Dion

Almost felt bad for Pep. He must have had some awful Torres flashbacks from Eden's goal!  

David Luiz being praised. Funny. I've seen almost everything now.

Fabregas becomes Spain's all-time record assist maker well done fabregas

Are yall really gonna be here after every City match?

Blame it on The Yokohama.

Fuck me after however many years of guys like a past it Lampard, physically struggling Essien, Ramires with his 'shite technique', naive and clueless David Luiz and average Meireles you'd think we'd be fucking glad to sign a boy of this calibre for central midfield.... a season later and we need to drop him for big games/sign another midfielder to replace him in those games.
We should probably play a 433 and yes we should of perhaps signed another central midfielder but to play in tandem with Matic and Fabregas, not replace either of them but we haven't and that is not his fault.
Sometimes when I read this thread and also Costa's and see all the shite about needing to replace them in big games/sign somebody better it makes me wonder what the fuck you guys have been smoking because those two along with Eden were absolutely vital to us winning the league. Without Costa or Fabregas we wouldn't have won the league, Hazard was very good but there were times Cesc and Costa were the difference. Hazard didn't carry us by himself, despite what you'd think reading some stuff on here, Cesc was just as vital in periods of the season and so was Costa.

He can. And has.

Yea, but I thought Everton would be at least top 7. Really surprised with how poor they have been.

That statement should read falcao WAS clearly better than remy. in the same vein as van persie was better than benteke/kane. You are only as good as your last game.
Remy is younger, fitter, more reliable goal scorer over the past two seasons plus he's premier league proven and his ability to impact the game as a second choice striker isn't in question while Falaco on the other hand is struggling to regain previous form or return to top physical and mental condition (that injury really took its toll on him) . he spent majority of last season on his arse, doing his best Torres imitation (man utd can attest).
At this point in time, Remy is a safer and surer bet to succeed at Chelsea and the premier league (He already has). There's no single logical reason why anyone would pick Falcao over remy, which is what this is rapidly turning into, other than reputation which counts for little on the pitch.

Cech



Ferreira Carvalho Terry Gallas/Cole



Makelele

Essien/Ballack Lampard



Duff/Anelka Drogba/Gudjohnsen Malouda/Robben

I feel proudApril 20th, 2015 Hi everyone,
Today, as the title above says, I feel proud. I’m going to tell you why, but as you can imagine this has been a special weekend for me.
When we were leaving Stamford Bridge, to catch the train and go back to Manchester, I had mixed feelings. I was angry about the defeat, I was thrilled after seeing some old friends, but especially I was proud. Mainly for two reasons that I’m going to explain now… I felt proud of the game the team had played, keeping the ball possession, controlling the game and creating chances to score, and all this at Stamford Bridge against the leader… As our manager said after the game, we were loyal to our football idea, and despite the score didn’t show that, if we keep playing like this there will be many more wins than defeats, I’m pretty sure of that. Besides, the team showed personality by playing that way against such a tough opponent, who gave no space in their half of the pitch and defended with so many players. Obviously, we also made some mistakes we have to learn from in the future. But overall that was my feeling about the game we had played: pride.
The other reason, as you can imagine, is about the reception I was given from the Chelsea fans. It was really moving to feel the people’s respect and affection, and I will always be grateful for that… To them and also to the players. I thank them for such affection and I congratulate them for the title they are about to win, because it’s almost done… It was nice to meet them and chat with them after the game, and also the club’s staff, doctors, physios, etc., and feel their respect and friendship. Thanks to all and congratulations.

We know we have five finals ahead and we will try to win each of them to get to our goal. The first one is away against Everton, not an easy stadium. The last time we played against them we struggled a lot to win, but we will try to get the three points again.
On Saturday, since we were playing, I missed the main games in la Liga. The first three teams won. That includes Barcelona, who faced Valencia, a side that gave a lot of trouble to Barça in their previous game between the two and had won at the Camp Nou last season. Barcelona won three vital points to remain in the top spot because Real Madrid keep close behind despite the injuries of Bale and Modric, who may miss the next few games. By the way, I want to send a message of support to my team-mate in the Spanish national team David Silva after his worrying injury, when he was given oxygen and left the pitch on a stretcher. I hope he is fine and back to the football pitch as soon as possible. I think his cheekbone is not broken, so it all seems to be a contusion and a big scare.

