carefreeluke

Just to remind you lot, Drinkwater cost a lot of money. I have nothing against the bloke but I don’t know what he offers other than to plug a gap tactically in midfield.

Throwback this.

'Can't be asked' comes to mind when describing Conte here.

I have to agree with @The Liquidator. I don't want Conte sacked far from it just to be clear. Conte knew what he was signing up to, he also spoke to Ancelotti and others before taking the job and he's sounding like a broken record. He's always made clear from the very start that the club have the final say with regards to transfers but he definitely has more influence than he is letting on at the moment. Fans are quick to pinpoint individuals in a club's hierarchy but it's a mutual game really, it's down to the manager, scouts, the board members, agents associated to the club etc. Conte has influence there's no doubt about that, there's no doubt that the club work with him to find players that fits the profile for the manager, Emenalo's role was always to work with the manager for example. The chase for Llorente and Dzeko in my mind comes from Conte wanting a striker of that profile and we've been buying more players from the Italian market compared to previous years under Roman which suggests Conte is having some influence as he would know these players, this is being assumptive though which is the mistake too many of us make when talking about the club's hierarchy and business. I just think the board at the moment with financial fair play, the new stadium and a change in policy (which has been in place well before Conte got here) have more limitations now (more than ever in the Roman era) and it's more difficult to work within those limitations. This isn't 2004 where our spending seemed to have no limits. Marina in her negotiations (there's no way she's choosing the players to buy as some Chelsea fans would have you assume) can only work with a certain budget and instructions that come from the Big Man himself. I'll say one thing though, it isn't that we're not spending money, it's who we're choosing to buy that's the problem and until we have sufficient evidence pointing at someone to put it down to, it's best to look at the club as a whole and put the blame there. I blame Roman, Conte, the scouting network, Marina, everyone, this is a mutual affair. I don't like how people pinpoint and blame certain individuals when there's little or no evidence to back it up. This post isn't aimed at anyone on here by the way.

Not forgetting he's had some very decent performances in some of the big games earlier this season in a three man midfield. Let's see how the remainder of the season goes.

Bakayoko looks more comfortable playing alongside Kante in the two man midfield.

He was very good against Arsenal away, against Atlético at home and tore Brighton, Newcastle and Huddersfield a part, against Southampton he also didn't play poorly. Didn't play /start against Norwich, Stoke, Bournemouth which leaves the Everton, West Ham, Arsenal (0-0) and Leicester games where he was poor. He's also been our best player in the Champions League this season. Last few games he's been very poor, losing the ball or giving it away which isn't him as he's very good at keeping hold of it and his finishing hasn't been up to his usual standards. The system suffocates him at times, against the bigger teams the three in midfield works better as there's more space for Hazard to exploit, against Arsenal at home in the cup, Arsenal played rather defensively so this was partly a factor (not an excuse for him) which doesn't help his game. In contrast against Arsenal away in the league he had more space to operate in and we saw a better performance. What we are seeing in the 3-5-2 is Hazard being crowded out a lot of the time, he's always been surrounded quickly by defenders as a player but it's more of the case in the 3-5-2 as a lot of the time he lacks support in and around him and opposing teams know that Hazard is the only real threat in terms of running at players, creating etc. He's the only one who can beat a player and make something happen and when you have the likes of Fabregas, Bakayoko and Morata not performing well enough around him, you almost get the impression at times watching the games it's him against the world. I'm not necessarily using this as an excuse for him as in the games against West Ham etc, this was the case but he still performed poorly with the chances and space he did have but nevertheless it is a factor for me. We need to see more of the 3-4-3 against inferior opposition. I like the introduction of the 3-5-2, it's true we used a variant of it last season (during games in terms of game management) but this season we're seeing it from the start of matches and it's obviously in response to Conte seeing us get outnumbered and dominated in the midfield against better opposition last season. Why Pedro is good and (I still feel under appreciated by Chelsea fans) is the fact he links up with Hazard and the striker well, it gives the opposition something else to think about. Pedro understands players like Hazard, we're seeing far less of that link up play we had last season. Willian can offer that as well at times but he gives the ball away too much for it to be consistently effective. If not 3-4-3, why not another shape? There was no need to have five defenders on the pitch in the West Ham and Everton games. Imagine Hazard in the Liverpool or Man City teams with their attacking players and movement? Yes he would have to sacrifice more defensively in terms of pressing but the difference is huge.

