Turnbull Cam

It's pretty well known that Man City have some of the best PR videos online. However, Chelsea's aren't half bad either! I love seeing these behind the scenes videos and hope you enjoy them too, although I'm not to crazy about Ross Turnbull's cameraman skills, I guess that's one of the main things we will miss without Kalou!

David Beckham on Chelsea

Chelsea TV interviewed Beckham after the match last night and I've managed to track down a bit of that interview. The MLS star only had good words to say about us!

MLS All Stars vs Chelsea Highlights

Prior to the match Roberto Di Matteo let the Chelsea fans know he had planned to use this match to give some of the more experienced players a run out. Barring Cech, who had the match off, he stuck to this. Although Chelsea didn't perform to their best Roberto and Chelsea seem happy with their performance as the match was seen as a way of refreshing some player who hadn't yet played. Hopefully we will be seeing more of the younger players again soon.
 Here are the respective line ups:

MLS All-Stars (4-4-2 Nielsen (Kennedy h-t); Beitashour, Collin (Valdes 35), DeMerit, Morrow (Corrales 55); Beckham (Farfan 21), De Rosario (c), Alonso (Beckerman 55), Donovan (Pontius h-t); Henry (Zusi 55), Wondolowski (Johnson 59).

Goals Wondolowski 20, Pontius 72, Johnson 90 


Chelsea (4-3-3): Hilario (Turnbull h-t); Ivanovic, Cahill (Chalobah 74), Terry (David Luiz h-t), Cole (Ferreira h-t); Essien (Mikel 60), Lampard (Meireles 60); Ramires (Hazard 60), Marin (Piazon 60), Benayoun (Malouda h-t); Lukaku (De Bruyne 74).

Goals Terry 30, Lampard 57

Referee Baldomero Toledo





Chelsea vs MLS - www.EUROSOCCERWEB.com by TenMillionSlaves

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Chelsea Vs PSG

Chelsea's second pre-season friendly came to a close last night with new boys and old boys alike getting a good run out. As the rumor mill of Oscar's transfer continues to churn it was his young Brazilian counterpart; Piazon, who stole the show last night.

It goes to show how good PSG were in the first half that even I, an enthusiastic Chelsea fan, can admit they were by far the better of the two teams in the first 45 minutes. Within 3 miniutes Lavezzi had managed to fire a clear goal opportunity straight at Cech. Lavezzi was once again let through, this time opting to knock the ball past Cech but stumbled in the process. was  It was by the 29th minute that Pastore managed to latch onto a stunning backheel and strike Cech's right post, this deflected into the path of Nene who fired into the knees of David Luiz and then into the net.
 
The second half was much brighter for the blues with both Hazard and Ivanovic seeing decent chances go begging. On the 82 minute, after several changes to both Chelsea and PSG, the all brazilian duo of Ramieres and Piazon combined nicely on the edge of the box. Piazon playing the ball to the right for Ramieres to take in his stride and play the ball back into the box to Piazon who'd continued his run and was able to slot the ball into the bottom left of the net.

This was only Piazon's second game for Chelsea's senior team and although the game was only a friendly his movement off the ball and vision to calmly finish is evidence that Piazon could be a great prospect in the next few years.

Chelsea (4-2-3-1):
Cech (Turnbull 62); Hutchinson (Chalobah 62), Cahill (Terry 62), David Luiz (Ivanovic h-t), Ferreira (Cole 62); Mikel (McEachran 62), Lampard (c) (Essien h-t); Kakuta (Ramires h-t), Hazard (Malouda 62), De Bruyne (Marin h-t); Lukaku (Piazon 62).
Goal:
Piazon 82.
Booked:
Mikel 58.

PSG (4-1-2-1-2):
Douchez; Jallet (c), Alex, Sakho, Armand; Bodmer; Chantome, Pastore; Nene; Gameiro, Lavezzi.

PSG second half (4-3-3):
Douchez (Areola 80); Bisevac, Lugano, Camara (c), Tiene; Chantome (Rabiot 63), Verratti, Maxwell; Pastore, Hoarau, Luyindula.
Goal:
Nene 29.
Booked:
Lavezzi 7, Sakho 40, Verratti 59.

Referee: Edvin Jurisevic.
Attendance 38,202.

Oscar and Chelsea

As several media outlets (including Sky Sports) begin to report a deal between International's Oscar and Chelsea to be nearing completion there are two main questions I would like to dissect; 'How will he fit the system?' and 'Is he needed?'

Firstly how will he fit? 

With Oscar's general positioning for club and country being slightly different it is already clear to most his potential to play many different roles within the Chelsea setup. In terms of general AM play, Oscar's composure on the ball and eye for the killer pass make him just as likely as Hazard, Mata, Marin and De Bruyne to start matches. I would argue that although he played a similar role to Mata this season for International, his real potential for Chelsea may lay in an ability and desire to drop back to receive the ball deep, this he displayed in his last 4 matches for Brazil.

Most pundits and journalist I've come across are predicting Chelsea to start with a 4 2 3 1 formation. Assuming this is correct the obvious line up would would see Oscar starting behind the striker with Mata and Hazard playing tight on the flanks. The two DM positions to be filled by Lampard, Meireles, Mikel, McEachran and, assuming he is fit, Essien; leaving De Bruyne and Marin as squad players. Although strong, to my mind this could still lack creativity in the midfield with the 3 most creative players pushing up leaving gaps between the lines. The lack of creativity combined with the age of Lampard and injury prone nature of Essien leave the position of DM lacking real quality. Oscar's natural ability and composure on the ball could see him dropping back to be an effective deep lying creative option. Much like Modric, Pirlo or Xavi, if Oscar can develop his physic (which there is plenty of time for) he could be the missing player Chelsea's midfeild have been looking for. Playing a more deep lying role this would leave players like Lampard and Essien as becoming more squad and utility players, given their age this should not have be a surprise to anyone.

Whatever is decided about Oscar's postion and however he may develop it is clear that Chelsea now have a wealth of creative talent in the AM and wide positions, all of whom should be able to link and swap roles fluidly given the nature of their styles. 

Is he needed?

Much like the last, this question is one more of opinion and 'time will tell' than fact. If Oscar is able to develop into a deep lying creative player, we may look back on his purchase and claim it to be one of the most important Chelsea signatures of the last few years. However it is tempting to look at the team sheet and argue that if he doesn't play as a creative DM then his ability may be going to waste as a squad player, regularly being rotated. Both Hazard and Mata can play the AM role just as well as Oscar and some pundits may look at the signing and say Chelsea should have signed a right back, especially if players like Sturridge, Lakaku, Piazon, and Kakuta are not loaned out. 

There is no doubting Oscar is a talented and versatile player, capable of becoming key for Chelsea or simply drowning in a squad of extreme depth. My hope for Chelsea and Oscar is that he can develop into the creative DM Chelsea need and that some of the fringe players (Kakuta, Piazon, Lakaku) are loaned out to develop their skills until they can realistically fight for regular positions.