Chelsea Team Talk/Gossip/Rumours Thread 2013/14

grumpymunster

I would have to say that Schurrle was the worst Chelsea player on the pitch by a country mile last night, he simply cannot hold his place against City. Would agree Ash & Mata even though Dave was OK last night.

Panthro

grumpymunster wrote: »

I would have to say that Schurrle was the worst Chelsea player on the pitch by a country mile last night, he simply cannot hold his place against City. Would agree Ash & Mata even though Dave was OK last night.

You know what happened to him....It was my doing. I didn't wade on in here beforehand and say I think he's shyte! If I had, he probably would played a blinder.
Poor form Panthro, poor form..:pac:

GavRedKing

grumpymunster wrote: »

I would have to say that Schurrle was the worst Chelsea player on the pitch by a country mile last night, he simply cannot hold his place against City. Would agree Ash & Mata even though Dave was OK last night.

Dave was solid enough but Cole should be 100% for Sunday so he'd slot in.

We've yet to see him start with Torres and Eto'o but Eto'o starting big games on the left hand side isnt beyond the realms of possibility, it gives Jose the option to go 2 up top at a moments notice if we are losing a game without making a sub.

I dont know if Luiz will come back either given that Cahill and JT did well enough, Cech made some good saves too, some routine and some not so much.

peteeeed

grumpymunster wrote: »

I would have to say that Schurrle was the worst Chelsea player on the pitch by a country mile last night, he simply cannot hold his place against City. Would agree Ash & Mata even though Dave was OK last night.

although in his defense he was charging back most of the time trying to stop that Japanese flying full back who i thought was schalke's best player on the night along with the other full back

grumpymunster

It was Schurrle's passing that really disappointed me he hardly hit a Chelsea player all night. He is a really hard worker and tracks back well but I felt his passing was just woeful.

That Japanese lad was very good as was the Schalke #33 liked him.

Hopefully now City will be knackered from the trip to Moscow and the ploughed field they have to play on will take it's toll. For the first time for ages I am actually really looking forward to a match can see it now roaring fire decent bottle of red open fingers over the eyes oh yea can see it all.

peteeeed

grumpymunster wrote: »

It was Schurrle's passing that really disappointed me he hardly hit a Chelsea player all night. He is a really hard worker and tracks back well but I felt his passing was just woeful.

That Japanese lad was very good as was the Schalke #33 liked him.

Hopefully now City will be knackered from the trip to Moscow and the ploughed field they have to play on will take it's toll. For the first time for ages I am actually really looking forward to a match can see it now roaring fire decent bottle of red open fingers over the eyes oh yea can see it all.

mata or willian should take his place for sunday

weiland79

grumpymunster wrote: »

It was Schurrle's passing that really disappointed me he hardly hit a Chelsea player all night. He is a really hard worker and tracks back well but I felt his passing was just woeful.

That Japanese lad was very good as was the Schalke #33 liked him.

Hopefully now City will be knackered from the trip to Moscow and the ploughed field they have to play on will take it's toll. For the first time for ages I am actually really looking forward to a match can see it now roaring fire decent bottle of red open fingers over the eyes oh yea can see it all.

I hope so , my old man is a city fan and I hate the city fixtures lately. I thought we see very scrappy at the back ,last night and very poor at clearing the ball from dangerous areas, something I feel city will exploit much more than shalke did.

Legion.

Buzzing for Torres, thought he took his goals really well. Great result all things considered but I was disappointed with the first half performance to be honest, cant start like that vs City on Sunday.

GavRedKing

Legion. wrote: »

Buzzing for Torres, thought he took his goals really well. Great result all things considered but I was disappointed with the first half performance to be honest, cant start like that vs City on Sunday.

If we start like we did in the first 5-10 mins I'd take that :pac:

Legion.

GavRedKing wrote: »

If we start like we did in the first 5-10 mins I'd take that :pac:

Hahaha of course, but it took some good keeping and great defending from azpi to stop them getting back in to it before HT.

