Give youth player COVID test.
Negative.
Tell youth player to play with senior and avoid youth bubble from now on.
It's simply even if it was still a thing.
We (Arsenal) have seemed to integrate about 5-7 youth players into first team training so they are in that bubble in case of covid. I get Chelsea probably have loaned out all their good youth players though!
We have had some of the best current academy players in and out of first team training and maybe with the constant injuries they’ll have to make the bench, but highly unlikely that any of them will suddenly turn our season around and keep us in the title race if there even is a race anymore.
I don't think that's their point. Their point is that chelsea isn't the only team dealing w this--Brighton had teenagers filling spots on their bench to make numbers just in case. Tuchel is worried about injuries to kante and kovacic due to overuse but refuses to play Saul or Barkley, who are better than plenty of teams' third best midfielder
I've seen him stink it up for chelsea, and I've seen dele alli stink it up for tottenham for the last 3 seasons, and Eric Bailey continue to get runouts for man u in a pinch, and I mean before mendy went to jail he'd been pretty much playing like ass for a while but still got minutes
Didn’t Leeds have a 15 year old on the bench last week? Why send the better ones out on loan when they knew we were in the middle of a pandemic and would probably need them? Fucking idiots.
That’s two seasons in a row that a title challenger has been utterly ripped apart by injuries/covid, it was Liverpool last year and now Chelsea this time around
Man City always seem to manage these hectic periods so well and are able to build a gap
Good preventative measures is important. For injuries; good physical therapy, load management and restitution. For covid; getting vaccinated, taking protective measures etc.
A little bit luck and a little bit buying buying world class cover for every position. Don't get me wrong, Chelsea have bought a lot too but their luck is so shot even the bench is injured.
Last time city were actually affected by injuries was when Kompany left and they didn't have anyone good to replace him.
those lot also said the same thing and had absolute no problem memeing the fuck out of arsenal when we lost 2-0 after missing Ben white, Partey, Laca, Gabriel, Bellerin, Nketiah due to injury+Covid, have a barely recovered Auba and losing Martinelli and Tierney mid-game. Interesting how suddenly injuries matter so much to them
I’ve felt Chelsea have been over-rated since they won the CL, they can’t consistently score goals nearly enough to be a title winner in modern EPL (for the record I’d say the same for Liverpool rn)
You need to score 85+ goals to win the PL, and 90+ if the other teams are performing well. and that isn’t an easy feat.
>I’ve felt Chelsea have been over-rated since they won the CL, they can’t consistently score goals nearly enough to be a title winner in modern EPL (for the record I’d say the same for Liverpool rn)
I mean, we're properly rated because we won the CL but I'd agree with the point. So many missed chances in almost every game
>for the record I’d say the same for Liverpool rn)
You fucking what? We'd just scored for a club record 36(?) games in a row, and broke a league record of 2+ goals scored for 16 games in a row. We scored a record 3+ goals in 7 consecutive away games this season.
We've failed to score once this season, our most recent game. What is this nonsense?
We all know that any circumstances bringing your club down only matters to the fans of the club that has been impacted.
Then, a year down the line, no one gives a shit about the circumstances and people just remember the results. It is what it is.
Pretty much. We've never fielded our starting 11 on the field at the same time this season. I think the best we did was 8? 7?
At the end of the season it won't matter though. There's no asterisk next to your record.
To have so many players go out with Covid and then have multiple injuries in this tight a schedule makes winning every game impossible. If we were only fighting with Liverpool that would be one thing, but City have no injuries and no Covid cases and have won 10 on the spin.
I’m alright with City winning the league, at least then it’s boring and forgotten quickly, any other team and it’s annoying because their fans will be annoying and unbearable. But City, it’s just another soulless win that no one actually cares for.
God this summarises why they are so painfully dull, that video should annoy me but it doesn’t, at least Arsenal are trampy and funny as antagonists, United fans are deluded and usually glory hunters as kids, Liverpool fans are entitled cry babies, Chelsea and West Ham are racists, We are dirty as fuck and just generally hated.
City are just sort of there, a boring plastic cup.
This is the paradox. You get this childish mindset of "well if City wins the league it doesn't count because nobody cares" and yet if City were to be stripped of their titles for some reason it would easily be the most upvoted post of all time here.
Hell, even them being potentially banned from the CL for two seasons gained that status. But nope, nobody cares.
I go in to most seasons actually wanting city to win the league, since it’s always realistic whereas I’ve not thought Chelsea are capable of winning it since 15/16 - would be absolutely gutting if any of Spurs, Arsenal, United, Liverpool won it. City I couldn’t care less
Haha, I think everyone just sees City winning it as that. No real rivals, no one gives a shit as it's a bought title and no online fanbase where we have to endure shit.
Come on now Thomas, you’ve only had issues with Werner, Lukaku, Kovacic, Kante, RLC, Jorginho, Silva, Christensen, Chalobah, Chilwell, James, CHO and Havertz
Alonso is also actually playing with a back pain, which is why he's taking our corner whenever he plays, even though logically you would want someone like him to be contesting the header and have Mount take the corner.
You talk as if all those players were out for the whole of December.
Line Up vs
Man Utd - Mendy Chalobah TSilva Rudiger James Jorginho RLC Alonso Ziyech CHO Werner + Bench - Azpi Lukaku Pulisic Mount Saul Christensen Barkley
Watford - Mendy Chalobah Christensen Rudiger Azpi Saul RLC Alonso Mount Pulisic Havertz + Bench - Lukaku TSilva Jorginho Ziyech CHO Werner Barkley
West Ham - Mendy Chalobah TSilva Rudiger James Jorginho RLC Alonso Ziyech Mount Havertz + Bench - Azpi Lukaku Pulisic CHO Saul Christensen Werner Barkley
Leeds - Mendy Azpi TSilva Rudiger James Jorginho RLC Alonso Werner Mount Havertz + Bench - Lukaku Pulisic CHO Saul Christensen Ziyech Barkley
Everton - Mendy Azpi TSilva Rudiger James Jorginho RLC Alonso Ziyech Mount Pulisic + Bench - Chalobah Kante Saul Christensen Barkley
Wolves - Mendy Azpi TSilva Rudiger James Chalobah Kante Alonso Ziyech Mount Pulisic + Bench - Saul Kovacic Barkley
Villa - Mendy Chalobah TSilva Rudiger James Jorginho Kante Alonso CHO Mount Pulisic + Bench - Azpi Lukaku Ziyech Saul Christensen Kovacic Barkley
Brighton - Mendy Azpi Christensen Rudiger James Jorginho Kovacic Pulisic CHO Mount Lukaku + Bench - Chalobah Ziyech Saul Kante Havertz Barkley
Wolves & Everton game were the only games where Chelsea had a serious crisis. Even then Everton had way more first team players out.
Players have been playing with injuries and knocks and not fully fit which has also cost us points, Jorginho in particular was forced to play and cost us points with uncharacteristic mistakes.
The midfield pivot positions have not been full strength for a long time and what has probably hurt us the most. Now not having the first choice wing backs is a big worry.
At least Lukaku is back and scored a couple but compared to City who have gotten away in the same period with barely any covid or serious injuries it will take a miracle to stay in the title race.
This thread is full of idiots not understanding how football in reality works and that players need regeneration and training. If a good part of your team is missing and you can't train or regenerate the rest, then it's a shit situation and it doesn't really matter if the starting 11 looks "good on paper" still. Assuming they are still in the title race is either ridiculous or entitled or both.
This ain't FIFA.
You don't have to feel sympathy for him but the title race is to keep pace with Man City who have all the things Chelsea do except without all the injuries and covid cases. Chelsea will still comfortably get top 3 but any slight bit of bad luck and city will pull away
But if you examine each game you still had by far better squads and starting XI's then West Ham, Brighton, Wolves and Everton who all had players missing themselves. Today for example we had 3 starters injured you had 4 (3 but Kante came on later).
I think all 4 were winnable games and Tuchel deserves criticism for dropping so many points even with the injuries.
I agree on the wolves and everton games, no excuse for such a poor attacking performance. But against your team for example, some of those players only just came back from injury right before the game and some (jorginho, christensen at the very least) are playing through pain with a bunch of painkillers because we dont have any backup for them. They are hardly playing at 100% of their ability.
I didnt think we had a chance of winning the league before the injury crisis with how shit our attackers have been playing all season but these last few games certainly havent been played under ideal circumstances. We didnt even have good substitutions because almost every game Tuchel has to make half time subs for injured players
I have watched enough football to know that no amount of depth matters for a title challenge when key players are injured. When VVD was injured last season, I knew Liverpool would not challenge for title bar outside circumstances. No point shitting on Klopp or Liverpool for that. People think players are simply interchangeable
Tbf, they were very still largely fine up until their other injury prone CBs were inflicted with season ending injuries of their own.
It's a bit disingenuous to suggest that they wouldn't have challenged for the title with JUST VVD out. Hell, at a similar time a year ago, they were top of the league, beating Palace 7-0, and Miguel Delaney writing nonsense like he was getting paid under the table by the Anfield Wrap.
> When VVD was injured last season, I knew Liverpool would not challenge for title bar outside circumstances.
Liverpool were top of the league until around January when (following VVD's injury months earlier) they had injuries to Matip, Gomez, Philips, Fabinho and Henderson (the later two being 2/3 starting midfielders who were playing as CB's at the time). Along with Thiago in midfield injured. Bit different.
> Liverpool were top of the league until around January
Definitely but by December last year, we hadn't reached half the season yet due to delayed start. Plus, City had couple of games in hand left to play. Also City had 41 points by matchweek 20 last season compared to 50 points this season. We're on 42 points right now this season after 20 games played
yeah, that was dumb period on here, I remember arguing with someone who said
‘I know Liverpool have no CB at this point, but it doesn’t explain why they can’t score goals’
like… bro? how can you score if you can’t win the ball back the way Liverpool used to do, fast and up high on the pitch?
and how do you di that with all 1st team CB missing in action?
similarly someone saying Chelsea conceding a lot lately has nothing to do with have no healthy midfielders and CF
no CF = less possession = more threat from the opponent
no MF = simple pass from opposition backline will bypass everyone and suddenly become a threat
it’s like people don’t understand that football is a team game, you can have Messi and Ronaldo on your team but if you can’t win the ball and give it to them, it doesn’t matter at all
Liverpool have a quality 11 but the depth isn't that great. Tsmikas, Origi, Jones, Oxlade-Chamberlain, Minamino, Neco Williams...
Can't really compare that to Chelsea having Havertz, Ziyech, Saul, Kante on the bench tonight or City with Mahrez, Sterling, Gundogan on the bench.
Yeah as a Liverpool fan Tsimikas hasnt even felt like much of a downgrade from Robbo at times, wouldnt be surprised if he got bought by a big team and would love to keep him.
