Closed Shakhtar Donetsk v Chelsea

[kellzfresh 7,229]

Tough match for sure.

They were able to draw juventus away. I watched some parts of the game. They hav some good attacking midfielders.

so we must watch our backs.

Oscar, luiz and ivanovic need to rest for this one.

They have played even in the international matches. Especially oscar, he is still adapting to his defensive role in our team. So he needs to be fresh for manchester.

Cesar-cahill-terry-cole

Mikel - lampard

Moses/marin -mata- hazard

Sturridge

Sturridge needs his chance, torres has played forever he can come from the bench.

I'm afraid of the mikel-lampard pivot, but we need ramires rested for man utd, and I think lampard can handle this.

3-1 to us

[OneMoSalah 8,886]

Shaktar arent mugs so severely weakening the team will give us problems tbh.

[Sir Mikel OBE 4,920]

If Moses and Marin cant be used in congested fixtures like this, then we should not have bought them IMO.

Sturridge

Moses

Azpilicueta

Need to be three playing today tomorrow at the very least....Wouldnt hurt to give Romeu a run out next to Lamps,Mikel,or Ramires either.

[Land 331]

Oscar must be rested,he needs to have scholes on a leash.

[TheCount 146]

Oscar must be rested,he needs to have scholes on a leash.

Tho i dislike oscar, nothing would please me more then him to ruin scholes

[Magic Lamps 11,692]

Utd is the team with even fewer centre midfielders than us, so it could be nice to overpower them there but imo any of our midfielders could play both games and still get the better of that ginger fella.

Like the idea of Lamps playing in the hole against shakthar, they'll probably not prepared for this, as lamps usually goes deep to help build-up play we mostly will have an extra man in midfield. IMO we need width in that game, when we can not avail ourseleves of our creative players. Marin and moses can offer exactly that rather than mata and the others. IMO Torres should not get a game at all. Bet sturride would have done better all the time.

cech

azpi-cahill-terry-Bertrand

------Romeu-Mikel-------

Moses----Lamps----Marin

------------Studge----------

should give them a game and us a narrow win. Tactics are crucial

[Land 331]

Why would anyone dislike Oscar?

[Kieran. 6,317]

Tho i dislike oscar, nothing would please me more then him to ruin scholes

Why don't you like Oscar?

[TheCount 146]

Why don't you like Oscar?

Too small, not tough enough (least their can be something done about this) too much of the same thing with hazard and mata, has a tenancy to dive, not a ideal PREMIERSHIP replacement for lampard either. He can only play in an *ideally* attacking possessive style, so in that regard his versatility in the position he plays wont suit every type of game we have to play, something lampard in his prime could do. He also represents a move away from a style of football i loved, to a more "barca" style which i personaly dislike. He also looks about 12 and isn't very intimidating on the field, neither does he look like a future leader of men.

Say that he's technicaly great and all, he just isnt what i think is needed to compete year in year out in the very physical PL, a plan B is needed for his position, by no means sell him, but rotate where needed.

[Blue Armour 4,439]

It'd be 3 games in 8 days. That's how you exhaust players. No team in the world sticks with the exact same starting XI every game that matters. It's just not possible.

Agreed and also, it makes it easier for other teams to figure your attack out. That's what happened when we kept playing Malouda, Drogba and Anelka over and over in 2011. Rotation is important.

[Tomo 21,751]

? Lampard was playing big tough games before rami was even on a adult team.

Some of the treatment of the older experienced legends around here is disgusting,

No wonder teams like arsenal win fuck all and are left with no leadership or experience with this kind of attitude flying around.

Chris Sutton was also playing big games before Drogba became a pro, does that mean we should have re signed him and gave him Drogs place in Munich?

On this basis we should consider asking Dennis Wise out of retirement and stick him in the double pivot alongside Lamps for this one. Infact lets play Lampard every game until he decides otherwise purely out of gratitude because he use to be the best in the business.

Lampard is a Chelsea legend, that is not even up for debate, but we have to face reality, this is 2012 not 2005, Lampard is not the player he was and no longer good enough to play 3 times a week.

Giggs is a United legend, but he has been taking pelters from United fans this season, not because United fans have fell out of love with him but because their not letting sentiment get in the way and can see that these days Giggs is no good anymore.

Lampard still has something to offer but eventually there will be a day where that isn't the case and he will be in every sense of the word a passenger (like Giggs now), will their be fans that slate other fans for merely pointing that out?

Moving on to the game, Shaktar's home record is stupidly good, stupid rotation and we will drop points, i think one of Azpi or Ryan should come in, Terry aswell but apart from that im hoping for same again, keep the momentum going for United.

[Ryan Fong 2,776]

Say that he's technicaly great and all, he just isnt what i think is needed to compete year in year out in the very physical PL

The idea of "Premier League = Physical" is so outdated. Plus, Oscar is combative as hell.

[Sheva. 5,373]

Too small, not tough enough (least their can be something done about this) too much of the same thing with hazard and mata, has a tenancy to dive, not a ideal PREMIERSHIP replacement for lampard either. He can only play in an *ideally* attacking possessive style, so in that regard his versatility in the position he plays wont suit every type of game we have to play, something lampard in his prime could do. He also represents a move away from a style of football i loved, to a more "barca" style which i personaly dislike. He also looks about 12 and isn't very intimidating on the field, neither does he look like a future leader of men.

Say that he's technicaly great and all, he just isnt what i think is needed to compete year in year out in the very physical PL, a plan B is needed for his position, by no means sell him, but rotate where needed.

Weird post. Tenancy to dive? he did so in just one game. Replacement for Lampard? he isn't, he plays in a different position, and is a completely different player.

