Bir_CFC

Why don't we switch Eden and Oscar? Not like the 3 maestros play like wingers anyway, let Eden play in the middle and Oscar on the left. On defence, continue playing with 2 banks of 4 and leave Hazard + striker further forward so we can spring lightning fast counter attacks. The only problem I'd see is that Oscar drops deeper to connect our mid to the attack which Eden won't do, or even if he does not the ideal situation, so we should ask Mata and Oscar to drop deeper in from the flanks and let the fullbacks bomb on and initiate buildup from the flanks and then to the middle in the final third. This way if fullbacks have bombed on and the attack breaks down, at least it'll happen on the flanks and not in the middle so we'll avoid quick counter attacks on our slow backline.

Internal Auditor

Watched the whole game. He was rather poor. Long ways to go for him still.

166M of debt converted to equity. That's all Roman right there lol.

I'm fine with going after Bony but he's a Sturridge replacement (as in 2nd choice striker) and not a Torres replacement (first choice) for a team like Chelsea.

I posted this in the post match thread, but probably better served posting here. ------ I don't get this this Luiz bashing. I'm not saying he had a good game, but he should def be our first choice CB. Cahill and Terry? lol how deep do you want to defend? Maybe if you want to park the bus. I'm even more convinced now that Luiz get's stick cause he sticks out (in his play and looks) and he has a bad reputation and also some of these commentators just can't seem to understand what a modern CB is. Yeah, he had a horrible header in the 2nd half which could have easily cost us a goal, and he had 1 instance where he lost the ball going forward. Luiz is going to be Luiz, he's just THAT type of CB. If you want him to play it safe, then don't select him, that's RDM's fault. When you select Luiz to start, you don't expect him to turn into Terry, he's going to play like Luiz. That's like selecting Ramires to play holding midfielder. He'll be aggressive, he'll make interceptions (some amazing ones), he'll build from the back, he'll make some forward runs. Maybe we get caught out a few times, but this part of the growing pains in our evolving playing style. Mikel dropped back (great job by him) everytime Luiz went forward, and if he looses the ball then he shouldn't be criticized anymore than any other midfielder loosing the ball, beacause he's basically switched roles at that instance. He's not leaving anyone by himself at the back, he's creating matchup problems which can easily turn into goals and it almost did in the last minute of the 1st half. I watched yesterday's match twice, once while I was all tense and nervous and every little mistake meant 10 times more and the second time when I could watch the match remaining calm as a neutral would and Luiz had a good game. You watch that again and see the countless attacks he shut down himself, some vital interceptions which none of our other CBs are capable of. The horrible game Bertrand had yesterday, any other of our CBs than Luiz (maybe Ivan) and you're guaranteed gifting at least 3-4 more goals. Again, not saying he had an amazing game and without faults, but just don't agree with the amount of criticism he's getting.

He won the header and he was way too far from the play to be able to catch up to the second ball. No blame from me on that play. I saw it again and he couldn't have came back. You can't expect a guy to win a defensive header and then go chase the second ball too.

I don't get this this Luiz bashing. I'm not saying he had a good game, but he should def be our first choice CB. Cahill and Terry? lol how deep do you want to defend? Maybe if you want to park the bus. I'm even more convinced now that Luiz get's stick cause he sticks out (in his play and looks) and he has a bad reputation and also some of these commentators just can't seem to understand what a modern CB is. Yeah, he had a horrible header in the 2nd half which could have easily cost us a goal, and he had 1 instance where he lost the ball going forward. Luiz is going to be Luiz, he's just THAT type of CB. If you want him to play it safe, then don't select him, that's RDM's fault. When you select Luiz to start, you don't expect him to turn into Terry, he's going to play like Luiz. That's like selecting Ramires to play holding midfielder. He'll be aggressive, he'll make interceptions (some amazing ones), he'll build from the back, he'll make some forward runs. Maybe we get caught out a few times, but this part of the growing pains in our evolving playing style. Mikel dropped back (great job by him) everytime Luiz went forward, and if he looses the ball then he shouldn't be criticized anymore than any other midfielder loosing the ball, beacause he's basically switched roles at that instance. He's not leaving anyone by himself at the back, he's creating matchup problems which can easily turn into goals and it almost did in the last minute of the 1st half. I watched yesterday's match twice, once while I was all tense and nervous and every little mistake meant 10 times more and the second time when I could watch the match remaining calm as a neutral would and Luiz had a good game. You watch that again and see the countless attacks he shut down himself, some vital interceptions which none of our other CBs are capable of. The horrible game Bertrand had yesterday, any other of our CBs than Luiz (maybe Ivan) and you're guaranteed gifting at least 3-4 more goals. Again, not saying he had an amazing game and without faults, but just don't agree with the amount of criticism he's getting.

Sooo I just watched the first half again, and boy do you notice things so much better than watching it live while you're shitting your pants. Every little mistake you scream at when you're tense. Chelsea had a good first half. Bertrand was not nearly as bad as the live game thread made him out to be, but still quite average. Luiz was very good in the first half, one or two slightly risky plays, but overall he was excellent in the first half. Haven't seen the second yet. Oscar, Mata and Hazard were also great. Especially Hazard, Shakthar were targetting the Chelsea left flank and Hazard put in a great shift defensively while also providing support offensively. Torres had a decent first half, better than his recent performances but still distinctly average. Ivanovic was wasteful at times, looked like RDM instructed him to play it early or maybe he was seeing something that no one else was. I wouldn't say we were exposed at the back either. Give Shakthar some credit, excellent team that knows how to play football. Efficient and effective football. Teams should strive to play like them instead of Barca, who are effective but not efficient. Shakthar has it all, a revelation this year. Ref was good, let the game flow but Fernandino should have def had a yellow card that first half. He gave away like 5 fouls in the half alone and at least 2 were late and should have been yellows. Ramires prolly deserved a yellow too. Fernandinho is class though, he'd be amazing for our double pivot. Luiz Adriano is a clever striker, he has that sneaky ability to draw a lot of fouls, I'd call em dives but for some reason the ref buys it. He did this in the reverse fixture as well and it really pissed me off. Also that Oscar goal was orgasmic and the 5 minutes succeeding the goal were probably the best football we've played this season. Still have to realize that we're still adapting and to think how far we've come in such a short time is unbelievable. A lot of us don't seem to take this into account and are raising expectations a little too fast (admittedly, hard not to). Will watch the second half now.

