Barbara

I didn't mean we would have won or that we should have. I meant it was a better formation for 4-3-3 and that we could have performed better. In one of my posts I said bringing up the score was pointless, as the result wasn't important, whereas the performance was. So it's how when facing a stronger opposition I could still see most (if not all) our problems last season. which is basically bad transition from defence to attack raffling way too many balls with long passes that are pointless and bad instead of passing it through the midfield; how some players were playing in positions they really don't perform well. How we continue to have attack issues no matter if we start the match with Ba, Lukaku or Torres and how I think Lukaku isn't ready to start for us in big matches - both because it's too much pressure on him (although today there was only moderate pressure) and how he isn't technically ready yet. I'd much rather prepare him to take the position naturally, slowly, prioritizing his development not the team's need. I've seen so many youngsters being promoted way too fast, being asked to do way to much and it affected their confidence and evolution on medium term. Why possibly risk his development by throwing him to do something he's not prepared yet? Some think he is, but I personally don't. Then we could disagree about that. There are many things in that match we did bad - some worsened by the much superior opposition, some because of our own weaknesses. Now it's the best time to identify the issues as those matches really are worth nothing except for preparation to the new season - reason why I'd rather seeing us testing a 4-3-3 that we could really use against some opposition rather than one that I don't think we'll ever see again. I said it sucked before the match... the game showed didn't show my opinion about it. Isn't pre-season where tests should be taken? Why not use or second to last game and the most challenging of all to test a really competitive alternate formation? I could ask Mourinho now if he thought that those 11 players together were what he had in mind for a formation when he decides to use 4-3-3 and I'm positive he would say no. He was testing certain players on certain positions, he wasn't testing a formation. Testing certain players during the season is easier, especially when we face weaker sides as for example in the cups whereas testing entire formations is more difficult as he will certainly rotate the team and give rest to one player or another here and there when he opposition allows him to do it. Finding deficiencies now will benefit us in the future - reason why I named (partially) the match report as a beneficial loss unless the adminis renamed it. I think this match helped me to have more realistic expectations about this team in the next 2-3 months. I was under the impression given the other 2 matches (I don't consider the first three) that some things have already improved. But they didn't and that's sort of expected because Mourinho isn't working for a month yet, and some key players only arrived 10 days ago. I guess the problem is if we criticize, some people don't care to understand where we're coming from, they just label it with 'criticism over a loss on a pre-season game' when some people here who criticized the match today were complaining about old issues that are still present. It has nothing to do with losing a pre-season match to Madrid, but everything to do with carrying those issues to the official competition by using excuses such as 'it was a friendly' or 'it was Madrid that has a better squad than us'. In my case I also said I think we need two adjustments (signings) in the squad. A high level striker and a backup CB because I'm not confident Kalas is ready. If we don't look at those friendlies critically, they're pointless. Mourinho said it himself he has a lot of work to do and if he said that is because he saw issues that need to be fixed, some of them that weren't as clear against weaker sides. At least that's the reasoning I had in mind when I said the same, even before his interview was posted.

the hiring an entire team was a figure of speech to illustrate that even we bring more players (1, 2, 3, 11) we may solve some problems, but there will still have others. I didn't plan to imply you meant we needed a new team. I think the problems are more about maturing this team and sharpening it rather than for example bringing a creative mf as you suggested I think what we need is time and two adjustments. Like who for example? Because I think we're good in the creative MF... it's the function they perform on the pitch and the zone they play that might take away some of their creativity.

I guess I know where the confusion came from... I never meant to say it's common sense to approve or disapprove death row. Sorry if that's what my bad punctuation led you to believe. Just to clarify I don't think it's common sense to approve or disapprove death taken by men I agree with euthanasia and with do-not-resuscitate decisions, disagree with death row, and agree with some abortion cases, and disagree with other. I guess the problem was the punctuation or the lack of better explanation. The common sense part I meant is disagreeing about something I understand the reasoning. Everyone can do that, and it lacks no logic.

it's a question of disagreement then, not of lack of logic. I could understand why some people think or behave in such way or make some decisions, but I can still disagree with their decisions. I understand why he wants to improve Lampard's physical condition. I don't think it was the best plan of action to use him in the first half instead of the second. It's not like Lamps is our own 'Cristiano Ronaldo' and we have to add minutes to him to recover shape otherwise we might struggle against Hull City. So yeah, I think he could have used him in the second and then again against Roma and we could have tried a 4-3-3 formation that is much more likely to happen during the season than that one. And the death row comment was the first thing that crossed my head (I didn't say it was the equivalent, just gave another example of understanding reasoning, but still disagreeing with it). It could be a person's cheating, it could a club like City thinking that buying everyone else and their mother is how football is made or how Florentino Peréz thinks that he proves how big Real Madrid is by spending millions every summer and buying what some consider the biggest names on football for the next years, too bad I didn't think someone would take a comparison behind a reasoning and bring the futile discussion of whether or not death row is good or not. So sorry for having not thought of better examples to show how someone can understand reasonings and still disagree with them. Now I took the time to reflect on what more basic things, are they better comparisons for you or should I put a little bit more of effort there? Or we could talk about the real issue here, which is my opinion on the match. You let me know

It wasn't a good match from him imo... he was out of position and added little to the match. I would have loved him to have played where Lamps played though. I think 4-3-3 suits him the best and the third man in the midfield is where I think he can both tackle and help defensively and also contribute offensively.

I understand where he's coming from, but I disagree. I understand why someone supports death row for example, I personally don't... sort of common sense to understand the reasons, but not necessarily approve of it... or so I thought.

http://www1.skysports.com/football/news/11668/8860365/jose-mourinho-plays-down-spat-with-cristiano-ronaldo?utm_source=twitterfeed&utm_medium=twitter just as everyone knew, except the press and Cristiano Ronaldo

