We'd have won that if....

[Southcoastffc]

We might have scraped a draw but we relied on scraps. Cairney a big weakness, so one footed that leads to dithering. I'd love Connor Gallagher instead.

[FFC In Oz]

They were there for the taking.

We showed zero quality in the final third.

Disappointing result given how nervous they looked in the last 15-20

[LC]

He's not a big weakness he's one of our best players.

We need a centre forward, Jimenez has done well recently but we can't rely on that to continue. We still need a Mitrovic replacement.

Lukic hasn't worked out, if we get a good offer we should take it. I don't think he's bad, but he gave the ball away a couple of times today and didn't sprint back having only been on the pitch 10 minutes.

[tslyon]

Scored!  We'd have won if we scored...twice.

Cheers,

Steve

[Somerset Fulham]

Meh.

[demeant0r]

He's not a big weakness he's one of our best players.

We need a centre forward, Jimenez has done well recently but we can't rely on that to continue. We still need a Mitrovic replacement.

Lukic hasn't worked out, if we get a good offer we should take it. I don't think he's bad, but he gave the ball away a couple of times today and didn't sprint back having only been on the pitch 10 minutes.

I beg to differ about not being bad, Lukic was our worst player today IMO which is saying something considering he only played 15 minutes and Diop had his worst game of the season. Lukic was slow, dithering, weak and could not pick out a pass to save his life. We need rid now. Get Andre instead.

[Southcoastffc]

He's not a big weakness he's one of our best players.

We need a centre forward, Jimenez has done well recently but we can't rely on that to continue. We still need a Mitrovic replacement.

Lukic hasn't worked out, if we get a good offer we should take it. I don't think he's bad, but he gave the ball away a couple of times today and didn't sprint back having only been on the pitch 10 minutes.

Certainly not today. For example he gave the ball away and it led to Sterling's nearly (albeit offside)headed goal and again towards the end of the  game only heroic defending from Diop (I think) saved us.  That's just the 2 most glaring examples.  He was poor.  He can be very good but today he was dismal.  The trouble is we have no real replacement.

[LittleErn]

We might have scraped a draw but we relied on scraps. Cairney a big weakness, so one footed that leads to dithering. I'd love Connor Gallagher instead.

Have to agree about TC today. Made no impact. That's his worst game for us this season.

[Grassy Noel]

He's not a big weakness he's one of our best players.

We need a centre forward, Jimenez has done well recently but we can't rely on that to continue. We still need a Mitrovic replacement.

Lukic hasn't worked out, if we get a good offer we should take it. I don't think he's bad, but he gave the ball away a couple of times today and didn't sprint back having only been on the pitch 10 minutes.

I beg to differ about not being bad, Lukic was our worst player today IMO which is saying something considering he only played 15 minutes and Diop had his worst game of the season. Lukic was slow, dithering, weak and could not pick out a pass to save his life. We need rid now. Get Andre instead.

Lukic is a desperately weak midfielder. He should be fattened up and taken to market.

[LC]

He's not a big weakness he's one of our best players.

We need a centre forward, Jimenez has done well recently but we can't rely on that to continue. We still need a Mitrovic replacement.

Lukic hasn't worked out, if we get a good offer we should take it. I don't think he's bad, but he gave the ball away a couple of times today and didn't sprint back having only been on the pitch 10 minutes.

Certainly not today. For example he gave the ball away and it led to Sterling's nearly (albeit offside)headed goal and again towards the end of the  game only heroic defending from Diop (I think) saved us.  That's just the 2 most glaring examples.  He was poor.  He can be very good but today he was dismal.  The trouble is we have no real replacement.

I never said anything about today. The post said he's a weakness and I'm saying he's not.

[ex-Pat]

 
  He's had two good moments in two games, that's it !! watching him doing circles all day embarrassing.
  harrison Reed should start every single game.

[LC]

He's not a big weakness he's one of our best players.

We need a centre forward, Jimenez has done well recently but we can't rely on that to continue. We still need a Mitrovic replacement.

