Barbara

the way they're playing one would think they're trying to convince Mourinho to never have them in the starting XI...

you don't tell me! I wished he was a LB or could play there many times. In Brazil we Dani Alves playing on both sides of the pitch... Marcelo was injured and our sub was many levels worse so Dani Alves played in the left. Can't Azpi do the same for us?

I feel like Brazilian fans don't complain as much and I'm not used to so much moaning, I guess? I mean I'm used to moaning, tons of it, but not this kind I'm as serious as they come, you don't see me moaning about everything related Chelsea - only about people moaning. I see this is my thing moan about people moaning... I'll register the drunkness when it happens.

I came to the conclusion I should learn how to like alcohol and come to the forum drunk (@ you might be able to enlighten me on how that works for you?). I'm not used or cut to the way it's done around the world, so I shouldn't bother... the thing is I'm a person who bothers a lot, hence the need to alcohol so I can let go. I only drink liqueur and it has to be a girl thing like Amarula and Sheridans. I'm an embarrassment I guess. @Rmpr, do you also feel like Brazilian fans are more carefree and complain less? Or am living in a bubble? I need a bottle of tequila (another girly drink ) to loosen up some

in addition to the CAM - whoever that is - and the striker - whoever that is - we would expect the FB to help him because any player that approaches him will drag some of the opponents with them, but he's painfully isolated most times. I felt like last match Oscar and even André (who as supposed to be in the opposite wings) approached him a few times, but still not enough. Also, even if they approach him, Eden will always be double pressed, sometimes even triple marked. And he has the talent to deal with some of those situations (not every time because he's no superman), but he doesn't seem too confident to do so. So we have two issues that only contribute to his form to be below par as of now, but I'm positive he'll work around it and hopefully Mourinho will ask people to approach him (if he hasn't already) and hopefully they'll listen. As for the Mata partnership, I'm all for it. I just hope it lasts more than it did last season. Out of the 9 months they played together that partnership was really sharp only by the end of the season, 3 months tops. It's too little, although one of the reasons was that both alternated digs on their form... Mata supposedly because he was tired (he hasn't had vacation time for 2 seasons I guess), Eden because he's still in his improvement curve. I guess.

that's my hope, wish and expectation. I can't wait for it to happen. I'm counting the hours and the days for it to happen. And I think the team needs him on form more than we need any other player. It's a good thing that right now Oscar is on form - as Mata and Hazard aren't - can you imagine if he was also unfit? We would have been in much worse place. So I'm thankful Oscar is doing good as well as André is (although Oscar is more consistent right now if you ask me). But we need either Hazard or Mata (preferably both) to regain their sharpness asap because Oscar still offers little creatively compared to Mata and Hazard on their best.

Now some of the names suggested by people during the transfer talk (Cabaye, Khedira, some guys I don't even remember now) wouldn't really improve it much imo. De Rossi and Roma's president made it clear that he wouldn't ever leave the team. Alonso has said many times about his love and respect for Liverpool - supposing RM would ever allow him to leave (don't think they would) and if he decided to play EPL again, I don't see him going anywhere else other than Liverpool. In one interview last year he said he would like to play there again before his retirement. Who else? Schweinsteiger? Busquets? As if that was going to happen. Most names suggested either weren't realistic or were guys that would at most slightly improve our pivot. And I don't get people wanting to move AM's - one that has good defending skills for a AM but never for a CM and another guy who doesn't even have those skills - to a zone in the field that should be more than anything else about giving the whole team stability, safety and assurance. You want your pivot to protect your defense, to be able to hold the ball, control the match and the tempo, to be fierce and solid, to make a smooth transition into the attacking midfield or maybe even straight to the attack. But only the latter seem important when you see names such as Oscar and Kevin being thrown there just to waste their talent (that should be in the attacking midfield) and probably exposing the team when a heavier and stronger midfield faces us. Because Mikel + any of our AMs is an extremely light and unbalanced pivot and if you replace Mikel for Ramires or worse Lampard then you're begging us to be raped in the EPL and A and B teams in Europe. But I don't mind reading the suggestions because after all each of us will have a different take on football. Each of us will prefer a certain formation. What really gets tiring and entitles the attitude is that people are still complaining about the transfer window (players we sign, players we didn't sign), people more often than not show they don't trust what the manager (or the board) is doing and are just unbelievably impatient. It must be cultural, it must be different in England/Europe, but in Brazil for things to get like this and fans overreact to this extent teams would have be closing in the relegation zone or making capital mistakes that cost the title - but even then that only happens very close to the end of the league 3-4 rounds from the end. I'm happy the petty scrabbles are things of the past and the forum is much more civil these days, but the tone continues to be of a constant moaning surrounding the team. As I said it must be cultural and I'm not used to it, so forgive me if I think the whole thing is tiring and annoying and I keep reacting to it. It's a wild experience and more often than not I can't believe I read certain things... Latinos approach the sport in a much more carefree, happier, festive way - although we do criticize things as well, but not as much, not nearly as much. It's a reality shock for me - not a good one. So forgive me if I'm still getting used to the constant moaning and being irritated by it. It may also have something to do with the age (my age) and the lack of patience towards certain things. I'm just absolutely surprised about the overreaction everywhere about a team that is "under construction" and going through a complete change of identity. I get frustrated when the team is playing, but it's still a foreign concept to me to come to the board hours or days later and the sourness to be constant...

