lionsden

I hope AVB uses his default system of 4-3-3 next season as we have usually struggled with the 4-4-2 formation in the past.

It just struck me now that Tiote extended his contract with newcastle few weeks ago. so this thread is probably bullshit as skysports already confirmed

That makes sense now. for a moment I thought I was on a nazi forum

:thinking: :thinking: That's sounds like discrimination to me. do you have anything against African players?

I couldn't have articulated this any better. great post. Mikel just can't win with some fans. . . I just can't help but shake my head in disgust whenever people criticisie a DM for not scoring goals and creating multiple assists. next they would criticize Petr Cech for not taking free kicks and corners.

You are a genius :goodpost:

It would be understandable if Alex leaves the club, he's tooooo good to be playing second fiddle to terry and Luiz As Bayern desperately need to reinforce their defence, this deal looks imminent.

We should be seeking permanent long term replacement for both Essien and Lampard rather than temporary fixes. with Essien, we already have his replacement in ramires. therefore the Parker loan deal is a silly idea.

Yes Ancelotti used Essien and Ramires in DM interchangeably during mikel's injury absence and yes we do need a creative midfielder, not so sure about another DMC though

I'm lost here. Essien and ramires are both box to box midfielders and have always been deployed as such. the only exception was during Mikel's absence to injury. I don't get how the defensive midfield argument fits into the discourse.

I was clearly referring to the essien replacement fiasco being blown out of proportion by the media and some fans.why would the absence of a player who appears to have past his prime significantly affect the team? hence the relentless and desperate search for a replacement.especially when you already have an identical and worthy alternative in Ramires. seems very illogical to me

The Persistent search for Essien's replacement is, quite frankly, disrespectful to Ramires. Also the temporary replacement idea makes no sense because it will defy all laws of physics, if Essien, a 30 year old player, returns to his very best after suffering 3 serious knee injuries and it would be delusion of epic proportions for any fan or AVB to have such expectations.

Then again the same applies to virtually every player bar Xavi, messi and CR9. A player must be one hell of a monster to achieve that level of consistency

Essien is not a holding midfielder. The only position his absence makes available is the same position Ramires already occupies.

Fixed speak for yourself henrique

Mikel has flourished consistently in essien's presence and absence in the past. why would the case be any different now? considering the Nigerian is just entering his prime and can only get better.

I prefer quality players who aren't overrated or grossly overpriced.

best news since Neymar not coming to Chelsea.I hope this signals the end of the era of grossly overrated and overpriced players at chelsea.

As for Scott Parker. I'm surprised some people actually believe the bullshit. why would Chelsea buy a 30 year old player to replace essien? it doesn't make sense on both short term or long run basis

Do you realise mikel had the highest pass completion rate in the epl last season according to opta stats which is far more accurate and credible than human perception. Bad control- That's laughable really. can you name 3 players who have superior close control than mikel at chelsea? Can you define stupid mistakes

I just hope the rumors about him extending his contract at Porto is untrue.

Why do people dismiss falcao as nothing more than a poacher. His link up play at the copa America has been excellent. he's even made a couple of defence splitting passes.

Ivanovic's baby son made more impact than Torres last season. not only did he score the same number of goals as the Spaniard, he also gave the fans something to cheer about and all of these didn't cost us a penny

I bet Benayoun made more impact than Torres for us last season.

Who's next. Titus Bramble or senderos?