Barbara

Arsenal saved my sorry arse. as Robin didn't play and I promoted Mesut to vice-captain and I still had Per it wasn't a complete embarrassement

he just said in one the interviews (better check the Mourinho thread) his plan is to play the two of them together (I assume as AM's, no pivot nonsense), but that he feels Mata isn't ready to start the matches. So I think his plan is to keep Mazacar, but he won't play them until Mata is fit - which should apply to Hazard too btw as Eden has been below par - as much or even more so than Mata and that is while playing at all possible minutes except today's last five. I support Mata being benched and proving his value, but I can't understand why the same doesn't apply to Hazard - quite the opposite the more he sucks, the more he plays it seems.

ITA with this (I'm still behind in the thread, hahaha). Absolutely right. I think there are two things now: results and improvement. The results aren't too bad. We're at the top of the league and I never write Arsenal off from messing up - even if it's against Stoke and I don't remember who Spurs play, but they had been relying on set-pieces for three rounds to score... but even if they win tomorrow and we're third - along with one of the Manchesters [if any of them win at all] and Liverpool. But that's two points. Maybe we'll lose at White Hard Lane next week and be 5 pts behind them, but they - as well as ManUtd will have to come play at the Bridge when we'll probably be better settled in our tactics. As for the tactics improvement itself I think we're taking snail steps. I think Mourinho has made a few judgment mistakes, but I think what contributed the most is the poor displays by our players so far, especially the AM and also the ST. Of course our defense looked anything but solid in moments against Everton and Basel, but I don't think they're a bigger liability (or is the pivot) than our AM and ST. We have high attempts on goal in some matches and some ridiculous shots that actually hit the target. We've been scoring too little and I blame it more on the players being poor than on Mourinho. On paper our AM + ST combo isn't that bad and that proves to be true when in a game like today we have 20+ attempts on goal - the same happened against Everton [away btw]. But the accuracy is bad and bad accuracy is basically players' technical issues. The judgment mistakes - I won't be vague about them - I think Mourinho did so far: Kevin de Bruyne. I don't care if benches the RW or the LW, Kev deserves more chances because he played very well against Hull and he can be more creative than most our playersStarting Lampard and Eto'o at all matches (although Lamps was on the bench today)Eden Hazard - something has to be done there. At first I thought it was benching him, but then Mou comes and says some of those players can't handle pressure put on them and I don't know if Hazard is one of them. If he's not, he should be benched, if he is hire a shrink.

@Fernando and what is he doing so wrong now? He's trying to find the best team! He's digging it, but he needs the players' help as well. He's making mistakes in my opinion, but the mistakes I think he's making others think aren't mistakes and what others think are mistakes I don't think it is. So who's right and who's wrong? He's trying to find the best way for us to play, he's not doing anything wrong by trying to do it, he's abiding to the orders he received from Abramovich

I agree about Lamps - and only at some extent. He shouldn't play all matches - today he didn't start - because he can't perform on high level 2x a week, but when he's been fresh, he's played well for us (we could discuss if the partnership with Ramires and Mikel is better. I have different problems with both partnerships because Ramires passing is atrocious and when Lamps is fresh and sharp he has a good pass. Lamps on the other hand is slow, sometimes he doesn't have energy to do anything else but keep pointing to the player with the ball where he should pass the ball - normally in the defensive part of the second third). So Mourinho is being stubborn and contradicting himself there. I disagree about Cole - but that's because I rate Ryan Bertrand below criticism. As for Hazard yesterday I would have agreed with you, but today Mourinho said some of those players aren't ready to deal with the pressure... Hazard is having some problems and I can't say the root of them. We can't go all his career giving him excuses such as he's a slow starter that needs a couple of months to peak. That's acceptable when you're 19, 20, 21. It's about time he matures and starts owning his responsibilities as the season starts. How he can do that, I have no idea because I don't know the player [emotionally]. So what if he benches Hazard and instead of challenging him to bring better performances he goes depressed and sad? I'm for real, some players get depressed and/or sad and lose the passion for the sport and it's downhill and it takes weeks/months for them to recover. Luiz and Mata skins are thicker than that because they're older, but also more rounded [Luiz especially with all the criticism he dealt with in NT when he first started playing for us there - and to a certain extent the criticism he receives in England because of his style]. I'm 100% sure Luiz will respond positively and if I had to guess I'd say Mata will as well. Mourinho said in one of those interviews that Mata is starting next match and that's his chance to prove to Mourinho he can start others. Mourinho said it to the press, what do you think Mata will try to do against Swindon more than anything else? edit: didn't see it post here, but this is the interview where Mou says Mata will have a chance to prove him in the pitch that he can start

