₦airaland Forum

On Lukaku - no qualms the boy went out on loan. He demanded for it and he got it. He's got talent but so far I see him play only for 45mins minutes and then gone. I expect bigger things in the future from him.

On JM - oh yeah he talks too much sometimes, but I feel that he tries to be honest. I personally will and want to give him time. When it comes to football, I believe he knows more than all of us combined. He may not always get his first 11 right, but when it comes to tactical changes, the man no get rival. Let him do his job.

On Mata-, dude won CPOTS twice but that dont mean nada now and when matches get physical, he simply disappears. That said and for now, he remains the ONLY creative player in the squad.

Expect a CRAZY season.


and er, f.ck stats. They NEVER ALWAYS show the real thing.

That was some quick response from Leverkusen.

Muller miss open net. Still like the player sha. Aside ribery running things,
Cant see anything breathtaking here though.

alaba ko, alawo ni. jokers inc.

StarBoard: Rafa's problem was not incompetence but the fact that he had embittered the Chelsea fans by comments he made earlier on.
He was competent and salvaged their season with a third place finish and the Europa League title.
They beat us twice under his watch, and he got performances out of almost every player on their books. Put the old guard on notice that an automatic shirt thing was a myth.
I dare say he was better suited to Chelsea than the present-day Mourinho.
Moyes is the exact opposite.
No track record, shambolic transfer dealing, wired tactics/line-ups/substitutions, moronic press comments and daft lackeys as a back room staff.
The Chelsea people actually didn't know what they were losing.
We know we have an absolute neophyte as boss.
He cannot sacrifice Rooney for the good of the team and is already dancing to his tune and courting his attention by making him captain unnecessarily. A$$ kissing so early in the season to an over-rated player.
Instead he's shafting Kagawa to the left when its obvious we won't get he best out of him from that position. Rooney who could be suited to playing there cannot be talked into it because he (Moyes) has no spine.
Sigh

That na total rubbish oga mi. You mean the same Rafa that was jobless for several years. We helped him improve his CV - and that was what he precisely came to do. upgrade his CV.
The ONLY worthwhile thing he did was to win the Europa cup and yeah, it felt good.

Sule MOTM! he totally ran his marker ragged. This is what wingers should be doing.

Ramires! We underestimate and yab this guy but he is becoming the spine of this team. Endless energy and that eye for some good goals.

The English press no go allow JM rest. Guess this was what he always wanted.

Question please, were we playing counter attacking football abi wetin? Whatever it was, I loved every single aspect of it. We bossed it for good 90 mins. More of that please. And someone should talk to Luiz about discipline.

And er, Ozil, what a player. Ronado or not, Ozil running the EPL show now and doing it so effortlessly. Its almost as if he doesn't need to touch the ball.

Anything less than a win today and......

Most will say Lukaku should have stayed. Well maybee but personally I'm happy he is out there doing his thing. Many forget that the mental strength required to play for Chelsea aint the same as playing for Everton.

A professional performance and through to the next round though you still get that feeling that something aint clicking as yet in the team. Some players are clearly lacking confidence, match fitness, interest or that Chelsea DNA and the manager is yet to decide on his modus operandi.
Any which way, its a LONG season.

Its Spurs next.

Goodnight folks.

nateevs: The Turnbull days eh?

OK,we did what we had to do. Through to the next round.


Torres was on fire. MOTM though he could have scored more.
Mata still short of match fitness but imo he ran and defended today more than he ever did for the whole of last season . I trust him to get his A-Game on soon.
Willian don madt finish.
Azpi did not impress me.
Essien did a professional job. No wahala.
Mark Schwarzer was decent. Gone are the Turnbull days at least.
KDB was in and out. Needs to play more.
JT, Cahill, Bertrand were solid.
Luiz. wa se re.

Welcome to The JM 2-0s Classics.

nateevs: Maybe next year but certainly not worth more than £5m at this moment.

5 milla. You serious. At this rate doubt anyone will pay that. Missing chances like a craze man

Luiz get pass.wetin.

Willian!!! yet another wasted chance.

someone should please tell me we got Willian for free.

Torres, Willian. Wasted!

That was some mini-rocket from KDB!

nateevs: Point being that he criticised Benitez for doing so.

ad hoc though I like it.

nateevs: Is it too early to ask what happened to KDB?

no play time and general lack of confido.

Rambo off. JT on.

Luiz pushed to the middle. yes!

nateevs: People like me slang off Ramires for his lack of ball retention skills but you cannot deny he is one of the best finishers in the team in one on one situations.

Well said. All that is missing is just that extra football brain.

Some nice work from Torres to find Ramires. A good goal.

I say open the gates.

opeooo! Torres scores.

Keeper saves Mata's effort only for Fernando to tuck the rebound in.

Open the flood gate!

chei Torres! one-on-one with the goalie? f.ck!

but what a pass from Mata!

Swindon looking very comfortable so far.

ok, I think for now I will exercise some level of patience with JM. A seasoned manager and a winner but nonetheless a "new" manager to this group of boys. Moreover he is not yet settled on his first 11. Something I've always known.

Roll on Capital one cup.

amodu: Since our Capital One Cup match against Swindon today will not be on Super Sport, where can one get to have a glimpse of the action?

online streams. check here

nateevs: Hehehe. Joe Cole a world class winger. You better erase that thing before some guys find it.

Well JC played some terrific seasons for us. You could say that actually. He was THAT good.

Mikel actually made about 3 forward/attack minded passes today and then he SCORED!!! e-M0et for my Chelsea peeples. Lol.

Oscar scores again. Well, hello the new No. 10.

JM should be protecting the players and not making internal enemies. He should cut it short with those interviews. Mata's work rate is low. Ok, tell it to the lad.

dayokanu: Robben now tracks back very well at bayern

The first thing he complained about was about that extra responsibility.
Does he now? Cant remember seeing him at track back that much. Anyways, would you say Arjen and Mata are like-for-like players? Style of play and energy level?

CFCfan: Jose at Chelsea always believes that wingers should be the creative room of the team. I recall Jose's first stint from 2004-2007, in which the likes of Duff, Robben and Joe Cole were the main creative geniuses in the team. Lampard was tasked to make his trademark late runs into the box, while Ballack was mainly a combative CM.

Fast forward today with CFC's 11 wingers, it seems Emenalo and Jose are on the same wavelength.

Those you mentioned were always tasked to track back and help the full-backs. Arjen complained bitterly about this.
Mata no get that kind strength to dey run up and down.

That said, I'm going for a win today.

Ibime: lol. You still dey on Mikel issue?

Mikel was a decent DM when we played low blocks, he only becomes incompetent when you play high blocks.

Mikels conversion was the best thing for him and the only reason he is not playing in Turkish league right now. Attacking midfielders are judged by their numbers and given Mikels lack of killer instinct, he would have come under pressure from a more productive AM a long time ago.

In an era where no4s are the first man to receive the ball from the defence, Mikel has been able to specialise in that and secure himself some long term contracts and solidify his financial future. When tactics change to high blocks is when we start criticising Mikels sluggishness.

Regarding Mata, I believe PSG made a £40m deadline day bid. Jose woulda sold.

He destroyed Mikels game and we dont want him to do same with Mata. If he has no use for him, why not sell him? Mata chasing full-backs? I laugh in 3D.

Ibime: Mata is the new Joe Cole!


"He has a lot to learn. I think he has two faces - one beautiful and one I don't like. He must keep one and change the other one."

"Joe Cole scored a goal which was very important. He played really well in terms of attacking dynamism. When he scored the goal the game finished for him. After that I needed 11 players for my defensive organisation and I had just 10."

"Joe can be a regular but he has to improve when the team needs him to be part of a defensive organisation."

JC was able to adapt but I doubt Mata will just as Mikel never did. Mata does not just have the strength to do so. Covering the full-backs? Are you kidding me? Or he wants him as a winger cutting in from the right side on his left foot a la Arjen? And then track back?
Why not just sell the guy then instead trying to change his game? If he destroys Mata like he did to Mikel, it wont go down well with anyone.
Mata though not my favorite player should be allowed to play his natural role because he remains the only creative force in that team.
Not saying Oscar is not capable but those two players are different or his Oscar now the new Lamps?

“There are things I cannot speak with you about. It’s part of a process with him, too. One thing is to play with Ramires and Oscar in the side, them closing each side, and Mata as a No. 10 behind the striker, clever assists and clever passes, fantastic actions because he has great talent.

Another thing is to adapt to the way we want to play. In this moment, Oscar is my No. 10 and, if somebody tells me that Oscar is not Chelsea’s best player since the beginning of the season, I’d have to disagree. These are football issues.”

What way is he talking about? He should lay off those HAPPY pills and picks up those SPECIAL ones.