The Chelsea Thread

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Still think we could upgrade on Mikel though. His value is overrated because he's the only viable option we have for the pivot at the moment (still don't think Rami is at his best in 4-2-3-1).

Lampard is the bigger problem though, glad some Chelsea fans are starting to realise.

I thought at the start of the season that if Lampard realised he had to be more disciplined than he may have been able to play the DLP role for us as i think his passing range is actually quite good. But it quite obvious that he cannot adapt to this new role which in some ways you can't blame him as he is used to going box to box.
 
One thing i do want to point out though is how is Mata not being talked up like Bale and Suarez for player of the year seriously? 20 assists and 17 goals is just outrageous for a number 10 and in my opinion is Spain's best option there. Arguably the best in the world at the moment surely there is an argument for it anyway?
 
I thought at the start of the season that if Lampard realised he had to be more disciplined than he may have been able to play the DLP role for us as i think his passing range is actually quite good. But it quite obvious that he cannot adapt to this new role which in some ways you can't blame him as he is used to going box to box.

More than just being disciplined. He doesn't attempt many tackles, Hazard has attempted and won more tackles than Lampard this season. He watches the ball and doesn't track runners, his positioning is bad defensively. Just a shambles all round.

I don't understand why we let Meireles go and Essien on loan, both better than Lampard in the pivot.

One thing i do want to point out though is how is Mata not being talked up like Bale and Suarez for player of the year seriously? 20 assists and 17 goals is just outrageous for a number 10 and in my opinion is Spain's best option there. Arguably the best in the world at the moment surely there is an argument for it anyway?

Top 3 in the league for me.
 
More than just being disciplined. He doesn't attempt many tackles, Hazard has attempted and won more tackles than Lampard this season. He watches the ball and doesn't track runners, his positioning is bad defensively. Just a shambles all round.

I don't understand why we let Meireles go and Essien on loan, both better than Lampard in the pivot.



Top 3 in the league for me.

Totally agree mate, i pointed out somewhere the other day that only 2 times prior to yesterday that our midfield two have bossed the game. First one was Newcastle back in August when it was Mikel and Meireles and the second time was against Monterry when it was Mikel and Luiz. Neither of these partnerships have played together again since with is obvious as Meireles was sold but neither has Mikel and Luiz.
 
An interview with former Chelsea player Carl Magnay and he points out some of AVB's failings. Like we said he did make mistakes too and obviously has learned from them.

Did the manager at the time take you to one side and offer any advice?

"The manager at the time I left was AVB. He separated the young players and placed us in
another building. He had nothing to say. I took a lot of advice from Steve Holland who was a great help to me when leaving the club. He almost set up a move to Swindon for me but it fell through at the 11th hour."

Whilst at Chelsea, AVB asked the youth team to leave the premises. What was that like at the time & what impact did that have?

"AVB's decision to kick us out of the building didn't go down too well to be honest. It upset coaches and players alike. Whilst there, the youth players felt pointless. Regardless of how we performed we were never given an opportunity. He didn't have too much of an interest. He tried to change too much about the club and that includes trying to oust Lamps. He treated Anelka and Alex poorly, banning them from the dressing room and have them train separately on their own. We had recently won the youth cup and the reserve league. We had the best youth set up in the country. I think the final straw was when the first team were short for players, he used to use members of his staff to fill in instead of calling up young players and giving them first team experience in training. One day we were walking in from training and the conditioner was training with the first team as oppose to giving a young player vital experience. That said it all really."
 
One thing i do want to point out though is how is Mata not being talked up like Bale and Suarez for player of the year seriously? 20 assists and 17 goals is just outrageous for a number 10 and in my opinion is Spain's best option there. Arguably the best in the world at the moment surely there is an argument for it anyway?

Isnt it 27 assists? on his interview before yesterdays game on bbc the man interviewing said 26 assists and he got one yesterday but they could have been wrong.
 
Isnt it 27 assists? on his interview before yesterdays game on bbc the man interviewing said 26 assists and he got one yesterday but they could have been wrong.

I went by ESPN's website so not sure, usually quite decent.
 
I went by ESPN's website so not sure, usually quite decent.

Well what ever the number is its very impressive thats for sure. Really winds me up when my mates who have not got a clue about football say I over rate Mata and say things like his not even Chelsea's best player let alone one of the best in the league blah blah blah. Obviously have not even watched him play enough to judge him.
 
Well what ever the number is its very impressive thats for sure. Really winds me up when my mates who have not got a clue about football say I over rate Mata and say things like his not even Chelsea's best player let alone one of the best in the league blah blah blah. Obviously have not even watched him play enough to judge him.

I hate drawing this comparison but that bring down yesterday which led to the De Gea save was Zola like!
 
One thing i do want to point out though is how is Mata not being talked up like Bale and Suarez for player of the year seriously? 20 assists and 17 goals is just outrageous for a number 10 and in my opinion is Spain's best option there. Arguably the best in the world at the moment surely there is an argument for it anyway?

Best number 10 for me and I'm not even being biased.
 
Best number 10 for me and I'm not even being biased.

It's hard to praise one of your own players without people thinking you are biased but in this case there is truth to it 100%. He and Hazard were sublime yesterday.
 
I hate drawing this comparison but that bring down yesterday which led to the De Gea save was Zola like!

scary thing is he is still only 24 so if like Zola he can carry on putting in these world class performances well in to his late 30s and if he stays loyal to the club we still have 10+ years of Juan :D
 
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Top three so far this season for me, Suarez, Mata and RVP in that order.
 
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Anyone remember the Silva vs Mata thread last year or something? Wonder if people's opinions have changed.
 
One thing i do want to point out though is how is Mata not being talked up like Bale and Suarez for player of the year seriously? 20 assists and 17 goals is just outrageous for a number 10 and in my opinion is Spain's best option there. Arguably the best in the world at the moment surely there is an argument for it anyway?

Always said he was better than Silva, but when I was saying that Silva was in that fantastic run of form that helped City to the title.

Spain don't play a proper 10. They prefer to play Xavi, Busquets and Alonso in a three for more ball retention, and Mata is never ever going to displace Iniesta, but the right flank berth is one that's hotly contested. I'd argue he's a better option than any of the other candidates.
 
Anyone remember the Silva vs Mata thread last year or something? Wonder if people's opinions have changed.

This one right? Some of the opinions there were amazing.

Definitely Silva, in fact I would go so far as to say Mata isn't even the second best.. Nasri is better, as are a few others, probably.
 
Oh dear. To be fair, Nasri has maybe, just about managed 5 good games in a City shirt.

Careful now, you're edging dangerously towards stats territory, and they're totally useless in every respect.
 
Careful now, you're edging dangerously towards stats territory, and they're totally useless in every respect.

Touche. Can't help it though, have been typing data and calculating errors on it into excel for 8 hours. Everything must be quantified!

Nasri does have more dribbles and tackles per game, so clearly >.
 
Well, if you thought Chelsea were bad; Palermo have sacked their 4th manager of the season, Gasperini after 2 games sacked for the second time this season.. Makes Roman look like he has the patience of a buddhist monk.
 
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