Blue Armour

Then why couldn't he have brought him on for Torres for at least a few mins? Its hard to see Sturridge being happy with only 20 or so mins from 3 games. (Not to mention that these fixtures took place within the space of a week). He didn't even use all 3 of his subs. With the size of the squad we have now, I don't see how we can keep everyone happy without some kind of rotation.

Its odd that he didn't get even a single minute today. He could've come on for Ryan during the last few mins.

Moses is an EXCELLENT addition to our squad...But the truth is, its a bigger risk for him than for us. I just hope he can get enough playing time to further his development. Like xpetrchecx said, we should also try extending Danny's contract and sell either Malouda or Benayoun.

Oriol to start the first game of the season, with hardly any minutes during pre-season? If its going to be 4-2-3-1 it will be Mikel and Lampard in the center again...with the only possible change being Essien for Mikel.

In all honestly he did not have a good game against city, losing out to more than one attacker (like Nasri for their third goal). But am not too worried. He can easily play a lot better than how he did that day.

Even though he has to face the same media glare that Torres did, he thankfully doesn't have the burden of scoring goals regularly. It should be easier for him to settle in, provided he manages to remain in the starting eleven.

And that's where Mikel's critics fall short. There aren't too many quality DM's (like a Davids or a Makelele) out there. Of course you could argue that Javi Martinez and Tiote are good candidates for a double pivot, but there's no chance in hell we'll get them over here for a decent amount.

This debate over Mikel's use is pointless. Right now he's out of form, and hopefully Romeu/Essien is picked ahead of him in the next match. (and the following matches until he regains his sharpness)

Agreed. Solution below: And no, I don't think Oscar will be able to fix the double pivot.

Tbf, our front 3 was so good at the time they all kept interchanging positions, with even Drogba moving out to the left/right wing from time to time. Anelka was essentially a roaming forward also serving as a make-shift playmaker (as we had no Mata, and Deco wasnt always available)..Those were the good times (until the following season when opposition defenders had our front 3 more or less figured out)....

Only in the first half of the season. We started banging in the goals, only after we switched to 4-3-3 with Malouda on the left wing.

3-4-3 isn't essentially a new formation for us... Its basically how our 4-3-3 used to look when we attacked. The holding mid drops back between the centre-halves and the wing-backs push forward. Problem is we don't have a good wing-back on the right-hand side. Bosingwa's gone, Ferreira is slow. Even if Ivanovic were available I wouldn't play him there. The only other options are Bertrand (the best one IMO) and Ramires.

Needs to sharpen up again. He lost Nasri for the third goal, although the game was ruined before that...

I don't want to start the blame game this early, but Mikel didn't have a good pre-season. I don't think I would have picked him for this game based on current form.

On current form I hope Essien is given a chance over Mikel...Given a choice, we would ideally be seeking a new DM, but for now stick with Essien, and get rid of the double pivot. (Mikel is out of form, and Lampard keeps bombing forward)

See how Sturridge can influence a game?..Well done by Bertrand, but that chance...

.I don't know whether its part of RDM's plans, but Lamps seems to be charging forward at every opportunity thinking its 4-3-3. That's not what a holding mid normally does....

Hazard and Mata seem to understand each other well, but I think we should sub one of them if RDM intends to hold onto this lead..Ramires has moved back, but would be a lot safer if another defensive player was bought on.

Its funny how people used to argue that Drogba had to rely on his physical attributes unlike Torres,... and that once those attributes start to fail Drogba would do shit compared to Torres...The truth is without his breakneck speed Torres isn't half the striker he used to be. Would be laughing now if Torres wasn't on our team.

That's just an assumption...there's no evidence that the championship will actually be a step down in physicality, although I suppose the game will be slower. I agree that sending players like Bertrand, or even strikers like Lukaku to the championship is a good move as it can help improve your technical attributes. But in Josh's case, I don't think its the same. I feel that he thrives on the attacking runs/positioning of other players so that he can influence the play with his passes. I doubt he will encounter too many of such players in the championship.

Its very good considering Steve Clarke is their manager. He'll have a better chance to develop over there.

That's the only argument I have against this move. He won't get as much game time as he would have at Wigan, unless he secures a starting spot for himself .

Well..its just a phase you have to go through (unfair, yes). Once she realizes you can take care of yourself, it'll pass.

Its probably for your own good I suppose... (I've never been in the receiving end though :ph34r2: )

Lol..where did you get that impression? We just like to exercise a little bit of authority..