honestly my main problem with both seasons is how we played. The philosophy, style or whatever didn't feel right because we conceded too much, we couldn't play against certain kind of opposition and we were very weak in European football. The season before we just sat deep against better oppositions and prayed for dda to score some of his goals, or Lamps and for Luiz, Terry, Cahill, Iva, Cole and Cech to give their blood preventing us from conceding. People say what they want, but when Rafa got here we were 4pts behind ManUtd and when we finished the league we were 14. That's making it almost 4x worse. I don't care about Mazacar and 4-4-1-1 if instead of closing gaps with the competition we are spreading them. I hate how tactically poor and limited we've been for two years. that's what it was poor and weak. Didn't have options (tactical, I don't mean squad depth although it certainly made it worse). It was the same old, same old even if it clearly wasn't working out. Then after working 3-4 months Benitez at least improved the third final action of our team, by making we completely dependable one one guy and when that guy didn't have a good match we struggled a lot even if we had 2-3 other AM guys to work with and get them to give us answers. Then Hazard started to play really well, he was doing everything he doesn't do these days - although he plays in the same position and is supposed to do the same he did. He's work-rate actions have nothing to do with how he's been shy, rusty, un-daring and uninspiring in the attack. He played with his back to the goal today for some reason I can't quite understand! And all the Mata+Hazard combo that I agree last season worked well it hasn't until when? March? April? But are we willing to wait until March or April with Mourinho or is it like he said to SSN today that any other manager people give them time to work, but with him they expect immediate results? Sometimes you can bring the results quickly, sometimes you can't. He just told today - something I've been wondering and that I was about to post a couple of days ago: if players continued to bring such poor displays on the pitch 'Daddy Mourinho' that keeps his eggs warm in the winter would leave and The Godfather Mourinho that demand results and is tough and harsh with them would come to play. He admitted today those players can't deal that side of him yet. He must have tried in any of the matches - maybe the Everton match and must have realized that if he pushes them and puts pressure instead of responding they freak out or crumble. So we have boys that aren't ready to face the pressure of having to make us the result because there's a lot more pressure at Chelsea when Mourinho is the manager than there is after a UCL title or while we have an interim manager. The pressure the press (and part of the fans) have been putting on Mourinho is 100% absorbed by the players because it's pressure on Chelsea. It's Mourinho's Chelsea that is under pressure, but at the end of the day still Chelsea. Guys like Lamps, Terry, Mikel, Cech, Eto'o, Torres are ready to handle that pressure. They may make mistakes and the reasons vary, but it's not an emotional block because they feel pressured and the walls are closing in on them. We should take all those variables into consideration before we come and simply say: 'Mourinho out, he's destroying the club, he's destroying our best player' when the club and the best player before he arrived there didn't compete on high level against A-class competition (or B and C class at points because there way too many matches last season to show case the team struggling just as much as now - winning, drawing and losing matches where our displays were terrible - just like today's) and they didn't have as much pressure on them as they have now. Also whenever Mata or Hazard struggled we did as a team - they're both struggling now and so are we as a team, that's the same thing that happened last year except they sort of took turns struggling and only for a small while [January if memory doesn't fail] they struggled at the same time. In addition to that we have young players not ready to deal with the pressure that comes with playing for Chelsea when we're high profile and right now we're high profile not because we won EL or because we finished 3rd in EPL, we're high profile because we have Mourinho... the level of pressure on them because of Mourinho alone is different and they aren't used to it. Right now Mourinho is blocking the pressure from most of them, but Luiz and Mata who are more rounded and older aren't being protected by him because he knows he needs to expose them, to challenge them, to push them to get the results he's positive they can bring because now - for the profile of players they are [mature, hard workers, professionals] they won't be hurt and upset by being exposed publicly by Mourinho, they will want to shut him up - preferably emphatically. People management psychology basics and something that Stingray can probably talk better about than me. It doesn't work with all kind of temperaments, but it certainly does with Luiz and I'm positive will work with Mata too because although he seems such like a supine kind of guy [whereas Luiz is sanguine] he does aim to please [something big on supines]. It doesn't work with melancholics and it's hard to tell with phlegmatics [they never do anything to prove something to someone else, but they do it to prove it to themselves, the problem resides on making them believe they need to prove something to themselves]. It's actually simple to understand (the whole thing), it just requires patience... something most football fans lack. although I wasn't on the forum last season, the other fans I had contact with were PISSED beyond words on Benitez for the first few months and then a few of us - like me - who hold a grudge against the FSW - weren't happy with him not even when we improved the team [i'm biased]. I had personal problems with him - I can't stand him - but I also had tactical problems with him because we were sort of a one-pony trick team. Many people who are now saying they mister Benitez certainly were being just as impatient and hasty with Rafa last season. The grass is greener and more than the neighbor's grass, the past grass. There's no greener grass than the past grass.

seeing the vid for Chelsea TV, do you guys remember when he said (I guess against Villa or Hull) that he wouldn't watch them anymore because they put too much pressure on him and something else? He clearly watched Sky today as he commentated not only on Jamie's comments, but also on the stats comparison between Mata and Oscar. José And Oscar is so cute struggling with his English. At least he's trying

I completely disagree about André (not necessarily about Mata). When a team parks the bus ahead of us we need width and penetration and he offers both. I think it's harder to play through the middle against teams lying too deep than not.

man of the match

I had to come back because how can one let a Mikel goal pass without registering? hahahahahahahahahahaha

I had to come back because how can one let a Mikel goal pass without registering? hahahahahahahahahahaha

the problem is our players are most of them performing bad. as for the Mata/Eden combo still who owned the Everton game for us was Eto'o and André, but somehow it's Mata and him making Hazard play well (funnily enough the best matches Hazard had this season were against Hull and Bayern, but okay). I'm too old and tired of this shit. I'm out of here - and I don't even mean the match thread.

