Chelsea 3 Aston Villa 0 Post Match Thread.

[django]

Duran has scored some nice goals but offers a lot less to the team than Watkins. It might be time to give Watkins a rest but it’s crazy to suggest Duran is the better player. A better finisher? Sure, but so was Danny Ings.

We haven’t been in good form for most of this season, but most of the games could have turned out differently with one or two balls falling a bit differently for either side or a bit more clinical finishing. That’s probably true of last season too and perhaps things just went our way more often.

It’s deeply frustrating as with such a tight league we can still stay in the mix if we hit a bit of form. But it feels like a chance to qualify for a second consecutive champions league campaign is starting to slip away, and with it perhaps a generational chance at empire building.

[Demitri_C]

The other thing i'd add is that McGinn isn't a captain. Once Mings is back i'd get the armband back onto him ASAP .

I agree. I think the captaincy never should have been taken off mings. Absolute joke by gerrard

We did qualify for CL football post Gerrard. Mings wasnt captain then either.

The reason we got champions  league wasnt because mcginn was captain. It was because the squad was better last season and 4th best team in league.

Mings was and always will be  a better captain than mcginn for me

[VillaTim]

just seen footage of Duran (whilst warming up) hugging Enzo just before he takes a corner . Please just fuck off with this shit . Clown .

[Demitri_C]

just seen footage of Duran (whilst warming up) hugging Enzo just before he takes a corner . Please just fuck off with this shit . Clown .

I saw haaland and salah having a laugh after liverpool scored second on pitch. Its becoming more common now

[olaftab]

Appalling performance. Very much looks like he's lost the dressing room

Total bollox.

[ROBBO]

McGinn sums it up for me, the biggest asset he has is tenacity, always being involved and being a little fighter. I saw non of that today, he appeared to be going through the motions and you have to expect more from the captain. Rogers is so poor at the moment it's like playing with ten men and Philogene... what's the point in playing him.

[Percy McCarthy]

Torres is getting plenty of flak but in all honesty, the whole of the back 4 were absolutely rubbish today. That goes for the others though. Rogers really looks shattered and yes, Watkins IS costing us points. Last season, his misses were made up by goals from Dougie, Diaby and an in form Bailey. There lies the reason for this drop, we’ve not replaced those goals. Others need replacing, Cash for instance and Philogene. I’m sure Emery will put this right sooner rather than later

I know it’s been dismissed by many, but I wonder if picking the only defensive line-up capable of keeping a clean sheet might help?

I’m assuming people have noticed which one that is by now right?

[LeonW]

If Watkins had Duran s killer instinct.

Honestly, I think we need to give Duran an extend run as the number 9 now.

Has been the case for ages.

I'd be furious if I was Duran.

Duran is nowhere near as wasteful and that has been obvious for a long time.

If we’re seriously going to progress, we can’t have any player expecting to hold down their place when they’re not hitting the heights. I feel right now that Ollie just expects to start. Even if he had a much much longer term future, Ollie’s minutes are going to need to be managed at some point because of his age and because of his playing style. Some of the arguments against Duran are based on him not pressing as much and leading the line. We won’t know that until we see him get an extended run of games.

[LeonW]

If Watkins had Duran s killer instinct.

Honestly, I think we need to give Duran an extend run as the number 9 now.

Kind of agree, some people moan that duran doesnt do much sometimes when he comes on.  ten , fifteen , twenty minutes sometimes inst enough especially coming into a team who are playing rubbish.

Bailey had a massive run when he was poor , Rogers keeps starting games , he was rubbish again today , watkins has started 49 out 50 games I think .

I would like to see Duran get a run , you can always get him off about 65 minutes but lets give him 3 or 4 games now.

His ceiling is higher than Ollie’s. He needs time to build relationships with those regular starters so each knows what the other is doing. He deserves a real chance to show what he can do.

[PaulWinch again]

Torres is getting plenty of flak but in all honesty, the whole of the back 4 were absolutely rubbish today. That goes for the others though. Rogers really looks shattered and yes, Watkins IS costing us points. Last season, his misses were made up by goals from Dougie, Diaby and an in form Bailey. There lies the reason for this drop, we’ve not replaced those goals. Others need replacing, Cash for instance and Philogene. I’m sure Emery will put this right sooner rather than later

I know it’s been dismissed by many, but I wonder if picking the only defensive line-up capable of keeping a clean sheet might help?

I’m assuming people have noticed which one that is by now right?

It’s not just about the defence, you must know that given I know you’re looking at the stats.

[brontebilly]

The other thing i'd add is that McGinn isn't a captain. Once Mings is back i'd get the armband back onto him ASAP .

I agree. I think the captaincy never should have been taken off mings. Absolute joke by gerrard

We did qualify for CL football post Gerrard. Mings wasnt captain then either.

It’s a bit like that centre back who is completely incompetent and can’t defend who played in most games when we qualified for the Champions League - and has played I think in every game in that competition where we haven’t conceded a goal.

Carlos? He's shocking. Whisper it but most of the CL teams we have played, including Juve without a forward, are fairly average. Bologna and Berne were rubbish. Brugge played us off the pitch but are average at best.

22 goals conceded in 13 PL games is verging on a shambles. Our defence was in trouble second half of last season too and has got worse. Torres hasn't been the same player since his injury around last Feb, maybe coinciding with Kamara's injury around then. He didn't get one iota physically stronger over the summer. When he has to defend, he simply cannot. Weak as piss and zero recovery pace. If he stays in the team for his playmaking ability then Kamara and Onana will need to step up in front of him. Tielemans has to be moved out of there as he provides no support.

If Mings is fully fit, he opens up other possibilities. He can cover in behind the left back like he did for Moreno. He can play in a high line with confidence. He's physically stronger, quicker and also a leader where we have none currently, I'm counting Konsa in that who is more of a follower than a leader. He doesn't have Torres playmaking ability but he should have come into the team after the Spurs debacle for me.

[PaulWinch again]

I mean Pau. He’s the one primarily getting called out as hopeless, and it’s daft.

[PaulWinch again]

It’s not true he can’t defend - he’s not a big physical presence, but he can defend fine. I keep saying it, but it is the midfield that’s killing us (+ the lack of means to change style).

[Monty]

It’s not true he can’t defend - he’s not a big physical presence, but he can defend fine. I keep saying it, but it is the midfield that’s killing us (+ the lack of means to change style).

It's both at the minute, he's making bad decisions and getting exposed, but he's always going to be exposed with the midfield as it is.

Shockingly I agree with Bronte that we should be playing Onana and Kamara when possible, and perhaps Barkley and Kamara when not. Tielemans needs to be further forward; terrific player, but in too many situations he's just like a big hole in there at the minute.

[PaulWinch again]

You can interchange centre backs all you want, if we don’t get the midfield both providing some protection and also linking play on a consistent basis we’re going to continue to struggle.