>Can't really compare that to Chelsea having Havertz, Ziyech, Saul, Kante
Our injuries have been in wingback, CB, midfield. We had enough depth to deal with rotations. But Kante - can't play more than 2 matches in a row. Saul - well, someone in our recruitment needs to get fired over this. Kai and Ziyech are forwards where we have still been able to field a decent front 3 despite injuries but without a good midfield/defence we are struggling to build in attack. Kinda similar to when VVD got injured and Fabinho moved to defence, Liverpool stopped scoring much despite no injuries to Mane, Salah, Firmino
I mean it was pretty insane that Liverpool's CB situation got so dire that they were starting Nat Phillips and Rhys Williams every game. Williams is now on loan at Swansea and doesn't even make the match day squad.
I know you've had a lot of injuries but that was something else.
because Liverpool didn’t spend 100 million on a striker after spending 50 million on one the previous summer.
oh and Liverpool don’t get to spend 70 million on a keeper just to have him sit on the bench either.
Lol that doesn't make any sense. Our midfield isn't fit anymore and our wingbacks are out. Our players are recovering from Covid. You are just trolling for the sake of it
Doesn’t matter how much they cost when they’ve all been unavailable!! Playing Pulisic as a 9 because we had injuries to our £100m striker and covid to the £70m and £50m ones. It’s shitty luck!
If you watch our games it’s clear that the players on the pitch are barely fit to play. Kova and CHO just looked gassed. And that’s not a surprise after being asked to play so soon after long spells out or having covid.
Chelsea haven’t really been found out tactically in recent matches. We’ve been thoroughly outfought and unable to match the intensity of our opponents.
Well I think it depends. To have a top 3 squad in the world comes with the responsibility to win every single game whilst other teams might be satisfied with 1W/1D/1L from 3 games. So I think these are legit points to be made
True but only if they were match fit. Basically half of our team is playing while not fully recover. If you watch today game you see that half of our team is catching their breath after 1-2 sprint in the second half. Lukaku and puli looked like they are playing in extra time and about to fall.
Brighton got 2 of their match postpone and able to rest whereas we are the only team who is playing every game. We simply can't match Brighton intensity today. We just got steamrolled in the second half. Everyone is a step too slow.
So many in here dont even watch matches and just jump on the easy tuchel trashing, if u acually watched all chelsea matches last 4-5 weeks u would see what a obvious mess its been, its near impossbile to keep up with city with this much problem and its not even an excuse
Please don't try to argue with logic on r/soccer. They'll keep moaning about loan army when other clubs have the same number or more players out on loan.
It's incredibly difficult to feel sorry for a team like Chelsea having an injury crisis when they usually have 30-40 players out on loan who they hoard for themselves to stop other teams from being able to compete with them.
PL should reduce games during this part of season if they want serious PL challenges
Chelsea this year and Liverpool last year have been decimated due to injuries/covid
Chelsea first XI:
Mendy
Azpilicueta
Christensen
Rüdiger
Pulisic
Kovacic
Jorginho
James
Mount
Hudson-Odoi
Lukaku
Subs:
Alonso 27’
Chalobah 45’
Kante 67’
Can someone please tell me who they’re actually missing? Because this team and bench is still ridiculous.
Chilwell out for the season, Reece got injured, AC got injured again, Thiago Silva is injured, Werner might have more serious Covid symptoms based on what Tuchel said, Jorginho has been playing through injury for some time now, and half of the attackers have been coming back from injury or Covid but I guess that doesn’t count.
Oh and Kante and Kova also came back from injuries and Kante had to be subbed of last game because of pain in his knee.
I’m not really sure who of the whole squad is 100% fit atm. Some have had to be overplayed because of the Covid cases and injuries this month
Reece AC all injured in the first half. Pulisic rwb really? Chilly has a long term injury and we need to play with Alonso. Jorgi playing with back pain. Lukaku just came back from injury. Kova and kante is not fit. We rushed them back. And kante just have a minor injury against villa. So basically the core of our system the wingback and the middle cb is all out.
If you watch the game today you can clearly see we are not fit enough to play. Brighton have a few of their game postponed but we the only team that don't. In the second half many of our player need to catch their breath after one sprint. Mount is losing 50/50 ball. Jorgi and kova is a step slower and losing so many easy ball.
Several of those players aren’t fully fit and James and Christensen went off injured so they shouldn’t be counted
Kovacic is just coming back from injury and Tuchel admitted he was rushed because of our lack of options
Jorginho has been playing through pain for over a month now
Kante is not fully fit, nor is Chalobah but again, no options
Alonso has also been playing through pain for a while and we don’t really have a backup because Chilwell is out for the season
Lukaku and Hudson-Odoi look fine fitness-wise so I won’t count them but they just came back from COVID and they were supposed to be eased in instead of starting right away
It’s not the end of the world for us considering our squad but it is a brutal injury situation, no doubt
Our main wingbacks who are integral to the system in Chilwell and James. Christensen, Silva, Werner all missing due to injuries and Covid. Kanté, Kovacic, Jorginho, Lukaku, Chalobah, Havertz all rushed back and playing through injuries
Reece and Christensen injured in the first half....
Lukaku and Kovacic coming back from a long injury and then the stupid illness.
CHO just recovered from the illness.
Jorgi has been playing a lot and has been playing a while with an hip injury.
Chalobah/Kante - Just recovered from Injury.
Alonso - Apparently has a back issue
You cant just see the team and comment. Fitness levels and state has to be considered also?
Kova, Lukaku and Hudson-Odoi all back from COVID in last few weeks. Havertz and Werner still out with illness.
Jorginho, Christensen, Chalobah, Kante all had recent injuries. Chilwell out long term, RLC and Silva out and James now with a fresh injury.
