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TILTLE CONTENDERS REPORT.
CHELSEA.

Jose Mourinho's presence at Manchester United must feel like the gift that keeps on giving for Antonio Conte.
While the minutiae of what is unfolding at Old Trafford is reported on a minute-by-minute basis via the type of investigative vigour last seen when the Watergate scandal broke, Conte and Chelsea seem able to go about their business with barely a twitched curtain in comparison.

That said, perhaps it's better to have a cast of millions peering in at you than Roman Abramovich's all-seeing eye.

Somehow it seems an aeon ago since Chelsea were last champions, despite it being only the season before last. What the world is trying to work out is whether the class of 2014/15 were simply the best of an admittedly mediocre bunch that year. Are they now in need of a widely spoken of overhaul, or do they still have a good enough spine of a side to be straightened out under Conte's never-less-than-engaging stewardship?
Conte seems to have drawn a conclusion more in line with the former diagnosis. It has been widely reported after a three-day bunker meeting between the Italian and Abramovich, per the Daily Mail's Danny Gallagher, Chelsea's owner has agreed for his coffers to be relieved considerably over the next few transfer windows.

Nonetheless it still seems far too premature to cast this season as being one of the transitional variety. With Chelsea just five points shy of Manchester City at the Premier League summit, there's no need to sound the death knell in west London just yet.
Position at this stage last season: 14th, with eight points from seven matches.

Results so far: West Ham home - won 2-1, Watford away - won 1-2, Burnley at home - won 3-0, Swansea City away - drew 2-2, Liverpool at home - lost 1-2, Arsenal away - lost 3-0, Hull City away - won 0-2.

Next six Premier League fixtures: [/b]Leicester City (h), Manchester United (h), Southampton (a), Everton (h), Middlesbrough (a), Tottenham (h)

[b]What's Gone Right?
Diego Costa is back to his glorious belligerent best for Chelsea.
It's good to have Diego Costa back. Having spent the majority of last season marauding around the field with the wild eyes of a dog you'd cross the street to avoid, it was no surprise when speculation emerged that the striker could return to Spain and Atletico Madrid over the summer.

Conte's Vesuvius-like eruptions were legendary at Juventus, and while a betting man would more likely put money on the Italian and Costa coming to blows than enjoying a fruitful relationship, it's often the case that comradeship is found between kindred (wild) spirits. Think Zlatan Ibrahimovic and Mourinho, Richard Burton and Richard Harris.
Costa tops the scoring charts with six goals already and is back to his horrible-bastard best. For all his pantomime villainy—and for the most part, that's all it is—Costa is a magnificent centre forward.
An antithesis to the modern game's obsession with false nines, he's unapologetically a proper nine. Forget the theatrics, he's as hard as nails and enjoying his football again.
In patches Eden Hazard, too, has shown improvement, even if he has not scaled the heights of 2014/15 when he was named PFA Player of the Year.

The Belgium international remains Chelsea's most talented player, but in terms of the defensive responsibilities a coach like Conte will want him to embrace, it's hard to get past the old adage "you can lead a horse to water, but you can't make him drink."

To minimise the burden of tracking a full-back, Conte may elect to use him just off Costa, though this negates a little the threat the Belgian poses when cutting inside from the left.

Of better cheer is the form of N'Golo Kante, with the Frenchman having shown already last season's magnificent campaign for Leicester will not necessarily define his career, as it may well others.
What Needs Work, and Can They Win it?

If the first three league games of the season papered over the cracks, the next three were the equivalent of using a wallpaper stripper to reveal just what Conte has to play with. A draw at Swansea City could have been a bad day at the office, but defeats to Liverpool and in particular Arsenal made it seem more the office is on fire.
Football is rarely kind enough to leave elephants in the room without comment for long. In the case of Chelsea's defence, Conte laid his cards on the table from the moment he arrived in west London.
John Terry was awarded a one-year contract when previously he had announced with a trumpet that he was being cold-shouldered by the club, while much of the summer was preoccupied with trying to bring in some of the world's finest defenders to shore up a porous back line that shipped 53 Premier League goals last season.
Conte wanted Napoli's Kalidou Koulibaly and Juventus warhorse Leonardo Bonucci, according to Matt Law of the Telegraph. Chelsea's hierarchy gifted him David Luiz and Marcos Alonso, wrapped up in a neat little blue bow. It brings to mind the tale of Mario Balotelli's mum sending him out to buy an ironing board when he was at Manchester City, and he came back with a quad bike and a giant trampoline.

With Thibaut Courtois struggling for anything like his best form, Branislav Ivanovic getting neither younger nor better, Gary Cahill enduring a miserable campaign riddled with individual errors, Terry injured and David Luiz still David Luiz, Conte is under no illusion a major rebuilding job at the back is more than likely required.

It is expected Chelsea will go back in for Bonucci in January. Call me old-fashioned, but it might have been an idea for the Stamford Bridge hierarchy to have bought the players Conte wanted over the summer when they spent £120 million.
Employing a deeper defensive line or even a back three, as he tried in the second half with the game already dead at Arsenal, have been mooted as possible short-term solutions to a problem unlikely to go away of its own accord.

[b]Where to play Cesc Fabregas, [/b]or even whether to play him at all, remains a conundrum for Conte. Doubts persists over whether the Spaniard, for all his exquisite passing, is defensively disciplined enough to be trusted in a midfield two. At times when he plays alongside Nemanja Matic it can look like two men sharing a parachute.

If Chelsea ever play three at the back, it seems unlikely Fabregas would start in a 3-4-3. While it's hard to watch the 29-year-old at the moment and not pine for the player he was, he's still capable of being a wonderful playmaker in the right system. Conte's job is to pinpoint just exactly what that system is.
Another mystery for Chelsea is their inability to start games with any kind of momentum. Remarkably they led at half-time in just 13 of 38 matches last season. Again this term, just two of Chelsea's 12 goals have arrived in the first period.

