Closed Chelsea v Man City

[Sovieticus 743]

No Tevez, No Kompany. There is a chance.

[Henrique 9,133]

Cech; Ivan, Terry, Cahill, Cole; Luiz, Ramires; Lampard, Hazard, Oscar; Torres. Schurle to replace Lampard in the 2nd half to, get CIty on the counter attack.

[OneMoSalah 8,785]

In case you've forgotten Varane's age, he's only 20.

Yes Varane who has caps for the French national team who are one of the top international teams and is arguably the best u21 CB in the world with world class potential in comparison to Kenneth Omeruo. There is an absolute massive jump in quality between Raphael Varane and Kenneth Omeruo, laughable you'd really try and argue your point using Varane as an example when he's arguably Real Madrid's second best CB behind Sergio Ramos.

Its obvious why Mourinho used Varane at Madrid and Balotelli at Inter when they were young because they were exceptional talents and good enough to play. Omeruo isn't good enough to play in the Chelsea first team this season, he needs to play on loan somewhere, arguably a lower PL club or Championship club.. so do you really think hes going to play him against Man City or even Arsenal? Of course he fucking isn't.

[Pizy 18,419]

I know it's still early and it's really close at the top, but after entering the weekend in 2nd we can end it in 7th if we lose tomorrow.

Can't afford to let Arse slip away or for City to get a big boost in confidence by beating us at home. It'll give them momentum and even more belief in their title challenge.

[Barbara 15,149]

Yes Varane who has caps for the French national team who are one of the top international teams and is arguably the best u21 CB in the world with world class potential in comparison to Kenneth Omeruo. There is an absolute massive jump in quality between Raphael Varane and Kenneth Omeruo, laughable you'd really try and argue your point using Varane as an example when he's arguably Real Madrid's second best CB behind Sergio Ramos.

Its obvious why Mourinho used Varane at Madrid and Balotelli at Inter when they were young because they were exceptional talents and good enough to play. Omeruo isn't good enough to play in the Chelsea first team this season, he needs to play on loan somewhere, arguably a lower PL club or Championship club.. so do you really think hes going to play him against Man City or even Arsenal? Of course he fucking isn't.

sorry to correct you, but Varane and Balotelli played in a Mourinho team much before they were capped in the senior teams of their countries, and even before they were a constant presence in the U21 NT. If anything Mourinho is the one responsible for their later presences in the their NT's - even in the U-21 - not the other way around. So because Mourinho saw talent (in Varane's case as Mario was already in Inter), signed them, and brought them to the main team, the NT's managers (youth or not) brought them to their team. Varane had a total of 5 caps (U-18, U-19, U21 combined) before Mourinho signed him in June and then played him in September in Madrid... he was 18 then... Mario was 19 when Mourinho started him in the senior team as well. So bottom line is, if Mourinho trusts a youngster, they will play. If Mourinho thinks they're ready, he'll promote them to the main team or allow eventual matches.

If Omeruo is ready and Mourinho trusts him, he'll eventually play regardless of his age as well as other boys. IMO it's sort of a myth that José can't work with youth. He can, the thing is he protects a lot his youngsters and don't risk playing them when they're not ready emotionally, physically and technically. He's not an expert like others and he prefers to work with boys older than 21, but he gets too much stick for how he handles young talent when he isn't as bad as people make him out to be.

Oh and btw, Varane isn't RM arguably second best CB. He's our best CB, period.

also I don't know the context of your convo with Sidzeret, just thought I'd give my two cents as I support followed closely Inter and Madrid in the seasons both of them were promoted to the main team and watched first row how Mourinho handled them, especially Mario who had tons of disciplinary issues and was quite handful for Mou to manage.

************************************************************************************************************************************************

Tons of posts today saying if we lose we'll be 7th place... Only a quarter of the fixtures was played, being 7th, 5 points behind the leaders we'll still play both away and at home isn't as tragic as you guys are making it out to be especially when Arsenal had the easiest fixtures they possibly could and they'll start to drop points when facing harder opponents more often. Losing to City at home, means we'll probably have to beat them away in a few months from now to balance it. You look at those teams at the top of the table and the likes they dropped points to (especially losses) and invariably they slipped against teams they shouldn't and they still have to play other teams that really have potential to make them drop points. So they dropped too early against oppositions they shouldn't drop at all. We dropped points against ManU, Totts and Everton, not against Villa, Cardiff, Newcastle, Swansea, West Brom/Ham and Stoke City.

