Ok so not the best preparation for a game that could put us in a very strong position within our CL group.

 

Win here and we move to 9 points, 3 above Schalke and with a better head to head record over them. Meaning we could go to Basel knowing a win would win us the group, knowing a draw would leave us in a strong position with the last game at home to the groups bottom side.

 

Any way you slice it, a win here puts us firmly in the driving sight and within touching distance of the the knock out rounds.

 

Hope we get a strong, good response for this one.

 

Team I would like to see start (maybe a gut reaction from today).

 

Cech

 

Azpi

Cahill

JT

Betrand

 

Ramires

Mikel

 

Willan

Mata

Schurrle

 

Torres

 

Subs: Schwarzer, Brana, Cole, Lampard, Hazard, Oscar , Ba

Time to drop Hazard, Luiz, Ash and Frank IMO, at least just for this game.

-----------Cech

Iva - Cahill - JT - Bertrand

-----Ramires - Mikel

Willian - Mata - Oscar

----------Torres

Gotta go with Mikel here, he's one of the best in the business!

 

Schurrle will definitely play because of the German thing.

Edited November 3, 201312 yr by RickCFC

Time to drop Hazard, Luiz, Ash and Frank IMO, at least just for this game.

-----------Cech

Iva - Cahill - JT - Bertrand

-----Ramires - Mikel

Willian - Mata - Oscar

----------Torres

 

Would probably go for Azpi instead of Ivan. Other than that, I would agree.

 

Hope the atmosphere is rocking. I'll be in the west stand getting all the tourists shouting! 

-------------------Cech

Ivanovic----Cahill---Terry---Cole

------------Ramires----Mikel

----Hazard------Oscar-----Schurrle

------------------Torres

 

 

Willian and Bertrand could easily sneak into the side though

Edited November 3, 201312 yr by PloKoon13

Unfortunately Mata will be dropped again.

 

I would go for:

 

Cech, Bertrand, Terry, Cahill, Azpilcueta, Ramires, Essien, Shurrle, Mata, Willian, Torres

 

But I think he will go for:

 

Cech, Cole, Terry, Cahill, Ivanovic, Ramires, Mikel, Shurrle, Oscar, Hazard, Torres

Time to drop Hazard, Luiz, Ash and Frank IMO, at least just for this game.

-----------Cech

Iva - Cahill - JT - Bertrand

-----Ramires - Mikel

Willian - Mata - Oscar

----------Torres

i like this team selection...has an excitement about it

Cech

 

Dave

Terry

Ivan/Cahill

Bertrand

 

Ramires

Luiz

 

Schurrle

Mata

Willian

 

Torres

We need to bounce back with a convincing 2-0 win ...

2-0 or 2-1 to us, fingers crossed ...

 

would love to see Bertrand given the nod!

Lamps should be rested for this one, too

Edited November 3, 201312 yr by cfcblue

Hazard, Oscar, Lampard, Luiz - OUT

 

                 Cech

Brana -- JT -- Cahill -- Cole

         Ramires -- Mikel

Willian -- Mata -- Schurrle

              Torres

Schalke's defense is laughable but playing at home should give them a good boost. I think Maximilian Meyer will start and this kid is something special. Many coaches say he is further in development than Draxler when he was 18....

Schalke's defense is laughable but playing at home should give them a good boost. I think Maximilian Meyer will start and this kid is something special. Many coaches say he is further in development than Draxler when he was 18....

They're not playing at home, and in the last game it hardly helped them either!

My team would be

Cech

Azpi

JT

Cahill

Bertrand

Mikel

Ramires

Schurie

Oscar

Willian

Torres

Suspect it won't be like that though, particularly with the full backs.

They're not playing at home, and in the last game it hardly helped them either!

My team would be

Cech

Azpi

JT

Cahill

Bertrand

Mikel

Ramires

Schurie

Oscar

Willian

Torres

Suspect it won't be like that though, particularly with the full backs.

Oh my bad :p

Edited November 3, 201312 yr by BavarianAfrican12

Midfield for me was a bit of a headache to pick considering how poor Mazacar was against Newcastle. Haven't fancied that front 3 for awhile, don't like those 3 starting together.

 

                       Cech

 

Ivanovic       JT       Cahill        Cole

 

               Mikel     Ramires

 

Oscar             Mata              Schurrle

 

                     Torres

 

 

Hazard didn't look convincing (as did our entire midfield) against Newcastle. I really like Schurrle down the left flank, think he offers a bit more width then Hazard and is more suited as a legitimate winger role. In other cases I'd start Hazard in this position, but Schalke's back line for me is so poor, Schurrle can stretch the defence and allow more space for the others to work their magic. Also really like Schurrle on the counter, very direct and straightforward, doesn't try so hard to make defenders look as s**t as Titus Bramble.

 

Also opted for Mata to get the start in his number 10 role. Feel as though Mata is more suited to this position when him and Oscar both start. Never liked Mata on the wing, even in the early days in his CFC career with AVB using him on the wing in a 4-3-3. Only time Oscar should be in that role is when Mata is on the bench, which clearly we've seen a lot of so far this season.

 

Also the last major (or not so major depending how you feel about it) change..."Rampard" has to go. Lampard needs to get the axe, atleast for now which is painful to say as I'm absolutely obsessed with the guy. Stick Mikel in to do the defensive work and let Ramires have space to go forward. At 35 it's bad enough that Jose feels Lampard should start almost every game, but at that age to adapt to a more defensive position just won't work, especially when your career has been built on runs from midfield and hovering near the penalty spot. Lampard still tries those runs from midfield and most of the time leaves Ramires under the bus when possession is lost. Mikel for me is probably one of the best defensive midfielders out there right now in my opinion. Not a fan of his constant sideways passing, but that's about all the criticism I have for him. Let Ramires go forward, the guy is an absolute bolt of lightning with and without the ball at his feet. Plus for a counter attacking side it only makes sense to have a player with incredible stamina in his early 20's, rather than a man in his mid 30's trying to spark a counter attack. Ramires hasn't yet proved his final ball is lethal, but in time it'll sharpen up I think. 

