SBNation.com User Blog: SuperFrank

Lukaku deal - 18 months more at WB

SuperFrank — Sun, 03 Feb 2013 02:41:54 -0000

Lukaku deal - 18 months more at WB

"Chelsea, who will receive a loan fee, have already given their blessing for him to continue his development in the West Midlands beyond the end of this season, which the Belgian is happy to do."

Apparently if Lukaku gets enough appearances, the loan deal extends his stay at the club for next season as well.

Why on earth would we do this when we have the steaming pile of Torres left, set on fire, on our doorstep...? I don't know, and I have no idea why we would leave Lukaku out on loan when we very obviously are going to have to bring in another striker this season. It just seems silly to me, especially in the world of FFP where recalling Lukaku is free, and another striker costs a transfer fee.

Chelsea dressing room - Rafa doomed

SuperFrank — Sun, 03 Feb 2013 02:36:24 -0000

Chelsea dressing room - Rafa doomed

This manager culture really isn't good for our players or results. God I can't wait until next season.

West Brom players give Odemwingie QPR shirt

SuperFrank — Sun, 03 Feb 2013 00:54:33 -0000

West Brom players give Odemwingie QPR shirt

Doesn't weaken nothing!!!!

Cheik Tioté from a Newcastle perspective

SuperFrank — Wed, 12 Dec 2012 14:59:40 -0000

Cheik Tioté from a Newcastle perspective

Seems far worse than Mikel.

Just found this gem of a video: Oscar and David Luiz hanging out in David's apartment, super cute,...

SuperFrank — Wed, 05 Dec 2012 13:10:36 -0000

Just found this gem of a video: Oscar and David Luiz hanging out in David's apartment, super cute, I love these two so much.

Short Schurrle post

SuperFrank — Thu, 29 Nov 2012 03:57:28 -0000

Andre Schurrle has been linked to the club since at least the summer, with bids of around £22 million rejected back then, but with Chelsea's current problems, would Schurrle really be a wise signing?

Sure, Andre is a fantastic player with a bright future. But right now, for +£22 million, you would hope his signing would address some of the pretty blatant needs and shortcomings that we have currently in the Chelsea squad. Obviously, the biggest of these is in the striker position, with Torres and Sturridge being under-par for most of the season, and not being anywhere near enough for us to challenge for silverware.

But surely if we wanted to bring in a striker, one that would come during the winter, we would want one that we know has a good chance of being prolific in front of goal. Why then would we bid for Andre, who has played for most of his career as a winger and when brought forward as a striker, has only scored 5 goals in 17 games, at a rate of .23 goals per game? Torres has scored 7 in 22 games, .32 goals per game, and we're sure that this is frighteningly bad. So why buy a player, who although is younger, is even less prolific than our severely underperforming number 9 that we already have?

To me it doesn't make sense. It would only make sense if he came along with another, more prolific striker, but with our issues in the central midfield position as well, to myself at least, it doesn't seem like a wise move.

Share your thoughts on a winter Schurrle acquisition, and vote in the poll as to whether or not you would take him as a winter signing.

Poll

Would you sign Andre Schurrle this winter?

Yes, as our one striker that we purchase this winter.

5 votes

Yes, with another, more prolific striker.

31 votes

No.

58 votes

94 votes | Poll has closed

Real Premier League Table

SuperFrank — Tue, 20 Nov 2012 11:31:44 -0000

Real Premier League Table

Worth a look. I was just thinking about all the penalty calls we've had turned down. Turns out, we should still be top of the league (might have changed since West Brom game). *Sadface*

Live Press Conference

SuperFrank — Fri, 09 Nov 2012 12:55:31 -0000

Live Press Conference

Quick, get on it!

Video Replays and how to make it work

SuperFrank — Wed, 31 Oct 2012 05:47:11 -0000

We all know video replays have been a highly contentious issue in football, with many conservative minded stakeholders attacking such suggestions, claiming that football should be kept 'pure' and 'unchanged', and that it would 'ruin the game'.

I disagree that we should sit back and do nothing about poor footballing decisions; a lot of money, hard work and deserved achievements depend on the decisions of footballs referee far too heavily. We see today the benefits of Chelsea's Champions League win, but what if all those times we had it unfairly taken from us, we had instead been able to challenge these decisions and perhaps win? What if this was not our first, but maybe our second or third Champions League title? This is fairly presumptuous, given that poor decisions led to our not making the 04/05 and 08/09 Champions League finals, but it would have been far more possible with two more chances out of four as opposed to one win out of two. We all know how unpredictable such games can be, so who says we couldn't have had another?

There's no doubt that it would change the game, that much is certain, but video replay technology could definitely change modern football for the better. We shouldn't be afraid of change; changes happen in football all the time. I guess the more specific fears of these 'purists' are twofold; that players challenging decisions would make games last longer as a result of constant interruption for these video replays, as well as the possible negative impact of taking a referee's power away from the game, giving referees authority on the pitch.

I disagree that either of these two would be a problem, if dealt with appropriately.

via www.independent.co.uk

Firstly, the system used in my own sport has seen great success. I fight in pretty big Taekwondo competitions around the world, the Belgian Open and the US Open being two examples, and the success we've seen with such technology has been game changing. In Taekwondo, there is a system by which the coach has a card which they can use to challenge a decision in the fight. If successful, the decision is changed to the correct one, and the card is returned to the coach. However, if unsuccessful, and the challenge proves to be an erroneous one, then the referee keeps the card and the coach may make no more challenges during that fight.

via img.koreatimes.co.kr

A similar system implemented in football, in my opinion, would be a successful one. The team's captain could be the one player who could challenge a decision, often likely on the advice of his teammates, and can request the video replay. After one unfounded or inaccurate challenge, the captain loses his right to make another challenge that match. This would motivate captains to only make the challenge when they feel it is appropriate, and being the face of the team would add further pressure for them to use the challenge(s) responsibly. This replay should be allowed for possible penalties, free kicks, simulation, yellow and red cards, and offside goals, as all of these decisions have the power to alter the result of a game unfairly.

Secondly, with response to the second primary concern, I play a sport that has accepted video replays wholeheartedly, and can tell you with an absolute certainty that as an athlete, it in no way makes me respect the referees less.

My sport used to have referees judging where you scored, pressing a button if and when they think you did. Human error played a huge part in the sport, and as a result it was often a very subjective sport. I always respected the officials externally bowing and apologising when warned or punished with point deductions, but I actually have very little respect for them as a whole.

When you're an athlete dealing with the outrage of a decision which costs you a fight, game or a match, where you know what happened and see the official or referee acting completely obliviously to it, you don't respect their decisions, so you find it very difficult to respect them. I would think that most football players have dealt with such refereeing, and have been outraged on a pretty regular basis over some of the decisions made, and find it similarly difficult to respect referees; the rule against dissent, along with their wages and respect for their team probably all that keeps them from yelling at the referee or straight out abusing them at times. So no, I don't think that it would make players respect the referees less; it would actually pacify the players somewhat in that they know that justice is possible even if the referee misses what actually happened.

via www.bz-berlin.de

Okay, you got me, this is all just conjecture. We don't actually know how such a rule change would affect the game as a whole, but we have to deal with risk when trying to improve the game. Remember the golden-goal? We can always repeal and change rules if we think they're wrong, unfair, or just don't fit the game, so why not at least give video-replays a try? I know that it would be a very expensive process which would take time to implement, but the potential benefit, in my eyes at least, seems far greater than the cost that these poor decisions are having on our game. I, for one, am sure that it would only change football for the better.

Feel free to answer the poll, discuss the matter and share your opinion in the comments below!

Also, I have provided a link to an article regarding the impact of the introduction of video-replays on Taekwondo for your edification*.

*Pretty sure I got this word from Graham, but it might have been Stephen; regardless, thank you to whoever improved my english by putting it into an article!

