Official: Chelsea sign Enzo Fernandez on an Eight and a Half Year Contract

[Mark Kelly]

12 minutes ago, ROTG said:

Whatever,

I do use my eyes without rose the need of rose tinted glasses 

can you highlight something Enzo has done in the past 3 games which was a game changer? I will leave it to you if you want to respond 

Probably best to revisit at the halfway mark of the season. 
 

BTW: your statement about ignoring stats contradicts the way the club recruits players these days including the recruitment of Enzo. 

What about his lofted pass to get Sterling away to set up Jackson against Luton?  That definitely changed the game as Luton were all over us prior to the third goal killing the game? 

[Ham]

42 minutes ago, Mark Kelly said:

What about his lofted pass to get Sterling away to set up Jackson against Luton?  That definitely changed the game as Luton were all over us prior to the third goal killing the game? 

Simply keeping possession constantly under heavy pressing is game changing. Lose possession and we're in trouble. 

It's not all about assists. 

[ROTG]

44 minutes ago, Mark Kelly said:

What about his lofted pass to get Sterling away to set up Jackson against Luton?  That definitely changed the game as Luton were all over us prior to the third goal killing the game? 

Ok. 
not sure that’s a game changer when winning. 
anyway time to stay away from this particular thread and maybe revisit it halfway through the season. 

[kev61]

13 hours ago, Mark Kelly said:

What about his lofted pass to get Sterling away to set up Jackson against Luton?  That definitely changed the game as Luton were all over us prior to the third goal killing the game? 

I suppose people will say it was a proper assist by Sterling  and everything that went before was just a normal pass of play...which it was.

[kev61]

13 hours ago, Ham said:

Simply keeping possession constantly under heavy pressing is game changing. Lose possession and we're in trouble. 

It's not all about assists. 

The problem is we keep possession for the sake if it.

Trying to keep possession at the back is futile and puts any team under pressure.

I am yet to he convinced of any merit in playing out from the back.

[Thiago97]

2 hours ago, kev61 said:

The problem is we keep possession for the sake if it.

Trying to keep possession at the back is futile and puts any team under pressure.

I am yet to he convinced of any merit in playing out from the back.

There certainly is merit in it, but it does rely on having the right players to make it work well. I think we are slowly getting there with this and we now have players who are more suited to this. So whilst for long periods of the last 2 years we have not looked very good playing out from the back, I would expect to see a change in this over the next few months.

Caicedo is going to be a key player in this. You only had to watch Brighton closely last season to see what the benefits of playing this way are. He was often used as the player who they looked for when playing out from the back with vertical passes, as he has the technical skill to receive the ball in these areas, but also the ability to turn at pace with the ball and evade the opposition press, or make quick passes and turn again to play and receive one/two's and open up the space again.

Enzo is obviously very technically adapt and skillful player, whilst I have not seen much of Lavia. It is clear he is a player with a high technical level. Then you have Disasi who whilst questions marks over him early on, he is comfortable playing vertical passes and Colwill is also a good passer.

So we have 3-4 new additions who upgrade and improve our ability in playing out from the back. This is also why some of my comments on Gallagher may appear harsh, because he is the one player in there that has his struggles with this. He lacks the technique to receive and play the ball at the required speed, or maneouvre past a player to create further space,which just slows everything down by split seconds. He has put in some energy and desire in every game though and improved with each performance so far, so it feels harsh to knock him. It just stands out that he does not quite possess the skills in this area.

Anyway, i will stop there Kev as I know you hate these type of posts, but I just wanted to try and explain why we should improve playing out from the back and what the benefits will be . If done well with the right players, we will be able to turn the opposition when we are pressed and open up more space, by potentially having 4-5 opponents players ahead of the ball.

[My Blood Is Blue]

https://www.instagram.com/reel/CwesFRqsQIA/?igshid=MzRlODBiNWFlZA==
 

Love this.

[Sciatika]

People will only moan that he took three touches rather than the obligatory one.

[xceleryx]

47 minutes ago, My Blood Is Blue said:

https://www.instagram.com/reel/CwesFRqsQIA/?igshid=MzRlODBiNWFlZA==
 

Love this.

It's such a classy passage of play.

Like, the ball is played down the inside channel and he takes his first touch with his back towards the play ahead. Conventionally you'd try to turn away towards the sideline, yet Enzo's first touch, turn and flick all goes back towards the oncoming defender that's closing him down. To then volley the pass ahead of Sterling, perfectly weighted without and without looking up, absolute class. 

Some don't quite appreciate the skill involved in doing all of this, and so smoothly at that. Boggles me. 

[Ham]

7 hours ago, kev61 said:

I suppose people will say it was a proper assist by Sterling  and everything that went before was just a normal pass of play...which it was.

"Normal pass of play"

Kev61 - 28 August 2023

[Mark Kelly]

29 minutes ago, Ham said:

"Normal pass of play"

Kev61 - 28 August 2023

Indeed. 

[boratsbrother]

Last season.

KDB - 16 assists and scored 10 goals. Gundogan - 6 assists and 11 goals.

Those are the numbers we should be looking for from Enzo for him to deserve to be called an elite player.

Does he have the technical skill to deliver much higher numbers?  I think he does, but it's up to him to produce them. If he doesn't, then he'll end up being little more than a talented, flashy player with little to show for it terms of  playing a big part in winning games for his team.

