Slam Dunk

So Lille, who have acknowledged that Hazard is worth €40m, are willing to sell to us now for £23.25m, instead of waiting until summer when they could get the full amount? Nice one, Ian.

Amin looks so small.

No, they weren't. Ancelotti's words were taken completely out of context.

Now that I agree with you on. Unfortunately, only Lampard and Ramires understand that pressing wins the ball back. Meireles cannot tackle at all, which is my major problem with him in the context of our team, and the wide players are often too slow to cover a counter attack. Another major problem I have with our team, and i'm sure I mentioned this in another thread, is the Mata/Meireles/Cole defensive capabilities on the left hand side. Mata drifts far too central and therefore cannot press quickly enough in the wide areas, Meireles, as i've mentioned, always loses the 50/50 challenges, leaving Cole majorly exposed. Often enough, we can get away with it because Ashely is such an established, experienced defender of the ball. I believe however, if Ash were to become injured (touch wood), then a player such as Ryan would be severely exposed. You can see this problem highlighted when we're going forward. Ashley runs the line, Mata is standing central and is being heavily marked, so Cole's only option is to pass back (often to Lampard who is standing either square to him or behind him). I'd suggest this could be fixed by us signing a left winger who will run the lines and defend appropriately, leaving Mata central and 2 holding players in the centre (i.e Ramires/Lampard/Essien).

Is that stat from your original post from this season only? Frankly, with Alex outcast from the squad, we haven't had many options other than to play that back four and we've still looked frail at the back all season long anyway, even if the stats show otherwise.

Sorry, but compared to Bosingwa's reputation on this forum, Luiz's shortcomings are highlighted nowhere near as often. In the context of this thread, as I was originally saying, neither of them would be in the strongest back four. Luiz will hopefully become a great CB for the club, he's still getting used to the league, and I know we've yet to see Cahill play for us, but in the context of the here-and-now, i'd prefer Cahill in the defensive unit.

I'm aware of both Bosingwa's and Luiz's strengths and weaknesses. My point was that both of them have made rather noticeable mistakes in the not-too-distant past and yet Bosingwa is being condemned by our own fans, however Luiz's mistakes are going largely unnoticed. I like Luiz, as a player he is great to watch, but he is a defender first and foremost and is prone to being sucked into attacks and making rash challenges too high up the pitch. You're also forgetting that when both Luiz and Bosingwa play, Luiz has JT to cover him, Bosingwa is largely left to face the attacker 1-on-1. Frankly, if we're talking about our strongest back four, defensively speaking, i'd have neither of them in it.

Can I ask, for all those criticising Bosingwa, why Luiz remains in your 'best' back four? Luiz is just as prone to mistakes as Bosingwa for me. Just seems a little contradictory that just because he is a fan favourite, he is less vulnerable to criticism of his defensive capabilities. I'd like to see how we do with: Ivan - Cahill - JT - Cole ..Solid.

Because Moses' decision making/final ball is worse than Kalou's.

What deal? The only thing we have to go on is the fact that Chelsea (as well as many other major clubs) are interested in signing him. The Daily Mail and their 'sources' can say otherwise, but I wouldn't trust anyone working there as far as I could throw them.

No chance, he's still getting used to English football, and the reserve leagues at that. It'll be a little while until he's anywhere near ready to feature in a competitive league game. On the other hand, Josh has been brought up playing the English game his whole life.

Excellent talent. From what i've seen, he should become a very good player in the future. However, for various reasons, I doubt he'll be joining us.

Anyone else see the quotes from him today talking about a loan deal (next season i'd imagine) to either an EPL club or a French club? EDIT: Think Everton would've been a good fit for him this season, maybe even next.

He's not going to leave for £80mil. If Hulk wants to leave, and Porto receive an offer of £30mil+, he will go.

As far as our current midfield players go, we have 2 orthodox holding midfielders (Romeu/Mikel), 2 box-to-box 'engines' (Ramires/Essien) and 2 attacking central midfielders (Lampard/Meireles). We have finally found some consistency in the holding position with Romeu, who, despite a slight dip in form lately, has been on the whole, very impressive in the position. We have Mikel as capable backup, and i'd personally argue that Mikel's absence from the team could also contribute to the anxiety we've been experiencing when 1-0 up and defending the lead, we miss his strength and calmness on the ball. When Essien was in form, he was the 'best of both worlds' if you like, calm and assured with a range of passing that could set an attack going immediately. Obviously it's unlikely that he'll ever rediscover that magic that we remember (i.e his performances against Barca), but he's able to cover if need be (I'd certainly play him at holding midfield over Meireles). We've also seen how much we've missed Ramires' energy and dynamism in the centre of midfield. Arguably our best player so far this season, his pace and stamina is making him one of the first names on the team sheet. This leaves us with the final spot, ideal for an attack minded midfielder, one of which is a consistent goalscorer and one that, in my opinion, doesn't add enough to a team like ours. I'd love for AVB to try Mata in the midfield, but, obviously, we don't have enough quality on the wings to change the formation of the team to a variation of a 4-2-3-1. If, for example, we were able to pull off a coup in signing a player in the mould of Eden Hazard or Di Maria and, to a lesser extent, Kevin de Bruyne, the dynamic of the entire team changes, with Mata taking the central role, and Essien and Ramires in the 2 'holding' positions. One notable problem with a 4-2-3-1 formation, is I don't think Romeu suits a shared holding position particularly well. Having progressed through his youth career with two central midfielders in front of him and having the option of playing it either left or right, he is going to have to adapt his entire game. Essien, in my opinion, is suited perfectly. Thinking of City's formation, and how impressive Yaya Toure has been in that role, I think Essien (if he does discover his best form) could replicate this for Chelsea. Essentially we will see the direction that AVB wants to take the formation of the team by the next signing, be it this window, or the next.

I'm certain he won't be. Clubs are aware of his intention to leave in the summer and there will be a huge amount of activity from major clubs once the first bid is made. As for the release clause, I doubt there is actually one in place. One thing for certain however, this one will go on and on all summer.

He did very well in my opinion. When the team becomes anxious, it's good to have somebody who is calm and assured on the ball. To that degree, I think Mikel not playing is a big loss for the team, but i'm sure many would disagree with that.

GET IN SPURS DRAW!

So lucky to win that.

Lmao how is that a dive Phil Dowd? Christ.

When was the last time Lamps hit a decent fk?

Would like to see Sturridge for the second half, if he's fit that is. Seems like there's no drive from the midfield three, with Ramires dropping back we'd have that.

Poor Nando.

I could go on and on about my dislike of Ramires playing RW, but I won't bother because i'm sure AVB is busy reading the other threads I can see one of the midfielders coming off and Ramires dropping back with Sturridge providing more to the attack if we need to change something. Really hope Frank gets a goal. Sunderland lineup: Mignolet, Bardsley, Richardson, O'Shea, Kilgallon, Larsson, McClean, Cattermole ©, Vaughan, Sessegnon, Bendtner

Think Lampard deserves a start today. We lose the 2nd ball too often because frankly, Meireles cannot tackle.