Plenty to talk about after the 2 weeks off, and a good match played. We are definitely looking strong and dangerous. Costa is a revelation and just the hardworking type we need. He fits our play like a glove. Well done to him and Remy, first game ,1st goal. Swansea looked terrific first half, though we came into the match around the 35 min mark. Second half we went up a couple of notches, which only good teams can do. The line up 1st half was not working too well, not because of bad play, but Jose is still finding out which combinations work best, and to me, Oscar and Schullre are not yet playing well together, they don't seem a natural fit right now. Time will no doubt sort that out. Ramires impressed me a lot, and I don't recall one bad pass, so he has really worked hard on that. He looked the business, direct, powerful and always making himself available, and looking to pass to a better positioned player. Excellent. Fab was, well Fab, as was Matic, Hazard looked lively and got even livelier with a tweak by Jose to the formation. Courtois , good again, Ivan very good again. Oscar also stepped up with the formation tweak and had an excellent 2nd half. Salah showed why Jose kept him, one run was as good as Iv'e seen all year. Downside?? Very little. Azpi was below his best, that's OK everyone has those games, and Terry/Cahill looked dodgy when faced with the real pace and power of Gomis and later Shelvey. Don't blame JT for the 1st goal ,it was a pig of a cross to defend, but he and Cahill were shredded by Shelveys' goal. No doubt there will be some thought given to the CD subs when we play really pacey attackers in future. So, slow out of the gates, but once in full stride, a really good Team performance, with an outstanding hat trick by Costa. Take a bow boys, well done. Can't end without paying a big compliment to Swansea who are an extremely well Managed team, play great attacking football with a high skill level. Keep it up boyohs you are going places.
Fair assessment CP. We were great for 30 minutes but that was it. Had some chances but weren't good enough to put them away. Top teams can go up a couple of gears and as Mourinho is tactically adept he could see the only way to play us is press. Give us time on the ball and we'll beat anybody. No surprise to lose but I was disappointed at the times we gave the ball away - not like us really. Good luck for the rest of the season. I think this one's yours.
The defence is looking shaky. I really think Ivan, though a potent attacker, needs to be hooked as our RB and move to CB. Azpi and Luis as our fall backs. Terry and Cahill won't last us the season imo.
No shame in losing to a team who can play like Chelsea did in the second half! We held more than our own in the first half but, disappointed as I was when the goals went in, just had to applaud some of the football - at times Chelsea were absolutely unplayable and in Costa you have an absolute diamond! People will look at the goals, but his contribution on and off the ball was pretty much perfect! Am very encouraged by our display and not too upset with 4-2, at times during that second half display I was fearing the worst. Well done Chelsea - don't remember enjoying a match we lost so much!
Very happy with that. Costa is a monster. 7 goals in 4 games and he is not even fully fit ! Fabregas must have fantastic peripheral vision as he seems to know the right pass all the time. So glad Arsenal didn't take up their option on him. Defence still a slight worry but with our more expansive play this season we would expect to ship a few more goals.
Seems bizarre that Mourinho is trying to shoehorn Terry into the team when it means Ivanovic not playing CB (where he is a monster), Azpi playing on his weaker foot when you have a top class left back on the bench. Luis Ivanovic Cahill Azpi seems a no brainer for your back four. Though kind of moot... You're going to walk the league whoever you line up with!
Yeah I got a bit of stick yesterday for saying JT was the weak link in defense. I was trying to avoid getting into an argument based just around the OG. I just felt that there is a lack of communication going on and it is JT's responsibility to get that right. As for the OG it seemed to me the defense were in a good line. To JT's right both guys were with him, I think he knew there was an attacker behind him. Dave was right there behind him perfectly placed and JT either didn't know he was there, or trust he would be there. Last season our big problem was defending while running back to goal, a hard thing to do, but even so we were/are poor at it. Cahill made many great last ditch tackles from the side from being behind. Too often though from a long range indirect FK in the middle of the pitch, lobbed into the box, we lost the ball and left attackers free and needlessly double teamed others. JT leaving Eto'o against Everton was sort of an example of this. I thought we had cleared this up when I saw JT make the back line hold hands and then break earlier in the season. Great I thought, it looked a bit naff but I knew it would work and on that occasion it did perfectly. I've not seen us do it since. Could be the change of keeper. Courtois catches more high balls further out than Cech. Could be JT is getting reliant on his experience instead of checking around. I great bit of dialogue from the film Battle of Britain I use always when driving or playing football is "Hello Skipper I thought you might come out of the sun." " Don't just look! Search for the Bastards."