 

Only change in defence I made was Cahill for Luiz. This one is a bit of a dodgy change for me due to how slow both him and JT are, but after Luiz' display against Newcastle it's honestly a no brainer.

 

Other than that, Cech starts which was never ever going to be in doubt, and Torres starts (partially because of the little man crush I have on him  ).

 

This is what I'd hope for our XI to look like, don't think it will be anything close. As long as Mikel/Ramires combo is back I'll be happy with it.

I always thought 'Mazacar' was cringeworthy but 'Rampard' hits new depths!!

Oh my bad :p

No worries, it's hardly a crime! I've heard a few things about Meyer too, it would be very interesting to see him play at SB on Wed.

Edited November 3, 201312 yr by bjd

Would be better to have Willian on the wing than Oscar. Oscar was even worse than Hazard against Newcastle. 

I believe we will see a much improved performance, good team and manager won't allow a repeat of poor game. I'd say the same 11 played City will play this one. I don't think we need to be panicking. If we play with the same intensity we showed in the away game, we will win.

I always thought 'Mazacar' was cringeworthy but 'Rampard' hits new depths!!

I blame twitter haha

Cech

 

Azpi

Cahill

JT

Betrand

 

Essien

Mikel

 

KdB

Mata

Schurrle

 

Eto'o

 

Think we need a little tweaking after the Newcastle game just to remind the lads that a spot in the starting 11 is not guaranteed. Also, I think the players selected for the Arsenal game deserve another run out after that stellar performance. Despite the poor effort on Saturday, I am confident that we'll do the business against Schalke and come away with the three points. 2-0 victory for the Blues.

Jose needs to be a man of his word for this game and anyone who under performed against Newcastle should sit this one out.

 

Based on that I would go with something like:   

 

 

 

 

                   Cech

 

 

Ivan - Cahill - Terry - Bertrand

 

          Essien - Ramires

 

    Willian - Oscar - Schurrle

 

                  Eto'o

 

 

I have defended Luiz a lot but that performance on Saturday was woeful, sloppy in possession and generally just contributing little to the team. 

 

Many of us have said the Lampard/Ramires pairing in midfield is not ideal and so I think Jose needs to start exploring his options more, I would try Essien with Ramires as both of them have a tremendous work rate and maybe just having plenty of running in the midfield although very basic might help spark some life into the team.

 

All of the attacking three were poor against Newcaslte but forcing Oscar wide to allow Mata to play in the middle doesn't make sense to me, you have to play one or the other to get the best out of the team.

 

I would go with Willian and Schurrle out wide, hopefully to stop things getting too narrow. Personally I think we look a better team with Schurrle in the side and Willian has slowly been impressing with his limited game time so far.

 

Up front as always it's slim pickings, tough to choose between the three but Ba looks nailed on third choice so it's between Eto'o and Torres so I would go with Eto'o seeing as he looked lively when he came on against Newcastle although I still remain unconvinced by him personally. 

I believe we will see a much improved performance, good team and manager won't allow a repeat of poor game. I'd say the same 11 played City will play this one. I don't think we need to be panicking. If we play with the same intensity we showed in the away game, we will win.

 Yes with one vital change Mikel must start ahead of Lamps.

Jose needs to be a man of his word for this game and anyone who under performed against Newcastle should sit this one out.

 

Based on that I would go with something like:   

 

 

 

 

                   Cech

 

 

Ivan - Cahill - Terry - Bertrand

 

          Essien - Ramires

 

    Willian - Oscar - Schurrle

 

                  Eto'o

 

 

I have defended Luiz a lot but that performance on Saturday was woeful, sloppy in possession and generally just contributing little to the team. 

 

Many of us have said the Lampard/Ramires pairing in midfield is not ideal and so I think Jose needs to start exploring his options more, I would try Essien with Ramires as both of them have a tremendous work rate and maybe just having plenty of running in the midfield although very basic might help spark some life into the team.

 

All of the attacking three were poor against Newcaslte but forcing Oscar wide to allow Mata to play in the middle doesn't make sense to me, you have to play one or the other to get the best out of the team.

 

I would go with Willian and Schurrle out wide, hopefully to stop things getting too narrow. Personally I think we look a better team with Schurrle in the side and Willian has slowly been impressing with his limited game time so far.

 

Up front as always it's slim pickings, tough to choose between the three but Ba looks nailed on third choice so it's between Eto'o and Torres so I would go with Eto'o seeing as he looked lively when he came on against Newcastle although I still remain unconvinced by him personally.

Agree on all this, but would have Mikel in instead of Essien.

No worries, it's hardly a crime! I've heard a few things about Meyer too, it would be very interesting to see him play at SB on Wed.

 

Indeed, a bigger talent than Draxler in my eyes, and certainly moreso than Goretzka who looked a level or two below Meyer in the semi-final and final of the U17 Euros

Agree on all this, but would have Mikel in instead of Essien.

 

Only reason I didn't pick Mikel is because we are at home and need to take the game to Schalke.

 

As composed as Mikel is he won't offer a whole lot going forward and so went with Essien as I think his driving runs forward with the ball at his feet could cause Schalke a few problems.