Given that in their heyday they were notoriously adept at taking control of games from the first minute and rendering them lifeless by the interval, courtesy of a commanding lead, it's a sluggish habit to have fallen into.
As for the bigger question of whether Chelsea can win the title, at this juncture it seems the tallest of asks—if far from impossible.

http://bleacherreport.com/articles/2667942-health-check-for-premier-league-contenders-arsenal-chelsea-leicester-city

BEGOVIC SPEAKS.

Begovic says Chelsea are having "teething problems" after finishing 10th as champions last season
“We had a good start, first four games we played really well, everything was going our way and then we had a couple of bad results with Arsenal and Liverpool.

Every manager is different and it’s educational in many ways to understand a different way of football, a new philosophy of footballWe are into a period of transition, mistakes will happen and it will take time. But I think we will be very strong moving forward in the future.
"I think it is teething problems. You have to go through a process before it becomes a success. It takes a bit of time. As time goes on, we know more what to expect and what he expects from us.

“Absolutely we can make the top four. That’s the main goal. Of course we want to win the title but getting back in the Champions League is crucial. I think it’s one of the best squads I’ve ever been a part of because we’ve got strength in depth everywhere.”

American TV think new Swansea boss Bob Bradley has taken over at CHELSEA


We have absolutely no idea how they got this so wrong...
On Monday, Swansea City sacked manager Francesco Guidolin and immediately replaced the Italian with former USA national coach Bob Bradley .

Brutal world, isn't it?
As you'd expect, Bradley becoming the first American to manage a team in the Premier League was big news on the other side of the Atlantic.

The video below shows one broadcaster talking about Bradley's appointment on the 'News at 6' - except she gets one very important fact wrong: the club he's going to be managing.
"Oh dear."
Remarkably, the news network announces that Bob Bradley is the new manager of, wait for it... CHELSEA.

You can't even blame the presenter for reading the teleprompter wrong because the network has put it as text on the screen.
What we want to know is: why, how, what?!
Chelsea!
Chelsea and Swansea are not even in close - they don't even have similar kits. It's not even like Conte's job is at risk.
Even the dog watching the TV barks in disgust at the news.



https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=TnmTUTQxnJ4

CHELSEA LOAN HOTSHOTS


We look at a handful of Chelsea players impressing on loan across the leagues
Chelsea have got a remarkable 38 players out on loan, but who are the ones that have stood out so far this season?

Tammy Abraham has hit the headlines for Bristol City while Lewis Baker and Bertrand Traore have impressed in the Netherlands.

Here's a look at our pick of the six best Chelsea loanees so far this season.

Tammy Abraham (Bristol City)

Of all the Chelsea loanees it is Abraham who has caught the eye the most this season. The 19-year-old forward has scored 11 goals for Bristol City, including winners in all three rounds of the EFL Cup.
His form earned him his first call-up to the England Under-21s for matches against Kazakhstan and Bosnia & Herzegovina and also the Sky Bet Championship Player of the Month award for August and September.
Abraham scored in Bristol City's win over Nottingham Forest before the international break
Bristol City boss Lee Johnson says Abraham is "top class" and thinks he could get into Chelsea's first team.

"If he continues this in his career, the world is his oyster," he said. "He is top class. He could get into Chelsea's team now. He's a poacher. His movement is very sharp and when he's energised and got the buzz he's a handful."

Lewis Baker (Vitesse)

After winning the Golden Boot as England Under-21s won the Toulon Tournament in the summer, Baker is spending a second successive season with Vitesse, where he has continued to impress.
He has scored four goals in the Eredivisie this season, including a brilliant long-range strike against Twente and a fantastic free-kick against Groningen. The 21-year-old hopes his experience will help him eventually become a Chelsea regular.
"It's just the start of the season but I need to keep doing my best every day and keep improving so I can get back to Chelsea, where I'd like to be," he commented.
There are also a lot of players who have played out here and moved on to the Premier League. If I keep going the way I'm going that's one of my dreams I want to make come true."

Bertrand Traore(Ajax)

Traore, who scored four goals in 16 games for Chelsea last season, has returned to the Netherlands having also spent time with Vitesse in 2014/15.

He recently scored a fine solo goal against PEC Zwolle and is enjoying being played on the right by head coach Peter Bosz.
"On the right I can reach the same level as I have in past and also do things at a high pace," he said. "Here, attacking football is the focus. That's why I wanted to come to Ajax, and work with this coach."
Like Baker, Traore's long-term aim is still to return to Stamford Bridge. "The key is to develop so I can return to Chelsea."

Christian Atsu (Newcastle)

Goal on debut? Check. Man-of-the-match award? Check. Praise from the manager? Check. Christian Atsu certainly took his chance after getting in the Newcastle starting line-up ahead of Matt Ritchie against Rotherham.

"It was a special goal for me and for the team - I gave all my heart for Newcastle," he said afterwards. "I have waited for my opportunity. I've kept focused and kept fit. Rafa Benitez is a great man and I knew he would give me my chance if I worked hard."
Atsu scored the winner as Newcastle beat Rotherham
Before starting against Rotherham, Atsu had only appeared for the Magpies from the bench this season.
But Benitez said: "It was what we were expecting from him, a player who can beat players and make a difference."

Kasey Palmer (Huddersfield)

He might be playing in a senior team for the first time, but Palmer has hit the ground running for Championship leaders Huddersfield.

From scoring the winner against Brentford on the opening day with his first touch, to being named in the EFL Team of the Week after netting against QPR, it's been a promising start to life on loan for the 19-year-old.
Palmer scored on the opening day against Brentford
"He has some unbelievably good skills," says Terriers boss David Wagner. "We will try to develop them and I am very happy we have him in our squad."
After starting the season on the bench, the forward has been in the starting line-up for the last three games.

