MrExcalibur100

The thing that frustrates me is the fact that Cole is not even on the bench. When we need him most, he's not even there. Unless he's injured, that decision by Jose is bewildering. Also, if Cech wasn't injured, he should have started. That 1st goal is not happening with Cech in goal. At this stage of the season, we can't be shooting ourselves in the foot.

Azpi can't cross as well as he'd like because he's on the wrong flank. Ivanovic can't cross to save his life. The defensive solidity they provide blinds Jose to their other shortcomings, but these things become obvious against more defensive teams. The full-backs are contributing nothing and Oscar, Willian and Salah are not the same players when they have no spaces. Hazard is brilliant in tight spaces and always makes intelligent decisions when he attacks. This is why he is by far our best player and really our only world class attacking player. The other guys are hugely inconsistent at the moment and not good enough.

It's funny how even the worst teams in the division look very good defensively when they play us. I think this says more about our ponderous, clueless play than it does about Sunderland. Their defense is one of the worst in the PL. It's not even the scoreline. It's the non-existent amount of threat we offer when we try and build up attacks. Ivanovic is one of the major culprits with his horrid overlapping and clueless crosses. He doesn't have the pace or technical ability to be even a decent attacking full-back. He might get his crosses right sometimes, but the success rate must be very, very low.

Maybe we should just sub off Willian at half-time and bring on Demba Ba. Because the longer it takes to score, the more nervous our players become and the more frustrated the fans get. For a top side, we are too easy to play against. Go 4-4-2, bring on Ba and give these fucks something to think about.

Then why the fuck does he keep on crossing? He plays like he doesn't have a brain sometimes. He knows he doesn't have the pace to go around the opposition's full-back so he lumps hopeless wild crosses (most invariably blocked by the first man) into the box. Why he is considered an untouchable, I will never know. We looked better last season when we had bloody Bertrand at LB and Azpi at RB. We need to play these guys in their most natural positions and stop with all the bullshit.

WTF is his problem and why does he keep starting every game? Why is Cole not even on the bench again? It's just weird and frustrating. It's obvious to anyone with eyes he is horrible when he tries to overlap. Azpilicueta is doing nothing on the left as well. He always has to check back to his stronger foot to cross the ball, so it's all slow and ponderous. Ivanovic and Azpilicueta are not a long term solution. Jose can't complain about lack of height now, because we have Matic back. Ivanovic needs to drop to the bench and Cole should be out starting LB until the end of the season. I'm tired of this bullshit they provide. Those two guys do nothing against the smaller teams happy to sit back and our attacking players have to play in congested spaces. Willian has been terrible. Ramires nothing.

I'm sorry but Ivanovic is a fucking liability offensively. Awful crosses. Just shit.

Again nothing from Azpilicueta and Ivanovic. They are solid defensively but nothing offensively. It's so frustrating to watch both of them sometimes. Poor games from Willian and Ramires so far.

Easier to park the bus on our small pitch like we've seen many times this season.

Our attacking play is so vastly inferior when Hazard doesn't play. Does anyone know why Ashley Cole is not even on the bench? Very wierd

Hazard is a much better player and has single-handedly carried our attack this season but don't be surprised if Sturridge wins that award. Consider that it's been given to foreign players only 3 times and Kyle Walker won it ahead of fucking Sergio Aguero in 2011. It's a bit of a farce. Unlike the main one, the young player award is ridiculously biased in favour of English players. Hazard has no chance. Plus he plays for Chelsea, so no chance. More importantly,...... he's fit enough to play some minutes in Madrid so he can be fit and sharp at Merseyside. His potential absence has been ridiculously underrated here.

Except score 30+ goals a season. Lukaku and Costa are not on the same level. One is a world class striker, the other is a kid learning the trade. Lukaku's goal per minute ratio is no better than Eto'o or Demba Ba.

Yep, Cesc the Catalan will surely strike fear into the hearts of the Los Rojiblancos.

Their fans would probably have said the same after watching us vs Swansea, tbh.

I'm one of his biggest fans but seriously. Courtois makes a decent save that any good keeper will make and you guys hype it so much.

