The Rising Sun

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.

Dont understand the whole hoohaa people are going on about why willian signing will threaten other player positions and playing time etc. We have squad depth now and every player should rightfully be challenged for their starting position throughout the season. You look at other top european teams and they have massive competition for positions. Now we have it and they are all quality. We play way too many games each season and every player will get gametime, rotation and that will keep the squad fresh and fighting the entire season. That is what stops players getting tired later on in the season and wins titles. Willian is a fantastic player and is on a similar level as the rest of our midfield. We have talented players, but did not have sufficient skills and characteristics to play different strategies for different teams. It was all about Mata hazard and oscar and what they could do. If one was out, and they werent that effective, we were unlikely to win games. Now we have debruyne schurlle and willian , which will swing our gameplay in a completely different style which is going to help us tremendously against different opponents. Tactically we can set up differently game by game, rather than have the almost exact players playing in one particular way like last season. This signing is good and the competition will be good too. No player needs to be mollycoddled in a team like chelsea, they have to work harder and improve every game. I remember watching him last season and hoped we could buy him, which did not materialise at the time, but this anzhi sellout means we can have him. I for one am glad. In the striking department, while most dont agree, i think we can win the league with Lukaku alone. Our midfield scores enough goals, and should get even more with our new additions. I believe in Lukaku as well. Willian will only do the whole team alot of good.

Selling Mata is just such a joke of a thought. He is such a fantastic player so i truly hope this was all media nonsense and we can get back to normality. I would never take Rooney in for Mata, even if that meant we dont win the title this year ( which we will!!) As @ Gilvorak said before, it would be the most soulless decision made by our club. This morning i was imagining a scenario where Mata and Rooney swap cash deal was happening and envisioned the M4 full of 100,00 supporters blocking Mata's car from going to Manchester on deadline day. If i was in UK and this transfer looked likely i would do something stupid to stop it from happening. i really really hope Jose doesnt make the biggest mistake of his life by making such a deal. Even if Mata doesnt fit directly into his plans. he can be used very very efficiently still. Selling him to United just doesnt make sense at all. Its like selling Drogba to united. Granted not the same, but it has the same impact. I hope Jose puts this subject to bed sooner rather than later.

We are too slow in our build up play, simple as that. And our players dont seem to have full fitness, which they should. Schurlle looked better today.

grea 3 points and a scintillating 1st half performance. 2nd half should have been better. We lost control of the game, which we shouldnt have. I understand the importance of closing down the game, but we gave them too much possession and control in the game for comfort. Hope this can be worked on.... We could have closed the game down in a better fashion IMHO. Never the less, glad the season is back on. And Mourinho of course.

Googled Chelsea Forum. Saw a few sites. The site design with the topics seperate and categorised was the defining factor. Most forums simply have threads all in one page. It is virtually impossible to get where you want to. This forum wins on that front, and the bonus is its good spread of international members. In general, this is the most progressive forum out there, with constant updates and new things coming up. It also seems that we have seen the last of the Server problems, and i will also donate in the next few weeks. With the update in the server and all the donations coming in, this place is now evolving from just a forum to a self sustaining community. Good stuff!!

We have a chance to either let Hulk get angry and smash his opponents (Lukaku) VS Signing Captain America ( Rooney ) While signing captain america sounds like a sexy option, People only choose to see Hulk in his non angry form, and therefore dont rate his smashing ability when he is angry. Lukaku needs the chance to get Angry, because thats the secret, "he's always angry"