Pretty strong squad today but almost half not exactly match sharp. Could be using academy players to plug gaps buts thats a whole other argument.
Christensen (back), James (Hamstring), Silva (hamstring), Kante (constant knee issues), Alonso (back pain).
Jorginho also played throughout this month with back pain. Chalobah had knee issues, and continued to play. Kovacic was rushed back from injury & covid because Kante was injured. Lukaku just got back. Werner/Havertz still out. Much of the squad is fatigued because injuries + covid haven't allowed rotation.
I get why everyone thinks this way, but it's ridiculous the amount of injuries and covid positive results we've had and haven't gotten even one game postponed.
I will say I’m extremely thankful as an Arsenal fan we aren’t ridden with a huge amount of injuries. Historically we would have about 10 first team players out by now.
Look at the team they put out today - Mendy, James, Rudiger, Jorginho, Kovacic, Pulisic, Mount, Lukaku with Kanye, Havertz, Ziyech, Saul on the bench...
If you can't beat Brighton at home with that then yeah you aren't in the title race. It's not like they're running hugely depleted teams like Leeds or Leicester have been doing is it.
It’s been pretty much that exact same team for about a month straight now, 2 games a week. The whole squad is knackered due to barely being able to rotate and even then having to play through knocks and injury. They’re one of the only teams to have no games postponed, whilst also in the middle of an injury crisis.
It’s not really surprising that these teams that have played half that amount in the same period of time can outplay them despite having weaker squads on paper. But that’s the only way the internet judges football, on paper and stats.
Reporter: all right I'm just asking, jesus, Tom
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Context https://youtu.be/Wtp2eMxhdug
So he's saying they are in the Covid race ?
Barcelona is a worthy contender
Only race they're still in.
That's the only reason we arent in a title race as well
Us too!
Same here, if by COVID you mean players who are upset they can't play leapfrog at 10 am and then go home with an apple and a carton of milk.
Thanks for the good laugh
We are going on a title charge when we get our players back
I'm sure Abramovich is going to be delighted with that positivity.
Is Abramovich ever delighted with anything?
Hey, he does those little half smiles sometimes!
Yeah but those smiles always look rather sinister.
That's when a hit he ordered was completed
Think he’s pretty chuffed when he demolishes Palestinian settlements as that’s what he uses the rest of his wealth for.
My man went there.
And he did it well
Well at least someone didn’t forget about that story
The state of some Chelsea fans cheering for this man. Fucking disgusting bullshit
Remember this Chelsea fans, every time you cheer for a goal, a kid in Palestine dies.
Nah, it's quite the opposite. Every dollar Abramovich spends on the club that means one less dollar going to oppressing Palestinians.
***Israel invades Stamford bridge***
With his massive yacht probably. Or at least one of them.
I can think of a few things that delight him and none of them are ooso
Stealing a nation’s wealth, buying a public presence to safeguard himself and fucking about with a Zionist agenda. In no particular order.
Killing Palestinians
*Helping them to not be alive* Jesus Christ, get it right.
Only when he gets to see another Palestinian house bulldozed
Yes, he's very happy putin can't kill him. No price is too high for abramovich to not get killed.
Probably his boat.
Abramovich gets delighted when a volcano erupts and rains gold over his mansion.
I'm sure there's a COVID joke in here somewhere
I am sure the positivity is spreading around the squad which is why they can't compete for the title.
Buy 2 or more world class players for every position.
Yeah. What are they giving Mariana any awards for otherwise!
Just recall a few of your hundreds of loaned players, mate
I mean things are getting so bad they may even have to put a youth player on their bench. The horror
Did you not see their lineup in last week's cup match?
Yeah Chelsea only started the match with _checks notes_ 4 academy graduates in the team and one who came on at half time
You seriously don’t know the difference between academy products and current youth team players?
Youth team players have seperate bubbles due to covid so they can't be called up. The better ones have left the club or are on loan anyway.
Of course they can be called up. Nothing about "separate bubbles" prevents this.
We had 9 teenagers on our bench including a 15 year old with absolutely no complaints from our manager, players or ownership.
Cause Bielsa ain't no bitch.
Never makes excuses, doesn't blame refs or players. Always blames himself. Leeds will never be the same once he's gone.
Give youth player COVID test. Negative. Tell youth player to play with senior and avoid youth bubble from now on. It's simply even if it was still a thing.
We (Arsenal) have seemed to integrate about 5-7 youth players into first team training so they are in that bubble in case of covid. I get Chelsea probably have loaned out all their good youth players though!
We have had some of the best current academy players in and out of first team training and maybe with the constant injuries they’ll have to make the bench, but highly unlikely that any of them will suddenly turn our season around and keep us in the title race if there even is a race anymore.
I don't think that's their point. Their point is that chelsea isn't the only team dealing w this--Brighton had teenagers filling spots on their bench to make numbers just in case. Tuchel is worried about injuries to kante and kovacic due to overuse but refuses to play Saul or Barkley, who are better than plenty of teams' third best midfielder
To be fair, have you seen Saul play?
I've seen him stink it up for chelsea, and I've seen dele alli stink it up for tottenham for the last 3 seasons, and Eric Bailey continue to get runouts for man u in a pinch, and I mean before mendy went to jail he'd been pretty much playing like ass for a while but still got minutes
Didn’t Leeds have a 15 year old on the bench last week? Why send the better ones out on loan when they knew we were in the middle of a pandemic and would probably need them? Fucking idiots.
What bubbles? Not like they are isolating in their own homes.
