Peace.

After our two last pre-season games I saw, i.e. against Milan and Brighton, I was striked by what were doing our players. And when I realized that, something spread to my mind : the way we played under the short Villas-Boas reign, and during Ancelotti's second season here. After noticing this, it caught my curiosity to work out whether it was an illusion or a fact, so I decided to focus mainly on this aspect of the game during the second half of our match against Brighton. It appeared to me as a worrisome fact, this is why I am writing down my thoughts here. It doesn't take a genius to notice this. I am pretty sure many members have already noticed this. But, I want to bring underlying subject into the lights. Because I think it is a genuine concern and that if we don't improve this sector of our game, even Xavi couldn't make us a better side. What I am speaking of, it's something specific : the way our players play when off-ball. Our players seem to be disinterested about where their team mates are. They move into a position regardless of our needs. They seem to go where they want to, and not where they should move to. As a matter of fact - I think it won't be a surprise for anyone - we play in a too narrowly way on the field. Our players seem to all play in the center. But I won't lose time on this point, since many members have already pointed out the lack of width we have. Our players are not only all in the center of the pitch, but they are also on the same horizontal line. To picture it, they are all in a circle of a 15 yards diameter (I overstate on purpose). At some point, in the match against Brighton, Ramires, Torres, Hazard, Lampard and Essien (if I recall corectly of the players) were all in the same area around the box. Furthermore, the most shocking thing is, into my eyes, how lethargical the londonian players are. They seem to stand there and to wait for the good God to give them a beautiful pass. They are waiting, while the guy on the ball look embarassed, and after 10 seconds, opts to make a sideway pass. How do you want to unlock a defense (which park the bus) this way ? Not a single player makes himself available to recieve the ball. Not a single player moves on the wing, or comes deep, in order to stretch the game, to bring a solution to the ball holder. Not a single player try to combine with one of his team mate. They go where the wind leads them... It underlines an eventual lacks of cohesion between players. Why am I concerned by this ? Because when no one makes himself available to receive a pass, then no matter how good a player is, he won't manage to find a proper pass, and it will lead him to take too many touches on the ball to finally pass it to the defenders... Here a video to show how our players should position themselves and link up with their teammates : I am not showing you a video of Barça because I want us to play the Tiki Taka. No, it is only because this video shows perfectly how our players should move on the pitch. The catalan players are always in movement. They move in order to offer an option to the ball holder. They aren't all on the same line nor in the same area of the pitch : they surround their teammate who has the ball. If we aim to play an attacking football in the forthcoming years, we will need to dramatically improve in this domain. But, if we aim to give up the "park the bus" tactic, we will also have to improve significantly. We don't need to be excellent on this field right now, but we have to be at least average. Otherwise, we will remain the toothless team we were last two seasons, and we will remain prone to defensive mistakes (like on the two first goals we conceded against Brighton). Now, we can wonder why our players are acting this way ? Is this because they are spoilt brats and do what they want ? Though, it's only the feeling I get. I am not in their heads, nor in the know, so I can be affirmative about this. Or maybe this is because our managers overlook this domain during the training sessions ? Or even this is because they aren't good enough and haven't any tactical awareness ? Well, I am pretty sure we can't fault their abilities. Indeed, mid-table teams, and even those coming from the championship, are better on this field. So, is it because we overlook this in training sessions ? In the one hand, they have done this under two managers, and seemingly they have done this during our pre-season games. So, if that was the case, that would mean three coach don't care about this aspect of the game. It would be surprising, wouldn't it ? But, on the second hand, every players we signed during this period of time seem to adopt the posture of an ancient greek statue... The lack of willingness to put some efforts on the field, and the fact the players play where they want to, appear as the most likely reasons. I am not saying this in order to freely criticize the players. But sometimes, you can really wonder if they aren't superstars crying babies. Well, I guess it is partly due to their big ego, and to managers' laxity to force them (they might fear to suffer players' wrath, if you know what I mean). One could say "it's only pre-season, players don't care". But we were playing this way under Ancelotti and André Villas-Boas... One could also say we have new players, and it will change. But, what if it's down to managerial issues ? What if it's down to players' power ? I am partly raising this point because of this, and also to know people's opinion about this subject...

The one thing which really piss me off about this game, this is the way we conceded the third goal. What the players were thinking ? That they were the ref ? They should stop "wave their hands in the air like they just don't care" as if it was them who were making the decisions. The game stop when the referee whistles. Even if the ref got it wrong, it's him who decide whether there's a foul or not. If you think there's a foul, and the ref doesn't whistle it, then you wait once the game has stopped to go and protest if you feel like arguing with the ref. I know it was "only" a friendly, we were already loosing and there were only ten minutes left. But what kind of mentality was it ? Plus, if I am not mistaken, it wasn't the first time we conceded a goal this way. And, unfortunatly, this one action summarizes our last two years (bar the time when RDM was the caretaker).

I am agree with this. Since the second year of Ancelotti era, we have been found out. Teams know our weakness. They know we lack creativity and speed. They know we are prone to defensive mistakes. As a matter of fact, they know that to park the bus and counter attack us is a pretty good way to get a result from an encounter against us. In order to prevent this, and unlock those defenses, we need to have a high tempo. We need to make quick passes. And this, from the defenders to the forwards. That's the reason why I believe we should play Romeu as our defensive midfielder. The spaniard doesn't sleep on the ball. He makes simple short pass, and delivers the ball after no more than one or two touches. Furthermore, he is the kind of guy who chases the ball, who is good to put a high pressure. This aspect of the game will be important when we will face those teams.

