robsblubot

lol at the comments... it's really irrelevant whether Terry touched the football or not - his actions made the goal. Bravery, athleticism (?!), and technique all in a split of a second....I'd just thank him for the 3 points. BTW, a team becomes dangerous (capable of winning silverware) when it wins matches when not playing well; when it finds ways to win a match.

*if* that is the case then he will indeed be gone because he's nowhere ready to be our #1 striker. He wouldn't do any better than the ones here now - not worse either though.

Costa, Lukaku, Didier (player/coach) plus Andre should be a lot better than what we've got now.

There is always the possibility, however unlikely, that Jose is not THAT upset about the conversation being made public...

lol BTW, I support Gremio from my hometown Porto Alegre in southern Brazil. Alex Telles is a very promising young attacking fullback who can't defend to save his life. And that has been said in Brazil where most fullbacks can't defend to save their lives.... He actually works better in a 3-5-2 system, so he doesn't have to stay much. He can certainly develop that aspect of his game (defending is easier to develop), but it will take a couple/few years no doubt.

think about it... 6th best in England and Mourinho would have been fighting for his job. [yes an exaggeration to make a point] It's not so much about the players themselves, but rather the investment and the pressure that follows. If the investment made is for a top 3 position, can a manager justify a 6th or 7th position? Sometimes football is all about the numbers... boring isn't it?

My 2 cents: There is a reason for the "last man” rule: it’s so we don’t end up watching goals from Pks all the time, as defenders and Gks would always go for the foul to exchange a sure goal for a penalty kick. The red cards were not accidents! They were caused by attacking movement. They were forced errors, not mere “mistakes.” Odds are Arsenal and City wouldn’t have had players sent off were they playing Hull at home….

While I completely agree with what you wrote, I'm not sure I can see Jose letting Cech go in the season he claims we are going to be ready for (next one). Wondering if something can be worked out with Cech -like a long term contract Rotation/backup... far fetched I know.

Good post, but I don't buy the "beaten out of him" bit though. And although he is better for Nigeria, I'd not say he's great for Nigeria. Actually, I've heard some (Brazilian) analysts saying during the Conf cup that Mikel was essentially the only good player Nigeria had. Nobody is telling him to not present himself at all times. Even if he's been told not to make forward runs, which I find difficult to believe. He could be far more mobile in the area of the pitch where he roams. It's all on him for me..

He had a good game against Everton, but even when he has a good game he isn't influential enough. Matic on the other hand... The most interesting for me is that Mikel is considered to be a good passer of the ball - not by me. Unless you are specifically talking about short passing, passing includes many different abilities, some of which Mikel severely lacks. Take his shooting for example, worst of all our midfielders (including Luiz). Technique wise, shooting from distance isn't much different from long passing - he can't do neither. Now we go into short flicks, quick lobs, like the one Luiz made for Azpi (against United or Pool?). Quick flicks are also difficult for him because he lacks mobility, so his passing is done from a very static position - normally sideways. Honestly I've never seen him give an assist or a nice quick pass to set up a quick counter or movement. The same argument, that I use for Luiz, market valuation, does not quite work for Mikel. As pointed out by others, only medium and smaller sides show any interest in him.

Pathetic performance by City any way you look at it - they've managed to lose the tie already and playing at home... One day people will understand that scoring or conceding isn't about mistakes, at least not always. Talent forces situations to take place, which some call "mistakes."

I don't disagree on everything with TPtB, but tend to emphasize and nit pick the disagreements in discussions. However, concerning De Niro guy, I don’t seem to even watch the same sport as he does. Comparing the technical ability of Terry and Luiz is really ridiculous. You put Terry in midfield and he’d be completely lost – a liability like many here like to say. His technical ability is good albeit very CB like. David Luiz is twice the player Terry is when taking first touch, passing (long, short, little flicks), shooting, and dribbling alone. The same way John Terry is twice the player David Luiz is when you take into consideration reading of the game, aerial, blocking, decisions, leadership (the mental aspects). I don’t deny that; my point has always been that different systems take advantage of different types of players, including Cbs. In the current Mourinho system Luiz is wasted in defense. His attributes are wasted there and he lacks the ones that are needed, again in the current system. In other systems, the mechanics of the team would allow him to move into midfield in a seamless way (because it provides the necessary cover). This IS currently done by Brazil or do you think they let David Luiz exposed at all times?! Only one person thinks Luiz is a bad player, without any merit, and that person dismisses any talks about valuation, THE most tangible evidence we’ve got. It’s up to HIM to disprove David Luiz valuation in the market though, because it is what it is. He is the reason I think technical merit is NOT the only thing being taken into account when assessing DL as a player. BTW, TPtB, Thiago Silva is a short CB absolutely TERRIBLE in the air. Yes, his reading and decisions are indeed better than Luiz’ but not much else.