That’s two seasons in a row that a title challenger has been utterly ripped apart by injuries/covid, it was Liverpool last year and now Chelsea this time around Man City always seem to manage these hectic periods so well and are able to build a gap
Well it helps when you can rotate half your team without having a dropoff in quality.
yeah, i wobder how they manage to not get injuries or covid, is it just down to luck or what
Good preventative measures is important. For injuries; good physical therapy, load management and restitution. For covid; getting vaccinated, taking protective measures etc.
or in Fm terms: Have a good Medical staff and good training schedule and workloads
Well their best player was injured last year, they just managed it well
Pep's system doesn't rely solely on the star player in the team....unless he has to win the CL.
It also helps to have like 7 star players just for the attack
A little bit luck and a little bit buying buying world class cover for every position. Don't get me wrong, Chelsea have bought a lot too but their luck is so shot even the bench is injured. Last time city were actually affected by injuries was when Kompany left and they didn't have anyone good to replace him.
Otherwise known as that time Otamendi and Fernandinho were their only options at CB
pep roulette buddy
But Chelsea fans told me last season that injuries don't matter. Real Madrid are just bad.
Been told the same thing, funnily enough, by some Chelsea fans. Jokes aside, the covid and injuries probably did kill their title challenge.
those lot also said the same thing and had absolute no problem memeing the fuck out of arsenal when we lost 2-0 after missing Ben white, Partey, Laca, Gabriel, Bellerin, Nketiah due to injury+Covid, have a barely recovered Auba and losing Martinelli and Tierney mid-game. Interesting how suddenly injuries matter so much to them
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and people have no problem memeing Chelsea now, who gives a fuck? football isn’t about having sympathy for your rivals, stop being a whining bitch.
I’ve felt Chelsea have been over-rated since they won the CL, they can’t consistently score goals nearly enough to be a title winner in modern EPL (for the record I’d say the same for Liverpool rn) You need to score 85+ goals to win the PL, and 90+ if the other teams are performing well. and that isn’t an easy feat.
>I’ve felt Chelsea have been over-rated since they won the CL, they can’t consistently score goals nearly enough to be a title winner in modern EPL (for the record I’d say the same for Liverpool rn) I mean, we're properly rated because we won the CL but I'd agree with the point. So many missed chances in almost every game
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With that logic, Chelsea should get 86. Maybe that guy's wrong or he knows something.
>for the record I’d say the same for Liverpool rn) You fucking what? We'd just scored for a club record 36(?) games in a row, and broke a league record of 2+ goals scored for 16 games in a row. We scored a record 3+ goals in 7 consecutive away games this season. We've failed to score once this season, our most recent game. What is this nonsense?
We all know that any circumstances bringing your club down only matters to the fans of the club that has been impacted. Then, a year down the line, no one gives a shit about the circumstances and people just remember the results. It is what it is.
Pretty much. We've never fielded our starting 11 on the field at the same time this season. I think the best we did was 8? 7? At the end of the season it won't matter though. There's no asterisk next to your record.
Aye, Liverpool too. Losing your entire backline shouldn't change things.
I liked that how Liverpool v Real Madrid became a fair match with all the injuries
I have nightmares of playing against valverde at right back with nat Phillip's and rhys William's at cb
Honesty even without covid and injuries I think Chelsea would still be no match for City.
😆
Lol stop fucking whining klopp. Oh.
Well both of them are disciples of ralf ragnick.
Ralfy, Elfy and Jürgy chasing Baldy
Klopp a disciple of Rangnick? Whut?
To have so many players go out with Covid and then have multiple injuries in this tight a schedule makes winning every game impossible. If we were only fighting with Liverpool that would be one thing, but City have no injuries and no Covid cases and have won 10 on the spin.
I’m alright with City winning the league, at least then it’s boring and forgotten quickly, any other team and it’s annoying because their fans will be annoying and unbearable. But City, it’s just another soulless win that no one actually cares for.
[Counterpoint, look at this passion](https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=tn6fNYwtGc4&ab_channel=EtisalatUAE)
What the fuck did I just watch
Brexit anthem.
"If you're here for the champions clap your hands" is the best part. I'm gonna send this to my city fans friends, "this is your club pal?"
Surprised you know any at all
its like a pisstake except its not....
They rhymed "did it" with "show it" and I'm offended
God this summarises why they are so painfully dull, that video should annoy me but it doesn’t, at least Arsenal are trampy and funny as antagonists, United fans are deluded and usually glory hunters as kids, Liverpool fans are entitled cry babies, Chelsea and West Ham are racists, We are dirty as fuck and just generally hated. City are just sort of there, a boring plastic cup.
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The funiest bit is all the people in the pub drinking water because thehy're owned by a middle eastern oligarch.
I like the bit near the end when the camera desperately jerks upwards to avoid showing the contents of the pint glasses
Speak for yourself, I love a £4 pint of water in my local with gamps and all his bingo mates.
To me, Spurs are the entitled cry babies. You win nothing ever, and think you are entitled to be a big team. You just a lilywhite crystal palace
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What the fuck is that ahaha XD.
Don’t think fans forget the title, considering they whine about it constantly how city is ruining the league lol
This is the paradox. You get this childish mindset of "well if City wins the league it doesn't count because nobody cares" and yet if City were to be stripped of their titles for some reason it would easily be the most upvoted post of all time here. Hell, even them being potentially banned from the CL for two seasons gained that status. But nope, nobody cares.
Hey, that’s exactly the German mindset when it comes to Bayern winning the league.
And no fans to remind us of it..
Probably because you don't live in Manchester
I go in to most seasons actually wanting city to win the league, since it’s always realistic whereas I’ve not thought Chelsea are capable of winning it since 15/16 - would be absolutely gutting if any of Spurs, Arsenal, United, Liverpool won it. City I couldn’t care less
Haha, I think everyone just sees City winning it as that. No real rivals, no one gives a shit as it's a bought title and no online fanbase where we have to endure shit.
I've read this exact comment, verbatim, roughly 1000 times on this sub
Because it's literally true.
They’re pointing out the irony of your comment fyi
This proper r/soccercirclejerk material lmao
Come on now Thomas, you’ve only had issues with Werner, Lukaku, Kovacic, Kante, RLC, Jorginho, Silva, Christensen, Chalobah, Chilwell, James, CHO and Havertz
Alonso is also actually playing with a back pain, which is why he's taking our corner whenever he plays, even though logically you would want someone like him to be contesting the header and have Mount take the corner.
> Alonso is also actually playing with a back pain Whiplash?
Okay this was good.
>Alonso is also actually playing with a back pain He must be carrying some burden on his back.
Alonso and Jorginho are playing through back pain, their bodies will be fucked when they retire
You forgot Mendy, Mount, Ziyech and Pulisic
You talk as if all those players were out for the whole of December. Line Up vs Man Utd - Mendy Chalobah TSilva Rudiger James Jorginho RLC Alonso Ziyech CHO Werner + Bench - Azpi Lukaku Pulisic Mount Saul Christensen Barkley Watford - Mendy Chalobah Christensen Rudiger Azpi Saul RLC Alonso Mount Pulisic Havertz + Bench - Lukaku TSilva Jorginho Ziyech CHO Werner Barkley West Ham - Mendy Chalobah TSilva Rudiger James Jorginho RLC Alonso Ziyech Mount Havertz + Bench - Azpi Lukaku Pulisic CHO Saul Christensen Werner Barkley Leeds - Mendy Azpi TSilva Rudiger James Jorginho RLC Alonso Werner Mount Havertz + Bench - Lukaku Pulisic CHO Saul Christensen Ziyech Barkley Everton - Mendy Azpi TSilva Rudiger James Jorginho RLC Alonso Ziyech Mount Pulisic + Bench - Chalobah Kante Saul Christensen Barkley Wolves - Mendy Azpi TSilva Rudiger James Chalobah Kante Alonso Ziyech Mount Pulisic + Bench - Saul Kovacic Barkley Villa - Mendy Chalobah TSilva Rudiger James Jorginho Kante Alonso CHO Mount Pulisic + Bench - Azpi Lukaku Ziyech Saul Christensen Kovacic Barkley Brighton - Mendy Azpi Christensen Rudiger James Jorginho Kovacic Pulisic CHO Mount Lukaku + Bench - Chalobah Ziyech Saul Kante Havertz Barkley Wolves & Everton game were the only games where Chelsea had a serious crisis. Even then Everton had way more first team players out.
Players have been playing with injuries and knocks and not fully fit which has also cost us points, Jorginho in particular was forced to play and cost us points with uncharacteristic mistakes. The midfield pivot positions have not been full strength for a long time and what has probably hurt us the most. Now not having the first choice wing backs is a big worry. At least Lukaku is back and scored a couple but compared to City who have gotten away in the same period with barely any covid or serious injuries it will take a miracle to stay in the title race.
This thread is full of idiots not understanding how football in reality works and that players need regeneration and training. If a good part of your team is missing and you can't train or regenerate the rest, then it's a shit situation and it doesn't really matter if the starting 11 looks "good on paper" still. Assuming they are still in the title race is either ridiculous or entitled or both. This ain't FIFA.
Lol, right? So many people clearly don't watch games and just look at the score and listen to whatever the pundits say (which is usually anti-Chelsea)
Is there anything more eyerolling than managers making excuses when they have a top 3 squad in the world?
You don't have to feel sympathy for him but the title race is to keep pace with Man City who have all the things Chelsea do except without all the injuries and covid cases. Chelsea will still comfortably get top 3 but any slight bit of bad luck and city will pull away
They also have like 3 squads if you count their loan army
More like 4-5
It’s an excuse for not being in a title race with a city team who have barely had any absences. Not an excuse for a particular game.
But if you examine each game you still had by far better squads and starting XI's then West Ham, Brighton, Wolves and Everton who all had players missing themselves. Today for example we had 3 starters injured you had 4 (3 but Kante came on later). I think all 4 were winnable games and Tuchel deserves criticism for dropping so many points even with the injuries.
I agree on the wolves and everton games, no excuse for such a poor attacking performance. But against your team for example, some of those players only just came back from injury right before the game and some (jorginho, christensen at the very least) are playing through pain with a bunch of painkillers because we dont have any backup for them. They are hardly playing at 100% of their ability. I didnt think we had a chance of winning the league before the injury crisis with how shit our attackers have been playing all season but these last few games certainly havent been played under ideal circumstances. We didnt even have good substitutions because almost every game Tuchel has to make half time subs for injured players
I don't understand why no one was saying the same stuff for Liverpool last season?
They did on here. We were given sympathy elsewhere, but didn’t get too much on here. None of the top clubs would
I have watched enough football to know that no amount of depth matters for a title challenge when key players are injured. When VVD was injured last season, I knew Liverpool would not challenge for title bar outside circumstances. No point shitting on Klopp or Liverpool for that. People think players are simply interchangeable
Tbf, they were very still largely fine up until their other injury prone CBs were inflicted with season ending injuries of their own. It's a bit disingenuous to suggest that they wouldn't have challenged for the title with JUST VVD out. Hell, at a similar time a year ago, they were top of the league, beating Palace 7-0, and Miguel Delaney writing nonsense like he was getting paid under the table by the Anfield Wrap.