Thanks you. Yep. We don't have enough diversity in attack. That is a thing i deplore, and this is why I want us to buy another striker. We don't possess this player who play back to goal, who can hold the ball until our team position itself in an attacking position. We don't have a forward with a good header, able to score from an half-good cross. We neither have a striker who has a big presence in the box. At the moment, our strikers are good when the ball is on the ground, when you feed them with through balls, when you play on their speed. We are one-dimensional ; we aren't allowed a tactical flexibility. Thus, I can easely see us, for instance, facing big troubles against the Wigans of the world, i.e. teams which will park the bus against us. Indeed, against such teams, we won't have the physical presence inside the box who will cause havoc, to who we will be able to send a cross when we couldn't unlock the defense thanks to through balls. Yep. I also fear our back four and front three/four will be to many times isolated from each other. And what is the cause of a team being split in two ? A midfield not good enough to link the two parts. As you said, our double pivot is rather weak. And we don't possess the attacking midfielders or wingers good enough in defensive duties to come and help them. As a consequence, this midfield-two will be outnumbered and thus will struggle to make the link they are supposed to make between defense and attack. This is why I want us to revert back to 4-3-3. This way, we will be able to play a genuine playmaker (or at least someone with real abilities to build the game) deep in central midfield, without exposing the backfour since this playmaker will be accompanied by two defensive midfielders : one who sits ahead of the back four, the other one who comes and goes between attack and defense (i.e. box-to-box). We will have a defensive stability granted by the two defensive midfielders, and we will have a midfield able to link the defense and attack thanks to the "deeplying-playmaker". Because let's not kid ourselves. At the moment, in the 4-2-3-1, the only trustful defender we have is Mikel. The other players aren't really good in defense. Anyway, a classic 4-3-3 with a defensive midfielder, a box-to-box and a playmaker is the best way - in my honest opinion - to minimize the damages, to have decent balance between attack and defense in midfield, and an efficient link between the back four and our forwards.

I am not surprised by this awful performance, not at all. It was to be expected (though, obviously I didn't expect that scoreline). Indeed, if you look at the team we fielded, it was exactly the same set of players from last year. Of course, at the exception of Hazard, but he is yet to be a very good player, and still needs time to gel with the team. So all in all, one can say we had the same team as last year with an out-of-form Mata. Therefore, if you keep this in mind, it shouldn't be a surprise in the slightest that we are still playing a boring, uncreative and sterile football... Should it be ? Last season, whenever we were in possession, we didn't seem to know what to do with the ball, as if it was a bomb. We didn't have no penetration, no creativity, and we were only making side-way passes. Unless Roman picked up our players and brought the players to Lourdes, I do not see any reason for why we would have miraculously improved in the last few weeks. Hazard, despite the great potentiel he has, isn't the Messiah nor Messi. The bottom line is that despite the fact we purchased technically gifted players (Hazard, Marin, Oscar), our metamorphosis will take time to happen. It is an error and a desillusion to expect us to play an attractive football right now. As I said in the Milan thread, Rome wasn't built in one day. We should get used to the idea of playing the same shit as last season for some weeks/months. On a side note, I find it worrisome that as soon as we don't park the bus, we seem to revert back to the team we were under Andrès Villas-Boas in January. Food for thought...

Well. I wanted to say this for a while now, but I always naively thought it would stop. But right now it's over the top : Whenever someone tells his point of view on a player, and says the said player isn't that good or such, some people jump on his back and counter-argument him by saying : "he is a hater" and "his opinion is invalid because he bases his judgement on a pre-season game". Whenever someone criticizes the performance of the team, some members who aren't agree with him, tell him : "you aren't a true fan" ; "you are a glory hunter" ; "you are a plastic fan" ; "you cannot know because you don't attend to games" ; etc... In general, whenever a member isn't agree with someone's else opinion, he doesn't try to say why he isn't agree, but tries to make him look like a fool, brings up something which isn't relative to the debate. Even the nationality of the members is used as a counter argument. How many times members have used Henrique's nationality in order to attack his opinion (or him) (genuine quote "you must know, you are brazilian") ? I even saw, few months ago, the most unbelievable dig.... Some people trying to mock someone's opinion by saying (genuine quote again) "why don't you donate money to the forum ?" I am not saying by any means that everyone is like this. But there's too much of this, in my opinion. Sorry for the rant, but I am tired of seeing petty personal abuse, such as "you're a glory hunter" (look at today match thread...), when people aren't agree with some other people. We are here to expose and exchange our opinions. We aren't supposed to be here to say "I know all and you, you know fuck all". All in all, it really doesn't matter if it's wrong or on point, as long as you can explain why. I know I am the rebirth of Candid, but I'd like to participate to fruitful debates, with respect. And remember this "Perception requires duality". Peace.

Wait - are you suggesting that the fact he has only registered himself on the forum two months ago, means he doesn't know how we were playing last summers ? Which would mean that the date of your registration here stands for the date when you begin to support Chelsea ? This accusation is of the same standard as to say "you don't know jack because you don't go to games"... We don't need this here.

