robsblubot

yet it is far more likely Terry is the one picking a knock (on wood)... After all Cahill was signed to eventually replace Terry - similar characteristics. If we do sell DL, we'd need a fit replacement. Right now with Ivanovic injured, we'd be very thin at the back. Really can't start the likes of Kalas and Kenneth in tough matches.

how dare you bringing facts in this la la land of a thread.... I think we should just hand the 3 points back to hull, after a formal apology for playing ugly football, to satisfy some of the crazies around here.

lol For the stats inclined: according to whoscored, Luiz was MotM with 10 aerial clearances... the entire hull side had 17. http://www.whoscored.com/Matches/720693/LiveStatistics/England-Premier-League-2013-2014-Hull-Chelsea terrible game indeed...

DL played in the middle against Liverpool winning us the center of the pitch - directly involved in the setup of the second goal. Now once again today he's the one with a quick flick to Cole who sets up Hazard. Mikel has never been able to do that. Going to the market for a proper world class CM is one thing, but comparing DL contribution in the middle to the likes of Essien (former great player) and Mikel (consistently below average) is essentially ignoring facts, which are the measurable contributions DL has been able to provide from the center of the pitch (last season too). So, Jose is the second (in a row) manager to play Luiz in the midfield, but you are saying he did not have a genuine excuse to do that... Perhaps, you know, Jose and you don't really agree on Luiz?! according to you David Luiz is not technically nor tactically gifted, not versatile... and yet, the top clubs want him and we slap a 35m price tag on this awful player. So, all the players you like ahead of him, are much less valuable players in the market. One of them doesn't even get to play cup matches. The world must not make any sense through your eyes.

Jose is a player - he plays the media and they love it. The best managers have the keen ability of finding spots in the team for their best players. Terry and Cahill are in great form, and he obviously values Luiz as a player. That outside of the boot quick flick to cole for the first goal is the type of move Mikel has never pulled off. Lampard does, but Lampard isn't as strong in defense as Luiz is. There was a moment in the match when Terry made a forward run and Luiz dropped back as a CB - very smoothly done. BTW, I didn't think DL was amazing or anything like that, but he was key in the dominance we had, esp in the second half. Hull don't know what hit em - don't think they had a shot on our goal in the second half. That's very Mourinho.

I really don't know why the press even talk with the other managers... waste of paper/bits. Q: You have been fortunate enough to work with both Ronaldos. Which one was best at his peak? (Zobayr Nader, via Facebook) Mourinho: "I had Ronaldo and Ronaldo; I had Figo and Stoichkov; I had Ibrahimovic and Drogba; I had Lampard and Terry ... I had, I had, I had ... dozens of top, top players! I also had the ones without the same talent, but with big hearts -– and they gave everything to me." http://www.nbcsports.com/soccer/pl/gaffers-answers

Defensive skills are far cheaper to acquire in the market. Yaya is the best CM in the world for me because he can do it all - the fact he's so good in attack just makes him even more valuable. Regardless, Yaya isn't available. It really boils down to the following two considerations: 1. Is Matic better than Mikel? How so? 2. Furthermore, is Matic good enough to provide an edge against the other top sides?

agreed. If Shaw is good enough then he is good enough - no doubt about it. Again, I was just referring to Polo7's point when he warned about going gaga for English talent.

Chelsea success of recent times involves large sums of cash used to acquire top players from all over the world - the exact same policy of today. http://www.independent.co.uk/sport/football/news-and-comment/roman-abramovichs-10year-chelsea-anniversary-what-did-he-ever-do-for-us-spend-2-billion-in-10-years-at-chelsea-thats-what-8680084.html I do remember Chelsea back then kicking the ball up field to hasselbaink... effective at times, but hardly world class. However, I do not deny the importance of Lampard and Terry in this winning process. My point was merely due to the odds of trying to find the odd talent in a smaller pool (England) vs a much larger one (the world).

Haven't seen enough of Shaw to know whether he is class or not, but if you don't understand Polo7's point... well you are just very bad with numbers, esp probabilities.

So apparently, Brendan Rodgers would like to send Victor Moses back to us as he failed to impress. Not a big fan of Moses myself, so it doesn't surprise me one bit.

yeah I understand where he is coming from, but if the youngsters dont get to play in these matches, when are they going to play then? We already have a reputation for not giving youngsters a chance... it could make things harder for us... will SHaw come knowing that at 18 he prob won't play for us?

