Chelsea 2016/17 - Very Content

Honestly do think if we had somebody like Costa we would be close to them near the top of the league. Take out his first few frustrating games (where he should have been sent off but still got winners ah).
 
Honestly do think if we had somebody like Costa we would be close to them near the top of the league. Take out his first few frustrating games (where he should have been sent off but still got winners ah).
Of course, you would! Take for example the 1-1 today. That never happens without a Costa/Drogba-type of striker.
 
Unbelievable result and 2nd half performance. Our players showed huge heart and Conte got his message across fantastically well at half time just like he did against Spurs.

To win at one of the toughest away fixtures without Matic who has been superb all season and with several of our best players having poor games (including a very, very rare subpar game from Kante) says even more.

My only real concern about us is Marcos Alonso against certain opponents. We saw it against Kyle Walker last weekend and now this weekend against City that if pacey players run at him he's like a statue. He's great going forward but so susceptible defensively.
 
In a few short sentences, can a knowledgable person please explain why Conte is succeeding where Mourinho so drastically failed?
 
Can Couarez take Chelsea all the way? Playing like a demon striker at the moment.
 
They got lucky today. Had De Bruyne buried that chance and Augero got one of his chances, City would have been out of sight.
 
That 3-4-3 tactic has surprised a lot of people, PL not ready for such voodoo yet.

Damn foreigners and their tactics.
 
They got lucky today. Had De Bruyne buried that chance and Augero got one of his chances, City would have been out of sight.

Chelsea blew quite a few counter attacks that should've been goals themselves. They weren't lucky, they simply finished better.
 
Honestly do think if we had somebody like Costa we would be close to them near the top of the league. Take out his first few frustrating games (where he should have been sent off but still got winners ah).

They had conceded one goal in seven games going into today. It's not just Costa that has them ahead of us.
 
In a few short sentences, can a knowledgable person please explain why Conte is succeeding where Mourinho so drastically failed?
Mourinho won the league in his second season with that lot. Conte is in his first and coming on the back of a season that went down in flames because the players rebelled against the manager and got him fired
 
Why? They don't have Europe. Chelsea isn't known for bottling or fizzling, at least in years where they are good.
Quoting myself a month later because I stand by what I said. It will be Chelsea or Liverpool who win the league.

Costa and Hazard are currently the best 9/10 combo in the league. They have upped their level and are world class, unplayable, at the moment. David Luiz, frankly, neither looks like a clown, nor a liability. Ok, well maybe he still looks like a clown, but he is playing well, and worth the fee paid if he keeps it up.

And you sorta can't help but like Conte. Except when you remember it's Chelsea, and feck liking Chelsea :smirk:
 
Eh....Mourinho won the PL with Chelsea two years ago.
Mourinho won the league in his second season with that lot. Conte is in his first and coming on the back of a season that went down in flames because the players rebelled against the manager and got him fired
I know all that. That doesn't explain Conte's success.
 
...why not? Chelsea are a very good side, Conte is a very good manager. Chelsea weren't a very good side last year because the players couldn't stand the manager and gave up on the season.
 
In a few short sentences, can a knowledgable person please explain why Conte is succeeding where Mourinho so drastically failed?
Supposedly Jose is a bit of a shit man manager. lot of ex.players say he never spoke to them
 
Thought he'd flop hard, proved me wrong, done wonders to i.a. Moses and actually got 343/352/whatever you call it to work. Credit where it's due.
 
They got lucky today. Had De Bruyne buried that chance and Augero got one of his chances, City would have been out of sight.
Had my uncle been a female he'd be my auntie. saying they were lucky is irrelevant.
 
Funny how the same people are making excuses for Pep because City were wasteful are the biggest Mourinho bashers.
 
Rubbish. Chelsea played much better for long periods, and City lost their heads.

Not finishing well is not bad luck.
Relying on the other team not to finish the chances is luck though. Chelsea being lucky doesn't mean City were unlucky.
 
They got lucky today. Had De Bruyne buried that chance and Augero got one of his chances, City would have been out of sight.
They were a bit lucky, and City were pole in front of goal. Chelsea are very slow at the back and are suscepticle to counter attacks. Navas took advantage of that a couple of times. Cahill and Alonso are awfully slow, and Fabregas, well.
 
It is remarkable how a transformation in formation has molded a more efficient, completely new Chelsea side. Conte has done a remarkable job managing his side and once again showcase how a manager passion can rub off onto the player with positive effect.
 
With a few defensive tweaks they will be quite the unit, solid both in midfield and attack. Imagine if they add someone like Khoulibaly, possibly another cb and a replacement for Alonso.
 
In a few short sentences, can a knowledgable person please explain why Conte is succeeding where Mourinho so drastically failed?
Mourinho lost the dressing room, most noticeably and perhaps critically, he lost Hazard
 
...why not? Chelsea are a very good side, Conte is a very good manager. Chelsea weren't a very good side last year because the players couldn't stand the manager and gave up on the season.
The bit I don't get is they all liked him enough the season before. The same players played for him to win a title.

So it's alot more nuanced than 'the players downed tools because they disliked him'.
 
Only an insider of the chelsea locker room can know why the players turned on mourinho. But it is patently clear to anybody who watched them last year that that's what happened. Hell, mourinho himself said just that after their loss to leicester
 
The bit I don't get is they all liked him enough the season before. The same players played for him to win a title.

So it's alot more nuanced than 'the players downed tools because they disliked him'.

This is what happens with managers. They work wonders for a while and then the players lose interest. Its psychological. It happened to Klopp at dortmund; its the reason why Pep never stays more than four years at a club, Anncellotti also. You are speaking as if it only happens to Mourinho. Look at tony pulis for instance, moves from club to club.

Ferguson was an anomaly in this respect. One of a kind. I wouldnt be surprized if in four years time, Klopp, Conte, Pep, Poch and even mourinho are all gone from their retrospective clubs they now manage. Maybe not all of them, but certainly some of them.
 
Fergie was a chameleon, that was the secret of his success.
 
Mourinho lost the dressing room, most noticeably and perhaps critically, he lost Hazard

Matic was the other big one I think. The year they won the title, he held their unbalanced midfield together and was probably the best midfielder in the league. After the poor start to the season, I think he was one of the players who was publicly thrown under the bus.
 
I think Mou's frequent digging out of his players in public and saying things like "I feel like my work was betrayed by my players" and "maybe I did amazing work to win the title last season," insinuating that it was all down to him that we won the league and had them playing far above their actual level.

Think it was 50% that and 50% our players just getting sick of his rigid tactical system and methods. You saw how much relief there seemed to be when he left. It was like the players could finally enjoy their football and express themselves. Seeing similar now with Conte on a whole new level. They have much more freedom.