Champions League: Valencia 1 - 2 Chelsea

Good to have ya back Chels.

Doesn't the sky seem brighter this morning!!

I didn't get the pleasure of watching this morning here in Australia, but by all accounts the return of Drogs and Ricci to the side gave us our spine back.

If someone had offered us 4 points from the first 2 CL games, most would have accepted it.

Personally, I think that Avram is hear for the long term (so long as results are not completely attrocious), so we either start to back him and the team, or we remain depressed.

Here's hoping for 3 points on Sunday, to get the band wagon rolling again!

KTBFFH!

Perfection lies in details. Those details make a champion. Although I am happy as ever for this hard fought battle at Mestalla, let s get serious:
- tactics was pretty much as old proven by the last manager. That 433 or 4141 as we can also read it is a proven one. Can t make any better, then stick to old and proven. Forget about shows at least until we re back on track and playing blindfolded as we did
- midfield with two defensive midfielders and a midfielder won t take us there. Essien is no Deco or Scholes or even Werder s Diego. This midfield lacks imagination, and it will be necessary to continue the run we all want. My point is give Cole a chance there giving someone else the opportunity to pair with Maluda. At least for now. That pass for Drogba s goal made me remember a pass to Duff ( am I wrong? ) against Barca the first year of The Special One at The Bridge. The boy has got what it takes
- Ben Haim needs a rest, at least until next Summer. Let him warm up the bench. Even Alex is a best defender
- Ballack and Sheva all at the same time lead us to play a 442 diamond midlle that is just ... awful and uglly, with no wingers. This is no Real M. and we don t want a Galacticos team that just get s eliminated from competitions too soon. Nice try Mr Roman, but no cigar ... We prefer to have our winning ways back and a show occasionally, and what a show to watch Chelsea play in the end of the first season when we snapped the tittle. I mean, too much order equals boring, too much show equals laughing stock of the Premiership
To round up, I would like my Blues to go back to the pre Special One era as fast as possible. 2nd in the Premiership and a half final in Champions League is not bad, is it? For more silverware regularly, however, we need another perfectionist. As I said at the beginning, perfection lies in details ...
One more thing, it seems we have another Dutch in the making for the Bridge, this time Ten Cate. I mean, the man is serious business, but like Van Gaal s Barca, too many Dutch nationals, players or not in a team, make a bad day, sooner or later.

What a awesum result....gosh after the despair of the last month...this is tremendously satisfying. I can only hope that from now on the players get together and play with the same spirit that we've been used to seeing for the past 3 years. Unfortunately Jose is not going to come back...so we just need to move on. Our Premiership chances already seem to be over since we are potentially 10 points behind Arse...but we need to concentrate on the 3 cup competitions and on getting a CL spot...hopefully by winning the CL in Moscow. Now we need to go to Schalke and get another positive result. we need atleast 7 points from the next 4 games.

According to The Sun, CHELSEA will appoint Ajax manager Henk ten Cate next week:

LINK

Chelsea WILL rule world of Football!
With class....
Count on it!

This guy will be fantastic:

"While Avram Grant becomes the Blues’ team manager, responsible for the club’s public image, Ten Cate will be in charge of training and preparing the side.
His appointment by Roman Abramovich is seen as a major step forward in stabilising the club, still reeling from the loss of Mourinho two weeks ago.
Unlike Grant, Ten Cate comes with a proven track record of coaching at some of Europe’s finest clubs and also holds the UEFA Pro Licence the Israeli lacks.
But, more importantly, he is a man Chelsea’s superstars can look up to and FEAR.
Much like his predecessor, Ten Cate’s passion and big personality has commanded the respect of every dressing room he has worked in..."

LINK

I wouldnt really read too much in to what The Sun prints.

Glad to see Carvalho back. Hopefully the team can carry on their winning ways on to the weekend.

I nearly, nearly, worked last night through the game - convinced it was going to end in defeat (I predicted as much yesterday).

Certainly glad I didn't !!!!

Great performance. Like JD says, hard to pick holes, my only gripes were Mikel proving his fondness for the referees book; Kalou's two ridiculous attempts in injury time to relieve pressure by hoofing the ball out of play resulting in him hoofing it straight to Valencia players, and Ferreira completely switching off at the final Valencia free-kick. I pictured Baraja finishing that chance......

JT and DD proved how resilient we can be in the face of adversity, and by and large the rest were damn sepcial as weel. Great to see Carvalho back, although I dont know what Belletti has done to upset Avram - I'd rather he played than Ferreira.

I'm still getting over it, I'll be back later....

What! We’re appointing Henk ten Cate. What am I supposed to do with my Avram shirt?

Anyhow, as the saying goes, one swallow doesn’t make a summer but last night dispelled a few myths.

1. All players loved Jose – clearly Joey’s post match interview made it clear that he prefers playing under the new regime
2. Ricky no longer wants to play for Chelsea – he returned from injury prematurely and, despite picking up a shiner not seen since an episode of Dennis the Menace in the Beano 1954, stayed on the pitch. (Like to see how Dida would react if he got similarly clobbered)
3. Roman doesn’t care about Chelsea – if Roman didn’t care he’d have spent the night in his hotel room with his girlfriend. Instead you could see that he was kicking every ball and showed a level of emotion and commitment way beyond just having an investment

Now if we can just teach Mikel how to pass to a man in blue from 10 yards …

Great result, and potentially great appointment of Ten Cate, who looks like he'll be manager in all but name.