I disagree that either of these two would be a problem, if dealt with appropriately.

via www.independent.co.uk

via img.koreatimes.co.kr

via www.bz-berlin.de

Feel free to answer the poll, discuss the matter and share your opinion in the comments below!

Also, I have provided a link to an article regarding the impact of the introduction of video-replays on Taekwondo for your edification*.

*Pretty sure I got this word from Graham, but it might have been Stephen; regardless, thank you to whoever improved my english by putting it into an article!

Poll

Do you think Video Replay technology should be implemented in Football?

Yes, assuming it is structured as proposed in the Fanpost

24 votes

Yes, assuming a different method than proposed in the Fanpost

10 votes

No

2 votes

36 votes | Poll has closed

What Ashley Cole should have tweeted.

SuperFrank — Tue, 09 Oct 2012 09:50:39 -0000

What Ashley Cole should have tweeted.

Jeremie Boga scoring at a 7:41 chance, this 15 year old is playing for the under 21s and is looking...

SuperFrank — Mon, 10 Sep 2012 22:43:10 -0000

Jeremie Boga scoring at a 7:41 chance, this 15 year old is playing for the under 21s and is looking an amazing talent, at such a young age. For anyone interested, he's born on the 3rd of January, 1997. I hope Charly Musonda Jr. starts playing for the U21s soon as well, but for now it's Boga making a stupendous break through.

*The commentators got it wrong because the squad numbers are wrong, Boga is actually wearing the number 14.

Image FanShot

SuperFrank — Thu, 30 Aug 2012 17:39:36 -0000

Hazard was not at all arrogant during his transfer saga.

SuperFrank — Thu, 23 Aug 2012 13:12:35 -0000

Everyone was talking about how arrogant Hazard was during his transfer, and about how 'a player with that kind of attitude wouldn't be welcome at United' or other such crap. I've never understood this, and apparently neither has Chris Cohen.

I've always been curious as to why Hazard has gotten such a bad rap about his twitter usage; it's not really been negative at all. His only ever comment that might be perceived as arrogant is that he could choose between the two Manchester teams and Chelsea, and that was only stating a fact. I'm very happy that someone's finally come out said it, because the media has just been entirely slanderous about his attitude, being far too critical. This is part of the reason why I'm so happy that Hazard is doing so well, so quickly, aside from the... you know, the making us win part.

Anyway, here's what Chris had to say:

"In fact, I remember over the summer months, quite a lot of disapproving head shaking and fist waving being directed towards Mr Hazard for his tweeting habits. The media and fans of clubs all over the country were outraged at his perceived arrogance and egotistical attitude to announcing which club he would be joining. In actual fact, looking back at his timeline, it really was rather factual in content. He started with a rather chatty and very polite:

'good afternoon guys. i made up my mind. see you later. Thanks'

And followed that with an incredibly cryptic (to tabloid crossword readers at least):

'I'm signing for the Champions League Winner.'

Quite what all the fuss was about I don't know. After all, whilst all this was going on I'm pretty sure another midfielder at some other west London club was tweeting about how bad the England team were, banging on about his hatred for TOWIE for the 500th time and copying and pasting a deep and emotional epitaph he found on a website littered with pictures of kittens. I'm pretty sure Chelsea's number 17 is something of a better player too."

Anyway, here's what Chris had to say:

'good afternoon guys. i made up my mind. see you later. Thanks'

And followed that with an incredibly cryptic (to tabloid crossword readers at least):

'I'm signing for the Champions League Winner.'

The Future Chelsea - Possible Future Line-ups

SuperFrank — Tue, 21 Aug 2012 01:25:30 -0000

So I got bored and decided to field a few future Chelsea line-ups for us, or at least myself, to drool over.