Real Madrid beat Chelsea 3-1 for the International Champions Cup on Wednesday in Miami and while a loss is never good, there might be a lot of positives that Chelsea and their manager José Mourinho can take from the match against the team he coached until three months ago. Anyone who has followed the Spanish side during the Portuguese’s tenure in Madrid could see a lot of his legacy in the friendly. Even though new manager Carlo Ancelotti is slowly making what he sees as necessary changes, they were still tame and shy. Fast paced counter-attack oriented, while keeping control of the actions in the match, the team from Madrid brought their first squad to face a mixed Chelsea side. In the press conference after the victory over AC Milan, Mourinho had already hinted he would continue to use his pre-season strategy so far: having his best players split in two teams, one for each half. But the manager didn’t have all of his players to start with. While Frank Lampard played his first match in this pre-season, both Juan Mata and David Luiz picked up minor injuries and stayed back in Washington DC instead of travelling with the team to Florida. Real Madrid, rated among the best four teams in Europe last season, would present a daunting challenge to any opposition. And when the line-ups came out, it was clear that José Mourinho stayed true to his word. Names like Victor Moses and Kevin de Bruyne – two of the players with the best performances in the pre-season – were on the bench. It’s not clear yet what will be Mourinho’s first team, but the 4-3-3 formation used last night will hardly been seen during the regular season – saved for injuries. The madridistas started the game on the attack and for the first ten minutes they didn’t allow Chelsea to react. Some players like Marco van Ginkel – who was on his first match for Chelsea against such an intimidating side – were nervous at first and couldn’t find their best football. But things slowly settled down and the Londoners, little by little, found their way into the match. In the fourth minute, Ronaldo showed all his skills trying to dribble past blue defender Branislav Ivanovic, but the Serbian stopped the forward’s efforts as he shrugged the Portuguese off with ease. Nearly ten minutes later, the Portuguese tried to infiltrate again and fired one of his screamers, only to find Ivanovic foiling his plans again, this time by blocking the ball with his body. But as Real Madrid restarted the play with Sergio Ramos, Marcelo received the ball from Luka Modric and dribbling towards’ Chelsea’s box, he shot into the bottom corner, out of the reach to Petr Cech, making it 1-0 to the Spaniards. Los Blancos barely had time to celebrate though. Two minutes later Romelu Lukaku fought for the ball in the midfield, passing it to Ramires who ran past three of Madrid’s defenders before finishing with a delicate chip over Iker Casillas. The match after that were even for a few minutes, not only in the score line but in the actions as well. There were two doubtful calls from the referee as Chelsea’s players were taken down inside Madrid’s box. The first incident in particular was with Oscar as he was sent tumbling down by Ramos but the referee decided against giving the penalty. Chelsea players and fans think their player was fouled inside the opponent’s penalty area, but they got nothing out of it. Real Madrid had yet another chance with a screamer by Modric that crossed the box ahead of Cech, but it went wide. At the 30 minute mark though, Cristiano had a free kick to take – the second at the night – but this time he did better than the first, and the speed and force were too much for Cech to handle, although the goalkeeper was really close to saving it. The Portuguese didn’t lose the opportunity to point his hands to himself while looking towards Chelsea’s bench to show Mourinho that he – Ronaldo – is the real deal. At the start of second half, Chelsea brought Fernando Torres, Victor Moses, and Kevin de Bruyne as Lukaku, Oscar and Lampard marched off. It changed a little bit the match’s dynamics, and Eden Hazard had a clear chance a few feet away from Casillas inside their box, but the goalkeeper closed the angle and cleared it, while the Belgian lamented the wasted chance. But it was Madrid once again that turned an attempt into a goal, and after running into the middle of Chelsea’s defence Cristiano Ronaldo, unmarked, finished with a header following Isco’s cross from the left. 3-1 Madrid. It seemed like the game was done and dusted despite the game was only played for 57 minutes then. Ancelotti’s side still kept their best players, only improving it with di María coming for Benzema as Madrid took control of the actions and controlled the match until the final whistle. Although it was a convincing win for the Spanish side it was also the real test José Mourinho needed in order to know where his team’s weaknesses and strengths lie. Ten days before his returning debut in the Premier League, the manager is aware there’s work to do, and facing such a challenging opponent made it clear where they could improve. But the good news is that the squad is talented and young and the answers might mostly be already at Stamford Bridge. The last game in the club’s pre-season will take place this Saturday, against AS Roma before the team travels back to London to prepare to their debut against Hull City on August 18. Mata and Luiz are still doubtful of joining the friendly against the Italians, but their injuries aren’t serious and they’re expected to play against Hull if there’s no further development. On a final positive note for the blue fans, Chelsea remain unbeaten against Real Madrid in official matches. Match facts Chelsea: Cech; Ivanovic, Cahill, Terry (Azpilicueta 73), Cole; Ramires (Essien 73), Van Ginkel (Schürrle 73), Lampard (de Bruyne 46); Oscar (Moses 46), Lukaku (Torres 46), Hazard. Goal: Ramires 16 Booked: Lampard 36, Cahill 58. Real Madrid: Casillas; Arbeloa, Ramos, Pepe, Marcelo (Nacho 73); Modric (Casemiro 73), Khedira, Isco (Morata 84), Özil, Ronaldo; Benzema (di María 69). Goals: Marcelo 13, Ronaldo 31, 56. Booked: Arbeloa 42 Man of the match: Cristiano Ronaldo Click here to view article

my match report is coming I feel like everyone already read it even before I wrote it.

as I said in one of my first posts here, I don't think we need more than a good striker and a CB backup. It's not about signing new players, but giving time to Mourinho to work with those ones. We may even overcome the lack of those two additional players if they don't come as long as give the team and Mou time ro work. We could bring whoever we wanted, in defence, DM, AM, and strikers, it doesn't mean the team would automatically change and start doing well what they've been collectively doing bad. There are plenty of individual issues (such as the space Cahill concedes while marking, Cech, defenders, and DM's raffling the long balls that are inaccurate and desperate, the way our promising and talented AM are positioned on the pitch and making their roles clear, etc...). So it's a few technical issues on some players and a lot of tactical issues collectively. Hiring an entire new team wouldn't solve if there isn't time for them to work.

