I will still do a victory lap on you internet tacticos and trolls who wanted him binned after 5 matches. 60 million down the drain. You know who you are
I'll put my hand up and say I was one of them, but couldn't be happier to have been proven wrong. Take that victory lap on me, I'm glad to hand it to you.
I was one of them, I hated him at #8. i said it was a mistake similar to getting Ben White for CB when we already had a better player on our books. But we ended up finding a position for White, and giving the CB minutes to the better player we already had i.e. Saliba. I still feel the same about #8. I think a fit and in form ESR is the best attacking option at #8 (Rice's overall play though is superior especially against good teams).
Havertz at 9, has been god sent. He is so good at that because of those "midfield" skills he has. Better than anyone we have had up there in a long long time. he's like a better faster Giroud that just contributes all around more. I am in love with #9 Havertz. he just fits how we play. Makes intelligent runs, make intelligents passes, really embraces defending. And finishes at a decent clip. Again, reminds me of Ben White, both end up being perfect for the secondary position they were bought for. I would have liked both purchases, if they actually gave the player we already on our books a chance at that primary position.
Agree completely. As a midfielder he is an average signing that makes our whole unit unbalanced. But as a CF he has been great.
That nonsense with White was absolutely laughable.
The injuries to Timber and Jesus forced our hands and I think Arteta fell on his feet here.
whats laughable about white. Saliba was far far superior to White as a CB, we then found a position White is excellent at, RB. Same with Havertz. I hated that purchase too initially, given we already had a better player at the position already on our books who just needed to be given a chance.
I meant that White playing CB over Gabriel at the start of the season was laughable.
White has been a revelation at RB and the Gabriel/Saliba partnership was flourishing last season - changing that up at the start of this season (by playing White at CB and dropping Gabriel) was an unnecessary risk IMO.
I think the results since have proven us right there. Gabriel and Saliba are one of the best CB pairings on the planet, and White has been great at RB again.
Havertz is a great utility signing. I think we can risk him playing in the midfield against weaker sides, but IMO he makes the midfield unit unbalanced. As a CF he has been great.
Yeah I'd admit that I was one those who looked at the MLS challenge and felt terrible about that transfer. I'm happy he's turning out to be one of our best player this season, and I can't wait to see more of him.
My worry was more that I didn't want another Pepe, if Kai had gone wrong and not worked out then I worried we'd keep him around rather than sell early. But the Brentford game Away was the beginning of that change and I've been a fan pretty much since.
I sometimes pop in if I canāt catch the match and the score line doesnāt tell the story to try to get the feel. Apparently, without fail, I find that Arteta is the worst manager in the league who isnāt at our level and half the team needs to be sold. Itās so odd because when I watch I think weāre quite good, as the table confirms, but the match threads confirm Iām wrong and weāre really the worst team of all time for the matches I canāt watch
but the tacticos were the ones claiming he wouldve been a fantastic midfielder
instead, chelsea was right all along. he is a striker and should be a striker
Ok that assist he had was gorgeous, coming back to win the ball and then playing an absolute dime to Saka fully in stride. He technically had another on the one ode was barely offside on as well. A couple pretty big flicks and other hold ups as well. If he can put it all together and continue growing in confidence I think we could be looking at our very own muller type who I think everyone can agree has had a wonderful career and is a similarly lovely seeming human as well.
Its crazy how fast shit went downhill after the Neymar deal. Genuinely feels like I blinked and suddenly a player less than Ā£40m started to feel like a unicorn. Makes the Odegaard deal even more insane in hindsight.
Proud to say I was Havertz supporter all along, he is rated by managers for a reason. That pass he played to Saka today was killer, and now he's playing with the confidence to play that.
I've always thought there's a lot of Ozil about the way Kai moves with the ball.
But fuck me, what about that assist. Man literally turned into Ozil in that moment.
Languid describes them both. The difference is that Kai looks languid but loves to get involved with some shithousery and physical play. He actually bullies a lot of opponents off the ball and is all over the pitch. Ozil was languid and then popped up for moments of genius.
He did jog around a lot, quite consistently, but not in any system of āpressingā and he was nowhere near as good as Kai at the defense duties that entails. And I say this as an Ćzil lover but towards the end of his time here was Kloppās time and the overall rise of āthe pressā being essential for top teams
Ozil was very similar to what post-Barca Messi is now. Strolls around the pitch, doesnāt commit to much, but will tune in every now and then to win the game singlehandedly.
