Observations on a quiet week

[Chelsea Pensioner]

Not a good week for Chelsea or Sarri.
His CHO stance has been blown apart by Southgate, with Man Utd and Liverpool joining Bayern in looking to sign CHO. Sarri has been shown up for the 2nd rate Manager he is,
Then there's the FIFA ban. Out goes Hazard, which in my opinion is a good thing if Sarri stays. Take the money while it's there cause soon it won't be. Hazard has ignored Sarris' rigid system anyway and played his own game, and will surely shoot through ASAP if Sarri stays. Sarri has reduced Hazard to an also ran, which only the worst kind of Manager could achieve.
It appears we will be stuck with most of this this years squad, probably minus Hazard, Willy and Giroud, but including Zappacosta, Alonso, Barkley, Pedro and Willian, Luiz, Dave, Jorghino and Drinkwater . Sarris' underperforming and overpriced Christian Pulisic will need to be played at the price we paid for him, so CHO might be further marginalised, or Willian and Pedro will join Drinkwater as the highest paid unemployed in Britain. We will have to let Kovacic and Higuain go, no loss there as neither are particularly suited to playing Sarris' football. Might have to recall Tammy and Michy which leaves Sarri with an old and creaking defence and loads of youngsters who won't be suited to his rigid system ,with the useless Jorghino at its' core. Then there's Kante who is also likely to leave for a better run Club that will play him properly, like PSG or Barcelona. No contest when compared to Sarris' Shambles.
Not a pretty picture. Our best players wanting out, and no new talent allowed in.
One answer is that Sarri needs to go now, and to appoint a 1 year Manager to best use what we have to try and keep up with the top 4, who will all improve and no doubt leave us further behind. A better Manager than Sarri would have an exciting blend of talented youth and experience to choose from.
My vote goes to Steve Holland, though I'd be happy with Zola, Lampard or Steve Clarke. for the year of FIFA sanctions.
We definitely need a Manager with Chelsea DNA, not another kick and hope merchant.
We might actually get to see what these kids can actually do, playing with the few surviving oldies still up for it. But first and foremost, we need to select players with skill, speed, power and flair, not safe, experienced mediocrity from 2 years ago that Sarri plays.
Actually, we might have no other choice.

 

[CFC: Champs £launderx17]

Not a good week for Chelsea or Sarri.
His CHO stance has been blown apart by Southgate, with Man Utd and Liverpool joining Bayern in looking to sign CHO. Sarri has been shown up for the 2nd rate Manager he is,
Then there's the FIFA ban. Out goes Hazard, which in my opinion is a good thing if Sarri stays. Take the money while it's there cause soon it won't be. Hazard has ignored Sarris' rigid system anyway and played his own game, and will surely shoot through ASAP if Sarri stays. Sarri has reduced Hazard to an also ran, which only the worst kind of Manager could achieve.
It appears we will be stuck with most of this this years squad, probably minus Hazard, Willy and Giroud, but including Zappacosta, Alonso, Barkley, Pedro and Willian, Luiz, Dave, Jorghino and Drinkwater . Sarris' underperforming and overpriced Christian Pulisic will need to be played at the price we paid for him, so CHO might be further marginalised, or Willian and Pedro will join Drinkwater as the highest paid unemployed in Britain. We will have to let Kovacic and Higuain go, no loss there as neither are any good playing Sarris' football. Might have to recall Tammy and Michy which leaves Sarri with an old and creaking defence and loads of youngsters who won't be suited to his rigid system ,with the useless Jorghino at its' core. Then there's Kante who is also likely to leave for a better run Club that will play him properly, like PSG or Barcelona. No contest when compared to Sarris' Shambles.
Not a pretty picture. Our best players wanting out, and no new talent allowed in.
One answer is that Sarri needs to go now, and to appoint a 1 year Manager to best use what we have to try and keep up with the top 4, who will all improve and no doubt leave us further behind. A better Manager than Sarri would have an exciting blend of talented youth and experience to choose from.
My vote goes to Steve Holland, though I'd be happy with Zola, Lampard or Steve Clarke. for the year of FIFA sanctions.
We definitely need a Manager with Chelsea DNA, not another kick and hope merchant.
We might actually get to see what these kids can actually do, playing with the few surviving oldies still up for it. But first and foremost, we need to select players with skill, speed, power and flair, not safe, experienced mediocrity from 2 years ago that Sarri plays.
Actually, we might have no other choice.

Morning CP. Good weekend?

 

[The Ginger Marks]

Morning CP. Good weekend?

