CHELSEA @ STOKE CITY 0-0

"You cool with just playing 15min?"

From the start, going to Stoke was a perfect matchup for the teams first game and for Villa-Boas as well (turned out to be a good lesson for him too, as we found out from his comments after the match). Stoke certainly isn't a Champions League team but certainly a tough enough opponent, especially at home, that they'd give Chelsea a good wake up call to the season.

As for the actual game, I thought they played well. Obviously football is a sport where you can nitpick at anything if you don't get a positive result (actually all sports are like that), but with 20 shots on net, they did everything but score. Those early set pieces for Stoke looked like they gave them some confidence to build for the defense, which doesn't look like its declining anytime soon. Certainly a lot of possession, but just no good chances, in the first half, to put it in the net besides a solid Ramires run into the box. The second half they definitely asserted themselves offensively and started putting some real pressure on them, but again couldn't score, even hitting the post as well. One thing thats obvious and thats been talked about since the game ended is the lack of creativity in the midfield. I thought Mikel played well (especially after reading about what happened to his to his father on Friday night) and Ramires, notably with that run I mentioned above, played solid too. So the defense in mid doesn't look like an issue. I'm not sure what to make of Super Frank though. I thought he was taken down in the box, thats for sure, but he just seems so blahhh out there. Doesn't really make himself stand out anymore. I still think he has a lot to offer, but he just is too shoot/score first for me. He gets the ball and mostly one,two touches then passes to get himself in better position to score or make a run, which I guess is fine, but he needs to be concerned with getting the guys up top the ball where they need it. Especially for the style AVB wants to play. Speaking of AVB, I thought the lineup he put out was solid and not many surprises. I think eventually someone will learn their lesson with Kalou and realize that you cant count on him to give a consistent 60-70 minutes. Letting him start in the first game to see what he can do is fine, but waiting 75 minutes to replace him with Drogba?? What was the hold up there? It was obvious after 20minutes he was the bad Kalou, and at least he should have come off before Flo. I thought in the 30ish minutes Anelka played showed he should be out there in that wing role, he's got a good blend of finishing instinct and midfield creativity. Torres showed that him getting the start was no mistake, but Didier has to be worked in the mix sooner in a game where you need someone to finish. Overall, for an opening day game at the FA Cup runners up, I thought it was a good start. Looking forward to opening day at The Bridge this Saturday

Couple other notes:

--I always like seeing coaches from idle teams at other games, like Roberto Mancini being at the Chelsea game. But what the fuck was he wearing?? Guy had on like two button downs, a vest, a jacket and a fucking scarf. I've only been to England once when I was 18, but I'm pretty sure its not 30 degrees in August. Just by that alone, I'm dismissing City as a contender this season on all fronts.
--Why do I still hear shit about Neymar?? The logic in sending £40mill to get him, after spending the money on my boy Lukaku, is absolutely asinine. People think American sports media is harsh, these English are brutal rumor starters
--One thing I'll never understand is coaches who want the team to play THEIR system, and not develop a system around the players on the squad. I'm not really basing this from anything yesterday, but in terms of having the right personnel on the field, maybe the current players arent suited best for the 4-3-3. It just seems forced and making lineup and roster adjustments more difficult and complex. I think there needs to be some flexibility to make it work