FA Cup: Chelsea 1 - 1 Southend United

First, ok!!
Our form is shambolic!!!! Our defence is one big disaster!!! Don't tell me not to panic as I do not!!! I am simply stating the fact and the fact is as follows: We drew to low opposition by letting them score in the dying minutes of the game!!!! We did not attack them we were defending our ONLY ONE GOAL lead!!!!

It's time that Scolari is replaced immediately. We need somebody like Mourinho to keep the pressure and the attitude for an entire season. Big Phil seems to lack that inspirational skills. Maybe he got away with the WC with Brazil, credit to him, but not at this level of high demand consistency.We sure dont look like the premier league champions this time. Maybe its time to think of an inspirational Manager and a young team with all the big guns off-loaded (Deco,Drogba...). Atleast we can hope for the next season and the future.

So another awful result against lower league opposition and now the blame game starts. Obviously i've pointed my finger at the wally parading around the touchline (if only he had a brolly). Yet, i've stopped panicking and instead decided to move to the "we won't win anything this season so just sit back and wait for the manager to get the sack" camp.

It's annoying having to waste another 9 months watching the team fail as i thought last season was supposed to be the transitional one. This season was supposed to be our return to glory; league champions perhaps or going one better in Europe. Instead we look further away from success than we did when being led by that clown last season. Perhaps i have to eat some humble pie and admit that he was a hidden genius. Nah, that's crazy talk. But he did at least realise that you shouldn't try tampering with a well oiled machine when it still knows how to grind out victories and relentlessly drive themselves towards success. If you don't have the Kakas and Ronaldinhos of this world, then stop trying to make us play like Brazil. All the talk that Avram was brought in to make us play stylish football was bullshit as he knew that he should just let the team run itself. And so he did. Why doesn't Phil take that stance?

Half way through the season i've been trying to work out why we've suddenly turned into the 3rd best team in England (yep, we must all admit that Liverpool are playing better than us this season). Obviously i'll try to link all our problems to Phil:

1. Tactics - I think we've only got one. A narrow 4-3-3 relying on Ashley and Bosingwa to provide some width as we endlessly pass the ball from side to side before running out of ideas and running all the way back to Cech. I remember when Jose arrived he tried his Champions League winning 4-4-2 diamond for the first few games. Yet when he realised we didn't have a Deco and instead had wingers he switched to the all conquering 4-3-3...

That's what a good manager does. He has more than 1 tactic in his head and chooses the right one. See how Jose suddenly switched to a 4-4-2 diamond to win our second title with Crespo and Didier and this season at Inter he started with a 4-3-3 only to find his wingers were shit and is now playing a 4-3-1-2. A manager should be flexible and yet despite our alarming dip in form we've seen no change.
2. Squad/Team selection - Perhaps our problems should be blamed on Kenyon for not bringing in Robinho. But we should have a good enough squad to beat the likes of Fulham, Burnley, Cluj, Southend... Last season Kalou scored 11 goals and provided a ridiculously high no. of assists as he was given a run in the side with Joe Cole. Now though we endlessly see Deco being given 90 mins whilst being played on the left wing. He should have been dropped weeks ago and Phil's obvious penchant for all things Portuguese/Brazilian has led to the side forgetting how to win games. I know we're missing Essien, but we've now got a virtually fit squad and yet we're getting worse.
3. Passion - Lately, the team has appeared strangely subdued, lost or have perhaps stopped caring. I hardly ever see the same fight or passion as i did under Jose and this became embarrassingly clear when we held up the shit falg against Arsenal with 30mins to go. How i miss the days of players throwing their shirts to the fans after a hard fought victory or JT on the verge of exploding with delight at a last minute equaliser as he did in the Nou Camp. When was the last time we got a last minute equaliser? What angers me more is the fact that Phil hardly ever acknowledge the fans. Why doesn't he come over to the fans after an away win or run onto the pitch after a great victory? Maybe it was just Jose who liked to do it but i don't think he's got the same connection with the fans Jose had.
4. Set-pieces - We can't score them or defend them. These basic failings are down to Phil.

Rant over.

Third best team in England? I don't think so. We are still living off the fast start. Since November 2nd we have been worse than mediocre. I have not felt embarrassed for Chelsea in a long time, but I am now.

Don't worry the guys will come good in the end - it's just a down time

Now where's Avrahm when we need him LOL!!!!

Aye sloppy is an understatement as to what happened yesterday, rather careless to allow it twice in a week.
But would I swap my allegiance to support the richest club in the world who have the money to buy anyone, and lost 3-0 yesterday?

Perspective people we're still in it.

I agree that a bit of perspective is necessary. Quite understandably, our expectations have been heightened in recent years, and we are less tolerant of adverse results than we once were, but hey, its the Cup and thats whats so great about it. A club like Southend can nick a result and take us back to their place for a big payday. Without doubt, we'll do them in the replay, and in the meantime, we've got a huge match to look forward to next weekend. I wouldn't have it any other way!

Just think, it could be worse. One of my mates is a Saints supporter - second last in the Championship and looking forward with some trepidation to a visit from ManUre tomorrow.

Then there's my Leeds supporting mate...

KTBFFH.

Perspective?

Results since Roma

Loss (away) Roma
Win (away)
Draw (home)
Win (away)
Draw (home)
Draw (away)
Loss (home)
Win (away)
Win (home)
Draw (home)
Draw (away)
Win (home)
Draw (away)
Draw (home)

14 played: 36% Wins, 50% Draws, 14% Loss

Mourinho 168 played: 70% Wins (117), 19% Draws (32), 11% Loss (19)

Title contenders? For the last two months we have been under performing. I know those statistics are incorrect as we did start the season flying, and I have excluded them.

But since that Liverpool game and Roma game, the premiership figured out Scolari's only tactic so those results in my opinion are now obsolete.

@BENJAMI
Well, I agree that something wrong has happened after Liverpool and Roma games. I am not blaming Scolari and I am not crying for TSO, but something should be done!
@To all...
We have had too many problems, so far and one of them, if not the most important one, it is loss of Steve Clarke. To my opinion this is OUR BIGGEST PROBLEM!!!!!
Ray Wilkins is not there yet and Scolari doesn't know EPL. Now add to it injuries, loss of motivation our senior players show, and you what you see is what you get.
The last season was not transitional, last season was big mistake. This season is transitional season. We should keep Scolari and let him build the team according to his vision.
As supporters we can critisize, but stop calling for some ones head this is not right.

@ Blue Mikel

it is loss of Steve Clarke. To my opinion this is OUR BIGGEST PROBLEM

Not thought a huge amount about it before now, but I suspect you are bang on the money there.

Yes I suppose Clarkey was the last link for the players to the JM era and training methods.

@KAISERJONNY_II
He (Steve) has left in September and, if one analyses our game stats in a post Clerke period it becomes quite an obvious. Now add to it an amount of defensive mistakes in terms of the goals we leaked in the dying minutes of the game and it become even more clear!!!
Scolari still does not know how to manage in England. I am not saying he is a bad manager, God forbid, all what I am saying is that HE has to adapt to EPL!!! The loss of Clarke made his education very hard and painful for all of us!!!

. Now add to it an amount of defensive mistakes in terms of the goals we leaked in the dying minutes of the game and it become even more clear!!!

@Blue Mikel
We've only conceded goals twice so far this season in the last minutes of games, so I hardly think that's a yardstick to define Clarkes loss to us, but I agree that something isn't quite working with regard our form since his departure.

He was there for the whole of the season last year and we conceded six times late in games.
On saying that for all the late goals we've conceded not one of them has led to a defeat for us.

Scolari enjoys in England a totally different image than the one he has in BR or even PT. In the press he is often labeled as a " gentleman ", but in BR and PT he is more known for being a choleric person regarding players and even with the press. He for sure is not a bad trainer, but in my opinion not good enough or the EPL. He is a person from old the school, and stayed there unlike Ferguson. His carrier was mostly done in BR and only there he got some silverware. In PT is has won nothing. I believe if I stays longer in EPL, then himself will appear more and more.

@CLIVE
Our form started to decline since Clarke left. Conceding goals in the dying minutes is just one of the forms of our decline!!! We are moving down amigo and on this way down there are lot of different stops and stations. Leaking goals in the last minutes of the game is just one of them.

@CLIVE
On saying that for all the late goals we've conceded not one of them has led to a defeat for us

It brought us to the lack of silverware in the last season!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

Ipswich at home.

Let's be honest, we are blessed.

@ Mark

Ipswich at home.

Let's be honest, we are blessed.

Thought I'd stumbled onto a Southend blog for a moment...

I know there is a lot of question marks at the minute and we are going through a gigantic dip in form. We are not getting the rub of the green while others are, not to forget.

Having said that, it could all change in a week. We have a great record at Old Trafford and let's face it they are not exactly hitting on all cylinders either. Nick a win up there and we'll be back on the map and the whole season can change on that result. But we must win, simple as!

Sacking TSO was a disasterous mistake (some of us knew it at the time)and we are getting paid the consequences of that decision. He was never going to win the league every year, but he would have duplicated or improved upon the red nose success at United over the years. Liverpool held on to Benitez and now they are seeing the fruits of it.

Let's get a famous victory at OT on Sunday and the rest will be history!

Come On You BLUES......

@ Mark
Ipswich at home.
Let's be honest, we are blessed.

First we have to bit Southend, so far we could not do it at home :-)

Formality

@Mark
Hanukkah is over and for the next visible period of time there will be no miracles :-)

LINK

Scolari, make some primtive remarks. If these are his best tatics to conduct the team, we are lost.

Not that long ago you could bank on us going to Old Trafford after such a poor run of form and pulling off a great result. Can't see how/where it's going to come from this time. And after that we have trips to Anfield and Villa Park. If Villa overtake us in mid February Phil the Large will be under considerable pressure to walk.

We have to finish at least 3rd this season because of the changes being made to CL qualification rounds for next season. English clubs will no longer get the protection of always being drawn against some minnow from Lithuania and instead could face the likes of Valencia, AC Milan or even Real if they finish 4th.

Also, Roman has never seen us finish outside the top 2 since he took over. Even the likes of Claudio and Avram got us to finish as runners-up. He fired both of them because they didn't win anything despite their achievements in the league and CL, imagine what he'd do to Phil if we finished 4th and didn't win anything!

I know that all chelsea supporters out there are very dissapointed. and so am I. We are drawing with Southend I mean come on are you serious it's p-e-t-h-e-t-i-c.This has happened befor against barnsley and then we went on to lose in penalties. Look I think we should be playing our best team ( I mean Carlo in goal.) although I guess Scholari wants no Injurys for the Clash with United coming up soon. But do we actually think Cech's head injury is going to happen all over again, and were is Anelka he is our top scorer not to mention the Premier Leagues top scorer, he hasen't been injured once this season NOT ONCE it's not like some Southend guy is going to kick him in the Face.
But Anyway Overall the Chelsea Boyz got a run. Hopefully we can think of it as a warm up match before the clashwith united.

But i thought all the players love Phil:

LINK

"Joe Cole is expected to seek talks with the Chelsea manager, Luiz Felipe Scolari, after being taken off against Southend United - the 12th club match in a row in which the England midfielder has been substituted.

Cole was taken off in the 84th minute on Saturday with Chelsea leading 1-0 and went down the tunnel without shaking hands with Scolari or acknowledging his manager.

The 27-year-old is understood to want to discuss his predicament with Scolari. Although he is regularly starting matches for Chelsea, he is becoming wearily accustomed to being taken off, at times because of injury, and twice in a run which stretches back to late September he has been substituted at half-time.

Scolari, who has been the subject of criticism recently from the striker Didier Drogba, claimed on Friday that all his players 'love him'."

If Joe is looking for an answer as to why he never finishes games then he should just ask the fans. It's because he's not Portuguese and his name isn't Deco. If he was an over the hill Barcelona reject who happened to speak Portuguese then he'd be an untouchable, but seeing as he isn't he should get used to getting subbed.

I wonder who'll last longer; Phil or Joe. No question in my mind who i'd rather see at Chelsea next season.

It's because he's not Portuguese and his name isn't Deco.

Plainly incorrect I'm afraid, Habs. Whilst Phil's favouritism towards Deco is often baffling, Joe is being subbed every game because he is unfit, plain and simple. To see a 27 year old international footballer almost doubled over with his hands on his knees breathing through his backside after 60 minutes (yes, this has happened - a lot - and he appears to be running off the ball far less than in previous seasons) is bloody ridiculous and if Joe can't see that then he has a serious problem. He is simply not doing enough to justify his place (not that he's alone in that); his fitness is something that both the management and Joe himself are responsible for - be very interesting to know who isn't keeping their side of the bargain.

I didn't watch the game, it would be interesting to know what people think of the Obi,Belletti+Lamps trio as opposed to Ballack in terms of CONTROLLING the game.

While its ok to give scolari some stick,,,how many chances did frank create or was he taking shots all day, again?

roman needs to about that half a billion SPENT/WASTED by Jose and fund a new team. scolari seems to be targeting decent players.

Happy New Year and all that gubbins.

I'm back. Laptop has been working for a few days, but I haven't really had the motivation to even discuss CFC.

My family want to take this opportunity to thank TSSO (hereby known as The Slowly Sinking One) for me partaking in more social interraction over the festive period than I normally would have. I have been thoroughly disinterested in football for a few weeks.

