Styles

When art imitates life

Against the good teams in the league and the big Champions League games I'm sure Oscar will be playing through the middle. What that means for Mata I don't know. The good teams are ruthless and will exploit any weaknesses, so Mata's inability to defend/pressure the ball is something that will almost certainly cost him a place in the big games.

I though he was very good against Hull and don't see what people mean by slow start. He helped create the Oscar goal and created more chances for Torres and Lampard.In the second half our inability to just keep possession meant he was a little quieter but he was terrific in the first half. According to whoscored.com (best stats site around) he made 6 key passes in the game, more than any other player. Very promising first game. It seems that unless he scores a hattrick every game some people won't be pleased.

What was most impressive about that was Ramires played it first time with his weaker foot. It was perfectly weighted and Schurrle didn't have to break stride.

He was excellent yesterday and even made some great passes that you normally don't associate with him. I can only put that down to him being confident and not second-guessing himself. Long may it continue.

Nice assist. He attempts some difficult stuff that looks great when it comes off and sometimes looks ill-advised when it doesn't. Hopefully he'll learn to pick his moments better but very promising debut.

Off to a great start. 1 goal down, 19 to go. Oscar and Hazard should both be aiming for 20 goals. Lately? Oscar has always been very good at the defensive side of the game.

He said this on July 23rd: http://globoesporte.globo.com/futebol/selecao-brasileira/noticia/2013/07/idolos-imitam-fas-david-luiz-e-thiago-silva-repetem-sosias-mirins-do-piaui.html He has said nothing that contradicts that or implies he wants to leave. Do I think he's interested in moving to Barcelona? Sure, like almost every player in world football would be. But he hasn't embarrassed the club publicly or weakened its negotiating position, so I have no problems with him and would have no issue supporting him if he stayed.

Oscar was awful, did almost everything wrong and his first touch was shocking. Last two games have been a good reality check for the team.

I really doubt he could have got a better loan than Vitesse, and he only got that through club connections. He was rubbish at Malaga and has done nothing at senior level that shows any real promise. We have some very talented young players at the club but Piazon isn't one of them.

Oh definitely. The fact that we have some players about to become integral to the future of this club like Chalobah is a great bonus. I just love the buzz of seeing somebody like Boga dominate and then tracking his progress. That process, repeated for several players, for me is the best part.

These threads are always very revealing. You can tell who is aware of just how much talent we have and how youth academies work. Even if none of them come through I will have enjoyed the process. I've been to u21/cup games and will continue to go. No point arguing with some of the people here honestly.

Only significant difference between the two team was a player who is arguably the best on the planet. Still, we have a lot of room for improvement and adjustments to make. Honestly, I would fancy our chances against them in the Champions League next season.

Aina looks like a superb athlete, ridiculous pace on and off the ball.

Boga. Unbelievable talent that could be game-changing at the highest level. That level of close-control, dribbling ability and speed is magic. I was really impressed with Traore as well and think he has a good chance of breaking into the squad sooner rather than later. Also Christensen is a very composed CB, excellent passer of the ball and looks good defensively at youth level. He did himself no harm in the two games against City as well. As for the English guys we know all about Chalobah and RLC. I'll give Baker a mention. He is very good, genuinely two footed and is developing into a solid CM player. Swift also, another who seems to go under the radar for some reason. Really staggering just how many good young players we have right now.

Lock thread and ban. Do it mods.

Thanks, I've been looking for a new Drogba avi.

Mourinho: “Where can I can fit all the players in? I hope to play 60 matches, so where I maybe won’t use different teams, we will use rotation of players that’s for sure.” Moses, and everybody else, will get enough games to keep them happy. What happens in the big games is a different matter. I would expect Moses to start 20-25 games and feature in many more games from the bench.

He shows a lot of desire on the defensive end which is great to see. He's also one of the quickest players in the team which is a bonus from CM. His passing is fine but that's the biggest area of improvement for him. He made a good pass to Oscar which helped set up the first goal against Milan. Our attacking-midfielders always find good space in-between the lines and need a constant supply of those kind of passes.

Moses is looking really aggressive on the ball, and is attacking at full speed, which is something he didn't do enough of last season. He is one of the quickest players in the team. I can see us killing a lot of teams on the counter with the likes of Ramires, Moses, Hazard, Schurrle and Van Ginkel (who is surprisingly quick). It's amazing how in 2-3 years we've gone from a slow ageing team to a squad full of young, dynamic players.

Everton gave them a tough game in the semi. We'll win.

It was an unbelievable moment that will live looooong in the memory.

Grow up. KDB is a lot better than Cruyff ever was.