Chelsea Team Talk/Gossip/Rumours Thread 2016

peteeeed

Manure press conf

John Terry is in a good shape and he trained with the team. He solved his ankle problem and trained very well

Mourinho was an important manager for Chelsea. He wrote a part of the history of this club. He was an important man for the club."

"Mourinho deserves a good reception because he wrote history with this club. He remains in the hearts of the fans."

*love this*
"When the whistle goes, Mourinho will become an enemy, like the Manchester United players."

"I have great respect for Mourinho, he won a lot in his career. He deserves the maximum respect."

"Willian came back on Thursday morning. He trained with us but in this situation it’s important to consider all aspects."

"We are all very sorry, also for Oscar, whose grandfather died. You have to make the right decision. We have tomorrow to see

"Me, the players, the club are all supporting Willian. When you lose your mother, it’s a very bad thing.

"It will be a very tough game between two good teams. They will fight for the title until the end.

"On Sunday it will be a very tactical game. When two great teams face each other, it’s important to prepare the tactical aspect.

"I don’t think we have an advantage, only the fact that we’re playing at home with our fans. They are very important for us."

"For Pogba to come back to Manchester United was his dream. I wish him the best, but only after the game."

"Chalobah is a young player but he is growing a lot. I have great satisfaction when I see a young player grow."

It’s not right for Chelsea to concede so many goals. We changed the system and the players have benefited a lot I think.

"We know we must continue to work and progress under this way. I’m pleased because I’m seeing the right work-rate from my players."

"We must pay attention to the whole Manchester United team. There are a lot of great players, one for sure is Ibrahimovic.

"Man United played yesterday and I watched the game. I saw the players that will probably start the game on Sunday - four players."

"I don’t want this kind of advantage [of less playing time] because #Chelsea must also play this kind of football in midweek."

It’s important to continue this way. Last game we beat a good team, but on Sunday we will face another great team."

"I want to see progress on Sunday, in comparison to Liverpool and Arsenal. I am confident because I saw great commitment this week."

"Fabregas had a small muscular injury in a strange part of his body. I hope he will be back very soon."

"Ivanovic is also recovering. Zouma came back to training with the U21s this week, next week I want him to join us."

Can you clarify which strange part of Cesc's body? - Conte: "His thigh, but a part that doesn’t normally get injured.“ He’s in stitches!

duploelabs

peteeeed wrote: »

Can you clarify which strange part of Cesc's body? - Conte: "His thigh, but a part that doesn’t normally get injured.“ He’s in stitches!

banjo string

Lukker-

GavRedKing wrote: »

Conte said he was back in full training after the last international break and that was two weeks ago.

I dont think he'll be rushed back either, we cant afford for him to have a relapse and pick up an injury.

Zouma and Luiz either side of JT could be brilliant.

In Conte's system Luiz is the ideal person to have at the centre of a back 3. The position really benefits from a good range of passing as he's usually the easiest option for the LCB or RCB.

Tbh, I don't know if Terry will exactly suit playing with a back 3, due to us playing a considerably higher line when we use the system. When Zouma comes back to full fitness I think we'll see back 3 of Azpiliceuta, Luiz and Zouma.

I could be wrong and we may adapt our tactics for him but I think Conte is planning for the future with this system and Terry's not going to be around much longer.

peteeeed

https://www.cfcnet.co.uk/2016/10/the-man-who-loved-life/ Great article on Mathew Harding

Lukker-

Good start to the weekend, Spurs only managing a draw. Should have lost really, Bournemouth had a few clear cut chances and Spurs should have had at least 2 red cards.

kev1.3s

Arsenal also dropping points. Be great to close the gap tomorrow.

Lukker-

2/3 ain't bad. 3/4 if you include Everton

kev1.3s

Chelsea team today: Courtois; Azpilicueta, David Luiz, Cahill (c); Moses, Kante, Matic, Alonso; Pedro, Diego Costa, Hazard. #CFC

justshane

This is brilliant, we need to tighten up at the back though. Dave has been magnificent!

Johner

This is glorious.

GavRedKing

This day couldnt have got any better TBH.

McDave

What a relief. Conte's plan finally comes together.

Also, the Mou era (all due respect) has been finally put to bed. Much rather be in our position than Utd's. Real, real progress today. Smashing.

McDave

Top 4 is there for us. Keep it up, and so is the title.

justshane

I'm giving every player 10/10! While definitely formatritude, nobody gave anything less than 100% every second.

kev1.3s

McDave wrote: »

What a relief. Conte's plan finally comes together.

Also, the Mou era (all due respect) has been finally put to bed. Much rather be in our position than Utd's. Real, real progress today. Smashing.

Was thinking the same. We really managed to banish joses ghost today which is something we could never really manage the last time.
I'd love to hear what Jose had to say to conte at the final whistle?

