Closed Singha All-Stars v Chelsea

[Chelsea? 892]

Seems Hazard is moving to the middle and Mata to the right. Id rather have Eden on the left: he's not the passer Mata is. Also seems Oscar will be a sub.

[Fernando 6,453]

Any one knows what channel they will give this game in the states?

[edenhazard17 281]

Today should be more interesting than ever.

[channing 8]

please anyone who can post a website to watch this match

i dont know whether i can open chelseafc.com for my slow network in china

[channing 8]

i think i found some in the 'steam' thread

but most cant open

[Hutcho 8,443]

I think I probably said this last year, but i have never been more pumped for a preseason game...

Let's get it on.

[Hutcho 8,443]

please anyone who can post a website to watch this match

i dont know whether i can open chelseafc.com for my slow network in china

There will be a few closer to game time.

[Hamilton 2,120]

I like sometimes to play with what I call 'wingers with the wrong foot' – right-footed men on the left and left-footed men on the right.

Really,

get ready for this then:

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Cblh3xx0FuM

:eyebrows:

[channing 8]

thanks cant wait for this game

[Gorando 184]

I think I probably said this last year, but i have never been more pumped for a preseason game...

Let's get it on.

The first preseason match played in really hot humid conditions. I'm expecting a slow boring game

[TrippingStep 336]

Any doubts José Mourinho may have harboured over the condition of Chelsea's old guard have been allayed in his first week back with the squad after the manager claimed the more seasoned campaigners had been "training like animals" since returning to work.

Mourinho will oversee the first game of his second spell in charge of Chelsea on Wednesday, against a Singha All Star XI, with John Terry, Petr Cech, Michael Essien, Frank Lampard and Ashley Cole all to start at the Rajamangala national stadium. The quintet featured under his stewardship last time around and, while the manager has already backed Chelsea's young talent to thrive over the season ahead, he will lean on familiar figures to inspire a title challenge.

Terry, who has entered the final year of his contract at Stamford Bridge, had stayed behind to practise after training the night before at the International School of Bangkok and was the first out-field player on to the turf at the national arena. "The good thing with my previous players is that what I see makes me very happy," Mourinho said. "I don't see them any different to before. And when I see Terry, Cole, Lampard, the way they are working at 32, 32, 35, it's easy for me to control the group and demand the same from the other guys. I can say: 'Look at them: they don't miss one minute; they are training like animals; they compete. So you, who are 18, 19, 21, don't tell me you can't do it.'

"It's fantastic. I'm very happy. They know me. They know that I'm not going to make their lives easy but that I am going to give them something back. And, because they know me, from the first day they never questioned that situation and just worked hard. It's good for me because they are ready, all of them. The group is good and the other six boys (who have been given more time off after the Confederations Cup) will find something good when they come. They will feel it, what we are doing here. When the Matas, Oscars and Luizs come back they will smell immediately that we are doing something. It will be easy for them to come in."

Training was conducted in front of around 4,000 supporters on Tuesday – the game has been sold out at around 48,000, with tickets priced up to £64 – with Mourinho's upbeat mood reflecting the optimism that has enveloped this club.

"My wife was right," he said when asked if he felt revitalised to be back in charge after his last tempestuous months at Real Madrid. "She doesn't talk about football, but she told me a few times in Madrid that I needed to be happy to be able to give my best. I needed to be happy to be motivated, to spend my time organising training sessions and enjoying the sessions, to enjoy being with the players outside the training sessions – and I'm having all of this here."

Mourinho remains in the market for a striker and would ideally like to secure the recruit well before Chelsea's start to the Premier League season on 18 August. Yet any signing would apparently not jeopardise Fernando Torres' standing with the manager reluctant to part with any of his senior squad.

"First of all I don't want the club to sell," he said. "We are very much on board and connected, me and the board and the owner, and we don't need to sell players. We are happy with the group we have. We are not on this market pressure. If something happens it will happen naturally but we are in a position where we are not worried."

