coolhead23

So our right side is fully exposed? Young to shine again? Hope Oscar plays the game of his life today ...

What is Zouma going to do in the midfield or are we playing with 5 defenders? What is the formation anyone? Is Oscar on the wings?

Sorry not on u ... Hahahaha ... Chances of playing Zouma as a striker is more than Solanke getting a crack ...

Varane/Stones over Hummels! Seriously! ... Hummels is injury prone but overrated ... no ways!

FFP is anyways a fraud thing. But they will remain within the laws/rules, they will spend 150+ and then take a hit in terms of fine like how they did last time. With the added bonus revenue hitting from next year plus the sale of quite a few players I dont think there would be too much overboard. They are going to be the team which is going to spend the highest in the summer transfer window for sure.

If we cant integrate him into the first team now, we could never be able to get him. Ideal third striker for us, give him play time ... if he turns good promote him to second striker and so on ... High time we start looking into our superb talented resource pool than looking outside.

My worry about the game is that United is back as a team ... it is not just one person doing the job but everyone executing their job to the T as compared to us. 2 months ago everyone had written off United with the toughest fixtures among the teams chasing top 4 but credit to them they have won them all. It is the determination and drive to perform is what worries me which is not restricted to one/two/three players but to the entire bunch. I see Jose trying to suck the life out of the game by being defensive. With possibly no striker up front it would be difficult for us to push their defenders back. Jose might just do the false 9 just like the OT game last season. Would love all 3 against them but I would be happy with a draw. It will be 10 mins of high intensity from our end, get a goal and then throw in bodies. So it really wouldnt matter who's marking whom.

I wouldnt completely agree with u ... The first 20-25 mins was where we popped up some surprise which was taking shots on goals (something we werent doing do often), having a go at. Other than we went back passing around thing which we were doing. Talking about passes, we over do it lot of times. Lovely football ... Not sure what is the definition of lovely football ... Hope it is not like what Arsenal fans say that they play beautiful football which is never defined.

Arent you under-estimating Arsenal a little here?. It is not just about beating, it's how you beat your opponent and to be honest they are doing it a great job right now whereas we arent ...

Why the gods r suddenly against us? Dont like us when we go ahead!!!

hahahahahaha ... looks like the ball hit me on my face ... hahahahaha!!!

Smartness all over by Fab! U can just feel that someone with a vision will see what is coming in ... credit to Fab on this one