After the Everton debacle, and the uninspiring win against the Baggies, the trip to the Cottage had draw written all over it, even if we did have to wrestle one point from three at the death. Saturday would have pushed me over the edge, had I been near one.

Wayne has left for pastures new 'to concentrate on the league' (you know Sparky will utter those immortal words soon. Probably when he unveils the signing of David Villa, Kaka, Ronaldinho, Messi etc.).

One thing I found interesting about Man U last night was the appearance of Danny Welbeck. Thats two goals for the first team now. Yet he was playing in the FA Youth Cup game when our lads beat them 3-2 at OT and ours aren't even getting a sniff !!! Sinclair got 5 minutes against Southend - what is he going to do in that time? We still can't score for sh*t, Drogba's going through the motions, Anelka's gone a bit off form.

2009 is a make or break year Phil.

@Henry
It appears you don't see any of the games you comment on. So why the fuck do you spout your usual bollocks on here? Oh wait a minute yes we do know you're a fucking troll!

Re Deep Blue 24 LINK

Sometimes we just don't say it enough and take it for granted so let me be the first to say I love you all.

And I know that you love me; I can feel the love.

@Mark25

aleluia.... I do fell the love, too. We are blessed... :-)

@Kaiser

Yep, i know it was a cheap shot against Deco and i totally agree that the fact Joe can hardly last till the hour mark without collapsing in the centre circle is an embarrassment for a player who kept complaining about the treatment Jose gave him, yet it was Jose who made him the great player he is/was. But despite that i do feel Joe should have been given a greater chance to show what he can do for more than 70mins in a game. I can't remember the stats i saw a couple of days ago, but it showed the number of times Deco (hardly in the best physical shape) was given 90 mins compared to Joe.

Anyway, we've now got a fully fit squad (minus Essien and Malouda) for Old Trafford. We need a win and we need a change to the side to try and surprise Fergie. Otherwise he'll just use Park and Rooney to chase back and block Ashley and Bosingwa, as he did at the Bridge and then we'll be lost. I fear Scolari won't have taught the team anything different. After all he gave them 3 days off after the Fulham game and look at the difference it made to our concentration and defending. I'd pick:

Cech
Bosingwa Ricky JT Ashley
Mikel
Joe Lamps Ballack Kalou
Didier

I think the team picks itself with only the LW position up for grabs. It could have gone to Anelka but i can't picture him chasing back against Ronaldo and Rafael as much as Kalou would. What i fear is the return of Deco after his rest against Southend. We'll end up carrying him and going to Old Trafford in need of win whilst basically playing with 10 men will only result in disaster. It pains me to say it but i'm predicting a 2-0 defeat. My head says a 2-0 defeat but my heart tells me a Jose-esque 1-0 smash and grab.

The Joe/Deco argument is interesting. I don't see Joe as being that unfit at the moment, but Herr Kaiser, I promise to take a closer look during games. I'm still a big fan of talent over fitness....something the likes of George Best, Glenn Hoddle and Peter Osgood knew how to exploit. To a degree Rooney fits in thsi bracket as well.

However, Deco has been the archetypal proponent of Utter Cuntery (@ KaiserJonny_II PLC). I don't really give a flying fuck about stats on passing accuracy, the fact remains my passing accuracy would be similar if all I did was pass it 6 foot to the nearest bloke in a the same colour shirt. The truth is he gets in the way, often intercepting passes destined for other players. He then proceeds to waste possession by passing backwards or allowing a player to come in and remove the ball from him. He rarely tracks back to try and regain possession, but when he does its usually accompanied by a woeful tackle that gets a caution or free kick.

Deco, in a word is shite.

@ Habs

The Deco thing is baffling, definitely; the only thing I can think is that is because he is the player that Phil knows best, he is his 'man on the pitch' - a little worrying if so.

The thing that frustrates me about Joe is that we know he can do it; if he was honest with himself he'd ask what we're asking - where is the Joe Cole that popped up and scored the winner in the 80th minute at Anfield; who left Sol Campbell on his arse at Highbury to seal the win against Arsenal; who turned three United defenders inside out on the last day of another title-winning season...? I could go on but the point is made; there may be many reasons for his current form including management team failure, but Joe needs to be honest with himself in the first instance if he can't understand why he's constantly being subbed.

@ Tony

Morning - was in the middle of my ramble when you posted yours; just an overall impression I've from what I've seen of Joe recently - he seems to be running far less (may be down to instructions, of course) but seems more tired than before which just doesn't add up at all.

Has to be said that one of Joe's failings in the past (and the reason that Mourinho used to lose his rag with him) is that he often doesn't do what the manager wants him to and drifts into Joe showboat world. Might be the case with Phil too.

"Cech
Bosingwa Ricky JT Ashley
Mikel
Joe Lamps Ballack Kalou
Didier "

has been been tried at least a million times and proven not to work. so, to everybody that keeps insisting on it...let me quote my mate Schmitt,

'If you don't succeed at first try again, and if you don't succeeed, try again; if you don't succeed AGAIN, QUIT making a fool out of yourself'

@habs-do you realise the only diffe. btwn your pick and scolari's regular is one player. so what makes you think you would do a better job than him?

@Haberdonkey

You claiming that Deco is being favoured...Hey silly He was not even on the bench.

Your beloved Lampard got a run on the left and well teamed up with you Jose Mourinho darlings to draw with a quack team.

I wish we would have all the Mourinho Old boys out of the club as they have shown reluctancy in holding the team before a man...

Fuck my old boots, they're all out today.

NURSE! THE SCREENS!

Fuck my old boots, they're all out today.

@Nick
I'm putting in a "Transfer" request to another blog, my agent will be in touch soon.

Hello I follow your great Blog for about a year now (I have to admit my motivation was first to see on what form our Mannschafts captain Ballack is but after a while I really lost my heart to your club) and I cant see how big your problems are at the moment, only two decent strikers, heavy problems at setpieces (but thats a matter of real training I guess) and a lack on the left wing, so why dont you just buy a cheap and strong winger?
Podolski would be a great idea I think, he would have Ballack who can introduce him to the club and help him for a good start and he will be burning since he cant play at Bayern with Klose, Toni and Ribery in front of him. And the best reason imo is that he wont cost too much, Hoeness recently made a price tag of about 8 Mio pounds so its really affordable. Maybe he hasnt the perfect class at all but hes still young, very fast with a great pace a would make some fire even as substitude. Imagine your wings with Cole and Podolski you would overrun every defence from both sides creating space in the center where Drogba, Lamps, and Ballack are only waiting to be feed and score (I already saw this work some times especially last season)

@ Heinz

Welcome - good to have another convert to the cause :-)

Would love to see Podolski here - not sure he'd be interested though; thought the whole 'big club' experience at Bayern had left him a bit disillusioned with being a bit part player which he'd probably be subject here to a certain extent.

For once it would nice to be able to have intellectual bloging without the ebrious manners of clive and jd. especially clive, you input on matters football is zero, so please desist from playing moderator, and your diction suits a bin collector. i do find you amusing at times, but try to ignore the bloggers that you don't like.simple.

from now onwards i am bloging as 'moffat' instead of hnery.
does anybody else realise we have problems with all our wingers? isn't there a reason why our wing play doesn't work? its not just deco&joey. have we all forgotten about malouda, kalou, swp? remember jm taking off robben&duff after 25 mins. the other day?

@musumba
happy new year mate! go easy on habs, its not worth it.

Shan't.

For once it would nice to be able to have intellectual bloging without the ebrious manners of clive and jd. especially clive, you input on matters football is zero, so please desist from playing moderator, and your diction suits a bin collector. i do find you amusing at times, but try to ignore the bloggers that you don't like.simple.

Henry/Moffat
LOL LOL LOL

Just logged on after an internet-free weekend and find I've already dispatched Saturday's debacle to the dustbin of fading memories of a game best forgotten.

However while contemplating the bottom of a bottle of Glenfiddich over the festivities I had a sudden flash of inspiration and realised that rather than have a whip round to buy Roman's yacht so he will keep us afloat we need to remember that Great Universal Truth:

"Everything that's gone wrong in the Entire World including the economic crisis, global warming etc is Peter Kenyon's Fault"

Therefore we need to take the proceeds of the whip round to hire Big Arnie to go back in time and assassinate Mrs Kenyon before the birth of PK and produce a parallel, PK-free, Universe.

Here all will be sweetness and light, our corners will get past the first defender and we will win all 4 trophies every year for eternity.

Oh and Hnery/Moffat [how many names does one idiot need?] will consistently make sensible, coherent entries - well perhaps that one's a bit much to hope for....

thank you KaiserJonny :-)

I dont think joe cole is playing bad, but the problem is, if hes the only strong winger the game becomes predictable and the defence of the opponent know how to turn off his game.

I think Podolski would like to play for Chelsea if he has a chance to play more often and since there are some more games in England with the load of cups he surely will. Plus he wont have such a strong opponent on the left wing (Ribery at munich), his best position.

Another reason why it doesnt work at Bayern is the club too, Bayern are wellknown here to waste talented players, there are some strong talents in Munich who dont get any matchexperience like Toni Kroos. The only young guy who made it was Schweinsteiger but there was a bit luck too because of the injuries of Altintop the retirement of Basler and Scholl and the transfer of Salihamidzic to Juventus.

I think Podolski style of play would fit perfect to Chelsea, and I promise I start to cry if he swap to City

@ Heinz

Always tougher to break through when you've got experienced internationals ahead of you; Kross is still really young though, isn't he? Although if he's looking for a move, I'd like to see him here! :-)

What happened to Sebastian Deisler after his retirement - is he still involved with Bayern at all? Such a shame - I thought he was a great player.

@ Guten Tag Heinz. Always a pleasure to welcome new commenters. I love the idea of Podolski coming to Chelsea. I think a young and keen player like him with a very real role model in Herr Ballack to chaperone him would be immense.

And the more Germans the better when we reach yet another penalty shoot out. Roots Hall anyone?

@ Mark,

Thanks for the report. The witty motoring related player ratings offer a good counterbalance to what at times has become a very railway biased blog (for which I take some responsibility). Sadly I remember when an Alfa Sud was every lads dream.....(second hand of course and already badly rusting).

New Year Goodwill Suggestion

Can we have a whip round and get good 'ol Hnrey Moffat a new key board as the Caps Lock on his old one appears to have packed up? After all it is difficult to maintain a proper intellectual profile without the use of capitals and some less charitable bloggeurs might think him somewhat inebrious

I do apologis I appear to have missed some punctuation off the end of me post.

(Rummages in rucksack)

Here it is (see below).


.

Oh dear I'm not doing too well here. A little intoxicated with the excitement of bloggage.

Here is the "e" from apologize.

@BB
Surely a better Goodwill suggestion would be not to give him a new keyboard, but take away the one he already has.

Damn... another post with zero football content from me, Umm... C'mon Chelsea!

yes I forgot about Deisler an awesome player for sure but too many injuries were too much for him, since his retirement he quit his connection to Bayern too, Hoeness told this to the press a year ago but no more infos yet.

I hope it will happen (of course the germans and penalty stereotype would love to see if Ballack and Podolski will win Cleague for Chelsea with two ice cold pentalties)! and I hope Chelsea will find his form again, nothing is lost yet, still everything counting can be won and if there are one or two more poor performances or especially tactics Scolari has to change something and maybe this will bring everything back on the track.
At the moment I have the feeling that only Lampard protect the team from worse results (at least in the games I saw this season)thank god you havent sold him to Inter like I heard several times in media! hopefully this is something you could build on.

@ Blue Bayou (and Mark)

The Alfa Sud - what a car. Back in my day, the only way you could make it more desirable by tying a wet Kim Wilde to the bonnet (ahem). Didn't own one myself but a friend did and to this day I'm still amazed at the speeds it could achieve whilst carrying 6 teenagers down the A23 to Brighton. The fact it broke down about once every 400 yards only added to the charm.

It was a sad day when the rust holding it together finally gave out...

@ Tony

And the more Germans the better when we reach yet another penalty shoot out. Roots Hall anyone?

Oh, what a chilling question/thought?

@ HABS


Cech
Bosingwa Ricky JT Ashley
Mikel
Joe Lamps Ballack Kalou
Didier

I think the team picks itself with only the LW position up for grabs. It could have gone to Anelka but i can't picture him chasing back against Ronaldo and Rafael as much as Kalou would. What i fear is the return of Deco after his rest against Southend. We'll end up carrying him and going to Old Trafford in need of win whilst basically playing with 10 men will only result in disaster. It pains me to say it but i'm predicting a 2-0 defeat. My head says a 2-0 defeat but my heart tells me a Jose-esque 1-0 smash and grab.


Could not agree more with the team selection, Kalou's point made and the last six words! Well said.

I hope to God Deco picks up a knock in training on Saturday. (a minor one just to miss the match)!!

And BTW, beating the Shrimpers away may be an easier task than beating Ipswich at home!!!

I can't believe I just said that.

I would also agree with the blogger (I think it was Mikel Blue) who had earlier suggested we are missing Clarkey. Even though we did leak some late goals last term when he was around, he was the main reason we did well under Grant to just miss out on at least two trophies. Our form this year has gotten progressively worse since his departure.

@ KJII

4 students from Twickenham to Swansea / Gower Peninsula and back in an Alfa Sud without a breakdown. Is this a record?

