Excalibur KTBFFH

I hear you lad. No one is saying kick out Rambo. We are only pointing out his faults, which are further magnified by playing alongside such technically gifted players. Personally, I will like to see what van Ginkel brings to this team. An I also feel Ramires is going nowhere. Just has to improve his technique like everyone else.

In another match, he could easily have had like 3 assists in one game. Those were REALLY clear-cut chances he fashioned too. I hope his teammates do him more favours in the next game. We need that 10+ goals, 10+ assists.
Imagine what Eden's stats will look like playing in the mediocre La Liga? Compared to the oft overhyped Neymar, they will be out of this world. Once we get that striker and new LB, Hazard will even go to another level. He is already hands down the best winger in the league anyway.

Or even a world-class midfield controller, a'la Gundogan, Modric or Fabregas. A lot of people seem to think Ramires' place in the future of this squad is certain, but I;m not one of those. Like you said, Ramires' technical quality (especially his passing and his composure in and around the box) is lacking a lot. It sometimes costs us goalscoring opportunities and breaks up promising play. This actually happens a lot and these are the two things stopping Ramires from being a genuine world-class midfielder.

Mou always played with high pressure. It wasn't from dortmund. If you watched inter milan, it was the same. Under ancelloti, we broke the goals record in the league and we couldn't find a single goal against inter. Dortmund did it better on the day but Jose was always using that tactic.

Nah, his Inter and Real teams are known for their high pressing qualities. High press is just a facet of any philosophy, you could be a high pressing counter attacking team or a high pressing possession based one. There are variations.

Makes Mikel look mediocre.

If/when MVG returns to form after his injury I think he would be the best partner to Matic.
Considering that Matic is excellent in the defense yet offers plenty to the offensive I wonder if we would not benefit more from a creator next to him, or at the very least a player more skilled higher up in the pitch.

Do not get me wrong, Ramires is excellent at what he does but he is lacking in some areas. So far he was very important because he offered a combination of both attack and defense (which no other player in the team did), but now that Matic can do the same thing basically, I would be curious to see how it would look with a player allowed to roam forward more (and being better at it). MVG might not be that player until the 2015/16 season, but I think it would be a very interesting experiment. Something similar to Matic - Modric, it would offer steel in the back and silky passing to the attackers.

Anyway, I am very happy about having him in the team, it is in itself a huge upgrade. It is just that we should never stop trying to improve, the next step might be to find the best partnership in the middle (in which I consider Matic to be the first name [i realise this is premature after one game, but Im going after what I have seen so far]).
I am not for buying player after player, so we should try to solve this internally first (still, it is quite sexy to imagine someone like Modric or Gundogan next to him. The best name would be Yaya but Im not even going to go there).

Video on his touches that I found although it doesn't have any sound. His passing was arguably a little erratic at times but I think it was likely due to nerves and the fact that he's always looking to play a forward pass, which is very refreshing to see. Some of his passes later on in the game were excellent - the one to Oscar before Schurrle hit the crossbar and the one to Ramires for the penalty incident, in particular. Indeed as the game progressed he settled into it very well and was a very composed presence that gave assurance to the midfield and as such more liberty to the forward players (as did Stoke's lack of attacking imagination, in fairness). Imagine how deadly the pivot could be with a world class DLP next to him! I don't feel Ramires cuts it personally, because for all his athleticisim, he's just not good enough technically.

I can also make an argument and say that sort of stuff is only possible in the Spanish league were the defending is poor and the quality of the average teams are lacking. Look at the way Stoke defended today. Concentration, organisation, closing down spaces, strength in the tackle etc
You will never see a Spanish team defend as good as that. That's why it's possible for a guy like Messi to score 60+ goals a season. No way that happens in the PL

Best solution for us moving forward. Ash = LB. Azpi = RB.

I can also make an argument and say that sort of stuff is only possible in the Spanish league were the defending is poor and the quality of the average teams are lacking. Look at the way Stoke defended today. Concentration, organisation, closing down spaces, strength in the tackle etc
You will never see a Spanish team defend as good as that. That's why it's possible for a guy like Messi to score 60+ goals a season. No way that happens in the PL

I can also make an argument and say that sort of stuff is only possible in the Spanish league were the defending is poor and the quality of the average teams are lacking. Look at the way Stoke defended today. Concentration, organisation, closing down spaces, strength in the tackle etc
You will never see a Spanish team defend as good as that. That's why it's possible for a guy like Messi to score 60+ goals a season. No way that happens in the PL

Hazard is only going to get better when he has a world class striker to work with.

I can also make an argument and say that sort of stuff is only possible in the Spanish league were the defending is poor and the quality of the average teams are lacking. Look at the way Stoke defended today. Concentration, organisation, closing down spaces, strength in the tackle etc
You will never see a Spanish team defend as good as that. That's why it's possible for a guy like Messi to score 60+ goals a season. No way that happens in the PL

I can also make an argument and say that sort of stuff is only possible in the Spanish league were the defending is poor and the quality of the average teams are lacking. Look at the way Stoke defended today. Concentration, organisation, closing down spaces, strength in the tackle etc
You will never see a Spanish team defend as good as that. That's why it's possible for a guy like Messi to score 60+ goals a season. No way that happens in the PL

Hazard is only going to get better when he has a world class striker to work with.

Our greatest ever player in my eyes. Osgood was king, Zola had the magic, Drogba had the highlights, this man, this LEGEND is just an absolute machine!

Hazard is only going to get better when he has a world class striker to work with.

He was called "the Spider" by Benfica fans. I think we really should pick up on that name as it sounds so cool. Either that or auto-Matic. Haven't been this stoked about a signing since Hazard.

Can't wait for his full second-debut on Sunday. Top player, and from what I've heard of him, he sounds like a guy that has a genuine affinity for the club.

Missing the point. The point of my very first comment was to remind people that we've also had other great players play for us during Juan's two years here. Maybe it's Mata's perceived good, charming guy personality that has so many people falling over him.. And it's interesting that you bring up Joe Cole as this was a similar type player that got a similar type treatment from Mourinho. Never left us, even though he was wanted by Man United and Co. Took it all in his stride, became a better player and even won a POTY award.
Joe Cole,Proper Chelsea legend: Chelsea ball-boy, loyal, fan all his life and never left us at the first hint of adversity. Can't remember so many people falling over themselves when he eventually left the club, even though he did deserve it.
Mata could have been all these things, but he's just like Robben or Crespo in my eyes. Nothing more, nothing less.