So good to see Carvalho back. We've been blessed with some superb centre halfs in recent years - Terry, Desailly, Gallas - but he could well be No 1.

Fifty - looks like Ferreira will get the nod in tight, defensive games, and Beletti will play when we need an overlapping right back. Could do the same with Bridge and Cole when the former is back from suspension.

When did Joe Cole say after the game?

Also Mark, I don['t think the problem was that Roman didn't care about Chelsea, it was that he cared so much he thought he should be owner, shed boy, manager and shevchenko's caddy all at the same time.

PHEWWWWWW!

That's a relief! Doom munger as i am i was prepaired for going home with no points. Ricci and DD made all the difference; Ricci so comitted and clever at the back, DD with power pace and able to hit the target (AH'HEM SHEVCHENK'NO).

Hopefully we'll see a bit of form in the Prem now, i can't bare to see us loose.

As a Fulhamite said last night we'll probably go on to win the Champions League now.

K/T/B/F/F/H

Possibly Peter. It's encouraging then that Sheva didn't appear last night. Maybe Avram isn't Romans' poodle after all?

I think Grant will be a lot more diplomatic when he disagrees with Roman than JM ever was.

Although after Fulham, even Roman must have realised it wasn't about the way Shev was being deployed, it was about the fact he's passed it, something JM realised about a year ago when he saw the bloke's half-assed efforts in training.

Interesting point about what Joe Cole said; clearly given more freedom last night but he of all people should remember that what made him a better player was the discipline he was subject to under JM. You only have to watch him play for England to see how often he disappears into stepover / backheel mode, often with very varied results.

Excellent result last nite and hopefully if ten cate does come he'l bring Klaas-Jan Huntelaar with him.
K.T.B.F.F.H

Wow - can't say what an important win that was for the Roman, Avi, the team and the fans. We all really needed it and what a tonic it was!!

I'm not getting carried away though - we could easily have lost that game 5-2 but thanks to the Spaniards lack of lethal finishing we mangaged to hold on for a win.

On a seperate note - did anyone see AC vs Rangers? That fan that lightly tapped Dida on the chest?? Dida makes me sick - grabbing his face like that. What a twat.

God Bless Chelsea

Having pondered last night, I'm not trying to take anything away from our fabulous result, but were Valencia really 'all that' ???

David Villa proved he's a class act, great finish for his goal (couldn't see Sheva or Kalou doing the same !!!) but on occassions I thought they looked fairly ordinary.

Oh to have signed him in the summer................

I see the doom sayers all stayed away today. White, and blue all over.

Everithing will come together. Any Chelsea fan new that, apart from Morinho fans with Chelsea shirts!

Know what you mean Fifty - doesn't take anything away from the achievement of winning at a place like that, but when they weren't going forward they didn't look too convincing at times.

To make last last night even better lets not forget the glorious music like sounds of bleating scousers on the phone in programmes last night. The Scousers booed their team, Gerrard was rubbish, Rafa rotated up hos own arse. Didier was happy that Marseille won. What's good for Didier is good for me.

I think pairing Paulo with Ricardo was a very good bit of management as Tommy Langly pointed out on Chelsea tv. And the team look as of they are slowly getting used to the new situation. Remember they worked with Jose every day for three years and were closer to him than us fans will ever know so it is going to take time for them to adjust from the shock of the change. This is the start of the recovery.

Any opinions on the post match handshakes/bodly language?

Hughie,

Handshakes / body language - not sure; still appeared to be a very good bond between the players themselves but their acknowledgement of Grant wasn't exactly effusive. Might be that we've been used to seeing how they reacted with Jose in the past, but (understandably) there doesn't seem to be anything like the same sort of bond with Grant as yet. Early days, so we should reserve judgement for the time being, but it will be difficult for him to command the same sort of respect as JM did.

Well I thought the players were telling us in no uncertain terms that they were united - among themselves and with the fans.

The long deferred and very cool handslaps with Grant told their own story.

Translation? "We don't need no steenkin' manager"

And JT polishing his management credentials - that was his team out there last night.

Haven't actually seen the match yet, as The Other Andy (now Greenlight) said above it wasn't on live here in Australia but it sounds like some good performances and that's promising. I'm one of those who have questioned AG's ability, and this an excellent result, so I'm feeling less like we're on a downward spiral, and if Ten Cate is coming in then things are definitely looking up.. unless AG just found JM's Powerpoint from the match last April and followed that =) I'm looking forward to the upcoming matches now though rather than dreading them, with key players returning and a bit of confidence and stability the future is definitely brighter today.. and now I get to finally watch the match =)

I thought Joe Cole had a point to prove because Jose didn't play him much earlier in the season. While my depression has eased somewhat, I'd remain cautious at this early stage, but... Well done, all the same! Keep up the good work, Chelsea lads!

So good to see our good old trusted players back in the first team. Cech, Ferreira, Carvalho, Terry, Makelele...

Grreat post by Stephen Benson -''Translation? “We don’t need no steenkin’ manager”
Hehehe, could well be right.

We don’t need no steenkin’ manager? That's stupid!

It's good to get a big scalp under your belt, lets hope AG keeps it going, that pass and goal for our second would be worth the entrance fee on it's own.

We really need to carry this over into the next couple of premiership games, we need 3 points against Bolton and Middlesbro.
And considering where they are in the league, we should accept nothing less.

Its been good to see every player getting a chance again, Props to Avram for silencing the haters.

