Barbara

lol, you made me laugh for real I've been saying for a while we work better in a 4-3-3 and that I can see Oscar growing into our new Lampard (not as a legend, I just mean the position and role in the team) and that maybe that's what they have in mind too keeping him with #8. He gives more options and protection and pressing quality to our midfield (compared to a Matic-Fabregas pivot). With Cesc having someone else by his side, not only he has another outlet for when he's pressed by opposition, but he also has a bit more freedom, as Oscar could protect him the same way Matic protects our defense. Oscar is very effective decreasing opposition's space and that could feed our counterattacks pretty well. So in an ideal scenario, Cesc plays ahead of both Matic and Oscar for some matches and in other matches by Oscar's side in front of Matic. Oscar's good reading of the game defensively as well his never-ending willingness to press (something we've been lacking from the whole midfield as a whole, I don't get why), relieves Cesc's job, as it's shared by three instead of two, but it also gives Cesc more space (which he needs) and freedom. If Oscar improves his passing, we'll have not only Cesc feeding our attackers, but eventually Oscar too. In possession we have more options coming from the deep and without the ball we have a more effective pressing. He needs to improve his long range passing for him to be as effective as Lamps, but he showed some glimpses of it before. As always stated, what he misses the most is consistency. If he doesn't get it, it won't get him very far. But the reason I don't see us playing 4-3-3 is once again our right side. If we play 4-3-3 who's going to cover for Ivanovic? Mourinho needs Willian attached to Iva's hip so we don't have a highway for opponents in our right flank, in a 4-3-3 is nearly impossible for Willian (or anyone else) to do that effectively. A midfield of those three (Matic, Oscar and Cesc) should be enough to give us stability to defend well, if we didn't have a kamikaze RB, who defends with his arms behind his body at at least 2m away from his opponent. I'm depressed.

have I been summoned? Hater is a big word, but I really dislike his and Bertrand's football, so yeah, here I am They're both very limited, their football is basic and they do the basic well, although they also struggle with their passing - which is basic. So I guess, in their good days they do the basic well, on the other days, not even that.

All of you guys, thanks a lot for the tips. Those aren't the design of course, just the theme. As for the placement I'd love to do the side ribs (no breast) but they say is a very painful spot, so not a chance. As I said it'll be a vertical design whatever figure I decide, so even if I start around my lower back it'll go way up, but I must admit I never heard this tramp stamp thing. I want something subtle, with some finesse as Tom said, reason why I don't want it in a spot that is obvious or on full show all the time. I think I've got some nice ideas by you (still waiting Iseah output) and when I get it done, I'll post pics. Thanks a lot

I decided to do a tattoo - actually have always wanted but I'm absolutely terrified of nails, needles and stuff. Anyway, I can't decide, neither the placement or the drawing. Any tips? Either way this is my options. Lower back, but I don't know how high or low. Which placement looks better on girls? Keep in my mind it will be a vertical one, regardless of which drawing I end up deciding for. A very low B half way down C a bit higher, though not higher than the waist Drawing options are 1) Chinese dragon 2) Tiger 3) Lion (blue) 4) cherry tree 5) birds You guys help me, I might end up with two, one in the lower back and another in the lower hip (front), but for now I'll start with the back. I don't know how to decide, this is how lost I am, lol

not the visual kind of gal

My goodness @Pizy, use spoilers tags, my eyes are burned. And now I haven't properly seen his junk, but the other day when someone posted some pics and you guys talked about his pink shoes, all I could see was his crouch... and that's normally an area I don't often notice, but it was hard not to (no pun intended)

He's okay overall but A+++++++++ for the junkYou asked [emoji12] [emoji13]

This team would be outran, overpowered, easily dispossessed and every other opponent's dream come true. If we play 433 with Fabregas we need two good defensive players behind him, a B2B might not be enough (unless is one better defensively) and Willian definitely wouldn't be the answer at all. Those kind of teams work only in video games....

