spadefx

Interested to see how Jose adjusts to deal with our right side being so exploited in the last two games. I don't feel as though drastic changes are needed, however I hope Oscar is back. This wonky formation we play seems to work best with him and Cesc alternating through the middle. I doubt we'll sit back either, which plays to our strengths. I also think if we need to sacrifice a centre back to inject some pace in Zouma then it needs to be JT. There's every chance that Cahill will become our leader at the back in the coming years, and he wont do that being dropped to accommodate JT. Theres little between our current centre half pairing, take away JT's leadership on the pitch and I think Cahill's actually the better option - I think he's earnt the opportunity to assert his own leadership. Fingers crossed we can really kick start the season here.

Just noticed this reply - Hazard may be under performing by his standard, but he's still been one of our better players. Costa - debateable, I don't think he's looked sharp enough to include him in that list. Agree with Begovic and Courtois, but that's a given, it's half of our outfielders thats here the concern lies.

For me, there's only been 5 outfield players that have actually shown up for the start of this season. Azpi, Matic, Willian, Hazard and Oscar, who was the best of the bunch last week. Real fitness/motivation/ability concerns about the rest. Big half time team talk.

Have to disagree with that comment, I don't think anyone was lacking in energy or motivation. There were a couple of individual errors that cost us, but Ivanovic and Fabregas aside, I think everybody put in a good shift. All of our starting forwards looked sharp, too, which was a surprise to me given our pre-season. We faced a totally different Swansea to the side we put five past last year, I think it's unrealistic to expect us to waltz past any Premier League side in that fashion - the gap between teams just isn't that big. For this game, I hope Oscar isn't sacrificed for Zouma or Ramires, although I suspect he may be. Otherwise fairly confident, we're more than capable of taking three points at Man City.

Agree with your comment about Ivanvoic but I disagree with the sub comment, I think the best choices that could've been made were made. Zouma was our third best option in the pivot last season - and his height would be an obvious asset for set pieces, which with us being down to ten men was likely our best chance of a goal. And Willian had ran himself into the ground - Costa was still fighting, and you don't bring off your main goalscorer when you need a goal, so it was either going to be Moses or Falcao. That's a tougher call, but I probably would've went with Falcao in that scenario too. Three at the back was probably too big of a gamble with a man down, and Azpi's pace is vital with the lack of pace elsewhere in the defence, I think Swansea would've punished us if we'd done that.

Jamie Redknapp attempting to make tactical observations, there's 15 minutes I'll never get back. Worse yet that he appears to think his little digs at Chelsea are subtle. It's not even bad punditry, it's just an idiot with a microphone.

Oscar looking ready to take on the world, such a swagger about his game today. Playing like our leader in the middle. Also wasn't expecting Diego to start, and I'd complete forgotten how good he is to watch with the bit between his teeth. He's up for this, if he's got the legs to last the second half he's scoring, without doubt.

I'm not going to sing Ivanovic' praises because he has been very poor, but to me Cesc should be doubling up with him as Matic does for Azpi - and that's just not been happening.

Seems to have been a long time since we've had a competitive match that was worth something, looking forward to this. Would love to see us really come out and attack, similar to that superb opener against Hull two seasons back. There's a small part of me that fears we may start slow, as pre-season may indicate, but I have faith Jose & the leaders on the pitch will have everybody suitably fired up ahead. Looks like Falcao might start, and Swansea may be a good opposition for him to face - I reckon he could be our most-used striker this season (and I'm cautiously optimistic about that) fingers crossed he gets off the mark early. Oscar for Ramires being the only other change I'd make to our Community Shield lineup. Hoping Moses gets the first call from the bench should we need an extra attacker, too. His pre-season form warrants that in my opinion. Perhaps overconfident, but I'm predicting a solid win.

I would'be prefetred Cech for another 2/3 seasons, while cashing in on Courtois while he was at Atletico. While we've had a lot of good ones, I don't believe we've had a great striker during Abrahmovic' ownership other than Didier. We've wasted a lot of money on that position.

No issues with the Academy. We're clearly giving our youth footballers every opportunity, through progressive loaning, to establish a career in football at their highest potential. Limited opportunity is obvious, every game is a must-win. You just have to read these forums to see that any player underperforming, or any managerial mistake is picked up and scrutinised in meticulous detail. You can understand why so few have even made a small cameo appearance for the first team. Plus, even looking at it statistically, the odds are incredibly small that we'll develop many locals into regular first team footballers. I'm all for hoping it'll happen more often - but it's a bit harsh to suggest our Academy is doing a poor job.