He mentioned it before (stating with all words both him and Mata were for sale) and now he comes here and points his qualities. Why would he do that to a player he will allow to leave? edit: *weren't for sale

There, Mourinho reassuring us about Luiz's permanence in Chelsea http://www1.skysports.com/football/news/11668/8860215/?utm_source=dlvr.it&utm_medium=twitter

oh and I now see the post that said we ARE shit, the players we brought AREN'T good enough and judging the board. I guess people were disagreeing mainly with that - although I'm sure with a thing here and there from others too. I don't think that's the case at all. We need time and until Mourinho does all the work he has to do we have to be patient and understanding. This is a transition season like 2010/11 was to Madrid

I love you!!!!!

Reminder of the likes!

on a lighter note... instead of making my bf like football I guess I scared him to death. He's never seen that side of me in the 27 years we know each other. Poor thing, might have nightmares tonight

key word being the part in bold. I've never lost my faith on him. I have plenty of faith on him becoming what we need, not being what we need. He isn't ready today but I think he will and I hope it will be soon (meaning before the season ends). Some people don't simply have faith on him, they have made him the savior. All in all I still think it's better to start Torres in most matches at first and have patience with Romelu so he progresses naturally (supposing we don't get another striker, and I think odds are we won't ). He'll be challenged to take Torres' position instead of having to prove himself and solve our issues. Let the pressure be on Torres. He'd 29, an experienced bitch, if he can't handle it that's his problem. Romelu is promoted to the first team in a much more pleasing (and easier) way than starting him against ManUtd, ManCity and whoever else in the first 5 rounds. I meant us - the fans - not the team. They have to believe they can win. Didn't the team that won UCL for us believed it til the end? And this team is much better than that one in so many aspects, and they did. It's our expectations as fans that should be moderate and realistic. I think we could make QF - but if we fail to do that, it's okay and if we better than that is more than okay! But I think our reality today is QF at most. Exiting on group stage like last year it is a risk though... to almost every team actually because we don't know the groups yet. I think there are only 3-4 teams that we could say will qualify to knockouts regardless of their group (we played one of them today). The rest (2nd tier, not 2nd class) while expected to advance, could fail. Manchester United failed the year before we did. So did ManCity (although that's sort of expected ).