This was only bettered by a trip to Southern Spain with 2 of us in a VW camper sporting a cracked cylinder (unbeknown to us) so we never got much over 45 mph downhill with a following wind. I had to get out and push to get over one mountain pass while bemused truckers overtook us doing no more tham 15mph themselves.

My mate and owner of the vehicle (purchased shortly before the trip) wouldn't have it that something serious was wrong and claimed it was just a stretched accelerator cable. Going south along the flat roads near Bordeaux he claimed the lack of speed was due to the road being uphill and then had the gall to claim the same thing when coming back north.

How does this relate to football and Chelsea? It doesn't, other than to prove you can get a long way even when there's a fundamental problem, as long as you believe there's nothing much wrong that a new accelerator cable wouldn't fix.

Here endeth the lesson.

Celery,

Spot on mate, if by some minor miracle we escape the cauldron of Roots Hall with a win, then the game against the Tractor Boys will be difficult based on current form.

Mind you, the transfer window will all but be closed by then, so our new players (read reserves replacing those we sold) will have something to prove.

Any chance in Sparky Hughes bidding for an Art Deco piece? A tenner Sparky. I'll deliver it Thursday.....

LINK

Quite funny (for the Daily Wail) - JT getting mistaken for a waiter by some blotto'd geezer in a club.

Unfortunately, proof you can't buy class :

"Bridge must have received a hefty signing- on fee, as he splashed £18,000 on eight magnums of rose Dom Perignon, three Quaichs - the house special cocktail - and a methusalem (that's six litres) of Grey Goose vodka.
A club source said: 'Each expensive bottle comes with a sparkler attached. There were so many lit at once for Wayne's round, it was like Bonfire Night.' "

Sparklers in a drink? What is this, the eighties?

Fiftee,

...Mind you, the transfer window will all but be closed by then, so our new players (read reserves replacing those we sold) will have something to prove...

From your lips to God's ears!

...Any chance in Sparky Hughes bidding for an Art Deco piece? A tenner Sparky. I'll deliver it Thursday...

Heck, I'll pay the tenner myself!

To be fair, I don't mind having Deco in the squad for as long as he wasn't starting every bloody game and wouldn't be allowed to play the full 90 unexceptionally. He is simply not PL material to be considered an untouchable, if you will. But he can be a very decent squad player and can chip in certain matches here and there and In Europe. Whether or not he would accept that role, or even Phil would consider this, is altogether another proposition.

@ Fiftee

Sparklers in a drink? What is this, the eighties?

Well, quite. But never mind that - you spend £18 grand on a round and you only get a bloody sparkler attached to each bottle?! For that sort of cash I'd want each sparkler to be protruding from a waitresses's - well, you get the general idea.

Mind you with all that money why's he got such a long face?

LINK

@ Blue Bayou

4 students from Twickenham to Swansea / Gower Peninsula and back in an Alfa Sud without a breakdown. Is this a record?

Even in a brand new Alfa that would be some going...

Always had a fascination for the redoubtable VW camper since I went to a gig (aged about 15) and saw one pull up outside the venue. The door opened and young ladies spilled out of this Tardis-esque vehicle for what seemed like minutes. The driver didn't half look smug - with hindsight I'd suggest he had every right to, really.

He actually looks as if he's begging with his hand held out there.
Perhaps he is as he's only going to be on £9000 a week as to the £90000 sum that's been touted.

@Fiftee
Six litre bottle of Grey Goose!!! This French vodka is actually the best vodka you can get around. In general it can be compared only to the best of the Russian ones, which are, unfortunately, not sold here in UK. Grey Goose is EXTREMELY GOOD QUALITY vodka!!! 0.70 litre bottle of Grey Goose cost about 25 quid, but this is in the shop.

@ 57. KaiserJonny_II

In future would you mind leaving post 57 for Heinz?

Henry/Moffat
LOL LOL LOL

@Clive

That's the only thing we can do when faced with the return of idiots like Henry or whatever he's calling himself now and Musumba.

The 'ignoring idiots' tactic obviously worked as this is the first we've heard from Musumba in ages. I was contemplating whether or not i should just continue to ignore his posts but then i thought of how much fun it is to tell Hnrey to fuck off when he posts some ridiculous rambling about how badly we played because Lamps was on the pitch despite the fact he's never actually seen us play. I wonder if he knows that we're no longer sponsored by Gulf Air? So with entertainment on the pitch in painfully short supply i think it'd be fun if we all rise to the bait and start reacting to their troll like pile of bollocks. After all, it was such fun picking on Musumba last season every time he came out and proclaimed his love for Avram, wasn't it?

I was trying to find why Hnrey/Moffat talks such shit, then i found he's living in the middle of nowhere in a place where they worship rams:

LINK

So perhaps we should lay off him? Nah, only twats offer utterly absurd comments every time a Chelsea game passes them by. I wonder if we could ask Moffat to do a match report. At least then we would know he'd actually seen us play and we could see the master of football input whose diction is probably worthy of David Pleat, at work.

At least David Pleat watches the games he's commenting upon...

@ Mark25 #70

Can't let that pass without comment.

Very good.

You can be smug about your flash harry Alfa Suds, and your hippy-esque memories of VW Camper Vans (he says whilst listening to LA Woman), although my experience was a trip to Le Mans in a VW mini-bus thing (I'm no petrol head as you can tell). But it took 8 of us there and back, across stormy channel seas before any tunnel had been started (bar the Victorian effort) with a newly diagnosed diabetic driver! En route we encountered such French delights as Croque Monsieur, Panache (shandy), a beer with a croissant for breakfast, holes in the floor for toilets and open air urinals outside school gates. Aaaah une telle innocence! I believe our top speed was around 40mph but peaking at over 50 downhill with no gear selected.

None of which compare to the glory of the Vauxhall Viva Mk3 1300 Dl in Honey Starmist! I believe one is on display in the Science Museum. At 18 years old it was truly my first fanny-magnet (apologies to the female blogging contingent. That car got me home from Stourbridge to Hayes on a dark Sunday night with a failing alternator. I developed the CT Manouvre that night (similar to the Picard Manouvre in STNG) whereby to get enough light to see in front of me I would drive right up the arse of a car in front of me, swiftly (well it was a Viva) overtake and sit annoyingly in front of them using their lights to guide me home. Once off the M40 at Uxbridge, Hillingdon Councils first class street lighting guided me in.

You lot don't know you're born. Alfa Suds were like Mercs in reliability terms against Lutons finest.

*Grumpy Old Man returns to his armchair huffing*

Oh, and the diabetic driver calculated that if he didn't eat any food he could keep the blood sugar level at the required levels through carefully measured copious amounts of beer.

Thats dedication.

At least David Pleat watches the games he's commenting upon...

@JD
Does he? Or is Henry/Moffat actually David Pleat?

@Habs
I had reached a decision after my post @32 that I would ignore him anyway. But after his attempted put down of me, (and I think JD should have received the same treatment as I did, not just a passing mention) ;-) how could I continue to ignore him now.

(similar to the Picard Manouvre in STNG)

@Tony
By far the best Captain of the Enterprise.
Also remember the episode that was in as well, with the Ferengi being baddies instead of the loveable rogues they should be.

@ Clive, indeed he was and for a moment I was whisked away on a wave of nostalgia and self satisfaction at the CT manoeuvre. They need to do another STNG set another 300 years in the future with a ship called The USS Enterprise (my guess is it will be about NCC-1701P by that time) with a crew that goes places. No prequels or spin offs. Just a ship and a crew on a Star trek.

What other football blog brings you this?

@Tony
That seems like a great idea for a TV series
Make it so! ;-)

@ChelseaTony (74) and Clive (77)

Although following this blog regularly I usually agree or disagree silently with your opinions on the Blues. That´s because I´m not able to actually see the games and therefore I don´t presume to judge. Read that, Hnery?
Being a huge fan of STNG I dare to comment on that: Captain Picard is the best ever! He should never had retired.

@ChelseaTony (51)
And having insight into the Bundesliga I´m not really sure if Podolski is an option. Since moving to Bayern Munich and being just one of many stars he´s been struggling. He might lack the will power to establish himself in the PL.

On a scale of 1 to 10, wow would you rate Scolari's performance so far? BC rates him 5 and I think I'll give him a 4. This blog sums up my feelings about Scolari.

I missed the link - LINK

@ Playmaker, great peace. Thsnks for the link

LINK

Funny :-)

Dear. God.

LINK

Media-savvy Saloman Kalou being interviewed. "I don't think we are under-performing.".

Christ almighty. Not only is the bloke devoid of footballing ability, he appears to be missing footballing knowledge and awareness in general. And his eyes.

Maybe they fell out when he headed that goal against Southend.

Slightly different subject - Jermaine Defoe - is he the single most mercenary and disloyal little bastard in the Premiership?

My car sharing West ham mate says he's hated more than Superfrank at Upton Park.

@ TG

He'll be right at home with 'Arry "Portsmouth will be my last club" Redknapp, I suppose...

Got to love that Spurs business model though. Buy player for £7m. Sell player for £7.5m. Buy same player back less than a year later for (supposedly) nearly double. Eh?

And re the Vauxhall Viva - marvellous vehicle. Knew a young lady that owned one once. Very spacious and reliably sturdy. The car, that is, not the young lady...

@ KJ_II - On a scale of hatred from 1 (being mildy disliked) to 10 (utter vile seething hatred) then Lamps features at West ham as 7 but falling as time heals and the memory of his Mum kicks in. Defoe I am reliably informed is a 10 but only because the scale doesn't go higher.

The Viva was spacious inside both front and back which ofr course made it the ideal vehicle to romance young women in*. Providing the heater worked.

* fumbled, rushed and sweaty lust wagon

Amusing and a little bit too close to the truth (as I see it)

LINK

Strangely enough, Vauxhall Viva is the car I suggested my employers use in their current (cringeworthy) TV ad's.

Someone pointing at said car saying 'This is a Viva', and someone else pointing at the yellow, green and blue logo saying 'And this is Aviva'.

But they'd rather spunk £9m quid on Edna, Ringo, Alice and Bruce Willis.

BTW - I have no idea what a Viva looks like - I'm only 28 - sounds like 'Nova' is Vauxhalls 'my generation' of what you're on about. Maybe.

Just for you Fiftee
LINK

Enough of the cars discussion chaps, please - this is getting duller than Top Gear ;-)

Good to see the Daily Mail take a break from castigating the Beeb to give ITV a kicking for a change:

LINK

- though the shortness of coverage of our game was a blessing really.

Perhaps they'll do a follow-up tomorrow on how BBC highlights coverage of the FA Cup 3rd round in previous years didn't have similar problems only because of their legendary over-staffing levels...

If Fergie starts spouting his usual rubbish about having a strong ref for Sunday then this is the man we want.... LINK

BBD,

Not wishing to concern you too much, but kick off next Wednesday has been moved to 8.10 PM as ITV are showing the replay LIVE IN IT'S YAWN-TASTIC ENTIRETY.

I'm, ummm, searching for Vauxhall Viva's that night.......

This made me chuckle quite a bit....LINK

I feel frustrated because it's like everyone else is out shopping and I'm stuck at home with my credit cards cancelled.

Can't we just buy anyone just so I can enjoy that "spending" feeling; even if the purchase gets tucked away in a cupboard and never used.

I mean I know times are hard and all that, even Tony's now having to share his car, but surely we can afford some fun.

@ TG (89)

Not far off, it has to be said. Although I've not seen any players looking towards the bench in bemusement as to what is going on. Yet...

ITV and the FA Cup - it's just sick, sad and whole-heartedly wrong.

The thing with ITV is, even as an avid fan of not just Chelsea, but football in general, I find myself trying NOT to watch games they show.

"Yes Dear, I'd love nothing better than traipsing round B&Q and Homebase (other DIY stores are available) for compost bins and quaint, pointless garden ornaments" because I cant bare to listen to David Pleat pronounce it Bo-swing-a. It's not spelt like that for a reason Dave, and that reason is because his fucking name is pronounced Bo-sing-wa. Capiche?

And if Andy Townsend and Robbie Earle are pitch-side at Roots Hall next week, leaning against a collapsable paste table trying to look professional, I fear I may lose my diminshing love of football altogether and turn over to 'I wish I was a Celebrity in Heat magazine : Get me in this House' or whatever it's called quicker than you can say "Bye Bye ITV Digital".

ITV is making Sky One look like BBC4 these days.

Maybe David Pleat is dyslexic?

Sadly with regard to ITV, you might have thought the FA would have learned from seeing the dismal coverage of The Champions league as opposed to Sky's still very good coverage and analysis. You might have also thought that after the debacle of ITVDigital which arguably did for several clubs such as Luton, Leeds etc who found a valuable revenue source suddenly cut off, they might have seen the warning signs as well. It seems that both Sultana Sports and ITV are rueing the cost of the FA Cup and England deals as they struggle to attract the fans and viewers. Shame.

Personally I can't remember the last thing I tuned into on ITV for anything, as it really does remind me of the sad 50 year old bloke who turns up at work with long floppy hair, failing dismally to wear the latest clothes, trophy girlfriend and speaking like Ali G.

Alternatively they remind me of the sinister (wants girls to look like little boys) obnoxious, hateful, detestable, pompous, ego inflated, vain, sad and ridiculous Karl Lagerfeld. The epitome of Utter Cuntery indeed.

The first paragraph of my previous rant should have finished with

'But of course when presented with the promise of filthy lucre and the best money deal, the fans are the last to be considered'

Oh for the long lost friend that was the 'edit facility'.

