LDN Blue

Hopefully Tottenham will take Willian. I know he did damage to us in the Champions League, but I still don't particularly see anything special. Though I reserve slight judgement, cos I don't see him outside of CL games.

To be fair though, even Torres' scored some goals that have been pretty good this season. But like this, they've been in virtual dead-rubber games against weak opposition.

It's Spurs, £18million apparently.

The boy's own fault. If he really had any football ambitions he'd compromise on his wages. Enjoy Turkey.

Yea that's a true point I suppose. Any manager we get is stuck with Torres, until he's sold, and so there will always be pressure to play him. After all, Ancelotti, Villas-Boas & Di Matteo were all sacked the game after they dropped Torres ..Maybe we should encourage Benitez to drop him further! :ph34r2:

No, you're right. But he only just signed and needs rest after one game? Mata's played more games than any other player since he's joined, Ba would be playing a portion of that, running less too. He's our only option in the front, so for half a season it's worth utilizing him as much as possible.

I know, trust me I do get it completely. When I see his name on the starting XI I swear.. When I see him on the pitch I'm furious etc. However I think it might be a personal thing, I'm just one that thinks booing your own players crosses a line (and before anyone mentions it, Rafa boos were a different situation). When he's gone it'll be a good day at Chelsea, while he's on the bench we'll smile & when he comes on those smiles will fade. But booing.. Ah it does make me feel sorry for him, pity him. It's personal I suppose?

I know, but still. Imagine a crowd of 40,000 just booing to hear your name. Doesn't matter who it is, I hate him being here as much as the next guy, but he wasn't the one who decided he should be on that pitch for 80+mins, or even start last night. He was given the start by the man who knows he's woeful. That's who the boos should've been held for.

I want Rafa to alter the formation for this (it won't happen, but a guy can dream?) Turnbull Azpilicueta ------------- Ivanovic - Cahill ------------------ Bertrand Luiz Oscar --------------- Hazard Marin ---------------------- Ba ---------------------- Mata I mean yeah, like I said it won't happen. But Stoke will be playing park-the-bus tactics and width is always the answer in those solutions. This set up gets the ball wide, with players who can cross and also gives Hazard a bit of freedom. The only sticking point is Luiz as a lone DM, but there's no other real choice there.

The real disappointment yesterday was for about 80 minutes whenever the team tried to play wide, the end crosses were woeful. Azpilicueta did very well running the flank, but he couldn't put a ball with either any trajectory or power, or sometimes both. When Marin came on, his first cross found a fine Ba head! Marin is a proper winger. He's smart. He doesn't just run the channel and cross it, he allows players to gather inside but cutting inside and holding the ball. He should see some more game time against opposition like this, because direct football doesn't work, taking advantage of width does.

Ehhh.. I despise him, but I didn't like the boos he got when he came off. I understand them, but it's heartbreaking.

To be fair, he's never been one for being comfortable on the ball. Think last night exposed that. He's a brilliant defender, but not a footballer on the ball. Goal keeper short passes have always been risky, especially with a player like Iva. Ah well, he did try to make amends.

Finally last night we saw some of that player we'd heard about. The one who was dominating France from an early age, that made a good impression at the beginning of the season. What was really frustrating is that the team didn't see it (which is fair, they're caught up in the action) but neither did management. Rafa's imputus at half-time should've been to make give Hazard as much ball time as possible. The burden on Mata can be reduced a lot if Hazard can find his touch again.

Of course, something I've preached for a while. However Fellaini doesn't offer a plan B, which is where hardball tactics would come in, he's a tangent of plan A, which I think would cause the team more harm, with imbalance, than it would good. This is my personal opinion, I can tell most disagree and to be fair I hope I am wrong in my predictions. However I just won't believe it until I see him play for us and see how he fares and how the team do.

He's not leaving this window, is he?

I don't like Rafa, but this isn't really his fault.. Is it?

I can see why, at this moment, it seems like a great idea. However I still think the club should be patient in the pursuit of a DM. I hate using this word, but we are in the 'transition' which means transfers shouldn't be done a. On panic & b. Without a second thought of who else might be out there. Fellaini has the ability to walk into most squads and play nearly every game, but not this team, we're not set up for his type of game. And so to buy him for what's being reported, just for squad depth, is an injustice to both player and club.

No-one's denying he's good. He is. But you don't just buy a player because he's 'good', you buy a player based on what the team needs. Chelsea don't need him.

I understand that, however don't you think that he would be more inclined now to experiment with moving up the pitch? The most crucial part of being a good defensive midfielder is having the discipline to stay back and protect the team from an impending counter-attack. With Mikel gone, the risk is enormous when Fellaini goes venturing forward, because then we have no-one who's going to be able to come back and protect the defense.

I agree, we do need a DM. However I just feel that Fellaini is not the answer to that problem. For now, with Mikel at the ACoN, our midfield will have Luiz alongside Lampard. This doesn't work for me either, however I don't believe that Fellaini with Lampard or Luiz would work either. Another thing to remember is, if Fellaini takes up the no6 role then Luiz will find his way back into the centre-back position - which will be a gamble after the license he's been given to roam free. The problem with picking up players from Everton is that they place their players in positions that not only excel the player but also fit in with the dimensions of the squad. Our style and Everton's aren't similar at all. Which is why Baines is a big question mark in terms of a Chelsea transfer (for another day, this one). For the price it's also huge gamble, and don't forget Fellaini's temperament either. I do believe he's a truly class player, however that doesn't necessarily mean he's right for us.

So we should spend £22m+ as an alternative to when we can do? I do know his ability to play at DM, he did well at Everton before they lot Cahill & Arteta - Where he played that position. However I think it would be a mistake to make him play in that position now, when he's become accustomed to playing further up. We made this mistake with Obi Mikel, he came to us an attacking player. He was outstanding in the u18 World Cup, where he earned more praise than Messi in the same competition. We turned him into a defensive player, which has caused a debate among every set of fans.

This is my point. We'd revert back to Drogba tactics, nullify the role of Oscar & Hazard. That's about £50million worth of resources not utilized.

That's not something Fellani can come in and offer a solution for. The players should be responsible for winning the ball back once they lose it, Fellani is a good box-to-box player because he does have the stamina and agility. However I question this motive to slot him back into the DM position when he's been excelling in the attacking position where Moyes has deployed him. I'm not saying he wasn't good as a DM, but he's proven that's not where he should be. Another thing is, with Fellani the ball is hardly played to feet. His height and strength are his greatest asset, which means the old 'hoof it up and hope for the best', as I read correctly on a blog about this.. Ba would never get the ball as we'll have Luiz & Fellani taking all the shots.

To be honest, Rafa is notoriously known for running players into the ground. It should come as no surprise that it will happen

Isco is irrelevant. We have a perfectly good squad that should be able to cope without Mata, it's unfortunate that they haven't quite clicked in that form yet. Hazard & Oscar haven't found a way without the Spaniard unfortunately. Swansea will dominate possession, which means Hazard must play as no.10 because let's face it, he's not going to do much tracking back. Moses on the right, with Marin on the left would make sense. I don't like having Lampard sit DM for this game, but we're out of options. I will fear when Luiz comes out of position tonight.