robsblubot

Ridiculous strike from William.

Fucking Newcastle divers

besides Rambo seems to have no problems passing to the back of the net... On Diego Costa, I have no problem with his choice and don't really understand why it's anyone's business - certainly not Scolari's. Whether Spain will or not get them, that's a different discussion and not really important to me; don't support spain and don't think Diego is good enough to tip the balance one way or another. BTW, it's not an age of striker abundance in Brazil atm. Last real special one was Ronaldo before getting fat and retiring. Fred and Jo are so common to me.

Rumor has it PSG will make a 41m bid in Jan.

how are Gary and David handling the pressure now?

wow! not a good sign for KDB

Well, Arsenal away from home isn't really the time to give youngsters many minutes. Imagine a huge setback and what that would do to their confidence.

DYC. thanks. We've disagreed on Roman and Mourinho before: to me Mourinho is an employee, nothing more. He got sacked before and can be sacked again. It's Roman's club as he paid and pays very well for it. Now interesting you see Barcelona as a team that scores a lot and also concedes a lot; that's not how I see them. Their possession game is actually very defensive in essence, which is what I alluded to in my earlier post. If you keep the football the other team cannot hurt you. That's also a way a player like David Luiz helps your side defensively, by helping keep possession. And we don't have to think Barcelona only, City also is a possession side and they push their defense line very high very often. The in-form Barcelona did not concede many goals and I reckon they only score a lot because of one player: Messi. Look at Spain for example. They play in the exact same way, with many of the key players, but have a really hard time scoring, but also don't concede many goals. They are known as the 1x0 champions after all. What you say about Barcelona is how I see Bayern these days. Honestly, football is changing and we have to change along. I have nothing against counter-attacking football as it has worked wonderfully many times for me (club and international levels). But like I said, football is changing, becoming more dynamic, and I don't think Roman spent all that money buying luminaries to play counter-attacking football. Even Mourinho said so when questioned about Mata, that there will be a *transition* period, but the end goal is indeed changing the style which has been the same since he left (according to him in the same post-match interview). BTW, hope this is not completely OT since we are (implicitly) discussing whether a player like Gary would fit this or that style...

There lies the problem... there is no 'us' anymore. Chelsea like any other top English club is an international brand, which is the only way the investments made make any sense! Like CHOULO wrote, the teams who are playing a far more dynamic and unpredictable football, at club and international level, are indeed winning all trophies; not to mention playing the football that sells tickets and tv adds. Roman does want a piece of that (more attacking football) as it has been reported ad nauseam: AVB time: http://www.dailymail.co.uk/sport/football/article-2172276/Andre-Villas-Boas-hits-Roman-Abramovich.html More recent: http://www.dailymail.co.uk/sport/football/article-2384228/Jose-Mourinho-says-Roman-Abramovich-pressured-play-sexier-football.html a number of other articles on the subject can be found online.

Gary makes at least as many mistakes as Luiz does; they are just different kind of mistakes, which some here are more "used to." They lead to goals all the same though. The difference, which people here seem to choose to ignore, is that the whole team suffers when a technically inferior player like Cahill plays. He provides no technical edge against the opposition. The defense line plays very deep, too deep for a home game! City had most of possession and people immediately complained about the pivot... Pivot! Pivot! reminds me of an old Friend's episode. Football is a very dynamic game where the lines are intertwined. When your defenders don't have the ability to join and perform tasks in the midfield, that affects how the team plays. If your CB sits deep, the entire defense line will play deep, which will invariably affect your team's ability to keep possession and allow your opponent to push high up the pitch (like City did). You can start any CM in the world in the "pivot" and if they don't get help from all other lines they will fail. Finally, the opinions here usually go strongly against the the "opinions" of the transfer market. So, either you know something all the professional scouts, coaches, and managers don't, or you are just plain wrong; personally I'd go with the latter. David Luiz is sought after by the top clubs in the world, while Cahill is essentially anonymous in the footballing world. If you want to play a defender of Cahill's characteristics, if you truly believe that is the better option, then by all means you should be looking to unload David ASAP (he won't sit on the bench quietly with so much interest in him) and to get another player similar to Cahill, but technically better than him. I've followed Terry's career and at no point during his long career at Chelsea he's been as easily beaten by opponents as Cahill is. Terry is just a much superior player in every aspect of the game; a far better footballer and honestly, we shouldn't settle for anything less. I like Gary, I really do, but as a rotation player, never a starter. However, ever since he's become a regular for the national team, there is a push for him to become a regular at Chelsea too - from pundits and (mostly England) supporters alike. Here's something people may realize but not say: Chelsea are a top team, but England aren't. So, what is good enough for England isn't necessarily good enough for Chelsea. England have about 4-5 world class players, which is way short of becoming WC contenders - reckon this is fodder for another thread though.

