05 Nov 2015 20:55:21
Serious question,
I'm using last season as an example.
The first half of last season, you boys were on fire, you took everybody apart, gained a nice lead over everybody, than went into defensive mode and shut up shop for last 10/12 games and avoided defeat, apart from slippery Steve who helped you out at An field.
Now, in not knocking Mourinho's tactics last season, you won the league and deservedly so.
But, we all know Mourinho likes a 'defensive' game, in terms of formation and tactics, but you boys are way behind the chasing pack, is he good enough to change tactics and play a more offensive game? (You can't play defensive anymore, you need wins not draws) .
05 Nov 2015 21:22:54
This is the big question Dags. The problem I feel is that he doesn't think he has the right players to change the system defensively wise. We are all calling for a more open attacking set up, because we have the players (attack wise ) to do so. Attack is the best form of defence is something that Jose obviously doesn't believe in. Maybe if he becomes happy with Zouma and baba at the back with a bit of speed, then he might change his approach. We shall see.
05 Nov 2015 23:16:08
Sid,
Do you think Mourinho has lost faith in his defence?
Let's face it, JT is not as commanding as he usually is, Ivanovich has lost his edge and Cahill is not a natural Captain.
Is Mourinho scared to let the likes of Hazard and Fabregas play freely and more expressive because he is worried about your defence crumbling under a counter attack?
05 Nov 2015 23:48:40
Terry is commanding but his legs are starting to go. He can play against big strong players but not small quick nippy ones eg. Aguero.
Cahill is still a good player but one thing that frustrates me is his ability to back off all the time.
Zouma needs to play CB at all times. Quality defender and hopefully one to step up and be captain.
Ivanovic played more as a right wing back last year, but again with another year on his age, he's getting slower and now getting caught time and time again.
Baba Rahman will come good as and when he gets up to speed of the premiership. The German league is nothing on the premiership in terms of pace and strength.
Lampard hit the nail on the head the other night when he said that Chelsea lack leaders. After losing him, Cech and Drogba in the space of 2 seasons. Only JT in my eyes is a natural born leader. The rest aren't. They need a commanding CB and a CM. Ones that's aren't afraid to
Put in a tackle.
Fabregas I think has a hidden injury that he's been carrying for a while now. Doesn't ever seem to be 100%. Even at Barcelona.
06 Nov 2015 16:58:27
Dagenham gunner, you're getting your seasons mixed up. The Gerrard slip was the season before and helped Man City secure the title.
As to the first half of last season, we hit the ground running, kept the same team and had no impacting injuries/suspensions to deal with. We fell apart at Spurs then turned it round by playing football that was effective game management rather than easy on the eye. the run-in is all about getting over the line IMO so I wasn't bothered by it. We did have a couple of very good games in that run btw, 5-0 away at Swansea being the highlight. Ultimately we had quite a small squad so had to manage the fixtures carefully across the cups and the league. That has almost set a blueprint which is difficult to shake off as we use pretty much the same formation/tactics and in an increasingly competitve league that will spell trouble eventually.
In terms of turning it around this season, I think we need to take the shackles off at home and play a more progressive game (i. e. playing more attacking full backs and haveing a DM slot back into defence) as well as trusting the flair players to write their own script in the game. it seems to me that Mourinho majors on game management, which works fine when you're at the front of the pack but that is not what is needed now. He will not go cavalier like some other managers but he certainly needs to take risks to make us a little less predictable to play against.
06 Nov 2015 17:46:36
Sorry Steve, you are indeed correct.
I certainly wasn't criticising Mourinho for adapting things in 2nd half of title winning season, good management to be honest.
Simple question, based on your assessment, will Mourinho turn things around?
06 Nov 2015 18:29:45
I don't think anyone can say for sure. my view is that he has to do something different and if we can utilise lesser-known flair players like Kennedy and Traore then we have a better chance than not. We need to be less predictable, but as I said above, that introduces risk to the team as a whole.
As for Mourinho, I'd like to see him look at setting up his teams to cause the opposition problems as opposed to worrying about the threats they bring. Easy for me to say, of course, and something I don't see changing soon.
If Mourinho is still there by January we could see some interesting comings and goings in the transfer window.
I think he can turn it around and a good run could transform the negativity from the media and reduce pressure around the team. Another interesting thing will be what is acceptable to the club by the end of the season. who knows on that front?!
06 Nov 2015 19:56:22
Spot on Steve,
Thing is, Roman wants the trophies, but also the attacking football.
Whatever happens, José is still the best man to do the job.