Chelsea 2014-15: Minute 30, 33, 43 and 69
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I think Lukaku knows he does not fit with Mourinho's plans. He actually had a great season for Everton, it had been since 1996 since a toffee scored more goals. Unspectacular compared to Suarez but he is 21, he has always been scoring when he plays. I can understand Mourinho not playong him, but there is nothing wrong with Lukaku wanting to move somewhere he will play.
Lukaku is a bit of an odd situation. On one hand, he really enjoys playing for Martinez and likes getting all the game time he gets starting games. However, from some of his comments it almost feels like he thinks he's better than Everton, and wants to stay at Chelsea, but if he does that he won't be getting nearly as much PT. If he does come to Everton it'd be most of the budget and who knows how much, maybe 20-24 million pounds? It's quite the decision for RM, there's not another striker in the world proven in the PL who is still so young but there don't seem to be many forwards who you can, as an Everton fan, be confident about to lead the line most games especially with Kone possibly off to the ACON in January. If he pulls it off, I'll be ecstatic, but if not, there's plenty of strikers in the world.
Lukaku wants to play for a CL team that won't make him compete for his job. The options are slim.
Chelsea agree to a fee for Felipe Luis. Good signing. Hard not to like what Chelsea have done.
-----------------------Courtois-----------------------
Ivavonic---------Cahill--------Terry------------Luis
-----------------------Matic-----------------------------
------------CESC------------Oscar--------------------
Willian---------------Costa---------------------Hazard
-----------------------Courtois-----------------------
Ivavonic---------Cahill--------Terry------------Luis
-----------------------Matic-----------------------------
------------CESC------------Oscar--------------------
Willian---------------Costa---------------------Hazard
Midfield depth is a question; Jose didn't love the options last season and while CESC pushes everyone down a rung, I don't know that he likes any of them.
And they really need to do something with Cech. I've see Monaco as a destination but they really do need to treat a club legend well on his way out.
And they really need to do something with Cech. I've see Monaco as a destination but they really do need to treat a club legend well on his way out.
Their second eleven would likely compete for a spot in Europe - even more so if guys like Kalas, Wallace, T. Hazard, and Traoré weren't on loan
-----------------------Čech-----------------------
Azpilicueta-------Zouma-------Aké----------Bertrand
-----------------------Mikel-----------------------------
------------Ramires------------van Ginkel---------------
Salah---------------Lukaku---------------------Schürrle
Admittedly, a couple of these guys likely won't be around but that's still insane depth
-----------------------Čech-----------------------
Azpilicueta-------Zouma-------Aké----------Bertrand
-----------------------Mikel-----------------------------
------------Ramires------------van Ginkel---------------
Salah---------------Lukaku---------------------Schürrle
Admittedly, a couple of these guys likely won't be around but that's still insane depth
It's crazy how much this team will rely on Diego Costa. He's insane and his scoring record mostly consists of one incredible campaign at a team that seems to churn out goal scorers. There's tremendous depth up and down the lineup and then somehow Costa has to keep his form and not decapitate someone all season....imagine if Barton were still in the league? Costa v Barton would be such a treat of lunacy.
Favorites for the league.
I agree with Teddy though that they will rely heavily on Costa as currently constructed and I'm not completely sold on him.
I agree with Teddy though that they will rely heavily on Costa as currently constructed and I'm not completely sold on him.
Seven Costanza said:
Holy fuck that's right! I forgot they got promoted, even if they don't start him every week they'll surely play him versus Chelsea.
Chelsea is apparently going to sign Tiago Mendes, the Portuguese defensive midfielder who played at Chelsea in 2004-5. Tiago is 33, and I'm not sure what he has left in the tank. In a sense, it doesn't matter much how well Tiago plays: his value has been helping Mourinho recruit Filipe Luis and Diego Costa, two of his best friends at Atletico.
With the deals for Costa and Luis done, and Fabregas well completed reports suggest we are still in for a defender and striker, which can't be good for Lukaku.
http://youtu.be/agXgirRSqUI
Nice to see them back in action, even in a meaningless friendly, Bamford and Izzy Brown scored some nice goals, and Kurt Zouma is a Monster of a man.
Solanke ans Zouma in comparison to JT and Ivan:
http://instagram.com/p/qhxlGNjXWJ/
http://youtu.be/agXgirRSqUI
Nice to see them back in action, even in a meaningless friendly, Bamford and Izzy Brown scored some nice goals, and Kurt Zouma is a Monster of a man.
Solanke ans Zouma in comparison to JT and Ivan:
http://instagram.com/p/qhxlGNjXWJ/
Seriously?
http://www.dailystar.co.uk/sport/football/389677/EXCLUSIVE-Chelsea-plotting-a-20m-bid-for-Atletico-Madrid-defender-Joao-Miranda
Mourinho should just marry Cholo or something, because he is obviously in love with Simeone.
http://www.dailystar.co.uk/sport/football/389677/EXCLUSIVE-Chelsea-plotting-a-20m-bid-for-Atletico-Madrid-defender-Joao-Miranda
Mourinho should just marry Cholo or something, because he is obviously in love with Simeone.
