Palmer’s height/long limbs maybe make him less technically reliable + nimble as the absolute premium pocket players (e.g. Odegaard, B.Silva), but it also gives him the potential to be dangerous in ways they can’t.
He’s potentially a very unique profile (Project Havertz v2) 🧵
Yesterday it slipped my mind that Mount was here with Enzo for 6 months. Makes this even more wild lol.
These South American’s don’t play that “traitor” & “switching sides” stuff.
It’s refreshing at times to see that old-school passion in the game.
If I was Mudryk, I’d be talking to & asking Sterling questions everyday.
Sterling’s natural ability isn’t out of this world & he has weaknesses, but this is a man who’s truly mastered the art of wing-play & really took on everything Pep taught him.
Perfect guy to learn from.
In the 2nd half;
Poch suddenly decides to revert back to some of the BASIC positional-play shapes (from pre-season with Cucurella inverting into MF in a steady 3-2-5 and surprise, surprise we look much better & nearly win.
Loads of better individual performances too.
Joker.
I’m afraid I just don’t see a world where Madrid don’t steal one of our RBs to replace Carvajal eventually.
I can’t see both of them co-existing for too long.
Both just so good. James is clear but he’s injury-prone & Gusto is the real deal.
But let’s just enjoy it for now.
Nagelsmann is one of the leading new-school/genius-type coaches & has now become underrated.
Here’s a brief look into why I think he’s a top candidate & what he could try to implement at Chelsea FC.
A worthy rival to your Arteta’s & Alonso’s
[MEGA-THREAD]
🧵🧵🧵🧵
When I think of KDH, this action comes to mind.
The idea was clearly to have Olise at RW, w/Palmer as that ball-handler on the LHS.
But since that fell through Palmer will be at RW & KDH will be that LHS guy.
Less exciting but maybe more functional.
Edgy characters like De Zerbi have always been a good mesh with CFC fans (e.g. Jose, Tuchel, Conte) & the club’s culture.
Animated on the touchline, crazy celebrations, ambitious, ballsy, loved by his players/fans, while tactically modern/top.
You saw how Enzo looked vs LFC & West Ham (1st half) at the start of the season when playing this way (principles) & you’re asking if Enzo can fit in this team or is “the problem”?
Some will never learn 😂
A coach like RDZ would get Noni into 4/5 of these situations a game & do relentless training-ground work to improve his already budding (& potentially devastating) 1v1 threat.
He has the capacity to repeat such actions again & again.
Something’s there.
Opposition obviously has to be accounted for, but I like the actions.
In Noni & Mudryk I see 2 guys, who with continuous training ground repetitions + confidence can become top wingers.
They’re potential “repetitive” types like Saka/Salah etc.
I understand the premise of the idea, but I think in Ugochukwu we somewhat have that MF profile.
He’s like a more JDP-inclined prototype although obviously further behind in development.
He eats ground-less etc but probably has better natural on-ball potential.
Links to every coach under the sun except the guy who was brought to BHA by our director & just mysteriously became a free agent days ago.
while simultaneously talking about wanting a possession-obsessed coach.
Almost feels like we’re purposely being thrown off the scent…
Tuchel was a front runner of this new pragmatic JDP approach.
Pep took his 3223 box MF setup to the next level by having wingers hold width, in oppose to wing backs (James/Chilwell).
Our 2021 CL win & early 21/22 top of the league stint was a peek into this style’s potential.
I don’t want RDZ because I think he’s the best coach since sliced-bread. He has flaws.
But at the right club with a setup catered to minimising his deficiencies, he has super-potential.
Here’s part of my “RDZ - Chelsea” angle.
[LONG-THREAD 🧵🧵🧵]
Would be a risk but he has all the raw materials to be a one of the best wingers around. Tuchel wanted an aggressive unpredictable winger well here he is.
I understand some fan’s concerns about the style of football because of their prior experiences w/possession-football here.
Both Sarri & Tuchel often had sub-optimal profiles making for a bland/laborious watch at times.
With our current squad it should be different this time.