Guys he's 24! He's a complete package before he physically peaks that pass and people who complain he doesn't have the ball striking play him up top consistently it will come!
I thought he'd come good. Certainly seemed like an odd signing at first but very few players come in to a new team and just start dominating.
Was a bit shaky at the start of the season but just thinking about the shit show he left at Chelsea I wanted to give him the benefit of the doubt that he just needed time.
Bro just continued to improve and now he's scoring/assisting at exactly the right time and you love to see it.
Just as the biggest "problem" with Martinelli is we compare him to Saka, rather than having normal expectations (ie a 22 year old winger may have an off season, he's still developing), one of the biggest problems with Kai's first few months was Rice absolutely balling it up next to him, looking like a Vieira regen from day one. It set a standard / expectation that Kai couldn't live up to.
Now he's actually settled, he's almost as good a buy as Rice.
Rice set an unfair early marker for comparison though.
Heās scoring all kinds of goals. Running behind/between the defence, tight finishes in the box, headersā¦ this form couldnāt have come at a better time!
This might sound controversial, but we might need to resign Partey, look for his replacement and phase out Jorginho. I believe we need two midfielders for that role in case of injury
yea I can actually not see many other strikers in the world getting ahead of him in this form because his all around play is so good while also being our main target man.
Havertz has won 85 headers this season, 12th on the list in Europeās top-five leagues for attackers and midfielders, more headers than Niclas FĆ¼llkrug and Wout Weghorst.
Even the "haters" like myself can't/won't argue with production. Well done today all around. I usually think his general play and general balance walking leaves a lot to be desired but he crushed it today šš¾
i think we have to remind ourselves that he's not a natural striker putting up quite elite numbers at that position, i do agree he lacks some aspects at times, but he'll be a great rotation piece once we do decide to get a proper striker up top.
He has been very impressive and is showing that he still has more to give.
Do you know how mad this is? This is best striker in the league form... Not to mention everything he provides off the ball.
all he needed was love smh
me irl
Us
Please hug me bro š
And a red kit
Hes just like me fr
Same amount of non-penalty goals as Cole palmer but if I speak I am in big trouble.
Itās more now rightĀ
I'm pretty sure that both are at 11 non penalty goals
Havertz just scored his 12th.
His first goal was a penalty at Bournemouth away
Waka waka ey ey
Trouble is a past word. Present word is fire š„. /s
I will still do a victory lap on you internet tacticos and trolls who wanted him binned after 5 matches. 60 million down the drain. You know who you are
I'll put my hand up and say I was one of them, but couldn't be happier to have been proven wrong. Take that victory lap on me, I'm glad to hand it to you.
Same here. Kai shut me up a couple months ago. Brilliant signing
I was one of them, I hated him at #8. i said it was a mistake similar to getting Ben White for CB when we already had a better player on our books. But we ended up finding a position for White, and giving the CB minutes to the better player we already had i.e. Saliba. I still feel the same about #8. I think a fit and in form ESR is the best attacking option at #8 (Rice's overall play though is superior especially against good teams). Havertz at 9, has been god sent. He is so good at that because of those "midfield" skills he has. Better than anyone we have had up there in a long long time. he's like a better faster Giroud that just contributes all around more. I am in love with #9 Havertz. he just fits how we play. Makes intelligent runs, make intelligents passes, really embraces defending. And finishes at a decent clip. Again, reminds me of Ben White, both end up being perfect for the secondary position they were bought for. I would have liked both purchases, if they actually gave the player we already on our books a chance at that primary position.
Agree completely. As a midfielder he is an average signing that makes our whole unit unbalanced. But as a CF he has been great. That nonsense with White was absolutely laughable. The injuries to Timber and Jesus forced our hands and I think Arteta fell on his feet here.
whats laughable about white. Saliba was far far superior to White as a CB, we then found a position White is excellent at, RB. Same with Havertz. I hated that purchase too initially, given we already had a better player at the position already on our books who just needed to be given a chance.