Thanks. I am fully agree with you about the formation. Some weeks ago, I wasn't too sure about the formation we should adopt. But as the weeks pass, I am more and more growing into thinking we should revert to our trademarked 4-3-3. Indeed, considering the set of players we had before entering the summery mercato, and the players we have signed in this transfer window, the formation which Mourinho has established deep down in our foundations appears to be best option. I believe the good old 4-3-3 is more suited to the current squad we have, and, the unbalance of the squad I have exposed in my first post could be significantly softened with this formation. As things stand, I frankly see the 4-2-3-1 to be a risky formation to play in ; and I think we would be too many times caught in deadly counter-attacks, thus we would uselessly drop points against average/weak sides of the likes of Wigan, Villa, etc... As I said in another thread, the midfield-two we would play (no matter of the players who will play) is not good enough, and there isn't a player in front of this midfield partnership with a big enough volume to help them for the defensive work. As a consequence, the team would be split in two parts (4-2 // 3-1), leaving our central midfield outnumbered and exposed. -> The conclusion which has to be drawn from this, it's that the midfield is unequally balanced between defense and attack. To prevent this, we should, in my opinion, play two defensive-minded players, in order to keep a balance between attack and defense in miefield. I mean two players who will have for job to recover the ball and provide a cover for the back four. The 4-2-3-1 doesn't allow this, because it requires (to simplify things) a playmaker and a defensively hard worker. The 4-3-3 springs to my mind. This way, we would be able to play two defensive midfielders alongside a playmaker. As a matter of fact, we would have more defensive stability, and thus we would have a more or less good balance between defense and attack. All in all, I still think we will have to work in irder to create a worl-class midfield, by : search for another DM and/or make sure Romeu is here for the long-term. But, the way I fashioned how should be our midfield, I believe it will be good enough for this year, and will allow us to wait next year to concentrate ourselves on its rebuiding.

You really aren't aware of how lucky you are, bro. You will be granted the SUPREME skill of avoiding flyin' shoes.

Yeah, I know one of the two midfielders forming this midfield-two has to get high on the pitch (both to do the pressing work, and to be the link between the defense and attack), while the other Central-Defensive-Midfielder has to stay deep in order to provide a cover in front of the defense. And I neither question Lampard's capacity to read the game nor his tactical awareness. Actually, to my mnd, his past success is mainly due to his cleverness to read the game and to place himself in the right position at the right moment. But considering the state of our squad, and how players in front of him function, I think it is a mistake to go as high as he goes, thus leaving Mikel alone. If there was an Antonio Valencia at each wings, it wouldn't be bothering. But this is the only point I disagree with you. Otherwise, on the formation I do share more or less the same point of view. Indeed, as you rightly pointed out, we do not have this advanced midfielder with enough volume to come deep and help out the two defensive midfielders (both to build the game and do the defensive duties). Mata comes deep, but he isn't good enough when it comes to achieve the defensive tasks. Oscar also seems to come deep in order to participate to the play, but just as Mata, I don't think he is the kind of player to have enough volume to produce a good enough defensive job (it might change, but for now it's how I see him). As a consequence, our midfield-two will be exposed, and will be confronted to three or four players ! Which is a lost battle. Adding to this the fact they lack mobility and speed (I don't know what do you think about this), one could picture our midfield being all over the place and be overtaken by events (because they can't cover enough ground). Indeed, while playing in a 4-2-3-1 formation, Madrid, Bayern and Germany aren't defensive set-minded. Their respective midfield-two (i.e. : Alonso-Kheidira ; Gustavo-Schweinsteiger ; Kheidira-Schweinsteiger) are a lot more mobile, fast and agressive than ours. Which play a big role in them not being cornered in defense by the opposition's midfield. That's why I can see our 4-2-3-1 formation being a failure this season (granted we keep playing this way) : we neither have the wingers/ACM to help out in order to get the defensive job done, nor the defensive midfielders to palliate to our frail advanced midfield. This formation wasn't being a weakness last season. We weren't pushed back, since we were already sitting deep in defense. But this season, we haven't as a aim to "save the day", therefore, parking the bus shouldn't be an option anymore. Well, if we still play a defensive football, I'll consider this season as a failure. So, as things stand, the 4-2-3-1 isn't the appropriated formation to play an offensive football / possession football. So yeah, just as you I don't think this formation is a good solution anymore... P.S. We also share the same view on RDM.

Nice article Seb. Qui plus est écrit dans un bon style et bon français Can you tell me your point of view on this 4-2-3-1, especially on the midfield-two ? I am curious about what you think... Because I doubt it will well work. Indeed, I believe the fact Mikel and Lampard aren't complementary enough, specially in term of mobility, will cost us. And I was surprised you didn't speak more about Lampard's positionning in your article. In your analyse, it appears to me he is way too high on the pitch (he deserts the place where he is supposed to be) and thus leave space in the midfield...

The point they made about Hazard, our raking this season, and the level of their First XI and ours, are down to the fact the are biased, just the majority of fans' toward other teams (not that I am saying we're fabulous). Though, they got a point about Mikel and Lampard. To mine, this midfield-two isn't good enough. The players who form this partnership, Lampard and Mikel, aren't complementary. Indee, they are two slow midfielders, and they don't have a good pace. It will be a major weakness when we will face counter-attacks. Furthermore, Lampard thinks we are still playing in a 4-3-3 formation, and that he still has the leg he had in his mid-20. He keeps attacking and defending as if there were two others central midfielders. But there are not. Thus, this leaves Mikel alone to get the job done. And since the nigerian isn't know for his great mobility and speed, he can't cover the space which is left by the man who got André Villas-Boas fired. Plus, you gotta keep in mind the three attacking midfielders/wingers in front of the midfield-two aren't great defender. Despite his willingness to defend, Mata doesn't find the way to make an important defensive job. I believe Marin, Hazard and Oscar should be a little lightweight for getting a good defensive job. All in all, this midfield is a concern to my mind. I can see us giving to our opponents, a fair amount of opportunities to counter attack us, and thus giving away a lot of goals. And, since we will likely be the team with the most of possession in games, throughout the season, we might uselessly lose points here and there...

