CurlyHairLikeLuiz

The title is in reach. We only have 2 more away games in the league against a top 8 team, and only 3 more against the rest, 2 of which are relegation teams. We have 13 games left in the League overall. 36 points up for grabs, there are very few teams that on paper should cause us problems. Not at home. League cup. One more match. Costa will be looking for blood against Tottenham, the whole team will be.

The problem with our system is simply that if the lineup is not: Iva Zouma Terry Azpi Cesc Matic Willian Oscar Hazard Costa With the spine fully fit (ie Terry, Cesc, Matic, Azpi, Hazard, Costa, Oscar), we are awful. The only positions we can change without drastically destabilising the team with our current set of players is RB, LB, RW (but only if Azpi is behind at RB), CAM (only to a certain extent. It's Willian or Oscar or bust) and ST if Remy plays, because if Cesc goes or gets pushed up and smothered by the opposition DM/backline, we lose nearly all creativity. Same with Hazard. If Willian or Oscar go, we lose the needed workrate. If Matic can't play, well, we've seen it before, our midfield and defence simulataneously collapse. If we lose Terry then the right defensive side is useless, and Azpi ends up doing 3 different roles at once. With that in mind, another Cesc or Matic is probably needed most by this team in the medium term, or a hybrid of the two. Modric perhaps? And a 4-3-3 with Ake in should be considered. In the long term another CB will be needed, unless Kalas is good enough to step in (or 4th choice?). Varane. In 3 years or so we'll need to replace Luis at LB too. It was a short sighted buy, Bertrand should have been recalled and we could have saved £30m. And at RB, unless Christensen grows into the role. And if Remy leaves, we'll need another striker to replace him, probably Bamford. As well as Drogba - I don't know what we will do to replace him as 3rd choice, unless we use Solanke as a reserve. We also need a decent second choice LW to give us the ability to rest Hazard when possible. Don't know who would be a good buy, though. Maybe if Remy doesn't leave he can be 2nd choice on ST and LW, which will give him more more play time. Ramires, Luis, Cahill and maybe Remy will be going out imo. Especially Luis, I reckon he's on his way back to Atletico.

Terry - Zouma will be fine next season, maybe occasionally the season after but we need Varane. Unconditionally, to make our system work we need proactive defenders. Terry should be working with these young defenders over the next season and a bit and when he finally declines further to the point it'd be like playing Cahill - Cahill then if Cech is still here he can be the experience behind with Zouma - Varane. If we want Varane though... This summer will be now or never.

But if Willian does track back in the 10 which he does, the defensive frailties of Fabregas are covered. If he's not in the pivot then offensively we completely collapse, so considering that it's worth the risk playing him there at all times IMO. We should put another DM along side him which would alleviate this problem.

Exactly. When he came back from his hamstring trouble according to the people here he was more interested in having a boxing match with the opposition CBs. Then in the next game he scored 2 and the same 'fans' praised his 'mind games'. Other fans call us plastic for a reason.

Haha I wasn't slating Oscar brother, just saying that RLC is quite good too.

Yeah I know what you're saying. We have a free week before Spurs then, in which case I would still like to see Hazard rested but it won't happen... I do think Ivanovic will be rested, though. He's played every match since Azpi got groin strain, and a little before that too I think, he is still 30 years old. Would like to see Cech play, and I do think he might well do, but unfortunately for him Courtois is just so damn good... I do think you are underestimating RLC, though. He's probably actually not that much worse than Oscar, really, but then again I guess if Hazard's playing there's no need to have him playing. I do think he'll make the bench, however. Cech Dave Zouma JT Luis Cesc Matic Cuad Oscar Eden Diego The only reason I chose my first lineup was because I thought we had a game next Wednesday, in which case this would have been the one to dilute the lineup a bit.

Any updates on the development situation?

bump for training kits

For our kits did they keep the red stripe? I've seen mock ups with and without it...

