Jase

Well, that is a subjective interpretation.

:lol:

Indeed. It's good that we are winning games now and feeling confident but we haven't won anything yet. To borrow the old cliche, it's not how you start that matters but how you finish. I'm sorry but just can't stand when people throw out this somewhat arrogant notion of 'oh, it's different now. we have Mourinho, everything will be different!'.

To be fair, it's actually more than 27 league games (around 35 maybe?) if we are looking solely at conceding first. Definitely agree that we should not have found ourselves too many times in those situations but still can't disregard the comeback spirit shown. Yes but compared to the winter period in the seasons before, last season was an improvement. Between November and December, we only pathetically failed to win 3 games against the so called lesser sides - Newcastle, West Brom and Stoke. It's only the situation with the cup games that made it looked worse - the defeats to Basel and Sunderland. I do agree that 27 (or rather around 35) is a lot but conceding first happens in football and when that's the case, you can't disregard about the team's character to come from behind and rescue a point or all 3. I mean don't we all rejoice when we fight back to win a game or at least earn a draw? Don't we always say that there are no easy teams to play against in the league? You can look at the type of teams that we conceded first against or look at the state of our defending as unit, especially two seasons ago. Can't just have it one way.

That's what most people tend to say as well...

The 'game' is already off to a bad start it seems.. Chelsea-Schalke referees lose passports; backups called in

The last time we played an opposition in Europe with so many injuries was Genk in 2011 and we absolutely hammered them. But this is Schalke and in some ways, Keller was probably trying to galvanize his players with the defeatist comments. Must not underestimate them and do a professional job to get the 3 points, especially when our next game is against Sporting Lisbon.

There are really no words to describe how idiotic Wenger is, from a tactical perspective. Always only play one way without even the slightest attempt to tweak their tactics to deal with the threat of opposition.

Decent return when conceding first..

Funnily enough, the winter period didn't cost us the title last season but rather the matches before a Champions League tie.

It really is never a Chelsea pre-match thread without someone saying that we'll destroy the opposition...

Absolutely spot on analysis by Neville there and in some ways, Fabregas' defensive issues in the pivot should come of no surprise really. For most of his career, he has played in a 4-3-3, with Barcelona and Spain and they have always played the pressing game and press as a unit high up the pitch. It has probably got to the point where he's used to that approach and now, he's not really yet used to ours where we don't always press that high up (just like what Neville highlighted about getting too eager to press and leave too much space behind him). Even when he did play in the pivot for Arsenal, I doubt they really did much on the defensive side of things either since they are getting constantly raped defensively by other teams.

Was that really necessarily to mention in this subject? Any sane manager would know Hazard is a fantastic player who can become one of the world's best. Heck even a blind fella can see that!

EDEN HAZARD EXCLUSIVE: Chelsea’s No.10 on Champions League ambitions and setting Ballon d’Or targets

True but on the other hand, the defensive mistakes Ivanovic has made so far this season came when he was in the position to defend but made the wrong decision and positioned himself poorly in the back line, something that shouldn't really be happening with an experienced defender like him.. It's not like we've conceded goals on the break with teams exploiting out right side because Ivanovic was too far high up the pitch or something.

Mourinho's pre-match presser is taking place very soon...

*bump*

As if the United wankfest wasn't enough, we are getting the Liverpool one today.

The only reputable sources that mentioned Hazard was on 175k pounds p/w was the English media and that amout is before tax. The French and Belgian reported he was only on about 100-110k p/w.

Luiz's free kicks? It's good...good in consistently sending it into the orbit...

Admist all the talk about Hazard signing a new contract, Cahill is ready to sign a new 3-year deal according to Martin Lipton... http://www.mirror.co.uk/sport/football/news/chelsea-star-eden-hazard-set-4264538

