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Kinda taken out of context because Frank didn't mean it this way. What he meant and said he does better than anyone he's played with is shift the ball quickly right before shooting.

Better players next to him...behind him...ahead of him.
Luiz and Ramires in midfield ffs

The entire quote sounded like dig at Ramires and Mikel. to motivate them to do better perhaps

"He has added stability, not losing the ball, but at the same time he is not the type of player that plays only square passes"
Guess mourinho is not impressed with mikels play too

True but I was referring more to the attacking players than the ones you mentioned there. Even then though, while the technical abilities are important, a large part of this 1-2s, combination play depends on movement, making those penetrative runs into space etc so that we get into dangerous positions. One would think this would improve and see more of this such as when teams park the bus against us over the years and after 3 quarter of the season gone under Mourinho but yet that hasn't been the case. More often than not, we see lots of passing in front of the oppositions' defence and then just aimlessly cross the ball in.

Maybe so but one would think it's unforgivable that we haven't improved in that aspect to play more 1-2s and give variations in our play with 3 quarter of the season gone..

Something I saw on twitter.Dont know whether all of these quotes are authentic but thought I should share it anyway.
"The world is going crazy about CR7 and Messi, Chelsea have got their own 2 in 1 package."- Didier

"He has the world at his feet."- Frank Lampard

"Not as much goals as Torres, not as much assists as Mata; but he's done whatI've only read in books- he's started a REIGN OF TERROR."- Petr Cech

"I regret not signing him. He's just fabulous."- Sir Alex Ferguson

"Give him some better finishing power, and a raving for goals; and he will give CR7 and Messi a run for their money."- Arsene Wenger

"He just has to increase his goals tally, and England will forget who's Gareth Bale."- Rafael Benitez

"There is a Ballon D'or, if not more, waiting for him in future."- Paul Scholes

"The only way to stop him is to foul him."- Theo Walcott

"I can just say that when i played against him, I felt that I'm struggling with Cristiano."- Ryan Giggs

"He's the third best player in the world, and mind it, he'll prove my saying."- Jose Mourinho

"The fall of LOSC is the only thing he needs to prove his greatness."- Zinedine Zidane

"When defenders start running back, and run and turn around in all directions, you gotta know its him coming."- Martin Tyler

I think there are things Hazard does that are better than Messi, but he doesn't have the consistency of Leo and there's no shame there. As I was watching El Classico I tried to envision Hazard playing with Barca and frankly he would would put up insane #s because his style meshes very well with Tiki Taka.
I look at his numbers with Chelsea and in a more offensive system he might have 25+ goals and 20+ assists.
He's under appreciated because he doesn't have the big numbers, but I think it has a lot to do with the Chelsea system, but also the lack of having players on his level.

I mostly agree with what you're saying to be honest but you have to wonder if he could have waited until the summer for better offers.
He left Chelsea - a club that went through a transition process and is now ready to compete - and joined a club that is going through what will surely be a long rebuilding process. Man Utd will bounce back but it won't be any time soon. Their squad is an absolute mess and they still have Moyes in charge.
I think he panicked because it’s a World Cup year.

Those who are saying comments like "he made the biggest mistake of his life", "I feel sorry for him"......... are looking at it through the eyes of a spectator. What exactly was the alternative for Mata? Continue warming our bench all season and watching the team that you were once the star player in win games without you?
Utd might be in a slump this season but when mata signed for them he surely knew that he wasn't going to be winning trophies any time soon but when you've fallen out of favor and the club you were once the best player at is now moving in different direction you can't afford to be picky. If he had stayed here he would have become irrelevant to the world of football and would have been forgotten about.
At least now he's playing regular football and doing so at one of the biggest clubs in the game. While he won't be playing champions league football next season but he knows that he's at a club that has the resources to bounce back.

Yes I know that but perhaps people may have taken this 'we must be realistic/patient' thing a tad too far. Like I said, nobody expects him to score and/or assist in every game but just produce that little bit more in the final third. Don't think that is excessive expectation by any means.

