Celery1989

I agree that society is becoming too sensitive and almost hysterical in terms of political correctness. But guys: "We're racist, we're racist, and that's the way we like it" Sorry but singing something like that is f*cking unacceptable.

This. First it was that c*nt who did the monkey thing with his arms to insult Welbeck a few seasons back. Then there were the mob running round Paris last year smashing up shops and doing the 'Sieg Heil' gesture. And now the latest incident on the Metro. Let's be honest, for whatever reason we seem to have a sizeable minority of racist scumbags in our fanbase that consistently tarnish the reputation of CFC.

Modric on the right wing?

Good idea but I don't see many joining in I'm afraid.

Thankfully we are not 'back in the day' any more...

Real playing like we should have yesterday.

Hopefully he develops physically because clearly technique shouldn't be much of an issue.

Especially when the song is knicked from Scotland.

I've noticed that too but Zouma's physical attributes are so good that he can more than make up for any lapses, either through his recovery speed or his simply ridiculous leap. The more he plays with Terry then the quicker he'll learn how to position himself optimally. Whilst he still needs more work on the ball, we've got a real gem here IMO.

Sounds just like WHL then overall, stuck in the 80's, just like a decent amount of their fans as well it seems.

...You were a Spud in a previous life?

Yep, thought he was a bit nervous. But showed some encouraging signs in all facets. Like José said, I think we'll see the best of him next season once he has a full 6 or so months to settle into English Football and with a full pre-season behind him. I'd expect him to give us some spark off the bench this year as I can't see him starting too many games from here on out; José usually goes with those that he trusts mosts and I certainly don't expect that to change now given what is on the line.

Good point about Oscar complimenting Fabregas. They dovetail nicely in the middle, sometimes alternating roles when Oscar drops back and vice versa. Would like to Willian at no.10 though at some point, not necessarily to displace Oscar from the team entirely but just to try this out at the very least. An FA Cup game would have been ideal, but then Bradford happened didn't it lol.

Fond memories of Joe Cole. I'll be honest, I never thought he was quite as talented as some liked to believe, but a fine player nevertheless for us. His two impudent goals against United stick in the memory, as do the through ball he played to Drogba away to Valencia on the half-volley (I believe?). It was a shame how his career ended with us, but ultimately I think the right call was made in letting him go on a free. It would be really interesting to see how Joe Cole at his peak would have fared in the modern day. Whilst he put in lots of good performance for us playing wide in a 4-3-3, his best position would have always been as the no.10 in a 4-2-3-1. This was a formation which no-one used back then but is now more or less the default set up for the majority of top sides.

You and I see things the same way

'Fountains of Knowledge' .

1. Fairly happy. I would have liked to see Schurrle given more time to prove himself, but I'm excited about Cuadrado and his skills. Ideally, I'd have liked a CM and CB but am happy to wait until the Summer as the targets we'd be after would be unrealistic in Jan. 2. CB and CDM. JT will retire soon and Cahill is a perpetual ? . We need another top quality CM to allow us to switch to 433 and not miss a beat when Fabregas is out. 3. I think there is way too much hype surrounding us but I do agree that we are favourites. 7 point lead and the most consistent side. However, City will at the least run us close, their squad is too good not to and they could well be in just 1 competition in a month's time... 4. Maybe the 2-1 at Anfield. I'd wanted to see us play there for ages and then to top it all off with a win was amazing. That or the 5-0 away to Schalke given that I was there as well . 5. Don't rate him very highly I'm afraid, I think £28m was an extortionate fee to pay for him. Good finisher but his overall play is poor, tires very quickly as well in games. 6. Tighter than that certainly! 7. Not sure, lots of your key players have lost form this season and for whatever reason Martinez's style just isn't working. The defence hasn't been as solid either. 8. Plenty, would gladly have Barkley, Stones and Baines in our squad over certain others. I like Jagielka too but I don't think he's good enough for this level. 9. I'd say after the Spanish Giants and Bayern Munich we're probably the next favourites. Don't really see it happening this year though as our focus will very much be on the League Title. Don't think we're good enough defensively this season, with the right additions in the Summer we'd be right up there for me next year. Who knows though, we have a habit of going far in the competition and José knows what to do. 10. 2-0 Chelsea.

The cynic in me think that this is what's happened/going to happen.

I said something similar on the Villa game thread - The signing of Cuadrado is very interesting because not only does he provide direct competition for Willian on the right, but he could also allow us to play Willian in Oscar's position too. Willian's been at his attacking best in central positions for us, whether that be due to him drifting in or being deployed as the designated no.10, and I'd be really intrigued to see him in that role on a more consistent basis. We all know he's got the workrate as well to press like Oscar can from the front, and from what I've seen he'd be more of an attacking threat then he normally is on the right. I feel as though Oscar hasn't had enough competition to this point this season and surely this has been a factor in some of his more mediocre displays. I think he needs to regain his focus a little more, and Cuadrado's arrival could indirectly help him do this.

Welcome to the forum, great point. Nice screenname btw. Oh she had a broken nose...

Willian's been at his attacking best when in central areas, whether that be as the designated no.10 or when he has drifted inside. I'd be really intrigued to see how we do with him there and Cuadrado on the right. It would also be a good alternative formation in that it would give Oscar some competition which he doesn't seem to crrently have for that role. I would rather leave such experimentation though for Burnley given that we'll likely look to rest a few after the PSG game anyway.

My thoughts ahead of this: Courtois must play. He wasn't at his best on the weekend, but this idea of rotating goalkeepers based on one iffy display is nonsense to me. The only way goalkeepers can put in confident performances consistently is through developing a coherent understanding with their back 4. Courtois will have this in time, he just needs more and more match practice in the PL. José has said that Fabregas was kept out on Saturday as a precauation and will therefore play tomorrow, good to hear. Willian was terrific on Saturday. Not only did he set up a goal but he was unlucky not to score himself, was a threat. He deserves to start this one and therefore Cuadrado should be made to wait for his first start. Remy to start, I think his movement could give them real problems. Sadly, Didier just hasn't got enough left in the tank to start games IMO. The only question mark for me is whether to play Zouma or Cahill? I think it depends on who José wants to go with at the Parc Des Princes next week. Personally, I'd go with Zouma and therefore play him against PSG as well. But my gut instinct is that Cahill will be given the nod in both games, and then Zouma will come in against Burnley. -------------------Courtois--------------- Ivan-------Cahill--------JT----Azpi----- ----------Matic----------Fabregas----- ----Willian------Oscar------Hazard--- -------------------Remy-----------------

Interesting results this weekend, brilliant for Spurs & Southampton. I still think that Arsenal will get 3rd and United 4th most likely, but it will go down to the wire.

Great points. I just don't really understand what LVG is doing tactically, nor do I see any cohesive strategy for the development of their squad. He flickers between 3-5-2 and 4-4-2, whilst constantly playing players like Rooney, Di Maria, Mata & Valencia out of position to compensate for the fact that he didn't really address the needs of his squad during the Summer. It was as if LVG just targetted everyone that was available in the hope that they could improve the squad on a general level. I look at United's squad and, to me, they will need another injection of about £250m this Summer. Some think that all they need is a centre-half and they will be challenging for the title. Well, I look at their supposed superstar strikeforce and I see one striker who seems to be aging rapidly (Van Persie) and another who's knee injury has deprived him of the pace he once had (Falcao). And then there's Wayne Rooney who is playing as CM now not even a no.10? They change formations so often that I can't keep up with what role he is supposed to be playing. Finally, they're short out wide, need a proper, box-to-box CM, and many of their centre-halves are simply not good enough; LVG has a hell of a lot of work to do this Summer.

23 years old already and done nothing of note outside of the AFCON. Can't see him being a Chelsea player for much longer.