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Re: ***The Official Chelsea FC Thread***
I'm not gonna lie, RLC was way better than I thought he'd be up top.
Almost like Conte knows more about this stuff than I doComment
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Re: ***The Official Chelsea FC Thread***
Fantastic evening overall! Here are some observations:
* The wife and I went to Old Town Pasadena early, 3 hours before kickoff. I had no idea the EPL was this popular here in LA. A sea of red and blue shirts, on the streets and in the bars. It was amazing. The English pub I frequent on matchday was overflowing, mostly with Liverpool supporters. Fans came from as far away as Hong Kong, although it mostly seemed like locals. They started up the "F*** OFF CHELSEA FC" chant on several occasions.
* The general admission seats on either side of the stadium filled up with Chelsea supporters on one end and Liverpool supporters on other. Seemed about a 50/50 split across the stadium. Fan support in general was great, lots of chants and even a few flares. I sat in for YNWA and can honestly say it was one of the best moments I've had at a sporting event.
* I wasn't aware that my seats were 2nd row midfield, which is awesome for seeing the action up close but absolutely awful for making any kind of tactical observation. Generally seemed like a sloppy and surprisingly physical match.
* If this was a friendly, someone forgot to mention it to the players. Six yellows and a sending off for Cesc after a reckless challenge. Lovren appeared take a nasty spill as well.
EDIT: I think Grujic got it even worse:
* Jurgen Klopp is a really popular guy.
* Watching Willian on the ball is a thing of beauty.Last edited by Turbojugend; 07-28-2016, 04:15 PM.www.heyimbill.com | sports poster art and other cool stuffComment
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Re: ***The Official Chelsea FC Thread***
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Re: ***The Official Chelsea FC Thread***
I feel like this game could be going better so farComment
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Re: ***The Official Chelsea FC Thread***
Hey it didn't end quite so badly.
Batshuayi actually looked great when he came on, Hazard in the SS role was interesting as well. Challobah looks like he's taking his chances very well, think he and Aina might work their way into the first team if they keep playing like this.
Other than that, everybody looks very rusty. A bit worrying that Willian hasn't looked good since roughly January, Pedro seems to alternate between "our most dangerous attacker" and "fan who won a contest". I'll save my judgement of RLC until he gets more time, he's playing a brand new position. Dave is Dave. Traore has looked good so far, just need to keep giving him time and I think he will be great.
A little concerned about our defense but Conte will probably have that sorted at some point.Comment
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Re: ***The Official Chelsea FC Thread***
Baba is having a medical at Schalke ahead of a loan move so it looks like Aina could become our main backup fullback. If he does it'll be good to see a youngster be chosen instead of buying another replacement like we did with buying Baba after Luis.Comment
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Re: ***The Official Chelsea FC Thread***
Problem is Aina is a right back. So our fullbacks now are Aina, Dave and Bane. That's very much not good. I'm still so angry we let Ryan Bertrand go.Comment
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Re: ***The Official Chelsea FC Thread***
Hazard looked pretty comfortable up top even if it was against the third team. I like the idea of him getting more touches. Been wanting a more central role for him since last season. He could be as lethal as Griezmann.
Really worried about these Costa rumors. Would be devastating if he left, even if Lukaku replaced him (for 80mil apparently.)SEATTLE SEAHAWKS
MISSOURI TIGERS
CHELSEA FCComment
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Re: ***The Official Chelsea FC Thread***
If the only choice is one or the other, I'd rather have Lukaku than Costa at this point in time.Comment
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Re: ***The Official Chelsea FC Thread***
It's going to be really interesting to see how things shake out at the end of this transfer window. With a new formation (which I like so far, the interchanges and 1-2's between the strikers can be beautiful at times) there's going to be a lot of vets on the outside looking in. I'd like to see Matic, Pedro, and Oscar move on. Pedro and Oscar are consistently inconsistent. I think the time to maximize on Matic is now but I'd be intrigued to see him in a more box-to-box role with Kante protecting.
Take the preseason for what it's worth, but I've been impressed with:
Ola - looks strong and although his side of the field gave up the goals he had no protection (which is why Willian switched sides with Pedro)
Michy - he looks fit and although he took an extra touch and fluffed that shot, he showed good movement, pace, and the ability to get shots off (he dug out a left footed side-footed shot in the box that was saved but was on target)
Traore - His hold-up play and in general back to goal play has been much better than I thought for a player of his size and age. He's also drawn a lot of FKs around the box turning defenders.
Chaloboah - He looks pretty comfortable and confident. That goal he had vs the Austrian side was straight out of FIFA.
Moses - so direct and so fast on the ball. I see no reason why he shouldn't be on the squad this year, at least as a super sub. We've seen it before with Moses though where he puts in a superb preseason.
We def could use another CB though before Zouma gets back. Who knows what's going on with Diego. I'd like to see him and Eden play up top at least once before the preseason ends.Comment
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Re: ***The Official Chelsea FC Thread***
Traore played wonderfully today, Kante looked lost, but worked hard, once he figures out his role I'm sure he'll be much better, Matic played well, Terry and Cahill were schooled most of the night and Courtouis was forced to make some brilliant saves. Aina was strangely bad at dribbling. Should've been a 3-0 victory but gave a bad foul in a great spot and Bonaventura's Free Kick was sublime.
I was sad Loftus-Cheek wasn't in the squad, after all the talk about him I was excited to focus solely on him, instead I watched Traore intently..Support Local Sports
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Re: ***The Official Chelsea FC Thread***
I think the problem with Matic is that he really is best as an all-out destroyer shielding the back four. The problem is, Conte doesn't really use destroyers in his formations. Kante can certainly do a good job as a shield but he's probably best utilized as a box to box player. Matic is too limited in that role, his refusal to use his right food makes him easy to defend against, and while his passing is good, it isn't good enough to get him out of a jam and make up for his other weaknesses.
Conte likes his midfielders to be hard-running and good on the ball, which sort of makes me think he might give Oscar one more chance at Chelsea, because I think he has the skill set to be a box to box mid more than a 10.
I think Batshuyai looks very good as well, think he will turn out to be a great purchase.
Also, I effing TOLD you guys Traore was the real deal. Kid is going to be a star.Comment
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Re: ***The Official Chelsea FC Thread***
That is my biggest beef with Matic. His lack of a right foot makes him so predictable and defenders just sit on it and he's forced to play it back and the attack grinds to a halt. I think he's better in a box-to-box role though. When he does manage to beat someone, his strides are so long that he just bears down on the defense. Those moments, much like Ramires' runs are just too infrequent.
To me, yesterday was more of "how much Milan sucks" than anything. I don't even think we played well and outside of a few Niang threatening moments they just fizzled out. I can't stand Bedoya as a commentator but it's preseason. If they want to work on playing out from the back the time is now. Besides, it gave us a chance to work on our high press.
In good news, Eden looks healthy and back to skipping by defenders at will. Doesn't matter whether he's on the wing or behind the #9, he opens up the entire attacking half.Comment
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