Sunderland 1-2 Chelsea

[zolayes 14,489]

Quaresma arrived on wednesday and was a starting XI on saturday. lol

We are way off topic but I liked him ,,thought we could have used him more and better

[SeB 1,281]

He was/is a decent crosser, otherwise he should have played instead of Belletti at White Hart Lane

[termninja 5,290]

What do you think about this line up:

Ceh

Bosingwa- Luiz- Terry- Cole

Ramires - Meireles- Lampard

Sturidge-Anelka-Mata

With our clumsy high line and a midfield consisted of 3 players who like going forward and the game being an away fixture....no. Anelka wouldn't be a bad choice as a striker, but It's better to give Lukaku some playing time or to Torres who needs his confidence back.

[Guest justin_3d]

My prefer lineup:

Cech

Bos - David Luiz - Ivan - Cole

Ramires - Mikel - Meireles

Sturridge - Torres - Mata

Giving that we play high line, Terry sucks! He is too slow and is getting caught too easily with pace. But Ivan ain't better with pace either, however Ivan can provide as a better CB ball player then Terry. Ivan does some great crosses, that Terry has lacked.

Mid nothing more to say, then manager playing an out of form Lampard who does not deserve to play full 90 mins. Capello realizes this, i don't know why AVB can't?

Would love to see a shot to Romeu and Josh to see what they are made of. But that 3 line should suffice for now.

And front 3, preatty much explainable.

This is what i would like to see.

But does AVB has the ball to drop the old lagging leaders like Terry and Lampard?

Carlo did not had the balls, and so far this manager has been more of the same!

P.S. I would also love to see a shot at Bertrand. Cole has been in declining form, and Bertrand has to step up soon!

[SeB 1,281]

My prefer lineup:

Cech

Bos - David Luiz - Ivan - Cole

Ramires - Mikel - Meireles

Sturridge - Torres - Mata

Giving that we play high line, Terry sucks! He is too slow and is getting caught too easily with pace. But Ivan ain't better with pace either, however Ivan can provide as a better CB ball player then Terry. Ivan does some great crosses, that Terry has lacked.

Mid nothing more to say, then manager playing an out of form Lampard who does not deserve to play full 90 mins. Capello realizes this, i don't know why AVB can't?

Would love to see a shot to Romeu and Josh to see what they are made of. But that 3 line should suffice for now.

And front 3, preatty much explainable.

This is what i would like to see.

But does AVB has the ball to drop the old lagging leaders like Terry and Lampard?

Carlo did not had the balls, and so far this manager has been more of the same!

P.S. I would also love to see a shot at Bertrand. Cole has been in declining form, and Bertrand has to step up soon!

You are very harsh Justin... It's nothing new to say that Lampard is a diesel and needs games to perform... Put David Luiz is enough to negociate with the high line and the through balls, to be honest it's not with that Gyan or Bendtner (the guy that was slower to the injured Roger Johnson in the LC Final) that Terry even bell walk will struggle on Saturday.

And to be honest I do find sometimes Bran lost when he plays CB and I can't imagine him playing left CB with a player he hasn't played with in central defence, having to ensure covering Cole when he goes forward in the same time than Luiz is also tempted to go forward...

Too much unknown in the same time, Villas Boas will make the right choices but right doesn't mean radical, he showed he could be different to Carlo who always waited Kalou to do his shit during 60mn before replacing him. We did always blame the club because it didn't allowed time to managers in the recent past, it's not now that we have to moan because the team is growing increasingly.

I do prefer a regular growing than a marvelous start and a breakdown after that.

Otherwise I do agree with you about Bertrand

[Kieran. 6,317]

Our defense is odd. I don't like this high line defense bullshit at all.

[Guest justin_3d]

You are very harsh Justin... It's nothing new to say that Lampard is a diesel and needs games to perform... Put David Luiz is enough to negociate with the high line and the through balls, to be honest it's not with that Gyan or Bendtner (the guy that was slower to the injured Roger Johnson in the LC Final) that Terry even bell walk will struggle on Saturday.

And to be honest I do find sometimes Bran lost when he plays CB and I can't imagine him playing left CB with a player he hasn't played with in central defence, having to ensure covering Cole when he goes forward in the same time than Luiz is also tempted to go forward...

Too much unknown in the same time, Villas Boas will make the right choices but right doesn't mean radical, he showed he could be different to Carlo who always waited Kalou to do his shit during 60mn before replacing him. We did always blame the club because it didn't allowed time to managers in the recent past, it's not now that we have to moan because the team is growing increasingly.

I do prefer a regular growing than a marvelous start and a breakdown after that.

Otherwise I do agree with you about Bertrand

You got me with this!

And about Ivan, i would say is because he has been playing as RB for a whole season. He needs to get back to his original position.

[SeB 1,281]

You got me with this!

And about Ivan, i would say is because he has been playing as RB for a whole season. He needs to get back to his original position.

You remember the success at Chelsea of the last man who did kick Kalou out at half an hour ?

In the absolute your lineup is not insane, but right now it's really rushing choices that are not necessarily appropriate

[GodZola 630]

Now that we finally have quality on either flank (Mata & Sturridge) & equally as important some much needed pace from there I expect Torres to get the service he has so badly needed since his arrival, however the midfield is still a work in progress & I will be intrigued to see which lineup AVB decides to select. I can't decide where he plays Meireles if selected? If so then Lampard or Mikel are for the chop as I can't see Ramires being benched.

