Newcastle United 1 Chelsea 1

[chara]

7 hours ago, exiledblue said:

Wasnt it an English ref?

Not sure but certainly MLS standard. 

[chara]

5 hours ago, Bones said:

How good was Pope? Like if you'd take him over Kepa

IMhumbleO...he was the quiet saviour of Newcastle..did a proper job and kept,as I said before, at least three worthy efforts out with good,not "standard" saves.

 

[exiledblue]

20 minutes ago, chara said:

Not sure but certainly MLS standard. 

Peter Nankes, he is an existing Prem ref

[Sciatika]

To start with I thought the ref wasn't seeing the fouls but, later, I realised that he was seeking to let the play go. I thought he had a good performance. 

[Thiago97]

2 hours ago, chara said:

IMhumbleO...he was the quiet saviour of Newcastle..did a proper job and kept,as I said before, at least three worthy efforts out with good,not "standard" saves.

 

I thought he made the kinda saves that Kepa on the whole doesn’t make. 

[RDCW]

4 hours ago, Proud-Blue said:

I stayed up for the whole thing like others here... but I must admit I really flagged in the second half so might have missed a couple of things. But some notes from me regardless.

1) Nicolas Jackson... wow. Obvious caveat that it's pre-season, but he has really been doing the business against some good PL teams. His speed, skill, composure, and his attitude are all superb. If he can replicate this for the season ahead we could finally have the striker we've been craving for years. His understanding with Mudryk is also a real treat.

2) Mudryk. He looks so fired up, fit, and ready to go. His talent is extremely obvious. His end product wasn't quite there today, but he can change games alone. 

3) Maatsen. Another assist, I can see why Poch wants to keep him this season. I'd really like to see him play at left-back. I'm worried that if we keep moving him around he'll not nail a proper position, and I think that can have a negative impact (maybe contributed to RLC not being what he could have been).

4) Malo Gusto was excellent I thought. It's nice to have some proper competition for Reece James because he definitely needs it. It may also help us manage Reece's fitness a bit better.

5) Cucurella... oh dear oh dear. We have a serious problem here, but one that could also be resolved if the club just acknowledges the mistake. We currently have four players who can play LB. If we were looking purely at the evidence of his performances versus Hall, Chilwell, and Maatsen, there is no case whatsoever for Cucurella starting. 

The mistake he made for Almiron's goal wasn't a one-off moment. He was constantly out of position for the whole game, being dragged everywhere, and just seemed totally confused. Honestly so disappointing given how good he was at Brighton. I hope he can have some kind of redemption arc but it's looking unlikely.

6) Sterling... he just seems to slow us down. I hope this is just poor pre-season form and he picks up in August, but the signs are not good.

7) Chalobah and Humphreys looked good together to me. Seems to be a decent understanding. I really hope we don't sell Chalobah personally as I still think we've yet to see the best from him.

😎 I think Casadei looked a bit tired. I think he's in the top three for minutes played this pre-season so that could explai nit. The talent is obviously there, but this wasn't his best performance, especially his passing which was erratic. I think he could probably do with a short rest.

Overall, generally good. We clearly need to reinforce the midfield, but we already knew that. I think even if we get Caicedo we may well need one more.

Looking forward to Fulham. It's nice to be excited about watching Chelsea play again!

edit:: Got name wrong and I can't count.

I think you're right, our new acquisitions look very good so far and the 2 players I would be happy to replace are Sterling and Cucurella. The former is slow to act, indecisive and alien to the rapid advancement of the ball favoured by Pochettino; the latter may go on to be a competent player somewhere else, but he looks totally lost here, maybe weighed down by his price tag, the unfriendliness of his new environment, or a simple collapse in his confidence, but whatever it is it would be to our mutual benefit if he moved on.

[Mark Kelly]

23 minutes ago, RDCW said:

I think you're right, our new acquisitions look very good so far and the 2 players I would be happy to replace are Sterling and Cucurella. The former is slow to act, indecisive and alien to the rapid advancement of the ball favoured by Pochettino; the latter may go on to be a competent player somewhere else, but he looks totally lost here, maybe weighed down by his price tag, the unfriendliness of his new environment, or a simple collapse in his confidence, but whatever it is it would be to our mutual benefit if he moved on.

They're the two I'd shift as well, we can moan all we like about Cucurella but Sterling has made him look like prime Ashley Cole. 

