Everton v Chelsea (PL) 12/09/2015 KO 12:45 BST

[ForeverCarefree]

If RLC was played there he would need drop in to protect Terry if Matic does it you can count on Fab not covering his side and the attackers would be running at our back line, what people don't realise often about a strong defending chelsea is players, for example, last season did not get to run at out centre backs and when they did we got Tottenham away, Matic is so important when he is off we are very vunerable i would like to see RLC in there who can help out when needed because fab isn't doing that as a CM

Matic would be covering both sides, that's what Makalele did in 4-3-3.

He would back in to defence almost when the fullbacks bomb forward.

RLC and Fabregas would have defensive duties of course but not as heavily burdened as Fabregas is now with the right hand side.

[enigma]

if people believe we won't win with the team forevercarefree posted then i am shocked. that is probably as best a team we can put out than any, with lots of pace, some steel in midfield with loftus-cheek and dangerous offensively. personally i would give hazard a rest as he is clearly tired, and move pedro over to his place and put kenedy on the right wing. if costa doesn't do anything for the first half then bring falcao on after half time. 

Edited September 3, 2015 by enigma

[Imran_CFC]

if people believe we won't win with the team forevercarefree posted then i am shocked. that is probably as best a team we can put out than any, with lots of pace, some steel in midfield with loftus-cheek and dangerous offensively. personally i would give hazard a rest as he is clearly tired, and move pedro over to his place and put kenedy on the right wing. if costa doesn't do anything for the first half then bring falcao on after half time. 

 

I believe that is a very strong team but with that personnel we will revert to 4-2-3-1 after a while with Fabregas drifting into the No.10 role, If we were to play 4-3-3 than Mourinho will play Ramires on the right of Matic to cover Ivanovic or whoever is to play at right back.

[bluegraham]

Because...?

No goalkeeper lol

[Theafonis]

Team I would like to see

 

 

4-3-3, go back to what Jose was doing in his first stint for us. 

 

Beef out the middle of the park a little more. Give RLC a chance to prove he deserves a place in squad and drop the woeful Willian. 

 

Ivanovic dropped with Baba coming in for his debut to hopefully sort out the issue of everything coming down our right. 

That is an A1 team right there. Hopefully we go with that. Still not sure about Baba starting, but I think he'll impress. 

[Zola]

I'd like to see us go back to 4-3-3, I think it could bring the best out of Matic, with a clearly defined Maka role, not job sharing.

[Jonty]

Is there any reason, aside from the fact that he is young and people want to give him experience and help him develop, that people would choose RLC in their starting XI? Has he shown anything thus far to warrant being ahead of Fabregas, Oscar, Willian or even Ramires in the team?

[PloKoon13]

I'm guessing it's because our recent defensive frailties, Oscar's injury, and Willian's unimpressive form have led people to want us to revert to a 4-3-3.

 

Matic is one of the first names on the team sheet, Fabregas' defensive weakness is covered in a three-man midfield, and one thing the former two are lacking is driving thrust, so the most obvious choice is a more physical, mobile presence in the middle. Considering Ramires tends to divide opinion, as well as Mourinho's rhetoric last season about giving RLC a chance, I suppose people are willing to plump for the latter.

[ForeverCarefree]

Is there any reason, aside from the fact that he is young and people want to give him experience and help him develop, that people would choose RLC in their starting XI? Has he shown anything thus far to warrant being ahead of Fabregas, Oscar, Willian or even Ramires in the team?

 

My reasoning is that in a 20 minute sub appearance Loftus-Cheek showed more desire than most of the regular first team players have shown in the opening matches. 

 

The defence has been woeful so far but the poor form shown by our midfield is contributing massively to that. 

 

He's in the squad, Jose and the club have made a big song and dance about that so let's put him to the test... If now isn't a good time to play him, when is? 

 

Oscar and Ramires have been injured for a few now and Willian is playing sh*t, so I reckon he deserves a start ahead of those three. 

[Les666]

I don't care who they play, just so long as we get a good result and the ref doesn't muck the game up with sh*t decisions

[Jonty]

My reasoning is that in a 20 minute sub appearance Loftus-Cheek showed more desire than most of the regular first team players have shown in the opening matches. 

 

The defence has been woeful so far but the poor form shown by our midfield is contributing massively to that. 

 

He's in the squad, Jose and the club have made a big song and dance about that so let's put him to the test... If now isn't a good time to play him, when is? 

 

Oscar and Ramires have been injured for a few now and Willian is playing sh*t, so I reckon he deserves a start ahead of those three.

Did he actually show much in that 20 minutes? He didn't do anything wrong that I can recall although I don't remember having any real influence on the game and I very much doubt he is as likely to be involved in a goal as Fabregas, Oscar or Willian.

Edited September 4, 2015 by Jonty

[AsianBoy]

    Hazard Costa Pedro

 

     Kenedy Matic RLC

 

 Baba Terry Zouma Azpi

 

            Courtois

[Chelsbear]

Did he actually show much in that 20 minutes? He didn't do anything wrong that I can recall although I don't remember having any real influence on the game and I very much doubt he is as likely to be involved in a goal as Fabregas, Oscar or Willian.

Yes he showed for the ball and got stuck in, something Matic and Cesc didn’t do.

We need freshening up in the middle and RLC is the obvious choice as Ramires doesn’t have the skillset or passing ability to nail down a place there and Mikel is…well Mikel.

[ForeverCarefree]

Did he actually show much in that 20 minutes? He didn't do anything wrong that I can recall although I don't remember having any real influence on the game and I very much doubt he is as likely to be involved in a goal as Fabregas, Oscar or Willian.

 

So what do we do, keep playing clearly out of form players in Willian and Fabregas but historically they have a reputation of being involved in goals? (Debatable with Willian but that's a whole other conversation). 

 

The team aren't playing well, individuals aren't playing well... So at point do you stop stubbornly picking the same players over and over hoping they'll turn it around? 

 

Or do you utilize the squad, stop picking from the small pool of the same 13/14 players and put faith in other players who must have done something right to be selected to be a part of the squad? 

[Jonty]

So what do we do, keep playing clearly out of form players in Willian and Fabregas but historically they have a reputation of being involved in goals? (Debatable with Willian but that's a whole other conversation). 

 

The team aren't playing well, individuals aren't playing well... So at point do you stop stubbornly picking the same players over and over hoping they'll turn it around? 

 

Or do you utilize the squad, stop picking from the small pool of the same 13/14 players and put faith in other players who must have done something right to be selected to be a part of the squad?

It's hard to answer that question when we still don't really know what RLC can do at the top level. Jose watches him train with the first team every day and so probably has a far better grasp on where he is physically and technically compared to the other players in the squad so if he picks him to start i'll trust he is capable.

But if he's not picked I wouldn't have any argument, as i've been given no evidence that he is an improvement on what we have and Jose evidently wouldn't have either.

Edited September 4, 2015 by Jonty

[ForeverCarefree]

It's hard to answer that question when we still don't really know what RLC can do at the top level. Jose watches him train with the first team every day and so probably has a far better grasp on where he is physically and technically compared to the other players in the squad so if he picks him to start i'll trust he is capable.

But if he's not picked I wouldn't have any argument, as i've been given no evidence that he is an improvement on what we have and Jose evidently wouldn't have either.

 

After losing half of our games so far (plus the Community Shield). 

 

At point point do we stop saying "Jose's always right" and start questioning his team selections? 

[CFC_RFC_TID!]

After losing half of our games so far (plus the Community Shield). 

 

At point point do we stop saying "Jose's always right" and start questioning his team selections? 

months ago, for me. 

 

the insistence on sticking with a core of "trusted" players and absolutely grinding them into dust had a detrimental impact on our ability to come out and crush teams in the latter stages of last season. Gary Neville touched on it last weekend and said that the team looks knackered. Tiredness, lack of motivation, call it whatever, but the squad needs to be utilised. It simply needs to be rotated. 

 

trouble is, it wont be. i predict the usual tried and tested xi against everton, perhaps with ramires coming in. serious questions will have to be asked if this is indeed the case. 

[the special one]

I'd go with;

 

Tibo

Azpi -- Cahill -- JT -- Baba

Ramires -- Matic

Pedro -- Oscar -- Hazard

Diego

 

I don't think it's inconceivable that Everton could be competing for 4th this season, so for me this is a must not lose game. Nullify the opponent and look to get a jammy 1-0. Hopefully Galloway or Oviedo will start at LB for Everton.

[Jonty]

After losing half of our games so far (plus the Community Shield). 

 

At point point do we stop saying "Jose's always right" and start questioning his team selections?

Well I don't think anyone seriously considers Mikel or Ramires the solution to our woes, which leaves RLC as the only midfield change that could be made.

So in questioning team selection it boils down to, do we start wondering if the reason we aren't doing well is because Willian or Fabregas are being played instead of a 19 year old with no top flight experience, in which case i'm afraid my answer is no.

If Ivanovic keeps his place when we've just paid 21m for an actual left back then yes I find that inexcusable, but other than that I don't see any positions on the field where there are realistic improvements that could be made from our bench.

[PloKoon13]

I think quite a large amount of our team selection should revolve around whether or not Oscar is fit for this.

[Imran_CFC]

Well I don't think anyone seriously considers Mikel or Ramires the solution to our woes, which leaves RLC as the only midfield change that could be made.

So in questioning team selection it boils down to, do we start wondering if the reason we aren't doing well is because Willian or Fabregas are being played instead of a 19 year old with no top flight experience, in which case i'm afraid my answer is no.

If Ivanovic keeps his place when we've just paid 21m for an actual left back then yes I find that inexcusable, but other than that I don't see any positions on the field where there are realistic improvements that could be made from our bench.

 

RLC is not an improvement on an in form Fabregas or Willian but he is an improvement on the poor imitations who have turned up so far this season. They need to be dropped and given time to reflect on there shortcomings, maybe give them fewer minutes in the 2nd half so they are playing against tired legs and get that further split second on the ball. Once they get the match fitness back they can be integrated into the team.

 

The definition of insanity is doing the same thing repetitively and expecting different results- in the first 4 games we have had our backsides handed to us and quite frankly we are quite lucky to have 4 points on the board and changes are necessary.

[Oneclubinlondon]

Jose need to get some homelettes on the stove sooner rather than later, leaving on a loss before teh break has got me feeling unsettled, I really hope we come back and blow Everton away 4-0 and go on from there 

[evissy]

I think Jose should just try anything different; formation, players, approach. No tired players like Cesc, Branna and Costa. Anyone who can compete for a spot like Baba, Remy, Ruben or Kenedy.

[dkw]

I think Jose should just try anything different; formation, players, approach. No tired players like Cesc, Branna and Costa. Anyone who can compete for a spot like Baba, Remy, Ruben or Kenedy.

Its a nice idea but Jose will only have a couple of days with the majority of the squad to train with any difference formations etc due to international break. I expect this game more to see a few personnel tweeks more than a complete change in tactics.

[MissouriBlue]

Its a nice idea but Jose will only have a couple of days with the majority of the squad to train with any difference formations etc due to international break. I expect this game more to see a few personnel tweeks more than a complete change in tactics.

+1