robsblubot

William was fucking awful in my book and the team in general was beyond bad, esp in the first half. Player hitting row z when they should be taking control of the football and asserting themselves as the more technical... well at least the most expensive players. Azpi played too simple game at times. Remy is a good/decent player and is in better form than Diego atm, but we need a better player to challenge Diego. Remy is just not good enough to challenge the first striker (whoever that may be).

you lost me at 'pass' it - we clearly can't do it @Spike when you value strength over technique, or defense over technique when you build your roster, yup it is on the manager.

I think he had glimpses of a top player, like when he destroyed Real in spain, but was mostly potential. That ship has sailed though.

He seems to be injury free and has been for a while, but they have taken their toll: he is no longer the player he once was. Not convinced he belongs at the top anymore.

typical of older players when their legs start to go: takes longer and longer to get to their norm.... until they no longer can.

Definitely tall enough...

Did not say he isn't a good player on his own right, only that I am not entirely sure he is a 21-goal a season striker just yet - because of the many circumstances that led him to achieve that in one season and not in others.Besides, it's not just Suarez, but the fact they played with two strikers in that season, which is rare these days. Again my point isn't that he cannot lead the line for a top club, but rather that I don't share the certainty that others here do. Esp considering his many injuries.

nah even his movement is completely different than mikel's. Mikel stays back even when he is free to move forward. His passing range is different too and he does make runs forward - something mikel never does. I remember a few runs in last game myself. The fact we played without a striker made things worse IMO - multiple players roaming about the same areas. Hazard did exactly the same thing (holding to the ball when he should pass it). Perhaps the players are trying to hard and should been playing the simpler game.

who knows!? maybe because that happened to be the season where he scored 21 goals and he hasn't been able to repeat it. And I wouldn't call it an argument, but rather a consideration. However, I do understand that ignoring pertinent variables to make one's point is routine around here. So, if I acknowledge the fact he scored 21 goals that season, which keeps cropping up here, I feel entitled to mention the circumstances under which that took place.

good point, but I look at the squad and suspect the lack of strength in depth isn't entirely on Jose. I think there a few coaches and scouts there who have certain old-school preferences which also define the way we play. It hasn't really begun with Jose... For example, I don't think a manager can drastically change the way we play - not without drastic changes in the squad. BTW, I am extremely disappointed by his starting lineup against Bournemouth. Is it really surprising we lacked finishing when we start no striker against a bottom 3 side @ the bridge?! If he is unhappy with Costa's performance and/or attitude, then start Remy. If Remy isn't good enough to start against a very poor side then he should not be on the roster! I simply do not understand the reason we have certain senior players on the squad considering that they are seldom used.

he was pretty bad today (Bournemouth)... no excuses for not passing the ball to someone open and then losing possession over and over again. At some point he should be smart enough to mix things up a bit. We can blame the lack of options and strategy on the manager, but some individual performances have been simply unacceptable.

Adebayor is a terrible professional. His commitment is non-existent, which makes him poison in the locker room. Absolutely crazy signing if real...

Difficult to know what he is missing as he's not the slowest as you point out. Reckon it's not necessarily speed but lack of agility and acceleration which might have made him uncomfortable From the start. This Ship has sailed though

One of my fav players - would love to have him in the team. All rounder who can play (well!) in a number of positions and scores plenty of goals. His positioning, awareness, and discipline are really impressive. I disagree with most who say he is technically gifted though. I think he has good technique, but he's not a guy who can consistently use his technique to his advantage. Reckon he relies on his (many) other attributes to give him the edge. And scores plenty!

yes, he usually does really well when we employ a low block and so does Terry. On the other hand, Zouma is the only CB we've got who is comfortable with a high defense line. If we do want to change our style of play, we need to think about the type of players we want. Not entirely sure Jose is the right guy for that considering he has always played with a low block.

He'd be called Arturo Vidal

Tottenham are a good side, but nothing special really. They have historically? (as far as I can remember) played incredibly wide, so the wings will demand a little bit of extra care from Jose. I wouldn't be surprised to see Ramires on the wing with Oscar and/or William (no striker). They are weak in the center of the pitch though and I think Matic can be our advantage as his game is improving. Cahill on Kane will be a mismatch as Cahill cannot handle him IMO.

Well agree to disagree - at some point having a player like this can be disruptive.Btw that was exactly what happened with Torres. You are assuming that he will remain playing at this level despite injuries, But at some point these injuries will take their toll.

He did score a lot of goals when playing alongside Luis Suarez and that was his one great season when he scored 21 goals. Reckon the jury is still out there. a) Is he going to be able to accomplish the same without poaching next to a world class striker? Is he ever going remain fit long enough to regain match fitness and do the above? You need match fitness for the above. c) Wouldn't these niggling (and some serious) injuries take a toll? how much?

that's a big ass 'if' though Personally I've always thought he was technically good, but lacked on determination and discipline, which is a bit less important for forwarders. Now, I think this was the best sale ever, because he appears to be incredibly injury-prone.

Or it might be just his agent working for his money. 90% of these claims come from agents trying to generate interest.

Yes it's a long shot. he may *grow* tired and Spurs would still rather sell him to anyone but us, but clubs get desperate when young players refuse to sign extensions. It's all a manner of what the player wants.

Kane will eventually gross tired of watching CL football on tv.. It's a matter of talking and bringing his agent in the circle of trust.

Thought this was undisputed common knowledge to be honest. Forget about standings and team... think club. Last season Everton was crap and they are still midtable (talk end of the season). Milan has been crap for years, but you are not going to start Kenedy in the LB position against them - that's the gist. At the very least the counter attacking situation is obviously different: Lukaku scored many goals in counter attacks because Everton is pressurized higher up the pitch than CHelsea is. See how most teams face Barcelona. Barcelona only counter attack when they are winning by 2! Otherwise it's intricate passing until the back of the net. Lukaku's main strengths are pace and power and at Chelsea he'd use less of that than at everton. Again, I am not saying he'd be useless - far from it - but thinking that he'd turn into a Luiz Suarez or Lewa is crazy. And once again, HE was the one who wanted to leave. I can agree that we erred in not keeping KDB, and that our development policy is strange, but we did not want to sell Lukaku - he wanted to go. I honestly think we do a disservice to KDB when we bring Lukaku into this thread - completely different cases.

agreed but that was not my point. You don't paid this much money to "keep going" to "bang goals"... you would want Ronaldo not anything less than that and at 30 you will have to ask the question: is it going to be the same Ronaldo and for how long?