robsblubot

It's very clear to me that he's going to be loaned out next season. Prob to Atletico, so they can sell some shirts. We will end up paying over half his wages (until 2016) obviously, but at least we won't have to watch him "play" anymore.

yeah you are prob right on Walcott, but Chamberlain still has loads of pace. Giroud is on the slow side though, but he's well rounded player who can cause problems. They did have a few counter attacking moments against Spurs, but were not very effective and Lloris was pretty good.

Our team is built to beat the likes of Arsenal/Barca Lite. This is the time our deep defense line works perfectly, because pace is really the only thing Arsenal really got. They are a good side, but not letting them get behind our defense line is key. A midfield with Matic and Luiz would need Oscar dropping back to speed things up, but would certainly be very powerful. It could be very effective because Arsenal, as usual, lack steel specially in the center of the pitch. Just love watching Wenger when he loses - such a sore loser.... Plus I have a colleague who's a huge Arsenal fan, who also happens to be a sore loser...

Same here. I was not a big fan of his, and thought the signing was unnecessary and even redundant. Nowadays I'm not so sure as he's shown to be a quality player. His shooting from mid range is what caught my attention at first, but his movement and defensive work have been a welcoming surprise. Like I said though, the opponent was just weak and we shouldn't take too much from this game; especially after the sobering loss at Villa.

You are right and I'm surprised at how many people are surprised by this... It's not like we signed a youngster and wanted him to develop differently. I've watched Ramires play against Gremio (for Cruzeiro Brazil) a few times in Libertadores and he was a handful - very difficult player to play against; this even before his time at Benfica. However, his technique, esp first touch and passing, is and has always been mediocre. He is a good player because of his fantastic stamina, great mentality (esp concentration), strength, and pace. His finishing is actually pretty good considering his technique or the lack thereof. That's the player Ramires is and always will be. He will improve slightly here and there, but he hasn't changed drastically one way or another. I'm not saying he is in good form right now - he isn't. Just saying his technique won't get much better because technique, out of all aspects, is the one that is the most difficult to improve. Players naturally improve their reading of the game as they play games and experience match situations, but rarely will they develop a better first touch, or passing. Really don't understand all the fuzz about a red card at stoppage time. I couldn't agree more with Jose on this: http://www.theguardian.com/football/2014/mar/17/jose-mourinho-chris-foy-ramires-red-card-aston-villa

Kalas MotM for me! Thought Gala were really poor out there. I mean, they couldn't complete simple passes in their own half! No, we are nowhere near RM atm. Here I do believe Jose when he says we will compete next season.

What a tackle by Oscar on Melo... utterly embarrassing. To be honest, Gala have been pretty shitty regardless however well we we may be playing. Sneijder, who was linked to a move to the PL, is a shadow of his former self; and he's only 29!

Too bad Salah is ineligible as (Alex) Telles is quite weak defensively (though excellent going forward). We aren't that good stretching defenses as we don't have that many wide players. Aside from Salah, all others cut inside to shoot and never play wide. The fact we always employ a deep defense line concerns me because it will keep Drogba in the game at all times. So, we can't take advantage of his main weakness at this time, which is his lack of pace (never was his top virtue). Interesting game and Galatasaray have good players on their squad. Cannot take anything for granted at this level - need to make it happen!

I guess you were right as I realize what I wrote above defines a high (ish) defense line: high in possession, deeper without. Certainly higher than ours... Well they got off-sides b/c Torres can't beat anyone - got no pace.

heh if he gets like 5 games were are fucked. He's the only pace we've got in the CM position. but I do get the point on the breaking a deep-lying defense.

Don't think you can't defend any deeper than Villa did today. The off-sides you mention took place when we played long and/or recovered the football; when we had possession anywhere Villa had 11 players in their own half and there was no space behind their defense. Yes, had we played higher on the pitch we'd incur into more risk (spaces behind our own line), but that's the price to win. City does this better than us; they can move their defense line up and pressure these weak sides until they concede.

exactly! Villa defended deep and guess what?! so did we! Sometimes, defending deep isn't the best option because you can't commit players to attack and can't attempt short passes. That's one of the reasons Matic was tired at the end - he was very alone at times in midfield. the above.

