Chelsea vs Newcastle Match Analysis

Chelsea Starting XI: Cech (c); Ivan, Cahill, D Luiz, Cole; Mik, Meir; Mata, Hazard, Bert; Torres.

Formation: 4-2-3-1

First Half:

Commentator “thing about Chelsea is they only put one person in the box when Lampd's not playing”

Good play between Bertrand and Mata

Bertrand trying the early ball but Torres outnumbered

Chelsea is dominating possession

Newcastle dangerous in the counter attack but haven't had the chance

10 Min

Cahill-Luiz pair looks solid so far

Hazard has been working his usual magic centrally, Mata alright on the wing

18 min: Torres with lay-off to Bertrand nearly a goal

20 min

Player tracking

21 min: Torres wins a PK

22 min: GOAL Hazard; scores

CFC 1-0 Newcastle

Hazard's first goal for Chelsea

Commentator says Hazard is the first player who isn't Drogba or Lampard to score a PK (outside of a shout-out) since Ballack in 2008

30 min

Torres not showing the drive to beat the last defender; Seems more content to lay it off

38 min: Chelsea with 60% possession so far; 88% passing to Newcastle's 83%

40 min

4 added minutes

45+3 min: GOAL Torres from out of box to the top right; Hazard assist

CFC 2-0 Newcastle

HALF TIME:

• Hazard is best man on the pitch again with 96% passing, 1 shot, 1 assist
• Torres counters his yellow with an extra time goal
• Hazard-Torres our best 10-9 partnership at the moment
• Chelsea beginning to form a trend of good passing, less pressure on the defense
• Mikel with 100% on aerials won, 100% pass accuracy which means what is sometimes a weak DM area is somewhat secure
• Interesting point floating around Twitter: Torres fouled, Hazard scores PK then Hazard assists and Torres scores

Second Half:

Chelsea are winning the midfield battle; more passing, more aerials won

50 min

52 min: Ben Arfa gets his first shot off but not even on target; one of only 3 shots Newcastle has had

Complacency beginning to show as per usual; possession is more equal

60 min

Cheeky attempted pass by Torres as his confidence is looking to return

67 min: Ramires IN Mata OUT

70 min

Much calmer second half

80 min: Bertrand having a go from outside and winning a corner

88 min: Lampard ON Meireles OFF

89 min: Luiz head collides with Ba

90 min

4 min added when play continues

Game is being closed out. No ambition left for Newcastle

FULL TIME: CFC 2-0 Newcastle

Positives

• Hazard looks the best behind Torres in this formation
• Solid Mikel performance meant top of the box wasn't as vulnberable
• Luiz-Cahill pairing was also pretty solid; Cahill particularly put in a very good performance
• Clean sheet against a team that generally scores on a lot of teams

Negatives

• No real shining negatives this match

MOTM: Fernando Torres

• Stats:
  • 67% Pass Accuracy
  • 70% Aerials Won
  • 45 Touches
  • 1 shot (1 goal)
  • 2 Dribbles Won
• Hazard could just as easily gotten this too (Barclay's MOTM). Maybe he actually should be. No actually Hazard should be but I wanted to give some credit to Torres. In my opinion, this could be marked as the start of the Torres revival. He still needs to try and beat the last defender more than he does but his assertiveness led to a penalty and a goal. Great movement.
  
  
  

Hazard Watch (Actual MOTM)

• Barclay's MOTM
• Stats (this match)
  • 89% Pass Accuracy
  • 67 touches
  • 4 shots (1 goal)
  • 2 Dribbles Won
• Stats (season)
  • 3 Apps
  • 1 Goal
  • 4 Assists

Citi 97.3 fm Analysis

Hey readers,

So yesterday was an interesting night. Through the wonders of Twitter I had gotten in contact with a host on a private radio show in Ghana called Citi 97.3 fm . Yesterday, I was on the show (through Google+) doing halftime and post match analysis. This was a wonderful opportunity to start getting application from watching matches. You can go ahead and check them out. The post match turned out better on my part because I was more organized in my thoughts. Hopefully, over time, my analysis can be more precise and I get more opportunities to apply it. Stay tuned for more posts. Great to see people checking out my posts more.

