₦airaland Forum

Gucciboy:
Maresca don turn James to midfielder so Chelsea need to recall Anselmino as his replacement as rb.


I don't us selling cheap to stingy Dortmund

Is Anselmino a RB? I thought he was CB.

What a ridiculous game.

Enzo5:
more like Quenda Estevao Palmer Satpaev in maresca's 3241, in some games

we still have paez, even before the Ibrahim you mentioned or even RKM some are hyping. Not like that Rio boy is even playing games for liverpool

Not sure about Satpaev, because we have guiu barely playing and I bet one of them goes to Strasbourg when emegha joins. The surest bet is Quenda with the way gittens they behave at times

It's never about who we have before the newest player. If the new player upgrades, he upgrades.

We had Madueke and Neto before Estevao. Estevao walked in and walked in.

We have Gittens and Garnacho - two very good players on the left wing that I actually support. But once Quenda comes through that door, Quenda WILL play. We won't sit Estevao for him, so we will move him to the left to making playing time for him. Quenda will sit Gittens and Garnacho in a heartbeat, unfortunately.

In the same vein, Satpayev, ability-wise is already more potent than Emegha, Guiu, and Delap. I put him up there to go toe-to-toe with Joao. He's more rapid than all of them except Guiu and potentially a better talent at goal-scoring than all of them. The most important being, he goes into the Maresca system like a pair of gloves.

Watch this space.

Ibime:
Sat wetin?

Someone who should be writing SATs

Just like I backed for Estevao for great things right from the Brazilian league, I am doing the same for Dastan.

Meanwhile, next season, get ready for the possibility of this.


-------------Caicedo Lavia/Essugo-----

----Estevao ------Palmer-------Quenda

---------------------Satpayev-------------


Ibrahim Rabbaj waiting in the wings.



You saw it here first.

popizaino:
Nateevs can never point out something like this,always painting a flawless Maresca's image.

I think you are the one desperately looking for something to hang Maresca with.

I have called Maresca "inexperienced" on here many times. That's enough to see that I categorically do not paint a flawless image for Maresca. I just recognise how good he is and speak up for him when people call him rubbish.

There's no need for me to be fishing for problem, when he's literally managing the youngest side in the league to 2nd on the table for a second consecutive season.

popizaino:
Even without the benefit of hindsight, it was still the wrong move.

You always need a tricky player when you are a man down.

These kinds of players help you win fouls and take pressure off the rest of the team with their sublime foot work.

Infact in some cases they help you distribute fouls which would have been vital for us yesterday because most arsenal players were on yellow card.

It's not true. In this case, you need runners and workers. Those that can run the entire length of the pitch defending and putting in the work to cover the extra man, and on top of the that, have frightening pace to set fear in the opposition in a counter attacking move.

Maybe Estevao might have done something, it is not wrong to have runners instead, knowing Arsenal were going to push bodies up front in a bid to score a goal.

Amethyst101:
The corner taker plus GK = 2 players out of 11.
Add the 3 players dealing with our boys staying far far upfield. Thats 5 players out of 11

The only thing left to deal with is the 6 opposition players attacking the box for the corner, which I think we could handle well with 7 players + GK presence in the box. (in this case, 6 players + GK because of the red card, which is still enough to deal with their 6 box players)

In one smart move, we managed to break their box overload, while outnumbering them defensively, and still set up well for the counter-attack if it presents itself!

If that's not smart coaching, I dont know what it is.

I literally typed this out yesterday for all to read, but I lost it while it was uploading, and I couldn't be bothered to retype the long post from scratch.

I just went on to call him a proper blend of an adaptive and pioneering tactician.

If you watch closely, you will find that this move was more nuanced than that. Arsenal usually start out for set pieces by keeping a wall of bodies on the back post. As the ball comes in from a throw-in or corner kick, they all run to the front post, causing chaos and increasing the chances of an error.

Not only did Maresca adapt and pioneer a tactical counter-measure by leaving 3 players up front, and keeping the box void off chaos, he also kept a wall of bodies with Arsenal at the back post, just like they do.

But watch where Sanchez is always standing. He's standing around the front post, always. Away from all the bodies.

So when the ball is then floated in, all the Chelsea players stand in front of all the Arsenal players, physically impeding that run to the front post, allowing Sanchez free of bodies to hop and claim the ball every single time, then start an attack.

It's freaking genius coaching.

Don't care what anyone says....Me I am happy to have a manager thinking with this level of tactical ingenuity, developing counter-measures (and succeeding with them) to stop the best teams in the world, in only his 2nd year of premier league management.

Singapore1:
We conceded just 3 goals in the whole of November.

2 against Qarabag
1 against Arsneal now

Uneaten whole November ( 6 games )

4 clean sheet.

Apart from that useless Qarabag match we have been solid defensively. Even Gusto putting in good shift


For me Arteta is ahead of Maresca but I prefer our style of football than Arsenal

He's not. Maresca is the true definition of a proper blend of adaptive and pioneering tactician.

Maresca that will make multiple tactical plans per game to stifle the opponent's attacking efforts, but still aims to dominated play through possession.

Go check the highlights again and see the tactical plan of several moving parts that he put together to counter Arsenal set-pieces.

He fully negated Arsenal's biggest avenue for a goal (set-pieces), knowing that in an 11 vs 11, in sheer attacking open play, we can outmatch them. And when we do, we score a goal.

That alone is elite tactical thinking.

Ibime:
Sanchez is the best keeper in the world last 6 months, take it or leave it

I don't care what anyone says. Guy is the best goalie in the world. End of!

PrinceEma:
Nateeves. This here was my sentiment.

Play our strong squad and amass as much poimts as you can. No be say next match now, we gondey see Tosin, and then people go dey doubt whether na the same chelsea dey play so.

We had no reason drawing to Qarabag and some other small teams we dropped points against

I don't misunderstand your sentiment. We are both talking about the difference between squad building and trophy chasing. We are in the squad building phase.

We have a young team, and inconsistencies will creep up more times than planned for with an average squad age of 23.

Maresca understands this to the letter, and so you must develop as many of your young players for a unavailability due to injuries, loss of form and/or suspensions.

For instance, James needs a rest after today so he doesn't break down. Caicedo is out, but if we didn't prep Santos with minutes earlier in the season, there's no way we are confident he's going into that game fully ready.

Look at James today. I took lots of abuse last season for supporting Maresca playing James in midfield. It cost us points. But those dropped points have led up to this moment.

The same with Palmer, our best player, being out for months, yet still being 2nd/3rd on the table, and going toe-to-toe with the best teams in the world.

It's all down to fantastic squad management methods by Maresca. Let's be patient with him. The guy knows what he's doing.

MorataFC:
Before the match, like three days ago, those Arsenal fans flooded this thread with their chest-beating, claiming they would break us into pieces. They were boasting and sounding like an oil-less generator, loud and cracking, but after the game, they went quiet like NEPA just took light and the whole 3 days boasting just vanished .

They've gone quiet because it's abundantly clear to them that they were saved by the sending off to a crucial player. And that with Caicedo on, Estevao not needing to go out, and Palmer possibly coming in at some point, they had quite dangerously underestimated Chelsea.

Altern8tor:
Imagine shooting himself by himself... I shock oo

I didn't even know you fellas were already coming him.

Enzo5:
Like I said arsenal beat Bayern and couldn't beat 10 men Chelsea, chelsea>=arsenal>bayern.

You also predicted Chelsea 0 - 1 Arsenal.

Unlimited22:
Ibime I echo your sentiment


Robert Sánchez has turned a corner this season.


Proper shot stopping.

Again, not to gloat too much, but just a bit. Seen by me ahead of the curve. I told folks last season that I can see evidence that Maresca was managing Sanchez into a world class goalie.

Maresca modified the entire defensive ball-playing tactics, to play to Sanchez's strength, so they played less passes, allowed Sanchez to play long from the back more, creating less errors, and improving his overall confidence, which is now radiating to the entire back line.

It's little details like this that I saw from a distance and Iit is why I call him a top top manager.

And he started it at the CWC.

We could have won with 11 on the pitch. We went one up with 10, and sustained a draw, still playing them toe-to-toe. Testament to the way Maresca has set the team up.

Great game though by everyone. We demistified them.

King James MOTM by a country mile.

swiz123:
He was struggling to keep up with Martinelli. Correct sub

Well done for spotting that. It would get worse with the man advantage.

It's James vs Arsenal. Leading by example.

rooftops:
This is why the garnacho sub is funny. You need a dribbler for this you go carry runner enter.

You need a runner because the opponent is pushing up to get a goal. The fouls occur when they are afraid of the space behind, they pull a runner down.

You need a dribbler for a low block.

Delap is also lazy.

Ibime:
Delap lacks the care of the ball when playing with 10 men that's why I called for Guiu

Guiu no dey match squad.

Good lord

Goaaallllll

We need to even the reds. Whatever we need to do.

Sportsweb:
Red cards full this game. Cucurella has stopped marking. Only if Hato get sense, he suppose enter second half

Hato is no match for Saka. He's not even match sharp. He's not played for a long time.

What a shame. We are the best team they've played. They could feel it. We dey worry them.

We can only hope that Estevao or Guiu rolls someone into a second yellow card to even the advantage.

JP out for Guiu and Enzo for Santos.

Best keeper in the world. I don't care what y'all say.

That's actually bodily harm. How's that not a second yellow?

Elnino4ladies:
No way that's a red

It's a red.

Jesus! Caicedo is off. It's a red card.

I am sorry, JP is just a notoriously indecisive player.