Chelsea 2015-16: No Way, Jose

blueguitar322

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Jose is at it again.
 
"In the beginning of Mr Abramovich coming to Chelsea, Chelsea was buying the title," Mourinho said after the friendly win over PSG on Saturday. "Now, they are buying the title. All of them, they are buying the title.
 
"It is up to us to be strong and to fight them and, obviously, to try and win it again, even without the big investments."
 
Now it is true that Chelsea haven't net spent much money this summer, or last year (due to sales of Luiz, Lukaku and Schurrle) but they might be the only club that doesn't really need to. Sometimes that happens after net spending £267 over a four year period.
 
Never change, Jose!
 

Cellar-Door

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Terry on Men in Blazers this week
 
https://twitter.com/MenInBlazers/status/625439591940661250
 
As you'd guess most questions so far are related to either why he's a racist or teammate's wives.
 

tmracht

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Not a great end to the preseason for us, with Costa once again feeling something in his hamstring, supposedly just a "feeling", but with all the hamstring injuries he battled last year, not a great sign.
 

soxfan121

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He'll shoot his way out of town before that extension expires. He always does.
 

Dummy Hoy

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soxfan121 said:
He'll shoot his way out of town before that extension expires. He always does.
 
I think you may be wrong here (although you are more than justified in making that prediction). I feel like Jose knows this is a chance to have a lasting impact with a club, which would take a bit of the mercenary label off of him. I think he's planning on putting his time in at Chelsea, but as always- what the hell do I know?
 

blueguitar322

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On day one of the premier league, Jose opens his mouth to complain about being punished (by a poor refereeing decision) but wants credit for not complaining.
 
"I do not want to speak about red cards," he said towards the end of the news conference.
Asked whether that would be a policy this season, Mourinho retorted to laughter in the press room: "No, it is just because the first time I can control myself.
"I want to react this way so you don't say he was [complaining] from day one. In day one we were punished, but it was not on day one that I opened my mouth."
 
Never change, Jose.
 

Morgan's Magic Snowplow

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IMO, the decision was absolutely correct.  The foul occurred in the box (penalty) and even if you don't believe it was a denial of a goal scoring opportunity a high foot studs up to an opponent's knee should be red every time anywhere on the field.
 

Cellar-Door

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What a mistake. She has years of experience in determining when Chelsea players have been seriously injured, and when they are just having a dive. You can't demote her based on one wrong guess. I mean who else is going to be able to make those 50-60 split second decisions every match better than her?
 

Schnerres

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http://metro.co.uk/2015/08/14/abdul-rahman-baba-set-to-complete-chelsea-transfer-after-passing-medical-5343171/
FC Augsburg LB Abdul Rahman Baba passed the medical and is on the cusp of joining FC Chelsea for a transfer sum somewhere between 20-25m € (sources say different things, bonus payments, etc.).
 
I haven´t seen him playing on a regular basis, but he definitely was one of the best LBs in the Bundesliga last season (Alaba/not many matches as LB but still better, Rodriguez/WB, Bernat/BAY). Of course he is no David Alaba (,yet??), he already is great in tackles vs.opponents and has great offensive potential (lots of attacking movement and many crosses), but has some trouble tracking back into his defensive position in the back four.
As a 21yo (born 94) he offer lots of potential to improve and I really have no idea (a)if he´ll be a regular starter at Chelsea this season and (b)how much Mourinho values him / had an impact on the transfer.
 

soxfan121

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If he has trouble tracking back he'll sit on the bench a lot and then be sold to Atletico in next summer. 
 

tmracht

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Fascinating how you sort the back line. Does Dave finally get to play his natural position? Do we keep Ivanovic out wide and leave Rahman on the bench. Does Terry Cahill get broken up. Does this mean Zouma is going to get more time in midfield?

Ideally this let's them start looking forward a bit or as mentioned he can get sold cut rate after a season.
 

soxfan121

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tmracht said:
Fascinating how you sort the back line. Does Dave finally get to play his natural position? Do we keep Ivanovic out wide and leave Rahman on the bench. Does Terry Cahill get broken up. Does this mean Zouma is going to get more time in midfield?

Ideally this let's them start looking forward a bit or as mentioned he can get sold cut rate after a season.
 
It'll be Ivanovic, two of the Terry/Zouma/Cahill group, and Dave in any game that matters. I think Jose hates the modern fullback more than Arsene Wenger.
 

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tmracht

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I don't get it to be honest. Maybe I'll be pleasantly surprised but I'm not sure if overall hell fit in better than Willian when you include how much he tracks back.
 

Bailey10

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Pedro might end up being more valuable as cover for Costa when he is hurt/suspended than as a winger, especially against good teams where Mourinho prefers to play more defensively.
 
A right side of Pedro and Ivanovic could be disastrous against a skilled winger and left back.
 

Morgan's Magic Snowplow

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I don't think Pedro is that bad defensively. He presses well and he's a good tactical team player in general so if Jose asks him to track the opposing fullback, he'll do that.

There is a lot of spinning going on regarding what happened on the United end but this seems to be a big missed opportunity.

Willian sucks. He's a good Mourinho player but he's still a winger with no offensive contribution, which no top club managed by somebody other than Mourinho wants as a starter these days.
 

Bailey10

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Morgan's Magic Snowplow said:
I don't think Pedro is that bad defensively. He presses well and he's a good tactical team player in general so if Jose asks him to track the opposing fullback, he'll do that.

There is a lot of spinning going on regarding what happened on the United end but this seems to be a big missed opportunity.
 
Reports are saying that Pedro was in contact with Fabregas and Valdes and they are citing that as a possible major reason he chose Chelsea over United. Who knows how much truth there is in that but it hints at how LVG's abrasive style may turn off some players and cause United to miss out on marquee signings.
 

Zososoxfan

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Cuadrado out on loan to Juve. I think this is a great move for Juve and their impressive summer signings continue.
 
Edit: To add, Cuadrado is not likely to be defensively strong enough to play for a Mourinho side. Mou has looked a bit more adventurous thus far this season with poor results, but this loan makes sense from the Blues' perspective as well.
 

Vinho Tinto

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[media]http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=MSuU7SSTpu8&t=0m7s[/media]
 
"He played like he has to play"
 
About as honest a take you'll ever get from Jose. 
 

soxfan121

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SoxFanInCali said:
Suarez played like he has to play, too.
 
He got suspended a lot.
 
Surely this is in jest, because the difference between repeat asshole and repeat cannibal is Pacific Ocean-sized. There's no place on a soccer pitch for Costa's behavior; there's no place on earth where Suarez's behavior is acceptable. 
 

SoxFanInCali

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soxfan121 said:
 
Surely this is in jest, because the difference between repeat asshole and repeat cannibal is Pacific Ocean-sized. There's no place on a soccer pitch for Costa's behavior; there's no place on earth where Suarez's behavior is acceptable. 
The point was that "playing like he has to play" is in no way an excuse to violate the rules of the game. Suarez did, and was fined/suspended. If Costa does it, he should also be fined/suspended, regardless of Jose's opinion.
 

soxfan121

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The only people who care about Jose's opinion are media members with column inches to fill and Jose. 

However, it does seem that Costa's game is predicated on the physical battles inherent to being a lone striker in a defense-heavy system. So while his behavior is bad, and unacceptable, it's also a magnitude of difference away from Suarez's penchant for biting opposing players in frustration. One is within the scope, if not the rules, of the game; the other is just rude.
 

Mighty Joe Young

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soxfan121 said:
The only people who care about Jose's opinion are media members with column inches to fill and Jose. 
However, it does seem that Costa's game is predicated on the physical battles inherent to being a lone striker in a defense-heavy system. So while his behavior is bad, and unacceptable, it's also a magnitude of difference away from Suarez's penchant for biting opposing players in frustration. One is within the scope, if not the rules, of the game; the other is just rude.
While true (Suarez), when you consider the actual physical consequences of his biting it's meaningless compared to breaking a guys leg or smashing a player's face with an elbow smash. Suarez's behaviour was just weird .. and completely unacceptable of course. A carefully timed tackle can do massive damage .. But somehow that's just "part of the game"
 

Vinho Tinto

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Whose leg or nose did Costa break yesterday?

It's a physical game. Costa himself has been on the wrong side of injuries, but he has no reason to stop playing the way he does.
 

Mighty Joe Young

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Vinho Tinto said:
Whose leg or nose did Costa break yesterday?
It's a physical game. Costa himself has been on the wrong side of injuries, but he has no reason to stop playing the way he does.
The FA seems to have taken a different view.

Edit: and I wasn't suggesting Costa deliberately tries to seriously injure opponents. But he IS a punk and a thug and it's good to see the FA finally doing something about it. It's an unacceptable way to play.
 

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Vinho Tinto said:
Whose leg or nose did Costa break yesterday?

It's a physical game. Costa himself has been on the wrong side of injuries, but he has no reason to stop playing the way he does.
Costa has bad hamstrings. That's not exactly the same thing as intentionally stomping on a prone player's ankle (Emre Can) or raking your fingernails across the face of an opponent looking for a reaction (Koscielny).

When Costa starts getting five, seven, or ten match bans for violent conduct--and that's what's coming if he keeps it up--he'll have plenty of reason to change his behavior. In the meantime, I'm surprised that you'd conflate cynically attacking opponents to invite them into reacting with physical play while trying to win the ball. He's not going overboard with a shoulder charge or a tackle here.
 

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soxfan121 said:
The only people who care about Jose's opinion are media members with column inches to fill and Jose. 
But we all watch because we all want to see what the prick is going to say next. The media is giving us exactly what we ask for.
 

soxfan121

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CoRP said:
But we all watch because we all want to see what the prick is going to say next. The media is giving us exactly what we ask for.
 
Ok fine. Arsenal fans care too.
 

blueguitar322

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Look at who was watching from the stands when Carroll scored. Top row, center. The schadenfreude has been awesome this year.
 

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Does anyone have any in-depth thoughts on this trainwreck? Or is there an article out there that attempts to break down why Chelsea are so bad this year?
 

Seven Costanza

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I really haven't seen much other than the 'Jose has lost the dressing room' bits.  I think this is why this collapse is so impressive- no one can really explain it.  I mean, this is pretty much the exact same team that bar Man City making it somewhat interesting around Christmastime walked the league last year.  How can they be this awful overnight?
 
The players, save maybe Zouma and Willian (and Costa when he's actually on the pitch) look completely lost and like they could care less.  I expect Jose to be gone soon- I think he's an unbelievable manager but his history of showing himself the door cannot be ignored. 
 

Morgan's Magic Snowplow

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Usually, I'm highly suspicious of "lost the dressing room" type stories.  They tend to be poorly sourced, sensationalistic, and to ignore the reality that professional athletes have plenty of motivation to play well and win even if they don't particularly like their coach.
 
In this case, however, I think its probably true.  You've got fairly reliable media reporting that a first team player would rather lose than win for Mourinho.  You've got top players like Hazard, Fabregas, and Matic seemingly mailing it in every game.  And you've got Jose, an extreme narcissist with a history of fighting with and alienating everybody around him when faced with adversity.  If he was willing to go to war with Ronaldo and Casillas in Madrid, he's not beyond alienating Hazard and Fabregas to the extent that they can't bring themselves to play at a top level.
 
At first I thought it was just a hiccup and that the club would get through it.  At this point, I suspect something with the club is fundamentally broken and that Mourinho leaving is the only way it gets fixed.  Ancelotti is waiting in the wings.
 

SoxFanInCali

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Liverpool waited until an international break to fire Rodgers, to give them some extra time to bring in a new man and for him to settle in. If Chelsea is going to make a move, they may do the same with the next break coming after this weekend's games.
 

sachmoney

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I wonder how much losing Cech has affected that locker room. I've seen some of the Arsenal players talk glowingly about Cech's impact both on and off the pitch. I know that he wasn't the starter last year, but he was a respected veteran. Chelsea has seemingly lost multiple leaders over the last few years between Cech, Lampard, Drogba, and Ashley Cole. Most of the current stars seem too into themselves to have leadership qualities. There seems to be a lack of hierarchy. I'm sure that the effort will improve under a new manager, but the issues with this team seem more deep seeded.