Except ManU, most of the other teams haven't played tough competition and still they already dropped almost as many points as us. It's not time to desperation or panic, whether we lose or draw tomorrow. I really can't bring myself to be concerned (or maybe even care too much) if we finish the weekend 7th place. There are 29 rounds to make it up... that is if we lose

[OneMoSalah 8,785]

sorry to correct you, but Varane and Balotelli played in a Mourinho team much before they were capped in the senior teams of their countries, and even before they were a constant presence in the U21 NT. If anything Mourinho is the one responsible for their later presences in the their NT's - even in the U-21 - not the other way around. So because Mourinho saw talent (in Varane's case as Mario was already in Inter), signed them, and brought them to the main team, the NT's managers (youth or not) brought them to their team. Varane had a total of 5 caps (U-18, U-19, U21 combined) before Mourinho signed him in June and then played him in September in Madrid... he was 18 then... Mario was 19 when Mourinho started him in the senior team as well. So bottom line is, if Mourinho trusts a youngster, they will play. If Mourinho thinks they're ready, he'll promote them to the main team or allow eventual matches.

If Omeruo is ready and Mourinho trusts him, he'll eventually play regardless of his age as well as other boys. IMO it's sort of a myth that José can't work with youth. He can, the thing is he protects a lot his youngsters and don't risk playing them when they're not ready emotionally, physically and technically. He's not an expert like others and he prefers to work with boys older than 21, but he gets too much stick for how he handles young talent when he isn't as bad as people make him out to be.

Oh and btw, Varane isn't RM arguably second best CB. He's our best CB, period.

also I don't know the context of your convo with Sidzeret, just thought I'd give my two cents as I support followed closely Inter and Madrid in the seasons both of them were promoted to the main team and watched first row how Mourinho handled them, especially Mario who had tons of disciplinary issues and was quite handful for Mou to manage.

I was just using the fact Varane was playing regular games for Real Madrid against the case of Kenneth Omeruo realistically playing against City or Arsenal just because he was training with the first team. Jose played Varane (whos very talented) when he was 18 or 19 (cant remember how old he was when he made his debut) because he was ready. Obviously then he's gone into the France team a year later, who are a very good team too. The same with Balo after but he probably would have gotten an Italy call up sooner if he didn't have to wait for Italian citizenship as he was always eager to play for Italy and they had tabs on him for a while.

I was meaning though, Jose plays the youngsters who are exceptionally talented, who are ready physically ready, mentally ready and at a level where they can contribute straight away which is the Balotelli's and Varane's he has worked with. Obviously Omuero is a decent young CB who can go far but he has a lot of work to do, Balotelli and Varane were miles ahead of him in their development which ultimately was why I was saying that using Varane playing regular games as a reason for why Jose might play Omuero is totally different due to the level of talent of the players.

Yeah Jose will work with youth, he started to give Morata minutes at Real too but he didn't give Jese or even use Carvajal at Madrid when they desperately needed a RB. Probably because he had to develop a bit before his game was at the level Jose felt he was good enough to start, so he sold him to Leverkusen and they brought him back in the summer.

[robsblubot 3,530]

Omeruo had a terrible (and unlucky) conf cup. The did not do very well against strong opposition in the minitutes he had, so don't really see what the fuzz is about... Is he doing well in training? Great giv him some cup start but certainly not against a top side.

Btw Varane replaced Pepe, who is average at best. Honestly we'got to stop going crazy for Madrid players if we ever want to beat barca again that is... Seriously, Madrid have many average players - too many really.

[Reddish-Blue 2,355]

Omeruo had a terrible (and unlucky) conf cup. The did not do very well against strong opposition in the minitutes he had, so don't really see what the fuzz is about... Is he doing well in training? Great giv him some cup start but certainly not against a top side.

Btw Varane replaced Pepe, who is average at best. Honestly we'got to stop going crazy for Madrid players if we ever want to beat barca again that is... Seriously, Madrid have many average players - too many really.

Agree with this.

Omerou has a long way to go in terms of development. Hopefully he gets a good loan spell in January

[Barbara 15,149]

I was just using the fact Varane was playing regular games for Real Madrid against the case of Kenneth Omeruo realistically playing against City or Arsenal just because he was training with the first team. Jose played Varane (whos very talented) when he was 18 or 19 (cant remember how old he was when he made his debut) because he was ready. Obviously then he's gone into the France team a year later, who are a very good team too. The same with Balo after but he probably would have gotten an Italy call up sooner if he didn't have to wait for Italian citizenship as he was always eager to play for Italy and they had tabs on him for a while.

I was meaning though, Jose plays the youngsters who are exceptionally talented, who are ready physically ready, mentally ready and at a level where they can contribute straight away which is the Balotelli's and Varane's he has worked with. Obviously Omuero is a decent young CB who can go far but he has a lot of work to do, Balotelli and Varane were miles ahead of him in their development which ultimately was why I was saying that using Varane playing regular games as a reason for why Jose might play Omuero is totally different due to the level of talent of the players.

