Pinned Tweet
What i dont like about this app and Chelsea fanbase in general is genuine inability to separate current events with bigger picture. Anyone saying Xabi Alonso is the problem here and should be sacked after 5 PL gameweeks in my opinion is not a Chelsea fan for the right reasons.
Managers who like their teams to play in a certain way will always need time to put that system into place at a new club. So even if he came into fully settled squad, we would need time for him to coach players what to do and when to do it, and make them believe in that process that will longterm help us become better.
So in perfect scenario, it would still be struggle and would need time. Our scenario is far away from perfect. We didnt bring a midfielder after Enzo left, we got JP, James, Caicedo, Palestra etc injured, and thats imo practically all starters for us when fully fit ( you can disagree on Palestra, but there's a reason he played all preseason games, he is present and future of this club ). So, at the moment, we have our manager patching the holes left in the squad without getting any stability because of injuries + SD's blunder on the last day of transfer window.
Should we be disappointed by how we performed last few games? Absolutely. That's fully valid. Should we expect more? Undoubtly. But should we turn on Alonso for it? Absolutely not. Not a single manager out there can take this team in our current situation and make us perform immediately with less struggle than what Xabi is facing.
Being sad and loosing your heads cos we arent winning is one thing, but we set a dangerous precedent if we point to our manager again. That should absolutely not be a case going forward, especially if we want any progress longterm. Arteta went tru it, Guardiola did aswell, Klopp did when he took over Liverpool first. You dont teach intricate tactics, patterns of play and timings in 2 months.
You need lot of time to translate to players exactly what you want from them. We need more intensity and taking responsibility, i fully agree on that. But these things need time, culture doesnt change over night, and constant change doesnt help it aswell.
Talking about Maresca ( which i find disgusting given what happened there ), mentioning Tuchel's quick transformation and similar things dont change where we are at the moment. Its not the same team, not the same opposition, and not the same level. Allow Xabi to work with these players, there is not a single option better than him out there. And i find it disturbing that i even feel the urge and need to say these things. We as a fanbase gotta do better, cos this is gettin absurd.
In Xabi i trust 💙
He deserved Balon D'Or just based on this. R9 is GOAT striker. Best to ever do it. If he had no injuries, he wouldve been closer to Messi than he is to Lewandowski, Aguero etc etc. True legend 💛
CW_ retweeted
Football is a wonderful sport we all love.
Football is 3 things for me. Winning, entertainment and being part of a community.
Too many people are transfixed with how you win. The feeling I get walking away from Stamford Bridge with 3 points will ALWAYS supersede how we played.
I have seen it all. From Hoddle, Vialli, Gullit, Mourinho, Ranieri, Conte, Tuchel, Potter, Lampard, Ancellotti to name a few.
The one thing I had in common with all of them, was the feeling I had after a win.
Yes, I want to be entertained, of course I want to see pretty patterns of play and watch amazing goals. After all, football is theatre, but that takes time. For some managers it’s lands quicker than others, some are fortunate that they have the right players at the right time. Some get bought those players and it works and for some, it never materialises. What I want at Chelsea now is long term stability. I want a manager who represents the club and understands the importance of winning. I want a manager who has a long term objective and I believe we have that in Alonso.
I totally get why people are still pissed off post Spurs. It was a car crash, but it’s also a car crash where we all got out of the car with no major injuries. We are 5th, the players are still learning and the season is young.
If Alonso is playing shit football at the end of the season then we can talk, but until then, we sadly just have to expect a bit of a rollercoaster. The ride might even out soon or we might be in for more bumpy turns but it’s about the end goal. Mentality change (still hasn’t happened but getting better) and creating a winning machine. With whatever style is required.
Please give Alonso time. We are lucky to have him after the shit show of the last 4 years!
So underrated even before he touched the pitch. Strong, rapid, ambipedal, great in running channels, can create lot of space for attackers around him aswell because he always draggs defenders with him with his movement and he knows his way in and around the box. Our fanbase loves to write off players before they show what they can do, hope Emegha proves those doubters wrong immediately. Would love for him to come off the bench vs Liverpool and then starts on the weekend against Manchester United. No Man Utd defender will be able to track those runs. He will create so much space for Palmer & Rogers aswell. 💣
Was there early days 😉
xitter.cf/ChelseaWay_/status/208…
CW_ retweeted
Promised a thread on Rogers some time ago, but didnt deliver it. What better time to do it than now tho, after he signed for our beautiful club. Lets get into it.
Morgan Rogers has flaws in his game. He definitely isnt a finished product yet. But what makes him special is the fact that in things he is good at, he is amazing at them. In addition to that, his surroundings made his flaws visible even more, and it was very easy to see why, especially if u watched full 90's of Aston Villa last few seasons.