I'm onto one with ITV now....

Bloody advertisement breaks. I know it's their main source of income, but on the odd occassions I've started to settle down to see Steve 'Jack of all sports coverage, Master of absolutely none' Rider welcome us to Stamford Bridge for Chelsea v Rosenborg, that bloody black and white box appears in the top-right corner straight away and it's time for an ad break before I've completed the sitting down process.

And, purely from a personal point of view, when something exciting such as a 12 car pile up at Eau Rouge (Note : this might not be factually possible) happens in a real life F1 race, we're actually watching an animated family of woodland creatures babble on about Air Wick or hearing about a lurid kiss and tell 'Exclusively' in tomorrows Sunday Red Top.

ITV should be banned from showing all sports. Period. Well, maybe just the 100m races, as it's about the only event in World sport you could watch in it's entirety without hearing 'We'll be right back..........'

Oh for the long lost friend that was the 'edit facility'.

@Tony
Any more posting mistakes like that, and Nick could organise a similar punishment for you....LINK

I thought we needed all the players we can get and also help the young players coming through....."Meanwhile, striker Ben Sahar has joined Dutch side De Graafschap on loan until June 30"
i suppose this was Arnesens doing no doubt..

Birmingham City have signed Chelsea attacker Scott Sinclair on a month-long loan deal.

Correct me if I'm wrong but doesn't Sincalir play wide left?
What the fuck are we doing shipping out players that can do a good job in that position?First Bridge and now him.

"Chelsea's draw with Southend could be the last act for Luiz Felipe Scolari as Chelsea manager. William Hill suspended betting overnight on Scolari being sacked after unusual market betting patterns suggested that there was an inside tip that he was about to go."

William Hill spokesman Graham Sharpe noted:
'When you have punters wanting to bet £500 at 10/1 on something which was 50/1 not long ago you have to ask yourself what they may know that you don't'

This has the feel of the Jan transfer window when Jose was here,no players coming in when we could use someone and statements from the manager like this.

"I will play 4-4-2 when I have a winger who can play on the left and with his left foot," Scolari said in the London Evening Standard. "When you don't have players with these characteristics it is difficult to adapt one player to play in 4-4-2."

It seems like the club is imploding and no one has a clue what's going on.

"It seems like the club is imploding and no one has a clue what's going on. "

Evillynn - I'm sure someone does have a clue, and the 'window' has 25 days to run so alluding to implosion might be slightly too much of an assumption. As is usual the club seems to adopt a policy of 'no news is good news' for the fans without realising that fans tend to be panicky and have a habit of reading bad into anything the club isn't saying as much as the stuff it is saying.

I'm intrigued by the Scolari odds though, bookies are rarely ever wrong and can spot patterns behind inside information pretty quickly. Thats why you never see a poor bookie.

As for the Sinclair thing, I am confused by that as well. It seems Scolari has no money, and no players from the ranks he trusts. Us fans have it all wrong seemingly and don't know anything about football that allows us to comment with intelligence on what we see. Sahar was prevented from Israeli national service such was the hope surrounding him and Sinclair (for me) would still be abetter bet than that fucking waste of sking and bone, Malouda.

Strange times indeed.

@CHELSEATONY
@EVILLYNN

Let's hope that Big Phill knows what he is doing. Well, at least I really want to believe that he does.

It's all odd.

I'm beginning to think Scolari is trying to deploy quantitative easing techniques.

The only thing I can think is that maybe, just maybe, we could be unveiling a striker / wide attacking player in said transfer window and hence Sinclair is being allowed to go out (to yet another club) to play some football as his chances will decrease in the not-too-distant..........

Or I'm talking shit, and TSSO indeed has no idea what he's doing. Hence his comments about not playing 4-4-2 without Malouda. Yeah Phil, because he makes that much difference to us.....

You have to wonder if there is simply no future at the club for the current crop of reserve / fringe players (Sinclair, Stoch, Cork, Mancienne, Bertrand - a left back, still out on loan - HELLO). TSSO seems unwilling to risk those that are still here, preferring to wheel out the old faces for the 'formality' of games like Southend. Next Wednesday will see us line up with the strongest possible team in a must win game. Just not 4-4-2 because Florent 'World Beater' Malouda isn't available. O.k?

If he's got no money to spend on new players, then it's plainly obvious he has little faith in anyone beyond the usual 14. No central midfielders coming through to replace Ballack (31), Lamps (30) and Deco (who cares, he's just shit), no pacy wide men. Had hopes for Sinclair, but loan after loan can't do his conidence much good. As I mentioned earlier, Utd have fielded Danny Welbeck rom their youth team a few times. Our lads beat them, but you'd hardly know it.

Has to be said that Ben Sahar hasn't exactly set the world alight at QPR, Sheffield Wednesday and Pompey (did he go to Charlton in the end too?) - the fact he's now on his 4th / 5th loan at a club in the relegation places in Holland says enough for me; not good enough. This is always the problem with kids that look the business at 16 - the harsh reality that is top-flight football is a world away from looking like the next Pele in a youth team.

Part of the problem the club has is, as I've parroted often enough, continuity. Who is the promising 17 year old going to get a chance with - a manager who has been given carte blanche to build a side over the course of 3-4 years with no demand for trophies or a manager on a 2 year contract who has been told he has to win the Champions League? Has to be said that our academy is improving, but whether the players it is producing are a) good enough or b) going to get the chance when expectations are so short term / unrealistic is another matter entirely. Bringing Mancienne back from Wolves was baffling - he is still not the finished article, England call up or not, so why not leave him at Wolves?

To end that point, Mourinho was deeply skeptical about the players Arnesen was producing; should we be berating Phil if he is thinking the same or asking questions about Arnesen and the set-up itself?

The bookies thing is odd, but not entirely inexplicable. Scolari is under pressure, no question, but I guarantee you that if 20 of us went out and posted "Bilic to Chelsea" rumours on enough football sites and stuck a few hundred quid on with enough bookies, we could decimate the odds inside of 24 hours. And on the exchanges, someone else could be laying those bets. Nice little earner if to be had there if you try hard enough...

I suppose if we beat Man-u at old trafford considering everything that has gone on psychologically it will be a massive result of our intentions/strengh and I believe it will make Liverpool nervous and hopefully make them drop points by thinking they must not lose games rather than need to win tight matches and risk losing...so it could all be very rosy still....then again the opposite could happen and we could go into meltdown because of the opposition and deteriorating belief among the players after the game... The more I think about it, points wise there is still a long way to go but belief and faith make up a large amount of a game...I think we will have to wait unitl after the Man-u game and re-asses then and let's just hope we win. Scholari's judgement's can wait until Sunday, maybe he can still make Chelsea win the prem, i dont think we'll win the CL but then again since luck playes a greater part each year who knows . i really think we need to win on Sunday though....otherwise Man-U will pass us and Fergie wont let that slip...

If Joe Cole isn't the answer, who is?

LINK
-------------------------------------------
"Joe can’t win, really. Mourinho made him work harder, no doubt. Of course, the moment he starts tracking back and making tackles – and he’s not a bad tackler at all – some gimp on Sky or RTE starts complaining that he’s been shackled, and that he needs more room to express himself.

He’s also been played as a winger more or less constantly since 2004, but doesn’t have the turn of speed of –let me pick a name out of a hat... Arjen Robben – and, all too often, it seems as though his number’s been crunched by the opposition.

Eight times out of ten, Joe would rather jink infield and shoot or lay it off than go to the byline. He can cross, but it’s not a strength for him in the way it is for Florent Malouda. Just kidding, by the way. If you can think of one of Malouda’s strengths, answers on a postcard. First correct answer gets a cut-price move back to Ligue 1."
--------------------------------------------

Interesting thoughts. Frankly, as much as Joe frustrates me, and I tend to see his glass as 1/4 empty (and admittedly Malouda's at 1/4 full), I do think he is a great player and would be sad to see him go. I really thought he was progressing under JM, and think he's be much better if he used a lot of 1-touch passing to set up his jinking runs. But when you have a habit of not giving the ball back, you stop seeing too much of it...

I make no secret of my love for Robben, and wish he could have been kept somehow. It seems that ship has sailed, however. Sure he was oft hurt (although his trainer claims to have fixed that) and goes down easily, but I never understood the criticisms that he didn't work hard or wasn't a team player.

(Cont'd)

But I'm quite worried about Chelsea, and more than just this season. I feel like we could be staring into the abyss. Key players are getting older, we don't seem to have anyone in the pipeline to replace them. We don't have Arsenal's academy, and we can't keep shelling out 30M for players to stay in the top 4.

I wonder if our problems this year go beyond lacking quality wing play. Perhaps that has something to do with the way we are playing rather just the lack of talent? I'm not lauding Malouda, Cole or Kalou, but rather wondering if wingers are the key players in this system, perhaps we should go back to a system that takes advantage of our stronger players, like Lampard, Ballack, Essien, etc?

Why Ballack can't get in the team is beyond me. I'm sure everyone remembers how well things went with Lamps and Ballack in the middle every game at the end of last season. Ballack has proved as well that he can play in a fast, goalscoring team with Germany. How Deco plays in front of the Captain of the Mannschaft is mystifying.

So if it all goes belly up, and Scolari needs to go (I hope not!), what do we do? I agree with the sentiment over the past few weeks that says we are missing Steve Clarke. Does anyone else think that if Scolari is pushed out that the job should be given to Steve for the rest of the year? I feel like Zola is our Shearer- the Once and Future King. Perhaps if he does something with Spam he might be worth considering.

@ Groy

Has to be said that shelling out £30m for players is likely to become the exception in the current climate; Citeh are the most likely candidates, but they need to get themselves into the top half of the table first - what started out as Kaka and Buffon is now Parker and Santa Cruz. Not saying they won't shell out big money in the future, but the climate is changing. Liverpool want to move grounds and aren't exactly flush, Arsenal are way out of that market now and United - well, who knows? They're still the team that are most likely to attract that kind of player, but the Tevez saga suggests that they may not be so keen nowadays.

Ballack is an enigma - his problem is that he isn't (and never was, really) a 50 game a season presence you could build a team around; his fitness is not quite Robben-esque but if you get him for 30 games then you're doing well and once a player hits 31, 32 years of age that becomes more of an issue. He's one of my favourite players of the last decade, but frankly if he's looking for a 2-3 year renewal on his current deal in the next year or so at whatever huge salary he's on you'd have to question whether it is a viable option for us.

Ok i admit it, it was me who drove down the odds of Phil's imminent departure. 50/1 really is too good to turn down. But i'd advise you all to rapidly get on the 10/1 being offered as after Sunday, it'll be odds on. Seriously though, our match against Utd is looking huge for our title challenge and for Phil's future. I'd love to think that JT and Lamps will drive the team on and their passion will demand a response from the rest of the side. We've also got a great record against Utd and we always seem to do well in the face of adversity. Finally we've had a week off, so the players won't be tired and we're only missing Essien and Malouda, so we should have enough options. However, this is all tempered by the fact we're being led by Phil. A man who is incapable of beating a member of the Big 4. A man who refuses to play Anelka and Didier together because we don't have the mighty Malouda available for the LW. He'll also insist on picking Deco and will have no idea how to change the game when we inevitably go 1-0 down. So it's a toss up as to who'll have the bigger influence on Sunday; JT and Lamps or Big Phil.

Interesting stuff on Joe. Whether it's his injury, laziness or the absence of a strict manager giving him a kick up the arse, Joe has gone backwards recently. It pains me to say it but compared to recent seasons, he's looking poor frankly. I would never pick Deco or Malouda over him though as we've all seen what he can do. When he's got a Jose telling him that step-overs and raw skill will only get you so far without professionalism and discipline or when the team's built around him, he can look world-class. As Avram found to his cost in the Cup Final, our team without Joe can look awful. After that defeat there was hardly a match without Joe in it and we saw some of his best ever games such as the 4-4 at the Lane and the 4-0 at Upton Park. Our attack of Didier, Joe and Kalou looked good last season and Phil should consider a return to that trio.

No money for players. Unable to beat the likes of Southend at home. Roman spending 80m on 2 PAINTINGS. These are worrying times for our beloved club. Maybe its good that we arent buying anyone because wed proberbly just end up with egg on our faces like with the Robinho saga.

some wise words from Robbo LINK

I was never convinced by LFS from the start, but this bloke needs support to build his own team. He is finding it impossible to teach old dogs new tricks. Trouble is, pple in charge think we've a good squad. We should find away of getting rid of Ballack and Deco.

Whatever our transfer kitty may or may not be this Jan, I find it incredible that Boro have just turned down a £14.5 million bid by Rottenham for Downing.
Am I missing something here with Downing, is he that good?, I've see him at best a pretty mediocre player, hardly a match winner. And another question, where the hell are Spurs getting all this cash from to buy?

Oh how can I ignore you Hnery, not only don't you watch our games and comment, you also don't read the posts on the blog. Tony posted that link on Robbo on post 89 wake up and pay attention!

Denilson is a free agent, LINK

I am not having a go at wit here, i think we need someone to run at defences. Adding £20k/wk on our bill won't hurt. His too-much-ado-about-nothing tag is nothing considering that Essien has only scored 4 goals and made 3 goal assists for us. This might just save LFS. LINK

JD,

Always have questioned Arnesen's role. To me, he doesn't seem to have taken any flak for the fact he's produced bugger all in the way of youth players since we wasted £5m poaching him from Spurs. How long he can continue to hide behind nothing-ness is anyones guess.

Clive,

Was thinking the same re: Spurs and where the hell they are getting the cash from. But only because I'm jealous that they've got some and are spending it.

And I must be missing something with Downing too. Completely average at best, never once seen him play well, especially for England where he looks to be 'Downing' out of his depth. Get it?

Ou est mon anorak?

It's not only us that's acting strangely.

Harry Redknapp states that We've got an awful lot of good little players ... LINK and to solve it he's gone and signed Defoe who's only 5ft and 6.5 inches.

football is no different than life in general and when things are going good or bad there is always a common demoninator. I have never really commented on Bllack but for all the good performances in this or that match, does anyone else notice how since he and Sheva came on board we have won nothing? i believe Lamps was the midfield key but Ballack has upset that in my opinion. probably i am wrong, but this is the lowest common demoninator since Mourinho's 3rd year whne we have not won the league or looked as solid as the ifrst two seasons.

Whne I mean we won nothing I meant to say the Prem which for me is the No1 not the CL!! sorry!!

I alos forgot to mention that I think we miss the brilliance of A new Makelele. Mikel may be in the making but he is not just yet.

@DIO

I Tend to disagree with that. Herr B Has been a driver in the midfield since he found his feet on the premiership And I think the problem was/is more congestion than anything else. We needed to fit in Maka Lamps Herr B AND Essien in one midfield. This year we need to fit in Ze German, Lamps, Deco, Mikel in. And thats a problem. A midfield with space is a happy one. Herr B is gonna retire after WC2010, Deco needs to be sold, and then we need to promote Woods. In the meantime, we need to get us some wingers. Joe alone won't cut it. Malouda out, 2 Good LW in, then we can work a good team in.

Apparently Zhirkov is a target, and I personally would like him in the side. He is fast, left footed, a good crosser and he is 25. A good age to start in the Premiership. Also another, good leftie is required to Give us some real depth out wide.

And then, We need strikers!!! Teves, Orlando footspa, Pele, I DON'T CARE! GET US SOME BLOODEY STRIKERS!!!

I think we as fans need to give more support to the manager and the players, especially at the Bridge. So fucking quiet, especially the West Stand, it does my head in.

I'll play devils advocate here, and ask people what would the reaction have been if it was us that lost last night to Derby. I appreciate it's the first leg, but surely any sort of deficit going into the second leg isn't quite good enough from a team of Utd's calibre, whatever side the put out.

This is certainly proving to be an unusual season of results, and for all our inconsistencies, if I was a Utd fan, perhaps I'd be asking similar questions some are asking on here.

Clive.

Hear hear.

I'm sure part of the excuse will be that Utd fielded a weaker team (ala us and Southend) but when Rooney and Ronaldo are needed off the bench, you can see he's chasing it.

If only we could guarantee they'd be that bad Sunday....

Interesting article in the Times about Ballacks contract negotiation : LINK

Glad there's some sense being used and not us giving him whatever he wants.

But this bit made me laugh :

"Luiz Felipe Scolari, the manager, has also been told that he will have no money to spend during this transfer window unless Chelsea suffer an injury crisis or receive an offer that is too good to refuse for a fringe player, leading to the need for a replacement. The club hope to refresh the squad in the summer without asking Abramovich for money, using the £12 million received from Manchester City for Wayne Bridge and any other transfer income from the sale of unwanted players such as Florent Malouda and Salomon Kalou."

Pray tell, how we are going to be able to refresh our squad in the summer with £12,000,000.75p ???

@ Fiftee - I reckon you've been generous there, although it did make me laugh violently in the quietness of the office, provoking librarian stares from those girly swots around me.

I wonder if RA has adopted the sensible approach used by Simon Jordan - I saw him on Soccer AM back in the days when it was good and Loveljoy asked him what happens when the manager approaches him for money to buy, Did he just shell out or did he immediately send the manager away with a flea in his ear? No, he simply replied that the first question he aksk is "Are you getting the best out of every player in the squad?". If the answer was no, then the manager got the flea in the ear and was told to come back when the answer was yes. If the answer was yes, then he'd sit down with the manager and look at the players wanted, costs etc. Seems pretty good business sense to me. Of course, if RA has asked a similar question its glaringly obvious that Scolari isnt getting the best from the players, not even close to their best. Maybe thats the reason there's no money. RA is hardly strapped despite the economic cold wind.

I think Scolari will, and should get to the end of the season and then build his team around different players. If that fails and next season is trophyless then its time to go. Alternatively, look at Bilic who leaves Croatia after the qualifying campaign.

@ TG

Simon Jordan does have a knack of speaking a lot of sense on matters football. That particular nugget is rather apt for us and Phil at present.

Annoying that United had their sh*te game last night. Too much to hope for 2 in a row, I suppose...!

Hopefully JT can finish the job on Sunday LINK

Annoying that United had their sh*te game last night. Too much to hope for 2 in a row, I suppose...!

Don't see why not JD, we manage to do it.

Today Ronaldo crashed his Ferrari supercar into a wall in a Manchester tunnel. He got out of the car and rolled around the ground until the emergency services arrived. The policeman on the scene put his name and number in his notebook. Ronaldo stated he was sure he heard a whistle just before the crash and taking his name was unjustified.

When quizzed further by police Ronaldo claimed the wall wasn't 10 yards.

This article sums up the importance of this match for Scolari:

LINK

"Just past the halfway point of the season, there is a growing sense that the Brazilian’s real work starts now. Chelsea’s dreadful home form has been partially disguised by an unbalanced fixture list that has enabled them to pick up cheap points on the road, but there will be no hiding place if their excellent away form falters in the face of more difficult challenges. The inconsistent form of title rivals can offer solace for only so long.

Scolari’s curriculum vitae, which includes a World Cup win in 2002, and affable personality have bought him time, but many at Stamford Bridge are happy to admit privately that the course of his first season in England has not run as smoothly as had been expected. The heart of the problem appears to be Scolari’s struggle to adapt from seven years of international management — in which he used largely the same tactics and a similar style of play with Brazil and Portugal — to the more intense and varied demands of the Barclays Premier League.

Chelsea have struggled since Liverpool showed opponents a way of denying their attacking full backs space and width in a 1-0 victory at Stamford Bridge at the end of October, with Scolari failing to come up with an effective plan B. The 60-year-old cannot be too concerned because he appears determined to stand his ground, maintaining a 4-1-4-1 formation even though several players are openly calling for a move to 4-4-2. However, the main protagonists for change are Nicolas Anelka and Didier Drogba, one of whom will be left out on Sunday, so such complaints smack of self-interest.

Scolari is also sticking to his tried-and-trusted training practices, despite complaints regarding a perceived lack of intensity. These have been given added substance by concerns over the players’ fitness arising from the late goals Chelsea...

...Chelsea have struggled since Liverpool showed opponents a way of denying their attacking full backs space and width in a 1-0 victory at Stamford Bridge at the end of October, with Scolari failing to come up with an effective plan B. The 60-year-old cannot be too concerned because he appears determined to stand his ground, maintaining a 4-1-4-1 formation even though several players are openly calling for a move to 4-4-2. However, the main protagonists for change are Nicolas Anelka and Didier Drogba, one of whom will be left out on Sunday, so such complaints smack of self-interest.

Scolari is also sticking to his tried-and-trusted training practices, despite complaints regarding a perceived lack of intensity. These have been given added substance by concerns over the players’ fitness arising from the late goals Chelsea have conceded in their past two matches — draws against Fulham and Southend United. Nothing has changed at the training ground since John Terry and Frank Lampard asked for the tempo to be raised a month ago, with Scolari going the other way by organising a seven-a-side tournament between the players on Wednesday to lighten the mood.

Scolari’s substitutions have also been questioned, but his greatest problem is a disappointing record in the biggest matches that would make Grant blush, lending Sunday’s game added significance. Chelsea have taken one point from home matches against United, Liverpool and Arsenal this season, with Aston Villa the only team in the top six they have beaten.

Of greater concern is the suggestion that this is not a new phenomenon for Scolari, whose results deteriorated the longer he stayed with Portugal. In fact, other than three successive tournament victories against England, there is little evidence to suggest he has the aptitude for the biggest head-to-head confrontations, because Portugal lost the Euro 2004 final to Greece, a World Cup semi-final to France and were beaten by Germany in the quarter-finals of...

...last year’s European Championship. Chelsea did not truly start to believe in Grant until they beat Arsenal at home last March, after which they had only seven league games before the season ended.

To his credit, Scolari is determined to stand or fall by his own methods, although that does not lessen the imperative for a win over a title rival.

Chelsea will soon discover if they have recruited a genuine champion, or whether a World Cup triumph can be used to mask mediocrity."

I thought that last line summed it up perfectly. Some lazy journalism and blind faith from some of our supporters has seen Phil automatically assume the position of a great manager because he's won the World Cup. But that was 6 years ago and since then he and his sides have been in decline as seen by Portugal's failures at 3 tournaments. Winning the World Cup means you are a good coach but it definitely does not make you a great manager. After all who thinks Aime Jacquet is one of the greats? Phil's tactical inflexibility, ineffectual substitutions and inability to adapt to club management is slowly ruining this side and there is a real chance we'll be finishing 3rd this season. Some will say that 3rd isn't exactly a slit your wrists position but it's certainly a "run back to Brazil before i'm sacked" position for Phil.

Good luck to the lads for Sunday but i can't see anything other than a defeat and some terrible headlines for Phil on Monday. I hope i'm wrong but at the moment the side has no confidence, creates few chances and looks shaky at the back. Not exactly the best preparation for Old Trafford.

Habs,

I think your assessment is spot on.

I mean could anyone NOT win the World Cup with an on fire trio of Ronaldinho, Ronaldo and Rivaldo, along with surprising balance at the other end with the likes of Lucio?

I'm my usual pessimistic best ahead of Sunday. Anything other than a defeat will be a 'victory' in my eyes. In the days of 'He who shall no longer be spoken of' and, indeed, Average Grunt I could see us turning in a real 'backs to the walls / the whole World's against us' type performance, but we're playing with so little soul and belief at the moment it seems like we just turn up for the 90 minutes and are ready to accept whatever the outcome is without trying too hard to define it.

Saying that, don't think we've had a much stronger team available, with only Essien the major absentee (no, I'm not including Flaky Malouda). TSSO will definitely go one up-top, so it'll be :

Cech; Bosingwa, JT, Riccy, Cole; Mikel, Lamps, Ballack; Cole, Drogs, Deco.

Prove me wrong boys. Please.

Oh, the irony.....

Interesting news that di Santo has decided to involve the Argentinian FA and Maradona in order to represent his country at under-20 level next month. Apparently Scolari wants him to stay because Chelsea 'are short of strikers' with only Anelka and Drogba - well Scolari we know the answer don't we?

His name rhymes with the second part of Aston Villa. Or even Serial Killer. Or Windy Miller.

Is Tubby losing it?

LINK

Or has he finally worked out the Mourinho way for getting under skins?

Afternoon TG

Have to say I think the latter in this instance; put the ref on alert 48 hours before your two closest rivals play each other...

Deeply concerned that Rafa has finally sussed this whole Premiership lark, it has to be said.

Afternoon Mr D - Agreed, a liverpool team running on part luck, part grit and determination and now a manager who is stirring the pot nicely with Sir red Nose himself.

Like I say, very Mourinho-esque. Isn't imitation the sincerest form of flattery?

On the point of TSO and the way he pissed others off because he was so bloody good at mind games..........

Does anybody else miss the days when our manager had some fire in his belly? Does anyone agree that TSO's burning ambition, fire, arrogance and refusal to back down was the mark of our most successful years? TSO did start to wear a bit thin but I reckon that was more down to us fans not being accustomed to the winning mentality and the attention, hatred and bile that brings. United and Arse however had got well used to it. But since TSO departed we've gone from nasty, snarling , spitting, kicking WINNING side, to nice, fluffy, media friendly purring MEDIOCRITY.

We may entertain but its boy-band entertainment. Soulless and joyless but pretty to watch. We used to be Oasis (nasty, arrogant, samey and very talented). Now we're fucking Westlife.

And while I'm on a roll (slow Friday) when did ferguson ever come over as nice and avuncular? When did he ever credit other teams success? When did he ever give a shit about anything other than United? It galls me to say this, but I'm a little envious of Liverpool today.

Tubby, you're a fat ugly pillock, but with that little outburst you've just gone up a notch in my estimation.

Fuck 'respect' - lets start having some fun.

Now we're fucking Westlife.

Never underestimate Westlife - one of the most amusing things I've ever seen (not in particularly close proximity, it has to be said) was one of them being very pissed at the Brit Awards a few years back and offering out most of the So Solid Crew. More stupidity than bravery, granted, but fair play. He'd been drinking quite a lot of vodka, apparently.

Aaaah - I take your point, but ultimately in a fight

Oasis vs Westlife?

Westlife are probably fitter though less drugs and smoking and drinking (Vodka binges excepted). So they'll be quite strong with greater stamina.

Oasis on the other hand would just glass them and be done with it. Not fair or gentlemanly, but more effective.

Your honour, i rest my case.

Tony,

Didn't Roger Milla retire after one too many hipswinging corner flag celebrations?

Interesting to read thaet Ribery has (apparently) said there's no guarantee he'll see out his Bayern contract and would love to play for us. WHat an asset he would be.

