The Skipper

There aren't many great LBs out there at the moment so I think we should have Ake, Kenedy and Baba out there fighting for a starting role.

Just sitting here reminiscing and remembered that gorgeous fake volley pass he made for Schurrle's goal last season, one of the best assists I've ever seen. It was so good.

@Kerry Rainier merged with the actual John Terry thread.

Still buzzed about his goal.

Why does Cahill deserve to be captain? What sort of leadership credentials does he have?

He actually created quite a bit today.

Mikel should be sold IMO. I don't know if I can trust him because he hasn't been amazing for a long period in his career like Hazard has been. I don't know if I can trust him to produce at the level we should be aiming at. Not as a starter anyway.

What a fucking goal that was. What a second half performance. Reminding everyone of his quality. He was amazing! He really needs better team mates.

Hazard is the greatest.

I can't believe Hazard didn't start.

Worst DM performance I've seen in ages. Even with Mikel next to him. I don't know if I can't trust him to deliver next season tbh.

How do you know? This happens in sports all the time... It isn't unprecedented.

Doesn't make sense to hate/look down on someone for something they never did...

Is there any proof Eden actually turned on Jose or...? Have I missed something?

I understand where you're coming from, it's a sound argument but you still need senior players in the squad and Cesc is one of those, and the good thing is he actually has ability unlike someone like Oscar so he can be useful in some scenarios - i.e. when we're playing teams that park the bus, give us space to do our thing. You'd want Fabregas in your team in this case no? Or at least as an option. I can see ourselves being in these sort of situations enough times for Cesc to actually be useful for us. We need a competitive midfield, a competitive team. That starts with keeping players like Fabregas - even if we intend on getting in someone better. My point is that you need a competitive squad. You don't want to be relying on just one player who'll have no one on his toes just in case he doesn't perform well enough. Something similar to the Matic and Mikel situation. Matic dropped form massively and Mikel isn't a great replacement for him now is he? Similarly, you want good replacements. It can work. Look at Bayern for example - they've got the likes of Thiago, Vidal, Alonso, Muller, Martinez and then have players like Rode, Gotze and even Alaba who can all play in the center of the pitch. That's the sort of level we should be aiming for in my opinion. You have to keep Cesc if you're aiming for that. It allows for rotation, competitiveness, and prevents the massive drop in quality if anyone gets injured. Something like (especially if we sell Oscar, this midfield would make the most sense IMO); Fabregas, Pjanic, Nainggolan, Matic, RLC. That is an elite midfield right there IMO. If Matic goes down, Nainggolan shifts in to DM and we play someone like RLC next to him and someone like Fabregas. That's still a very good midfield. Similarly if one of Fabregas or Pjanic goes down we still have the options. If we are playing against teams that will offer us more space, why not play both Pjanic and Fabregas? This is the level we should be aiming for IMO!

I'm definitely not saying build the system around Cesc, but don't you think he can at the very least be a very good squad option? He isn't athletic but not many have the passing ability he does. I'd much rather someone like Cesc in the squad than Oscar. There are other players we need to sell before even touching Cesc. Cesc does not need to be sold because he can still contribute pretty effectively. Especially if we can get in a proper midfield (which we need to anyway, not because of Cesc per se). We're meant to be strengthening our squad, not make it weaker.

Swap him out for Oscar and it works.

Hazard - James - Willian is an awesome AM trio. Conte can sort out his mentality, I'm sure of it.

Don't understand why people are so adamant to sell off Fabregas. He can be a very useful player if in the right system. You need top options. Fabregas provides that.

Sell Oscar and get in Nainggolan with Pjanic and we'll have our midfield set. A midfield set of Fabregas, Pjanic, Matic, Nainggolan & RLC is pretty good and versatile actually.

Yeah, I'm well aware that we'd get steamrolled by certain teams hence why I highlighted that it's a must to bring in a great B2B midfielder like Nainggolan, who we can then alternate with someone like Fabregas or Pjanic in games where we can somewhat get outmuscled in midfield. What I was trying to get at is that it would be good to have the option of all three, not only for the sake of playing them together - if either Fabregas or Pjanic get off form, we'll have a great option in replacing either. Competition is good, it could bring the best out of both. My main point really is that getting in Pjanic for Oscar would improve the options in the squad significantly (as long as we also go out to purchase a good energetic, physical midfielder like Radja).

I do think Fabregas and Pjanic could work, depending on the style of football we want to play. Of course, we'd need a great DM behind them. Something like what Barcelona used to do. Xavi = Fabregas, Pjanic = Iniesta. Again, that does mean that we require a different style of football but it could possibly work. Modern game does require some sort of engine in midfield though. It's necessary to have that sort of option in the squad. Against teams where we'll have lots of possession though, I wouldn't be against fielding the two together. Selling Oscar for Pjanic is wise because at the very least it gives us a proper creative midfielder. We can then build around Fabregas, Pjanic etc. to compliment both/either with a strong B2B midfielder, a very good DM (could be Matic but I don't know), and maybe someone like RLC to fill in as a squad player. That'd be a great midfield core. Fabregas, Pjanic, x, x, RLC... With the x's being the aforementioned sort of players. Something like Nainggolan and Rubén Neves?

He's stationed at CAM more than CM from what I saw. We need to ensure that we play the right system for him to blossom properly.

I think he should go out on loan next year tbh. We need to have something like x, Zouma, Christensen and ideally Terry (but probably Cahill), with x being a really good experienced defender.

Baffles me how he doesn't start ahead of Jetro Willems in the Dutch XI. He's so much better.