Andreas Christensen (Borussia Monchengladbach)

Now in his second season on loan with Gladbach, the young defender has established himself as a key first-team player. He made 39 appearances for the Bundesliga side in 2015/16 and has been a regular again this season.
With John Terry out of contract at the end of the season and Gary Cahill nearly 31, Christensen could be the future for Chelsea.
But he recently said: "I have not spoken with Chelsea about my situation. It is a difficult decision, which I have not thought about Coming to the Bundesliga as a reserve player at Chelsea was a huge step for me, but I have to say I found my feet really quickly after that testing period."

http://www.skysports.com/football/news/11095/10607316/chelseas-top-loanees-lewis-baker-tammy-abraham-bertrand-traore

ANTONIO CONTE told Roman Abramovich to sack two key officials before taking the Chelsea job, according to reports.

Conte was appointed as Jose Mourinho's permanent successor back in April, replacing interim boss Guus Hiddink in the summer.
The report states that Conte wanted to bring Roma chief Walter Sabatini to England with him.
However, Sabatini opted to remain in the Italian capital instead - though quit yesterday and was replaced by Frederic Massara.

Conte wanted technical director Michael Emenalo out given the way he had mercilessly criticised Mourinho back in December.
Emenalo gave an infamous interview to Chelsea TV where he referred to Mourinho as 'the individual' - a move that upset many of the Blues supporters.
He has been at the club since Avram Grant replaced Mourinho the first time the Portuguese was sacked back in 2007 - and has been working as the club's Technical Director since 2011.

Conte also reportedly wanted Abramovich's right-hand woman Marina Granovskaia to be shown the door.
Granovskaia was brought to the club in 2010 after spending 12 years as one of Abramovich's advisors.
She is in charge of player transfers but has been criticised in recent years after bringing in flops such as Radamel Falcao, Pedro and Baba Rahman.
Granovskaia also helped strike deals for the likes of David Luiz, N'Golo Kante, Michy Batshuayi and Marcos Alonso this summer.

http://www.express.co.uk/sport/football/718634/Chelsea-Antonio-Conte-Premier-League-Michael-Emenalo-Marina-Granovskaia-Roman-Abramovich

Lordabas:
It is too cheap !! Infact theY should give them 60mil + oscar+ matic + ivanovic for bonucci

Bonucci is 29 years. That means there wouldn't be any resale value and more so he is not really a commercial cash cow, his image rights will yield nothing. There simply is no way chelsea will recoup some of the money.

If the rumour mill is correct, that we are really interested in him. It shouldn't be for 60 million pounds.

The price being quoted is too exorbitant.

Giles Smith: Is it enough?

Events at two away matches at the weekend have columnist Giles Smith evaluating goals and good fortune…

Some goals, you feel, should be worth more than just… well, a goal. Like Willian’s one against Hull last Saturday – that superb, curved shot from the edge of the penalty area, watched all the way by David Marshall in the Hull goal, who had at once the best and the worst view of it. Shouldn’t you get two goals for that? Or at least 1.5 goals. 1.2 goals, even.
Or maybe – I don’t know - just some bonus Nectar points? Even if the scorer got to help himself from a table of raffle prizes after the game, it would be something. All I’m saying is that surely there ought to be some way, within the regulations, to recognise the unusual quality of a goal of that nature.
It definitely seems a flaw within the laws of football, as we understand and accept them, that Willian should be able to produce something as rare and as gifted and as infinitely watchable as that total peach in the KCOM Stadium, and that Arsenal should end up getting, in effect, the same for patting the ball over the line with somebody’s hand in the last minute at Burnley.
Or maybe (as we might find ourselves thinking, at the end of the annual party conference season) that’s the wonderful social-democracy of football, and something entirely to the game’s credit: not all goals are born equal, but all goals grow up to be equal and have the same opportunities to count for something as all other goals. Even technically illegal ones scored by Arsenal at Burnley.
Even so, it doesn’t quite seem fair, does it? I’m looking at that Willian shot and I’m seeing an away goal that should have counted double. Or more than double.I’m struggling to remember any toe-pokes from six inches, any shinners from just inside the six-yard box, any instances in which a clearance bounced off his backside, Fernando Torres-style. I’m certainly struggling to remember any times that he used the palm of his hand to slap the ball over the line at Burnley.
That’s the way it works, though. All goals are equal. But some are more equal than others, aren’t they? We know that, deep down. Willian’s being one of them.


I’m not really a superstitious kind of football fan. No Sam Allardyce-style ‘lucky coin’ for me. And, looking at what just happened to Allardyce, I don’t suppose many of us are going to be in the market for a lucky coin anytime soon.
That said, I’m perfectly open-minded about other people’s football-related superstitions and more than willing to accept their value, especially when I have witnessed them working with my own eyes.
Like the lucky coat, for instance, which my neighbour wore from the Third Round of the FA Cup all the way to Wembley in 1997 and which self-evidently played a substantial part in securing the trophy for us that year – a trophy, which (unthinkable now) represented our first major competition win in more than a quarter of a century.
Or take another example: my son’s pre-game patting of a police horse at the top of Britannia Road, opposite the West Stand concourse, on our way into the ground, normally around 20 minutes before kick-off.
Now, you could point out that this particular ritual was by no means 100 per cent water-tight. And you’d be right. From time to time, patting a police horse quite patently hasn’t been enough. It wasn’t enough last season against then recently-promoted Bournemouth, for example. And it wasn’t enough the other Friday night, even more unthinkably, against Liverpool.
Nevertheless, leaving those instances aside, it’s also quite obviously the case that, practised consistently over the last decade, this horse-patting business that my son has somehow fallen into has coincided with the most successful period in the club’s history by a country mile. And therefore, taking the broader view, horse-patting’s record speaks for itself.
But even if I’m not drawn to lucky coats and lucky police horses myself, there’s a line of vaguely superstitious thought in this area that I do find myself going along with: and that’s the feeling that there’s only so much luck to go around in any one period. Far from entirely fanciful, that seems to me to be a relatively plausible thing to think – a thought with a bit of science behind it, in fact, based on the way life works with regard to things like, for instance, the very remote chances of lightning striking twice in the same place.
And this, it seems to me, is absolutely the worst thing about that last-minute goal that Arsenal scored at Burnley last weekend. Obviously it was painful enough that they should have scored it at all, when the game seemed to be heading for a draw and dropped points. But when you throw in the additional fact that the goal shouldn’t have been allowed to stand, on account of the fact that it was handball - which is fine in sports like basketball and water polo, but which is commonly frowned upon in football – then the pain becomes anxiety, too.
Because, just to recap, this was a goal scored with the last touch of the game, which was also a handball. And that’s doubly freakish, isn’t it? And being doubly freakish, it means that Arsenal must already have used up an awful lot of the limited supply of good fortune that’s going to be around in any one season - good fortune which, in what is already shaping up to be a highly competitive league, certainly around the Champions League places, could be much needed by other people at some stage down the line. People like, maybe, us.
So, that worries me. Might be time to start patting a few police horses. Might even be time to find an old coat.