You're right about the lack of grit and heart - as I said before we look like we're playing with the result defined before the ref blows his whistle.

Jose was a to$$er at times, but I miss the days of referee and oppo. manager conspiracies; of our manager bleating on about being the best because he damn well was.

The TSO-sized hole left at the club is a crater. At the moment we're trying to fill it with a single golf ball.

Not so happy new year all - I've been away for a while but despite not having seen many matches I feel qualified to comment (on music if not football). TG - please refrain from comparing us to Oasis - one or two decent albums and then downhill ever since. On second thoughts, win the premiership two years running and then what? The slow journey downhill. They have brothers fighting and we have brothers-in-arms (Jose/Roman) fighting. We get Avram - TSO-lite and they have crap 3rd, 4th, 5th albums - all pale shadows of their one good album. It feels a bit like a Jorge Luis Borges nightmare - Oasis and CFC keep reliving the glory of their peak but it just gets more tepid everytime (Robben/Duff mutate into Malouda and Kalou). God help us.

Whilst on the music front, I have to take exception to a comment in one of the blogs in the last month where Leonard Cohen was described as depressing. That is so early 1970's (admittedly not a bad period for us with Ossy and Hudson) but black humour has been the order of the day for Lenny since the 80's ("I ache in the places that I used to play") and as for Kenyon, Buck et al - black humour has to be the order of the day, otherwise why upgrade from Jose to Average?. Given that Leonard had to reach bottom ($10mill - his pension stolen by his manager who of course was an ex-lover - hence his afore-mentioned "aches ") before he could rise, maybe we are about to see our rise. Perhaps we should adopt By The Time I Get To Phoenix as our theme tune? Let's hope we've touched bottom

@ TG

I don't think it's as clear cut as that - Noel Gallagher is about 4ft 10 and has one of the limpest handshakes I've ever encountered and when Liam got his teeth knocked out in Germany by "some Hells Angels" (or whatever the spin was at the time), they turned out to be a bunch of estate agents on a sales conference or something. Further evidence - watch the Youtube clip of Noel getting shoved off stage in Canada a few months ago; Liam ducks, about four blokes fall on the miscreant and only then does Liam square up with all the "Come on then..." business.

Not saying the 'Life would offer much resistance, but Oasis's tough guy image, whilst well cultivated, is somewhat overblown...

(how busy are we this afternoon?!)

Yes I have to agree Tubby has certainly got the hang of these mind games. But what made me laugh at the end of that long list and tirade from him was the immortal line....

"But OK, we will see what happens. I do not want to say too much at the moment."

Very good analysis I to everybody to read it.

LINK

When you finish to read it answer me one question
"Is Scolari one formation man?" and if yes "Does it mean that his days as innovative and dynamic manager are over?"

LINK

Unfortunately I will not attend the Game on Sunday, but I’m already having some thoughts about it.

Will the crowd honour TSO with a saluting WAVE or something like that?

I'm afraid that if the result is not the best one, even his name will be called out, ....but that would be perhaps even embarrassing for him self, not to mention even more for Scolari. But the WAVE would be very appropriated in my oppinion.

What's your standings on that?

@ KJ_II - now now. You and I have actually met and you can't have helped notice that I'm unlikely to ever pass an audition for the Harlem Globetrotters, unless of course they have a 'fun-size' team. Limp handshakes do imply some degree of weediness though so I'll give you that. I've always felt that if I met Liam I'd like to give him a spanking just because he's a twat. Noel, i quite like because underneath that faux-working class exterior is a bloke who seems to know his football, has a sense of fun, has grown up and would probably be ok to drink with in a pub.

So, lets move away from the pretence of Oasis being a 'hard' band able to smakc a bunch of nice Irish lads about and move to another Scenario

We used to be Motorhead, scowling at everyone and everything, loud and proud, hard living, upsetting the system and playing to a hardcore of dedicated fans who didn't give a shit about the sensitive aspects of music but were happy to be bludgeoned into submission and walk away dazed after hearing fundamentally the same song every time just louder and more powerfully.

Now we're simply Four Poofs and a Piano - lame, limp, smug, self centred and not funny. Overseen once a week by someone with dubious talent who's hideously overpaid and has only one 'modus operandi' which is also not funny.

Go on then Mr D, tell me Motorhead couldn't beat the shite out of 4 Poofs and a Piano!

@DEEP BLUE WROTE
The Sunday encounter getting more and more interesting and spicy. Now with Mourinho attending the game it is must win for Scolari, if he does not want to be embarrassed by the travelling supporters singing Jose Mourinho, Jose Mourinho !!!

I do like the analogy of us being Motorhead Tony, that suited our team quite aptly.
I suppose JM was could be likened to the Prince of Darkness himself Mr. Ossie Osbourne, what a combination, oh happy days.

@ Clive - Ozzy is good analogy, but I prefer to liken TSO to a true Wizard of rock - a man who dabbled in the dark arts and was a magician on the guitar and is revered a Rock God. A man who broke all the rules of guitar playing, and to my knowledge was the first to use a violin bow on a 12-string.

Twisted heretic to some purists, twisted genius to the likes of me

Jose Mourinho - the Jimmy Page of Football Management!!!

Jose Mourinho - the Jimmy Page of Football Management!!!

Yes I stand corrected, and having witnessed the bow at Knebworth in '79 it was "Pure Genius".

Friday night = pub night with ChelseaBob and Mrs ChelseaBob. I know right now what he'll predict for Sunday - 4-0 to us!

A plate of Spag Bol, a gallon of Guinness to come, and some fine music to get me in the pub mood.

Dream On - Aerosmith
Stranglehold - Ted Nugent
Tuesdays Gone - Lynyrd Skynrd
Faith healer - Sensational Alex Harvey Band
Sweet Soul Sister - the Cult

Hell, I feel so 'up' I could almost be optimistic about Sunday!

Nurse, downers please!

@ Clive - I was there! Pissed and stoned, but remember it vividly, 18 years old, my second ever 'gig', the first time I'd ever seen lighters held up (Stairway of course!) and sadly the one and only time I ever saw Led Zeppelin live.

As seminal a moment in my life as Peter Osgoods winning goal at Old Trafford in the 1970 cup final replay.

Oh bloody hell yes on both counts, and if I recall correctly wasn't Chas and Dave one of the support acts, or was I that pissed I imagined it?

Hmmm... I fear you're right there. Mind you I was so socially relaxed it could have been Des O Connor and Val Doonican!

Are we giving away too much about our age here?

Cough Cough... I need my Horlicks and an early night Tony.

Pipe and slippers Clive?

Tony, I do recall the classics from both Des and Val, Dic A Dum Dum and Delanys Donkey

I'll get my pipe and slippers now, along with a visit from the men in white coats.

@ TG (154)

Go on then Mr D, tell me Motorhead couldn't beat the shite out of 4 Poofs and a Piano!

I dunno, that one on the left looks deceptively wiry... ;-)

My favourite Lemmy quote:

"We're the kind of band that if we moved in next door to you, your lawn would die..."

Lemmy's father was a vicar. Lemmy is reckoned to have bedded over 2000 women. His Dad must have been dead proud. We need more Lemmy's in our team........

"In the documentary he explained that while in school he noticed a pupil who had brought a guitar to school and had been "surrounded by chicks". His mother had a guitar, which he then took to school, even though he could not play, and was himself surrounded by girls: "In those days just having a guitar was enough... that was it".

if only it were that easy.................

Lemmy is reckoned to have bedded over 2000 women. His Dad must have been dead proud. We need more Lemmy's in our team....

Ashley Cole is making a start, give him more time he'll come good.

Left for week's hols in ye West Country immediately after the Southend debacle and just got back (I waved at you Clive as we sped through Jct 25 on the M5). Fresh off a week off the computer I am feeling giddy with detachment from reality and will now predict a win on Sunday. You heard it here first.

But seriously: I'm beginning to be reminded of the pre-Claudio years. Flash team with big names who got beaten by depressed former mining towns and FC Scipshagga of Iceland, but tended to spank Man U.

It *is* interesting that the brilliant early season form vanished at the same time as Stevie Clarke did. Never thought of it before.

One odd thing I noticed about last weekend's game. I don't think we had a single aerial cross from the wings. Not one. Cashley tried one from the left around the 60th minute but it was blocked. I started noticing it about 15 mins in and kept an eye out after that, and we just didn't do it. Weird. One wonders if there are orders from RA to to play quick pass football, come what may.

@LIMETREEBOWER
See @10

The game against manchester will be a tough one with chelsea more likely to loose at their current form. i dont even see them winning any trophy this season. They will likely finish 4th place and go out of the champions league in the second round.something has gone wrong with the team and has to be checked

(I waved at you Clive as we sped through Jct 25 on the M5)

@LTB
You must have been going faster than the legal 70mph otherwise I would have seen you. By the way, were you driving a Vauxhall Viva? ;-)

Stoke came to our resue!! WAHAY!!! WE HAVE ANOTHER CHANCE AGAIN!! can we capitalize unlike the last four times...??If we dont win the prem after Liverpool just dropped another two points it will go to show how shit we are this year. If it keeps going like this it will be a record lowest score to win the prem!!!!

Fortunately I missed the Southend debacle whilst on a week's holiday sunning myself on the beach.

Saw the highlights yesterday and their goal was another monumental blunder that shouldn't be happening at all, never mind with a minute left in a Cup game.

I see the transfer window is progressing as expected, with bugger all happening, except for the exit of Wayne Bridge..... I guess that was an offer too good to refuse,although I still fell he should have been played further up the field with Ashley Cole at the back.

Seems Rafa is finally learning this Premiership game, and got stuck into Fergie yesterday. Absolutely right in everything her said, but as we all know it will make sod all difference, to the way referees treat him. Unfortunately his team are still pants in the games they should really be winning, and have opened the door for us again.

And finally, the return of Jose to Old Trafford tonight to watch the game. The above link to his thoughts showed exactly what we are missing at the moment. Someone prepared to speak his mind and tell it how it is, regardess of whether it wins him any friends or not. I wouldn't want to be in Scolari's seat, if we put on the kind of performance that we have in the last month. Jose will surely get a cheer at some point, and it could turn into a chorus if things are not going to plan on the pitch.

Mad Rafa made himself look/sound like an idiot, and then the next day his team came out and were shite. 'Poo will not win the title.

There's no point at all getting into the managerial hissy-fit business unless A) you can do it with panache and B) it is designed to have an effect on your team. Rafa is showing a Keeganesque uselessness in this respect. José was utterly brilliant at it. His Bigness, fair play to him, is doing it the right way: disdaining it. If he tried to go at it with Ferg, he'd just look stupid, and the "Crisis at Chelsea" story would gain fuel.

Interestingly, the stuff Ferg said about us was probably right. It's certainly true that the "win now at all costs" approach of RA's first years is producing dangerous effects now: not just the neglect of long-term development and stability, which were the things Ferg was pontificating about (with his usual gargantuan smugness), but also because José raised the bar so ridiculously high. Under any sort of normal circumstances our current situation would be considered strong, but because under José we hardly ever lost and gathered trophies at will, people are talking about His Bigness being fired in the summer. Which of course would prove Ferg's point, and (obviously) make us less, not more, likely to do well next year.

@ LTB / Greenlight

Have to say that initially I thought Rafa had been very smart in his comments and specifically, the timing of them, but having actually watched the whole thing it did have an air of a slightly unhinged man barking "I must get this off my chest!" about it. Whilst the point was valid, it was too long, too scripted and ultimately lacked any real punch.

Definitely don't agree with the hacks that say it was his "Keegan" moment, but I don't think he pulled off quite what he was hoping to. Inicidentally, the whole Keegan rant - another of the great Sky perpetuated myths of modern football; it was certainly a personal implosion, but hadn't Newcastle almost blown it by that point anyway? I can't remember the maths, but I'm sure the majority of the 12 point lead had gone before KK delivered the "I'd love it..." diatribe?

On the mind games thing; Mourinho was usually good at was a short and sweet soundbite that resonated and usually got under the skin of the intended recipient (Wenger the voyeur etc.); Rafa, who I believe is one of the modern game's great ' utimately lacks the wit to deliver that kind of thing - if Fergie had delivered his "I'll go and see Robben in the hospital" line after Reina was sent off against us a couple of seasons ago, it would have had some spark to it - Rafa just sounded like a bit of a berk. I certainly warmed to him a bit more after Friday's events, but on reflection it wasn't quite as effective as it might have been (and will also have bugger all effect on whether Liverpool win the title or not). Their result against Stoke just proved that they really lack strength in depth; Alonso or Lucas? Hmmm...

Sorry - should have been "one of the modern game's great thinkers" in the third line of the last para. Dear edit facility, where art thou?

Yes, on dissecting what Rafa said, it seems he has selective short term memory loss with some of the points he made. I think he was spot on to bring up the fixture list rant of Sir Rednose, considering the advantage Utd had with the games last season when we were playing catch up.

On sendings off and penalties I think he should look a little closer to home with some of the favourable decisions Stevie Me has had, plus the run of dismissals he's already had this season with opposistion teams.

So if that rant was meant to spur his team on against Stoke (and that's two games they've failed to score against them) then he's failed miserably. I suppose Fergie is having a quiet smile this morning, lets hope we can wipe any grin off his face by 6pm this evening.

Who knows JM just being there might inspire our lot to raise their game to the level we all know they're capable of.

