Barbara

they're combative and have tons of stamina and are workhorses, Mourinho will NEVER get rid of them

unlucky Eden but that's the finishing I want to see more from him

while we were passing it around I was just imagining that. First time we put the ball on the pitch and passed in their half. Yes, Cesc hasn't been having a great match, but he can hardly play well and be involved if we keep bypassing him roofing the ball to Costa every time. The one time he had it on his feet and we actually played football, he, Wilian, Hazard showed how to play and we scored... It's not that hard... especially with the quality we have

Fabregas-Costa but wait, Fab can't play in the second half of the season, much less in big games

They just showed the Coutinho goal here and it reminded of when Hazard had a ball in the same position. People compare so much Coutinho and Oscar saying Oscar needed to be more like Coutinho - which he could offensively wise, but this team's star is Hazard and if someone could take a page or two from Coutinho's clear improvement on finishing is Hazard. Coutinho used to be so weak on that and he's been improving quite well on that matter. The kind of improvement I'd like to see Hazard have as well. Just to be clear, I'm talking exclusively about finishing progression.

Zouma would have had a better chance if Cahill didn't anticipate him not blaming Cahill though, just saying he had better vision and was better positioned to finish

I knew we were going to score while playing shit That's how it always works with us that was a terrible fk by willian anyway. he hit where there were only spurs players, but it worked somehow

We're bad... but I don't think it's Mourinho's fault. We're playing the same old 4-2-3-1. Cesc is playing #10, it's just that our players are so damn poor. Ramires can't pass, Willian only has a head to hold that amazing hair, Hazard has been dribbling in the wrong places. The only player we have doing well is Costa (from the midfield up)

FUCK SAKE WILLIAN, PASS THE DAMN BALL TO CESC WHO'S RUNNING YOU WERE LOOKING STRAIGHT TO HIM, USELESS

Willian has been TERRIBLE every time he touched the ball except that long pass to Hazard a couple of minutes ago

why are we wasting good free kicks with Willian ffs? It's not enough to waste our every attacking chance with him but now he wastes our FK as well? I'll give it to José, playing Zouma despite being only 20 in a new position for him was a risky move, but the kid has been impressive so far imo

maybe it'll be a 5-4-1 (or 5-2-3) instead of a 3-5-2... I still have problems with it if Costa is going to play isolated again. We need Cesc and Hazard near our striker, otherwise, when and how will we score?

you've got the reasoning backwards imo. If not even a defensive #10 makes the lineup when Mou plays big teams, there's no way in hell we'll be getting a more creative (and therefore less defensive) #10. It's not only about Oscar's shortcomings - which he has - but it's mainly Mourinho's fear of deploying a more offensive lineup in big games. In some of our big games at home in the last two seasons he played Oscar... not many, but still some.

I will support it, no doubts... but getting a guy who can't do proactive defending, who always has a problem when the defense plays higher and who is known for backing off from opponents royally really bugs me. I don't mind the system, but he should have used Luís there. Damn, even Willian would have been better than Cahill.

My lineup for the match didn't even need to have Ake. I know Mou wouldn't play him and I don't have a problem with that. If he wants to deploy a defender in the pivot the man for the job was Filipe Luís, not Gary Back-Off-Till-There's-No-Tomorrow Cahill. If he's bad in a high defense, how could he be good in the midfield? He's the kind of the defender that has to play with the GK breath on his neck, he's made for the protected defense, not to protect defense. That's the biggest BS I've seen Mourinho try.

Come on, Blues... and come on, Cahill, do yourself a favor and shut all of us up. God help us indeed, but well, we'll be cheering for the team, expecting the worse but waiting for the better

if that was the case Luis would be in the LB, he isn't. I think people are fooling themselves. One of our CBs is going to be a pivot player, the question is who.

Mourinho has been feeling some absurd pressure to win even a mickey mouse cup (sorry, I've got little respect to the COC - all my domestic cup respect goes to FA Cup) if he feels e needs to resort to this joke of a lineup.

ok, now it all makes sense. Cech Cahill Zouma Terry Azpi Rami Cesc Willian Iva Hazard Costa thanks for bringing light to this mess

which team lineup including Cahill as a midfielder could end up being a masterstroke? I can't fathom it.

not only usual Spurs, but a tired as fuck Spurs in a pitch as wide as Wembley. This is the worst lineup I've ever witnessed José Mourinho come up with. It'll backfire completely. There goes our chance of winning this match. Then when we're losing we'll get all attackers he left in the bench in mark 80 and we'll look even a worse mess. Sorry, I can't back Mou up with this one

the scheme may be correct. But Cahill as the pivot player? This is stupid. Also Luis should be playing this match, as pivot player or FB. This is a mess waiting to happen.

the shit many here swore Mourinho would never use because we didn't play yet... also known as the 3-5-2 shit I shouldn't even bother watching this match... seriously, this is as shitty as it could be. The king of backing off is the pivot player? Come on, Mou, you should know better than that. Cahill will back off until his back hits on Cech and Ericksen gets inside the goal. Also Costa will so isolated it won't even be funny...

It's part of the same interview. I still believe his words were taken a little bit out of context - he has been asked about still feeling the same way about English football after the whole campaign against him and his team. But if his literal words were those and he meant he would stay in England if Abramovich fires him, I feel like he's putting pressure on the board to keep him. 'Bad with him, worst against him' something along the lines. There had been rumors just this week about the club offering him a 5-year contract extension. I believe he just meant to instill some pain on Spurs by saying he'd never go there if there wasn't a clause in his contract and as the journalists insisted on the topic of working in England despite his recent disappointment with the FA he said something like that.

hun, members here are just as predictable as Arsenal on UCL and as dramatic as Mexican soap operas. Get used to it, will do you well. I read some comments with a smile on the face because I always expect them... but I must admit some of them surprise me - such as the KdB one, as even with all the predictability and drama and spoiled behavior, I didn't see someone relating Oscar to Kevin's departure. I mean, that's the same as relating Word War II to Brazilian's carnival, lol.