OFFICIAL CLUB SITE

Throwback to when west ham replied mourinhos dig about them.

Moses, Success Face NFF Bans Over Zambia ‘Snub’

The Nigeria Football Federation are not happy with the duo of Victor Moses and Isaac Success for excusing themselves from Sunday's World Cup qualifier against Zambia in Ndola on the grounds of being injured.
Feelers from the Glass House revealed that the NFF doubt the authenticity of the duo's claim of being injured and have resolved to investigate their claims and if found to be false, will discipline them and this may even lead to their being banned from future invitations.
Both players put up excellent performances in their respective games in the Premier League in England over the last weekend and won the man of the match prizes. Success, a second half substitute, scored the equaliser for Watford against Bournemouth while Moses who started his first league game for Chelsea in three years was substituted late in the game against Hull.
"We know the two players had good games and there was no sign of injury on the duo during or after the game," an NFF source told Completesportsnigeria.com. "It came as a surprise to hear later that Moses was injured and that he would not be available for the game and Success finished his team's game before claiming injury.
"Honestly, they won't go unpunished if our investigation turns out as we are suspecting. In fact, we are considering writing a protest to FIFA if we find out that they connived with their respective clubs to feign injuries and stay away from the matches.


Read more at http://www.completesportsnigeria.com/moses-success-face-nff-bans-zambia-snub/#DCCp0i71KLOqzfGm.99

raumdeuter:
donjazet good adding quality information to this thread unlike some people who are only chelseafans by mouth but too dull to contribute anything

Nihilist:
I like this.

Thanks Donjazet. Please keep the articles coming.

Wetin man go do?? The thread dey always dey dry! I just say make I dey make am dey dey lively small small.

Throwback to when egbon nihilist was brushing his teeth in the stadium.

Chelsea half-term report: How is Antonio Conte changing the Chelsea philosophy?


After a confident start to the season, questions are slowly starting to creep in regards to Chelsea’s Premier League title credentials.

Antonio Conte, who swapped the Italian national side for a crack at the English top-flight, looks at times to have more energy on the sideline than his lacklustre players can muster on the pitch.

However, after two or three suspect results, it’s very easy to get carried away.

Heading into the international break Chelsea only find themselves five points off leaders Manchester City and just three behind Liverpool in fourth.
The lingering doubt over Conte’s best starting XI continue to surface but there’s much more to the Italian’s football philosophy than line-up debates.
Let’s take a moment to reflect on 47-year-old’s impact at Stamford Bridge:

The story so far

Conte was handed a tricky start to life in England by the fixture list. West Ham and Watford both impressed last season but are still teams Chelsea are expected to beat – and they did, just about.
Diego Costa twice scored late to snatch all three points in both games but it wasn’t particularly convincing. Scraping results so late in the game is the sort of form you’d expect during the difficult winter fixture list; not amid the excitement of a new season.

Chelsea half-term report: How is Antonio Conte changing the Chelsea philosophy?
Antonio Conte is struggling to find his strongest starting XI at Chelsea. Chelsea’s stressful and unconvincing winning style continued in the 3-2 victory over Bristol Rovers in the League Cup. However, conceding twice to League Two opposition at home raised eyebrows to all those who have followed Antonio Conte’s meticulously organised career.
The 3-0 win over Burnley would prove to be Chelsea’s most convincing win of the season just before the Premier League took a break for international football.

As Conte gathered his players back after the international games, the Italian suffered his first mini-crisis in England.
The Premier League is tough, there’s no easy games and Conte found that out in a 2-2 draw with relegation candidates Swansea.
It was Diego Costa again who snatched a point for the Blues but the wheels were starting to come off and just in time for the visit of high-flying Liverpool who would blow away Chelsea at Stamford Bridge.
The loss to Jurgen Klopp’s side hit Chelsea hard. It was Conte’s first taste of defeat and, after a poor performance against Leicester in the midweek cup fixture, the Italians saw his team slump to a truly miserable 3-0 loss away at title rivals Arsenal.

Biggest concern

One thing Chelsea fans did not expect when Conte signed on the dotted line was to have a defence all at sea.
A lack of organisation, worryingly low confidence levels and high-profile mistakes have left Chelsea leaking goals at an alarming and amateur rate.
Chelsea half-term report: How is Antonio Conte changing the Chelsea philosophy?
David Luiz has struggled since returning to Chelsea from PSG. (Picture: Getty)
David Luiz returned to the club at the exact moment John Terry was ruled out with injury and it looks as though Conte is fighting a personal battle to find some level of consistency in his backline.
David Luiz, John Terry, Gary Cahill, Branislav Ivanovic, César Azpilicueta and Marcos Alonso are all that the manager has available at his disposal until Kurt Zouma returns from injury, and the Italian desperately needs to find a way to make them click or face the consequences.
Reason to be cheerful

Diego Costa.

The controversial Brazilian-born Spain international is finally performing at the level we all knew he could.
A miserable season under Jose Mourinho and Guus Hiddink last season left him wide open for criticism. His penchant for yellow cards began to replace his previous goalscoring ability as it looked like the striker was destined for the Stamford Bridge exit door.
Some public flirting with Diego Simeone and his former club Atletico Madrid have been firmly put behind him and he has once again become the leader of this Chelsea team.
His six league goals have rescued some priceless points for Chelsea and, if Conte can get his defence sorted out, Costa’s form is capable of mounting a serious top four push.
The Italian touch…

Chelsea’s most recent victory, a 2-0 win away at Hull City, was an opportunity for the manager to implement his favoured 3-5-2 formation and he enjoyed some success.
Victor Moses was converted to a dynamic wing-back and Chelsea secured only their second clean sheet of the season. If he can get his first team into a full bill of health, don’t be surprised to see Conte use this formation more often.
Do we know their best XI?
Absolutely not.
The 3-0 defeat to Arsenal hurt Conte and forced him to move back to his basic managerial instincts with his tried and tested 3-5-2.
Chelsea have struggled defensively but if they can find a way to keep John Terry in the team for the remainder of the season, then there’s a good chance the supporters will be seeing a lot more of this style.
Alonso and Azpilicueta (Dave) offer Conte genuine width and defensive stability while Nemanja Matic and N’Golo Kante secure the game centrally:


Read more: http://metro.co.uk/2016/10/05/chelsea-half-term-report-how-is-antonio-conte-changing-the-chelsea-philosophy-6170975/#ixzz4MEHdB8OB

Brazil coach Tite maintained the team's defence, formed by João Miranda and Marquinhos, but dropped Chelsea winger Willian for Philippe Coutinho.


Philippe Coutinho trained in place of Willian during the first-team training, as the Seleção prepare to face Bolivia on Thursday at the Arena das Dunas, in Natal. The Liverpool midfielder, who replaced the Chelsea man in the second half against Ecuador and Colombia last month, earned his spot after improving the team's offensive performances in the two matches. In training at the Arena das Dunas, the coach maintained the defensive duo from his first two games. Miranda and Marquinhos will start against Bolivia, while Thiago Silva should be on the bench.

As mentioned in Globo Esporte, Thiago Silva has the full confidence of Tite, and the expectation is that he would regain his place with time, but has been out of the squad for a while. Thiago Silva was not called up since the Copa América last year when Dunga, who stripped the player from national team captaincy in 2014, lost patience following his mistake in the elimination to Paraguay. It is worth remembering that Tite put Thiago Silva alongside Neymar and Marcelo as the most prestigious Brazilian players in world football, and said the trio had "undoubted qualities." He also said that the defender will be one of the captains of the national team.

Scorer of nine goals since debuting at Zenit, almost two months ago, Giuliano will replace suspended midfielder Paulinho. Filipe Luís and Fernandinho, as expected, will come in place of Marcelo and Casemiro.

Brazil training XI: Álisson; Dani Alves, Marquinhos, Miranda, Filipe Luís; Fernandinho; Giuliano, Renato Augusto, Philippe Coutinho, Neymar; Gabriel Jesus.

http://www.sambafoot.com/en/news/84402__.html

BRANISLAV IVANOVIC has admitted he's happy to sit on the Chelsea bench and respects Antonio Conte's decision not to play him.

Ivanovic has been a pivotal member of the Blues' squad this season, playing the full 90 minutes in six of their seven Premier League games.
However, the Serbia international was dropped for last weekend's 2-0 win over Hull as Conte switched to a five-at-the-back system.And the 32-year-old has admitted he's not bothered by being on the sidelines as long as it benefits the team as a whole.
"I was maximum ready and healthy for the match with Hull, but I never got the chance," Ivanovic said.
“I’ll always put myself below the interests of the team, be that the national side or club.
“It’s been a while since I was a back-up, but I do not mind. I’ll sit on the bench whenever the coach decides, and not for the first time in these eight years at Chelsea."It is normal to be on the bench, especially in clubs that over and over again are going a step further.”
Ivanovic joined Chelsea in 2008 from Russian side Lokomotiv Moscow and has since made 368 appearances in all competitions, scoring 33 goals.

Chelsea’s former Under-21s boss Dermot Drummy has warned Roman Abramovich that the academy system at Stamford Bridge is ‘messy’ and says the club’s young stars have no route to the first team.


Chelsea currently have 38 players out on loan, including some of their brightest youth prospects in Charly Musonda, Lewis Baker and Tammy Abraham, who has scored 11 goals in 14 games for Bristol City this season.
Drummy worked at Stamford Bridge for five years, guiding the club to victory in the Youth Cup as well as the Under-21 Premier League title, and believes Antonio Conte will not get the chance to work closely enough with his youth prospects.
‘Chelsea have produced plenty of players up to about the Under-20 level, but then what happens? They go out on loan,” Drummy told the Daily Express.
‘It’s messy. There is no real link to the first team.

I don’t think Chelsea’s managers know enough about these young players. Antonio Conte or any manager that comes in has to hit the ground running fast. You lose a game and it is alarm bells. Their remit is to keep their jobs, be successful with the first team.
‘Young players don’t always instantly succeed. Lewis Baker is a very good player. I said to Jose Mourinho, ‘You will need to tell him he’s good’. Does the manager have time for that?