A°) In another topic, I said that the new trend, in order to tell to a person that he/she is wrong, is to tell him he is basing his judgement on a few pre-season games. Well, you are only proving how right I am ! To be perfectly frank, I don't give a flying fuck about pre-season games. To my mind, they are only good to gain money and to come back slowly in the rhythm. Believe me, I don't judge a player by what he showcases in a friendly game. Furthermore, I have only watched 1 game from the preseason. I am basing my judgment upon what I saw of him throughout the last season. And the pre-season game I have watched only corroborates the opinion I hold on him. By the way, I have stated this point at the end of the page 62... B°) Seriously. If you had been bothered to read five posts above the one you made yesterday, then you wouldn't have had to write this paragraph. I said that there wasn't anything more wrong to compare Lukaku to Drogba, because they were very much different players. Seemingly, at some extent, people fell agree with me. And no, people who "hate on him" don't question his future because they think he is the next Drogba. It's rather the other way around : people who think he is Drogba Mark II are those who overrate him. C°) Once again, we don't judge him on a few (pre-season) games. And to be honest, considering the kind of abilities we are questioning, the amount of professional games you play doesn't really matter. Your first touch, your positional awareness, your off and on-ball movements, etc... Aren't thing you acquire through games. Of course, you can improve these aspects with the passing years. But these abilities are mainly natural things, you have them or you don't. And you improve them throughout practicing during training sessions. Whether you have 65 games in the season under your belt, or only 5, if you can't make a proper pass to save your life, then there's something wrong with you. If Lukaku has an abmysal first touch, it isn't down to the fact he has only played a few games.

Okay, I am totally agree with you. I also want to raise another point. Into my mind, it is a very difficult task to say whether talents such as Lukaku will be good once adult or not. Because he doesn't follow the path of your Neymars, Hazards, etc... Indeed, unlike them, the physical power/strength is the first thing which blossoms. While for the average talented youngster, his first attribute to blossom, is his technical abilities. I believe Lukaku had near reached his adult weight and height at the age of 18. Even if he didn't, he was already a monster. He is taller than Drogba, and he is probably the most powerful player in our squad (if I recall correctly, he was one of the few players able to get Alex to the ground). He probably will only improve a little on the physical aspect. Now he has to improve his movements, his positional awareness, his technic. And he has to improve these aspects a lot if he wants to make it at the highest level. Which is an harder thing than to improve your muscular mass : you don't go to the gym and move weigths. These things are more natural things. Had he not had Drogba's body at the age of 18, he wouldn't have been dubbed as the next big thing in Europe. He would have been your average young player in the belgium league. Because at the moment, take his physical ability away from him : there's nothing much left. He wouldn't even made it in our youth teams. Now, as you said, he will have to improve his technic and all other points you pointed out. If he manages to get a proper technic, among other things, he will be a very good player. But, if he was to fail, we will have within our hands the next Kenwyne Jones. This is why I want him to go out on loan for two years in a team which plays a technical football, in order to force him to improve his technic. If he goes to a team like Stoke, then his physical attributes will be prioritized way above his first touch and all. It would be a fail.

Yeah. You are totally on point here. To not rate a player, as high as the vast majority of people do, only can be out of hatred toward this player. To question a footballer's abilities, it can only be due to the fact one holds an agenda against him. Hatred is an obnoxious and ugly sin, which deceives the perception of people, which makes them denial toward the truth, and thus they are unconsciously led to unfairly criticize that or this player. Hatred can even taint the heart of the bravest. And, with a tainted heart, you are bound to live a despicable life, and the hatred will make you draw biased judgments. I am entirely agree with you. All those fools who came across with a good argumentation (and what seemed to be valid agruments), and dared to say Lukaku wasn't that good yet, that he still wasn't ready, that he was not the next Drogba, etc.. They are a bunch of haters. And I bet they are all undergoing a nervous breakdown ever since the day Kalou left the club, because that day symbolizes the loss of the most perfect scapegoat the Earth has ever seen. And now, they are lost souls. They are falling down a bottomless pit of despair. They are desperatly searching to find a scapegoat, in order to dump all the venom they have in them. Poor souls... What they are gonna do once Lukaku proves them wrong ? Who will be their next victim ? Will they follow Jim Jones' path and commit a mass suicide, if they cannot find a scapegoat good enough to their eyes ? ... Or would I be ingenious to think that they could be saved, if ever someone was to bring them God's light, by explaining them why they are wrong, instead of throwing them the stone ? Or the Deity of Intolerance won't let this happen, in order to satiate his desire of ostracism and bullying toward people thinking in a different way from masses' opinion ?