De Bruyne is looking very likely to be a big part of the new chelsea, if his performances thus far at Werder Bremen are anything to go by, as well as Courtois from his form at Athletico Madrid, and as Ivanovic nears the end of his career I've put Azpi in at right back, but as to whether that will happen remains to be seen. Bertrand is also coming in for Ash, Luiz for Terry (although we might get Chalobah in at some point as opposed to Cahill), and Lukaku takes his rightful place as our first choice striker. A number of other youngsters could also break through, but at this point in time this is where I see us heading. Perhaps a DM with more passing vision might benefit us, however as we've talked about often, Mikel is actually pretty good. I tend to think Romeu has better vision, but is less solid defensively; if played more, I see more potential in Romeu than in Mikel, as defensive consistency certainly improves over time, as we've seen with Luiz and even Mikel himself.

So I got bored and decided to field a few future Chelsea line-ups for us, or at least myself, to drool over.

A forward slash means it could be any one of the mentioned players, although their proficiencies in their listed position will obviously differ.

4-2-3-1(different combinations)

--------------------Courtois

Azpilicueta - Cahill - Luiz - Bertrand

-------Romeu/Mikel - Oscar

------Ramires - Hazard - Mata

-------------------Lukaku

Or perhaps Oscar as CAM:

--------------------Courtois

Azpilicueta - Cahill - Luiz - Bertrand

---Kevin De Bruyne - Ramires/Mikel/Romeu

----------Hazard - Oscar - Mata

---------------------Lukaku

4-3-3

--------------------Courtois

Azpilicueta - Cahill - Luiz - Bertrand

-Ramires - Kevin de Bruyne - Oscar

--------Hazard - Lukaku - Mata

4-5-1

--------------------Courtois

Azpilicueta - Cahill - Luiz - Bertrand

-----------------Mikel/Romeu

-------Hazard ----------------- Mata

-------------De Bruyne - Oscar

----------------------Lukaku

4-4-2

--------------------Courtois

Azpilicueta - Cahill - Luiz - Bertrand

-----------------De Bruyne

---------Ramires - Juan Mata

----------------Hazard

--------Sturridge - Lukaku

Looks like a lot of fun; I, for one, can't wait!

Apparently, Arsenal's winning the Premier League Next Season

SuperFrank — Thu, 09 Aug 2012 05:07:48 -0000

Apparently, Arsenal's winning the Premier League Next Season

Who knew?

Oscar To Wear 11 - Chelseafc.com

SuperFrank — Tue, 07 Aug 2012 02:19:23 -0000

Oscar To Wear 11 - Chelseafc.com

We all knew it already, but they finally got around to putting it on their website. Coolios.

Speculative Analysis - Olivier Giroud

SuperFrank — Thu, 02 Aug 2012 16:02:29 -0000

This will be an analysis of new Arsenal signing Olivier Giroud, a player Chelsea were also interested in. I'm curious; did we miss out on a potential great, or was our more feeble attempt at bringing him to the Bridge justified?

Background - Player History

Olivier Giroud is the definition of a late bloomer. The start of his 09-10 season with Tours FC, from Ligue 2, was perhaps when he started to bloom. In the previous season he had scored 9 goals, but being promoted to the team's lead striker lead to him scoring 13 league goals in only the first half of the season. This attracted the attention of Montpellier, who signed him and loaned him back to Tours for the rest of the season. He finished the season with 21 goals, and being named National Union of Professional Footballers (UNFP) Ligue 2 Player of the Year, at the age of 23.

Giroud's 2010-11 Montpellier was interesting, to say the least. He made 43 appearances, 37 of which were league appearances and he scored 14 times in all competitions, with 12 league goals to his name. He made a name for himself scoring in big games, namely the Coupe de la Ligue Semifinal against Paris Saint-German, helping them into the final of the competition. However, immediately after this game, he went on a 2 month goal drought which only ended when he played PSG again at Parc des Princes and scored twice in a 2-2 draw. He was the club's top scorer that season.

He then continued his good form in the 2011-12 Ligue 1 season, in which he notched 21 league goals (25 in all competitions), earned the nickname le buteur de charme (English: the charm striker) - due to his scoring ability, as well as his personality and looks - and was Ligue 1's top scorer, winning the golden boot over PSG's Nene (despite both having 21 goals, Giroud scored more from open play) as well as winning the league with Montpellier.

