robsblubot

Toure was fantastic - absolute dominant performance. City is going to be difficult to beat with a spine as strong as they've got. Kompany, Toure,and Aguero with quality on the bench too.

I hear you but don't value short passing at all. A huge number of players are quite comfortable with short safe passes. Parker is one of them. Gareth Barry another. The really good DM/CMs are the ones who go beyond short easy passes: ex Toure and our own Essien back then (when he had functional legs). I really paid attention to Mikel today. Nothing, nothing impressive about his passing. No pressure at all. He actually did lose possession and started a counter attack in the first half when surrounded by two players; it seemed like he was going to keep it by turning and shielding the ball, but then he lost his footing and the football. Until the first 15 minutes he attempted two long balls which were passed directly back to a Fulham player. After those two he did not attempt another long ball for the remaining of the first half. Again, I hear what you say and how much you value these types of passes. I can see more value in such passes when we play a team like United away from home. So, if in such situations, under constant pressure, he is able to do the same, then and only then he will have my respect. For me he must reproduce what he did when Fulham were tired and beaten in the final minutes of the match. That type of stuff is what better CM/DMs do on a consistent basis. No he doesn't have to score all the time, but he must move like he did then - esp at home. No not all the way to into the opponent's box, but close enough so he can too open up some spaces for the other players.

because of the obvious difference in quality and price between the two squads - and how shitty Fulham are. Defense line dominant against this fulham side isn't a big achievement to me. And Bent is an English fantasy.

football as everything else has changed. Things are global now and Chelsea ambitions always include Europe. Just saying.

we watched a different game as usual... no pressure at all until the second half for me. Most useless passes known to men. Who gives a crap about side/back passes really... ?!

We will see about that along the season and for the national teams... Proper percentage defenders are good until they face their maker and then you lose. I'd pay more attention to what the transfer market says, the same way you do when you talk about Mikel.

Mikel had not made any runs, no shot on goal, no successful forward pass until the 80th minute of the match. I honestly can't think of any key play from him (even defense) until the end of the match. To be fair on Mikel, Ramires was just as poor. And not to say it was team thing, Oscar was good from the start till the end. Once again, nothing would please me more, if Mikel were able to do what he did in the final minutes of the match on a regular basis. I'd be the first one here praising him for that.

sure thing, but we did not play Southampton or Villa, nor did we play away from home. You know. it's extremely worrying to me that we had to start all our most defensive-minded players at once to play Fulham @ the bridge. Fulham are my pick for relegation,not only for their poor technical display, but especially for how tired they got in the second half. If I were a Fulham fan, I'd be asking what the hell they've been doing in the preseason. I do understand why Mourinho did what he did though - he said that himself during the pre-game interview (build some confidence). And he also said the result was a lot better than the performance in the post-game interview; he actually said we played better against Everton even though we lost there. I tend to agree.

we disagree on fundamentals here. For me you cannot have slow players AND at the same time play a high defensive line. You cannot also apply pressure on opponents, especially at home, without playing a high defensive line. I mean you can, but it usually does not work because there will be too much space between the lines.

that's the completely wrong thing to do; we've learned the hard way in Brazil with the likes of Robinho and countless others before him. If the player is not world class, he won't be able to handle world class opponents. It's just that simple. If Mourinho is not a fan of Luiz, then by all means sell him, but do get a world class defender with real technical ability to handle world class attackers. Cahill is a fine player, but at this time I reckon he just isn't good enough for England or Chelsea when playing at the highest level.

that's not what I was talking about. You praised the CB pairing even though they made a glaring mistake essentially conceding a goal. Yes, Cech stopped the shot, but Bent is just a mediocre striker. Once again, happy it was Liverpool playing Southampton today.

Just one more thing: I actually liked Andre's performance. Yes, the finishing is still missing, but the quick flicks in tight spaces, not to mention his movement, are reassuring.

So I guess you did not see the 1x1 Bent had with Cech when our defenders played up the pitch and in a freaking line! people really see what they want to see...

this type of fanboyism should have no place as we are all Chelsea fans or are we not? Oscar was clearly the MoTM when things were tough. However happy you are that Mikel scored should not really become a bigger event than the poor performance and that we were only able to play well after the shitty side that Fulham are got tired in the second half. You know football does not happen in a vacuum; we played Fulham.

What Mikel did after the 80th minute is what I want him to do all the time. A good forward run and movement! He only scored because he moved and then he got himself in the right spot at the right time. Now, until Fulham players were dead Mikel was not having a great game - had not made any runs or made any forward passes - and as they tired, Mikel grew as did Oscar. Oscar was making many interceptions in the final 20 or so minutes of the match. So, although I want to see more of that, I'm afraid it was more about Fulham than Mikel himself. Though if he had it in him all this time - like some ppl suggest - the mere fact he was able to score and produce what is expected of him, even if briefly, might give him the confidence he needs to reproduce it in different circumstances. I'm still a nonbeliever, because of the circumstances, but would love to be proven wrong by good performances in the future. Extremely worried about the team though. Fulham looked as bad as I expected them to be especially in the second half when they tired. Strong relegation contenders for me.

So glad we did not play Southampton today, because it was a bad performance. Good result but lots of work because as shitty as Fulham are, they should've scored first.

Fulham players are exhausted - which also explain how poor they ve been. Oscar motm for me easy

Match is over - Fulham players are all exhausted.

Poor game this time around vs Southampton. Moses also had a few moments but certainly not enough tat this level

Prob still win this one because of the difference in quality but it does look like the wrong system with too many stoic defenders and not enough creativity. Esp playing a poor side at home.

Mikel attempted 2 forward passes and missed them both now he's just short passing. Both mikel and Ramirez have been very poor

Two slow defenders in line and high up the pitch-very lucky bent did not score. Thank Cech for fantastic save.

He's been wearing those elastic tapes on his legs... came back from International duty and even if not directly responsible for the Everton goal - plenty to blame there including Cech - he hasn't been great either. If they are unhappy with his form then he should indeed sit this one out. It's a long long season... players will be dropped for a number of reasons. We do not have much cover in the back so he will return soon enough. If comes Jan and he is somewhat unhappy (sitting on the bench), or Mourinho is unhappy with him, he will leave (prob to Barca). Business as usual.

False dichotomy. Mata could play along with Oscar just fine; the problem is that we've already got another attacking-minded AM in Hazard. As we've seen time and time again, our midfield becomes a bit light when Mata and Hazard play behind a striker. Yes, Oscar does track back and play deep, but that clearnly hasn't been enough. People have been asking for better CMs for a long time, but I reckon Chelsea and Mourinho don't see that as a problem; they see the lack in numbers as a bigger problem.

Just like to say Cech could've been helping the team more. I'm not saying he's been bad. He has been making good saves, but he has also let some balls in that, normally, a keeper of his quality wouldn't. in retrospect, Everton scored from inside the goal box, and that's the GK area. Perhaps he's just had a slow start like, apparently, the rest of the team.