Joelasticot

That prooves he played and that proves he scored a goal. Nothing more, nothing less.

I don't think we have it in France. I live in spain and I'm not quite sure but I think they don't have it either.

That's a way better post than your first one. Thank you for that. And I agree with you for the most part. I'd just say to conclude this discussion that energy and efficiency are two different things that have to be taken into account when defining one player's contribution to a game of football. Efficiency can be defined by what can the player actually do when using his said energy ie : How hard is he willing to work in training to get as close as possible to max fitness, How does this player times his runs during a game, How much of his ego is that player capable to leave in the dressing room in order to be the instrument of a team effort etc... (I know you know what I mean and this part probably wasn't necessary) . You seem to think that the increase in efficiency a player can get throughout his career is often outwheighed by his loss in energy. You're probably right, I just want to think that it isn't always the case. That's what i love about football in general : anything can happen wether it be in a player's carreer, in a game, throughout the course of a season etc... Bottom line is I'm probably deluded but you have to admit what I'm talking about is certainly not completely impossible.

I agree with you the very notion of what you call 'volume of play' is quite useful in some situations. This for me why a guy like Mereiles was so useful to us when we had him at the bridge. However, Speed and pace are not the only things that define your 'volume of play'. You need vision (or tactical knowledge or whatever you would call it) to know where to be at because as you said "you could have a messi in both your feet' and move all around the pitch but you would still be useless if u didn't know where to run. And most of all, not only you need to be mobile you also need stamina to have a big 'volume of play'. With that in mind I'm sure you can think of a few players who are really fast but don't have such a big 'volume of play'. That's why I think that losing pace and speed is not always so hurtful for the 'volume of play' (or the all round game) of a player. If i remember correctly Pirlo was one of the players who ran the most in the Euro's. Anyway you might be right but I think the point you make although very much sensible is not enough to prove Rooney is on the decline.

He would need to play as a striker for that... Didier wasn't relegated to midfield, when he played, he always played up front.

Completely off topic though it's a good advice anyone could use in today's job market. Human ressources always get millions and millions of e-mails. Sending your resume and letter via fax actually can help you get a job! People will be so surprised to get an application via fax that you'll get more chances of being read. ( PSA out)

He was certainly the flashiest. True. Could get the ball past almost anyone in almost any situation. Was he the most influential player ever to kick a ball? Definitely not. What he could do single handedly maybe noone ever could but football is a team effort and I'd say players like Zidane brought more to a team than ronaldinho could ever dream of. Besides he was known to choose games and to perform below his best in others. That's just my opinion though.

Good point ! Mou has surely learned a lot from it. I guess youth in those defensive positions has to be used very carefully. Europe is a different battlefield, young players have often proved erratic in there. I'll try and get back to De Rossi from there. Couldn't a player like him : A very experienced leader in the defensive half of the pitch help us push our young players to get just the extra edge they need to compete on all fronts? I mean, our young boys sometimes lack concentration (sometimes they're not so eager to defend as much as they should even) and they could be inspired by a guy like De Rossi and rally with him.

You are right, experience is often valued over talent in the ever so crucial CB position. However Mou has showed with what he has done with Varane that young CBs can be very effective even at the top level. Given they have proper guidance of course. http://www.whoscored.com/Blog/zu0fall-ekoahtkedcl30g/Show/Player-Focus-Top-Teenage-Centre-Backs-Marquinhos-Zouma-Laporte A nice article dealing with young CBs. One of the main points : Sheer athleticism has become an invaluable quality in football as of late. Then again ; nothing wrong with experience and it is because it usually works best that teams usually favour experience over youth in this position. I'd like to add though that going for youth is sometimes a risk worth taking. It all comes down to the player himself, the manager and the tactics.

I'm not comparing just barely making an analogy. Still I'm not going to argue wether messi's performances with argentina were poor or great or whatever. Just barely saying what we all know : Messi is a beast and while still playing good for NT he sometimes just isn't quite playing to his full potential (at rare times way below I might add). And this should help us regard Cavani's performances with NT with a pinch of salt. Now, thoses rants on people comparing players with other players are kind of unproductive. People just try and use what they know to elaborate their arguments in order to have a more educated conversation. Should it be regarded as a bad behaviour? I dont think so. If we were to start from scratch when making an opinion on a player we wouldn't go that far. Analogies are useful, sometimes thay can be wrong yes, but don't mistake my words, I never said Cavani is the same as messi I only said he sometimes struggles with NT and so does Cavani. Can you argue this is not a similarity between the two?

