Closed Singha All-Stars 0-1 Chelsea

[Hutcho 8,443]

Essien performed like it was 5 years ago which was nice to see. Could have used him last season in there.

KDB was as good as I am sure we had all hoped. And Mourinho must see it as well which is why he was given the extra time. Hazard was as expected. Gonna be a great season. Lukaku out performed ba even excluding the penalty.

Wallace looked very promising. All in all I'm fairly happy with the first game back.

[zolayes 14,489]

I have a Thai friend & she told me that it's the Player's name on the back of their Jersey in Thai.

its all part of a cunning Baldric plan to confuse our opponents and refs next season

[Melanicus 5,208]

I died when I saw this pic, surprise butt-sex. lol.

[CHOULO19 24,332]

A minor tactical note: I think Jose is trying to customize that number 10 position judging by the roles Piazon and then Kevin played in the match. It looks like Jose wants whoever is playing in that role to drop off more often and play the ball from deep in the field to give us a numerical advantage in the middle when getting the ball out of defense. I predict to see a lot of Oscar and Kevin playing in that number 10 position and not Mata and Hazard.

Oh, and I think it's safe to say that we've been practicing set pieces in training.

[Jase 43,479]

Decent win. Needless to say that we should have won by more than 1-0 and if we had a top class striker our there, it could have had happened...

Anyway, there were certainly positives to take from the players and team's performance. Wallace was very good in the first half. Tiny but strong, quick and aggressive too. Lukaku was alright. The same for Schurrle but he did look very predictable with his movement of constantly coming inside onto his right foot. De Bruyne was superb throughout and love that over-the-top ball he played to Lukaku in the first half. Was brilliant! And Hazard had a great impact after he came on (bloody hate those girls screaming!).

As for the team, like I what saw despite it being only against a 4th/5th tier opposition. We controlled the game very well and never looked in trouble except when in set pieces situation. More importantly though, there was proper pressing from the team(!) which forced them into making mistakes and rushed passes. And with that pressing comes aggression that we hardly saw last season to win the ball back when we lost it. We were certainly not afraid to get stuck in their faces and make them work hard for the ball rather than just sit back and see them pass around us.

[jakeheath 19]

Hey lads, just wondering if anyone has a link to the full game or a download of the full game? Would love it thanks

[edetarod 2,155]

http://livefootballvideo.com/fullmatch/world/club-friendlies/singha-all-star-xi-vs-chelsea#.Ueb-Pqzdcho

[Kish9 50]

http://youtu.be/rW7Fd2Lap1I second half

[Special Juan 28,141]

Sounds like it was OK, a win is a win I suppose.

Tried to watch but my stream was more dodgy than Howard Webb.

[jakeheath 19]

thanks heaps guys, work just got lot more fun

[Blue Armour 4,446]

We waited so long to see this again

Hope to see his overcoat again during the PL season.

[TorontoChelsea 4,064]

A minor tactical note: I think Jose is trying to customize that number 10 position judging by the roles Piazon and then Kevin played in the match. It looks like Jose wants whoever is playing in that role to drop off more often and play the ball from deep in the field to give us a numerical advantage in the middle when getting the ball out of defense. I predict to see a lot of Oscar and Kevin playing in that number 10 position and not Mata and Hazard.

This is the only sort of thing I can ever take from pre-season. Possible tactical moves by the manager. Even then, Mourinho could easily switch to something else if this doesn't work but it's still interesting because I agree with you, I think Oscar fits into Mourinho's system very well. This board is going to be very difficult to be on until the season starts. People trying to read anything into individual performances in pre-season are going to annoy me to now end. It doesn't matter who looks good, it doesn't matter who performs well. Pre-season games are totally and utterly meaningless. Go back and look at the pages for Marin and Piazon this time last year People were mentioning Marin in the same breath as Iniesta, talking about Piazon playing regular minutes. I know we're all excited that (semi but not really) competitive football is back, but pre-season means nothing!!! (And yes, the "so and so looks great, you can tell he..." or "So and so sucks" stuff drives me crazy.)

[Bosnian Blue 2,471]

Schürrle seems very predictable, cutting inside on his right foot almost every time. He will find it very difficult to get into the starting 11 over Hazard, at least not on the left flank.

