Magic Lamps

err....no... no other team has scored 40 or more. many 0-0 in that league i guess must be a thriller crazy how competitive that league is. 10 points between champion and relegation. you'd think that was an indicator of quality.

So lets agree to disagree. Sure Hazard is class but he is not a 100m player and every club knows that. He may not have become poor overnight but he has stagnated for months now and further players have overtaken him. U don't pay 100m just because he is Hazard, u pay 100m for a player with the ability and mentality to shine through even in teams that "don't play football". he would improve a lot of top teams but of those only a few can afford him. He still has 4.5 years on his contract, we can keep hold of him if we want to. If he was that good, he would win us games and elevate us above the relegation zone on his own no matter how shit the team is. Back in 2011 we played shit football too, but we got individuals who prevented us from the total collapse so we till grabbed a top 4 finish comfortable. Hazard for all his skill and talent is not remotedly as efficient which is why I would honestly ponder what to take the money or Hazard. Given the situation this club is in, we don't need a Ferrari when driving on the country road. Rather take the money and pay the toll for the highway first.

$$$

Well if Hazard continues his run we are at least safe from bids. Not even Real would bid a 100m for a winger with only a handful goals/assits. The worse the players play the longer they will be stuck with this miserable team.

Emery/Guardiola/Simeone. I don't like them the way I like Klopp and used to like Mourinho as persons/coaches but I am sure each would bring something new to the table and be able to organize the squad, attract great players and let them finally play some kind of attractive, offensive football without neglecting the defense. As for the caretaker position once we have fired Mourinho, I think anyone would do. It really should not be such a mean feat to get this squad out of the relegation zone. Top 4 is out of reach as well so we just could hire anyone Ancelotti, Rodgers or promote Steve Holland. The players need confidence, a gameplan, some attacking drills and a massive kick in the ass. Mourinho is not the man do deliver that cos he is even more in crisis but probably anyone would do. Actually I'd prefer to go from high to low than to be like Arsenal or Liverpool who have one mediocre season after the other and only win Mickey Mouse trophies. The question is how long will we need to recover to remedy the damage that has been done so far.

United are a completely different calibre. Also Liverpool are an established brand, still went downhill and will be mediocre for decades to come. Same happened with the Milan clubs. This is why our players and managers are 10 times as expensive as those of a mid-table club. We can not afford to fail. But we are doing just that and I am really afraid that we will have to rebuild for years just to be a top club again also with the new stadium to be build and our obvious lack of resources in the transfer market. Add to that the complete incompetence of the board/manager and you got the disaster we have slid into.

But honestly, we are as likely to win CL as EL. Do you really think we will go past Dortmund, Liverpool or even Napoli, Lazio and whoever get relegated from the CL too? We are without a chance vs Stoke, Bournemouth etc. so do you really fancy us to go all the way in the EL? But yeah if he loses this, there is no point in keeping Mourinho. He hates EL and with him we will not even pass the first round there.

Working out for 4 years I can safely say it depends on a couple of factors. Most importantly your genetics (testosterone levels, bone structure), age, your metabolism, your nutrition, your height and how active you are in general etc. As a professional footballer u spent 4 hours per day running around so you have to compensate this by eating a lot to get in caloric surplus which is required to build muscle. However, footballers have professional nutrition specialists and personal trainers around them so at this point it is only a matter of genetics and disciplin to eat tons of lean meat, rice, oatmeal etc. People like Kompany are naturally athletic and probably started off at a lean 80kg @ 193cm so that was a good basis. It is perfectly plausible that he put on 20kg of lean mass within a few years with the genetics and training environment he got. Guys like Schürrle however have rather inferior genetics + so he obviously did struggle to keep up eating his metabolism out. Christensen is a similar case,naturally narrow bone structe, low to average levels of testosterone, fast metabolism, tall, lean stature (this body type is called ectomorph btw). For these guys it is especially hard to add brawn, however it is possible, even when your genetic predicament is below average. People like Bale or Ronaldo were boney AF in the early stages of their careers but managed to bulk up a bit. But to outsmart and outwork your genetics you have to eat and sleep enough and regularly, no late partying, no alcohol etc, in short dedicate your whole life to the cause. Many people, even professional footballers fail to do so. Though, if Christensen has the attitude to become world class he will have no problems gaining 10kgs. ON the other hand for e.g. a student with much time at his hands, it is easy to gain a decent amount of muslce within a short period of time. Naturally, I am very tall and lean too, pretty much like Christensen and Schürrle. I could eat 4000 kcals a day without gaining a gram starting off at about 60kg and 190cm. In 4 years ( I only trained like 2 years effectively because of job/uni) I put on 30kg of lean muscle without gaining a gram of fat because I managed to exactly figure out how much of what to eat and how to train to be on the brink of caloric surplus. Even in my first year, when I did football, American football, Rugby, MMA, Tennis and table tennis simultaneously besides my daily workouts, I managed to gain almost 10kgs of so called newbie gains. When you start training your muscle fibres merge, get thicker and store more water to adjust to the new stimulus even when your nutrition etc is not attuned yet but after that you have to work really hard cos that effect gradually vanishes. So if christensen or your buddy had not had their newbie gains yet, yeah then it is easy to bulk up a bit but if you want to get really big and strong it requires immense dedication unless you hit the genetic jackpot. Most of us (99%) cannot get as buff as professional bodybuilders, wrestlers or even guys like Kompany just because of our genetics. Actually for most guys it is impossible to be both, big and ripped at the same time without use of steroids, which I strongly condemn. The average natural limit is about your height minus 100 @ 6-8% BF. So it is important to set your goals adequately to not get frustrated or over ambitious which will bring the danger of injuring yourself. Sorry for this lengthy answer but I am really passionate about this topic. If you or anyone else got further questions, I am glad to answer in the physical&mental health thread or by PM.