Good, yet nothing impressive, performances from a few players aside (Oscar, Mikel, Willian, Cahill), let's not forget we've played a championship side with a fraction of the talent at our disposal. TBH, it was not a good football match. All I can say is that we did our job, but the fact Jose fielded a strong starting XI is a bit puzzling. The scary thing is how poor our strikers were against very poor opposition - Eto'o looked like the proper retiree. Luiz's lousy first half performance should be concerning, esp again considering how poor the opposition was.

I don't watch Spanish football, so I end up only watching Barca and Real when they play in the CL. I have to say I've never seen anything remotely good enough from Higuain. He's nowhere near Aguero's level, which is the level of striker we need. I don't think a good striker will help us ATM - we already have good strikers in the squad. What we need is a top striker and Higuain ain't it.

Agreed! It's even worse for Oscar though, because most (very few exceptions) refs in the Brazilian league show cards far too easily for any physical contact. So, imagine that a dive in the box might not only give you the penalty but also, very likely, a red will be shown to the opponent. Diving is literally a win-win situation in certain leagues. Just retroactively suspend them - a yellow for any blatant dive and problem solved.

people may be forgetting this is a World Cup year... the internationals need to play consistently to make their case. It would be extremely convenient for us to have a player of Mata's caliber as a rotation - more like backup right now - option. Mata may have a far different idea of what his role ought to be though, and honestly I think he made abundantly clear what he thinks of his current role. It is very difficult to turn a key player (on demand) into a rotation/backup player and expect him to accept that without making noise. He may want to leave and he might have a case. Now, It's just a matter of meeting the players valuation, which takes into consideration how much he wants to leave. I am sure he/his agent will come out and say it was just the "heat of the moment" or another canned PR BS though.

Thought he defended well this time around. I've come to think it's not really the lack of defending on Mata's part that bothers Jose. It's more to do with his lack of pace and quickness. He slows down play which seems to go directly against Jose's idea of what a team should do. Wonder whether he could be converted to a DLP/CM, an attacking one at that obviously. He wouldn't have the physicality for it, but the technique and vision would be abundant - similar to Modric for example. He can keep possession well, so it could work.

Right but perhaps the point here is that Mikel was key in making our defense line secure today. That whole idea of not letting your defenders exposed on one-on-ones against the attackers. Was the same defense line bad when we conceded 5 goals in two games, or were they too exposed then? To me we've been defending better and you gotta give credit to Mikel as well. Now, is that enough? It was today. I agree that it isn't going to be enough, especially in different circumstances, such as when he has to join the attack in possession. He is a very one-dimensional player no doubt.

old habits die hard... typical play in the Brazilian league when players go for the dive vs the finish. Hard to argue against it there, since the refs promote that behavior not only by giving the PKs but also by showing yellow and reds all the time. Something he has to work out of his system. As far as I am concerned he got us the 3 points against the saints today.

Agree with the first (good defensively), but not with the second point. His contribution in attack was pretty mediocre as usual. A particular ridiculous play was when he attempted a long ball to Torres - nowhere near the target.

True, but I usually like anything that makes me think even if for the wrong reasons.I was the who posted on the pre-match thread that luiz was the best option to replace Ramires - even had a discussion with bushman (as usual) about it. In Jose's current system with deep defense line, I actually think luiz's talent is wasted so far away from attack as a cb. Again, Jose's job not mine.

Interesting article with interesting points. The bit about leaving spaces behind was kinda expected though. DL was replacing Ramires, like some have pointed out in the comments section, and Ramires is hardly a player who sits nor is he a DM. Granted, Ramires has the pace (loads of it) to recover quickly once he/we lose possession, but that's not the case with Luiz. On the other hand, Luiz is a better passer than Ramires, so fair trade. Personally, I'm just happy Jose won't snub a valid strategy just because Benitez did it before. Now if you work in teh press, would you ever believe whatever comes out of his mouth in the future?

Yeah he was probably having difficult breathing after all that unusual running.. Is Mikel any quicker? But yes, Luiz's a pacey defender and a slow but tall midfielder. Just remember he's been on a defender training schedule like forever. This has been exactly my point all along: in a different system David would play very similarly as he did today, but from the back. However, in Mourinho's system, I do have my doubts whether Luiz can play as a CB. Accommodating Luiz (or cashing out on him) is Jose's problem, not mine.

yup thought we were running out of steam in the final 20 or so mins, specially luiz not used to all that movement. Perhaps Lampard absence was even more of an issue though.

If you have to bring a 16yo as a sub in the (what?) 70th minute of a match against Chelsea at Stamford Bridge, you deserve to lose. I mean, as good as we were, that kid was completely out of his depth.