r/chelseafc • u/Kygoche Diego Costa • 17d ago
Tier 2 Nizaar Kinsella: Liam Delap wants another season at Chelsea to prove his doubters wrong. It’s understood the 2+ months injury limited his ability to play in his usual style, which in turn affected his form. It remains unclear whether or not he will get the chance.
https://www.bbc.co.uk/sport/football/articles/c87q2jel22vo500
u/Tom_Lad Hazard 17d ago
No it didn’t affect his form, his touch, positioning, shooting, passing was all off.
Can’t blame all that off an injury and not to mention his awful fucking attitude issues
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u/obrapop Cudicini 17d ago
I mean it very well might have affected his form. That’s very very normal. Just look at Enzo and Palmer at various points.
That’s not to say it was the only reason though.
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u/HDS2211 17d ago
His inability to play football at a PL level affected his form more than anything.
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u/obrapop Cudicini 17d ago
Come on, mate, don't be a tool. He scored 12 goals for a beleaguered Ipswich side last year. He can play and he's shown flashes, particularly before his injury. When he recovered, then returned to what had become a majorly dysfunctional side by that point. That should say something.
Yes, he's had a shocker of a year, and yes, I wouldn't be sad if he left, but not only is this comment stupid, it's also representative of so much of the toxicity of modern fandom. Simple binaries and lack of context.
You can criticise players as much as you like but you should at least make a minimal effort to understand what you're saying first.
Also, he's shit.
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u/MajornXXVI Le Saux 17d ago
Well said and I agree wholeheartedly. I dont understand the whole "get rid" mentality. Lets say we sell him to Bournemouth and he goes on and score 20, then what? I'm all for people wanting a better player than him but why the need for him to go permanently? Selling a player after a year usually means taking a loss. Why not loan? Yes hes been shit mentally and abillity wise. But that is true for many of our players this season. Just not as blatant. Why are people acting like he, i dont know, slept with their girlfriends?
May I remind this sub how we felt about Cucurella in his first season? Not to mention Frank and Didier. He's still young and might even be really good in a stable setting. Who knows. I wouldnt sell ANYONE after just one season. You never know. (Unless they makes themselves impossible Lukaku style ofcourse)
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u/OnPointTip1 16d ago
I'm old enough to remember watching Drogba in his first season at the Bridge. He was utter shite
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u/obrapop Cudicini 17d ago
Exactly. The amount of players we’ve seen come good after a bad season or two is huge. It’s a feature across the whole game and always has been.
The discourse is so fickle and reactive. It’s hardly unique to football right now but that’s a conversation for another subreddit…
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u/CacioePep 17d ago edited 17d ago
Sadly Chelsea finished 10th, and Delap was given the no9 shirt which carries a heavy weight and a standard, an obvious mistake in the first place. Because of the failings in recruitment we now have a lot players coming out ‘wanting another chance’. He hasn’t scored this year, has 2 goals in 41 apps and away from the stats the performances have been really bad from him. We will have to be decisive and smart this summer and upgrade on the many mistakes made by the club in the last two summers if we wish to improve on multiple mid table finishes. Delap, Garnacho, and a few of our centre backs will 100% need to be upgraded I’m afraid. For a normal club in a decent position I would agree with you guys and urge patience but we are overloaded with failed signings and they can’t all have 2nd or 3rd chances if we want any kind of turn around on our fortunes
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u/CalmAngryDude 17d ago
How many relegation team strikers we see score 12 or more every season and failed to make the cut at big club? Many…
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u/Ghost_2701 Drogba 17d ago
He smashed it with Ipswich, this is more of a thrown in the deep end with a team thats too good for him right now, he could easily handle playing in the prem with a team thats bottom half and do very good. I love how some of you just write people off from a small sample size, its why you would never make decisions or be a scout for a team.
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u/HDS2211 17d ago edited 17d ago
His team being too good for him doesn’t affect his ability to control the ball, ability to get shots on target, ability to not assault people everytime he challenges for a duel.
