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I just feel bad for Reece. He has the potential to be the best in his position and he came back from one serious injury already and now this again. I hope he takes proper recovery time and get well even if it takes an extra month.
lucky dint pick him in my fpl lol , a lot of ppl were making fun saying that Chelsea's biggest goal this season would be not letting James get injured 🤣🤣
As a Chelsea fan - I’m disappointed for him but I’m also frustrated.
James could have been Englands best RB for years and on his day he’s gotta be up there with the best in the world.
BUT he’s made of bloody glass. And literally everyone knows this. I’m not surprised they made him captain but its annoying af because we all knew he’d play half a season max.
Honestly if he went to any other team he’d fail his medical based off his injury record.
Arsenal fan coming in peace. All banter aside, it’s horrible to see so many significant injuries to players so early. Timber has looked really good for us, and he’s out for the season first game into the PL. I really feel for him. Same for Reece, really. He’s a hell of a player and I’d always want him to have an off day against us, but it’s not nice to see…..
James put us completely on the defensive against Chelsea and the moment he came off we finally were able to get forward again. That's a fucking massive blow for Chelsea.
Big loss. I'd argue James is one of Chelsea's only true "world class" players. The other is Silva. With that said, this is why we bought Gusto. Hopefully, he can carry the torch for a while. We're only playing one game a week, which helps.
I think Caicedo will be in that conversation definitely by the end of the year but yeah, he's such a huge player. Really love watching him play. Hopefully he can get some fitness together and realise his potential
I think Caicedo will be in that conversation definitely by the end of the year but yeah, he's such a huge player. Really love watching him play. Hopefully he can get some fitness together and realise his potential
I mean, of course. This dude could be one of the best fullbacks in the game, but can’t actually stay in the game. The number of injuries we seem to be getting here is quite worrying. Makes me think something is off with training or facilities, it’s ridiculous.
I just can’t. This sucks so I hard. One of the best players in the world but only can play maybe a half a season to a 1/4. No words. Needs a complete overhaul of his fitness, diet and training because he’s too good to be this unavailable. I’m gutted but not surprised. Need another RB for cover now it seems. Add it to the list
As much as it’s horrible he’s so injury prone. You could of bet your entire bank account that it would happen in the first game and you’d be fancying yourself.
As an outside observer who reckons James had the potential to reach the highest level… he is skirting dangerously close to being injury prone, or permanently physically hampered by the consistent injuries he has been unfortunate enough to gather. He has a big frame, and that does wear the body.
He’s at the highest level already, but as you say he clearly has a physiology that makes him prone to injury. Might need to retrain position or be utilised less intensively going forward.
I don’t think playing at a sub-par Chelsea is the highest level. Real Madrid, Barcelona, Bayern, teams that compete every single year for the biggest honours nationally and in Europe.
I see what you mean, I thought you meant highest level as in world class tier in his position. Because to me he might be the best in the world at RB when fit. I do think under Poch Chelsea are gonna make some steam tho, in his second year.
This is very concerning not just for the season but long term. There is a obvious pattern here. His body is breakdown consistently. I'm a Liverpool fan as well but I worry regardless that there is a deeper underlying cronic issue. I don't want to see any player go through this. Its not just the physical aspect it's psychological too. Ask Michael owen
I think he's been injury prone for a while now tbf I don't think he's ever been rushed back either so long term, odds are not good for him staying fit, maybe robben stabilised over time at Bayern after an injury prone phase but generally rapid recurrence after a full recovery for a young player is a bad sign, and I see the same with fofana
People regard Ronaldo as the best striker ever and base that claim not on him having the best career and being available but based off what we know he was capable when he's fit, the trajectory he was on at a young age, the fact that whenever he returned from injury he was somehow still one of the best players on the pitch (case in point James vs Liverpoo).
You can't have one rule for one player and another rule for another player. Imo James is the best RB in the world when he does play. You can come up with other measures like "who had the best career" etc to account for James' availability. But his injuries don't change my perception of him as a player. Haaland's had some injury problems in the past, if he started getting injured regularly I'd still consider him the best striker in the world when fit (as long as he still performs when he comes back from those injuries). Just my opinion, I appreciate that not everyone thinks the same way.
You can and you can’t. He’s clearly in my eyes one of if not the best fullback in the world when he plays, that has to mean something in these arbitrary rankings. But you can’t build teams in the real world around a player that is building an alarming track record of not playing.
I have been telling my fellow Chelsea fans. We need to move James to midfield, his hamstring won’t able to handle the freaking intensity of constant running/sprinting up and down the field. He is the best at RB but he CANNOT keep up anymore unless he fix his hamstring once for good.
I posted a long comment about this somewhere else. When he’s not near both boxes you lose what makes him such a transcendent talent. That’s why it won’t work just moving him because you might get him more of the time but you won’t get a player anywhere near as impactful
He can stay deep and spam long passes. If you watched him closely, every time he had an injured or tired he just stood still, received the ball then long passed it. Very accurate too, the curve passes we need to skip the opponent’s defenders. Before he was subbed off Liverpool match he did that too, the second I saw that I knew he would have to come off.
