Rafa April Manager of the Month.

Rafa quite rightly deserves it, our recent league form has been really good. Only a draw to Liverpool.

What do you guys think about Xabi Alonso? I wouldn't mind him if his wage demand and transfer fee isn't too much. He is one of the best in the world in the position. Knows Torres's game well too.

Maybe a 2-3 year contract for him? Thinking for the long term with our youngsters.

Having someone like him in that position could do wonders for the team. I think he could fill that spot for a decent 3 years, while youngsters like Josh can be his understudy. Not to mention, experience is extremely important for that role and he has spent numerous years playing there at a very high level.

wage could be a problem though. Lamps has to make way for him.

This post has been edited by Zeuss1220: May 3 2013, 10:48 PM

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double post

This post has been edited by Zeuss1220: May 3 2013, 10:49 PM

if xabi came here, what will happen to mikel and essien? for me, i really wish we can bring pepe here. partner him with cahill and luiz can become permanent fixture at defensive mid. that guy truly the newest breed of defensive mid. an upgrade version of xabi with his speed, technique and ball winning ability. he looks like xabi+ramires kind of guy hehe

falcao rumor start to emerged again.. for once, i would like to have torres stayed here even with the arrival of falcao (or shurrle). he is a very good team player.

I'd like Pepe to be here. The new generation of bulldozer !

I dont think we need PEPE, we already have 4 world class CB, i dare to say in BPL, we have the best depth and quality in CB. And comparing PEPE and ALONSO is so wrong, ALONSO are not known for his defensive ability, he is well known for his long pass. He will be very good for us if we play counter attack football, but if we try to play possessive football and overload the opponent half then he is not much of use, especially against weaker them that put 10 man behind the ball. But i believe ALONSO would be most fans dream here for a good passer pivot. For me i wouldnt mind to have him here, even he didnt come i am pretty happy if LUIZ permanent given the pivot role, it would be a waste for LUIZ to be back at CB role now, after we saw what he can do with all his long shot cracking goal. We only have 1 vacant position for pivot to partner RAMIRES, to me RAMIRES is a must in the staring line up, we need his type of player that is full of energy for pressing and winning back the ball, not to forget too his burst run and goal scoring ability.

So which pivot combo do u guys prefer ?
LUIZ + RAM ?
ALONSO + RAM ?
FELLAINI + RAM ?



This post has been edited by chitchat: May 4 2013, 04:08 PM

fallaini + luiz

Amigo trio in AM, Afro duo in DM.

Will this Afro duo be too attacking minded? They will both be a physical present and ball winner in the air and ground. But if against counter attacking team not effective.

Remaining Fixtures:

May 5.........15:00 GMT........Manchester United(A)
May 8.........18:45 GMT........Tottenham Hotspur(H)
May 11.......11:45 GMT........Aston Villa(A)
May 15.......18:45 GMT........Benfica(N)
May 19.......15:00 GMT........Everton(H)

5 games in 2 weeks
It's the home stretch now, lets finish this season on a high.

having alonso would be good for us , but then lamps gotta go ... sad .
and about luiz being in dm , then with alonso at dm i can hardly see luiz given a chance at dm with ram/alonso/mikel being there , and maybe essien too

on ramires issue.. i do agree we need his energy and hardwork BUT only on certain matches only. he is certainly good but somehow, i see him not as intelligent in certain games. he do win a lot of balls but what did he do with the ball? how many chance are the ball ending up in good play?

if xabi is not good in defensive, then we don't need him right? he will be playing in DM position than defending ability is a must. these are the guys that will plucked the hole in the defense and to cover the flank before our wing back can get into position

haha those 2 afro gonna give us great advantage in high ball, because if the afros stand in front of the opponent, they have no chance, because those afros hair already block their view but i do agree both of them are not the hardworking type, so we still need a RAMIRES or ESSIEN in the middle to chase the opponent down.

Report shows that Barca is interested with David Luiz... and will be willing to fork out 40 million for our versatile defender.... I hope luiz stay

Icelandic league mia ??

on RAMIRES is depend how u see it, MAKELELE only do square safe pass, he dont offer creating attacking chances, as long as he win back the ball or press opponent to force them a bad pass, he already did his job. RAMIRES might not be as good as MAKELELE in defensive wise, but he offer other package, like those bursting run and goal scoring ability, also due to his attacking nature, sometimes when he win the ball back and try to do something with it but ended up losing the ball back to opponent. Cant really blame him for that, as we have been complaining about MIKEL doing safe passes and not contributing to attack. But one thing RAMIRES need to improve will be his first touch, we have seen his heavy touch losing the ball back to the opponent often.

i think ALONSO actual position is deep lying CM, he is not a DM type that pluck hole or do covering but his game do involve a lot on helping the defense. I also agree that some games we need more firepower, thus we seen LAMPARD been used. At the moment now our pivot, defensive covering type we have MIKEL and LUIZ, energy ball winner type we have RAM and ESSIEN, more firepower needed type only LAMPARD, so ALONSO can take up this role if LAMPARD is leaving.

http://www.futbol24.com/teamCompare/Icelan...Iceland/Armann/

iceland cup. nvr seen this in my entire life

31-0? that should be some new record huh?

Alonso + Ram = for ball possession game
Luiz + Ram = For balance game, both can attack and defend. And for quick counter game as Luiz and Ram both can do lung bursting runs.

Personally I like to see chelsea reverting back to 433
Cole, Cahill, Luiz, Azpilicueta
Mikel (DM), Ramires(CM), Oscar(AM)
Mata, Torres, Hazard

The midfield trio reminds us of the trio that Mourinho used.
Rmb Makelele (DM), Essien (CM) and Lamps (AM)?
Mikel replace Makelele as ball winner, Ramires replace Essien for his energetic display and odd goals scored, Oscar replacing Lamps as goal scoring midfield.

Plus I don't really see Fellaini fitting into our system whether it is 433 or 4231. Hope he wont be signed.

This post has been edited by briantwj: May 4 2013, 08:59 PM