I want to laugh...

Valencia was not all that good...JD you seriously have heavy beef with something or someone...Comparing your comments with someone posting above that Valencia could have had five goals...save for bad finnishing...now that is an interesting one...

We have had games where we had how many shots 16, 19 without a goal how many did Valencia have at our goal...Our ratio only worsened when Kalou came on to the pitch...and hey do not get me wrong...I am willing to endure him miss them now because I know he will come good....

1 loss, 1 draw and 2 wins six more games before I pass my judgement on Grant... I wonder how silly some of you will feel having sounded so....IMMATURE! A common saying goes do not judge a book by it's cover...

Oh and I loved the show at the Mastella...becoming our second home...

No Jose - I've said that Valencia looked decent going forward but were a bit wayward in their finishing and were less than convicing when not attacking. No 'beef' with anyone or anything -not sure why you suggest that - pretty clear what I thought really.

I believe it is also quite a common saying that the season ends in May. Great result, good boost for us all, but let's not get too carried away - long way to go yet.

Did someone mention beef?

yes beef, because pork is now banned on this forum

It almost looks like a few Chelsea "fans" are quite pissed about our very good game and very good result.
Not too many celebrating the 3 points earned away, on the ground of our main rivals to the first spot in our group!
By the way bookies were treating us, one would've thought that they were confusing Chelsea for Rosenborg!
Nobody points out that the only goal we conceived was a very fluky one while both our goals were beautifully crafted!
Someone commented above that Valencia could've won if they had better finishing... We played against a team with Villa, Silva, Morientes and Joaquin in attack... Are you forgetting that TSO tried to buy 2 of the 4?
Did Valencia miss, or does Chelsea have the best keeper in the world?
Did Valencia miss, or our top notch defense were nipping at their heels and didn't give 'em the perfect shot?
Abramovich proved to all Chelsea "fans" that HE knows best and he is a very smart guy, indeed. He gave TSO enough chances but things were not improving and changes were needed. Jose took the club as far as he could but sometimes you need change to get to the next level... ManU and Arsenal do it by keeping the manager but selling/buying the players... we do it by getting new management.
Think about it.
Once again, interesting to see how many of the so called "supporters" didn't show up to applaud a great victory!
Maybe they just gathered to practice their "bring back Mourinho" song for the next home game?
Oh... what am I saying... maybe some were just too busy eating that humble pie!
Go, Chelsea!

I agree with Guru!

Guru...you said...

"Once again, interesting to see how many of the so called “supporters” didn’t show up to applaud a great victory!
Maybe they just gathered to practice their “bring back Mourinho” song for the next home game?
Oh… what am I saying… maybe some were just too busy eating that humble pie!"

You really do come out with some drivel. I haven't commented because I was away playing golf with some lunatics from my local and drinking far too much for my own good. It was a good result, no-one is denying that, but it doesn't detract from the dismal fare on Saturday against (with all due respect) lowly Fulham. As I have stated before and will no doubt have to again...if I'm wrong then great, I'll happily celebrate like everyone else, but if I'm right then at least I know my judgement wasn't flawed and I can moan like everyone else. Its a win-win for me. So here I am, celebrating and applauding a great (if unexpected in my view) victory that may be a turning point but may also prove to be a false dawn.

So to all the evangelists and blue-spectacle wearing, dyed in the wool optimists, as the imperious Harvey Keitel as Winston Wolf said in Pulp Fiction, the worlds greatest movie ever made "Well, let's not start sucking each other's dicks quite yet. "

Can't see anyone on here (or anywhere else for that matter) being 'pissed' at the result andy.

Don't rise to the bait Tony, it really isn't worth it. We all know that saying... opinions are like arseholes everybody has one!

Tony,
correct me if I'm wrong (no correction needed, since I'm right, again) but TSO didn't get a better result against Fulham than Grant did at the Bridge!
One last time, Jose was great, gave us 2 titles but reached a road block.
Lets thank him and always remember him for all the good!
And lets move on to new highs!
And Tony, Grant or Grant/ten Cate can only win one game at the time... so lets take and enjoy each victory, one at the time.
As far as your last paragraph... that's what one can call "drivel".
Be happy not grumpy! Chelsea is here to stay!

Jonathan,
maybe not "pissed" but you must agree that there is quite some lack of jubilant behavior after a great victory.
I felt that even your commentary had a very "reserved" tone.
You didn't say anything wrong... but there was no joy in it either... Am I wrong?

All for one and one for all!!!

For us living near the equator “Mestalla triumph” can in the early hours of the day, the sun had barely shown over our skies that the 71st minute miracle happened. The final nail in the coffin was nearly a repetition of the 6 month old triumph at Mestalla. We have made history even when down and under so better fear us when we are up & about. A message to all the critics who feel Chelsea is a club that has only one foundation that is “money”.

The performance against Valencia was a tribute to no one especially JM, it was a tribute by the players to themselves. This is the reason why I titled this comment;

All for one and one for all!!!

Let’s move towards what happened before the game, most noticeably were the funny comments made by Joe Cole who should do less of the talking and more of the passing (what a pass it was) & than again trying to come up with the great metaphors and statements was none other than our very own AG. I can forgive him for at least trying his bit however more you do such things more you make JM legendary.

