The Rising Sun

No words for all 3 players involved in the third goal....WTF .

This season has been a Success in certain areas, while being a failure as well.... Defensive Play - Success Our team works as a unit defensively now, and breaking us down, and getting through on goal is not as easy as it had become at times in the past few seasons. Offensive Play - Failure (subjective) IMO, our offensive performances over the season have not been great, apart from a few great performances. The results have largely been down to individual performances. Yes, we dont have a striker, and that sucks, but we dont have pace in our game , the way other teams like liverpool and city do, and that is extremely disappointing, with the players we have. Someone here had stated that all our team ethic is all towards defensive responsibilities first, and while that is not a bad thing, we really need to add pace to our game. Currently we only have pace on counter attacks, but on average gameplay, it is still a bit laboured and when we come up against teams which sit back and are tough to break down, we falter. Mourinho recently said that it is down to player personalities in such situations, but in this case, apart from Torres, i dont think it was down to that, rather, it was just the way we are set up as a team. We emphasize defensive discipline and counter attack, but over the course of the game , we are not pacy enough or wide enough to cause mayhem and break opposition team plans. Player progression - Success Hazard, Oscar, Willian, Shurlle , Azpi, Terry, Cahill, Luiz... ..Nuff Said!! Mourinho has really improved these guys and taken them to a level up. Good on him. Overall Season Review - Success Overall, there has been enough progress to feel we are on the correct path. However, i hope we set up more offensively next season, with more pace and width next season. I want our football to be more exciting. This season was exciting, in terms of results and sticking close to the top of the table, but next season should be exciting, not only because of results, but also gameplay. I want us to be exciting the way Liverpool are this season, and it is possible.

too slow , no creativity or pace. torres is rubbish, age is showing now with Lamps. Looking forward to the summer transfer window, the completion of our team for next season.

looks like everton will make top 4 instead of arsenal..... They are 6 points behind arsenal with a game in hand. Next game against Fulham while city will beat arsenal. 3 point gap still with a game in hand. Next game vs arsenal. If Everton win, they go ahead of arsenal, still with a game in hand, so technically even if they draw at home against arsenal and win their game in hand which is the game after this one, they will get ahead of arsenal on goal difference. From then on, similar fixtures for both....

Really enjoyed the fact that Salah First celebrated with his team mates, and then followed up with the tributes to god. Not too fond of it when done the other way around.... Fantastic win. Different than some others, but certainly the most memorable of this season.

Chelsea has become a great team defensively. That is the mentality that wins games, or saves a point when it could have been none. Results are great, but there is no fun/excitement in results, only satisfaction. Glory is achieved by points, not performances, so stop calling people glory hunters or to "support" other clubs. If a supporter wants performances, they are actually less of a glory hunter than the person who only cares about the points. If Chelsea Performed rubbish yesterday, then so be it. take it on the chin. We got a favourable result, feel secure about it. A Striker can change everything for us next season. That is the bottom line for this season. The mentality to not lose is now in every player, hopefully the mentality to win, and win well is something that we see next season, as Jose says, Little horse will become Big horse etc. We already have defensive cohesion. but offensively there is no fluidity, which is worrying. Playing counter attack doesnt necessarily mean we can not impose ourselves during the game . Somehow, more often than not, we fail to impose, and end up losing control of the game.

100 million spent. A 100 million. Avb Levy and Baldini should be ashamed of themselves A club like Tottenham only gets 1 chance to spend such big money in a lifetime, and they somehow manage to make a great footballing side into a miserable excuse of a team. I still cant get my head around what on earth they were trying to do spending such money on players that wouldnt get into a stoke side. Quite pathetic really.

We were simply too slow. That is the only reason we could not win. Oscar needs to remember what made him so good.... that closing down , chasing opponents and making hard tackles.... hasnt been doing that of late. Ramires in general is one of those hit and miss players as apart from pace, there is ZERO technique. It was a bad day at the office for us and there are no excuses, but it is a good wake up call for ALL the players. The title does not come because of 1 or 2 good performances.... If your level as a collective lowers and that hunger is missing, if you turn up expecting to win.... BOOM.... reality check..... Better now than later IMO. I expected a halftime talk by Jose though which would change the way we played but we were still too slow, almost walking the ball sometimes expecting openings to develop. There was a lack of intelligent movement, lethargy among the team. Maybe Lampard instead of Ramires to start would have been a good move for such a game. We need Arsenal to draw or Lose, cant stop city from winning against sunderland at home, so i'll take 2nd place for now, with the hope they drop points in the future, and we dont mess up the chance to go top and stay there again.

i think yellow cards get reset on new years so no way he could have got 6 since then......

