hjperdeath

Please... I see where that comes from, but I genuinely do feel I would prefer an Englishman to be the leader of the team. There's something about them.

It'll probably go to an Englishman, and we all know who that is.

Sources from the stadium confirm that WIllian is still running on the pitch.

People think he cares about being hypocritical? That's one of the many reasons he has been successful. Deal with it.

Additional point of interest -

aye, no problem !

Habibi, one day I'm going to reach Lebanon. You better hide quick.

Ramires and Matic, or Luiz and Ramires.

Manchester City welcome Jose’s Chelsea to the Etihad, in what seems to be a game that could tilt the title towards the club that grabs all the three points. The noisy residents of Manchester banged 5 past Hugo Lloris and Tottenham, while Chelsea struggled to convert their chances into goals against medieval football. For all the hype surrounding City’s blistering form in front of goal, what should Chelsea expect? City while transitioning into attack, hold nothing back. Taking the term all guns blazing to another level. Freedom is given to a lot of players, and responsibilities, not always equally shared. The center-backs push up and Kompany orchestrates and organizes the structure. On paper it is a 4-4-2, but it looks far from it when City are in full flow. Fernandinho and Toure are the so called central midfielders. Fernandinho prefers to defend, while Toure prefers to attack. Silva and [enter name of your choice except Navas] are the wide midfielders, who function as interiores . However when City need a bit of width due to their full-back unable to do because of the opposition’s strategy, Navas gives them an edge. He hugs the touchline and drags players out wide for small pockets of space to open up. City when using an interiores function a bit different as said before. Both the full-backs are to get themselves forward, with the full-back who is not directly taking part in the attack, holding himself back and being level with the last man in midfield. To explain that easier, if the ball is being played on the left, the right-back will hold himself a little back and be level with the defensive midfielder to make sure counter-attacks lose their efficiency. A screen grab from the Arsenal game. Zabaleta has positioned himself well to either receive the ball or retreat quickly in case the ball is lost. Another area to look at is the vital three man engine. The engine that keeps the team fluid and running at all times. Silva drops in the middle, and works with Toure and Fernandinho. They try to make each other available through their movement, which is exceptionally clever. One man always defends, and we all know who that is. By doing so, they also negate the problem of having no man behind the two strikers as seen on paper. To an extent it’s largely seen as a 4-1-3-2 . If Chelsea are to win it’ll be vital to shut that area down, that is the bottom line. Block passing lanes, be physical and make sure that at least one of the three is never in the game for 90 minutes. That increases our chances of getting a favourable outcome to 40% . Now if those three form the engine, one of the two strikers is the fuel. Aguero and Negredo was a blossoming partnership, with Aguero acting as the front-man and Negredo often dropping deep to collect the ball and link up play. This also helps negate another problem. City on paper would be heavily outnumbered in the attacking third when the midfield joins in. With a striker dropping deep, it could essentially change a 2v3 scenario to a 3v3 . Dzeko and Jovetic have also been used, and in that partnership, the best part is that both of them can drop deep naturally to facilitate the play. All their strikers are exceptionally good at drifting to wide areas. Versatility is key in their play. Now I don’t have much to say about their defensive transition but, there seems to be this kind of idea that City are going to be really easy on the counter, and that isn’t the truth. It was quite easy at the start, with Pellegrini having quite a few problems in defining a philosophy that could make ball retention easier. City also have their fair share of players tracking back, notably on the side Silva starts in, as it tends to be more open. From one of the strikers, to atleast two of the midfielders, they don’t hesitate to pull themselves back and recover possession. On a tactical perspective, Monday to a football fan is going to be what cocaine is to a drug addict. Click here to view the article

I'm guessing he's arriving at the club today . Think Jose said that during the pre-match presser.

Get the ball and release. No nonsense for from him. A very good and assuring performance. Good times ahead.

Sorry but you really come off as a Mata fanboy. No one is being blinded. The team's philosophy is set in such a way that a no.10 that has a huge attacking work-rate, can only be the one that fits in. No one is denying how good he has been in previous seasons. There is a strong reason behind him being our two time, consecutive, POTY. Mata always gets to play centrally, but our system means the three upfront are a hybrid profile in such a way that they switch positions constantly. That's what makes us fluid. To stop that progress and go back just to fit Mata in is stupid. Chelsea FC, not Mata FC. Oscar didn't have the best of days against United, but he has been one of our standout performers this season so far, along with Eden and JT. Mata suffered against Soton, even though he did everything right, we all saw the difference Oscar and Willian made. No one here want's to sell him to United, but we also want the best for Juan because he deserves much better than what he's getting right now. A scenario in which it is neither ours or the player's fault.

Ake takes his place. Effectively covers the CB and LB positions.

^So now that Phil's gone, how's this guy still here?

In London, waiting for Spurs to do the medical.

Guess who started it....

Good piece on him by John Chapman - http://www.belgofoot.be/thorgan-hazard-man-in-the-spotlight/

Never thought the day would come when this thread would also end up as a hilarious one...

Oh you wait until everyone see's it. I'm good at starting fires.

I never rely on stats like that. Especially ones like this. :/

Interesting stat : In their last 10, Chelsea have conceded a goal every 49 minutes without John Obi Mikel. They conceded every 137 minutes with him in those.

Let's just take it as both. and yes, I did that on purpose.

You literally do shit articles. Not bad, could do better though. Shouldn't there be a new statistic? Everytime Alex writes a report, the next game is a win. If true, you should write the previews too. Still better than Jason.

Wrong. Didn't hit his own foot. Goalkeeper's legs poked it out.