Crackle

A fantastic performance from everyone. The early goal was vital but it's a performance that was maintained for the full 90 minutes.

Earlier this season I was critical of Chelsea's big game approach, that it was far too negative. Today was completely different. Now, as I've already said, the early goal was crucial, but what was really refreshing today was there was no let up. No easing off and killing the game. No bringing on Mikel for Hazard and putting everyone behind the ball. Hopefully we'll see more of this and less of the crap we saw against Liverpool and Arsenal.

shrewd

Poor display by Chelsea today. should really be beating mid-table teams by more than 4 goals

Lukker-

Perfect weekend!

grumpymunster

Much easier than expected, the Conte era seems to have arrived we needed to lay the ghost of Jose, he is all United now.
Most surprised with Matic he is starting to play as we know he can, have no idea how Haz got motm but all 11 were good to be honest.

grumpymunster

Lukker- wrote: »

Perfect weekend!

Nearly Munster Chelsea win, Leinster lost but Ulster won :mad:

gosplan

Well done Chelsea.

Far easier to get behind you with Conte rather than Jose as manager!!!!!

Barr

Happy days

I can't decide which is best : :pac:

A) Dodging a bullet with Pep

Dodging a bullet with Stones

C) Hammering Jose's Utd

Crann na Beatha

This post has been deleted.

McDave

Barr wrote: »

Happy days

I can't decide which is best : :pac:

A) Dodging a bullet with Pep

Dodging a bullet with Stones

C) Hammering Jose's Utd

D) Dodging a bullet with Pogba

E) Dodging a bullet with Lukaku (he won't fit Conte's style)

Lukker-

Kanté and Matic are developing a solid partnership. Matic has the joint most assists in the league this season with 4, his output is growing game by game.

Pedro seems to enjoy the 3-4-3 too, he's playing his best football since he came to the club IMO. 3 assists for him

McDave

grumpymunster wrote: »

Much easier than expected, the Conte era seems to have arrived we needed to lay the ghost of Jose, he is all United now.
Most surprised with Matic he is starting to play as we know he can, have no idea how Haz got motm but all 11 were good to be honest.

Not the worst transition, considering how much time Conte lost over the summer.

Now, if we can rack up a few victories that will put it up to Arsenal and Spurs, and, the way they're going, City. Liverpool could be other dark horses, especially being in a similar fixture position to us. Klopp will have to deliver for them this season, at the very least a top 4.

Johner

The system also suits Luiz very well, can't wait for Zouma to come back.

McDave

Lukker- wrote: »

Kanté and Matic are developing a solid partnership. Matic has the joint most assists in the league this season with 4, his output is growing game by game.

Pedro seems to enjoy the 3-4-3 too, he's playing his best football since he came to the club IMO. 3 assists for him

Agree on Kante/Matic.

I'd be prepared to be generous to Pedro. He was a bit loose though.

Barr

Biggest shock is Kante actually knows where the net is.

Adding goals to his game would be epic.

duploelabs

I'm still not convinced at Pedro, he's been consistently the worst player on the pitch (in the 3-4-3 and without Ivanovic)

Suryavarman

The people that were saying we should have kept Mourinho and sold half the team last Xmas are very quiet today.

TBF people that clueless about soccer probably didn't even realise there was a game on today.

cadaliac

Suryavarman wrote: »

The people that were saying we should have kept Mourinho and sold half the team last Xmas are very quiet today.

TBF people that clueless about soccer probably didn't even realise there was a game on today.

Strong words.

Donnielighto

Fair play lads, much better today. What's the opinion of Jose here in general?

kev1.3s

Donnielighto wrote: »

Fair play lads, much better today. What's the opinion of Jose here in general?

To quote Jose himself when he was referencing lampard, " when he chose to go to a direct rival the live affair is over"

In reality I was more concerned of the damage he could do to us when he got sacked than the good he could do going for us going forward if he'd stayed. Seems to have lost a lot of what made Jose mk1 great.

Lukker-

Donnielighto wrote: »

Fair play lads, much better today. What's the opinion of Jose here in general?

He's well liked by most Chelsea fans still, things got a bit toxic towards the end though - for all parties involved.

I'm happy he came back but I'm not sure it was the smartest move from either party but at the time he was the best coach available and we were the best club looking for a new manager and it made sense.

Most fans would have loved if he actually came back as the "happy one" but he seems to have gotten more bitter after his time at Madrid, he went too Machiavellian. I think his methods work on players for a while but start to become abrasive after a little while.

He usually starts well at clubs and I'm surprised by United's current situation but I think that has more to do with the state of the club and dressing room since Sir Alex Ferguson left. Next year, he'll have had all season to assess the current batch and seed out any bad eggs, that is when you will see United flourish. He'll probably spend another £250m in the process though.