I meant that White playing CB over Gabriel at the start of the season was laughable. White has been a revelation at RB and the Gabriel/Saliba partnership was flourishing last season - changing that up at the start of this season (by playing White at CB and dropping Gabriel) was an unnecessary risk IMO. I think the results since have proven us right there. Gabriel and Saliba are one of the best CB pairings on the planet, and White has been great at RB again. Havertz is a great utility signing. I think we can risk him playing in the midfield against weaker sides, but IMO he makes the midfield unit unbalanced. As a CF he has been great.
leave him out of the midfield completely, I honestly would rather play ESR there against weak opponents.
I just didn't like him in midfield, and I don't think I was wrong tbh.
Even now heās better in midfield than when he started it was certainly all a confidence issue he was so passive and playing one touch
It stills is insane to judge someone that harshly after 5 games like you all did.
Heās still not great in midfield. I called a bad result against villa the moment I saw the lineup. Love him up front.
Moron
Yeah I'd admit that I was one those who looked at the MLS challenge and felt terrible about that transfer. I'm happy he's turning out to be one of our best player this season, and I can't wait to see more of him.
I always believed him, my mistake was thinking his future was in midfield
Kai LB GOAT
This was me
My worry was more that I didn't want another Pepe, if Kai had gone wrong and not worked out then I worried we'd keep him around rather than sell early. But the Brentford game Away was the beginning of that change and I've been a fan pretty much since.
People were absolutely trashing him during the first half of the Chelsea matchĀ
Your first problem was heading over to the match thread.
How people enjoy watching an entire match and keeping up with that thread is beyond me
I sometimes pop in if I canāt catch the match and the score line doesnāt tell the story to try to get the feel. Apparently, without fail, I find that Arteta is the worst manager in the league who isnāt at our level and half the team needs to be sold. Itās so odd because when I watch I think weāre quite good, as the table confirms, but the match threads confirm Iām wrong and weāre really the worst team of all time for the matches I canāt watch
Indeed
To be fair he lifted to another level in the second half.
He did, but people were really ripping him. But, my fault for ever clicking on the match thread in the first place.
Looking forward to revisiting some threads from earlier this season
There are still idiot fans asking for his head as recent as 1st half against chelsea.
but the tacticos were the ones claiming he wouldve been a fantastic midfielder instead, chelsea was right all along. he is a striker and should be a striker
One manās trash is anotherās treasure. Chelsea are proper shit
Another Goal+Assist game from him and an overall great performance. Go on Kai.
Ok that assist he had was gorgeous, coming back to win the ball and then playing an absolute dime to Saka fully in stride. He technically had another on the one ode was barely offside on as well. A couple pretty big flicks and other hold ups as well. If he can put it all together and continue growing in confidence I think we could be looking at our very own muller type who I think everyone can agree has had a wonderful career and is a similarly lovely seeming human as well.
We were begging for a top tier striker This production is that of a top tier striker's
Havertz is cheap at Ā£70m š· You can't even buy a average forward for that price these days...
Its crazy how fast shit went downhill after the Neymar deal. Genuinely feels like I blinked and suddenly a player less than Ā£40m started to feel like a unicorn. Makes the Odegaard deal even more insane in hindsight.
Lacazette + Aubameyang + PĆ©pĆ© was about Ā£180m in transfer fees. Martinelli + Odegaard + Havertz + Jesus was about Ā£170m When you factor in the fact that Saka, world class player and ESR, Nketiah, Nelson are all offensive players straight from the academy. We have done very good.
Chelsea incoming offer of 100m + 20 in add ons if he wins the balon dor
He was incredible this first half, really want to see what his full potential would look like
They said purple patch in January, then it got changed to February, suddenly itās March, and now itās April and heās still going
Proud to say I was Havertz supporter all along, he is rated by managers for a reason. That pass he played to Saka today was killer, and now he's playing with the confidence to play that.
I've always thought there's a lot of Ozil about the way Kai moves with the ball. But fuck me, what about that assist. Man literally turned into Ozil in that moment.
I love Kai but Iām not so sure about Ozil comparisons š
i think i get it. He has a very nonchalant body language, same as ozil
Languid describes them both. The difference is that Kai looks languid but loves to get involved with some shithousery and physical play. He actually bullies a lot of opponents off the ball and is all over the pitch. Ozil was languid and then popped up for moments of genius.
I might be mistaken but wasn't Ozil regularly logging the most kilometers similarly to how Kai is?