I don't see it as panic. I feel like some of us thought we progressed more than we actually did because the other 5 matches didn't really challenged us and when a team comes and does (although I think only Bayern and Dortmund could challenge us like RM), it exposes some problems we thought were solved or at least better already. For example our transition from defence to attack. Come talk to me after you watch the match and you will agree with me the same issues we had last season are still there. As they should! Mourinho is here for less than a month, there's no miracle! But stating the problem is there doesn't mean we're panicking. It means the other matches (not all of them) made it look like we were already making progress in the area, while I feel we're exactly at the same place where we left off last season. It's not only the attack. The team was sort of scared and lost, Marco seemed a bit nervous (as expected) for the first few minutes, Lamps was playing his first match in months, Mata wasn't available even to play 30 minutes, the hole left by Luiz's absence in our defense is immense. So there are a lot of aspects that should be considered before we state there's a lot of issues. But some of those issues will be there against Manchester United and seeing them now more clearer gives Mourinho a chance to work harder to fix it. He won't fix it in 15 days, but he might improve it better seeing now how the team reacted to a strong opposition, rather than being surprised by it happening in a 3-point match. I remember so clearly when he arrived in Madrid. Trust me, the problems there were deeper and harder to solve than ours. The only thing they didn't have that we do is so many players between age 20-22 (and that's quite the challenge). Their team had older players all around (Casillas, Ramos, Carvalho, Diarra, Pepe, Alonso, Cristiano, Higuain, Kaká etc) while Özil was the only youngster I remember by heart. Marcelo, Benzema, di María, Khedira were all at least 23, so they had the natural adaptation from the new guys, but most of those guys were peaking or approaching their peak... they also had a very complicated problem we don't: confidence. They were Barça's little bitches, a team that had done remarkably bad on UCL exiting on round of 16 for years in a row, there's some crazy amount of pressure from media in Spain - more so than in England imo - especially when you have the names they had back then (that are basically the same names they have now with a few differences). They simply didn't believe they could win against Barça, which meant losing 6 points in La Liga and hoping not to cross with them in UCL. That put a lot of pressure on them wining the other matches, that they had the obligation to win. And they lost many of those matches. Lyon matches (for UCL), middle table teams from Spain come to mind. But Mourinho turned it around. 2010 was terrible (the year, not the season). Who doesn't remember the 0-5 against Barça? Mourinho took his time, fixed one by one the issues (tactically we have the same issues they had back then though for different reasons - except in the attack, but they had issues on their defence, on their DM, on their midfield [the latter more than we do]) although they had amazing players. But Mourinho used the 2010/11 season to work on those issues. When 2011 started you could already see progress in some areas. And then he worked in the self-esteem, he convinced them they could be anyone - even Barça - because they were good, they worked hard and because that was Real Madrid. And the next season not only they win La Liga, but they establish a new points record, goals record and start to turn around the head to head against Barça. It wasn't only psychological, but that was without a doubt the root of most of their problems. Tactically there were mistakes. Mourinho was the one to realize Real Madrid couldn't play like Barça because 1) we'd never outplay Barça in their style 2) it didn't fit our players. I can't even say we were possession oriented, or defence oriented, or whatever tactically. We were just fragile and tried everything. It was Mourinho who realized counter-attack and speed - keeping control, not necessarily possession during the match - would be the key for that team to excel. But to solve the problems the team had Mourinho had to acknowledge them and then he took his time. I think their squad back then is better than our current squad (the starting XI because I think we have more depth than they did), but all we need is some adjustments (I'd say signing a striker and a backup CB because I'm not sure Kalas is there already) and then give time to Mourinho to get to know the team, the players, to see what works and what doesn't. That doesn't come from night to day. I think van Ginkel is enough of an answer to our DM. His partnership with Ramires seems good now - when it's too early and recent - and it's natural to become better as time passes. Of course they'll make mistakes, that's when we can count on Essien and Mikel and even Lampard depending on how we play to get in the team when one doesn't perform well or when one's tired, or injured, etc we have options. Our AM is one of the best in the world (in theory), all we need now is give time for some of those player to mature, others to adapt, others to live up their potential and to find out the style that fits better them individually and collectively. The defence will only have backup issues in my opinion. We can do well with Terry or Cahill by Luiz's side. There's always the possibility of bringing Ivanovic, to use Kalas once in a while (even to add minutes to him). I think we can live with that if we become tactically stronger. Mourinho will improve Luiz and Cahill, but it demands time. I can't talk for other people, but from what I gathered from most we 'didn't overreact' we just had a reality check about where we stand today - after we take into consideration we played Madrid first team while we had serious absences in ours. We have great chances in EPL imo, but I would consider SF in UCL something out of this world. I see our potential being round of 16 or QF depending on the teams we draw. Even a challenging group may present more than we can handle now because UCL starts next month and we'll still be very "green" as we say in Portuguese (meaning not ready enough).

not that I agree with him - I don't because the comparison doesn't make sense as that team right there is the Real Madrid that will play in UCL and I dare anyone here say they played it like a friendly. Some were motivated to bite back on Mourinho, they played totally focused and except for the very end, they didn't stop pressing. So it was no friendly behavior from them and they didn't have technical and tactical issues last season (like us) that prevented them to do well in UCL and LL. They had locker room issues, political issues, relationship issues, but they were ready, they made a few capital mistakes that cost trophies, but they were ready as a squad. We never were, so we basically played the RM we could face in UCL in a few months, but they certainly didn't face the same Chelsea they might face later which is why their short preparation is less important than ours. 60% of their issues were fixed the moment Mourinho left. We on the other hand still had 100% of them when Rafael Benitez left - although I don't like Benitez. BUT I do believe Lukaku is far from being ready to be the guy that will solve our issues in the attack like some here believe. He's not ready, and not only that, he's nowhere near to being ready. He has the same challenges Kevin, Ginkel and Schurrle have - except he has a small edge by having played in EPL last season. Why do I say this edge is small? Because there isn't half the pressure on our midfield (where all those players play) compared to our attack. If Schurrle doesn't deliver, there are 3-4 guys to deliver in his place. If Kevin doesn't deliver it's the same and even with Ginkel is the same because we do have some quality and experience in Essien, Lamps and even Mikel. So while the replacement might not be stellar few people are throwing fits because of AM or DM. Now the attack has been our Achilles heel since Didier left. And that puts a lot of pressure on Lukaku. He's not one of the guys that could improve, he's the guy that HAS to improve the results if we put him in that position. So he will feel the pressure and he's also not ready technically either. He has plenty of potential (and limitations I believe will follow him through all his career, but he doesn't have to excel in everything about being a striker), potential that will be reached with hard work and minutes played... minutes, not whole matches in UCL being the guy the team and the fans count to have it done. It's utterly unfair to give him that mission and I think slightly delusional of us to think he can already step up and take that responsibility. The effectiveness he showed playing in Asia compared to the matches he played in America is there for everyone who wants to see it. And why do you think is that? Why would it be different playing for EPL or UCL where we'll definitely play harder opposition compared to both Milan teams? So if he couldn't capitalize the (few) chances he had now, during friendlies where he had moderate pressure on him, why should we think he'll solve all our problems when the season starts? And trust me some fans believe we don't need Rooney because we have Lukaku (just go there and read both threads to see it for yourself). I don't want Rooney particularly, but I think we need another striker asap and if we don't have another one, imo Hazard, Mata, Moses, and Kevin de Bruyne will end up contributing to our improvement in the attack more than I think Lukaku will - and I meant that by scoring goals, not only assisting Torres and Ba. So I understand your point and agree about the comparison, but I also think he shouldn't be rated so highly as I've seen people rating him here. I don't remember where you stand though - to be honest I don't remember where anyone stands - not even the Belgian members - all I remember is reading posts, but I don't remember who wrote them.

hence why I said it was a reality check - for us, not for the team. Mourinho knows pretty well where this team stands. He saw today better than ever where he should focus his efforts. It's a reality check for us, not losing to RM - the 3-1 score is so meaningless that it makes no sense to bring it up. But it's useful for us to know where the team stands as well. Go read the last two games post-matches and see if we weren't maybe thinking higher from the progress than we should. I use the word 'we' loosely, so don't take it particularly if you were cautious then too. There are undeniable advances compared to last season, the main one being squad depth imo, but all the problems are still there to be handled and obviously they can't be handled in 4 weeks - 3 of them without 5-6 key players to the team. But it's only fair and okay for fans to come here and point those deficiencies as we're doing. This nonchalant reaction 'it's okay, it's only pre-season' is more 'toxic' imo. The main purpose of pre-season is to get fit, get used to the new style, test formations and solve problems. The same way Mourinho saw problems and will talk to his team (of coaches) and then to the squad, we can discuss the same. I didn't read one poster here saying we're fucked, we're a terrible team and that we're such a failure and should add 5 players to the squad. I saw people saying we played a terrible match in some aspects (whoever defends our defence is quite optimistic imo) and that's because of a lot of reasons most people covered: we had a mixed team, they're one of the main teams in the world and they played their best, we have a very young squad, Mourinho is here for less than a month, etc, etc, etc, etc. But that's it. We're just pointing out what should be pointed out in friendlies instead of ignoring all the issues and saying it's okay because it's a friendly or it's okay because it's Madrid. No, it's okay for us to see how deep those problems run and work to fix it. Mourinho says it's okay to have lost. But he stresses that there are things he needs to work on the team and saying so isn't wrong... by him or by fans. Ignore our problems seems unwise. We have to learn what they are to work to improve them.

I personally don't believe rumors they're leaving. I think Luiz is the kind of player Mourinho longs to work with because he sees the potential and based on how he played under two different managers on Brazil NT he can say that all Luiz needs is guidance and leadership (upon him). So I think he's excited to have a chance to do to him what he did to Marcelo. You can't compare the player Marcelo is now and the player he was 3 years ago, the merit of course belong to the player that always had had such potential, but the credit should go to the manager that was able to develop it while others couldn't. If Luiz spent more time with the NT - especially under Felipão - it would reflect more on Chelsea, so I think Mourinho is looking forward to work with Luiz. As for Mata, there are a few things about Mata that I don't think Mourinho particularly likes, but Mata is such a humble guy and he works so hard, that I think whatever difficulty Mourinho sees now could be overlooked and overcame depending on how Mata reacts. Their personalities may clash because I feel like Mourinho is a bit too much for Mata too, so I don't know if could have some relationship issues, he could be benched once the other guys improve their levels (Hazard, Oscar, de Bruyne and Moses, as I think Schurrle may take longer). But I doubt Mourinho wants Mata out of the team. I fear for Mata wanting to be out of the team if he feels left out or not valued enough. Although again the guy has no ego, and I love how he handles himself, so maybe it won't happen at all. I agree Oscar will struggle a bit to work under Mourinho, but for different reasons than Mata. I think Mourinho likes Oscar attitude while playing better than he likes Mata's - although Mata obviously produces better offensive results. Mourinho likes the balance. His players - except the guys he calls untouchables - all have to excel in their ability (defending or attacking), but also have responsibilities in the weaker side. So if Hazard really develops further I think he may favor Hazard over Mata, not Oscar over Mata (because that makes no sense) for Oscar hard work, allowing Hazard to have more freedom. I think Mourinho loves Ramires and I'm sure he's very happy with Marco, Moses and Kevin because those guys are like gems in his hands. No one can deny Mourinho is vain (I mean in the vanity sense, to have his ego stroked), he likes to be recognized, he likes to take credit for the things he does and he knows he can make those three (along with Hazard) much better than they are. Much, much better. Whereas I think he will work more about tactical development with Oscar and Mata rather than technical as with those three. I have no idea what Mourinho thinks of our three strikers though. I think Lukaku will have special attention because of his age, but I'm curious to see what he means to do with Ba and Torres and if he's able to do it. I for one praised how our defence blocked AC Milan, but the styles are completely different and so is the level of players when you have Real Madrid on the side. It exposes our problems. It's normal - and even expected - to lose to them, but it does show where we must improve to turn this situation around just like he did in Madrid against Barça.

