The Skipper

Ah, fair enough if you use the old BMI procedure, but I think it's more relevant to use the new ones. If we used the old BMI procedure on many athletes there would be a lot of "overweight" ones but in reality it isn't like that at all.

1. A slightly better Kalou. 2. Not really a striker. 3. Would be wasted money. Personally I'm okay going into the season with Torres, Sturridge and Lukaku. If Romelu is going on loan, then we definitely bring a new striker in. My suggestion is someone like Steven Fletcher, who's proven in the prem, wouldn't mind fighting for his spot and wouldn't cost a bomb either.

I read somewhere that Mancini wanted to add 5 more players to his squad.

You can measure how much fat someone has in their body. Hulk's BMI would probably show that he has less than 15%-10% fat, judging on how defined he is. He isn't overweight at all, he's just got a lot of muscle. A bit too much maybe. I think if he toned down his muscles and cut up a little he'd probably be more explosive. He's a really good athlete though.

Remember when Aaron Lennon terrorised A. Cole a couple seasons back? Can't really base someone's ability on one game.

I'd rather let Sturridge and Lukaku develop.

I love Richards, really underrated. Would give us another option at CB as well.

Seriously, this isn't a pot shot at you neccesarily but discuss Mikel in the Mikel thread. Enough is enough really.

Oscar, our Brazilian scout, spy and correspondent.

Why does every thread spiral into a Mikel debate these days?

Oscar won't be there man!

Oscar won't be there man!

One thing that has to be remembered is that we didn't play a consistent team at all throughout the whole of pre season. We haven't played our best XI yet as we've got a couple of players missing.

Not surprised. RDM has added unnecessary pressure to himself but if we get a good result against City and start the season well, it'll be all forgotten.

Like many have said here, we'll see if we're ready for the season when we face Man City. It'll be the ideal test, and I expect Mata and Hazard to start, which will improve our play ten fold.

Can anyone find out when it was the last time we lost 3 pre season games?

We'll see the real Chelsea next week. I'm not judging the score line until we play a serious match, the one against City for example. Pre season's over now, time for the lads to step up, win those 50/50 battles, concentrate and play to win. P.S. Jim, we need better servers.

Double post.

I'm curious, how many here have actually seen Azpilicueta play on a regular basis?

Isn't he a CFC player though? I think people have the right to. We're not not going to play a guy who we've bought for £25m, who's already starting for Brazil. Oscar has a very good chance at starting as soon as he gets back from the Olympics.

Oscar. Oscar. Oscar. Oscar could be that third midfielder that comes deep to distribute play, as it's part of his natural game. He has enormous tendencies to drop deeper and search for the ball. I don't want to expect too much from the kid but I have this nagging feeling that'll he'll become very important to how we play sooner than we'll expect. In theory, a team of: Torres Mata - Hazard Oscar (drifting, dropping deep) Mikel - Ramires Should work a treat, as it allows us the flexibility to change from a 4-2-3-1 to a 4-3-3 (or even 4-1-4-1, with Oscar and Ramires moving to the right) when required. It is quite similar to the tactics Brazil employ actually. Mikel does the defensive work, Ramires is our flying B2B, ball winning midfielder who helps out in attacking and defensive phases (which is entirely possible due to his enormous stamina) and Oscar drifts and drops deeper to receive the ball (whilst allowing a front three of Torres - Mata - Hazard to inflict damage) if we're in possession and trying to keep it. I do realise this prohibits Oscar a little from his natural attacking tendencies but he's an intelligent player - once he's released the ball he'll naturally move into a decent position to support the attack. Like I said once again, I don't want to expect too much from the kid but I really do feel he'll be vital for us. It's the only way the team can operate effectively with all of its best players incorporated, if Oscar is the main link between the transitions of midfield to attack.

I must be on crack cocaine or something. Am I reading this right? Essien being compared to Bogarde? Wow.

Mention anywhere in my post where I said it's bad logic. Anyway, I've posted quite a detailed analysis of Mikel in his thread so if you want to take the debate further then please continue on that thread.

That's the biggest part of his game Mikel can improve on - consistent world class performances. If he does that I'm sure the debate would be put to bed. He's only 25, so it's natural. He still has ages to rack up experience and become more consistent. Wouldn't be surprised if Mikel was still playing for CFC in 10 years due to the nature of his game.

Those two aren't even DM's though. They're better placed as the team's engine. Essien's best position wasn't as a DM. It was when he was allowed to roam around the field as a B2B midfielder causing havoc. Same with Davids. Davids only reincarnated himself later into a more deeper player as he lost his pace. I wouldn't call Essien a true DM. He was good there as he has some attributes that complement it, but he was shackled as well. With Mikel that is not a problem as he naturally compliments the holding position.