The Rising Sun

I said only decent teams, i.e. teams after probably the top 8.... hull west ham west brom all the way to the bottom. We dont need to be so defensive against these teams. I get your point, but in general i dont think we are dead without Matic in these games. Yes against top 7-8 teams Matic is a requirement, but against some of the lesser sides where we usually enjoy 65+ % possession, we can take a more attacking approach to the game.

I stand by that tactic. Watched it last season thinking ... if only we had the players to play that sort of a formation. When teams are simply sitting back and doing nothing, we need to counter that setup by going for a 3-5-2 formation and bombarding them, and that too will only occasionally get us behind their backline of 10 players. Its bold, and we should do it against park the bus teams. Nothing to lose. No point starting with a 4-2-3-1....maybe 4-3-3 but i like 3-5-2 also. Its not like the 5 will have absolutely no defensive duties in the moments when we lose the ball. I simply see this 3-5-2 formation as a pack of wolves looking for the weakest animal(opening) in the herd, and going mental through the opponent defensive line of 10.

AGAINST TOP TEAMS ---------- Costa ---------- Shirley - Hazard - Willian ---- Matic - Fabregas --- Luis - Terry - Cahill - Azpi --------- Courtois --------- AGAINST DECENT TEAMS ---------- Costa ---------- Shirley - Hazard - Willian ---- Oscar - Fabregas --- Luis - Terry - Cahill - Azpi --------- Courtois --------- AGAINST PARK THE BUS TEAMS ------------- Costa ---Lukaku(New striker)--------- --Schurrle---Hazard--Fabregas---Oscar---Willian--- -----------Luis ----- Terry ------ Cahill ----- ----------------- Courtois ---------

Dont want him if it is at the cost of Matic's starting spot. Also dont want to see 2 defensive players in the 2 from our 4-2-3-1. Dont get this speculation as it doesnt make sense unless matic gets a less regular role.

Was disappointing yesterday, but it is pre season. However, in saying that, alot of other youngsters were also in early pre season and looked spectacular. Needs to show more as pre season goes on. Convenient passes and uninventive play are not longer passable even as a defensive midfielder.

boga is our sterling....but better.

boga is like hazard while dribbling and runing with the ball. Very Impressive~!

So it Begins. The many hours of my life i will never get back !!

Dundee 2 Man City 0 Lineups: Manchester City: Caballero, Bossaerts (Richards 46), Kolarov (Leigh 46), Denayer (Rekik 46), Boyata (Nastasic 46), Navas (Garcia 46), Fernando (Zuculini 46), Rodwell (Nasri 46), Huws, Jovetic (Negredo 46), Guidetti (Sinclair 46) i know its pre season, but most players played atleast 45 mins including their new signings. Lost 2-0. Pre season - doesnt matter. But they lost. Wrong topic i know!

He is is probably the only World class defender(english) in engand at the moment. Not that he would get into any team, but he is immense in his last minute tackling, headers and in general, i cant remember him making a mistake for a goal. Humble too.

Welcome Home.

Really dont understand why he is going to link up only 3 weeks before PL starts. Its different for players who were already in the side, as they dont require integration, just match fitness. With New Signings, they should be asked to join as soon as possible so they can be fully integrated into the Chelsea way of things. A week more of training with the Manager and players can do wonders for a new signing, so i think this is an issue which should be taken care of in future summer windows.

FFS just looked at that video. Cant Wait. Much better than i remember him at Arsenal, but then again, he was at arsenal, so didnt appreciate fuck all that he did back then. He can be absolutely deadly for us.

Wrote another big post with Lineups and more. Pressed backspace and everything is gone permanently as somehow this loads the revious page. Anyways bottomline, this is unlikely, but could happen if Jose sees what we could do with those 2 upfront

Even for free, Dont need him. Dont want him.

why have they started playing that stupid music at the end. This is not the shire.

No matter what anyone says, he will be missed. One of the most passionate and versatile players we have had in the last decade.

Oscar is not going to do Neymar dribbles. Dont expect him to. He has the ability to keep Pirlo quiet. He is exceptional playing in small spaces, creating the sort of 1-2's that get you past opposition defences. He needs to improve his crossing ability, which is something that you can even get better at when you are 30. No worries there. As for a few people who were saying managers are not that important, its the players mostly, do you remember the Liverpool away game ? The City away game? The manager has to assign systems and roles, and then its the players that must apply that on the pitch. When our manager sent out 3 strikers in a few of the games mid season, risky move, and then we ended up winning in the late stages of the game. You simply cannot discount a managers job of affecting the game, start to finish. Back to topic. It will be enjoyable to watch Oscar this season prove everyone wrong. One average season does not make a player average. He will come good.

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30 million - steal of the decade.

I say keep him. He will learn a few things about growing up and becoming mature. His childlike behavior of throwing his toys out of the pram if he is not getting whatever he wants is quite ridiculous for a professional footballer. If he does prove that he is indeed the "complete striker", then that will cement his place in our starting line up in many games, and might force mourinho to play 4-4-2, or some formation with 2 upfront. He will earn himself more and more gametime even if we play 1 striker up front. If he cant prove himself as the complete striker, then the club can decide what to do with him. He signed a contract and should learn a thing or two about respecting it. His tantrum at being substituted in the WC, and then mouthing of at his coach for some time after was disgusting to watch. The thing about bad behavior is that it can be forgiven and forgotten. But his belief in himself, which at one point was a strongpoint, is now becoming his biggest weakness as he has fallen into a false sense of accomplishment which is simply not there yet. If Benteke was fit for the WC, HE WAS FIRST CHOICE. Lukaku needs to get over his hype and realise ATM he is second choice even for his national team, to a striker who plays for Aston Villa. Yes. Aston Villa. The worst part is, that if we bid for Benteke, he will gladly come to Chelsea knowing he wont be first choice. He knows he is talented and will get gametime based on merit over the season. On the other hand, we have Lukaku, who can simply not be a first choice for any CL team that goes beyond the group stage. In the future he might, but not yet. Not sure what he is aiming towards. Unless he thinks Juventus will play him over Tevez, which is even more delusional. With Atletico buying Mandzukic, if Lukaku thinks he will start ahead of him, that too is not happening. That is the case for almost all CL knockout teams. Battling for more playing time at chelsea will actually be the best thing for him as a person and as a part of growing up. A positive reality check will in the end make him the great footballer he can become. However, living in this delusion of " i want this" " i will decide" " i want CL football" , is not going to take him anywhere. Not any time soon atleast. There is a difference in being selfish towards your ambition and being an asshole. Period. Rant Over!

he is worth 50 million pounds imo.