robsblubot

Our defense has been rock solid without David Luiz! Our defenders look completely dependable and very very calm...

Agreed, imo the lack of pace (and acceleration) is the main reason for Torres' ineffectiveness. His low confidence stems from his newfound inability to go past his man.

We lost the game because of our defending or lack thereof. How many goals to we have to score away from home to win a freaking match? Certainly 2 goals ought to be enough! Turnbull is not good enough. I have my doubts about Cahill even being good enough for Chelsea (squad player for me so far), and I have a strong opinion that Iva plays best as a defensive RB. I don't know what the docs and/or fitness coaches told Rafa about Terry, but I have to assume he wasn't supposed to play Yesterday.

still.... I am yet to see anything from him, and by that I don't mean consistent performances, but something, anything! A dribble, a good run, a goal, an assist, anything! Opponents are taking the football from him way too easily and that is concerning.

I recommend a book called soccernomics then. It may present some interesting facts; they even attempted to measure the effect of tradition and weight it in when talking about, say England for example. Regardless, a very good read.

tradition does matter! Besides many of the Belgium players are on the young side, which makes it very difficult at the world cup. Just consider how few winners we've got and how long it has taken for Spain to break into this very selective group.

Very interesting point... but why would you want a very calm squad that may border complacency? David is one of the most aggressive players in the squad and I believe Chelsea value him for that. It seems Chelsea FC have been going through a change of stature that some supporters haven't yet fully embraced or even accepted. The proper and composed are't in fashion at Chelsea based on how they've building the squad. Roman does not seem to want proper dependable players who do well in a wet pitch at Stoke. He's, I reckon, attempting to build a squad that can dominate in Europe. Let me try to make my point clearer: Chelsea need their players to provide an edge against the other top sides. Of course Chelsea would like David to develop and become more composed, dependable, and less prone to mistakes, which happens naturally as players age (especially defenders). However, they believe, and they possess a lot more info than we do, that David can become a dominant player; that's what the amount we paid for him as well as his new wages tell me.

Interesting player from the videos above, but concerning Neymar, it isn't his skills that impress people, but his finishing; he is able to complete his very skillful plays providing assists or applying the finish himself, which happens more often than not.

hahah Ronaldinho is a joke at 34 yo... heck I reckon he was never as good as ppl believed he was, but for Brazil he has always flopped big time. The fact that ppl expect him to deliver now at 34 playing in brazil, a weaker league, is just crazy. Just remember Oscar was just as dominant at 20 in brazil as Ronaldinho is now. Actually Oscar did very well in Libertadores too. If Ronaldinho raises a red flag it is for Brazil, not Oscar. Ppl here have to put things into perspective: Chelsea did not sign Oscar expecting him to dominate the league at 21 in his first season in another country. He's doing fine--let him play!

Congrats to Oscar (Luiz and Ramires), called up for the England friendly. It's an important call up because it's the first one by Scolari. I'd expect the Chelsea trio to start.

Cahill was indeed more solid than Iva throughout the game, but he could've costed us the game in the 5th minute when Giroud loses him very easily and has a sitter, which he (thankfully) missed. I agree Ramires decision and technique can be subpar at times (not against Barca though:P) but it's NOT a case that he is just "hard working." It's a bit more than that. He can dominate games physically with pace and even strength. He caused Arsenal players so much grief today that I almost felt sorry for them.

yeah what's up with that?! They were all upset when Arsenal were having their (tiny little) asses handed back to them in the first half...

nah my gut feeling is that RVP wanted out period. perhaps he couldn't endure Wenger's pep talks any longer.

Thought I should not have to mention that Lampard's contract is running out with no signs of renewal. Also, I'm not saying or wrote that Lampard is or has been playing deep. And frankly I don't care who plays deep, this is something that can change from match to match, depending on strategy and opponent. What I am saying though is that all our midfielders are short aside from Mikel, Lampard, and Luiz (not even proper DM/CM), but now I'm just repeating myself.

Azpi has been making defensive mistakes of late and is due for a rest. I'd start with with a very deep defensive line with the following players: Cech, Iva, Chill, JT, Cole (assuming JT is fit) Luiz, Lamps, And Ramires/Oscar in the middle (not CAM or wings) and then another line with Mata and Hazard. Striker is Ba, of course. Arsenal players are very pacey, must not give them space behind our players.

Torres is a big problem not only for the resale price but his contract. He's on City-esque pay with a long term deal. So, say we let him go for 10M and then have to pay 80% of his wages for 3 years.... that's not a good deal even when he is not delivering the goods.

Disagree. Ramires can handle physical contact, while Modric cannot. Modric is very lightweight and avoids contact at all times by moving a lot, even when playing deep. That's why I think he's not that different from Oscar (if moved deep). Chelsea need a player like Lampard, who has both technique and strength, preferably tall as well. Perhaps some Belgium who's used to wearing blue?!

You missed the "for his age" in conjunction with the league where he now plays. Some players have a much easier time against weaker opponents (more time on the ball and space behind defenders), others don't. So, what Gervinho (or Hazard) did in a different league does not really matter. Gervinho finishing has been crap and his final touch has not been any better. Hazard on the other hand shows finishing that belong to very special class of player. I think he can improve other aspects of his game, some of them drastically, but his finishing is already there IMO of course.

His finishing is absolutely crazy for his age! I can't imagine how good this kid is going to be at say 25/26! Interesting signings... Chelsea could become a dominant team in just a couple of years if all (or most of) our youngsters pan out.

are you kidding me?! 6 months left on his contract?! Are you sure? If true, I don't understand how Liverpool actually paid 12M for him. Why not just sign a pre-contract and wait till summer--spend that money on a (more read) striker on the cheap. Not like Sturridge is going to start ahead o Suarez any time soon anyway.

Agreed. Oscar is 21!!! Of course Brazil cannot rely on a 21 to win a world cup, neither should Chelsea. He's a wonderful young talent though! Ironically Brazil will be relying on another 21 year old who does wonders in the Brazilian league, but vanishes when facing stronger opposition, even U23. As a Brazil supporter I'd be more optimistic about Oscar developing until the WC than Neymar.

agreed. Just play deep with JT and Iva in the RB position. Playing with a deep defense line against Arsenal is always the sensible thing because of their pace.

We need him back because he's the best defender we've got. The only one who is absolutely dominant in the air.

^^ I concur Azpi had a terrible game, especially defensively. Perhaps time for a rest and move Iva back to the RB position for a little while. We were not good from the start to finish. Chelsea lose the midfield so easily it's not even funny. BTW, i'm not necessarily sure Lampard and Ramires were to blame for the lack of midfield display there. Whoever plays in midfield gets no help from the CAM e wingers. Those guys need to drop back and do the midfield work, otherwise we will always lack numbers.

We, supporters like players fixed in specific positions, but managers love those type of players, especially certain managers such as Benitez. Realistically, Iva will play both RB and CB, and David will play CB and DM/CM. I really like Iva as a RB against strong sides for example--defensive RB that is.