[chara]

2 hours ago, Sciatika said:

To start with I thought the ref wasn't seeing the fouls but, later, I realised that he was seeking to let the play go. I thought he had a good performance. 

I know I'm biased but seemed to me he let play go by letting fk worthy fouls go....players soon catch on at any level and take advantage...a nothing game of course but pandering to the "Promotional" aspects of the "Series" doesn't set well with me.

The "Series" is excellent as a preseason warmup and evaluation but here at least it is being given late round European top game status type coverage. 45 minute build up to the game!

The "Wrexham" Cinderella Hollywood story has been swallowed hook line and sinker by soccer wanna be fans here ....nobody seems to (want to) understand they are a fourth tier level side and only just!...I like Wrexham and have followed their fortunes ever since I lived up there and do wish them well going forward.

Cucurella....great breakdown by celery but cut to the chase...he got caught out between wanting to intercept and/or tackle...terrible football decision making and in fairness he did make some good stops but always seems out of position if only by yards...didn't see enough of him at Brighton but my "impression" is he had a far more free role requiring less positional discipline...impression only and prepared to be corrected.

Edited July 27, 2023 by chara

[Ham]

A couple of extra observations from last night.

Reece looked to have really slimmed down up top.  Looks in great shape.

Jackson's pressing was awesome. Won back possession a few times and was millimetres away from further steals.  His pace is electric. I'd like to know how he and Mudryk measure up on a sprint.

 

 

 

Edited July 27, 2023 by Ham

[RDCW]

1 hour ago, RDCW said:

I think you're right, our new acquisitions look very good so far and the 2 players I would be happy to replace are Sterling and Cucurella. The former is slow to act, indecisive and alien to the rapid advancement of the ball favoured by Pochettino; the latter may go on to be a competent player somewhere else, but he looks totally lost here, maybe weighed down by his price tag, the unfriendliness of his new environment, or a simple collapse in his confidence, but whatever it is it would be to our mutual benefit if he moved on.

My views on Cucurella have undergone a volte face over the past month. I had originally been in favour of giving him time to overcome his difficulties, but his inadequacies of last season haven't gone away and are so many and varied (and more importantly in contrast to the skill, application and footballing intelligence exhibited by some of our new recruits and academy graduates), that I think he would be better off going.

[Mark Kelly]

1 hour ago, RDCW said:

My views on Cucurella have undergone a volte face over the past month. I had originally been in favour of giving him time to overcome his difficulties, but his inadequacies of last season haven't gone away and are so many and varied (and more importantly in contrast to the skill, application and footballing intelligence exhibited by some of our new recruits and academy graduates), that I think he would be better off going.

Pretty much nails it for me, the idiots have gone, you'd think that was some kind of wake up call for those left but Cucurella and Sterling have not shown half what their competition for places has shown. I'd rather keep the youngsters than those two. 

I can't see Sterling getting in the side to be honest. 

[Ham]

1 hour ago, RDCW said:

My views on Cucurella have undergone a volte face over the past month. I had originally been in favour of giving him time to overcome his difficulties, but his inadequacies of last season haven't gone away and are so many and varied (and more importantly in contrast to the skill, application and footballing intelligence exhibited by some of our new recruits and academy graduates), that I think he would be better off going.

I'm feeling exactly the same. I've defended him constantly but he looks likes a gonk on acid half the time. 

He doesn't instill confidence to say the least. 

[east lower]

Two games, two FU’s that have cost two goals.

As a defender, you’re as good as your worst mistakes and Cucurella’s are calamitous. 
 

People moan about Kepa, his deficiencies pale into relative insignificance when compared with this oaf.

[Michael Tucker]

15 hours ago, My Blood Is Blue said:

Cucurella, needs selling, take the loss and just move him on for everyone’s sake!

Yes, and he can take Sterling with him! Rubbish, the pair of them!

[Ham]

Just now, Michael Tucker said:

Yes, and he can take Sterling with him! Rubbish, the pair of them!

It's funny how things change when you have hungry, fit, technically good players to compare him to. 

He looked l like PotterBall whilst everyone else was MoBall. 