Barr

Donnielighto wrote: »

Fair play lads, much better today. What's the opinion of Jose here in general?

Still a legend.

kev1.3s

Barr wrote: »

Still a legend.

He will always be a legend but as with lampard his dynasty has been tarnished.

Lukker-

kev1.3s wrote: »

He will always be a legend but as with lampard his dynasty has been tarnished.

Lampard's dynasty hasn't been tarnished.

Sgt Pepper 64

kev1.3s wrote: »

He will always be a legend but as with lampard his dynasty has been tarnished.

utter rubbish

kev1.3s

Well I'm sorry but for me the way he ended his career did take the gloss off a little for me. Still a legend but it was unfortunate how it ended.

Barr

kev1.3s wrote: »

He will always be a legend but as with lampard his dynasty has been tarnished.

What is your reasoning for this ? both have been great for the club.... is it because they found jobs with rivals (not by their own choice) ... its just the nature of the profession.

Duck Soup

Donnielighto wrote: »

Fair play lads, much better today. What's the opinion of Jose here in general?

I think 2 things. (1) That he seems to have lost that connection with players and ability to inspire fanatical loyalty from his team. A lot of people put it down to his Real Madrid experience. No idea, but he certainly seems to have lost some man management and motivational skills. (2) I think that increasingly other coaches have his number. Pep obviously, but also the likes of Alan Pardew. He doesn't seem to have moved on tactically whereas others have. He's starting to look like yesterday's man.

He's also running out of big clubs to grace with his presence in the future. Bayern Munich and PSG at a push I suppose. All that said, I think he wants to stay at United for a long time and I think he'll win more things. But not at the rate of knots he used to.

kev1.3s

Barr wrote: »

What is your reasoning for this ? both have been great for the club.... is it because they found jobs with rivals (not by their own choice) ... its just the nature of the profession.

Look I still hold lampard in very high regard but it was the manner of the exit that annoyed me more than playing for a rival, after all he was cast aside but he wasn't exactly upfront about the deal.
For instance I seem to understand the Cech situation better.
I wasnt annoyed at Jose for taking the Utd job but he didnt do his reputation any good last season, he constantly singled out players and brought the club into a pretty bitter unfair dismissal case.
He's still a legend but anyone who doesn't believe he took the gloss off last season is delusional.

GavRedKing

Ive still love for jose and wish him well.....but not at chelseas expense.

Hes still our greatest ever manager, if conte wins a few titles and i really hope he does because hes an excellent coach, he'll push jose for that accolade.

Im all on board the conte bus and have been for some time, i think hes brilliant, if hes allowed push his formation style and players to his methods, he'll get results.

Good result today but its onwards and we need to win a few on the spin to keep up the pace.

Lukker-

Tough run of games to continue, but I'm delighted with 6 points from Leciester and United. I would have settled for 4 beforehand.

ShoulderChip

Suryavarman wrote: »

The people that were saying we should have kept Mourinho and sold half the team last Xmas are very quiet today.

TBF people that clueless about soccer probably didn't even realise there was a game on today.

Yes we (the silent minority) are very quiet as we have been ever since due to becoming disillusioned with football and are still grieving. give us time for goodness sake, its not even been a year yet. You seem to equivocate our love for Jose with desire for success (based on the second statement) as if our love for Jose was not a human attachment but rather some sort of logical decision based on desire for a club to do well. I don't expect you to understand, but please just let us grieve and stop referring to how we are behaving in this period, we are leaving you alone.

Techless

Today's puzzle - how does I Pogba @90m = 3 Kante @30m - Please explain

grumpymunster

Jose got sacked just a few months after leading us for the third time to the championship. So for 60% of our championships he was the coach, I like it that most Chelsea fans are not that fickle and still like him.
I have no idea what happened last season we went from easy champions to lets be honest pure muck and yes he played a part, as did the players, as did the board but credit where it is due Ted Drake, Jose, Carlo and RDM will always have a special place at the Chelsea table.

Maybe I don't know much about football but I know a little about loyalty.

Sgt Pepper 64

Jose will always be a legend but he was undermined by the board for his third season (2nd return), he asked for new quality players which were necessary to create competition throughout the squad and instead was given joke players like Papa.
The proof of this was how quickly all last seasons signings were shipped out and I do believe the story's of Conte demanding better players in this time or expect the same.
He is a quality manager but I thin he and chelsea are thoroughly done now.
Roman undermined him before with sheva etc and the quest for the CL cup but Roman has now hopefully seen it is not so easy given the flow of quality and non quality managers that have passed through SB
Ditto the academy

duploelabs

**David Luiz forced to apologise to Manchester Utd.**
It seems that he managed to make it all the way back into the Chelsea squad changing room before realising that Zlatan was still in his pocket.
The player has now been returned and celebrations have resumed.