Oh, didn't you know? Diego and Didier apparently only show up against small teams, I mean, what a bunch of shit strikers, eh? /s

You are aware we have a cup final coming up in less than two weeks. You might also be aware that Hazard was last rested in the middle of the Christmas break. What if there's 1 foul too many and he gets a season ending injury, what if he's so burnt out he becomes a passenger? Same with Matic, and William who is carrying an injury. From memory we have a game on the Wednesday before too. If we don't, ignore me because I'm going mad lol. If we don't it's just the standard lineup, with willian rested anyway and oscar in the 10. I think Luis should be having game time tho Tbh though, even a team with RLC should really be able to turn them over, or at least give them a game. We are at home, after all.

Haha well it is Burnley... Seriously though. Hazard should be first in line to be rested. When was the last time? Before Christmas? Lol... Cech Dave Zouma Jt Luis Ake Cesc Mikel Oscar Costa Cuadrado Would be the best team if we wanted to rest all of our key players that need to be rested, even if it would be a borderline suicidal one lol. All I'm thinking is that we have the COC final coming up very soon, and this game is probably the best possible to play a diluted lineup. Tbh JT and Dave need a rest too really, but that WOULD be fully suicidal.

Oscar will definitely play this one, willian has played loads and will be rested. So will Iva, I reckon. One of Hazard or Willian will be rested, unless Oscar goes on the wing. I hope hazard does get a rest though. Cech Azpi Kurt Jt Luis Cesc Matic Oscar RLC Cuadrado Costa

Oh yeah and to add on from my previous post, what sets Diego apart from almost any striker we've had in the last 10 years with the exception of Didier is he has a love, a desire for the club. Torres was here because he was getting paid £300k per week. Diego gets fired up, every time, while Torres almost accepted his label by the end. Roll on Saturday, he'll score double and you lot will probably praise his linkup play with Cesc and how he psychologically puts off opposition CBs with his physicality: In short, some of you are very impatient people.

Yeah I know what you mean, but by a DM I meant 2 'Matic type' players (ie Mikel-Cesc-Matic) which stay mostly in the middle third of the pitch and allows Fabregas space (this sounds silly and contradictive but almost like a false 10 - just slightly lower sitting), rather than Ramires - then again tbh I have never really liked what he brings to the table.. I think it was just a rough week in terms of injuries, but because it's Chelsea we never have injury crises according to the press and every player is expected to be at max form. Maybe it's not the formation I'm unhappy with after all, but the players we're playing. As Barbara said (might have been another thread), we need a quicker defence to play the higher line to make it work, ie with Zouma, who may I stress would not have given away the ball for Cavani's goal. As for Iva...I don't know why we don't just make it official and name a back 3 and then we won't be as disappointed when there's an opposition attack and Ivanovic is still in an offside position in the other half.

It could have been the illness and lack of training , which is fully understandable, but the PSG CBs and DMs completely stifled him and Costa, and I think Willian if he was supplied by Cesc who would then have more time on the ball with his pace would be able to break through better. Don't forget, square passes aren't necessarily bad, if there is space on the wing and Cuadrado and Hazard are on each side of you, nothing wrong with sticking it that way for them, or even if Cesc pulls up into a pocket of space. Willian doesn't need to be creative, he needs to upset the defence, something his workrate will accomplish better than Cesc can. Then again, in big games like I say I think we shouldn't have a #10 at all, play Fabregas in a DM-CM-DM formation where he is protected by Matic and one of Ake or Mikel who can draw his markers away, and a more end product centric Cuadrado - Costa - Hazard, then Cesc can push up when it makes sense in a false 4231 and fall back too. I'd imagine it would improve the link up between him and Costa, too. I don't know, but Jose knows what he's doing, and so I think we'll see his line of thinking in the next lineup. At least he's beginning to rotate more, though.

