Chelsea Blip-O-Meter
Chelsea Blip-O-Meter Reading 1.0
CFC Match/Match 2015-16/2016-17 Comparison +8
50 + 8 = 58 points
The Chelsea Blip-O-Meter took a long time to come back from the repairers this time.
They said that it needed a total re-build. Apparently the entire machine had melted down and the repair was more or less a compete restoration, with many parts needing to be replaced (some items even needed to be made-to-order). The job was expected to take about a year! At the end of the work the only bits that remained from the original was the box and a couple of the dials.
But does it work? Was the obvious question.
We plugged it in at Stamford Bridge for the first time on Friday 16th September and immediately it registered 7 as we struggled to a flattering 1-2 defeat by Liverpool. The following weekend the new digital display was deep into the red-zone as the machine registered 9.5 during our embarrassment at Arsenal. Undoubtedly the news must have leaked out as “smart money” started to be bet on Conte’s imminent departure.
Not as smart as they thought, eh?
I think it likely that Conte always intended shifting to 3-4-3 but felt that he needed to wait to implement it.
It is a difficult system to play against – but equally difficult to play without the right personnel – with the right attitude. He could well have been waiting for Zouma to be match-ready. Terry and Ivanovic (and Cahill) are too slow. Were he to have acquired the defenders he wanted over summer we would probably have been playing the system earlier.
The truth is that were lucky to have played Liverpool and Arsenal when we did (and they, likewise, were lucky to have played us when they did). We could have stumbled along playing 4-2-3-1, dropping points here and there, against lower-quality sides.
Getting taken to the cleaners twice in a week meant that Conte was forced to address the situation. Yet again the fixture computer was kind to us and gave us a game against struggling Hull to attempt his new system, which we had undoubtedly been working on in training since the preseason.
Conte’s stroke of genius was identifying Moses and Azpilicueta as the round pegs that would slip seamlessly into the vacant round holes of third centre-back and right wing-back.
I’m sure that I was not alone in assuming Moses was headed for the exit door and Azpilicueta was, if anything, likely to be used as right wing-back.
That’s why Conte is a successful top-level coach and I’m not.
Immediately 3-4-3 not only brought out the best in our players individually but, more significantly, collectively.
Six wins on the bounce with Spurs and City awaiting us …. In a couple of weeks’ time we’ll know how successful the Blip-O-Meter restoration has been.
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2016-17 |
2015-16 |
Comparison |
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Score |
Pts |
GF |
GA |
GD |
Score |
Pts |
GF |
GA |
GD |
Pts ± |
GF ± |
GA ± |
GD ± |
|
West Ham (h) |
2-1 |
3 |
2 |
1 |
1 |
2-2 |
1 |
2 |
2 |
0 |
2 |
0 |
-1 |
1 |
|
Watford (a) |
2-1 |
6 |
4 |
2 |
2 |
0-0 |
2 |
2 |
2 |
0 |
4 |
2 |
0 |
2 |
|
Burnley (h) (Newcastle) |
3-0 |
9 |
7 |
2 |
5 |
5-1 |
5 |
7 |
3 |
4 |
4 |
0 |
-1 |
1 |
|
Swansea (a) |
2-2 |
10 |
9 |
4 |
5 |
0-1 |
5 |
7 |
4 |
3 |
5 |
2 |
0 |
2 |
|
Liverpool (h) |
1-2 |
10 |
10 |
6 |
4 |
1-3 |
5 |
8 |
7 |
1 |
5 |
2 |
-1 |
3 |
|
Arsenal (a) |
0-3 |
10 |
10 |
9 |
1 |
1-0 |
8 |
9 |
7 |
2 |
2 |
1 |
2 |
-1 |
|
Hull City (a) (Aston Villa) |
2-0 |
13 |
12 |
9 |
3 |
4-0 |
11 |
13 |
7 |
6 |
2 |
1 |
2 |
-1 |
|
Leicester (h) |
3-0 |
16 |
15 |
9 |
6 |
1-1 |
12 |
14 |
8 |
6 |
4 |
3 |
1 |
2 |
|
Man Utd (h) |
4-0 |
19 |
19 |
9 |
10 |
1-1 |
13 |
15 |
9 |
6 |
6 |
6 |
0 |
6 |
|
Southampton (a) |
2-0 |
22 |
21 |
9 |
12 |
2-1 |
16 |
17 |
10 |
7 |
6 |
4 |
-1 |
5 |
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Everton (h) |
5-0 |
25 |
26 |
9 |
17 |
3-3 |
17 |
20 |
13 |
7 |
8 |
6 |
-4 |
10 |
|
Middlesbrough (a) (Norwich) |
1-0 |
28 |
27 |
9 |
18 |
2-1 |
20 |
22 |
14 |
8 |
8 |
5 |
-5 |
10 |
|
Spurs (h) |
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2-2 |
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Man City (a) |
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0-3 |
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WBA (h) |
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2-2 |
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Sunderland (a) |
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2-3 |
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Crystal Palace (a) |
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3-0 |
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Bournemouth (h) |
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0-1 |
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Stoke City (h) |
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1-1 |
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Spurs (a) |
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0-0 |
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Leicester (a) |
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1-2 |
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Hull (h) (Aston Villa) |
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2-0 |
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Liverpool (a) |
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1-1 |
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Arsenal (h) |
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2-0 |
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Burnley (a) (Newcastle) |
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2-2 |
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Swansea (h) |
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2-2 |
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West Ham (a) |
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2-1 |
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Watford (h) |
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2-2 |
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Stoke (a) |
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0-1 |
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Crystal Palace (h) |
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1-2 |
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Man City (h) |
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0-3 |
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Bournemouth (a) |
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4-1 |
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Man Utd (a) |
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0-0 |
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Southampton (h) |
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1-3 |
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Everton (a) |
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1-3 |
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Middlesbrough (h) (Norwich) |
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1-0 |
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WBA (a) |
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3-2 |
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Sunderland (h) |
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3-1 |
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Posted by Steve Symmons
DISCLAIMER: All articles written for the Chelsea Supporters Group 2005 (CSG) are those of the author and do not represent the views of the CSG. The views and opinions expressed are solely that of the author credited in the article. The CSG do not take any responsibility for the content of its contributors.
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