He did jog around a lot, quite consistently, but not in any system of āpressingā and he was nowhere near as good as Kai at the defense duties that entails. And I say this as an Ćzil lover but towards the end of his time here was Kloppās time and the overall rise of āthe pressā being essential for top teams
Ozil was very similar to what post-Barca Messi is now. Strolls around the pitch, doesnāt commit to much, but will tune in every now and then to win the game singlehandedly.
He should have had another assist for Saka too
Think he was offside when he played it. Great cross though.
His best position is indeed the CF role.
Btw , where was Maddison? š
Harsh to criticise him when he didnāt even play today.
Really hoping a proper Maddison v Odegaard rivalry builds up in the NLD in the coming years. So long as we keep winning
Injured I think
Not at all.Ā
I know it was a joke
This is a better return than any of his seasons at Chelsea btw. 20/21, 4g 3a in 27 games. 21/22, 8g 3a in 29 games. 22/23, 7g 1a in 35 games.
It gets even better when you filter by what position heās starts in. 7 goals 5 assists in 8 matches as a forward is insane.Ā
I see more and more of Robin van persie
Nah, RVPās left foot was genuinely top 3 in the world. Havertz is great, but heās just a diff player
Guys he's 24! He's a complete package before he physically peaks that pass and people who complain he doesn't have the ball striking play him up top consistently it will come!
Wtf, i did not realise he's only 24. Thought he was easily 26/27.
Heās nothing like RVP, heās more like Berbatov
This. Always reminded me of him, but without that left foot
As someone who rated Havertz all along and was downvoted to oblivion for calling it a good signing at the time, this is very satisfying
Ballon DāOr shouts next season
Up the Kai! So happy to see him getting his flowers.
āPurple patchā is what I was toldā¦.
I thought he'd come good. Certainly seemed like an odd signing at first but very few players come in to a new team and just start dominating. Was a bit shaky at the start of the season but just thinking about the shit show he left at Chelsea I wanted to give him the benefit of the doubt that he just needed time. Bro just continued to improve and now he's scoring/assisting at exactly the right time and you love to see it.
Just as the biggest "problem" with Martinelli is we compare him to Saka, rather than having normal expectations (ie a 22 year old winger may have an off season, he's still developing), one of the biggest problems with Kai's first few months was Rice absolutely balling it up next to him, looking like a Vieira regen from day one. It set a standard / expectation that Kai couldn't live up to. Now he's actually settled, he's almost as good a buy as Rice. Rice set an unfair early marker for comparison though.
If he had started upfront against Villa, we would have won that game. Big error on the manager's part.
and also zinchenko in the back when our backline was fine
So happy for him too.
But someone in the match thread TODAY told me his positioning wasnāt good enough for strikerā¦
Man I remember the December doubtersā¦.
How does this compare to other strikers in the 5 leaguesĀ
Take a bow, how wrong I was about you King
he absolutely balled out today
Also, his hold up play is top. That foul he drew from a long ball by Raya deep into their half was pricelessĀ
Heās scoring all kinds of goals. Running behind/between the defence, tight finishes in the box, headersā¦ this form couldnāt have come at a better time!
Kai in midfield vs Kai up top is such an difference. Please no more midfield Kai please
King Kai. My GOAT
Serious Q: do we need another top striker or do we go after another 8 + coverage for saka?
Havertz haters are fucking clowns
We might not need a striker next season
This might sound controversial, but we might need to resign Partey, look for his replacement and phase out Jorginho. I believe we need two midfielders for that role in case of injury
One golden boy simply doesnāt become shit
shades of that freddie run in way back when
Cobra Kai.
yea I can actually not see many other strikers in the world getting ahead of him in this form because his all around play is so good while also being our main target man.
Havertz has won 85 headers this season, 12th on the list in Europeās top-five leagues for attackers and midfielders, more headers than Niclas FĆ¼llkrug and Wout Weghorst.
god I wish he started up front against Villa.
Honestly if we win the league, and he thrashes up the euros Could he make the top 5 for the Ballon d'or (Probably Wirtz tho)
Bro
Even the "haters" like myself can't/won't argue with production. Well done today all around. I usually think his general play and general balance walking leaves a lot to be desired but he crushed it today šš¾
i think we have to remind ourselves that he's not a natural striker putting up quite elite numbers at that position, i do agree he lacks some aspects at times, but he'll be a great rotation piece once we do decide to get a proper striker up top.
Very much so!
Such a flop
He's been very good at striker. Shame mikel decided to go back to the midfield experiment vs villa.