I did think watching Atletico against us, they were similar in mindset, and on any other day would quite enjoy watching them. That said using the Daily Star as reference is not a good ideasoxfan121 said:
teddykgb said:
Yeah, but how much aggro can you really get from Chelsea-QPR?
Oh. (Checks microwave for Popcorn setting)
Did Lukaku take a shit on the locker room floor or something? I get why Jose loves DD, but this move doesn't make sense to me.
I'm not following your point. Are you saying that Everton desperately wants Lukaku? And, if so, couldn't you say the same thing about most any EPL club? Jesus, with Suarez gone, I would KILL to see Lukaku team up with Sturridge.
Jose won't sell to a title rival, knocking out the last season's top 4 and United. Lukaku wants to be the number one striker, knocking out any other team in Europe with a better striker (including teams like Atletico). At this point, it seems as though Everton is the team closest to a deal. If Kenwright wants to stump up the money, somewhere from 20 to 25 million pounds, then it's up to Lukaku, who seemed to enjoy his time at Everton. Of course a bunch of teams want him but from media reports and most all other inklings out there it would seem that at this point it's Everton or Chelsea. Drogba is his idol, so it is possible he wants to stay at Chelsea to learn from him, but it seems as though he wants out.JayMags71 said:
It bothers me as a Chelsea supporter that we may never really get to see Lukaku play. In some ways, it seems he's the prototypical striker for the Blues system, and it's their area of greatest need. I guess it's a struggle of wills, and as you say soxfan, Mourinho's certainly not one to give in. Anyway, it seems like a waste and a shame. I guess it's time to sell and move on. They just better not come up short of people who can put the ball in the net again this season, else it's time to question the leadership of the club.
Costa and Drogba is a massive upgrade on what they were trotting out there last year. Adding Lukaku to those two would be near overkill. The one year deal for Drogba seems to be a clear message from Jose to Lukaku - one more loan and then you take over your idol's role. Couldn't be clearer, really.
Whether Lukaku reads this correctly is an entirely different matter. They're stuck with Torres as the 3rd string and you would have thought that Lukaku's agent would have explained why that is. I suppose I'm coming around to Snake's line of thinking on this - if Lukaku can't put his head down, go out once more to get first team minutes for a club in Europe, shoulder that full load...then he's not gonna work with Jose and they should sell him for max value now.
Whether Lukaku reads this correctly is an entirely different matter. They're stuck with Torres as the 3rd string and you would have thought that Lukaku's agent would have explained why that is. I suppose I'm coming around to Snake's line of thinking on this - if Lukaku can't put his head down, go out once more to get first team minutes for a club in Europe, shoulder that full load...then he's not gonna work with Jose and they should sell him for max value now.
I can't blame Lukaku, really. August will mark the end of his 3rd full year at Chelsea. Coincidentally, Chelsea have been futile as far as striker quality goes in all three of those years.
After his initial year on the bench/playing for U21s at Chelsea, Lukaku's gone on loan for the duration of two separate campaigns.
'12-'13 at West Brom: Lukaku finished 6th in the entire EPL in goals with 17 - ahead of any player from Chelsea
'13-'14 at Everton: Lukaku finished 9th in the entire EPL in goals with 15 - ahead of any player from Chelsea
Yeah there's precedent for a (coincidentally well-rounded, uncommonly studious) striker going out on loan from his massive parent club. When he is in he top 10 in goals in that same league two years running - at a time when that parent club is trotting out dreck like Torres, Ba, and Eto'o at that position - I can see why he's lost patience.
All this to say I wouldn't mind the guy at Liverpool
After his initial year on the bench/playing for U21s at Chelsea, Lukaku's gone on loan for the duration of two separate campaigns.
'12-'13 at West Brom: Lukaku finished 6th in the entire EPL in goals with 17 - ahead of any player from Chelsea
'13-'14 at Everton: Lukaku finished 9th in the entire EPL in goals with 15 - ahead of any player from Chelsea
Yeah there's precedent for a (coincidentally well-rounded, uncommonly studious) striker going out on loan from his massive parent club. When he is in he top 10 in goals in that same league two years running - at a time when that parent club is trotting out dreck like Torres, Ba, and Eto'o at that position - I can see why he's lost patience.
All this to say I wouldn't mind the guy at Liverpool
I'd be fine with Chelsea giving up on Lukaku and unloading him. It worked out great for Liverpool when they did it with Sturridge.
