Must admit I have a soft spot for Fulham. Their supporters are amazing as they rarely get any reward, and their ground is a throwback to the "good old days ". It would be a good thing for other supporters to visit and see how tough some teams do it. Hope they stay up. That said, we need 3 points to keep on the straight and narrow. Should be interesting with "Die Feuhrer " in charge. Team selection?? Impossible to guess with Jose, but here's my 2 bobs worth. Schwartzer Azpi JT Cahill Cole Lampard, Luiz Schurrle Ramires Salah Torres subs Ivan, Cech, Hazard, Matic
Pretty sure Matic will play as he had no game this week. Same with Oscar. Cech Ivan Cahiil JT Cole Matic Luiz (If fit) William Oscar Salah Torres Torres scored, should keep his place.
Agree with the sentiments CP, but also can't help but think **** em. Torres deserves to play, but I think Ba would do better than either of him or Eto'o...I thought the latter was going to be an astute signing last year...shows what I know...
CP the OP, I really like one selection - Schwarzer over Cech Cech is as good as Mikel for us - no good. Gala's equalizer is down to Cech and not JT's fault. It was 2 or 3 yards from Cech's line. With no pressure he should be dominating that area. It was a nice height for him to come out and catch. He is always premeditated to stand and watch, be hesitant for every cross. So many set piece goals we concede cos of him. Need to give Eden a break and give that kid Salah a run out.
We rarely come unstuck against the neighbours! Their advantage is that they wont be "tired" like our lot after a midweek trip to Turkey!
Easy to forget that our defence is the best in the league of which Cech is a vital part. Every goal you concede will probably have some form of mistake in there somewhere but ultimately we have to be pretty happy where the defence is at the moment, especially in 2014. We need to bury teams when in good positions, simple as that really. West Brom, West Ham, Galatasary should all have been wins and even City away should have been more comfortable than 1-0.
Cech has not been immaculate though. Terry and Azpi have been the rocks of the team. Cech against WBA (both games) and Gala was at fault for goals. Needs to come out and claim and not hesitate. We would all blast Luiz for a mistake so let's make sure we do it for our legends too.
Cech is the most consistent keeper in the league bar none and is a legend for a reason. I'm sorry but to compare him to Mikel or Luiz is absolutely ridiculous.
I have no problem with Cech but think Courtois is outstanding. It will be interesting to see what happens next year. Jose made Cech our no1 at 22 so maybe the same will happen with Courtois.
If we have Cech of Jose's first stint we would be 1-0 and rock solid all day. Will always be thankful for all his performance and rightfully adored. At the same time he is slowly but surely becoming as good as Mikel. Directly responsible for several goals over the past few years. 2014 best defensive peformance is due to our back 4 being rock solid and Matic+1 protecting them very well. Never due to Cech! Let's wait for next season. If Jose sticks with Cech I would eat my words and accept Cech is still world class. If not then, you would agree with me.
If it weren't for Cech we would've lost vs Everton. I'm not saying he's been perfect all season, just saying it's stupid to suggest he's been rubbish and that he's on par with Mikel
Yes, I agree that is little far fetched comparing to Mikel.. but I am just pissed, having set the bar so high for Cech (infact he is the one who set that so high)!! Any Championship winning keeper should put in 5 to 10 MoM performances. And he is no way near that for the past 2/3 years. CP, would you care to explain why you put Mark instead of Petr?
not looking forward to this one, fighting the drop, new manager, going to raise their game as they always do any way, recipe for dropped points me thinks
Sure, for 2 reasons. Cech has played a hell of a lot, as goalkeepers need to. He has started to look just a little fragile occasionally, especially on set plays. He is ,and deserves to be our number 1, but a rest won't hurt him. Schwartzer came to us from Fulham, just thought if he doesn't get a game against his old team, and the bottom of the league team at that, then why do we have a number 2 ??
Jose Mourinho: 'I want Fulham to remain in Premier League' - according to reports Chelsea manager Jose Mourinho has said that he wants Fulham to remain in the Premier League for next season. Fulham, who are at the foot of the table, will host the Blues at Craven Cottage on Saturday. "I would take defeat [if it helps Fulham stay up], then 10 victories [for Chelsea] and the [league] title," BBC Sport quotes the Portuguese boss as saying. "I would like the London teams to stay up. I have that emotional connection with Fulham, our neighbours and our rivals. "Rivals need each other. It is good for everybody, so hopefully they can keep their place in the division, but we have to try [to beat them]." This would be Mou's excuse if Fulham were able to pull up a shocker! LOL.