Blue Colored Sky

Good player with very good potential. He really turned the corner in the summer and only this season he started performing on 2012/13 form. Though he's box to box midfielder and I don't see him sitting deep. And for that role we have Ruben lined up for the next season. So I would pass on the signing and buy someone with different characteristic. Schneiderlin for example.

He was poor again yesterday ... He doesn't help us in that type of matches. He can be put out of the game quite easily, he can't press, can't resist pressing himself and as we're well into the second part of the season there was lots of misplaced passes. So far we can consider this as a warning but we simply need another 2 quality midfielders so we can bench Fabregas who suffered in every big match and generally in second part of the season.

Good. But what are the 2-3 penalties that people talk about ?

Ok ... I really don't know how you can think that for example Matic or Oscar drop may be comparably responsible for that.

But it's very important to keep in mind that we were good as long as Fabregas was good. Everybody knows that he's fantastic player in first half of the season but drops very significantly in the second half. And that's the story about Chelsea. It's not another rock to Mourinho's garden (I don't know if in English is such phrase ?_) but I want to say that we still need 2 quality midfielders to prevent such huge drop. Fabregas will always be half-season player, sadly.

Making Twickenham move permanent is an option ?

It was about Wenger !

Well, the 0-0 at the Emirates and 0-0 at the Vicente Calderon are 2 ultimate performances on parking business in Mourinho second regime so far. We actually did the parking properly and didn't let opposition to have any chance - bar Giroud stoppage time IIRC - and that's the goal of parking the bus. Other times we let opposition to have too many chances on which they capitalized or not. So to be fair I wouldn't mind reduplicating this again. We won't be proactive since it's impossible without pressing. A draw will be very good and we will be possibly 6 days within the title. I wonder what Arsene will figure out. How we're gonna play is obvious but if this stubborn mong wants to change something is another matter.

Wenger I think made this thinking. But what every manager including Wenger are aiming for is playing like Arsenal have played so far, 8 winning streak and good on the eye too. If he was less stubborn though. Mourinho's only idea of containing attacking teams is parking the bus - that's what I can't simply understand. Every other team do this by PRESSING while Chelsea have to make the game unwatchable. So far our pressing is poor and disorganised and that's the basic of the basics, the fundament, the platform. Probably the biggest charge on Mourinho is that he didn't learn players a pressing system over those 2 years. When some team surprises people and is able to contain the big team in modern football is always by brilliant pressing system. Currently our players press individually and not as collective. It doesn't work. That's the main thing we have to improve to get closer to elite.

To be fair, Jose's words about RLC and Solanke are spot on. http://www.chelseafc.com/news/latest-news/2015/04/mourinho--doing-everything-right.html?WT.mc_id=social_20150425_44665726&adbid=591961160775143424&adbpl=tw&adbpr=22910295&short_code=2vh13 It's always better when the player can develop while playing in friendly environment which can match his skills. So many of our loanees would look better if they had better technical players around. I very much like this approach that in theory we want to develop players within. Finally, should I say. But I think that's not because of Jose expert view on the matter but rather whole bunch of people at Chelsea who see that loan system is broken, doesn't bring goods and they try different approach. So far that just the words of course and they can very well mean nothing but change in pure approach is very positive. They don't want to throw away players to don't bother with the problem for the next 2-3 years, instead they try to keep the player and look on him and develop him on day to day in the club. I like this and it's utmost better than loan circus.

He sure wants, Chelsea want, Roman wants and we have to demand this but even when we played artist football in first months in the season as soon as Man City game arrived we changed our approach COMPLETELY, throwing everything to the bin and playing in submission way as usual. Sure, we can master playing against Crystal Palace and co over the longer period of time but I'm suspicious that we will ever look like big club against good opposition on and about our level. And the sentence above is not only about being pretty on the eye but also 'winning values', especially when you see the level of top clubs like Bayern, Real and Barca we have some distance to them and they would shit on us even if we would play as dirty as possible. Mourinho looks first, second and up to tenth place in the preparation how to stop the opposition. He will look on the games again and again how to stop them more, how to constrain this player and that player more. Then it's our offensive play, which usually is about, using Mourinho's words, "expressing yourself" by individual abilities of our players. On the other hand, Guardiola also is mad about opposition he faces. From the books he stays alone in the TV room and watch opposition on the loop. But you never have this feeling that he looks only to nullify the opposition but rather look for exploits to up his game.

As long as there is allowance for such football we will always revert to this as fear/pressure turns up. And so far, reading, listening, there's allowance for this and it's even APPRECIATED by some. Also reading Mourinho words from yesterday, he said that we play in 'strategic way' and not 'artistic way' because of Cesc, Matic and Diego injuries/suspensions while we're by far in the best position in terms of missing the players in the last 3 seasons. That's just future confirmation that Jose, as things stand now, is always going to change to strategic style as soon as situation won't be very comfortable. About Jamie Carragher words, I think he's very spot on when says that if you play that style you simply have to win because there's nothing in there besides. If you don't win, there's ground burned to death and that emptiness feeling, like if there will always be dark. The feeling without looking forward about great times that's are surely ahead once this whole thing click. That's because it is called quick fixes, they have to work quick and effective but surely you can't rely on this more than few seasons.

