Chelsea Legend 11

They weren't great but against tough opponents who have us going backwards and forward they were pretty good in an overall sense.

Fabulous game. To take all three points from this contest was a must for me and the lads did just enough to get the result. Jose Mourinho.... Few can argue he is the best trainer/manager in the game. How he's gotten Torres looking like a potent threat is remarkable, yes a lot of it comes down to Nando but its hard to ignore the contribution Jose has made. We just beat a VERY good side nothing to get overly excited about mainly because they were without Kompany who is without a doubt their most important player. They will be there in the end and we will have to be much better to beat them at Etihad. So we've now played City at home, Tottenham, Utd and Everton away and have come away with 5pts... Its not incredible but that is definitely not bad at all for a squad 9 games into a new season and manager. Heads down now, we need maximum points from 90% of the games we will play Newcastle, West Ham, Sunderland and Stoke City away are must wins and the same can be said for West Brom and Crystal Palace at home. 18pts up for grabs I say anything under 15 is a disappointment, its not hard to envision us taking all 18... We beat a wounded team today but it will do loads for our confidence going forward. Nando is scoring, Eto'o will score more and our defense is looking steely, all the signs are there for a good run of games.

Now THAT is harsh... He still made some incredibly timely saves on Silva and Aguero. He should've had the goal but 5/10 seems wrong.

3pts is a must now that Kompany is ruled out of the game. Strongest XI and look to attack them through the middle. Fernandinho hasn't bee anything close to formidable in that midfield and Yaya can't be everywhere(or can he?) I have a strong feeling the 1st goal will go a long way to deciding the winner so its imperative we get off to a good start. I still want Eto'o to start because I feel we're gonna need movement and clever passing. Torres on at 60 if we're chasing the game.

I feel the first goal will decide the match. And there is no reason to divert from playing the style we are most comfortable playing. 4-2-3-1

Nothing more true than that. He is the most complete midfielder in the world.

Yup. Give him Arsenal his Dad can come cheer him on.

Let me see that right arm Dog!

PMA brother! PMA

I'm just amped. not in the least bit bothered by who we will face and what they've done in the past against us, every year teams arrive at fixtures anew. On our day we are EASILY one of the best European football have to offer, we have probably the best trainer the game has seen (I'm sure Torres will attest to that soon) and we are starting to play some brilliant football. I don't think I'm being too cavalier when I say we should look to take all three points, we're at home and as of now City's road record hasn't been scintillating. Yes they will have Kompany back which will give Jose something to consider when you think about who should start up top, but also we have the players in the side to play football with them. I for one think playing Eto'o as a false 9 is the way to go, he will definitely attract the attention of their CB's but his movement could pull them into areas where they don't want to be which could open up gaps for the others to exploit. Its hard not to play Torres after such a brilliant display on Tuesday but if we compare the goals he scored against Schalke and replace Schalke for City does he actually get those chances? I find it hard to believe. Eto'o's goal(s?) vs Cardiff seem more conducive to the conditions we will face City under; tight spaces and ingenuity. Also, I really don't think Torres fairs well against the likes of Kompany or any ball winning CB's for that matter, his strengths lie elsewhere. Pat Nevin brought up an interesting point about who should play LB and I think I agree with him. If Ashley Cole is out I would go with Azpilicueta mainly because Silva likes to come inside and Cesar being naturally right footed could neutralize the effectiveness of Silva's play. I really like David Luiz but its hard to argue with the results we're getting with Cahill and Terry. That tandem provides us with the best plate from which to build, Luiz might be an asset in the midfield for this one. So the squad is set for me, I really don't care which of our attacking mids play on the right but Hazard(current form is scary) and Oscar are automatic. If we play Mata I'd like to see him on the flank and as far away from Yaya as possible. ------------------------------- Cech --------------- Ivanovic - Cahill - Terry - Azpilicueta(Cole) ----------------------- Lampard - Ramires HeHatesTottenham -------- Oscar ------ Hazard ------------------------------- Eto'o Let's get 3pts and really start to solidify why we're one of the best teams in Europe.

keeping a tally of how many times you point this out.... its up in the 20's this season. mostly wrong too

We also saw them get torn apart by Bayern. We're a good side we will give them a worry for sure... They aren't nearly as sharp on the road as they are at home.

ummm no.

Yes in an ideal world the back four need to be set. but when you have three players like we have right now rotation isn't a bad thing. And on the Cahill-Terry partnership there have been more than a few games when one of them have been caught out or held a bad line to play someone onside. For me, with JT closing in on the end of an era its important to have both Cahill and Luiz playing well and also playing. Its a delicate thing trying to find the right balance to keep everyone game fit but in my opinion Jose is rotating them effectively right now. Luiz always plays well in big games.