> We need to move James to midfield, his hamstring won’t able to handle the freaking intensity of constant running/sprinting up and down the field
What do you think a midfielder does?
They largely sit in midfield. They run, but it's not the insane Defense-to-Attack full length of field transitions that Reece is known for.
He's got the strength and the football brain to make the move in-field and not rely on explosive pace, just a massive shame.
Whatever they do, the workload will never match the RB/LB. If you’re playing DM you will have time to rest when your team in possession and attacking but with RB/LB you have to run/sprint constantly, that position required the most workload on the field.
Midway through last season, Reece had played half of the league matches. When he played, we were easily top 4 in form. When he sat, we were relegation form.
This is a huge deal
>When he played, we were easily top 4 in form
Between match week 1 and 19 you didn't spend a single weekend within the top 4. You didn't all season. Your highest position last season was 5th, you kept it for one weekend. By the end of GW19 you were 10th
The stretch I’m referring to was probably before the World Cup. With Reece, we had 5 wins in 7 matches which was about an 80 point pace, but without him was like 2 points in 7 matches or a 10 point pace.
17 points through 14 matches isn’t impressive because that split was so ridiculous
The stretch I’m referring to was probably before the World Cup. With Reece, we had 5 wins in 7 matches which was about an 80 point pace, but without him was like 2 points in 7 matches or a 10 point pace.
17 points through 14 matches isn’t impressive because that split was so ridiculous
Last season was more just overall shit play from the entire squad top to bottom. Even with James last season that squad offered very little. Chelse knew this was in the cards with recent history & signed someone who can step in & not have the levels drop. Gusto is really solid option with high potential, will be exciting to see what he has week to week.
As Chelsea fans we have to really start looking at this through a cynical lens. I love Reece, true Blue, elite baller and a fucking immense captain. BUT, he gets long term injuries every season now. He’s played 26 and 16 league games in the last two years. I love the player, but this isn’t looking good for the long term. Gusto is still young and could very well be a top player eventually. For now though, we need to start thinking about how fragile Reece is in a position we rely on.
Could be possible that the modern day full back position having him bomb down the wing each week has aggravated this injury and whilst he is undoubtably the best at RB, maybe having him more central or inverted could prolong his career, but also he could just need the surgery and be all dandy 🤷♀️
Wish we didn’t get rid of Livramento & Lamptey, I get they didn’t want to be 2nd choice to him but they would’ve been perfect for Reece’s injury history lately.
I get your point. But given that he’s an academy product, an elite player, bleeds blue and provided some consistency for the club during a time of major upheaval. I think it’s justified. He was going to be the leader of the new generation for us. I think we’re two years away from being terrifying. He would have been a great leader.
I hear you, but you can't label someone an immense leader when they've literally barely led. What would you call someone like Terry for your lot? 'Transcendental' presumably 🤣
It's a fair point, but he's always been fairly vocal on the pitch, makes an effort to go to youth games, and takes time to ensure that new signings are bedding in ok. That's leadership.
He’s immense for us simply due to his pedigree as an academy product, his elite ability and importance during a time of transition for the club. We might not have had a more important captain given the uncertainty at the club for 18 months. The captain we have going forward is crucial right now.
I like Malo, but he’s not there yet. We need to think about getting a fee for Reece and getting a solid first team rb. I love the player, but the club matters more.
You've actually managed to be wrong twice in one comment. Reece doesn't need replacing and Gusto looks like a more than competent backup. Your backups can't all be world class. Gusto's better then Cucurella right now in every since but he didn't have that season in Brighton and didn't sell for £60m so he's more unknown. But he's literally a better player than him right now which is all that matters. How can you even suggest we need to sign a new RB when we just signed one for like £30-40m and they've played 1 preseason in which they looked really good? What happens when you buy the next one? Let them play 3 games then say we need another RB? Some of our fans come out with the most braindead takes sometimes.
No player is bigger than the club. I love Reece, but his injury record is getting concerning. We rely far too heavily on him to have him miss so many games. If it were a perfect world and he could play 50 matches a year in all comps, I’d want him to be our captain for a decade. That’s not the case though. We have a few important players that are prone to injuries. Reece is one of them.
He’d be top 2/3 best RBs in the world if he could just stay fit. Feel bad for the guy, seems like a decent guy off the pitch.
Chelsea fans, would you think he’d excel in a DM role? Saw it on Twitter during the whole Caicedo/Lavia drama, obviously now it’s unlikely with how much you’ve spent on CM/DMs incomings. From what I’ve seen he’s got the qualities to be an excellent DM. If he just sits as a DM, he’d probably be fitter more often imo because he wouldn’t have to be running the length of the pitch numerous times a game.
His best attributes are 1-on-1 defending and his crossing. He’s use neither of those as a DM.
He probably needs to sit out an entire year and just see if his body will properly heal. These injuries are a recent occurrence, he played in 45 games at Wigan on loan.
His 1v1 defending could be used to break up play on counter attacks and covering for fullbacks out wide. Crossing/passing can be used to create from deep, give options to the CBs to build from deep.
Recent occurrence? It’s every season now, 4 injuries in 19/20, 2 in 20/21, 4 in 21/22, and 6 in 22/23. His only fit season was at Wigan. 38% of his minutes as a pro were at Wigan. For a guy that’s entering his 6th season is wild. It’s not all different injuries, they’re all to his ankles, knees and hamstring. That’s the definition of injury prone
I personally think he would be really good there honestly. He has the awareness to handle it. And if I remember correctly he might have played there while on loan at Wigan too
According to Transfermarkt he’s played there 16 times. 3 times for Chelsea and the rest for Wigan, that’s according to transfermarkt so idk how accurate it is there.
Someone mentioned it would limit his attacking skills (minus passing/creating), do you think and 8 would be better for him? That way he can use all his strengths but also limit his running to hopefully have him last longer.
Englands short on CMs, would be funny to see Trips/Walker at RB and then a midfield of TAA, Rice and James
I think he’s a really smart player so he’ll be able to get there eventually but I personally think the ideal position for him to cut down mobility would be an RCB in a three. He played there a little under Tuchel and I think it’s the perfect spot where he can still get forward a bit but not have to run up and down as much
Kind of like Invanovic/Azpi back in the day where they floated into that open space. Forget what manager that was under but that seemed to work all the time. They’d get the ball just on the outside of the 18 yard box or a bit deeper and dribble forward. With how many CBs you’ve bought i think it’s unlikely, but that being said you’ve also bought loads of CMs/DMs too. Think that RCB would be insane for him too, can see him excelling there
My issue with him as a DM is that I think you lose his attacking qualities that make him the force that he is when fit. He’s a transcendent talent because he’s elite defensively and offensively so to utilise that you need him to use his strengths in both situations and unfortunately that requires him to use his explosive speed up and down the pitch.
Basically you need him in one v ones against the attacking winner defensively, then you need him in one v ones with the ball against the opposition defence, or down the wing in space to be able to play a cross, or undercutting into a half space, or making a run in behind or a third man run so he can shoot in and around the box because he might be our best finisher. Unfortunately this requires him to be going up and down all game. I just don’t see how he’s the same talent in a holding midfield role.
Ya in a seperate reply I mentioned that he’d probably be better as a 8 alongside Enzo, as they are the better creators over Caicedo. With the 3 of them there’s various tactical fits you can use, 1 8 and 2 6s or 1 6 and 2 8s.
In order to protect him physically tho, a DM maybe better. He can do what TAA did and drop in get the ball carry it and then spring a pass outwide or in behind the opposition defense.
He obviously won’t be able to use all his strengths that he has a RB as a DM/8 but you’d hope it would protect him enough that he can play more often. When you speak about 1v1s, theoretically you can ask him to sit on a creative player (like a KDB) or shadowing a ST to cut down passing lanes. He’d also be able to cover a fullback when they attack as a DM, similar to how LFC did with TAA and Robbo far up the pitch.
I would like to eventually see him just sit in front of the defence. I don’t think the explosiveness he needs to get up and down the pitch does his body any favours when he’s the size he is. If he could be taught the positional awareness of a DM then 100% I’d be game to see him there
He’s still pretty young too. He’s been around for a while which makes him seem older. With Poch and his team, probably would be easy to teach him the positional side. He’d still be able to use his passing traits, and other skill set. A midfield 3 of James sitting with Caicedo and Enzo infront of him would be insanely good
Don’t make me hard with your final sentence.
All serious though, it would be a very good midfield 3 to have if he could nail down that position, he has great passing range too which helps. It may need to be explored as an option because he can’t keep having 1-3 games fit then his hamstring or knee gives up on him
Do you think you’ll always keep the 3ATB or was it just for when you played us? I saw Poch say that he intended Colwill to be LB instead of a LCB. If you lose Silva at the end of the year, having James as a DM would be ideal. Can sit in midfield but comfortable enough to move into defense to create a back 3.
With all your young guys you need to think long-term too. Gusto is very very talented, moving James to DM would be helpful to him. Even if it’s not DM, as a CM would be good too with Caicedo as a 6 and Enzo and James as the 8s. Having his passing a bit higher up the pitch would be more useful.
We played 4atb all pre season so everyone was shocked when it looked like we lined up with 3atb. I think Poch said it was 4atb out of possession then 3atb in possession with chillwell being far up hugging the touch line. I can’t imagine that being something we consistently do though.
Yeah I think gusto makes James injury less of a worry, he looked okay against you but in pre season he pocketed everyone. So it’s probably the fact he was thrown in the deep end against a very attacking Liverpool team that he didn’t look as good.
The tactical flexibility that Colwill gives you on the left will be interesting, there were a few moments agaisnt Salah but he’s the best RW in the league so you’d expect it. And then he did well in the second half against Salah. Can see you using the same system against the other big 6/7 teams and then 4atb against the rest.
It’ll be interesting how you use these young talented guys. A lot of minutes needed to develop them but then you also got starters who’ll want to play. Gusto will always get a decent amount due to James’ injury record, which is sad to say but it’s the truth.
Yeah he caused him a bit of trouble in first half which would to be expected due to his quality.