I’ve mentioned this before.
If anything Poch has kind of shot himself in the foot with recent results.
He’s shown this squad is way more capable than he’s made them look & reaffirmed the work the directors have done in recruitment.
🚨 Paul Winstanley and Laurence Stewart are safe ahead of next week’s end of season review and will lead the club’s summer spending. (
@Matt_Law_DT
)
#CFC
I can’t tell you how much I love this guy. Throwback 05/06 CFC midfielder. Just an all-round brilliant footballer.
I was disgusted when people campaigned for “ordinary” guys over him last summer.
Him & Lavia are era-defining MF purchases.
We’ll come back to this.
Chelsea vs Man City - Post-match thoughts! (Part 1)
Let’s just say this is the best setup I’ve seen from Poch all season! If we keep it like this there’s reason to be excited…
[BIG THREAD] 🧵🧵🧵
I barely ever seen anyone talk about it, but imo Havertz‘s continued growth in height ruined him.
All the clips of him looking consistently clean technically were in 18/19 where he looked 6ft/6ft1 max.
After growing further the cleanliness of his technique took a nosedive
Chelsea vs Man City - Post Match Thoughts! (Part 2)
A closer look into some interesting tactical ploys noted during the game + how we can continue to build on them.
[BIG THREAD] 🧵🧵🧵
- End to End transition football with mystical “xG” & chances created?
- Horrible rest defence & loads of goals conceded?
- People saying almost all our players are bad?
- Being told the players aren’t running enough every game is the issue.
We’ve been here before folks…
The moral high-horse position from Arsenal (“Bank of England Club”) fans is super-surprising.
Should we discuss the “questionable” promotion in 1919 or the lavish spending in the 20s/30s that lead to 5 titles in 7/8 seasons in very “City-like” fashion.
Learn your history.
Manchester United/Liverpool/Arsenal are big clubs who have built their success over the last century, growing their fanbase and revenues accordingly. Manchester City and Chelsea are small clubs who have built their success as a result of inflating revenues over the last few
It’s good to see the maximisation of Enzo Fernandez be outlined as a priority.
That was one of the biggest failures of the Poch regime.
Getting the best out of him immediately makes us a way better team. He’s a special/rare profile these days & we have to utilise that edge.
Chelsea have been won over by Maresca’s detailed plans for Enzo Fernandez. Maresca was understood to present multiple set up shifts that he believes would get the best out of Enzo Fernandez. (
@NickPurewal
)
#CFC
That “Enzo to Jackson” chance that he got completely wrong, was Chelsea heritage.
“Lampard to Drogba”. “Fabregas to Costa”.
We could have our newest iteration in Enzo/Osimhen next season.
A match-winning combo in tight games & clutch moments.
Our “process” has been frustrating.
But if I’m to base this journey on what I’ve seen of the ownership’s dealings so far (e.g. club purchase or Enzo/Caicedo deals etc);
Despite moments of potential humiliation & a gruelling/timely wait, they get it over the line in the end.
🧵
It’s taken him 9 months to even consider reverting back to even just mere basics.
Should give you a glimpse of just how much better we’ll look with a positional-play specialist in charge.
Nkunku false
#9
era in a possession-heavy side.
Sweet middle-ground between a Jesus (super-dribbly hell-raiser) & Alvarez (super-clinical + ball-striking).
Nkunku offers solid dribbling/great link-up play, while similarly being clinical in front of goal.
I’ll be there.
If there’s a coach that suddenly makes you want to green-light a move for Estevao Willian it’s De Zerbi.
Would be one of the best coaches itw to entrust with his development.
Him in those Mitoma-like 1v1 iso’s for years to come would be something…
Disasi: 26
Sanchez: 26
Sterling: 29
Fans:
“We can’t win anything for the next 100 years because the youth need time to grow & gel. They make too many mistakes and are too raw”
While our older players make as many (if not more) mistakes & the youth save us weekly lol.
The strong interest in Olise signifies one clear thing in my mind.
That Palmer is now likely exclusively going to be used as a central player (which is where I prefer him).