that's not a good argument for Cahill, because Luiz is twice the footballer.

Well his distribution is pretty bad too and he's slow to recover.Though pundits clearly can't criticize him on tv so all is good for Cahill. England are weak in defense.

He was good once he came on; positioned up the pitch with good tackles and work rate.

Did he just recover his old pace?! Does not seem Torres needs to change his game after all... Torres won us 3 points today - we were not that great aside from him. BTW, Ivanovic had a great defensive game as well!

defense line inside the six-yard box. Pretty embarrassing stuff...

Omeruo had a terrible (and unlucky) conf cup. The did not do very well against strong opposition in the minitutes he had, so don't really see what the fuzz is about... Is he doing well in training? Great giv him some cup start but certainly not against a top side. Btw Varane replaced Pepe, who is average at best. Honestly we'got to stop going crazy for Madrid players if we ever want to beat barca again that is... Seriously, Madrid have many average players - too many really.

Do you really see Mourinho playing either any time soon?! Haven't seen anything special from McEachran, and Chalobah is just too green at 18.

Diego Costa is too expensive as a bet and not tested enough to be a big signing. I'm all for getting them before they cost 50m, so you gotta do that before they start scoring every weekend. *If* we did got for him, it would then be a long-term deal. Eto is on a 1-year contract, and Ba will be gone (IMO) soon. Diego Costa would have time to get used to English football for next season. So, we'd have Torres, Lukaku and D. Costa next season. No, not sure D. Costa is good enough. Another player I would have gone for is Shelvey. He was cheap and could provide a very good rotation option. He's got the right attitude and good technique. His over-aggressiveness can be tamed by the right manager (like Mourinho). He could do the job Meireles did for us.

I'm actually quite happy with Lampard's performance this season, esp considering that at his age it will take some time for him to hit high gear. What once again concerns me is the lack of any proper long-term replacement on the horizon. I look at Paulinho playing for Tottenham and I see a lot of Lampard in him. The box-to-box, the goals, and especially, the deceptively languid movement. I think Willian is going to become a good/important player for Chelsea, but I wish we had gone for Paulinho instead. Concerning yaya, it's really not Lampard's job to stop him; at least that's how I see it. Yaya's about power, and honestly we just don't have any player in the squad who would be a physical match for him. Essien in his early days could make it up with movement and skill, but never power. BTW, luciobrazil, weight != power. Mikel has not the attitude/aggressiveness of ball-winning midfielder IMO.

great read - apologize for double-posting but completely different subject Leboeuf frankly on David Luiz.... 'Sometimes he scares me a little when I see him being very easy and taking too many risks, but he`s the same kind of player I was. 'Maybe I was less crazy than he is, but he`s a fantastic player, he likes to go forward, and I can`t reject a player like that because that`s the philosophy I like. 'But at the same time, if you`re going to play him, you need to make sure people compensate, and one of the midfielders goes next to John Terry when he goes forward. 'It`s teamwork, and David Luiz has to be careful than someone can take his place when he does things. I like David Luiz - he brought so much to the club and he`s a talented player. 'He has to work on the defensive aspects of his football, but a little bit of craziness doesn`t kill anybody, and it brings a bit of flavour to football.' 'It was a good idea to see him playing as a midfielder because he`s secure at the back with John Terry, Branislav Ivanovic or Gary Cahill behind him,' the Frenchman added. 'It`s an option, but as you get older I think he`s going to go forward less, like I did, and he`s going to calm down, and so maybe his position really is at the back. 'Because of his technique, it`s good to have a player who can be calm and give a good pass to start a good attack.' http://www.chelsea.vitalfootball.co.uk/article.asp?a=538012

