The Man in the High Castle

5th winless game for Chelsea, As Potter struggles to find rhythm, A call for fans to remain patient please.

Newcastle's pressing play

Pressing at its finest. No this article isn't going to be a typical match day report, but is going to be a request to all the fans and readers. PRESSING AT ITS FINEST. The first man starts applying pressure on the ball and that first man belongs to the frontline of the team! An attacker, who isn't worried about wasting his energy on what maybe some pointless pressing. Seeing this guy go in front, the second guy starts pressing too. Then the third guy joins. Now the press is not so pointless anymore. 3 people, going on the ball, take it right from the defender, a guaranteed take. An as simple as that, Chelsea lose possession.

Now this isn't criticism against Chelsea, nor is it Newcastle praising. That's how you literally play football! That's exactly how you are supposed to press. Now, the fact that everyone has to understand is that it did NOT happen over night. Newcastle have been developing and trying out all the formulae and spending the money properly, increasing player fitness to finally achieve this form that seems ideal right now. But even that is temporary and when this tactic gets stagnated, when some other teams perfects the counter with long balls, they are going to have to swap and come up with solutions. So the moral here is that football is a game of process. There is no permanent solution. There are always several temporary solutions that when stringed up properly give you the best team there is.

What I do praise Newcastle for is that, their pressing play didn't yield much until like the 70th minute but they never gave up and that's what got them the goal. After that they were mature enough and maybe too tired too, to even start pressing again. So they parked the bus. That is indeed good game well played.

Flexibility in football

Coming to Potter changing the team every game and making it hard for himself to find the rhythm as those high acclaimed pandits claim, they clearly don't think with their brains. Potter clearly explained in an interview that it isn't about finding the perfect formation or tactic, but about being ready to use any formation or tactic because that is what is going to help you in the long run, which is exactly what has been stated in the previous paragraph. Rome wasn't built in a day. So wasn't Newcastle or Arsenal. And its a good thing now the Premier League is actually becoming the toughest league in the world. The idea of flexibility in football is the only idea that wins at the end of the day. I strongly believe that Potter can achieve this given the proper time with the team. Remember he hasn't had any proper time with the team as of yet people. It has been a cranked up schedule given the likes of  the FIFA World Cup. So give him time. How long? Arteta took 3 years. Give him 3 years.

Positives from yesterday's game:

Plenty of positives to take

- We saw Mason Mount trying to work as hard as possible to replicate the Newcastle pressing and he did somewhat achieve to do the same then and there. Now that right there is the glimpse of the flexibility in football. When you think and adapt, you win.

-Pulisic, Gallagher and Mount trio worked well amongst themselves. They should start more games together.

-Armando Broja hardly got the ball-thanks to Newcastle's Sven Botman's brilliant performance, but he was good whenever he was on the ball. I felt he gave his best.

-Finally, Lewis Hall. Still shining. Continuing to play confidently and that's what we want to see in every player. Yes he did make a few mistakes just like everyone else and wasn't perfect but shout out to Kovacic for being his guardian there can covering for him at such instances.

Plenty negatives obviously, but I see it as a sign of progress. All the fans calling for Potter to leave and claiming to miss Tuchel now. Please leave. You also called for Tuchel to leave so stop pretending now and back the boss if you can or simply go and support Newcastle because winning is all you care about.

Kudos to Arsenal finishing atop for Christmas. Plenty to achieve for sure. Chelsea still in it for UCL and FA Cup. Plenty more to achieve. Lets do this blues. We got your back, because you had ours during the darkest of times.

#POTTERIN #BOEHLY #BLUESARENOTDONE #SAYNOTOHATE #BYEBYETOXICFANS

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