Playing Style

Giroud is eerily similar to the Chelsea hero to whom we have just bade farewell; he's huge at 6 ft 4 and is known for his physical style of play and his heading ability. He also is coming into the Premier league as a late bloomer, having just had a breakout season at a big Ligue 1 club. Scary similar. These physical attributes, as well as the fact that he's a goal poacher and will be a strong presence up front, may mean that he really is what Arsenal needs in the hangover that would be Robin Van Persie's exit from the club.

I love to use whoscored.com to analyse players, however do remember that this is while playing in Ligue 1, which as we know isn't quite like the Premier league in both standard and style of play.

Olivier Giroud's Style

Indirect set-piece threat
Likes to do layoffs
Likes to do flick ons
Does not dive into tackles
Commits fouls often

As well as scoring 21 league goals last season, he made 9 assists, and his style here gives some indication of that lack of selfishness.

+ Strengths

Aerial Duels

Very Strong

Long shots

Strong

Key passes

Strong

Finishing

Strong

These strengths, as opposed to others, are sure to serve him well in the Premier League, where Aerial Duels and long shots are often the weapons of choice of our strikers.

And here's his whoscored rating, but this does show something interesting as opposed to just telling us what we already know; he had a fantastic season in the Ligue 1 last season.

Current Participations

View: Overall Home Away

Tournament	Apps	Goals	Assists	Yellow	Red	SpG	PS%	AW	MoM	Rating
Ligue 1*	36	21	9	6	-	4.5	69.1	3.7	8	7.43
EURO Cup*	0(3)	-	-	-	-	0.7	72.7	-	-	5.87
Int. Friendly	1(1)	1	N/A	N/A	N/A	N/A	N/A	N/A	N/A	N/A
Coupe de France	1	1	N/A	N/A	N/A	N/A	N/A	N/A	N/A	N/A
Total	38 (4)	23	9	6		2.6	70.9	3.7	8	7.31

He did score a 7.43 rating for his play in Ligue 1, which is very, very high, however in his 3 UEFA league games (during all of which he came on as a sub), he scored 5.87, which is very, very low. You can't judge a player at all from three substitutions, but it is interesting that when he came to face other types of opposition his game was far less impressive.

Video

Finally, what most of you have probably done already, is look for a good video showing the type of player Giroud is and how he scores his goals. Here's the best one I found.

What do I see? Six long shots, Five golden headers, Four poached goals, Three little tap-ins, Two bicycle kicks and a partridge in a pear tree*. But seriously, he has a range to his game that a great CF needs, and I really think that Wenger may have brought Christmas to Arsenal early on this one.

But what do you think? Was he a good buy for Arsenal? Would you have him here at Chelsea? Think he's going to be anywhere close to Drogba? Will he be a steaming pile of Sutton-Fleck-Mutu-Kezman-Shevchenko-Torres? Have your say.

Side Note

Interestingly, in a radio interview, Montpellier's owner said that Giroud would not be sold to any club for less than 50 to 60 million euros, though we know this was not going to happen as he's just been sold to Arsenal for a sum of around 13 million euros. I don't know about you, but this reminds me a bit of a man named Aurelio De Laurentiis - the owner of Napoli who rates Edinson Cavani at 100 million euros. I hope we can manufacture a similar type of bargain for Cavani, but I'm not holding my breath.

*Numbers may or may not have been changed for convenience purposes.