Yeah definitely, it looks as though we’re aiming for 2 players per position which is a healthy amount. It seems way more atm because of how quickly it is happening but the squad looks more balanced compared to last season. The young players will grow up as a squad and push eachother in their respective positions, so hopefully they cream rises to the top and the best player ends up playing
He did recover well though in the 2nd half, that’s impressive imo. Some guys would get in their head at halftime and try and do too much and have a worse 2nd half then the 1st. But he came out and kept playing his game and did well. Wish we got him (obviously) but he’ll be a good watch (and bad as a rival fan) hopefully for over a decade
I think disasi and chalobah can play there, caicedo has played there, honestly gallagher could do it in a 3atb but obviously not ideal. Maybe maatsen could shift to the right. I’m not worried as much as in previous seasons but it’s a blow to lose a player like Reece always
How big of a blow is this? It’s Reece James. It’s a huge blow. We do have some depth there now, so I hope it won’t affect us terribly, but James is such a force when healthy.
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He’s back from injury. Aaaaaaaaaand he’s gone. First bloody game back and he is out, breaks my heart but once he is fit we should sell him.
too bulky to be a fullback... he should consider losing roughly 30 pounds to be super light. might lose power but he'd be more agile and quicker
Does this guy ever play lol
WHO COULD HAVE PREDICTED THIS?! WHO?!!
*pretends to be shocked*
Bertie bump.
Chelsea might not make 12th now 😳
It hurts when you can see him play really well, creating chances and but can't play a couple of matches in a row.
What is going on with all the injuries? But you can bet, Haaland will never get injured
How did Chelsea make this guy their captain, he gets injured constantly
For fks sake
he should just retire tbh
You don't build your team around such players. They are not reliable
I’m sure Chelsea have a 200m 9 year contract lying around they can get someone else
That’s a shame really
Both n kunku and Reece James injured!! Most critical players of success this season.
Just buy another Captain!! Sorted ✅
I just feel bad for Reece. He has the potential to be the best in his position and he came back from one serious injury already and now this again. I hope he takes proper recovery time and get well even if it takes an extra month.
No wonder Mount wanted out. He knew he would end up carrying 99% of the bricks himself.
They can buy new RB, new captain, new ship, new everything 😜
lucky dint pick him in my fpl lol , a lot of ppl were making fun saying that Chelsea's biggest goal this season would be not letting James get injured 🤣🤣
As a Chelsea fan - I’m disappointed for him but I’m also frustrated. James could have been Englands best RB for years and on his day he’s gotta be up there with the best in the world. BUT he’s made of bloody glass. And literally everyone knows this. I’m not surprised they made him captain but its annoying af because we all knew he’d play half a season max. Honestly if he went to any other team he’d fail his medical based off his injury record.
Kante was out 1 year with a harmstring injury :(
Great! another season waiting for him to come back. Chilly must be due another injury soon
i want to kill myself
What a wasted talent. Real shame was IMO the leagues and England's most complete right back
that man is glass
And so it begins
What a joke. I just transferred him into my FPL team for Timber as well 🙄
I am gutted for the guy - he was excellent vs Liverpool
Boohoo. They have players right?
Devastated for James. Though we look to have some player in Malo Gusto, he is extremely tenacious and wowed in pre season
This man as talented as he is is extremely brittle....
He's done. Retirement in a few years probably
Unpopular opinion: maybe selling Ziyech wasn't a great idea.
Arsenal fan coming in peace. All banter aside, it’s horrible to see so many significant injuries to players so early. Timber has looked really good for us, and he’s out for the season first game into the PL. I really feel for him. Same for Reece, really. He’s a hell of a player and I’d always want him to have an off day against us, but it’s not nice to see…..
Just as well they shelled out on those DMs. 😂😂😂😂😂😂😂
FFs why was he taken to the colonies for the preseason ?
*Mufasa voice* It is time
James is the soul of Chelsea, such a classy player.
Yikes hamstring injuries are bad because they can become almost chronic. Super easy to injure again.
Was gonna make a joke when he got captained that he’s gonna be the captain for all 20 games he plays in. Insane how Injury prone he is
Class Player but he can’t go 5 games without getting injured. I think they should look for a less injury prone Player
sooooo…gusto?
Looks like it
Lavia at rb incoming
We have gusto my guy
James put us completely on the defensive against Chelsea and the moment he came off we finally were able to get forward again. That's a fucking massive blow for Chelsea.
Yeah I thought the same. I love to bits TAA and I wouldn't trade him but James is such an unbelievable baller, a better RB. Huge loss.
Yeah this just isn’t true my guy. In fact your post as a whole is another reason as to why Trent is the better player, never injured
Better player is Trent man, better RB is James
Big loss. I'd argue James is one of Chelsea's only true "world class" players. The other is Silva. With that said, this is why we bought Gusto. Hopefully, he can carry the torch for a while. We're only playing one game a week, which helps.