In that Aston Villa team, he was practically the only real ball carrier. And players around him werent optimal to get the best out of him, not even close to optimal.
Emery likes intensity, team showing character, and having leaders on the pitch at all times. He likes it to a fault, because he would fit players in positions that arent ideal for them to have the best players on the pitch at all times.
When you have Mcginn/Buendia/Sancho as your wingers, its not easy to be a creator from midfield areas. These arent your "attack the space" wingers, but more the ones who move inside and occupy advanced midfield areas, while Digne/Maatsen/Cash overlap a lot. So thats the first thing that made Rogers life a bit more difficult than it shouldve been. But it doesnt stop there.
Guy in front of him was Watkins. Aldo Watkins is a great runner into space, he is also an enourmous BCM magnet. I cant count how many times have i seen Rogers putting a chance on a plate for him, just for Watkins to miss it like its nothing. Watkins also isnt great at dropping deep and linking up play, cos he is more of a poacher than a creator like Kane or JP ( now his new teammate ).
One more thing that didnt help him whatsoever was protection behind him. Emery had Tielemans playing almost every single game. Tielemans is great passer and has a top football IQ as a player, but what he is not, he isnt great transition defender. So, to maximise Rogers, Onana should be playing almost every game. He didnt ofcourse, because he is injury prone ( currently injured again ), so in comes Kamara. Kamara for me is one of the most underrated players in that Villa team. He is one of the cogs that got them that UCL position, and one of the key players in them winning European competition. But that balance in double pivot was far away from being perfect, especially when you expect your No.10 to do so many risky things when carrying the ball and dragging players with him, creating openings for other teammates around him.
He didnt have creators around him, or the ball carriers to help him get more isolations. This is why Aston Villa massively overperformed their xG, 2 seasons in a row aswell. At one point in the season, their xG was same as Wolverhampton's, and they were in relegation zone at that time. Doing all that carrying of a team who doesnt create enought is a big task for any player out there, so people have to be a bit more objective on impact Rogers had compared to what could've been if he had right profiles around him.
On that note, in comes Chelsea. At Chelsea, Rogers wont be the only ball carrier, and he definitely wont be the only creator. He will have people creating for him, and thats when his xG overperforming will come in handy, given he is a huge threat any time he finds himself around the box.
This is exactly what Chelsea was missing. We had Enzo as box crasher, and aldo he isnt as physical, Enzo was really good at it because of his elite level football IQ and reading the space in advance. Not many players have mental capacity to always stay concentrated and make a perfectly timed runs. Thats why it worked. But outside of that game reading, Enzo isnt a guy that will receive the ball, drive past 2-3 players with quick feet and then fire a bolt in opposite corner. That's Roger's bread & butter.
22 million euros. Still cant believe this actually happened. Both Stuttgart and Real Madrid made a horrible mistake here 💯
There is probably no club out there that needs Alex Scott more than us, and there is absolutely no better club for Alex Scott to pick from out there than us. Here's why:
1. He is joining a club where he will play in double pivot with one of the best No.6/b2b hybrids out there in Moises Caicedo. He will have someone to rely on when he steps up, and they will easily interchange and even press together off the ball. Going from Tyler Adams to Moi is highest possible upgrade in terms of midfield partnership.
2. He will have as many England's NT teammates as one can wish for. People underestimate power of playing with same players at club and country level. That connection is the reason why lot of clubs have players starting for NT because of the synergy these players have playing with eachother week in, week out.
3. He will have one of the best leaders out there in Henderson to show him the way and help him ease in moving from Bournemouth to Chelsea, which is undoubtly a step up and whole another level to prove yourself at ( all props to Bournemouth, i mean no disrespect ofcourse ). I have no doubt that hand around shoulder will give him a lot of confidence from such a well respected player in world of football.
4. If we continue playing this same system, he will have top protection behind him. He will have more licence to roam and will be able to play with full freedom. He will have legs in Moi next to him and players like Lacroix, Josh, Hato etc behind him who all got transition speed and can fix his step ups when going into counterpress in higher zones.
5. He struggled with some smaller injuries, and if he joins us in january, he will be on 1 game a week basis ( given we dont play Europe, contrary to Bournemouth ) which will help his workload and allow him to be fresh for every game. He will also have players like Lavia, Henderson, Barco etc pushing him for starting spot, so he will definitely have competition pushing him to reach higher level.
6. Last, but not least, he will be managed by one of the best ex-midfield players out there. Whatever Alex Scott is good at ( he is a generalist so he is practically good at everything ), Xabi Alonso will find a way to highlight it, and on top of that, refine/maximise his skills to even higher level than he is on now. So for him, sky is the limit.
We are finally getting athletically + technically gifted players, runners and legs in all areas on the pitch. Adjusting and balancing our squad to fit the needs of PL football and giving Alonso players who can help him achieve long term success at our beautiful club. On top of that, this team is so much more likable than anything we had last 4+ years. You can see the unity and how they support and push eachother.
MY CLUB IS BACK ! 🤯🥶
I absolutely see why we would get linked with Natan. Probably closest thing to Gabriel Magalhães on the market. Strong, agressive, front footed, absolutely top duel winner and box defender in general.
Has elite level mentality to it ( saw him putting his head on opposition attackers foot multiple times just so they dont get to the ball - John Terry-esque ).
Very versatile aswell, can play as ccb and wide defender ( equally comfortable ) which is always valuable, especially in 3 at the back system.
Think some of these top clubs is definitely getting him in january or summer. He deserves his big move for sure, its just a matter of time at this point.
💫
"We dont see Alex Scott as immediate priority" aka Alex Scott rejected us because he wants to join Chelsea. Seen enought briefs in my lifetime to know what they look like 😉
[🟢] NEW: Alex Scott is highly regarded at Liverpool and has an existing relationship with Andoni Iraola, but midfield is not an immediate priority. The club consider themselves well-stocked, with high hopes for Trey Nyoni and James McConnell.
Liverpool would probably welcome Bournemouth keeping Scott until the summer, when their situation could change. Mac Allister was disappointed not to be offered a new contract this summer.
Bournemouth would consider a January sale for a fee rising to £100m, provided their Premier League status is not in jeopardy. Chelsea are viewed by many as January frontrunners.
[Stuart James & Thom Harris, @TheAthleticFC; additional reporting by @David_Ornstein] #LFC
Where are our dear #XabiOut people now? 10 days ago yall were already calling for his head and being all about "we gotta have some serious convos" while he was missing by far the most important players for this team. Time for convos now or yall just gonna wait for 1 loss to start that same chat?
CW_ retweeted
Any1 watching this game and not aknowledging the fact Josh Acheompong is by far the best possession style defender we have in this team, has to check his eyes. He is literally the unicorn profile, as good as you get. Long stride, calm on the ball, insane when inverting, by far
CW_ retweeted
Jealous of whoever gets this boy. Being this versatile at his age and stepping up wherever team needs him the most is sign of great maturity and fooball IQ. Manzambi is gettin his move this summer, no way he stays at Freiburg after these performances he been showing some time now. Absolutely elite potential. 🔜
Nah, they gotta be looking at my account at this point, this is getting absurd. Mad level of hit rate in terms of profiles that fit our system and add balance to finish the squad. Boy is a real deal.
If we sell Gusto and bring Banjaqui, our rb/rwb spot will be solved for years to come. Absolute demon this boy is. Like i already said in previous post, he will be worth ton of money in next 2 years tops. I see him at RB/RWB how i saw Manzambi in lhs 8/10/SS. That type of talent for his position.
And the scary thing is, he will just get better and better. Has playstyle of Maicon and burst of pace similar to K.Walker. Big future ahead for sure. I would absolutely love if we got him.
💫
xitter.cf/HaithamMMS/status/2110…
Daniel Banjaqui is the real deal. This is 50+ million fullback in 2 years tops. Rapid, both footed, physical and has good decision making for his age. Just gonna get better and better, and for me, he would be ideal for a team like Inter Milan where he would play that RWB role. Would be top replacement for Denzel Dumfries. Reminds me a bit of Maicon back then, so that's why i see him there even more. One thing is for sure tho. Someone will take a punt on him, and they will be happy they did. Great prospect 🤯
Aston Villa fans just gotta be patient. Lot of people didnt agree with it, but business A.Villa conducted was actually really really good.
Manzambi already making impact, N.Jackson scoring & Mbaye's versatility giving them lot of option going forward. If they improve that defence a little bit, and Onana comes back to full fitness, not many teams will love to play against them. Especially with Emery being there for few years already.
What they lack in chemistry in terms of aclimatisation ( these new players still need time ), they get back in manager who knows how to win games in PL & Europe. Smart businessess to replace key areas. If they still had Konsa here or replaced him with proper profile, they would do even more damage in the league this season already.
Selling Roger's + Tielemans, and replacing them with Gomes + Manzambi for literally 50% of the price for me is insane business by Aston Villa.
On top of getting players who are both physically and technically ready for Premier League, you will have atleast 50+ mil on top of it to fix atleast 1 more glarring issue in your team, which will probably be LEFT BACK now.
Think this window is shaping up to be really good for Villa given the situation they had with players asking to leave and injuries they had. 3+ more signings, and they will be really dangerous side to go against. LB, GK if Martinez leaves, cb cos Mings should not even be part of Emery's system, 1 winger and a striker if Watkins leaves that are right profiles, and they will be set under Emery for next season. Playing UCL wont help them if they keep gettin injuries in terms of PL for next season, but atleast they are fixing up their recruitment and arent making Sancho loans and buys like T.Abraham.
Step in the right direction for them if u ask me. Especially for the future
Aldo lot of Chelsea fans will disagree with me ( and i cant blame you guys ), i would bring Florian Wirtz immediately if Liverpool gives up on him.
I get the fans being on the fence about him, but i feel he is too special to just disappear. I know what i've seen at Leverkusen and in Germany's NT, what we are seeing atm at Liverpool, i think is not true representation of what he is and can do.
And to add to it, i've now seen plethora of players joining Liverpool for 100+ mil and not hitting the ground running or working out at all. I would bet whatever is needed that Wirtz under Alonso would still be insane player if he joined us. And i know its cool & trendy to shit on him at the moment, but this isnt the same player. Nor is he used in s right way at Liverpool. I think Liverpool overcongest that LHS at all times, and this is a downfall for some1 like Flo.
Isak drops deep on that left side, often even goes byline, Barcola is always in close proximity, Szobo + Macallister tend to drift more wide aswell. It doesnt allow Wirtz to have any space or isolation for himself to do what he's best at - create. I dont think Liverpool's setup is what allows him to strive at the minute. Does he take blame there aswell - absolutely. That goes without saying. But do i feel he would work in a system where he plays that prefered LHS 8/10? 100%.
He is insane presser, has work rate of a midfielder, technically very gifted, ambipedal, has good shooting technique and is creative as hell. These things dont just disappear after 1 season of PL. And i stand on that. Now, what could we do to tempt him here? That is the main question.
Given Liverpool wanted Gusto badly in the summer, maybe we could agree something like Gusto + money to get him work under Alonso again. Gusto doesnt have future here anyways, and having Wirtz, Rogers, Palmer, Estevao and Quenda in those advanced zones behind JP is absolutely elite level rotation. They are also so versatile, that any injury we might sustain there, will be easily covered.
Trust me on this, he isnt finished whatsoever. He is in hybernation at the moment, and he needs a confidence boost to get back to his best. And his best is absolutely amazing. I truly believe that.
And if Alonso gets asked if he would like for them to reunite, he is taking that deal in a heart beat, i promise you that.
Let's see what happens this season, and then we can revisit this talk in the summer. If we get UCL ( and i believe we will ), one of Wirtz/Maza should absolutely be signed. Additional plus is the fact they can both both play inside and wide. One or another and our advanced zone is set for 3 games a week for sure.
💫
Pablo Barrios with another masterclass, now against Manchester United in UCL. What a player this guy is.
People may ask me why am i always posting about him and propping him so much, but this is elite level midfielder in my eyes. Not many midfielder around Europe have such an unique skillset, where whatever they do, it just looks on the highest level. He is a complete package.
Would be so interesting to see if he would be getable. I know that deal would be worth a lot, and he does have some muscle issues, but he is just too good in my eyes for me not to say - just get him !
Absolute Rolls Royce of a midfielder.
Barrios + Caicedo in a double pivot is popcorn worthy every single game. Genuine movies would be made.
💫
One of the best front 3's in the world at the moment. Only Barcelona and Bayern have better attacking output, but lot of their players are in their prime and are in latter stages of their careers ( Raphinha is soon to be 30, Kane is 33, Diaz is 29 etc ), and our front 3 isnt even close to their prime years while already producing this type of output.
And the scary part is the fact that JP and Palmer are just in their 2nd season together ( Palmer missed lot of last one aswell ), and Rogers just recently joined them. So the numbers they are already producing are absolutely ridiculous. Dont forget the fact they are playing in far superior league than others aswell. All props to La Liga & Bundesliga, but PL is levels above, especially this season.
These 3 can dominate for years to come, especially once we get the midfield balance and defence that is more stable in time than this one we have at the moment ( Xabi needs time for that for sure ).
Havent been this excited by our attacking options in probably more than a decade. Future is safe. They just gettin started aswell.
Scary days 🥶💙
Stabilising the midfield with 1 single player who can screen the defence and all of a sudden we look 10 times better? Who could've guessed.
Caicedo was absolutely immense. Dropped deep at CCB and LCB as 3rd man in the defence, made cover runs wide when Josh stayed high, acted as screener of defence, 1st receiver in DLP role, build up weapon in back 3 and an counter press weapon, all in one.
This is absolutely Rolls Royce midfielder. Things you get from Caicedo cant be replicated. Not a single player out there could stabilise this team more than he can. Xabi must be buzzing to have him back. Absolutely elite level player. If he looks this insane next to Henderson ( who had an amazing game btw ), imagine how he will look next to someone who gives him even more licence to roam.
Chelsea is back baby 💥
