Chelsea 5 Wrexham 0

[chara]

1 minute ago, Floyd25 said:

First half was more fluid, second half the formation didn’t work as well and we did lose rhythm. Still, really nice couple of goals to finish the game, Casadei assist and well taken goal, very nice assist from Angelo as well, that was a fun watch. 

That's spot on.... nice to see well taken goals and some free thinking play from youngsters.....like the new tactical ploy of scoring goals and looking as if ..gulp...the players wanted to be there playing.

[Miguelito07]

Casadei looks like a baller. 

[Floyd25]

1 minute ago, Miguelito07 said:

 

Casadei looks like a baller. 

 

Absolutely, it’s funny because I had an argument with someone on twitter about him, apparently all he’s capable of doing is cropping up with a goal, needs work but there’s obviously more to him than that. 

[Original 21]

Really enjoyed that. Casadei was excellent. Jackson looks a really good signing as does Gusto. Start of the second half we lost our way when we went three at the back. Sterling and Gallagher were still playing Potterball. Chilwell got forward more and ended up scoring a nice goal. Enjoyed seeing Nkunku score, and Gabriel put in some nice balls. Thought Humphreys did well at the back.

5-0. Not a bad start! Plenty for Pochettinho to think about. Tougher opposition to come. But really lots to be pleased about and good to see Casadei and Jackson take their chance to shine.

[chara]

Agree with the general consensus but would it have been so difficult to put names on the back of the shirts?

Re subbing the sub?...a Todd new rule for consideration.?..and letting the oppo keeper wear Chelsea colours ?

Expected more from Wrexham,,,,didn't really seem "up for it" even taking into account the level difference.

But an enjoyable watch for once.

[kev61]

Just now, chara said:

 

Re subbing the sub?..

 

If Poch is even considering Cucurella as a centre back, even as a stand in, it's worrying.

There has been many smallish successful centre backs,but not a gnome.

He's not even good in his natural position where height doesn't really matter.

[xceleryx]

Didn't get to catch the game as I was out, although did manage to see the goals. Anyone care to share a quick overview of how things panned out in terms of our general play? 

[kev61]

2 hours ago, Original 21 said:

Really enjoyed that. Casadei was excellent. Jackson looks a really good signing as does Gusto. Start of the second half we lost our way when we went three at the back. Sterling and Gallagher were still playing Potterball. Chilwell got forward more and ended up scoring a nice goal. Enjoyed seeing Nkunku score, and Gabriel put in some nice balls. Thought Humphreys did well at the back.

5-0. Not a bad start! Plenty for Pochettinho to think about. Tougher opposition to come. But really lots to be pleased about and good to see Casadei and Jackson take their chance to shine.

Why did he bring Cucurella  on again?.It seems trivial because it's only a warm up game.

You have to question  his thought process when he does something like this.

No need to panic he's a world class coach.😥

[My Blood Is Blue]

It's been a while since we won and by so many goals, so I don't care about the opposition, I'll take it! Ultimately, it means very little, but compared to last pre-season, it at least looks as though the players were coached, had a plan and some fitness work had begun and didn't have a coach constantly distracted by new owners!

We'll learn more in the upcoming games though.

[xceleryx]

1 hour ago, kev61 said:

Why did he bring Cucurella  on again?.It seems trivial because it's only a warm up game.

You have to question  his thought process when he does something like this.

No need to panic he's a world class coach.😥

Because Chalobah felt his achilies and came off as a precaution. Both managers discussed bringing Cucurella back on and Wrexham had no issues with this being done. 

Not really worth trying to drum up some sort of conspiracy theory. 

[ShedMiddle]

Why is there nothing about the game on the sky sports app? Strange.  

[Holymoly]

I'm going out on a limb here but I'm going to say it. Not impressed, albeit I've only seen the extended highlights

Disjointed, especially in defense. No organisation on a team level. We depended on individual skill, predominantly from the new players which I suppose is a positive looking forward.

Last season's players continued their form. Sterling couldn't hit a barn door, Cucurella was all over the pitch looking for things to do rather than playing in position. At least Chilwell has remembered where the goal is.