I think we will get 7th or 8th and Mourinho to be fired after exiting CL. If we get dumped out by Porto there is no sense in keeping him cos he disregards EL, which would be our only way back into CL. In this case I would not be against Carlo as caretaker until the season ends and then see if Emery/Pep/Simeone

If Leicester spend wisely to retain their momentum in January I can see them getting 6th place. Still expect City to win the league even though not convincing. If one of the Mancs teams wins the epl, they'd at least keep their repsective average manager so we might have a better chance of getting a decent one in summer. Only Guardiola would still be able to attract top players to come here even without european football so this might be crucial.

it is a shame how these players can't play together to save their lives. Bournmouth did well and had their fair share of luck with an offside goal and two clear handballs in the box but come on we should be cruising against these sort of sides. We just got no drive in midfield and no one creative nor scoring in offense + our attacking tactics look completely random. But what does harm us the most is the final ball. we consistently fail to deliver a precise ball into the box. those are professional football players you'd expect some kind of accuracy.

clearly offside for their goal

even though that goal is undeserved we only have ourselves to blame for our lack of accuracy in the final third.

and I thought team handball was unpopular in England - obviously a hit in Bournemouth.

I bet Ivanovic's favourite song is "Heavy Cross" (Gossip)

Willian's corners are the best back passes I have ever seen. That is why he is such an awesome defender.

that was a stonewal penalty. how it is a natural movement to your arm extended over the pitch for full length.

Does Dan Gosling play for Bournemouth? Fifa 07 legend used to reach 95 there.

It is such a shame how we wasted this season. with ManCity and ManU failing week in week out, we really should have wrapped up the league with a couple of decent signings. Looks like City will be gifted another title tho

I am not a fan of Cesc either. But if you want to dismiss him, do it for the right reasons. I agree that, mainly because he has limitted his play to passing, oppositions have grown wary of Cesc and can easily contain him now. But IMO he is doing better in big games than he did at Arsenal. Remember ManU and Arsenal at home? Two game-winning contributions. No imposing performances but a decisive impact on the game which is exactly what he has delivered in his better games against smaller teams. But the problem is he is - just as Mata who he replaced - a specialist. All Fabregas has is his vision and his passing. He is a below average athlete, not only for a footballer but in general for a man of his age + his technique is not really great. His strategic ability, reading of the game and defending is average at best as well. He has a decent touch but can neither shoot nor dribble. Hence IMO the Gündogan comparisons are spot on. Gündogan is a midfield allrounder and thus would provide a far better long-term solution for our midfield. The thing is, Jose knew what Fabregas brings to the table and what not. He knew a good first half of the season fuelled by the individual brilliance and suprise effect of Costa+Fabregas would deliver the league title. But their failings of this season add to the concerns that JOse cannot tactically reshape a team to be a threat for more than 3 years: he obviously has strategic deficiencies. He should have known that Fabregas will easily get found out when out of form But still he had no plan B. Add to that the possibly untimely discharges of Mata, Lukaku and KDB and we get why he has not been a long term manager so far. Purchasing Gündogan however would at least show he has some sensibility for the long term needs of our midfield. This would still not dispel the notion that he is a cheque book manager though at a well-endowed club like Chelsea I'd much rather have a strategic cheque book manager who buys the right players than a short-sighted egomaniac who sell the wrong ones.

"This is my story" - so his story is holding up a pink boot all the time?

Trading past it Falcao for past it Adebayor. What has this club become?

Sturridge, Bertrand, Lukaku, KDB all performing in a competition we have been dumped out of. Then people will say there is no point crying over spilled milk. But honestly looking at the players we kept over those (bar Baba/Azpi who both are way better leftbacks than Bert) there really should be some kind of reflection process that we need people with superior footballing knowledge at the helm. Everyone at this forum could see that those players are class. Esp. KDB. It didn't work out for him here, but he is the kind of player you should make it work out for whn u are manager/director. Also sacrificing Sturridge for Torres back then was obviously a dumb decision, everyone knew it way before it was made. Some things just don't roll right at this club.

+ his wife, who is one of the few WAGS who actually have a real job on their own is a horse breeder and professional equastrian. Their stud farm is based near Munich and I doubt he would leave that behind. He is the type of Person who committs to his choices for a life time. Honestly. I think Messi or Ronaldo are more likely to end up here than him.

+Teixeira and Shaktqr hav CL football every year playing big guns regulalrly. Teixeira has scored or assisted against Real, Chelsea, Juve, Bayer , ManU, Porto etc About the Qualität of the leagues I don't know. It is always about the players potential. Douglas Costa was a bang on average player in Ukraine but ripping bundesliga apart. The football in general is not good in European top leagues for a few seasons now anyway.