Cheers,
Daniel

Wigan vs Chelsea Match Analysis

This is a bit of insight into how I track the matched. I look more at the trends and way people are playing rather than the pure numbers. There are other places to find statistics. Enjoy:

Chelsea Starting XI: Cech; Ivanovic, Luiz, Terry, Cole; Lampard, Mikel; Hazard, Mata, Bertrand; Torres

Formation: 4-2-3-1

First Half:

2 min: Ivanovic GOAL

CFC 1-0 Wigan

Build up to goal was smooth

Nice turn in center of field by Hazard for the goal

5 min: PENALTY on Hazard

Lampard to take penalty

7 Min: Lampard GOAL (PK)

CFC 2-0 Wigan

Ivanovic still kind of slow on the wing defensively

More often than not, Luiz drops right to cover Di Santo

Mikel looking strong in DM

Formation being held well

Defensive headers have been very good

Mata playing deep up and down the right wing

Bertrand his been invisible; Playing more as a second LB than a LW

Dip in quality since the PK

A lot of fouls on Mata and Hazard in the middl eof the park

Many of them from behind

33 Min: Possession: CFC 55% Wigan 45%

34 Min: Luiz yellow card for challenge on Wigan player

“Torres needs to wake up” as people are saying

HALF TIME: Wigan 0-2 CFC

Second Half:

Luiz starts reckless again

Terry slowly getting injured over course of match

Mikel has been very composed

Chelsea in charge and controlled

64 Min: Oscar ON Hazard OFF

A lot of good switching of field in build up

Casual play led to a turn over a few times

83 Min: Meireles ON Mata OFF

Calm closing by Chlesea

FULL TIME: Wigan 0-2 CFC

Positives:

• Mikel solid on top of the back 4; Not so many shots from top of the box
• Hazard with a wonderful debut
• Oscar showed pace and good touch when he came in

Negatives:

• Looks like Mata may need more rest because he didn't look 100%
• Torres was invisible still
• Still need a right back with pace; Ivanovic will be a liability against faster, quality wingers
• Tightness in general in the back is not as complete as it should be; Could get sorted out when right back is sorted out and we have less crosses coming in against us

MOTM: Eden Hazard

• 1 assist (Ivanovic goal 2')
• 1 chance created
• 5 take-ons
• 1 penalty won (Scored by Lampard 6')
• Fouled 4 times
• 74% Pass Completion (23 Passes)

Opportunity in the U-21's

All that follow the world's most popular sport know that this weekend was a big weekend as most seasons finally get underway. The EPL opened up in an entertaining way that at half-time seemed would be dry of goals. Surely enough, West Brom Albion piled three on Liverpool, A Dempsey-less Fulham knocked five past Norwich and Swansea, who in season previews have been considered relegation candidates, slotted another five goals in against Queen's Park Rangers. But this is not the focus of my post (if you couldn't tell from the title). My focus is the introduction of the first national U-21 league.

Even within the first weekend of it's iteration, it is already getting praise and with good reason too. I think this is brilliant. With the amount of money and pressure to succeed that the large teams have, the gap has been growing between success at the youth level and breaking into the first team. There are countless stories of Player X who was in Arsenal or Chelsea academy and was heralded as the next Henry or next Lampard only to start their real career in the nPower League 1 because they are 20-21 and not in the first team plans. in Chelsea's example, we are already seeing Lucas Piazon who would break into a mid-table team within a season or half a season that is clearly on a level above his peers, or Josh McEachran who fans for the last 2-3 seasons has said should be breaking into the squad. The problem is that when you spend money buying more people in  that position for more immediate success, then you cannot grow these players. Reserves has been a lot of money for something that is sort of just a layaway for players not in the first team plans. With this new system, players are segmented more and allowed to grow together. This is already in play internationally and has worked well. Countries like Mexico have been coming up with young talent as a squad.

From a manager/coaches perspective, it is much easier to assess a player when they are put in these segments. It effectively bridges the gap. Also, as the commentators at the Chelsea vs Man City match had stated, the fans are excited to see the academy boys in a more formal setting. It also gives them an more of an introduction into what a match feels like in a way you can't be taught. One guest on Soccer Am today said that the extra year or two of important game time that is allowed with this U-21 system is crucial because it took him until around 21 to start being a class player and that he was lucky that his contract worked out where he was awarded that extra half a season or so but that is not the case with many players. And on a final note, I was entertained by the match and could definitely see this bringing back a bit of club loyalty and bring more attention to players hitting that time in their career.

So to sum it up, I fully approve of this new move that was taken and hope it succeeds in bridging this gap between youth and first team. The matches also appear on the online streamed sites I use so I will be sure to tune in and I suggest you do too.

Daniel

The Chelsea Attack Option

With the recent signing of Robin Van Persie to Manchester United, I've been starting to see and hear a lot of talk about striker pairings in the EPL. While right now I think Aguero-Tevez is the only true very good and realistic pairing, people have been analyzing the prospect of Rooney-RVP and maybe Giroud-Podolski. This has inevitably led to questions about what Chelsea have in mind. As much as people are confident Torres can bring goals, they are also sizing up our goal threats with the other top teams and thinking 'Is this all we've got?' Now as you all know, we are still linked to Hulk and Cavani, and Victor Moses looks like he should be headed over any day now. They real question is do we actually need a striker duo or just a back-up/interchangeable player?

I believe Di Matteo will think a lot about this question because the biggest thing about two strikers is that he would have to restructure the system. Chelsea for the last several years has relied heavily on midfielders and defenders to sneak in goal and rack up the tally. The defense has also always been solid enough that this was all that was necessary. With the slightly less air-tight defense and a much less defensive team in general, will this be the time that Chelsea attack as a system is taken more seriously than the pass-to-Drogba and take-set-pieces of yesteryear? Right now the midfield is bubbling with creativity but this needs to translate to goals. I think it's been tough because the actual team is only getting together now and it will depend on how this network of Oscar, Hazard, and Mata plays off each other and the striker. Thankfully, transfer season closes in two weeks and we will hopefully have this sorted by then but trusting CFC I'm sure there will be transfer day drama.

(Post also on The Chelsea Blog)

How I Support Two Teams

I'm sure some would call me a plastic because it impossible to support two teams in the same sport and country. Surely I'm just looking for glory. Well here is how it actually is.

Charlton
Let me start by stating I wasn't born into a football family. I don't have parents who already had the kits and were regularI'm a south east Londoner. Charlton Athletic was always my local team. What I love about CHarlton is that it's a family club. I've only been to two matches (one which I can remember this past fall vs Yeovil Town) but what I really liked is that the Valley is a warm and cozy little stadium and the fans are friendly. I got my first Charlton shirt last season and when I wore it around town and even at Stansted airport it would strike up conversation. Maybe the guy working at boots talking about how he was just at the last cup match or a sales clerk talking about how they live right by the stadium. And at the match I sat in the upper stands by the drums which was entertaining. I also was pleasantly surprised by how many families were there and into it. Grandmother's making jokes to their grand kids about players and commenting on "Chrissy Powell's Red Army." With the slightly more intense atmosphere of the bigger clubs, it's nice to have a calm but lively and appreciated group of supporters so close to home. I have been schooling in the USA for over a decade now and in that time Charlton has only been in the EPL for 3 seasons. Also the following is not that large at all in the USA since they aren't a big club. So for the longest while I just had no context for the club. For the longest time they were just a team I used on FIFA. Since I've been at Dartmouth, I've gotten more of a chance to go back to London and I've started to pick up the culture again. I like being able to watch teams I support so I really hope they become an EPL team soon so I can actually see matches and get to know the players. I think Chris Powell has done a great job and he is truly loved by the fans. I hope for much success in the Championship and with the revamped site and my new follows and followers on Twitter in the Charlton community I will be sure to try and keep up this season.