LDN... There's many other points on which you could be skeptical, and rightly so, but you shouldn't be worried on this one. Since last summer, we have lost three attacking option : Nicolas Anelka, Didier Drogba and Salomon Kalou. This summer we have signed KDB (he was not signed this summer, but only arrived now), Marko Marin, Eden Hazard and Oscar ; so four new players. Do the math : 3 attacking players out - 3 attacking players in (since the flemish is definitely for sure going out on loan). We might sign a new forward, but Lukaku is probably going out on loan, so it is compensated. We also have Malouda and Benayoun, but, I highly doubt the two of them will be kept (if they both aren't sold !). And even if they were both to be kept, they seem to be rather happy to sit on the bench (or at least they don't bother). And finally we have Torres and Sturridge for the attacking spot(s). Thus, we will assuredly have : Mata, Oscar, Hazard, Marin, Torres, Sturridge. It's safe to say the two Belgian won't be there. Let's presume only one player out of Malouda and Benayoun will still be around in September (which is the safest bet, in my mind). So, we will have 7 or 8 players, for 3 or 4 attacking spots. Which roughly makes two players for a spot. A top club, to be competitive, needs two players by position, in order to have a fair cover and an healthy competition between players. If you considere that the oldy won't be bothered to be on the bench, and three/four of them having yet to be established as "big" names (I mean a player who can command (or who could have commanded in the past) a starting role), we won't witnessing an egos battle. Therefore it will surprising to have a problem with players sulking, being not happy with the rotation. And, if one of them was to be sulking like a spoiled brat, he shouldn't be here next year. To respond to your post : No, we don't have too many attacking options ; No, we won't have troubles with players over the rotation. Nowumsayin ?

Well well well, actually I used it : "French" is the synonym for "the almighty, beatiful and most serene" And, could you explain me why I have no hope for Lukaku ? I am being curious, I think we might share the same view...

The Frecnhman whom I am speaking is Didier and nobody else. I love to use a large range of adjectives. So instead of using perpetually "the african", "the ivorian", etc.. I thought it would make a change. P.S. I believe you forgot to mention that Gignac was fat.

From the "Top five young players" thread : It would be time to put an end to the myth "Lukaku is the next Drogba". No, he is not. This affirmation comes out of ignorance and delusion toward the physical resemblance shared, at some extend, by both players. The only things the belgian and the Frenchman share are : the colour of their skin ; more or less their body building. And that's about that. On top of things, they don't play the same football. Drogba is a target man, he plays back to the goal, has a big presence in the box, he will receive long balls from his defender team mates, and, with those balls, he will either create something out of nothing or hold on till his team moves to an attacking position. While Lukaku's game is more similar to Torres', in the sense that he is more suited to through balls, and to play with the ball on the ground. Another big differene of style is that Drogba has a great header game. Lukaku header game is pratically non-existant (which is really surprising from a guy of his height). Furthermore, Drogba has a very good technic, while Lukaku seems to let his strength speak. And finally, The Ivorian captain is extremely agile considering his body. Lukaku isn't at all, and seems to make heavy steps. All in all, even if he improves his technic, headers and agility (which I really hope he does), he won't be the next Drogba (unless he changes his game style).

