Magic Lamps

http://www.dailymail.co.uk/sport/football/article-2265523/Ashley-Cole-highest-paid-defender-world-agreeing-new-Chelsea-contract.html?ITO=1490&ns_mchannel=rss&ns_campaign=1490 holy shit. 200k a week for a defender? If thsi is true, its apparent once again, the board has no clue. this is far too much for Cole, he has declined since 2010 and is nowhere near Leighton Baines, who maybe earns a third of that.

Now UTD know what that feels like

He looked up just before the hit and saw the keeper diving the other way, so he just passed it in. I also liked his penalties vs Reading&Wigan where he did not place the ball into the corner but only 2m left to the middle, so the ball would always slip under the GK's body. And if he would get a touch, the ball was still hit with pace too venomous to keept it out.

Courtois is not only the best young but one of the top 10 GKs worldwide. I think we can bring him here next season. We'll have at least about 60 games, so I think he will get enough matches. We all know Cech has his bad games usually in gamea against smalller teams which is where courtois can shine, so we keep both fresh. Cech also cam in when Cudicini was number one and his succession lasted about 2 years. Petr might still be young for a goalie with 30. But he is rather injury prone for a goalie and has hinted more than once, that his career will be not as long as one expects and chelsea have signed a replacement that early for a reason.

we are far better, hence i see a draw. We might maybe win cos Arsenal is the only team that lacks the killer instinct even more than we do. Lamps, Mata Hazard will be rather tired, but still can have their moments. Mertesacker might be vulnerable and it will be fun to see him facing hazard, shame we got no agile striker, but Ba will be enough of a match for their CBs for sure. In midfield, Arsenal probably are closest to us, but I expect Lamps+Luiz to own Artetea+Wilshere physically. Shame Terry is not match-fit. Should have played against Soton, fit or not, he would not have let ricky Lambert own him as Cahill. Olivier Giroud has been a great player in France, but has not allimatized yet, not a typical Wenger signing. he used to sign weakish, technically apt and extremely ugly young kids, in Giroud he has signed a big, tall, technically average old-fashioned striker with "an attractive, strong body" (Wenger), well now I know why Elsass-Lothringen is French not German , though I like about this Giroud fella that he looks like James Roday aka Shawn Spencer aka psych

That sounds confusing. But it's L.A. But get your point. I'd rather have Lamps stay in Europe and continue on top level. Italy might be just perfect for him, if they can afford his wages, low temp, respect for older players. Football in the US is such a low standard, Lamps in his best years was probably worth 5 times as much as the entire L.A. Galaxy team is now.

As are Bayern fans. No argument for Pep then. Also read that "Webb jokes are not funny" which he meant "literally not funny". Well of course they are not very novel, but one should always keep the world reminding who is the refs favourite, that peoople do not forget which standards of bad refereeing we've reached. Remember the game against Manutd which cost us our entire seaso, would not have happened if an assistant ref would have seen as much as every one in front of a TV. Refs should be fully responsible for their decisions including jokes about them.

No, we actually finished 2nd and made it to the CL final with Grant if u mean that year. If not, your last "next year" would be 2009/10 were we actually did waste a bit money in summer (Zhirkov), but we had great depth, that is why we won the double and had one of our best seasons ever. Also the rest is rather inaccurate. In the 2006/7 season ManU were off with a 9 goal lead since February. In the sequence of some bad injuries most notable Robben an Terry we had a torrid Winter. We had to play with players like Boulahrouz in CB in crucial games. Though of course we should have done beter. Also Shevchenko's arrival meant a Torres-like situation, we were forced to play two strikers instead of 4-3-3 (best system ever). I don't think we had our most talented team then, I honestly think we got it now, but in terms of players and names only we probably got our best team then. Mourinho's last acquisitions were all shit, maybe he tried to be extra clever, but Mous big fault always was to buy too many average players instead of one great one. We actually spent on Anelka, Deco and Bosingwa which all were IMO quite good signings at that time. We actually had real great depth in that season (2008/9), the problem was, Scolari is a shitty manager. Hiddink turned it around in the end. So it really depends on the manager. A brilliant manager can turn a good side into a great one and win titles, bad managers are at fault, that we did not win more titles in the seasons we had the best squad in the league. So, of course players are the basis, but the manager is the one who should bring the best out of them. If u got great players, who "coach themselves alone" the manager does not matter that much, but only if he leaves them freedom. But when the manager always wants to win over the players and is wrong with his ideas, the best squad is useless. But get our overall point. We did not replace our core in time. It all could have been worse, if Lamps and Drogs had not performed for us tremendously in spite of their advanced age. We still do not have a real "new" core now and our squad is quite raw, we got some quality players, but not enough of them to merge them into a system that would make us a world-class side again. Also Benitez is no one you can aim high with. This season is also not "transition". Benitez is at best a freeze for our development, he got no clue how to develop the talent we got. There is nothing changing unless we actually bring some new players in adn get rid of the ones that do not provide. Next season, with some returning loanees and maybe some new signings we will have more of a squad and the job at our hands to merge them into one system, but what we got now is only the remainings of the old core and some random signings thrown into a a stiff standard system playing with Rafa's off the rack tactics. Nothing great, nothing new and nothing better to expect.

