LukakutoStamford

I'm not sure is worse losing to Germany 6-1 or losing to Wales 2-1 (Ouch Scotland)

KDB is reminding me of Beckham with his crosses long, pinpoint, and with deft touch

Agreed. Seems like he's suffering from Messitis when it comes to playing for the national team. I just hope he can get it together and start making a big impact as the NT needs him play well to qualify and have the ability to do some damage in Brazil should Belgium qualify.

Although he did nearly score on that cheeky chip.

Belgian deefnse is very dodgy and Serbia look very dangerous.

Beautiful cross by De Bruyne

Falcao has 83 goals in his last 100 games which includes both the Portuguese Div 1 and la liga. Since he joined Athletico he has 46 goals in 56 games. Hard to argue a subjective topic like influence but the man knows how to score goals. Btw RVP has 59 goals in his 83 games Torres has 17 goals in his last 78 games All three numbers are over the same time span, which also points to Falcao's durability. I don't care for rankings irrespective of position because it's extremely difficult to compare a centerback or even a midfielder to a striker, but if you are making a world 11 with 2 up front you have to include Falcao. It's even arguable that he's the top striker right now. (FTR I don't count Messi or Ronaldo as strikers they are center forwards which is a nuanced difference. Ronaldo and Messi are given a lot more freedom and they carry more reponsability and they exist as False 9s/AM/center forwards depending on the shape they take.)

Torres isn't the answer. I can't speak to whether he's lost a step or the tactics aren't suitable although I suspect it's a bit of both. However, if you look at the Hazard and Mata they need a striker who can score in tight spaces and who can score in variety of ways. It seems as if Torres needs the perfect set of circumstances to score. Fair play to Torres for his goal V. Arsenal. Chelsea needs a striker who is not only physical and aggressive enough to score sweaty goals but also has enough skill to score some stunners. Lukaku fits the bill better than Torres except he's not fluid enough at this point, imo to score quick goals or to be able to create in extremely tight spaces. Obviously it's not an easy thing to do otherwise Chelsea would have a premier striker by now. RVP would have been an incredible fit as stylistically he would fit in well with Mata and Hazard. Of course he's a world class srtiker, but for the sum Man U paid it's somewhat shocking that Roman didn't weaken a top rival while adding depth and strength to the roster RVP in the last two seasons (10/11 and 11/12) - 59 goals in 81 PL games and cup/champ games Torres in the last two seasons (10/11 and 11/12) - 12 goals in 67 PL games and cup/champ games Falcao in the last two seasons (10/11 and 11/12) - 73 goals in 94 Liga/Por 1st div games and cup/champ games Through today: RVP - 66 goals in 89 PL games and cup/champ games Torres - 17 goals in 78 PL games and cup/champ games Falcao - 83 goals in 100 Liga/Por 1st div games and cup/champ games (46 goals in 56 games since joining athletico madrid) It's just shocking how poor Torres has been I don't expect his production should be at RVP's or Falcao's level but he's at 1 goal per 4.6 games whereas RVP is 1 goal per 1.35 games and Falcao is at 1 goal per 1.21 games. I think Chelsea's stature warrants a striker who can convert at 1 goal per 1.75 to 1.9 games.

Hope he nicks another goal against the scousers

Laff, I used to be a coach for greco-roman and freestyle wrestling and the great part of it was that the parents rarely if ever intervened because none of them had the first clue about strategy tactics moves etc. I couldn't even imagine scouring message boards for help. I just talked with top coaches, top wrestlers, and watched film until I saw something interesting. Now to be certain there are some fans that understand the game at a very high level, but as a manager you undermine your credibility if you are scouring message boards for ideas. What's interesting is that the ability to coach has little to do with one's personal achievements but rather has to do with one's ability to inspire, one's ability to pay attention to details, and one's ability understand the psychology of the players and the team. That's why you rarely see the top players in any sport become to good managers because it was too easy for them. For the best players they just worked hard and almost always they were great whereas for the common player it tends to be a mammoth struggle where results are inconsistent and there a continual refining process to get that extra drop of achievement.

