Chelsea 2013-2014: Insufferable & Unsuccessful but Better than Arsenal

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soxfan121

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The big question isn't when Jose Mourinho takes over, the question is how much will Jose Mourinho be paid to take over?
 
Secondary questions include:
- Will John Terry ever take off his kit?
- How many players bought over the past three years will be shipped out by Mourinho?
- Will Fernando Torres be sent to Siberia? 
 
Bold Prediction: Chelsea will win the EPL next season. Mourinho is an outstanding manager and Chelsea is loaded with talent. 
 

sdiaz1

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As a Madridista, I am very glad and relieved to see him leave. But I do feel that Chelsea and Mourinho are a good match (much much better than him and anywhere in Spain) and that he will bring a good measure of success with him. Mou seems to be like a petulant child, who needs everything and everyone to agree with him in order to thrive. At a club owned by multiple parties with a large administrative network and a larger than sport culture like Madrid, he was never going to reach his managerial potential.


 
 


 
 

soxfan121

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SoxFanInCali said:
I wonder if Chelsea and Napoli will get drawn together in UEFA's "random" draw.
 
God, I hope so. Use your powers for fun, Sepp!
 

Snakebauer007

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Smiling Joe Hesketh said:
Dammit, I hope Snake hasn't left for good. I'm dying to hear his take on this.
I was way way way too excited as the news even began about him coming back. The interview he did made me absolutely giddy. 
 
In terms of the end of the season stuff I wasn't around to post about, I loved the Europa run and glad to see it end in success. Happy as well to see Rafa's tenure end.
 
For next season it would be nice to see us bring in our own players like Lukaku or KDB, or one of our young defenders(kalas or Omeruo), but we'll see
 
Regarding Ramires, he is generally terrible on the wing. Maybe you can get away with it against poor teams who cannot isolate his inability to control the ball or beat anyone on the dribble, but when you combine this stuff with his poor passing game and zero ability to cross, it isn't an ideal spot for him. Ramires really doesn't have a great position in a 4-2-3-1. He isn't a holding mid. His tactical discipline and those weaknesses in possession/passing really show against quality opposition in the end he is a player who relies so much on his athleticism and engine. He looked great for us in a 4-3-3, and out of sorts in a 4-2-3-1.
 

Snakebauer007

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Schurrle deal official, not a bad attacking trio with him, Mata, and Hazard and hopefully allows Oscar to play in the middle(at centermid and as Mata's backup).
Big rumor that the club have bid £50mill for Cavani, not exactly cash strapped
 

soxfan121

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Snakebauer007 said:
Obi being linked away to Galatasaray, would open up the the depth at Cm to bring in a new target(that target hopefully not being Essien).
 
Wasn't Essien on loan and returning anyway? 
 

Schnerres

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Snakebauer007 said:
Schurrle deal official, not a bad attacking trio with him, Mata, and Hazard and hopefully allows Oscar to play in the middle(at centermid and as Mata's backup).
Big rumor that the club have bid £50mill for Cavani, not exactly cash strapped
 
German newspaper BILD is reporting about a possible transfer for Lewandowski:
http://www.bild.de/sport/fussball/robert-lewandowski/feiert-abschied-30858688.bild.html
He was partying in Cannes with friends and fellow footballers (Sczceczczny,..) with his marriage next week ending his party-status. Report says that Dortmund boss Watzke doesn´t want a transfer in 13 to Bayern, but does not exclude a transfer to an international club. Namely Chelsea is interested and the Special One would be willing to come to Dortmund to pay the price, as Lewandowski (about 30mil. Euro) would cost half as much as Cavani.
 

BelgianSoxFan

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Kevin Debruyne will join Chelsea this year. Their midfield is getting fuller. He has been the best player on the national team for a few years.
 

Snakebauer007

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Straight from the mouth of The Special One:
 
Lukaku, De Bruyne, and Kalas will be staying with the first team this season.  Glad to see not only do we keep buying young players for the first team, but now start using the ones we have invested loans and development(as well as the money) into. 
 
Excluding, the backup keep, the list of players bought in the Summer window the past few seasons:
 
Van Ginkel
Schurrle
Hazard
Marin
Oscar
Azpilicueta
Moses
Romeu
 
 
the oldest being Marin at 23
 
As for the 3 loanees returning this season:
Kalas(20) is  Czech defender 6'1 and can play RB and CB, is compared a lot to Ivanovich.  PLayed both positions as a starter for Vitesse last season and impressed. Should find time behind Cesar at Rightback and maybe some CB time in the Capital One Cup.
 
De Bruyne(20) is a fantastic attacking mid who can play in any of the 3 attacking spots of a 4231 and perhaps some in the pivot as well, no doubt his versatility is what gives him a great chance to find games in a crowded midfield.  He is a little more direct than Mata and Oscar in terms of dribbling at opponents and a bit quicker than Hazard(with whom he starts alongside with Belgium). He started 33 games for Werder last season scoring 10 and assisting on 9. Think he can definitely challenge OScar and Schurrle for the top attacking spot next to Mata and Hazard, but we shall see. 
 
