Pre-Season Fixture: July 18th, 2012 - Seattle Sounders vs Chelsea FC

I certainly agree we overpaid for him but not as much as some are saying. Lukaku was seriously in demand and Anderlecht knew that, he was always going to be overpaid for. I do rate Dembele higher as well, my point being that Belgium's striking options were not SO weak that they had to throw a 16 year old in there in desperation... I just actually think it's because he's talented, and we spent the money on him because of that talent.

That 18 million definitely could've helped us with another target last season but I really think he could be that good. We wait and see I guess.

Wow, forget he was even in the team, that is a strange one

If there's any truth to the Fulham loan deal, that would be an ideal situation for him. Stays in the premier league and should hope to get a decent amount of playing time there.

Yeah, fair point.

I'm not sure about Oscar because I haven't seen enough of him. Isn't he more of a Kaka-style, fast, great touch and with some silky skills kind of forward? My impression of Lakaku is that he's more in the Drogba-style, 'uprooting trees', bullying defenders style of player. Y'know, the sort of fella that's absolutely unplayable on his day.

I might be wrong though.

Bamford isn't with the squad. or if he is, he wasn't listed on the teamsheet. i would like to see him play too though.

Dembelé wasn't really considered a striker any longer in our set-up. Even before Jol turned him into a central midfielder. Mirallas played more as a wide forward (on the right) at Olympiacos. Vossen is used to playing off a more physical second striker. Lukaku's real rival for the CF spot on our NT is De Camargo. TBF, I don't believe either of them is fit to lead the line in a 4-3-3 for us. Not yet anyway, in the case of Lukaku. Which is why Wilmots tried the CF-less system vs. England, with the front four all switching positions. Wasn't exactly a huge success, but I hope to see it again. It's better to try something new then going through a never-ending carousel of failing CFs.

Oh, he HAS to stay in the EPL if he's ever going to be any use to us. What's the point of loaning him out to another league to see how he does there!!! He's just come from another league. We might as well have left him where he was if that was the intention.

What was his huge asset in our league is now his detriment in the premier league: his reliance on his speed and power. He'd rarely be up against physical specimens who could match him for pace and stature in the Jupiler league. There's plenty of those in the premier league. I do think it's a bit premature to call him a bust. Even Drogba needed a few seasons to adjust to the premier league, and he was nearly a decade older when he originally arrived.

it was great seeing the blues play again. can't wait for the season. no questions with Hazard, he looks to be the player everyone thought he would be. I personally think Marin will have quite a part to play in the squad this year. he looked very lively in the first half hour and most of the half.
I thought Josh played very well until the giveaway which is a shame because he did an excellent job tracking his man back to get that ball in the first place, knowing he has defensive duties in that role, and maybe i'm giving him too much credit as it's a pass you don't make, but the pitch really seemed to bother a lot of players and a lot of passes were weighted way too lite, and i have to think the pitch played a part. it was grabbing the ball a lot. as for Lukaku, i personally thought he showed a lot. he had two chances running at goal and put them both away. i also didn't think his touch was THAT bad. he made intelligent runs to set up the through balls that came to him. maybe he didn't get involved enough, but he's also a CF that supposed to be ready to go when called on, and for me, he was. Torres has changed his game some to get more involved because he wasn't getting any chances otherwise. he's by no means a finished product, but i think you can see the talent. if he keeps progressing, in a couple of years i think we'll see a much improved player. we have to keep in mind too that he was afforded little opportunity to progress at all this past year.

overall, it was just great to see everyone in action. can't wait for KDB's first screamer.

http://www.weaintgotnohistory.com/2012/7/19/3169471/chelsea-vs-seattle-sounders-tactics-notes

To be frank that is what bothers me about the Lukaku purchase. We look to be changing the entire system from the non-drogba style to the barca style. Lukaku does not fit there for me.

I wouldnt break out the jump to conclusions map just yet, there are more than 2 styles of football, we didnt look anything like Barca

Oh we definitely didn't. But if we are to believe the news about what Roman thinks and the buys we are making, we seem to be heading there. I want Lukaku to pan out too btw.

I thin Roman wants more attacking intent in our style, but I dont think, Barcelona's style will be implemented. Marin, Hazard, Moses(if signed), Ramires look like a team built to run with the ball on the break. I'd be more interested in seeing a high tempo team, than a slow keep away style, but we shall see I suppose

We're a fun team to watch. I never knew just how big Lukaku was until he walked by me. Beast! He could be a DE in the NFL. Hazard and Marin impressed in 1st-half. I thought Josh was gonna be MOTM until he brain-farted that pass straight to Montero. Cahill imprressed me most in 2nd-half. What a fine addition he is. Wow, I'm dragging today, got to go rest. We seem much more fun to watch based on this one friendly.

Not Barca - think Real Madrid under Jose. In fact, that's probably far and away the best comparison - a modified 4-2-3-1 that relies on a downright frightening counter attack with very fast players other than one pivot who sits deep and sprays passes (Xabi), which is probably where DiMatteo will want Frank to play. In that system, there can definitely be room for Lukaku, so long as he develops a better touch.

As for the game.......Marin needs to be careful not to become a one trick pony, but he clearly has skills. Was very impressed by Hazard; his movement is absolutely fantastic in that there's very little wasted motion. He knows what he wants to do with the ball and doesn't use unnecessary touches or fancy tricks, which is fantastic to see. And he's definitely got pace - went past a few defenders (granted, MLS) as if they weren't there a few times. The one player that pleasantly surprised me was Piazon; clearly not at home in the CF role, which is understandable, but when he picked up the ball from deep, had wonderful control and ability. Not sure how strong he is, which he'll need to work on, but his game reminds me of Kaka (though obviously I'm not suggesting he's as good).

All in all, a decent outing, especially considering we couldn't be arsed for most of the proceedings.
Oh, and Paulo must have incriminating photos of someone somewhere, right? Good servant for the club, but wow was that bad!

EDIT: It's so nice to see Chelsea show signs of a competent counter attack again. We haven't seen that for so many years now. The closest we got was watching Ramires outrun everyone. Now we actually have pace on the flanks and decent transition from defense to attack! Joy.

I think the formula is this: If you cost 18 million and your one on one move is to try and run through two defenders and then give up on the play and pout because you wost da widdle bally ball, well, then, good-bye. I've never seen a 19-year old with so little fire in his belly. Maybe that works with Sacha Klesjtan's genius distribution against Beerschot.

And what is this FIFA12 you keep referring to? You must do it an awful lot since it's all you talk about.

He's a lone striker, so if he loses the ball when up against two or three defenders, yes, he's going to stop chasing it, or else he'll be exhausted in 15 minutes. I have no idea how you can possibly draw the conclusions you have from watching him for half a friendly in pre-season and one start in England (we'll pretend those appearances on the right don't count, because they shouldn't). I was never his biggest fan nor did I really want that purchase, but for a young kid who's that big and that strong, the amount we paid wasn't unreasonable. Yes, lot's of young kids flame out, but so do lots of older players too! If he can learn to pick up his head while running and develop a better first touch, he has the possibility to be absolutely frightening given his power and speed. For that potential, yes, you have to pay.

Just watched a re-run of the Josh howler for their first goal and, whilst it was a SHOCKING pass, it occurred to me to ask, WTF's he doing back there anyway? The answer, watching it again, is that Essien and others are too far forward and Benayoun hasn't got into a decent defensive position when they have the ball. Also the defence hasn't moved across to cover the runs. This has pulled Ivan into a position that's too far advanced leaving Josh covering for a central defender.



As I say, that doesn't excuse a bad pass, (although they mentioned the pitch which was VERY slow by the looks of it), but there were other errors by players a lot more experienced than the kid.

As if Frank and Mikel never drop that deep! It was a terrible pass, and it's not the first time he's done this for the senior squad. It is what it is.

That guy never has a decent thing to say about Mikel. Honestly, I read that site a few times during our season and even in the CL final he said Mikel was poor defensively. Hell when we faced Barca at home and away, Meireles had a higher ratings. McEachran wasn't even playing as a holding player. He was playing as box to box CM. Along with 3 attacking mids and a forward. The cohesion was terrible as a result. Admittedly, Obi was not excellent by any means (don't know if it was fitness or him trying to pace himself), but you could see the frustration (Marin poor backpass) that the team was constantly conceding possession needlessly. Chelsea should have dominated midfield. Did a bit better second half though. Lamps and Essien kept shape very well and allowed the forwards to attack. If the DM's don't know when to sit and venture forward in a synchronized manner then they'll be killed on the counter attack.

A fundamental rule in football is to never pass the ball across your goal mouth when you defending. He could have just passed it back to Hilario. Or cut out wide to his right and tried to play a ball down the channel. He could even tried to switch the ball to Marin. Better to concede possession far away from the goal, then right in front of the goal mouth. Mikel did something similar against Liverpool and the pass from Cech was far worse.

Mikel often covers for people as he's more of a defensive midfielder but I don't recall too many occasions when Frank's been covering THAT far back when the ball is in the other teams half. That's when the positional error occurred. This was a simple lump up to an attacker by a winger and it shouldn't have caught THAT many players out of position.

Anyway, like I say, nothing detracts from the horrible nature of the pass. As you point out, that's what just it is

Of course, there's another point we might have to consider... that maybe with these more attacking, 'flair' midfielders, we might be caught with people too far advanced much as the Barca's and LeArse's of this world do

Even with the missed sitter, I liked what I saw from De Bruyne. I'm partial, though. As for Mikel, watch him when Montero gets his 2nd goal. I like Mikel, but he stopped defending and stood there and watched, giving Montero all the room he wanted.