then first, I don't know which matches have you been seeing if you haven't seen Oscar going even behind the midfield to get the ball. Second let's continue to handle real life football like FIFA and FM and have all players in all positions and build a perfect squad something Real Madrid, Bayern, Barcelona, Dortmund, any other team England (or in the world for that matter) don't have, but that we should. And while we are at it, let's do it in one month because that's the reasonable time a manager should fix all problems in the squad and work with the players to improve. Also just to keep business going on as usual around here, let's stuff all our AM in CM positions... Kev and Oscar for the double pivot, Willian, Mata and Hazard in AM and André ahead them all as the ST. Except André and Willian aren't that popular around here and you don't see all kind of suggestions to make them do it in the starting XI as long as fans faves have their spot assured.

that's asking too much, sweetie... Until the day José doesn't have Mata as a starting eleven moaning, conspiracies, disapproval, lack of belief and support will be the common sense here. Mata FC all the way! And the worst part is that some people supporting those things are people I used to think were here for Chelsea. I'm too naïve I guess.

When Mourinho keeps saying he's not ready to move Oscar from position doesn't it imply he may be able to move him later? I'm still not 100% sure as you guys are that he wants to use Mata in the wing. He could have said he won't ever move Oscar from the position or that the position's is Oscar's and will continue to be while he'll welcome Mata elsewhere. But what he really said is that when Mata shows him he'll play and that now he isn't ready to move Oscar. So I'd hold the assumption that Mata will play in the wing because that's contradictory and stupid. As I said in some other match Mourinho may be counting on Mata to become the kind of #10 he needs and use Oscar's versatility to play him either in the wing or in the pivot. I'd hate to see Oscar on either, but if that's what's best for the team, so be it. There are no doubts offensively and creatively Mata is the best #10. If he can work on his shortcomings and the liabilities he offers to the whole system, of course he should be the #10. The defensive demands in the middle are lesser than in the wings. I'd reserve judgment about that for now because since that comment (prior to Willian's signing) back in the pre-season where he said he likes his wingers to play with the wrong foot, he has never once ever since repeated he wants Mata to play in the wing (not that I recall).