He intends to tweak his favoured 4-3-3 formation for particular matches, occasionally using two defensive-minded deep-lying midfielders while retaining the flexibility to be more expansive. Juan Mata – who is still on leave along with Torres, César Azpilicueta, Mikel John Obi, David Luiz and Oscar – could operate as a playmaker or even be utilised on the right of an attacking three behind a forward, though the manager admitted he needed "to get to know him better".

"We will play 4-2-3-1 in the first game, my favourite system, though sometimes I change the triangle and play with one in front of the defenders and two players up," Mourinho said. "Other times I play with double midfielders and a No10. This is a team where we have not one or two but three or four players who like very much to be a No10: [Kevin] De Bruyne likes it, Oscar likes it, Mata likes it, [Eden] Hazard likes it. It is a natural system for all these players to play.

"But in another match I could change it. If we are losing, we might need to have two pure strikers. It is something we will work on because I would like to have this capacity to have it ready to play, independent of the players we have. Naturally, we will have four at the back and in my team, the attackers are attackers. Some guys say we play 4-2-3-1, blah blah blah blah, and sometimes the attackers have a defensive job so it is more like 4-5-1. But it is not 4-5-1, it is 4-3-3.

"With Mata, I need to get to know him better. I like sometimes to play with what I call 'wingers with the wrong foot' – right-footed men on the left and left-footed men on the right. He is the only left-footed player we have when we want to play with a winger on the right side, but the competition is hard. We will have Schurrle, De Bruyne, Mata, Oscar, Hazard and Moses for these three positions and so we have many more options than Chelsea had in the last year. These are crucial positions for me. I like these players to play with high intensity so to have five players for three positions is, I think, brilliant for me. It's fantastic."

If you add De Rossi (I really think we will sign him) and possibly Rooney.

We will have a very flexible squad to switch between 4-2-3-1, 4-3-3, 4-4-2 in diamond shape.

And with De Rossi, we could even play a back 3 if we need to push the fullback higher when needed.

Rooney up front for intricate play upfront. Lukaku, Torres for counter-attack. Ba as targetman, playing back to goal.

Rooney and Schurrle can also play as second striker.

.

Except De Rossi as a defensive midfielder, we would have two players for each positon that could do a good job. (Mikel is not a good defensive midfielder for me and contrary to many here, it's not for his passing, it's for the way he defends)

So many options.

[Hutcho 8,443]

The first preseason match played in really hot humid conditions. I'm expecting a slow boring game

Probably but Jose will be there and a lot of your young talent and new signings.

[Stingray 9,441]

The first preseason match played in really hot humid conditions. I'm expecting a slow boring game

Probably but Jose will be there and a lot of your young talent and new signings.

So excited. Its like having sex for the first time with a new girl !

Even if its bad, it is still good !!

Sent from my iPad using Tapatalk HD

[haranr 485]

IMPRESS ME LADS !! COMON CHELSEA!!

[Shane 2,275]

Never ever ever ever been so excited for a friendly before.

Get to see De Bruyne, Schurrle, Van Ginkle all in a Chelsea shirt, and Mourinho back on the touch line.

Also looking forward to see what Wallace can offer us in the right back position. Chaloabh in the second half too!

Then Champions League later, what a day!

[CHOULO19 24,332]

Feel sad for Josh, but incredibly excited to see everyone else. Haven't said this in a while: Come On You Blues! :cfc:

[kellzfresh 7,229]

Seems Hazard is moving to the middle and Mata to the right. Id rather have Eden on the left: he's not the passer Mata is. Also seems Oscar will be a sub.

We played some games in the europa league with hazard in the middle and the counter attacks were blistering. I liked that too, it just felt like reus playing in the hole for dortmund with that speed.

[haranr 485]

Hazard at his best is better than Mata in every aspect! Passes included.