On the other hand, I liked Van Ginkel. This guy will surprise many, but the only potential problem for him could be the physicality of the Premier League. We'll see how he handles that.

Wallace looked promising. Find him a good club to be loaned to and the lad could shine.

[Magic Lamps 11,692]

Schürrle seems very predictable, cutting inside on his right foot almost every time. He will find it very difficult to get into the starting 11 over Hazard, at least not on the left flank.

On the other hand, I liked Van Ginkel. This guy will surprise many, but the only potential problem for him could be the physicality of the Premier League. We'll see how he handles that.

Wallace looked promising. Find him a good club to be loaned to and the lad could shine.

Because he is predictable. Like I said before, he is a slower, less talented Sturridge with better work rate and attitude. Sturridge also is predictable, always trying to beat his man and then shoot. It is about the same with Schürrle. But don't worry, in the season he will be sharp and that will work out more often than not. Even though it is predictable, you can't deny him too often.

I think MvG is rather tall and strong for a man of his age. That is why Mou brought him for the first team. The guy is ready.

[OneMoSalah 8,886]

A minor tactical note: I think Jose is trying to customize that number 10 position judging by the roles Piazon and then Kevin played in the match. It looks like Jose wants whoever is playing in that role to drop off more often and play the ball from deep in the field to give us a numerical advantage in the middle when getting the ball out of defense. I predict to see a lot of Oscar and Kevin playing in that number 10 position and not Mata and Hazard.

Oh, and I think it's safe to say that we've been practicing set pieces in training.

You sometimes expect that from your #10, that they drop deep so they can link the play when the pivot players or center/full backs have possession. The #10 role is where Oscar is best as opposed to the wing imo.

Was very impressed with Van Ginkel. Played well as a 6 as well as an 8 at times but its only against minor opposition I suppose so. De Bruyne was the stand out by a mile, he looked like he was out to prove a point to Jose. Wallace looked comfortable too, not seen any of this rash Brazilian tackles yet too so thats another plus haha.

[Bosnian Blue 2,471]

Yeah well Robben is predictable too, but he is unstoppable at times. Schürrle reminds me of him sometimes. I don't really like those kinds of players (hence why I don't rate Messi as the best ever), but lets see how he does. I like the attitude and commitment hes showing already.

[The Skipper 20,609]

Yeah well Robben is predictable too, but he is unstoppable at times. Schürrle reminds me of him sometimes. I don't really like those kinds of players (hence why I don't rate Messi as the best ever), but lets see how he does. I like the attitude and commitment hes showing already.

Messi is predictable?!

[Bosnian Blue 2,471]

Messi is predictable?!

Sometimes yes, but that doesn't mean you can stop him. But I didnt mean that, I don't like one-footed players and Messi is one. Maradona was one. Mata is one. Robben also cuts in all the time, defenders know it, yet they can't stop him.

[The Skipper 20,609]

Sometimes yes, but that doesn't mean you can stop him. But I didnt mean that, I don't like one-footed players and Messi is one. Maradona was one. Mata is one. Robben also cuts in all the time, defenders know it, yet they can't stop him.

Hmm. I disagree. I think Messi is one footed in the way he dribbles perhaps but he can still produce a world class pass/finish with his right, he's done that plenty of times. Messi isn't anywhere near as one footed Robben or Mata is.

[termninja 5,290]

Decent game, but the most important thing is that the team looked good and there were no injuries while Jose won his 1st game in charge against a team that had beaten Manu few days ago

Wallace really surprised me, he looks to have quite a bright future ahead of him. Few times he really did well with his tackling, movement and interceptions and for me he came out as one of the most pleasant surprises in the last few seasons. Hopefully we can manage to secure him a work permit and give him a chance to shine at SW6

As for Schurrle, Van Ginkel and De Bruyne, they did alright, like I expected them to do. Schurrle had some nice runs on the LW, but some mistakes also, Van Ginkel some tackles and good positioning while De Bruyne did very well with his ball distribution and passing. His crosses from set pieces were really great also.

All in all, I'm happy for the win, really happy to see Jose back on the touchline and incredibly happy to see Chelsea play again! :cfc: