CHOULO19

I agree with @Special Juan, this was not the game to start him. If Jose wants to give him minutes then let him come off the bench in games like this and start him against Hull and Swindon. This game won't do much good to his confidence, I'm afraid, or the manager's confidence in him. Only positive was his passing which was excellent, to be fair. But of course we all have the gift of hind-sight and I could totally see why Jose started him before the game.

Yes, but they couldn't just wait, they had to defend and defend well. I thought tactically they were incredible. Never lost their shape in the opening 45 mins except when Luiz came dribble forward and forced them to at the end of the game. Honestly I'm more upset about Hazard's miss. Oscar's shot was unlucky, but Hazard should have scored. So should have Iva with a couple of great chances from headers. The first was straight at the keeper and the second was cleared off the line by a defender. Like I said in the match thread, it's a game of tiny margins.

Was expecting both him and Azpi to start yesterday. Still don't understand why they didn't. We could have really used the extra energy and width they provide. I find it mind-numbing that Jose feels the need to rotate JT and Oscar but not Iva and Cole!

English players are always hyped beyond belief. I mean 2 of three English player playing getting the highest rating in the team even though they were both bad is nothing new. He made a few of his usual positioning mistakes (and a couple of his last-ditch tackle to be fair). I have no idea why Jose feels JT needs to be rotated.

How about when he was completely invisible when Basel actually tried to attack and fight the midfield battle. Heck, I wouldn't even call it a battle, we just gave them control over the midfield as the game was too big for MVG and Lampard was no where to be seen defensively. I think the only defensive action he did all game was a clearance from a corner in the first half. Even Jose knew that he should come off because he was offering very little for the team, it was like we were playing with 10 men in defense. He is a midfielder, not an attacker. 1 assist or even 1 goal does not justify being invisible for the rest of the 90 mins.

Needs a rest badly, and it is completely beyond me why we're not giving him one since we have a proven LB on the bench.

Looked decent for his first game, although the passing could have been better. But he always looked likely to beat his man and his work-rate was top notch.

Great performance yesterday. Involved in everything, wanted to make something happen, and the finish for the goal was sublime

Completely disagree. Basel in the first half were nothing short of brilliant. They kept their shape, defending incredibly well and didn't put a foot in wrong. In the second half they had go forward and leave spaces at the back and they made the most of their chances unlike us. Fair play to them for trying to get the second goal after the equalizer instead of just sitting back to defend a point.

Eto'o is still unfit and lacking that final touch and, atm, Torres is still our best striker. Jose needs to make him mind about his selection because his indecisiveness is really hurting us. Sick? No, it's just a funny joke.

We could have really used him for some width yesterday. Granted Iva did better than I though, but he's CB for fudge's sake!

A side like Basel? They put on a better performance than anyone in the PL would 90% of the time. There is absolutely no shame in loosing to a side that played as well as Basel did yesterday. Very disappointing, but not at all embarrassing.

Better game than the Everton one, imo. His movement was good, especially in the first half, but I think he needed another striker next to him, Basel were preventing anything into the box.

Well Oscar had a great game. He was involved in every thing, scored a great goal and almost scored an absolute stunner. Could have had a couple of assists as well if it weren't for some bad finishing. I also thought Willian did very well for his first game with the club. Looked threatening on that right wing and like he was always favorite to beat his man. Tried to put in a few crosses which is something we usually lack, but could have used Azpi instead of Iva behind him for the overlap. Eto'o was better than the Everton game. His movement was very good, especially in the first half, he's just missing that final touch, atm. I think Jose maybe, should have started with two strikers, because Eto'o moves very well but he isn't a huge threat in the box. It was decent performance by the boys, but the inexperience of our key players in finishing the game off has cost us again. Tbf, Basel played an incredible game, both tactically and individually, they were brilliant and Salah proved why he won the award for best youngster in Africa. But it's a game of very small margins. At 1-0 Hazard, one-on-one with the keeper, if he hits the back of the net like he should instead of finding row-z, we would have won 2/3-0 and everyone here would be saying that it was a good performance and a job well done.

There is a middle-ground between good and end-of-world, though.

No he wasn't our worst player out there but he was the player that let my hopes down. I kinda agree he needs a kick up the ass from Jose, for his own good.

Excuse me while I go commit suicide... Things are NO WHERE near as bad as you're making them out to be!

Oscar MOTM, Hazard needs to wake the fuck up! No he wasn't the worst player, but I expect so much more of him. Luiz had a decent game, tbf and so did Iva. No idea where MVG and Frank were for the first goal and the marking was just shambolic for the second.

Won't even try to to read the overreactions here. Basel played a superb game, especially in the first half and deserved the points. Our finishing at 1-0 cost us the game. We had 3-4 chances to kill it off but didn't. Our performance wasn't as bad as everyone is making out; Basel were just very good. The papers will talk about a crisis tomorrow, but this kind of result is expected with the in experience of the squad and all the new players that have not fit in yet. Just need the Fulham game to come as quickly as possible, now.

Wow, hats off to Basel, they played a superb, almost flaw less 45 mins. If Luiz hadn't made that dribble with the ball and forced them out of shape, we would not have score. Speaking of which, great pass by Frank, and brilliant finish by Oscar. Sublime. We also lacked some width, especially on the left flank. Hazard has to do more, imo, and MVG needs to calm down, like seriously! The timing of the goal would have hurt them and hopefully we'll see a more open second half. Come On You Blues!

How come the odds are in negative?

Just follow the TalkChelsea twitter account. We usually do a min-by-min twitter feed. I'm doing the one tonight.

Alright people, there is no need for this language, please.

It's okay, my post wasn't even aimed at you but at people who actually want to read other people's opinions

PS: Our youth team just beat their youth team 4-0 with goals from Feruz, Swift and Kiwomya (x2). Similar result for the senior team? :cfc: