The Skipper

He isn't that slow but it doesn't matter, he sees the game a second ahead of everyone on the pitch.

Ramires in a midfield three has always been a good player tbf.

An on form Rooney and RVP are just as good as SAS IMO.

Since you're bringing last season into it now... Luis showed last season that he was one of the best in the world in his position, in a system that was very similar to ours and surely Jose will take that into account. Jose won't go picking his team solely based on pre season performances. If that were the case, surely Azpi wouldn't have his starting spot so solidified either because he hasn't done anything spectacular in pre season, and has also had less training time than Luis. As I said before, I'm very certain Luis will be our starting left back at least at the beginning of the season. Not only because he's our best natural left back, but also because he's had a better, longer pre season than Azpi.

You're putting too much stock into pre season performances then. If you watched him for Atletico regularly over the last season or two you'd easily know he's one of the best in his position in the world. To me I have no doubt he'll start as our starting LB this season.

Did you even watch us at all last season? He was one of the best CBs in Europe and the best in our team. You're just basing all of this on his age. JT is still one of the top CBs in the league, what are you talking about?Jose Mourinho said this just last week...

When did we get Varane?

Both.

Even though he played in 51 games last year right? (Starting 48)

They'll probably never play together in a competitive game, they'll always have an experienced head next to them. We'll probably never see that CB combination again this season, barring some absolutely catastrophic injury crisis.

Garbage today, but it's only pre season. Might take a while for him to kick on this season. I hope not though, because we seriously need him to step it up in the final third.

What a fucking player... Delighted he's signed.

I always say that if Eden gets a bit of Robben's mentality (the right bits obviously) he'll be an absolute threat. Glad to see he's being more direct so far.

Oscar has been so awful.

LOL.

Worldie from Fabregas.

Cesc of course.

That Fabregas to Hazard play... Brilliant.

Playing a lot better, but that's natural when you bring on better players. 3-4-1-1 formation is an interesting formation too.

Making really good decisions this game so far. Good stuff.

What is the 2nd half team?

Get in Rambo.

If Schurrle consistently plays as well as he & we know he can then yes, I'd start him for most games too (especially ones where we're really looking to dominate offensively) because as you said, Schurrle is much more of a direct threat than Willian will ever be, but Willian can still be a very important tactical player and whether Schurrle can keep up the consistency is still a very big if, if we're basing it on his performances last season in a CFC shirt. Of course, Schurrle as it stands right now fits in like a glove in our offensive system as our second goal getter from the right - with crosses and through balls from the left from players Cesc, Hazard or Luis when overlapping but he has to be consistent. In general, in a CFC shirt Schurrle hasn't been any better than Willian was IMO. Sure, he showed excellent signs in the WC, but it's ridiculous to complete shaft Willian away because of that IMO. You need players like Schurrle but you also need players like Willian over the course of the season. In the bigger games he'll be a very useful weapon for us, he was excellent away to City last year - prime example. If we need to be more careful with the ball and our ball retention - again Willian on the right is also a good option. Of course he has to step it up this season offensively - but so does Andre in a sense with his consistency.

Late bloomer?

If you look at the post I quoted, it was about his offensive contributions... I just highlighted it to showcase some of his better games here.My point is no one was screaming that Schurrle is a million times better than Willian at the end of last season, and that opinion has swiftly changed based on a WC, and 45 mins of pre season. It's ridiculously over exaggerated IMO.