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Chelsea 2020-2021: Campeones de Europa


ztejas

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14 minutes ago, TexArcher said:

Who's available that we'd want for even half a season?  If we're gonna move on from Frank this summer, so be it, but right now it feels like a really bad idea.

I think the matrix at this point has probably boiled down to - does this team play any worse with an interim? I find that hard to beleive but anything is possible. ManU has had decent success with Ole. 

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1 hour ago, MoJames said:

Suggests we have Tuchel wrapped up?

I think so. 

51 minutes ago, morehornsepower said:

but...just feels like he should have been given at least to season's end. 

I might agree that as a club we could have waited to let the FA and CL play out - but in terms of what he should or shouldn't have been given he was given plenty of time. This is the most wide open PL race in awhile and we are struggling to even contend for a 4th spot after finishing 4th last season with a young side and spending tens of millions over the transfer window. Frank getting us to another CL bid would have been a miracle. I think we're probably more likely to string something together under a new manager but it's probably still a long shot. 

Edited by ztejas
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8 minutes ago, ztejas said:

I might agree that as a club we could have waited to let the FA and CL play out - but in terms of what he should or shouldn't have been given he was given plenty of time. This is the most wide open PL race in awhile and we are struggling to even contend for a 4th spot after finishing 4th last season with a young side and spending tens of millions over the transfer window. Frank getting us to another CL bid would have been a miracle. I think we're probably more likely to string something together under a new manager but it's probably still a long shot. 

Fair enough.  Frank (the player) was literally the reason I started following Chelsea...and I really hoped he would be successful leading the club. :(

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7 minutes ago, morehornsepower said:

Fair enough.  Frank (the player) was literally the reason I started following Chelsea...and I really hoped he would be successful leading the club. :(

Maybe he'll be back. His first job never should have been Chelsea. He has too much to learn I think. 

If it is Tuchel - I think that's a decent hire. Pulisic spent a couple years under him at BvB. He obviously speaks ze German. Young but has a lot of big club experience already and did some good things at PSG.

Also - stick around and join the discussion here. Sometimes it's just me talking to myself. 

Edited by ztejas
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1 hour ago, crash_davis said:

Werner and Havertz completely sucking got Lamp sacked. I don't think anyone thought both would struggle as bad as they have. 

Just think, Chelsea made top 4 in spite of Kepa last season.

It's an odd combination of those two underperforming and us having no semblance of a midfield to control the game. 

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36 minutes ago, MoJames said:

It's an odd combination of those two underperforming and us having no semblance of a midfield to control the game. 

A lot of inconsistency and regression around that, too. Not all of which is Lamp's fault. The back 4 has barely improved despite being much better on paper. We haven't developed any meaningful or consistent pairings up front - whether that be Tammy/Pulisic, Tammy/Werner, Giroud/CHO etc. - even when you do factor in injuries.

Too many wtf goals conceded. Too many wtf stretches where we can't even get a shot on goal. And just a general lack of identity in all 3 phases. 

23 minutes ago, TexArcher said:

And I don't think anybody else is getting this club above 6th this season.

We are at worst 9 points out of 4th through 19. Doable but like I said above pretty unlikely regardless of who's managing. But - the way this season has gone - really all we might need to do is pick up some points against top clubs and stop pissing points away against weaker sides and it could happen. I don't see us vaulting either of the Mans or LC - but Pool is a mess, it remains to be seen if Everton can keep it up and Tottenham is, well, you know the jokes.

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45 minutes ago, TexArcher said:

I'm also sad to see Super Frank go.  And I still think he's got a bright managerial future somewhere.

And I don't think anybody else is getting this club above 6th this season.

This sucks.

Nah, we gonna get top four. Or maybe 5th with Tottenham 4th and we will win the Champions League.

Edited by MoJames
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32 minutes ago, ztejas said:

We are at worst 9 points out of 4th through 19. Doable but like I said above pretty unlikely regardless of who's managing. But - the way this season has gone - really all we might need to do is pick up some points against top clubs and stop pissing points away against weaker sides and it could happen. I don't see us vaulting either of the Mans or LC - but Pool is a mess, it remains to be seen if Everton can keep it up and Tottenham is, well, you know the jokes.

Right.  We just need to become a significantly better side immediately.  I just don't see a managerial change accomplishing that.  This team has a lot of flaws and a lot of youth.

I'm open to being wrong.  I hope I'm wrong. 

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3 minutes ago, TexArcher said:

Right.  We just need to become a significantly better side immediately.  I just don't see a managerial change accomplishing that.  This team has a lot of flaws and a lot of youth.

I'm open to being wrong.  I hope I'm wrong. 

How many of those flaws are base, roster level flaws and how many are managerial? Obviously we will find out pretty quickly - I think upper management is banking on more of our flaws being of the latter category. 

Sure we are not perfectly constructed but we are more than talented enough to where top 4-5 should be the floor - not middle of the table struggling for points against Fulham and getting dusted by Wolves. 

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16 minutes ago, ztejas said:

How many of those flaws are base, roster level flaws and how many are managerial? Obviously we will find out pretty quickly - I think upper management is banking on more of our flaws being of the latter category. 

Sure we are not perfectly constructed but we are more than talented enough to where top 4-5 should be the floor - not middle of the table struggling for points against Fulham and getting dusted by Wolves. 

I mean, I agree that on paper, from the start of the season, this should've been a 3rd or 4th place side.

But making up 9 points in 17 matches with a bunch of units in shambles is a huge ask.