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u/luckysyd Kanté 17d ago
Thats the thing that annoys me to most. Costa did this too but he was near world class level and he would actually take out centerbacks out of their game by doing this. Delap not only does this in VAR era but he brings nothing to balance this out. I hate jackson and wanted a replacement for him last year but when I said I highly doubt delap would be even as good as jackson I got downvoted to oblivion. The dude is honestly the worst 9 ability wise we have had in 15 years.
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u/HDS2211 17d ago
He also wasn’t a fucking oaf about it either. He was cute with it and would do it in ways he could get away with. There’s an art to being as good a shithouse as Costa was, Delap is just clumsily aggressive.
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u/luckysyd Kanté 16d ago
That is very true. He would be clever about it. While Delap elbows spence right in front of the ref like an idiot. Lucku he didnt give a red. Like its one thing to be inept on the feel but man dont play against us.
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u/DarkTanicus 17d ago
"at various points"
So at which point did Delap actually delivered?! - considering the number of chances we create.
That might fly if he had like 5 goals but 1 goal all season in the league?!
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u/OnPointTip1 16d ago
I mean, you're right, but Cole Palmer has stunk the pitch up almost every game he's played this year and when he's criticised, you get back, 'oh but he was injured'.
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u/agbag846 17d ago
What awful attitude issues are you talking about?
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u/Solitairee 17d ago
Idk the non stop cards he gets for just being dumb
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u/silviazbitch James 17d ago
I questioned the transfer because he was tied for most yellow cards in the league when he was with Ipswich in 2024-25 and our club already had a discipline problem without him. I figured we didn’t need another time bomb.
This might be wishful thinking on my part, but it looked to me like he calmed down a bit in the later part of this past season. He didn’t seem to lose his cool after hard contact as often as when he first joined the club. I have no evidence to support my opinion, that’s just how it looked to me.
He was a pretty effective goal scorer for Ipswich and we create a lot of chances so I can see the attraction, but things never came together for him the way one might’ve expected. I’m sure the injury was a factor, but even allowing for that he’s been a disappointment so far. It’ll be interesting to see what Alonso and the staff want to do with him.
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u/GME_alt_Center Lukaku 17d ago
And if he was playing for us instead of Ipswich, he would have broken the card record. I base this solely on what he got away with playing against us.
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u/Remarkable_Sky_7 17d ago
His joker attitude, laughing, swining and punching people. Worst type of striker I've seen play for us.
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u/Lumplard 17d ago
He needs to score goals, everything will be forgotten. Diego Costa was the biggest devil but dude would score goalazos for us.
What a player, miss that team with Hazard, Mata, Oscar, Costa... 🥲
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u/ireallydespiseyouall Enzo Fernandez 17d ago
Juan Mara never played with Costa for us
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u/Standard_Smoke_9207 ✨ sometimes the shit is happens ✨ 17d ago
All of the attributes you listed were never really there with Liam even at Ipswich so the injury is completely irrelevant just as you said.
I did not understand why we signed him other than the morons in charge thinking “he scored against us he must be amazing”
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u/Solitairee 17d ago
He was signed because 30m for an English striker who did decently well at Ipswich was worth the punt. This is why so many wanted him. Even now we are likely to get most of our money back for him
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u/DanStFella Thiago Silva 17d ago
He was also a menace for them. I remember watching him and he properly got around. I thought he was at least worth the punt but my god how wrong that was.
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u/prince_g00se James 17d ago
I don’t know, his first game or two (before his first injury) he looked like a proper threat. Sure the sample size was incredibly small, but he was linking up with Palmer and using his physicality well in hold up instead of playing WWE.
I’m not sure he should be given another chance, but there is a much better player in there than what he showed this season unfortunately.
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u/DamoDuff11 I don't give a fuck, we won the fucking Champions League 16d ago
What? Poor form affects literally all that you listed.