It's been some time since I felt this pessimistic prior to a game. I'm feeling like I've just been summoned to the headmasters office after school at 4pm.

Any tips on positive thinking would be appreciated.

Now where did I put my exercise book...

My take on the Raffa outburst is that you don't rant off a piece of paper. There was no particular pressure point to which he was responding. He is no fool and I think it was a calculated attempt to head of what we saw at the end of last season with Fergie and Queiroz(sp?) spraying soundbites around on an alomost daily basis about particular refereeing decisions, questioning general refereeing competence, demanding protection for their players while conveniently forgetting their own thuggery.

It was a concerted and co-ordinated effort to put pressure on referees. Added to that the sort of incidents and conversations to which the paying public are not privy and you get a situation where, in a tight race, a couple of decisions could make all the difference.

It didn't quite last year but had we beaten Wigan who knows?

Rafa thinks its going to be tight this year and has created a situation where once Fergie starts bleating, he can point and say "Look what did I tell you."

It may look stupid if it all goes wrong, but he's obviously felt it was worth the risk to say it now when he's on top rather than be seen to be whinging after the event at the end of the season a la Keegan.

I had a dream last night that we went 3-0 up then I wasn't able to watch any more for a reason I can't remember. I got hear bits and pieces on the radio and Kalou was sent off in the second half. Manure scored with maybe 20 mins left. I then lost reception altogether........

Up to this point in my life I have never had a proper vision that came true. Still you live in hope.

@ Blue Bayou

where once Fergie starts bleating, he can point and say "Look what did I tell you."

That's about the size of it; sadly, the football world at large will shrug its collective shoulders and say "Yes, and?" whilst the wily old Glaswegian goat will point out to Rafa that draws with Stoke, Fulham, West Ham etc. are what will ultimaely cost you the title, not stuff you moan about at press conferences given in January. And for all intents and purposes, he will be right as he so often is. Virtually everything he says is parroted as being 'mind games' by the media, but the fact is if there wasn't some element of truth in what he said, it wouldn't play on anyone's mind.

Rafa is clearly starting to crack. Fergie has the edge on Wenger these days, TSO was the only manager who had Fergie in his pocket. I miss his mind games, who else shut Wenger up with just one word, voyeur :D

I really hope Deco, Malouda and Kalou do not start today. Kalou to come on later against tired legs.

If we concede an early goal Mikel will probably get sent off. Need a good performance from Frank and Ze German today. He stepped up last year with those 2 goals at the bridge (great game). True class shows itself in the big games, and Ballack is absolute quality!

yet again from set piece............

Why don't we stick players on the posts? 3/3 goals conceded from corners without people on the post.

@MOONSHINE MAX
Good you noticed. Only Scolari, or whoever it is there has not noticed. It is simply shocking defence and toothless attack...

Good team goal.

Game over. Title Challenge over.

Wow what an inspired substitution an attacking RB for an attacking RB.

I honestly believe Av Grant was a better manager than Scolari now, have we even had a shot on target or off target?

Our defence has steadily declined since TSO left and now it is shocking :D

Manager sets the tactics and influences the team's personality on the pitch. TSO's team just enforced their will on the opposing team and had high levels of concentration throughout the match.

Scolari's Chelsea falls asleep and concedes poor goals. Too many silly little passes on the edge of the box that just don't go anyway.

I honestly hope the people who went up to manchester start chanting jose mourinho now. Not that it would help at all just make matters worse :D

'This is a steamrollering'

Well said blokek on 5-live.

There is no passion. I'd rather Ranieri or Grant than Scolari. Jesus

Dismal.
Shocking.
Pathetic.

And this is better than when Mourinho was in charge?

Can someone, anyone, please tell me how this is progress?

Well I'm really glad that our squad is good enough to win trophies this season and that we don't need to strengthen.
I'm really glad that Mr Kenyon is earning his pay packet by travelling the world in his endless crusade to establish us as a "brand name"
I'm really glad that Mr Arnesen has nutured and developed enough youngsters to take over when the legs of our ageing players finally give in.
And lastly I'm really glad that Mr Abramovich decided to sack the best manager we ever had,because after all what right has any Chelsea fan to be happy?

It was as I expected.

Summoned to the headmasters office at 4pm then 3 firm strokes of the cane across my naked buttocks.

I don't think i'm overreacting in calling that a shcoking performance. I can't remember if we had an effective attack or strike on goal. Yet more awful defending makes me question what Scolari has been training them on for the past 2 weeks. What was worse was again the lack of passion in the side. The players look as if they don't want to play for Scolari and simply don't care. A couple of positives in my eyes though. Firstly, it's clear Scolari is now not worthy of managing Chelsea. His second half 'Plan B' of shoving Lamps to the LW and waiting until the 85th minute to react to going 2-0 down was a joke. Secondly, we're definitely out of the title race so we can all look to the summer. 1/12 points in the Big 4 mini-league and now we're under pressure to stay in the top 4. Thirdly, we got to see Jose again. The best manager in Europe who we decided to get rid of because of a personality clash. I wonder where all those fans who wanted Jose out because we were 'Boring Boring Chelsea' are now?

@ habs

hear hear.

I try to be a voice of reason amongst the noise of overreaction - but today was the starkest example amongst many of just how far we have fallen.

I'm too upset to write anything else. I'll take a defeat but not a gutless one.

Boring...Boring game, at least for a chelsea fan. What my old club back.....

It is going from bad to worse. For the last 5-6 years probably the worst performance. One big disaster no passion, no desire, no football. Something is wrong there, extremely wrong.

I agree that it was one of the worst Chelsea performances of the Roman era. I'm starting to remember how bad we were because for a few minutes after the game i was a little confused, wondering if i had really watched Chelsea. But we were so bad it was almost laughable. Does anyone remember what Didier contributed? I remember seeing Frank give him a bollocking in the first half after he refused to challenge Evans for a header and refused to close down their defence. Then in the second half he got even worse and I was fully expecting the Chelsea crowd to start booing him. Equally awful was Phil. He went there for a 0-0 and as soon as they scored i think we all knew we were doomed as he is tactically inept and is unable to make an effective substitution. The second half 4-4-2 was not what we've been calling for as none of us wanted our best midfielder, Lamps, to be wasted on the left wing. Why wasn't Kalou brought on for Ballack to give us some width. And watching him standing on the touchline as Utd went 2-0 up, then played keep-ball, just reminded me of Steve McClaren at Wembley. We really have hired a wally.

hmmm, I'm still in shock, to say any thing with sense. This Lunatic, that calls him self loved by the players is destroying the team. It will be very difficult to give them some confidence back. All the good work that was done in the past is gone. At least AG, was letting the things still roll with out putting himself on the way. But this Lunatic called Scolari, is destroying every thing.

happy new year all!
Its clear to see that the winning mentality is going away. I cannot see Ballack adding any value to the team playing along Mikel because both of them are playing very similar. A short sideways pass and stand ground. Neither of them take a shot at goal, neither gets ahead of the ball. Scolari's tactics which he probably imposes on the team and the natural style of the players are conflicting.
Mourinhos' was pretty straight forward and he has said several times - you can only play in a style that you can afford.
Now, this season has the potential to become a disaster. If we end up finishing third or fourth - it will aleast help to keep the club together for another year.

In the summer :
Scolari out.
Sell Ballack to TSG Hoffenheim (They'll gladly take him)
Sell Joe Cole.
Sell Malouda and Kalou (The French Ligue) - Buy one get one free.
Sell Alex.
Sell Didier Drogba for fucks sake. Atleast when he is worth 10 Mil.

Deco - useless
Drogba - useless
Joe Cole - useless
Ballack - legs have gone - useless

Overall - shambolic

For the last 10 with Di Santo we had 3 centre forwards?

Fergie was right, we're an ageing team with the oldest of all being Scolari.

To top it all Mikel reverted to his old self.

Southend are probably growing in confidence.

Major surgery needed, from coaching staff downwards. You'd need a minivan to ship out all the dead aging wood at the club. But the big problem and question is whether Roman has the appetite to do it. If not, then perhaps it is time for sell...

@ 199 Mark

Lampard -useless
Carvalho - fucking useless

I thought Joe Cole was one fo the few who tried today, but generally they were all pretty grim. That was the worst I've seen Carvalho play and I'm a huge fan. JT looks a lost soul of late as well. Totally uninspirational.

One bright point

At least we've got past the 40 point mark, so relegation shouldn't be an issue.

Another positive is I won't be wasting money on away trips during the credit crunch

It does reach a point where everyone can see that the manager has had warnings (primarily on-pitch) that, if ignored, could be deeply damaging if not dealt with.

The lack of any ability to defend set pieces and balls into the box has cost us recently, but not to the extent that it did today - today was the day when Scolari had to learn the lessons of recent weeks but completely failed to do so. I made the point some time ago when we conceded a silly goal (possibly in Europe) when Scolari was gesticulating from the bench at (possibly) Lampard at what looked like a 'zone' to mark. It obviously wasn't clear as the goal was conceded; today looked similar - the first goal was criminal, no other word for it. Defend like that and you have no right to win a game, let alone titles.

To add to basic problems at the back, the midfield are trying to pass the life out of the opposition; this is fine when you have the stamina and athleticism to do so, but with a number of 30 plus players in the team, you will run out of puff eventually. The forwards simply aren't communicating with each other either - add all those points up and the general lack of confidence and you can see clearly why we're in the position we are.

It seems to me that Scolari is trying to play a system that needs sharp, creative players with the ability to change a game when we simply don't have them - if we kept to our "Chelsea" game of recent years; solidity, power and precision and above all simplicity, we could hopefully achieve enough to allow us to rebuild and move on but at the moment we just aren't playing to our own strengths which will cost us. This isn't about buying new players, it's about getting the best out of the players we have; we know that the vast majority have the ability and the will to achieve, it's just that Scolari isn't getting anything like their best from them.

So what do we do? Sack him now and no half-decent manager would come within a mile of SW6 (cont.)

Keep him here and we could well go into freefall. Does Roman have the stomach (or the wallet) for a complete rebuild? An interesting time awaits us...

Shocking. Simply shocking. Nothing there, no strong mentality to fall back on, no team spirit to buoy us, no work ethic. Certainly none of the talent showed up. Man U put in a quality display that left us standing like deer caught in the headlights.
Scolari has been said to have no plan B but tonight he showed that he really doesn't have a plan A. I got a text message from my dad (who's a Liverpool fan) saying Chelsea RIP and for the first time I think he may have been right.
Instead of hoping we win the title, I'm merely hoping we qualify for the CL. The team morale must be at an all time low after that display - and I feel the pain they must have felt as I watched them trudge off. Sad, sad, sad.

These are really bad, sad times…

Where the hell are all those people on this blog who were shouting ‘Avram Must Go’ last season?...That bloke didn’t do anything before the crusade for his ouster started here…and now that things are really falling, the ‘voices of wisdom’ are silent!

I thot with Terry in the team the defense would be better 'organised'...if Alex had played some idiots here would have been calling for his head and asking for the recall of the inexperienced Manciene...

Drogba is all power and little skill....cant even make 3 yard passes. Time to go….wont waste my time commenting on JC...

Hopefully the noises coming from Jose mean he will be returning to us sooner rather than later.

"Where the hell are all those people on this blog who were shouting ‘Avram Must Go’ last season?...That bloke didn’t do anything before the crusade for his ouster started here…and now that things are really falling, the ‘voices of wisdom’ are silent!"

I'm here and I still think Avram Grant was a clueless fuckwit. I'd hardly call any of us who criticised Grant 'silent'. Perhaps you need to look through the posts before making your usual tired and sloppy comments.

I dont think anybody is overreacting at all. I didnt even watch the game (listened to it on the radio) and I feel like shit. Simply shocking, We need players in the transfer window. I dont care what anybody says. We are paying the price for letting quality wide players like Duff and Geremi go for almost nothing and then blowing 13m on Malouda. I will be expecting a reaction against Southend on Wednesday.

I dont think there is any doubt Grant was a clueless fool. TG, What do you think of Scolari in all this? I think its disgusting that Deco continues to play despite his poor performences however I agree with Mr Mourinho when he said "Avram Grant got loads of money and changed nothing, Can you say the same about Scolari?"

We are paying the price for letting quality wide players like Duff and Geremi go for almost nothing and then blowing 13m on Malouda. I will be expecting a reaction against Southend on Wednesday.

@Joe
Geremi quality wide player??? he was another donkey that needed to go. As far as Duff goes, yes he was quality, but spent most his time like Robben on the treatment table.

And as far as transfers go who the fuck are we going to buy of any significant quality? This isn't Football Manager PC edition where you buy players with the best stats. The January transfer window is an utter waste of time, you rarely find gems that can turn round a teams fortunes. The players we have are good enough, whether Solari is getting the best out of them, well that's open for debate.

the one good thing about todays performance and the result is that we will have many more comments on the blog than usual.

oh, and bring back avram! here i said it. and i mean it. if the poor bloke had 1% of support TCO has, we'd win both the premiership and CL last year.

oh well, back to the eighties and nineties.

@ Clive (212)

And as far as transfers go who the fuck are we going to buy of any significant quality?

'Nuff said. Anyone half decent available would be silly money and at present we'd turn them into mediocre shite inside of a month.

