Slam Dunk

Some of the criticism and pre-judgements i've seen regarding Oscar tonight has been hilarious (not necessarily from on here). He didn't have a great game today but had been consistently good up until the final. The fact is Brazil underestimated Mexico and deserved to lose the match and to blame one individual for the loss would be pointless as the team mentality was not right. I'm looking forward to seeing him in action for us in a few weeks, I think he's just what we've been missing in midfield. A very astute signing.

Good luck big man. Reckon he's going to have a stormer.

He's not cup tied for CL games.

FA Cup & top 3 finish and i'll be a happy man.

Still think he'd be a great signing. He's raw, but he's direct, quick and powerful. As has been said, he's a better option to have than Ramires going forward, although I cant remember him playing on the right much, maybe it's just me. Hopefully this could turn out to be a signing in the mould of Valencia. Let's get this done, and along with a striker and a right-back, we're set.

There wont be a knee-jerk reaction from me concerning RDM's management abilities, but that was fucking embarrassing.

That half of football was even worse than Chelsea TV's faux 'Mod' theme title intro. 4-3-3 doesnt suit Nando. Ramires is still not a winger, no matter how many times he plays there. Meireles can fuck off. Hazard looks like he'd rather be elsewhere. The midfield should try passing it forward from time to time, instead of sideways. Meireles can fuck off again.

I never thought the player that would divide opinion among Chelsea fans would be Mikel. I'm on the side for Mikel. After Cech and Terry, he's first name on the team sheet for me.

I'd expect the first 11 we see on Saturday will be the same as for the Community Shield (It pretty much picks itself IMO). We need as much game time as possible for these new players to gel.

Few thoughts now it's over: Dominated the majority of the first half, but seriously paid for it by not converting the possession into chances. Also looked very susceptible to the counter attack. David Luiz couldn't hit a barn door with his passing tonight, it was awful which was frustrating because they were passes that he didn't need to try. Hazard and Marin looked like the players that could make something happen but the play was far too narrow (Ramires and Hazard guilty in the first half). Probably not enough commitment, perhaps a little complacent, perhaps even a bit fatigued.

For what it's worth I think it's actually a pretty strong lineup.

Precisely why i'll be avoiding the boards during the game.

Looking forward to tonight's game. It'll be good to see Torres playing again, but please, people, none of this 'he'll never find form' or 'he's back to his best' nonsense after the game.

That third kit is tragic. But I'll forgive Adidas because the other two, as well as the training kit, are top-notch.

Something I forgot to add into my previous post; Why, as soon as Lukaku was off the field, did the crosses start coming in? Yet before that, everything was played to feet. It struck me as very odd. Is Lukaku not as strong in the air as he looks?

Well that was hardly worth staying up for. Uninspiring to say the least, and although results do not matter one bit, I don't enjoy seeing us lose. Lukaku was far too static and offers next to nothing in terms of movement. Ironically Benayoun was the best player in a white shirt first half. I've no idea why Marin was playing so centrally either. We'll look a better team when our strikers start scoring goals, I'm sure. Over to you, Fernando.

I think it's fair to say we've been interested in him for a while and we are actively looking for a striker so its a bit odd that other outlets aren't running with this a bit more. Cavani would be my second choice (behind Falcao) if we didn't already have Torres. I think it's well established by now that Torres is going to be our first choice striker this term, whether you lot like it or not. Cavani is too good to be a second string striker and as much as I hate to admit it, we don't need him right now. Invest the money in other areas.

Yes sir.

Lovely from Pastore.

It's blatantly obvious which team is further in their preseason preparations.

4-6-0?

Who do you suggest starts up front? NB - Isn't N17 Spurs territory?

Benayoun just tweeted he will not be involved in the game.

If we really wanted to win we could put out a nearly full strength team... Cech Ivan - Cahill - Luiz - Cole Mikel - Lampard Ramires - Hazard - Marin Lukaku Although it's safe to assume this is unlikely

I doubt it. Not at the moment anyway, it might be a bit too early in the season. Cheapest i've seen it (shirt + printing) online is JJB for £50 delivered.