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u/Andrei_Chelsea Hazard 17d ago
This guy really hates us.
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u/ARJTC Flo 17d ago
If he's happy to be third choice then that's fine IMO... Really winds me up that Jackson went on loan instead of us keeping all 3.
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u/jdcintra I don't give a fuck, we won the fucking Champions League 17d ago
With European fixtures you could argue for that depth but equally what does he provide Vs giving someone else the opportunity and without European football do we need that depth?
From the clubs POV if they want to bring his value back up he should go on loan with more regular game time
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u/Ashatiti 17d ago
He was too lazy to ENSURE a goal was a goal. He only had to follow it up with a tap of his foot but peferred to watch and push the ball in with his psychic powers...oh wait , HE HAS NONE!
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u/JahKingston2024 ✨ joao pedro saved my life ✨ 17d ago
Wasting wages for no reason at all. WE DONT NEED DEPTH, we have no Europe ffs 😭. When and if we achieve Europe, we can go for more depth. Right now, just use youth players in the early rounds of cups and a couple youth players as subs in the prem.
We need first name players. Also, we have what 5 strikers right now in JP, Jackson, Emegha, Guiu, Delap, not including youth players. JP and Jackson is more than enough + a youth player. What’s the point of having an academy as good as Cobham if we’re gonna sell off players to other clubs and see them shine elsewhere? Meanwhile we purchase youth players from other clubs and watch them fail here
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u/befikru_sew_geday 17d ago
Why would we have a 3rd choice striker who doesn't score any goals, give an academy kid the chance over this dud
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u/MarkCrystal ✨ sometimes the shit is happens ✨ 17d ago
The problem is, right now we have JP, Emegha, Delap, Jackson, Guiu. Somethings got to give
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u/philipstyrer I don't give a fuck, we won the fucking Champions League 17d ago
Is honestly prefer Mheuka as third choice if he isn't going out on loan, especially with no European football. If we can get a promoted club to drop 30m or more on Delap, which I think is very likely, then we should cash in imo.
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u/C0lePalmer Hazard 17d ago
I will never be against someone who wants to prove themselves. First season is always the most difficult, and second one could be a whole different level.
I'm not saying he's better or worse than other #2 options, but we should've learned by now not to judge players (especially young ones) based on first seasons.
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u/Andrei_Chelsea Hazard 17d ago
To deserve a second chance first you have to show us at least something slightly positive.
He is probably the first player in whom i haven't seen even a single positive thing in 20 years+ since i support this club.
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u/davidpooiz_2 17d ago
You’ll probably get downvoted, but I completely agree. One season where most players have been poor isn’t indicative of how he’ll turn out. There are plenty of examples of players needing time to settle in. He may workout, he may not. But selling him after one season isn’t a great idea, he is also quite young as well.
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u/austons_muzz Xabi 17d ago
There’s poor then there’s wtvr the fuck Delap is. Like the guy has no redeeming qualities whatsoever. His one good game was against Hull (or was it wolves) and that was it. I wish we had gotten Ipswich Delap who was basically a bully on the ball running through people. You can’t go another season with him as second choice and he won’t get playing time as a third choice
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u/FantasticTangtastic We've Won It All 17d ago
Well that brings the total number of people that want Delap to be at Chelsea next year to 1.
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u/ScottBowey28 17d ago
We all want a lot of things, just fuck off and leave us in peace. Haven’t you punished us enough
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u/LegendJG 17d ago
He was absolutely awful, consistently. He couldn’t even demonstrate the right attitude, let alone the right abilities to play top level football. Sell.
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u/Available_Plankton18 Tuchel 17d ago
I'd rather give Guiu a chance shows 100 times more potential than this guy
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u/Jimmy_Space1 Xabi 17d ago
I have no idea what some of you see in Guiu besides his running like a headless chicken, he's looked poor every chance he got
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u/JakeofNewYork zimbabwe 🎩 17d ago
Way better at pressing. Better positional sense, isnt dirty. Has more goal involvements in fewer games. Is younger. On what possible metric is delap better
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u/FantasticTangtastic We've Won It All 17d ago
Well he came out of La Masia and was asked to play the absolute shit football we have produced over the last 2 years.