part II +1 That's the reality check I meant. We are nowhere ready as some might have thought we were. Some players aren't at the level some of us might have thought. Those things demand time and let's not forget the opposition. +1 It's a transition season to help us youngster mature and for the team to get used to Mourinho and Mourinho find the style that will work with us. He went through something similar when he arrived in Madrid. His first semester there was really difficult and that was basically a mature team with 2-3 players being 20, 21 and 22 as we have plenty. It makes a lot of difference I agree. All EPL teams are going through some challenge this season. I think we may have a fair shot there, but I wouldn't expect much in Europe, although I think Bayern and Barça will also have a few challenges with their new managers for completely different reasons. I think Pep will do some harm in Bayern's level before he can finally improve because he doesn't want to continue the successful style, but to create his own. I disagree, but the weaker the competition gets, the better, I won't complain. no, dear, I meant that some of us - I may even include myself about some things - saw a lot of progress in 5 pre-season matches that covered some problems we still have. The Asian matches were irrelevant, shouldn't comment on them and the Italian teams aren't that great currently. EPL definitely will press us more than both Milan teams did. So I see now that some of the problems I thought were already being fixed may be simply a consequence of playing very weak sides and irrelevant sides. We don't need to talk about Bayern, Barça and Real. We could talk about Dortmund, Juventus, PSG and I particularly don't write ManUtd off easily. At first I don't think they'll be that strong, but I don't expect them to be Tottenham or Arsenal either. I mean the 2nd and 3rd tier of teams in Europe now. I don't think AC Milan makes even the 3rd tier... or maybe they will this season because they were particularly bad last season, especially the first 3-4 months and then had ups and downs. My point about reality check is, we still have a lot of work to do to play teams our level because we still have areas to work on. I think those main three (although I wouldn't necessarily include Barça in the mix because I guess it's a mystery what will happen to them this season) are a level of their own and then there are teams our level. I think our current make me worry about facing teams our own level because it could be more unpredictable then it should. Which means Mourinho still has a lot of work to do. +1 +1 No, I agree with reddish here. Mourinho should have used him, but not to start the match. Even the Confed Cup guys were fitter than Lamps who hasn't played for months. You don't throw the guy against a fast team, for 45 minutes when he missed many complete training sessions and hasn't played one match yet. Let him come in when the opposition is tired or has youngsters playing, as it was obvious would happen with Madrid in the end. ************************************* one more comment of my own. We must play at least 10 guys from what Mou thinks is the best we have - saved for injuries of course - against Roma. I get it that friendlies are preparation, but I must say I feel like it's time to stop the tests and try to give some chemistry and guidance for the 12-13 players he'll use as starting XI in most matches in the season.

I'm out of likes, so I'm commenting on some and agreeing on others +1 +1 +1 +1 (more than a few players - although another CB and a ST wouldn't hurt - I think we need more time) +1 +1 Although I'm not sure about the bite part. Is this expression meant to be defensively or offensively. I think the main problem with our MD is time. We need time, Mourinho needs time, those guys need time. I think we may have a midfield as good as Real Madrid (without Alonso), and almost as good as Bayern and Barça. The thing is it needs time, not only because there are many young guys, but also because Mourinho needs time to change the mentality and the style. What screws us over the most is the defence (without Luiz) and the attack. We must have a guy between Luiz's level and Terry/Cahill level, or at least an improved version of Cahill. Injuries happen and Terry is quite prone to them at his age. The attack is something we all agree - except some Lukaku fans that think he's ready. In addition to defence, he has a much better pass to make the transition, he himself takes charge of making the transition and his long passes are much better than anyone in our defence and DM. I agree, except the point #3. This is RM on full throttle on the other side. It's not that easy and they aren't used to play matches at this stage for Chelsea. So let's give the boys some time. The same way we should give to Lukaku. It's just that some people think Lukaku will rescue us from the attacking issues when I think he's not ready for that at all. There are plenty of options for the positions Ginkel and Kevin play. Lamps haven't played a match in months and Mourinho thought it was better to give him a whole half - the first nonetheless - rather than give him the last 30 minutes and then more next match, etc. I understand his position, I just disagree. Marco was nervous at first, but later one he was quite good imo as well as Ramires. Let's not forget we were outplayed there, so I suppose it also makes some of the them sort of lost and makes things more difficult. But I don't think that was on Marco alone as they had chances before too. He made a few mistakes, and he helped a lot, but I think defensively we were poor tonight.

to use an expression I said a few times today about off topic conversations, I think this match was a reality check - despite missing a few key players and having Lampard completely out of shape.

it's not even about the score. We had a couple of penalties imo that weren't called by the referee. Casillas had a couple of difficult saves. The problem is how he behaved against a strong side. That's what worries me, even if I think it was a bad lineup the moment it was divulged.