Not sure if this is already posted ... Mods, please delete if already there. Great interview/Conversation ... Wasnt aware that Terry chose Chelsea over United, Going through this interview, no one can doubt his Legendary status at the club ... CPO evening with John Terry On the day that John Terry signed an extension to his contract to keep him at the club another season, the Chelsea Pitch Owners hosted an evening with the Blues Captain, a celebration of his career which included a surprisingly candid, extensive interview on stage with former Chelsea player Jason Cundy. Terry obviously felt comfortable and amongst friends, which he certainly was, and so was surprisingly honest as Cundy skilfully wove him through his career starting at the very beginning when he signed professional papers with the London club. He recalled how when the time came, he had a straight choice between Manchester United and Chelsea. His father and the majority of his family were United fans but he explained how he had felt at home at Chelsea from the very beginning, despite the chasm between the two clubs in those days. His father did not take his decision well and on the day that Terry was due to sign his papers on the pitch at Stamford Bridge, Ted Terry was shouting demanding to see then manager Glenn Hoddle to try and stop his son signing. JT remembers crying in the tunnel following the row with his father but defying him anyway and signing the papers with his mum by his side. His father is in no photos of the day and the Chelsea Captain said it was a “very quiet drive home”. He then spoke of his early days at Chelsea – his loan to Forest which he enjoyed but also focussed his mind on the fact that he wanted to play at the highest level. So he trained hard there, but on his days off would return to London to train with Chelsea too. He spoke of the influence that Graeme Rix and Ray Wilkins had on him and later Marcel Desailly and Frank Leboeuf. He explained how he would stay well after training had ended, practicing more with Rix and Wilkins trying to hone his skills, something he says that youngsters these days seem loath to do. He is still in contact with Marcel Desailly to this day, and said that the former French Chelsea captain gave him advice every day on how to improve and told him not to worry if that meant that Terry usurped Desailly’s own place in the team – that he just had to give it his all and be the best that he could be. Humble is not a word you would associate with today’s footballers, but that is exactly how Terry came across, especially when asked about how it felt to be considered in the “elite” band of players. He recalled how he never thought he was, how he was awestruck by some of his team mates and how he didn’t feel he could even come close until he was voted POTY by his peers – an honour that remains unrivalled he feels. Cundy then moved Terry onto the Abramovich era. JT was on a golf course when news broke of the Russian buying the club – the players had been as much in the dark as everyone else but he said that the impact was immediate. Talk of amazing new facilities, expectations of the new owner, major changes etc – exciting times. Terry then remembers his first meeting with Mourinho. The Special One’s appointment had only just been announced when Jose turned up at the England hotel to speak to the Chelsea players. John Terry said he knew there and then that this man was going to make them winners. He continued – Mourinho made them fitter physically but more importantly mentally – that when they walked out on that pitch for that first game against United – they did not feel equal to them but superior to them – Jose made them feel like the best players in the world. Mourinho installed John Terry as his captain and Terry said that he obviously felt proud but more acutely he felt he carried the weight of the fans expectations on his shoulders – he continued, rather than feel pressured by that he thrived on it – that it gave him even more reason to work harder to give his all every time he pulled on the shirt. It also gave him the hope of possibly one day becoming England Captain. He spoke of the hurt following the exit to PSG, how he felt that Mourinho had prepared them fully but on this occasion it had not been successful and how with hindsight it’s always easy to criticise tactics. He remembered the exhilaration of scoring against Barca then and possibly still considered the best team in the world with certainly the best player in the world (in his opinion) in Messi. He told us all of the time he was knocked out in the Cup Final against Arsenal and he woke up in the ambulance and asked the driver to put the radio on so he could find out the score – he then discharging himself from hospital to go and celebrate the with the team. He didn’t get home until 4am where he promptly fell asleep….for three days straight. His wife was so worried that she called the Chelsea physio – who confirmed that he was still alive!! But the thing that keeps him awake at night is that missed penalty in Moscow. He has never got over it, never will get over it, that he still wakes up three of four times a year thinking about it. Yet he is philosophical about his absence from the Munich final – it was not meant to be that he played he says – but it was meant to be that Chelsea won it. The interview is then turned back to Mourinho. JT admits that he and the team were devastated when Mourinho left – that it took them a while, him especially to get over it. He is especially honest when asked about the other managers he has see come and go – Avram Grant did nothing, changed nothing, Scolari had arguments early on with Drogba and Lampard and lost the dressing room soon after, JT got on well with Ancelotti and Villas Boas but not so Benitez. The Chelsea Captain recalled how he knocked on the Interim Manager’s office door and asked to speak to him about perhaps putting out a statement to diffuse some of the comments he had made in the past about the club and the fans – he told ex-Liverpool boss that he thought it was necessary. Benitez was furious and not only refused but took against Terry from that day onwards. The Spaniard also had a fractious relationship with the rest of the team and their was a sigh of relief when he went and joy on Jose’s return. Fully relaxed now, JT talked about how losses still affect him – how he just wants to lock himself away. He spoke about how he felt he could not enjoy himself if the team lost – the fans would be hurting and so would he, although he felt it was a bit unfair on his family. on the subject of his family, John Terry relates an anecdote of being on holiday and getting some “grief” by a couple of Spurs fans, he ignored them but his young daughter was having none of it and proceeded to sing a Stamford Bridge favourite chant which includes lines about Terry winning the double, her twin joined in although the Chelsea Captain claims to have stopped them before the bit about Tottenham winning f**k all again….. He also shares a story with the audience on team mate Gary Cahill. As many fans know, the players take it in turns in delivering the team talk. For the Southampton game, the team were prepped and focussed – they looked to Cahill expectantly who blanched and blurted out “oh fuck, I’ve forgotten what I was going to say” Much laughter….but then the serious and final question….are we going to win the league. He diplomatically says that the international break will serve the team well for the run in. He smiles a knowing smile but will not say it out loud. The interview ends to a standing ovation but John Terry isn’t whisked away by some faceless Chelsea PR guy. Instead he stays until every one of the 250 people in that room have the picture or autograph they want – making every one of those fans, including me, feel important – as we matter. Terry is from the old school who cleaned toilets and boots as an apprentice – worked hard, learnt from his peers and it shows. We should appreciate him and players like him as in these days of multi million pound deals for 14 year olds we won’t see many of their like again.Our captain, our leader, our legend. Url: http://www.chelseasupportersgroup.net/2015/03/cpo-evening-with-john-terry/

My intention was not to hurt you, I was just responding to something you mentioned and we cannot keep living in the past we need to move ahead. My apologies in case I have hurt you, that was not what I had in mind. Like I mentioned before, anyone in the sane mind will not be disrespectful to Jose but now the time is to look at the future rather than staring at the past like the Arsenals and the Liverpools. Better to end this debate here before it gets into argument ... Peace!

