Sanctuar

I forgot the feeling (of winning). For so long we didn't win. It's so good."

-Jose Mourinho; source: Evening Standard



"The penalty we missed was a big test for us because when everything has gone against you - red cards, penalties against you, decisions, bad luck, injuries - and you start a game you have to win and after five minutes miss a penalty, it's a great test of the character of the players and the team. It was good we had an extra negative episode and the reaction was very good.

"The team had a big determination to be a bit different and to show a different state of mind. I'm happy with the performance and the result. The team was more aggressive with and without the ball. The pressing was much stronger. The lines were closer together. There was a very good reaction when we lost the ball to try to recover it immediately; to try to force the mistake in the opponent instead of waiting for their mistakes."

"We moved the ball very well. Fabregas and Loftus-Cheek gave speed to the team. The ball was quickly leaving defensive areas and reaching attacking players. We played well. I know we didn't beat Barcelona, Real Madrid or Bayern Munich but we beat a team that arrived here having deserved to beat Basel and coming here to make it difficult for us. It was not difficult because we played so well."

-Jose Mourinho; source: Chelsea FC

93% pass accuracy
6 take-ons
2 tackles won
2 clearances
8.0 according to WhoScored.
Man of the match!

Matic-RLC
Oscar
want to see this so bad.

Courtois is the best goalkeeper in the world, and hopefully he's recovered as soon as possible, but I feel safe with Begovic.
Although his injury is like a kick between the crotch right now.
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=yg7c8RV9UPo

I watched the game, he looked very lively and pacy. Played very directly also with great movement.
He would've shined much more if Spain passed less and attacked more but he's a fucking quality! So happy to have him in there dark times.

Pedro Rodriguez vs Slovakia (Home) 05/09/2015 HD

Ffs I can't remember us signing a player who got so much negative energy as much as Falcao does. I guess some people haven't faced their feelings and cleared some questions in their head after Torres.

Have you not seen Ivanovic's 'lemme hit the first defender' crosses? Then we have an inverted RB at LB which doesn't help our wing-play at all. Azpi actually has decent crosses in him, but as long as he's forced to play LB, i can't/won't blame him. Another reason i want Baba to be trusted and starting as soon as Everton away.
Let's get a natural Left-footed LB to hopefully form a partnership with Hazard on the left. Please Jose!

Juventitis

It's been kinda quiet in this thread since we signed this guy but I for one am really excited and look forward to see him play!

Love how he wasted like 10 minutes towards the end by dribbling and holding onto the ball. Intelligent play as he helped the team to relieve the pressure, disrupt WBA's momentum. Reminded me of Drogba doing the same against United at home in 2010/11.

Its either you pay the 60m euros or you go for other options, or you dont get a player at all. So you need to ask: 1) who are the other options? Sterling, Gaitan, D.Costa, who else can realistically come here? 2) its ok to not get a winger at all and stay as we were?
The way i see it the answers are 1) no, there isnt, and none of the above is good enough. Some will think Sterling is but he'll cost the same amount 2) Its not ok, because we already know we probably wont bring a top top CM (Pogba, Koke).
Sometimes you need to pay a lot to get the players in the certain level you want, sometimes you pay less than what they worth (Cesc). Very few clubs can be called suckers this days. If the club is ok with overpaying i dont mind that.

amazing how quickly people can forget that Di Maria was considered one of the best players in the world and the second best player in Real just a year ago.

He won the premier league manager of the season award.

Instagram likes, confirming transfers since 2015.

He won the premier league manager of the season award.

He won the premier league manager of the season award.

The Premier League in the last few seasons has seen an interesting development. No side has managed to retain a league title in 6 seasons - the last club to do so was Man United way back in 2009, which was the third in a hat trick of championships starting from 2007. Evidently, getting to the top has become much easier than staying at the top - and this is what should concern Mourinho and Chelsea, the runaway nature of this season's success notwithstanding. I've put together a list of the major transfer dealings of each of the title contenders during these past 6 seasons for comparison below.

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Spoiler A recurring theme here is the reigning champions either ( a ) failing to replace outgoing players or ( b ) failing to add significant quality to the title winning squad while competitors strengthen enough to dethrone them.
The concern
The concern then stems from Mourinho's statements over the past week with regards to Chelsea's activities over the summer :

Contrast that with Chelsea's intent at this stage last season :

Now, Mourinho of course is a master manipulator when it comes to words in the press and his recent declarations could prove to be smoke and mirrors, especially with his comments likening the transfer market bubble to an impending collapse on Wall Street, but surely even he in his heart of hearts would know that Chelsea do in fact need changes, not wholesale changes, but some changes to take the next step - domestic consolidation coupled with European ascension.
Areas to target
As the season wore on it has become clear that a few more "surgical" signings in key areas is just what is needed to complete the puzzle. A ball playing centre half, a goalscoring winger to take some burden off Costa and Hazard, a central midfielder of enough quality to both complement and supplement the Matic-Fabregas duo would top most wishlists of Chelsea fans and the various transfer rumours swirling around the club confirm the general view in this regard. (Varane, Stones, Pogba, Koke, Griezmann, Bale have all been variously linked with a move to the club and they all make some sense.)
The rivals
Manchester United continue to flounder despite spending the best part of £200 million over last summer. With their Champions League status restored and a season under the collective belts of Mata, Herrera, Di Maria, Blind and Rojo, they can be expected to spend even more to push on under Van Gaal. Money is not an issue for Manchester City either, with them having proved that they're happy to pay any puny fines UEFA impose on them. The possible departure of Pellegrini and an ageing squad means there will be significant investment for whoever comes in. Arsenal are also free from their Emirates Stadium imposed shackles and are now legitimate rivals on the transfer front too.
As to what Chelsea do in the transfer market this summer remains to be seen; but you can play your part by supporting the champions on their quest to defend their silverware by purchasing Chelsea tickets here.
Conclusion
All the indicators point to it being a hard fought battle for the best available players. Chelsea cannot afford to take their eyes off the ball even though they've never been better placed to launch a concerted effort at establishing a sustained period of dominance. 2014-15 was good but next season needs to be even better, and it needs to start in the transfer market. As the saying goes, a rolling stone gathers no moss.
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Name and shame them. No one in their right mind would hold such POV. The most outlandish claim around that time was that he had the potential to become one of the very best AM in the future which was nothing more than a baseless assertion. If anyone at any point in time actually thought he had more talent than Hazard then I would love to know so as not to ever take them seriously again.

The one thing we absolutley need to add to our squad is a goal scoring midfielder. It's no wonder we started to struggle for goals once Schurlle left and Oscar got out of form. Having just Eden and Costa to score goals (from open play) is too predictable and easily countered by opposing teams.
I read people thinking the likes of Koke will transform our squad but he is just another supporting player (albeit a great one) but he will find it hard to assist for goals if we have so few players actually looking for one. Therefore i believe someone like Griezmann will have a much bigger impact on the team so I am all for this one, even if he would cost quite a hefty sum of money.
But considering we only paid 32M for Costa, who was arguably their most important player I don't think we will spend much more on Griezmann

Video interview in english with Fabregas by norwegian television:
http://www.tv2.no/v/914834

That is a good point from Mourinho ^
But I just don't believe Oscar has the necessary qualities to put us on par, with the likes of Bayern, Barcelona and Real Madrid, if he's our resident number 10. We'll see though, Mourinho might still believe in him and we owe it to him to see if he can transform Oscar.

https://twitter.com/l3ahpar/status/597526085832671232

Video interview in english with Fabregas by norwegian television:
http://www.tv2.no/v/914834

He deserves to start after this performance imo.