Oscar continues to have problems with his pass accuracy...

Chelsea have been screaming for Mata's creativity at all matches... he failed in all them so far. We have problems, and players - most of them are making those problems worse by not having good performances.

Ramires passing is one of his letdowns but today it's been beyond criticism. too poor to even criticize it

oh it applies to all The only FC I think we don't have is Mikel FC. Everyone else is fair game

Schurrle is hands down the best man to take corners for us

what a cross by Ivan that was. Too bad it wasn't Azpili

for many it's truly isn't about Chelsea FC. they're as transparent as clean water. tired of this shit honestly. And Mourinho made a couple of mistakes in the team selection, but let's hope for a win.

mourinho himself said just in the the conference posted in this thread is a mix of both: last match performance and training evolution.

well, that's not very common here these days is it? It seems like everyone has their players to support, but few seem to support Chelsea through the process. Mou is making mistakes and will continue to do so, but that's the only way to find who the best players are for the philosophy to work. miss and hit.

proved to be true all four players edit: omg I just realized I'm 7 pages behind

@Clevemayer, thanks for the thoughtful post and reasonable, mate. I do think it's a huge stretch to say a player with Silva stats and how he contributed to keep ManCity competitive is 5x inferior to Mata. They're different kind of players and I rate both highly. I definitely don't rate any of them 5x ahead of the other. That's the exaggeration you people keep doing as if Mata was the best thing since sliced bread. He's far from it. He's not even the best AM in the world, far from it. Not even the best CAM imo. Actually others said about me defending Oscar and said it's Brazilian bias. Again, mate, I'm not even defending Oscar. I'm just against the make-god process most fans here have about Mata. I think he's great, but not 'crème de la crème'. My whole point is we're defending a player from being challenged based on his past laurels when his past laurels didn't even take us much farther because there is an exaggeration on how good he is because we'd been in dire need of a guy like him for years to come! Last really amazing #10 we had was Cole! It has nothing to do with Oscar. I do think right now Oscar fits better for the game plan. I don't know if the game plan chosen is the best but we need to give it a try before dismissing it (the game plan, not Oscar or Mata). That was my first question in the thread. Who fits better the current game plan? I honestly didn't know then because I haven't stopped to think deeply about it. for me it was as simple as Oscar is outperforming Mata, therefore he has to play - simple like that (because otherwise what Mourinho says to Oscar? 'hey kid, you're playing better, but this guy here has been our POTY for 2 years in a row, so I have to bench you or play you out of position because we need to see if he can reach that level again, thanks for trying though'). Then I started to try to think things from a tactic and long-term perspective. Mourinho wants to change the style - thanks God for that, I have posts dated from my first month here begging him to change the pathetic way we've been playing football for most of the last two seasons. Then I came to the conclusion that no matter what works best Oscar either plays as a CAM or doesn't play at all. That's what I've been stating through and through. And still you guys - like you just said - say I'm defending Oscar. I'm not defending Oscar! I'm saying either he plays on his best position or don't play him because unlike Mata who proved in the past he can play in the wing, Oscar proved he can't. Are we going to force a player to do something he can not? Are we going to trade one liability for another? Oscar in the wing is a liability for Chelsea - not a defensive liability like Mata, but an offensive liability as he produces nothing playing there. then I went on and on about how Mata isn't untouchable, how he can improve, how he has flaws and how above all with all his awesomeness he failed to step up in the tough moments and win us matches. Sorry if I believe for a player to be considered world class he has to be able to step up and be the bigger man at least once in a while and he has the obligation to solve us tight matches in the national leagues because those matches cost you the title. He needs to step up to be deserving of the status he has among some Chelsea fans (most overrate him, but not all of those makes him a god). That's my point. I'm tired - and my body is sore - and I can't find more ways to try to state the same. I'm not an objective speaker, never has been, never will, it confuses people sometimes, but in this instance I guess I've been clear, my problem with some posts in this thread is that I think you guys overrate Mata. In your case specifically I think you're terribly unfair to Silva, and underrates him (or overrates Mata - probably both) to the point you say Mata is 5x times better than Silva when obviously he isn't. That's the problem with Chelsea fans in general about Mata. They think he's way better than he actually is in my humble opinion. Which means that only we disagree, not that I'm right or you're right, just that I disagree and can't accept the god status he's given because he's the first creative guy to play for us in years, and he's brought a smile to people's face because he was a [much needed] breath of fresh air.

Mata isn't even in the bench. God help the serve, Jim.