Ramires lost his mind,but you can't separate that from the ridiculous yellow given to Willian which ruined the game. That type of decision is bound to frustrate players and sometimes they lose their minds - it happens! Ramires was actually having a good game specially in the first half with assist to Torres. Concerning the game, we weren't good enough in ALL areas of the pitch. The defense was pedestrian, and positioned very very deep; if that came from Jose then it was a cowardly way to play against a bad side, which Villa undoubtedly are. Villa sat deep and we just did not have enough players in in attack to break through; the balance was just not right. Matic was MotM for me but tired out and became a liability in the final moments of the match. Perhaps he should've been subbed off. Football is a game about quality, and talent came from an unlikely source this time: Delph. David Silva provided the quality for City earlier, but none of our players was particularly inspired today. I thought Torres was having a particular bad game until Ba was on... Ba's first touch alone isn't good enough for a top club. Willian was marginally better than Oscar but was on a yellow, so knowing that the dreadful Foy was the referee, Jose got that one wrong I must say.

yes I'm shamelessly kinda disagreeing with myself... However, as we watch City crash and burn with the likes of Demichellis and Lescott in defense , I have to say that that's one position we are far better served than most.

Washington DC, USA

You simply don't understand how it works. Owned by a single billionaire is clearly wrong! Now, if the club is owned by a group of billionaires, and/or special interest groups then it's OK, because they got no face to hate.

Sure, those are the facts. My point/reading was that Jose rotates where he finds players able to rotate; where the substitute performs at about the same level. THe fact he does not rotate in defense, like you said, does not bode well for the players who do not get to play.

He has rotated, but some players are considered rotation while others aren't. Oscar was/is his starter, but has been spared as he hasn't been 100% fit lately. While Kalas won't get a game unless at least 3 of our 4 CBs are unavailable. Same goes for Cole apparently. Ramires doesn't need rotation as he is so naturally fit. We can see why Jose says City has an advantage. We are very thin in certain areas, even more so in the CL.

Support Chelsea since early Hasselbaink's time - perhaps he has something to do with it.... Plus the style of play was very similar to my hometown's Serie A Brazilian (very unBrazilian) club Gremio FBPA - not particularly "the beautiful" game, but very effective. here's a short answer though: blue color and a girl's name... what's not to like?! Physiology explains your second point: people crave what they see. Charlton and Millwall don't exist outside of England, because they are not seen outside of England.

^^ heh not to mention injuries and suspensions - we've been very lucky with Terry's form (striking difference from last season's). good read and a bit self-serving as I've been writing about his style matching Barca's before: http://bleacherreport.com/articles/1981931-chelsea-transfer-news-blues-must-hang-on-to-david-luiz-despite-barca-interest Like I said, perhaps too much a match - if we need to sell him, then sell him to PSG instead... They are still years away from having a competitive squad, their midfield still sucks.

well it might have been minor the first time around... but now he's reinjured the same groin. Hope it was just a precaution, but groin injuries are tough, like I said. There aren't that many games left till the end of the season and every single one matters - Jose needs all players available and fit.

So is he now out for the season? I'm scared shitless of groin injuries... kept me out from soccer for over an year. It's very difficult to know when you are ready to play again because it's very easy to re-injury the groin when too much scar tissue has built up. He should not have played for Brazil in that stupid friendly. Don't quite understand why he was allowed to play. At least he was able to take the picture of neymar and the little boy.

Thanks, but I'm familiar with the 6-months rule for pre-contracts. It wouldn't stop them from having a verbal agreement, or even some other type of deal. Agents and clubs get very creative sometimes, like Neymar and Barca or Ronaldinho and PSG back then. These top agents rely on their credibility, so if they have an agreement with a certain club, it's almost as good as a formal agreement for example.

I don't read as he is "going to move" just that he may have agreed terms with RM. Yes, the move would still be up to us, but if he has indeed agreed terms with RM things will get interesting.

He's learning from the master... Next he'll be saying, "I am just not that good and see no reason for someone to be tight marking me..."