It was Lukaku's choice to go on loan last season, not Mourinho's. So it is very easy to blame Lukaku. He didn't want to fight Eto'o and Demba Ba for a place in the lineup. If he dedicated himself, he would have been starting for us every game before Christmas(if not much, much sooner).PedroSpecialK said:
Sucks to see Lukaku go, I figured, eventually he would be the guy
http://gelongpuyat.files.wordpress.com/2014/04/you-were-the-chosen-one.jpg
http://gelongpuyat.files.wordpress.com/2014/04/you-were-the-chosen-one.jpg
So they figured Lukaku would replace Drogba, when in fact, Drogba replaced Lukaku?
More good business at the Bridge, I'd have put a fair value of £15-18M on him myself so getting 28M is very impressive.
More good business at the Bridge, I'd have put a fair value of £15-18M on him myself so getting 28M is very impressive.
Courtois starts @ Burnley; Cech to the bench.
Jose interviewed on NBCSN: "Courtois is my keeper tonight. We will see about next week." "Cech is ultimate professional...will keep himself fit and ready...will fight for his spot." "Situation is much like 2004...Cech won because I thought he would be good for the club for many, many years."
Also said he has "two of the three best keepers in the world" which, while an awesome bit of braggadocio , might have a sliver of truth to it, assuming the unnamed guy is Neuer.
Jose interviewed on NBCSN: "Courtois is my keeper tonight. We will see about next week." "Cech is ultimate professional...will keep himself fit and ready...will fight for his spot." "Situation is much like 2004...Cech won because I thought he would be good for the club for many, many years."
Also said he has "two of the three best keepers in the world" which, while an awesome bit of braggadocio , might have a sliver of truth to it, assuming the unnamed guy is Neuer.
The new look team is running more of a 4-3-3, Oscar comes so deep for the ball and his work rate is so high(admittedly things we already knew) but now that he has another midfielder slotted with him and Matic who can move the ball as quickly as he can(better imo), the interchange is phenomenal. I am not sure any team in the premier League can match these 3 when in form(Fernandinho+Yaya+Silva come to mind of course). Also I can see why Mourinho wanted Costa, he really presses hard and fits well into the team dynamic with also having good striker instincts.
Hazard and Oscar are as hard as any players to track the movement, and Schurrle is the wild card. He doesn't have the skill of Cesc or Oscar or Hazard but his aggressive+direct runs make a big difference, and obviously resulted in a fine goal.
Hopefully they can keep the pace up and not come out flAT
Hazard and Oscar are as hard as any players to track the movement, and Schurrle is the wild card. He doesn't have the skill of Cesc or Oscar or Hazard but his aggressive+direct runs make a big difference, and obviously resulted in a fine goal.
Hopefully they can keep the pace up and not come out flAT
Thoughts:
- Hazard and Oscar look more in sync and dangerous than last season.
- Cesc looked really good as part of that triangle, and very good as part of the Oscar-Matic triangle deeper in midfield.
- Costa getting on the board is helpful. Costa not getting the penalty AND reacting like a diver probably is not helpful, as I assume refs watch games.
- Schurrle is a really, really likable player. Huge motor, good instincts, terrible blond beard, quick, fast and a good finisher.
- John Terry remains the best unlikable player in the EPL.
- Hazard and Oscar look more in sync and dangerous than last season.
- Cesc looked really good as part of that triangle, and very good as part of the Oscar-Matic triangle deeper in midfield.
- Costa getting on the board is helpful. Costa not getting the penalty AND reacting like a diver probably is not helpful, as I assume refs watch games.
- Schurrle is a really, really likable player. Huge motor, good instincts, terrible blond beard, quick, fast and a good finisher.
- John Terry remains the best unlikable player in the EPL.
Impressive, for 1/38.
Cesc / Matic worked well together and I still find it hard to believe that the club (not JM) would consider moving Schurrle on to another club. I'd take him. I didn't see the lineups on the pitch before the game so I don't know if it was an optical illusion but the Chelsea players seemed significantly bigger, physically, than Burnley.
A good start by the favourites.
Cesc / Matic worked well together and I still find it hard to believe that the club (not JM) would consider moving Schurrle on to another club. I'd take him. I didn't see the lineups on the pitch before the game so I don't know if it was an optical illusion but the Chelsea players seemed significantly bigger, physically, than Burnley.
A good start by the favourites.
cjdmadcow said:
I also don't understand why they would consider letting Schurrle go. Last year he was a capable sub, and was the most direct player on the pitch with his passing and runs. I see the wisdom in having energetic two way players like Oscar, Willian, Costa, but having one or two guys with an eye for goal like Andre is pretty important as well.
The lineup against Burnley is definitely their big lineup. Ivanovic, Terry, Cahill, Matic and Costa are all 6'2" or taller. It's likely to be a significant advantage on set pieces this season.