 

[Treble]

Not a good week for Chelsea or Sarri.
His CHO stance has been blown apart by Southgate, with Man Utd and Liverpool joining Bayern in looking to sign CHO. Sarri has been shown up for the 2nd rate Manager he is,
Then there's the FIFA ban. Out goes Hazard, which in my opinion is a good thing if Sarri stays. Take the money while it's there cause soon it won't be. Hazard has ignored Sarris' rigid system anyway and played his own game, and will surely shoot through ASAP if Sarri stays. Sarri has reduced Hazard to an also ran, which only the worst kind of Manager could achieve.
It appears we will be stuck with most of this this years squad, probably minus Hazard, Willy and Giroud, but including Zappacosta, Alonso, Barkley, Pedro and Willian, Luiz, Dave, Jorghino and Drinkwater . Sarris' underperforming and overpriced Christian Pulisic will need to be played at the price we paid for him, so CHO might be further marginalised, or Willian and Pedro will join Drinkwater as the highest paid unemployed in Britain. We will have to let Kovacic and Higuain go, no loss there as neither are any good playing Sarris' football. Might have to recall Tammy and Michy which leaves Sarri with an old and creaking defence and loads of youngsters who won't be suited to his rigid system ,with the useless Jorghino at its' core. Then there's Kante who is also likely to leave for a better run Club that will play him properly, like PSG or Barcelona. No contest when compared to Sarris' Shambles.
Not a pretty picture. Our best players wanting out, and no new talent allowed in.
One answer is that Sarri needs to go now, and to appoint a 1 year Manager to best use what we have to try and keep up with the top 4, who will all improve and no doubt leave us further behind. A better Manager than Sarri would have an exciting blend of talented youth and experience to choose from.
My vote goes to Steve Holland, though I'd be happy with Zola, Lampard or Steve Clarke. for the year of FIFA sanctions.
We definitely need a Manager with Chelsea DNA, not another kick and hope merchant.
We might actually get to see what these kids can actually do, playing with the few surviving oldies still up for it. But first and foremost, we need to select players with skill, speed, power and flair, not safe, experienced mediocrity from 2 years ago that Sarri plays.
Actually, we might have no other choice.

That's a pretty damning indictment.

Don't think Clarke is a good choice anymore, good coach not a good manager imo. Lampard is the better option and not for just a year. Between the two of them, having a 50% win ratio in a poor Scot Prem Lg or 50% win ratio in the Championship? Championship imo.

 

[Chelsea Pensioner]

Morning CP. Good weekend?

Pretty good thanks, I watched the England games and did some reading up on Chelseas' probable predicament next season.

In the 1st case , Sarris' theories on developing players were exploded by a Manager who knows what he's doing. Then the brick with eyes, Barkley, showed he has something to offer when played properly, and CHO twice did what the entire world except Sarri, knows he can. Then Giroud became a record breaker. That's 3 out of 3 I believe.
So , with no chance to bring in players suited to Sarris' Ballsup, we can probably expect to see Jorghino again take the PL by storm, Kante continue to show he's an ordinary player out of position, and the usual suspects , probably minus Kovacic and Higuain, running sideways and breaking passing records.
Or Sarri may have an epiphany and use his players better.
Or a couple of " Sarri savvy " 23 year old players might drop out of the sky.
Or Jorghino might realise the idea is to go towards goal, after he puts on 10 Kgs and adds another high speed gear to his legs.
Or we could fire Sarri and sort out the mess .

 

[CFC: Champs £launderx17]

Pretty good thanks, I watched the England games and did some reading up on Chelseas' probable predicament next season.

In the 1st case , Sarris' theories on developing players were exploded by a Manager who knows what he's doing. Then the brick with eyes, Barkley, showed he has something to offer when played properly, and CHO twice did what the entire world except Sarri, knows he can. Then Giroud became a record breaker. That's 3 out of 3 I believe.
So , with no chance to bring in players suited to Sarris' Ballsup, we can probably expect to see Jorghino again take the PL by storm, Kante continue to show he's an ordinary player out of position, and the usual suspects , probably minus Kovacic and Higuain, running sideways and breaking passing records.
Or Sarri may have an epiphany and use his players better.
Or a couple of " Sarri savvy " 23 year old players might drop out of the sky.
Or Jorghino might realise the idea is to go towards goal, after he puts on 10 Kgs and adds another high speed gear to his legs.
Or we could fire Sarri and sort out the mess .

Brick with eyes.

To be fair Montenegro are worse than Kiev!!

And Southgate got it wrong with CHO and started him on wrong side. After he gave away a goal, credit to Southgate he switched CHO who was very good afters

 

[Chelsea Pensioner]

Brick with eyes.

To be fair Montenegro are worse than Kiev!!