Well, I want to begin a debate over the balance of our squad, or rather its off-balance. My view on the subject isn't out of panic, and I neither mean we should fix all of our problems in this transfer window. No, I know that to rebuilt a team basically from A to Z (yes, from the squad whom we had last year, there's a lot more to change than to keep) can't be done in one year. On the one hand because economically speaking, we cannot buy ten players, and on the second hand, we cannot throw ten new players in the mix and hope it will work like on FIFA. I merely want us to discuss over what we could do in the near future, i.e. this summer (I believe we can sign one more player) and the next one. And, on the same account as the squad balance, the complementarity of the squad is an important thing, into my eyes. Indeed, it allows us to adopt our tactics on how is our opponent's philosophy (whether they'll go full attack or park the bus), and change our tactics during the game (whether we'll need to run after the score, or to maintain our lead). Furthermore, I find we only talk about individuals, and make fanciful starting line-ups. Thus, I thought it would be interesting to see the bigger picture, to talk about the squad as a whole, and to talk on both short/long term. Since we are in the middle of the summer mercato, I thought it was the good moment to talk about it... -------------------------------------------------------- To start off, I'll treat our squad according the four following categories : back-five ; central/defensive midfield ; attacking midfield (CAM + wingers) ; strikers. • First things come first : the Back-Five. We currently have : Peter Cech ; David Luiz ; Branislav Ivanovic ; John Terry ; Garry Cahill ; Ashley Cole ; Ryan Bertrand. If we buy a Righ-Back - which is likely the case with Azpilicueta - we will have a pretty good Back-Five, both in term of quality and quantity. Well, if Terry gets suspended, we might be a tad lightweighted, but, minus a serious injury from one of the other defenders, we should be fine. And, even if Terry and Cole are on the decline, I believe we won't need to look far away for replacements (Kalas, Bruma). Therefore, we are more or less fine with our defense, we will likely not having problems in the forth coming years, and thus, the defense shouldn't be a worry. As for the complementarity/variety. I see both Cole and Bertrand as complete players (good at attacking and defending), at some extend. Plus, with the likely to come Azpilicueta, we will have a defensive Right Back in Ivanovic, and an offensive in the spaniard. • Secondly, our Central-Midfield. That's where the worries begin, into my eyes. We currently have : John Obi Mikel ; Frank Lampard ; Portuguesh Hipster ; Micheal Essien ; Oriol Romeu ; Ramires. If you only look at how many they are, it would seem to be fine, not the most over-crowded midfield, but fine. Although, when you start to look at the level... Ahem. When I look at it, I cannot help but think we are very much "ManUtd lool-a-like", i.e. a non-existant midfield and good wingers, to oversimplify. In my honest opinion, our central midfield is simply not good enough, quality-wise. But let's analyse each individual case : • Essien : I won't spend to much time on him, since I think I have well enough explained my point of view in his thread. But to put it shortly, I don't se how his presence could improve the squad, and how he could be useful. • Bad-boy-wanna-be Meireles : his tackling ability his just horrendous, he is so careless in his passing and he is neither build like a tank. The only quality I can see in him, it's is agressiveness, and a matter of fact, he is only useful when we need someone to chase after the ball like a wild dog. • Romeu : I like his abilities. But, he is a big question mark, I believe. There's Barça's shadow lurking around him, and I deeply believe he will be back to Catalognia sooner than later. So, while he could be a good option for us this year, I think we shouldn't count on him for next seasons. And still, for some mysterious reason, all of a sudden he didn't play anymore last year. In my mind he will be overlooked this year again. But this is really a shame, because I strongly believe he is the best option for the DM spot ! • Lampard : For the past two seasons I kept saying he wasn't that good anymore, and that he was rather average than class. I don't see how could I change my mind, and I still stand by this. In my point of view, he doesn't have the attributes to be good in the double-pivot role. Indeed, I don't believe he has the pace and the speed it takes to play there. Plus, he isn't a very good playmaker. And finally, I do think that his will to go high on the pitch, in order to play more or less like he was playing some years ago, is dangerous : he leaves spaces and thus we are in jeopardy in counter attacks (he doesn't have the speed/pace to track back soon enough). If he can inhibit his willingness to do so, then he could perfectly be a utility player for this position. I only see him be good enough in his old role in a 4-3-3. • Ramires : To be clear, in my pupils, the only position which fits him is the right midfield in a 4-3-3, when there's two other players to help him in defensive duty. As for a role in the double pivot, I do not think it will work. If my memory serves my right, he was really bad for Brazil, when playing this position. And, in the double pivot you need a player who defends, and the other who takes care of the passing. Firstly, he can't be the second type, for obvious reasons. Secondly, he can't be the one who does the defensive duties. Indeed, I don't see him as enough aware in term of tactics : he will leave his position, due to his willingness to make long runs up to the box, among other things. • Mikel : As Spike a few days ago, somewhere where I don't know, he is a really good option to have when it comes to play the catenaccio or park the bus. But I'll be honest here : I do not think he is good enough when we have to play teams who park the bus, and thus when we have the ball possession (and for the vaste majority of the season, it will be the case...) He doesn't deliver the ball quick enough, which slows down the attack. Furthermore, he isn't agressive enough ! It doesn't really matter when we sit back, but, when we have the game domination, it makes us lose time (a time which can be precious). So, to summarize. Out of six "denfensive minded" midfielders, three of them are either not good enough, or/and too old (-> short-term). For the DM spot, we have the complementarity in Romeu/Mikel. Although, we have to meditate over the Romeu situtation, to work out whether we can count on him in the forth coming seasons. That being said, I think we need a big lad who can impose his physical strength and his agressiveness. And finally, we lack a guy who can organize the play from deep. In my opinion, a big reconstruction process awaits us for next year in this department. • Then, the offensive midfield / wings. We currently have : Eden Hazard ; Marko Marin ; Juan Mata ; Oscar ; Florent Malouda ; Yossi Benayoun. In case Malouda and Benayoun : we are pretty much okay, both in quality and quantity. It makes six players for - at most - three positions, and Sturridge can also play there. The French and israeli won't last long, but KDB will surely be a part of the fun in a few years, along with some of our youngsters (Piazon maybe ?). If you look at the complementarity, we have it (to oversimplify ->) : the playmaker ; the pacy out-and-out winger ; the dribbler ; and Mata (don't know how to label him...). Furthermore, we have three experienced players : Juan ; Yossi ; Florent. And, even if they are yet to be used at the biggest stage, Oscar, Marin and Hazard have already a preview of the highest level. I cannot see this department of the squad reach their potential this