robsblubot

Gotta take risks to win games esp when the opponent sits back. What u 'hate' about luiz is just his way of trying to help unlock a tight defense. Even as a cb he has the ability to do just that and i reckon managers encourage that when appropriate - against a weak opponent at home. We just saw what happens when we don't take risks when we dropped points against west ham at home.It all boils down to personal preferences. To me a defender that 'doesn't do anything stupid' May or May not be good enough. For me it's about what he brings when we face the toughest of opponents. Cahill did a poor job handling skillful FWs a many times before - ppl May gave forgotten that too. Staying with English defenders I believe Phil jones will be twice the defender Cahill is and Smalling might become a better defender too, unfortunately.

Carragher on Oscar: http://www1.skysports.com/football/news/29327/9141946/jamie-carragher-says-oscars-midfield-tenacity-makes-him-the-key-man-for-jose-mourinho Personal preferences aside, which include preferred style and characteristics, people seem to be ignoring a lot of evidence when discussing Oscar's current and potential ability. For example, as mentioned by Barbara earlier, Oscar's age and status in the Brazil side.

Our 0x0 result playing United away looks pretty shitty now; 2 points down the drain. ^^ good lineup, but it's too late to "unbore" the team and their football. Phil Jones would be considered too adventurous CB as opposed to the no nonsense others. A great manager would have picked the best players (regardless of styles) and try creating a team with them. THen replacing one or two just to make it work. WC is just too close to do that now.

And barcelona did not even have to play Mascherano as CB to concede 3 goals - great job! There aren't many CBs that can work in their system, that's why we shouldn't let them have Luiz. United were unfortunate to be honest. Jones was having a great game as CB when picked up a knock. SHame on Moyes for not having another CB on the bench. Mata was a passenger for most of the match - nice assist for RVP goal though.

He can score for sure, but he's an overall poor footballer. Nowhere near the quality we need.

no, we gonna buy Luiz back for 40m just because that's how we roll!

Barca offered aroud 21m last year, which was certainly not high enough for Chelsea. I'd very much like them to keep on playing Mascherano as a CB...

True, but this is very relative to system and strategies. Same goes for David Luiz, as we've discussed before. Would a Terry or Cahill get into Bayern's or Barca's starting XI? I'd say they employ very different type of players even and specially in defense. Same goes for Ramires. Mourinho already said so himself that Ramires is a key player for him. BTW, I like Ramires, but wouldn't call him a key player.

Ramires is a ball-winning midfield who can do B2B, but he is a defensive player. In my mind, Ramires should've been enough for the WH match in terms of defense. The problem wasn't him, but that we had too many defensive players in the starting XI. This happens to be my pet peeve with mourinho's tactics. Others employ more of total football while mourinho is very traditional in defense and attack. This makes his teams a bit less flexible - you have to swap players to make changes.

"We played the vast majority of the game in their final third." Who are the "we"?! Mikel? Terry? Ivanovic with his amazing dribbling and crossing skills? Which players were there in their final third?! If WH had 11 players in their own half, how many did we have to beat their 11 players? perhaps not enough. Have you heard about dribbling? Quick flicks? overlaps? Talented players are talented because they can create - if they have support! Or they are more likely to pull those things in tight spaces than say Mikel or Terry. Total football and Barcelona wouldn't make sense in the way you describe football.

It seems we disagree on arithmetic, not football. So you are saying that the number of players capable of contributing in attack in the starting XI does not matter and finishing is exclusively up to the attacking players... Honestly, that's the most absurd thing I've ever heard...The players capable of contributing in attack ARE the attacking players! If you have more of them you are more attacking minded. Total football should have thought us something. Most managers repeat this: it does not matter where a player starts the game, in which position, but how he moves on the pitch and what he does. With more and better attacking players we could have created BETTER chances to score. At very least we would have made their double covers less effective. We'd have had better odds of scoring. Yes, we'd be more exposed, but that's what it takes to win against teams who sit. My point remains: neither City nor Arsenal would ever have a Mikel type of player in their starting XI against a shitty side like West Ham at home. Jose was wrong... he's human.

Don't really think parking the bus would really work against City - you gotta press them. Cech Iva Cahill Terry Cole Luiz Matic Willian/ramires Oscar Hazard Eto'o Now it's the time to play negative disruptive football. It's the time you play a CB in midfield - spec if he does OK there, which is the case for Luiz. Really it's nothing that hasn't been done before. Between Luiz and Matic (and ever ramires) reckon we could win most of the 50/50s, rebounds, and the like. Which would make the game a lot more difficult for City. Anyway, handling the big tough teams happens to be Jose's specialty and why he makes the big bucks.

One of my first signings on fm... And some Juan my first sale - to fund the signings.

yup... It's called the la la land. No physical presence was needed in midfield. Oscar could've should've played there. You only need physical presence in tight spaces where players are pressurized and can lose possession. Not in the center of the pitch where there is no opposition. Sometimes football is as simple and true as arithmetic: the number of players we committed to attacking wasn't enough. Yes, we might have scored anyway, but the odds of scoring goals would have been higher if we had more attacking players on the pitch, preferably in the starting lineup. Or perhaps we needed more rounded players who do both as opposed to specialized players like Mikel.

yup. Why both Cahill and Terry? What do they add in attack when roaming in the midfield? Luiz + one of them. Azpi on the right, Cole on the left (could even go Andre or Bertrand if not on loan there). No Mikel! *maybe Matic. I'd actually start with Lampard + Matic/Ramires. Ramires would be more focused on defense actually. Then against City you play something like this line up. The starting line up made no sense this time... none whatsoever. Number of players committed (or capable) to attacking was way off. BTW, no opportunism here as I thought the lineup was shit from the start. Again, imagine Arsenal's line up for a game like this... no DM for sure...

He's a defensive RB/CB - not a game for him today. It was time for a very adventurous starting line up and we did not get one.

This one was very predictable. Against a shitty side that will defend with 11 men, you need close to that number of players attacking and capable of contributing up front. JT, Cahill, and Iva can only contribute in attack in set pieces. Azpi being the only player capable of really producing anything up front, but then he's playing on the left... In the CM we have Mikel (his personal stats should be enough) and Ramires, who's more like a workhorse. Sorry, but that's just not enough at home against one of the worst teams in the league. Arsenal would have started the game with no DM for example and that would've been the correct approach.

You can't lose the football if ppl aren't really trying to take it from you. BTW, the most overrated skill in football. I don't blame him though - it was not a game for him and his stats prove it.

1,90cm is not common in the munich area... Gutless starting line-up - we deserved it.

I'd go Matic + Luiz for the City game possession + disruption would be key in controlling their excellent midfield.

Suarez is twice the player esp concerning consistency. Both are difficult, but Suarez is only difficult for his opponents - never misses training and never creates problems with his teammates.

without a doubt... how much though? that's the $$ question. Like Choulo said, being 21 does play a big part and I've seen many young players fully recover from ACL.

Fantastic lineup, but Terry will be 35...

He had a good debut. Thought our midfield was a bit on the slow side though; you could see that in quick transitions, only the AMs and Eto were involved. Neither Lamps nor Matic joined them. * watched recording so could pay attention to those things. Still rely heavily on Ramires to do the B2B thingy, or perhaps MVG once he'd back. Don't think Lamps has the legs for that any more.

Great CB work! Mechanics were just right with luiz chasing and Cahill covering. You can really see Jose's touch in the positioning... Calm presence of Matic really helps with possession and control. Cm was a bit slow without Ramires though perhaps the reason we didn't score more goals - not many players joining the attack.