The Rotation

[kellzfresh 7,229]

Ok, i get your point now. Its true, but i just have this bad feeling that one of hazard oscar or mata will get an injury(dont kill me yet) they've played so many games for 2 years now (look at messi getting injuries here and there) and i dont want us to regret not having better quality on the bench.

But i understand where you're coming from now

I knew one of our players would get injured, and it will make us know the importance of depth, now I hear oscar twisted his ankle... Oh God!!

[didierforever 7,349]

i dont understand what the problem is here. for once we have a big squad with atleast 2 players for each role and we NEED it. look at the number of matches we are going to be playing. we are not just going to be playing in 4 competitions but also will be trying to win each and every of those competitions. for that to happen you need fit players, healthy players.

i mean look at bayern munich. they have a squad exactly as big as ours.

last year they had -

strikers - gomez, mandzukic and pizzaro (ba,etoo and torres)

attacking midfielders - ribery, robben, shaqiri, muller, kroos (mazacar, kdb, willian, schurlle)

defensive midfielders - bastian, javi, luiz, tymoshchuk (lamps, essien, rambo, mvg, mikel)

defenders - lahm, dante, holger, rafinha, contento, jerome, alaba, buyten (jt, cahill, luiz, kalas, azpi, iva, cole, bert)

so its 2 midfielders more than bayern munich. now lets compare the ideal no. of games both team would be expecting to play

LEAGUE - 34 (38)

DOMESTIC - 6 (6 + 6 = 12) (this is considering that there will be no fa cup replays)

EUROPEAN - 13 (13)

TOTAL - 53 (63)

so we will be playing about 10 extra games (ATLEAST) than what munich does and you have to take into account the number of injuries simply shoots due to continous football. also exhaustion plays a big part , for eg - the bundesliga is shut down for almost a month, and at the same time the PL teams are playing 3 games in a week due to fa cup.

we need 22 outfield players to not just play but play to WIN. and at this moment that is what we have.

[Shane 2,275]

People need to get the fact that Oscar is key to Jose's system and is probably our most important player at the minute. A creative number 10 that will work tirelessly for the team. Everything good we did this season went through him, and that will be the way it continues.

Oscar is vital to our future, If he gets injured we'd miss him more then any other player, even with our wealth of options in his department.

Brazil haven't made him their number 10 for the world cup for nothing, and Jose clearly see's it too.

[didierforever 7,349]

Last season, Real Madrid regularly used 5 attacking players for the 3 attacking midfielder/striker roles with 2 other players getting semi-regular time. That's 7 players for 4 spots. Chelsea have 9 players for those 4 spots which means that 2 or 3 our attacking players are likely to rarely play.

last season madrid had

strikers - benzema (50), higuain (44), morata (15)

attacking mids - CR (55), ozil (52), callejon (41),di maria (52), kaka (26).

so that is 8 players for 4 positions. we have 9 for the same 4 position.

not much of a difference.

in mid we have 4 players (lamps, mvg, mikel, rambo) compared to madrid's 5 (modric, alonso, khedira, casemiro and illaramendi) right now.

essien is nothing but a stop gap who will be used in dead rubbers or injuries in the deep mid, center back and full back positions and that is proven by his absence from our CL squad this year.

[-Kaplan- 410]

people need to get over the idea that Oscar will play in the pivot

Seriously. A good amount of posters put him there in their line-ups when he hasn't even played there yet under Mourinho.

[Blue Armour 4,436]

There is a thin line between having depth and being overloaded with talented players, some of who will rarely play and Chelsea have crossed that line so who will be the players left out?

Last season, Real Madrid regularly used 5 attacking players for the 3 attacking midfielder/striker roles with 2 other players getting semi-regular time. That's 7 players for 4 spots. Chelsea have 9 players for those 4 spots which means that 2 or 3 our attacking players are likely to rarely play. Madrid used 3 regular players for the central midfield with a 4th occasionally playing. Chelsea have 5 players there. I think at defence, we have the right balance of depth with Luiz, Terry, Ivanovic, Cahill, and Azpilicueta covering 3 spots and Cole playing almost all the time. It will be interesting to see. Who would you leave out?

