TorontoChelsea

Brazil didn't play Uruguay or Spain. (And there is no contradiction in saying that Uruguay was trying and still got knocked off). and Spain left their best players at home. Brazil has faced the under-23 sides of Belarus, New Zealand, Egypt, Honduras, and South Korea. The best team Brazil will face all tournament might be Mexico and their top player is probably Giovanni dos Santos who hasn't been good enough to be on the Spurs squad. It's a very weak tournament.

I agree with this. He'll only be 21 this season so him not being a superstar immediately doesn't mean he won't develop well. The issue is that if people expect too much right away, they will inevitably be disappointed. You saw some people on this board after Hazard's first poor pre-season game berating him. I expect Oscar to be a very good player long-term but he may take a year or two to get there.

It changes enormously. Passing is much more difficult when you have less time. Passing is much more difficult when your teammates are well-marked. Control of the ball is harder against better defenders. There are many players who look ggreat at lower levels and can't make the jump. He has impressed and I think he has a very bright future, but people are reading way too much into this tournament.

They are extremely poor. They are under-23 sides of poor footballing countries. Of the better footballing countries, only Brazil and Uruguay sent good over-23 players. It's a minor tournament and most teams treat it as such.

It's quite possible he will struggle at first. Brazil are playing 90% of their starting team against under 23 sides of poor footballing countries. Oscar has looked good, but looking good against teams with League One sort of talent does not equate to instant stardom in the Premier League. I think he's very likely to be a very good player, but it will also very likely take a period of adjustment.

Arsenal consistently get excellent transfer value. If they ever were willing to spend money, they'd be in fabulous shape. Lucky for us, they are more interested in turning a profit than they are winning.

This is exactly it. The formation is pretty much set save new signings except for what you mention and perhaps Luiz vs. Cahill at CB. My feeling is that Ramires will start and they'll try to bring Oscar into the starting XI as he gets acclimatized to the league.

No, he can't. You absolutely need a creative player and excellent passer in that position and Ramires has many skills but his creativity and passing are not among them.

Yes, for sure, but training is different and not nearly as exhausting as playing in games. He deserves a break and he'll get one, but after that, he should be fine.

Mata has played 5 matches in the last 2 months including 2 appearances as a substitute. He hasn't had time to go away for a long vacation, but it's not as if he's been playing non-stop. He played about 5 minutes at the Euros.

Mikel had a bad run of games under AVB but has been a solid player for us for years. Is he an elite defensive midfielder? I don't think so, but he's very good and certainly good enough to start regular for Chelsea. Defensive midfield is one of the hardest positions to judge in football because they are more about being a link and covering other people than being proactive themselves. Mikel does what he needs to do which is make short, accurate passes and cover for defenders and he does it well.

What??? If you don't read this in English, you will miss amazing sentences like "Frank Lampard is back in the game, the lack of automatic instinctive with his new partners and Marine Hazard (both summer signings non-English speakers) that no captain does alert (phylacteries) of the explosive output of Montolivo (thick red dashed ).

Didn't even know he was still playing. Fantastic and thrilling player. To me, after Maldini, the second best LB I've seen.

It's true. Positioning is an incredibly important skill for any player and the lack of proper positioning from our strikers was one of our biggest problems last season. Easy goals are not just the midfielders running around and feeding you a perfect pass, it's the striker getting in front of the net in a good position and the ball finding him. If you are not in that good position, you are never going to get those easy goals. Top strikers have to be able to create their own goals, but they also have to be able to poach and our strikers did neither in the league last season.

It won't work. You need Lampard or someone else creative there to create otherwise Oscar would have to drop way deep and would essentially put himself out of the attack. In the 4-2-3-1, you absolutely have to have a creative bridge between the defenders and the forwards. You need that player to be a link-up otherwise the system just doesn't work which is why every team that deploys. The position is not simply about joining up with the attack, it's about creating opportunities and if Chelsea rely on Ramires and Mikel to start the attack, it's going to sputter. The other thing is that in this system, Ramires makes no sense as a regular starter. If Chelsea want to play ball-control and passing build-up, having a player who is essentially a counter-attack player is a waste. Counter-attack is a game of runs so someone like Ramires whose main attributes are speed and stamina, is incredible. The possession/passing sort of game there are very few runs in space, so you're taking away Ramires' number one strength. He's not a creative player and his passing game is very limited, and he's not a real DM either. He could be a super sub at about five different positions and still will likely be a pivotal player for us this season, but his game is really a poor fit for the direction Chelsea seem to be moving in.

This is exactly the nonsense I was talking about. Oscar is one of the best young attacking midfielders in the PL based on what? He hasn't played a single Premier League game. He hasn't played a single game in Europe. You're saying he is one of the best young players in the world based on looking good in a few friendlies and against under-23 sides of poor footballing countries. He is immensely talented and nobody will argue that, and he may even come to Chelsea and have immediate success, but the expectations like the one above are just silly. Let him come to Chelsea and develop and see what kind of player he turns out to be without these ridiculous expectations for immediate super-stardom. .

I think people need more realistic expectations for Oscar. He's clearly an immense talent, but coming from the Brazilian league to the Premier League is an enormous step up and to expect him to immediately be Iniesta or something is unrealistic and unfair to him. (Just like expecting Hazard to be Messi is unrealistic and unfair to him.) These are young players coming into a new league where players are faster, stronger, and more talented and they will have their ups and downs at least in the short term.

The problem with Ramires is not that he doesn't fit in at RW, it's that he doesn't fit into the system Chelsea are trying to bring in. He's a counter-attack player and is at his best when he gets into space where he can use his blazing speed. He's not a particularly good passer nor is he he inventive and he's not a real DM so where does that leave him? Probably as a sub who can provide cover for a number of positions. (and mostly as a defensive substitution for one of the wingers) It's an issue when you have so many different managers using different systems. You end up with quality players that just don't fit in.

Don't know if it'd be a mistake, but I think he's a better fit for the new Chelsea than Chelsea's other older players. Benayoun can play behind the striker or in any of the attacking 3 midfield positions and is more used to the quick, passing based game Chelsea are moving towards. Meireles is more of a 4-3-3 player and not sure where Essien would fit in in our system either and I am positive that Malouda and Chelsea would both be better off without each other. We really do need to clear out some midfielders 3 of those 4 should go even if Chelsea don't bring in anyone more.

Let Mata sit out until we play a meaningful game and he'll be fine. He's only started three matches since we beat Bayern, it's not like he was playing 90 minutes every game in the Euros or anything. Give him 3 weeks off until we face Wigan and he'll be good to go.

First of all, nobody plays the 4-3-2-1. Second of all, Lampard was one of our best players under RDM last season. He not only was key in linking up defense with attack, but also defended very well. He's leaving big gaps in front of the back four because he's not a defensive midfielder. It's not his job to cover for defenders, that's Mikel's responsibility. (And Luiz needs to stop running up field so much to leave so much room to cover). Chelsea are playing a 4-1-1-3-1 and Lampard is doing exactly what he is supposed to be doing but just like last season, I am positive that Lampard will get blamed for everything no matter what.

Not sure. I've seen it as pounds a bunch. http://www.bbc.co.uk/sport/0/football/18990002 Also, nobody ever takes future payments into account when discussing prices of anything. If you buy a car with zero down do you tell people "I got a car for free?"

I wonder what things get like after a loss that matters. The suicide hotlines must get busy then.

Because Lampard is great at taking corners. In this day and age when so many people can't get the ball past the first man, Lampard gets almost every corner into a dangerous spot.

Lovely skill from Hazard