I believe he was harsh on them after the Everton game and look how well that worked for the Basel game. He said he realized it after he tried to be harder on them, so I don't think he's making excuses - especially because we see him being VERY harsh on Luiz and Mata. I'm not fool that believes 100% of what he says, but it's his nature to be a pusher, to demand improvement, to be harsh if he needs to. I've seen it so many times before, I have no doubt he would be pressuring them more if he felt like they wouldn't crumble. What's the point of pressure if instead of improving they get worse? He's handling them differently I have no doubt. He used the media to work with two of them, he doesn't have complaints about Petr, Iva, Lamps, Terry and Ramires. I don't know about Cole, Cahill, Mikel... He said that Eto'o and Torres are working hard - and he knows a striker doesn't need pressure, but confidence to tug the ball in the net. I'm sure he's dealing with some of them in a more harsher way than the rest, but he won't collectively put pressure on them... I don't know why people now question every frigging little thing Mourinho does. As a Madridista I'll tell you what, I'm ashamed of Chelsea fans. This lot is turning out to be worse than the lot in Madrid and it took them more than 2 seasons to start being some SOB's about Mou. But the 'all-supportive' 'we-want-Mourinho-more-than-anything' Chelsea fans are showing their true colors with two months. I'm not necessarily talking about you Jay, but since the Mata gate what you read more in this forum is how people don't trust what Mourinho is doing about everything. Ones complain about Mata, others about how he deals with the press, others about the youngsters, others about the veterans, others about the formation, others say he's sentimentalist, others say he isn't the kind of manager to work this profile, others admit they thought Mourinho was done and then with a small change in the behavior during half time against Fulham they say they're back in the ship, others this, others that. It's one thing do disagree about certain practical actions, but people here are showing clearly they simply don't trust Mourinho at all. Some are very outspoken about it, very open, others are more subtle, but I'm really disappointed and I hope the fans that actually go to the Bridge, the ones that Mourinho has a closer perception aren't such [insert words that are better left unsaid], unfair and impatient. I'll take a break from this thread because it's too much shit in one place.

not necessarily. The weaker the opposition, the more Mourinho will demand from the players to execute the tasks he assigned to them and the more he'll expect them to shine. I agree they're absolutely the weakest side we'll face this season and they'll lie deep with 11 + the crowd making it harder for Mourinho to assess the backs performance, but such things as movement, positioning and coverage can still be evaluated. Also about the Holland thing, Mourinho did mention in one of his interviews on Saturday that his assistant coach led the training session that morning - so I suppose Holland trained the team (or most of the team) that is likely to start the match tomorrow.

I disagree. There had been at least 4 passes where he put someone inside the box in the match against Fulham. I mean, Mata is definitely way more creative, but two things need to be said: 1) Oscar is capable of creating chances for others and he does 2) slowly, but consistently he's closing the gap between them. I'm the first one to say I don't think he'll ever be creative as Mata because Mata is special, the way he sees the game and the way he makes it happen is something special, so imo Oscar will never reach that level, but he'll decrease the gap between them, as he's been doing. Compare both of his seasons or compare him in Chelsea and in Brazil NT and you can say he has some creativity on him. He has the normal amount + the ceiling, Mata is out of this world, so it's not fair to compare them. For example, imo Özil (who in two matches has 4 assists - and more than I can count clear chances created that Arsenal players didn't capitalize) is very creative, but he doesn't have the special vision Mata does. Özil is extremely technical (more than Mata imo - but then again no surprise seeing who had been molding for three years), but Mata is more gifted. It's like one had to work more to be as lethal as he is and the other is more gifted. Mata does give me the impression of being a lazy guy though - not in the pitch or in the trainings, but he doesn't seem like the guy that works that hard to improve his game (I mean effort, extra training, determination). He relies a lot on his natural abilities. I could be wrong because I don't watch the trainings, but based on his posture in the pitch and how he doesn't put any effort at all to get out of his way to defend, to press, to recover the ball, how he doesn't challenge himself at all when he has an off day, one can assume that he expects to improve by only sharpening his abilities with practice (in matches) and experience, not necessarily effort and hard work. See how Hazard has reacted much more positively about the work-rate and defending responsibilities. It's easier for Eden because he's bigger, stronger and faster, but you can see him putting a lot of effort on that, whereas I always see Mata as the guy relying on his gifts and going from there. It's not criticism at all, it's my take of his personality. He isn't a clutch kind of player - never will be - and sometimes clutch and extra effort is what gets you to places, no matter how gifted you are and the biggest example of that will always be Cristiano Ronaldo for me.

he did start two matches and played a few minutes as a sub, which makes it quite the fair rotation. It's called rotation for a reason, it means he gets a few matches, not every match so I agree with you it's unfair not only for the reasons you mentioned, but also because of the chances he's been giving. And he'll probably start tomorrow as well. I'm one of the people who thinks he deserves more chances, but it's totally unfair to assume he isn't giving any as some people are assuming. He may not be receiving enough, but he's receiving some and so far he's been rotating with André - not Mata or Oscar as also some pointed out - and André has been playing quite good. The thing is Kev has a much better finishing and although he isn't as fast or doesn't have such a nice work-rate, he's creative and has a better cross. So I'd say they're equivalent, only they offer different aspects to the game. But they have strengths that make up for their weaknesses when compared to each other.