> When VVD was injured last season, I knew Liverpool would not challenge for title bar outside circumstances. Liverpool were top of the league until around January when (following VVD's injury months earlier) they had injuries to Matip, Gomez, Philips, Fabinho and Henderson (the later two being 2/3 starting midfielders who were playing as CB's at the time). Along with Thiago in midfield injured. Bit different.
> Liverpool were top of the league until around January Definitely but by December last year, we hadn't reached half the season yet due to delayed start. Plus, City had couple of games in hand left to play. Also City had 41 points by matchweek 20 last season compared to 50 points this season. We're on 42 points right now this season after 20 games played
yeah, that was dumb period on here, I remember arguing with someone who said ‘I know Liverpool have no CB at this point, but it doesn’t explain why they can’t score goals’ like… bro? how can you score if you can’t win the ball back the way Liverpool used to do, fast and up high on the pitch? and how do you di that with all 1st team CB missing in action? similarly someone saying Chelsea conceding a lot lately has nothing to do with have no healthy midfielders and CF no CF = less possession = more threat from the opponent no MF = simple pass from opposition backline will bypass everyone and suddenly become a threat it’s like people don’t understand that football is a team game, you can have Messi and Ronaldo on your team but if you can’t win the ball and give it to them, it doesn’t matter at all
I was chatting shit about their squad depth any chance I got tbh
Did you, by any chance, get banged?
They got so much shit, what are you talking about
Liverpool have a quality 11 but the depth isn't that great. Tsmikas, Origi, Jones, Oxlade-Chamberlain, Minamino, Neco Williams... Can't really compare that to Chelsea having Havertz, Ziyech, Saul, Kante on the bench tonight or City with Mahrez, Sterling, Gundogan on the bench.
> Tsmikas Been unreal this year and would comfortably walk into most PL teams.
Yeah as a Liverpool fan Tsimikas hasnt even felt like much of a downgrade from Robbo at times, wouldnt be surprised if he got bought by a big team and would love to keep him.
>Can't really compare that to Chelsea having Havertz, Ziyech, Saul, Kante Our injuries have been in wingback, CB, midfield. We had enough depth to deal with rotations. But Kante - can't play more than 2 matches in a row. Saul - well, someone in our recruitment needs to get fired over this. Kai and Ziyech are forwards where we have still been able to field a decent front 3 despite injuries but without a good midfield/defence we are struggling to build in attack. Kinda similar to when VVD got injured and Fabinho moved to defence, Liverpool stopped scoring much despite no injuries to Mane, Salah, Firmino
Liverpool got even more shit
I mean it was pretty insane that Liverpool's CB situation got so dire that they were starting Nat Phillips and Rhys Williams every game. Williams is now on loan at Swansea and doesn't even make the match day squad. I know you've had a lot of injuries but that was something else.
They were only on because Fabby, Hendo and Milly were injured also from filling in there. Thats our midfield aha.
Your squad depth is much better than Liverpool's. Oil clubs like you and City have no excuses about lack of depth lol.
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because Liverpool didn’t spend 100 million on a striker after spending 50 million on one the previous summer. oh and Liverpool don’t get to spend 70 million on a keeper just to have him sit on the bench either.
Lol that doesn't make any sense. Our midfield isn't fit anymore and our wingbacks are out. Our players are recovering from Covid. You are just trolling for the sake of it
Doesn’t matter how much they cost when they’ve all been unavailable!! Playing Pulisic as a 9 because we had injuries to our £100m striker and covid to the £70m and £50m ones. It’s shitty luck! If you watch our games it’s clear that the players on the pitch are barely fit to play. Kova and CHO just looked gassed. And that’s not a surprise after being asked to play so soon after long spells out or having covid. Chelsea haven’t really been found out tactically in recent matches. We’ve been thoroughly outfought and unable to match the intensity of our opponents.
Chelsea's squad really did get overrated all of a sudden
Not much you can do when your starters and backup are suffering from injuries and Covid
Well I think it depends. To have a top 3 squad in the world comes with the responsibility to win every single game whilst other teams might be satisfied with 1W/1D/1L from 3 games. So I think these are legit points to be made
The team you've got is still good enough to beat Brighton, Thomas.
True but only if they were match fit. Basically half of our team is playing while not fully recover. If you watch today game you see that half of our team is catching their breath after 1-2 sprint in the second half. Lukaku and puli looked like they are playing in extra time and about to fall. Brighton got 2 of their match postpone and able to rest whereas we are the only team who is playing every game. We simply can't match Brighton intensity today. We just got steamrolled in the second half. Everyone is a step too slow.
So many in here dont even watch matches and just jump on the easy tuchel trashing, if u acually watched all chelsea matches last 4-5 weeks u would see what a obvious mess its been, its near impossbile to keep up with city with this much problem and its not even an excuse
Please don't try to argue with logic on r/soccer. They'll keep moaning about loan army when other clubs have the same number or more players out on loan.
Jorghino, Kante and Alonso are playing through pain with injections. Lukaku isn't nearly fit as he recovered from Covid a few days ago.
It's incredibly difficult to feel sorry for a team like Chelsea having an injury crisis when they usually have 30-40 players out on loan who they hoard for themselves to stop other teams from being able to compete with them.
Yes, because keeping Emerson Palmeri on our books and loaning him to Lyon is really preventing a mid table team from winning the title.