And Southgate got it wrong with CHO and started him on wrong side. After he gave away a goal, credit to Southgate he switched CHO who was very good afters

England did look terrific though, especially with a pretty inexperienced team. CHO had a rocky start, but Southgate did sort things out quickly. Our brick with eyes played a great game as well, surprised me completely, Sarri needs to release him to play his own game instead of being just a ball feeder for Hazard.
He showed he has more than Chelsea see. Lesson there for Sarri, who could get our team firing if he'd just open his mind .
Hope he does just that and we see a new improved Chelsea for the rest of the season.

 

[CFC: Champs £launderx17]

England did look terrific though, especially with a pretty inexperienced team. CHO had a rocky start, but Southgate did sort things out quickly. Our brick with eyes played a great game as well, surprised me completely, Sarri needs to release him to play his own game instead of being just a ball feeder for Hazard.
He showed he has more than Chelsea see. Lesson there for Sarri, who could get our team firing if he'd just open his mind .
Hope he does just that and we see a new improved Chelsea for the rest of the season.

Love this expression, is this an Aussie version of thick as a brick?

 

[The Ginger Marks]

Love this expression, is this an Aussie version of thick as a brick?

Isn't he a ten-pound Pom?

 

[Chelsea Pensioner]

Love this expression, is this an Aussie version of thick as a brick?

Sort of. It was first used to describe a Rugby League player in Sydney called Steve Roach, aka " Blocker " who was also described as "built like a brick dunny", a quaint word for "outside loo" ,which were once common in working class suburbs.. Think he might have been called the" "brick with ears", but either apply.
And to Ginge, no I was born in Sydney, though all my family were from Wallasey or Waterford in Ireland. So I have a British Passport as well, and lived in London twice, from 1970 -1976 and then 1985 until 2010. The second time In Cathcart Road Chelsea, 400mtrs from the Bridge.

 

[CFC: Champs £launderx17]

Sort of. It was first used to describe a Rugby League player in Sydney called Steve Roach, aka " Blocker " who was also described as "built like a brick dunny", a quaint word for "outside loo" ,which were once common in working class suburbs.. Think he might have been called the" "brick with ears", but either apply.
And to Ginge, no I was born in Sydney, though all my family were from Wallasey or Waterford in Ireland. So I have a British Passport as well, and lived in London twice, from 1970 -1976 and then 1985 until 2010. The second time In Cathcart Road Chelsea, 400mtrs from the Bridge.

NIce mate. Did you use the Hollywood Arms or Troubadour when you lived on Cathcart; or FInsborough?

 

[Chelsea Pensioner]

NIce mate. Did you use the Hollywood Arms or Troubadour when you lived on Cathcart; or FInsborough?

All of the above. Hollywood Arms was good at first, though full of red braces wearing, Golf GTI driving estate agents. Now it's pretty ordinary.
Troubadour was our go to Sunday breakfast place, the Finsborough an excellent choice. There was also the Goat in Boots ( now a restaurant) and a strange little pub called The Sporting Page in Limestone St. Champagne on tap and Mouton Cadet the house red !!!! Great pub to watch the Rugby, loads of 60's Kings Road throwbacks, but super friendly. I'll be in London In June and again in August, catching up and enjoying what was home for 30 years.

 

[CFC: Champs £launderx17]

All of the above. Hollywood Arms was good at first, though full of red braces wearing, Golf GTI driving estate agents. Now it's pretty ordinary.
Troubadour was our go to Sunday breakfast place, the Finsborough an excellent choice. There was also the Goat in Boots ( now a restaurant) and a strange little pub called The Sporting Page in Limestone St. Champagne on tap and Mouton Cadet the house red !!!! Great pub to watch the Rugby, loads of 60's Kings Road throwbacks, but super friendly. I'll be in London In June and again in August, catching up and enjoying what was home for 30 years.

Used to go the Front Page next to Manolo Blahnik and Chelsea Arts Club on Old Church Street, that is a good boozer. Think it is Pig's Ear noe

 

[D.G.C.]

Observations? You are still getting the luck which has seen you higher in the league over many seasons than you actually deserve to be. Today was another example of it. You are FAR more of a lucky team than you are a skilful team.

 

[The Ginger Marks]

Observations? You are still getting the luck which has seen you higher in the league over many seasons than you actually deserve to be. Today was another example of it. You are FAR more of a lucky team than you are a skilful team.

Hmm, We have hit the post or bar 20 times this year, surely a slice of luck doesn't go amiss from time to time eh?

