Peace.

I am fully agree with you. The opportunity to be the world Champion doesn't come at you every day. We don't even know if one day we will get the occasion to play in this competition again. Winning this trophy would get us to another level. It would extend our reputation in the whole world. It seems (I am not sure) south americans rate a lot more this competition than what we europeans do. Thus, I presume, we would extend our fan-base, and our reputation as well, in continents such as South America and Asia. No need to tell the good effects it would have on the marketing and to attract players. That's why I hope we win it and don't overlook this trophy.

http://www.thefirstrow.eu/watch/134480/1/watch-fc-barcelona-vs-manchester-united.html People, mark first row into your favorites...

Why "ironocally" ? Hipsters love vintage stuff. Thus Liverpool is the perfect choice.

First off, I didn't mention where he should play... And even if I did say he should be playing as a Right Winger, I don't understand why you question his eventual contribution in defensive duties. Drogba, despite being our striker, was one of our best defenders in our encounters against Barcelona and Munich. Actually, it doesn't matter where a player is played : wherever he plays, if he has defensive abilities, then he will bring a defensive value to the team (unless if he counts how many spectator there is in the stands). Once again, I did not say that to not play Ramires as a winger was suicidal. I only said that to not include two defensive-minded midfielders in our team would be suicidal. Because as I said, if Ramires doesn't play this game, the only remaining midfielder with some defensive abilities is Mikel. It's just an impossible mission to ask him to do the defensive job all on his own. When I said "phase out", I was only speaking of this game. Since I am not an english speaker, I don't know if it was the best suited term to use. But never mind. You tell there's also Romeu. But I don't know what business it has with Ramires ? Romeu is a DM. If he plays, then that means Mikel doesn't. So that doesn't solve the defensive problem in midfield. Manchester City might had a bad pre-season. Honestly, I don't know their results, and I couldn't care less. However, this strictly means nothing, nothing at all. Each game is a different one. Otherwise, we would never ever beat Barcelona and Munich last year... And you say that Ramires not playing on the wing means a player more adept is playing there. But, it doesn't mean that the player more suited to play there will bring a better defensive impact than what Ramires does ! I can't see one of our wingers/CAM being better in defensive duties than Ramires. Though, don't get me wrong, I am not pleading for Ramires as a right winger. I'd frankly rather in midfield, hence I want us to revert to 4-3-3, in order to keep a balance between attack and defense...

I strongly believe that to park the bus in this game is the best tactic to adopt. I am not really fond of this style of play, but I don't think we have much of a choice.

 Admittedly, the Community Shield isn't the biggest silverware we will be competing for this season. But, a silverware is a silverware, and winning one is a good way to start the season. Furthermore, we play this game against Manchester City, the team which is dubbed the best one in England. Thus, if we manage to defeat the best team in the Kingdom and win this trophy, it can boost our confidence after the poor pre-season we had. We can also build a good dynamic around this success, a winning dynamic. Furthermore, last season we were arguably one the most negative, unproductive, toothless and boring teams in Europe. We can't turn out the be a team playing a sexy football in a matter of days, despite the fact we bought some technically gifted talent (Oscar, Hazard, Marin). It will be a long process. It will take time to play a beautiful football. And I deeply believe that to ditch overnight our defensive approach of the game isn't a wise thing to do. Indeed, to make our transformation of playing style, it isn't as simple as to tell to defensive players to play an offensive football. At some extend, André Villas-Boas tried to do it last year... No need to recall the major failure it was. We also gotta keep in mind we don't have what it takes to play our way regardless of our opponents. As Cap stated, there are certain teams against which we shouldn't adopt an attacking approach. It's suicidal to think we can suddenly play an attacking football against a team with the firepower that Manchester City has in attack. It's still too early. We aren't used to play this way, and neither our new attacking-minded players are settled in the team. As a start, we should only play the offensive football against average sides. It is a big utopia to think that, because we have purchased some talented attacking players, we should right away play in a Barcelona-esq fashion. No. The fact we bought these kind of players doesn't mean we have to play right now a sexy style of football. It does mean that our aim is to go from an defensive football to an attacking football. That's a subtle difference. We can't change our playing style by leaps and bounce ; that doesn't work like this in reality, each and every change needs time. And to my honest opinion, it's better to gradually adopt an attacking style, because this way, we will establish solid basis for the years to come. There's also a psychological factor we need to think about. What will happen, if for our first competitive game, we try to play an attacking football and get trashed 3-0 ? Do you think it will do any good to the squad's moral ? No, not at all. As the saying goes "once bitten twice shy" : we might lose our faith toward the sexy football and thus be recalcitrant to adopt anew an attacking approach of the game. 

Of course, to park the bus is an embarrassing thing to do. But come on ! We won one the biggest trophy in Football by parking the bus. The whole world has seen us doing so. It doesn't make that much of a difference to park the bus in this more or less petty trophy. We are already famous for our 9-0-1. One more game won't make a difference.

Hazard isn't a playmaker. His best attributes are not building the game and make the game ticking. Yes, undeniably he has a good eye for the pass. But, he is more the kind of player who try to beat his opponent. In my honest opinion, he (still ?) hasn't what it takes to be our n°10. I see Mata and Oscar being significantly better in this domain. The bottom line is that he should play where it's the best for the team. Oscar and Mata are more suited to be our playmaker than him. Therefore, even if the wing isn't his prefered position and/or where he is the best, he should play there, for the team's sack.

I gotta be agree with him. Once you phase out Ramires from the starting line-up, which player (except defenders), with defensive abilities, remains ? Only Mikel. And there's not even need to start a "Mikel great / Mikel poor" debate to see that only one player to make the defensive duties isn't enough. Furthermore, against a team with the firepower in attack which ManCity has, you don't act like a kamikaze. We aren't good enough when we are in possession to afford ourselves to play with only one defensive player. We will need time to be an attacking team. Hence, to ditch our defensive style of play overnight isn't a wise decision to make. If we don't want to be riped a new one, both Ramires and Mikel are needed on the pitch.

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.