Tomo

Mikel played further forward in half his games under Jose, only dropping back when Maka didn't play. It was under Scolari he started playing DM full time.

Im really happy. Im from the West and been waiting all my life for Chelsea to play one of the Devon or Bristol sides, would have preferred Exeter or Plymouth but beggars can't be choosers.

Initially I was against it but thinking about it now it makes sense. If the last pre season games are anything to go by we aint playing 4-2-4 anymore, meaning being 3rd choice in a team with no European football basically means seriously limited game time, we might aswell use Remy for that role and let Bertrand develop with regular games.

Dont get me wrong mate, critiscm and different opinions I warmly welcome, i would always respect and take in others opinions even if it's worlds away from mine.l, ID often give a strong counter argument but that's what this place is about. Posts like fuck of Emenalo when a shitty source links Koulibaly to Everton is what grates me, aswell as people that only ever post moaning posts, I mean even Lionsden made one positive post out of ten.

Im this close to signing out for good. Im all for criticism and partial to doing that myself, but the deep ridden agendas some people have on here is getting too much, literally any excuse to slag the club off they pounce on.

If as said above he's going out as a left back I'm all for it, as I think he has huge potential in that position. If not I'd rather we sell him, bang average winger and if we are going down that route long term it will be the same song as with Oscar, IE some people accepting he isn't good and other clinging on to "he's young give him time" till he gets to old for it.

Some people don't seem to get that the protection of defense is even more vital than the defense itself, so much more infact. Look at City, Mangala is a massive talent and Otamendi is one of the best defenders in the world, both looked average last season because Pellegrini's tactics (and Yaya "protecting" them) totally exposed them. Even if by some tragic disaster we end this window with the same first choice back four (i really don't think we will mind just talking hypotheticals) if we have their protection in front of them strengthened that automatically helps them, worth remembering that Zouma (who almost everyone on here wants as an unanimous starter when he recovers) couldn't stop us conceding 2-3 most weeks last season. That's also why i didn't jump on the Stones is overrated bandwagon, you could put prime Maldini in a Martinez team and he would look shit.

Arsenal couldn't even get near us even last season, their inferiority complex against us is argubaly the worst in modern football, they look mentally shot in the tunnel vs Chelsea.

Liverpool?

Who heard of Cech before we signed him?

The point is i bet if Duff and Joe Cole used a time machine and reverted back to their 2003 selves people here wouldn't want them because they ain't big names and play for Blackburn and West Ham. I have barely seen Kone play so can't make a clear judgement, but I bet the people having an instant breakdown at the site of this thread are in the same boat. He could be a dud, but he could also be too good for Sunderland and looking for a stepup. Also re Papy and Hector, I do find it funny that some of the same people that slated him want(ed) Kalas and Bamford recalled and given a chance.

He plays for Sunderland and isn't a big name so is shit. Might aswell embrace the Real Madrid mentality that's hit this place.

But that's the point, the market is so competitive these days we cant just handpick players to make us title contenders. United signed Pogba yesterday, don't you think Jose would have had him in early doors if he could? But he couldn't, the others he could but Pogba he couldn't, if Koulibaly and Morata played for Dortmund both would have been signed before Kante or even Bats, if Bailey and Miki were at Porto and Napoli United would still be negotiating with the clubs, but they weren't, nothing we can do about De Laurentis being the Italian Daniel Levy.

The defense will have its problems but with better tactics and Kante protecting them no way will we concede 53 goals, my prediction would be early to mid 30s, which was our tally in the last two title wins. That's preparing for the worst however, I don't believe we will start our first game after the international break with that back four.

Hi Peace, don't get me wrong I 100% agree with you're assessment on our defenders, however they were part of the problem that led to us shipping 53 goals last season, I mean, look at Zouma as the example, assuming he recovers well I think he is a unanimous choice to start, yet he played over half the season last season and with him our defence was margianly better at best. In the long run is it worth just signing someone who will make us marginally better? Would be a sticky plaster solution at best. The three main reasons we were such a defensive shambles was our defenders, the protection and the shit tactics by Jose then Hiddink (Guus did well to restore some sort of order,but he was a world away from 2009 from a tactical point of view), the protection has been fixed (will get on to that in a minute) and I can't see Conte allowing us to be so exposed tactically again. To the protection, vs AC Milan we were a lot better defensively when Kante come on, even with France in the Euro's, Kante doesn't play vs Iceland and they cut them open at will, Germany were getting in between easily and should never have lost, Leicester last season started shit defensive while Kante was getting introduced from the bench and getting up to speed, as soon as he was in, the defense record shot up, the protection to defend was just as vital as getting some defenders in, and we have got the best in the business on that score, N Golo alone chalks of 20 of them 53 goals. Now, I want a new defense as much as anyone, I'm sick of the Cahill, 36 year old Terry and Ivan triology as much as anyone, but I'm sorry but I just can't subscribe to us doing a Spurs 2013 and just signing anyone, initially it may be fun simply because their is no Ivan or Cahill in the team, but as soon as that novelty wears off and we start judging them on the standard we set not compared to Cahill, that's when the problems kick in, like with Meireles when he came, I remember he was considered a breathe of fresh air at first, purely because he wasn't one of the midfielders that went stale under Carlo, but then that particular novelty wore off and we realised he was just an average player.

No matter how well he does at United it doesn't mean we made a mistake letting him go, to have us one point above relegtion in December is totally unacceptable, also one player in our whole squad was on anything that could be passed off as form. Blaming the players can only go so far, Mancini lost the dressing room in his last season, yet you didn't see them flirting with relegation.

Aslong as he's not close to relegation, he will be fine.

How many times does it have to be said, we are actively looking for defenders, we just want one's that are good enough. Are you one of the one's that wanted us to sign Paulinho and Soldado in 2013?

Of course, but I'd wager that 35 games of Koulibaly would accumalate us more points than 38 games of any realistically attainable alternative. Believe me I'm not looking forward to seeing that back four vs WHU but shit happens, alleast we got N Golo protecting them.

Remember in 2005 the Essien deal, when was that it official? A week after the start of the season, Carvalho the year before? Just before the start. Now in hindsight do you wish we just signed two players inferior to them two just for the sake of getting business done early? The board are actively chasing the best avalible centre back on the market, unfortunately he is under contract for a club who's owner makes Daniel Levy look easy to negotiate with, we can't legislate for that, we could have the best negotiator in the business but if De Laurentis is playing hard ball, what can he do? if we have to start the season without him so be it, but three matches for the sake of seven years of world class service isn't that big a deal. If Koulibaly played for Dortmund instead of Napoli, he would have been our player before Kante and possibly even Batshauyi, but shit happens, if my aunt was my uncle and all that.....

My phone is so bad it would take half an hour to link on here, but type Conte on Kante on YouTube it's first video.

Bristol is about 90 miles from me, might have to make an appearance at Ashton Gate this season, be rude not to.

Conte doesn't rate Mikel, after the post press conference in Austria vs Rapid, Conte's body language when he said Mikel spoke volumes.

Although I do think he's done well in pre season, imagine if he was owned by Napoli and we signed him? Some of the people clamouring to give him a chance would whinge that we are signing a player who's struggled to play at his two top flight teams.

He did that at Juve, one game of 4-2-4 with Vidal on the right was enough to realise he needed to change tact.