joshd24

Watching on a Premier League Pass - Townsend seething we're winning. Every Arsenal mistake "unlucky", not one comment on us dominating the game before/after the red. Nothing said about Willian or Fabregas especially... He's having a field day out there. Trying every angle to discredit the red, lucky bounce for the goal etc etc. Always the case, but it's like they're not even trying to hide their bias anymore.

Sorry - extension or not, I can't see him being able to handle Sanchez. Even with help from midfield, just adds more confusion/ball watching imo, and will make Zouma's role even harder. I just hope that extension is for CB cover. If we really can't trust Baba at LB (two managers can't be wrong, surely...) then I'd rather have Ramires at RB... Hey, it works well on FIFA so surely that means something... He's quick, agile, decent standing and slide tackling, and his heavy touch might even get himself to the byline a few times. Did a job there at Camp Nou in 12, too. Court Ramires-Zouma-Terry-Azpi Matic(Oscar)-Mikel-Fabregas Willian-Costa-Hazard Why not? Then again, who would best close Ozil down? If we don't, it'll be tough viewing.

Indeed. Beast defense coming through. Laporte is the dog's bollocks, with Varane and Zouma close behind. Not to mention Koulibaly in Serie A and Mangala looking better this season... even Koscielney, though a little older, is a great defender, Arsenal hate aside. Kurzawa at LB is looking the real deal too. Not too sure about their RBs, though. Couldn't match that insane Italian defense throughout the 2000s of Cannavaro, Nesta, Zambrotta, Materazzi, Barzagli, Cheilini, Zanetti, Maldini etc. could they? Can see the French national team becoming a true force again with Lloris, Pogba, Schinderlin, Lacazette, Matuidi, Griezmann, Martial coming through. Compare that with England's young talent, and Rooney leading the line... Sigh.

I agree he's looking a little down-beat, and performances haven't been up to scratch, but my view on it is he has had to take the slack as a result of a dip in form across the park. He frequently sparks something only to be let down by the attacking players around him. He doesn't have that steady platform to shine on the pitch as he used to. Far too often I seem him at the half-way line picking the ball up, beating a few players, only to find flat-footed players around him and our striker 2 meters from the corner flag. It looks as though the team is finding some type of form - Fabregas, Oscar, even Costa are looking like they've overcome their slump, intentional or not who knows... If they can continue this rise in form, I'm certain we'll see Hazard back to his best. What good is selling him for 90mil and relying on Pedro/Kennedy to come up with the goods? No one of his caliber would come near this club if we do lose out on CL... 90mil spree on Moses/Marin type players?

No chance I'm clicking that link, but thanks for pasting Stan's piss-poor opinion here so I don't support this rag through ad revenue. Surely Hazard can see how toxic that club is... not that ours is running smoothly, but Real is run by fools, and dictated by Ramos and co behind the scenes. He'd be much better suited to Bayern imo.

How do you know he doesn't want to be here? The last interviews I saw/read said he wanted to achieve more with Chelsea - CL and FA were mentioned - and I recall he was focused on turning the season around in 2016. I try to stay away from the paper talk so I may not be up with the latest... but if these rumors are true, could you pass on some credible sources, please? From what I see, it's nothing like the Lukaku/De Bruyne exit comments to the media before they moved... Judging by the last few games of 2015, he looked pretty good to me, only let down by the likes of Matic, Fabregas, Costa. Who would replace Hazard at LM/LW/CAM in a 4231? The only players in that upper echelon of left inverted wingers are what, Ronaldo, Ribery, Reus, Neymar, Sanchez? No chance of getting any of them. Sure we could possibly bring in a decent winger, but the majority are very one-dimensional - Bale, Schurrle, Sterling etc. just don't have that refined ability that Hazard does. Pedro or Schurrle for example - great players, but I just don't see them having that magic to undo parked defenses or go up against the big clubs and deliver when needed. The days of 433 Duff/Robben types are over. If by the end of the season he's still not performing (though I still believe it's the players around him who have brought him down with them...) then yeah, by all means look into selling. So what, he'll go down 20m in value? We've wasted a lot more cash than that over the years... and it seems that FFP business is irrelevant too with City etc. spending like no tomorrow, and especially if we're not in Europe for a season or two...

Can't believe so many want rid of Hazard... 6 months ago he was the best player at Chelsea, top in the PL, and was regarded as the catalyst to lead Chelsea to the 14/15 PL title and beyond over the next 5 years. Mentally weak? He is the sole reason we won the league last season. The one player who stepped up as Costa/Oscar/Fabregas/Willian's form dipped, and pulled through with goals, assists, and creating for the team. He's had a few injuries recently, which is understandable given the number of games he's played over the past few seasons - I can't recall an extended injury layoff since 2012... Stop reading the daily rag and get behind him. Imagine seeing him tear up La Liga, or worse, the PL with City or Arsenal... Playing up front with an out-of-sorts Costa/Fabregas/Oscar/Pedro hasn't helped his form, as his play-style relies on these guys being on point. There's a reason he's running into dead ends at the moment - there's no movement or pivotal striker/CAM he can rely on, aside from Willian. It appears we're getting there again, so I hope we can keep him safe over the window and watch him at it again to drag us to 4th (here's hoping...) If in doubt, watch an Eden Hazard compilation on YouTube, and you'll remember what this guy brings to the team - a very rare breed. Who else, bar Messi, has such control on the ball, speed, strength, awareness, vision, passing ability, and skills in the locker, and execute it such a silky manner? The only truly world class player we have in the squad, aside from Azpi and Courtious.