Killinator

Anyone else think Rami was woeful last night, seemed to be playing Mikels role but doing it very badly,

His game seemed to consist of the ball bouncing off his shin and consistent fouling worthy of at least a yellow(as usual).

GavRedKing

Ramires wasnt great but apart from Luiz we've no other viable option to partner Lamps I think.

Essien and Mikel are to slow, one thing Jose has done has brought some discipline tot he 2 CM's, neither fly up the pitch at every opportunity and both are working to shield the back four, which is good to see but we still have a goal threat between Ramires and Lamps.

Legion.

In fairness I don't think the holding role is Rami's game but hes being made to play it. He strikes me as someone who would be better as the less defensive of the two CMs, or he could be stuck on the wing to add a bit more cover against specific threats.

GavRedKing

Legion. wrote: »

In fairness I don't think the holding role is Rami's game but hes being made to play it. He strikes me as someone who would be better as the less defensive of the two CMs, or he could be stuck on the wing to add a bit more cover against specific threats.

I think on the wings our 3 best options are Schurrle, Hazard and Eto'o.

All could and have done similar work to Ramires and offer a better attacking outlet from wide.

Ivan while being a good defender is woeful going forward as a FB.

peteeeed

GavRedKing wrote: »

Ramires wasnt great but apart from Luiz we've no other viable option to partner Lamps I think.

Essien and Mikel are to slow, one thing Jose has done has brought some discipline tot he 2 CM's, neither fly up the pitch at every opportunity and both are working to shield the back four, which is good to see but we still have a goal threat between Ramires and Lamps.

Ramires was good going forward but himself and lampard let the schalke midfield runners go way too often . i thought when mikel came on and we went 4-3-3 we looked much more solid

GavRedKing

peteeeed wrote: »

Ramires was good going forward but himself and lampard let the schalke midfield runners go way too often . i thought when mikel came on and we went 4-3-3 we looked much more solid

Oh I agree, but at 2-0 and about 15mins to go Schalke were never going to get back into it, the 2nd goal really took it out of them.

If we go 4-3-3 against City with say Mikel Lamps Ramires and Hazard Torres Oscar ahead of them we're taking Oscar out of his natural positin and playing him on the wing, I'd say continue with 4-2-3-1 and if we're winning a tight game we can shift to a 4-3-3 to see it out.

7 games without defeat is good going for us, lets hope to make it 8 on Sunday and keep our 100% home league record.

GavRedKing

Anybody watching City v CSKA will notice Garcia playing CB and so far he hasnt been great, if he starts Sunday in there its an area we could exploit.

Johner

Kompany will play I reckon.

GavRedKing

Johner wrote: »

Kompany will play I reckon.

Hopefully not for us.

GavRedKing

Looking at Torres stats there, he has scored as many goals for us in Europe as he has in the League. :pac:

peteeeed

GavRedKing wrote: »

Oh I agree, but at 2-0 and about 15mins to go Schalke were never going to get back into it, the 2nd goal really took it out of them.

If we go 4-3-3 against City with say Mikel Lamps Ramires and Hazard Torres Oscar ahead of them we're taking Oscar out of his natural positin and playing him on the wing, I'd say continue with 4-2-3-1 and if we're winning a tight game we can shift to a 4-3-3 to see it out.

7 games without defeat is good going for us, lets hope to make it 8 on Sunday and keep our 100% home league record.

totally but if we are 1-0 or please god 2-0 up with 20 mins to go , mikel is a great buffer for the back 4

GavRedKing

It's a huge test anyway Sunday and one I hope we can pass.

A point wouldnt be the worse thing but with Arsenal playing awy at Palace you'd expect them to win easily.

Liverpool have WBA at home, again a home win I'd say, same with Utd who are playing Stoke at home.

So if and when arsenal win thell be 5 points clear of us before we play City on Sunday.

