TrippingStep

I would change Mata, Schurrle and Lampard.

Like I've said, I think he twisted his ankle or a thing like that, as after two three minutes, I saw him checking his right foot.

William will come for Schurlle I think, at least after half time, Andre has a niggling problem i think.

Schurrle has something bothering him? I saw him checking his ankle after two three minutes of play.

One of the reasons that makes me sometimes ashamed to be belgian. You have the right to not be a fan of Mourinho. But the facebook things, throwing insults when you disagree on something, it's very children like I think. It's like the booing at national anthems that many belgians were doing in the qualifying home game, such a classless act

Hazard était en forme, mais a ressenti une ancienne blessure au tendon d'Achille. Il a reçu quelques injections il y a quelques semaines pour soigner cette blessure. http://www.dhnet.be/sports/football/diablesrouges/eden-hazard-souffre-du-tendon-d-achille-5224dd34357060cc093f170b

Last year Hazard was toying with the Steaua players at Stamford Bridge but he was in much better shape. I hope Eden will not play in international matches and will work with Chelsea physios to heal properly and getting back to shape. A bit like the two weeks off after the ball boy incident that was good for him as he performed much better for the rest of the season. I really think the power training and playing with niggling injuries, bruises has had a nefast effect. I think the power training and I guess painkillers can explain why he seems to gain weight as easily. I think he shouldn't have started as many matches in the beginning of the season if he had an achilles problem like Wilmots said and was playing with injections.

I really hope now that he will stop the bullshit static power training he seemed to have done the last years, very small gain to only improve a bit the back to goal, resisting body checks, charges with heavy losses on his pace, especially longer runs and some mobility, flexibility, looking on many matches very stiff. I really don't understand why he has done that, he's not a defender or defensive midfielder and not a big striker that has an height of 1m85-90 that will bully other defenders.

And I really don't know why some are asking it. It's obvious Schurrle will play. And for Eden it will be a blessing. I was fed up of seeing him play every matches imaginable when it was obvious he was not feeling well in many of them. As a fan, I prefer to see Eden play 30-40 matches in a season but at a high level than 50-60 matches with many average and a few very poor ones. And if it can teach him to decide to miss games because he has niggling issues because he will miss more matches if he underperforms, the better.

Not really sure they were better last year. In the europaleague, we seemed to play only at our home game and in the away game, we were doing the strict minimum, not draining too much energy for the premier league that was coming. Otherwise, for Schurrle I'm not surprised. He's the kind of player that would thrive in a Mourinho system. I was even predicting that he would be the player with the best stats this season, well I'm not so sure about the stats but you know what I mean. I'm an Eden fan but unlike many Kevin fan, I will not complain if Eden is dropped during some weeks as it would be best for him to train his way back to form and I complained enough during the last years when he was playing too many matches, even quite many when something was bothering him and could not perform at a high standard. For Oscar, I think he's tired, I've said it after the Tottenham game, I was not seeing his usual amount of efforts, sometimes a bit slow to track back wich was unlike his usual.

What makes me laugh is that if Kevin was first choice and that we didn't play better than we did, they would praised Mourinho for making Kevin his special player Me, I'm just not a great fan of Mourinho, the way his teams usually play. I don't agree on everything Mourinho does ,eventhough I understand his way of thinking ( Remember the topic on death row with Barbara ).

Yeah, only Manchester City and Southampton can cause lots of problems. It means that in December and January we will have many difficult games.

I've seen the goals. Krul was ridiculous On the seconde one, newcastle defenders did everything you can do wrong, not attacking the ball before the rebound, letting the striker runs unmarked with no one running with him to bother him and the goalkeeper was a pussy, he should have come to the ball and if necessary colliding with Lukaku after boxing the ball.

So much for him being made of steel. I've seen him the last years play way too much matches when something was bothering him, limping during matches even at Lille.

I'm starting to be really worried but it's my nature to be easily worried. Before he came to Chelsea, I was worried that he would failed at the medical exam. I was not a fan on the bulking up he did at Lille and even more at Chelsea, maybe it helps on the back to goal play, resisisting charges and knocks but I feel it's detrimental as the pace, stamina is reduced, not as light on his feet. I liked the way he was under Benitez, more smooth and not like a slow tank that has no acceleration. I just hope it's not the fact he played way too much the last years and the painkillers that has already taken its toll on his body.

I think I know why Kevin has this treatment. If Mata had a rough treatment, It's normal that Kevin has the same if he doesn't react well to what Mourinho is asking of him in training and if he had arguments with Jose. I remember last year that Kevin in his beginning at Werder said that he didn't really like the tactical training of his coach and that he would prefered that he would let the offensive player play a bit like they want. I don't agree on everything and really like the way Jose set-up his teams but it's him the coach and the players have to do what he asks even if they don't like it.

Oscar for me is an 8. I liked the way he played with the olympic team, simple plays, link-up between the wingers, fullbacks, striker and making sure the ball was moving well in the team. Since he's at Chelsea, he tries to force things much more, making more indivual efforts. For me he would be better in a team that controls the ball better in possession, moves the ball quicker and would score even more I think by simply making intelligent late runs in the box. He would always on the move but with less violent efforts, as long runs at full speed or near that is what is the more taxing for the body and what is making a player tired more quickly. On the last match, he seemed tired.

Looks like a Busquets comedy performance Even the ball boy of Swansea was not that much over the top. Bale barely touched him and even if you have a sprained finger or whatever, you don't act like it's an atrocious pain and you're in agony.

When will we play this season? I really dislike our ultra cautious play from the back and the fact we want to play a slow game.

Except the fitness aspect where I don't know what they have done, I think the simple explanation is that our attacking midfielders are struggling because of the slow build-up and lack of connection and clear patterns between our players. Not enough quick one touch passes in the build up and 1-2-3 moves in the final third.

I understand what you are saying. For me we had a system where depending on the oppositions, he would decide on the trap-zone, where to press. Against Wigan, we decided to trap them on the midfield line, blocking the side of the pitch, putting numbers on the side and centrally and they were unable to switch sides and we were countering them at will. Against West Ham, it was Hazard Mata working in tandem quite deep in front of their midfield, initiating the play, breaking their midifeld lines. Against Steaua on the return, Hazard stayed near the side lines and was only moving inside when he had drawn two three opposing midfield. And the fact that Lampard and Ramires had good opportunies to shoot, run from deep and and the second ball, it was because the movement of the forward and the three behind were causing lot of problems for their defense. It would have been even better if we had proper holding midfielders that were more calm and could keep the ball to play a rest game in possession to kill the games off. We had a general system, the build-up from the back was methodical, a gameplan with the "wingers" cutting inside or not and when. Ok he relied on individual capabilities to execute it but it's the same with all sports. In Basket for example, if you had players with not good ability, it would mess the system, the timing of screens, blocks, backdoor drive.

You belittle Benitez if you say that there was not clear patterns in our attack. Even on the cross after a patient build-up, there was clear patterns and role in the runs and positioning of the players. And for the low-block, it was not on all the games and not like under Di Matteo where the teams would sit in a passive way. The wingers had to drop more deep when waiting but it was to make it more compact, and to allow the defense, and central midfielders to be more agressive. When we had to press very high, we played a high line, Against Arsenal, the back 4 played the off-side and Walcott was quite often off-side. Benteke the first match was off-side a lot of time. We played the off-side a lot more than under Di Matteo and even Mourinho till now. . Hazard was much better and seeing like nearly all the matches of Hazard since his debut at Lille, He did a very good job with him, not extraordinary things but many little things that assembled together makes huge difference. I would have liked to see this season under him, fitter players, many players used to the system, some reinforcements. Or maybe I'm stupid for having the impression to know what Benitez was trying to do, having seen movements on regular basis that can only means that it's been rehearsed, discussed during trainings as the timing of the run, some interchange of positions that were neat cannot be improvised. I didn't like his selection on the first matches but after two months, I liked what he was trying to do and the improvements made on our general play. Do you think that at Napoli, the link-up between Hamsik, Callejon and Higuain is just random and not worked. There is always improvisation but also work behind it to ask the players different things depending on how the other team defense is set-up. Otherwise, on the Mata Oscar debate, I understand Jose and is not why I'm not a fan.

But I don't deny his influence on defensive play and ironically it could be his downplay as the low block defending, not commit yourself in a stupid way to chase the ball, narrow defense in the center was his trademark and that his teams struggle against this kind of approach. Last year, I was expecting Real to crush Manchester United, putting huge pressure on the Manchester Defense but it was a very cautious game with Manchester happy to sit deep and Real playing very cautious game in front of their defense, waiting more for an error than creating plays to induce them. And for the 2-3 seasons without tactical system, I disagree, we had one under Benitez that were appropriate for our spanish, brazilian players + Eden Hazard. Schurrle could also be good on the right on that system. It needed reinforcements in midfield and a forward. All our offensive players would have not struggled that much I think. And Azpi Ivanovic Luiz Cole defense is fine for me.

But it has always been his gameplan during the years to exploit spaces when the opposition loses the ball. And his critics have always said that his teams were not very creative when his teams had to dictate the play against teams sitting deep. More a waiting and attrition game than great quick intricate passing game. It's nothing new. Just look at all the game of his teams when playing good team, defensive, rough play and quick counters or long balls. I don't understand how you expect that we won't be in scrappy games many times when in his first chelsea period, even with the world class players and the abundance of great midfielders, they were many scrappy games. And that's why I'm not a fan of Mourinho and that after the pre-season games and the first game that I was not surprised we were struggling to be really dangerous when the other team let us the ball.

http://www.dailymail.co.uk/sport/football/article-2428890/Rafa-Benitez-insists-Chelsea-outcast-David-Luiz-world-class-managed-properly-swipe-Jose-Mourinho.html Another one that so far has shown some frustration during the games, like some rash fouling, angry running forward with the ball because pissed off by lack of clear pattern in the movements of players in front of him. Last year he did so less often with Benitez, when moving forward it was more integrated in the system, he would move forward to open an angle of pass and freeing a man on the side. Benitez loved Juan Mata, finding him the perfect pro, and doesn’t understand Mourinho’s distrust of the player. Nor can he fathom the continued scapegoating of David Luiz. “He’s one of the best central defenders in the world — because he has everything. You just have to manage him properly,” Benitez says. “I don’t see too many better in the air. I don’t see too many quicker and faster than him. I don’t see too many technically better. Tactically, he is much better than the rest of the players around him.” The last remark would not please John Terry who, backed by another senior player, argued with Benitez during a training ground inquest. Luiz spoke up for Benitez. When Benitez recalls, warmly, that “the relationship with the players, the majority of them it was fantastic, they were working very hard,” it’s the likes of Luiz, Mata, Ramires, Eden Hazard, Oscar and Cesar Azpilicueta that are at the front of his mind. A bit of his interview with Jonathan Northcroft in the sunday times. Doesn't surprise me as they were the players that reacted very well to the changes and improve the way we were playing under him.