Well, so they won't be singing any time soon. Cech will retire before they can sing his name all night... poor arses

cute English https://vine.co/v/egizMW6BTw1

sometimes it seems people expect managers to be nannies, instead of your boss who doesn't have to justify his every choice. Do their bosses do that in their work? Managers aren't babysitters and if someone's so fragile he can't handle being dropped once, well, then there's a further problem. I do believe Mourinho could have showed more patience, but the kid wanted to leave and Mourinho - being proud the way he is - didn't bother to talk to him and convince him to stay. That's the conversation that could have happened (the one when Kevin asked to leave), but I agree with you, having to justify his choices all the time isn't something any manager do. I don't get this idea that good managers would have done that.

Absolutely. But he also doesn't like to go against players' wishes. Most of those guys weren't happy with their sub status in the team, especially ahead of the WC, and Mourinho is just too proud and has a big ego, so he won't try to convince them to change their minds. I actually believe we made a mistake letting Schurrle go (even if he asked to leave) and I think the timing for Kev was off. He'd really fit our system, but his personality and Mourinho's wad always going to clash. Had he come later, more mature and established, I think it would have worked. Mourinho may need to be more flexible.

That's only my opinion about the few facts that reached us, knowing many things don't. It doesn't mean it's the truth. My main point was that even before Mourinho said that, many people already thought it based on what Kevin and even his current manager said throughout the months. In no way I'm saying that's the truth, just my perception.As for Belgium, I watched at least 75% of their WCQ, and that's how I know the team was built around Kevin - on merit - the WC itself he faded into a shadow of himself, also showing he isn't as ready to deal with pressure as he might think he is. The only occasion he played in the big stage he failed, which is why I said I'd love for him to play in a team full of stars and see how he does because it means that's a team reaching the last four in UCL and if the country is England, it may also mean fighting neck by neck for the title. I also think Mourinho did nothing wrong playing Mata against Villa. Mata was the team's best player the previous season, he deserved a chance . No reason for Kevin to sulk about it. Had he sucked it up, the story could have been different. He thought one match made him entitled to claim the position, which never is the case, especially when a manager has just arrived and naturally is going to make a lot of tests and is getting to know his players.

A lot of people - me included - have been saying that the reason he asked to leave is because he needs to be THE guy in a team. He needs to have free reign, be assured of his importance. I'd love to see him in a team filled with stars. His problem isn't even about only being a titular in the starting XI, it's entirely about having a team around him. As Mourinho said, it doesn't make him a bad guy or player, it's the way he is, but don't try to pretend many people weren't saying that was what was going on mostly based on what Kevin had said himself (as Mourinho hasn't said much about it). He had made it crystal clear he needs to be star #1 in a team, or at most #2, otherwise, he gets frustrated and it affects his play, simple as that. It doesn't mean though Mourinho shouldn't have given him what he wanted, maybe he was worth the exception, but when I look to Belgium NT where he is the star and not Hazard and when I look to Chelsea where Mourinho chose to make Hazard the team's star, I don't have many doubts about what the right decision in this situation was given the scenario Kevin needs to perform his best. Yep.

I don't think we should integrate youth at any cost. We're talking about 2-3 players. We were the champions with quite the distance, both in quality and competitiveness as points. the time to start integrating those kids is now, as we just won a title and have a very good starting eleven that will back those kids up when they do play. There's no pressure... Yes, we want to win UCL, but that wouldn't be easy with a couple of new signings anyway. Us winning it in 2012 and many other times when better teams didn't win just prove that anything can happen there. José is keeping his word, and if we're here to support the team, we'll support something like that. What's one season anyway? We sent 5 without winning the league and we were up there in the UCL a couple of times and won it when we expected the least. Football is unpredictable, and a few gambles, especially with such a solid first team, are normal and expected. I completely disagree with you about Barça and Bayern not having players from their Academy. They have tons of them, and then they add the stars they got somewhere else, but their players are there in the mix. Even RM have many of players from their academy, the thing is they sell them at early age when they don't fit and then buy a few years down the road for much more money. Just like we did with Matic.

