Chelsea 2 Crystal Palace 1

[Chelsea_Matt]

24 minutes ago, Proud-Blue said:

Relieved we won the game. 

In the first half I thought we were quite good. I was surprised that Palace played such a high line, but maybe that's just a sign teams like them think they can beat us? Regardless, we looked much better when we had more space to pass into but still didn't really take full advantage of it. That was a chance to use Mudryk's pace more. Clyne would never have kept up with him.

After looking quite dangerous in the first half we reverted to type in the second. Same slow build-up, lack of ideas, barely testing their keeper. This isn't a coincidence; Palace dropped their line a few yards. It is deeply concerning that we can be blunted by such a simple football tactic.

Honestly, if we had not been awarded the penalty, I cannot see how we would have scored. You need a set piece or an outrageous amount of luck to beat teams playing deep with the way we attack. See Newcastle for another example where Trippier gave us a goal.

Badiashile is struggling. I love the guy, but I think that Newcastle error has really hurt his confidence. Might he time to take him out of the limelight for a bit. He'll be back to his best soon.

This said, there were plenty of positives too. Gusto was fantastic and needs to be starting. Mudryk is definitely improving and Gallagher was once again immense.

I also thought Lavia looked good. I think some people expected him to just be a shield for Enzo and Caicedo, but his needle throughballs are actually promising and something he did at Southampton too. He could be quite important for helping us resolve our low block issue if he gets the right movement in front of him.

 Finally, Nkunku. He's going to be crucial for us. Some of those passes he played today were sublime. Need to keep him fit at all costs.

So overall, relief, and a few things to work on. I hope the lads are ready because Luton away is going to be a battle. 

Yeah, Lavia showed potential. For £50m I hope he makes it!

[NoblyBobly]

3 hours ago, SideshowLuiz said:

Jackson is off to AFCON soon, isn't he? Hopefully some time away in a new environment will do him (and the remaining players) some good.

Oh no!! It’s like missing Drogba all over again 😧

[ROTG]

1 hour ago, thevelourfog said:

Please get a decent result against Luton, lads.

Sums up perfectly where the club is. 

[boratsbrother]

10 hours ago, Ham said:

Worth mentioning that whilst Jackson was pony as a number 9, he was very good creatively throughout.  

Credit where it's due.  

Agree!

Also like the fact that he isn't hiding after missing so many easy chances this season. He keeps getting himself into very good goal scoring positions, which is half the battle for any CF forward. 

But for his poor finishing and Stevie Wonder eyes for the offside line, he could very easily be on 12+ goals already this season, All it's going to take to turn him into a 20 + goals a season player is more compusre and confidence when his chances arrive and work on  his offside problems.  I'm confident that with time he'll fix thosr issues and could be a very handy player in a year or so.

[ROTG]

52 minutes ago, Chelsea_Matt said:

Yeah, Lavia showed potential. For £50m I hope he makes it!

For £50m, hopefully you get a rough diamond that requires polishing and not an unpolished turd 

[boratsbrother]

5 minutes ago, ROTG said:

Sums up perfectly where the club is. 

Yes, but for 1000th time, this is not a team for this season or probably the next one too. We are building a completely new team which is obviously going to take time. 

I don't know about you but I can see promise of the team starting to take shape.

Don't want to jinx anyone, but it looks like we've found a steady keeper. Gusto is highly promising for a 20 year old.  Gallagher has improved beyond all recognition and was like a one man midfield last night. Almost like the days when people said there were two Kante's on the pitch. He was that good! Mudryk improving and looking like he has a football brain after all. Nkunku has quality. Though missing sitters at the moment, Jackson has that great natural forwards ability to keep putting himself into good goal scoring positions. 

Still a lot of work to do over the next year or so but that's half a team with real potential there already. Of course I'd love us to up there right now but I'm realistic about the job in hand.

 

 

[Max Fowler]

Fair play Mudders yesterday- I thought he played pretty well overall. One of his best games so far for us 👍

[ROTG]

22 minutes ago, boratsbrother said:

Yes, but for 1000th time, this is not a team for this season or probably the next one too. We are building a completely new team which is obviously going to take time. 

I don't know about you but I can see promise of the team starting to take shape.

