CHOULO19

Wow, the refereeing had been terrible in the match today. Phill Dowd really is unfit to lead an EPL match. On a different note:

Is there room for improvement at Chelsea? Although Chelsea were strongly fancied to enjoy a successful 2014/2015 campaign, few expected the Blues to make such a blistering start that has blown everyone away. Not only has Jose Mourinho kept his promise that his team would fare much better in the Premier League in his second season since returning to Stamford Bridge, but also appear ominously strong in the Champions League and Capital One Cup. Chelsea have made their way to the semi-final stage of the latter competition after the 3-1 victory at Derby, but there were signs of complacency creeping into their game which made the victory less secure than it could have been. The same could be said of recent performances in the Premier League; although the defeat at Newcastle may turn out to be a blessing in disguise despite Chelsea losing their unbeaten record, the Blues have allowed Manchester City to catch up to them at the top following the potentially damaging 5-3 loss at Tottenham. Lack of cutting edge It may sound extremely harsh to find a fault in any of Chelseas performances this season, but there have been occasions in recent weeks where the team could be criticised for a lack of cutting edge. The Blues are the joint-top goal scorers in the Premier League, yet failed to be ruthless and put Hull to the sword despite playing against ten men for the last 30 minutes. It could be argued that the game was already won by the time Tom Huddlestone received a straight red card, particularly as the visitors barely threatened at any stage of the game, but it was an opportunity missed to score more. Chelsea also struggled to create many clear-cut chances against Newcastle and Southampton who made themselves extremely difficult to break down a tactic which may be used more frequently by opponents who try to stop the likes of Eden Hazard, Diego Costa and Oscar in full flow. Goal difference could be a crucial factor in the title race, with Manchester City showing the same defensive and attacking qualities as Chelsea, meaning that Mourinhos sides must be more creative and ruthless when opportunities to score a number of goals arise. Defensive errors Errors are part and parcel of football, but a backline which has looked so secure this season has shown signs of complacency that need to be addressed. John Terrys uncharacteristic error against Southampton could be put down as one of those moments that can happen in any football match, but the lack of shape and organisation against Tottenham was ruthlessly exposed. Chelsea were well aware of the rich vein of form Harry Kane is in, yet gave the English striker way too much time and space to pull the strings and cause havoc. It may prove to be a one-off, but other teams will gain encouragement from how effective Tottenhams direct approach was at unsettling Chelseas defensive line and look to replicate it. Mourinho has set extremely high standards at Chelsea this season, and will undoubtedly look to ensure the team remain tight at the back and do not become sloppy in their application of solid defending. Upcoming games against Swansea and Manchester City are likely to pose a real test of Chelseas resolve as Premier League leaders, and will need John Terry to lead by example and ensure the teams attacking threat is matched by a water-tight defence to stand the best chance of remaining at the summit come the end of the season. Click here to view the article

Quick look at Squawka finds that Ryan has created 16 chances including 2 assists while Clyne has 11 created chances with NO assists. Defensively, Ryan has 38 interceptions and 4 blocks, while Nathanial has 33 and 3 blocks. Clyne has more clearances though with 56 compared to 46. Ryan also has 58% duels won compared to Clyne's 48%. Both on 2 goals so far since you mentioned it in your previous post. Will try to look later for average touches and dribbles and such on statszone.

LMAOOOO This is definitely my new favorite vine: https://twitter.com/MrFootyNewss/status/554262307300442112 :lol:

As I eluded to in a post above, the issue was with wages. The contract that we offered him was rumored to be on reduced wages while he is now supposedly on a higher wage at City than he ever was at Chelsea.

Watch one of their games and you'll see what I mean. Every time I saw Soton this season, you could very clearly see that A LOT more goes down the left than the right. I'm too busy right now to look up the stats, but I'm willing to bet that Ryan has more average passes and touches on the ball than Clyne.

Higher ceiling is debatable, but Ryan has clearly been better this season. One of, if not the, most important player for Soton. Almost every attack goes through him down the left wing.

Well, you can't say they're not creative!

Saw a Millwall fan on Twitter posting pics of sticks and knives "in case we get Chelsea".

Yeah, that's kind of what I meant. Maybe he was asked to save his energy and work a bit less in games because he kept re-injuring his hamstring. I think what Jose meant back then was that he was no longer feeling pain. Doesn't mean the muscle itself is back to 100% fitness. At least I hope that is the case, because otherwise that was just lazy work from Diego in the opening 20 minutes yesterday.

I think the Southampton fullback at the other side has done even better than Clyne this season. Maybe get him and move Azpi to his original RB position?

I think maybe it is a sign that his fitness levels are still not back to 100% and he is thus asked to save his energy for attack rather than pressing and defense?

Sign of champions, and all that...

That's not true, or at the very least there is no proof for that. There is some inconclusive proof that we did offer him a contract as Jose said and some reports claimed in Feb-March of last year, but there is zero proof, to my knowledge, that he was not offered a new contract. Not even Frank himself has come out and explicitly said that he was not offered a new contract.

A bit shaky in the first half, very Cahill-esque even as he kept on backing off on several occasions. But that second half was immense. I think it's very important that he gets a run of matches to get his form and confidence up.

Apparently, City are getting investigated by UEFA because of it: http://www.dailymail.co.uk/sport/football/article-2904903/Manchester-City-face-new-cash-probe-network-global-companies-sharing-financial-losses.html

The verb I forgot to write in that sentence is "like". I really don't like the gesture he did....

I thought you were going to say "Charlie Austin & Harry Kane gives us some hope that anyone can become a premiere league striker"...

Qatar Airways rumor seems to have originated from Twitter. Can't find anything solid about it.

Very good in the second half, especially in contrast with the first where he was dire to put it lightly. In the first 20 minutes he seemed to just stand in place. Didn't press or make runs. Weird. On a different note, I really don't like* the gesture he did especially when he was playing that badly. Just get your head down and work harder to improve instead of making provocations to opposition players. Not about Costa in particular, but I'd really like players to start getting booked for those kind of unsportsmanlike gestures like shushing or card waving. *edited

Devastating news. May he rest in peace.

MOTM for me. Kept us in the game in the first half. Would have been a very different match had we conceded first; one that I do not think we would have won with the way were playing.

Jose said on more than one occasion that Frank was offered a new contract, he even said that he can return in any position he wants. Then you have Neil Ashton, who is the closest journalist to Frank, and who was basically his wing man in the AVB debacle and the 2013 contract extension saga, said back in February 2014 that Frank was indeed offered a new contract on reduced wages. If rumors are to be believed, Frank is now on a higher wage than he ever was at Chelsea. Probably why he went to City and not one of the other offers outside of the country that were available for him.

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Really hope it's not Qatar Airways...