Than you had the team selection which was ok, till having Maka & Mikel playing in a similar role where you could have had Steve Sidwell providing some more variety in the team. Blue champion did make a very good point about the formation which was a mirror image of what JM used to provide however it wasn’t very attacking. Important highlights of team selection & formation are as follows:

1- Essien was being restricted in the midfield where he wasn’t doing more of moving the ball forward however playmaking responsibility was with Maka who is again more or less defensive mid fielder.
2- To make matters worst another defensive mid fielder in the shape Jon Obi Mikel. So the mid field was non-attacking forcing the wing midfielders to play very deep into their own half.
3- Terry, Ricardo, Cole & Paulo were an all-star JM styled defense, I have to say the blues were missing Belleti. The crosses from both backs were simply poor especially Ashley was struggling in his winger role.
4- Leaving out Sheva & Ben was the best thing that has happened for the blues in this fixture however this might not hang on for very long.
5- Playing Malouda & Joe on the flanks with Drogba in the center makes you do a lot of magic without being a magician.

So was this a success for AV, probably no, do I give him the credit? Yes I do, after all he is the manager. By the way you have bigger named manager screwing up at the moment, we all know what went on with the Benetiz club yesterday and than again Fergie has made one exit already. So if you see we had to go through so much, so early on (injuries & no Special one) & still we are in contention for a quadruple than I believe all credit should be passed on to two things;

1- The core team developed by JM & the club. Money well spent!!! Even without clear formation & instructions they can perform against the odds.
2- The permanent/long term coaching staff which is Stevie & his gang. They have developed the players into who they are right now.

The game has a few more concerns for me;

1- Terry should have played the game with his injury as he could have gotten himself hurt more also he was struggling in the field. I hope England isn’t expecting him to go play the qualifiers.
2- Paulo for Belleti?
3- Carvalho’s head bump swelled like a golf ball and no-substitution for him where you had Alex coming in to reinforce the defense.
4- Kalou having no finishing at all however I give him the benefit of being young.
5- Lack of striking capability minus Drogba’s shoes. Lets discuss this for a moment:
Drogba goes for the cup of nations with Kalou, you are left with Sheva & Pizzario as the first team fire power. Sheva we all know hasn’t done anything after coming on his vacations from Milan & Pizzario has yet to show his magic. Pizzario is a much better bet than Sheva because of his physical presence & finishing abilities however if he is out of action than you have no recognized alternatives. You will have to go for some reserve team stars.
6- If the rumors of JM faithful moving out this January come true we will have no striking power left. To get top notch talent with AV is not going to be easy.

More positives:

1- Even if we loose, win or loose a coach the headlines are always on our side. So the Blue revolution is all about you, me & the club. Not about individuals.
2- Even after so many denials of AG being replaced by so many other managers/coaches still the media & the fans still believe that the blues are likely to have someone prolific leading our campaign. I am also hoping on that too!!!
3- CFC website: has once again denied rumors about the Russian coach joining the bridge.
4- Rumors are also circulating about a deal being finalized to bring Henk Ten Cate from Ajax as senior team coach to work alongside or as the manager or work in parallel to Stevie. If he replaces AV, I will be glad & the players will have someone to look up to. Don’t know how would that cook however one negative is coming up which nullifies all positives of the day.

The negative of all negatives;

1- If you make Steve work alongside Ten Cate you are again not recognizing Steve’s efforts, secondly if you are making him work under Ten Cate than it makes him think about moving into a position at a club where he has more career growth and if that happens;

You will loose the most important jewel in our crown & no power in the world can replace a relationship & especially this one between man & club (park you with this thought).

Great result, but the one thing that pleased me above all else was the performance. We haven't played as well as that since,...I don't remember when. Maybe the League Cup final against the Arse?

Reassuring too that AG did everything right as far as team selection and strategy's concerned, and there were no weird substitutions, which at least, makes him better than Ranieri if you ask me.

Yeah, the jury's still out, but at least we can now be more optimistic about the verdict.

andy, you are indeed wrong. maybe I should use more exclamation marks / emoticons next time.

I was delighted by the result, but I recognise this victory for exactly what it is - very impressive, a great morale booster for all concerned but ultimately just a CL group game in October. I'd imagine that many others probably feel the same. No trophies handed out for it. And I remember being ridiculously excited (well, pissed) when we beat Arsenal in the CL not so long ago. I also remember the ensuing semi-final disaster about 2 weeks later. Travel in hope, rather than expectation and all that.

And it all comes back to the same thing; how any individual supports a club or shows their appreciation or disappointment is a personal thing. Me? I don't wear replica shirts or scarves, I don't believe everything Peter Kenyon tells me, and I don't celebrate every win on here with a load of bluster and screeching. I'm too f*ckin' old, for a start!

But I know I'm blue. Which is quite enough for me, thanks.

Chelsea to bolster coaching staff

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Pretty relieved at Valencia of course but I still don't have much faith in the EPL or the rest of our season given the lack of stability in the management now and the African CON...

Haven't commented on the Mourinho fiasco thanks to grief but now that I have had time to think about it, Roman (even with his delusions) is more important to us long term given that presumably he will open up the purse strings now that Jose is gone. So while obviously its a short and medium-term tragedy Jose left, at least we know that long term we arent threatened with a Leeds-type situation...Also, AC Milan has succeeded for two decades even with that clown Berlusconi in charge and I refuse to believe Roman could be worse than him...

Finally, on the note of Sheva, I realize most have given up on him but I believe he'll have a great second half of the season given he is historically a strong finisher who doesnt play all that well at the start of seasons (much like many of his AC Milan teammates)...That of course refers only to the Champions League since the EPL clearly isn't his cup of tea...

I will wait till the Bolton and M'Boro games to bring any opinion on Grant. So far I am convinced that can be whatever but Chelsea manager.
Great result yesterday!!!

Dutch (administrative) revolution?

I see someone mentioning that TSO took us as far as he can and there was road block. I dont understand how can you say that. He has been here for just 3 years and in that moment he brought us 2 league titles and all the domestic cups that could be won. Which manager do you think would be able achieve that? Right from his appointment as manager to CFC he was under pressure to win because of Roman's billions, and he proved to all that he can get the best out of any given situations winning all the titles besides champions league. And rem'er Peter Kenyon said that Chelsea wants to get the champions league title in 5 years time, there were still 2 years left. I agree that some of the matches played under TSO was not as exciting as Arsenal's matches. But look at their past 3 years they won nothing. It's only this season they are getting results playing good football.

I am not saying Chelsea should not play attractive football. But when you have Shevchenko and Ballack backed by roman to include in playing 11, you have to make your plans as accordingly. So, here I would blame RA.

I hope ten cate can carry from where TSO left.

P.S.: I really really liked this line "Joe Cole’s pass for the second goal. Wouldn’t have looked out of place leaving Maradona’s boot and frankly if you can’t score when provided with ammunition like that, your name is probably Shevchenko." Esp. the last part(shevchenko)

HENK TEN CATE last night admitted he has agreed to be Chelsea’s new assistant coach.

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A quick one for Blu Rehman...stop whatever you are doing as something is not right with you analysis (all of it)

Guru has struck it home for me... it is a shame that we so called Chelsea fans have taken an all time low...We all loved Jose but I think we all Love Chelsea more. Grant has really come in at a time when we are all trying to find explanations of the happening... I will support him for as long as he is there and may get to love him more than Jose if he wins the league and the Champions league...

There is that saying that goes to "do not hate the player hate the game". It is fate that put him in this position and the way things are developing I do love his game better than Jose in that it is less of a chess game and more of a basketball game setup. He is employing players with ball skills read Joe cole that were not fancied by JM hence the constant hoofing of the ball around previously.

Has anyone noticed that we keep the ball more on the ground???? I think we are transforming into something beautiful..and if so may Grant live longer...

There you go again Jose; let's spell it out slowly for you.

Just because people support a team doesn't mean that they can't criticise it when they think something is wrong. It doesn't make them any less of a fan or suggest that they've 'taken an all time low' - the continuing insinuation that it does is frankly pathetic and smacks of people who seem a little too desperate to prove how much more dedicated they are to Chelsea than anyone else. Suspicious, in my book.

I'd be very happy with Grant if I genuinely believed he was up to the job in the long term. But I don't. He'll have my support as a Chelsea manager, but for the time being he doesn't have my confidence. The potential arrival of Ten Cate (who I believe left Barca as he wanted to be more than a no. 2, which could prove interesting for Grant) and the ongoing mumblings from SW6 from the players about training sessions erring towards the shambolic suggests that I'm probably not the only one with that view.

Given that we're looking to be one of the biggest clubs in the world, it just seems odd that less than a month into the season, we've appointed a man with a very limited track record and within weeks are speculating about a 'number 2' coming in to assist him. It just seems terribly half-arsed - and I'm saying that as a concerned fan, which incidentally is no way inferior to a fan that will blindly accept everything that the club do as right.

Jose and andy, just to spell it out to you, our concerns are that Mourinho, who was a great coach, was being hampered by the fact the club was buying and selling players over the manager's head, briefing against him in the press, appointing coaches against his wishes and generally undermining everything he was trying to achieve, while simultaneously demanding he won two CL in style. Can you see why this might be a problem for a manager? Can you understand why this might mean a manager has taken the club 'as far as he could go'?

Now, given that all these roadblocks are still in place and the club is still run by wankers who accuse their own fans of being anti-semitic, we are extremely sceptical that a man with a track record like Grant's is going to surmount these difficulties and turn us into a sensible, well-run, functional football cub. Do you think Grant is that man? Can he take us to the next level?

A wholesale change in the club's structure is needed, and that require a strong personality who knows football and what is best for the club. That person is not Grant, but it might be Ten Cate.

Valencia was a very good result and I'm cock-a-hoop but guardedly so because I still can't see Grant taking Chelsea anywhere this season, just like I couldn't see Ranieri winning anything. I was right before but I hope I'm wrong this time.

And Jose, what is this crap about Chelsea playing more on the ground and Mourinho not fancying players like Cole? This is bullshit and you know it. Cole was a regular when fit for Mourinho and as for passing stats - go check out Chelsea's passing ratio under Mourinho and under Grant - no difference at all.

You're talking to people who know their club here, so don't make stuff up.

Interesting piece in the Independent this morning about the breakdown in ten Cate's relationship with Ajax.

I didn't realise last night that their 3 - 2 home defeat knocked them out of the UEFA Cup, having already failed to qualify for the Champs League (hardly a great sign, but not what I'm getting at !!!)

It says he's fallen out because he wanted more control over player transfers. Clearly the bloke has never read a single press story about our club, or ever watched an interview with Jose because he has little to no chance of having much say in who we sign.

He could bring Klaas Jan Huntelaar with him though.....

Oh, and he's got a UEFA Pro Licence. Are you watching Avram ???