From one his post-match interviews with Chelsea TV.

To earn more money ? Because when he first signed he was 18 years old boy with only one season of senior football and without big hype around him. His second contract was signed when he already played in the World Cup, in El Classico, in the Champions League final. I think that one is pretty clear. Signing new contract seriously doesn't mean that much. And even if Varane wouldn't sign the new one, he would still have 2 more years of his old deal. He's not gonna create a havoc to set up his departure but rather makes himself available in the summer. That's where Chelsea are stepping up with their pursuit. The players have now more power in their hands, if they want to go, they go with the money going the other way.

Anyway, it's Torres 3rd anniversary of that moment in the Camp Nou. Like was said in Mikel thread, maybe talk about positive things on birthdays ? Against all odds campaign in 2012 Champions League will always be the most recognized by this moment. For this I'm very grateful to Nando. In the decades when we will talk how we won our first of couple of Champions Leagues, we will always relive this moment again and again. I have big, big smile on my face now. It was all worth it.

A couple of subsequent games after Swansea red card. Though I rekindled myself in the Sunderland game when he took and scored penalty and generally played with conviction. I believed in Rafa effect on Nando.

1. Buy Varane or eventually Laporte. Down the order Manolas and even further down Stones. 2. Add high calibre player like Isco, Reus or Koke as 3rd choice from this bunch. Pogba sadly is unlikely. 3. Turn Mikel and Ramires into 1 but quality option. Schneiderlin or Gomes or Matuidi. 4. Add RLC to the fold. 5. Bench goalkeeper. 6. Different striker to Diego. Either very technically gifted or very strong with playing back-to-goal and in the air. Dybala or Benteke. My priority list. First and second are interchangeable. I know that there's enough money to pull all of this. On top of our own resources we can fetch 180-200m€ from sales from our own players from current loan army and couple of first team players that those players above would replace. I'm sure all of this is doable.

If Fekir is able to produce the goods that Hazard produced in his first season then we should sign him up ASAP. Isco disappointment is pleasure for my ears. If he is made available by Real in their pursuit of Pogba, let them sign the Frenchmen and we settling 'only' with Isco is more than good enough. Koke is good option but Reus and Isco are extremely gifted players, the big club need more of players from this sphere of talent and we lack them so far. Then turn Mikel and Ramires into quality central midfielder and we're settle. What I'm sure of that we can buy high quality player for CAM/wing postion with our resources.

Probably because he has wife and son already. Similar to Hazard.

Mourinho already took him for pre-season when he was 16. And he was very good against 'men' like Wycombe and Wimbledon team. Besides we don't know if Mourinho will be here beyond 3-4 seasons. So far we're not creating platform for the future and are mainly concerned about short term fixes which can't last long. Jay is a great talent and he has so much of senior game in him already. If the height is the one thing that prevents him from playing for Chelsea there's something plain wrong. But I think you're sadly right and I'm very concious about this. But somehow I hope that Mourinho isn't THAT great fundamentalist that he would let pass such player. And maybe we can outweight shortage of Jay with big full-back on the other side.

The change from Filipe to Cresswell is laughable The best option if we could bring some at least 6'0" guy, strong in the air, so Mourinho would not compromise with playing full-backs out of position, but I can't find such LB. I think realistically, if Filipe wants to go, we should sell him and bring Coentrao. The latter will be easy to obtain and for reasonable money too. Then, in 2-3 years time, we will have Jay Dasilva, next top talent in LB position, ready to play. For me that's perfect.

I'm struggling and I'm sure I'm not the only one with that how to praise player enough without being charged about fanboyism and how to criticize player without being charged about hatred and moaning. Saying that he's top 6 player right now is elevating him to godly status ? But we're one man team in any big game for 2 years now. From the last months it's also the case with smaller games.

I like Koke but 60m€ is way too much. He's very good player but whenever I see him I still say that he's ordinary. Probably he became the best player possible from such ordinariness. He would be good upgrade on Oscar role for Mourinho system, however I just feel paying something around 60m€ for him is wrong by default. Though I think we need 2 midfielders. For me it would be great if we would sell Mikel, Ramires and Oscar and buy Koke, Schneiderlin plus Ruben Loftus-Cheek in their place. That would be big upgrade.

Then he was sacked

I wouldn't say that any midfielder in the world is more talented than Modric. Luka is just pure quality and every move, every touch of the ball from this little prince is breathtaking. One of the most exciting players in the game for me. It's no surprise that Real with him had 22 winning streak and looked unstoppable only till Modric's injury. And now they shit themself again because he's probably out for weeks. Everybody there from the media through fans to coaches already know how important he is.