CHOULO19

But I think it is highly likely that he does. Mikel's only competition is "no-knees" Essien and to some extent Ramires who would be out of position at DM. Mikel is our only decent defensive midfielder, and the fact that we did not go for another DM and refused to sell him says a lot about what Jose thinks of him, imo.

If Jose is going to play the system we played in the first preseason game, then I predict Mikel will be a starter. Simply because he is by far our best DM.

That is what you WANT to believe. Does not mean that's what's true. PS: I do apologize for the pun in the tittle

Do you mean news like this? (Sorry about the pun in the tittle )

BLUES HOPES OF SIGNING DE ROSSI "WAYNE" Chelsea's odds of signing unsettled Italian midfield maestro, Daniele De Rossi, have taken a huge hit yesterday after Jose Mourinho confirmed that Wayne Rooney is the Blues' only remaining transfer target this window. Rumors of Chelsea interest in the Roma FC "Engine" had peaked after his stellar performances in the Confederation Cups, fed by the fans' demands that the club signs a world-class central midfielder after our frailties in that department last season. But all that came to a sudden halt after Jose informed SkySport that it is "Rooney or bust" in the transfer market. On the Rooney front, there was a huge shock as Chelsea confirmed that the club made a bid for the "Angry and Confused" united striker. In a highly unusual step by our board, Chelsea confirmed that the club made a "monetary only" bid for Manchester's Wayne Rooney putting an end to the rumors that Mata or Luiz might be included in the transfer deal. United have maintained that the 27 year old England international is "Not For Sale", but Rooney is rumored to be pushing for a move away from Old Traford. regardless of whether or not Wayne does end up in blue shirt next season, you can't help but feel that the Special One has already made the first psychological hit and weakened one of our main title rivals for next season. Click here to view the article

He had 6 votes for MOTM...

I just don't think we should hype him up now only to be disappointed later. It's not good for his future here to get hyped up this early. Like I said, I'm not criticizing him for the performance. It was after all his first appearance for us and it is only preseason. I'm criticizing the hype some are trying to create about him based on that performance.

English only, please. This is an English speaking forum.

Errmm..I think it's a bit hard to explain. Nothing personal, though. Just politics ruining yet another thing in Lebanon. Our Basketball federation was banned by FIBA today over political shit. Basketball is the number one sport in Lebanon. We're ranked among the first 25 countries in the world and have made it to the last three world cups. That is outstanding for such a small country. So it's very upsetting to see all that go to waste because of a few idiots..and in a world cup qualifier year as well! To put it in perspective for you, it's like Belgium getting banned from the next two football world cups after creating so much talent because of a few idiots.

Sorry, but I didn't even read your point! I saw a lot of long posts and I don't have the time to read them now. I was just sharing a good article I found about Mata in light of the recent rumors of us selling him..

Looks like it's going to be one hell of a relegation battle between myself and Kronenberg. The top of the table is rather boring, though.

Upset. Very upset.

A quick reminder of the effect that Mata has had on our team in the past two seasons: http://squawka.com/news/2013/07/17/no-way-jose-why-chelsea-would-be-mad-to-cash-in-on-mata/2013071714033

I'm guessing that that 'rant' wasn't really aimed at me? On any account, judging players and hyping them is inevitable during preseason. We have nothing else to talk about, what do you expect?!

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.