The interesting thing about Ten Cate is that he is supposedly very close to Ronaldinho...

Oh god, I'd hoped we'd dropped our interest in him. He's only interested in partying.

Now if you said he was close to Messi...

JD and Peter great posts, very insightful observations on what most Chelsea fans feel.

What disappoints me at the moment on this blog is the aggressive tone of some of the posts, there is certainly no need for it, people can have a different view point.

The last thing we want on this site (which I happen to think is one of the more intellectual fans blog) are posts which sometimes look reminiscent to the nonsense on the 606 boards.

I'm certainly not advocating censorship here, but perhaps Nick you should be looking carefully at the tone of some of the posts and remind people to act responsibly, and that would include myself if I stepped over the mark.

Peter,

Messi's almost too old at Barca !!!

Dos Santos and Bojan Krkic - they're the future.....

I know I am sad - but I play Champ Manager. Have any of you seen Avi Grant's rating on champ Manager? He sucks!! So does Ten Cate by the way.

The game does rate sheva really highly though so hopefully they rating syatem is wrong!!

I believe Barca's youth policy now extends to babies in the womb that can deliver a sharp, well-aimed boot to the mother's ribs.

Not if Arsene 'coat hanger' Wenger gets there first...

Harsh. But fair...

JD,

That's correct. My unborn was signed up, a real kicker in his embryonic days, but he's just turned one and he's got a bit of a milk-belly on the go so they've released him.

I heard today on the radio that Barca have purchased an option on any potential love-children of Ronaldinho and Marta.

Hi again all, I have been away for a while but have had the need to say something on recent events. I agree with many and really most on here, and with Jonathan's lets wait and see approach. One win does not a season make!.Great win against Valencia but it seemed the guys were playing for themselves not the manager or the owner as Joe Cole commented, 'it was like 11 brothers'!! notice he did'nt once mention the manager!! Also, last year was do or die in the knockout stages. Even if we had lost, we would probably have qualified albeitly in 2nd, So for the future, let's wait and see. Also, We had Carlvaho and Drogba back who have been missing for quite some time barring Drogs at Fulham which we still did not win. Oh! why does the Grant keep on referring back to Jose seemingly to put him down? He better stop that now!! This new dutch coach....is this the one who alongside Rikkard at Barca never beat Mourinho unless we had only ten men on the pitch? So much for how good he is! Again though, we shall see. I hope he can help but many of us will need to be convinced. Jose was and of course still is a winner, before he came to Chelsea and Roman gave him money! As for the puppet master Roman, dont forget everyone, these days there are many more billionaires out there and big money consortiums who can buy Chelsea, so as has been pointed out already here, if he wants to, he can go anytime with our thanks for the last 5 years, the same as he and the club thanked Jose for the last 3 years!! Frankly, I am sorry to say that even though I want us to win evrything and rub it in the media,s nose, I cant quite help smelling that bad smell now until Grant dissapears and to be really honest , Roman too. What he did and Grant behind Joses back I will never forget or forgive. My backing is for Chelsea Football Club who will be here long after they've gone and for the players, especially, Drogba, Terry, Lampard, Carvalho and others. These are the real soldiers who need our support. Laslty, comments on here regarding Mourinho fans with Chelsea shirts on show how little some fans remember the days of other greats including when I used to see Osgood play when we won nothing basically except and FA cup and a few others out there. The reason MAn-u, Liverpool, Real Madrid, AC Milan and Barca are greats are because they have won their leagues copius amounts as well as European titles. Mourinho bought that to Chelsea and would have done more. No other manager in Chelsea's history did that... none! So Mourinho fans need make no apologies! So, lastly, our greatest thanks go to our Colonel so to speak. Jose Mourinho, 'The Special One'.

My apologies to our manager and the boys who won in 1955. They will not be forgotten either!! Mourihno in that respect is our 2nd greatest manger of course.

Hey mates. Any opinions for the coming game?

Jonathan what do think of how will be performing on Sunday?

Peter, you said:
"Jose and andy, just to spell it out to you, our concerns are that Mourinho, who was a great coach, was being hampered by the fact the club was buying and selling players over the manager’s head, briefing against him in the press, appointing coaches against his wishes and generally undermining everything he was trying to achieve, while simultaneously demanding he won two CL in style. Can you see why this might be a problem for a manager?"

Please continue spelling it out for me, WHICH players (outside of Sheva) have been bought and am even more curious to hear WHICH players have ever been sold over Jose's head.
And, also, when was the club briefing against Jose in the press? I read a lot(!!) but never saw anything like that. Could you, kindly tell me what are you referring too?
Thank you.

You are definitely right Dio! I keep repeating that it is not Grant's magic but rather our players spirit, which comes from the Mourinho's legacy. Make no mistakes!
However, we cannot dwell on that because Chelsea will still exist after Abrahamovic and co. We got a dilemma between supporting our team and supporting what is going on at the Bridge with all this behind-the-scenes stuff.
we cannot let Chelsea down, even greatly affected players like Drogba, Lampard and Carvalho did understand it. We have to move on as a club. Even Mourinho will acknowledge to prefer his Chelsea still up!
I still do believe Grant is not the man to let us further but our soldiers (Terry, Lampard, Carvalho, Drogba) will try to make us pride. we won't be special anymore (with Grant at the helm, for sure) but won't be ridiculous either. We will still be a top-4 team and winning one cup and go to last stages of all competitions.