year. They'll need time to gel together, and to mature. Nonetheless, they'll surely do a good job this year, and, unless we make up too high expectations, they won't disappoint us. As for the long term, I believe we won't have any worries ! We just have to make sure of their succes, and react quickly if one of them - unfortunately - doesn't make it. In case both Malouda and Benayoun are sold, I gotta admit I'll be a bit worried. Not only it will leave us short in number, but also it will leave us only with young players. One or two oldies are always good to have in the team... That's why I hope we at least keep one out of the two. I believe a powerful player, à la Antonio Valencia, wouldn't be a luxury, but, I do not think it is the most urgent of our need, not at all. The offensive midfield / wings are pretty ok, and we should concentrate ourselves on the central midfield and on forwards (case which I'll tackle below, without transition) which are, into my eyes, a genuine concern. • Finally, let's talk about the strikers. We curently have : Romelu Lukaku ; Daniel Sturridge ; Fernando Torres. • Well, Ima start by the most expensive of them. To make things clear, I do not trust him at all. He has been below each and every expectation over this one and a half past year. The probablity he will continue this way is much more likely than him being, all of a sudden, word-class. And, as a top club, we cannot fancy to build castles in the air over a striker who has more chances to go through a goal drought than to lead the goal-scoring chart. • Lukaku : I'll be concise : he definitely needs to go on loan for one year (at the very least !). • Danni : He is the better striker we have at the moment. The position which suits him to most is the second striker role. I see him a bit like Rooney. He gravitates around an anchor, and comes deep to take the ball and involves himself in the play. I question his ability to play has the target man. I don't think he will be good at it. He also can play as a right winger when we play with an attacking philosophy. He isn't good in the air, we should work around his speed/pace and agility (which means, balls in the feet, and through balls). Well, well, well... This department is abysmally not good enough. We do not have a target man now Didier is gone. We neither have someone who is good in the air. And, we lack a poacher. Adding to this the fact we will only have two strikers for the upcoming season (I don't considere keeping Lukaku as an option) and the fact the two of them won't carry us : the first one because he has been poor for the two last years ; and the second because he his yet to be world-class, and is young, thus he will have downfall periods. Finally, it leaves us with only strikers for the long-term. -------------------------------------------------------- To put things together and conclude. Our squad as a bad balance. There's is a too big difference of level between the four departments I mentionned higher in my post. It will cost us a lot, I believe, because our team will be jerky ; it will lacks coherence, cohesion and articulation between the different sectors of the team ; it will lead to a dysfunction. The defense will suffer from the lack a quality of the central and defensive midfield. The attacking midfield will suffer from the lack of solution they have in front of them ; they'll suffer as well from the fact the ball won't come quickly enough into their feet because of the central midfield. The lack of balance put the team's harmony, the flow of the team in jeopardy. I neither consider the diversity and complementarity of the squad is good enough, especially up front. We need a squad more complete. The back five should be the least of our concerns. The same thing does apply, more or less, to the offensive midfield / wings department. We lack a powerfull player there, but considering the general state of this sector, this isn't the most urgent of our needs. In my point of view, the two zones on which we will seriously have to work are the following : defensive/central midfield and strikers. In the central midfield, we desperatly lack, in my mind, a powerfull midfielder. A guy who lets speak his physical strength. A guy who isn't afraid to go to the clash. A guy who harasses the ball holder, and who only stops to run once he recovers the ball. We will suffer from this lack. It allows the opponent's midfield to run over ours, and we don't have what it takes to recover the ball quickly enough. This is the reason why I want us to buy someone of the likes of Tioté or Fellaini. I would love us to fix this point now, but, I would wait next year since I prioritize the fixing of the attacking sector. I also said we were lacking of someone able to organize the game from deep. But, for now, we can wait. Indeed, the quality we have in more advanced roles can compensate this flaw, and, if everything goes well, we could introduce McEachran there... We'll have to radically recycle this part of the team starting from next year ! But, my biggest concern is up-front. And I'd like to put the emphase on it. We simply can't enter the season with our strikers department in this state. They aren't many enough, nor good enough. I am a deep believer of the importance of having a striker who scores on a regular basis. If your forwards fail to score, then you'll struggle to win games. Take a look at all successful teams in the short past : they all have prolific strikers. When ManUtd won three Premier Leagues in a row, plus the Champions League, Rooney and Ronaldo were on fire. During the first year of Guardiola reign at the helm of Barcelona, Samuel Eto'o was instrimental in their succes : if my memory serves me well, circa 35% of Barça openers were scored by the cameroonian, and the last man scored their first goal against Manchester United in the CL final. During the three brillant other years of Pep era, Messi was scoring for fun. When Inter won their triple, Diego Milito was instrumental. Last year, Madrid won La Liga with Cristiano, Benzema and Higuain scoring a lot of goals. Finally, did I need to remind any of us you where Didier brought us ? This is why I deeply want us to sign a striker on form, a very good one. To hear Gourlay and rumours pointing to the fact we are working on signing a new striker appeases me. I really hope this is someone of the caliber of Cavani or Falcao. If that the case, we will have a good goal scorer in our hands, and a player who will put in the back of the net the products he will recieve from the Hazards, Oscars, Matas, etc... Furthermore it will add a new dimention to our set of strker : good quality in the air and a goalscoring machine (and poacher ?). I know we have made a brillant step towards recycling of our squad (and I am grateful for this), with the purchase of Marin, Hazard and Oscar, and that it may appears to be rich to seek for another expensive/worl-class signing. However, I dread the fact we enter a nasty vicious circle, both on and off the pitch, if we struggle to find the back of the net. And, we gotta keep in mind that our creative department can go through a Bad Moment© : in this time, we will need someone upfront who can carry us. Finally, it will rebalance our squad. Thank you if you have read til the end... -------------------------------------------------------- Your thoughts on the matter ? -------------------------------------------------------- P.S. To make a few things clear : Since it's the new trend to counter balance an argument by saying that X is basing his opinion on pre-season games, I want to make clear it isn't the case here, and I don't give a flying fuck about the pre-season tour ; If you're only there to make fun of people who don't share the same point of view as yours, and your only counter argument is "you are an idiot" or "you are pathetic", I invite you to look to post elsewhere. Thanks.

I am failing to understand why everyone is so suprised that we are playing an awful football, and why you all are going berserk about it. People, did you thought we would playing in a Barça-esq fashion, because we won the Champions League and because we signed few exciting prospects (Hazard, Oscar, Marin) ? I believe we are being decieved by those facts. Actually, we won the Champions League, but it wasn't because we played well, it was because of our mental strength. And as of today, we have the same core of players ! The only new players are young talents, and are yet to be world class. It will take time for them to be important for the team. Which means the team isn't that good at all. It's time to lower your expectations, people, and get used to the fact we will still see boring football for some time. Rome hasn't been build in one day.

Well. That's the first time I see him since last season : his technic hasn't been improved by any means. He will have to work on it, because if he doesn't improve his technic, especially his first touch, he will end up being a pretty expensive Kenwyne Jones.

I deeply hope we look for and sign another Defensive Midfielder. I am a fervent believer of the need to have two different players by position. And thus, not only for having a good squad depth, but also for having the possibility to change our tactics during games, and to adapt our tactical approach considering our opposition. Yeah, we can't afford ourselves to be a one-track-tactical team, because there's only one club in the world who can afford this, and this is Barcelona (and still, due to their poor squad depth, they are sometimes suffering from their one-dimensional set of tactics). Well, for the Defensive Midfielder, we are currently lacking of covering, and we neither have a DM with different attributes than John Obi Mikel. Essien has neither the tactical awareness, nor the strength/pace to play there and be good anymore. Hypster Meireles is only a good squad player, he should only be playing when we need someone to chase like a pitbull ball-holders, and doesn't have the abilities to play there (as he proved us this under AVB spell). As for Romeu, he is a big question mark. We shouldn't count on him, since he will definitely for sure go back sooner than later to Barça. He can be a one-year stop gap, but considering the stat our defensive midfield is in, I believe this is very important for us to search for a mddle/long-term. ABout Ramires, the brazilian did show us, when playing for his national team that he wasn't good at all in the double pivot role, and I believe he would be kinda dreadful in the DM role while playing in 4-3-3. To first off, his ball control / first touch is really awful. I ain't mean we should have a Messi-esq player to play the DM role, but this player should at least be decent and confortable in his first touch, so he doesn't lose the ball as soon as he recovers it. Plus I find he does lost the ball a tad too much, which is dangerous when playing in front of the defense. And his willingness to make long runs from the midfield to the box could be a down side. And I gotta admit I am not convinced by the nigerian. My main worry is that I question his mobility. If he was awfully bad under AVB, it wasn't a conincidence. Indeed, that was because the portuguesh was making us playing a high tempo game, with the will to build the game in a quick way. Because of his slow mobility and ball retention, it did not quite work out, and it led to bad defensive errors : at White Hart Lane, on Adebayor's goal, for instance. While I think he is really a fine player when we adpote a slow tempo and/or park the bus (if he was good under RDM and Ancelotti, this neither is a coincidence - I think he would be a great player if he was playing in Serie A), into my eyes, he is a surplus to requirement when we are playing teams which park the bus against us (and thus play mainly a counter-attack game). I would like us to buy a player who harasses the opposition, who is a warrior and doesn't stop running. A player who will immediatly be searching to recover the ball, when he'll lost it. A player who, as soon as he recovers the ball, gives it to the nearest of his team mates, à la Maka. A player with dynamism and pace. In short, someone similar to the old Essien, to Tiote, Witsell (I guess) or Fellaini. I am not seeking for a world-class player. No, an above average would fit the bill, since it is only in order to have a good squad depth, and the ability to change our tactics.

This summer, I am still preaching what I was preaching last year at the same date. We have to sell him. Actually, we should have sell him last year, when Milan reportedly made us an offer for him. It was before he picked up his third big injury, and they were offering us a large amount of money. In my honest opinion, it was a huge mistake to not felt agree with them, if this was true. Because he had already had two serious knee injuries, and in the last year of Ancelotti era, he was pretty average. The board should have been more visionary back then. After some quick researches, it does appear he is on a £110k a week wage, or something along those lines. It does represent an huge amount of money for someone who is now average and who will only have the odd appearances here and there. Furthermore, you got to take into account that for the last three year, or so, he has spent the half on the time on the side line because of three similar injuries. Not only these injuries have taken out of him the abilities which have made his strength in the past, but their reiteration means he can also hurt his knee once again this year, and be out for six other months. Micheal Essien isn't a player known for his tactical awareness, for his passing ability nor for game-building capacity. What made him his strength were his pace, his dynamism and his physical power. Unfortunatly, he lost those capacity through injuries. Now, I fail to see how he could be usefull for us, and how his presence could improve the team. And I got to admit that I question his ability to be a professional athlete, at least at the highest level. Indeed, you could have seen last year after his comeback, whenever he was doing some runs on the pitch, he was stopping to run suddenly. You could felt he was afraid to hurt himself again. Granted it is a legitimate reaction after what he has suffered from, but it doesn't fit well with the team's sack. Despite the fact he was arguably the best midfielder back then when we bought him, the injuries have ruined him. We have continued to believe in him all this time. We have remunerated him during 18 months where he was on the side line. Into my beautiful eyes, we gave him enough chances. It's time to move on. Therefore, we should either put him on the transfer list, or impose him a wage cut. He can't take away £110k-a-week and a foreign-spot with being not so useful for us.

Malouda is still a "good", at least an above average player. And, while he gets abuses from every direction, as a player he still has some good things to offer us. Despite the fact he was, last year, the shadow of himself, he had good time and was good almost every time he came on. He has a big volume of play, runs a lot and is willing to put pressure on the ball holder. Plus he can be usefull considering he can play in midfield, and on the wings. I would gladly keep him - but his attitude bothers me a lot. Indeed, I believe by acting like this (i.e. he wants to see his contract to run down, for what it seems to be money motivation), his bad mood/behaviour can tarnish the dressing room atmosphere. But putting that aside, with all the young players coming in, it wouldn't be that bad if he stays here. Well, at least on a football view. I can't deny that if you take into account his wage (£80k a-week) and the fact he takes a foreigner spot, it would be the best solution if he leaves... But we have already ofloaded three out four of the frustrating players, it is already a good thing.