André Schürrle

[Kojo 4,676]

Good goal from him, very hard to place such a volley from that angle.

He's also a player who works hard aswell, something we really do need as our work rate was so unbalanced last season, that's why we conceded loads of goals. The amount of stupid goals we conceded from the oppositions fullbacks running down the flanks was just stupid, I'm sure Nathaniel Clyne and Luke Shaw both done us twice when they came back from 2-0 down.

With someone like Schurrle on the team he wont even give them a chance, he would chase them down because that's part of his game, players like this is what we really need if we want to balance the squad out.

[Special Juan 27,429]

Like I said before we can now look to the bench and see quality now if needed. Schurlle, De Bruyne etc is a massive, massive upgrade on Marin and Yossi, huge infact.

This is why we will win the PL this season IMO. This truck won't be shifted.

[robsblubot 3,507]

Andre actually impressed me against AC Milan. Fitness level varies tremendously amongst the players on the pitch, so I expect some players, especially the pacey/powerful ones to have an early advantage in these types of games.

However, what I am looking for is in the details: first touch (key), the non-obvious pass, the shooting, the overall technique. Andre has very good first touch and that is very important in an attacker because he never given much time on the ball. That's IMO what differentiates a decent/good squad player from a rotation/first team player. I see potential in him to fight for a starting position very soon.

[BlueLyon 9,359]

Is there any chance that he might be our main striker at some point? He has great pace and finishing and looks he might further improve his first touch and reading of game. Would love Jose to at least try him in that position if we dont get Rooney or someone. Either Lukaku or Schurrle, Ba is clumsy and Torres dreadfull.

[Yeboii 1,844]

Is there any chance that he might be our main striker at some point? He has great pace and finishing and looks he might further improve his first touch and reading of game. Would love Jose to at least try him in that position if we dont get Rooney or someone. Either Lukaku or Schurrle, Ba is clumsy and Torres dreadfull.

Moses can also play as a striker. We are pretty packed there, just not with the right strikers.

[BlueLyon 9,359]

Moses can also play as a striker. We are pretty packed there, just not with the right strikers.

But Moses aint as good finisher...

[Bir_CFC 3,455]

Moses def has potential to be a decent enough striker. He's strong, he's fast, has decent ball control. He's tricky and can make room for shots. Often takes them early and has tremendous shot power. He def has the tools to be a decent enough striker, finishing can improve, he's still only young.

Not saying he's ever going to become a Chelsea level striker, but he does have the tools to become a good backup.

[Yeboii 1,844]

But Moses aint as good finisher...

Like I said, not the right strikers.

[mannyfreshh 164]

Andre is already better than marko Marin

[Jype 6,398]

Schurrle—"As a kid, I had a Chelsea shirt with Lampard's name on it. So, after I signed here, my mum said to me: When you were young, you were always running around with your Lampard shirt on and now he is your team-mate!"

Always nice to have players who supported the club as a kid.

[Reddish-Blue 2,347]

He needs to improve alot in the coming seasons.

Hopefully Schurrle justifies his price tag as a squad player.

[Jase 43,479]

Link to the article of what Jype posted above and more..

Schurrle admits he used to wear a Lampard shirt as a child as Chelsea stars play 'football tennis' in Washington

He sounds like one of those typical fangirls.

[Jase 43,479]

9 minutes in - Schurrle: "I'm very happy to score my first goal in this beautiful blue shirt"

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Qdf2IE6N9ns&feature=youtu.be

[Barbara 15,149]

^^ Thanks for that, Jay.

I really like this from Kevin: 'If you see a couple of goals that we scored it's really that... you see what we practiced at training comes back during the game."

Mourinho is known to practice a lot of drills by zones and by a combo of two different positions. So he practices drills between wingers and full backs; between CB and DM; between DM and the rest of the midfield; between AM and strikers; between FB (attacking) and strikers. There are chemistry drills, but there are also what we called in Portuguese (don't know the name in English) 'rehearsed [or practiced] play' which the squad practices a lot to try to see it happen also in the match, but their movement and actions are decided by the manager (it's not about becoming familiar with each other, but executing what the manager decided should be the play). So for example when a winger or a FB crosses the ball in the box, the striker or the other AM know where to position themselves because that's how they practiced. Or when during a corner or a free kick the one taking it puts in a place where one of the other guys should be, or passes it to a player that will assist a third one. Or during the attack where to position himself compared to the opposition defence and where to move the moment of the pass, etc...

We can see that clearly during last match. After Torres tripped on the ball, he infiltrates in the box (you even have this shot in the vid above). André positions himself behind Torres waiting for the pass, it's funny because you see him taking a mid-step ahead, but then he sort of retreats that one half step... it's like he wanted to move forward, but then decided to stay there (although that could also be a case of what in sports training it's called imminence [which is one of the rules to improve pace and reach through pro-activeness and brain training because you're preparing your body to sprint instead of reacting and surprising your muscles and brain, so you're just ready to sprint - or jump, or whatever - and those milliseconds actually improve your speed or depending on the situation your timing to meet whatever you have to meet]).

