FA Cup: Southend United 1 - 4 Chelsea

Um, first off I sometimes wear a casual cravat at this time of year, a lovely blue polka dot number. I prefer cravats to ties, they're warmer. I probably should have kept this to myself. :)

Great report Tony. I missed the first half (listened to it on the radio in the car) but got home in time to see the second. I pretty much agree with everything you said. Hard to tell if this was a sign that things are improving given the quality of opposition and their 11 men behind the ball tactics, but it was definitely a step in the right direction. That said, zonal marking needs to be scrapped, simple as. It obviously isn't working; and the players seem to have no clue what and who they are supposed to mark. It's embarrassing.

No Hiding Place is my favourite episode of Whatever Happened To The Likely Lads. Haven't seen it for a while; will have to search it out.

(Sorry about the missing links to some of the goal videos, everybody. I'll add them if I can find some.)

Anelka v Southend LINK
Lampard v Southend LINK

Maybe it's because I'm completely *meh* about Kalou, but I dont think he was THAT great last night. For sure, a goal to your name looks good, but he was still prouldy displaying a complete lack of decision making at times. And when more passes go astray than to their man, somethings still not right.

The only thing I will agree with ITV on was Ashley as man of the match. Gave us real penetration down the left, used the ball more effectively than Bosingwa on the opposite flank.

Alex was ropey at best, conceding too many needless corners. I hope Riccy was merely rested last night.

Note to TSSO - ZONAL MARKING DOES NOT WORK. It's not rocket science. A player with a run up to the ball will have more momentum and be able to jump higher to reach said ball than a defender standing still. Ditch it now, or we'll never keep a clean sheet again.

Not sure I understand Scolari's thinking when Joe got injured. If Di Santo's coming on, it has to be down the middle and shifting Anelka out wide - Di Santo isn't a wide man. Why not give Stoch a run in a straight swap? Bizarre.

Still, we've every chance to eradicate last nights decent performance by letting Deco ruin everything on Saturday. Add in Drogba and Tony Pulis will think it's Xmas again already.

@ Fiftee. Top left hand side of cupboard in bathroom. In the jar marked 'Happy Pills'. Yep, ...got 'em?

Now take 4 or 5 and sit back and relax. Sometimes, especially in lean times its good to just acknowledge a good performance, even from Kalou. I've watched it twice now...........once in full and once at double speed with normal breaks. I'm not wrong......

I quite like ITV's coverage as I know I'm always going to get 15 minutes to do a few little chores around the house halfway through. Also, what was it with their camera angles last night? There was one, and all it did was seem to indicate that whoever it was pointing at was coming off to be substituted irrespective of what they were doing in the pitch at the time.

The amount of times I thought (i) hasn't he gone off already; and (ii) he must be injured were ridiculous.

Good tonic, that.

Kalou was excellent, took his goal so well and just rose in confidence after that. The team just looks so better balance without Deco. Ballack had space, the wide players stayed wide - I know, it was only Southed, but it was exactly what we needed and a defeat would have been catastrophic.

I usually watch matches on my tinpot laptop so enjoyed the chance to watch on a proper telly. However, I found my view constantly obscured by Joe Cole's arse. Boy, he's got a big 'un.

Worrying signs: the defence at set plays was atrocious (why Alex ahead of Ivanovic?), but the Joe Cole injury was even worse. This could explain why we get so many injuries, if our physio team is still resorting to the medieval tactic of asking players to run off serious injuries. And I'm sure I've seen them do this before a few times. Bad bad bad.

Finally, on a Likely Lads note:

Bob: 'Alan's a Chelsea supporter.'

Terry: 'Oh, is he...?'

Alan. 'Used to have a season ticket.'

Terry: 'I hate Chelsea. They stand for everything I hate in
football. With their showbiz supporters. They come out looking more
like the Young Generation than a football team.'

Tony.

Found 'em. Called 'Ketamine' yeah?

I merely said I didn't think he was that great. On the Kalou-o-meter, his best performance for ages, but we're talking about producing the goods against a mediocre League 1 side - he's hardly ripping the best defenders in the World a new one, is he? I'll accept maybe my anti-Kalou bias is clouding my judgment somewhat. He's definitely got to step up to the plate now, with Malouda and Joe both doubtful for Saturday, he's out only 'recofnised' wide man. I'm guessing the Drogs will get an early reprieve because of the injury situation and Anelka will play out wide. Which is preferable to Deco being anywhere near the stadium, let alone the pitch.

On the transfer front (I know it's only gossip) but I found it strange to see SSN report last night that Inter would only let Adriano got to Spurs on loan if they got Jenas in return. Due to our impotence in front of goal - and yes I know he's something of an enigma at the moment - shouldn't we be offering Inter one of our decidedly average midfielders and giving him a chance? Nothing much to lose really. Not as if he could be any worse than our other striker is it?

I couldn't quite catch what the Southend fans were singing about young Ashley's good lady wife. Something to do with his former team, by the sound of it.

Good result - hopefully nerves will be a little less frayed around the Bridge today; as Pete says, losing would have been a disaster.

Got to sort the marking at set pieces out; Stoke and Delap will have a field day if we don't. Good performance from Kalou - still an enigma, but given our current lack of options he might get a run in the side which could be good for him. Anelka grafted well but his limitations against a packed, deep defence were all too obvious. And the decision to let Joe try to continue after what looked a nasty knee injury (even to the non-medically minded, the initial reaction scream ligaments which is never good) looked particularly unwise to say the least.

Onwards and upwards I suppose; Anfield and Villa Park will present an entirely different series of challenges which I'm not convinced we're up to just yet, but let's see if we can build on last night and take it from there.

Kalou was easily our best and most creative player last night. If anything we should have sent the ball his way even more in the first half. He was constantly beating defenders, and creating goal scoring opportunities.

People absolutely get stuck into Kalou and also Malouda. But look at the team choice over the past 10 games during out horror run and compare it to the team that was doing so well in August - October.

Front 3: Malouda - Anelka - Kalou

Front 3 against Man U on Sunday:

Deco - Drogba - Cole

Forget reputations. We need attacking players that will try and beat opposition defenders, not a million passes to get absolutely fricking nowhere as we have been for the last 2 months!

Bring back Malouda when he's fit. And must start Kalou from now on.

Was quite funny that between the minutes 15 and 44, the most popular chant was "Sacked in the morning, you're getting sacked in the morning".

Agreed on the thoughts re: Joe's injury.

'Look mate, I know your legs been left dangling at the hip, but at least try and run it off.

What's that, you can't stand?

Can you try and hop it off then........'

Also thought Belletti was worthy of a mention. Very disciplined in the holding role, didn't seem to get in JT and Alex's way like Mikel did.

Just a shame he didn't pander to the shouts of 'Shoot' every time he had the ball.

Chelsea Dictionary; new entry.

Going Zonal - used as a verb to describe a Chelsea fan's sudden feeling of extreme and uncontrollable anger (sometimes to the point of violence) at the inability of his / her team to defend set pieces by means of a new and inexplicably unneccessary method of marking. See also American slang 'Going Postal'.

Ben: I completely agree, but it's not a popular viewpoint here. But give me average-to-good wingers in the right position over good-to-great midfielders out of position.

What I'd like to know is, if zonal marking's so good then why can't we mark the zone inside the posts?

Posts may not score goals, but as last night again proved, they do have a habit of being there or there abouts when the ball crosses the line.

I recorded the game and then watched it, fast forwarding through half time. What was the reason given for replacing Mikel with Belletti?

Maybe the players could run out at Stamford Bridge to a new song :

"Going Zonal, down in Acapulco...."

Must. Get. Coat.

Mikel got booked and I think he now serves a ban - guess it wasn't worth risking another and somebody's going to replace him anyway, so give them a run out.

What was the reason given for replacing Mikel with Belletti?

He was on a yellow, and considering his lack of ability to tackle, perhaps it was a safe option.

As one who stated publicly on here at the start of the season I was optimistic this could be Kalou's breakthrough season it was gratifying to see him have a decent game again at last - even if Chinese and League 1 defences are all he can cope with most of the time.

It strikes me following the recent discussion here on BS Johnson's quote - "Chelsea supporters ... need to become emotionally involved with a team who can play as well as any and worse than any" - that Kalou surely is our current player who best embodies this tradition. The campaign to make him Player of the Year could start here ;-)

And now that Roman's wallet clearly has a big "Not to be Opened Before 02/02/09" on it, isn't it a relief to let Man City fans do the rollercoaster rides reading all the contradictory nonsense about whether they might get Kaka or not? Even the thought of reading the latest obfuscations of Motormouth Galliani which entertained me last summer can't get me to wade through all the crap beyond a quick skim down the Beeb website football gossip column summary.

The Kaka stuff just gets more and more amusing by the hour; seeing Mark Hughes being asked about it the best part - he trots out the party line but accompanies it with a slightly hangdog "You think I know ANYTHING about who we're buying?" look on his face.

@17: Obi was on a yellow so Bella was in playing CDM - or swapping with Ballack at RCM. Good match report except again unworthy praise for Abdul Anelka. Everything was great until Drogs came back? You mean, losing against Liverpool and Arse-Anal at home was great? We were also not winning against Cluj at CL at the Bridge with Anelka playing and then Drogs (and Kalou) saved us. Another thing re: Kalou. He has received some extraordinary criticism - certainly in comparison to Joe Cole, Ballack and Anelka - even though the number og goals and assists in the last couple of seasons have been pretty good. He scored the equaliser v Man U at home this season and yesterday was by far the best player on the pitch, scoring the important secondf goal and then 2 assists. He was not used at Old Trafford and Scolari brought on some inexperienced Argie kid who never scored a goal for us yet at Old Trafford as a sub even though Kalou was available on the bench. Kalou should start in a 4-3-3 at the right (or left) wing and we should not play 4-5-1 or 4-4-2 again. We rally need to buy at least one for winger - to keep on playing the winning 4-3-3 formation - Joey is injured ( and had an average season so far), Malouda is useless, Deco's preferred position is CM and Sinclair is out on loan again.

The money that's being talked about is just mind boggling. To think of all the bile we had aimed at us in RA's first seasons spend of £110 million, at least we bought 9 players with that.

Our spend was more of bulk buy rather than the luxury of one, and for all the money RA has spent, we still didn't manage to break the British transfer record in that time.

I received my quarterly Natwest mag today and I was surprised by Roman's face on the front cover LINK

It seems odd timing to me when "fall of the Roman empire" might be more fitting. Anyhow let's hope he can apply the same strategies to the team.

Well done Big T, never less than the full 3 courses with brandy and cigars in there for good measure.

While we're on the subject of police and criminal activity, I take it your reference to Dill the Dog (him being a character in the Herbs) is some sort of embedded code to your heavily mustachioed narcotics connections, even now bobbing about in a Shrimper off the Essex Coast ready to land another consignment? Your secrets safe with me, (a nod’s as good as a wink to a blind ‘orse).

My frayed nerve ends are mending, even at 2-1 and totally dominant I foresaw all sorts of impending disaster. Was it my imagination or did we move the ball from one wing to wing more quickly 2nd half. Is Belletti better at that sort of “ship it on first time stuff” than Mikel? Has that been one of the problems against deep lying defences that we don’t move them about quickly enough? Or was this only Southend and I’m hallucinating through nervous exhaustion?

Another thought, I don’t think it’s a question of zonal or man to man, it’s a question of good judgement on the flight of the ball and making an aggressive effort to get to it. The attacker will always have a run on the defender so it’s important that the organisation of the defence is good and everyone understands what they are doing.

I don’t think they are drilling the defensive side of our game well enough, both set piece or free play.

Now at this point I ought to say that on a football pitch I am as much use as a one legged man in an arse kicking contest so feel free to mock. And when it comes to coaching that leg has been taken off at the knee.