Yeah Jose will work with youth, he started to give Morata minutes at Real too but he didn't give Jese or even use Carvajal at Madrid when they desperately needed a RB. Probably because he had to develop a bit before his game was at the level Jose felt he was good enough to start, so he sold him to Leverkusen and they brought him back in the summer.

oh, so we agree

I understood your post wrong then. I thought you used Varane and Balotelli as examples that Mourinho only plays youngsters if they're already well established in their NTs. But we meant the same then

Mou got a lot of stick for letting Canales go in RM, but God help me, I love that kid, but the few matches he played under Mourinho were terrible imo... I didn't want him anywhere near the senior team.

[Shane 2,275]

Aguero is on a great run of form; Silva has been terrific; Negredo is a threat and they have Yaya. Im not confident...

Man city fans are full confident for tomorrow.

I can't understand how people are so negative for this game tomorrow. All of a sudden, City are this huge unstoppable force. I said it before the season I didn't rate them and I haven't changed my mind. Does anyone remember when they played Bayern? They were fucking light years behind them, we played Bayern and did alright. Without Kompany I can see us causing them problems. Hazard against whoever starts at right back, be it Zabaleta or an other could win us the game. I'm backing Hazard to have a good game tomorrow. Same with Oscar, I think he'll fucking run the show.

Oh, Yaya Toure is a good centre midfielder yes, But on here you'd swear he was fucking Roy Keane, Messi and Bobby Moore rolled into one.

Chels to win it 3-0.

[Mufassir08 2,400]

Oh, Yaya Toure is a good centre midfielder yes, But on here you'd swear he was fucking Roy Keane, Messi and Bobby Moore rolled into one. Chels to win it 3-0.

Can you really blame us though for thinking that?He always destroys our midfield singlehandedly when he plays against us.

[Sidzeret 2,257]

Yes Varane who has caps for the French national team who are one of the top international teams and is arguably the best u21 CB in the world with world class potential in comparison to Kenneth Omeruo. There is an absolute massive jump in quality between Raphael Varane and Kenneth Omeruo, laughable you'd really try and argue your point using Varane as an example when he's arguably Real Madrid's second best CB behind Sergio Ramos.

Its obvious why Mourinho used Varane at Madrid and Balotelli at Inter when they were young because they were exceptional talents and good enough to play. Omeruo isn't good enough to play in the Chelsea first team this season, he needs to play on loan somewhere, arguably a lower PL club or Championship club.. so do you really think hes going to play him against Man City or even Arsenal? Of course he fucking isn't.

Agreed... Varane is miles ahead of Omerou right now but all I was saying is that he could be in the team sheet against Arsenal in the Capital one Cup, not necessarily playing. I never said he was Chelsea first team material

[Severinb 309]

Travelled from zurich to london for this game hope we beat them! Hope we play:

Cech

Azpi luiz terry cole

Ramires mikel(we dont have anybody else)

Mata oscar hazard

Torres

Subs: schurrle,lampard and bertrand if we are winning!

[YouNameIt 1,511]

Cech

Azpi - Cahill - Terry - Cole

Ramires - Luiz

Willian - Oscar - Hazard

X

The reason for playing Luiz as CDM is simple. Stop Yaya. He always destroys our midfield and I honestly think Luiz is the best option to stop him.

Defensively we could play Iva instead of Azpi or even instead of Cahill. I would actually prefer Iva to play one of the positions because of the physic strenght he adds and his strong head-game. Always a danger at corners!

Oscar is a nobrainer for me here.I think this is the wrong type of game for Mata. Oscar should rest next game.

As far as the strikers go, Torres and Eto were equally good the last games they played so Im not too concerned about who starts.

Chelsea 2 -1

[Sidzeret 2,257]

Arguably the toughest fixture for us on paper. Since they are not in their best form yet and we are somewhere near there, we really do have a great chance at winning, unless Jose plays for the draw.

[Jose M 140]

Cech

Azpi - Cahill - Terry - Cole

Ramires - Luiz

Willian - Oscar - Hazard

X

The reason for playing Luiz as CDM is simple. Stop Yaya. He always destroys our midfield and I honestly think Luiz is the best option to stop him.

Defensively we could play Iva instead of Azpi or even instead of Cahill. I would actually prefer Iva to play one of the positions because of the physic strenght he adds and his strong head-game. Always a danger at corners!

Oscar is a nobrainer for me here.I think this is the wrong type of game for Mata. Oscar should rest next game.

As far as the strikers go, Torres and Eto were equally good the last games they played so Im not too concerned about who starts.

Chelsea 2 -1

Lampard is a starter no matter what in this game I feel.

The team I see Jose starting:

Cech

Azpi - luiz - Terry - Cole

Ramires - lampard

Schurrle - Oscar - Hazard

Torres

[Stingray 9,441]

Allright, matchday!!

This will be a pivotal game I reckon (pun intended). Comon José, come up with something to shoot them into oblivion on this matchday!

Also: i have no clear idea who I'd prefer as a striker, really, though Eto'o takes the lead. Also, Hazard seems ready to rip!

[aerlgenx 49]

how many hours till kick off???