#8
/10 vibes for the foreseeable.
LW: Sterling/Mudryk
RW: Olise/Noni
Very strong/solid options.
Crying over Poch leaving & now the sale of Gallagher.
We’ll look back on some of these moments as a case-study for how low we fell as a club, before bouncing back.
I like Gallagher as an individual (humble, great-work ethic, loves the club)
but seriously get a grip…
“Lemon man” really nearly got another season at my football club.
Even scarier, when he left he had grown men in outrage/uproar.
Last season had to be a social experiment to push the sane fans, over the edge.
They nearly got me but I’m still standing 😪
🚨 Caicedo: “At Brighton it was all tactical, just with the ball; "tactical, tactical, tactical" and at Chelsea it was run, run, run and it was very difficult for me”
"With Chelsea I always ran a bit more and with Brighton we almost always had the ball, with Chelsea it was a
Because he was a back-up for City;
I genuinely think we refuse to accept just how fake this kid has been. Mentally we just won’t allow ourselves to truly accept it.
I know he gets plaudits but somehow even I haven’t fully processed what we witnessed.
Outrageous debut season.
The kind of niche genius you centre your attack around.
Incredible game-IQ. Elite associative play to facilitate others. A poised/icy killer in front of goal. Near-on perfect/robotic final 3rd decision-making.
A special false
#9
profile.
MINI-🧵🪡
This a is risky & super-ballsy but I’m open-minded. At least stylistically it’s a good fit.
I wanted RDZ & felt like he was a perfect fit for the squad, but the football people have seemingly decided.
Let’s hope this is the equivalent of Cole Palmer > Kudus/Olise again…
🚨🔵 Chelsea are advancing in talks to appoint Enzo Maresca as new head coach.
Positive talks over the weekend, he’s 100% keen and excited by
#CFC
project.
No issues on Maresca’s contract already being discussed — talks to follow with Leicester City over €10m compensation fee.
In the 2nd half;
Poch suddenly decides to revert back to some of the BASIC positional-play shapes (from pre-season with Cucurella inverting into MF in a steady 3-2-5 and surprise, surprise we look much better & nearly win.
Loads of better individual performances too.
Joker.
It’s important to remember Maresca is coaching his first season in the top-flight, let alone Big 6 level.
So I have to accept some rawness/naivety which I feel like we’ve seen in some spots.
Some of the profiling in moments & our in-game approach has felt quite off at times.
I disagree.
xG can be misleading w/o the eye test.
With structureless attacks & freedom you’ll amass xG but likely underperform as attacks are random/off-the cuff vs structured teams.
It’s no surprise ETH/Poch have the most drastic underperformance in the top 11.
🧵🧵🧵
@LKCOYB
Not immediately imo. Most of the issues with these players is the know how and immaturity in certain parts to know how to win games. That isn't even tactics as for example. We've generated enough chances xG to win more games than we should to at least be 4th- 7th but.. it's not
Mudryk has bags of raw talent.
When you look at Sane/Sterling at City & now Saka/Martinelli at Arsenal, it’s clear to see why Arteta was so hell-bent on signing Mudryk.
He’s incredible coaching wingers.
Our next starting XI will be the first time all the below occur together:
- Caicedo/Enzo double pivot
- Natural winger at LW
- Natural RB at RB
After a long journey of misprofiling, sub-optimal setups & injuries etc, could our best performances finally be on the way?
🧵🧵
You already know Silva is going to be a great coach in the future. It’s way too obvious.
And a De-Zerbi book in the background?
Oh he’s studying, studying 📚
‼️ | 🗣️ Fabio Capello: “But what has De Zerbi won and achieved in his career? This year he’s tenth, ninth, eleventh… I don’t understand why he’s talked about so much as one of the top coaches and is the most sponsored by all.”
[
@SkySport
]
No one‘s expecting them to win the league or saying they’re all 10/10 superstars.
But this is AT LEAST a top 4 contending team under a proper coach 100%.
No one will gaslight me or tell me otherwise.
Stop letting underperforming coaches trick you out of your position.
