Premiere League

[jterrell]

Great game by Man City. Kudos to them. Ageuro was superb.
Chelsea was pretty bad all day but you could see those two teams are heads and tails above everyone else.

The speed of that game was simply insane.

Chelsea just added Baba at left back which will reshape a good back line into a great one, IMHO.
(they still may add Stones as well)

Hazard absolutely needs to improve his finishing but he may well be the 2nd best player in the world on the ball.
What he does to World Class defenders is like watching a prime Allen Iverson.

Chelsea will have to dig themselves out of a small hole to start and they'll be trying to win the UCL as well but only fools would bet against them making a serious run at the EPL title.

 

[windward]

Liverpool/Bournemouth today.

Should be an easy 3 points for the Reds. Should.

 

[CATCH17]

This is Chelsea's worst start since 1998. I for one wasn't expecting it. This is my second time watching Man City. They are playing a very fluid soccer right now. I would be surprised if they aren't in the top 2 when it is all said and done. A bad day for us Chelsea fans. Still I trust Mourinho and I expect him to right the ship in no time.

The defense looks like it got old fast.

Aziplicueta is the only guy that looks decent.

Cahill, Ivanovic, and Terry are awful right now.

 

[jterrell]

The defense looks like it got old fast.

Aziplicueta is the only guy that looks decent.

Cahill, Ivanovic, and Terry are awful right now.

In fairness that backline was the EPL's best last year.
And it is far superior to Barca.

Terry is getting older and he started slow last year as well but Jose is not one bit nostalgic and will replace anyone.
Cahill is merely adequate.
Azpi is a true man marker.
Ivan looks to have lost a step and is likely being replaced very quickly.

I suspect it is Azpi at RB, Cahill, Terry(Zouma), Baba very shortly.
I wouldn't be surprised at all if Stones is signed to battle Cahill.

Might be worth trying Ivan inside. He is very physical and with a loss of a step he may be a better fit inside.

 

[CATCH17]

In fairness that backline was the EPL's best last year.
And it is far superior to Barca.

Terry is getting older and he started slow last year as well but Jose is not one bit nostalgic and will replace anyone.
Cahill is merely adequate.
Azpi is a true man marker.
Ivan looks to have lost a step and is likely being replaced very quickly.

I suspect it is Azpi at RB, Cahill, Terry(Zouma), Baba very shortly.
I wouldn't be surprised at all if Stones is signed to battle Cahill.

Might be worth trying Ivan inside. He is very physical and with a loss of a step he may be a better fit inside.

I agree with all of that but all preseason this year and the first 2 games of the regular season the Chelsea backline has looked awful.

I'd like to see 2 CDMS in front of that back line until they get things squared away.

 

[jterrell]

I agree with all of that but all preseason this year and the first 2 games of the regular season the Chelsea backline has looked awful.

I'd like to see 2 CDMS in front of that back line until they get things squared away.

I could see Zouma added next to Matic or keep playing Ramires.
I am not worried about the back-line that much tho as it has been addressed with Baba.

We've seen Chelsea play 10 men in a draw and lose a road game to Man City so hard for me to panic.

I don't want to see a parked bus all year that's for sure.

 

[CATCH17]

I could see Zouma added next to Matic or keep playing Ramires.
I am not worried about the back-line that much tho as it has been addressed with Baba.

We've seen Chelsea play 10 men in a draw and lose a road game to Man City so hard for me to panic.

I don't want to see a parked bus all year that's for sure.

Where is Baba going to play though? Over Aziplicueta? I don't think so.

Ivanovic is probably my favorite player on the team but he looks horrible right now.

Aziplicueta RB?

 

[jterrell]

Where is Baba going to play though? Over Aziplicueta? I don't think so.

Ivanovic is probably my favorite player on the team but he looks horrible right now.

Aziplicueta RB?

yes, from above....

I suspect it is Azpi at RB, Cahill, Terry(Zouma), Baba very shortly.
I wouldn't be surprised at all if Stones is signed to battle Cahill.

 

[CATCH17]

yes, from above....

I suspect it is Azpi at RB, Cahill, Terry(Zouma), Baba very shortly.
I wouldn't be surprised at all if Stones is signed to battle Cahill.

I hope Stones gets signed.. Would rather have Varane but whatever.

 

[jterrell]

Chelsea snag Pedro.

So Pedro and Baba. Not a bad haul at all after all the Chelsea fans cried for lack of signings.

