Barbara

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.

even more reason why he should give it a try, it worked well against Barcelona in the first half.

but you keep hinting ours isn't... that's why I asked.

and we don't? they're better than us? Yeah, the table from last season supports this idea.

wow I even forgot Cuadrado is part of the squad, that's how bad he is I still wouldn't worry about attacking players now. The defense and especially CM worries me though.

we shouldn't let one match Remy was bad to shadow how good he was for us last season, against teams all sizes. He has a bad history against Arsenal, it's a bad matchup for him, so as long as Costa can play Arsenal in the league, that wouldn't be a problem. I do worry about Costa's absence though because even if Remy is good and Falcao will probably improve (right now he's the same as DD for me, and that's after a summer competition, limited rest and a landing in a new team - so whatever much he improves from now on is already an improvement over DD), but Costa is one of the best strikers in the world. He was way off form in preseason, but I trust him to play well in the regular competition. He's probably one of those guys who can't really bring himself to play his best in friendlies because his fuel is competitiveness and hunger to win, things that aren't really at stake for real in friendlies.

I don't get this idea that this was a big game either. Surely, Mourinho made his big game move of benching Oscar... and changed his mind very early in the second half - something he normally doesn't do in a big game. Mourinho doesn't like to lose, and set up the team in the best way he thought would win him the match, but the quick reaction in HT and then 6 minutes into the second, showed he still treated this as a friendly. Cesc was very poor in the first, but he improved a lot when Oscar came in the second. He started doing his magic and he was miss and hit in the set pieces. I still believe it makes no sense for people to judge the team's or the players' prospect of a season based on this match. I don't get why so much importance has been given to this. YES, it sucks to lose to Arsenal and I wish - like all - we have won, but first, we played better imo, second, it's worth nothing, third, our season starts next Sunday and for that match I think we're ready. We showed to be good enough to beat Swansea at home. That's all that matters now.

I CM yes, but I don't see the need for an AM... Willian showed to carry on from where he stopped last season and he had even less time for pre-season, which is a great positive. Hazard is a bit of a slow starter, but still he can do things like the goal against Barça. Then with Oscar, Moses and even Traoré as options for the other position, I don't think we're that bad. It's much worse in defense and CM imo... I don't see us bring another attacker and I honestly don't have it as a concern. What worries me now is Costa injured. Remy doesn't usually do well against Arsenal, so I think he can do a job against Swansea if Costa is out. The problem is if Costa is out a big part of the season. If with 3 pre-season matches he got injured, what are we supposed to wait for the regular season? I'm still backing up the medical department, but it's still worrying. Falcao didn't impress me, but it definitely isn't worse than DD last season, so it's even. I just wish we could have Costa more present this season, not even less.

wouldn't dream of doing it. We had a few bad patches, but it's been long forgotten and forgiven. Definitely wouldn't do it for content motives, you're still one of the best posters around here it's a rather long one, but I assure you I'm not missing out anything.

people in this place love to moan... it became unbearable. It doesn't matter if it's a glorified friendly or not. If we lose or even draw depending against who, they come full force to say all the shit that suits them. If we play well or win, the post-match threads are quiet as funerals. I have most of them on ignore, so except reading one poster or other answering to their never ending complaints, I'm relieved to know I filter out most of it.

better than nothing, yes, but still way less than they should be winning or at least seriously contending for based on the players they have. When was the last time they really a shot winning anything but the domestic cups? They haven't been runners up in the league in ages, never close to really winning it, they're out in Europe normally at R16. I don't think a club with their investment should be happy that now they're winning domestic cups instead of nothing as they were for many years. They became such a big joke, that the standards went to the ground, but if we don't take their recent history into account, winning a couple of FA Cups and having nothing else within reach, is really poor.

are you kidding me? I think he had much more difficult saves than Cech. Cech did playbook saves, nothing out of the norm, even for Ospina or their other keeper I can't spell (loaned to Roma now). Courtois had a couple of world class saves there imo, against Cazorla and Arteta or whoever was that he saved with his legs (both in the second). Also, I don't get people blaming this result on Cech, I repeat, he did not do any outstanding save, not even for Oscar's FK. It was a good FK, it was a difficult ball for Cech, but not the point where people could assume other keepers wouldn't do it. Many would.

don't forget the Emirates Cup. They finally won their own trophy after five years. We should all be afraid of this new Arsenal. World beaters. Top of Europe

I think we played well after we conceded. We went progressing and actually played well in the second. Arsenal parked the bus, gave up playing until they brought Giroud, but all in all, we're still far from being match sharp, so I don't get why people are making statements about the season when this isn't a good parameter. They're sharper than us because they've been training for longer. They weren't superior, they took what they like to call the coward way to win matches, they defended for their lives after they got the lead. Which is ironic... that's the only concerning thing imo. Last season Wenger showed a little bit of this when playing us at the Bridge. If he learns how to give up their style for the benefit of winning, then they're probably going up a few steps. I'm not worried, I'm not even pissed. Of course, would have loved if we won, but I'm not that disappointed or sad. I think we're ready to play Swansea and win, we still have the Fiorentina game to sharpen even more. Not sure if we're ready for City in two weeks, but then again, it doesn't seem like they've been all that sharp either from what I've heard.

it's actually perfect. I hate losing for Arsenal no matter what, but if I have to choose, I have no doubt, it's better in the community shield... this is a glorified friendly... we can even make six subs

we didn't play CS last year. He says whenever we lose CS we end up winning nothing in the upcoming season