At times... not as a rule. rotation in that position isn't a bad idea we have 3 good ones

I don't know if you can call him awful... He was isolated on the left flank with no help on the overlap. He put in a decent shift defensively too.

broken record.... how many games has Ba played? if you knew anything about strikers you would know with time on the pitch they will start to finish. Are you saying that since he came from Newcastle he's just forgotten how to score? its all about getting a consistent run in of games.... Teams play us a lot differently than they do other teams(very low block) he did a lot of good things in the 1st half and just didn't get the luck of the green. Every post you write you say the same thing, we get it, you think we don't have any strikers! WHAT CAN BE DONE ABOUT IT NOW??? Get over it... Support what we have, better yet support the badge.

I just don't get it, why is it people can't post here without showing they have some sort of agenda? Like the things they said in the past has to be upheld for their "forum credibility" to be maintained? It seems like no matter what is done on the pitch people here and also other sites can't swallow their pride and admit to not knowing as much as they'd like to claim they do. Anyways I digress.... I thought in the 1st half we were brilliant. We were finally afforded space to turn and go at defenders, Mourinho echoed my feelings when he said it was 'strange because it was quite easy for us to have the ball' and Norwich did nothing to stop us going forward. The blueprint recently has been to close us down extremely quickly from the half way line into the attacking third. Norwich did very little of that and as a result we produced a fair few decent chances. Our back 5 were not really put under any real pressure until about 60 mins in the game, none of them were standout players; for the most part they had an easy game. Lamps was very good moving the ball forward quickly, he was very poor positioning himself make a difference in the middle of the pitch. I really think our best partnership is going to be Ramires and Essien should they ever be afforded the chance to play in tandem... Ramires just looked gassed having to get up and down the pitch, he had to cover a SHIT TON of ground today. Mata, Schurrle and to a lesser degree Oscar were fairly quiet. Mata started well and played some tasty passes through for some quality chances that weren't taken. After that he slowed a bit and became lost when we had to try and chase a result. Schurrle's work rate is really impressive I just wish his finishing was even average... He gets into great areas and never tests the keeper, he's positioning himself to be a super sub but not if he can't hit a beach ball in the ocean. Oscar got lost a bit out on the flank and though he scored and assisted its clear to me he's better in the 10. For a guy that rarely plays I thought Ba was exceptional. yes he missed some good chances that would've killed the game early on, but until the guy gets a decent run of games its gonna be hard to find striker's form. He battled for balls, tested the backline, had a decent shout for a pen and had a ton of aerials where he challenged the keeper and won. I would like to see him get more of a run out but its hard when you don't score.... The game changed when Jose employed the 3-5-2 tactic. No real secret. We were winning a lot of balls back in the attacking third by simply crowding them out and applying a great deal of pressure. The squads work rate is probably the best of any I've seen in the EPL this year! No bias, just facts.... We are starting to look like a Jose Mourinho team game by game. Hazard showed that electrifying pace the get the winner. He was fortunate it went in but his pace fashioned the opportunity; here's hoping he can start to put together a run of form and start playing like the guy who wowed us last year. What can be said about Willian other than he hates tottenham? This guy is fucking FAST. All in all a bit of luck got us the 3pts but we made our luck with the ability and skill we possess. Here's hoping that continues for a while yet!

He was brilliant in the 1st half did everything but score.... Unlucky not to.

He is immature in a football sense. Fact. He hasn't had any experience at the highest competitions. We already have an extremely young team and only time will tell if Eto'o is a has-been, to be quite frank I haven't seen any evidence of it. He hasn't scored yet but everything he's doing on the pitch so far leads me to believe its only a matter of time. Torres has been brilliant to start this campaign, perhaps Jose is like the dog whisperer and has him close to what he once was? I'm starting to believe he is! Ba is the 3rd striker in a system that uses one, he can also play out wide something Lukaku can't.

None taken, and that's the point. UNTIL HE IS TO BE THE GUY(he isn't because Cech is the guy) Again if he's not ready to lead the line than he's best to go out on loan... Simple. and I don't give two shits what pundits and fans think, clearly the opinion that matters is Jose's and he's made the decision he's not ready. In Eto'o, Torres and Ba we have loads of experience and players who have scored and played in the biggest games football can offer. Lukaku is physically mature but mentally immature and its for that reason he's not at the club.

you are right our strikers aren't necessarily better than Lukaku, what they are is more experienced and have played at the highest level in the game. Lukaku is not going to be given the same opportunities to grow and make mistakes at Chelsea as he would at Everton. When he makes mistakes for us its costs us titles and perhaps champions league, at Everton there is less pressure to perform... He's in a good place people he'll come back to us better than ever after this spell.

Are you referencing Welbeck to support a claim that Lukaku should play? yikes!

So nice to hear Mourinho basically echo my sentiments on Eto'o and Lukaku, so sick of the nonsense here.