Back to back solid wins for Nagelsmann against 2 top nations, completely dominating possession in both.
People have been judging a possession-based coach who’s never had the luxury of metronome-possession midfielders.
Became super underrated in recent time.
I’m a massive fan of the unique work & output of top generalist talents that Cobham have continuously churned out.
But I get the feeling the board may want to lean more towards a more streamlined La Masia/EDS style formula, with a distinct play-style through all age-groups.
I’ve seen a lot of talk about stacking RWs.
Isn’t it quite obvious if we sign Estevao that Angelo/Hutchinson are clearly going to be flipped for profit?
Noni “maybe” too once Paez/Estevao are of proper age?
Estevao, Paez, Palmer likely more prioritised long-term 🇧🇷🇪🇨🏴
CFC have leaked this & definitely want him gone if the opportunity arises.
Any player signed before the current wage-structure was implemented will never be 100% safe.
Financially they’ll always think they can be more efficient & do better. The nasty but harsh reality.
🚨🔵 EXCL: Carney Chukwuemeka’s contract includes £40m release clause.
Chelsea insist on their position not to allow talented midfielder to leave on loan.
Every approach for potential loan in the recent months has been rejected so far.
This is truly despicable. I’m sorry.
Poch has truly put on an absolute clinic in the “art of manipulation” this season. He’s genuinely in GOAT conversations when it comes to that.
Lowered expectations so badly, that anything above is seen as success. This is “okay” to some.
The “pragmatism” direction we are seeing City & Arsenal trend towards will probably mean we see some extremely high point tallies from both this season.
It may not be as pretty/exciting but will probably make them both more efficient PPG wise.
Records are up for grabs
I remember all of the critics in Pep’s 1st year & that was w/City lol. God forbid he was at a “Brighton” level team.
RDZ’s ideals are made for the very best technical players.
He’s no Pep, but once he has them, people will quickly understand why he’s high in-demand.
Getting closer & closer… 🔜
Paez x Estevao Willian? 🇧🇷🇪🇨
Probably my favourite two players amongst the young South American talents I’ve been hearing about on here.
We’re bringing elite technique & real ballers back 🔥⚽️
🚨🔵🇧🇷 Understand Chelsea have reached verbal agreement with Willian Estevão on personal terms.
Told initial bid still to be sent but it will be around €32m plus add-ons, as talks with Palmeiras will follow.
Nothing done yet but
#CFC
remain clear favorites since January.
The darted run before the cross. The timing to come onto the cross & connect cleanly with one-touch. The caressed finish away from the GK.
So many small details that make Nkunku the poised/icy killer that he is.
The game slows-down for him in the box.
The sad part is many will start to question the players like Colwill, Caicedo, Enzo etc that were lauded by all the best clubs in Europe lol.
We’ve been here before.
“Kante, Kova, J5 not good enough”
“Rudiger & Christensen are rubbish”
A tactically weak coach is a killer.
As great as T.Silva is, against low-blocks his lack of pace is an issue, for how a high-press team needs to defend.
Our DF line can’t push up to squeeze the pitch because he hasn’t got the recovery pace.
We can’t compress the pitch well, which is huge for sustained pressure.
When I think of Nkunku I think;“decisive”.
Very reminiscent of Trossard in the box. Near-on perfect & almost robotic execution. Final-action masters.
Calmness, poise & top finishing.
These guys push the margins & win you key points over a full season.
Just like I suspected, Palmer has turned out to be everything CFC fans imagined & thought the “idea” of Havertz would be when he came over with so much hype.
6ft clean playmaker, technician & G/A machine all in one.
32 G/A later & you have your clear/deserved PL YPOTY 🏆🥇❄️🥶
Palmer’s height/long limbs maybe make him less technically reliable + nimble as the absolute premium pocket players (e.g. Odegaard, B.Silva), but it also gives him the potential to be dangerous in ways they can’t.
He’s potentially a very unique profile (Project Havertz v2) 🧵
We have more injuries than ever & still we’re playing with more structure.