9 players, meaning 3 strikers and 6 attacking mids.

6 attacking mids for 3 positions is not a management problem. Especially when you consider 3 out of those 6 are less experienced in the PL, and also offer something tactically different from the established trio of Oscar, Hazard and Mata. Plus, you take into consider fitness problems (like the kind affecting Mata) and the sheer volume of games, everyone is bound to get a fair chance.

Now, for the 3 strikers in the 1 striking role...Its safe to say that its realistically between Torres and Eto'o for that one. Ba is a squad option for his abilities as a targetman, and is unlikely to see much game time. This shouldn't come as a surprise to most people.

And I won't give any names for who should be left out. You yourself have said before, it very much is a squad game for the entire season and we are likely to see all kinds of combinations for the starting 11 when games come thick and fast.

[Barbara 15,149]

People need to get the fact that Oscar is key to Jose's system and is probably our most important player at the minute. A creative number 10 that will work tirelessly for the team. Everything good we did this season went through him, and that will be the way it continues.

Oscar is vital to our future, If he gets injured we'd miss him more then any other player, even with our wealth of options in his department.

Brazil haven't made him their number 10 for the world cup for nothing, and Jose clearly see's it too.

my example using him and Kevin was completely random. I could have said Willian and Mata, or Eden and André. I just used the first two guys that came in my mind.

As for Mourinho's decision... I think we can only guess at this point, as it's been only 4 matches so far - Mata is unfit and now Oscar is injured and Mata is a great player - horrible work rate, but amazing creative player. I'd start both, but I wouldn't be surprised if José decides to play Juan over Oscar. If I had to guess I'd say Eden, Ramires and Oscar are the three outfield players Mourinho likes the most although he trusts Terry and Lamps a lot as well. But maybe even liking Oscar more than Mata, maybe we'll miss having Mata and his assists...

I don't think Oscar is better than Mata, Mata is the best out of the two, I think Oscar is better suited for the starting XI though. At the end of the day Mata may not even compete with Oscar if Mou sticks with his idea of playing Mata in the RW

[RoyalBlues 4,050]

people need to get over the idea that Oscar will play in the pivot

Seriously. A good amount of posters put him there in their line-ups when he hasn't even played there yet under Mourinho.

Honestly, I would not be surprised if he could do well also in pivot.

[RoyalBlues 4,050]

Yeah I think it's too early to tell, but I can definitely see someone going.

I think, you're too early to see someone will going, sir.

Wait for Mata to perform at his level again. We're back with Mazacar again. KDB, Willian, Schurrle will mostly be used as a subs.

[kellzfresh 7,229]

my example using him and Kevin was completely random. I could have said Willian and Mata, or Eden and André. I just used the first two guys that came in my mind.

As for Mourinho's decision... I think we can only guess at this point, as it's been only 4 matches so far - Mata is unfit and now Oscar is injured and Mata is a great player - horrible work rate, but amazing creative player. I'd start both, but I wouldn't be surprised if José decides to play Juan over Mata. If I had to guess I'd say Eden, Ramires and Oscar are the three outfield players Mourinho likes the most although he trusts Terry and Lamps a lot as well. But maybe even liking Oscar more than Mata, maybe we'll miss having Mata and his assists...

I don't think Oscar is better than Mata, Mata is the best out of the two, I think Oscar is better suited for the starting XI though. At the end of the day Mata may not even compete with Oscar if Mou sticks with his idea of playing Mata in the RW

"if jose plays juan over mata"

[Stingray 9,441]

I knew one of our players would get injured, and it will make us know the importance of depth, now I hear oscar twisted his ankle... Oh God!!

Add Hazard to the list. Also the NT games are still to be played - xtra injuries can still come up. So, I for one am glad with the depth.

[Barbara 15,149]

"if jose plays juan over mata"

I meant Juan over Oscar

thanks for picking it