They won't be there or thereabouts. They simple aren't in Liverpool's or City's class. They will get top 4 though and probably finish third. They are as close to us, Arsenal and Spurs as they are to City and Liverpool.
Thomas Tuchel | Gone to & from Bayern (In Summer)
- Thread starter Bastian
- Start date
They need behind closed doors to return so they can start playing teams at their training ground again or in random neutral venues.
I don't know what the owner/board's expectations are but if we finish comfortably third (looking less likely by the day), he should be safe, unless he falls out with the board/owner. I knew we weren't good enough to win the league and said so in the predictions thread, but was pleasantly surprised when we were top and looked like challenging. Injuries and our long-standing problems with goal-scoring have wrecked our season
Looks like Scholes was right.
People are very quick to get carried away. I was never convinced by Chelsea. Sure, they won a couple of cup competitions and I am glad they did, however, did their league form improve significantly under Tuchel last year? Not really.
League form is always the best barometer of a sides actual ability.
League form is always the best barometer of a sides actual ability.
bit far tbhIt has come to that already?
on a serious note, I always thought Chelsea are well short of winning the premier league, they are even behind a proper performing Man United. The media just loves to over-praise any Chelsea side and lick their ****. They will do well to finish Top 4 to be honest!
A few weeks ago I understood that we weren't going to be in the fight for first place.
I see everyone looking for easy excuses but the problem is more complex.
And Tuchel decided to be part of the problem.
Recover the injured, remove from the team those who don't want to be here and those who already have their heads in another club, think of another game idea that fits with the players we have.
Secure a place in the top 4 and work on the next season as it should be.
Because if that's not the case, another millionaire check is coming to fire a coach.
And I'm already beginning to fear that this might be what Tuchel wants...
I see everyone looking for easy excuses but the problem is more complex.
And Tuchel decided to be part of the problem.
Recover the injured, remove from the team those who don't want to be here and those who already have their heads in another club, think of another game idea that fits with the players we have.
Secure a place in the top 4 and work on the next season as it should be.
Because if that's not the case, another millionaire check is coming to fire a coach.
And I'm already beginning to fear that this might be what Tuchel wants...
We actually played 4-2-4 for most of the game. James was an out and out right winger with Alonso barely getting forward - it really didn't work very well at all. Probably in large part due to lack of presence in the box - Pulisic isn't exactly a force in there.
The gap behind James was wide open throughout the first half. Azpi and Silva did a good job of adjusting to that threat but James was essentially just trying to be an extra attacker. Yeah it didn't work but a better team than Wolves would have punished us in the first half.
Yeah it certainly didn't work properly - but I just don't think it's reasonable to suggest Tuchel stuck with 5 at the back when we plainly didn't.
Eh? Tuchel took us over in 9th and post his arrival we were the 2nd best team in the league, both on results and metrics.
If they fire him they might have a real go at the champions league
Some of the posts on the last pages will definitely not age well 
Yes, the others are the ones getting carried away, not you.
Yes, the others are the ones getting carried away, not you.
I should have been a bit clearer but when I am on my mobile I tend to just chuck stuff out.
What I meant was that I hadn't seen anywhere near the required improvement in league form or points accumulation to challenge City, or Liverpool (based on their regular form, not last year's patchy version).
I made no secret of the fact I thought Lampard was a very poor manager and Chelsea hugely underperformed. Tuchel definitely came in and improved things, but as usual, everybody got massively carried away and started talking about them winning the title. For me, they never got close to convincing me they could even get close to City, there is still a huge amount of work to be done.
Even though it's a different ball game over 38 games the way we won the UCL was always going to give us some credit even if it was in some places overzealous. Holding your nerve for trophies has often been the start of a domino effect when it's the league cup let alone the Champions League.
That said I do feel with a largely fully fit first Xl (in other words the team that played Juve bar Mount and Kai in for Ziyech and Pulisic) we could challenge even now but unfortuently that's looking like an outragoues long shot.
Chelsea did unbelievably well win the CL and you certainly won't get anything but gratitude for that happening on this forum - for obvious reasons!
However, winning a Champions League can be luck. If you start at the R16 (which I believe Tuchel did), it's actually possible to win 0 games in normal-time/ET and still lift the trophy. It's also obviously heavily influenced by the draw. Had Chelsea got City, Bayern or PSG over two legs, I think that would have been the end of it.