This is why injuries have never been an excuse & I never accepted it as one, while he was waffling about Nkunku & all the rest.
This Poch guy is just genuinely a stubborn mad-man it seems 👍🏽
The technical levels at the club are as high as ever. Loads of confident, young, top players who all play with initiative.
Something I’ve been crying out for for a long time. It’s night & day from some of the lineups we’d put out in recent years.
Super refreshing.
🚨🔵 EXCL: Éderson could leave Man City in the summer transfer window in case of good proposal, it’s a possibility.
There’s already interest from Saudi Pro League clubs with Éderson considering possibilities at the end of the season.
It will be up to the player. 🇧🇷
Consistent game-time from James, Lavia, Fofana, Nkunku & Carney are going to feel like an extra £200/300M injection of signings next season.
Add 2/3 key summer signings + a top tactical coach too?
We’ll do something spooky next season if we play our cards right.
Coach/Squad mismatch is the MAIN cause of our recent struggles.
Stylistic fit is a key component towards success in the modern-game.
Hire a very good coach that FITS your squad & you’ll excel. We have failed to do that 2 years in a row & have suffered the consequences.
🧵🧵
We don’t have a bad coach (even though I’m not his biggest fan) or have a bad squad as some say (amazingly assembled squad for the RIGHT coach).
We just have a suboptimal pairing of squad & coach that doesn’t help either party.
That’s completely on our decision-makers.
Caicedo & Enzo, our clear-cut, superstar double-pivot players worth a combined £220M;
are still yet to play together in a double pivot.
Forget tactics, understating of the game & all of that. Just off pure logic, surely even the simplest of men understand that’s an issue lol.
Lol people think it’ll take RDZ long to implement his style with THIS batch of players?
It’s a squad made to play this type of football.
Didn’t take him long to implement his style at Brighton or Ange overly-long at Spurs for similar reason.
Sarri started from ground zero.
De Zerbi is Sarri 2.0 in terms of very repetitive/boring training sessions and in terms of how long it’ll take to implement his style. Can picture Chelsea fans hounding him just like they did Sarri
Many Italian coaches have a unique mastery of time/space, achieved through their automatism-heavy coaching style.
Inzaghi, Conte, De Zerbi etc. You name it.
It’ll be interesting to potentially see that from Maresca within a Pep-like approach.
Roberto De Zerbi yet to be ruled out by Chelsea as club work through four-man shortlist of candidates to succeed Mauricio Pochettino. Story with
@JPercyTelegraph
#cfc
In a hypothetical world where we hire RDZ (who often prefers technical CFs);
Do we still 100% make a big CF signing?
Nkunku, Jackson, Palmer can all operate in those RDZ twin-CF areas.
If Palmer is used centrally does that leave an opening for a starting RW?
Enter Olise…
I suspect we’ll sign a more-suited hybrid LB/LCB profile.
Colwill is wasted at LB (& should only really be a last-ditch emergency option there).
Under the radar links to the likes of Lukeba/Calafiori hint towards that.
Murillo would be an interesting option too.
Somehow I missed all of this yesterday. This will be huge if we pull this off.
Those special talents meant for Madrid/Barca. Him AND Paez would be a huge, huge statement.
He’s REALLY one of them “ones” 🇧🇷
I don’t care if we win 5-1 from here lol.
Someone please get me a confirmation this guy is leaving at the end of the season.
Another season of this will lower my life expectancy.
Don’t let anyone gaslight you into thinking this is the best any coach could do.
Nonsense.
Finally they’re seeing the light. Please no more of this “give Poch another year” rhetoric.
We have to stand ten-toes down on the blatant/obvious truth despite temporary highs.
There’s no room for compromising. A coaching change is the single biggest needle-mover this summer.
I barely ever seen anyone talk about it, but imo Havertz‘s continued growth in height ruined him.
All the clips of him looking consistently clean technically were in 18/19 where he looked 6ft/6ft1 max.
After growing further the cleanliness of his technique took a nosedive
Gallagher? Core? Lol
I’m fine w/Gallagher as a squad option. He’s earned a right to be part of the project w/his improvement + performances & specific niche strengths.
