Strike

Very good. Quick, dynamic and a good passer.

He isn't trying out a 3-man defence in pre-season is he?

haha yeah and even this one's at 5 in the morning

There were some games where he is absolutely unplayable - West Ham last season. That needs to happen more often

There is a down side to that. His physical mobility. The Man United FA Cup game, (where he was taken off early in the 2nd half) was a classic example and I don't think Rafa started him in many of the BIG games (Spurs, Liverpool, Man City) usually preferring Mikel-Rami in the midfield.

would rather get a player who would radically improve that midfield

^Seems like we're overloading on youngsters now. Current crop of wide players will stay for a good amt of time.

is it me or have posts disappeared in some threads? - give me feedback/bugs thread

the Pre-season thread has vanished. Zero replies

It's funny how things work out. Back in November, had Chelsea hired a competent manager instead of Rafa, Mourinho would not be in charge now.

i can only imagine they considered the midweek Villa game when taking the decision

Westwood. Weimann is a good shout too. Plays in the hole behind Benteke.

torres wont. it's either ba or lukaku. mostly lukaku

25- man squad for the Guinness International Championship Cup Goalkeepers: Petr Čech, Mark Schwarzer, Jamal Blackman Defenders: Branislav Ivanovic, Ashley Cole, David Luiz, Gary Cahill, John Terry, Cesar Azpilicueta, Tomáš Kalas, Ryan Bertrand Midfielders: Michael Essien, Ramires, Frank Lampard, Juan Mata, Oscar, John Obi Mikel, Kevin De Bruyne, Marco van Ginkel, Eden Hazard Forwards: Fernando Torres, Victor Moses, André Schürrle, Romelu Lukaku, Demba Ba Manager: Jose Mourinho For the rosters of all the participating teams, visit http://http://www.lagalaxy.com/blog/beat/2013/07/25/rosters-guinness-international-championship-cup-announced-1

yes. just use the code in the OP

^Hooper's other option was QPR. No-brainer really

wouldn't mind having him around if he can do as well as last season but wages are a problem. can't have a backup player pulling 80k p/w

Jose Mourinho has admitted that Frank Lampard may not be first-choice at Chelsea anymore but still thinks he can play a significant part in the upcoming season. Lampard, who was an ever-present part of the Chelsea team in Mourinho's first stint in charge, played a part in 50 games last season but with increased competition for the midfield positions (with the arrival of Marco van Ginkel and the loan return of Michael Essien), Mourinho expects Lampard to be a bit-part player at the club. "In this moment we have just to analyse competition and make some choices, because I believe he is the same player, with the difference that he is 35 and the time [needed] to recover from match to match is not the same for a man of 35 to a man of 25. That's the only point. Now we have to analyse the fixtures, analyse the matches, analyse the week we have and to make a few choices." "Frank can't play 60 matches like he did before, but the quality of the player and what he represents for the way I like to play football is exactly the same, He's intelligent, he's open, he has a very good relationship with me. He knows that I'm very experienced and he knows what I did, for example, with Makelele here in the last two years of Makelele [when the Frenchman played 87 times for the club as he approached his mid-30s]. He knows I know how to do it with players of his age, because at the end of the day we have to be just clever, because the player is the same." Lampard, who enjoyed a prolific campaign last season, culminating with the double salvo at Villa Park, which not only broke Bobby Tambling's Chelsea goal-scoring record but also confirmed Chelsea's participation in the UEFA Champions League this year. But age has caught up with Frank and he is currently recovering from a minor achilles injury and will most likely miss Chelsea's final pre-season game in Asia. Jose is no stranger to getting the best out of ageing players. He used Makelele to great effect back in 2005 and also won the Champions League with a Inter side consisting of several players well into their 30's including captain Javier Zanetti and vice-captain Marco Materazzi, both 39 at that point Using Frank judiciously maybe the best move for all concerned and it may help him prolong his sensational career. Click here to view article

are we back online now?

not to mention 2 of Jose's backroom - Steve Jobs and Brendan Rodgers managing in the Premier League

united make another bid for cesc. they're wasting their time really

i think city will burst out of the blocks like 2011-12. they have an easy start and with all the focus on united and chelsea, they will be under much less pressure

Gotta give it to Thailand. Great support