Madmax

http://soccernet.espn.go.com/feature/_/id/949206/fountains-of-youth?cc=4716 Great read.

This quote from Ferguson sums up all about Josh - "I had a player once who said to me that Rooney and [Cristiano] Ronaldo weren't good enough and he was not prepared to wait until they were good enough. But that's the trouble with potential. People don't identify potential. They're very poor at it. I've identified all my life the potential in young people. I know potential. I know how to develop and have faith in it. And young people surprise you when given the opportunity. That's what this club is all about."

It's getting attention because it's a debut goal. I'm sure Valencia fans would be talking about Mata's goal.

You'd buy me one then? Why is Bates called Captain Birdseye lol. Never heard that before.

No. I wouldn't join otherwise. But like you say it is a practical reality of a big club to have supporters (fans according to you) from multiple countries and cultures. I just don't like how every foreign based fan is painted as being a JCL and a fair weather supporter. Sure you may have touristy types deadly quiet in the stands on matchday, but it doesn't reflect the mentality of every foreign fan. I know i shall sing myself hoarse when I eventually go. Maybe people don't intend to paint all foreign fans as not as passionate as the English ones, but I would like to ask, what assurance can they give that the local Englishmen will in fact stick with the team if it goes tits up? The money foreign fans spend watching Chelsea on the telly or online and the media broadcasting rights and ad money companies generate from it and the merchandise sales of course, go a long way in paying the multi-millions that top international footballers and managers earn playing for and coaching the West London club. Without it, maybe, just maybe, Chelsea wouldn't be the club it is today. I don't condone passiveness on matchday nor do I like it when someone jumps on to the bandwagon, but perhaps the rest of us shouldn't be grouped with those bad eggs and should be treated with a little more respect than we are.

Come on eldo, you know high line against quick players is suicidal.

What pressure? You talk like Lukaku has an account on talkchelsea.

Stupid thread made as an attempt to ridicule Torres.

You don't like that? (the bolded part)

They are individual mistakes, not connected with the defensive line. It's not like say there was a high ball behind the defenders and he failed to track back. That is what is happening now. 1. It's not one game. It's 3. And these are relatively average forwards that are exposing the system. Shudder to think what someone like a Hernandez would do. And we face up against him in less than a month, remember. 2. No, Mikel's job is to sweep up between the CBs when the fullbacks are forward. That space should have been covered by Ivan. 3. A high line works when you've got pacy defenders and you retain the ball well. It simply cannot function if either of these are missing. Look at Barcelona. We give the ball away too often to be adopting a high line with slow defenders like Terry and Alex.

Basically, Lampard stays.

That seems plausible, but Modric has been played deep at Spurs to accomodate VdV. We need him further up front. But what counts as a continued period? I'd say 2nd half of last season to Aug this seaosn is continued enough. Yeah, but who does he replace?

Bluekaku. I like. Welcome :cfc:

Yeah okay, one mistake. So what? AvB looks like he will employ a high line, rendering Terry and Alex more or less useless considering their lack of pace. Luiz and Ivan ( to an extent) are the only ones who would be suited to this. And the whole point in playing Luiz in a high line is that even if he gets sucked in like at OT, he has the pace to scamper back. So don;t understand what you're trying to get at.

It is obvious this is the biggest problem facing the team right now. What and how we deal with the frankly dire midfield play will pretty much have a massive role in our fortunes this season. A look at the current first choice midfield - Lampard - It would seem that time has finally caught up with Frankie and he no longer looks like the match winner he used to be. The intelligence is still there but his decision making has slowed down just that extra bit and it is making a lot of difference to the way he plays and consequently several moves have broken down with him in possession. At 33 there is still no replacement in sight and he continues to get picked every week. Ramires - Unbounded energy and stamina and a great athlete. But this Brazilian suffers from a poor touch on the ball and a lack of flair. Reminds me of a young Essien. While great as a B2B , not one to look up to when creativity is what we lack. Mikel - Solid in ball retention and more or less faultless in distribution. Assigned the job of doing the donkey-work in midfield to allow others around him the freedom of expressing themselves in attack. Is not very quick and prone to lapses of concentration here and there and questionable positioning on occasion, but his importance as the lone fit senior DM cannot be undervalued. All fine players individually, but offer little or no solution to the main malaise that Chelsea from - slow passing and no invention. Now to look at the other options : McEachran - Young but shows no sign of it in his play. Calm and assured, always seems to have an idea of what to do with the ball even before he gets it. His vision and passing are commendable, as is his close control and ability to wriggle out of tight spaces. Frail looking but can surprise opponents because he does have strength in his tackle. Crying out for a role in the team. Benayoun - Positionally versatile and hard working. Brings with him good ball control and technique. Vision for a pass as well. Could be the key to unlock Torres but suffers from niggling injuries and a lack of minutes on the pitch. All indications so far are that AvB will continue with a 4-3-3 model. A few questions arise consequently : Given his performances so far, does Lampard deserve an automatic starting berth? Are Mikel and Ramires a luxury against sides that aim to sit back and soak up pressure? With the continued poor service to the front men, shouldn't a creative link up player like Yossi be playing every week? They call the midfield the engine room for a reason. Against weak sides it doesn't matter too much whether your midfield is functioning well because like we saw today, the overall superior quality of individuals is enough to carry the team through. But against tougher opposition it is the midfield where games are won or lost. And while all players mentioned above are good players, their combined efforts I fear will not be enough to win games. We employ a 3 man midfield so that's an advantage straight away. It should help us keep and rotate possession and dictate the pace of games, but like we've seen, it doesn't. AvB has a big problem to solve here, whether by getting these players to play above themselves or by fresh recruitments. Thoughts?

Good news. This bit caught my eye : Some sort of club affiliation in the offing?

Superb effort, Alex! My ratings : Hilario - 5 Bosingwa - 6.5 Ivanovic - 3 Terry - 5.5 Cole - 6 Mikel - 5 Ramires - 7 Lampard - 6 Malouda - 5 Drogba - 4 Torres - 4 Anelka - 6 Mata - 6.5 Lukaku - 6

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=_xGuNJbrAeU

Yeah he looked flat today. It was not the eager and confident looking Torres we saw in the first 2 games. In the first half there was a situation where Lampard played a beautiful first time ball towards him and he was on the edge of the area one on one with a defender and he looked like a rabbit caught in headlights. I guarantee you the Torres of earlier would have taken on the defender with a change of pace, made some room for himself and gotten a shot away, possibly scored.

Note to AvB : Please don't employ a high line till we get Luiz back. Thanks.

I'm not greatly enamoured so far I have to say. Trying to keep some perspective because it is still very early to judge him with conviction. No great changes so far, I can see glimpses of his philosophy but not it's full effect because this squad is just so stagnant and in limbo. Have to say he uses his subs way better than Carlo, though let's be fair, it's not very difficult to improve upon what Carlo served up in that regard.

We don't need any more proof that the Torres-Drogba experiment doesn't work. Whether in a more conventional 4-4-2 or as a diamond midfield. And it's apparent why. The squad is so attuned to Drogba's strengths that even when both of them are on the pitch together the rest of them play as they would if Drogba was the lone striker. Now that Mata has arrived and another technical forward player likely to arrive (whether that is a winger or someone like Modric) we will see a shift towards a more inventive, quick passing game that is suited to our new acquisitions.

More of the same again. 3 points is well and good but this squad and it's certain members badly needs a kick up the backside.

Welcome! :cfc: