I imagined something like this as well except I had it in 4231 configuration. The player in the AM hole to be determined.
I hope Schurrle has a good game , would love to see some of those right foot long goals he has scored for Leverkusen.
I don't know how much your remember from his first reign but the Jose playbook is pretty clear- he hardly ever loses- it is the ref or we were cheated in some way shape or form. Does it get frustrating? Of course but it is part of what makes him so good. At the end of the day there are hardly any Managers in the modern game who can match his type of success and quite frankly there are not many Managers I would trade him for as well. and lets also be at least a little fair about some of our results against the smaller teams- we can nitpick about tactics all day long but some of the performances from the players were simply not good enough and at least Jose had the balls to call them out for it. the simple fact of the matter is that every Manager has his or her share of faults, it is just that Jose happens to attract quite a bit more attention than the others and is also the Manager of a club which helps the media sell a lot of papers and get a lot of clicks on their sites I would also add that Jose has been pretty fair and consistent in his statement that we would not win the League this season and based what nearly all of us have seen the squad was not good enough to do so and we would have needed a massive amount of luck to win it
Time to play the Marco Van Ginkel alongside Matic and although the vermin scousers will win the league they won't be beating Chelsea
We are 5 points adrift with serious injury concerns and we an injury away at the back from fecking ourselves. Seriously fecking ourselves into either Kalas starting in the semi final or Van ginkel starting in the semifinal and that might happen anyways. I'm not expecting us to lie down, not at all, but if you think we can afford not to rest some players, especially at the back, that is crazy. We don't always have to agree, but the likelihood we win the Champions League is greater than that of the Premier League. Fact, we are two wins away from doing so. We are three wins and a shite ton of other circumstances away from winning the league all of which requires other teams to drop points, twice. It can happen, but so can me winning the lottery tomorrow. Losing Cech hurts, losing Terry is devastating. To me it all but seals our fate in the league. Anything can happen in two one off matches in Europe however and it sounds like he might be back by the end of May. Can we beat Liverpool? Of course we can. Even with a weakened squad, but you really need, we all need to be realistic here. The loss to Sunderland with extrememly shoddy officiating sealed our league fate. What we do control is our European tie. Win on Wednesday with a fresh squad and worry about the rest. That's most important today, and tomorrow, and the next day. Due to injuries and some really fecking stupid suspensions, we aren't deep therefore we NEED to BE fresh. I want the league much more than I want the UCL, but we are just that close that IMO, we have to go all in and we're far enough away from the league that it isn't worth it. Again, just my opinion here, but it's really the only route I see right now. Let me add, I despise Liverpool. Hands down the one side in England that I DO NOT LIKE, and I don't want them to win the league. I'd rather Arsenal win than Liverpool and this season having them win with what 44 matches played??? It stings, it burns, and it really fecking sucks, but I'm a realist, and I see no way we get the league right now. Time to move on, and the Champions League is it for me. What better way to laugh off a Liverpool title, than with a European title. Just my opinion of course and I know others will disagree.
^^^ That. Plus, wouldn't it be a bit awkward for certain "1st team" players to play having been preemptively labeled as "the b team?" I dont think Cahill, Azpi, Cole, Ba/Eto'o, Schurrle and co. are the players Jose wishes to cast with that label - if we stays true to his word. Which i genuinely hope he does. There is realistically nothing to gain by playing our tired, crucial to the CL players and winning. There is more to gain by playing Ake, Ginkel, Kalas, and even U21s. Schwartzher should start.
I agree with everything you said - but this especially Liverpool are a despicable club with a despicable fan base. Liverpool are truly the 'Scum of the Earth' and I would not apply that phrase to Citeh, Man Utd, Arsenal, etc. etc. That said, the title . . .well they have won it. Jose Mourinho: "I think Chelsea fans would like for Chelsea to get the respect the football club deserves. Chelsea fans know what Chelsea did for English football in the last 10 years. They are the most important football club in this country in European competitions. Chelsea fans think Chelsea deserve more respect than they are getting. "They want Chelsea to go to Liverpool to give their maximum, which players is our decision." I think there is no doubt that Jose will pick a Chelsea-Light team. He has not much choice anyways. No Ramires, Cech, Terry, Hazard, etc and players to be rested, etc. I am not sure that it will be too light. At this level you have to play players who are somewhat familiar in playing together. That is to say you are not going to bring in too many players in the starting line-up who have hardly played at all this season. Van Ginkel was a Jose first-team choice before his injury - the lad is looking towards the World Cup and he is one of the most talented midfiled prospects in the world. I'd love to see him have a great game. I want to win this game - we all do - I think a draw would be an excellent result. Here we go.
On being told by one journalist that neutrals want a Liverpool win: "I am not neutral I am Chelsea. My thoughts on the game? I want to try to win, that it is the simple and objective answer. No-one goes into a game to lose." Neutrals want a Liverpool win? Really? The media certainly has a bias in that there are many retarded journalists who support Liverpool. . .but in the wider world of human beings most people think [know] that Liverpool are the "Scum of the Earth" . Ask fans of any clubs who are the most despicable team - despicable fans - and the answer will invariably be Scouser Scum.
The team I support doesn't give up, and doesn't play any lineup weaker than necessary. How's about we stop being little quitter bitches, and win both competitions?
Just not that simple. I wish it was, but we cannot afford an injury right now. Thankfully Ramires can't play so we get him on Wednesday.
Let me add, we aren't going to trot out youngsters only, but I wouldn't be surprised to see one or two included. Likely Mikel and Matic in midfield.
Remember how much grief RdM got when he started losing those weakened team matches? Will JM get the same? I don't think so because RdM showed that it was a strategy that worked out. Also, I recall that RdM's team still had top 4-5 position to play for and remind me if I am wrong, but weren't those positions in our control (i.e., win and in)? Here, we can beat Liverpool, but still be thralled to the results of other teams. That said, beat the shite out of Liverpool.
At the start of each season, we could win 37 Premier League matches and not win the title. Does that mean we take it easy? Shit, few people around here thought we'd win anything this season, so maybe Baker and Kalas and Aké and Loftus-Cheek and Lalkovic and Bamford and Clifford and whoever else one may care to name should have been playing week in week out. It's likely that if we beat Liverpool, we probably won't win the league, but I KNOW that if we lose to Liverpool then we cannot possibly win the league. To paraphrase Einstein, "he who would trade the league for Europe deserves neither and will lose both".
Well we are without: Cech Terry Ramires Hazard Eto'o Bane will play because he's fresh. In all honesty, we'll likely line up with. Schwarzer Bane Gaz Luiz Dave Matic Mikel Salah Oscar Schürrle Ba Not weak at all, but really about as second team as we can get. I wouldn't start Dave or Gaz for fear of losing either. I don't think Frank can play more than 60 in this one so I expect him and MVG off the bench along with Torres. My preferred lineup: Schwarzer Kalas Gaz Bane Cole Matic Mikel Lampard Salah Schürrle Ba
I think it likely Jose uses the same mindset on Wednesday as he always does in a Champions League Semi, overly defensive. Without the away goal, it's going to be nervy and 1-1 is a likely score (think Barca 2009). If that happens, we're going to feel like idiots if Liverpool lose to Crystal Palace and City drop points. We still have a chance, therefore we need to put out as strong a team as possible. We also need the back-line to get more playing time together ahead of Wednesday. Schwarzer Dave-Ivan-Cahill-Cole Matic----Mikel-----Lamps Salah-----Ba------Schurrle
I do not understand the logic of playing Luiz, Ivan, Cahill and Azpi. If ANY one of them gets injured, who's gonna play defense on Wednesday? The following are the only defense men available for Tuesday from the CL roster: 2. Branislav Ivanovic 3. Ashley Cole 4. David Luiz 24. Gary Cahill 28. Cesar Azpilicueta 34. Ryan Bertrand You'd like to risk 4 out of the 6? For what reason?
Bertrand would have to be recalled too in order for him to be available. We dangerously thin and an injury away from fecking ourselves. I've said it before, the yellow cards screwed us more than the injuries.
wow - some bizarre overreactions on both sides here. As both managers noted this morning, Chelsea will have a strong side on Sunday that is certainly capable of winning the game. At the same time, we're going to be smart about it, looking ahead to Wednesday. Its really not much more than normal squad management as we always see in a multi-game week.