25 Oct 2020 11:50:44
If you agree that the team has still some constraint (in CDM and CB), then you have to agree that playing the way they did against Manchester United and Sevilla is something that had to be done at some point (to counteract the imbalance in the team), for me, I think it's better we learn to play this way now than later.
You know, two things come to mind when I think about the situation we are in at the moment, that is: Opportunity Cost and Le Chatelier's principle.
* Opportunity Cost: tells you that if you want something, you have to for-go something. Opportunity Cost is Economic term that simply tells you that something has to give way at times if you want satisfaction.
* Le Chatelier’s Principle: tells you that if a physical constraint or stress is placed on a system that is in equilibrium (ie balance), the system will have to shift to annul or counteract the effect of the change that was brought by the physical constraint or stress. Le Chatelier's principle is a Chemistry principle but it applies to helping one maintain balance of a system.
Forget the all the blah blah blah, my point is our unstable central defensive midfield and porous central defence are stresses on the balance of the team which might be annulled by certain measures that resulted in playing the way we did against Sevilla and Manchester United.
Sorry guys if I am not making any sense but being cute in possession when the team needs to be; be compact and defend as a group when the team needs to be; be expansive and attacking when the team needs to be- are tenets of a successful team (which is what Chelsea is in the making) .
Against weaker opposition, the team can afford to be more expansive but protecting their lead, they still have to play compact which is the kind of football we played against Sevilla and Manchester United. I believe stability and balance is everything, with a stable defence, our attack will shine.
25 Oct 2020 13:08:54
You need strong defensive foundations to build from. We'll score more than you might work as an approach for the odd game, but it rarely works out over a season.
More so at the moment, because of the new players and lack of preseason, we're going to have to grind out wins and draws. That will mean performances like yesterday. Imagine the reactions if we'd have lost the game 3-2?
I think having a genuine DCM will mean we can transition between attack and defence a lot better, until then we need to be solid first and foremost. A player who can form a two with Kante, or a three with Mount / Kovacic and Havertz will make so much difference to us as a team.