If you look a bit to the side Mata is doing sort of the same movement. One may say it's a coincidence or just the natural thing to a football player to do, but then we see André moving forward to position himself to either do a 2-1 or to expect a stray ball from a potential rebound from the goalkeeper. This is all trained on practices. Those guys spend about 20 minutes (according to Mourinho and Faria, as of course, I've never watched a training session led by Mourinho, but I've read and watched plenty about their training routines) practicing that kind of thing. Then the chemistry is the part where they naturally move to certain positions and they got used to each other's movement and the 'rehearsed plays' are the ones where Mourinho defines where they should move to if that situation presents to them.

We see Mourinho celebrating the 4th goal against Indonesia (the one Bertrand takes the free kick). Cahill who is behind the penalty mark assists Terry with a header. Why would Mourinho celebrate a goal (showing a #1 on his hand btw) - the fourth nonetheless - against such a weak side? Because it's yet another play they practiced and could convert into goals in a match. Mourinho said in one of his interviews (I guess already in the US) that they had scored goals they practiced... and now Kevin is repeating it. It's important to practice those things, not only the free ones where the players just get familiar with each other's movement, but also the ones the manager set up for them and decide where they should position.

Those small details are crucial because sometimes they win us the match, it's one more thing to add to our game and I really am happy when I hear that they're scoring from plays they practiced. That's the way to go, and that's one of the things that make Mourinho The Special One.

[zyzz 711]

great interview

http://translate.google.com/translate?sl=de&tl=en&js=n&prev=_t&hl=de&ie=UTF-8&u=http%3A%2F%2Fwww.dfb.de%2Fnews%2Fde%2Fd-internationaler-fussball%2Fchelsea-zugang-andre-schuerrle-mourinho-ist-sehr-gut-drauf%2F45536.html

[Stingray 9,441]

^^ Thanks for that, Jay.

I really like this from Kevin: 'If you see a couple of goals that we scored it's really that... you see what we practiced at training comes back during the game."

Mourinho is known to practice a lot of drills by zones and by a combo of two different positions. So he practices drills between wingers and full backs; between CB and DM; between DM and the rest of the midfield; between AM and strikers; between FB (attacking) and strikers. There are chemistry drills, but there are also what we called in Portuguese (don't know the name in English) 'rehearsed [or practiced] play' which the squad practices a lot to try to see it happen also in the match, but their movement and actions are decided by the manager (it's not about becoming familiar with each other, but executing what the manager decided should be the play). So for example when a winger or a FB crosses the ball in the box, the striker or the other AM know where to position themselves because that's how they practiced. Or when during a corner or a free kick the one taking it puts in a place where one of the other guys should be, or passes it to a player that will assist a third one. Or during the attack where to position himself compared to the opposition defence and where to move the moment of the pass, etc...

We can see that clearly during last match. After Torres tripped on the ball, he infiltrates in the box (you even have this shot in the vid above). André positions himself behind Torres waiting for the pass, it's funny because you see him taking a mid-step ahead, but then he sort of retreats that one half step... it's like he wanted to move forward, but then decided to stay there (although that could also be a case of what in sports training it's called imminence [which is one of the rules to improve pace and reach through pro-activeness and brain training because you're preparing your body to sprint instead of reacting and surprising your muscles and brain, so you're just ready to sprint - or jump, or whatever - and those milliseconds actually improve your speed or depending on the situation your timing to meet whatever you have to meet]).

If you look a bit to the side Mata is doing sort of the same movement. One may say it's a coincidence or just the natural thing to a football player to do, but then we see André moving forward to position himself to either do a 2-1 or to expect a stray ball from a potential rebound from the goalkeeper. This is all trained on practices. Those guys spend about 20 minutes (according to Mourinho and Faria, as of course, I've never watched a training session led by Mourinho, but I've read and watched plenty about their training routines) practicing that kind of thing. Then the chemistry is the part where they naturally move to certain positions and they got used to each other's movement and the 'rehearsed plays' are the ones where Mourinho defines where they should move to if that situation presents to them.

We see Mourinho celebrating the 4th goal against Indonesia (the one Bertrand takes the free kick). Cahill who is behind the penalty mark assists Terry with a header. Why would Mourinho celebrate a goal (showing a #1 on his hand btw) - the fourth nonetheless - against such a weak side? Because it's yet another play they practiced and could convert into goals in a match. Mourinho said in one of his interviews (I guess already in the US) that they had scored goals they practiced... and now Kevin is repeating it. It's important to practice those things, not only the free ones where the players just get familiar with each other's movement, but also the ones the manager set up for them and decide where they should position.

Those small details are crucial because sometimes they win us the match, it's one more thing to add to our game and I really am happy when I hear that they're scoring from plays they practiced. That's the way to go, and that's one of the things that make Mourinho The Special One.

Very, very true! Those automatisms get encoded in the cerebellum. It can drive your motor control under 1/200th of a second - unconsciously. Normal stuff takes much, much longer (1/4-1/2second).

The difference in money time situations is what creates winning.

Think of it as decision making when you have driven your car for 200.000 km versus just being told how to drive... Huge, huge difference in performance, speed and control.

[Vybz Kartel 1,613]

Didnt impress me at all during pre season, hope he is saving his best for the start of the season

[Mouri_Matic 560]

Didnt impress me at all during pre season, hope he is saving his best for the start of the season

He was never likely to be the explosive type like Hazard. He is someone who occasionally scores an out of this world goal. Think of him like Mata but a bit worse. Actually he might play a similar role to us like when Yossi did for Liverpool a few years ago. Coming off the bench as an impact sub or start some occasion game but never going to be a mainstay.