A pretty brilliant 4-part tactical analysis on our opponents in the semi's, for those of you interested in such stuff: - http://outsideoftheboot.com/2014/04/13/atletico-madrid-tactics-part-1-how-has-diego-simeone-set-up-his-side/ - http://outsideoftheboot.com/2014/04/13/atletico-madrid-tactics-part-2-how-do-they-build-play-up-from-the-defence-and-midfield/ - http://outsideoftheboot.com/2014/04/15/atletico-madrid-tactics-part-3-what-is-their-approach-in-the-attacking-third/ - http://outsideoftheboot.com/2014/04/17/atletico-madrid-tactics-part-4-what-is-their-defensive-set-up/

Paul Parker is a well-known Chelsea hating first-grade cunt. I'm glad the fucker is getting called out by even some of our rivals. What a twat and an absolute bellend he is.

Just heard the news about his injury. Fucking disaster. Our season could unravel before our eyes if we don't have Eden for the first leg against Atleti and if he isn't fit for the Liverpool game.

But you never know with this stupid Barcelona board. They blew close to 87 million euros on an overrated Brazilian they didn't need and they let Xavi's heir apparent, Thiago Alcantara go to Bayern Munich. They are messing up with Cesc too. It's almost impossible. I know, but if I was Chelsea, I'll put in a bid like Man United did last year to give Fabregas something to think about. . I'm sure he wants to be relevant again on the world stage. It's not just happening for him at Barca.

He probably "hates" United too, but United fans will take him instantly. I think we need to stop with this infantile, tribalistic stuff when it comes to potential signings. We are the same club that chased that fat fuck Rooney all summer. Our board don't think like the fans, thank goodness. In Italy, you have guys like Pirlo who has played for Inter, AC and Juve. I remember even Mourinho complaining about this sort of mentality when he was told that "United won't sell to a rival". It's classic English football mentality that should have been discarded in the 90's. And are people seriously comparing us signing Fabregas to Gerrard moving to United? Fabregas might have irked we Chelsea fans in the past, but if a time comes that Fabregas makes himself available (of course sooner rather than later, not when he's 28/29. I won't even bring up his name if he was that age. The guy is still only 26. Perfect age for this Chelsea) , then our board should be looking to make a move for him. Arsenal captain or no Arsenal captain. Cunt or no cunt.

This was only a suggestion by the way. I know the guy was the former Arsenal captain, that he's had his problems with Frank and he's been a bit of a cunt in the past, but if he was offered to us/becomes available for a price range of 25-35 million pounds, I'll do it instantly. I prefer him to injury prone Gundogan and Toni Kroos. I also think he's a better player than both, but his game is being restricted at Barcelona. Imagine a midfield/attack of Matic - Fabregas Salah/Schurrle- Oscar/Willian - Hazard Costa That easily rivals anything Madrid or Bayern have got. It has everything in it. Balance, pace, passing ability, creativity, physicality. quick transitions, quality in tight spaces, counter-attacking potential and flexibility. That's Premier league domination.

Name 5 CM players among the names that get touted around here that are better than him. You talk of Fabregas as if he was not a great player.. Now you might think he's not, that's your prerogative, but most people will disagree. You first started with the "wouldn't fit into our system" hogwash, now you have no decent arguments to back up your case.

Who cares about that? Not every player that plays for Chelsea is a saint, you know? JT has made mistakes too. If we are going to hold stuff against quality players that will improve us tremendously, then we should forget about Diego Costa as well. He's done stuff just as bad as that. Are there any football related arguments? If Cesc was put on the market tomorrow, every top club in need of a CM will be after his signature.

I'm not really understanding what you're talking about. Fabregas is a complete midfielder. He certainly is more complete and proven in the PL than the names that get touted a lot on here. Cracking player. https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Jr1JALrpxBg

It's not about who likes who, it's about what is best for us and him. Eto'o made some disrespectful comments about the club in his Barca days but today he is our player. Two marquee signings like Costa and Fabregas will elevate us to Madrid and Bayern level squad quality and we will dominate the league for a decade. Both right now are doable.