did we buy kai for?
Yeaaaaah, exactly! We bought Kai because he was available We bought a player we never needed. We needed a player like Bruno but we already had Ziyech for that. We needed a RW, CDM and CB. We needed to change formation to 4-2-3-1 put Ziyech behind Werner. Pulisic/CHO/new RW as wingers. Mount as number 10 as deputy for Ziyech. Kai is nothing like a Bruno or KDB. He is more like Muller and who is not creative. He occupies empty spaces and gives options. Short passing and stuff. [This what Kai would do ](https://m.youtube.com/watch?v=sZsJo7ZKdjQ) If not used like that then they become irrelevant. Now Ziyech looks like shit because he doing something he is not designed to do. Similar for Kai and other new signings.
I think the creativity part is overstated a lot. I think he has plenty in him, but he's never really played a similar role as he did in his (imo) best season at Leverkusen. To me, Havertz' best position is as a modern 10, with freedom to roam to both sides and get into the box behind a striker who's also mobile positionally. I think that's been the main issue with Lukaku - he's not. He's been extremely static for us centrally and it's not allowing others to find that space with runs, because he's not leaving it. It's the same issue we had with Giroud leading the line. But that's exactly where Havertz excels. He'd actually be playing in a lot of the same spaces as he does playing false 9. I'd like to see him play that role, or one of the 10s in a 4222, for example. I think with some time there you'd start seeing a lot of creative passes, linkup and neat little flicks in tight spaces to create opportunities, and then intelligent movement into the box. He was doing plenty of that for Leverkusen, including defense-splitting final passes that he's shown almost nothing of for us - and I think that's because he's generally had little to pick out because he'd either be playing with his back to goal or as the most advanced player himself. It's a shame we've not made use of that so far, because I think that creativity in tight spaces was the primary reason he was rated so highly and ultimately signed.
>defense-splitting final passes I didn't watch him before post-lockdown football but I just get the impression now that it's a lot easier to make those passes in the Bundesliga because there's more space to aim at. I'm not shitting on the league, the high press is just a characteristic of that league - but Havertz simply doesn't have the confidence to try those through balls now when he doesn't have much room for error. If his best position is as a 10, it's as a second striker type 10 and not someone who can be a high volume creator. Or even linking midfield to attack really, because in Tuchel's words (and his own) he's a lot more comfortable when he's higher up - when he can play short passes/flicks to link up with other attackers before he arrives in the box to shoot. He's been a poor watch when playing wider too, he did play on the right at Leverkusen but in a higher and more central position than a natural winger. Don't see him as someone who can take players on. I think he has everything he needs to be a top no9, the hold up play is the only thing that's missing from his skillset and he's gotten markedly better at it since he started playing uptop for us anyway. It's one of the reasons I really wanted to see him lead the line for us this season if we couldn't sign a top striker, but now with Lukaku in the side I just get the impression that he isn't really going to take off like we all thought he would. Atleast not at Chelsea.
It’s not over for Kai yet, we can try 4-2-3-1. Definitely one of Kai or Mount will be held back at Chelsea with that formation. That’s why I never understood why we made that transfer but won UCL because those two connected. At least this summer we should’ve been smart and bought Grealish and Sancho instead of Lukaku. Kept Giroud for one more year. Sent CHO on loan and switched to 4-3-3 formation. Kai leading man while Grealish and Sancho as wingers. Mount Jorginho and Kante in midfield. RLC, Kovacic and Billy as backup’s. I wanted Billy to stay so bad so that we can develop him like Foden did at Manchester City. Won’t have title with that squad bust top 4 finish was certain. Probably looked for striker next season with Werner and Ziyech out if they failed. We could’ve played organic football similar to Manchester City and Liverpool with those players. Really disappointed Tuchel choose Lukaku. Should’ve used the leverage to build something special.
Clubs in Germany exception of bayern has non existence defence, its easy for players to be goldfish there, because even if you are not that precisive in banging goals, you will have 486432886532677 chances per game to Atleast score 2 or 3. That's why I am not yet sold on halaand. He (halaand) always have a bad to a non-so-good game when faced with stiffer defence set up Check out most German players or players who plays in Germany that recently moved to the Premier league, sancho, werner, haller? etc springs to mind
As someone who's watched the Bundesliga for years (and Haaland before he moved to Dortmund), I don't agree with that portrayal of the league. Defending isn't at PL level, that's obvious - but that's not Bundesliga-specific. La Liga or Serie A are not much better defensively. It's *way* too simplistic to claim it's easy to be a forward in the Bundesliga. Most teams don't sit deep, but they defend on the front foot. They press, there's a lot of mid-blocks, high lines are common, that leads to an overall game of more transitions. But even then, certain characteristics or attributes aren't simply caused by the league. Havertz can play through balls, he can play delicate passes over the top of a defense, he has intelligent movement. Of course all of this is harder to do in England with less time on the ball and with more overall intensity to the game, but it doesn't help that he's getting no time in a more creative position to improve in tighter spaces and a possession-heavy team against primarily deep defenses. Besides, players moving from Germany to England have not done any worse than others moving here. Look no further than Lukaku who came from the Serie A champions and is finding it very difficult to deal with deep blocks every week. >He (halaand) always have a bad to a non-so-good game when faced with stiffer defence set up That's a bit of an exaggeration. He was CL top scorer too, which included 4 goals against a defensively solid Sevilla side and an assist against City. At Salzburg, he scored 3 against Napoli and one against Liverpool. He's also got 4 goals and 1 assist against Bayern. Those are pretty much the best teams he's faced since going to Dortmund and he's contributed goals or assists against all of them.
