manpe

finally a non-fake trick shot... sign him up!

We should take note from Mourinho and play 3 defensive mids - Mikel, Luiz and Romeu. It almost worked against Barca, it will certainly work against QPHa. for the confused ones: j/k

Will McEachran be able to play? We usually stick a clause in which doesn't allow them to play against us, like Benayoun

You can have a working partnership with 4-3-3, a la Lampard and Drogba... it's just that our Torres can't thrive on a player like Lampard, he needs a witty fucker like Mata behind him all the time. I doubt AVB will be changing his formation, he strikes me stubborn as a donkey.

what a loser

I find his reluctance to sign players who are cup-tied frustrating. That only means that next season, when they are not cup-tied anymore, they'll end up somewhere else and we'll end up with B/C plans like Meireles. Although that might not be true, because it doesn't seem that other clubs are too active in Jan either. But if we miss out on a CL spot next season because of no obvious cover for our main players, AVB will really reflect on his words with salt and ketchup on it and eat it.

He had ANOTHER MISS? Can't wait to see how shocking it was. It seems Torres can't take advantage of Drogba being away like we all hoped he would.

The more it baffles me when AVB is saying that it's not a necessity to buy new players.. surely he knows that there is no adequate cover for him.

I didn't see the game Taking into consideration it was a chance for us to close the gap between our rivals, it's not a surprise we dropped points... it's just our style. So, should be thankful for a point not a loss. Having said that, I'm disappointed with the result.. I have no idea of the performance, I'll take my time later to read this thread, but meanwhile could somebody give me a short recap of points worth mentioning in our performance?

first time I've heard of him tbh

Villas-Boas named three players in the under-18s squad for whom he had high hopes. They are Nathan Ake, Adam Nditi and Lucas Piazon, none of whom was born in England. No Chalobah and Kane? I fully support the B team idea. Reserve system is well and truly outdated, it's shown its flaws and no profits. Although I think they would have to get to Championship from the bottom. Shoving them in on the expense of another team would be unjust, plus it would show if our reserves and youth are even on the Championship level, maybe they wouldn't be able to promote from 2nd division, who knows.. It would also be more competitive for them.

I didn't know such agreements can be done between clubs. If that is the case, I'm surprised this hasn't been exploited more.

interesting thought.... haven't thought about it like this before

tldr... but I'm gonna respont to the title.. anyway, I don't believe in our chances much. The last 7 years or so every single season I've had my hopes up in the league and in every cup. This season I'm laying low and not expecting anything, while hoping something. I don't think we're gonna win the CL this season either. Frankly it seems we are cursed in this competition, NOTHING EVER goes our way.

7 still, you forgot Altintop

so we're gonna sign Hulk, Haard, Goete and Heskey... nice to know

7 defenders? I counted 5, one of them playing in midfield

I know that Tommy puts the blame on Mourinho and his ultra defensive and aggressive tactics. He says this isn't Real anymore... I don't know if to agree or not, because I haven't followed them much.

It's a bit ironic that Chelsea are talking(complaining) about overpricing while we are partly the reason why the market is the way it is

I think Mata wasn't even considered in the same branch as those 3 in terms of demand/talent... he was chased only by Arsenal and Liverpool afaik, so we were a natural selection for his ambitions.

just to be clear... are you guys talking about some Erikson who I'm not familiar with or Christian Eriksen?

deciphering... reminds of literature teachers trying to decipher everything. sometimes a lump of shit is just a lump of shit without any symbolism

Terry insisted on Wednesday he will not concede the title ‘until it is mathematical’ and Frank Lampard admitted he ‘had the hump’ because the manager had publicly ended their ambitions of winning the League. what? what does having the hump mean? surely not what came to my mind first

I wouldn't read too much into it, it's wrong of you BL to jump into conclusions so fast, taking into consideration the source you mentioned is far from reliable and has a habit of twisting words. Whenever he talks he sounds grateful and reasonable to me... at one point he said he's glad he can play, let it be RW or whatever position.

TSO playe with 3 defensive midfielders lol... he's advanced from 2 holdings mids to 3. It worked in 1st half, with Barca struggling to find space in the middle.