Hey guys, Seeing the posts in this thread I just had to log in and add my input. I have almost no opinion on Cavani at chelsea and I didn't come here to discuss this. Many people on here, claim that cavani's performances with NT prove he is not such a great a player etc... I only have a few things to say regarding this aspect of the discussions : - How good is the coach? Does he use Cavani To score goals or for other purposes? - Look at the tactics and the postition he plays in. Are those his favourites ? - Look at the rest of the team. Does he have a good relationship with the other players (I mean relationship and understanding on the pitch) Other members have brought up a few other points regarding this too but here is the most important thing that I have to say : Do any of you guys remember how bad Lionel Messi can be with Argentina ? For those reasons I think we should not jump to conclusions with this. Club football and National team football are so much different now... Anyway, have fun with the rumours

I'm just glad I can look back at this game without being gutted by yet another non given penalty. Great night of football. Torres was as frustrating as he gets even though he scored. Oscar seemed to get a little tired before being subbed off and mata played great but really it seemed as if every time hazard was on the ball we would get a free kick. Another encouraging game for the future. Can't wait to see this team playing with a proper striker and a proper relay in front of the defense although I thought Mikel did great tonight. It almost feels as if our new style of play inspires him to get a bit more adventurous in the final third which I think is great when we play Ramires with him. Great spirit from the team also, I thought it would be hard to get back into it without Terry and at times I really felt like we would lose this one because of some worryingly awkward plays by our defenders but still the future is looking bright.

I'm not arguing which one of mata or hazard is the better player though you have to admit Hazard is a special player. It didn't surprise me at all that each and every single one of the top EPL club wanted him. He's not just the guy that performs well in a weaker league. He is a massive player, he grew stronger every year physically, tactically and technically. He wasn't just a good player from Ligue 1 he was by far above everyone else during his last two seasons at Lille. He always showed up in the big games, He barely (if not at all, someone fill me in on that please) missed a game. You obviously don't know much about the guy but it's OK I didn't know much about mata when he came here. I expect him to be at least as important as mata in the near future.

Up in that twisted little head of mine i can't help but asking myself : Are we packing up the Brazilians in order to lure Neymar to Chelsea? Some seemed to think we had packed the Belgians the same way to lure Hazard. Anyway nothing serious just a funny thought.

Tried an attacking style, not attacking style. Footbal is not one dimensional you have,a wide range of attacking styles that do not involve a high line at the back. Besides we have squad depth now which will allow wide players to contribute more to the defensive duties. adding technique experts to.the team will also allow us to retain possession and force other teams into their own half limiting tha attacking threat. Domination is still one of the best ways to defend.

Besides, the whole team knows mikel plays those balls. I bet whenever he gets the ball everyone goes «ok mikel is gonna give it back so I know when to time my run or that I have to look for a good pass etc..» Such plays that may seem boring to any observer are actually key to building collective effectiveness over time as they act as reference points for the whole team. I'm Sure everyone agrees timing is key in football and such plays allow players to consistently hit those decisive timings.. I always thought mikel was great.

alright seems like we are going back into competition mode again. Pathetic ... really. If u're bothered by the fact that non english people want to have friendly conversations over the club they like on this forum then you can go ahead and create a private forum just for season ticket holders.

I agree. However those players chose to come to a great club competing in the Champions League. How many players have we heard mention champions league football as a key factor when it comes to transfers. Hell, Hazard joined because we qualified by winning the CL. A guy like Mata would probably not want to go to spurs considering they have no CL football now.

Don't worry AVB will probably need a full summer to asses the squad ^^. On a more serious notes AVB was opposition scout at chelsea not scout as in players scout. Maybe you can tell me more on that matter. As he ever had this job? I still think it's gonna be hard for AVB to bring quality players in what's turning into a selling club with no CL.

we're talking about spurs. that's the closest to snowballing into a great European club they will ever get. No ECL means no high profile transfers for them. we might give them money to strengthen their squad but there's no way they'll find a good enough replacement for Modric.

Alright whatever. Now back on Hulk. I don't want to be held responsible for this thread going way off topic. So I guess I'll just try and get it back on track. I'm really curious to see how that guy would do in the EPL. I have to admit he has a few "incredible" feats under his belt. Noone can deny he has talent. With him in our squad we would be quite an iconic team indeed. I'm sure no matter how expansive he comes such a popular guy would repay the transfer fee almost instantly in shirt sales so I really see no reason as to not get him.

I have absolutely no idea what you're trying to say.

We're all Chelsea fans. It's a real pity people get to be so arrogant and cocky on here. So what? Someone doesn't know a term; does it make him a lesser fan? You don't need to be able to say every position in every language to understand the game. I don't understand why there seems to be so much competition and aggressiveness on this board. Chill out guys we're all blue. If we keep on badmouthing each others we won't have that much time left to mock Arsenal, Spurs and all the lot.

When the tactics are bad, the players look bad. Simple as that. Don't you guys think ash would have got caught by munich's right side players had he been the only player trying to block the runs on our left side? If you leave space to a sprinter like bale there is just no way he is not going to abuse it. Remember the whole vidic is poor against nando thing? Haven't players like ramiresmade world class defenders look like shit? It's all about the way.the game goes and how you want your players to deal with certaim threats. Then again if a guy like bale was never able to use his.strenghts to his full advantage the just because there are good defenders on the pitch thenn football would be a.strange game wouldn't it? It's like saying cech is a bad keeper because cisse score two screamers against us. When the situation gives a clear advantage to the attacking player to use his strenghts you cannot always expect the defender to come out on top and save the day. Although I guess our recent performances in the cl have gotten us used to things goimg the other way around.

Actually if someone has the stats of the UEFA euro I'm pretty sure Pirlo Ran A LOT.