Rumor has it that Cavani is unhappy in Paris (if that's even possible); OK he's unhappy at PSG! According to the independent PSG is going to bid for Luiz in the summer. If true, it could give us a way into signing Cavani. I like David Luiz, esp in midfield where he can be more influential, but Cavani is the type of player who gets you silverware. The perfect striker for us IMO. Cavani and Lukaku with Andre as a 3rd striker option...

on the contrary - it seem to be alive and well! The mere fact that this thread has been so lively on Saturday is evidence enough for me. If you think DL had anything to do with the fucking spanking we got today, then you are either delusional or disingenuous. He is one player and a defender nonetheless. I take Kompany must have had a terrible game when we beat them before. BTW, no mistake led to City's win! Nobody handed City anything! 11 players/a team was beaten. City stretched our defense in the first AND second goals. In the second goal, they put a man behind our defense line! There was no man to follow; all their forwarders had to do was run past our defense line to tap in. Most goals are scored in this fashion. People here have an obsession with defenders as if they are the influential players who win you titles, even though history will tell a completely different story. whatever... yes, John Terry would have been a lot more solid against City, whatever "solid" means.

You are right from an external point of view. We just don't have the information though. In any corporation, success is only defined by the requirements, by what was expected of him to begin with, and we don't know what was expected of him. Perhaps the club has been telling him, 'no' every time he asks for anything, but they need him for the job they wanted done, which is to keep on producing and selling players - making money in the process. To your point though, Wenger's lack of ambition over so many years would indeed showcase his limitations as a manager; a top manager would never remain working under such conditions for long - Jose wouldn't.

never! btw, there is no way Jose is right on this one. Say, if Wenger is indeed a quack, and some of his tactics may suggest that, then he is still a winner for having fooled a big club like Arsenal for all these years. On the other hand, the most plausible explanation is that Wenger is really not that great in tactics and formations, but excels at building and developing players on the cheap, which makes him an asset for clubs interested in playing the transfer market as opposed to win silverware - still a guy with a fat paycheck.

yup, they all leave just before turning into winners. It's a vicious circle really as some say you develop winners by winning. Pretty vicious comments by Jose, even though they are all true. It also somewhat diminishes the importance of the people who have worked along with him - not to mention the clubs.

OK, lets get our facts right first...David Luiz has NEVER seen a red card for Chelsea. Contrary to John Terry in the CL semi as I remember, who picked up the silliest of the cards at the worst possible time. We value different aspects of the game, including in defending. Different footballing schools value different aspect which is normal. I do understand this, but some other people here don't seem to be able to agree to disagree.

folks he's obviously not English enough as only the English know how to defend in football. After all all other top sides have English defenders, especially in England. David Luiz should be sold in the summer so we can make funds to buy Ryan Shawcross - a proper Englishman with a serious face and short haircut. We can even buy a few of "them" with the money.

@The Skipper, you are wasting your time. Some folks here never kicked a ball in their life. That was an unstoppable play caused by a perfect cross. You'd need a defender who was NOT man marking to see the cross first - assuming Victor does not know the crosser from practice. It's possible but it would have taken a perfect reading, pace, and luck. Some folks here also have a problem with logic; they are good removing the deficiencies of the players they replace in their minds, but not taking into account the deficiencies of the substitutes. Say, Terry were on the pitch and there is no Victor goal (a wild assumption as he's pretty pacey) there is no backheel flick from Luiz and no Iva goal: result 0x0 (also an assumption). Did we not press with a high defense line for 70min of the match either?! That's Luiz' specialty and he looked pretty good then. Furthermore, lets assume that in the situation we were in in the last 20 min or so, under pressure and all, we'd rather have Terry than Luiz on the pitch. This is fair as Terry shines in those situations. However, in other situations that's not the case: like I said, when pressing your opponent in midfield like we tried to do for most of the match. Is it fair to expect Luiz to be as composed as Terry in those particular situations, even though David Luiz is a lot better than Terry in others? Isn't Terry any good then if Luiz has to match Terry in what Terry does best even though it's really not Luiz' virtue? I find this discussion repetitive as we've coming to the same conclusions over and over again: about what his deficiencies are and what his virtues are. The same people focus on his deficiencies and the same others on his virtues. I will just agree to disagree on this one.

yeah, his play wasn't great, but the cross was really good. I've learned over the years that when a GK leaves the goal to intercept the football he should be damn sure to finish the job because if he misses it, the goal will be exposed. Still, we were just too shitty in the last 20 minutes to want anything other than what we got.

Munich (only a rumor), Champions League (fact), plays well for Brazil (fact), only form, (who knows) why else would Barca value him at £30 million (false Barca made a 21m offer in the summer so that's his current valuation) future captain (maybe Brazil), sun was in his eyes (hey whatever works for you - not judging) just though I should set the record straight... separate fact from fiction... I honestly think it was mikel's fault.

Or there is a simpler explanation, which Jose has been hinting at, but it's difficult for supporters to accept: our team may not be as good as we think it is. We need 100% focus to be in the game during the 90 mins and that can be accomplished sometimes and in some games, but not all the time during a long championship. Thankfully the opponents aren't that superior either, so we might have a shot despite of what our pragmatic manager says. We will find out soon enough.

goal was nobody's fault ... bunch of crazy people here. Perfect cross in right between the 2 CBs. Allows a smart player to meet it like he did. Should not have let those crosses take place though. We've been bad in the last 20-30 mins and if you don't see that and keep looking for 1/11th scapegoats, maybe you should be watching tennis instead.

Well by producing so many set piece situations we've upped the odds of getting something out of them. Nice flick from Luiz and Iva is on a roll! Luiz first (and only) touch to control a long ball in front of an opponent a moment before was just pretty incredible. Almost too much technique for a defender. We've been playing well - now WBA will open up which makes imperative we hit them on the break and kill this game right away. This is a must win esp with this starting XI.