Jackson and Nkunku played positively, moving and running forwards with the ball but it was very much individual skill rather than co-ordinated team play. Maatsen played well but presumably was played out of position? I can't see him being asked to play so far forward in the Prem.

Overall it was a case of the individual players, predominantly the new players, playing up to their standard and overcoming Wrexham. There were long periods when we sitting back defending and that defending looked extremely shakey. No-one took control in the centre of defense.

The next game should give us more of an idea of who is likely to start against August as last night was just a chance to play the kids. Brighton, Newcastle and Fulham will be good opportunities for us to watch the manager's ideas being put into action. We scored five which was the bare minimum we should have expected, we conceded none but that was more down to their finishing than our play. The major positive was that there were no injuries. The experienced players still need to up their game.

[Holymoly]

19 minutes ago, ShedMiddle said:

Why is there nothing about the game on the sky sports app? Strange.  

I think it's because it wasn't even considered a pre-season game but more of an exhibition. Even on the official club site the game is not listed along with the games against Brighton, Newcastle and Fulham.

[paulw66]

5 hours ago, Original 21 said:

Beautiful goal from Chilwell. Great assist from Gabriel. 5-0. Very satisfying overall. 

Didn't realise the Arch Angel had travelled 

[xceleryx]

56 minutes ago, Holymoly said:

I'm going out on a limb here but I'm going to say it. Not impressed, albeit I've only seen the extended highlights

Disjointed, especially in defense. No organisation on a team level. We depended on individual skill, predominantly from the new players which I suppose is a positive looking forward.

It's almost as if this was their first outing of the new season where fitness is the first priority, followed by basic tactical acclimation under a new manager. 

[Mark Kelly]

57 minutes ago, Holymoly said:

I'm going out on a limb here but I'm going to say it. Not impressed, albeit I've only seen the extended highlights

Disjointed, especially in defense. No organisation on a team level. We depended on individual skill, predominantly from the new players which I suppose is a positive looking forward.

Last season's players continued their form. Sterling couldn't hit a barn door, Cucurella was all over the pitch looking for things to do rather than playing in position. At least Chilwell has remembered where the goal is.

Jackson and Nkunku played positively, moving and running forwards with the ball but it was very much individual skill rather than co-ordinated team play. Maatsen played well but presumably was played out of position? I can't see him being asked to play so far forward in the Prem.

Overall it was a case of the individual players, predominantly the new players, playing up to their standard and overcoming Wrexham. There were long periods when we sitting back defending and that defending looked extremely shakey. No-one took control in the centre of defense.

The next game should give us more of an idea of who is likely to start against August as last night was just a chance to play the kids. Brighton, Newcastle and Fulham will be good opportunities for us to watch the manager's ideas being put into action. We scored five which was the bare minimum we should have expected, we conceded none but that was more down to their finishing than our play. The major positive was that there were no injuries. The experienced players still need to up their game.

I think you're being a bit harsh here , it's the first game , we played two different formations , we had no Reece James or Tiago Silva , Chalobah went off Injured , we had kids playing all over the park , Cucurella played two different positions. 

I expect the lack of leadership in defence was more down to the fact that it was a team of virtual strangers than anything else.

I too was disappointed with the poor showing from Sterling who really should have scored but I was impressed with the younger members of the midfield , Casedei , Santos and Gabriel all looked able to link play and find forward balls which is refreshing considering the lack of them from anyone other than Enzo last season .

And .....we scored five goals in one game which just has to be good in comparison to the lack of anything to be excited about last season.

[martin1905]

We ran around a lot and moved the ball quickly and passed it FORWARD.

A monstrous improvement on anything we saw last season.

A very positive start, regardless of opposition, onwards and upwards.

 

Edited July 20, 2023 by martin1905

[Ham]

Barely got mentioned on the commentary but we've uncovered another gem In Bashir Humphries. 

The coolest head on the pitch more than once.  

Casadei was just incredible too from start to finish. First half in the pivot and second half as the number 10.  Always looking for the forward pass or running forward aggressively into the gaps. We've got a real superstar there. 

Special mention for Angelo whose service from the right was first class. Should have had an assist earlier but Sterling fluffed a sitter of a header. 

