nadavTKL

I agree with your points as well. There is this feel about some teams who go to play against Real/Barca, like not enough emotion to give a real fight like the English teams. Another thing, the reasons PL is still more fun to watch for most people are imo those: 1) Better stadiums 2) More crowed, helps for the atmosphere significantly imo. 3) The "international feel" the PL has, compared with the spanish feel in La Liga, is just more intresting and intriguing for most people. La Liga has far less foreign players, in PL you can see players from everywhere... 4) English speaking league 5) That emotion we talked about

While i agree PL is more fun to watch, excitement doesnt mean good fotball. A lot of the excitement in the PL is a result of poor tactics by the managers, most of them know very little about ball pressing or about not allowing space. The game is very open and "fun" compared with La Liga because of that. 13 of the PL managers are British, and most of them are old-fashioned who stuck in the "old game", the problem starts there. The second reason the La Liga is superior is that.. they have better footballers. The Spanish player is just a lot more talented and technical than the English player. In the PL, players from the bottom table are really hard to look at imo. Horrible skills on the ball, sometimes i think i could play in the PL when i watch those players play, i just need to really work hard and grow some muscle. Off course La Liga have bad players too, and bad teams, but the standart is just more, in case of skill (for the player), and in case of smart-modern tactics (managers). When PL teams will get even richer (all 20 teams), maybe we'll see a change there, because teams would continue to buy talented foreign players. Real and Barcelona would have walked PL also given the chance. Since Real and Barcelona really took control on European football (with Bayern), there wasnt any PL team who was as strong as them, not a chance. PL strong teams allow their games to be an "excitement" time after time because of their vulnerabilities, they allow teams to control the ball, and their defensive setup is not good enough... they allow the game to get away from them pretty easily because of that. Actually, Chelsea this season didnt allow it too much, we are going in the right direction, and thats because we have skilfull players, but we need a couple of more to be really dominant in games, and we have a fantstic manager.

You're suggesting a diamond formation? defeneltly not Jose's favorite approach with no wingers at all. And Pogba+Koke will be like 100m pounds, come on...

Really? because Jose doesnt even play Oscar in most of our big games, he prefer to play Ramires because he cant trust Oscar to help us enough when we're on the ball, so he's like saying "the hell with it" and plays Ramires for tatical-defensive reasons. So i dont think it would be too difficult to replace Oscar, the player who repalces Oscar just needs to be good enough to get picked in the important games.

In my post im explaining i can understand this signing, i can see where its coming from and i think this signing could drive kids and people in Japan to like Chelsea. Spike's comment suggested it would do nothing, i disagree. But, i dont really know the economical details or facts to say if its really worth it for the club, so i dont really have an opinion about it.

I agree that when a team signs a local hero, it shoudlnt make the local hardcore football fan support that team, but not everyone is hardcore, infact most fans arent. A japanese guy, or especially a kid who like football can see Muto in Chelsea, and naturaly it would make Chelsea more watchable and and a bit special for him than any other big club in Europe. It could stop there, but it also could make him start liking the team itself, and he'll be a fan in the end who buys shirts and flies to see Chelsea play. You even dont have to be a real fan to do both things. And about your examples, Everton and Fulham are not Chelsea. Simple as that, its a different story. Im also saying this cause i see it happens in Israel, if its Yossi in Liverpool, Avram Grant in Chelsea, or in the NBA with the Cavs coach David Blatt.

Highlights video anyone?

Anyone think we can get to 90 points? Winning all our 8 games will get us to 94, the tricky games we have to play are United, Arsenal and Liverpool. Getting six wins and two draws will get us to 90, or lose one and win seven and its 91. I think the 90 pts mark is quiet special in the PL, only teams to do it (in 38 games) are United 99-00, Arsenal 03-04, our two titles with Mou, and United in 08/09. Hope we can achieve that, will be hard but possible imo.

----------My PFA Team of the Year: -------------------De Gea------------------ Clyne-----Fonte------Terry-----Azpi------- ------------Fabregas-Matic--------------- ---Sanchez---------------------Hazard----- -------------Costa-----Aguero--------------

Thats what im hoping for: Courtois Backup Zouma Varane Ivanovic John Terry © Azpilicueta Filipe Luis Ivanovic 2 Ake/Azpi 2 Fabregas Matic Ramires Backup Koke/Pogba RLC/Willian 2 Willian Hazard Cuadrado One of our loanees Diego Costa Remy Sell four (Cahill, Oscar, Mikel, Cech, and whatever happens with Drogba), buy four.

Wow you're really obsessed with that Messi guy arent you? I think there's no way we'll sign Koke, Gundogan and Bale/Reus/Messi (lol). Tbh i cant believe we'll sign a Koke and a Bale, it will be just one. I'll be happy with just Koke/Pogba, and i think it will be enough to take us to the next level. A midfield of : Matic-Cesc-Pogba/Koke-Willian-Hazard is suberb imo. Although i understand why some want an RW like Bale instead of Willian, i think having Willian has certain advantages (which i wrote about many times so i'll move on). * Dont think we should replace a loyal and a fantastic striker like Remy. * Gundogan will not come here to the bench and we wont try it, thats criminal luxury. If the summer will happen as you're suggesting, we'll have Willian and Cuadrado on the bench. But if you already dream big i guess you can dream that we'll have Gundogan on the bench. * Fabinho instead of Ivanovic is nice but Mou would never try it.

We should be happy with £25m, which is 35 in euros, which is still a lot. My (optimistic) feeling is that he'll go to Juventus, and we'll get Pogba. Juventus could finaly have a Trequartista , and Vidal will move back to the center, to Pogba's position. And they'll still have money to imrpove in other positions.

Yep, our views are very different.

Fair enough, our standards are probably just different. I dont want more "good" players in our line up. And yes i will be devastated if those players will come, and we'll not progress. It would be a big shame imo.

Well off course! im supporting Chelsea not Liverpool or Tottenham. Im not being spoiled i just want this team to be the best it can be. Are we the best? after looking awful against PSG and losing to a much better Atletico last season? we are certainly not the best. So yes i guess im a spoiled child for wanting this team to reach the heights it can and should reach with the money and manager we have.

"Benefit" for Schneiderlin on Pogba and Koke? again with this famous "PL experience"? god what are you smoking... give it to me and i'll burn it. PL is not the best, its acutally tactically stupid in most teams because of horrible managers, you dont need experience in it to show you're a great. "he can keep his form after christmes".. what form? what Schneiderlin can give us when he's on form? silky touch on the ball? a threat on goal? super technical abilities? assists master? long passes maestro? amazing dribbler? no, no, no and again no. He can seat deep and pass the ball left and right, and wait to defend the counters with Matic. thats what we need. Hello Bayern, here we come!

If all of this is true, and i dont think it is but we shall see, we shoudlnt settle for Schneiderlin or anyone like him, that would put us in the exactly same place as we are right now, maybe a tad better. Settling for less is exatcly what will not get us to the very top. A player such as Schneiderlin will never start for Bayern, Real or Barcelona right now, not even close. If we cant get the three i mentioned, we should keep looking. Getting PL "starts" like Schneiderlin is something we should let Liverpool to keep doing. Signing those players would make us another ordinary PL champions, who cant compete with the top dogs in Europe, like City or the last United who've won it. Its like my nightmare tbh. Maybe we see Schneiderlin differently, i dont know, or maybe you dont really think Chelsea should aim to the stars (sorry for sounding so corney). And we can get those huge players, we do it all the time, you just need to find them at the right moment like we did with Cesc and Costa. I believe Koke and Pogba are in the right moment to come and get them this summer, especially Pogba (is 50m pounds too much for us? im not sure). Gundogan probably stays in Dortmund, but if we cant get the former two, we should try a bid imo.

I dont like it, it should be Pogba, Koke or a fit Gundogan there, not Schneiderlin with all the respect. We should aim a lot higher if we want to make that next step. Schneiderlin in Chelsea only as a back up for me. he's a great DM for Tottenham or Arsenal, he's a good DM for Chelsea. The word is unnecessary.

I would be happy with Gundogan here next to Matic and Cesc, I would try Koke and Pogba first (only because of the injury), but it's the 3rd best real option probably. I think he will get back to himself.

Fantastic team like Real of last season can win the CL with Bale in the team, but I think in the long term a different kind of player will make them better, more a unit, and more consistent than they are now. They won CL, but they didn't win the league and probably won't this season, they have room to improve. Bale is a soloist, someone who mainly plays alone, and imo not that good at that so it could be forgiven (Ronaldo is also a soloist, but he's just too good at scoring goals, so he has play). About all those players you mentioned in Barcelona and Bayern. First I don't say you shouldn't play with players with good movement who can run through space, it will be good in Chelsea too, but those wingers need to know more, do more with the ball. Robben is like that, he's a ball playing winger like Hazard, just with better movement, meaning it's another aspect of his game but its not the reason he's playing. Muller? He is on the pitch to score goals and for his brain and work rate, but If you ask Pep who would play vs Barcelona with a full squad I think it would be Ribery and Robben. Muller maybe also, in a side role, not to touch the ball too many times. Pedro is someone who was always in doubt in Barcelona, was never really liked and was replaced in the end, same goes for Sanchez. Although Sanchez is like Robben and so as Neymar. All those three are imo more technicaly gifted than Bale. About Sterling, I'm not completely sure about him, but my feeling is that he's not a top top ball playing winger. He lacks something, and it makes him look like a mess on the ball sometimes. Maybe he need to just grow some more. Contorvisnial? It's ok!

Like who? When you try to be the best in the game, there are fewer players you should buy. You cant just look at every good player in Europe, we're not Liverpool, we need proven, serious quality.

Hmm... what financial plan? i remember tons of articles about "Chelsea can even buy Messi this summer without selling anyone". I think we did good enough to fit the FFP rules, and we can also sell Oscar to buy Pogba. And if in your opinion we cant spend big money to buy Pogba and Varane, why City can?

From those three I think only Sterling could go there. Pogba would prefer to come here or to Barcelona in 16/17, and Varane would also prefer to come here to Mou if he'll move. They have to look deeper imo, I don't think the stars of Europe, the players everyone wants, will want to go there out of all clubs.

Listen to this.. we could potentially win the league at the Emirates. Wont happen, but it could. First we need to win our next 3 games. Than, Arsenal needs to lose to Burnley (and to us), United needs to win against City and draw/lose against Everton (and lose to us), and City needs to lose to United and than lose even a point vs West Ham or Villa, both at home. If all that happens, we'll have 79 pts, United 65/66, City 64/65, Arsenal 63. United and City will have 4 games to play, Arsenal will have 5 games. Not enough to catch us. That only thing i cant see happening is West Ham/Villa to get some points at the Etihad, WHU are awful right now... and also Burnley will probably not win vs Arsenal. And its a must for this scenario.

About City now... i think this team seriously needs some kind of overhaul. Not only that they've got their problems in defense, central midfield, and generaly they're a team who doesnt have enough quality and character to reach CL finals, this team is actually broken in the last few months. Mentally they are done as a group imo. Looking like they dont really give a shit was always a problem with them, they always looked apathetic in some games, but now its something else, now they dont even have that spark, that desire to win as a team. If i was in charge i would sell some players, and get new young blood right into the first XI. I would sell Yaya, Dzeko, Jovetic, Clichy/Kolarov.. than get a top CM instead of Yaya, someone who actually cares, a dynamic CM who wouldnt leave Fernandinho to deal with counters alone, but also would act as DLP. Than i'll get another AM to play with Nasri and Silva, that means playing only with Aguaro up front. And off course they need a CB and a LB, both as first choises. Its going to be an important summer for them, maybe even two summers needed. My guess is that they wont race for the title next season.