CHOULO19

I think that complete depends on the opposition and the tactics we are using. On any account, we currently have a very small a very very small sampling pool to judge from. And I also think that the mistakes in pressing in midfield have been individual rather than collective and both combinations of central midfielders have made mistakes. There is still time to work on the issues. No need to panic, just yet, imo.

Just a modern fullback supporting the attack. And even that depends on the opposition and who is playing in front of him. If Schurrle is playing RW, then Iva goes forward less because Andre stays wide. That all changes according to the game. The point is, I don't like to make those small distinctions because formations aren't rigid in practice. Calling for us to "switch" to 4-3-3 is not that at all; you're calling for a personnel change, namely Ramires for Oscar. That doesn't change the formation because Oscar is already playing a central midfielder role, even if it does give the team something a bit different.

June 2016 according to WAGNH: http://weaintgotnohistory.sbnation.com/2013/9/4/4659496/chelsea-player-wage-database

Well, hopefully some other mid-table team in Spain is impressed and willing to pay.

The whole thing is terrible I had to write it in under 10 minutes while watching the Schalke match.

Huh? The team's formation is the formation they use when they have the ball. That has always been the case. We defend in a 4-4-2, always have. And even then, it is sometimes Oscar next to Costa and other times it Cesc (and even rarely, Matic).

Sometimes you can't help but moan when he goes "too deep"....or so I'm told

I have been watching and the formation that we've been playing is much closer to 4-3-3 than 4-2-3-1 regardless of what the TV graphics say. It can't be called a 4-2-3-1 when Oscar plays so deep and him and Fabregas have interchangeable roles.

This is Schalke, not Brentford! I really think people are underrating Schalke. There is no room for complacency. This is a much tougher match than Swansea, although I could see Jose resting a player or two for Man City at the weekend, but that's about it.

Nope. His contract is till June 2016.

Yeah, it was in the post match conference after the Arsenal away game after Wenger had said that Mikel should have been sent off for a tough tackle that (rightly) wasn't even called a foul by the ref. Yes, they blow it out of proportion and try to turn every sentence of his as controversial, but my point is that he almost always escapes heavy criticism. It's usually brushed off by saying "that's Mourinho".

"Football is a game for men, or for women with great attitude." Implying that Arsenal's squad is neither. It's not an overstatement, he's always encouraged to say those kind of stuffs because he "sells".

He doesn't have a cohesive squad. Madrid fucked up their team with needless signings and selling and he will get the blame for it. Not too different from what Jose said last season. But Jose always gets some leeway for saying controversial stuff.

He's not been doing too bad for Rayo. Just scored a great goal for them. Hopefully that means they'll be willing to pay a few millions for him at the end of the season.

They're just examples. They prove that he can be a good dribbler at times. It's just that those times must come in games with specific criteria.

He can be an effective dribbler when there is space behind the fullback and he can utilize his pace. His dribbles are based on pace and not close control like Eden for example. Prime examples are the game against Steaua and Arsenal last season and even his assist in the WC final.

Did you just beat me to the "Fibonacci series" joke? Banned!

You forgot that he scored against Burnley as well. So, it's actually: 1,1,2,3... It's a Fibonacci series, which means he will score 5 against City!

"We should move to 4-3-3" What have we been playing from the start of the season, then?

To be fair, that's not always the case. He does have games where he's great on the ball. His end product with the ball is inconsistent. And I don't mean his finishing, I mean his dribbling and passing in the final third.

Cheers, mate. CC:

I meant the crowd.

It was obvious that he was brought on to score. So was Salah. And everyone was encouraging him to shoot.

Didn't know how and when to press in the first half and looked terrible. Second half was much much better.

One more: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=YObAsxC2xP4 I second that request.