 

[Bristol Blue]

Not a good week for Chelsea or Sarri.
His CHO stance has been blown apart by Southgate, with Man Utd and Liverpool joining Bayern in looking to sign CHO. Sarri has been shown up for the 2nd rate Manager he is,
Then there's the FIFA ban. Out goes Hazard, which in my opinion is a good thing if Sarri stays. Take the money while it's there cause soon it won't be. Hazard has ignored Sarris' rigid system anyway and played his own game, and will surely shoot through ASAP if Sarri stays. Sarri has reduced Hazard to an also ran, which only the worst kind of Manager could achieve.
It appears we will be stuck with most of this this years squad, probably minus Hazard, Willy and Giroud, but including Zappacosta, Alonso, Barkley, Pedro and Willian, Luiz, Dave, Jorghino and Drinkwater . Sarris' underperforming and overpriced Christian Pulisic will need to be played at the price we paid for him, so CHO might be further marginalised, or Willian and Pedro will join Drinkwater as the highest paid unemployed in Britain. We will have to let Kovacic and Higuain go, no loss there as neither are particularly suited to playing Sarris' football. Might have to recall Tammy and Michy which leaves Sarri with an old and creaking defence and loads of youngsters who won't be suited to his rigid system ,with the useless Jorghino at its' core. Then there's Kante who is also likely to leave for a better run Club that will play him properly, like PSG or Barcelona. No contest when compared to Sarris' Shambles.
Not a pretty picture. Our best players wanting out, and no new talent allowed in.
One answer is that Sarri needs to go now, and to appoint a 1 year Manager to best use what we have to try and keep up with the top 4, who will all improve and no doubt leave us further behind. A better Manager than Sarri would have an exciting blend of talented youth and experience to choose from.
My vote goes to Steve Holland, though I'd be happy with Zola, Lampard or Steve Clarke. for the year of FIFA sanctions.
We definitely need a Manager with Chelsea DNA, not another kick and hope merchant.
We might actually get to see what these kids can actually do, playing with the few surviving oldies still up for it. But first and foremost, we need to select players with skill, speed, power and flair, not safe, experienced mediocrity from 2 years ago that Sarri plays.
Actually, we might have no other choice.

Sarri really did get lucky today against Cardiff with the Ref and Linesman giving some dodgy decisions in our favour. Taking his chosen one off - Jorginho - meant we were given a lifeline for winning the game after being 1-0 down. My opinion is that Jorginho was a total waste of money at £57 million and he’s no more than lower Premiership or Championship quality in my opinion. I’ve never seen another Chelsea midfielder make so many sideways and backwards passes.

Overall this season, I’ve been extremely disappointed with Sarri. With the players at the club we should be challenging Liverpool and Man City for the title.

 

[Liquidator]

Sarri got lucky today trouble is though he has to be extremely lucky for the remaining 7 games for an outside chance at 4th place; as for next season we will have to reluctantly blood our youngsters as FIFA inflict more punishment on their favourite whipping boys while the likes of City & PSG sneak under the radar once again.

 

[Chelsea Pensioner]

Sarri really did get lucky today against Cardiff with the Ref and Linesman giving some dodgy decisions in our favour. Taking his chosen one off - Jorginho - meant we were given a lifeline for winning the game after being 1-0 down. My opinion is that Jorginho was a total waste of money at £57 million and he’s no more than lower Premiership or Championship quality in my opinion. I’ve never seen another Chelsea midfielder make so many sideways and backwards passes.

Overall this season, I’ve been extremely disappointed with Sarri. With the players at the club we should be challenging Liverpool and Man City for the title.

Terrible today, but not surprising. Jorghino is an oxygen thief, and as useless a player as I have ever seen. Put him alongside the Brick with eyes and Kovacic and you have a midfield capable of zero goals and zero assists. And they prove it week in and week out. No wonder the front 3 were turgid and slower than a wet week with that midfield behind them. But its Jorghino who is the real problem, he brings everyone else back to crawling pace including his mid field partners.
Alonso was also pretty useless today, Rudiger lucky to stay on, Higuain not worth 2 bob, the Brick was back to being the "nearly "man, nearly scored, nearly made a great pass etc. Kovacic was honest, but just not good enough, and the rest were not much more than hacks.
Second half, Hazard upped the threat, Jorghino being hauled off improved the midfield about 300%, and RLC did what Sarris 1st choice midfielders never do, he scored. Finally there was some urgency, though again Hazard was left to do most of the work with some assistance from RLC.
Cardiff were robbed by dreadful officials, not just the offside, they got bad decisions all game from a really 2nd rate referee who favoured us every time.
Time to bid farewell to Sarri, his terrible team selections, his blah brand of football and his lack of tactics. We need to get this rabble into some sort of shape before seasons end and next years transfer bans kick in.

 

[Gareth1808]

We seem to be getting harder to watch each week. That first half was sending me to sleep. What the **** was that team selection though? Asking for trouble, don’t leave our two best players, can’t get away with that.

I was all for giving Sarri a chance but he’s beginning to bore me now. Team needs some identity back, a bit like what Solskjaer has done to United. Well aware he’s not the greatest manager they could’ve got but he knows the club inside out and will make the players understand what it means to play for them. We need exactly that.

 

[The Ginger Marks]

It just needs more pace.