Legend Lamps thinks Conte has what it takes:

‘I do fancy it being between Chelsea and Manchester City this year. I spoke to Andrea Pirlo about him (Conte) and he had nothing but great things to say.

‘He works the lads very hard in training with his fitness work and with organisation on the pitch. The players will need to buy into that and respect that then you'll see an improvement from last year.’

http://www.chelseafc.com/news/latest...-to-shine.html

We're still in the market for a quality CB (hopefully a left/right back as well) and that will have a big influence on where we finish in my opinion. We were critical of Arsenal and Liverpool in defence yesterday, but with players to come back they're probably in better shape than we are at the back !

Courtois; Ivanovic, Cahill, JT (c), Azpi; Kante; Willian, Matic, Oscar, Hazard; Costa


Begovic, Aina, Fabregas, Loftus-Cheek, Moses, Pedro, Batshuayi

15/8/16

Very disappointed with the line up. West Ham will be very dangerous putting crosses into the box for Carrol.

Can't see Ivanovic dealing with fast, strong wingers, can't see Terry and Cahill dealing with the aerial threat, and we need to get out of the box, but don't have the pace at the back to do that.

Kante looks good in that Makalele role, but the threats will come from elsewhere and I think the board is crazy not to have plugged the gaps at FB and CB. Crazy.

Hope it's a good result though. Fabregas will come on for Oscar, but it might be too late, and if Costa is struggling, Batshuayi is poor when through on goal. More one for the future, and we need world class back up now, not in a year or two.

Come on the Chels'!

A very poor first ten minutes or so, but after that I thought we looked OK. If we can keep a high press I think a goal will come.

Oh well, a penalty, quicker than I thought.

A late winner but no more than we deserved. Plenty to work on, but the main thing is starting off with a win. Surprising to see Fabregas left on the bench, is he not fit?

3 points, just. Great link up between Batshuayi and Costa for the goal. Thought Conte should have made attacking changes with 15 mins to go though not 5. Very risky.

Pedro was poor and had little impact as predicted, and Cuadrado would be better there. Liked Moses' direct running when he came on.

Overall 7 out of 10, and room for a lot of improvement. There are still at least 2 additions needed to the squad.

Three important points here

We made hard work of it, but a well deserved three points.
The first 30 minutes of the second half were as good as I've seen us play for a long time. A second goal in that period and it could have finished up 4-0. I thought Kante was superb in the old Makelele role, Hazard looks to be getting back to his best as well.
But Oscar, Willian, Matic and Costa all linked up well and continued the high press that had started in the first half.
It would have been a travesty if West Ham had gained a point, they were never really in the game. But that's what can happen if you don't take your chances. A poor refereeing decision, a ball not cleared and they score with their first shot on target.
But overall I'm quite pleased, some good performances and a great result. Oh, and it's worth mentioning Ivanovic, not a bad game for a player who is supposed to be finished ?

I suspect they maybe trying to ease him out and sell to Juve.

Decent performance, deserved win though were unlucky and lucky with ref decisions.

I think Conte just prefers Oscar, at least for games he suspects will be particularly physical. Must admit, I think it was the right decision tonight. Oscar was everywhere putting on the pressure, and while you might miss that odd defence splitting pass, Oscar offers so much more in other areas.

Nice to see Oscar back playing well. If Conte can motivate him then that will be of real benefit to Chelsea this season.

Is Conte trying to out do Klop? The celebrations for the last Goal were embarrassing!

yes, first game in the PL, at home and a last minute winner against a rival london club.

i would have prefered him to stand there, motionless, or turn his back

Apart from the fact it's his first game in charge and the pressure must have been huge not to have lost the game, that is just how he is. Ask any Juve fan or Italian football reporter. He can't be any different, celebrates like that whether it's a league game or a Final.

Conte knows what he was doing when he picked Oscar over Cesc. Oscar obviously feels motivated by Conte. If Oscar can be consistent, it would be like having a new signing.

Kante excites me so much, we are so lucky to have him.

Hazard is back, so joyful to watch on the ball. Oscar wanted to take the pen but he said it was his turn.

Diego was sloppy on the ball in the final third, needs to work on that, but he will always produce a bit of magic when required.

Good first game for Conte to have. Tough, physical London derby. Welcome to the PL Antonio!

Very decent performance against a very good team, While West Ham did not perform they are still a decent enough team that it could have been a different result if we did not have our game heads on.

We clearly not "there" yet but we are at least facing the right direction. Some very good performances.

Watford will be a very different type of game and will give us more of an idea of where we are.

Yes, he did have a decent game. We know he's very much capable of that, so let's hope we start seeing that on a more consistent basis. I suppose it wasn't so much Fabregas being left out of the starting line-up that surprised me, it was the fact that he wasn't even brought on as a sub. Still, we got the winner in the end so job done.

Decent start. There were some positive signs, but also some worrying ones. Better than I expect tbh.

I hope Fabregas doesn't leave, but I wouldn't be surprised if he pushed for it after remaining on the bench all match. He has his faults, but no one can pick out a pass the way he can. Not an easy player to replace.

Remy is now being linked with Palace. Dunno if that's an alternative to Benteke or as well as. Hopefully the latter.

I thought we played well, the stats certainly favoured us and we deserved the win.

Wasn't a vintage performance but the signs are there for a decent first season under Conte. Not having europe to worry about also gives us an advantage over our rivals. We should really be pushing the for the league(and the cups), this season.

I do think we need to sign another defender and probably a striker (especially if Remy leaves)

Without Europe, I wouldn't bother with another striker. I'd rather make sure Batshuayi gets a significant amount of playing time this season. I know Costa will always miss matches, but there must be someone else around if we get desperate.

If Remy is staying I tend to agree. Must have 3 strikers.
I would splash the money on a CB and another FB.

Defence is the highest priority, a world class centre back to go into the team right now, alongside either terry or Cahill or Ivan if needed

We need zouma to come back and be as strong as before, and we need to bring back from loan our CB prospects next season.

Oscar has to stay, he clearly has it , just needs consistency. For those in this forum who want to sell him, you are crazy! It would be the de Bruyne farce all over again.

Our three strikers are ok. I like remy. If he leaves, get benteke for 30 m as a replacement. Avoid 75m Lukaku at all costs.

Not sure in what world a striker with major fitness concerns and even bigger disciplinary issues ,A striker with minutes in this league and one who when needed has been injured is seen as ok. In some other reality maybe but not in the real world. Buying a player just because he is cheaper then a much better player is a false economy

Lukaku at 75 million is not that player