CHOULO19

He literally had 3 passes that went out of bounds. As well as a few missed other. But that is of course excusable as it was his first game and he was probably nervous.

Count me in as well. I have a few apps on my phone that give such info about about every match. So it wouldn't be too hard to put them all together and create an article in that format. If the other people who want to do this want to, I can give them the names of the apps I have.

A minor tactical note: I think Jose is trying to customize that number 10 position judging by the roles Piazon and then Kevin played in the match. It looks like Jose wants whoever is playing in that role to drop off more often and play the ball from deep in the field to give us a numerical advantage in the middle when getting the ball out of defense. I predict to see a lot of Oscar and Kevin playing in that number 10 position and not Mata and Hazard. Oh, and I think it's safe to say that we've been practicing set pieces in training.

I still think there were instances where he could have helped out more in attack. On any account, it's too early to judge and I hope he can put in better performances in the coming games.

Well tbf, I was one of the people "telling the ladies" It just felt great to finally see him actually doing what I know he can do, in a Chelsea shirt.

Moved to the "Current Squad" section since he played a game for us. Although I'm not sure if he can actually play for us competitively. On any count, I thought he looked very good on the ball. Can't really judge from 10 mins of football but he looks promising. Definitely worth keeping an eye out for how his situation develops.

Most rational post in this entire thread! Jose clearly said that it's either Rooney or bust. So De Rossi's agent, Tancredi Palmeri, can start making bs up about other teams now.

I thought he started the game very very well. Got involved very much and made things happen. Would be interesting to see where he will go on loan. I know it's early to say, but from the way that he and Kevin played in the number 10 position, I suspect that Jose is making some "customizations" on the 4-2-3-1. I predict that we will mostly see Oscar and Kevin in that position this season and not Mata and Hazard.

What a performance today! It's great to see that even a player like Cole who's won everything can still show desire and hunger in a preseason friendly. Great professionalism

His close ball control was just too good the Singha players. I also liked the combinations he made with KDB. They seem very in sync.

I would rather see Wallace get 30+ games elsewhere so he can properly develop than getting around 5 games at RB as cover.

Finally! A Chelsea player who can actually cross!!

I saw a few people giving him a lot of praise for today, but honestly for me I expected a bit more of him. His passing was sloppy and he seemed reluctant to make forward runs. Of course it is too early to judge him, but it's too early to hype him as well.

Wow, didn't realize. Although I reckon the active ones are barely a thousand.

Thank you for that mental image...

No need for new threads, people. Please keep the discussion here. "Chelsea Football Club can confirm that yesterday it made a written offer to Manchester United for the transfer of Wayne Rooney. "Although the terms of the offer are confidential, for avoidance of doubt and contrary to what is currently being briefed to the press in Sydney, the proposed purchase price does not include the transfer or loan of any players from Chelsea to Manchester United."http://www1.skysports.com/football/news/11668/8827852/Transfer-news-Chelsea-have-lodged-a-bid-for-Man-United-s-Wayne-Rooney?utm_source=twitterfeed&utm_medium=twitter

Of course they don't. Why would we disclose that in the middle of the negotiations?!

Yeah it's only banned in the UK. Works just fine everywhere else.

True, but that utd system was completely different. I think Rooney, if he does sign, can give us a genuine option to switch to 4-4-2 as a plan B when we need a goal.

He tweaked his groin yesterday in training and won't be able to play today.

That's because Rafa switched to 4-4-1-1 with Mata playing more as a second striker. They did not switch that often because Juan was playing ahead of them. But if you remember under Robbie, they were swapping all the time and it was hard to tell who was playing where. If Jose intends to play a classical 4-2-3-1 (which I doubt) they will most likely be exchanging positions.

Even Sky get it wrong sometimes. Remember when they said we were in for Cavani a day before his move to PSG was made official?

Even though Eden and Oscar often played on the wing both often played the role of the play maker. I don't worry much about who will play centrally on paper because on the pitch the 3 attacking midfielders will often rotate unless the manager asks them to stick to their positions. If I have to chose one to start centrally it would be Mata simply because he was by far our best player last season playing in that position.

Alright, let's stop before it 'starts' to get weird..

Feel sad for Josh, but incredibly excited to see everyone else. Haven't said this in a while: Come On You Blues! :cfc: