Chelsea Legend 11

And beyond that I trust Jose and the Board. We have been spot on with so many of our signings its hard to argue with their judgment.

No worse than Salah....

That is one aspect of his job. He needs to be better at it too...

Willian has other aspects of his game that make him valuable. Have you ever seen Salah press and win a ball? Have you ever seen him crush a ball from outside the box into the top corner? Willian is miles ahead of Salah in terms of what the team needs are.

So be it... Has to earn his spot though

when he has he hasn't impacted any game... Not even against lower division teams... If he can't come in and take his chances against shitty opposition there is no way Jose will trust him to play in bigger games.

He is a squad player, for 26m we're getting a high level squad guy who is capable of playing in all sorts of different formations. I like this move a lot! He's not 'world class' but the things he does well (dribbling and running at players) he is definitely world class at. Look at the teams who were looking at him too, Barca, Man Utd... both of them look to add dynamic players. I think Cuadrado is what our bench has been missing...

If true I think this guy helps us a lot! He is very direct and his dribbling is phenomenal. He is exactly the kind of squad player I want, a guy who can inject dynamism into the squad and plays the game at a good pace. Oscar will enjoy playing with him the most.

There is no evidence to support your claim that Barkley or Isco could be effective in a pressing team looking to get out on the counter. Its not as easy as just running at players and making a nuisance of yourself, there is the tactical acumen that comes with it like when to press and anticipating where you have to be to win the ball. I've never seen Barkley or Isco deployed in that system before and judging what I have seen of them I doubt highly they would be effective in pressing and winning the ball back. I think you're ignoring the type of physical exhaustion that comes with playing this system. Have you ever seen Pogba, Barkley or Isco play in a high tempo pressing game? I certainly haven't and if there was one thing missing today in our play(whether tactical or in ability) it was the inability to get close to Liverpool to pressure them into making mistakes, Cesc is a fantastic player but was largely useless when we weren't in possession. Oscar is a tireless competitor who is very tough to play against because he never lets up... You can't say the same about any of the players you mentioned and I absolutely LOVE Pogba... He is a different player. Pogba and Isco could very well take us to the next level because they are incredible when in possession... I don't think they make our current system any better though and at what price? Can we get either of them for a reasonable fee to make it worth while for the gamble? I don't think so. In terms of value and return you will be hard pressed to find a player as good as Oscar.... Mata was brought up as an example of a player who was incredible in one system and terrible in another. He is also a player I put in the same bracket as Oscar, not world class but aspects of his game are very effective and top shelf.

I think we fall under the same category of poster. I like to challenge people though!

hahaha!

Are you forgetting what you originally said? LOL You're shifting the goal post to fit a non-existent argument... 25M doesn't get you an amazing player

No I think you're the one who is dense! Amazing talent isn't available at 25m, the market is completely different now. 25m will only get you a decent player with a few warts... What you need to understand is perfect players aren't available for 25m and we aren't really in a position to buy players who are. If you ask me what the club have been able to do on the budget I'd say its been near perfect, we don't have a perfect team but we do have a balanced one and if we keep interchanging squad players at 25m in order to find the perfect balance then thats fine! Its not about how much you spend its more about the chemistry and assignment weighed against the wages and transfer fee. What kind of money do you think someone like Reus would command?

Its really strange... He just hasn't adapted his game to play the style we want to play. I like him, if it were up to me I'd send Salah off and keep Andre since he loves the badge but its clear he doesn't blend well with the team philosophy

Its up to them though. If they don't work hard and give Jose decisions to make then they aren't good enough

For whatever reason Schurrle hasn't lived up to his squad player winger status... He doesn't work well with this group of players.

Still waiting for the names associated with 25m. I agree there may be better options in the summer but I don't but the argument that 25m can get you a world beater these days. Reus is a special case who likely isn't coming here.

One thing many here overlook is his adaptability. He can play anywhere on the right flank and as a squad guy who isn't cup tied, that is invaluable. That is the key for me a guy that can come in and fit into a lot of the different shapes Mourinho tries to incorporate. I like the acquisition, he is very direct in his attacking and likes to take guys on. He plays the game at the right tempo and will make a tackle too... I'd love it to be Salah out and Cuadrado in.

Outside of the special situation regarding Reus, what types of names are available for 25M?

Ronaldo has plenty of bad games including the two legs against atletico in the Copa Del Rey.

Not elated about the result but we got the 2nd best result possible. I thought the game plan was okay but we didn't have the legs to execute it. I agree with another poster who said Cesc in the 10 is an awful tactic and takes away from the overall effectiveness of the squad. In a game where Liverpool had 6 midfielders I thought we needed more legs in the game and Matic, Fab and Mikel is much too slow to cope with the pace. I thought Jose would've brought in Oscar and Ramires once they got tired and basically played around them... I didn't happen and there are three positive ways to look at this result. 1. Liverpool will never be better than they were today and they got a draw at home. We have so much more to bring... 2. We have effectively made this a one off at the Bridge where we haven't lost all season. 3. Although I would've rather we take the game to them and win comfortably this result means we have two game next week that we have to be turned on for. The team have it all to play for now and had we won today and played like we did today next week it wouldn't have boded well for our form heading into city. Courtois had his best game for us, everybody else was stuck in first gear. I still have no idea why Jose didn't switch it up at all... It was clear we didn't have the legs in the side to cope.

You must be new to the team, long before Matic came back we won the Champions League with Mikel one of our best players.

4-3-3

And if we don't get Reus what do we do?

What are we trying to solve? I think the fact he is adaptable to every position down the right flank make him very appealing