The Rising Sun

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"

I know we could have played better and showed more than we did, But we just beat Inter and AC Milan, and it is OK losing to Real Madrid considering we had our chances and penalty claims dismissed. We are not at the level of Real Madrid and have a team that is getting to know eachother and team gameplay, while RM already have an established team and style of play. It will take some time for us to take that next step to compete withthe Madrid Barca Munichs of this world in an attractive manner, and no doubt it will happen, but such changes in club philosophy playing styles take time to become club culture. There is no need for knee jerk reactions. Yes some of our players dont seem to be at the level we would want, but that too will be sorted in due time.

Bottom line is that he is a leader and a character. When we are down and he gets the ball, i know he will make that extra effort and produce that extra bit of quality, whether it be a great ball, and stunning shot, or a great dribble. If he feels other players are a little down, he makes sure to get the passion running again, himself and through the team. Its a quality that very few people have.

Well IF he wants to leave then it obviously makes sense to let him go. We are not that type of club to hold him ransom. Till the time he doesnt say he wants to go, he wants to stay.

Barcelona wants David Luiz because he offers so much. That itself is reason enough for us to keep him.

Because i care about what happens to him. And i hate barcelona now more than ever. And i genuinely feel that he can become on of the worlds top defenders at the rate he is progressing. He has too much to offer.

Its all about opinion isnt it.... I dont rate pique as a great footballer and Terry offers more in terms of leadership, not only in the team but in an overall sense for the club. Iniesta, well i didnt do my research and thought he is 32 or something. But we have a great talent pool already and i want them too become the next iniestas of this world. Fabregas IMO is definitely not as good as Mata. Sanchez is good but then again, we dont need him. Just like we dont need to sell David Luiz. I have emotional connections for players like Luiz who play their hearts out, and his sale will be damaging towards my emotional connect with Chelsea.

Selling Luiz would be Like city selling Kompany and united selling Vidic, it will be a huge blow for us.

We CAN NOT under any circumstances sell him. He is in the league of players that have an ability to become legends and leaders for the team they play in. He is all heart and has improved leaps and bounds and is consistently getting better and better. I just went over the Barca team and there is honestly no one from their team apart from Messi or Neymar that would add to our squad. Xavi and iniesta are getting old so they arent counted. I dont think we will sell, but if we do, it will be a sad sad day in the history of this Football club.