‘What is the strategy at Chelsea? Is it season to season? They can’t look at their best youngster, say Charly Musonda, and plot where he is going to be in three years’ time. Because who will the manager be then? So they can’t actually say that Charly will be one for then.
‘The philosophy changes all the time. It will be whatever Conte’s is, whatever Jose’s is. The instability is very tough on young players.
‘But then again, do Chelsea need that, with the buying power they have? No. The buying power can paper over these things.’

Read more: http://metro.co.uk/2016/10/05/chelseas-academy-system-branded-messy-by-former-under-21s-coach-dermot-drummy-6172703/#ixzz4MEBlNgvY

Ake complains about lack of gametime.

He had a stop-start spell at Watford last year but managed to rack up 24 league appearances in total.
And he's admitted life on the bench is getting to him a bit.
He told Dutch outlet Voetbal International: "I wanted to draw a line under last season, but that has not yet happened"The competition at my club is great. For now I'm still on the bench.
"It eats you, I want to play every week.

"http://www.dailystar.co.uk/sport/football/551039/Nathan-Ake-Chelsea-transfer-news

bigkesh:
Chelsea fans worldwide have finally realised Victor Moses is a much better player than our player of the year

This is a guy with plenty of EPL experience when he was signed and still failed on several loans in the same EPL,,yet some dudes can't cut 18 and 19 year olds some slack because they couldn't force coaches to start them in a team they would leave the next year.....

Judging a player on Loan is rubbish

Can you explain what you mean by that?? Moses is a poorer version of willan. Willan has Better work rate, pace, team work.

Pat Nevin: Stick Or Twist?


When do managers meet change with change and how many different hands do they need to be able to play to be successful? Pat Nevin discusses in this week’s column…



Among the most intriguing things about the Premier League this season has been the different systems and styles adopted by the different teams.

While everyone got excited about Man City under Pep Guardiola at the start, I have been waiting for their first big test. Well they had two big examinations in a week at Celtic Park and at Spurs which didn’t exactly pass with flying colours. The system and style was tested until it broke down in both matches. So what has this got to do with Chelsea? Well it is about the need to be adaptable when you play at this level, particularly in the Premier League.

Something that might work at home against West Ham might not be quite as successful away at Watford or Stoke City. If you are a Barcelona then you expect everyone to have to change for your style, but for everywhere else you need to adapt to the circumstances and that is what Antonio Conte is doing, most notably this season at the weekend against Hull City.
After a few minor scares at the start and a major one when Thibaut Courtois made an astonishing save from Robert Snodgrass’s deflected effort, matters really calmed down and it became awfully close to a cruise by the end. The system was a 3-4-3, morphing into a 3-4-2-1 which allowed us to keep both Eden Hazard and Willian in the starting line-up. In the past when British teams have played three at the back, it is more likely to be 3-5-2 with no room for wingers.

After Arsenal, Antonio certainly wanted a clean sheet more than anything else, which is the base idea behind three centre-backs and he achieved that zero after Chelsea’s name with some ease in the end. So after a week’s worth of hard graft and concentration the plan worked, but will it work as successfully against Leicester and Man United in the upcoming home games? This is the era we are now in. We might have to use adaptable systems that are quite radically different, with changeable personnel for each occasion.

I recall joining up with the Scotland international squad when it was decided we would play 3-5-2 against the top sides such as Germany and Holland, but would revert to a more attacking style against the smaller nations. Yes, I was disappointed because I was seen as a winger by the manager, but I immediately made it clear to him that I also played as one of two strikers when needed. I knew I had to be adaptable or else I would be starting only against the likes of The Faroes, Luxembourg and San Marino. Our players must have the same attitude now and it became clear that two in particular were very happy to change and adapt.

First of all, Cesar Azpilicueta became a right centre-back and played the position expertly. That position almost seems made for Branislav Ivanovic, but clearly Dave made an impression when the setting up was going on last week. Also the wide-right midfielder of the four was Victor Moses and he definitely seemed comfortable in that role, with a winger in Willian in front of him much of the time. That role for Victor is a serious shift as you are a covering full-back as well as a winger yourself at times. Marcos Alonso was doing the same thing on the other side and he still had the energy to get to the opposition byline a couple of times in the last 10 minutes.


So this was us with a wide attacker asked to play right wing-back and a full-back asked to do the same on the left. You have to be adaptable and you have to be fit to do those jobs, and you also have to be ready, willing and able to change again next week.

Chelsea are willing to make those changes but how many other top teams are going to do the same? Pep seems absolutely resolute on his system and style at the moment, specifically with his defenders and goalkeeper passing out from the back. In simple terms they didn’t look good enough as a group to get away with it when they were pressed in their own defensive areas. I was at Celtic Park when City conceded three goals to the Scottish champions amidst the most stunning, ear-bashing atmosphere. Spurs had the same level of success with the same solution, but Pep doesn’t seem willing to change, yet. I suspect in the end he will have to for some games, particularly away from home, because with some fairly small pitches and very fit teams who love to tackle, he and his team could be found out again.

Brendan Rodgers who is from the same school of thought, still relented and adapted his team to play it long over the top of the high press and it worked. I was at Swansea v Liverpool at the weekend and Liverpool also looked incapable of changing their system even though it wasn’t working. At half-time and 1-0 down, would or could Jurgen Klopp adapt? He didn’t but because the Welsh side ran out of steam and his side upped the pace his tactics came out on top.

This is the problem the top managers will have to face this season in the Premier League. When do you change tactics in a competition that has more variables in terms of style than ever before, and when do you stay with your core beliefs, hoping it will simply come good in the end? To be honest I do not know the answer but I suspect it is a case of playing to your own strengths and preferred style while being willing and able to change when you have to.

While all that is going through your mind, remember that someone in a newspaper, on the TV, radio or online will always be ready to use the catch-all phrase: ‘He doesn’t know what his best team is.’ The truth is, there isn’t always a best team, there is a different best team for many of the different challenges.

