OPINION | Merson "Diego Costa has to play for Chelsea today" - Do you agree?
Paul Merson believes that Diego Costa has to start against Bournemouth today because if he doesn't then Bournemouth could get somethi...
https://www.chelseadaft.org/2015/12/opinion-merson-diego-costa-has-to-play.html
Paul Merson believes that Diego Costa has to start against Bournemouth today because if he doesn't then Bournemouth could get something from Stamford Bridge this evening!
What do you think on this? He is what Merson (A Chelsea fan) said:
"Diego Costa has to play for Chelsea. If he doesn't I think Bournemouth could get something.
Eddie Howe could set them up to squash the play and force Chelsea into playing it long. If they are forced to go long Eden Hazard, Pedro, Willian, and Oscar are not going to win any balls.
Bournemouth will be buoyed by the late goal they got against Everton. It was a big goal and something they can build on but it's not ideal for them to have to travel to Stamford Bridge straight away.
If Howe can get his tactics right and press Chelsea they will cause Jose Mourinho's side a few problems. If they don't it will be a comfortable win for the home side."
No disrespect to Eddie Howe or to his players, if they came to Stamford Bridge tonight and looked to push up, press high and squeeze the play, we have such creative ability in the side and pace in our attacking areas that we should be able to pick them off with balls in behind to create all sorts of problems for them.
In a way, I hope they do come out like that tonight. As for Diego Costa? I am still no 100% certain he should be starting because forgetting his antics on the bench last week, his overall contribution in games including his movement, has not been good enough at all.
You look at the Costa situation from the outside and you would hope that having him sit there on the bench for the whole game last week, it would have really got to him, so much so that he comes out fighting this week in training, putting the effort in with his head down to prove to the manager that he deserves to be playing.
Jose Mourinho spoke of Costa in his press conference yesterday and said of the past weeks training:
"Very good. Very good. I cannot say better than ever because, normally, he trains very well.
But a good week for him. Not difficult. I didn't ask him (about Sunday), but he trained very well. That's all that matters to me, that he trains very well.”
So, it seems that Jose has got the right reaction in training this week from the big man. Is that going be enough for him to force his way back into the side tonight?
What do you think? Do you agree with Paul Merson that if Costa doesn't start, we could struggle to get a result?
This is the worst I have seen Chelsea play for a long time.
ReplyDelete2 things have to happen.
1. JM fires Costa, Fabregas and Ivanovic. He brings in Ruben Loftus Cheek, Kennedy, Dave, and starts again.
2. JM goes.
Having just taken a bit of time to digest this match,,I don,t think your far off the mark,,,last 15mins,I could see us getting a sucker/punch,,and to be fair,,offside or not,,Bournemouth worked there socks of for it.I,m not one to normally knock JM,but he again did to little to late..he seemed bereft of idea,s,as to what was needed,which I,m afraid to say,I find quite alarming,and unexpected from JM..as many of us suspect,something seriously wrong here,surely RA,won,t tolerate this for much longer...ah well the small/glasse,s are beckoning for a JB,might help a bit...can take a loss,,but just no light at the end of the tunnell,that I can see....
DeleteI've been a huge Mourinho fan but the one thing that will affect my sleep tonight was Jose's post match comment that he only knows one way to do his job.
DeleteHe is coming across more and more as being one dimensional in his approach to coaching his team and i'm reminded of this definition of insanity - Continuing to do the same things and expecting a different outcome.
Please Jose, change things because the current approach isn't working.
Build something new and exciting using young hungry players who are passionate about Chelsea Football Club rather than money grabbing foreign mercenaries.
If it takes a couple of seasons I for one say 'no problem' and if Jose's not for changing then it's probably time to find a different coach.
With you blueboy7,,But maybe Porto,apart,it,s never been Jose way of doing thing,s,,as we know he prefers,;The Finished Article ; both you me and somerset above,are singing from the same page,,now I have never won a prem/lge,or euro/cup,,,but I think I know when something isn,t working..It,s just alarming how this season is going,,a lot of question,s need to be asked,and answered,,,are the player,s we have as good as we thought,,do we let youth have it,s day,and so on,,this season is already cooked,,champs/lge winners,a miricle might occur,,,fa/cup,,4th/spot,,??just don,t see it.Having said all that ,it is CFC we are on about,and it just seems that this is a part of our make/up,,how many times have we seen it over the decades,and yet here we are again saying let,s do a rethink,and start again..hate to think what will happen if/when the New Stadium work start,s..But the most worrying aspect for me has been Jose,reaction to this whole situation we find ourselves in,,,won,t be long I fear until we start begging Big Sam to come and dig us out...I,m just gutted about all this,I expected this season, to continue from last with a chance of another CL/Trophy,,been brought down to earth very quickly..
DeleteOK, I think I have worked out our tactics! When we have the ball in midfield we invite the opposition to take their time to saunter back and pack their defensive line while we give them plenty of time by showing off our skills by passing back and forth across the midfield until we finally try to breach their packed defence, without success. Opposition managers must be delighted with us because if I can work it out I am sure they have??
ReplyDeleteOur defensive system is to avoid the tackle wherever possible then go the opposite way of the attacker. The many times they ran past us was mind numbing. I would advise RA not to rush ahead with the vast expenditure on an increased number of seats as they will not be needed in the Championship?
OK, I think I have worked out our tactics! When we have the ball in midfield we invite the opposition to take their time to saunter back and pack their defensive line while we give them plenty of time by showing off our skills by passing back and forth across the midfield until we finally try to breach their packed defence, without success. Opposition managers must be delighted with us because if I can work it out I am sure they have??
ReplyDeleteOur defensive system is to avoid the tackle wherever possible then go the opposite way of the attacker. The many times they ran past us was mind numbing. I would advise RA not to rush ahead with the vast expenditure on an increased number of seats as they will not be needed in the Championship?
Today I read Jose forecasts a top 6 finish if not a top 4? How does he intend to achieve this? Does he have a magic switch to throw to suddenly start winning points? The way the team are playing now is not an improvement to earlier games this season, I see no signs of us improving, either tactically or with more individual skills. Is he really able to change the situation, so far he does not seem to have a clue?. We may want to trust because of the past victories but that is no guarantor of the future. Also how do other teams buy quality players at reasonable prices? There are some impressive performers in the Premiership how do our experts miss them?
ReplyDeleteMike, your tactic comments about our slow approach to attacking the opposition are so true imo too. I feel sure it's quite deliberate, the plan being to catch them out with a sudden change of pace. but, as you say, by the time we change pace they have 10 players behind the ball.
ReplyDeleteIs Jose a one trick pony? I certainly hope not but maybe a change of formation to 433 may help us to transition the play quicker?
At the moment there's a weight of evidence building to suggest Jose's effectiveness at a club doesn't exceed three years.
Let Jose find his way out of this one. Roman has done the right thing by not firing him. He would have walked out of the front door with 30 million in his pocket.The season looks lost. Ideally we should be looking at a top 10 position for now and then build on it hopefully for a top 6.
ReplyDeleteI am with in that I am pleased Roman has not knee jerk reacted but what seems blindly obvious to many others does not seem to register with Jose.He is not reacting to the present situation. IMO he is in dreamland if he thinks the players will suddenly begin playing like they did at the start of last season, there were many signs of possible problems towards the end of last season, we kept our nerve but only just. Jose is a legend but so are others who have failed in the end. I will always support Chelsea but it gives me no pleasure to see how they are playing now.
DeleteI think that as fans we should aim to have a bigger say in how Chelsea FC is currently run. Abramovich will be very nervous here, as he will not want to be seen as a tyrant, wielding the axe on the most successful manager the club has ever seen.
ReplyDeleteThe way out for all, is for these fans forums to join together and issue an open letter to the board, JM and RA.
We want to see JM managing the club, but we want him to develope our team around our impressive youth. Sell the prima donnas and recall all loaned players back to the team. We have an outstnding collection of youth that we have never seen before. It reminds one of the Manchester team of giggs, neville, Beckham etc.
The choice would then be for JM to decide if he is the "one" to build the legacy at Chelsea. If he is not, then he should do the best thing and resign. We would then need to bring in a manager that would aim to develope our team based our our talented youth.
As a result, we will ALL have a clear view where Chelsea FC is going.
Excellent idea, but will they ever give it a try??
DeleteAgree too but it's highly unlikely to happen. Those who run the club seem unprepared to accept we may need to take a step back to really move forward.
DeleteI hate to disagree with so many folk whose opinion I respect but it's a ridiculous idea. Chelsea employ numerous staff at all levels that are professionals in their field. We are nothing but a bunch of amateurs that happen to love the club. I'd love to see a team full of Chelsea youngsters giving it their all for the love of the club but it's a romantics dream. There needs to be a balance between the "now" and the "future" in order for success to be maintained and the money rolling in. We have no idea what is required to manage such a vast business or what the objectives of the football side need to be, let alone how best to achieve it. To be frank, if those in power didn't laugh at such an idea, I'd be really worried. If they don't believe they know best, then we've got the wrong people in charge.
DeleteAre you trying to tell me that romance is dead!
DeleteSeriously though, I take your point about balance but we see very little of that in the direction of bringing younger talent through.
Romance dead?.......Never! My point was really regarding us having more influence in running the club. I'm just about to get on the phone to Apple and tell them how I'd like to see them run their next marketing campaign; what are the odds?
DeleteIf you're there tonight, be lucky. I wont be watching, nor listening, nor checking, just sitting in the corner touching all that is lucky and praying it works.