I don't get TalkChelsea, I really don't. The same people screaming at the top of their lungs we're wasting such an amazing generation of young players (which I don't completely agree with, but it's the absolutely truth for many of you), is moaning now even louder because we don't sign new players although our manager said if some of the English young talent we have now don't make it to England NT in five years it would be on him. Mourinho couldn't have been more honest and straight with us since he's arrived back. First season he said wasn't for titles, we weren't ready, small horses and all that while also saying the following we'd be ready. He kept the speech throughout the whole of his second season and started talking about developing youth. Do people expect those kids to magically be integrated in 2020? So you either defend youth development and integration and accept the onus that comes with it: making room for them to play in the first team as subs somewhat often (starting with matches far and apart and progressing from there) or you keep bringing players either on their peak or about to explode, with tons of professional matches on their belts. We need more depth on the bench, I fully support the idea, but if Mourinho and the board want to use our loaned players and youth to gradually become our bench, it's a gamble most of people here should support as they don't cease to give Mourinho stick for not integrating young players. Also there has been some pressure on us to use our academy players and people are start to raise eyebrows on our loan system, I think we're going to start justify both.

http://www.skysports.com/football/news/11668/9920342/jose-mourinho-says-chelsea-do-not-need-to-make-big-signings?utm_source=dlvr.it&utm_medium=Twitter I especially like the part where he says I love unpredictable teams and I think we should prepare ourselves for something along the lines of our first half of last season. I believe that's where we're moving. None of our key players played during off season, so I expected a rested, confident and in-form team. The only first team player who's missing part of pre-season is Willian. Give him a proper rest, start playing him a couple of weeks into the season and we basically have the first team rested and prepared. I'm confident we'll win titles again even if it feels a bit underwhelming to know we didn't sign any first team player.

Why he wouldn't? He won it by some distance, dealing with important injuries of two of our best players. What has changed? United signed a plethora of players? The same they did last year. City made astronomical signings? They do it every year. Arsenal solved their GK situation? They still have a couple of areas to improve, not to mention the manager. I'm not opposed to us signing an expensive guy that could be useful to our defense or RW. I just feel most people want us to make those flashy deals just because others have. We already had one of the best teams around and giving those guys another season together, now with more chemistry and understanding of each other gives me hopes we'll be able to emulate our first five months of last season longer... I think we should definitely improve our bench: we were short of proper replacements for Cesc, RW, Matic and that fired up guy that comes from the bench and wins you matches. I have no hope regarding Iva leaving the team, no matter who we sign, so as Mourinho will insist on this compromising option, we don't need much reinforcements in the starting XI. We have one of the best GK in the world, a couple - if any - CBs had a better season than terry. It doesn't get more trustworthy than Azpili. Matic might be the best or second best DM in the world. Cesc is world class, Hazard is phenomenal and although many disagree, Costa is the best striker for our system and imo one of the best in the world. Oscar and Willian had great halves of season and just need to be more consistent to make it last longer... Which leaves us needing improvement only to Cahill (as Iva won't leave or be displaced) if things go as Mou is planning and the players improve... Because I definitely feel some of those guys, including the best, still have room for improvement and/or higher ceilings.

I guess I haven't, can't be sure because I think it's one of his best features (if not the very best). He would only have competition if it had been us who signed Schneiderlin. Morgan is a damn fine man. [emoji4] [emoji5]

Eden's is actually much better. I'm the Azpili kind of girl [emoji6]

That's how he normally arrives for preseason... Last season he was shirtless in a video I commentated on his round belly and people thought I was enjoying the view [emoji23]

I love his haircut and I don't see where he needs to lose a couple of pounds. Man is as sharp as they get - body wise Well, Mourinho said some very nice things in the mirror interview and I'm willing to stop with my discontentment towards this piece of business now that it seems clear that Remy is staying. What Mou said about different players working better or worse under different managers and in different clubs is absolutely true. We've seen so many cases of that and as I said the first time around, Mourinho seems to be convinced he can bring Falcao to a high standard again. Some think it may be a vanity thing - like Mourinho throwing at others that he could save this player when others failed to. It wouldn't be too off the line, Mourinho really is a very confident man when it comes to his people skills. Looking this way, it's a gamble that isn't too risky. We only have a loan contract, it's not like we've paid millions on the guy, he may recover some or even most of his old form, which gives us a deadly duo/trio of strikers. I'm still not convinced Mourinho can pull it out, but now I'm at least willing to give him the benefit of the doubt. If it works out, it's Mourinho's magic once again, if it doesn't, we've cut our losses with the way we got Falcao and by keeping Remy. It's worth a shot, I suppose. I admit the Torres' ghost was responsible for most of my reluctance towards this move (and of course, a potential Remy exit because of it)