SilasCL said:
All those guys should be regulars though, so it's kinda their regular lineup. Ivanovic is also 6'2" and his inclusion (over Luis) makes it the "big" lineup. Though that said, I also expect him to get more "big game" time in CL/top four matches, so it is the "big" lineup.
Agreed with that, I think a lot of people figured Luis would step right in to the starting Leftback spot and Cesar would assume his natural role at Rightback, but Ivanovich is clearly a Mourinho favorite(50 appearances last season), and deservedly so:soxfan121 said:
He is a rock defensively, he is actually quite good with the ball at his feet, and is quick for his size, unfortunately he can't cross the ball to save his life. That said he now has 26 goals and 23 assists for Chelsea, so it is going to be difficult to displace him.
As for the Schurrle talk I don't think Chelsea ever considered selling him. He came on strong after the break last season and took Willian's spot in the lineup. Like what has been mentioned he is more direct and has an eye for goal than the other mids, but he also has a great work rate to fit in with Jose's mentality.
From today's game thread:
Costa in the starting lineup, FWIW.
mgoblue2 said:
soxfan121 said:
No idea on Costa but I'll bet Remy is replacing Torres who is headed to AC Milan on a two-year loan.
That effectively closes the book on one of the worst transfers in history. A two-year loan is definitely a "it's you, not me" dumping.
EDIT: This picture is worth a thousand words. Ancellotti looks like he's about to puke on himself.
DLew On Roids said:
soxfan121 said:
Costa in the starting lineup, FWIW.
Costa out 6 weeks? Nice reporting.
So it is looking like Remy will be signed so that makes it:
Torres, Ba, Eto'o and Lukaku out
Costa, Drogba, Remy in.
Still really HATE losing Lukaku but I will take it.
Much different look with Oscar out injured, Ramires scores but the team struggled with possession because Ramires's headless chicken routine isn't a good fit for Cesc and Matic etc.
Willian also had a decent game but I think was a noticeable drop off from Schurrle.
Even in a high scoring game, Courtois makes a world class save to keep Everton from making it 5-4, which at that point was as good as a goal.
So it is looking like Remy will be signed so that makes it:
Torres, Ba, Eto'o and Lukaku out
Costa, Drogba, Remy in.
Still really HATE losing Lukaku but I will take it.
Much different look with Oscar out injured, Ramires scores but the team struggled with possession because Ramires's headless chicken routine isn't a good fit for Cesc and Matic etc.
Willian also had a decent game but I think was a noticeable drop off from Schurrle.
Even in a high scoring game, Courtois makes a world class save to keep Everton from making it 5-4, which at that point was as good as a goal.
Snake, did you think Courtois looked a little rattled in the second half? That asinine throw that resulted in Mirallas hitting the post was bad but I thought he looked shaky and had lost a bit of his composure before the Eto'o header. And his positioning on that was, shall we say, sub-optimal.
I think Petr Cech might be getting a game this coming week, if only as an object lesson.
I think Petr Cech might be getting a game this coming week, if only as an object lesson.
Shaky because of a bad throw? He negated his own mistake there but making a top drawer save. Was his positioning off on the Eto'o goal? I think the ball got swung into the top of the box in the center which is where he was standing, it was a fading header that found the corner. Thought it was a nothing you can do about it(except mark the man better), but with so many goals being scored not sure.soxfan121 said:
I think the international break is coming up so I don't think TC gets benched upon returning. Also not 100% sure Cech will be with the team after the deadline
Well, the post made the save. Did Courtois get a hand on it? It isn't clear in my memory and I've stupidly deleted the game from the DVR (stupid Simpsons marathon taking up all my space).
The Eto'o goal bounced before it went in the net and was from at least 18-20 yards out with little velocity on it. I'm not sure the save could have been made but I did rewind it and it looked to me like Courtois was two steps to the left of where he should have been, given where Terry/Cahill/Ivanovic were.
And he seemed a bit shaky in relation to some of the looks his (very experienced) defenders were giving him after the Naismith goal. Terry, though a twat, is also about the best defender in the EPL when it comes to positioning and (again) it seemed to me that he was (and has been) helping Courtois with positioning as JT knows opponent tendencies and strengths much better than does TC at this point of his EPL career.
The Eto'o goal bounced before it went in the net and was from at least 18-20 yards out with little velocity on it. I'm not sure the save could have been made but I did rewind it and it looked to me like Courtois was two steps to the left of where he should have been, given where Terry/Cahill/Ivanovic were.
And he seemed a bit shaky in relation to some of the looks his (very experienced) defenders were giving him after the Naismith goal. Terry, though a twat, is also about the best defender in the EPL when it comes to positioning and (again) it seemed to me that he was (and has been) helping Courtois with positioning as JT knows opponent tendencies and strengths much better than does TC at this point of his EPL career.
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