Official club site.

mauriceju2:
Guy you are a bay Christian, but let me help you, there are spirit or demons in you, that if they are not cast out you will transfer them to your children or wife during conception or sex, do you know that anger, alcoholism,drugs, prostitution, stealing,poverty etc are spirits-demons, do you notice this in some family from generation to generation? it's because these spirits are travelling through blood lines, by the way according to the bible spirit can be transfer ok. guy if someone lay hand on your head spirit can travel through also, so dont let any man lay hand on your head please for religious purpose, like prayer etc, Know today that there are spiritual conditions that can be fulfilled that will enable Satan to transfer demons,

If you really believe what you said there. I am sori to say this but you are crazy!!! You are taking religion to its extremities.
You better learn how to interpret the bible rather than spewing trash.

You are just making mockery of religion.

gwng:
http://www.kwallon.com/2016/10/hull-city-0-2-chelsea-highlights/

http://www.kwallon.com/2016/10/celta-vigo-4-3-barcelona-highlights/

http://www.kwallon.com/2016/10/burnley_0_-_1_arsenal-highlights/

http://www.kwallon.com/2016/10/real-madrid-1-1-eibar-highlights/

http://www.kwallon.com/2016/10/tottenham-2-0-manchester-city-highlights/

http://www.kwallon.com/2016/10/roma-2-1-inter-milan-highlights/

http://www.kwallon.com/2016/10/manchester-united-1-1-stoke-city-highlights/

http://www.kwallon.com/2016/10/valencia-0-2-atletico-madrid-highlights/

http://www.kwallon.com/2016/10/bayer-leverkusen-2-0-dortmund-highlights/

http://www.kwallon.com/2016/10/udinese-0-3-lazio-highlights/

http://www.kwallon.com/2016/10/psg-2-0-bordeaux-highlights/

http://www.kwallon.com/2016/10/metz-0-7-monaco-highlights/

http://www.kwallon.com/2016/10/nice-2-1-lorient-highlights/

http://www.kwallon.com/2016/10/empoli-0-3-juventus-highlights/

http://www.kwallon.com/2016/10/bayern-munich-1-1-fc-koln-highlights/

http://www.kwallon.com/2016/10/swansea-city-1-2-liverpool-highlights/

Oya come and be going..

@donjazet
For the past 3 seasons, Chelsea has had the best squad in the EPL. This time it is City.

Infact, most pundits thought Chelsea would win the league back to back after their triumph 2 years ago.

Chelsea never had the best squad!!! Man city has always had the best and balanced squad in england for the last 5 years.. What they lacked was the mental strength.
That was the basic difference between chelsea and man city in chelseas title winning season and that is credit to mourinho. Jose in his first season said we were little horses who he was grooming. He then built the mental strength in the team hence the consistency in the team and eventual cup wins.

The problem (I think) with the Chelsea squad now is a matter of adequate rather than quality replacements.

It is both. Willan shouldn't be in chelsea! His stats suggest that. Ivanovich. If you look at it the current chelsea team is average at best and there is no adequate replacement.

Obviously you are a Jose fanboy, but actually Jose spoiled Chelsea fans with his 'buy-buy win now' mentality thus failing to integrate young players. A club should have their system of play which runs accross all levels.

So, yes there is an imbalance, but that is as a result of changing managers cum changing systems and not the team per se. Conte tried to continue the Jose way, but has discovered it is not working for him.

That is, in the Jose way there is balance but in the Conte way there is no balance caused by lack of wingbacks.

That statement there contradicts your entire post. You are correct. As you said a club should have a system of play which runs across all level. Are you suggesting mou is responsible for that?? That happens ONLY in barca. There is no other club that can say the same. Chelsea's under 21 have been successful for a lot of years under a guy named adi vivesh ( not sure of correct spelling) who has used the 352 formation at the youth level for many years. This was very different from mou.

Against Hull Conte went for his own system 3-5-2. This system requires the use of wingbacks which Chelsea lack.

Therefore, Conte's failure to acquire wingbacks (off course Alonso) is what is creating your 'percieved' imbalance.

Conte can adapt to any formation. He is still looking for the best for this team and that requires patience. He is not a magician that would change things over night. And it is a disadvantage, that he has the likes of willan, Oscar, Ivanovich, matic Mikel, etc to work with.

Today's upsets no be here?

I no know wetin barca do celta Every season, their goals no dey low pass 4 against barca.

Madrid 4 draws on the bounce.
I give zidene maximum 2weeks after international break, dey go sack am. Madrid no dey look face.

Finally!!! Barca don fall! Many teams don sabi open their nyansh! Age don't finally dey catch up with iniesta..

This season, I get this feeling say athletico go win that league.

Finally fraudinhola nyansh don't open I tell pple say I'm Neva jam average team yet bar man u. Na Everton go finish work after international break.

Nihilist:
Most of the players you mentioned were already at their respective when we came third and later won the league with the last 3 years.

We're we unbalanced then? Or did the other guys just gain balance now cos I'm a bit confused.

What is this balance and where can we find it?

I definitely agree that our recruiting has been quite dodgy,and it is my firm belief that external forces who have Roman's ear are responsible for this by providing cheaper alternatives to those being suggested by Emenalo/Conte..BUT can I really trust a manager who waits till the 83rd minute to make a sub in a game in which we had been trailing for almost an hour?

I will still refer you to a previous post I made which partly answers that

donjazet:
When mourinho said he had made made average players look world class and win the EPL.. We thought he was boisterously arrogant. But when you look at this squad you begin to think? How exactly did Ivanovic, matic, cahill, obi, willan and Oscar win the league?? These are all average players.

Of course he cannot be absolved of the failure but on Saturday there was something I missed.. Mourinhos appearance alone on the dugout had this mental psychological block on the arsenal players.