It's funny there's this background discussion about him ending up at Barca. I'd shudder to think what he could do with Messi. As for Chelsea Hazard needs creative talents to play with him or at least receptive talents. Torres is not a good fit for whatever reason, and I don't know if Torres has past his prime or there soemthing else going with Torres but Chelsea needs to see more with Mata, Oscar, Moses and Torres needs to see the bench. Also the pivot needs some spice as well. Hazard is a flair player and he needs to play with players who can understand his brilliance and their game plays into his creative free flowing fast paced style. The rabona to Terry pretty sums up what happens when Hazard is playing with rigid players lacking creativity. (Yes I know Terry is central defender). Chelsea needs a dominant defensive mid and a libero and they really need to ditch the 4-2-3-1 in its current shape and move towards 4-1-3-2 3-2-3-2 3-4-2-1 or 3-5-2. The personnel in back needs to be changed dramatically.

Witsel is the guy Chelsea needed ... but he's off to Zenit for a crazy sum.

Not sure what Wilmots was thinking. The game was extremely physical and referee was allowing a lot to happen. Belgium was dominant at times and the link up play was also fantastic in spurts. Unfortunately the defense was shaky and no striker emerged. I think Hazard is reticent to play selfish and at time it seems like he needs to be more selfish to create more his own. Defour was excellent. Witsel is a class midfielder and nearly created a second goal. If only Lukaku was up to speed and/or if Tchite would get his Belgian citizenship this team could be very lethal. I liked Fellaini and De Bruyne as subs but I think Wilmots might have been better off to go with Lukaku at around 60 mins while leaving Benteke on for additional height and physicality and morphing into a diamond 4-4-2 shape. Belgian midfield is pure class.

Gillet get in! A cracker of a goal

That's why England is mired in the same spot. England needs to recognize that Terry, Lampard, Gerrard, etc are near the end and they need to be getting the young kids some run as well as trying out many many players more than once (unless they are dreadful)

Looks great. Now if they can stop whistling during the opposing teams national anthem we'll be good (I'm guessing that was only for the Oranje)

Certainly but a lot of it is luck. Drawing Spain and France when both are traditionally pot 1 teams is unfortunate. There are many groups where the pot 1 team is beatable if not vulnerable. France is certainly no guarantee but had the Fins landed in just about any other group their chances would be a bit better.

Haven't seen enough of him as of yet, granted he's only 19 so we'll see. He did have a goal v. Holland but it wasn't a spectacular goal. EdIt: Apologies Benteke is actually 21. As my compatriot indicated below he's about potential and I'm not sure he's quite ready for the Premier League, but he's certainly capable to play for a lower tier PL team. Wait and see but 7.5 million pounds is quite a large transfer fee when you see players like Vertonghen and Dembele go around that price and they are much more established.

Wales appears to be missing 3 starters rom the XI due to injury. Here's to a Belgian victory. Courtois is starting but nothing else has yet been determined.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?feature=player_embedded&v=Qjf9g-8RGZg I believe this should go here

Look this transfer window has been great except that there was a complete an utter failure to address DM, and the back four. I hope Cesar is ready to go because Ivanovic has been dreadful. The double pivot is tragedy and Torres is about as daft as Emile Heskey.

Not sure why anyone is surprised. It's no secret that neither Lampard or Mikel have the necessary attributes to play the double pivot together. It's already been exposed numerous times and it has also been covered up by the offensive exploits of the team. Ivanovic is shambolic on defense.

Has the starting 11 been named, the full 18?

Terrible draw for Citeh. They could finish fourth and I wouldn't be surprised. It's not that Dortmund or Ajax are world beaters but I think Citeh has enough weakness that this draw could cause them a whole host of issues.

Unfortunately I fall into category 3 of those who knew. One of my father's best friends used to be a professional cyclist for Luxembourg in the Merckxian era and even then he was doping and he said that if you chose not to dope ther were plenty of guys who would step in front of you to take the needle/drugs etc. He said everyone doped and he said he knew that Armstrong had doped although I wasn't sure if this was based on his belief that everyone was doping or if he ahd inside information from his cycling contacts who were strongly hinting that Armstrong was doping. Drug testing unfortunately doesn't work well because the tests are too far behind the doping tactics/mechanisms. So when you see that athletes are clean you never really can tell if they are actually clean or if they are smart and know how to cycle their doping properly. The only way to eliminate doping would require either daily testing 365 days a year (to cumbersome, invasive, etc.) or a microchip implanted in an athlete that could monitor metabolic panels.