CHOULO19

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.

Guilty as charged In my defense, in 2013, I had only seen a hand full of games of him as a striker and he did at first seem like the poacher only type

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:

LOL No. I was referring to you liking posts from 2013

Too much free time on your hands, @The Skipper?

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.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=yOjUipLB78k https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=JvJIvD5jA3c

Yes, I think Remy would do just fine against Schalke. They play a high line and can be found out by pacey strikers like Loic.

Stamford Bridge hosted today an unlikely clash at the top of the Premiere league table from which Chelsea eventually emerged 4-2 winners despite an early scare. Chelsea and Swansea came into this match as the only two remaining teams with a 100% win record in the EPL this season, and Jose Mourinho's side was handed a big boost before kick off after August player of the month, Diego Costa, was passed fit to start; a piece of news that would have a big impact on the final score. Both sides started the match brightly, but soon the gaps in the Chelsea midfield started to show. After Routledge fluffed an early Swansea chance, a mistake in midfield put our back four on the wrong foot, and the retreating John Terry accidentally put the low cross past Thibaut Courtois and into his own net to give the Swans the lead after 10 minutes. After a sluggish ten minutes or so after the goal, Chelsea started finding their game and tempo much better, spurred on by the unstoppable Eden Hazard. The boys kept getting closer with each chance until finally, Diego Costa managed to get on the end of a Fabregas corner and head it into the net right at the stroke of HT. Costa's goal proved game changing as all the momentum was now Mourinho's men who started the second half on the front foot. After a series of missed chances, it was Costa again who gave Chelsea the lead in the match. A brilliant combination of one touch passes down the left flank between Hazard, Fabregas and Azpilicueta, and Costa was there to tap it in. Cesc again with the assist. A more relaxed Chelsea side continued to create chances, and ten minutes later, Costa completed his hat-trick after showing brilliant striker instinct and movement to pounce on an under-hit Ramires shot. The game was then perfectly set up for a debut goal for our new French striker, Loic Remy, and that is exactly what happened. Ten minutes before the final whistle, Hazard beat half of the Swansea defense by his own, Oscar provided the assist and Remy curled a shot beautifully into the bottom corner to round off the 3 points. A few minutes later, Jonjo Shelvey took advantage of a sleeping Chelsea defense to pull one back for the Swans, but it was too late. Chelsea had already ensured that their perfect start to the season continues and cemented their place at the top of the EPL table. Individually, Diego Costa's hat-trick made it 7 goals in 4 matches for the striker and made him the first player to score in each of his first 4 matches for Chelsea since 1928. The player of the month continues with his red hot form, while the manager of the month curse claims yet another victim in Garry Monk. Moreover, Cesc Fabregas increases his tally to 6 assists in the opening 4 matches, more than any Chelsea player managed in the entirety of last season, save Fernando Torres (7). The new signings have already made all the difference at Chelsea. Hopefully, we can take the momentum from this flying start into the Champions League as well. Bring on Schalke!