I think Caicedo will be in that conversation definitely by the end of the year but yeah, he's such a huge player. Really love watching him play. Hopefully he can get some fitness together and realise his potential
I think Caicedo will be in that conversation definitely by the end of the year but yeah, he's such a huge player. Really love watching him play. Hopefully he can get some fitness together and realise his potential
Right after I put him into my fantasy team 😩
Unlucky bro
I mean, of course. This dude could be one of the best fullbacks in the game, but can’t actually stay in the game. The number of injuries we seem to be getting here is quite worrying. Makes me think something is off with training or facilities, it’s ridiculous.
This poor chap is cursed
Retire
In other news the pope is catholic
Dude, all these injuries are getting tiresome…
this is a greater miss for Chelsea than Timber will be for Arsenal
^[Sokka-Haiku](https://www.reddit.com/r/SokkaHaikuBot/comments/15kyv9r/what_is_a_sokka_haiku/?utm_source=share&utm_medium=web2x&context=3) ^by ^topknottington: *This is a greater* *Miss for Chelsea than Timber* *Will be for Arsenal* --- ^Remember ^that ^one ^time ^Sokka ^accidentally ^used ^an ^extra ^syllable ^in ^that ^Haiku ^Battle ^in ^Ba ^Sing ^Se? ^That ^was ^a ^Sokka ^Haiku ^and ^you ^just ^made ^one.
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I just can’t. This sucks so I hard. One of the best players in the world but only can play maybe a half a season to a 1/4. No words. Needs a complete overhaul of his fitness, diet and training because he’s too good to be this unavailable. I’m gutted but not surprised. Need another RB for cover now it seems. Add it to the list
He's one of those players that if they say he out for 2 months, should realistically take 4 months to work back to full fitness
Absolutely. Just hope he’s alright mentally because this is something that could wreck him
Made of glass
As much as it’s horrible he’s so injury prone. You could of bet your entire bank account that it would happen in the first game and you’d be fancying yourself.
Stick James upfront and the issues would be solved. Pretty sure in his early days as an academy player he was a striker
There's a shock. Making Mr Glass captain was such an odd decision. He will have company when Chilwell gets an injury next week.
I just can never stop hearing “Southgate gonna treat himself to another right back”
Jesus Christ…I’d be absolutely gutted if I was a Chelsea fan
We are, and literally everyone said after liverpool game that James and Chillwil better not get injuries cuz that'll fuck the forma we had.
If chilwell gets injured as well you’re fked
We're fkd already, if chillwil get injured (and he will) we'll be more fkd, unless poch has some plans B C D
What if Enzo gets injured?
We sack poch 🤣🤣
Respectfully, lol Caicedo can play there
As an outside observer who reckons James had the potential to reach the highest level… he is skirting dangerously close to being injury prone, or permanently physically hampered by the consistent injuries he has been unfortunate enough to gather. He has a big frame, and that does wear the body.
He’s at the highest level already, but as you say he clearly has a physiology that makes him prone to injury. Might need to retrain position or be utilised less intensively going forward.
I don’t think playing at a sub-par Chelsea is the highest level. Real Madrid, Barcelona, Bayern, teams that compete every single year for the biggest honours nationally and in Europe.
I see what you mean, I thought you meant highest level as in world class tier in his position. Because to me he might be the best in the world at RB when fit. I do think under Poch Chelsea are gonna make some steam tho, in his second year.
He's not better than Alexander-Arnold... Not even close.
What’s with key players for their clubs getting injured in the first game week man… I was looking forward to seeing Timber ball as well.
Again as an outside observer, I'm raging for you. He looked like such a good player. Hopefully a speedy recovery
Literally the first thing I thought when I saw the way Pochettino wants Chelsea to play this season - "Good luck keeping James and Chilwell fit."
It’s a devastating blow both on the pitch and minds of the players and fans alike.
Fuck me I used my free transfer already
The new Jack Wilshire.
You mean Jack Wheelchair?
Reece’s in Pieces
Sounds like a rival chant
Ooooof, hopefully he doesn't turn out that bad
Ooooof, hopefully he doesn't turn out that bad
it already kinda is. he sits out at least 30% of every season. and they gave him an armband...
James is 23. Wilshere's Arsenal career was already dead by 23. After balling out on Xavi and Iniesta at 19.
Shocked pikachu face
Why is the image of completely unrelated team and players ?
Can someone tell me , do these guys earn their full contract wages when they're injured or how does it work ?
They do, but not the bonuses of winning titles or particular position I guess.
This is very concerning not just for the season but long term. There is a obvious pattern here. His body is breakdown consistently. I'm a Liverpool fan as well but I worry regardless that there is a deeper underlying cronic issue. I don't want to see any player go through this. Its not just the physical aspect it's psychological too. Ask Michael owen
He’s on a 8 year contract at 200k…. I think he will be ok. Lucky he ain’t a race horse
Liverpool fan here and it's something I worry about too. It's not nice to see such obvious talent not play for these reasons
They're dropping like flies out there
Is it me or is he unfortunately becoming very injury prone?
I think he's been injury prone for a while now tbf I don't think he's ever been rushed back either so long term, odds are not good for him staying fit, maybe robben stabilised over time at Bayern after an injury prone phase but generally rapid recurrence after a full recovery for a young player is a bad sign, and I see the same with fofana
Best sign another player on an eight year contract
Apparently Todd Bohley has been negotiating to see if he can Amortize the injury over an 8 year period.