Great thread CP. Much better than 'Ramires, am I missing something?' Or doubting the signings of Costa and Fab. Keep up positivity
Spot on CP! A game of 2 halves as they say! Whatever they say about him Ramires made one hell of a difference when he joined the party!
My thoughts have waned from the game and thinking , for the first time in many years , of a possible treble. This is quite a gathering of players you've accumulated . On the game itself , we played better than Chelsea for a good part of the game , not much better but better . Problem is when Chelsea played better than us , they were leaps and bounds better .
I get the feeling that JT is becoming our "new" Frank. He is starting to feel his age, but will be an excellent player for us for the rest of the year ,but will need to be used more sparingly and thoughtfully. Although people are clamouring for Ivan to go to CD, I think he is playing his best football for us since joining and really bringing something new to the attack, not just running down the line and crossing as in the past( often poorly). He has a great understanding with Fab and Matic. I'd like to see Zouma or the like get a couple of runs before making the "big switch." That said, Azpi is a great right back and Luis needs game time. Seems to me Jose can line up 2 different teams when it comes to the back 4 and the front runners with Luis + a young CD , Schurlle and Salah still to be fitted in. Great place to be for Jose. My only worry is injury to Fab, we don't have another midfielder with his type of game in the squad right now. Still not a bad problem to have.
I know Costa got a hat trick and Fabregas got a couple more of assists but i thought Hazard was our best player. No goals or assists but there will be games we score 4 and he's involved in every one of them. Ramires changed the game though, we were getting overrun in the first half but that extra midfielder gave us the control and allowed us to go and win the game. Some more good subs from Jose. JT was horrible though and the rest of the Defence weren't that much better. I'd probably give Filipe a game at LB and switch Azpi across maybe. I know we're scoring a lot but we are conceding a fair few. I do reckon we'll play a bit more cautiously against City though.
They just can't help giving us a heart attack en route can they? Behind against Burnley, Leicester with great first half chances, Everton fight back(s) and Swansea looking like Barca early doors are all part of the roller coaster we're getting this season. Agree with much of what you say and would like to emphasise the great performance from Ramirez. He gets much stick from many quarters but when he hits such form he is massive for us in terms of contribution. As for Costa, he makes it look effortless and long may it continue without injury/suspension. When we get playing some of our football is scintillating. Avoid defeat next week and I'll be thrilled with our start.
I reckon it'll be Varane. He's Jose's prodigy, plus he's not getting game time at Madrid and he's on peanuts there.
Why not both I have never rated Cahill that highly anyway, so why not change both CB's Might cause a problem with our home grown quota tho.
Honestly, Terry was once the best the league had but I don't think so anymore, and Cahill has never been world class. The attack and midfield in this team are looking superb - ironically it is the defence that looks in need of a rethink. Hummels would be fantastic, as would Varane. If our defensive troubles continue Zouma might end up playing. Poor Courtois is getting very sketchy cover at times.
Cech and Schwarzer are unlikely to be here next season, meaning a place will be available with the third GK probably being a homegrown. I expect Khedira on a free will happen, with Mikel making way for him. We have been linked with Ronaldo, not sure how much truth is in that and more than likely he is trying for a rise in wages at Madrid. We can easily bring in a foreign center back and have JT take up one of the extra HG places we have as he settles into a semi-retired role for us. Ideal given the service he has given us.
