robsblubot

Even if we do buy costa and if he delivers for us, even then we'd better options than we currently got. Is it Lukaku? I don't know but I can't imagine going another season with Torres and Ba even if they are sitting on the bench. Like Jose keeps on saying, it's a long season and top teams play a lot. Any top striker won't play every game. Eto coul perhaps provide cover but age is a big question mark.

Also we did not look any better with another am in the second half. Too many players had a bad game and unlucky on luiz injury. No Ramires to begin with as an alternative. Thought we had the match under control in the first half-aside from Cahill mistake they had nothing on us.

Had a bad game - it happens. Thought he was the worst CM we had today (even lamps) was better despite the misplaced passes. It was obvious to me that psg midweek did influence team selection and subs.

Yup I did say his red was going to hurt us. This was typical game for Ramires. They also don't understand we can't win anything with only 11 players. Gotta have a squad with good players and different characteristics. We play the same players over and over again twice a week... There is no way they can keep up.

This is the worst I've seen from Matic.

Well it was an awful tackle on luiz - could have broken his ankle Hope it's just precaution and he will be ok for psg game

Pressing has been pretty good wit luiz and lamps in line. Working so far

Ronaldinho was very flashy player who has always vanished in tough matches. He hasn't got a single memorable performance for Brazil against a top side. Yes, he was fantastic against the venezuelas... You could say Messi hasn't really done anything for Argentina either, but Messi's career is far from over - all he needs is a decent team around him. Ronaldinho on the other hand hasn't really delivered when he had fantastic players around him '02 (Ronaldo and Rivaldo) nor when he was the key player of the team '06 (he managed to be one of the worst players then). I've followed Raonaldinho's career very closely as I knew his brother (now agent) and played (for fun ) with Ronaldinho himself when he was a youngster. He then started his career at Gremio, my hometown team before moving to PSG. One of the reason's his peak was so short IMO is because he lost all his pace very early. His final seasons at BArca were really sad. He was one of the least professional top footballers to ever play the game. My feeling here is that Hazard can become a far better player than Ronaldinho ever was. Messi is already a far better player [than ronaldinho]. Messi seems to be more complete than Hazard, so I'm not so sure Hazard can actually reach Messi's level.

it's extremely bad timing for his bad form... playing like this he won't make the Brazilian side, esp with City's Fernandinho's recent performances.

yep this talk about defense is very relative. All following matches had Cahill and Terry in the CB (that's what happens to exposed defenders): Sat 9 November, 2013 - West Bromwich Albion [h] - drawn 2-2 - Goalscorers: Eto'o (45'), Hazard (90'). Sat 23 November, 2013 - West Ham United [a] - won 3-0 - Goalscorers: Lampard (21', 82'), Oscar (34'). Sun 1 December, 2013 - Southampton [h] - won 3-1 - Goalscorers: Cahill (55'), Terry (62'), Ba (90'). Wed 4 December, 2013 - Sunderland [a] - won 4-3 - Goalscorers: Lampard (17'), Hazard (36', 62'), OG (84'). Sat 7 December, 2013 - Stoke City [a] - lost 2-3 - Goalscorer: Schurrle (10', 52'). Sat 14 December, 2013 - Crystal Palace [h] - won 2-1 - Goalscorers: Torres (16'), Ramires (35'). And then suddenly we stopped conceding. Hey, if ain't broke don't fix it... and the CB pairing is certainly working. however, I've seen this happen so many times before: once the team solidifies defensively, then you can actually swap players without losing too much. The team should always be greater than its players. I think this is specially true with Mourinho. Concerning Luiz in midfield, reckon his performances and our results speak for themselves. He seems to flourish in Jose's disruptive system, in the same manner Oscar does. He seems to be getting better in the role, but we need to see more. We will find out for sure in the CL since Matic can't play. However, I've read somewhere that Matic actually makes Luiz better in the midfield, because he sits in the DLP and lets Luiz make runs.

footballer's wives/girls... they did Barca and Real before and now Chelsea. It's in Portuguese, but needs no translation... http://wp.clicrbs.com.br/blogdobola/2014/03/25/top-10-mulheres-mais-gostosas-dos-jogadores-do-chelsea/?topo=52,1,1,,224,e224

Their gk, can't possibly spell his name, had a horrible game. You rarely see a score line like this without some gk having something to do with it.

Rest terry now? That's the way to celebrate a goal! Thank your teammates first then do your thing. Like the kid already! Just slow down and keep players healthy... Got important games coming.

Eto injury looked bad like hamstring pull. Our best striker... Without him I'd play Andre upfront to be honest.

Wenger's arrogance has no boundaries. Coming to Sb and starting fucking Arteta as a single holding mid... Lol No wonder we scored two in counters!

Very favorable draw. Perhaps only United would've been better at the moment, but then you go into rivalries and what not. Yes, PSG are a good team, but they are all good teams at this level. They are still not at the same level of Bayern, Madrid, and Barca, whcih makes it a good draw. I'd also rather play them than Atletico. Does not really matter though as you eventually have to play the top dogs.

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.