The Big Drog

I was struck last night between in the difference between Kakuta and Piazon. Piazon looked like he was in a completely different league to Kakuta, despite being younger. It was a disappointing performance from the Frenchman last night and it looks like his days as a Chelsea player could be numbered.

Obviously you aren't going to completely eradicate physical players, there will always be a place for them. But with the laws of the game and how they are being enforced, it limits physical players and favours technical players, as long as those laws and the way they are enforced stay the same I suspect that technical players will always have the upper hand.

Ye Laporta's message was that he wanted to restore the clib's identity and he did that. In the end he and the club as a whole deserve credit for appointing the young, inexperienced but idealistic Guardiola after Rijkaard. Ye Cruyff's influence was big in the halls of Barcelona and he is still very popular with the fans.

If you accept that then what exactly are you debating?

I keep hearing this. I heard it reached the end of its cycle when we beat Barcelona. Then Spain won Euro 2012 and the Spanish under 19 side won their own Euros. Don't be surprised if Spain also win the Okympic tournament. The talent line of Spain never ends, they keep churning out wonderfully gifted prospects. Time to accept that that is where football is heading, less physicality, more technique.

Brief review die to exhaustion. Good game, good workout for the lads. Some of the attacking play was very exciting and served to wet the appetite for next season. Eden Hazard in particular is clearly a class act. Marin, McEachran (bar the mistake), Lukaku, De Bruyne (ridiculously unlucky) and Piazon all impressed. Hilario, Benayoun and Kakuta were all pretty poor but there are still a few games left for them to prove their worth. But tonight was about the new Chelsea and the new Chelsea are a damn exciting team. The prospect of Mata, Oscar, Hazard and Torres all playing in the same team genuinely gives me butterflies in my stomach, great time to be a Chelsea fan.

Im not saying you have to be small either, Im simply saying that Guardiola redefined what is looked for in a footballer at the highest level, that being technical ability over physical power.

It isn't ridiculous at all. Before Guardiola arrived at Barcelona, Xavi is quoted as saying that players like him were almost extinct, that it was all about the big, physical players. Guardiola changed the perception everyone involved in football. Take Man City as an example. No I know they have a fairly tall backline and a double pivot of Yaya Toure and Gareth Barry. Go past that. Silva, Tevez, Aguero, Nasri, all small technically gifted players, can you name me an English side that won the league that had 4 regular attackers smaller than the average height of that quartet. Spain, Fabregas, Iniesta, Xavi, Silva. These things dont just happen by accident, pre Guardiola, a player like Xavi felt he was no longer needed at Barcelona, today a player like Xavi is prized above all others. Im not saying Guardiola is directly responsible for us signing smaller, technically gifted players, but I would certainly say that the way Guardiola's side took the world by storm and changed our view point on the game has had a knock on effect throughout world football which includes Chelsea and Man City.

I could understand the Cavani signing even if I wouldn't be really big on it but I dont understand the Schurrle one.

I dont expect him to be as successful, afterall he created something at a club which suits his philosophy, at a club where the talent to play that way was available to him, with big resources and some of the most talented players the world has ever seen (talent which he helped to shine). But I do think he could take over any big club in Europe and be a success, whatever that club would define as being successful.

Obviously the Dutch influence at Barcelona cant be denied with Cruyff, Rinus Michels, Louis Van Gaal and Frank Rijkaard having all coached at the club, though its Cruyff and Michels who made the truly lasting impression. However lets not forget that for quite some time Barcelona were struggling and had almost lost their way. Rijkaard did well to restore the club's image and bring some success but in the dying days of his reign the club was a mess. Guardiola came in, cleaned the mess and created a dynasty. He is the most successful coach in the history of Barcelona. He helped to develop a style of play that has changed football forever. He's changed our view and perception of football, you could argue that we are signing small, technically gifted players like Hazard, Mata, Oscar, Marin ect. is down to the impact Guardiola's Barcelona and Spain have had on world football. For me there's no doubt he will be remembered as Barcelona's greatest ever manager.

It's easy to say now "ye well he had Xavi, Iniesta and Messi" but you have to put it into context. Xavi, Iniesta and Messi were not the names that they are today, ask any of those players how important Guardiola was to their careers and you will get an illustration of why Pep is so good. Of course Pep will always be best at Barcelona, the club's philosophy is ingrained in Guardiola, Pep knows how the club works inside out and he is utterly dedicated to the club's philosophy and he is a hugely popular figure at the club from his playing days and now his time as coach of Barcelona. I think he would be successful anywhere he goes, cream always rises to the top, but Guardiola and Barcelona are a perfect fit. Im sure Vilanova will also stick to the principles of the club, to the philosophy but dont be surprised if he puts his own tweaks and ideas on the system.

All the same, like them or hate them, the comment about Guardiola is ridiculous. It isn't a million miles from someone saying "anyone could have won what Di Matteo did with the group of players he inherited when he took over." Obviously that's an exaggeration but anyone who knows Barcelona knows that the situation at the club at the end of Rijkaard's reign was bad, for Guardiola to pick up that group and do what he did the following seasons and for the next few years was nothing short if remarkable.

I'm a big believer in the way they play, the type if players they produce, the cutting edge tactics. The more I've seen them play, the more I've read about them (in particular the book by Graham Hunter is terrific) the more I admire them. So comments like those above saying that anyone could have done what Guardiola did annoy me because it is downright wrong.

See the comment above.

I've been over this before and in great detail. Your comment is ridiculous, it smacks of someone who hasn't a clue about Barcelona or La Liga, it is the comment of someone who is clueless of the situation the club was in pre Guardiola and just what Guardiola did to create the greatest team to ever play the game. It's both ignorant and stupid.

Just to update. I ended up getting Chelsea TV. I really wanted to see the pre season and I was a bit worried about the reliability and quality if the streams. In any case it's good to support the club.

Right lads its D-day, Im considering ordering Chelsea TV. The streams are good but I want to know, from your previous experience of using them during match days, do they tend to crash when matches are on?

Ye it was mad. The great shame is that Barcelona would have been far better off signing Villa than Ibrahimovic. Barcelona felt Villa was overpriced.

I think Barcelona were very smart in hiring the new head coach from within the club. Vilanova has worked with Pep from the start, he knows how the club works, he knows the players, he believes in the philosophy of the club. That's not to discount the genius of Guardiola, the man who created the dynasty but Vilanova ill have had a hand in creating that himself. Id love to one day see Guardiola return to the Camp Nou as manager. Id love it even more if we were to one day see him as Chelsea manager, I strongly believe that there is no finer coach in world football than Pep Guardiola.

Come on, lets all admit it, Gourlay has won us over, he seems to be doing a bloody terrific job.

It's on BBC 1, I think coverage starts at half 7.

Guardiola made a mistake signing him, as did the board sanctioning it and giving Pep the information that he had changed his attitude and matured. Ibra also made a mistake, his attitude was dreadful, particularly when he was no longer guaranteed a first team spot. In the end Guardiola did well to ignore that his reputation might be harmed if he were to sell the record signing after only one season, he did what was best for the club and got rid of him.

Lmao, he's hot on the tail of Chelsea. He is like that Mexican assain in "No Country for Old Men." We just can't get rid of him.

Honestly Alex, if you can, watch the Team Gb vs Brazil game on Friday. He will instantly win you over.