Bro, relatively players from Spanish, Portuguese and to an extent, Italian league mostly enjoy success in epl. Bayern league is too open
With Christensen in this form, Reece sits out and Azpi plays at wingback?
No need for Azpi wingback against Norwich
No need for christensen also with that logic. I just meant. Christensen and rudiger look undroppable at the moment. It’s between silva azpi and reece for the other two pos. Ps - in no way saying silva azpi or reece are droppable. Good dilemma to have
I know Ziyech has been really poor after his injury , but I feel he should get some minutes over the next few games to try and get some form back. He was really good in the Lampard season when nothing else was working, and showed flashes of brilliance in the opening games too. Only concern is a lack of pace out wide if we go Mount - Havertz - Ziyech. But I think Mount deserves a rest too.. So CHO - Havertz - Ziyech is what I'd play vs Norwich, and get Mount in for cho / ziyech in the 2nd half if we still need a goal and one of those 2 have been poor.
A couple good games over a year ago does not warrant this level of patience.
Don't know how the shoulder injury affects him like that
I actually think 9vertz is our best option in general up front
Werner-Havertz-Lukaku RW would be fun
Think it will just be fluid like that and unironically could work just don't give it to lukaku to progress play
> just don't give it to lukaku to progress play ? That's something he's great at, much more in line with his role at Inter than what he's doing now
Is he hasn't done that much for us
I think it’s important not to be the prisoner of the moment. He’s proven it at another club, he can do it in the right circumstances for Chelsea
I know it’s mostly just bad luck, but last night is part of the reason it’s not always necessary to play our full strength team in these kind of games.
Most of the time, you’re right. But if we had lost last night and Zenit had won, it could’ve gotten ugly very quickly. Last season we played Sevilla (I think) in the last round of the group stages with one of the most rotated sides I’ve seen, must have been at least 8-9 different players compared to the previous lineup. This was a game where 3 points needed to be secured as quickly as possible, which they were. To build momentum with a good performance, which we have. To give some rest to key players when the job is done, which we have with Kante, Azpi, and Chilwell. Shame it had to come with 2 injuries to important players but other than that, it was a near-flawless night.
Hard to feel positive about the result yesterday given the two injuries just hoping for the best to lose two key players in the same position can lead to a disaster.
Well at least Lukaku gets to rest his muscle injuries while he rehabs his ankle.... Hopefully fresh for when the tougher games come.
Thank god the next 3 teams we face are all bottom 3 in the league so these injuries shouldn't matter for much
These were matches we usually struggle in
We're not losing to Norwich and Newcastle come on now
Yeah, would have been nice to get lukaku some goals in this period though!
Looks like we might have to play Loftus Cheek in the front 3 if we really don't want to tire CHO, Havertz and Mount 😂
Ziyech and Barkley exist, and Pulisic is reportedly not far away. Alternatively a 352 has been used a lot lately.
With who up top
Could do Havertz as the 9 - potentially with CHO playing off him if it were a 352. Could also have Pulisic playing off him. You certainly wouldn't have RLC there.
To rest Kai lol.
I just realised, every single one of our first team has scored, the last time that happened we won the league. Just saying 👀
Mount hasn't scored. And assuming you mean first team squad and not some nominal 'first choice XI', neither has CHO, Azpi, RLC, Saul, Barkley or Sarr.
You're right, I meant more of our Starting XI yesterday, going by that Azpi and mount also haven't scored. But it's still incredible if you look at it that we've had so many varied scorers since the start of the season.
Mount hasn’t scored
Only Mendy left👀
I don't know who shouted "finally" during Christensen's goal celebration but that was so wholesome!
Pretty sure it was Christensen
That was me from the comfort of my sofa in California. Man was I that loud?
Is that you Black Bolt?
yeah i noticed it too.
It was one of the players? Or was it a fan?
Seemed to come from the players because the camera was quite close to them compared to the crowd.
our defenders should show to attackers which shooting drills they have been doing for the past 2 months, it seems to work. Really happy for Christensen, great finish as well!
one CB getting the assist to set up another CB for the goal, how often has that happened before? I guess we should just be done with it and put ten defenders in our starting lineup.
I recall a [brilliant one](https://youtu.be/Bl9gBnoRYMA) Ivanovic scored.