but where resides most of our problems? Where do we complain more often? At least my most frequent complaints lies in the AM... where we are 100% U23. Eto'o and Torres can only be blamed so much if there aren't exactly too many chances created for them. And even if he decides to complain with them. It's clearly a physical problem for one and a technical problem for the other. Mourinho can try to peel them alive, it won't change because it isn't an attitude problem whereas with our AM it could be. Also the more he speaks, the more I'm convinced that's the biggest problem he actually has with Hazard.

Schwarzer Azpili - Iva - Luiz - Bertrand Essien - Marco Willian - Mata - Kevin Torres I really want Kevin to kill it. I want him to play like never before in his life so that he can rotate with André in the main team. I wish there was more rotation in our LW. I love Shirley, but I want to see Kev having chances and killing it for us. The ideal actually would be Willian and Kev replacing André and Eden in a couple of matches - Eden because he needs to see the bench and André, so the rotation is fair. Also I favor Torres to start. After Mou proved that he can make even Mikel score, it's time to bet on Torres to become EPL top-scorer Or at least Capital One Cup's

and then people wonder why José is The Special One. Life achievement: Got Mikel to score not one, but three goals. José wins in life. can the next be Torres?

I wish there was the option "stop the bullshit or leave the forum", but there isn't, so yeah, not everything in life is fair...

enjoy it, K!!!!!!! hope you have the time of life. How did the exams go?

201/14 official squad pic

yeah, but how much does it count? I mean to be a CM in Belgian league is one thing, to be it on Premier League is something completely different, don't you think? Ramires was a DM - not only a CM or a B2B, but a DM player in Brazil and he couldn't handle the physicality in EPL in his first season, which is one of the things that led him to struggle a lot and he ended up evolving into a B2B player. Being a CM or a DM in a league like EPL requires you to really excel in the position in lighter leagues. Our problem in the pivot is partially balanced by Oscar moving deeper as often as he does. Every time he does it, it feels like we're playing 4-3-3 instead of 4-2-3-1, so he makes up for Ramires horrible passing and Mikel's lack of vision - strengthening the pivot without playing there. I want to see Kev playing, I'm one of the people who wants it more, but I'd love for it to be in the wing. As you're providing now info I didn't have and adding what TorontoChelsea and Stingray said previously, I guess that we could do some testing replacing Lamps maybe, but he would have to tackle, intercept, run and press more than Ramires. If the preferable partnership is Mikel or Ramires + Lamps, I'd replace him for Lamps, but right now we would need to have a first class partnership to displace Mikel/Ramires. They're much better than any combo involving Lamps because of the solid defending and midfield occupation and domination. As I said the letdown is their passing and vision, but for as long as Oscar drops to help, it's worked around with.

thanks for the insight. I've been wanting to read something concrete about his experience as a CM for a while and as I more often than not see the game the same way as you do - even when we disagree about something - I'll take your word on that.

It feels like I took a 30h weekly course on football tactics except that in one hour (how long it took me to read the whole thing without stopping once, except to use the dictionary). Brilliant analysis and I wish it was made some sort of passport to talk about Mourinho here. First read this piece and then complain or praise what Mourinho is doing. Brilliant, brilliant, brilliant. what I love about the French guys here is that I learn so much from them (although not only from them)!!! It does help girls to understand the sport better