I disagree with playing him up top. His biggest strengths are his pace, dribbling and that he's very direct. His pace might help on counters but he will never be 1 on 1 if he plays up top and his decision making and passing isn't good enough to be playing up top either. That said, not like we have a wealth of options at that position and anyone will do better than Torres imo.

Walcott > Marin. Happy to have him as a squad player.

@RyanDavidson lol wtf, he's praising Villa, your comprehension failing you

If we win, I get laid. LETS GO CHELSEA !!!!!!!!!!!!!!

If he said it or not, it doesn't matter. Chelsea did a full investigation and even brought in external lawyers. There is def something there, the club isn't that stupid. Maybe not enough to convict him but what's the alternative? You can't toss aside your own players' claims of racism, how is he to stay at a club that doesn't take a racism complaint seriously. Chelsea HAD TO lodge the complaint.

Yeah, Bremen like to play down their wings more than through the middle so he's not getting as many touches as he could. Still though, he's been very good.

He will always have his fans to fall back on. He's a very likable person but from a professional career perspective he's not going to leave much of a legacy. I think a return to Athletico might be on the cards for him, but I don't think that's a good idea because the way his career has turned out he's only going to frustrate them. They love him too much, they will stick by him but deep down they will regret it and so will he. It's just too bad, his decision to move to Chelsea was good but it just didn't work out for him. He'll have to be happy with all the money he's made and that he has a good family because I think he'll always be disappointed in his footballing career. And not because he hasn't done jack shit but because the kind of player he once was, he must have expected more.

Regardless of the outcome of that play, it wouldn't erase Cahill's mistake. Cech could have made the save or Young could have hit the bar so hard that it went flying back into his own net. It still would have been a Cahill mistake. Cahill had a horrible game, everybody did. No one is saying he's to blame for the loss, but he made his fair share of mistakes amongst the mistake-ridden backline on that day.

The more I think about Torres, I feel sad for the guy. If he woulda stayed at Liverpool, he woulda been loved but not have won anything. He decided to come to Chelsea, he won a lot but wasn't an integral part of the success. He'll retire, Liverpool won't care for him cause he left them, Chelsea won't care for him cause he provided nothing memorable. That's gotta be depressing for a guy on his time was considered the best striker in the world, yet he's going to retire with not much of a legacy.

I dont understand this argument that Falcao can't fit in cause we don't cross much. If Mata and Oscar actually had decent targets they would cross for sure. Mata and Oscar have exceptional crossing ability, especially Mata. If anything I would prefer a dominant heading striker because otherwise it'd be wayyy too easy to park the bus against us.

It's hard to bench Ramires not because he's a better player but because tactically the role he plays serves a very important purpose. No one in the team can perform that role. So if you sub Ramires off for KDB, you've pretty much taken off all your tackling and ball winning ability. If you want to take Ramires off for KDB, you better make sure you take off someone else to make room for Mikel & Romeu. Mikel & Romeu & KDB? or Mikel & Ramires & Oscar? Taking Ramires off for KDB is like taking a CB off a striker, you do it when you're desperate, but you don't start the game like that.

I watched the match again and I liked Sturridge a lot. A lot of things he did which Torres hasn't been able to do. Hold up the ball, actually dribble past a couple of players and lay it off to attacking mids. Created his own shot a couple of times. Didn't loose possession carelessly which Torres does so often. The reason his good work got overshadowed is because like Luiz he already has a bad reputation and then on top he made 2 or 3 really really bad decisions which are always more memorable than several other good things he did. I think he definitely will be better than Torres if given more time. His movement was also very good and sadly I think even before the match starts he'll be considered more dangerous than Torres for the opposition because he has that ability to beat anyone 1 on 1.

Fulham won't be bad. Decent mid table team.

Luiz hasn't been on form past 2 games but I need to make something clear. Firstly, he wasn't our worst defender against United in PL (wasn't good either). I thought Cahill was def poorer than him against United. And, the way Cole was playing anyone on that left side would have had their hands full. Cole had a brain fart of a game. Secondly, the 2nd united goal was definitely not Luiz's fault. Yeah he went forward and lost the ball but he had more than enough cover. He actually picked a good time to make that run. He was at fault for loosing the ball but Chelsea had enough players back. Cahill also was poor in his positioning but you also have to give credit to an amazing Anderson through ball and a very good first touch and finish to Cuntarito. (Luiz and Cahill take blame 50% each). Thought he was pretty good for the rest of the match too. His errors get noticed because of who he is and the reputation he's garnered but imo he's def better than Cahill.

Really like the look of him and the different dynamic he brings to the team. Strong, tricky, direct and puts in a shift defensively as well. Considering the physical tools he's blessed him, he's got great potential to develop into quite a beast of a player. Although, he did disappear once Rafael switched to his flank, but not going to put much stock into that considering he's skinned better fullbacks last season.

Yeah, similar to Helguson vs. Luiz last season. It seems like such a weak pen but it's something you have to give really.