DYC.

I have to say, I don't remember him being great that match but I'll take your word for it. He'll need to perform like that more often then. There's a reason why it's mostly Chelsea fans who rate Mata very highly.

Mehh Mata wasn't great in big games imo. He was good in a few but never shone (as in the overall performance) imo and that's what I was referring to. Think Drogba vs Valencia or Iniesta vs Real in the Super Copa (first leg).

Great article but Gianfranco is still the best for me. He was something else. Their teams can't be compared so the thropies won are irrelevant. But again, good article.

The next step for Mata is to put in top performances in big matches. If he does that, he'll be among the best.

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'Osmar' at it again. I wish he would make runs behind the defence more often at Chelsea like he does for Brazil. It's a great weapon.

I just love how he's proved his doubters wrong and reminded everyone who's (still) the boss. He's so decisive.

Maybe he simply wants to play in multiple top leagues. I don't have to explain to you that players moving a few times in their career is very common.

True. That's why in any other I would never sell. Just look at Tevez at City, he would've left if a club was willing to meet City's price. Don't think he wants to leave anyway. Not in the coming 3-5 years that is.

What you're saying is true but it's not what I meant. For instance, look at Terry's thread when he has a bad game. Hardly any noise. When he has a good game, he gets praised. Pundits also praise him, his good performance is mentioned in articles about the game. It's the same with the defenders of other teams. But it's the complete opposite with David Luiz. The little noise when he does well is fine but all the attention, not just Chelsea fans, when he does wrong is what gets to me. He doesn't even make mistakes more often than Terry really. But I feel like I'm repeating myself over and over again so I'll just leave it at that.

If true, I wouldn't mind selling Hazard if they're willing to pay at least double the amount we paid and we get Neymar or Gotze as his replacement. Eden happy, Real happy, Chelsea happy/happiest. Though you are right, Roman would never have to sell. But I wouldn't want a player here who's not happy, doesn't matter who he is.

True but the extreme focus on the bad he does annoys me. Especially because you hear little to nothing about the good. Guess some things will never change.

Agree. I just hope we don't go for a big-money striker. But more importantly, a different type of striker. Someone who can play with his back to goal and hold the ball.

I was just thinking about the CL final. David Luiz played with a injury which really restricted him, he couldn't even run. That was some heroic stuff, even put in a solid performance, but I've noticed that it's hardly mentioned. Yet there's always so much attention when he does something wrong. Makes no sense.

We should definitely play to our own strengths. Simply tell Ash and Brana to keep it old-school and mainly focus on defending as we can't allow Bale and Lennon too much space. With Ramires next to Mikel, he'll be key in dealing with their counter-attacks. Defoe's record against big teams is awful so that's already a positive. David Luiz can handle him. Their defence (both individually and in terms of organisation) isn't great so we can definitely hurt them through the middle. If AVB opts for the high line even better, Torres will like that. The same goes for Juan. And just like against Norwich, Mata and Hazard will simply need to switch it up and also occupy wide positions. If we struggle, we have Sturridge, Moses (think you can add Marin to that) who can change the team. It's time for a win at White Hart Lane, think it's been a while.

Haha 25 mil (or 19, whatever) was a absolute steal.

This is what I was waiting for, a goal from open play. And it was a classic Frank Lampard goal. Fine overall performance as well.

Off topic Haha that was back in the 80s right? I knew Snake was among the original cast yeah. He was a teacher at Degrassi in The Next Generation. I loved that show and Cech always makes me think of him. The show was quite popular here yeah, among young people of course. It was a good show, though I mostly liked the cute girls haha.

Chelsea is very disliked/hated here because we bought succes and despite all the money never played offensive football under Abramovic. Holland is all about attacking football. Italian and French teams are perceived as boring and Holland and Germany aren't exactly the best of friends so not much love for German clubs here. The country's filled with Barca lovers. Utd and Arsenal are quite popular as well.

He really reminds of a character named Archie 'Snake' Simpson from a TV show I used to watch back in the day (Degrassi: The Next Generation). Most probably have no idea what I'm talking about but maybe the Canadians here do. Agree with BluesMaster about people always overreacting when he makes a mistake. There's no such thing as a flawless GK. Cech is simply world-class and he's actually our best player.

His dribbling? He's a excellent dribbler. The control is incredibly tight and he knows exactly how to go past a man, that's something you can't teach someone. And he draws a ridiculous amount of fouls because of it. And he did provide 17 assists for Lille last season (18 in total including NT performances) and he's provided 7 assists so far. So you could say he has a uncanny ability of delivering the final ball.

Midfield? When has Ramos ever played in midfield?

I think it's the fact defending is appreciated a lot more in those countries, which leads to a bigger focus on teaching players the art of defending when growing up (youth football). Though Germany hasn't been producing world-class CBs for a long time. Anyway Ramos is good but he's error-prone. He was very good at the Euros though, I'll give him that. But he needs too many fouls and he's a hot head, leading to silly and reckless challenges. And he's not the type of CB we should be looking for imo, we've been in desperate need of a tactician ever since Riccy left. I'd rather go for Hummels, who fits that bill a lot better. He's a better CB than Ramos as well imo.

Fair enough on the first part. Agree with the second. We could've had a much easier time today and made them look better than they truly are. Moses was shocking though I won't blame him too much as he didn't look comfortable at all on the left.