Southampton team selection will be interesting.

Here's my team, so easy knowing bugger all and based on watching games and guessing.

Mendy
Dave Silva Rudiger
CHO Jorghino, Kovacic Alonso
Mount Werner Ziyech.


Here's my team as manager, knowing even less but hoping like buggery.

Mendy
James Silva Zouma
CHO Kovacic Gilmour Mount
Havertz Werner Pulisic

 

Agree with both line ups to be fair, glad to see you resisted putting Giroud in because Bednarek and Westergard will eat him for breakfast. We will be coming up against 2 former players in Bertrand and Romeu if they are fit.

 

Yeah, it looks like another really interesting run out, whoever starts for us.
Southampton have had a rough run recently, as did we, Liverpool, City and Utd at various stages, which suggests this in not a normal season.
Have to say the new Manager has re invigorated my interest in how we play, and I do get the feeling that we might just become a lot more lethal in the near future. If Kante, Havertz, Ziyech and Pulisic show the kind of improvement Werner and Kovacic have made, look out !!!

 

The Saints are on the worst run of anyone since Sheff Utd atm 6 league games straight beaten including a 9-0 embarrassment.

 

Yep, weird really, they fell to pieces that day, but they did look OK for many games and played some nice football under their manager.

 

Another game, the same pattern, and we look little different from Franks team.
Had all the possession 1st half, but as usual almost all the passing was sideways or backwards, absolutely no attacking thoughts from any of the back 3.That's by far our biggest problem without Silva, absolutely nothing starts from the back, just turgid, dull side passes.
We then fell for the sucker punch, beautifully done by the Japanese player, got a penalty from another going nowhere goal area scramble, and equalised.
Second half we walked, and side passed our way through 45 mins with zero attacking flair or directness, just as we did with Frank in charge.
No point elaborating on who was good or poor, really the same players as usual put in , Mount, Kante, Werner were best Tammy was back to "Almost " Tammy again and CHO was off pace. Not impressed with Tuchels' public slagging of players, reflects poorly on man management skills.I'd score the Manager a 3 on that showing, less than the 5s' I'd give Abraham and CHO. Audi needs to stand in front of his mirror and slag himself off as well.

 

On a wet and drizzly summers day , I watched the Southampton game again, not once but twice.
Truth is we were not just bad we were ****ing abysmal from front to back and everything in between. Here's my assessment of each players contribution and worth.

Abraham is not worth one more minute of game time, and should be got rid of. No football brain, never where he needs to be.
Werner is without doubt, technically, the worst PL player I have ever seen. He can't pass the ball 2 mtrs to a teammate without it being overhit, underhit or off target. He has no touch, no control, nothing except pure speed. He will never be the goalscorer we thought we had bought. Cut our losses and sell him while we can.
Mount, our best player by some distance, has one fatal flaw for an attacking midfielder, he has no instinct for goals. He misses opportunities to go for goal ,is too slow to get a shot off, looks too often for someone in a better position, and the chance is gone. Great workhorse though he is, he lacks the brilliance of great midfielders. He will never be a Lampard or Gerard because he lacks the courage to shoot when a half chance is presented. Unlike Lampard, there is also no one with the vision to place the ball for Mount to run onto and shoot. No Zola, Di Mateo, Wise or Ballack. Perhaps he will get better, but I am having doubts about this squad.
Reece James has lost so much form it defies belief. From a barnstorming attacker sending in pinpoint crosses, he has become a negative backward passer, due in my opinion to the pressure of becoming a "better" defender. Even when played by Audi, he has been unconvincing, tentative, and lacking courage.Time to stop ****ing about Reece and show just what you can do, because your'e doing nothing at all.
Alonso is well past his use by date and needs to be sold. Occasionally brilliant, mostly just OK he is simply not good enough.
Kante, as he was under Frank, is a problem. We just don't play the way he can be used properly. Sell him ASAP for his sake.
Kovacic is the most underrated attacker we have and the only one with the guts to go for it. Problem for him, he couldn't score if his life depended on it. Just don't get how he can be so hopeless at shooting.
CHO has been our best attacking player yet was just publicly humiliated by Audi for a poor 30 mins.
Absolute disgrace by Audi which might send CHO off to Munich where he should have gone with better advice anyway.
Dave is fine and working out his retirement.
Rudiger is just OK but the manager likes him.
Zouma should take any better offer, alongside Silva he's our best defender, but Audi doesn't play him alongside Silva. Why?
Mendy really good, but not really great, a few flaws starting to show and not a CL quality keeper which should be our minimum standard. Right choice for the short term, maybe he will step up?
Then there's .....
Pulisic the new "sick note", always injured, not performing, another Gunner, "gunner be better, gunner be great, gunner score plenty....."
Ziyech Useless underperforming whinger . Can't hack the physical play or speed of the PL. Whimp who needs to be sent packing. Great player but not got enough grunt for the PL.
Havertz. Overated ,underperforming , overpaid fraud who needs to go back to the safety of the slow motion Bundesleiga. Beware Sancho and Haarlad !!!!!!!!!!
Bundesliega is a League where old heads and young legs can be be superstars. No Pressure on either.

Put it all together and Chelsea is a Team exactly where we deserve to be, struggling for top 4, lacking genuine quality everywhere , with loads of good but not great players, little natural brilliance, creativity not encouraged and only Silva to hold it all together.
Then there's Gilmour. Creative, brilliant, visionary, technical,agressive, attacking, and rarely played.

 

I’m not sure we’re watching the same players, CP.
these players aren’t bad and they certainly don’t go from being world class to dog ****e in under a season.

There’s been a ridiculous amount of change at Chelsea and so many new faces have come in. Not only that but just when they were starting to get used to things and potentially gel a new manager comes along.

He’s trying to instil his brand of football all whilst knowing the axe is ready to swing if he puts a foot wrong.

You have to assume the football people know what they’re doing.

 

As disappointed as I was with the result it was the way we played that was the most worrying. Agree with some of CP's criticisms but I 'think it's not as bad as he paints it. I have been on this forum for some time now warning all that read it that Werner is a dud, yes another Bakayoko and not as good as Morata. Everything CP said about him is true, Reece James has turned into the most negative player just like Chilwell. Anyroadup. The next 3 games will define where we are, Ateletico, Man Utd, Liverpool. If we play like we did against Saints we will get eviscerated. Hoping the real Chelsea will turn up for these games.

 

Yes I was very harsh, but some of these players are just not doing what they can do. The TV playback showed Audi screaming and jumping all over the shop trying to get people to play quicker passes and get forward, virtually all game long. It didn't work, and you'd have to start wondering why ? The manager wants more speed and go forward,, the players don't give it.
What's going on? I reckon it's all about the lack of drive from the back, mainly because a back 3 can be too easily caught out. Yes we get all the possession, but we do nothing with it. I expect Tuchel will put it right up the players now, and I hope we see James, Chilwell, and the others do what we know they can, and play with a much more positive attitude.