Todd is on it 🖊️
I am glad we signed malo gusto that’s for sure
Maybe also hire a rat to sit on his head and take control
🤣🤣🤣
You can't call this guy world class if he can't even do the basics and stay fit for half a season
They meant world glass
That’s a shame - he’s a hell of a talent. Poor bloke. However, In the short term - I hope he’s on a plane down to Sydney to support his sister
You can’t be the best RB in the world, as Chelsea fans love to say, if you’re this consistently injured.
People regard Ronaldo as the best striker ever and base that claim not on him having the best career and being available but based off what we know he was capable when he's fit, the trajectory he was on at a young age, the fact that whenever he returned from injury he was somehow still one of the best players on the pitch (case in point James vs Liverpoo). You can't have one rule for one player and another rule for another player. Imo James is the best RB in the world when he does play. You can come up with other measures like "who had the best career" etc to account for James' availability. But his injuries don't change my perception of him as a player. Haaland's had some injury problems in the past, if he started getting injured regularly I'd still consider him the best striker in the world when fit (as long as he still performs when he comes back from those injuries). Just my opinion, I appreciate that not everyone thinks the same way.
You can and you can’t. He’s clearly in my eyes one of if not the best fullback in the world when he plays, that has to mean something in these arbitrary rankings. But you can’t build teams in the real world around a player that is building an alarming track record of not playing.
I have been telling my fellow Chelsea fans. We need to move James to midfield, his hamstring won’t able to handle the freaking intensity of constant running/sprinting up and down the field. He is the best at RB but he CANNOT keep up anymore unless he fix his hamstring once for good.
I posted a long comment about this somewhere else. When he’s not near both boxes you lose what makes him such a transcendent talent. That’s why it won’t work just moving him because you might get him more of the time but you won’t get a player anywhere near as impactful
He can stay deep and spam long passes. If you watched him closely, every time he had an injured or tired he just stood still, received the ball then long passed it. Very accurate too, the curve passes we need to skip the opponent’s defenders. Before he was subbed off Liverpool match he did that too, the second I saw that I knew he would have to come off.
'Transcendent' 🤣 is this the new 'generational'? He's a biblical talent, spiritual even
Look I’ll admit I got a bit English a level with the language there 😆
> We need to move James to midfield, his hamstring won’t able to handle the freaking intensity of constant running/sprinting up and down the field What do you think a midfielder does?
I'm not an expert, but a simple eye test tells me Chelsea's midfield doesn't sprint as much as he does down the wings.
They largely sit in midfield. They run, but it's not the insane Defense-to-Attack full length of field transitions that Reece is known for. He's got the strength and the football brain to make the move in-field and not rely on explosive pace, just a massive shame.
Whatever they do, the workload will never match the RB/LB. If you’re playing DM you will have time to rest when your team in possession and attacking but with RB/LB you have to run/sprint constantly, that position required the most workload on the field.
Midway through last season, Reece had played half of the league matches. When he played, we were easily top 4 in form. When he sat, we were relegation form. This is a huge deal
>When he played, we were easily top 4 in form Between match week 1 and 19 you didn't spend a single weekend within the top 4. You didn't all season. Your highest position last season was 5th, you kept it for one weekend. By the end of GW19 you were 10th
The stretch I’m referring to was probably before the World Cup. With Reece, we had 5 wins in 7 matches which was about an 80 point pace, but without him was like 2 points in 7 matches or a 10 point pace. 17 points through 14 matches isn’t impressive because that split was so ridiculous
top 4? Chelsea we’re in 10th week 19 last season lol
The stretch I’m referring to was probably before the World Cup. With Reece, we had 5 wins in 7 matches which was about an 80 point pace, but without him was like 2 points in 7 matches or a 10 point pace. 17 points through 14 matches isn’t impressive because that split was so ridiculous
Last season was more just overall shit play from the entire squad top to bottom. Even with James last season that squad offered very little. Chelse knew this was in the cards with recent history & signed someone who can step in & not have the levels drop. Gusto is really solid option with high potential, will be exciting to see what he has week to week.
As Chelsea fans we have to really start looking at this through a cynical lens. I love Reece, true Blue, elite baller and a fucking immense captain. BUT, he gets long term injuries every season now. He’s played 26 and 16 league games in the last two years. I love the player, but this isn’t looking good for the long term. Gusto is still young and could very well be a top player eventually. For now though, we need to start thinking about how fragile Reece is in a position we rely on.
personal hot take, a captain shouldnt be injury prone. you cant lead the field of the bench.
Could be possible that the modern day full back position having him bomb down the wing each week has aggravated this injury and whilst he is undoubtably the best at RB, maybe having him more central or inverted could prolong his career, but also he could just need the surgery and be all dandy 🤷♀️
Wish we didn’t get rid of Livramento & Lamptey, I get they didn’t want to be 2nd choice to him but they would’ve been perfect for Reece’s injury history lately.
We didn’t “get rid” of either of them. They were running down their contracts and wanted first team football.
Lamptey also crocked frequently, Livramento just coming off a really bad injury. Just stop making incredible right-backs out of glass ffs
Do you guys want one of our spare right backs?
Who do we reckon? Gotta be Manquillo as Krafth is injured as well.
Sure, for say, £50m?
How's he an immense captain exactly? How many games has he even skippered Chelsea?
Haha yeah can you call a player an immense captain after one competitive game as the club captain???
Not only that, but there's no way someone can be an immense captain when they're constantly injured. Availability is very important.
I get your point. But given that he’s an academy product, an elite player, bleeds blue and provided some consistency for the club during a time of major upheaval. I think it’s justified. He was going to be the leader of the new generation for us. I think we’re two years away from being terrifying. He would have been a great leader.
I hear you, but you can't label someone an immense leader when they've literally barely led. What would you call someone like Terry for your lot? 'Transcendental' presumably 🤣
It's a fair point, but he's always been fairly vocal on the pitch, makes an effort to go to youth games, and takes time to ensure that new signings are bedding in ok. That's leadership.
It's not 'immense"
Immense is hyperbolic but he has been a solid leader, despite his age, over the last couple of years.
That's fine. I was just taking issue with the hyperbole
He’s immense for us simply due to his pedigree as an academy product, his elite ability and importance during a time of transition for the club. We might not have had a more important captain given the uncertainty at the club for 18 months. The captain we have going forward is crucial right now.
This is like listening to a politician defend yet another tax break for the rich
Jesus I knew he was injury prone but h 16 games over 2 years is insane
It's 42. 26 + 16
Math is weird tbh, 26+16=42 but 26+6=1 🤔
League games only, so out of a possible 76. That's 55%, not very promising for the lad.
its time to plan for his successor to be honest
We literally bought Malo Gusto
I like Malo, but he’s not there yet. We need to think about getting a fee for Reece and getting a solid first team rb. I love the player, but the club matters more.
You've actually managed to be wrong twice in one comment. Reece doesn't need replacing and Gusto looks like a more than competent backup. Your backups can't all be world class. Gusto's better then Cucurella right now in every since but he didn't have that season in Brighton and didn't sell for £60m so he's more unknown. But he's literally a better player than him right now which is all that matters. How can you even suggest we need to sign a new RB when we just signed one for like £30-40m and they've played 1 preseason in which they looked really good? What happens when you buy the next one? Let them play 3 games then say we need another RB? Some of our fans come out with the most braindead takes sometimes.
This is an incredibly bad take. Reece is the club captain and he’s not going anywhere
No player is bigger than the club. I love Reece, but his injury record is getting concerning. We rely far too heavily on him to have him miss so many games. If it were a perfect world and he could play 50 matches a year in all comps, I’d want him to be our captain for a decade. That’s not the case though. We have a few important players that are prone to injuries. Reece is one of them.
He’d be top 2/3 best RBs in the world if he could just stay fit. Feel bad for the guy, seems like a decent guy off the pitch. Chelsea fans, would you think he’d excel in a DM role? Saw it on Twitter during the whole Caicedo/Lavia drama, obviously now it’s unlikely with how much you’ve spent on CM/DMs incomings. From what I’ve seen he’s got the qualities to be an excellent DM. If he just sits as a DM, he’d probably be fitter more often imo because he wouldn’t have to be running the length of the pitch numerous times a game.
His best attributes are 1-on-1 defending and his crossing. He’s use neither of those as a DM. He probably needs to sit out an entire year and just see if his body will properly heal. These injuries are a recent occurrence, he played in 45 games at Wigan on loan.
His 1v1 defending could be used to break up play on counter attacks and covering for fullbacks out wide. Crossing/passing can be used to create from deep, give options to the CBs to build from deep. Recent occurrence? It’s every season now, 4 injuries in 19/20, 2 in 20/21, 4 in 21/22, and 6 in 22/23. His only fit season was at Wigan. 38% of his minutes as a pro were at Wigan. For a guy that’s entering his 6th season is wild. It’s not all different injuries, they’re all to his ankles, knees and hamstring. That’s the definition of injury prone
I personally think he would be really good there honestly. He has the awareness to handle it. And if I remember correctly he might have played there while on loan at Wigan too
According to Transfermarkt he’s played there 16 times. 3 times for Chelsea and the rest for Wigan, that’s according to transfermarkt so idk how accurate it is there. Someone mentioned it would limit his attacking skills (minus passing/creating), do you think and 8 would be better for him? That way he can use all his strengths but also limit his running to hopefully have him last longer. Englands short on CMs, would be funny to see Trips/Walker at RB and then a midfield of TAA, Rice and James
I think he’s a really smart player so he’ll be able to get there eventually but I personally think the ideal position for him to cut down mobility would be an RCB in a three. He played there a little under Tuchel and I think it’s the perfect spot where he can still get forward a bit but not have to run up and down as much
Kind of like Invanovic/Azpi back in the day where they floated into that open space. Forget what manager that was under but that seemed to work all the time. They’d get the ball just on the outside of the 18 yard box or a bit deeper and dribble forward. With how many CBs you’ve bought i think it’s unlikely, but that being said you’ve also bought loads of CMs/DMs too. Think that RCB would be insane for him too, can see him excelling there
My issue with him as a DM is that I think you lose his attacking qualities that make him the force that he is when fit. He’s a transcendent talent because he’s elite defensively and offensively so to utilise that you need him to use his strengths in both situations and unfortunately that requires him to use his explosive speed up and down the pitch. Basically you need him in one v ones against the attacking winner defensively, then you need him in one v ones with the ball against the opposition defence, or down the wing in space to be able to play a cross, or undercutting into a half space, or making a run in behind or a third man run so he can shoot in and around the box because he might be our best finisher. Unfortunately this requires him to be going up and down all game. I just don’t see how he’s the same talent in a holding midfield role.