[xceleryx]

7 hours ago, RDCW said:

My views on Cucurella have undergone a volte face over the past month. I had originally been in favour of giving him time to overcome his difficulties, but his inadequacies of last season haven't gone away and are so many and varied (and more importantly in contrast to the skill, application and footballing intelligence exhibited by some of our new recruits and academy graduates), that I think he would be better off going.

Cucurella has spoke about the difference in pressure playing for Chelsea and that's taken some adjusting too. I still think he's worth keeping because, like I said before, people are baying for his mistakes while simultaneously ignoring the actual good moments he has. Prime example being this match here, where he was pretty solid outside of that one moment in which they scored, where he wasn't necessarily the only one at fault when you break the whole passage of play down. 

We're also still yet to see Maatsen play fullback, which will hopefully happen in one of the remaining pre-season games. 

[Rob B]

4 hours ago, xceleryx said:

Cucurella has spoke about the difference in pressure playing for Chelsea and that's taken some adjusting too. I still think he's worth keeping because, like I said before, people are baying for his mistakes while simultaneously ignoring the actual good moments he has. Prime example being this match here, where he was pretty solid outside of that one moment in which they scored, where he wasn't necessarily the only one at fault when you break the whole passage of play down. 

We're also still yet to see Maatsen play fullback, which will hopefully happen in one of the remaining pre-season games. 

I think there’s a difference between not making a mistake (ie solid) and actually being good though right ?

Honestly can’t really remember any good moments from Cucurella in the last 12 months, but I’ve seen 2 or 3 from Maatsen in the last 10 days alone. 

[Bison]

14 hours ago, RDCW said:

My views on Cucurella have undergone a volte face over the past month. I had originally been in favour of giving him time to overcome his difficulties, but his inadequacies of last season haven't gone away and are so many and varied (and more importantly in contrast to the skill, application and footballing intelligence exhibited by some of our new recruits and academy graduates), that I think he would be better off going.

Thr most infuriating thing is how he squares up to attackers as they are dribbling. His stance is entirely wrong, he ends up flat footed and is easy to beat. Horrendous defending.

[RDCW]

6 hours ago, xceleryx said:

Cucurella has spoke about the difference in pressure playing for Chelsea and that's taken some adjusting too. I still think he's worth keeping because, like I said before, people are baying for his mistakes while simultaneously ignoring the actual good moments he has. Prime example being this match here, where he was pretty solid outside of that one moment in which they scored, where he wasn't necessarily the only one at fault when you break the whole passage of play down. 

We're also still yet to see Maatsen play fullback, which will hopefully happen in one of the remaining pre-season games. 

The problem is that Cucurella's mistakes are directly leading to our conceding goals. When that happens consistently it becomes a major issue. I would also question the assertion that he is generally competent. He appears positionally chaotic and his decision making is erratic. I guess in the end we have to trust Poch's judgement.

[Bison]

Was really impressed with him.

[Ham]

1 hour ago, Bison said:

Was really impressed with him.

Yup.  Forget his age.  Look at what he's been doing against top 6 PL teams these last two games.  Brilliant against Wrexham too.  

He's ready.  

[Bison]

7 minutes ago, Ham said:

Yup.  Forget his age.  Look at what he's been doing against top 6 PL teams these last two games.  Brilliant against Wrexham too.  

He's ready.  

Based on what we've seen so far he's more than capable of being 4th/5th choice CB although it'd be more beneficial for everybody if he got another loan in before returning. A Premier League loan would be amazing. 

[Backbiter]

3 hours ago, Bison said:

Was really impressed with him.

Me too. This was the first time I've seen him ( was on holiday for the first two friendlies). 

One thing I noticed watching on Sky was that the commentators seemed to ignore him when he was in possession, and barely mentioned him in the first half. I think they were too busy raving about Almiron.

[xceleryx]

18 hours ago, Bison said:

Based on what we've seen so far he's more than capable of being 4th/5th choice CB although it'd be more beneficial for everybody if he got another loan in before returning. A Premier League loan would be amazing. 

He's good in possession, although the clip doesn't show his completely blind pass back he played in the first half that could've ended badly, or some of the poor defensive positions he took up particularly when we conceded. Overall though he looks good for his age, can't question that. Would absolutely loan him out regardless though, don't think staying here in a 4th or 5th choice capacity would benefit him as much as playing regularly at Championship level.  Can't see a Premier League club taking a completely untried CB on and then giving him enough games. 

Edited July 29, 2023 by xceleryx