Poll

But what do you think of the new Arsenal signing? Think he'll be any good? Have your say

Good buy for Arsenal, not Chelsea quality

35 votes

Fantastic buy for Arsenal, Chelsea quality

32 votes

He's going to be another Drogba

1 votes

He's going to be a steaming pile of Sutton-Fleck-Mutu-Kezman-Shevchenko-Torres

11 votes

79 votes | Poll has closed

Oscar 11 - Confirmed

SuperFrank — Wed, 01 Aug 2012 02:42:31 -0000

It was posted somewhere on the blog that Oscar's number was leaked on the ChelseaFC Megastore, though its prompt removal from the website may have had some question the legitimacy of the leak and whether he would indeed be given the number 11. This sparked debate over whether Oscar should receive the shirt previously worn by our recently departed hero Didier Drogba, or whether the number should be rested or retired, given the significance of the player who wore it previously.

via www.chelseamegastoreasia.com

However, if you take a look today you can see Oscar's shirt with the number 11 up on the Megastore along with the shirts of the other new signings Marin, Hazard and De Bruyne (despite De Bruyne's upcoming departure to Werder Bremen). Despite the lack of confirmation, this means that new player Oscar will be wearing the number 11 for Chelsea next season.

Luka Modric saga still not over

SuperFrank — Wed, 01 Aug 2012 01:47:48 -0000

Luka Modric saga still not over

It seems like Tottenham are still holding out for more money from Real Madrid, and Mourinho is reportedly considering alternative targets.

That being said, this is from the Daily Fail, but the fact that a deal hasn't been announced yet might be enough evidence to suggest that the clubs are still trying to come to an agreement.

Gourlay: Oscar will go straight into the first team

SuperFrank — Mon, 30 Jul 2012 05:16:37 -0000

Gourlay: Oscar will go straight into the first team

"Hazard and Oscar are two players that will definitely feature in the first team."

While it's obvious that both will play in the first team this season, might Oscar being put into the same category as Hazard be a hint that Oscar will be in our first XI more often than we now expect?

His estimated cost of transfer might suggest as much, however it remains to be seen just how quickly Oscar can adapt to the Premier League, perhaps a new position, and how exactly he will affect our playing style and standard.

Kula Rodmic filmed while AWOL from Spurs. Obviously fake, hilarious regardless.

SuperFrank — Wed, 25 Jul 2012 06:00:50 -0000

Kula Rodmic filmed while AWOL from Spurs.

Obviously fake, hilarious regardless.

Two new Chelsea signings: Ferrell and Galifianakis

SuperFrank — Fri, 20 Jul 2012 10:51:02 -0000

Two new Chelsea signings: Ferrell and Galifianakis

Chelsea got two new signings today in the form of Will Ferrell and Zach Galifianakis. Good to see City aren't the only club with a couple of awesome fans.

Malouda to see out his contract

SuperFrank — Thu, 19 Jul 2012 12:28:01 -0000

Malouda to see out his contract

Still not sure about everything, but it looks like he wants to run out his contract before moving to Brazil.

I love Malouda, he's a great guy, but I think we all agree he's a bit old and slow for the new-look Chelsea. It's great him being a Chelsea player, I just feel sorry for him that he's probably not going to get that much game time.

Recommended: Chelsea Vlogger

SuperFrank — Mon, 02 Jul 2012 05:49:30 -0000

I've just got a recommendation for everyone today.

I love Chelsea news; I don't care what it is, I can't get enough of it. That's the reason I'm here and constantly checking up on new stories and developments. I also love hearing pro-chelsea reporting of any kind, and I love it when we're anticipating great things from our team. Living in Australia, it kind of sucks not being able to go to games regularly, and being in the mix of it all. This means that anything Chelsea I can get my hands on I'll embrace wholeheartedly. This is why I love Joe Neal Zecca, a Chelsea Vlogger on YouTube whose channel is GuruGamingHD.

To be fair, he does look fairly young, which may put some of you off, however he's about 20 years old and is really on top of everything about Chelsea. I've loved watching his stuff over this transfer period and look forward to watching all of his Chelsea videos right through the next season. He's a great Vlogger and I think he has nowhere near the amount of viewers/subscribers he should have, so I thought I'd let you guys know about him in case you're interested!

I've just got a recommendation for everyone today.

AVB giving us money for Modric?

SuperFrank — Sat, 30 Jun 2012 09:54:13 -0000

I had a quick thought while reading the paper round on Eurosport news, as something that we were trying to put to the back of our minds might have an effect on our summer transfers!

