So,are we going to unload any of these pathetic players? Or wait for them to gell next season.......?
As far as some of his performances go...yes, he's not doing for us what Willian is doing for Chelsea atm. Different roles i know, I'm referring to impact, Pauli has had terrible games, so he's as inconsistant as the rest of our team. He was picked for his country in their last 2 games in Nov. when his early form was good, I'm interested to see if he's picked this week. Having said all that he did pick up that injury. I do see what rwaeb means though, his role is a curious one, I'm having trouble likening him to anyone similar, he's pretty good at a lot of things, but I wouldn't say brilliant at any one particular thing. He does possess great stamina though, run after run and has that knack of taking up good positions in the box, his finishing is a bit of a letdown for me though, there again if it was exceptional he wouldn't be playing for us!
Lloris, Walker, Kaboul*, Vertonghen, Fryers Paulinho, Sandro, Dembele Lennon, Ade, Chadli *If fit, otherwise Daws. Excluded Eriksen from my line-up as it sounds as though he may not be fit for Chelsea, a shame as I think he's the player who could unlock their defence. Chadli has impressed me in most of his recent games and I think he deserves a league start. He's creating/ created a lot of chances that we've failed to convert, the most recent being the through ball to Kane on Sunday. He's also a decent goal threat when he wants to be. Put Sandro in even though he's not 100%, if he can last around 65-70 mins that's good enough for me, it means for that amount of time we'll likely be a lot more defensively sound when trying to deal with Hazard and co. Can only realistically see a Chelsea win BUT if we decide to perform well like we know we can and really have a go at them, maybe, just maybe we could nick something from the game.
Lamela's supposed to be back in training tomorrow, according to some reports in Argentina. Won't be ready for this game, but at least it's a start. We desperately need at least a couple of options back for it or I fear the worst, frankly.
I can live with a loss as, to be honest, unless we play out of our skins, that's what it will be. But please, not another City or Liverpool, I can't handle anymore of that!....
I don't care if we lose by one or five. I'd rather we risk getting destroyed if it gives us a better chance of getting points. Lennon Sandro Paulinho/Bentaleb Dembele Ade Soldado Yes, for us he's been average on balance. But he has Brazil 11 level talent, and there's a reasonable chance we'll see more of it as the team falls together more. (and less if it falls apart, of course...)
Seen as the Goons are in the fa cup this weekend we could be level on points with them if we beat Chelsea and win at home albeit with them having a game in hand....on the flip side we could be nine points behind and played a game more....I still think if we could get a bit closer they would start to wobble, beating Chelsea on Saturday would really make them start looking over their shoulder. Didn't we beat Arsenal and Chelsea towards the end of the 2009-2010 season when we qualified for the CL could be a good omen
Too early to be labelling Paulinho average or comparing him with Willian in terms of their progression as Willian at Chelsea is given a structured role within a successful team setup, that's why Mourinho got rid of Mata as he wants players with discipline and that's also why we have seen Hazard improve his game. If Paulinho was at Chelsea under Mourinho, I've no doubt he would be more consistent. Just like if we signed Willian, he wouldn't have progressed at the same rate. One critism I've of Sherwood is the lack of structure to base the team on, that's why we often get outplayed by inferior teams. Palace and Everton both dominated us because they focus on team organisation and it benefits their players as they all know their roles. Yet we won both games, so Sherwood the 'chancer' can point to the fact he gets us wins not by being organised but by relying on keeping it simple and giving players minimum amount of instructions. Just it means for large periods of a game we can look average and players like Paulinho and Bentaleb receive most flack, along with Dembele. As for the game, I don't expect a result. Never do away to the Chavs! But usual applies, London Derby so apparently the form book goes out the window!
The one big edge we have over them is better strikers. Soldado has scored and assisted more than both Torres and Eto'o, and Ade has been light years ahead of either one in terms of quality. As long as we start them both, or Ade plus Eiriksen, we can score goals, and if we can score goals we can win. I realize Mourinho has never lost at Stamford Bridge, but he's got to do so eventually, and there's no time like the present to start. You might think it would be against Man City or Liverpool, but a team like ours, which is dangerous but unpredictable, might be as good a bet. Not long ago we hadn't beaten anyone in the top half of the league, more or less. Since then we've beaten the #5, 7, 8 and 9 (more or less), without dropping a point. This month we've got a much bigger task, facing 1,2 and 3 (really 1, 3 and 4, considering Man City have a game in hand). We've gotten exactly one point from five games against the top four so far. We've got to do better, probably much better, in the future. To get top four we've got to beat the team we're going to catch (probably Arsenal), and possibly have one more win, and very likely another point or two, in the other two games. COYS!
Yeah agree, seems to be the only one that gives fair decisions and never favours the bigger or home sides like many others do.
No its not too early, there's 10ish games left in the season and the player is mid 20's, so he is what he is. Myself I wasn't labelling the player average, only his performances for us. I dare say he'd slot into any of the elite sides if they wanted him...something tells me that atm, they wouldn't, and its pure conjecture to suggest both players would only thrive in one team. i have to completely disagree with that, there is nothing to support the suggestion that any player let alone Willian will progress quickly or flop for that matter.
I think that Paulinho's showed his best form for us when playing in a more advanced position, rather than the deeper role that he plays for Brazil. The problem with that is that we don't have anyone playing in the middle as a playmaker, though. A run of games where the lineup feature both him and Eriksen is essential to get the best from both, I think.
I mentioned in another post on a different thread that I think AVB is largely to blame for the lack of impact of our new signings. All 7 new lads were best players at their former clubs, most of whom were attack minded. When we signed them, AVB tried fitting them into his defensive system (which only worked in periods due to having Bale) which clearly did not suit players that blossomed in attack. Those tactics can't just be forgotten by the snap of a finger after months of preparation on it and therefore the chances of seeing any of our new boys really hit top gear won't be seen until they've had a full pre-season with a manager that will want to utilise them to their best of their capabilities.