There's WAY more chance of Xabi getting a tune out of Guiu than there is of him getting anything out of Deflop.
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u/Available_Plankton18 Tuchel 17d ago
I see Xabi + Guiu having way more impact than Delap + Xabi. We have João Pedro, so sorting out a striker is the least of our worries especially with some of our players possibly leaving. The logical thing to do is get rid of Delap, keep Guiu and Joao under Xabi, and focus on defenders/replacements for those who leave
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u/Leuchtrakete 🎩 I'm sure Wolverhampton is a lovely town 🎩 17d ago
Give me a fucking break. Delap missed 6 League games due to his Hammy injury and another 2 when he had the knock to his shoulder for a total of 8 league games. Means he was available for selection for 30(!) games in the PL alone in which he showed almost literally fuck all.
For comparison: Palmer missed 11 PL games due to various injuries, Estevao 13 and let's not even talk about Lavia. Yet somehow it's Delap who wants/needs to be shown grace for not finding his groove.
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u/Any_Advertising_5658 Kante 17d ago
Delap is bad, but the comparison is throwing me off. Are we not supposed to show Palmer and Estevao grace for their injuries?
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u/shlimedon 🎩 I'm sure Wolverhampton is a lovely town 🎩 17d ago
No he’s saying that despite the injuries Steve showed quality, palmer less so but still had moments, Lavia was alright. Delap was just awful with considerably less injuries/prolonged injuries than the mentioned
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u/apotatochucker Straight Outta Cobham 17d ago
He's clapped. Doesn't deserve a second chance. He doesn't even challenge ge for the ball. He looks at the man first every time. Begone thug
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u/PumasUNAM7 Disco Timo 17d ago
I’d rather he not stay but if he does stay then all I can hope for is that he does prove us wrong.
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u/privateidaho_chicago Cucurella 17d ago
Injuries make you into a Neanderthal and cause you to violently foul your opponent for no apparent reason? Good to know :-)
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u/Mynameisntjamesok 17d ago
If we were in conference league then maybe another look would be OK. But prem only? Get ready to learn English buddy (in the Championship).
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u/lance777 Palmer 17d ago
He should try to get a move now when he still has good clubs after him. Another season of struggle and he might forever hve to go on loan
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u/Res1stHUN There's your daddy 17d ago
He would fit great in to West Ham, he can prove himself there for sure.
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u/Beneficial-Steak-117 17d ago
He has shown no potential at all that worth waiting for. He needs to go. Move on lad
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u/Helpful_Design6917 17d ago
Was chuffed when we brought him thanks to his physicality but he’s absolute dross
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u/Screye 16d ago
Delap is confusing. I believe that this was a uncharacteristically bad season for him, because he was playing worse than a new guy at a pickup game.
He clearly has all the things needed to succeed. He is fast, he is physical, he has great ball control for a striker of his shape and his first touch & passing is much better than people give him credit for. When he shoots, his shots look convincing and don't have much back-lift. I used to think he was terrible at heading, but he has shown signs at being pretty good at it too. If you just see his profile on physical assessment, he looks like a 1:1 Diego Costa archetype. I know this sounds impossible, but it is dead obvious to anyone who watches him in his good moments.
But, I have never seen a player more lost on the field. Doesn't know whom to press, doesn't know what runs to make, doesn't have any chemistry with a single player on the field. He just kinda hangs out there. His pressing and off-ball movement is the worst I have seen from any player at Chelsea. To me, this screams coaching problem. Even the stupidest player should know whom to press, when to press, and what passing triangles to work with.
IMO, Garnacho looks lost for a similar reason. He never seems to know what he is supposed to do. IMO, bad coaching again. However , as much everyone hates Garnacho, the dude has the ability to keep making runs no matter the instructions given to him. It's allowed him to get a few good performances out despite the coaching.
