Closed Werder Bremen 3-0 Chelsea

[Cosmin 2,484]

First of all he only had a few training sessions ffs and i thought he was one our better players in the second half.

I know he only had a few training sessions. I didn't make a huge deal out of it, but the start of the season is just 13 days away! He was WAY too slow today. Just look at that chance missed by Cesc, when Eden passed the ball to the Spaniard. I'm sorry I'm worried about the one who is, arguably, our best player. I should start cursing and swearing about Torres, instead....

[bigfan 67]

We've lost good players like Eto'o and Lampard, the new team needs to get back in the system we had before otherwise we will have another bad start and end up 3rd again.

agree all players - old and new - need to get into the system...I am just wondering if the system itself needs to be revisited in terms of speed and room for creativity

[Special Juan 27,103]

Tibo pulled off an absolute worldy by the way.

Thought Costa was very good too.

Sorry if that is a bit too positive for some.

[xPetrCechx 13,548]

Learn from It.

[lionsden 4,689]

I will pay to see what exactly it is that we do in training. I refuse to believe we practise any meaningful attacking drills with the way we play and if we do then we need to try different drills. either that or our highly paid, experienced, int'l players lack the capacity to implement the work done on the training ground in real match situations. I want to believe it's the former. we can't go into the new season with the same shit football. doing the same things and expecting different results is insanity.

[The Rising Sun 696]

So i guess pre season training also kind of means nothing.

Pre season games are real match simulations and its never a good feeling to see no direction and progression in style of play.

You can change the engine parts ( players ) from your old car, but if you are not at the same time changing the aero dynamics of that car ( playing style) then its never going to win you the race ( title)

[zolayes 14,489]

Meh; pitiful, esp. 1st half. Pre season scorelines don't matter but a squad of first teamers training together for 10+ days should be able to string a few passes together without looking like fucking greenhorns. Season opener in two weeks - hopefully this was a one off and acts as a push in the right direction.

you are correct in criticising the passing ... passes to the opponents under no pressure at all .. pre season or not that is pathetic

[Ryan Fong 2,776]

Mignolet would have got that penalty and second goal.

Just sayin'

Nah. David James would've save all three.

Just sayin'

[Atwa 78]

Win or lose, you can't look too much at these games.

I am still very worried about or offense, if Costa gets injured or into a slump we are worse off than last season.

Still don't think we should allow 3 goals against Werder Bremen. Oh well, lets start juding when the actual season comes.

[Shakez 755]

The majority have

Doesn't it worry you with our PL start 2 weeks away? Based on that we can count out Willian, Oscar and Schürrle to be anywhere near fit, not to mention Ramires. If we toss those players out of the starting line-up we are forced to start Cesc as a nr.10 with Salah on the wings and probably Mikel in the pivot.

[nono 791]

I still believe to be honest that the creature we see in front of us is not Torres but rather a donkey in the shape of Torres. The real Torres is somewhere else.

[kellzfresh 7,226]

Absolutely diabolical performance. Like we did at times last season.

We looked like a collection of top class individuals rather than a team in attack and have no clue what to do. And now we even look highly suspect at the back.

Preseason or not, we just got spanked 3-0 by a side who have 1 player I've even ever heard of. Pretty embarrassing.

Like someone mentioned in the other thread, you watch United who have played under Van Gaal for a few weeks and already have a set system and style of play. Arsenal, Liverpool, and City look brilliant in attack and play one touch football, form triangles, and have great chemistry. We just stand around the box and hope something happens. Like we don't even train in the final third.

Exactly. Manutd have crap players in pre-season compared to ours today but I saw team chemistry and linkup play.

We clearly have a defensive coordination and counter attack plan perfect, but when the opponent sits back and make us have to break them down, only practiced offensive team moves (one-twos, quick 5passes, pass and movement with both fullbacks moving forward) can break down the team. Or else we are dependent on individual performance from hazard to break through 3 players with pure dribbling and open up space.

It's just wrong to watch 90mins and not go "ahh I've seen that play from us before"

It's two weeks before the season starts but this is still pre-season so I'll take it like it was a formation training.

[Ollie 4,400]

I shouldn't get hyped or angry because it's a friendly and it's for fitness but i am very disappointed with that i must say. It's just like last season, we played nice football from Cech to the final 3rd and then no cutting edge, no movement and no finisher. If we don't get another striker, we'll have another disappointing campaign because if we lose Costa, as much as i love Drogba, we won't be scoring goals like Man City, Man Utd, Arsenal and Liverpool will.

The goals were unfortunate but that can happen if you don't score at the other end.

[lionsden 4,689]

So i guess pre season training also kind of means nothing.

Pre season games are real match simulations and its never a good feeling to see no direction and progression in style of play.

You can change the engine parts ( players ) from your old car, but if you are not at the same time changing the aero dynamics of that car ( playing style) then its never going to win you the race ( title)

Spot on.While result mean little, performance means a lot. Pre season is the time to test out new and fresh ideas, most teams use it to practise and sharpen their offensive and defensive drills ahead of the new season and even when the results are not favourable, it's comforting to see glimpses of new ideas and progress in terms of style of play from the previous season during pre season. it gives the fans something to look forward to. for e.g even If man utd had lost 3-0 to Madrid last night I'm sure their fans would have taken great positives from their scintillating performance overall with the way they controlled the game and created multiple clear cut chances.

[Pizy 17,860]

Prediction: This season will play out much like last season in terms of the football we play. When we look good we'll look very good and probably win most of the big matches. But when we're poor we'll look atrocious like we did today and resort to the same mindless tactics where we throw in a hundred aimless crosses and struggle to string together 2-3 accurate passes.

Hopefully when we do play poorly we're able to rectify the situation DURING the match. Unlike last season and today where if we play poorly it lasts for the entire bloody game.

[Special Juan 27,103]

Doesn't it worry you with our PL start 2 weeks away? Based on that we can count out Willian, Oscar and Schürrle to be anywhere near fit, not to mention Ramires. If we toss those players out of the starting line-up we are forced to start Cesc as a nr.10 with Salah on the wings and probably Mikel in the pivot.

No, not at all. I'm patient and not ready to press the panic button just yet.

[dee25 1,044]

With schürrle and willian back tomorrow we shouldn't have to see torres on the wings anymore.

Replacing a young striker who has proven he can score in this league with someone almost 40 is also not a sign of good business. Today showed we need to have a viable option to come off the bench in the striker position.

Matic is amazing.

If the club actually goes into the season with Drogba and Torres as cover for Costa, they'd be making such a HUGE mistake.

The way the board is persisting with Torres - they need to be careful because every time he's on the pitch he drags down the performances of the other players just by his sheer desperation to prove himself. It's not fair on the manager, it's not fair on the players and it's not even fair on Torres because he's being relied on to perform at a level that he's incapable of. Why continue with something that isn't working and that hasn't worked for the past three years? It's counter productive...

[bigfan 67]

a positive i find after this game: there is still lot of work to be done !