Horrific performance. Have to hope others drop points but we have champions league and FA cup along with a lot of hard games remaining. Man city, west ham, arsenal and leicester are 4 of our final 8. Good thing is opportunities to beat direct top 4 rivals west ham and Leicester. Bad thing is that we have the hardest remaining fixtures and the other teams haven’t bottled it against lesser teams like we have. Will be a major battle. Tottenham could legitimately be in 4th after this weekend. They likely beat Newcastle and now have a much better goal difference. They also have no Europe and mo FA cup. Have to think they become the favorite now.
been a key defender for us this season. Not sure what your plan is if he leaves but we have been at our best this season when he plays. I haven’t seen one guy that’s available that’s an upgrade.
He’s up and down for me and can be disruptive when he’s not in the regular 11. Seems like the kind of contract everyone regrets in two years. edit: and no, I don’t really have a plan to replace him in the short term
if he won’t sign an extension though I think you have to sell him. Cant let him walk for free. His performances this year should get a good fee. He was injured last season though and was good the year before. He’s also the only CB other than Thiago who can play both 3 and 4 ATB. If we want to use both, we need him. May not like the contract but we have to balance the now and the future. I’m open to selling and signing an upgrade but I’m not a fan of any available CBs.
Obviously the first thought is bench Jorginho after the disaster today but as I thought about it, I think we are better playing Him against Porto and playing mount or gilmour against crystal palace. Jorginho has been better in Europe. Some of these non-English guys just look like different players in Europe. Hopefully we win and can then get kante back for the second leg and put him in if needed. today showed that we have to hope that sarri gets a big enough job that we can sell or swap deal Jorginho to wherever sarri ends up. He’s good when he’s on but when his passing is off, he’s so poor at everything else that he’s a complete liability. Glad tuchel learned that this season I suppose.
Tuchels honeymoon seems over. Luckily he has some experience with a club like ours at PSG. I’m really happy he managed PSG first and didn’t come to us directly from Dortmund. Clubs like Chelsea and PSG require so much more than knowledge of the sport. The egos of big club players are at a whole different level.
Fik hive is buzzin. I’m probably in the minority but I think Ampadou can still do a job (and is much more versatile than the other options). Guehi probably needs another loan but he’s on his way too. Sell Rudi, keep Fik, and have one of the other guys replace Silva after next season. And buy a fucking midfield.
I’m hopeful broke ass Milan can’t afford the buy option and he comes back. I’ve got a bad feeling we play ball and cut the fee and he moves on.
Again, I’d hate for Chelsea to have center backs that panic under pressure *cues a ten minute montage of red cards, own goals, and panic station clearances from this season*
Awful giroud/original Ronaldo edit aside, the data on Porto in aerial duals is interesting. Definitely could be a reason for giroud to get the start. Could also make sense to play havertz in one of the 10 roles because he’s better than the others in that position in the air.
Surprised Christensen gets the start over Thiago. Christensen will also play at the weekend. I thought we might see giroud but that front 3 isn’t surprising. Need a game from Werner or havertz
I'm going to wait until the end of the second leg to decide if it was smart of them to not eliminate it or that it's really fucking stupid that it's still around period, let alone for two neutral site legs.
Because Gilmour doesn’t get minutes ever so he can’t play in big games. In the interim no forward passing by anyone in midfield or Mason when he drops deep.
TBH, game is boring so far. Has the feeling of a game where not much happens but we lose 1-0 on a defensive lapse.
Man, if you squint that really looked like a Lampard goal. Great positioning, great turn and great technique on the shot.