Barbara

Courtois' ball reposition is just perfect. He rarely roofs/riffles the ball. It's always a completed pass. A HUGE upgrade to Cech who just roofs it and gives a turn over

0-3 please

Well, time to wait for a Lampard slip then. I love the guy for everything he did here, for being who he was for this club. Now he's the enemy and I'll wait for him to slip. And he will. If City don't win the league (and I really feel this is our turn) he'll feel even shittier. He exchanged a legend status for absolutely nothing. Many, many, many Chelsea fans don't regard him as a legend anymore. I don't feel that way, but I want his bad because his bad now means Chelsea's good. And mark my words, the slip will come.

No, I was just checking if you meant the chances created stat as we have today, or what would in fact be a chance created. You hit the nail of the problem for me regarding those stats. I don't have a problem with 90% of the assists around, I think most of them should be considered assists, given credit to the player that did the pass, no matter how easy or hard it was to complete it. So I think if most cases the assist left someone near to score and a clear cut chance, it counts. But the chances created stat should have been the most important and more telling in the sport, but as it's made by a metric that defines that whoever passes the ball before someone takes a shot, creates a chance, it loses most of its credibility. For example, I have no doubts Hazard is the player that created more goals chances in the league (even if I haven't watched much of many others) because he creates space, he passes by opponents, he creates something out of nowhere, he links up with others, etc etc etc. There should have a way to measure THAT not the nonsense of whoever passes before a shot. But as there isn't, we should stick to watch we see week in, week out and that's how he brought his game to a whole new level and is bailing us out of the jail in the attack. Regardless if he scored or assisted, regardless if the play he created ended up in a goal or not. He's been our outlet, alongside Cesc, the guy that makes things happen for us. That's why I consider him our best player so far. So at the end of the day, I agree with you about who creates the whole play, not only the last pass, I'm just not as just dismissive of the assists stat as I guess you are - because like sitters - we've seen players missing the easiest pass - some even very often (cough Torres cough), so I think there's merit for whoever leaves the other in front of the goal, no matter how easy to execute the pass.

In one of those stupid stats things I've read around, it said that Aguero was the most dispossessed striker in the league. So what now, his hold up play and link up play are shitty because he's the most dispossessed or is he just a crappy striker because of it? As the mate above said, strikers are definitely the most dispossessed players because many times they find themselves isolated against 2 or more opposition players. He's been having up and downs as any other player - if we consider this is his first year in a league way above any other physically, I think he's been incredible. It's not easy for a striker to adapt to English football and he seems to have played in England since birth. So why don't we cut the guy some slack? He's been crucial to our position in the table, to many matches we won. I do agree on the aerial threat (both in and out of the box) as being one of the areas he needs improvement the most, I do agree he can improve his link up some, but it isn't bad, but I think his hold up is actually pretty good already.

well, a lot of people agree about Iva, actually. I've seen 3 or 4 teams of the half season so far and he's figured in all of them, no exception. I think the thing with Iva is that he isn't as reliable defensively and makes mistakes all the time and it seems Mourinho just disregards it. Filipe does too, but it's held against him. I think Mourinho wanted to clone Azpili and have him in both wings. When Luis gets at the top of his game defensively, Iva should leave the team, not Azpi, but I honestly don't see it happening. Unfortunately.

I feel the opposite... Chances created are a farce. I do agree with you that some assists aren't that great, for example, that pass by Fabregas to Hazard against Leicester. It was all Hazard. He received in the sideline, far from the goal, dribbled a few, entered the box and shot. Such a goal shouldn't have an assist credited to it. Now as for the situation you said... sorry, but we've seen many players miss the pass that even you would do. Willian misses a couple of them every match, so in that case, if the pass - no matter how easy - let someone with a clear cut chance to score, then it should be credited as an assist. And I'm not sure if you're confusing what the chances created stats are or if you're only making a point. This play you're talking about doesn't have a chance created to Hazard. Chances created are simply the assists that didn't turn out into a goal. So if Remy had missed the goal, according to the way the stats work these days, Oscar - not Hazard - would have had a chance created to his account because chance created is by default the last pass before someone shoots on goal, hence why I hate those stats.