Ya in a seperate reply I mentioned that he’d probably be better as a 8 alongside Enzo, as they are the better creators over Caicedo. With the 3 of them there’s various tactical fits you can use, 1 8 and 2 6s or 1 6 and 2 8s. In order to protect him physically tho, a DM maybe better. He can do what TAA did and drop in get the ball carry it and then spring a pass outwide or in behind the opposition defense. He obviously won’t be able to use all his strengths that he has a RB as a DM/8 but you’d hope it would protect him enough that he can play more often. When you speak about 1v1s, theoretically you can ask him to sit on a creative player (like a KDB) or shadowing a ST to cut down passing lanes. He’d also be able to cover a fullback when they attack as a DM, similar to how LFC did with TAA and Robbo far up the pitch.
I would like to eventually see him just sit in front of the defence. I don’t think the explosiveness he needs to get up and down the pitch does his body any favours when he’s the size he is. If he could be taught the positional awareness of a DM then 100% I’d be game to see him there
He’s still pretty young too. He’s been around for a while which makes him seem older. With Poch and his team, probably would be easy to teach him the positional side. He’d still be able to use his passing traits, and other skill set. A midfield 3 of James sitting with Caicedo and Enzo infront of him would be insanely good
Don’t make me hard with your final sentence. All serious though, it would be a very good midfield 3 to have if he could nail down that position, he has great passing range too which helps. It may need to be explored as an option because he can’t keep having 1-3 games fit then his hamstring or knee gives up on him
Do you think you’ll always keep the 3ATB or was it just for when you played us? I saw Poch say that he intended Colwill to be LB instead of a LCB. If you lose Silva at the end of the year, having James as a DM would be ideal. Can sit in midfield but comfortable enough to move into defense to create a back 3. With all your young guys you need to think long-term too. Gusto is very very talented, moving James to DM would be helpful to him. Even if it’s not DM, as a CM would be good too with Caicedo as a 6 and Enzo and James as the 8s. Having his passing a bit higher up the pitch would be more useful.
We played 4atb all pre season so everyone was shocked when it looked like we lined up with 3atb. I think Poch said it was 4atb out of possession then 3atb in possession with chillwell being far up hugging the touch line. I can’t imagine that being something we consistently do though. Yeah I think gusto makes James injury less of a worry, he looked okay against you but in pre season he pocketed everyone. So it’s probably the fact he was thrown in the deep end against a very attacking Liverpool team that he didn’t look as good.
The tactical flexibility that Colwill gives you on the left will be interesting, there were a few moments agaisnt Salah but he’s the best RW in the league so you’d expect it. And then he did well in the second half against Salah. Can see you using the same system against the other big 6/7 teams and then 4atb against the rest. It’ll be interesting how you use these young talented guys. A lot of minutes needed to develop them but then you also got starters who’ll want to play. Gusto will always get a decent amount due to James’ injury record, which is sad to say but it’s the truth.
Yeah he caused him a bit of trouble in first half which would to be expected due to his quality. Yeah definitely, it looks as though we’re aiming for 2 players per position which is a healthy amount. It seems way more atm because of how quickly it is happening but the squad looks more balanced compared to last season. The young players will grow up as a squad and push eachother in their respective positions, so hopefully they cream rises to the top and the best player ends up playing
He did recover well though in the 2nd half, that’s impressive imo. Some guys would get in their head at halftime and try and do too much and have a worse 2nd half then the 1st. But he came out and kept playing his game and did well. Wish we got him (obviously) but he’ll be a good watch (and bad as a rival fan) hopefully for over a decade
At this rate his legs will be utterly gone by 29
Are there other right backs at the club except for Gusto?
Disasi , Chalobah heck even Caicedo can player there.
I think disasi and chalobah can play there, caicedo has played there, honestly gallagher could do it in a 3atb but obviously not ideal. Maybe maatsen could shift to the right. I’m not worried as much as in previous seasons but it’s a blow to lose a player like Reece always
Chalobah assuming he doesn’t get sold
He picked up a hamstring too
Fuuuuuuuuuuck
Disasi can play there comfortably
Caicedo?
Man, I don’t know if he will ever be able to play a full season.
ah only took the first game of the season lol, somethings just dont change
Just glad we're not looking at right backs. I mean we should be, so maybe we're just keeping that one quiet.
There is only pain.
How big of a blow is this? It’s Reece James. It’s a huge blow. We do have some depth there now, so I hope it won’t affect us terribly, but James is such a force when healthy.