Blue Armour

Seriously, he's 19, sent out on loan to develop and its barely 2 seasons since he's arrived in England...and people are already having panic attacks

Mate leave it...being overly upset about it isn't going to change Sturridge's decision. With regards to Falcao, if the transfer fee for him is going to be as large as speculated, I'd rather we wait till the summer and get someone like Cavani instead for the same amount. For that kind of money I'd want a player who's more than just a goal scorer.

Just a question, if given some control during the transfer window..do you trust Rafa to make good additions to the squad?

Heard that he was just trying to clear the ball, but looking at it from this gif...the clown was actually focusing on RVP's head. Can't blame Fergie for having a go at him.

You can't change the entire starting eleven every time without affecting the team chemistry.. Moses is currently the best wide player we have, so he's almost certain to start...From our no.10 players, Hazard seems to have the most stamina, and Torres is the only available striker. And Mata of course, is crucial to our build-up play.

No he's not, but I feel he's also another forward that depends on good service. Granted he won't flop when put through on goal, but I doubt whether our team can consistently give him the service he needs. Torres has his faults, but there are several instances in every match when players like Hazard and even Mata fail to spot some of his runs. If Falcao is a forward that can involve himself in the build-up play he can do well here..if not, that's another failed investment.

He stated that he does want to become one. Can't become a leader unless you want to...

You don't remember do you? Go take a good look at the highlights of the Valencia game, or the ones against Newcastle and Man City before saying he didn't try... I agree with some of your arguments when you say the support from midfield for Torres is shit at times...but don't be so selective with your criticism or with your memory.

The difference between a team assembled by the board and one assembled by Mourinho.

I don't have anything against Piazon, but what the hell is he doing on our substitutes bench? He's hardly used in any of the matches, he never gets called up even though he's supposedly the current second choice striker, with Sturridge out... He's just an example of how poorly our squad has been set up. Hell it would have been better if him and Malouda traded places.

http://www.dailymail.co.uk/sport/football/article-2247418/John-Terry-Didier-Drogba-train-Cobham-Chelsea-play-Japan.html

Exactly why I think he needs to change his game like Anelka did, if he has to survive here. But hell, he's only 28 and his pace has dropped so much.

Lol @ that facepalm.

When Luiz plays like he did in the last two games, I wouldn't object if he did become captain. Those were truly inspirational performances.

Yes but do those stats tell you in what situations he performs those dribbles? I believe that most of the time he performs those when he comes under pressure (eg that swivel move he does with the ball) when one of the opposition attackers decide to press.

Very good post, and sums up my stance regarding Mikel. Mikel has a lot of attributes that should be appreciated, but he has had his shortcomings and as he features more often in the starting eleven its becoming more apparent. The fact remains that from the squad he is the best option for the role he plays, but that role is crucial and the team does suffer from it in certain situations.

I just have one question Seb..You say that the forward players are sometimes not in good positions to receive the ball so Mikel can't make the pass... I agree with that, but why does he have to remain static? If he actually moved with the ball to draw some of the opposition away from their marked targets, his targets could become free for the pass...

Do you even bother to read my post, or do you find it so tough to comprehend simple statements? If I wanted to hide behind that picture, I wouldn't have bothered telling you from which point in the match that was from. The only reason I showed that picture was to show that there are instances when Mikel forces an attacker to drop deep JUST Like Hazard positioned himself in that one, when he could have opted for a better pass. .I like you illustrations and generally agree with a lot of your posts, but the condescending nature of your replies is getting annoying.

Lol...ok

Well he's helping Vitesse move to 2nd in the Dutch league...

Its not the best way to compare two forwards, but over the past two seasons, Bony's goal stats look better than Liolo's. I mean isn't that our priority? Someone from the bench who can find the net?

Just to add a bit of depth? Probably someone like Wilfried Bony...

Mikel maybe slow and ponderous on the ball, but I don't think Romeu's passing is in any way better than his. His workrate though, is far better than Mikel's.

Tbh for west Ham, we had Mikel in front of the defense and that still didn't help much. I think the real reason for today's problems was that neither Oscar or Ramires are natural holding mids.

The image is from the 58-59'th minute of the W-ham game.