Why does it have to be one thing or the other? Nobody is asking Willian to score goals and produce assists in every game but we only want to see more end product from him. He's already great defensively but average offensively. Is it even wrong to suggest we want that tad more consistency and/or Willian to have that balance defensively and offensively? Right now, one can argue that we are struggling offensively because Willian, as one of the 3 AMs behind the ST, is not contributing enough from his part.

Lower or low, I don't think it would make any difference anyway but point taken.

Well three of those teams we've only played away from home. At home to Liverpool we had more possession. I also dispute your use of the term 'dominate' when in reality it's more like 55-45 in their favour. Dominating possession is like the 70% we have against the likes of Palace and Newcastle.
In fact if you want to say those teams 'dominate' possession in matches against us then the reality is that we 'dominate' possession in most games with our average possession of 54%.
Liverpool's is also 54%, Spurs's is 55%, United's is 55% and the masters of possession football (Everton and Arsenal) are 56% and 57% respectively.
That almost makes it sound like he willingly gives up possession - he doesn't. His tactics are based around forcing teams into making mistakes in key areas and then striking quickly in first phase play. He doesn't instruct them to pass the ball to the nearest opposition player are the third phase breaks down. It's efficient football, but it has to be precise at the same time. Look at our goal yesterday - that was a designed play of overlapping runs that look to exploit gaps left by attacking teams who then turn the ball over.
But it wasn't just about running forward as fast as possible, it was about accuracy of pass and timing. Those aren't Ramires's strengths.

Statistics are often not very interesting. Not unless you look at what's behind the numbers.
For instance, Drogba didnt score loads of goals for us the last 2 seasons, but boy if his goals were important. They were throughout his career. A big game player.
MANY of Torres' goals are against championship teams and some are also when we were already up by 2-0 etc.
Torres is shit now matter how you chose to look at it. You dont even have to read the statistics. Anyone who's followed Chelsea long enough, and especially since Torres joined, knows this.

I know but you and coolhead were reacting only to the number of goals scored then as opposed to actually analyzing them...

Now we know why

Hazard: "Thank you Lamps for the penalty! I did not care but Lamps said you go take it." (ChelseaTV)"

everyone rejoicing with him
it makes me teary, especially the cunts from FA don't recognize him in the players of the month thing.
CUNTS!

in other news


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I love how he perfected this celebration. His slide is as perfect as he is

Eden Hazard: 'I'm happy.... Happy for the team... without team, I am nothing.'
Hazard: "Top of the league tonight. I go home and dream the same for end of season. It is a pleasure to play for this team."

Comment on hazard

Wow...even on this he's compared to Mata.

I can't believe people are now calling for Oscar head.. when we played possibly the best team on the planet current CL holders Oscar was vital as he was in the 2-1 defeat of City at the Bridge.. He is rested for this game as tactics dictated we needed to be faster on the break and all of a sudden his importance is being questioned.. I know you guys miss Mata but some need to get their heads checked..

Not to defend Mrs, Bitch, but the discussion wasn't about this incident in particular but the countless incidents since we've signed him when he or his father have spoken to the press. Like I said, there have been way too many incidents for them all to be mistranslations. If he had said what he is supposed to say:
"Right now I am focusing on my team, I do my best with Athletico Madrid and if the NT manager thinks I've done enough then he will pick me. It's his decision and I respect it."
then the reporter could not have twisted his words.

This man simply surprised me beyond words. Our best defender currently and that's when JT is having one of his best seasons with us in the last few years.
He's cemented his place in the team and became one of the best defenders in the league.
Mourinho's been doing a great job with him, but I feel like everything was there, he was just a bit rough in the edges and Mourinho just did the polishing. I hope and pray he keeps the improvement curve and keep himself at his peak for a couple of years more. Outstanding, Gaz, simply outstanding.