Nihilist, you have to note that our previous success was with another manager who had a different ideology quite different from the new one.
As a previous poster said and I agree, the previous manager was building a mechanical team, a team that concentrates on stopping the opponent from playing rather than a free flowing attacking football. This led to the team shipping less goals but also scoring less goals. Now while this was successful for a certain time, you could see that the players we had didn't really fit his ideas which led to chaos and his eventual dismissal. Good credit should indeed be given to him for the title win for indeed whatever motivational and hard training methods he constantly used worked.

Now we have another manager who is trying something different and we can see that all he has to work with are average players. Are you to blame him or the board for not providing the tools required to work with??


I must also note this.
Nihilist, you seem to me like an experienced/seasoned fan, so it is somewhat absurd and disappointing to hear you call for the managers head at this point because by your own admission, you see him as a GOOD coach, we all do. So why not give him the required patience he deserves?? Only novices (no pun intended) will start calling for a managers head after 6 games no matter the supposed or perceived mistake by the manger.

You must remember that Fraudiohiola/ baldinhola lost his first two league games as a manager of barca to very little clubs and some fans started calling for the then inexperienced managers head. If the board listened to those pple, will they be who they are today??

Also note that we have only lost to teams that are better than us!! That counts for something.

I say please stop this #conteout bulshit and give him time. As of now there simply is no justification for such and it is highly ludicrous.

Nihilist:
This is an interesting angle...

What is a balanced squad?

And who has it in the EPL

Cmon, are you seriously asking me what a balanced squad is

I have answered and explained this since[s][/s] I made these posts below

donjazet:
If you think chelsea can finish top4 with this team, you are dreaming!! The only source of goals in this team is hazard and Costa!!! What happens if one get injured!!

The team is highly unbalanced we have a no10 who is known more for his defensive contributions than offensive contributions!!!

We have a right winger who has ONLY a high work rate without end product.

We have 3 midfielders who are highly unbalanced. One is highly creative but defensively shambolic and slow(fabregas) one is averagely defensive, has good tackling but doesn't know what to do with the ball and is extremely slow!! (matic)
The other is defensively astute but creatively limited and when they all play together, you have a very slow midfield which becomes a recipe for disaster.

I really don't need to go into details on the defence, do I?? A slow rightback who can't cross and who constantly gets raped when he meets any decent left back.. Then you have an ageing erroneous defence.
You know you have a problem when your best defender is 36-37 years old.

Compare this team to arsenal, tottenham, liverpool , Manchester city and united and tell me we have a chance of making top4!!!

How do you spend a billion but yet end up worse off than when you started?
I certainly hope the board is held accountable when heads start rolling.. Certainly not the manager.. He asked for naigollan, kaudobaily, bonucci and non of these were given to him..
How we managed to pay 30 million pounds for a winger who can't score 10 goals in a season is shocking!!!

A supposed top club still playing a right back at leftback thereby limiting him offensively and isolating the left winger who is presumably the best player in the club thereby also limiting his overall potential output.

Having an experienced rightback who cannot cross, has no pace and is often shambolic??
Crossing is an important role of every fullback, so how come we field both who can do none.

You know you have a problem when your no10 is know better for his defensive contributions rather than offensive contribution.

So I ask again!!! How do you spend a billion pounds and end up worse than when you started??

donjazet:
A midfield of Fab, kante and Oscar can hardly compare to our rivals midfield. At mancity, they have a well oiled midfield in gundogan,Fernando, fernandinho and toure. At arsenal, carzola, ozil, zhaka, and coquelin. At Liverpool, coutinho, Henderson, emre can etc.. Can you compare ours with theirs??


Do you know the worst part

Chelsea has no bench!!!! which is shocking.. We have been extremely privileged to have minor injuries in recent years, but have you thought of it?? If hazard and Costa both go on say 2 months injuries at the same time?? where will the goals come from It is ironic to think we have the largest squad in England but do not have an average bench!! Do we seriously believe that we can use the same average first team squad for a full year

Guys!! It turns out we don't actually have a buy back clause for thorgan..
The owner said it was only a verbal agreement which can be reneged anytime.
We don enter one chance be dat.

http://weaintgotnohistory.sbnation.com/chelsea-fc-transfer-rumours-news/2016/9/29/13103920/chelsea-gladbach-buy-back-clause-thorgan-hazard


http://metro.co.uk/2016/10/01/chelsea-told-they-do-not-have-a-buy-back-clause-for-thorgan-hazard-6164375/

Nihilist:
Klopp made not one but two finals in a season he did not start, and with players he did not buy. Is that enough proof of a man who was able to hit the ground running?

Pellegrini flopped with the same players that Pep is using to shine. Even in a vacuum, that suggests that Pep is a better tactician than Pellegrini.

I'm not sure if you read Sinizia's post earlier. Right now Jose does not appear to know what he is doing and it is showing on the pitch. He has already said that he is trying to implement a different system at Manyoo to what he did with us when we played very defensively.

He came out early to say that he identified the 4 players he needed for his system, and he bought all of them. Yet the team looks disjointed and dull. Only this Thursday, he was saying how 'confused' Pogba was because they prepared for one tactics and Zorhya came and played another type of ball.

This does not sound like someone who even knows what he's doing yet, so ofcourse I'm not surprised that his team are struggling a bit.

The best from our boys is a title win or top 4 place. These boys have done both within the last 3 years. I hope you haven't forgotten.

Nihilist, we don't have a balanced squad. If you can't see this, that's very unfortunate.

AdisaOwala:
His Ultra-defensive & Highly Cautious Approach you mean?

During his stint at Juve (and even with the Azzuris), his obsession with the 3-5-2 formation and the kinda players he used literally sums up his " Coaching philosophy" - Conte seems to be the kinda manager that thrives best where there isn't too much pressure to succeed (and impress if need be).

Conte also won the seriaB with bari using a 4-1-4-1 formation. That team scored the highest number of goals that season. He is not "ultra-defensive" as you put it, he simply uses the formation that best suits his team.