Don't want to jinx anyone, but it looks like we've found a steady keeper. Gusto is highly promising for a 20 year old.  Gallagher has improved beyond all recognition and was like a one man midfield last night. Almost like the days when people said there were two Kante's on the pitch. He was that good! Mudryk improving and looking like he has a football brain after all. Nkunku has quality. Though missing sitters at the moment, Jackson has that great natural forwards ability to keep putting himself into good goal scoring positions. 

Still a lot of work to do over the next year or so but that's half a team with real potential there already. Of course I'd love us to up there right now but I'm realistic about the job in hand.

 

 

Sorry however, if any player does turn out to be diamond, do you really believe they will hang around on the project for another 3 years?

Let’s put it like this, the player may have some allegiance to the club, however  there is no way their agent is going let them languish at the club when there is money to be made.  

Edited December 28, 2023 by ROTG

[Mark Kelly]

23 minutes ago, ROTG said:

Sorry however, if any player does turn out to be diamond, do you really believe they will hang around on the project for another 3 years?

Let’s put it like this, the player may have some allegiance to the club, however  there is no way their agent is going let them languish at the club when there is money to be made.  

Why aren't players leaving Arsenal or Spurs or West Ham or Newcastle ?

None of those clubs have won anything of note for years!

[Backbiter]

10 hours ago, Bigpokey24 said:

We need to search far and wide for a player like this. 

 

What a shock to see it was Mike Dean who sent him off (ridiculously) at Old Trafford.

Very good compilation showing what he brought to the team as a classic holding midfielder. 

[ROTG]

3 minutes ago, Mark Kelly said:

Why aren't players leaving Arsenal or Spurs or West Ham or Newcastle ?

None of those clubs have won anything of note for years!

Spuds - Kane exit £100m

Arse - Playing CL football keep all and sundry happy. 

Newcastle - EH one hit wonder, if the rott continues EH wil go in the summer and the owners will hire a top Coach. 
 

West Ham - Rice exit £100m Europa league is that the level chelsea should aspire too

[paulw66]

1 hour ago, boratsbrother said:

Agree!

Also like the fact that he isn't hiding after missing so many easy chances this season. He keeps getting himself into very good goal scoring positions, which is half the battle for any CF forward. 

But for his poor finishing and Stevie Wonder eyes for the offside line, he could very easily be on 12+ goals already this season, All it's going to take to turn him into a 20 + goals a season player is more compusre and confidence when his chances arrive and work on  his offside problems.  I'm confident that with time he'll fix thosr issues and could be a very handy player in a year or so.

This sums it up well, really. Not his fault that he really should be an understudy to a much more experienced no9, but there is plenty to work with.

Shame he was 6 inches offside, as he took the goal well, and like you say, not hiding.

[Chelsea_Matt]

1 minute ago, paulw66 said:

This sums it up well, really. Not his fault that he really should be an understudy to a much more experienced no9, but there is plenty to work with.

Shame he was 6 inches offside, as he took the goal well, and like you say, not hiding.

Deserves credit for not hiding but that miss was appalling. 

[Dwmh]

45 minutes ago, Mark Kelly said:

Why aren't players leaving Arsenal or Spurs or West Ham or Newcastle ?

None of those clubs have won anything of note for years!

because it feels like they might.
(Excluding spurs of course where their talisman just left)

[Mark Kelly]

1 hour ago, Dwmh said:

because it feels like they might.
(Excluding spurs of course where their talisman just left)

Not to me it doesn't 

[NoblyBobly]

2 hours ago, ROTG said:

Sorry however, if any player does turn out to be diamond, do you really believe they will hang around on the project for another 3 years?

Let’s put it like this, the player may have some allegiance to the club, however  there is no way their agent is going let them languish at the club when there is money to be made.  

Maybe it wasn’t such a bad idea putting the new buys on 8 year contracts then? 

[Proud-Blue]

3 hours ago, boratsbrother said:

Yes, but for 1000th time, this is not a team for this season or probably the next one too. We are building a completely new team which is obviously going to take time. 

I don't know about you but I can see promise of the team starting to take shape.

Don't want to jinx anyone, but it looks like we've found a steady keeper. Gusto is highly promising for a 20 year old.  Gallagher has improved beyond all recognition and was like a one man midfield last night. Almost like the days when people said there were two Kante's on the pitch. He was that good! Mudryk improving and looking like he has a football brain after all. Nkunku has quality. Though missing sitters at the moment, Jackson has that great natural forwards ability to keep putting himself into good goal scoring positions. 

Still a lot of work to do over the next year or so but that's half a team with real potential there already. Of course I'd love us to up there right now but I'm realistic about the job in hand.

 

 

Great post.

I think a balance can be struck between feeling frustrated about what have been some definite avoidable failings while also seeing some genuine improvement and promise.

To be honest,  I definitely expected better from the players and manager this season as a whole, even though I acknowledge this is a team built for the future. 

I actually think the main issue is they've done it too fast. We needed a phased transition with one or two more experienced heads either signed or kept. Evolution not revolution, so to speak.

For me, the main obstacles are mental rather than to do with ability in most cases. That's going to take a few signings of experienced players with some personality, mental development of existing players, and excellent coaching.  Might be worth finding some world class sports psychologists too.

Regarding players wanting to leave... I am not overly concerned as long as progress is made. If it isn't, those players will struggle to find suitors above us. The only thing I can't comment on is FFP and whether that would necessitate sales. 

Even though there are some understandable frustrations, and I've had a fair few meltdowns this season(!), it is important to look at some positives. The ceiling of many individuals in this team is high. We just need to work on creating a proper team out of them.

 

[paulw66]

Apologies if this has been posted, but just read that was our youngest starting XI in our top flight history. Average age 22.

[SideshowLuiz]

8 minutes ago, paulw66 said:

Apologies if this has been posted, but just read that was our youngest starting XI in our top flight history. Average age 22.

Apparently 8th youngest in league history. All because Silva was on the bench!

[CarefreeMuratcan]

46 minutes ago, paulw66 said:

Apologies if this has been posted, but just read that was our youngest starting XI in our top flight history. Average age 22.

 

38 minutes ago, SideshowLuiz said:

Apparently 8th youngest in league history. All because Silva was on the bench!

I recall hearing the commentators mention this and it does put all our frustrations in context, if we assume the boys will develop to their potential. It's just going to be a frustrating couple of years at first until they learn, gel and hit their peaks.

Now considering how we have been playing overall (which hasn't been that in my opinion, we just haven't been taking our chances) then that means, as a long term project, we are on the right track. Again, assuming all these young men have further potential ceilings they will evolve into.

[ROTG]

1 hour ago, paulw66 said:

Apologies if this has been posted, but just read that was our youngest starting XI in our top flight history. Average age 22.

Typical no Alan Hansen when needed 😀

[CarefreeMuratcan]

4 hours ago, ROTG said:

Sorry however, if any player does turn out to be diamond, do you really believe they will hang around on the project for another 3 years?

Let’s put it like this, the player may have some allegiance to the club, however  there is no way their agent is going let them languish at the club when there is money to be made.  

If that's the case there will be money to be made for us as well. Win-win.

[ROTG]

6 minutes ago, CarefreeMuratcan said:

If that's the case there will be money to be made for us as well. Win-win.

No. 
I doubt any team will give the club the money back on an of the £80m - £120m purchases. All they will do is tap the money player and agent up until the club sells because the  player says he wants to move on.

Sound familiar ?

Edited December 28, 2023 by ROTG

[Dwmh]

1 hour ago, CarefreeMuratcan said:

Now considering how we have been playing overall (which hasn't been that in my opinion, we just haven't been taking our chances) then that means, as a long term project, we are on the right track. Again, assuming all these young men have further potential ceilings they will evolve into.

If you mean there may be some value in the players I agree.
If you mean there is any intelligence in the people that run the club - then just the opposite.
The tiny squad (only 20 o21s are registered out of the permitted 25 and 4 are GKs and several haven't been available all season) is entirely self-inflicted.
Kicking out the experience and replacing it with more kids was not a VAR or FA decision, it was a club decision.

For me that makes the situation more precarious.  Would anyone seriously want to send off any of our starts to a club that had not experienced players in it?  and if not WTF are they doing at Chelsea if we want to develop them?

[Dwmh]

37 minutes ago, ROTG said:

No. 
I doubt any team will give the club the money back on an of the £80m - £120m purchases. All they will do is tap the money player and agent up until the club sells because the  player says he wants to move on.

Sound familiar ?

Luka Who?