Who said the FA Cup is dead? I want them to knock out Steeeeeeeeeeeeeevieeeeee Geeeeeeeee and co in the 96' of extra time from a deflected header off Mignolet!

ie they're flowing and getting into Real's half effectively as well as dealing with them defensively for the most part. Everything we should have done against PSG.

At least 1 team in a blue shirt is doing well this week, Schalke are looking pretty good up against a much better team.

tbh we're lucky it was outside the stadium, otherwise because it's us, UEFA would give us a 10,000 year Champions League ban as well as reducing our Champions League squad to 2 permanently... Seriously, though, what really winds me up is all of the plastic Tottenham Daily Mail plastic trolls calling us all racist for the reaction of about 3 people.

Absolutely ahead of Cesc, he is much better deep than up front, when he plays in the 10 he just gets shut down Having said that Jose even against big teams should be starting him deep, maybe in 4-3-3 otherwise we are offensively a non starter.

Well, 4231 is clearly not for us in tough away games, we have always looked bad offensively without Fabregas deep. 4-3-3 would be better imo, with a DM-CM-DM lineup in the middle letting Fabregas flow.

You are all moaning about every aspect of his game but you forget than just 2 1/2 months ago you were singing his praises and the team's general counter attacking ability, then when we have even a slightly disappointing run of games immediately he is Torres level. He was really good and when he pulled his hamstring and returned you all moaned at him saying that he's more bothered about bullying CBs than actually playing. Within 2 games he will be fucking slaughtering all teams. Besides, as a striker, what can you do when you're not getting service? Fabregas HATES playing in the #10, because especially in PSG's 3 DM system he gets completely stifled, along with Willian's lack of vision/end product (*on the wing) putting more pressure on Cesc. The furthest we ever got on the pitch was when Hazard dribbled and Verratti brought him over (and he should have got sent off within 45 mins) and we got the free kick, which from memory we scored from. In fact, it makes me wonder why in big games we don't do the same, with Ake/Mikel, and Matic drawing Cesc's markers off him in his preferred DM role allowing to play. Ramires is ineffective. Cahill was too slow for the system we were playing with all its existing faults anyway. The goal PSG scored Zouma would definitely stopped with his aerial ability, and he would have allowed play to flow more as he is quicker with the ball. Courtois had an amazing game. Anyway, Diego was probably one of the least worst on the pitch for us, when we played the ball we played like a small, small team, 9 men behind the ball stuff. We weren't quick enough on the break, we had no creativity, no energy, and that responsibility is shared for that between everyone except Courtois, and even he was flapping at crosses sometimes. Like I said, at the end of the day he is a striker, and if you aren't getting fed then there's nothing you can do. Jose imo should seriously be thinking about a 4-3-3, or maybe a 3-4-3 and just officially relieve Ivanovic of his defence duties and put him at wing back, with a back 3 of Azpi/Cahill-Terry-Zouma, adding an element of ball playing to our defence, because clearly for us 4-2-3-1 away without Cesc in the pivot does not work. Obviously, I'm no football coach, and for all I know that might be a disaster, but Courtois Azpi Zouma Terry Iva Matic Cesc Willian Cuadrado Costa Hazard could work. Courtois Azpi Terry Zouma Luis Ake Cesc Matic Cuadrado Costa Hazard Is probably a more balanced option, though. Oh, and btw, once again we had £30m worth of full back left on our bench last night, supposedly the best in Europe but being kept on the bench by a false LB who is in turn being kept on the wrong flank by a 30 year old converted CB. £30m could have got us Varane last summer. God.

Yeah, Cesc really does not like to play outside of the CM role.. a 4-3-3 would be better in this kind of game, although I guess Jose did not feel like putting Ake out there. Anyway, we got a 1-1, roll on the Bridge. Btw, lol at all the people calling Diego shit. Some of you people are so fickle it's unreal. Same with Cesc, he's given us so much this season (although imo Willian should be the default no 10) Cahill had an okay game - would still like to see Zouma play though, he would never have given away the Cavani goal. Ivanovic is a hero again.