Eggman

besides, crossing the ball in to find a goal might not be the best strategy considering our average height up front...

and even so, I find that our creative players tend to hold back and never really try to make those forcing runs. Schürrle does that more often (and therefore looses possession more often too). I can't help but feel that Mou doesn't like risky runs with the ball to create possibilities.

Ivanovic is useless attacking wise. Always has akres of space and never delivers a decent cross.

you should let the barber shave it off, just to save time

What a good game. Very nice passing game, in total control. Our depth is frightening, really. Schürrle over Mata is, imo, ridiculous. But Mata'll be top dog once again soon enough.

I was impressed with Mourinho mostly; you can really see the team changing and improving throughout the last couple of matches. We look much more solid, and increasingly clinical. Perhaps not yet the sparkling football that one day will come, but already we show great maturity and most importantly, we get results. So thank you, o, Happy One, for making us happy!

Well, it's a bit complicated: he is ready now for a "catenaccio" type of playing style, which could perhaps be with a top class team. But I don't think he is ready to play in a team that plays dominant, possession-based football. Although I hope that one day soon, he will.

I agree he's a threat and he weighs on the defense, and he will score more than our other strikers even at this stage of his development, but all of this is not enough for a world class team. If he should be first striker for Chelsea, he should be compared to the first striker of teams like Bayern, Barcelona, Real Madrid and so on. I am a believer that he one day will be in the same league, considering what he has already shown at the age of 20, but I also believe that he's technically not yet at the level to lead the line of a team with our ambitions.

So, after a really good game against Croatia and people going "ARE YOU WATCHING JOSE", he proved Mourinho right yesterday against Wales. As a strong, fast, clinical striker for counter football, he is already top notch. The Croatia game (they needed to win) was perfect for him. Against teams that shut up shop, contrastingly, he is rather useless. Technically just not good enough. So... it confirmed what has been said by most: huge potential, some strong qualities already, but not good enough for a dominant style team as of yet.

good game to watch too, credit to Steau for trying to play football. Overall nice tempo to the play.

Schürrle very impressive, good initiative and a constant threat.

No surprises really, in this line-up.

Wouldn't be much of a discussion forum if we all agreed about everything

No-one is questioning his commitment, or his merits as a player. His value as an icon of the identity of this club goes without saying - which is why everyone wanted Lamps to stay. My remark concerns his current ability to carry a midfield, both qua power, speed, and stamina, and definitely in the big games. I don't think at his age, that he brings enough to midfield to compete with the big clubs. I hope you're not too embarrassed by that.

Last year he had a smaller role than now, and when people said a contract extension was wise, it was primarily about his leadership abilities and his professional attitude that could rub off on the younger players. Gamewise it was expected that his role would diminish further. No way could it have been expected that he'd suddenly once again be a starting XI player. In one of the most crucial positions of the team. If you compare him to the players that other top teams have in that position, it's quite embarrassing, really.

So... Everyone saying that a draw at Old Trafford was a good result; against this ManU side, not so sure. Bringing Mata in the second half against Spurs was deemed a good managerial intervention; however, how would the match have turned out if he'd just put Mata on to start the game? Maybe if we played both halves with Mata, we could have dominated the entire game. Finally: Mourinho has a very funny psychological approach, that might well work in a team full of stars. It kind of makes me think of a pack of wolves, and Mou establishes himself immediately as the alpha male - which can be imperative in the long run. Basically, it's like when a group of thugs surounds you in the street: the best thing to do is infer who is the leader of the pack, and to attack this dog first. The followers will then probably not give you too much trouble. I think he's doing something like that with Mata: the best player for 2 seasons in a row, pushed aside to show that external factors have no effect on his decision making. he is boss. Although I am aware that other factors play a role in Mata's being benched, I think that this strategy is equivocal with Mou. Next in line is probably Hazard, who actually needs a wake up call.

In the Belgium NT, Lukaku is the second fastest player, only bested by a certain E. Hazard.

I don't think Lukaku will play anywhere near the amount of games that he needs to at his age, to develop his play and work on his flaws (which are well-known by now). You can't expect him to make progress if he gets 30 minutes of playing time out of every 360. Mourinho has to decide whether he is willing to take a chance on him (and after pre-season, I felt confident that he would), or if he'd rather stick with Torres/Ba or a new world-class striker. I expect the latter, which means: send Lukaku out on loan asap.

Could the difference be Torres and De Bruyne?

no starting line-ups yet?

I like the look of this as a basic framework. Van Ginkel can rotate with Mikel and Essien to build in more defensive stability. De Bruyne can be replaced by Moses or Mata on the RW. Schürrle is an excellent doublure for Eden. However, I think Mou will prefer someone like Oscar or even KDB in the n° 10 position, because Mata's work rate defensively is not top notch, and this is very important in Mou's tactics. Probably why he'd want Rooney as an extra option too (not only to play CF).

So after 6 pages of pre-match discussion we have learned that 1) playing real madrid makes a lot of forum members horny 2) playing real madrid in the USA makes a lot of forum members sleepy No, seriously, I wonder if Mou will choose to play Mata and Hazard simultaneously, with either Oscar or KDB completing the 3 AM positions. This would probably leave us too exposed defensively... But can he really leave Mata out of the "A Team"? He is still our best player I feel.

KDB looks like he's taking one for the team.

I am curious how much KDB will be missed; he was the player most in form in the other matches. Maybe MVG and Schürrle can get a few goals now!

everyone knows that Mou's Rooney business is psychological warfare at its best, right? Win/win: if he signs, we have strengthened our squad and hurt Menure's; if he doesn't, we have created a bizarre climate in a title rival's dressing room - which their new coach has to handle with absolute care...