Maatsen was played forward on the left with Cucurella behind in the first half. I'd consider swapping them, despite the goals from Maatsen because Cucurella looked shaky defending against their RW. Got skinned once with minimal difficulty. Maybe that was a fitness issue.

Jackson started off like a house on fire. Brilliant work for the assist. He's got serious pace. 

Nkunku constantly made very smart runs and eventually got his rewards. Enzo is going to love looking up and seeing him, Mudryk and Jackson as eager outlets.

Lots of positives.  The next three games will be difficult because none of Brighton, Newcastle or Fulham needed root and branch reconstruction nor did they have a change of manager. 

They'll all have been concentrating on fitness with the coaching already there. 

I expect us to fall short in the first two and win v Fulham.

 

Edited July 20, 2023 by Ham

[Floyd25]

1 hour ago, Holymoly said:

Jackson and Nkunku played positively, moving and running forwards with the ball but it was very much individual skill rather than co-ordinated team play. Maatsen played well but presumably was played out of position? I can't see him being asked to play so far forward in the Prem.

Overall it was a case of the individual players, predominantly the new players, playing up to their standard and overcoming Wrexham. There were long periods when we sitting back defending and that defending looked extremely shakey. No-one took control in the centre of defense.

Yea I disagree completely, in the first half the attacking play was fluid and the link up play was good at times, it certainly wasn’t all based on individual skill at all, not sure how you can state this when at least three out of the five goals came from neat interchanging of passes. 

The defending in the first half wasn’t shaky either, Chalo and Humphrey’s were fairly assured. I’ll agree with you on Cucurella though, nothing he does impresses me. 

[Floyd25]

1 hour ago, Holymoly said:

Even on the official club site the game is not listed along with the games against Brighton, Newcastle and Fulham.

Strange, it certainly was listed on the app, not sure about the official site. 

[Holymoly]

41 minutes ago, Mark Kelly said:

I think you're being a bit harsh here , it's the first game , we played two different formations , we had no Reece James or Tiago Silva , Chalobah went off Injured , we had kids playing all over the park , Cucurella played two different positions. 

I expect the lack of leadership in defence was more down to the fact that it was a team of virtual strangers than anything else.

I too was disappointed with the poor showing from Sterling who really should have scored but I was impressed with the younger members of the midfield , Casedei , Santos and Gabriel all looked able to link play and find forward balls which is refreshing considering the lack of them from anyone other than Enzo last season .

And .....we scored five goals in one game which just has to be good in comparison to the lack of anything to be excited about last season.

I agree with what you say but the best performances came from players who are either unlikely to start or else will go out on loan. I just expected more from Sterling after his supposed intensive pre-season work.

I liked the new kit although it's design is crying out for a shirt sponsor. What I found funny however was at the end when the players were swapping shirts Ben Chilwell was looking at some of his team mates and was clearly thinking "everyone I remember is gone and I'm surrounded by kids".

Still, a win's a win and I can't stop thinking that if we played this at the end of last season we may well have lost.

[Original 21]

Ben Foster on Chelsea: "When they get the ball in the final third, wow. Runners down the wing, players coming inside going outside, and there’s always taking the ball on the run. They’re either already running or they’re picking it and running with it so it just gets you on the back foot straight away and it’s good to see. There’s so much pace, they’re so sharp.”

[Bert19]

39 minutes ago, martin1905 said:

We ran around a lot and moved the ball quickly and passed it FORWARD.

A monstrous improvement on anything we saw last season.

A very positive start, regardless of opposition, onwards and upwards.

 

I just saw Nkunku's goal.  When was the last time we saw a forward running like that and a CM actually look for the gap to deliver the ball?? So refreshing! 

I know it's only a League Two opposition side, but we wouldn't have won that 5-0 at any point in the last year, so it's really nice to see us start off with a proper shift

[Bones]

How good is Jason Cundy commentating!? 10/10

[Blue Moon]

1 hour ago, Holymoly said:

What I found funny however was at the end when the players were swapping shirts Ben Chilwell was looking at some of his team mates and was clearly thinking "everyone I remember is gone and I'm surrounded by kids".

A bit like looking at the players and realizing that your kids could have kids older than them.