All a bit kick bollock scramble, and apart from Madueke, our attackers were not at their best. Forest were organised, competitive and willing, and we definitely struggled. Their goalkeeper also did really well several times to stop what looked to be certain goals. So did Robert Sanchez, some great saves. Yet again Enzo Fernandez disappointed. Our midfield works better without him, and Lavia needs to play alongside Casiedo. Good as he is for Argentina, Enzo doesn't do it for Chelsea in the faster, tougher and more competitive PL Unless he picks up an awful lot, he is not worth his place in the starting line up. Another point to our total, but worrying that we didn't break down a well managed Team who matched us for fight.
Interesting article I read today. Author suggests that our away form is good because home teams do have a go at us, which means we play our attacking game better because we get more chances. Home form not so good because visiting Teams just set up to defend and, as so often in the past, we struggle to break them down. Sounds simple, and probably true for all Teams except the Cities' and Liverpools' who always play to win. Nevertheless, the fact we DO struggle at home means that we need to improve, change our tactics, or a bit of both, OR we still don't have the right players to take that step up. Food for thought??
We definitely need to improve our home form. Teams know that when they come to the bridge all they need to do is play a low block and let us have all the possession and we will just pass ourselves to death unless Palmer comes up with a moment of brilliance. If not we seem to struggle. If we worked on our defence we could turn these home draws into 1-0 wins. I think thats the key. We still need a big CB signing and new fullbacks for me. Its a shame Reece James is perennially injured, because he is a such a baller. Cucurella has improved from when he first joined but I still dont think he is the answer and Maresca and has made it clear that Chilwell isnt in his plans, and he is also injured 75% of the time. I think if we sorted our defence, the rest would fall in line.
I agree we need to think about our defence. Disasi and Badashielle could be sold and Adarabiyo is not much more than OK either. I have always thought Fofana is not as good as Trevor Chalobah, and he's proving it most games. So Levi Colwill ,on the improve and relatively inexperienced, is probably our best. That's a pretty shaky looking line up collectively, with only Fofana and Colwill seemingly able to improve with time. At least one and preferably 2 proven CDs needed, to give us the blend of youth and experience we need. Sadly it looks as if Reece James is done and Chilwell not wanted, so someone needs to sort out that area. But for me, STILL our biggest problems are Striker and Mid field control. Jackson is heading in the right direction, but our mids are all over the shop with Enzo useless besides Casiedo. Can't defend, can't score, too slow, just doesn't fit anywhere that I can see. Despite all that, Maresca has improved us a lot, and only time will tell if our youngsters can collectively rise to the level needed to rattle on the door of the top 4.