I finished my Sunday watching some motor highlights, like Hamilton’s great win in Formula 1. Sadly, none of the Spanish drivers got points. In the motorcycling Grand Prix it happened the opposite way: the Spaniards were fantastic, as always, and Valentino Rossi celebrated his victory wearing a Maradona shirt on the podium. I’ve always thought this Italian guy is a genius…
Have a nice week! Hugs!
Juan
PS: Below this text you will find a ‘button’ allowing you to donate money to the Asociación ELA (ALS Association) of Asturias. It’s a non-profit organization that helps people diagnosed with amyotrophic lateral sclerosis, and their families. They will use the money to buy electric wheelchairs that will enhance the quality of life of those who suffer this damn disease. Thank you very much in advance!
http://juanmata8.com/blog/en/i-feel-proud/

A true gentleman setting a fine example in a sport full of inflated egos and $hit talkers..
I am still sad to see him in a Man Utd shirt..

Way too soon for such a comparison, but if he continues to develop as the more optimistic of us expect, maybe he could be very useful.
And if there's one thing we missed this season was Lampard's presence at the edge of the box, his goals from long range and someone to make opposition worry about his shots.
I still have hope Oscar could - despite all his limitations - develop into an useful player for us. The guy seriously needs to work on his confidence issues though. I feel like if he works on them, his inconsistency will drop considerably.

IMO DDG is not even top 3 EPL. I'd take any of Cech, Courtois and Lloris ahead of him. Whereas one arguably doesn't make top 3 in his domestic league the other is arguably top 3 in the world. Not even close. I don't like DDG's style nor his consistency, to me it seems he makes silly mistakes too often. Even in this season with his improved version, because in the past he was simply bad, we wouldn't even be having this conversation.

De Gea is not nearly as good as some make him to be. Courtois is easily better, I'd be surprised to see Thibaut concede like that but I wasn't surprised in the least to see it from DDG.

I swear this thread is being played on a loop. It's the same discussion going about every week.

They surely had some fun!!
Hazard is such a clown!!
Make sure to watch till the end to see Remy's face!

It's fun because the last "next Zidane" (before Nabil Fekir) was actually supposed to replace Hazard in the team I support in Ligue 1. He is Marvin Martin, just broke the assist record of the league history, scored two goals for his first appearance in the NT just like Zidane... He's been in Lille for 3 years now, still hasn't scored any for us, spent most of the time injured, has lost all his market value

Robinho was a fun prospect like Pato for example, but never regarded once in a generation prospect like Neymar.
"Next Pele" label or any other legend label is always a farce, never pay attention to it. I don't think anyone in their right mind thought he was the next pele. Just as likely no one really thought Nasri or Gourcoff were the " next zidane."

Robinho was actually always overrated. Even when he was in Brazilian League he was never as good as Neymar. Robinho was very good here, Neymar was destroying the league. On topic, Hazard has the edge on Neymar on pretty much everything bar goal scoring, Neymar is very decisive and he has a tendency of scoring important goals too which brings him to a level close to Hazard but I'd say Hazard is still slightly ahead. The only instance when Neymar would be a better fit is in a team in need of that clutch player in front of the goal. Hazard, on the other hand, has a toolset more suitable to make everyone around him play better and is also less selfish. I don't think he'll ever develop a goal scoring hunger or become a goal machine but that's ok imo. He's already one of the best players in the world as is.

Brazil is inferior to both Barca and Chelsea, he reaches the same level for them. He's arguably even better for Brazil.
I don't understand why people expect Eden to be that goal scoring machine. I can see him improving definitely, but a genuine goal scorer... That's instinctive, it's a talent. He has different qualities and that's not a bad thing. I don't like how other crucial aspects of football have taken such a backseat and aren't nearly as appreciated anymore. Messi and Ronaldo are the exception.
His overall impact on matches this season trumps the majority of 20-30 goal players. If Hazard were to average 20 goals a season on top of his usual exploits, he would be an extraordinary player. Guiding his teams to titles would make him go down in history.

2011/2012: 20 goals & 17 assists in 44 apps + 3 sub apps (Lille)
2012/2013: 13 goals & 20 assists in 49 apps + 13 sub apps
2013/2014: 17 goals & 9 assists in 45 apps + 7 sub apps
2014/2015: 17 goals & 9 assists in 41 apps + 3 sub apps
8 games left. He can reach the double-double, hitting 20 goals for Chelsea for the first time. Just needs to score 3 goals and provide 1 assist, more would obviously be welcome.
The funny thing is, those are some fine numbers for an attacking midfielder. Eden is not a forward, other AMs with a similar style would love to average the same. But he can definitely do better in terms of goals from open play. He keeps improving so I expect it too happen.
His assists total has suffered quite the drop. I have no idea why since he has not changed his game. Maybe he's been creating less clear-cut chances? What I do know is that he doesn't play many through balls. This is an area I think he'll naturally improve in. Strengthening the team is also crucial of course, Costa currently being the only 'runner' and goal scorer.

Diego has done brilliant this season even if he doesn't play another game, but I have faith in Loic. Loic is a class act.