Probably didnt rate RVN either did you?

That inzagi fella was rubbish.......all he did was score goals.

I have 100% confidence in JM and i am sure he has plan

He might have a plan,but will the board allow it??

I woudn't swap him for anyone. Every team needs a menace although I reckon that he is probably a real nice guy if you meet him.

Other than a prime didier I don't think we've ever had a better striker in the premier league.

Maybe recall Bamford in january if we need to?

that is true and i am not disregarding costa's scoring abilities entirely, i just think he is a limited striker when comparing him to other strikers in the league and europe. i would take suarez, aguero, muller, tevez, lewandowski over him.

 

I think a true striker should make his own goals out of nothing, and should be able to score goals from most areas of the final third, including taking shots outside the box. take drogba as an example, very rarely his goals were similar, he could pull off a 30/40 yarder from nowhere! this is why i like the aforementioned forwards as they're especially dangerous at this, whereas a lot of costa's goals have come from inside the box. I feel his control of the ball can be weak and he often comes across very clumsy and not the most comfortable with the ball at his feet. 

 

falcao is a striker capable of scoring different kinds of goals to costa, especially outside the box. i still think falcao will come good so i have that belief as if he comes into form he could easily displace costa. falcao may have lost a little pace, but he has always been a clinical finisher, even more so than costa, so i think if he gets the chances in games he will put them away for us in style. 

 

of course people will disagree, but this is just my opinion. if costa starts banging them in next season then i won't care where they come from, but i still think he has technical limitations as a footballer.

I agree with your point about Costa lacking a degree of technical ability. If you read his biography (good read by the way) a number of his past coaches and managers point to the fact he grew up on the streets of Brazil playing put his technical development behind. With that being said what he lacks in terms of technical ability he compensates for with other facets of his games. His sheer hunger, compedativeness and mental attributes make him a top athlete (when fit). He is a handful and I love it, he's a throwback to a bygone era of physicality that we rarely glance in today's game. You can't honestly tell me he doesn't play with passion and a demand on himself and his team mates to win at all costs. When I saw the PSG game in person recently you could see it written in his face, he wanted to score and win. Pure competition flows through his veins.

It's not just costa I'm picking on, nobody seems to want to take shots outside the box anymore. If we needed a goal desperately, we would rather play it around and try to find an opening than take long shots and at least try to score. We miss this so much, and unfortunately other teams have those kind of players.

^ This is why I don't understand why Jose got rid of Schurrie and to an extent Salah; both players are more direct and I found it bizzare he called Salah instinctive and not following patterns.

i don't like to harp on about traore, but he looks so intent to score when he's playing, that it kills me to see jose pull him off the field. It is so blatant to see he is the kind of offensive player we lack, but simply doesn't get the chances because of his age and experience. give him a chance in the first team in the prem and let him off the leash a bit i say. it is times like these i wish we had prime lampard

Asked about Loftus-Cheek’s prospects, Mourinho said: “It depends on him, not me. People normally ask about chances, chances, chances and maybe that’s a good excuse for the young players to be where they are.

“Maybe for the good of English football, you should go the other way. Are you ready to get the chance? The other day I had an internal discussion with my staff: must the manager give confidence to the player or must the player give confidence to a manager? We arrived at the conclusion that players pick themselves – that’s the responsibility that they must have.”

He's right

loftus cheek still looks slow to track back/his man at times and leave gaps when the opposition attack, so it really is on him to listen to jose and take on board what he needs to do. he is very talented, but with a simple mind he can only go so far. 

^ This is why I don't understand why Jose got rid of Schurrie and to an extent Salah; both players are more direct and I found it bizzare he called Salah instinctive and not following patterns.

Salah I don't think was ever good enough and I know Schurrle isn't exactly setting the Bundesliga alight but he did a job for us. It's a shame he went but he wanted to go, can't really keep players who don't want to be here.

It's not just costa I'm picking on, nobody seems to want to take shots outside the box anymore. If we needed a goal desperately, we would rather play it around and try to find an opening than take long shots and at least try to score. We miss this so much, and unfortunately other teams have those kind of players.