Only time will tell!

 

[Mark Kelly]

11 minutes ago, boratsbrother said:

Last season.

KDB - 16 assists and scored 10 goals. Gundogan - 6 assists and 11 goals.

Those are the numbers we should be looking for from Enzo for him to deserve to be called an elite player.

Does he have the technical skill to deliver much higher numbers?  I think he does, but it's up to him to produce them. If he doesn't, then he'll end up being little more than a talented, flashy player with little to show for it terms of  playing a big part in winning games for his team.

Only time will tell!

 

Look at who they had playing centre forward .

We had Havertz , possibly one of the worst players we've ever signed .

We have a proper centre forward now , plus Sterling has worked hard ensuring he's at his absolute best .

I'm confident Enzos stats will prove what the eye already knows by the end of the season.

[McCreadie]

Comparing last season’s Enzo and de Bruyne is folly of the very highest order.

[chara]

5 hours ago, Ham said:

"Normal pass of play"

Kev61 - 28 August 2023

I dream that becomes THE NORM!

[kev61]

13 hours ago, Ham said:

"Normal pass of play"

Kev61 - 28 August 2023

From a skill point of  view it was good but not 'exceptiona'l.As a regular occurrence from Enzo it was 'exceptional'.

Don't get me wrong he looks a decent prospect and could be the midfield general we have been looking for - I'm just not convinced...yet.

[xceleryx]

19 hours ago, boratsbrother said:

Last season.

KDB - 16 assists and scored 10 goals. Gundogan - 6 assists and 11 goals.

Those are the numbers we should be looking for from Enzo for him to deserve to be called an elite player.

Does he have the technical skill to deliver much higher numbers?  I think he does, but it's up to him to produce them. If he doesn't, then he'll end up being little more than a talented, flashy player with little to show for it terms of  playing a big part in winning games for his team.

Only time will tell!

Not everything has to be about goals and assists either.

Modric's only ever clocked more than 5 assists in a La Liga campaign in 5 of his 12 seasons there I believe, and he's also never been a prolific goalscorer either. You certainly wouldn't discredit his quality because he's not swimming in two statistical areas that are hugely dependant on the role being asked to perform. And he's had some of the finest players in support to play with.

Enzo's someone that'll instigate a lot of good play, collecting hockey assists if you will, rather than seeing his own goal and assist columns profit directly. He's not anything like a KDB, Gundogan or Bruno so they're terrible comparisons to be making initially.

[xceleryx]

 

[Willian Dollar Baby]

45 minutes ago, xceleryx said:

 

What a special player. If Caicedo performs as expected we've got an incredibly good midfield. Still failing to see the point of signing Lavia. 

[paulw66]

15 minutes ago, Willian Dollar Baby said:

What a special player. If Caicedo performs as expected we've got an incredibly good midfield. Still failing to see the point of signing Lavia. 

I can see us playing all 3, especially in the tougher fixtures. 

[Willian Dollar Baby]

1 hour ago, paulw66 said:

I can see us playing all 3, especially in the tougher fixtures. 

Sure and i do think Lavia is a great prospect, it just feels a bit overkill. This a job that Gallagher, Ugochukwu or Andrey Santos could easily do, especially with no Europe this season. 

We now have Enzo (22), Caicedo (21), Lavia (19), Gallagher (23), Ugochuckwo (19), Andre Santos (19), Carney (19) and Casadei (20). Assuming once fit that Nkunku plays as a 10, that's 8 players for 2 positions all below the age of 23. At least a few of these are being used purely as profit makers. 

Edited August 29, 2023 by Willian Dollar Baby

[paulw66]

16 minutes ago, Willian Dollar Baby said:

Sure and i do think Lavia is a great prospect, it just feels a bit overkill. This a job that Gallagher, Ugochukwu or Andrey Santos could easily do, especially with no Europe this season. 

We now have Enzo (22), Caicedo (21), Lavia (19), Gallagher (23), Ugochuckwo (19), Andre Santos (19), Carney (19) and Casadei (20). Assuming once fit that Nkunku plays as a 10, that's 8 players for 2 positions all below the age of 23. At least a few of these are being used purely as profit makers. 

Well, I see both Casadei and Carney playing further forward. If it is a 4231 for most games, the competition of the "2" is Enzo, Caicedo, Lavia, Gallagher, Santos, Ugochukwu which is still 6 players for 2 positions.

In the tougher games, I can see more of a 433

[paulw66]

23 hours ago, Ham said:

"Normal pass of play"

Kev61 - 28 August 2023

You see those ten times a game, mate.

 

 

When you play FIFA.

[paulw66]

17 hours ago, McCreadie said:

Comparing last season’s Enzo and de Bruyne is folly of the very highest order.

That doesn't stop anyone.

[Willian Dollar Baby]

Just now, paulw66 said:

Well, I see both Casadei and Carney playing further forward. If it is a 4231 for most games, the competition of the "2" is Enzo, Caicedo, Lavia, Gallagher, Santos, Ugochukwu which is still 6 players for 2 positions.

In the tougher games, I can see more of a 433

If if's 4231 they're then in competition with Nkunku. The Lavia money could have been spent better elsewhere either on an elite forward or top Goalkeeper. I also don't like that a midfield three of Lavia, Enzo and Caicedo has very little height or goal threat.