The Mak

Well if you guys say so...though, for me, Mr. Honigstein is no WHS! Seriously though, I'll only start believing it if I see it on SSN and then confirmed on the official site.

Why is everyone practically acting like he'll be playing against Fulham? Where is this confirmed? I see nothing on any reputable site. People are getting ahead of themselves...

I wasn't that worried about top 4 until I came onto this thread...

Thank you! People are forgetting that we didn't have a pivot. And in the big games, we never have a pivot, because our pivot is fucking atrocious. So how the hell is Mata supposed to even touch the ball if the formation is 4-0-3-1? Because that's what it's like, it's just a massive gap between defence and attack. No fluidity, nothing. If you look at the big games Mata has played well in, then you can see that either the pivot wasn't pressurised (Arsenal away and the 1st United game in the FA cup) or he was well supported in attack (United league match). You can also see that for the games he didn't play well in, Juve, Atletico, City, etc. our pivot was demolished or the rest of the team didn't show up. The correlation is not a coincidence. Ok, he can't hold up the ball well at times or becomes overrun under pressure, but he isn't a playmaker. He's just our most creative player at the moment. There's a difference. He's more of a second striker if anything. And to argue his corner in the CL final is the most petty and pedantic thing I've ever fucking read on these forums. How much of a difference Didier's goal would've been if Robben scored that penalty eh?

Funny thing is, if we didn't already sign him and Bremen did, we'd probably be in a bidding war right now with Dortmund and half the Bundeliga, Seria A and La Liga; along with everyone around us in the PL. This is actually a wonderkid we've managed to snap up for peanuts. If he went to Atletico or somewhere else, we'd probably eventually end up paying £25m+ for him.

He had a very bad first half, but improved when he went to Mikel's position. In fact, he wasn't really acting as a DM. Since we were pushing, he and Ramires were more like CMs. That's why I think we should play 4-3-2-1/4-3-3, I fully believe Oscar can make a great CM. At least for now. He can get way too isolated as a AM in big games, probably because of our shit pivot and the fact that he lacks experience in Europe. He needs to get on the ball more, moving him back a bit would do this. He also has an amazing work-rate, the best I've ever seen from an attacking-midfielder, so I think, after a good few games, he'd have no problems at all. Him as a CM would help a lot in the effort of trying to dictate the game. Even when he is deployed as CAM, Mata and Hazard are usually alongside on either flank with only the single striker constantly ahead of him; it's hard to be a playmaker when there's fewer players ahead of you to pass to. And he seems to get this benefit when playing for Brazil. It also unshackles Ramires if he was in another CM spot and gives KDB another position to fill when he gets back. I'm saying this though with next season in mind. I just hate 4-2-3-1; at least while our pivot is so fucking atrocious.

A Passenger. That's how I summed up his game. An absolute passenger. Maybe we were told to sit deep, sure, but that doesn't give Mikel licence to jog around aimlessly and, more often than not, practically stand fucking still. He didn't even stand were he was fucking supposed to, he was actually, most of the time, too far forward! Mikel, forward! I know, it sounds weird! He actually looked like he was there for the lulz, expecting everyone else to do his job. Maybe I'm too harsh...maybe he just thought we still had Didier... Once pressure is put on Mikel, he can't cope and turns to absolute shit. City were very quick with their passing and it took him totally out of the game. I mean, completely and utterly out of the game. Sure, he was great last season, great in Munich, but it's a completely different team now. The whole team doesn't sit next to him anymore, behind the ball, defending as one massive unit. This season, he has a lot more responsibility against the top sides and that is where he has been found out. Pass it quick and well against us, which top teams will do, and he is a pointless player to have in the squad. I honestly believe that, and that is why I see him as no more than a squad player. This is what I meant whenever I say I believe there are DMs in the world who can do what he can do, except they can also run and/or pass. Take Ramires for example; sure, he doesn't have great positional sense or passing, but at least he can fucking run. At least he got at the City players, in so far as he could. At least we can see his passion, his effort and that he gives a shit. But Mikel? Well, he can't run. Nor can he pass or dictate the tempo of a game. And, apparently, he can't even position himself at times. So let me ask, against the top teams, what fucking use is he?!

Changed the game again today...once he came off. Statuesque is putting it nicely.

If City were Ruben Kazan/Steau/any team in the 2nd half of the table, that was a goal for Tores.

Sorry, we're not that Chelsea anymore. No Ballack, Essien, Drogba. No muscle. The tiki-taka shit is the way forward apparently, because what we were dong before wasn't good enough...y'know, bossing teams and winning trophies. It just wasn't the way football should be played!

Oscar needs to fuck off thinking he's back in Brazil or some shit.

Where the fuck were the CBs for that goal?!? BOTH dragged away from the fucking centre, idiots. That's why I don't like Luiz-Ivan pairing, they don't fucking communicate. I don't know if it's the lack of English or what.

Oh Mikel's passing and composure is really top notch alright...

And that's why Mikel doesn't pass more than 5 yards.

Lawl

No, I'm not. But just look at the teams left, some difficult yes, but compare it to what we've faced in the past. I know we're not the same team, but we got a very difficult group in the CL and winning this thing is very doable for our current team...if we show up that is.

I said it to my mates all last season, he was only playing for the contract. The worse thing Spurs could've done was give him one. Lazy git! "Just a shit Drogba!"

Whatever the team, we can win this shit.

BAHAHAHAHAHAHA!!! Spurs winning fuck all again, somethings never change!! ADEBAYOR, CUNT!!

Probably! But he has to be on the pitch...or if not, we could make a sneaky sub before it's taken! Refs don't like giving Hazard penalties now though!

Goals and opportunities have dried up for him recently. Only thing we can hope for is another goalscoring burst, but I can't see where it's going to come from I'm afraid...

If that is what you truly believe, I think you should just stay away from forums then...and the internet in general.

Don't think he's really deflecting mate, he admitted he played absolutely shit. He's just pointing out others who also didn't offer much, which I agree with him on. Just because he likes Mikel, doesn't mean you have to jump down his neck ALL the time, even when he admits he was shit...

So, in the beginning we we're creative enough and now we're too creative...right, got'cha. Classic Liverpool mentality, always the victim, never his fault. Reminds me of a comment on one of the articles I read today on Rafa going back to Liverpool in the future: "I liked Rafa very much I think he lost his way when his assistant and friend moved on". Yeah, that, or he's just a cup manager. Or like when a Liverpool fan tried to tell me that Reina has been shit because "our goalkeeper coach left", yeah, pull the other one. In the context of the game, and being a Chelsea fan, it was the worst miss ever. Anytime you defend Torres, you remind me of this guy... http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=kHmvkRoEowc My point is, those teams are not supposed to be anywhere near our level and Torres has a habit of scoring against them, instead of the better teams. And yes, I count Newcastle as bad team because... (see below) 1. City was a friendly. So, no, it doesn't count for much I'm afraid. 2. Wrong on every level about Newcastle. They've been shit this season. They've also been shit this season with Ba. When Ba left, they were 15th or so. They've only managed to stay a float until January because of Ba. So by the time January came around, they were able to buy a bunch of Frenchies to save their season. They've done better since, but, technically, they can still get relegated.

I meant in the context of scoring against a top side, sorry if that wasn't clear. The majority of the teams you've listed, we should've won with or without Fernando Torres. If Sturridge played in those matches for example, I'd imagine we would've won most of them as well...do you want to know why I can make such an assumption? Because Mata has 18 goals, the same as Torres, and 30 assists - THIRTY - while Hazard has 12 goals and 17 assists (not including the penalties he's won); losing either one of those players would be much more detrimental to our side than losing Torres.