We have probably all read the rumours that André Villas-Boas is close to being appointed as Tottenham's next Manager, but not all of us would have considered exactly what this means for CFC. Sure, it will mean that Tottenham will have important information on how Chelsea operate, or at least on our players and some of the more closely held tactics of the team, but this isn't what I'm referring to.

I'm talking about the fact that AVB's signing at Tottenham will relinquish Chelsea of having to pay the rest of his £100,000 per week deal over the next 25 months, meaning Chelsea will have close to another £11 Million on our books. This means we could very easily put another £11 million onto our bid for Modric.

This means that a prompt AVB signing will allow Chelsea to move in on Modric sooner, with a higher bid, that Daniel Levy is likely to find harder to resist.

Thoughts?

I had a quick thought while reading the paper round on Eurosport news, as something that we were trying to put to the back of our minds might have an effect on our summer transfers!

This means that a prompt AVB signing will allow Chelsea to move in on Modric sooner, with a higher bid, that Daniel Levy is likely to find harder to resist.

Thoughts?

Line-up; how can we best maximise the players we have?

SuperFrank — Wed, 06 Jun 2012 09:32:54 -0000

via paimages.s3.amazonaws.com

There has been much discussion regarding the possible line-ups for next season, however I haven't yet seen one that truly optimises the talent with which our team will be bestowed, given that Hulk is included in our imaginary line-up. For that we must consider our players' strengths, where they play best, and the players who can play each position effectively. After much consideration, here's the team and formation I've chosen, and why.

4-1-1-3-1

via this11.com

In this lineup, we of course have Cech, and have our most commonly preferred defensive line, although on some days Cahill may be preferable to Luiz, if only for his consistency, but overall Luiz performed better this season so he probably deserves a place in the squad. He also should be able to improve on his erratic form through more play time, given how he has improved throughout our 2011-12 campaign.

I've chosen to place Lampard as the sole defensive midfielder, as although he plays far better as an attacking midfielder, he did show some ability playing this role late last season, and this would clearly help him stay in the squad for longer and remain the ever-present leader of our midfield.

Though sometimes we might need the extra help of Mikel defensively, he's not been anywhere near as good as Ramires this season, who by the stats, was our third best player, behind the brilliant Mata and the illustrious Lampard. It would be nearly impossible to keep Ramires out of the starting lineup, assuming he continues to perform at the level he has been this season. But where to place the player whose position would seem to be challenged by the introduction of a rampant Hulk? Simple; Ramires could play in the middle, veering off to either wing to connect with either Hulk or Mata, along with Hazard, to create some incredible run-on and passing plays. His attacking creativity and short passing would complement these players, who could also help him to run through and score goals; something that we all know he does impeccably. Furthermore, he is defensively strong and if needed could perform any defensive duty required; both his tackling and defensive contribution are regarded as 'strong' on http://www.whoscored.com/, a website devoted to analysing football statistics, and they aren't wrong. This lethal combination of crucial attacking and defensive contribution may prove him crucial to the team.

We are all aware that Hazard is keen to play as a centre attacking midfielder, and we can all see that it's where he's played best this season, scoring 20 goals and providing the team with 16 assists; even if he may play better further to the right than in the middle. We should probably decide to keep him there, allow Mata to have the left wing and Hulk the right, creating the potent supporting strike-force that is so highly anticipated for next season.

Given his end of season form, as a lone striker, Torres should most definitely be given the chance to star up front, and hopefully he will. He should hopefully be on a bit of a high on confidence after winning Euro 2012, or he will be hungry after losing it; either way, it seems the confident, sharp, and hopefully prolific Torres is back, and this should definitely be helped by the three men he'll have at his back.

This is my chosen 11; please give me feedback on what you think of it, but to me it looks like the strongest of any I've seen and have considered.

via paimages.s3.amazonaws.com

4-1-1-3-1

via this11.com

This is my chosen 11; please give me feedback on what you think of it, but to me it looks like the strongest of any I've seen and have considered.