Barbara

what are you talking about? We suck, not even top4 quality, didn't that horrid pre-season tell you that? That said, our defense looks very shaky and I almost wish Iva to be injured because José won't let him go and if this match is any sign (and many others every season) we're in for a thrilling season. #not

Oscar has been superb... While I do agree Willian has nothing to do with Iva being so bad, if I were Mou I'd ask Willian to stick around to add to the numbers. Same old liability...

FOR GOD'S FUCKING SAKE, SOMEONE BREAK IVANOVIC'S ARM!!!!!!

lol this match

Ivanovic has been pathetic...

Oscar has been playing very well... and passing well, our passing in general has been awful as I type Oscar scores!!!!!

Ivanovic has been a disaster so far...

which is why I keep saying people were overreacting over our performances. At this point, no team looks sharp yet...

hope we sort of get a repeat of the same fixture last season, get the job done by half time so Costa can be subbed off starting second half.

come on, two strikers, a winger and playing at home is the kind of bench I'd like to have. it isn't that bad

Chelsea XI vs. Swansea: Courtois; Ivanovic, Cahill, Terry, Azpilicueta; Matic, Fabregas; Willian, Oscar, Hazard; Diego Costa. #CFC

he's always with the team (as well all the others who aren't selected for the match) sitting behind them in the stands if not on bench. Welcome the champs

I disagree with all three... vehemently...

What if it has been the board, not José who said the same team should improve themselves and try to win again? We never know. I don't think we need anything else in our starting XI, but I'd like more depth in defense and especially CM. Mourinho said in the conference before Arsenal that he hoped by today he'd already have two defenders signed... we haven't. I think he wants some more signings, but things aren't happening and that could be for a myriad of reasons. We can speculate, but we won't know.

I wonder what the predictions from the wise gurus of TC about them are, if for them we don't look even like a Top4 team...

@The Skipper, amazing choice. Good luck!!!!!!!! Choulo is irreplaceable...

did I say positive? Isn't there something known as middle ground? The team is off pace, which I said, there are some issues, which I said, but this the same team that one year ago left everyone in awe about the way they were performing. I'd rather judge it later rather than now over preseason matches, especially one three days away from real competition. So the fact we still have the best player in the league, the better assister, a hell of a goalkeeper, one of the best, if not the very best DM of the league, a great LB, capable strikers (at least two of them) are all positives in my book. I won't behave like hell is breaking lose before we even start the regular season. As I said, twice already, things aren't ideal. But it isn't a disaster yet anyway. But you asked positives: Courtois is very much in form, Zouma was very solid, Hazard while a little quiet now, scored an amazing goal against Barça less than a week ago, JT continues to be in form, Matic continues to do a great work, Willian was amazing in the Barça and Arsenal matches. Should I stop or is that enough for you?

yes, I did... how could I possible be talking about if I haven't? Unlike many people here, I actually try to base my opinion in facts. They're still only opinions, but they come from my interpretation of facts. You're all overreacting. You're making a circus out of some issues. Also, with the season starting in three fucking days, did you guys expect the players to hit the ground and risk an injury? They were all there getting match time, but they wouldn't risk a muscular injury, much less risk other playing injuring them. Sometimes I don't believe how shallow the thinking is... if there's any thinking at all involved, it seems just like regurgitation.

talk about overreacting.... All because we hadn't signed anyone. Had we signed a thousand players like United and still looked bad, nobody would be saying the things they're saying. I read people saying in this thread 'this is the same team that from the second half of last season' which is the same team as the first with the exception of Schurrle, who didn't play many games because he was dealing with mono... So we have exactly the same team that was amazing one year ago. I agree with @The Skipper, we look off pace. We're not ready yet. I also don't understand why we started pre-season so late. Jason's explanation about a June tour makes no sense. Last year we had the WC and still play City in the USA (I guess two matches), so we also had a post-season mini tour. I think maybe Mourinho and the medical department are thinking with the team dropping so much production at the second half, that if they gave them a better rest, it'd help. It's yet to be seen how it'll actually be in the regular season... but that's the only attempt of explanation I can find. Either way, we haven't been playing that well, there are problems, but there's absolutely no reason to overreact. We're the frigging champions with exactly the same team. Have the other teams improved? That's yet to be seen. Last season Liverpool signed a thousand players, they were worse than before, Arsenal signed their usual, they were the same, 3rd (unless you actually count it as a real improvement from their usual 4th), United brought a competent (albeit sometimes crazy) manager and a bunch of new players and that was only enough for them to finish 4th. The root of most people's complaints here is because we've had a quiet window - which also bothers me because I wanted us to sign a CB and a CM and most people agree with me. Thing is those players we're talking about are for most of you squad depth players, not even players for our first team. Some of you want Vidal, Pogba and I don't know who else, but sorry, none of those guys will displace Cesc or Matic. Others want a WC RW - which I don't even want. So you believe we would be a completely different team with a player replacing Matic or Cesc, another replacement for the defense and maybe Reus? We are those three players away from winning everything? Sorry, you guys don't make sense. It feels just frustration because there hasn't been any money splash. I'm in no way saying things are ideal, but I don't get where this overreaction is coming from. We could lose Saturday, it doesn't mean the league is lost. Get a grip.

Cahill, ball-playing defender? pleeeeease He's scared of any opponent coming within 2 meters of him and faster than you can blink he'll get rid of the ball. It's one of the things that annoy me the most on him (it's just not worse than his backing away). He has little confidence to get the ball moving - which makes it even harder to judge if it's lack of technical ability or just that, fear. Zouma on the other hand, it's more risky, he does try to get the ball up through passes instead of roofing it or getting rid of it. He may not be as good as other defenders passing, but he's definitely much better than Cahill. Actually the only thing Cahill might be better than him is last ditch tackles. Cahill is very good on those, when both him and the opponent are in the run.

You meant Ramires lost two of the best chances we had. A+ for his positioning, but those were two chances we should have scored in addition to Eden's. He had a good match but mentioning his misses is a negative, not a way to justify his good match

there's so much bullshit in this thread that for moment I thought I was in the woods

from the link above

he's not complaining, he's supporting it. He said he thinks it's a valid game plan, that the media is the one who normally thinks otherwise... He's being ironic and baiting the media to talk shit about how Arsene set his team, which we obviously know they won't do, they only say shit when we do it.