Great post, and I mostly agree. On the importance of mental level, that's really debatable and perhaps cultural as well. I can affirm that In Brazil technique is considered *the most* important aspect, but mentality is indeed considered important especially on the highest stage (International etc). This is a discussion that probably deserves its own thread, but I reckon however strong mentally a player may be, he has no business playing at the highest level if his technique doesn't follow closely behind. I for one find it far more likely Luiz improving decisions, positioning, and concentration than Cahill improving his technique, pace, and agility. Defenders tend to improve on the mental side of the game as they age. Experience does give them a better reading of the game over time.

heh maybe... that can be quite entertaining. David is very quick and aggressive which allows him to apply pressure high up in the field (aside from bad decision like in Everton's goal) and close down on those top forwarders very quickly, before they have enough time to control the football and turn. That's key to stopping them, because at the very least they are slowed down just enough to allow our defense to get organized. Aguero for example got quite frustrated with Luiz last season; so much so that he ended up lashing out at him. Cahill on the other hand isn't that quick and cannot close down on opponents very well. Since the top forwarders can receive the ball and turn very quickly, Cahill ends up back off a lot, which is very often punished. I actually find it funny that people here think Cahill chooses to back off... On the other hand, Terry's great reading of the game puts him in a far better position of being proactive like David (just not as high up the pitch), even though he's not that quick. Thats' the reason JT and David are IMO the best pairing: they are different enough to complement each other, and at the same time prevent the top forwarders from having too much time on the ball. @Korea, David is world class; whether you like his style or you think he doesn't work in our system that's OK. However, the mere fact other top top sides are willing to spend good money on him should be evidence enough that he is indeed world class. Most Brazil starters are world class too, btw. e.g. most of them could (and do) start for top sides in the world. The fact England don't employ their absolute best defender is just beyond me.

Instructions, match preparation, training... he didn't make a single run in the CL final; he rarely makes runs for Brazil. Honestly, if the manager tells him not to make the runs and he still does, why would the manager play him after he disobeys his instructions? Players are dropped for far less. So I have to assume and I know that Benitez for example stated so, that they actually encourage him to make them. Haven't seen Mangala play, but he's hardly been tested at the highest stage. I just hope Luiz doesn't move to Barca or Bayern then, because that would work too well for them (style wise). On Cahill, not talking about mistakes so much, but technical deficiencies which will be only found when playing at the highest level against skillful FW. Getting beaten for example. Luiz proactive way of playing is the right one against top strikers and players - don't give em time to control the football and turn, otherwise they will punish you.

OK, now were are discussing a different thing. When he goes to attack that's up to the team to provide or not cover for him. If we cannot provide cover for his runs, then the manager tells him not to make them otherwise he's dropped; neither happens so we have to assume he is not told to quit making runs esp since we've got a CB playing RB in Iva - who can easily cover Luiz. Now going back to his positioning and lack of concentration at times, that's indeed a problem. Pretty sure Luiz himself knows it and I only hope they've been working with him to improve on that. Agree about Terry disagree on Cahill. Really don't see what you guys see in him. Nothing special about his game or technique. He always looks composed, but that's hardly enough for top sides or when playing against top sides.

fair enough. We all have our own personal preferences, esp concerning styles. However, the alternative of employing a player who is less apt (technically speaking), which would only cause us to concede goals at the highest level, when facing gifted forwarders who he wouldn't be able to handle, isn't any better. There wouln't be any scoring if Cbs didn't make mistakes, but the mistakes can be very obvious like the one David made, or less obvious, when the defender is easily beaten by a FW on pace, or skill, etc. The result is the same though. I just don't think we have that player you speak of, aside from Terry. Either Luiz gets his shit together, or we will need to find another player who is technically as good, and at the same time more composed (good luck with that one). I for one don't share the idea that Cahill is good enough to be a starter for Chelsea (or England). BTW, his style of play makes England a worse team all the way to the front. Also, players can and do become more composed as they age. However, players rarely (or at least not as much) improve their technique.