At least he is not a pussy unlike a certain fellow countryman and friend of his.

so please read my post and understand it, i compare them rather profoundly exp concerning the defense and i also gave some examples of how the personel would differ.

yeah and it could also easily shift to 4-3-2-1 -----Ba Hazard-Mata Lamps Mikel Ramy or we could utilize Oscar and moses --------------Ba Hazard/mata------Moses Oscar/lamps---ramy/lamps -----------Mikel-------------- so we got an in-and-out and an out-and-out who can shift sites and puzzle defenders. The point is, a 4-3-3 is far more flexible and defensively stable, cos in a neutral position, we got 3 men in the middle instead of having a defensively useless no.10. 2ndly our build up play is a big problem, if 3cms+luiz share playmaking duties from deep, ther connection between midfield and attack would not be such a problem, cos one of the mdiflelders could always move "diagonally" in the space behind the striker. In a 4-2-3-1 only the 3 AMs really interchange positions, which is quite useless, cos the only move in front of the opponent's lines instead of moving into the spaces between, as Lamps has always done with great effect in a 4-3-3. For a 4-2-3-1 u need at least one genuine out-and-out winger, (at best s.o. with great pace such as Blasczykowski or di Maria) + a perfectly balanced pivot + 10 field players that are always moving always running and moving so quick and agile, they can directly get the ball back. Esp the mid in the pivot have to be mobile and should be good tacklers and accurate passers, cos they usually find themselves into narrow spaces where they directly have to go to the man. if not the AMs have to run all the way back in order to fill the spaces at the flanks. In a 4-3-3 it is easy for 3 mids to close the space for the opponent with the ball, so he either has to wait for support or play a ball across the field which can be inaccurate and always gives the defending team time to recover. That is why a 4-3-3 does not get caught on the counter that often. I think it suits us more as Romeu is our only midfielder who is actually a match for the pivot, Mata, Oscar and Hazard are not good enough at defending esp tackling and their offensive talents are wasted when they have to. And they have to as soon as they all three play together, cos that leaves the midfield exposed against fast or skilled opponents. Even if we do not get caught on the break which is when the maestros have tracked back. We usually do not get the ball back soon enough, cos most of our midfielders can't tackle. In a 4-3-3 the mdifelders only have to cover the space. That is why I am against playing 3 AMs and why I think a 4-3-3 is a better match for us.

I am perfectly sure most of managers would want to have him here. Esp. the current favourites (as for the bookies) Jose and Jürgen Klopp. The former, I think i do not have to explain why. Jürgen Klopp said experienced midfielder and captain Sebastian Kehl was instrumental in his side's recent success. And Lamps is 1000 times better than Kehl in EVERY single position. Btw i am convinced 4-3-3 is still our best formation. 4-2-3-1 is overrated and needs either proper out and out winger or the fullbacks to provide width. In the latter case the team commits so many bodies forward, esp as the AMs on the flanks are defensively not apt enough, we get cought on the counter every game. i can't remember us being caught on the break on single time in the 2009/10 season which was a model season in terms of tactic. Even though we are overloaded with ineffective AMs and still lack genuine wingers, we would fare better with a 4-3-3

Lampard is probably our most clinical finisher, he has squandered maybe 5 chances this season. Mata and Oscar wasted shitloads of chances but no Lamps commits one mistake the crows come out again? It has nothing to do with him being selfish, he takes his shots cos he is confident to score and will continue to do so. Today, he has been one of the better players in a team that played shit and in general has been by far our best player since his comeback.

Rafa couldn't get his tactics less right. He could have brought in Hilario as striker it would have been more clever than his lineup and his changes.

ref is shit.

who is captain now? It's horrible needing a goal and having no leader on the pitch

With lamps off and torres on the chances of us scoring have drastically decreased

Amazing how clinically soton capitalized on these individual mistakes by azpi and cahill. I would not have taken off Lamps, rather Ramires.

this was coming. what a run from luke shaw and what a finish from puncheon

shit, mata injured, ahs been not that good today and should have been rested anyway. This is too close for lamps, surely will hit the wall Mata probably with a injury because of his tiredness.

one more goal and we are surely home and dry.

now that is a great goal from hazard again, he has put on his scoring boots lately

fuck Lamps, one of these u should score

ha, the curse of the late birth. Germany as well as England got quite a history of technically average players featuring in the national team due to them being great athlets, fast, tall and strong. Since Germany abandoned that to rather tend to go for skill. So we ended up having a host of technically skilled youngsters but there is no single german player who is as strong as Drogba or as fast as Bale. Demba, what a goal. great work from lamps in before