I do have a problem with the Eden situation because of the Mata situation. Tom what I meant is if Eden can't deal with being benched, then get him a shrink AFTER benching him. I agree with you about he unlearning and learning - but that should reflect more on his positioning, his work-rate, his movement, but I think what's bad right now isn't any of those things, but how he just doesn't respond to the problems presented to him. We see 1-2 good plays by him per match and sometimes not even that... He needs to step up, he needs to be more daring in his actions and more lethal. We all know he's capable of that. Mata is going through the same... the only difference between both is that I see Eden responding to the work-rate demand promptly. He improved light years in that department whereas Mata didn't. But well Hazard is bigger, stronger and faster than Mata so it's easier to him and he's trying, I can honestly say Eden is trying - whereas Mata seems a bit lost, poor thing. But my problem is if he comes publicly and says he'll keep or drop players based in the present presentations, then how come Hazard stays in the team when he has been okay or bad more often than a simple good? I know he's the guy Mourinho is betting all his money on. I know he's his untouchable, I know he's his golden goose (I wonder if the players are goose's or hen's eggs ) and I actually agree with him and support him on working on the team in a way that Hazard will be our biggest star because among the current players we have he's the only guy who has potential to be comparable to the likes of Neymar, Reus, Gotze, Bale (I don't see much in Bale, but for the sake of the world who seems to be fascinated by him I'm including him) and probably others I can't remember who will be the next generation's super stars. Hazard is our future and the guy I think will be getting Balon d'Or nominations in a few years against those guys I just mentioned (except Bale ). But there's a distance between potential and talent and José said it himself, so I think he could use the same rules he's been using to the whole team to Hazard. It will help his growth. He needs to know that if he doesn't play well, he'll be dropped. Not when he doesn't play well in 1-2 matches because that's normal, but Eden is yet to give us a really great match and honestly I think Kevin and André outplayed him so far, so why does Mou have to choose between André and Kev if he could be giving them both chances by dropping Hazard for a couple of matches? Mata must feel bad because of that... it doesn't help the Mata situation because Juan is not stupid and anyone can see Eden isn't playing as well as he was... or as he should. He needs to mature in a few areas I think he's still a bit immature. He's 22 and I know he's young, but let's not use this excuse forever... Oscar is younger than him and he's showing more maturity, so the age excuse can get you only as far. This kind of situation is the one that could bring a dressing room problem. It isn't benching Mata and Luiz because of bad performances, as this is only natural, but it is keeping Hazard when he's been playing as bad or worse. Once Hazard shows in the pitch his untouchable status then I think it's fair that Mourinho starts overlooking a few bad matches. Two seasons ago (or early last season) Cris had a streak of about 5 matches playing shit. But it wasn't only not scoring, it was finishing a-la-Torres. I remember one of those matches were in UCL and I was like 'Cris for God's sake just stop sucking', but after everything Cristiano Ronaldo showed the world he can afford to play bad for a streak and still be kept in the team. Cris is one of the hardest workers I've seen in football. He's the kind of guy that many times arrived earlier to the training sessions and left after everyone else because he was doing his personal training, he was improving his finishing, training free kicks. You don't drop a guy like that even if he plays bad in 10 matches in a row because he's on his peak and it's only a bad patch. But you can't treat the guy that is in the middle of his improvement curve the same way. Also I said in a previous post the things I disagree with Mou, but didn't say the ones I agree and that I've seen others disagreeing. I support Iva in the team 100%, I think our pivot can be improved with the players we have, improving the philosophy and also working closely with Mikel and Ramires who I believe can still learn a trick or two and improve technically. Oscar naturally drops deeper, so he'll make up for some lack of quality in the pass and in the vision in our midfield even if he plays as a #10. Don't get me wrong, I would have signed a better DM/CM but I think what we have is workable. Every team has an area where they aren't the best in the world, so let ours be there until van Ginkel grows and improves and obviously I agree with Oscar being in our #10. Until Mata recovers his form, the spot is Oscar's for the take. I don't want Oscar playing in the wings or in the pivot, he belongs in the #10 and the only situation I see him moving is to the bench when/if Mata becomes a better option. I don't know if Mourinho will play Mata in the wing or if he plans to move Oscar there once Mata is 100% sharp again. If it's the latter he'll have a hill to climb because Oscar has to improve a lot to play there... right now he can't. Or as someone pointed out maybe Mourinho wants Mata to be what Oscar is now - only that improved because he's more creative - and then work on Oscar's own growth and move him to the pivot. I'll cry when this days arrives (if it does) although on early days I supported the idea. But Mourinho isn't here to make the players play where I want them to play or where they want to play, but to find where they can be more useful to the team. I'll support him whatever his plan is about Oscar in the future once Mata is ready to reclaim his position.