Das Gästebuch » average striker playing up top for Chelsea this seaso

LONDON -- As first-round losses go, this one was easier to take for Vasek Pospisil. Playing at Wimbledon on his 24th birthday, the Vancouver player saved three match points before falling to Robin Haase 7-6 (8-6), 4-6, 7-5, 6-3 on Monday. Despite his loss, Pospisil was more than satisfied that the back pains which had made his life hell for the past six months have been fixed thanks to a diagnosis by a Prague doctor after months of uncertainty. Pain-free over the last two weeks, Pospisil said he now knows exactly what was bothering him and that the problem has become "completely manageable." Pospisil came to the All England Club after reaching the quarter-finals on grass last week in the Netherlands in his best career performance on the surface. "This was the first match of the year which felt normal," said the player who began to be bothered by his back in Chennai in early January. "Last week was the first week of the season in which I recognized myself on court in terms of competing. "I played quite well last week and today I just had a couple of mistakes and it didnt work out. "But this was definitely a normal match. Now I can focus on what I need to work on. Not playing much probably cost me today. My main goal now is to stay healthy and finally be able to work on improving my game." On the womens side, Aleksandra Wozniak of Blainville, Que., was also eliminated, losing 6-1, 6-2 to Dominika Cibulkova of Slovakia. The No. 31 seed was beaten in a battle lasting one hour 38 minutes to leave his Wimbledon main draw record at a 2013 win and two defeats. Pospisil hammered over 21 aces against Haase and produced 58 winners to 44 for his opponent, but he converted on only one of five break points. The Canadian dropped the opening set in a tiebreaker and levelled by winning the second before Haase took the lead two sets to one as he broke in the final game of the third. Haase earned another break for a 3-1 lead in the fourth set but was unable to close it out immediately as Pospisil salvaged three match points in the ninth game. But a cross-court forehand winner gave Haase one more winning chance, which he took when Pospisils volley went low into the net. Pospisil and Haase and split two meetings last season with a win apiece. Pospisil was one of three Canadian men in the singles draw, where eighth seed Milos Ranoic of Thornhill, Ont., heads the effort. Frank Dancevic of Niagara Falls, Ont., earned a lucky loser spot in the 128-man draw. Kent Tekulve Pirates Jersey . Braves reliever David Carpenter was also fined for throwing at Rockies outfielder Corey Dickerson in the same game, which featured several ejections, including Colorado manager Walt Weiss. Felipe Vazquez Pirates Jersey . He was 90. The team announced Monday that Adams had died, saying he "passed away peacefully from natural causes." The son of a prominent oil executive, Adams built his own energy fortune and founded the Houston Oilers. http://www.pittsburghpiratesprostore.us/...pirates-jersey/. Playing in his 19th career final, the second-seeded Tsonga was favourite to win the Open 13 for the third time and to secure an 11th career title, but he struggled with Gulbis attacking approach. Bill Mazeroski Pirates Jersey . His recovery time is expected to be six to eight months. Seidenberg was injured in the third period of Fridays 5-0 victory over the Ottawa Senators, when he got his leg tangled with forward Cory Conacher. Josh Bell Jersey . As analysts we do the same thing, so here are some observations from week one. First there were two major upsets. I should say, major upsets in the eyes of the fans and prognosticators."This is not a team to win tomorrow, its a team of kids, this is a team where the best years are to come, the best stage is not this one or the next one. More than 50 per cent of the team are aged 23 or below, this is a team to be built, which is what I have been asked to do, build, with the fantastic talent I have, a Chelsea team for the next decade." - Jose Mourinho, summer 2013. Without a ball being kicked, Mourinho knew the size of the task at Stamford Bridge. When his team came up against Manchester United at the end of August at Old Trafford, he kept it tight, bringing a new resilience to the team to help them get a point. It was an examination of his players and one they had rarely been asked to do under Roberto Di Matteo and Rafael Benitez last season. Almost five months later, in the return match against United at Stamford Bridge, Mourinho put his players through a different exam, one they passed again, thumping Manchester United 3-1. This was not a game won on the training pitch, or at the blackboard tactically in the buildup; instead a deflection and two poor defensive errors handed the game to Chelsea. Mourinho had hoped something like that might have happened at Old Trafford. This time hed hoped they might create a bit more, but he will certainly take the manner in which they won. In the minds of many, the game officially ended Uniteds title challenge but, realistically, this was secured two months earlier. Instead, this game showed us more of Chelsea - a win where they finally relied upon a striker to deliver the critical blows, as Samuel Etoo scored a hat-trick inside 50 minutes, and a win where they easily defeated an arch-rival without being at the top of their game. And it is that which will please the manager most. Strikers are paid a lot of money to score goals and often these become vital, isolated moments that have no reflection on the way the game was played. When Etoos shot deflected off Michael Carrick and into the net on 17 minutes, it put an end to a period that United were in control of the match. Etoo scored again and again, both times being left to easily poke home in the penalty box to secure a rare kind of victory for Chelsea. Dont get used to it. Mourinho acknowledged this recently, saying: “We cannot just let the players hide behind the fact that we are not scoring enough goals and wait for that to happen. We cannot play for that. People need to change their brains a little bit more." Sunday was the first time all season a Chelsea striker had scored more than once in a game. Last season? It happened just once in 38 games when Fernando Torres got a brace at Sunderland (and one of those was a penalty.) Etoo handed Chelsea the three points on Sunday, but with a settled back four and an average striker playing up top for Chelsea this season, their championship-calibre credentials will be determined by the five that connects them together. This is Mourinhos most important project. The Fundamental Five Mourinho knows that these five players dictate the way his team is playing. When they lose, like they did at Sunderland in the League Cup last month, it makes Mourinho question how these five play, as he said: "We may have to take a step back in order to be more consistent at the back. Its something I dont want to do, to play more counterattacking, but Im giving it serious thought. If I want to win 1-0, I think I can, as I think its one of the easiest things in football. Its not so difficult, as you dont give players the chance to express themselves." If Mourinho is giving counterattacking more thought, it requires a more solid double pivot in central midfield, but when you ask him about this area, Mourinho would admit he isnt fully sold on the style, saying, as he also did last month, this time after a win: "We are not a very solid team, at the same time compared with last season, when this team played a big part of the season with David Luiz and [John Obi] Mikel in front of the four defenders, so at the end of the day they had five defenders plus Mikel, Ramires playing on the right side closing one side down and the team was playing with one striker and Juan Mata behind him, defending well and trying to counterattack, thats not the direction we want to go." Mourinho will only tell you publicly what he wants you to know. In truth, if Chelsea are to become the powerhouse Mourinho wants, the team needs to be able to attack better annd counter and that was shown on Sunday against United.ddddddddddddUp 3-0, he brought on Mikel to play alongside Luiz and pushed Ramires on to the right to close down the threat of Adnan Januzaj, who had moved there when Javier Hernandez came on. However, it is one thing to do this, up 3-0, but it is quite another to do it at 0-0. Yet, at 0-0 Chelsea still countered. And at Arsenal last month, a game that ended 0-0, they countered from deep positions on regular occasions. However, in that match never, was it more evident that the playmakers didnt trust Torres, as they often would break from deep positions and not want to give the ball to the Spaniard. "It was like they were playing with 10 men," said Sky Sports analyst Gary Neville after the match and he was absolutely spot on. Ramires has been a permanent fixture in central midfield and, despite often saying Luiz wasnt a central midfielder, the Brazilian was selected there again for Sundays clash, just as he did last week at Hull and at home to Liverpool recently. Luiz is clumsy on the ball and gives away needless fouls, but, unlike Frank Lampard, he gets the best out of his midfield partner because, positionally, he is ideal. He allows Ramires to use his speed and energy, getting forward to connect with the playmakers further forward, but is also useful in counterattacks because he can often ignite them with the first pass as he thinks like a centre back when his team is not in possession of the ball. It is clear Mourinho wants to play a four-band system, which has been labeled 4-2-3-1, but is often really 4-3-2-1 with the central playmaker dropping deeper when not in possession, another reason why counterattacking can work for this team. When asked about the three behind the striker, earlier this season, Mourinho said: "We have six players for these three positions and they will give me chances as a manager to change, match to match, depending on the opponent, the game plan. It is based on these three players how we create our football." This has certainly been true. Five months after that comment, Kevin De Bruyne has been sold, Juan Mata and Andre Schurrle have sat on the bench a lot and Mourinho has found out who the three players he relies on most in those positions - Willian, Oscar and Eden Hazard - and, with whoever playing as a striker continuing to be inconsistent, these playmakers certainly dictate Chelseas creativity. Hazard is the fun inside the fundamental five and has had a wonderful season, already scoring nine league goals. Of the three, he sticks to his position, on the left, more than most, but has the football intelligence to come central, to occupy the centre backs, when the striker comes deep, and even go right and attack from deep through the middle, as he did when he scored his wonderful individual goal against Liverpool. Keeping the Belgian predominantly on the left appears to be the reason Mourinho prefers Cesar Azpilicueta over Ashley Cole at left back. Mourinho rarely encourages his full backs to get forward and having a more defensive-minded full back down the left negates Hazards defensive issues, which were far too evident under both managers last season. Finding these combinations all over the pitch is what is crucial in finding the perfect balance for Chelsea going forward. Oscar is much better at combining with Ramires than Juan Mata, for example, while Willians workrate on the right has made him a perfect partner for Branislav Ivanovic. It was fitting, after a win on January 1st, that Mourinho said: "We are right in it, we have a good team but we need a few important bodies for next season, and I will say in the summer we will get it, I would say the team evolves in this direction, I can predict in the next season we will be real important contenders." For many, Chelsea are real important contenders this season, but what Mourinho means is that, by then, his team will play the way he wants them to. Nemanja Matic has arrived and 4-3-3 may well be in the future, but for that Chelsea needs a legitimate star striker and they need to continually show their manager that they are getting better when they immediately lose the ball. Transitions are the theme for Chelsea to improve, but in this transitional time at the club, they might even be surprising the manager with just how well they are doing. The team not built for tomorrow is becoming the team to win today. ' ' '