He has looked totally out of his depth on every occasion so far, but I felt the same way about Ramires when he joined, and that definitely worked out for the best in the end. I suppose it takes time to adapt to a new team, new country, new culture, new style of play. Having seen glimpes of what he can do in his national side and in Serie A, there's definitely talent there. The coaching staff obviously feel there's enough there to back him this summer - so fingers crossed we see the best of Cuadrado next season.

Good point, although I think last season in particular the team was playing with a lot more attacking freedom in the first few months. Cesc had a lot more license to roam forward, and Oscar was regularly exploiting the spaces created when we overloaded in attack. I'm a big fan of Oscar, I'll admit his impact faded in the second half of the season, but I think his game suffered from our slower, more cautious attacking approach in the later season.

Pretty pleased to be honest, assuming Remy stays this will be strongest set of strikers we've had in about 5 years. Confident he'll fit in well and do a job. Looking forward to seeing him in a Chelsea shirt.

Rock and a hard place for club and player here. Cech's the best keeper I've ever had the pleasure of seeing in person, and he's still among the world's best, it'll be sad to see him leave. Whoever you prefer, you can't argue there's very little between Cech and Courtois on current ability. Jose and the club have done the right thing focusing on the player 10 years junior - a player far too good to be a loanee for any parent club, but it's such a shame to lose another world class player as a result. He's clearly settled in London. Arsenal is the logical move for him, and if that's his destination I hope it works out for him. And kudos the club for not standing in the way, absolutely the right thing to do.

Good news if true. We needed an experienced replacement for Didier, and it'd be silly money for any realistic improvement on Costa. I thought he looked decent enough last season, certainly enough to suggest he's capable of doing a job for us. One year loan as well. Even if he's underwhelming it'll be hard to suggest this is move was a bad choice.

In terms of options available, I'm not too sure if this Falcao deal is that much of a gamble. We seem to be getting a reasonably good deal for an experienced international striker. It'd take massive money to attract someone capable of making our strongest XI, and the option of being 2nd/3rd choice here isn't going to have that many top players knocking on the door. It's not a position for a young/developing player, and we already have a pacey/direct option in Remy. I'm not Falcao's biggest fan, but in terms of giving us well-rounded strikeforce options he's probably one of the better options available.

It's worth pointing out that we definitely get it worst with Jose at the helm. He's a headline act, probably the most recognisable manager in world football - he brings the spotlight and demands the attention. As much as Sky and the other dominant media outlets want to portray the likes of Liverpool and Man Utd as the stars of our Premier League - he's one individual who can take all of that attention away - both on and off the park. And in a footballing sense - we're probably the only big English club prepared to and capable of playing ugly to win. We don't cheat, we don't break any footballing rules, but we'll certainly adapt to stifle attacking teams, killing momentum, and dictating games without possession. We're rarely the 'prettiest' team to watch, but we're almost always effective - and that's a frustrating thing to be on the receiving end of.

Agreed on that, beneficial to both the club and the players involved. We're running a profitable youth system, and we're giving young footballers a great platform to reach their highest potential.

We have the finances and stature to attract most of the best footballers in the world. It's probably not a popular opinion, but the reality is that unless our loanees play their way into that bracket, we'll look outwith our own books for a new player. Personally I'd love to see some Academy players make it through, but I don't disagree with the club's current approach.

Just to weigh in on one of the topics - can't say I've ever been concerned he may be sent off in a match. Clearly aware of where the line is and what he can get away with, I think he plays that part of the game very well. He'll rattle the defenders, draw fouls and cards, bring the focus on him. Its all calculated, and he's good at it. Defenders are constantly distracted, looking to see what he might do next, or how they can get revenge for what he did last.

Matic was the best of the players for me. Thought Ivanovic did well too. Loftus Cheek deserves a mention also, looks like he's being tasked with keeping it simple and disciplined, and if that's the case that was another good shift. Ake looked good too - clearly keen to impress and get stuck in, hope we see more of him against Sunderland.

Our fans were exceptional. Credit to WBA too, well deserved win. Completely different circumstances, but similar to the PSG game where we lost out to a better organised team, with the luck against us. Rare that it happens - and hopefully it's a reminder ahead of next season that our discipline can be topped when we get complacent. Not the worst defeat, but on paper we should win this game, and it's disappointing we didn't. Roll on next weekend now, hopefully we'll lift the trophy and celebrate a victory.

He's a very good left back (Luis), and he's coped well being target aerial. Offers a lot going forward too, good left peg. But I agree, Azpi is the complete full back. We're lucky to have three quality full backs.

Very fair point. But he's going to put strain on the hamstring regardless. Personally believe they'll have weighed the risks and made an informed medical choice, and I'll support that.