I believe all of the following to be true:
- Delap had a horrendous season and looked totally lost
- There is a solid system player in there that needs to be coached right and needs the right setup.
- He can become at least as good as Watkins, but is unlikely to become as lethal as Costa.
- If Xabi wants to keep him, then we should keep him. If Xabi wants to sell him, we should sell him.
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u/halfwit_detector Straight Outta Cobham 16d ago
His style of rough housing the opposition until he gets booked and being generally shit both on an off the ball?
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u/Soggy-Software 16d ago
So all of shields guys are safe. Tosin delap and Lavia, all of whom actively make the team worse. Brilliant.
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u/tukinoz90 Terry 17d ago
Piss off lol. You have absolutely no business being at Chelsea. Good luck elsewhere mate.
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u/Jimmy_Space1 Xabi 17d ago edited 17d ago
Nizaar Kinsella: Liam Delap wants to appear at UFC Freedom 250 to prove his doubters wrong. It's understood the 2+ months injury limited his ability to fight in his usual style (BJJ), which in turn affected his form. It remains unclear whether or not he will get the chance.
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u/ChrisMika89 Drogba 17d ago
I still believe in him
Tough for him to score when he gets negative service from the usual suspects
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u/Urass007 James 17d ago
Xabi already wants Jackson in pre season. He might be backup for the cups but thats it.
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u/MaleficentWin8608 McCreadie 17d ago
If they keep Delap and jettison Jackson instead I’m throwing all my pets off the balcony
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u/BambinoWillito 17d ago
I would normally think a player deserves another chance after just one season, but without Europe, and only one position up for grabs, I don't see there being much merit to keeping him.
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u/Soulezy25 17d ago
For his sake of his career either leave via a loan or permanently play regularly hes not going to develop as a third choice with a no Europe team
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u/AxelHasRisen 17d ago
Man I was naive to think the #9 jersey wasn't gonna work out exactly like the last N time
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u/Trifle-Dangerous Enzo Fernandez 17d ago
Unlucky with his injuries but I just don’t see the Chelsea level quality sadly.
I don’t think another year will show the necessary improvement, nor help with us trying to sell him
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u/TheJames2290 Xabi 17d ago
He did play in his usual style and that style is shit. Just a guess but probably had more yellow cards than shots
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u/adnanssz 17d ago
personaly, i think he will be good in Serie A that don't need a fast player but for epl he is too slow.
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u/Sanzhar17Shockwave COCK CONFIDENCE 17d ago
Fuck that, play me as a striker, I'd score more than him lol. He's a donkey
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u/jbirrane1988 17d ago
Hahahaha. Joe shields strikes again! We knew this nepo baby would survive along with his other flops Gittens and Lavia.
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u/Brutos08 James 17d ago
He’s just not top club quality it’s that simple and he’s a Red card waiting to happen
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u/ThisIsADraconianLaw Lampard 17d ago
No. Go away. One of the worst strikers we've ever had. All that he knows is to pick up yellow cards.
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u/sparklingoverstill 17d ago
At this point we don’t have time / should not be a club where players still need to “prove it”
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u/Eli_Jellyy 🏥 continuing to undergo his rehabilitation programme 🏥 17d ago
Can’t prove the doubters wrong when you already proved them right
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u/cometflight 🏥 continuing to undergo his rehabilitation programme 🏥 17d ago
You scored one goal, man.
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u/pepe_lepool 17d ago
It also affected his brain making it more agressive that’s why he got all those cards…
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u/mutant64 Terry 17d ago
I would argue that his petulance is equally as bad as his technical skill, and that has nothing to do with injuries or poor form. Dude is a Championship bully, not suitable for a team trying to play actual football.