Lukaku

Bottom Line is that our players need to get their shit together. Jose Mourinho needs to get his shit together. Mourinho needs to make us play better football, in general over a longer stretch. ATM we play one good match every 5 games or so, 2 really bad games, and 2 passable performances out of 5. This falls down on everybody, players, coaches, manager. There seems to be something wrong with our team setup and dynamics, wherein we have many players for most positions, but almost none of the lineups are able to really gel together and be cohesive, other than the odd good performance. Is it our Formation then? Do we need to do a 4-4-2 , do we have players who can pull off a 4-3-3, as oscar is NOT winger, neither is ramires. Willian is very hit and miss and needs to fine tune his game. I understand that Mourinho largely inherited this squad, but every other manager in the world does that too, and most of those managers dont get a team with so many talented players like in chelsea. In any case, i really saw Chelsea progressing and trying to bring in a philosophy of good football over 90 minutes, but this season with Jose it seems to have completely gone out of the window, barring our performance against arsenal, when our B TEAM was playing. Dont really know what to think. Why Mata doesnt play when we have 2 games EVERY WEEK, and De bruyne doesnt even get a look in, and Schurlle as well. Why Oscar and Ramires play as wingers when we have abundance of talent in that position, why ivanovic is the preffered RB, or that Lampard is played every game. It almost seems like Jose has decided that these players are going to be in my lineup every week, no matter what formation i play, which team we are playing against. I was hoping yesterday that we get our so called B TEAM out vs Basel and play rip roaring football with everyone playing for their places. But after yesterday, i feel for players like Debruyne and Mata, and the others as well to a certain extent. Always maintained that i dont care if we miss out on Major successes instantly as long as we play the right way. Certainly not like this. This season has not had too many things to smile about.

Glad to see many others realising what was our basic problem. Mata Oscar Hazard simply cannot play together. We are too slow and that takes everyone out of the game and never lets any momentum build.

As i said before, all 22 of our the players involved over the last week have been brilliant. In no way am i suggesting those players be dropped. It would be an interesting tactic if it were to be done by Jose, which he obviously wont do. Secondly, the (good) problem with our team is that we have too many skilled players who are playing well , and you dont want to disrupt a winning 11. But then again, it is harsh to make the team against arsenal, who apart from 2 players were close to first team, go back into the 2nd team after such a performance. That was an idea, more than anything. Regarding Cech, i stand by my opinion. He is an amazing goalkeeper, but he has been caught out a few times this season. Nothing wrong injecting a new wave of desire in him. This is not to say he hasnt performed well, but it seems he has lost concentration sometimes. Bottomline is that i thought the team vs arsenal played a very quick skillful incisive sexy brand of football which i hadnt seen since the first day of the season, those first 20 minutes vs hull. Dont know where that leaves the squad and starting 11..... thats a good problem for Jose to have but i also feel a few of these boys need a proper look in, but at the expense of whom?? Its a good situation to be in, but a tough one to manage.

Would love to see the same 11 that played vs arsenal start this game. That doesnt mean other players are being dropped, but instead will give all of these boys the chance to play the same unbelievably fast game with quality skill through and through. I still dont think The three amigos should play together as it slows down our game and doesnt bring out the best overall in terms of the team as a whole, especially with a high pressure energy approach which we have working for us now, with real wing play. Yesterdays performance, pressing, skills, speed all coming together was the happiest i have been with our play, sexy football over 90 minutes. As people have mentioned, the balance was so damn good, it seemed like well oiled machinery , reminded me of bayerns style of play. It will come as a surprise to Newcastle, who would have prepared this entire weak to manage against certain expected starters. They wont know what hit them. On the flipside, these boys will be rewarded for playing their hearts out and producing such a performance. Not only will it give them the oppurtunity to win their place back into the starting 11, but also put more pressure on the current 11 to further raise their game . Moreover, i feel that ivanovic has not been legendary this season and azpi deserves a shot. Mata as well must get a run of games. Lastly, dont think many people will agree with me here, but Cech IMO has not been that good this season, letting many goals go in that should not have. He needs to be challenged again to raise his concentration. Wierdly, even though both our first team and second team work with the same philosophy, both have such different identities , its amazing. Luckily even if Jose plays the first team, which he probably will, we are in a very good place.

what a performance this is! we are playing some super fast exciting stuff here!! You can see everyone playing for their places, playing their hearts out. What a difference from seasons gone by!!

heartbreak.....5 seconds away from winning, Pens are a lottery any ways so its sad but OK.