Lukic hasn't worked out, if we get a good offer we should take it. I don't think he's bad, but he gave the ball away a couple of times today and didn't sprint back having only been on the pitch 10 minutes.

I beg to differ about not being bad, Lukic was our worst player today IMO which is saying something considering he only played 15 minutes and Diop had his worst game of the season. Lukic was slow, dithering, weak and could not pick out a pass to save his life. We need rid now. Get Andre instead.

I don't think he's bad but he is bad for us in this league- this is the wrong league for him. I said he was poor today and we should sell him, I'm not sure what we are disagreeing about- although I guess I provided some clarification.

[WolverineFFC]

TC is going to struggle against athletic central midfields. That's not a revelation. This was a 0-0 game if not for a silly error by Diop. Chelsea barely created anything either. Strange to pick out TC as the issue here.

The broadcast made the key point to me. Andreas has 1 goal this season in the league. The team needs more than that from their number 10 or they will continue to struggle for results away from home.

[Matt10]

That was a lop-sided central midfield. Even the best attacking mids would be hard-pressed to go up against the likes of Caceido, Fernandez and Gallagher. I think TC handled his own as best as he could considering that pressure coming from all angles. Some complained about him having to pass sideways and backwards. I'd hope so as we needed to maintain possession several times just to get a grip. Defensively he cut out a lot of passes and pressured when needed, especially at the top of the box where Chelsea tried to walk it in. Palmer tried that reverse pass several times, but both Cairney and Robinson cut it out, until he was given too much time right before half-time and found Sterling that led to the PK.

To keep the theme of the thread. I think we'd won if Silva had switched to two attackers up top sooner. Raul having Muniz there did what it should, which was pull the other central defender away, while allowing our wingers some breathing space because the defenders couldn't force them on their weaker foot as it opens up routes to the forwards.

I think Silva's tactics need to be questioned because we are a different team without Iwobi. His dynamic movement from flank-to-flank is missing, which is why we're just very linear in the attack because Raul is back to a one-man band. The only way we can be a threat is having that left side link-up with Willian-TC-Robinson, but more bigger bodies are needed in the box.

It's wishful thinking at this point, but another profile like Iwobi in the transfer window would go a long way. Surely we can find a winger to take that right wing spot to the next level. Such a shame if we miss an opportunity to upgrade there.

[WindyCity]

We'd have won if...we had a more prolific striker.  I like Jimenez and all, great story, but his quality is lacking.  He had 3-4 excellent scoring chances today v Chelsea and he came up empty.

Not sure if FFC can secure a more impactful goal scorer this winter window.  Not very hopeful...

[Somerset Fulham]

Jiminez is lacking in quality? Really?

[Super Mick]

Chelsea celebrating like they've won the league. Poor result as I genuinely believed we'd win today. They are very average.

[LittleErn]

TC is going to struggle against athletic central midfields. That's not a revelation. This was a 0-0 game if not for a silly error by Diop. Chelsea barely created anything either. Strange to pick out TC as the issue here.

The broadcast made the key point to me. Andreas has 1 goal this season in the league. The team needs more than that from their number 10 or they will continue to struggle for results away from home.

To clarify my position; I don't think Cairney was "the issue" today but he didn't play as well as he has been doing recently. He wasn't given time or room to shift the ball on to his favoured left foot and that nullified him and forced him into more errors than he usually makes. I think "the issue" today was that the attack never functioned. We rarely looked like creating any clear chances and were unable to maintain pressure to push Chelsea on to the defensive. That may be a function of the lack of recovery time after Liverpool. It was also because we lacked the energy of Iwobi and his forward runs. It should also be said that the midfield failed to gain enough possession to create forward pressure. We definitely need reinforcements in this window if we are going to progress from a sound first half of the season.

[WindyCity]

Jiminez is lacking in quality? Really?

Maybe quality wrong word here, perhaps I should have posted 'finishing'.  Certainly today he lacked in finishing.  Had several excellent chances....

[WindyCity]

Chelsea celebrating like they've won the league. Poor result as I genuinely believed we'd win today. They are very average.

My exact feelings as well.  Very disappointed in our two Chelsea results this season.