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5 minutes ago, TexArcher said:

I mean, I agree that on paper, from the start of the season, this should've been a 3rd or 4th place side.

But making up 9 points in 17 matches with a bunch of units in shambles is a huge ask.

19 matches unless something has changed.

I think we are mostly agreeing with each other. I'm of the mind that a lot of our flaws/issues might resolve quickly under a new manager - but that's wishful thinking and I understand if that sentiment isn't shared.

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I know Frank had very little managerial experience anyway, but have there been many managers that succeed moving from the Champions League to the Premier?

(As a Norwich fan also, it's been frustrating seeing that team (and Farkle most recently) kill it in the lower league...and just fall apart on the bigger stage.  Norwich has spent the last decade+ going back and forth between the two... :/)

 

As for Chelsea, we've got plenty of amazing talent....as Longhorn fans, we've all seen how that doesn't always make for a good overall team though...maybe Frank didn't have the skills to pull them all together.  Getting Rice would help...but man, how much money are we going to spend?

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Chelsea is 6th in goal differential at +10. They are 9th in goals against. They are tied with Tot at 4th for goals for. They are scoring a lot of goals, just not when it counts.

On paper, they are doing ok on defense and good at scoring. The issue is that they can't score or defend against the top teams. That leads me to believe it may be mostly tactical and on Frank.

But Pul (injury), Havertz, Abrams, Giroud, and Werner are not showing up against the better teams so it's on them too. 

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12 minutes ago, morehornsepower said:

Anyone have a good streaming link? :(

http://www.footybite.tv/watch/sports-hd1

We look more settled. Less aggressive. Which has its pros and cons but I think it's what we've needed lately to keep some counters out of the back of the net. 

Glad Pulisic is getting rest. I thought everyone was fine in the first - no real standouts. We need Kante back. Not that I've had a problem with Jorg today but he is such a stabilizing presence that should help all of these young guys that are still adjusting (Havertz) or maybe a bit out of form (Wener, Pulisic).

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Wolves had some nice saves and played very solid D most of the match. We just weren't dangerous enough. Looked better with CP and Mount down that right side - wish they could have gone for longer today. I'm sure Tuchel was thrilled to see their mins played. Pulisic was over 700' in our last 9 and Mount has played 90' in every PL contest since October 24th. I feel like TT kind of had to hit the reset button and figure out what he has to work with. Was James fit for today or was he given some rest as well? I know he's been in and out.

Nothing wrong with a point today but ultimately disappointing. 

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Missed the whole game this morning...

Spoiler

Just in case someone hasn't seen yet.  Good result!

- Possession & shots stats make it look like we just dominated the entire game.

- The 3421 didn't seem to help our attackers, but somehow our defenders came through.

- Werner added to his offsides and miss tallies.  :/

 

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5 hours ago, morehornsepower said:

Missed the whole game this morning...

  Hide contents

Just in case someone hasn't seen yet.  Good result!

- Possession & shots stats make it look like we just dominated the entire game.

- The 3421 didn't seem to help our attackers, but somehow our defenders came through.

- Werner added to his offsides and miss tallies.  :/

 

Tuchel said as much - about dominating the flow. I didn't watch either. Great to see Azpi and Alonso find the back. Alonso's goal in particular was phenomenal. Pulisic played a great ball right into his chest and he had two perfect touches before volleying it right where the keeper couldn't get it.

https://streamwo.com/a5e1e665

Apparently our attackers couldn't hit the broad side of a barn - but sometimes that happens - the rest of the team showed up and got the result. Playing 3 back seems like a good look with Alonso on the field as it lets him play a bit more naturally in midfield (or wing-back - I struggle with positions sometimes) - and it proved to be the right decision. 

Reece also got to play MF (WB?) coming in for CHO. Some of these different looks are something that we have been pining for for awhile now. The 4-4-3* was starting to feel and look really uninspired. 

Edited by ztejas
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So, we have a nice little run of games here to get things rolling with Tuchel.

Tottenham on Thursday is the only one we shouldn't be favored in and they are a bit of a mess lately themselves.

After that we get Sheffield (20th), Newcastle (15th) and Southampton (11th) with a 5th round against Barnsley in the FA mixed in.

Then it gets interesting.

Atletico > Man U > Everton > Leeds > Atletico > Liverpool

The timing of the move made a bunch of sense but even more now that you look at the schedule. If he gets us going again and we put a nice little run of games together we could be right in the middle of the top 4 race rolling into April.

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31 minutes ago, MoJames said:

So, we have a nice little run of games here to get things rolling with Tuchel.

Tottenham on Thursday is the only one we shouldn't be favored in and they are a bit of a mess lately themselves.

After that we get Sheffield (20th), Newcastle (15th) and Southampton (11th) with a 5th round against Barnsley in the FA mixed in.

Then it gets interesting.

Atletico > Man U > Everton > Leeds > Atletico > Liverpool

The timing of the move made a bunch of sense but even more now that you look at the schedule. If he gets us going again and we put a nice little run of games together we could be right in the middle of the top 4 race rolling into April.

We'll need some help on top of stringing some nice results together, but we're only 6 pts back as is.

I think part of the timing too is not binning our CL chance. 

Edited by ztejas
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On 2/2/2021 at 1:09 PM, ztejas said:

We'll need some help on top of stringing some nice results together, but we're only 6 pts back as is.

I think part of the timing too is not binning our CL chance. 

Makes sense.  I hadn't noticed the layout of the schedule before.  Big test today, with very little time on the job...

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  • ztejas changed the title to Chelsea 2020-2021: Campeones de Europa

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