Come on the Blues!

erratum:
you should have read 'lead us further' instead of let us
My mistake I think most of u spotted it!

limetreebower - hope it doesn't get the father's looks...

can we please stop these mour-ning syndrome it really sucks !!! he aint coming back !!!lets just support grant for the cheleas sake... all those fans who are still in denial

Why people keep dwelling on the matter. Let's move on?
which score for Sunday?

'WHICH players (outside of Sheva) have been bought and am even more curious to hear WHICH players have ever been sold over Jose’s head.
And, also, when was the club briefing against Jose in the press?'

Are you really this naive or did you spend most of the last year with your head in the sand?

Though anyone is entitled to have divergent opinions, I don't think the issue you raise is constructive.
Let's move on? Which player should be lined-up on Sunday.

Come on the blues.
My formation for the Sunday's game is:
-------------Cech----------------
Belletti Carvalho Terry Ashley Cole
J. Cole Essien Makelele Malouda
-------Pizzaro Kalou-------------

If Lampard's fit I prefer opting for:

---------------Cech---------------
Belletti Carvalho Terry Ashley Cole
Essien------Makelele-------Lampard
J.Cole-------------------Malouda
--------------Pizarro------------

Comes on the Blue

As for the bench:
Kalou, Cuddicini, Sidwell, Alex, Ferreira, Sinclair

Please no Scheva there
Thanks Stevie Clarke!!

Peter,
I didn't think you had a good answer.
Naive... Me?
Oh... I keep forgetting about that "British sense of humor". I get it, you were kidding!
On a serious note, can you name, one or 2 (feel free to give as many as you know) players that have been bought / sold (again, outside Sheva) over Jose's head?

Bobiyou,

na mate,

Kalou shouldn't start a game for us until he can score a goal! I know he was top scorer in the Eridevise before we brought him, i just wonder were they all penalties???

I'm going for a 0-1 or 1-2 win.

A personal message to Roman 'Can you sign a cheque for £25m to purchase one David Villa in the January transfer, he's the perfect compliment to DiDi and a decent lone striker. P.s. Try and look like you want to be a the games'

K/T/B/F/F/H

Ok Guru this is the story. If you got the opportunity to catch an insider in Chelsea camp ask him. What I am gonna say is definitely true

Play sold over the head of Mourinho:
Gallas,
Duff,
Gudjhonssen
Robben (They got a strain relationship but he knows RObben would have been pivotal in the new attacking football abrahamovic craves)

Plays bought over Mourinho's head

Boulharouz
Schevchenko
Ben Haim
Alex
Belletti (Everybody knows his first option was Daniel Alves)

Players Mourinho did request but has been refused

Samuel Eto'o
David Villa
Miguel
Milan Baros

I do accept that some signings of Mourinho was costly but here is all Mourinho's signings:

Essien
Carvalho
Drogba
Ashley Cole (not willing but accepted)
Ballack (not willing but accepted)
Ferreira

for the Scheva's story, let me tell the right version:
Mourinho asked for Eto'o in first instance, Abrahamovic proposed him Scheva, Mourinho did insist for Eto'o so was Abrahamovic for Scheva.
Mourinho didn't oppose to the signing of Scheva, who was then a world-class striker.
But once Mourinho start being aware Scheva's legs were gone and did come in London for an early retirement, he decided not to line him up anymore. This resulted in a rift with Abrahamovic along with the ever-growing influence from the other people like Arnesen and co seeking for more power to rip off the big Russian... Everybody knows the end of the story.

It's not a fiction, I know some pals close to some players and know what I am talking about. It's not coming from a reading in Times or whatsoever.

I can tell you who were more and less affected by his departure...

;-) Let's move on and keep the Blues flag up there

Come on the Chels'

At last one positive comment.
Chee Beef You right
I think we are missing ammunition up front. We are very light, when comes the African Nations Cup how are we going to deal with the departure of Kalou and Drogba even if we don't need to worry much about the former..lol

David Villa could be the answer..
we could try to lure Huntelaar as well as we already picked up Ten Bates.

Guru

How about Ballack (a gift from RA), Bhoularouz (Arnesen showing the magic touch again), Asier Del Horno as 3 examples of players being bought in over JM's head.

Gallas, Huth, Robben, Diarra and Glen Johnson would seem to have departed the club against the wishes of JM.He wanted to give LD and GJ more time to develop but FA had given RA the nod that neither was good enough and that he had better prospects in mind. Frankly I think Arnesen's contribution thus far has been as useful as that of our PR fuckwit Simon Greenberg. Yes, about as much use as Andrew Ridgeley was to Wham.

Info provided to me by someone who works at the club, but may not for much longer.

Bobiyou, don't wanna come across as confrontational but it has to be said; that list of "non Mourinho" signings is total, unmitigated bollocks.

That is all.

Tony, should your info be from the inside, I won't be able to argue!
But if the insider is a disgruntled fan, I would tell you what my take is on it, based solely on media info and a very sharp mind (I'm talking about my mind, obviously).
I know for a fact that Ballack has only agreed to sign after personal meetings with Jose, during which he was satisfied that Jose had a plan that was making room for him and Lamps on the field at the same time! If you remember Jose called him Untouchable!
Del Horno was a Jose pick. I doubt there is any reason to believe TSO had a real problem with Bhoularouz.
Now, on Robben, Roman was the one saying that Robben is not for sale at any price , but Jose listened to Drogba and brought in Malouda and it is known that Jose wasn't in love with Robben for quite a while.
Huth wanted out because there wasn't room for him and G Johnson is not good enough. Jose never wanted him. If you remember, Glen was the first player bought by Roman!!!
Gallas... I don't know... only he knows what really went on... Jose took some ugly shots at him in the press.
So, Tony, what's going on... Peter had no argument left and called you for a helping hand?