Chelsea
My supporting Chelsea was a gradual process because like I said, I don't come from a family that really supported an team. My extended family are Arsenal fans mostly as is the case if you're in south east London and want to support a big London team. As I got older schooling in America, I started watching more Premier League. I used to like a some of the Man U players (Giggs, Beckham, etc) but never fully became a fan. My neighbor in London had always tried to get me to be a Gooner. In some ways I almost could have been. But the Mourinho style and combination of players really drew me to Chelsea. Also th amount of England players in positions I find tactically crucial. I am a huge Lampard fan (he's one of my top 3 players) and I also really like Ashley Cole. As I watched more EPL, I wanted a team to support from London so I could still be close to the home stadium whenever I returned. It was a bit of a debate between all the usuals but, gradually, I started watching more Chelsea but I didn't really fully favor a team. A few years back I started getting the shirts and the gear and all that. I think one thing that drew me to Chelsea is that it is almost always a close match. It feels like you are an England fan. I will be happy however when the off the field controversy becomes less with the players. It seems like the youth are a bit more sensible and Roberto Di Matteo has been some good PR for the club because people respect him.

Conclusion
So to sum it up, Charlton will always be a family club representative of where I've grown up in the earlier parts of my life and the culture of my home area while Chelsea represents the tactical side of my support and the kind of interest I could only get with more understanding of the sport. The two rarely meet so I never really have to pick. And with they way money is dividing the sport right now I'm sure I will have kids before they become truly equal teams so no worries there. And in the end it doesn't really matter if anyone thinks that's plastic. I get the gear, I go to matches when I can so I consider myself a fan.

Yours truly,
Daniel

Good News Regarding My Chelsea Posts

Hey faithful readers,

Just posting to let you know that now I will be contributing to a Chelsea blog:

http://thechelseablog.org/

in place of my Chelsea posts on this one. There are some good posters at that level but it will be a fun opportunity to reach more people. I will still post about football in general and about travels and all the other usual but my Chelsea specific posts will more often than not end up there if they are taken. I will have the link at the top of my page to the blog. You should start to see a few things from me on there relatively soon (a few of my old posts included). I will notify you all when that is the case.

Stay tuned,
Daniel

What I Got From Chelsea F.C. vs Seattle Sounders

Yesterday, I did not expect I would actually be awake for Chelsea's first preseason match since it was at 3:30 a.m. Munich time. Surely enough, I did stay awake and it was worth it primarily for the first 45 min at least. The starting line-up saw the likes of Josh McEachran (a fan fave that really hasn't had a lot of opportunities) and Romelu Lukaku (a big purchase that didn't really see any first team action last season) playing along side new boys Eden Hazard and Marko Marin. I will not recap the match because you can find that basically everywhere else. I will, however, say why this showing excited me a lot about the new Chelsea.

I will not say too much about defense. It was shabby but during the season the Chelsea defense causes few serious problems. The first goal just cam from McEachran passing directly to the attacker. The game really wasn't about defense because with Terry, Cahill, Cole in the mix we are pretty secure. Chalobah and Hutchinson put in good shifts and I will be happy to see more from them in the future.

The midfield was where the magic happened. This is the first match these guys have played together (and for some in a Chelsea shirt) and for the short amount of time they've had together, Marin and Hazard played off of each other very naturally. Hazard was likened to Joe Cole for how sturdy his is through his cutting runs in midfield. There was a lot of hype about Hazard and he has already gotten a few good awards to his name but seeing him at Chelsea was entertaining. That is the biggest difference right now is that between the cutting runs through the park by Hazard and Marin's Robben-esque cuts and runs into the box, we will most likely be spending a lot of time in the opponents third. Adding Mata to these two would make a small but very dangerous three in that 4-2-3-1 and would be a dream for any striker worth his salt. If Torres does not find his way to the top of the score list this season he is not meant for this team. Josh was magnificent in the beginning getting in and stealing the ball to set up the first goal. It's a shame his confidence took a hit when he let up that bad pass but he has a bright future as many would say. Kevin de Bruyne showed a lot of raw promise but needs some polishing, especially on his shots. He will probably go on loan for a season or two but I expect good things from him.