I still disagree. This is a very competitive league, teams won't make 95+ points. We may drop a few points at the Bridge, but so will everyone else. City just drew with Burnley at the Etihad. I don't know why people are nitpicking so much and putting everything under the microscope. Wake up call, there's no perfect team, teams draw, lose, players make individual mistakes, even great defenses concede and sometimes the ball just won't get into the net. There's nothing new there. What Real Madrid have been doing this season is out of the world (and mind), even if the Spanish league doesn't have many competitive teams. Most teams play against Barça and RM already knowing they'll lose and they don't even try. The few that do try, don't have many chances and end up losing too, with a sporadic draw and even more rare win. Still 21 (last time I checked) win streak is crazy. In England that will never happen. Not anymore anyway. The team has areas to improve - some of which with a lot of room (such as finishing, diminishing defensive mistakes, players in the bench completely out of form, etc). I believe with time things will get better. Remember when everyone was saying that there was no defensive stability with Fabregas in the team and that we were adopting a way too offensive approach that came with conceding more goals? At the time I said I'd wait a couple of months before worrying. We don't have system or collective issues anymore, except the odd match where we just don't get at all (maybe for tiredness or lack of interest, I can't say), we haven't been offering our opponents many chances to score against us. And if we're going to blame the manager, the system and the team as a whole for individual mistake, we'll jump the shark.

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So they could have chosen another RB instead of overlooking a guy that is among the top3 players in the league...

Found those around on tumblr Rarely we see gifs about saves and keepers. Happy to have found it

This guy has everything in this tool box, doesn't he? Not the first time I see him doing something like this and he's quite composed for a DM - especially one his size lovely play by him and amazing player. the best in his position in the world. Pogba who? (based on the comments in this thread because I believe nowhere in the world they would compare Matic and Pogba)

well, the midfielder with the best return in the league (assists + goals) isn't part of their midfield.Seriously, they lose all credit doing it. Matic + Cesc has been in my opinion the best pivot partnership in the league by far exactly because it's very balanced. Not that it matters anyway, this is just a TV show team of the (half) season, but it's laughable regardless. and which affiliation towards Chelsea? Didn't know about it

No Cesc? Sorry, but trolololololol

I honestly don't see anything concerning. We played both Manchester teams and Liverpool away in addition to Newcastle and Southampton in that run. I wouldn't care less if we win 0x1 most of our away games, I don't care about it and I don't think that's where we should and will build and improve our GD. Actually looking at those away fixtures I'm more than happy with the 19 points we got out of 30 possible, especially with 100% points won at home.

omg I can't stop laughing, lol Neville has a great poker face btw. He obviously laughed inside as well, but showed nothing, lol

Wow, someone just said we wasted money on the best LB of the world last season and had others agreeing with him? Struggling with EPL physicality is quite normal, he's an amazing LB, very good defender. You guys should go to mc donalds, order a combo and eat it. That's where things happen in the speed you want to see a player give return. Saying we wasted money on Luis is one of the worst things I read here...

They'll drop points to us, we don't rely on anyone, we get things done ourselves [emoji41]

I think you're very much confused about my instances on Cesc... I used to hate Cesc Fabregas as a football player (which has nothing to do with his qualities as a player) and I admitted as much when the rumors started (I just linked a few of my posts in the Willian thread a couple of days ago). I never forgave him for the things he did to our players (Lamps and Michael especially) and I hated how he was always saying shit about Mourinho and us. I hated him simply because I thought he was a cunt. I didn't rate him as high as some people did around here, the same way I didn't rate Diego Costa. I admit being wrong on my perception of their quality more than once. Now, I've always said he was never suited for Barcelona. ALWAYS, since day one because even a blind could see that. He was played out of position, he had to be kept at the shadow of Iniesta and Xavi and although he has a big range of passing, he is way too direct for that style of play. In my first non-hateful post in the speculation thread (that I linked in the Willian thread on the weekend) I summarize how I felt about the situation and I mentioned that he's better suited for #8, not #10, that he wasn't suited for Barcelona and that he was definitely improvement from what we had. I even defended he wasn't as bad defending as some were claiming. So I think you probably read my post on the Willian thread and jumped to conclusions wrongly... All my posts pre-love and post-love are along the same lines. I still believe he's a better #8 than #10, I still believe he isn't suited for tiki taka, I still believe Barcelona's managers were stupid and while I haven't forgiven him for what he's done in the past against our players, club and manager, I decided to use selective memory and simply forget about those episodes. And I made my point very clear - and you seem to have misunderstood that too - I said he was the best immediate impact signing we've done in 13 years. I don't see any other player that has impacted our play and completely changed us from day one as he had. It took him one bloody month to adapt (remember when he was struggling to partner with Matic and offer us defensive stability in the pivot). Few players impacted us as fast as he had, but imo, none to the extent he had. edit: and I could even say that I love him now, despite being a cunt, because he's our cunt. But that's the thing about Cesc. It seems like he calmed down, he matured in the last couple of years. He isn't the cunt he used to be. He isn't attacking players, managers, clubs like he did inside and off the pitch. I think coming to work with Mourinho taught him a life lesson. It was probably very awkward for him in the first days, he probably realized that he should respect everyone and keep his opinions to himself so he doesn't find himself in that position again - to work and recognize the quality of people he used to badmouth. Mourinho is no saint and provoked a lot (still does, but much less lately than back then). So I feel like he grew with this experience and now he's showing only the passion, which is good. But I would love him the same if he was still the same cunt he used to be, because he'd be our cunt edit2: realized I linked all different posts in the Willian thread, although they're all in the same page in the Cesc's speculation thread. The only bit I think I'd rephrase differently is that he isn't a #10. I mean, he can play as a #10, I've been saying as much since the beginning too, but what I meant in this initial post was that if we signed him it would be for play as a #8 (or #7 as Mourinho called, lol) because that was and is imo his genuine position and how Mourinho saw him. He wasn't signing a #10, he was signing a #8. so here it is

I think this thread go from the two extremes too easily. Imo, those are 'facts' about André 1) he isn't as bad as he's been playing, he's out of form 2) he isn't as bad and useless as most of you are making him out to be 3) he isn't as good as some thought he was just after the WC 4) he's very good at certain things, meaning he's suited for only certain kinds of matches 5) he offers us options as he offers something completely different from our other AMs 6) having a player like him in the squad is very useful and important 7) he relies on confidence and playing time more than average player, exactly because of his style Which leads me to believe we shouldn't sell him at all. He has an amazing vision of the pitch that leads him to be one of the smartest players in the league to position himself. That came sort of moot for us last season because we didn't have players to see him moving, but now we do. He can also score goals - which is always good - but he relies on confidence, he needs a stretch of games to regain confidence and get his finishing boots on. I think the illness and the WC hangover really affected his season and I don't think we'll see the best of him this season, but I believe he'll improve some. He's useful, he's a good squad member and he has his head at the right place, he's aware of everything that went through with him and above all, he seems to have Mourinho's trust and Mourinho seems to see something special on him. Someone - don't remember who - said that he wasn't much of a Mourinho signing because he was announced just a few days after Mourinho. Mourinho agreed verbally to come to Chelsea early as January-February (WHS would be able to confirm when). Both him and Lampard admitted he influenced on Lamp's renewal and that came in April or May. Mourinho wasn't coming here as the prodigal son, he had no reason to act 'humble' and low profile at the beginning. If he didn't want André here, he would have said no. Maybe he wasn't completely convinced, but seeing how he's handled André since the beginning, I think he's very much convinced of his utility and importance in the squad. I don't believe Schurrle will ever have a captive place in our starting XI, and I guess he doesn't seem to have a problem with that. But I think he can (and hopefully will, if everything works out) become our 12th player. The one that starts a bunch of matches for us during the season and the first sub to come in for us in every match around mark 60. That's a good position to be in a club like Chelsea for a player of his caliber.

he needs games, and Mourinho is giving him games, but he can't play every game for us. We had a very complicated stretch of fixtures in the first half of the season. I think from January on our fixtures will be much more fitting for him to get used to the league because we'll face much more approachable opponents. I don't think we should have played him in the big matches away (we've been everywhere except Emirates, as we're going to WHL tomorrow) and I don't think we should play him in matches such as Newcastle, Stoke - especially away. He had four starts and he played decent minutes in two matches he came in. I think we'll see those numbers rising now that we have less physical/attacking matches coming. He's been held responsible for some of the goals we conceded when he played in the league, that's a risk we can't keep taking without some concern.

Every time Mourinho feels like we won't be attacked much, and teams will take a more defensive approach against us, I think he'll call upon Luís. And tbh if he does that, even in only some part of those games, I think it's fair and the right approach. He clearly struggles with the physicality of the league. People talk about Atletico de Madrid being a physical team and how it should prove that he has no problem handling physicality, but that makes no sense. Atletico was/is the only real physical team in Spain, and as it's not norm to play against yourself, the kind of defending required from him there was quite different from the kind of defending required here. Atletico's opposition wasn't anywhere as physical as the Premier League. I think he's a great defender, I mean, he might better at defending than attacking, but it'll take him time to adapt properly to how tough the league is. Everyone praises him for his attacking skills because he can cross. Sorry, but if there's one thing a Brazilian FB knows since his U-8 days is how to cross a ball. Brazilian FBs will always be better than the average attacking wise. So while some praise him for his attacking skills - which are good - I think he was a much better defender than attacker while he was playing at Atletico. He'll come good for us defensively, but it'll require time. Remember how long it took for Ramires to finally get the physicality and actually defend? So I think Mourinho is handling him in a very good way. Playing him in UCL matches (although not all will be the case), using him in the domestic cups, and taking a few risks in matches we probably won't be much threatened defensively or the ones were we won't be able to break down defenses if we play too narrow. Yesterday wasn't either the scenarios imo and still he took the risk... probably because he thought he needed as much attacking ammunition as possible. I don't want to throw him in matches were the opposition winger will eat him alive. Let him acclimatize with time. There's no need to rush. He's been giving the chances he earned. When he improves defensively and get used to how to defend here, he'll be given more, until he proves himself worth of starting all matches for us. Otherwise, he'll continue to be a good and useful squad player.

Oh I'm so infatuated with the guy - that goes without saying. And when I say those things is strictly football wise. What's there not to love about this player? The contribution, the passion he shows, he gives his everything, the way he speaks, behaves. He's perfect for us (and would have been for any other team in the world that isn't tiki-taka BS-based. Hello, Arsene). 13 assists in 19 matches is absolutely insane, absolutely insane. He could definitely have 3-4 more because I remember players missing some sitters or clear cut chances created by him. He's not the best signing since I'm a fan because there's a certain guy named Eden Hazard - who I think will the best player to have ever worn a Chelsea shirt when he's on his peak, but if we talk about immediate impact, about fitting like a glove, about being what we need the most, than he is the best signing we've done in the last 13 years. Hazard already is amazing, but I think he's nowhere close to what he can give us, so he'd always be a very good signing in the short term and an immense signing in the long term. And that's the crazy thing about Cesc... I also believe the best is yet to come. Of course he doesn't have a very high ceiling, but I believe he has two different ceilings at the moment. One, technically and tactically - I believe he can and will still improve as a player. He's at the best form of his career imo, but when you compare his last season with Barça and even with us, you see improvement. So it feels like he's still improving, it feels like he has reached that place of stability at the top, when the guy constantly play well, but you feel like he's not improving anymore. Also, he's under one of the best managers in the world in terms of developing senior players. a lot is said about Mourinho's limitations developing youth, but there's no denying he improves a lot first team players - especially tactically. Another ceiling he has is chemistry wise. The linkup play between him and Oscar has been growing (and fast if you ask me). This understanding between them still has a long way to go, they've been playing together for only five months now and I have no doubts it'll get much, much better. As important as a player being at the top of his technical and tactical abilities is having a perfect understanding with his peers. Now onto the myth that he doesn't perform in the second half of the season. Supposing it comes to life, who cares? This guy already influenced directly 12 of our matches so far. If he doesn't influence another one, this is already 1/3 of the league. That's more than we could 'demand'. He already has 13 assists - which is the same amount as the top assister last season. This is already a season long contribution, so even if he doesn't impact directly any other game until the end of the season, he'll deserve some credit if we win the league. It doesn't matter if it's concentrated, spread out, the beginning, the middle or the end of the season. That said, I'd love for him to break Henry's record - because he deserves it. According to the official site (through the fantasy data) as well as ESPN, he had 20 assists in the league in the 2007/08 season, although people always only mention Henry. Maybe there's an assist that others don't consider? Or it considers penalties drawn? Either way, I'd love for him to have at least 21, but that has nothing to do with him HAVING to keep it up. If he keeps it up, it'll be great, but I'd say he's already done a lot to deserve all credit for the title if we win it. Oh and btw, in the same season, he had 10 assists from Aug-Dec and 10 assists from Jan-May. Just sayin'.

but if we buy a good RW (to which I agree should be a priority over CAM or even CM), then we can rotate Willian and Oscar in the #10 for the matches Cesc plays in the pivot. We don't need to have three absolute creative players in the three AMs positions and as we said, Mourinho demands great workrate from at least one of them. I think a creative RW solves all our problems in the attack. With Hazard in one side and someone like Reus in the other, we can afford to have Willian or Oscar in the middle, without having to move Cesc there to have more creativity in the attack. I also want to see Oscar playing a few times in the RW. He's no wonder, but maybe an AM with Hazard - Cesc - Oscar and Ramires replacing Mikel (when Rami is in form again) could work out until next summer. Then Willian could rotate with Oscar. Anything is better than having Mikel in the pivot if we want to dominate games.