 

Mikel shots from outside.

For all those writing off our season based on Diego's hamstrings - bear in mind he only started 24 games in the league last season, and we still managed to win it at a canter.

For all those writing off our season based on Diego's hamstrings - bear in mind he only started 24 games in the league last season, and we still managed to win it at a canter.

Yes because early on he was on fire scoring in almost every game and it wasn't until a few months later the hamstring issue came back.

This season it's already back before the season starts. That's a huge worry especially when Jose says they don't know what the problem is as scans show no problem.

Yes because early on he was on fire scoring in almost every game and it wasn't until a few months later the hamstring issue came back.

This season it's already back before the season starts. That's a huge worry especially when Jose says they don't know what the problem is as scans show no problem.

 

You might not be wrong to be honest; before April he only missed two [league] games through injury. I also completely forgot that four of the games he missed were through suspension.

 

My feeling is that if the club realise that this is a chronic problem (i.e. one that risks ruling him out of half of our games or more), they know better than to expect us to be capable of defending the title relying solely on Rémy and a completely out-of-sorts Falcao, especially considering that this exact problem has hampered our title hopes before - relying on Torres/injured Sturridge, then relying on Torres/Ba (and later Eto'o). Don't get me wrong, I have my concerns, but I doubt the club would fail to act if this genuinely has the potential to be a problem large enough to risk wrecking the season.

He had to sit out of two pre-season games to not risk injury which I'm not sure is a big deal yet, as there is a huge mental difference between a pre season game and a competitive game and wanting to protect yourself from missing important games is only natural. If this is a phantom injury (which no problem in the scan would suggest) it is just a mental block, caused by having a recurring problem and he is more likely to battle through this block in a competitive fixture as there is more riding on it and the more he plays the less that block will become.

I have this problem every pre-season as I broke my ankle 4 years ago and it takes me usually a full pre-season to get back into things and that's having to start off with only one training season a week as well, admittedly I have a couple of pins so there is a slight physical issue but I imagine its pretty similar. 

He had to sit out of two pre-season games to not risk injury which I'm not sure is a big deal yet, as there is a huge mental difference between a pre season game and a competitive game and wanting to protect yourself from missing important games is only natural. If this is a phantom injury (which no problem in the scan would suggest) it is just a mental block, caused by having a recurring problem and he is more likely to battle through this block in a competitive fixture as there is more riding on it and the more he plays the less that block will become.

I have this problem every pre-season as I broke my ankle 4 years ago and it takes me usually a full pre-season to get back into things and that's having to start off with only one training season a week as well, admittedly I have a couple of pins so there is a slight physical issue but I imagine its pretty similar.

well his mental block started halfway through last season, so I'm not sure its in his head

Costa is finished. Falcao is hopeless, Remy is in love with the offside flag.

well his mental block started halfway through last season, so I'm not sure its in his head

Wasn't it documented as a proper problem last season hence the option of surgery.

All long term or re-occurring injuries will have some psychological effects to them, this to me seems like he is concerned that It could well happen again so is trying to nurse it and every twinge or tightness is causing him a huge amount of concern.

Twinges and tightness can and will happen to everyone and will occur more and worse to those that are psychological expecting them and in spite of there not being a physical problem which Jose said there doesn't seem to be as the scans show nothing.

Edited August 6, 201510 yr by PedroMendez

Wasn't it documented as a proper problem last season hence the option of surgery

yes, that's the point I'm trying to make, he hasn't got a mental its a hamstring problem, one he has had for years.

Costa is finished.

Pretty bold statement right there. Don't mince your words do you?

Pretty bold statement right there. Don't mince your words do you?

I could be wrong. Hopefully.

We really could do with him getting and staying fit .

yes, that's the point I'm trying to make, he hasn't got a mental its a hamstring problem, one he has had for years.

then why come out and say there is nothing on the scans.

 

Clearly his body has recovered but his mind hasn't

Edited August 6, 201510 yr by PedroMendez