He's an odd one Cesc.

Could do with another Fabregas type player (with more mobility) in our midfield.

The problems we have at the moment were apparent last season as well, it's nothing new.

@Any O'Brien How was Spain mate, any stories?

Majority of footballing world seems to rate him and whilst that's the case we could flog him for 30M at least and put that towards someone decent. I would love Zaha.

He's dross mate, a lot being made of his goal scoring record for a defender but he's not really a defender in our system, the wing backs are two of the furthest players forward at all times for us. That comparison isn't really a fair one as he's being compared to pure defenders. He's given a lot of freedom in our system and has a lot of cover and protection in and around him as well, he follows the tactical instructions and has to be in certain positions all game. And Moses was growing on me loads until his recent two performances.

Reminded me a lot of Zola, similar personality off the pitch as well.

Agree here. Was a definite tactical ploy from Moyes, Arnautovic was pinned up against him on many occasions.

ah OK. Nobody's slagged him off on here, more they've pointed out his poor performances but know there's a potential good player there and know the fact that he needs time. It's in response to some of the abuse he's been getting from other Chelsea fans. He took a while to get going at Monaco as well and it wasn't until last season that they saw the best of him there. He could turn out to be shite after a few years but he deserves some time. I for example see a very good player there but what I think is going to be more important with regards to his performances in the near future and over the next few years is him staying fit and being free of the demons of his injuries.

Yeah isn't doing well recently. In the mix of that though he's had very good performances against Spurs, Arsenal, Atlético away, and Manchester United and was one of the key reasons why we did well in those games. Ramires (who had his flaws which must be said) was absolutely dreadful in his first six months as well, (worse than Bakayoko now) and he turned out alright.

Thought Bakayoko was good first half but very poor in the second, the mistake he makes on the Saúl goal is a big one as well as Atlético didn't look like scoring at all, gifted them a goal. Atlético looked like they were looking to stay in the game and waiting to see how the Roma game went. If Bakayoko stays with his man, we may well have been sitting top of the group and perhaps Zappacosta could do better with the Torres flick on as well. May as well start looking at flights to Paris as I bet we get them cunts again. Sick of playing them, mostly because they are very good. We're more than capable of beating them though.

Bale has been absolute shite the last few years.

Yeah mate, he's been playing the role Bakayoko plays and it's a tactical ploy in the new system we play, helps create space for the likes of Hazard and Morata and gives teams something else to think about. It would be interesting to hear the Leicester fans' opinions. In my opinion he's more a holding midfielder type player who in their title winning season probably didn't get enough credit for his defensive work, interceptions, hard work and working very well within a very specific system. We now have a very specific system and style of play which he has a role. After the title win at Leicester, his performances dropped like the majority of Leicester players. At Leicester he'd be one of the first to get on the ball and filter it through direct to Vardy. His passing is probably about average, nothing special and being in advance areas isn't his strong point, I would say Kante was a lot more important for them in advance areas with winning the ball high up the pitch and through counter attacks as Kante has the legs to do that. It would then be Drinkwater's job to cover. Majority of Chelsea fans seem to be impressed with Drinkwater and there's slowly being talk of the international call up for the World Cup. For me he works hard (which is all you can ask really to be fair) and he reads the game well but overall I haven't been that impressed so far especially compared to other Chelsea fans. I'll judge him properly at the end of the season though when he's had more playing time.

Michael Emenalo isn't blameless for some of the things that have happened in the past but to put all the blame on him and use him as a scapegoat as some fans have done is baffling. I love it when these types of interviews come out, always interesting to hear from people that work within the club and when they reveal stuff about how the club is run. He genuinely nearly convinces me here about why the loan system is good and why the way in which we treat the young players is better. I've never understood why the fans hate him, well I do, but they have always been misinformed for me. Class. https://talksport.com/football/chelsea-fc-exclusive-michael-emenalo-says-andreas-christensen-can-be-stamford-bridge-great

Yeah, he's had some decent performances, Atlético away, Arsenal, Man United, all against decent opposition. I'm worried about his injuries more than anything else, needs to get shot of them and work on his fitness.