This is how we should play away from home. I do feel Remy would suit this style up front, but pushing Hazard back to 10 would stifle his attacking abilities - Oscar doing the dirty work.

This is what I miss. Quick, incisive, powerful, clinical. The missing link - a goal scoring CM. We "almost" have the players for it - Hazard/Pedro on the wings and a RLC/Matic/Willian? mid (Willian does slow a lot of our play down but offers so much energy in midfield... the most frustrating player on the pitch) - I was against Pogba coming pre-season, but with a player like him we wouldn't be in this mess now.

Was Baba Rahman ever updated on the squad list? #6 seems to be missing - the Chelsea CMS editor forgot to add him in after Pedro switched to 17? https://twitter.com/RoxstromC/status/636147881062322176 Been trying to ignore this whole debacle... but seeing the increased bid, Cuadrado loan, Juve interest in Gundogan, other little hints, it's hard to not get my hopes up despite the minuscule probability of this happening.

Hoping Rondon keeps to his namesake- Solomons aren't known to be very clinical. Zouma beast mode

Costa taking the lead. Him and hazard need to show why they're a class above.

Left side again. Someone's gotta take this game and pull us through.

We can thank Mikel for that decision...

Can't remember the last time we've had a player running in from deep or shooting outside the box. Am I watching the right team? Liking what I'm seeing. More of the same please

- I'll blame my intermittent stream... fully missed the team lineup today, and two of the goals. Guess that's what I get for giving Sky the chop.

Oscar for Willian at HT? Pedro will need to put a shift in to help out on the right. Bloody good seeing some direct attacking from that RW. Incisive play from Pedro, and he's excellent on the ball too. Really refreshing...

Ffs Ivan. Baba asap please.

City lose tomorrow, draw final day. Liverpool lose final day, or draw 0-0, and we win 8-0. Title ours - take it out Wigan style. Cheeky fiver on us to win.

11, 683 miles from NZ - beat that

Sad, sad news if Juan does make the switch. Never thought it would come to this. Has been my favourite player for the past two seasons, and worse as I do have connections to his home town Oviedo too. I'm trying to justify this situation in my head.. anything to help me sleep at night eh. Don't have the best football knowledge but this is my take on it. If you look at last season, our play was quite shocking at times. Having three roaming players with Mata pulling the strings was certainly a joy to watch, but remember our defence and general overall play was quite shocking. The system we were playing last year suited Mata, but did it suit the rest of the team? We were looking like Arsenal for much of the season. In big games he tended to go quiet, looking at games against strong teams over the last two years - City, Barca, Bayern.This season, for the most part, we have looked like a team again by playing a system that works for us with the players we have. If you look at the other top clubs, do we see players similar to Mata? As in stature and work rate? Would he make first team at these clubs? Real: Ozil would have been their closest player, but it is the Spanish league so could get away little defensive duties. I don't remember seeing him excelling in Europe.. Correct me if i'm wrong. Look at him at Arsenal now. Has made an impact, but take into account the form of Wilshere, Giroud, Ramsey and their backline. Barcelona: Iniesta a very similar player, however their system is completely different to ours and pretty much every other team in Europe so can't really compare in this instance. City: Silva you could argue, but he is still a much more physical player, hence why he may be chosen over Juan in Spain. They do have a strong front three Aguero, Nasri, Navas. City also have a superior CM compared to us to play Silva/Nasri types. Bayern: Their attacking midfield are again very powerful. Ribery, Muller, Robben, Gotze... All press, are physical and have pace. A team we could soon be close to matching, in terms of style, personnel and hopefully trophies :) IMO he won't fit in at United. The team does not work with him at all. Imagine their DMF with Mata, Janazaj, Kagawa in front. It would be a slaughter defensively. If they want to waste 40m on a player they don't need, let them go ahead.. i don't see them making the top 4 with or without Juan. And with the cash spent on Mata, they limit resources to beef up other positions in summer and beyond.

these commentators are doing my head in. arsenal this, arsenal that.. give it a rest mate

I really do think one player in the mould of Ramsey, Arteta, Henderson would completely transform this side - i.e not necessarily world class. A more technical CM who can quickly drive forward. Would get our strikers scoring, as we would actually create real chances rather than rely on moments of luck/individual brilliance. Lampard, Mikel, Essien just don't fit with the rest of the team.

We are the new Arsenal FFS. So little drive and urgency

I honestly think Lukaku wouldn't have made much of a difference this season, in our current style of play. Looking at Lukaku's goals at Everton, they have largely been scored through quick play of the ball - not a lot of possession play up front, as we do. He is excelling at Everton, and previously WBA where he is a focal point of scoring through counter attack football. I'd presume Ba and Torres would do a lot better at these small clubs too. I came across a youtube video where Lukaku could hardly juggle the ball properly, albeit not in footy gear, nor is this a good example, but still, for a top-class striker I expected more. During his time at Chelsea, he was much the same regarding ball control. Rough round the edges you might say, but I'm not so sure he possesses the skill of touch, and close control at present (which is imperative in this Chelsea setup); in other words, a fair way off Drogba, who had exceptional skill, touch, technique, and even shooting ability (i swear most of Lukaku's shots are massively underpowered and mis-hit). What does Lukaku have that Ba doesn't at this point in time? This said, I think loaning him was the best option this season, in order to improve on the points aforementioned. Forgive me for being a rugby boof-head, with minimal real football experience, how hard would it be to improve these points of his game? A strong, intricate striker that can both score in tight situations, and build the play with midfeild is the missing piece. Suarez, Aguero, Jovetic, Higuain all spring to mind. The days of a slotting a beast in up front are over - depending on how our young squad evolves over the next few years, is Lukaku our real answer?