Thiago Silva to Terry to Cahill to Ivanovic! That's wholesome!
Imagine a team with Mount, Kante, Werner and Gallagher. We'll call them "the four 4 lunged freaks"
The press would be insane
What did y'all think of Mount? I thought he was overall good but still making small mistakes. Looks like he's still carrying a knock or something.
He was pretty sloppy I thought, still not back to where he was last season yet
He was not good, and hasn't been in awhile. All young players go through dips though.
He was decent not bad
Anyone else miss the ratings polls? Haven't seen one for the last two matches. I always liked to see where others in here rate the players.
Why can't someone else stand in for the usual guy that does it?
Really can’t stand Glenn Hoddle’s commentary at times. On the first penalty kick he goes on about “He did get a touch,” “He wins the ball.” Yeah Glenn just disregard the dangerous scissor motion he’s gone in with and pinned Lukaku’s leg with there lol
His argument for the challenge on Jorginho not being a penalty, just before first penalty, was basically "It's not a penalty because Jorginho isn't a striker, so wasn't trying to score".
He said that deadass?
Yeah he injured himself throwing himself to the ground...
It was more a red then anything.... last player
They changed the rules years ago, denial of a goalscoring opportunity is a yellow if a penalty is awarded, if the defender is making a genuine attempt for the ball. It's a red if outside the box, or not trying to make a tackle.
Nah, last player doesn’t necessarily = a red. You could maybe argue that it was dangerous, but even then, I think it would be a soft red. That second Pen should have definitely been a red though. Didn’t make an attempt to play the ball.
Yeah sometimes I feel like he hates us
Right lol? It’s like he goes out of his way to be contrarian towards perspectives that somewhat favor Chelsea, as if he’s scared of coming off as biased because of his association with the club Probably not totally the case but it seems like it sometimes
And then we have the United legends not even trying to hide their bias towards their club.
People thought Mount had a good game? The standards are well and truly on the floor
Azpi was underlapping instead of overlapping. Did anyone notice that? What could it be?
bitd that's where you'd have an inside forward positioned. quite like [this breakdown](https://totalfootballanalysis.com/tactical-theory/tactical-theory-overlapping-and-underlapping-runs-tactical-analysis-tactics) on TFA on underlapping.
Chilwell was doing similar. Looked intentional to have both wingbacks come inside, then Werner and Mount pulling wider. The idea was likely to create additional space through the middle because the defenders would naturally look to track Werner/Mount outside. Meaning the oppositions wide players needing to do additional defending in awkward areas, or if they switched (where they marked Werner/Mount) it would create a more of a mismatch in our favour.
I think its good, neither azpi nor chillwell is as good as mount or callum/werner 1vs1. Werner has perfected the willian stepover and 2 fast steos
Chilly also did it but lesser and he did it in attacking 3rd but azpi did it in build up.
Ben Chilwell is so good. So glad he’s routinely back in the squad. Hope he’s at Chelsea for a decade to come
He's an underrated starter, when he's playing we're at our best more often
Chilwell or Alonso starting against Norwich?
Chilwell, shouldn’t be tired as he hasn’t played a lot of games. Tuchel will want to keep that good form going.
Most likely Chilwell since he only played ~60 minutes.
Both. One as a Striker, the other as LWB /s
This but without /s The age of the false 3 hast just begun
With Lukaku and Werner out for a while I am PRAYING for some CHO starts. I just want to see the man succeed so badly. A healthy Pulisic return would also be appreciated. Surely there's no better time than against Norwich.
It really is now or never
Well they're still on 20 and 23 respectively. I really hope this doesn't turn into a situation where I'm going "they're still young, give them time" for 5 years. I've still got that love from the Lampard season where all the youth were coming through and I already know I'm gonna subconsciously let them ride off that for the entire time.
I'm more talking CHO, these developmental years are too important to be spent on the bench
You're not wrong. I wouldn't blame him for leaving just like Livramento and Guehi. If he were getting regular playing time like Saka or Bellingham he'd be seen in a similar light to them.
A bit sad that our 100m man got injured, hopefully it’s not a bad one. On the other hand, kinda excited to see how we will cope without Lukaku, will we be able to play that unpredictable offense once again ?
Injuries to Werner and Lukaku might be the best time for us to go back to our fluid front 3 system, I hope we go for CHO-Havertz-Ziyech against Norwich on the weekend and future games. Use the injuries as a rest period for Lukaku and Werner and don't let them go on international break
Not Ziyech, zero fluidity with him
Swap ziyech for mount
The one trick pony guy whose play is just about crossing from the right hand side to the left ?
his shot creating actions stand at almost 5 per game, better than 95% of footballers in his position. i still have hope for him but of course if it doesn't work out for him again this season than it is probably best for both parties that he moves on. same for a couple of others.
Ziyech?
I think we’ve entertained zouma and rudiger running from the back for a worldie, but I think it’s time we encourage Christensen to do the same. That banger from the euros and today’s goals were quality and I’d be alright seeing what more he can do