23 Jul 2019 13:34:50
Good win for Chelsea against Barcelona. The set up looks pretty good, very good pressing and energy.
23 Jul 2019 13:46:59
Barkley has had a great pre season so far. Kovacic and Jorginho have formed a nice partnership. Obviously, things will get difficult when Kante gets back to fitness. Good for us in terms of competition for places. Mount has been good too.
Ed1 What are your thoughts in respect of of our midfield trio when fully fit? Thanks.
{Ed001's Note - well it has to be Kante, the question is which two work best alongside him. For me I would want Loftus-Cheek as he scores goals but his injury changes things. It does look like Jorginho and Kovacic alongside Kante is the best option to start with, then assess during games what needs to change. If you are after goals, then Mount or Barkley can come on, if you are defending, then I would suggest taking off Kovacic, playing Kante and Jorginho as a two and putting Mount or Barkley in front could be a nice option. Kovacic takes risks on the ball which can lead to turnovers, which is why it would be him I would take off. While Barkley and Mount are just as likely to give the ball away as him, they tend to play in higher areas of the pitch, so it is less dangerous to lose the ball. Kante and Jorginho provide a solid platform to protect the defence.}
23 Jul 2019 14:24:29
Honestly, I think the best starting trio would be Kante (evidently), Kovacic and Mount.
Kante is obvious. I'd take Kovacic over Jorginho as he's more mobile and better at evading the press and breaking through it with the ball (something we miss without Ruben in there) .
Lastly I'd pick Mount to start. Ross has been good in preseason, but Mount's play is so intelligent. He leads the press, links up play, creates passing angles and knows how to score. A real workhorse in defense too.
Seems like an ideal trio to me. With an energetic front 3 of Pulisic, Tammy and Willian/ Pedro.
23 Jul 2019 15:54:41
So impressed with the energy, relentless pressing, does RLC have that intensity like Mount / Barkley, better than both but system wise they work hard, also an option when we want to play more counter attack and Cho back. Pulisic willian Cho,
23 Jul 2019 18:29:49
Thanks for your comments Ed1, as always it is greatly appreciated. I have to agree with your view. I think Kante is mainstay, however, Jorginho is quickly becoming very effective, not that he ever was poor in my opinion.
{Ed001's Note - Jorginho will be better when he is not left on his own at the base of the midfield.}
23 Jul 2019 23:59:02
The good news is we have plenty of options for the midfield.
Kante is as must, as Ed and others have said.
I think opposition will dictate the other two, I'd love to see us be confident in playing RLC and Barkley or Mount with Kante against teams more likely to sit back. But Kovacic (looks much better in a central two) and Jorginho have had decent pre-seasons so far and will play in games against better opposition.
24 Jul 2019 10:12:13
In a perfect world I would love the mobility of Kante and kovacic as a double pivot but in reality we need someone (Jorginho) to sit deep at all times to shield our defense in case the other player is caught upfield. I personally love the idea of mason mount coming off the bench as his pace and energy would play very nicely against tired legs once the game is more open. All in all our midfield has a great diversity of talents that will allow us to play in a multitude of ways.