CHOULO19

That's what I read. Is it me or do players from the French league get married very very early?

Wait, so now it's him, Rami, Mikel and Zouma having babies in the space of a couple of weeks? No wonder half the team looks knackered!

Not 'the same kind' but actually the exact same banner. They borrowed it from the Bridge for the season. EDIT: Should have read till the end of the thread. Just saw someone has already pointed that out.

I'd be pretty happy if he keeps scoring and City keep losing every time he scores, tbh....

Maybe because his whole career does not hinge on that ONE match. He's going to grow by being a part of the first team and playing a role to help the team. He's already started a couple and came off the bench in a few more, including against City, and we're still in September. If I were him I would be delighted and very eager to perform when called upon. Pogba is incomparable here. He didn't get a single appearance for utd IIRC. It would be beyond risky for Ruben to decide to change teams now as he's already getting a chance to prove himself here and doing fairly well. If he moves and fails to adapt quickly or does fit the system or isn't given a proper chance...etc. he'd be back with the reserves. Your main point, or what I understood from it, is what if he came from the Arsenal academy, been given a chance with the first team and done as well as he has done here, how much more playing time would he be given there? THAT is irrelevant of the point we're discussing as contemplating it changes or even relates nothing to reality.

It's simple. You said: No he should not because that's an awful mentality to have and completely lacks professionalism and team spirit.

No he doesn't need to be thinking about how others are performing. That's ridiculous to suggest. He needs to be thinking about how he is performing. He needs to do his best whenever he is selected and given a chance. He needs to help the team however he can. And that goes for every single player, but especially young ones. The absolute last thing he needs to do is think he is a second manager and knows who plays better. That does NOT spell improvement that spells selfishness, huge ego and a sense of entitlement. Improvement comes from analyzing his own game not that of his teammates. That's completely besides the point we were discussing.

Really? That's how you think young players think? If he is looking at Cesc and Matic and thinking about how he can do better then he's a terrible team player and probably won't make it in football. Being part of a team means supporting and trusting your teammates and your manager's choices regardless. Especially if you're young and especially if you are playing some role in helping the team.

My guess would be very excited and happy to be getting a role in the a team like Chelsea at the age of 19.

Should NOT have been starting that game. We needed pacey hard workers like Willian and Ramires not technical players like Pedro and Fabregas. I'm really surprised by Jose refusing to make the selection and tactical changes for those tough away games...

They most likely will. And not because there is some kind of conspiracy. The way Newcastle play, they always play with physical box to box midfielders and manage to out-power us in midfield because we play a double pivot with one defensive midfielder and another more attacking usually 'lighter' partner. However they cannot over-power a midfield of Fernando Fernandinho and Toure.

I'm not one for post game drama as I usually get all my rage and frustration out during the match. So apologies if the next few points look out of place: 1- Newcastle are not "a terrible side". At least they were not to day. They played and fought out a very good game. They were very organized, had a game plan and implemented it. 2- This is not a 'shocking' or 'awful' result. This is actually a point better than we've done at St. James Park in recent seasons. But yes, we should have won. 3- Yes there were poor individual performances, especially in the first half but the main issue was clearly tactical hence why we only actually looked like scoring after Ramires came on. 4- Newcastle always beat us by overpowering us in central midfield. I even said so in the prematch thread. We failed to properly prepare for that for which Jose is to blame. 5- Cesc was beyond atrocious but he was always going to be with how Newcastle play against us. He should never have started in the first place. 6- Stop scapegoating Ivanovic. I was the only one pointing out his faults when everyone was looking past them because of his goals. But today he wasn't even among our worst performers. First goal was not his fault, Zouma made a mess of it. 7- Finally, ref was terrible and every 50-50 seemed to go their way which for me is even more frustrating than having a major call wrongly go against you.

No just not good enough. At least based on the couple of matches he's played.

That is NOT why we had such a badly planned preseason. The main reason is the fact that we decided to have a pointless "post-season" tour which meant that we had to start two weeks later than anyone else to give the players an equal rest as the other teams.

Pardon me? The table still does not matter right now. You completely misunderstood my point.

Honestly I'm trying not to look at the table till about February. Right now I think the most important thing is to try to extend the winning streak as much as possible.

Obviously all the papers will be writing about the digs at Arsene but for me there was a question and answer in the PC yesterday that was by far more important than anything he said, possibly since the start of the season. He was asked since we've won 3 on the trot if the physical condition of the teams has been recovered to what it should be after the late preseason we had. He answered that it was improving and basically acknowledged that that was the main reason of the poor start but said that he "did not think that we would drop so many points" because of it. Basically he knew that we were physically far behind all the other teams at the start of the season and that we would start slowly as a result of the incredibly poorly planned out preseason we had. But the question remains WHY? Why did we have a preseason like that since it was so clear that it was going to hurt us? Was it business goals being prioritized over the best interest of the team? Jose obviously did not approve of it... I only hope that the damage cause is reversible and that our title ambitions can recover from the blow.

Bigger potential in what regard? If you look at his abilities both technically and even physically there is hardly anything in there that stands out. I mean he's not exactly a technical player, far from a dribbler, not outstandingly pacey, his movement and off the ball runs are good but not amazing, he can be an incredible finisher but he can also a below average finisher as we've seen recently. Similar could be said for almost anything in his game. He is however a smart very well rounded player who has shown that he can make the most of his abilities. But that said I think he is rather unlikely to become a striker of the caliber of Costa in a few years, and this is coming from someone who probably rates Diego lower than the majority of Chelsea fans.

I think Jose will go the same lineup as vs Arsenal*. But I do wonder if he would be tempted to bring Mikel in as Newcastle often beat us by overpower us in central midfield. Although that would mean Cesc in an advanced role and that would just repeating the same mistake over and over again and insanely expecting a different outcome.. EDIT: Obviously without Costa. Fully expect Falcao to start in his place because Jose can be completely stubborn beyond rationality like that.

Are you suggesting that Kane will never be as good as Costa because he's far too famous and well-known at such a young age?!

Maturity beyond his years.

He gets taken off because he still doesn't have the stamina to play 90 minutes. He just isn't physically ready to play a full match especially in a role that requires so much energy and mobility. Jose said so after Maccabi and you actually see it on the pitch. He hasn't been in the first team for long and this business of actually starting competitive matches is a whole new experience for him. Allowing him to build physical readiness slowly instead of keeping him in till he burns out is only good player management.

Just watched the match. Forget Matic, Mikel should be replacing Fabregas! That was some Pirlo-esque shit...

Anyone got .GIFs of the goals?

Our injury record is not 'under her' as she was merely one member of an entire medical team headed by Paco Biosca who was brought in by AVB. Eva was already a part of the previous medical staff but she was merely promoted to a role on bench in 2011. So to attribute the record to her is ludicrous. As for the assertion that she is "one of the best medical doctors in the game", not only is it absurd but also completely baseless as we don't even know exactly what her role in the medical team was.