Mata was our best player last season. He lead the team extremely well IMO. Every player should fight for his place but surely Mata is a big game player and can perform well when/if chosen.

Mata. Why is he not playing. Really need to know whats up.

It is funny how somehow this forum has turned into the negativity show, with every signing being equated to disaster. Every player who is not Cavani or Falcao apparently is a shit signing. Eto and Willian are talented players who can compete with every player in our squad in their respective positions. Eto is still a great finisher and its not like his pace has fallen by leaps and bounds. If any player comes in, which improves our squad, whether for short term or long term, i dont understand why there is such negativity even before the player has kicked a ball. Chelsea prides itself on being winners, winning trophies, not like the Mighty Arsenal supporters who keep talking about how their wage structure is the best in Europe. Doesnt matter if Eto is being paid 5 mill or 7 mill for his 1/2 years here, if he helps us win things then it is a successful transfer. Torres is being paid big and is not really helping is win shit. He should be the one getting all the negativity, while eto should be seen as a signing that lifts the weight of our shoulders, the supporters, crying out to not see him as a first choice. Now Torres is not first choice. That is a win, for us and for Chelsea. Be positive, like we were with Torres for atleast a full year of his crap show.

Didnt necessarily get the team right, but hindsight is a great thing, so we can say he got the right result. The idea was correct, that we crowd the midfield with our players, but it seemed to be a decision out of the blue, with our players not knowing how exactly to play this style effectively. They all seemed a bit lost. However, we did limit United at home. If we are to play this setup again, i hope the players practice this style and everyone understands the dynamics of such a game. Yesterday was just plain wierd and awkward, even for our players.

Its a 1 year stop-gap. and he is still quality. So if we dont get Rooney, which is looking unlikely, Eto deal only has positives for us.

Dont think this is the way we should setup in any game however, it was old trafford and it was united's job to go for the win. I think it is fair to say we can make judgement when a big team visits stamford bridge. When we play away games , it doesnt need to be this dull, but in the end, not giving them 3 direct points over us is a long term win. When we host the big teams, we are expected to go for the win, and it is here that i hope Jose plays a stronger more aggressive game. Will only make the call once some big team visits us at home. I remember there were murmurs and discontent at madrid that mourinho did not play attacking football, or that he set them up to not lose etc.... did not follow up on that at the time, but hope that was not true as we are packed with flair attacking players. The last thing you want to do is to turn them into boring matchwinners, who can still produce magic moments, but lose that technical flair , instead becoming dogged and resilient. For me personally, this was OK as long as we setup this way maybe only once more, and that is at the etihad. Arsenal totenham and the rest, we need to setup to show flair pace and sexy football.

triple post

Awful game, but great point. We should have been active during the first half. This system doesnt really work as too many similar players bunched together. Second half was better. In hindsight, we beat united a few times last season and then ended up fighting for top 4, while they went on to become champions. This was dull but also means we are not 3 points behind them so early in the season, i.e. once they play their 3rd game. We are frontrunners and can have sexy performances against other teams. As long as we dont lose to any big sides, and keep winning against lower placed teams, we should have the best chance of winning the title. However, i do not wish to see this formation and performance ever again.

Awful game, but great point. We should have been active during the first half. This system doesnt really work as too many similar players bunched together. Second half was better. In hindsight, we beat united a few times last season and then ended up fighting for top 4, while they went on to become champions. This was dull but also means we are not 3 points behind them so early in the season, i.e. once they play their 3rd game. We are frontrunners and can have sexy performances against other teams. As long as we dont lose to any big sides, and keep winning against lower placed teams, we should have the best chance of winning the title. However, i do not wish to see this formation and performance ever again.