@Alexis

Avram was a clueless fool who we all hated because of his inability to manage the team and the fact he weasled his way into the job by becoming Roman's best friend. But the fact he was so dumb meant he let JT and Lamps run the side, which was the best thing he could have done. At least he got out of the way and let the big boys handle things whereas Phil continues to interfere and refuses to let the side run itself. He's trying to impose his Brazilian bullshit onto us when we're full of powerful players who rely on overpowering the opposition rather than outplaying them in terms of skill. Jose built the machine, Avram kept it running yet Phil is quickly dismantling it.

@Kaiser

I've felt for a while that Phil will get sacked in the summer but why can't we do it now? It'll cost us £9m (i.e. 1 1/2 seasons' pay) but if it means we can still have a shot at the latter stages of the CL, then i'd support it. At present we could easily lose at Southend as that game will only be about passion and fight, which we are clearly lacking in, and i do think we'll go out to Claudio. Playing and beating Italian sides requires tactical ability (which is why Fergie will lose to Jose) and the game against Juve will be a Chess match, which Phil will lose. Claudio was hardly the sharpest tool in the box, but judging by Phil's Plan A and B today, who now thinks Phil is a CL quality manager? We all know we won't win anything this season and going out in the next round of the FA Cup will lose us £5m and losing to Claudio could lose us £15m. So why not sack him? It's a false economy to wait 2 seasons and then sack him because by then we'd have wasted 2 years, won nothing and would then have to replace a raft of 30+ year olds. And to all those who say there's no-one out there to bring in, why not Rijkaard?

I look forward to the match report (good luck to whoever's got this pleasure) and the player ratings. I hope Phil will get a score for his tactical masterstrokes...

and am wondering what 3 players will get: Lamps, Deco and Didier.

Lamps: I thought he was poor today, but he's my favourite Chelsea player, so of course i'll defend him. I'll say it again, but why he was pushed out to the left wing when we switched to a 4-4-2 (it was anything but, it looked like 4 defenders, 1 defensive midfielder and then 5 lost sheep wondering what to do) was baffling. He's our best midfielder and should be in the centre of the pitch. With the embarrassingly immboile Ballack 'supporting' Mikel, we were overrun by that mighty pairing of Giggs and Fletcher and could have conceded more. I know he was shit today but some of the blame must go to Scolari.

Deco: I think we all knew he'd start even though Kalou would have been a more pacy, mobile and effective option. And then i think we all knew he'd be anonymous and shit. Why he's given the untouchable badge is beyond me. Not even good enough for our reserves.

Didier: I really think he deserves a 0/10. I know he's rusty, judging by his airshot in the second half, but it was his attitude which really pissed me off. The number of times he refused to challenge Evans for a header, or refused to close down their CBs, or tried to beat 5 Utd defenders instead of passing only to fall on his arse, or refused to put in any effort was a disgrace in my eyes. I saw on numerous occassions Lamps give him a bollocking for not trying and he deserves to be sold. He obviously doesn't want to play for us but can we afford to sell him when our other option is Anelka?

Whilst i'm remembering the details of our shitness, what about that Utd corner? It was a great piece of creativity which Scolari would never have thought of. Fergie said they were practicing it in training and it should have counted. I remember how we used to be set-piece specialists under Jose e.g. Drogba at Boro or Joe scoring against Liverpool at the Bridge from Lamps' low drive. It's just another reminder of how Scolari isn't doing anything...

@HABS and others
We have had a manager Steve Clarke, during the AG time team has been run more or less by Clarke. Of course AG was there, but he has learned very fast that he better listen. Take a look on this season so far, it all has started when Steve left. May be he expected to become first fiddle in Chelsea after AG left, but Kenyon and Ko did not think so.

Today was a bad day, but keep your chins up my friends!!!
Keep The Blue Flag Flying High!!!

...for the team. The team show a lack of passion, interest, tempo, shape, creativity, skill, ability or even competence.

As for the future. Well i look forward to tomorrow's headlines as i've wanted Scolari to get a hammering for a while now. He's escaped any criticism because he's won a World Cup but hearing Chelsea fans walk out of Old Trafford on SSN, they couldn't give a fuck what he's won. It's only about winning trophies for Chelsea and if you can't do that then you should be shown the door. If it was about what you've won in the past, then Avram would have used his Israeli Championship medal as his defence. We didn't give a fuck what he'd won in Israel so why should we care that Phil's won the Copa Libertadores? It's not up to the standard of the CL or the Premiership. He's obviously here for the money and the fact he's the highest paid manager in the world alongside Jose is a joke. It takes a certain type of manager to manage Chelsea. A man who can build team spirit, a man who is tactically astute, a man who offers something different or new to the league, a man who shows passion and a man who puts winning above everything. I'm sorry, but Scolari does none of those things and for that he should go. When was the last time you heard Phil say something interesting or make a headline? He trots out the same lines before and after every game: "We're going to try and win the game" or "If you don't take your chances, you'll be punished" or "We weren't good enough today". He's out of his depth and soon i'll start to feel sorry for him. But at present i just don't like him or his football.

@ Habs

Phil will get sacked in the summer but why can't we do it now?

Aside of anything else, we're heading towards a point where no potential candidate would take us seriously; Rijkaard would be a questionable choice at best (do we really think he'd fit in here in the current climate?) and the smart money has to be on him biding his time to take over from Ancelotti at AC Milan - they love a former player as coach - when he eventually moves on to try something else.

(For my worthless four penneth, I think we missed a trick in not getting Capello after Jose went, but that's rather academic now.)

To my mind, either Roman backs Scolari (looking less and less likely by the minute), or gets a new, young manager in with some potential and gives him complete control over football and football related staff with a minimum of 3 years to rebuild the squad or as the final option,just admits he's had enough and sells the club to someone who wants to see us dominate again and is prepared to make the necessary investment for us to do so.

"To my mind, either Roman backs Scolari (looking less and less likely by the minute), or gets a new, young manager in with some potential and gives him complete control over football and football related staff with a minimum of 3 years to rebuild the squad or as the final option,just admits he's had enough and sells the club to someone who wants to see us dominate again and is prepared to make the necessary investment for us to do so."

Evening again Mr D - as per our chat earlier this evening I totally agree with this. I'm not usually defeatist but I can't help wondering if a turning point was reached today. I think RA may be thinking his future as owner and all of the current cost cutting is merely an exercise in diligent monetary polciy in order to present a going business. He is a shrewd businessman and he can't have watched that today and thought it was better than whats occurred previously. Ditto Kenyon. Scolari seems to have had a hand in Bosingwa (a good signing) and hand picked Deco ( a duffer) so RA either needs to support him come June/July or let him go if no money is forthcoming and then perhaps we employ a young new manager with an edge and hunger like you say who might be prepared to stay for the long term. The more I see of Scolieri (sic) the less convinced I am that he has the ability or desire to take us back to the previous heights.

I'm not sure what the right action is in the summer, but in the interim i'm not sure sacking Scolieri would benefit anyone. Write the season off if necessary, but if we go for someone new then my choice would be someone like Slaven Bilic and maybe a few left-field options. But not someone with 'proven' track record of trophies, because it means jack shit in the PL. David Moyes? Martin O Neill? Phil Brown? Just someone with guts, steel, hunger and drive with the attitude of Lemmy. A man prepared to piss on the Old Trafford or Anfield turf after placing a blue flag in the centre circle.

A performance devoid of any heart whatsoever.......

Time for a total overhaul.

Great spot on Capello. Totally forgot about him and he's the type of 'winning comes before style' manager we need. However some say he's a candidate for the Utd job in 2010. My bet is on David Moyes to replace Fergie, if that matters in any way?

Totally agree that we need a younger coach who has the energy, passion and creativity to drive this team forward and create a new winning machine. Whether Phil is just not good enough, run out of energy or is just laughing that we've given him a £12m pension fund, a younger manager seems to suit the Chelsea image. That's why i thought of Rijkaard but as you say, the Milan job looks a lot more attractive than ours. We could look at Van Basten, Klinsmann, Laudrup but there aren't that many out there. I do really believe that we'll be looking for a new manager this summer and maybe Kenyon's even drawing up a list now. It's a must that he should speak English though.

@Habs
took the words right out of my mouth as the song goes. And before anyone talks about how little money he has had to spend. Man-U spent 30mil on berbatov which by manu fans has harldy set old trafford alight, even his goal today was really just the icing not the harder work done by his colleagues beforehand and of course they only just won the CL because Terry fluked it and the Prem because of the two refereeing decsions on the last day last season and this season they are hardly firing are they yet they beat us 3-0 !!! Then there is martin o'neil and Villa. Look at them without the 150mill worth of players on the pitch or even Moyes. Hughes has proven he is not good enough but O'neill, Now there is a manager i would like. surely he is looking for the next big step/club in the summer if the right offer came along......any thoughts on him anyone?

ChelseaTony @ 209...

Long before the January window last season, you guys were VERY vocal, definite and impatient in your quest to chase him out of the club...even when his results did not suggest so, Remember?...I’m not hearing that ‘noise’ this time around, nobody has brought up any list on this blog asking us to sign up for Scolari to be sacked even when his results have been much poorer than AG’s!

By the way, how did your prodigy JC fair today?…I noticed he lit the pitch up and beat Evra time and again…rubbish and utter waste of space!...hopefully the scale would come off your eyes soon concerning JC!


Habs @ 216…

Terry was in the heart of the defence when we were conceding all those goals today…Lamps was also in the side… don’t heap it all on Scolari like you were doing with AG…these guys are professionals and should take responsibility for their blunders….
You say AG was ‘so dumb’…yet he led us to champions league triumph over loserpool and into the finals proper against today’s opponents. That match was one of the finest we’v played in recent times, can you compare it to the thrash we played today?...
You were pulling this double standard shit the whole of last season (giving credit to the players, especially JT and Lamps when we win…and blaming the manager when we lose) and you’v started tugging that wool again this season…doesn’t work that way my brother, whoever is responsible for the victories is also responsible for the defeats, and that is the manager!

I would love to see O'Neil at Chelsea. I have been lucky enough to go up to Villa park a few times this season and you cannot fault his enthusiasm on the bench.

He stands by the pitch the whole time and mentally kicks every ball.

Yet that step to out thinking the opponent at the top top level is something he is not proven to have.

Do we want a manager who come 2010 has put us in a position similar to Mark Hughes at Man City. No!

This cannot be a gamble.

Capello would have been perfect. Winning is the most important. Only EXCEPTIONAL side win leagues and play amazing football.

Chelsea first season with TSO and Barcelona a few years back for example.

I honestly cannot see who it can be. Lippi possible, but his with Italy and I doubt he would come England at his age.

It does only leave Rikjaard who is proven at this pedigree. He is young lets sign him on a longish contract and offer him funds as part of it.

Clear out Wilkins (who as I recall when he was here last time sent us on a downwards slope)

And get an assistant manager in who really works the lads in training.

Hopefully Rikjaard could get Messi to come :) He would solve all our problems!

Drogba, Messi JC, Ballack Lamps Essien, Mikel, AC Riccy JT Bosingwa, Cech

:D

@Alexis

Whatever you say, Avram was an idiot. He was tactically inept, couldn't give a team talk and had no idea how to inspire a team. You only have to look at the Carling Cup Final to see how good he was. Decides to start Anelka on the LW, drop our most in form player, Joe, and then refuse to give a team talk in extra time. Maybe we're all wrong though. Maybe he's a hidden genius, such a great manager that he's still unemployed. The only way he can get a job is if one of his mates (Roman or Pini Zahavi) finds him one. That's how much of an idiot Avram is. He didn't lead us to the Champions League final as he didn't do anything for the team. It was the players who got us so far but the fact we cam up second in so many competitions highlights the need for a quality manager to make the difference. It is the manager who can see tactical weaknesses in the opposition and make effective subs and it is the manager who directs the side. Managers never get praise for the routine wins as that's what they're expected to do. They get praise for the key differences they make in the biggest games, which enable us to win the biggest prizes. We hardly ever praised Jose for a 4-0 win over Norwich or a 4-1 victory at WBA as he was expected to steer us to victory. In those games we praise the players. But when he goes to 2 at the back when 3-1 down at home to Spurs and gets us back to 3-3 or salvages a 2-2 at the Nou Camp, he was rightly praised. Just as when he went to a 4-4-2 diamond against Liverpool in the FA Cup Semi whilst resting some big players, he was deservedly criticised. But in defeats it's the manager who gets most of the blame. Managers deserve praise when they deserve it and get criticism when they deserve it. Today JT and Lamps were poor but why was JT left with 2 men to mark at the corner and why was Lamps left languishing on the LW? And as a fan, if i don't like a manager i don't really care if it's not fair to criticise the manager.

Another important point to ponder is that...we no longer are psyching our opponents out before a game. When Jose was around, the morale was extremely high with the team being hailed as a machine and Jose going all gun blazing over other managers and players. This made losing not an option. Under Scolari , at best,we are saying just this week in and week out. "Lose and we are in BIG trouble"! and we end up doing just that or drawing against nothing teams! Then again morale could be a pure consequence of winning games only. And the "seige mentality" which was such a highlight during the recent years is just not there.
Two dreadful results in the new year and the whole year ahead looks scary.
All this can change. Sell Didier Drogba right now. When he came back from injury and suspension, it gave us an option we'd rather not have had. It unnecessarily disrupted Big Phil's only but working methodology. This chopping and constant changing of the front is why the goals are not coming. If we have a plan we are better off sticking with it rather than PLAN A, B, C. No other teams even talk like that!