I m no Barca fan either I want to be one for my entire life or maybe the next so I dont act/reactive they way do. Also unfortunately I m not among those who will just turn a blind eye just because I m a fan of my club. I praise when things are going right but I criticise thing when they arent. Damn too many "I's" Going about judging Jose, he is getting judged and will be judged because he is part of Chelsea Football club of which we all are fans. And like I mentioned before he will always be in our hearts, always respected and it's because of him today we are in the elite list of clubs. Now that he is back, we all want him to take us to the next level as a club, as a team, how we act, how we play, fair play, etc, etc ... I quote what he mentioned in one of the documentaries "Managers need to constantly keep evolving to stay at the top" (something on that lines) ... Is he evolving? I dont think so. Do I still hope that he does: YES. And that my connection with Jose.

He is Legend! And what ever he does in his life time and beyond, He always be a Legend at the club. No fan will ever forget that. Fans with common sense will criticize players/managers/board/legends if the going is not in the right direction. Whats the point in being blinded and just nod our heads to whats happening ... What is the point of having this forum if we cannot voice our opinion ... Just because someone has a strong opinion about anyone/anything within the club doesnt being he a less fan than the person criticising him.

Look like your taking the literal meaning of "Attack being the best form of defence" ... An attacking team doesnt mean group of 11 players running like headless chicken into the opponent half, it is a team sport and there always a plan. At Madrid, it is like a team within a team currently ... Ronaldo wants records broken which is having an adverse effect on the team, it doesnt matter if they are too attacking or not if they dont play like a team. Talking about grand scheme of things, United achieved a lot playing the same system under Fergie for 20+ yrs. Yes Fergie adapted in certain game to see what the opponents had to offer and based on it they use to attack the game. Jose does it with every big game or whenever we go ahead. I like the idea once or twice to just play deep, let the opponent have the ball and make chances... Nice strategy to have once or twice to have the opposition guessing not every time. Whenever we get into big game, most of use guess our gameplay right ... dont we? Where is the element of surprise? Ancelotti/Hiddink/Grant/RDM: They adapted to the situation which is fine ... being predictable is not atleast not with a team like Chelsea where we so much quality. I'm not completely disagreeing with what you are saying but I believe we need to move on and evolve as a club specially with the quality we have not only in the first team but in our youth as well. I understand in 2004 we never had won a PL title so we did whatever we could to get that ... probably same goes with the CL ... So now lets evolve in our gameplan, do justice to the quality we have.

So based on one season, attack is not the best form of defence??? Why are Madrid not doing good? because they arent playing as a team. Records are taking priorities over team. Talking about examples, Man United is the best example of attacking football, not just for one season ... they have won record titles by playing attacking football. Seeing off those types of teams by playing defensive was a good 3 years back when we won the CL ... The title before that was under Ancelotti when we played aggressive football. Jose philosophy is to be compact and defensive (most of the time) which he is a master at, he has won titles based on it. He is probably the only exception to the system in modern day football. But that doesnt change the fact that attack will keep the opposition on the back foot. Again that my opinion.

Well ... Million dollar question! Have no response to that one, mate ... I like Oscar, there are very few AMC with such versatility but then Jose could easily had someone like KDB/Mata for rotation. It not only could have provided us with rotation but a different dynamic when we play with teams who will park. As we stand with Oscar not doing well, we will go into the market for a ready player by spending money.

hahahahaha ... No disrespect, wasnt laughing at you...

Look where's Oscar standing today, I mean that guy is having it from the fans left, right and center and he was the guy suppose to replace Mata as no.10 ... why because he good at defending as well. The bottom line is that we didnt give him much chance at Chelsea ... the guy could had been at Dortmund last summer but he stayed because Jose assured him and then he only ended up on the bench ... Someone mentioned Maybe he didnt fit the system ... But Mata and De Bruyne are type of players who would have worked their sock off to fit into any system ...

It is ... But not in Jose's world!!!

Too good a keeper to be playing second fiddle to Courtois ... For me he is still among the top 5 in the world ... As much as I want him to be a part of Chelsea team, I feel he should move out as he has a good 3-4 years at the top left. I think he could end up at Real Madrid or PSG, hope he doesn't end up with a PL side.

Hmm .. Fair enough .. Point taken!

He won it with AC, won it with Chelsea, with PSG, almost with Madrid ... plus 2 CLs ... Maybe he might not click but he brings a lot to his teams... he is like the complete package, there is a kinda of feel good factor abt his teams beside winning titles ... he is some who can take a club like City to the next level. I would be worried if he ends up at City or United for that matter ...