Future leader of men? lmao, does he have to be? as long as he continues to produce for the club, what does it matter. There will be other leaders on the team.

[TheCount 146]

Chris Sutton was also playing big games before Drogba became a pro, does that mean we should have re signed him and gave him Drogs place in Munich?

On this basis we should consider asking Dennis Wise out of retirement and stick him in the double pivot alongside Lamps for this one. Infact lets play Lampard every game until he decides otherwise purely out of gratitude because he use to be the best in the business.

Lampard is a Chelsea legend, that is not even up for debate, but we have to face reality, this is 2012 not 2005, Lampard is not the player he was and no longer good enough to play 3 times a week.

Giggs is a United legend, but he has been taking pelters from United fans this season, not because United fans have fell out of love with him but because their not letting sentiment get in the way and can see that these days Giggs is no good anymore.

Lampard still has something to offer but eventually there will be a day where that isn't the case and he will be in every sense of the word a passenger (like Giggs now), will their be fans that slate other fans for merely pointing that out?

I agree his time will come, and its coming fast, but to say he'll get "found out" is ridiculas, exposed? maybe, not likely tho since when he wants to he can play with the best of them still as he proved last season, he cant play every game and he shouldnt, but an important CL game, against medium opposition on the world scale and CL scale, who better to ask then super frank?

Everything in bold tho is just semantics since it holds no real relevance to what i said just a lame sarcastic edited version of it.

The idea of "Premier League = Physical" is so outdated. Plus, Oscar is combative as hell.

Tell that to West Ham, Southampton, Stoke, QPR (to a certain extent) Norwich, west brom.......actually almost everyone in the PL is physical to some degree, bar arsenal....and a select few others. Physicality is a GOOD thing anyway, we dont want a non contact sport. Its what made the PL stand out.

Weird post. Tenancy to dive? he did so in just one game. Replacement for Lampard? he isn't, he plays in a different position, and is a completely different player.

Future leader of men? lmao, does he have to be? as long as he continues to produce for the club, what does it matter. There will be other leaders on the team.

3 games at least ive seen him go over very easy, im not just talking about the time he got booked for it, ya do realize how hard it is to get booked for it with today's reffing standards to?

Lampard dosen't play his position now but the way people want him to play is pretty much how Lamps played most of his career,

And yes he will never be a leader of men, their will be others, but the way SOME of the people go on here you'd swear he could be and some of the formations those same people want dont seem to have any place for a leader......that post was more aimed at them.

[Ryan Fong 2,776]

Tell that to West Ham, Southampton, Stoke, QPR (to a certain extent) Norwich, west brom.......actually almost everyone in the PL is physical to some degree, bar arsenal....and a select few others. Physicality is a GOOD thing anyway, we dont want a non contact sport. Its what made the PL stand out.

That's the reason why they are in the bottom half of the table.

And exactly the opposite, it's what made EPL slightly fallen behind in recent years and now more and more teams have realized that hence all the technical players in EPL. All the top teams in Europe are not physical. Agility, Pace, Sleek passes and Constant pressing/interception win them matches.

[TheCount 146]

That's the reason why they are in the bottom half of the table.

And exactly the opposite, it's what made EPL slightly fallen behind in recent years and now more and more teams have realized that hence all the technical players in EPL. All the top teams in Europe are not physical. Agility, Pace, Sleek passes and Constant pressing/interception win them matches.

Are you telling me that the Giants of the invincibles in the arsenal years, the man utd team of the treble, the Chelsea teams of 2004-2010 etc etc etc were not physical tough teams? Really?.....jesus....the PL and the english league before has ALWAYS been more physical then europe and has always given european teams trouble because of this.

You just described barcalona their btw bar the pace,

The PL became popular for its counter attacking football, extremely fast pace compared to the rest of europe,(and still is) and its hugely physical game. Which attracted technically gifted players from all around the world and made it the strong league it is today, the unique blend of physicality and high pace left many european teams in the dust for many years and the year we lost in the CL final to utd was the height of this perfect blend, before barca took a strangle hold and started falling over.

Also it dosent matter where they are in the table, their still in the table and as long as their there, they will be tough games to be had.

If you want a less physical game i suggest watching la liga or the brazilian league.

[Rmpr 8,977]

Too small, not tough enough (least their can be something done about this) too much of the same thing with hazard and mata, has a tenancy to dive, not a ideal PREMIERSHIP replacement for lampard either. He can only play in an *ideally* attacking possessive style, so in that regard his versatility in the position he plays wont suit every type of game we have to play, something lampard in his prime could do. He also represents a move away from a style of football i loved, to a more "barca" style which i personaly dislike. He also looks about 12 and isn't very intimidating on the field, neither does he look like a future leader of men.

Say that he's technicaly great and all, he just isnt what i think is needed to compete year in year out in the very physical PL, a plan B is needed for his position, by no means sell him, but rotate where needed.

All these charateristcs fits some guy named Messi...

[Kieran. 6,317]

PL is still very physical, don't kid yourself.

[Ryan Fong 2,776]

Are you telling me that the Giants of the invincibles in the arsenal years, the man utd team of the treble, the Chelsea teams of 2004-2010 etc etc etc were not physical tough teams?

Tough teams, have the ability to deal with physical opponents, but certainly not physical themselves.

I think we need to hold an unanimous definition of "Physical" before further discussion.

[Ryan Fong 2,776]

PL is still very physical, don't kid yourself.

Compare to other leagues, maybe, I'm not arguing that. But you can't deny teams in EPL are changing their styles slowly.

My point is, you don't have to be physical to win trophies, even in a so called physical league.