I think even if he wants to leave, Mourinho will try to convince him to stay and I'd say Mourinho is quite the persuasive guy. He's had convinced many players in the years he's been around, Fabregas being one prime example of that. This was the reassurance I needed to know he won't leave. Mourinho sees him as necessary and part of the plans. The lad can say and win titles - or at least fight for them - and still play his part. I think that's a good enough package, isn't it?

I think many of us wanted the most last season was for a better bench. Of course, Oscar, Willian, Cahill could play much better than they did for some stretches of time. Hazard had to carry the team on occasion and Cesc and Costa injuries hurt us a little bit, but I still see us much better than the domestic rivals. As you said, they have to settle those players, while we'll be working with the settled team going through their second season together. That's a good plan for me. As I said a few times recently, what concerns me the most is how our far from solid defense requires so much protecting to look good and how it compromises the team's fluency, but Mourinho hinted on it in the Mirror interview, maybe he's more ready to make changes than we believe. Or maybe he isn't, either way I feel we should be looking to improve our defense and with his admission on trying to sign Stones, I think he knows we need it. I think with less pressure on his shoulders - we haven't won the league in way too many years, and still some smart-ass comes here saying he shouldn't be given a contract extension without giving more proof he actually deserves it - so the pressure is off. He and the club still have some pressure about UCL, but it's remarkably less than the league. Barça, Bayern and even Madrid have deadly teams, so winning it will be hard for whoever does it. So I think it's a good strategy to get a better bench, look what Cuadrado's presence did to Willian's performances. We have a very good starting XI - with the exception of Cahill imo - but some of those guys aren't playing to their full potential. Oscar, Willian, Iva, Azpili (attacking wise) could and should improve some. If Cesc and Costa are able to miss less matches and if Cesc's gas doesn't end towards the last part of the season, I see us winning the league even more easily than last season. We need to progress to stand a chance in UCL, I agree, but maybe the answer is within our squad rather than a flashy signing. It may look like some serious gambling, but I don't see why we shouldn't do it. We're the fucking reining champions, we can afford it and still get away with everything. If I felt threatened by City, Arsenal or United, I'd be more concerned, but I don't. It feels weird to say it, but from the bunch I think Arsenal might be the ones we should be more concerned, as they're being as clinical as we've been the last years, instead of splashing money everywhere like City and United. But their medical department will continue to be a major damper in their plans imo. I don't know if their players are more injure prone or if their docs aren't top (probably a combination of both) and unless their key players stay healthy the whole season, I still see us head and shoulder ahead of our local competition.

What does one thing have to do with other? He proved he's capable of winning, so we support him because he's the manager, not because we want to change him for the next shiny toy - who I might ask who would be. Before Guardiola a few years back, Mourinho has been the only one to win two UCL close to one another. He has 7 league titles under his belt in a fairly short career so far. So if he has a catastrophic season as it seems to be written in the stars he'll have, we just back him up and hope he does better the following one. Barcelona, Bayern, Madrid - all went through the same. I never said Mou is the same as Chelsea or bigger, I just said he has nothing to prove, he's good at his job and I'd rather him to stay a long time even if I disagree with him on many occasions. So if he's one of the top managers of the world - which he is, whether people like you believe it or not, like it or not - then we should just settle and be prepared. No other team, let alone manager, has been winning it all for years in a row. It's very competitive and sometimes the best wins, sometimes they don't. There's a lot of good teams out there. So I'm not following the shit you're saying, but fact remains, some people just look for trophies. Well, guess what, they're not easily won.