Southside Bucky, Not confrontational but highly offensive mate! Check on it you will get the truth!
If you do pretend knowing Mourinho I am afraid to tell you that it is utterly wrong!
You can review his past interviews (Easily accessible via bbc website or chelsea tv online)it is very easy to read between the lines.
I ain't pretentious to say so.
But how do you interpret the story of omellettes and eggs. The fact that Robben is a player who did and will play an important part in my team. No even regarding Boulharouz when facing lack of defensive players.
You cam't deny it. That's a fact which needs to be mentionned! That is all. Cheers mate ;-)

Look, nobody knows exactly who wanted who and who sold who (although I have my suspicions), and that's exactly my point. Can you imagine this sort of debate being had at Arsenal and Manchester United?

The fact is there are far too many people involved in the footballing side of the club and they have not all been pulling in the same direction and there's little to suggest that a) that is going to change; b) they could be relied up to make the right decisions even if they were backing each other up rather than stabbing each other in the back.

Andy, if you think Chelsea are a well run club, that Arsene Wenger looks at Stamford Bridge and thinks 'that's the way to do it!' then that's fantastic. Me, I'm not so sure.

Now let's move on, we've Bolton to beat. And if Frank plays, it's as good as done...

Arnesen and Grant were both brought in above Mourinho's head, without question.

Huth, Gallas and probably Gudjohnsen all went without his approval; selling two centre halves and bringing in one full back on deadline day? Mourinho may have been many things, but he wasn't stupid. He was less than cryptic when talking about this event when it happened.

Alex was Arnesen's choice; when he arrived it was fairly well documented that Mourinho had proposed Richards with Onyewu and Andrade as cheaper options - all refused.

Shevchenko arrived having not had a full medical, brought his own physio with him and generally disrupted things down in SW6. His knees are f*cked, he can't run anymore and if he isn't retired and playing golf within 2 years, it'll be a miracle. Milan had resisted selling him for a long time, just as any number of other clubs resist selling their top players. They saw an offer too good to refuse, simple as.

This isn't about getting behind one manager over another, it's about those of us who are watching in disbelief as the club they love is pulled from pillar to post by people who seem to value their egos above all else.

And we're told this is wrong and disloyal by people who either have lived on the moon for the past year and missed the soap opera that has been CFC, or when they have watched one game against a very average Championship side, decide that they "prefer this brand of football".

Quite unreal.

Not sure about Huntelaar - lots of goals in Holland ain't always all that.

I think we better focus on how we should reinforce our team because I can't see any strength in depth. No Definitely!
And comes the Africa Nations Cup, we will be without:
Essien, Mickel, Drogba, Kalou
for the latter, nevermind
but our midfield will be decimated!
With Grant or not, it will be hard after Christmas for sure. If we don't buy players in January I think that our title challenge will be gone if it has been by that time.
And I have been VERY VERY optimistic as I assumed we haven't got any injuries

For the Bolton game,
I will give my forecast, tomorrow evening...

Come on the Blues.
Hey guys I have you seen Match countdown today. was very interesting.

There 'aint a single player (Shevchenko included), whoever played a game for us during Mourinho's tenure that wasn't there without his total consent.

Employment wise, Arnesen and Grant were out of his remit. Team wise, HE CALLED THE SHOTS! To suggest otherwise is utterly disrespectful of Mourinho the man, and what he was all about.

We cannot expect too much in the way of transfers in during January. What really good player is going to want to come to cover Essien, say, simply for a few weeks, for if Essien is fit, he will play (a bit like Frank)? Unless he has a complete loss of form, he is really among the best in the world.

I'm guessing that for the ANC matches, Makalele will be fronted by Frank and Ballack, if fit, Sidwell if not. We'll end up playing 4-3-3 since it will accommodate best the remaining players. Clearly, any injuries will be a problem, but if we can put out a team with this midfield, and remembering that the defense is untouched, we should not lose too many games though I haven't looked yet at the matches during the ANC.

Winning is a different matter. I would like to see Pizarro used more in games since he is the obvious (?) replacement for Drogba and practice makes perfect. Of course, there is always JT or Alex for centre forward if we're desperate :-)

Another possibility is to use Bridgey in midfield. He knows how to tackle, is quick, and can distribute the ball. He is much underused which is a shame.

LINK

Shut the fuck up sheva and let's see you score goals on the pitch not in your head...

Nice to see that JT and Drogba got a place in the FIFPro World XI for the 2006/07 season.... but nobody will ever convince me that ANY keeper will be selected ahead of our own Petr Chech, not even Buffon.

"Such is the discontent with Grant's accession that one senior player considered making himself unavailable for selection for last week's Champions League game at Valencia to facilitate a January transfer to another major European club. Though that individual played in the end..." - The Guardian.

Could that be Drogba? or Ashley Cole? I wonder...

evening JD, I couldn't see the Bolton game, so you see, I'm waiting for your review :)

Thank you in advance

Id like to see Shevchenko find form at chelsea but to do that he needs more games.

JUST SELL SHEVA THE GUY IS BEYOND HELP HIS GOLDEN DAYS ARE GONE