But Poch’s use & prioritising of him is sickening.
So much so, that I’d partly be relieved if he was sold.
🚨 Mauricio Pochettino is pushing behind the scenes for Conor Gallagher to be offered a new contract. Sources say Pochettino wants to build an English core using the likes of Gallagher and James as the foundation. (
@iamrahmanosman
)
#CFC
That second sentence is one of the biggest points I’ve been trying to hammer home for a while.
I don’t think people quite understand the “net +/-“ performance-wise for this team with our best players performing close to their best weekly, vs what we’re seeing now.
Mini-🧵
improves and looks like the best version of themselves.
Imagine the best version of Enzo, the best version of colwill, the best version of Reece etc etc
Roberto De Zerbi is one of the greatest player trainers of all time, he needs to be prioritised before anything.
Perception is funny. He’s the same player he was under TT as our CF lol.
Big game player, big goals etc. Been there done that.
Only difference is now he’s a utility player who’s contributions are a bonus vs a player you’re heavily relying on, so critique/expectation is less.
I’m crying.
We have beaten top of the league away from home 4-1.
And somehow this still feels like one of our most embarrassing performances of the season.
Only Chelsea FC.
Anyway we needed 3pts and got them I guess…
Caicedo, Enzo, Lavia, Santos for a coach who’s primary impetus is on technicality/possession is a great crop of double-pivot midfielders.
Carney could even be useful deeper with his ability to retain possession, break-pressure & carry.
I like it. Him & Paez straight in with the big-boys.
In another universe they’re at Madrid/Barca clashing in El Classico for years.
In this one, they’re both at Chelsea FC. Madness.
🚨 BREAKING: Estevao will NOT go out on loan in 2025, he will immediately be considered first team player. Chelsea believe he is super special. (
@FabrizioRomano
) 🔵 🇧🇷
I’ve seen talks of Grealish & even CHO. Sancho is probably the perfect & actually viable middle-ground.
Dribbly/technical
#10
/LW/RW w/much needed top creativity + decision-making.
A potential low-cost/high-return opportunity might be staring us in the face. Might elaborate 🔜
Our players are regressing in front of our very eyes & people are talking about needing his qualities. I’m in disbelief lol.
We’ve already pushed it giving Poch the whole season (which I can understand).
We have to act right away & can’t afford to get this next summer wrong.
If I were Chelsea I would start now to plan for 2025. That's the earliest we can actually compete properly. I will let Pochettino complete his 2-year contract. His qualities are needed at this stage, before tactics there are principles this young squad need to learn and
New signings are great & definitely needed, but as explained last season, make no mistake about it;
The biggest needle mover is the coaching change & a better tactical/structural foundation.
Have to wait & see for ourselves, but we should be a much better team off that alone.
🚨 Chelsea's model copies Real Madrid, which broke the bank with the operations of Vinicius Júnior and Rodrygo Goes . Chelsea is inspired by them, as they intend to take a step forward as a club in the coming years. Kendry Paéz and Estevao, already signed, are the example of
Arsenal lost 2-0 at home? Say it ain’t so lol
I thought Emery was done taking vengeance but he just keeps coming back for more.
Knocked them out w/Villarreal (Europa Semi) & has now done the double over them this season w/Villa.
The Emirates grim reaper.
RDZ is defo my
#1
choice because of the incredible match he is with our squad & how special he could be as one of the next gen’s front-runners.
But I respect the bravery of our top
#2
targets & the fact both our positional-play specialists.
It’s what I wanted as a guarantee.
Emotions/frustrations aside if playing this way, of course I can understand why some would consider persisting with Poch.
But I think it’s time to pass the baton onto a true positional-play specialist.
We’re still excited/content with the basics.
There’s more levels to go.
One of the great CBs of his era.
It’s genuinely been a privilege to watch a true all-timer & master of his craft play for us weekly, but most importantly see him finally win a CL here.
He fell in love with us & we fell in love with him.
The one and only.
O Monstro 💙