Blues gear up as quest for European glory begins

The 2014/15 Champions League season is about to underway this week on Tuesday with the teams aiming to achieve European success come next June in Berlin. And one of the teams looking to that will be the 2012 European Champions Chelsea. But first, they will have to get past the challenges posed by FC Schalke 04, Sporting Lisbon and NK Maribor in the group stage following the draw made in Monaco last month. Here, we will look into each of the Blues' opponents and what will they bring to the table. FC Schalke 04 Head-to-head record: P4 W3 D1 F8 A0 Last season's league finish: 3rd in Bundesliga Last game result: Lost 4-1 to Borussia Monchengladbach Schalke represent a familar opponent for Chelsea having just played each other twice in the group stage last season, with the Blues coming out on top 3-0 on both occasions. While it is well known that the Londoners have made an emphatic start to the season, their German counterparts, in contrast, have begun their campaign in horrendous fashion. The Royal Blues were knocked out by third-tier SG Dynamo Dresden in the DFB Pokal first round before suffering two further defeats - to Hannover and Gladbach - in their opening three Bundesliga matches. However, they did pick up an impressive draw against champions Bayern Munich in between those two defeats. Injuries have not helped their cause with no less than six players currently on the treatment table - Leon Goretzka (MF), Jefferson Farfan (MF), Sead Kolasinac (DF), Fabian Giefer (GK), Jan Kirchhoff (DF) and Joel Matip (DF/MF). As if that was not enough, there have been constant rumours that the club has approached various managers to take over ever since Jens Keller took charge in 2012, most notably Thomas Tuchel. To make matters worse, before they were beaten Gladbach last Saturday, sporting director Horst Heldt was reluctant to discuss matters about extending Keller's contract with the club, leaving the club in further uncertainty. Schalke typically play a 4-2-3-1 under Keller although he is not shy of moving to a 4-4-2 if he has to. As seen in last season's encounters, they are comfortable in pressing and passing the ball around the opposition, looking to creative players in Julian Draxler, Kevin-Prince Boateng and Sidney Sam to provide the chances for Klaas Jan Huntelaar or sometimes Eric Maxim Choupo-Moting to score the goals. That being said, they are not the most solid of teams and can be caught on the break due to their attacking nature; that was evident in the two 3-0 victories and even their 6-1 thrashing by Real Madrid in the last 16. Sporting Lisbon Head-to-head record: nil Last season's league finish: 2nd in Primeira Liga Last game result: Drew 1-1 with Belenenses The Portuguese giants are back in the Champions League for the first time since 2008/09 season after breaking the duopoly of Benfica and Porto in Portugal. However, their then manager Leonardo Jardim is no longer in charge following his departure to AS Monaco and the Lions installed Marco Silva as his replacement during the summer. The 37-year-old is one of the brightest managers in the game having had three excellent seasons with Estoril prior to this job. He led the club to the top-flight in 2012 and followed that up with 5th and 4th place finishes in the last two seasons. Sporting have begun the season somewhat unimpressively, however, after winning just one of their first four matches although the other three have been stalemates. The slow start is perhaps understandable as the players adjust to the new methods and style of play. Under Silva, the Lions are capable of operating in a 4-3-3 or 4-2-3-1 with then intention of playing attacking and possession based football. They like to press high up the pitch and exploit the flanks and their midfield trio of William Carvalho, Andre Martins and Adrien Silva is the engine that makes the side tick. NK Maribor Head-to-head record: nil Last season's league finish: 1st in Slovenian PrvaLiga Last game result: Beat NK Krka 2-0 If fans are familiar with Schalke and Sporting Lisbon, then the Slovenian champions will be the unknown quantity in the group. Maribor were formed in 1960 but are the most successful club in the country, having won the league title 12 times and 8 domestic cup competitions. This will be their first participation in the Champions League since the 1999/2000 season. Back then, they finished bottom of the group with 4 points but claimed a historic 1-0 away win against Dynamo Kiev and the goal was scored by current manager Ante Simundza. Unlike the Royal Blues and Lions, Maribor have started the season decently with five wins and two defeats from seven matches but they trail league leaders Domzale by 9 points. The Slovenian side adopt a patient game plan in their 4-1-4-1 system that is based on drawing teams out and waiting for the right space to open up before striking the opposition. Key to their play Agim Ibraimi and Zeljko Filipovic, who are both the playmaker and creator of chances for their lone striker Tavares and also notably, what they lack in pace, they make up for it with good positioning and movement off the ball. Group fixtures: 17 Sept Chelsea v Schalke 17 Sept Maribor v Sporting Lisbon 30 Sept Sporting Lisbon v Chelsea 30 Sept Schalke v Maribor 21 Oct Schalke v Sporting Lisbon 21 Oct Chelsea v Maribor 5 Nov Sporting Lison v Schalke 5 Nov Maribor v Chelsea 25 Nov Schalke v Chelsea 25 Nov Sporting Lisbon v Maribor 10 Dec Chelsea v Sporting Lisbon 10 Dec Maribor v Schalke *All matches kick off at 7.45pm UK time

A Serbian referee - Milorad Mazic - is gonna officiate this game. He refereed our away game against PSG last season. Time to do your job Ivanovic.

Have you 'bought' into the United wankfest?