The players like Essien, Mikel, and Lampard will be crucial in this midfield for size, tackle, and playmaking ability. You could tell they feel more expressive just by being in the mix with these young players. Lukaku played very well off of these two, netting his two goals. He in my opinion just needs play time plain and simple. He will be a fast and physical player with a pretty good shot. He just needs to play and make it natural.

For these reasons, I believe Chelsea will have a great run in taking back the Premier League and defending the Champion's League and even if it doesn't all happen this year, we will finally play the beautiful football Roman has been searching for.

KTBFFH,
Daniel

Is Transparency In Athletics Really What We Want?

I don't want to really talk about this John Terry ordeal much longer but it brings me to another topic to talk about today. The main topic I would like to touch on is the use of social networking with athletes and how it contributes or detracts from the idea of athletes being role models. I find this very interesting because athletics and technology are two things I'm seriously thinking about going into but also because I feel this specific aspect is getting more relevant and important.

As it is, there is already a war going on about enforcing sportsmanship in professional athletics whether it be against foul language, unnecessary violence, or racism. Many argue that these actions on the field are picked up by the youth and thus will be perpetuated. To draw an example from the Terry ordeal, Rio Ferdinand's agreement in referring to Ashley Cole, Terry's black teammate who testified for Terry, as "Choc Ice" over Twitter brings about something that has become a bit of a trend for athletes and fans alike. Twitter provides a very fast and open way to react to and talk about current events. The problem is that it is very public and even though you can delete tweets (as Ferdinand did), there is still usually enough time for eager followers to screen shot your comments. If you think mildly ambiguous actions on the field can be impressionable on the youth, I would say rude comments over the internet are just as direct if not more. The growing number of athletes coming to Twitter is beginning to make it harder to keep up the "role model" fight because you get to hear their unedited thoughts and for some it really doesn't do them any justice. We all know that many professional athletes come from somewhat bad or rough backgrounds so to me there is an understanding that in the heat of the match things will get rough. This new transparency over Twitter has exposed a new battlefront for which actions can actually be taken for "banter" that gets too offensive.

I am curious to see whether this becomes a vehicle for making an example out of athletes. If they could use a shady Youtube video against John Terry then it makes a lot of sense that if someone actually tweets something offensive, action should be taken. Will this then bring more control from the clubs over who can be on Twitter? Will this then finally make people give up on the idea of athletes as role models or will it actually help the cause by giving another way to punish the bad examples? These are questions I'm anxious to see answered.


Daniel

A Terry-ble Look At Race Relations

As most of you probably know, current Chelsea and sometimes England captain John Terry was found not guilty on racial abuse allegations towards QPR defender Anton Ferdinand (brother of Terry's England teammate, Rio Ferdinand). The reason I choose to post about this is because while I obviously dislike racism, I think it's somewhat hypocritical the way this case came about and how this represents a shift to a society where things are possibly to politically correct and "racism" can be used as an easy way of incriminating someone you don't like to begin with.

Let's begin with what I consider a racist. A racist to me is someone with racial motives for negatively discriminating or showing aggression towards another individual or group of people. All of us harbor a very slight amount possibly from lack of exposure to a race or a few bad instances. Just in the same way that people make mistakes and people make bad decisions time to time but are not considered that mistake, racism should be seen the same way. A non-racist individual can use a racist term and not be considered one if they have many interactions with said race and "racist behavior" is usually not a problem. Even if Terry had been found guilty, I wouldn't consider Terry a racist because he has a much longer history of good relations with black players, especially the ones on his team. He could very well just dislike Anton.

This brings me to another point, the only thing that even brought race into the phrase "black f***ing c**t" is the word black. It should be obvious to people that the real insult was every other part of the sentence. Identifying race doesn't make someone racist. This phrase if said is just offensive and should be treated as such. This is all on the basis that he actually said this as an insult since apparently he said those specific words because he was denying calling Anton this and the camera's just picked it up out of context.

This again brings me to yet another point. Anton had to be told he was "racially abused." Then after the charges are pressed, everyone considers Terry guilty because of previous reasons to dislike him that have nothing to do with his racial relations. Fabio Capello lost his job for trying to defend the captain under the legal perspective of "innocent until proven guilty." Now the verdict is out, so many people (many of them supposedly credible on the sport) are saying this is a bad day for football and it has set the sport back decades. They are basing this again on something that was brought to court and not proven guilty. I think the more embarrassing part of this is that a man faced with such a serious charge can not be found not guilty without still being guilty to the public. What was the point of the trial then? Should we just allow everyone who is charger with racial allegations to just be found guilty because it dealt with race regardless of truth or proof? That would raise the conflicts between races because it would be an easy out for black players. Terry went through everything as he legally should and won.

To summarize, the worst thing football can do is keep this ordeal going longer. I do not defend racists but they need to actually be a proven racist before I question my support. So in this case, I support John Terry, club and country.

Daniel

The Future of England

As the "Golden Generation" of English football is coming to a close and making way for the young stars such as Welbeck, Carrol, Ox, Wilshere, etc. and the German and Spanish machines (amongst others) are doing big things in the scene right now, I (as I'm sure some of you) am contemplating the effects of certain correlations between the strategies enforced in the youth squads and the adult squads.

Spain (just like Barcelona) seems to focus on replicating the formations and strategy of their adult team in their youth which makes it easy to call someone up when they get to the right age and another player gets old, out of form or injured. Another factor that plays into it is that after a while, the player will more likely than not end up Barcelona or Real Madrid. The recent acquisition of Jordi Alba is an example of this. It seems like anyone who is rising in Spain starts in their youth squad and goes through the Barca or Madrid youth system and then regardless of what they do or where they go for the next 5-10 years, they can be summoned on a whim and fall in line. Germany in some ways is similar but with a larger reliance on their excellent and efficient youth system.

This is obviously not the only factor because teams like Netherlands, Portugal, and Brazil do well without migrating they're players to certain club teams. My question is what does England need to do to get itself to match it's FIFA ranking and be considered an actual quality team and system? From what I've seen, it seems like our youth system isn't that bad at all. We seem to do well in youth tournaments. What could be responsible for what happens in senior squad tournaments. The recent showing at Euro's was pretty good but it wasn't very quality in the midfield or up front. The idea will be to get Walcott, Ox, McEachran, Wilshere, Welbeck, Carrol to form some team chemistry before they're in their 30's worrying about form and if they are in their last tournament. Would consolidating the teams the play for in the EPL do that? Would it involve them switching leagues (I doubt that since most of the international players who play outside their country come to the EPL, Serie A or La Liga)? Does it really just come down to an organized national manager? Maybe all of these need to be maintained in order to produce a winning, impressive squad. We will have to wait and see.

Daniel

That Crazy Ladotelli: Legend in the Making

I would like to point at first that I am not a bandwagon Balotelli fan. Also I do believe he has been a very immature player a lot of his very early career. The timing of this post is because this could be the biggest weekend of his career to date (even bigger than all those league wins he's been a part of). Still reading? Let me explain then.

Racism in football has been one of the biggest battles. This is especially true in Europe because of immigration problems. During low economic periods especially, Europeans tend to get xenophobic. Mario Balotelli has been very out-spoken in his opposition of racism which is one of the many factors responsible for his move from Italian club football. The thing is, he is still playing for Italy nationally and he is being cut no slack by people that are supposed to be supporters.

The reason why this will be such a big weekend/week/tournament for Balotelli, for Italy, and for black football players is as follows: At 21, Mario Balotelli is the first black player to play in a major tournament for Italy. He scored the two goals to send them to the final. Scoring a goal and Italy winning, or even him just playing a significant role will be monumental for his fight against racism. Then the ball is in the court of his "supporters." What we have seen over the course of the tournament is a player that is finally maturing. He was truly inspired in the match against Germany with a work rate that we have not seen from him to date. Though I am not a Manchester City fan, it would be nice to see this translate to a consistent performer.

But going back to the bigger picture, since I am not a Spain nor an Italy fan, I am hoping for an Italy win solely to see what happens next for Mario Balotelli in Italy if he wins them a trophy. I see a bright future for the guy and hope that his fans can be at least partially won over so they don't ruin what could be an exciting career in the making. There are no guarantees though as we've seen with the recent Ashley Cole and Ashley Young saga. Mario is different though because he is committed to not simply allowing supporters to be condescending and will do something as drastic as leave a match if he doesn't get some respect.

So here's to hoping Super Mario can make a difference!

Daniel

The State of Chelsea F.C.

Now I have been a Chelsea fan for a few years (just past the beginning of Mourinho era) and what initially drew me to Chelsea was the die hard defending and great long range shooting legendary mids. Drogba grew on me but it had never really been about the strikers. The last couple years have been an awkward time of transition for the club. The revolving door of managers, young players stalling in reserves or going on loan, random new transfers not fitting to any strategy. This will be the most exciting season in a couple years and couple be a start of the RDM era. There is a lot riding on this season.

First off is now that Roberto Di Matteo is not in the pressure cooker of saving the club, it will be interesting to see his policy on things like rotating new players and if (with his great man management skills) he can make what old guard players are left feel wanted even if they may need less play time. What is making this easier is that a lot of the fring old guard are dropping out so it really becomes play Cole a lot and rotate Bertrand, play Terry a lot with Luiz and Cahill learning from him, rotate Lampard but put him in big matches at least.

I am excited for Mata to finally not have to be almost solely responsible for the pace on offense (granted Ramires has been wonderful too). Hazard-Torres-Mata have the ability to work a lot like Gomez-Schweinesteiger-Ozil. A lot of pace and creativity in midfield to a striker who makes good runs and is eager to work with the ball.

This will be the biggest year in Torres' recent career. He will have a tirade of opportunities now with the assist kings he has in behind him. If he survives this season (no serious injury or transfer) Torres must hit 15-17 goals this season. There will be no excuse. Unless he turns those to assists and allows Mata or Hazard to have at it. It will be interesting to see this.

I will be happy to at least for a while not be considered a fan of the club that "killed football" but to play the attractive football that Roman has been craving.

These are the main reasons I can't wait for next season.

KTBFFH,
Daniel

My love of 3-4-3

So my first real post will be about the sport I talk about the most. Do not read if you have no interest in football/soccer. With the new found free time I had between the term ending and my coming travels I played a lot of FIFA. This included online which gets pretty brutal in higher divisions. After a while I started thinking a lot about formations. I have always been a proponent of 4 defenders because especially being English, playing in America, that is normal and what you are taught. In recent times though (especially watching Napoli this season) I have become a fan of the 3-4-3. This naturally led me to wonder, "Does anyone do this in lower level football/soccer?"

I played through high school (not on varsity due to a bit of politics) but in all my experience there was never even a questioning of the use of 4 defenders. It may be different in higher levels of youth play that I never encountered but I think it would be interesting to try out on a youth team regardless of level. Naturally, the fine details depend on the stamina and endurance of those wide mids and the exact formation of the top 3. This is one thing I think would be interesting to try out one day.


If anyone does have any feedback on this or other formations (like God forbid having 5 defenders) let me know.

Daniel