I think sometimes people fail a little to understand what you're up against with City. They have 23 hand-selected players, two or even three options in each position, all of them round pegs in round hole and perfectly suited to playing the system the manager wants them to play. They have barely any rate of change in the squad from one year to the next, and replacements for outgoing players are usually arranged two seasons in advance to ensure the whole thing is seamless. Their squad are nearly all about the right age profile, operating in their prime years. I just don't see Chelsea at anywhere near this level personally. You need to get 90+ pts to put pressure on City, and Chelsea just don't look like the kind of team that can operate at about 2.5PPG
Chelsea are still learning to walk under Tuchel, he hasn't even been with them a full season yet. And people are expecting them to go toe to toe with Liverpool and City. Crazy. No matter how much money you spend. At their strongest they can challenge the best in a one of game. But consistency takes time to build.
People talk about our depth, and it is good. Lets face it, City’s bench would make top 4 and might compete with the starters for the title. We have to be perfect every game to push for a title run. I know this is the wrong forum to say it, but it makes you appreciate Klopp’s league title more.
What happened to Lukaku? Thought he’s back from injury?
It's fun to laugh at rivals but if we're being objective the covid absences and injuries have finally caught up to them. Saying that Chelsea don't belong up there with City and Liverpool is ignoring the struggles their squad has faced.
Liverpool played without their first choice midfield and VVD yesterday and looked as open as they have since the 7-2 loss to Villa. City is the only side that can deal with the level of absences Chelsea have and even then if they had Dias, Laporte and Stones out for example, they would struggle.
Liverpool played without their first choice midfield and VVD yesterday and looked as open as they have since the 7-2 loss to Villa. City is the only side that can deal with the level of absences Chelsea have and even then if they had Dias, Laporte and Stones out for example, they would struggle.
Debatable on the first point. Absolutely not on the second, unless Pep is a magician
Tested positive.
Well considering he has the movement of a statue he is probably still being lifted from the treatment table.
They have been fecked by Lukaku.
Maybe psg fans want this guy back 
because they can't tell an exceptional manager from a good manager. Not sure why it is collapsing like this for him though. I feel the champion league win earned him so time, but the standards are high at Chelsea. If this continues, I can see him getting sacked
because they can't tell an exceptional manager from a good manager. Not sure why it is collapsing like this for him though. I feel the champion league win earned him so time, but the standards are high at Chelsea. If this continues, I can see him getting sackedNeeds a mobile striker. Out of interest where is Havertz?
Maybe psg fans want this guy back
The UCL win coupled with the first few months I think fooled a lot of people (myself included), what we're seeing now is much more like the Chelsea he had last season, the Chelsea who needed a Spurs win on the final day to finish top 4 and lost the FA Cup final to Leicester. At the rate they're going Spurs with Conte might push them close for that 3rd spot
COVID again. Had it quite rough the first go round, hope this time has been better. Might have come on today but we had two more injuries.
Jesus christ this is silly. They are just behind Liverpool, City are an outstanding team so no shame being behind themMaybe psg fans want this guy back
They looked ok before the goal but then they just were all over the place. Too many players having a terrible game: Jorginho, Kovacic, Alonso, Hudson-Odoi etc.
Honestly the injuries aren't helping him either. Losing another two players before half time hurts.
Honestly the injuries aren't helping him either. Losing another two players before half time hurts.
I don't recall any United fans taking solace in that over the past number of years
You can tell he’s livid in the interview. As soon as the PL started picking and choosing which clubs could postpone it set the wrong precedent.
Up to second.
The last couple of seasons have been a bit of a joke
I think they are going to end up very catchable but the chasing pack. The football is drab and the players don’t seem to really fit the system.
If frustration starts to creep in and goals dry up, Spurs can definitely catch them.
If frustration starts to creep in and goals dry up, Spurs can definitely catch them.
As a United fan, since covid came in I’m happy to just wipe the records with a particular focus on erasing all data on 19/20
They’ve been scraping by for a while and spluttered over the line into the top 4 last season with some help. I’m surprised that Tuchel hasn’t changed the system as it’s not easy to win the league playing cautiously every game.
The difference in work load is also very uneven. Villa hadn't played a game in 2 weeks when they played us. It was our 4th game in that period. Tonight was Brighton's third game since Dec 4. It was Chelsea's 7th game in that period (8th if you include Zenit but Brighton aren't in Europe so excluding that one).