Hazard disappears too much for my liking. He's got good balance, strength, and a good pace when in full flight but when he's up against a physical/quick defender he's given problems and moves to central. Moses actually forced Jagielka to stay back as he had strength to match him physically and enough speed to trouble him going the other way.
Some of you have some 'splainin to do.... I still don't care for Rafa but you can't argue with our form as of late.
Very happy with the three points especially given that Everton played well (I'll give them full credit for making our lives tough today - Moyes is a professional gaffer). Some other notes: 1) Luiz is not a DM but I don't see him being asked to do the same things as Mikel would. He is a deep lying distributor more than anything and someone who can make surges whilst being difficult for the opposition to pick up. That said, think he needs to make far better decisions with the ball and better judgement when sliding in (could have picked up a second yellow two or three times which would have been ruinous for us the way Everton were playing). However, the ball through to Torres was superb and the key for me is he allows Frank to play his preferred position. 4 wins in 4 with Luiz in the middle but I still wouldn't play him there against United. 2) Supah. Sign him. He doesn't need to be a ball winner or distributor, he needs to do what he did today and be at the right place at the right time. Age is no barrier to positional awareness. 3) Ramires was very careless with the ball but his energy gets him out of some trouble. 4) 3 points. It's a results based business and we should have got humptied in Munich so given I celebrated that win, I'll celebrate this one too. 5) Torres. Sigh. Should have had a hattrick today and still shows a lack of basic movement (specifically the two on one with Moses at the end). He looks more comfortable on the ball outside the box than he does in it and plays some nice balls, but you're a striker son, get your foot on the ball and twat the thing. Could easily have lost but we didn't and I'll take that.
Outstanding. The last four trips to Goodison we've left pointless. It's nice to bring back 3 from the Merseyside. The match was never going to be a masterpiece; Moyes and his teams don't allow for that.
If Luiz is a deep lying distributor, his distribution has been very inconsistent at at times bewildering. The lad still manages to try to nip in an get turned time and again, fouled recklessly and carelessly and still gets a rush of blood to the head. His positional sense is poor, he runs about getting stuck in but gives way needless fouls and could have been sent off, and more than likely will against the better sides. More importantly, he didn't help Lampard play his game, Lampard is class enough to know when to make those surging runs. I'm not sure how a guy who is out of position helps Lampard as he made runs when he saw them. Notwithstanding, Luiz played some good passes. I'm still not convinced. As you've said 4 wins out of 4 but today was a real test and I don't think we won the midfield battle and certainly could have very well lost the match.
I dont largely disagree with you mate. My view on how he helps Lampard in that if he is not playing in that position, then Lampard pretty much has to (ramirez absolutely cannot play there). The impact is that Lampard has put a few in the back of the net of late and I don't think he's that far advanced If being asked to play in front of the back 4. Like I said earlier, I don't play him against the big sides and think he has a long way to go, but he's been playing in the position for just 4 games so unsurprising he is not dominating. But I don't think having hm there is the total disaster that others have said it would be, he takes plenty off the table but puts things on it to. We largely lost the midfield battle today because Everton worked extremely hard and several players (inc Luiz and Lampard among others) were very sloppy at times. 3 points is all that matters. What were the positives you took from the game today (I know we're largely a negative group but like to see both aspects covered and your notes on what one player did wrong are fair)
There's only one Supah. Awesome result, but Everton was very good and they were missing some key players. Hazard was MIA and Torres sucked. Still, this is the best X-mas period in a long time.
Chelsea become the first team to win at Everton since Arsenal in March. from the beeb. Further adding to the enjoyment of this win.
hate to tout the falcao horn, but ill use him as an example, how many of the chances torres blundered do you think rada wouldve put in the back of the net, and where would we be in the CL and prem? as for hazard being MIA, i think its at large the managers fault, hes been wasted defending and helping out cole for the better part of the season, he seems tired and in effect unconfident imo both eden and juanito need to get some rest, they both look lost there is no reason why oscar cant fill in for mata, and moses and marin for hazard, epecially considering FSW loves to rotate
Honestly, Marin-Oscar-Moses should be good enough to beat QPR, we certainly should give Mata and Hazard some rest for that one
http://www.bbc.co.uk/sport/0/football/20872514 really hard not to like Moyes hope he doesnt end up at Utd
I see it differently. He's obviously already signed a secret deal at Old Trafford and clearly doesn't want to upset his future star player: H. Webb.
He's somebody I would've liked to see more of this far in the season, but hopefully the club has some sort of plan for him. (pfft)
He was my first choice last summer and he remains my first choice now. I am guessing though he wont even get a look in which is a pity. Not sure how to sum up today....brilliantly poor? Some of the most infuriating players today (like Ram/Luiz/etc) were extremely poor but pulled a few class tricks from their bags. If you were like me seeing Luiz today made me appreciate Mikel all the more. January (or whenever he gets back) could be an extremely long/frustrating experience without him. We can wish for Falaco to come but I really doubt he would flourish here given the amount of hail-mary long balls we saw today. That isnt the type of he service he needs/demands. We do NEED a replacement for Torres though but I am sure that is coming in the summer and a new coach/regime.
He's not being offloaded. He wants a two-year contract. I think he's been offered one year. If he doesn't take it, he's open to negotiate a summer move. I love Frank; every Chelsea jersey I own has his name and number on it. He's also 35 in June.
Hazard's run and header created the winner. He drifts in and out, but he certainly had his moments. Every time we opened them up it seemed Hazard was involved. Jagielka is a terrific defender and had a very good game. Fair play to Benitez, but we have a terrific squad. We should be winning a lot of games with the players we have. Lest we not forget that Di Matteo was without the guy who scored both goals for us today for basically the entire stretch of games that got him fired. And I can confidently say that we did not deserve the three points today. Not that we were dominated by any stretch, but Everton gave at least as good as they got and Moyes' boys were unlucky not to grab a draw. Can't believe no one has mentioned that Anichebe completely mauled Azpilicueta to set up their goal. Far worse than the push off Suarez got away with on Ram in the Liverpool draw. There is absolutely no way that goal should have stood. Torres was terrible. I think that's all that really needs to be said. Consistently outpaced by 35-year-old Sylvain Distin and Johnny ********ing Heitinga. Embarrassing. Ramires was awful in the first 20 minutes, but then he settled down and really thrived at times in the hectic tempo that pervaded the match. It's still not his best position, but at least playing down the right allows him to get into the channel and drive at exposed backlines. When he plays in the pivot, his driving runs forward inevitably end up with him running into a wall, as he starts too far back to get in behind anyone. Much has been said about Luiz that I agree with, but I'll add that he takes forever on the ball. Playing midfield is so different because (a) you don't have the offside trap as an extra defender and (b) there are almost always players closing you down from both sides instead of just in front of you. The simple pass back to the keeper isn't really on much when playing in a congested midfield. Is Mikel injured? I miss him.
Well, how old are Scholes and Giggs? They still contribute. Henry scored an FA Cup GW and another goal last year during a brief loan, how old is he? Beckham could play for a good team if he chose to. Give Frank a two-year deal, then hold a big retirement gala for him in the spring of 2015.
He was the same age then than Frankie is now I believe, 34.5. Given he had 2 in 7 as a striker during that spell, it's probably not the strongest analogy in favour of bringing Frank back I don't think anyone disputes he can still be a factor (I would point to his leadership and experience more than his potential goals) but the bigger consideration is what salary is fair for a 36-37 year old (looking to the back end of the 2 year deal) and also what frank a) may want and b) what he could get elsewhere. The galaxy for example could comfortably afford around six figures a week and other clubs would throw money at him too, likely more than we, unfortunately, will.
I agree with most point here regarding Chels' play today, but keep in mind how HARD the Everton squad was playing at the start of each half, especially the first. Moyes clearly wanted to give our players zero SPACE. No matter how technical and good our MF might be, if 11 players are pressing the ball well - its hard to break out and not turn the ball over. Sometimes its the best option to kick the ball up to no one to just to get a chance to reset. I would have usually expected to turn a goal or two of the counter against such tactics but they just didnt happen today.