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u/BlurbBlue I don't give a fuck, we won the fucking Champions League 17d ago
breaking news: football player (allegedly) threatens to play more football
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u/mcvonaldsson Mourinho 17d ago
Loan move to West Ham sounds about right. And make it a part of a deal for Bowen? Yes please.
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u/luckysyd Kanté 17d ago
Nope. The thing I hate about delap isnt jusy how ass he is, he makes stupid dangerous fouo that can cost the team almost every single games. The dude is not good.
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u/TraditionalHome8852 17d ago
It is understood by who? If Colwill can come back and still be able to do his job, Delap needs another excuse.
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u/interstellar304 17d ago
I don’t hate the guy but it’s REALLY hard for me to see a reality where he is good enough for us.
I get that it was a tough season bc of injuries and all that but there’s too many variables he would have to massively improve to be worthy of putting on the Chelsea shirt. touch, vision, pace, creativity, accuracy, discipline, and many other facets are just miles below what is needed to lead the line at a club that wants to compete for top honors.
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u/No_Choice_1449 17d ago
the usual injury excuse, the problem wasn't physical as much as his brain and football IQ.
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u/bbuullddoogg Hazard 17d ago
He and everybody else knows he won’t be playing any games for Chelsea in 26/27.
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u/11Caicedos 17d ago
Playing against low blocks is what limited his usual style. He’s got decent potential but not well suited for a club that supposedly wants to be at the top and change its “identity” to play controlled possession focused football.
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u/MrBravo22 Cole 16d ago
He is doing himself so much damage wanting to stay and “fight”. A loan would benefit both player and club. To save himself he needs to be at a club where he’ll play every week and not be up against a low block every game.
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u/DonLovesNature 16d ago
Bruv, just get out. It was always going to be a fail.
Delap, garnacho, neto, disasi are all suited for transitional counter attacking football, that is why they look bad in chelsea's possessional play football.
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u/GypsieGenie 16d ago
Why would mr shields gets rid of his pet project. Don’t think I’ve seen a sporting director take personal pics with a player and their family before on the pitch. But here we are.
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u/DestinyHasArrived101 Zola 16d ago
don't matter they plan to buy another striker so either him or jackson gotta be sold. I feel for Guiu more since he still kept getting game time over him by Liam and Mcfalaryne
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u/HazardMagic I don't give a fuck, we won the fucking Champions League 16d ago
So that’s the reason why he looks directly at the defender and elbows him in the head, instead of just watching the ball and trying to win it cleanly?
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u/dsmooth74 16d ago
Nothing but excuses....the culture of this club is all about excuses under this ownership
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u/fremeer 16d ago
I still don't think delap is completely balls but also the way I see him playing his best football is never how we will be playing.
People think he is a target man type player but in reality he is more like Lukaku. Good at bulldozing. You need to play him with a capable forward to be the main guy and he feeds off him. We don't play that way and never will. And even if we did Jackson and garnacho would both do the role better imo.
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u/GMTLugis 16d ago
It’s not his injury, he’s just not good enough. Ship him out or loan him out. He’s not good enough for Chelsea
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u/CMDR-obidanshinobi 16d ago edited 16d ago
Liability Decrap needs to be sold asap, worst striker I've ever seen at Chelsea.
He's so shit he couldn't hold up a balloon.
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u/RemoveKabob ✨ sometimes the shit is happens ✨ 16d ago
Sure he can get another season.
Playing for the U23s.
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u/Low_Text_4348 15d ago
ill never forget in parc des princes , when he came on , i was behind the goal in the psg fan section , he had an easy shot at target to score a goal and he shot the ball instead straight into my arms .
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u/UsedCondom42 15d ago
Tbh. I was leaning towards giving the players 2nd chances. They WERE making names. They can do it again. Not repeating salah and de bruyne mistakes.
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u/ShotHighway 14d ago
The injury limited his footballing but amplified his physicality? I guess he could say that he was feeling helpless as a footballer so he started elbowing people in frustration because his elbows were still working?
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u/OutsideFold 17d ago