manpe

Are you seriously trying to pin the blame on Mikel for this? Don't you remember that until Matic was untouchable under Mourinho, we were 1 place above relegation zone. Hiddink came in, made Mikel regular and we climbed to 10th. We were all praising him for that decision at that time. Can't believe you are now blaming Mikel when in fact he came in to clean up the mess Matic left, the guy who for me was 2nd worst player after Ivanovic in that season.

Question to everybody: What do you think, do we need to buy any right-sided wide players if Pedro and Willian stay? Or do you think we still need to upgrade over them? I wouldn't be too disappointed if we don't upgrade that position, Pedro was a menace the whole season and Willian was a more than capable backup. The front three really isn't our issue, except if Costa stays he needs a backup even if Michy doesn't leave, but the starters can stay the same for me if there aren't any perfect options available (City snatched one away already). It is more important to improve what is behind them - CM (Matic), WB (Moses) and CB (Cahill). I also wouldn't mind Alonso staying a regular for one more season, but he needs competition so purchasing WBs for both sides is crucial imo.

Who has seen Pasalic, does he deserve to be part of our team next season instead of Baker?

I'm inclined to agree with Leif here. How do you score so little as a striker in a league that fooled the world into thinking that Afonso Alves was world class?

No argument don't worry. I agree with the main point you were conveying, but we are talking about different things essentially. The main thing I disagree with you is the psychological side, the so-called business psychology is only a part of it, our rivals also have big financial motives so other important factors also come into play.

I agree, your worries are justified because recent champions tend to do badly in the following season(s). Like weren't last 5 or so champion managers sacked the following season? This is why it is imperative we don't think everything is rosey in our garden, we need to improve ourselves with hungry players.

Oh, you're welcome. Though I'm not entirely sure if you're being sarcastic or not, but nevertheless I don't mind discussing such topics because psychology interests me quite a bit and for me it's interesting to observe Conte's subtle psychological methods.

For what?

You use a lot of shoulds/woulds to paint an ideal picture that we as fans all expect. Yes what you say is true in theory, but it doesn't mean it was true on the day. Machines? Money can only motivate you so far. If only it worked like that, but they are not cyborgs and we see evidence of human psychological influences in top class football all the time. If not, then for example confidence would be a non-issue, yet it isn't. Goes out the window? You have a very skewed understanding of psychology if you think that money and training can turn people into mindless sacks of meat. It is no coincidence that top managers put a lot of emphasis on the psychological aspect of the game, our own Conte being a prime example. He was timid on the day like you mentioned, and that reflected in the team too. I stand by what I said - Arsenal wanted it more on the day, in fact I think they felt that they needed it, we merely wanted it.

Yes, you are talking idealistic talk that you imagine would happen in a perfect world. Of course they will say that they want the double, do you imagine somebody saying the opposite? No doubt the players and the club wanted it, but they didn't want it as much as Arsenal simple as that. It was the same to them as winning the league to us. You are not taking into account human psychology, which can drift very far from said words. Like last season everybody was saying that they are fighting for Jose, the club and other bullshit they learned from their PR lessons, but the reality was visibly different.

I would contest that thought. Don't mix up our, fans, motivation with the players'. We had achieved our objective, which was to vindicate last season and to ultimately win the league as the season progressed. Super motivation and desire was on display almost every game. They didn't have enough push for the FA Cup because they had already done what they aimed to do, with the cup being only a bonus. Stress levels dropped, they didn't have enough pressure to get that extra that would make the difference. Arsenal, on the other, had a trainwreck of a season. Out of top 4 for the first time since who knows when, humiliated in CL, fans being unanimously vocal against the team and the club, Wenger in/out saga and so on. This was literally their last saving grace to show others that they aren't complete bottlers, their pride as professionals above all was at stake. And they played as such, against a team that didn't need this win.

"I am not Chelsea anymore"

DIEGOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOAAAAAAAAAAAL

Moses is a fucking idiot.

Fabregas needs to play.

Gündogan is toast, he won't play much anyway. Jesus is young and unproven, easily benched and rotated as a squad player. 4-1-4-1 with a DM, whoever that will be, Pep doesn't do defence anyway. If they can convince some quality players to embrace the bench, then good for them, otherwise they will need to sell. They still have Nolito for example, he will probably be gone.

I don't rate him, that's true. Good backup to have a la Willian, not good enough to be an undisputed starter in my opinion. Let's see how he fares against Bernardo.

They need better and have got someone better.

Sterling, lol. Agüero Sane - KDB - D.Silva - B.Silva He fits in, unfortunately.

Yes, not competitive in Europe, I agree. What assumptions? You quoted Clockwork and I quoted you, I was replying to both of you, not only you, so no assumptions. Even if I missed your point, it was still relevant to what Clockwork said and you seemed to agree with him with that picture and saying "the truth, it hurts", hence why I quoted you as somebody who agreed with him.

Tbf Mourinho has always included community shields in his trophy count, it's just his way of inflating his ego. It's okay to win it, why not, but to brag about a treble that is barely a double is just hilarious. Their season has been a failure, he's trying to switch the narrative to it having been a successful one. Our EPL win alone overshadows their "treble", and if we get the FA Cup then that is a real double with 50x more credibility than their cute little treble.

No, the original point by @Clockwork and the post you quoted was about the league. If you are changing the subject to Champions League, then that's a whole different story and has nothing to do with what I said.

Cancelled this sunday, will there be one later?

Lol, they write that biased shit and call themselves "independent".

It can be competitive and entertaining at the same time. In fact competition breeds entertainment, this is why leagues like in Spain, France, Italy are boring. A competitive league can consist of great teams and shit teams, doesn't matter, lack of quality doesn't exclude nor include competitiveness - both are separate things that can coexist. How people can suggest that EPL isn't the most competitive among elite leagues is beyond me, what is it then? We start each season with 6 title hopefuls, what other elite league has that? Yes it is full of mediocre teams that can beat each other and as such the league winner isn't pre-decided before the season starts, isn't that like the definition of tough competition?