Styles

I'll just leave this here:

Don't worry, he'll be coming to the Bridge with Palace later in the year.

I've already started circling the calendar. An unannounced academy day Jose is too kind

Ake coming on. Must be the first academy day of the year.

Azpilicueta assist on the Zouma goal.

Zouma the GAWD

Vydra coming on. I hope he hasn't trained more often.

I just don't see what he's going to get better at to persist with him in the team. There really isn't much potential; he is what he is.

Oscar hauled off again? Some guys are starting to get exposed in my honest opinion.

Drogba may have pulled his hamstring...oh dear.

Hearing Schurrle is having an absolute shocker. Our squad keeps getting exposed.

Nobody would really describe Fletcher and Ji Sung Park as attacking midfielders. Park was a utility man who covered certain roles in particular games. Oscar and Willian are supposed to be creative attacking midfielders who create and score goals. Also, Hazard defends excellently now and still does the business. Costa presses like a mad man and still makes the difference. Even Fabregas, who I had my doubts about, works hard and he still has the ability to make things happen.

All valid points. I understand how difficult it is to build a super talented squad like those mentioned but the idea we have to settle because of that is what I have an issue with. We shouldn't standstill because we have talent in Hazard, Fabregas and Costa and have filler make up the rest of the attack. If anything we should try and take advantage of their talent by giving them better support.

I'm starting to find the whole balance thing such a cop-out.* I used to argue for the inclusion of certain players for that very reason but, ultimately, that is just not enough at the highest level. I've given up on Oscar completely and have even conceded defeat with Willian (even though I think there's some talent there) because his numbers are ridiculously bad. I've said this before and I'll say it again: for a club with our resources and aspirations we can and should do better than the likes of Oscar, Willian, Schurrle and Salah. But then carrying players that can only produce when the going is easy but who'll fall away when it really matters is setting us up for failure. So when Hazard/Costa get extra attention (which is happening more frequently) and these guys have to take more responsibility the reality is they almost certainly won't step up. So why persist with them? People talk as if those two qualities are mutually exclusive but they're not. That's the reality; other top clubs strive for the best and work around things like balance. We shouldn't handicap ourselves.

That was hilarious for all the wrong reasons. There were even some fans saying Lampard did the right thing at the time as if Drogba wasn't arguably the world's greatest striker at the time - they spoke as if Drogba would not only have missed but that he'd miss so badly the game would be fortified as a result and that we'd lose the title to Man Utd. Lampard's faux-seriousness as he denied Drogba the penalty as if he was saving a dying child was a complete and utter farce. I remember speaking to Peace (how do you mention somebody so they see the post?!) about Lampard's inherent selfishness a few times. Honestly, this is why my favourite players of the Roman era are Cech and Drogba - they're the real MVPs; they represent everything I want our club to be about.

So they both shouldn't be acceptable in all honestly. We shouldn't have to carry role-players in the attack, there should be no exceptions at the highest level.

He's English. It's why he has the reputation he has with Chelsea fans, the media and even neutrals. If it was Zouma he'd have been charged by now.

I know this is going to sound bad but I was hoping he would get a ban for kicking Kane yesterday.

I thought Pienaar was talented! His link-up play with Baines was ridiculously good; they caused so many problems for teams, I remember wishing we had that kind of play on our flanks during the bad AVB/Ancelotti days. Yeah, I agree that our attacking players need to be as skilful as those you will find at other top clubs. What's hurting us is the abundance of role-players masquerading as important first team players. Besides Hazard, the other attacking midfielders are several levels below where we need them to be.

I did laugh at that when I noticed it right before the kick-off.

I say that because I believe Willian has a good first touch; that he is able to carry the ball at pace and is a good short passer which helps retain possession/build moves. He does the basics well but unfortunately can't do much more than that. I rate Willian more than most because I believe we have 3 other attacking midfielders who can't even do the basics more often than not.

Ivanovic is Mourinho's favourite out-ball. How many times a game does Courtois kick it long in his direction? At least 15x a game. Unless Azpi and Luis can grow to 6'2 by the time we play again Ivanovic will have RB to himself for as long as Mourinho's in charge.

Technically, Willian is very good, however, he just doesn't use his talent properly. It's a shame because there's no reason why he shouldn't do better; he has all the tools to be more effective. Yeah, productivity is a must, but equally important is a high level of technical ability. Oscar, Schurrle, Salah...come on, man, these guys would be laughed out of the elite European clubs. I've said it before and I'll say it again: for a club of our resources we can and should do better. There's no reason why we have to settle for role-players who wouldn't even be subs at some of the top European clubs. Why should we?

Vertongen made a nasty 'tackle' on Hazard in the first half, right in front of the referee, and he didn't get a yellow card when it could have easily been a red. Absolute ridiculous but it happens so often you just get used to it.