GavRedKing

Kompany is still a doubt anyway for the weekend, I posted on the City thread, we've a decent record at home against City.

The last time they won was the 4-2 when Bellamy got a couple and Bridge refused to shake JT's hand.

Since then we've won 2 (2-1 & 2-0) and the 0-0 draw last year in Rafas first game.

City have won only twice at the Bridge since the EPL has started.

Jose is 64 games unbeaten in the league at the Bridge, 50 wins, 14 draws.

If Kompany misses out I'd fancy us to win, even if he does play I'd still say we're slight favourites given recent records.

I'm going to say 2-1 to us in a tense, tactical game that will go right down to the wire.

grumpymunster

Yea this will be a tense game for sure, really looking forward to it.

I wonder if TSHO will start Cahill or Luiz, personally apart from a few hiccups I thought we were comfortable enough away to a good Schalke team so see no reason to drop / rotate Cahill (delete as appropriate). Sideshow can come back against Arsenal in the Capital One Cup and start to play his way back into the team. For sure a defensive display like the one against Cardiff will see us well beaten as Sergio is playing very well and Silva looks to be regaining form. If Ash is fit he should be back if not comfortable enough with Dave or Ryan. Hopefully Mata will start ahead of Schurrle so for me Petr, Ivan, JT, Cahill, Ash, Ram, Lamps, Oscar, Haz, Mata, Nando.

City are a little vulnerable at the back and hopefully we can exploit that.

GavRedKing

If city play with Garcia/Nastasic we'll score it remains to be seen if we can keep them out though given Negredo and Aguero are playing some excellent stuff.

Given the pace and movement of the 2 up front it's going to be hard to decide on our CB's for this game.

Id go with

Cech
Ivan Cahill JT Cole
Luiz Ramires
Hazard Oscar Schurrle
Torres

I'd drop Lamps as City are fairly mobile in CM and a combination of Luiz/Ramires would offer us a lot more mobility in and around Toure/Fernandinho then a CM with Lamps.

Schurrle on the wing as Navas is a flyer and Schurrle will work up and down, Mata on for the last 20-25mins.

grumpymunster

Can see the work logic with Schurrle but his passing has been awful of late and absolutely woeful on Tuesday, for that alone I would bench him.

GavRedKing

I'd agree, Schurrle is a very direct player and his running style and work rate will probably see him start but there certainly is a case for Mata to start.

If City go with Zabaleta and Navas though I'd fear if we had a just back Cole and I'd assume Hazard on that side if Schurrle is dropped as Mata would be playing on the right.

Panthro

Love the idea of a Ramires Luiz partnership, so much energy!
Chelsea would be lightening on the counter.

GavRedKing

Panthro wrote: »

Love the idea of a Ramires Luiz partnership, so much energy!
Chelsea would be lightening on the counter.

Banker for bookings though, the way JT is using Lamps and JT suggests neither will be dropped.

I reckon we need JT at the back but sometimes games just go by Lamps if hes not on his game and at 35 those days are more frequent then they used to be.

With MVG's injury and Essien and Mikel not being great options, Luiz should play in CM for such games, especially if Cahill and JT are fit as both are solid and dependable and rarely put a foot wrong.

grumpymunster

There certainly are games that Lamps does seem to be MIA, cant see TSHO pairing Luiz and Ram together for the City game though. Would certainly be interesting though.

GavRedKing

I'd love to see itin some game, maybe not our biggest league game to date but theres certainly a case for it.

Jose could surprise everyone and go 4-3-3 if that was to happen we'd probably go

Cech
Ivan Cahill JT Cole
Ramires Lamps Oscar
Hazard Torres Schurrle

We'd have to crowd the centre and nulify Toure all the while making sure the 2 wingers tuck inside and stop the FB's coming out.

It would be classic Chelsea, digging in deep and containing and relying on lighting counter attacks but with Oscar, Ramires from CM and Hazard, Schurrle from wide its very possible.

GavRedKing

What time is Joses presser at?

Johner

GavRedKing wrote: »

What time is Joses presser at?

Twitter says 1pm.

peteeeed

GavRedKing wrote: »

I'd love to see itin some game, maybe not our biggest league game to date but theres certainly a case for it.

Jose could surprise everyone and go 4-3-3 if that was to happen we'd probably go

Cech
Ivan Cahill JT Cole
Ramires Lamps Oscar
Hazard Torres Schurrle

We'd have to crowd the centre and nulify Toure all the while making sure the 2 wingers tuck inside and stop the FB's coming out.

It would be classic Chelsea, digging in deep and containing and relying on lighting counter attacks but with Oscar, Ramires from CM and Hazard, Schurrle from wide its very possible.

cant see it , oscar will probably play the centre of the 3 with hazard and schurrle as they seem to track back and are jose's favoured combo, torres up front , cahill and jt at the back

Johner

Cole is fit to return to the squad for Sunday.

GavRedKing

peteeeed wrote: »

cant see it , oscar will probably play the centre of the 3 with hazard and schurrle as they seem to track back and are jose's favoured combo, torres up front , cahill and jt at the back

Oh I agree with ya but we have the option of slotting into a 4-3-3 if we're getting over ran inside centre midfield.

City are still operating with the Mancini 4-2-2-2 although at times its a 4-2-3-1 as Aguero plays very freely in the number 10 role so to speak.

It cause us problems as neither Lamps or Ramires have the discipine to sit and hold and try shackle Aguero and leaving him free is a terrible idea.

GavRedKing

Lads on the City thread said Kompany is out for Sunday, big boost for us if true.

grumpymunster

GavRedKing wrote: »

Lads on the City thread said Kompany is out for Sunday, big boost for us if true.

That would be a boost fine player

GavRedKing

grumpymunster wrote: »

That would be a boost fine player

Confirmed by Pellegrini.

Thats a slight advantage for us as Lescott/Garica/Demicihlles arent up to his standard.

Ideally a Partnership which includes Garcia at CB will pass up chances for us.

Johner

Good news for us, City have been very poor at the back without him.

GavRedKing

Yup and there away record so fat this season isnt great, couple that with Joses league record at home with us and our recent results at the Bridge I'd be hoping for a win and I hope we go out for it as agaisnt Utd and Spurs away we sat back for most of the 1st half and tried to hit both in the 2nd half.

We ned to try and counter very quick, like CSKA did the other night and even they should have at least got a draw out fo the game so its something to take into consideration for Jose.

GavRedKing

I see Man City have travelled well again this season.

http://www.chelseafc.com/news-article/article/3510411/title/extra-manchester-city-tickets-on-sale-to-members

I'd loooooove to go, flights are way to expensive though.

McDave

Jose in for Khedira?
http://www.express.co.uk/sport/football/438916/Jose-Mourinho-to-beat-David-Moyes-for-40m-rated-Sami-Khedira-in-January

Jose Mourinho could be set to beat Moyes to land the player in January, with reports suggesting he intends to land the Germany international "at any cost".

folan

GavRedKing wrote: »

I see Man City have travelled well again this season.

After the crap match last season, no interest mate ��

GavRedKing

folan wrote: »

After the crap match last season, no interest mate ðŸ˜

Wouldnt blame ye it was a stinker last time around.

GavRedKing

Utd losing at home to Stoke at HT.

Jaysus thats a shcoker

Legion.

Looks like Moyes kicked a few boots about at half time.

GavRedKing

Legion. wrote: »

Looks like Moyes kicked a few boots about at half time.

2 poor goals they gave away to leave Utd in but thats what good teams do, keep the pressure up and get results from losing positions.

getuponthis

That big black fella scored for Everton again today. Bring the fridge back to the bridge!!!

MaroonAndGreen

Cant lose tomorrow really after United, Arsenal and Liverpool winning today.

I'd take a draw though!