Sitting on 1 lousy point after two games I can't wait to watch them play with some urgency and Jose-inspired fire.

 

[jterrell]

I hope Stones gets signed.. Would rather have Varane but whatever.

Yea, the few legit Englishmen get heinously overvalued.
Chelsea likely has to move out Terry before long and they'd like to keep a few English lads.

 

[Shunpike]

I like Pedro signing. Baba? Not so much. He is just a Jag. I still expect Azpi to play on the LB position.

Come on Chelsea!!!!

 

[jterrell]

I like Pedro signing. Baba? Not so much. He is just a Jag. I still expect Azpi to play on the LB position.

Come on Chelsea!!!!

Baba practiced at LB and is expected to start there this weekend versus West Brom.
Ivan looks subbed off for Azpi.

That allows Chelsea a tremendous infusion of speed. Baba can get up and down insanely quickly and for an entire game.
He's only 21 so the skill has to grow but his athleticism/fitness is aces.

Looks like Stones will get done but 40m.. good grief.

Probably means Oscar gets sold to maintain FFP.

 

[CATCH17]

Baba practiced at LB and is expected to start there this weekend versus West Brom.
Ivan looks subbed off for Azpi.

That allows Chelsea a tremendous infusion of speed. Baba can get up and down insanely quickly and for an entire game.
He's only 21 so the skill has to grow but his athleticism/fitness is aces.

Looks like Stones will get done but 40m.. good grief.

Probably means Oscar gets sold to maintain FFP.

Such a ripoff.

I don't get the price of these English players.

 

[daschoo]

Such a ripoff.

I don't get the price of these English players.

Clubs have a quota of "home grown" players that they have to include in their squads for European competitions. Because the English league has been flooded with imports for so long the top clubs on the whole aren't developing players to the same extent that they used to. This in turn means that players who have come through the youth ranks at an English club see their value artificially inflated as top clubs look to fill the home grown spaces in their squad. Leads to the ridiculous situation we see now where guys like Stones are being spoken about as £40 million players.

Another albeit lesser reason is a media driven arrogance in English football in that it believes it's own hype. Ibrahimovic is a classic example of this, he had won the Dutch league, Italian league (with 2 different clubs) and Spanish league over 5 consecutive seasons. He finished as top scorer in the Dutch and Italian leagues and scored consistently in the Champions League as well as at the World Cup and European Championships yet the English media constantly slated him and spoke about how he was over-rated as he had "never done it against an English team." I'm sure it was Chelsea he scored against for Barcelona after he had achieved everything I listed above and the commentator stated that he "had arrived on the big stage" and was "beginning to live up to the hype."
Many top players are spoken about with the caveat "but could they do it on a wed January night in Stoke?" Look at Liverpool paying £11 million more for Andy Carroll than Luis Suarez. Players that have done well in "the best league in the world" command higher transfer fees than superior players who play elsewhere.

 

[jterrell]

Pedro looked great in his debut.
John Terry getting a soft Red is a bad sign. If the refs lose respect for him and make that call he really is toast in the EPL.

 

[joseephuss]

Pedro looked great in his debut.
John Terry getting a soft Red is a bad sign. If the refs lose respect for him and make that call he really is toast in the EPL.

That was an easy decision for the ref. That is a red 99% of the time and I'm sure Terry would agree.

 

[erod]

I am Arsenal, and I am still pissed about West Ham.

 

[CATCH17]

Hopefully next week Chelsea has added Stones and Pogba.

I wish they would've thought more about spending that 110 mill on fixing the back line.

Pogba is a nice player but i'd rather have 2 quality centerbacks and a decent box to box mid fielder.

Right back is a huge problem right now as well.

Zouma has looked good but I doubt they would pair him with Stones. They will probably want to pair him with one of the other English players.

 

[joseephuss]

Hopefully next week Chelsea has added Stones and Pogba.

I wish they would've thought more about spending that 110 mill on fixing the back line.

Pogba is a nice player but i'd rather have 2 quality centerbacks and a decent box to box mid fielder.

Right back is a huge problem right now as well.

Zouma has looked good but I doubt they would pair him with Stones. They will probably want to pair him with one of the other English players.

Not many people would have guessed that the back line was broken coming into the season. Chelsea gave up the fewest goals last season. The back line was considered one of the best in the league with 3 of its members being named to the PFA team of the year. They are playing much differently from just a season ago.