I will counter your comment regarding Baleba with this :
Baleba got man of the match three games in a row just a few weeks ago! He's a quality young player, I'm expecting big things from him next season.
Exactly he's going to be immense. People seem to think Caicedo and Bissouma just arrived in a puff of smoke ready to go in their first game.
I absolutely loved the way that Carlos targeted Caicedo when he came on, just to demonstrate who's the boss on the pitch.*
www.theguardian.com
Pace is an issue throughout the squad and has been throughout almost all the PL era."But when you have to defend against a motorcycle - because in the Premier League as wingers there are motorcycles with great power - he can be in a different situation"
Lucky we have speedmeisters like Gross and Milner who can play fullback
Your son is right defensively, his positioning is awful and for their second (admittedly I haven’t seen it again) I thought he could have done a lot better.
Not sure it's his positioning, we had 8 up the pitch at the start of the second half, this can only be as a result of instruction from the manager. Somehow we kept them at bay for 20 mins with last ditch clearances, but clearly we were begging to be picked off.
I thought Cucurella was OK for the most part after a nervy start. Struggled a bit with Adingra late on. Caicedo was quietly effective. I suspect they are now seeing what primo piece of kit he is. Massively underrated passer too.I absolutely loved the way that Carlos targeted Caicedo when he came on, just to demonstrate who's the boss on the pitch.*
* In fairness, Caicedo and Cucurella were their best players, despite the lack of support the vile (they're all vile) Chelsea fans gave them early on. The below article helped me to understand what to expect from Cucurella on Wednesday, whereas Moises just knits their entire system into shape, he's their lynchpin. Apparently the (all vile) Chelsea fan view is that he's come good from the moment Fernandez got injured which just goes to show he's playing with the wrong Argentinian.
From boo-boy to cult hero: how Marc Cucurella has sparked Chelsea revival
Spanish left-back seemed to sum up club’s travails but he has found form to aid late, unlikely surge towards a European place
Agree with every word.Pace is an issue throughout the squad and has been throughout almost all the PL era.
Reading this thread has been quite amusing because I wasn't there on Weds, but my son came back quite disconsolate over Barco, saying he wasn't good enough defensively and struggled to beat the first man with his crossing. At about this time I got a message from another mate who'd been telling me how great Barco is / was
Reading this thread up to now it seems my son is in a minority of almost one, yet you've called out another big problem. If we struggle with pace and power on both the wings and the centre of midfield we're going to get overrun pretty quickly in most games.
Not sure how we'll address it, but I don't think it's a coincidence that Estupinian has gone backwards this season without Caicedo in the midfield and, post injury, without Mitoma in front of him. Barco will have exactly the same issues without a quick winger and strong DM to play with.
I was amazed at that. He'd only come on as a substitute at half-time. A few weeks ago he and Fati were left out of the matchday squad at Brentford and RDZ stated "I wanted them to work alone to improve their physical condition." Doesn't augur well - the kid is only bloody 19, he should have enough energy to run for days!
This.19 year old, recently arrived in a foreign country, playing against star players and top teams doesn’t adjust and look world class (although better than most on the pitch) for 45 mins, I think he wears a snood in training too. Are you Milner’s agent?
TOUGH crowd. I am a big big fan on what I’ve seen so far and RDZ is a tough taskmaster. Did you see him haranguing and pushing Solly around in the first video training session after his appointment? Worked though as Solly went up levels very quickly
Think you should look at their second again. He wasn't hugely culpable for it in my view. Not convinced about the positioning comment either. When he was on, we had considerably more of the ball as we were trying to get back in the game.
Exactly.
19 year old, recently arrived in a foreign country, playing against star players and top teams doesn’t adjust and look world class (although better than most on the pitch) for 45 mins, I think he wears a snood in training too. Are you Milner’s agent?
TOUGH crowd. I am a big big fan on what I’ve seen so far and RDZ is a tough taskmaster. Did you see him haranguing and pushing Solly around in the first video training session after his appointment? Worked though as Solly went up levels very quickly
He told him to take those stupid braids out of his hair!
Not sure he’s done this previously and he played 90 mins at Bournemouth and City.