CHOULO19

Blahhh, he most likely won't!

The captain doesn't need to be a native speaker, but he does need to speak English very well in order to get his points across to the ref and his teammates.

Name: pouty Reason: Obvious Troll is obvious. Punishment: Content moderated permanentlyAbility to create content removed permanently.Suspended permanentlyAlso move to Banned

Because he still can't speak a single word of English.

Problem is, none of our 3 senior strikers are 100% fit and 2 of them might miss out all together with injury. We might not have a choice but to play Schurrle as a striker.

Both Schurrle and Rami training today. No news about strikers and I don't expect any to come out until the official XI is announced. Honestly, I'd give Costa a bigger chance of making it than Remy.

Not to take anything away from Iva because he has done very well this season, but the main reason why our right flank looks a lot more lively this season is not Iva himself, it's Jose. In attack, especially against smaller teams, our right wingers are instructed by Jose to make diagonal runs inside and Iva has full permission to actually take the right wing position without having to worry about the defensive side. In fact he has such full license to become an all out forward in our attacks that when the actual right winger does stay wide (particularly Schurrle) Iva is instructed to continue forward and make the diagonal run himself and actually become a second striker (goal against Everton for example but he's done it countless times this season). It's just a tactic to prevent us from getting too narrow in attack, something that really hurt us last season. And it works because most teams are more worried about stopping us than exploiting the space behind Iva and because Matic and Cahill know that they have to cover for Iva in almost every attack. But it is so much easier for any player to look awesome in attack when he doesn't have to worry about defensive duties, even more so when he is usually unmarked because he's coming from deep. Obviously Iva has great physical abilities and can overpower almost every fullback and even gives CBs trouble, and it takes quite the stamina to keep going up and down that flank for the 90 minutes. But in no way has his technical limitations just disappeared in midair (I can't believe that defenders still fall for the 'dramatic' cut backwards that he does with the ball 11 times out of 10! ) and there are certainly a lot of improvements that can be brought to that position. Point is, it's a new role for the RB position and Iva has done it well so far this season. But Azpi hasn't even had a chance to try that role yet so you can't really say that Iva is much better at it than him.

Really? Those were the 3 consecutive posts (both second and third post quoting yours): As I said, worried "we're gonna lose the title because of this" vibe, especially when you read them one after the other. Wasn't even aimed at you in particular. Glad you're not actually worried, but got absolutely no idea why (or how) you are taking this personally

So much for Jose not wanting injury news leaking out

Yes, I'm sure everyone cares a lot more about how your Inter are doing in Europe, right? Hah! There are ALWAYS refs to be bought everywhere, Jai! Hope the anus is feeling better today...

The Olympiakos vs Juventus game was just one of those incredible matches where you just know one team is not going to score no matter what they do. Juve created and missed so many clear cut chances that by the 75th minute I was literally just laughing every time Morata and Tevez missed yet another one. It just wasn't going to happen. Group is still very complicated though since Olympiakos beat Atletico and Malmo beat Olympiakos in the previous rounds.

Name: Nike Reason: Racist/Xenophobic Punishment: Verbal warning only.

Well because your post, and the posts following it, had the worried "we're gonna lose the title because of this" vibe to them. Just saying there's nothing to worry about.

It's funny when you say "LMAO" but are crying inside! If it's any consolation, I'm sure you set some kind of record. I am certain that you're the only team in the history of the competition to lose 7-1...twice!

Nah, that's most likely bullshit. This is almost certainly just to make way for Marina Granovskaia.

Not at all the same, imo. Ray was assistant manger at the time and the main link between Carlo and the team. On the other hand, most player would have only met Gourlay when they sign contracts. He has no direct effect on the team's performances.

"Defending is easy, anyone can coach it." -Brendan Rogers

3!

Oh those special European nights at Anfield...

No, I can totally see him becoming captain in 2-3 years time. He's a born leader. But when I said Jose hinted that he wouldn't make him, I meant that he wouldn't make him the next captain, because the likelihood of JT still being a starter in 3 years is very low imho. Hence, we will most likely need a short-term captain after JT since I can't currently see a direct replacement for him. Basically, exactly this:

I think he has been slowly pushed out for some time now with Granoviskaia slowly taking his role for over a year now.

Joined ISIS apparently On a serious note, he was amazing yesterday, especially in the first half. Still can't stop laughing when I see that run! Literally the last person in our team who I would expect to make it And the assist for Remy's goal was sublime. His distribution of the ball has always been criminally underrated.

Yeah, even this weak he hinted in an interview that he would not make him captain. He said that he understands why he was captain at Arsenal but here at Chelsea we the belief that the captain needs to be someone who has been here for years and years.

I meant before he was linked with a move here. The ex-Arsenal captain, the Frank-Lampard-hating 'cunt' with the "Barcelona DNA".... Football is so funny sometimes

The club has today announced that Chief Executive, Ron Gourlay, has left the club "to pursue new business opportunities." Gourlay who has been at the club for a full decade, and was for years the face of the Chelsea Football Club administration, receiving a lot of criticism for the board's shortcomings but also much praise for their achievements, especially in the last couple of years. Ron said: "It has been a privilege to have played a role in the club’s considerable achievements both on and off the pitch over the last 10 years, but I feel the time is right to move on to other challenges. I would like to thank Mr Abramovich, the directors, the manager and players and all the staff for their support during my time at the club, and wish them much continued success in the future." The club also announced that pending additional appointments, Chairman Bruce Buck and Director Marina Granovskaia will assume additional executive responsibilities. Ron, you were by no means our favorite person at the club, but it is time acknowledge and appreciate all the work you've done for us. Thank you for everything, and good luck wherever you go.