Closed Singha All-Stars 0-1 Chelsea

[OneMoSalah 8,778]

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 20,593]

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 20,593]

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:

[Bosnian Blue 2,471]

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.

Not really. Take a look at the goals he scored with his right and you'll see that almost all of them are similar - simple shots from inside the box, or little chips. I've seen Ronaldo scoring screamers from 30 yards with both feet, but I've seen Messi do it only with his left. I agree he isn't extremely one-footed as Robben is. It doesn't mean hes not a great player, you can look at it from a different perspective though and say how fantastic he is having done all that only with his left. Its just not my thing, I like different players, probably because I play like that.

[November33rd 84]

Lol @ using Ronaldo and Robben as examples. Two completely opposite ends of the spectrum as Ronaldo is one of the most two-footed players maybe ever and Robben is maybe the most one footed player ever.

[Bosnian Blue 2,471]

Lol @ using Ronaldo and Robben as examples. Two completely opposite ends of the spectrum as Ronaldo is one of the most two-footed players maybe ever and Robben is maybe the most one footed player ever.

And I said what ?

Read it again.

sorry for going way off-topic

[Heisenberg 1,824]

[DJames 729]

I must say I'm pleased with the current batch of players. Some need a bit more work no doubt which Mourinho will see too. But the coming seasons looks to be mighty impressive. KDB definitely came with his A game today and was highly instrumental on the pitch (passing, crossing, ball distribution, positioning). I can't wait to see more of him with this (and better) form. Schurrle was ok, MvG was a bit better. Chalobah, Wallace, Piazon and Traore all need to go back out on loan. Ba needs to get back some form. It was nice to see Lukaku play, with a bit more practice he can be our starter for the season. All in all a good start to pre-season

[TrippingStep 336]

I don't think we can make accurate analysis after a match like this.

The players that played in the confed cup weren't there, we put mixed teams in either half.

The ball bouncing a lot on this pitch, heavy legs, hard to play fast moves in small spaces to tear apart this team sitting very deep eventhough they were bad at defending.

And I think that on training, we have worked a lot on quick transitions from defence to attack, the blueprint of Mourinho's team, but the opposition never really attacked.

During the us tour, we will have a better idea.

I just hope that against team that sits deep, we will be good to watch.

The Real matches against Manchester that were sitting deep disappointed me by the lack of very good attacking moves.

And it's not like Manchester were that good in defence.

[NishC300 1,865]

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

FULL MATCH RECORDING IN GREAT QUALITY!

And highlights too.

[AndersonBLUE 819]

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.

Or he kept KDB out longer to further analyze him to help him make a decision

[Hutcho 8,443]

Or he kept KDB out longer to further analyze him to help him make a decision

Or he kept him out longer because he felt he was in great shape.

Either way, he would have been impressed by what he saw yesterday, even if it was in a pre season friendly.

[Fernando 6,465]

Watched the match on Chelsea tv.....fuck me, all this money this club has and we can't even get HD?????

Not to mention if we can get some better commentators then the usual. Today's' commentator was great, but there is one there that tends to come up a lot and he is horrible!

I fall asleep in a matter of minutes listening to him!

[CHOULO19 24,332]

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.)

I'm guessing that that 'rant' wasn't really aimed at me?

On any account, judging players and hyping them is inevitable during preseason. We have nothing else to talk about, what do you expect?!

[TorontoChelsea 4,064]

I'm guessing that that 'rant' wasn't really aimed at me?

On any account, judging players and hyping them is inevitable during preseason. We have nothing else to talk about, what do you expect?!

Not at you at all. You always have some perspective. Just a general rant looking through the the player threads with all the "you can tell (by a few good/bad passes/runs/tackles in one meaningless game) that player X is amazing/awful.