Lukaku(20), as most here watch the Premier League prob doesn't need much of a profile breakdown, 35 League appearances on loan at West Brom, 17 goals. Good with both feet and strong in the air, his holdup play is solid and he showed great improvement in his off the ball movement this season 
 
As for the new signings so far:
Schurrle(22) provides good balance for our attack as he has more pace and is more direct than Hazard, Oscar, Mata, and also tracks back a lot more defensively. I really like the look of that lazer of a shot he has as well. Definitely an upgrade on MOses, will be interesting to see his place in the pecking order otherwise. 
 
Marco Van Ginkel(20) is thought of as a true complete center midfielder. The inevitable comparisons to Lampard began very early, and every time I have seen him(played for Kalas' loanee team Vitesse) I was impressed with his skills, composure, work rate and intelligence. Apparently he will step right into the 1st team, very excited about this one.
Also, he looks like Beaker and Bieber had a love child
 

Snakebauer007

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Depth chart at this second, for me seems to be(maybe not in this order necessarily):
 
GK-Cech, Schwarzer, Hilario
RB-Cesar, Kalas
CB-Luiz, IVan, Cahil, JT
LB-AC3, Bertrand
CM(2 spots)-Lampard, Mikel, Ramires, Van Ginkel, Essien
AM(3spots)-Mata, Hazard, OScar, Schurrle, De Bruyne, Moses
CF-Torres, Ba, Lukaku
 
Ivan can also slot in at RB, Luiz of course at holding mid, Oscar and KDB in the pivots as well. 
 

soxfan121

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Snakebauer007 said:
Depth chart at this second, for me seems to be(maybe not in this order necessarily):
 
GK-Cech, Schwarzer, Hilario
RB-Cesar, Kalas
CB-Luiz, IVan, Cahil, JT
LB-AC3, Bertrand
CM(2 spots)-Lampard, Mikel, Ramires, Van Ginkel, Essien
AM(3spots)-Mata, Hazard, OScar, Schurrle, De Bruyne, Moses
CF-Torres, Ba, Lukaku
 
Ivan can also slot in at RB, Luiz of course at holding mid, Oscar and KDB in the pivots as well. 
 
STACKED. I stand by my prediction in the OP...winning the EPL this year. 
 

SoxFanInCali

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California. Duh.
I did a search for the word "untouchable" in the article. Didn't find it. Mourinho also said he could be move effective defensively.
 
The point is, a couple weeks ago Rodgers said that Mignolet was being brought in to compete with Pepe Reina in goal for Liverpool. Now Mignolet is #1 and Reina is off to Napoli. Managers say a lot of things to the media, and if he WAS trying to sell him (which again, I don't think he is) he would probably try to pump him up in the media to maximize his value.
 

Snakebauer007

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The untouchable descriptor was a throwback to how Mourinho described certain players in his first stint at the club. He also said all of his defenders could improve
 
"In this aspect, he's very important and different from the other central defenders. He can improve, everybody can. From a defensive point of view, he can be much more effective, much more solid. But, for me, the potential is incredible, amazing. He has to play always."
 
Even so: has to play always and untouchable can be argued if you want, but it is just semantics. Mourinho isn't doing these interviews concerning our season and players as smoke and mirrors to drive up prices, Chelsea are not a selling club.  
 

NHbeau

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Lowest level of hell.
 Watched the Inter-Chelsea fixture last night. Moses was in really good form last night and consistently killed Inter with his pace. Moses and Lukaku are going to devastate teams with pace and work rate match in and match out. The penalty Hazard made was nice, albeit a gift due to poor officiating. Oscar's strike early in the first half was just gorgeous and he looked really dangerous all match. Not the toughest of opponents and a fairly meaningless game but Chelsea sent most of an A squad and they looked match fit already. Lucas Oil stadium was a sea of blue on top of that.
 

Snakebauer007

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Great start to the season. A tale of two halves, as Chelsea with a game mid-week clearly pulled off the gas pedal for the second half and sat back to see if Hull could penetrate the defense, and they could not.
Luiz out injured and Mata being brought back slowly still, plus Moses missing made some choices easy but still tough ones in other spots. Jt and Cahill were picked in Central defense over Ivanovich who in turn got picked over Cesar at Rightback. Ramires and Lampard were the pivot choices over Mikel, Van Ginkel and Essien. Torres was the choice of front(can't get rid of this guy), and the attacking trio was Hazard, Oscar, De Bruyne.

Oscar with Mata not playing really ran the whole show. Hazard had some ups and downs but his strength on the ball was impressive, KDB is a pure playmaker and a hell of striker of the ball in all instances, makes it look way too easy.

Torres was Torres, some nice touches and decent linkups on occassion, zero threat on goal.

When Schurrle came on he looked quite dangerous, pacey and surprisingly very skilled.

I'd expect a lot of changes for the midweek a game:
Ba or Lukaku up front
Probably Mata if he's ready and Schurrle, Cesar, and holding mid changes.

The style of play was what I really liked to see. Up tempo, full pressing when losing the ball and much better defensive organization without killing the midfield helping in attack, overall just a more balanced team tactically then anything seen last season.
 

Snakebauer007

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Kind of curious why Ramires and Lampard got the starts again in such short time to rest. Ba, like Torres Sunday was underwhelming, and Lukaku really is out playing both.

Too much possession without incisiveness kept Villa in this one
 
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