Luiz may well start but that will depend on his fitness but boy am I pleased to hear Cech is back!

@ justin, at some point I too would like to see Romeu & MacEachran start but can't see it til we play Fulham in the CC but its food for thought & definitely something to look forward to. I think you will prob see him make the necessary changes to personnel now that he has a stronger squad with players returning from injury & a ban, AVB won't be afraid to do it & this Saturday could be the start of a new beginning but all in good time.

[SeB 1,281]

Now that we finally have quality on either flank & equally as important some much needed pace from there I expect Torres to get the service he has so badly needed since his arrival, however the midfield is still a work in progress & I will be intrigued to see which lineup AVB decides to select. I can't decide where he plays Meireles if selected? If so then Lampard or Mikel are for the chop as I can't see Ramires being benched.

Luiz may well start but that will depend on his fitness but boy am I pleased to hear Cech is back!

If there is Bosingwa, then it means Rambo on the pitch

If there is Luiz, it's Mikel's services who are needed.

All that for the good balance of the team

Anyway Meireles just arrived, he trained whith a part of the squad (you can tell me than neither Anelka nor Torres did trained with the full squad) so I would be surprised if he starts the game

[Bacika 188]

Torres is playing way better than anelka!

Hate anelka and dont see a point playing him as a striker would rather see lukaku and he plays as a winger for chelsea when drogba or torres are fit!

I don't know which games you were watching, but Anelka was much better than Torres...and he can play excellent as CF with Mata and Sturidge wide...

[GodZola 630]

If there is Bosingwa, then it means Rambo on the pitch

If there is Luiz, it's Mikel's services who are needed.

All that for the good balance of the team

Anyway Meireles just arrived, he trained whith a part of the squad (you can tell me than neither Anelka nor Torres did trained with the full squad) so I would be surprised if he starts the game

Why does Bosingwa have to play if Ramires is on the pitch & the same with Mikel & Luiz - don't understand your thought to that? He will chop & change to suit individual games & hopefully keep selecting the players that are performing.

What AVB has done is to utilize the fullbacks because he is playing with a DM & has not had a Modric to link up the play from the back though josh is an option. That is why he has been selecting Bosingwa, however now that he has Mata & Sturridge he may well play Ivanovich there & use Meireles as a centre mid thus dropping Mikel but he may go with Mikel & play Meireles in Lampard's position & I did state if selected!

As I said its a difficult one to predict but change is inevitable.

[SeB 1,281]

Why does Bosingwa have to play if Ramires is on the pitch & the same with Mikel & Luiz - don't understand your thought to that? He will chop & change to suit individual games & hopefully keep selecting the players that are performing.

Because the main reason of Bosingwa's revival (among the better relashionship with AVB than with Ancelotti) is the presence of a player who can cover him when he gors forward. Without cover, Bosingwa is a headless chicken who leaves the St Mark's Square behind him.

Look at Ramires's heatmap against Norwich:

http://www.guardian....1f0tjGM89BA0243

And Mikel is needed because of his tactical understanding that makes him switching between the CB or filling the spot left by a defender who goes forward. He is not at the top of his form, but it's understandable, his personal matters and the new role that Villas Boas wants to give him plays big part in that.

However he is our only defensive minded player (considering that Romeu is not ready yet) so we need him, especially with Luiz who likes to go forward

[zolayes 14,489]

we go back to Jose's untouchables ...still playing Cech ,, Terry .. Cole . Lampard ...Drogba ...

The clock is ticking on the the last 4 ,, age ,,, injury ,,,both taking their toll .

Replacing them is a monumental task and won't be achieved without pain ...

Fuck this I will get depressed .. time for more wine and positive thinking

Cech Luiz Bertrand Mata ,, Lukaku ...there I dont feel so bad

KTBFFH

[GodZola 630]

Because the main reason of Bosingwa's revival (among the better relashionship with AVB than with Ancelotti) is the presence of a player who can cover him when he gors forward. Without cover, Bosingwa is a headless chicken who leaves the St Mark's Square behind him.

Look at Ramires's heatmap against Norwich:

http://www.guardian....1f0tjGM89BA0243

And Mikel is needed because of his tactical understanding that makes him switching between the CB or filling the spot left by a defender who goes forward. He is not at the top of his form, but it's understandable, his personal matters and the new role that Villas Boas wants to give him plays big part in that.

However he is our only defensive minded player (considering that Romeu is not ready yet) so we need him, especially with Luiz who likes to go forward

I'm fully aware of Bosingwa's weaknesses - mainly he can't defend for toffee & can see your point. I still think Bosingwa has been selected due to lack of personnel & AVB has used him to get width. Ramires will play regardless of Bosingwa & as I said there might be a change in the team selection this week due to Mata & Sturridge.

I would like to see Romeu given a run but AVB will go with Mikel if its not Meireles, Luiz does tend to get forward more but our other CB's aren't exactly rigid so you could say the same for them all, generally someone will/should sit if this happens, it doesn't necessarily mean it has to be Mikel that's selected.

[Tortilla9 390]

@Chelseajoa_93 said on twitter:

"I think you'll find the accepted shorthand for a Sturridge/Torres/Mata forward line is #juandando"

I hope that's what we see on Sat and I hope it's ridiculously successful going forward (no pun)..

[dodojojo 510]

How about MataTorS? That's what they'll be if it works

[zolayes 14,489]

danny torres mata

D T M

der the men ....

why bother ....