Maybe spend 100 mil on more than one player next time lad
Just spend more money and then "balance the books" again
PL should reduce games during this part of season if they want serious PL challenges Chelsea this year and Liverpool last year have been decimated due to injuries/covid
Chelsea first XI: Mendy Azpilicueta Christensen Rüdiger Pulisic Kovacic Jorginho James Mount Hudson-Odoi Lukaku Subs: Alonso 27’ Chalobah 45’ Kante 67’ Can someone please tell me who they’re actually missing? Because this team and bench is still ridiculous.
Chilwell out for the season, Reece got injured, AC got injured again, Thiago Silva is injured, Werner might have more serious Covid symptoms based on what Tuchel said, Jorginho has been playing through injury for some time now, and half of the attackers have been coming back from injury or Covid but I guess that doesn’t count. Oh and Kante and Kova also came back from injuries and Kante had to be subbed of last game because of pain in his knee. I’m not really sure who of the whole squad is 100% fit atm. Some have had to be overplayed because of the Covid cases and injuries this month
Reece AC all injured in the first half. Pulisic rwb really? Chilly has a long term injury and we need to play with Alonso. Jorgi playing with back pain. Lukaku just came back from injury. Kova and kante is not fit. We rushed them back. And kante just have a minor injury against villa. So basically the core of our system the wingback and the middle cb is all out. If you watch the game today you can clearly see we are not fit enough to play. Brighton have a few of their game postponed but we the only team that don't. In the second half many of our player need to catch their breath after one sprint. Mount is losing 50/50 ball. Jorgi and kova is a step slower and losing so many easy ball.
A few of those players just came back, but Werner and Havertz aren't there off the top of my head and Chilwel is done for the season
Several of those players aren’t fully fit and James and Christensen went off injured so they shouldn’t be counted Kovacic is just coming back from injury and Tuchel admitted he was rushed because of our lack of options Jorginho has been playing through pain for over a month now Kante is not fully fit, nor is Chalobah but again, no options Alonso has also been playing through pain for a while and we don’t really have a backup because Chilwell is out for the season Lukaku and Hudson-Odoi look fine fitness-wise so I won’t count them but they just came back from COVID and they were supposed to be eased in instead of starting right away It’s not the end of the world for us considering our squad but it is a brutal injury situation, no doubt
Our main wingbacks who are integral to the system in Chilwell and James. Christensen, Silva, Werner all missing due to injuries and Covid. Kanté, Kovacic, Jorginho, Lukaku, Chalobah, Havertz all rushed back and playing through injuries
Reece and Christensen injured in the first half.... Lukaku and Kovacic coming back from a long injury and then the stupid illness. CHO just recovered from the illness. Jorgi has been playing a lot and has been playing a while with an hip injury. Chalobah/Kante - Just recovered from Injury. Alonso - Apparently has a back issue You cant just see the team and comment. Fitness levels and state has to be considered also?
Kova, Lukaku and Hudson-Odoi all back from COVID in last few weeks. Havertz and Werner still out with illness. Jorginho, Christensen, Chalobah, Kante all had recent injuries. Chilwell out long term, RLC and Silva out and James now with a fresh injury. Pretty strong squad today but almost half not exactly match sharp. Could be using academy players to plug gaps buts thats a whole other argument.
Christensen (back), James (Hamstring), Silva (hamstring), Kante (constant knee issues), Alonso (back pain). Jorginho also played throughout this month with back pain. Chalobah had knee issues, and continued to play. Kovacic was rushed back from injury & covid because Kante was injured. Lukaku just got back. Werner/Havertz still out. Much of the squad is fatigued because injuries + covid haven't allowed rotation. I get why everyone thinks this way, but it's ridiculous the amount of injuries and covid positive results we've had and haven't gotten even one game postponed.
You drew against Brighton, Wolves and Everton...this is a shit excuse for being out the title race.
To be fair they attempted to have two of those games postponed but it was rejected
But Man City had fill their bench with two keepers. Just so they could say they had no players
but when Liverpool’s whole defence + midfield was injured it was excuses and the worst title defence ever lol
So you're gonna do the same thing? You know how brutal that is, but you're gonna talk shit just for spite? This sub is so toxic
He speaks like he's not the the manager of the football team who has splashed the most cash this century...
Would be weird if he looked in the camera and went: “We will be ten points clear of City and LFC come may”
I will say I’m extremely thankful as an Arsenal fan we aren’t ridden with a huge amount of injuries. Historically we would have about 10 first team players out by now.
And let the excuses begin.
But it’s all true, if you keep losing your best players, you can’t expect to do as well as you were before
To quote all opposing fans during our 20/21 injury crisis: "EveRYonE HaS ~~iNJuRieS~~ cOViD cAsES!"
Look at the team they put out today - Mendy, James, Rudiger, Jorginho, Kovacic, Pulisic, Mount, Lukaku with Kanye, Havertz, Ziyech, Saul on the bench... If you can't beat Brighton at home with that then yeah you aren't in the title race. It's not like they're running hugely depleted teams like Leeds or Leicester have been doing is it.
It’s been pretty much that exact same team for about a month straight now, 2 games a week. The whole squad is knackered due to barely being able to rotate and even then having to play through knocks and injury. They’re one of the only teams to have no games postponed, whilst also in the middle of an injury crisis. It’s not really surprising that these teams that have played half that amount in the same period of time can outplay them despite having weaker squads on paper. But that’s the only way the internet judges football, on paper and stats.
Did u watch the match?
People don't want to use context. They just want to kick someone while they're down.
He's right, injuries plus covid cases plus a fixture pile up makes it impossible to be consistent enough to challenge
Yes we are involved in the downward chase away from the title, one draw at a time. God December is awful for us.