INTERMISSION - GET YER POPCORN ICES -YOU TWO IN THE BACK ROW PUT SOME CLOTHES ON

That said, and I haven’t really seen enough games this season either, but when teams attack out wide we seem to be too slow in closing down and even if we have the numbers there seems to be confusion as to who marks the ball carrier and who goes with the runner. Even last night on the odd occasion they got forward it happened and it was especially noticeable against Everton. Organisation, drill, its not there.

Now there is an optimum position to take up when confronting the ball carrier. Too close and they can manoeuvre round you relatively easily, too far back and you are not closing the angles off and in deeper positions you invite the cross. Is it me, or were we better at this sort of thing in previous seasons? Again a function of organisation, talking to each other etc. Practice makes perfect.

Finally, I believe it was in the 89th minute that DeSanto made a run to the near post to meet a cross in from Boswinga. The defender got a toe in and it was a corner. Why in the name of God’s very long white beard did it take that long to see a near post run. In a game where we got down the wings and got some balls into the box why did no-one ever make a near post run? We had enough bodies in the box time after time.

Effort, spirit, individual quality and a decent shape was all in evidence but there is still a brittleness and lack of cohesion that worries me.

Now get those cones laid out, take a bib and let’s get on with it……..

@Mark
I did notice next to his pic a rather telling headline(2nd down on left), it seems Nat West know a bit about football as well.

Funny old game, so many teams are now owned by rich foreigners yet everybody still points at us.

BTW: Did I see RayW come onto the pitch last night wearing a hat? Get the chequebook out whoever you are!

@ Mark #22

FYI the filters on our access here at the orrifice have blocked your link as "Pornography"

I know bankers and banking in general are a little unpopular at the moment but.....

Nothing from Haberdashers?

Interesting this one...

I still want the Mourinho Boys out...

Deco for me should stay. I think he has something that the rest of the midfield does not have. i.e close ball work and close range creativity which Anelka and Ben Arfa or Zaki could flourish from...

He does not have to score to play well...

That's the whole point, he just needs to play well.

Quite. Right now, all Deco is doing is re-enforcing the adage that Barca don't usually sell their best players. And certainly not to us.

Barca have a great Wenger sense of timing when selling players and only sell them when they're past their best: Overmars, Rivaldo, Giuly, Ronaldinho, Deco...

Us on the other hand like to help Barca out in their end of season clearout: Bogarde, Zenden, Petit, Deco. What price on us picking up Henry this summer?

I wonder how Phil will set the side up for the next month. He said in that press conference before the Southend game that this XI would be the XI he'd pick for the next run of games but with Joe looking doubtful for the next few games he will have to make a couple of changes. The team looked much more mobile and played at a faster tempo with 2 wingers and with Lamps running things in midfield but with Joe and Malouda doubtful we'll be back to Deco being anonymous on the left wing or Anelka being stuck out there and Didier returning. The Stoke game may have been a good time to see Bridge or Sinclair given a run out but they've gone so the Stoke game may be a lot less fluent and a bit tighter than the Southend performance, especially given the mental block we seem to have at home at the moment.

And i never knew how much you cared Musumba. I wonder how you'd sum up Lamps' performances lately. Certainly made more of a contribution than your personal favourite Deco. "I think he has something that the rest of the midfield does not have. i.e close ball work and close range creativity." Yep, he's certainly the master of the meaningless pass. When was the last time he had an assist, scored a goal or even do something positive? He'll probably be given another chance this weekend but he'll be anonymous, again.

@BB
last night's performance has made me reconsider the hasty comments I made yesterday about our recent leadership.

I feel that it's worth putting the record straight though, as there really are some spooky similarities between life at the Bridge since the arrival of Roman's Rovers and that other bastion of enterprise and democracy that benefited from the fall of Communism.

It's clear now that Big Phil's career mirrors that of Barak Obama who also starts with big financial constraints and despite getting the job some time ago he doesn't officially take control until next week.

Avram Grant therefore aligns with Bush Junior who history will also record as having achieved absolutely nothing, mainly because of a lack of preparation for the final shoot-out at the end of extra time.

Everyone's favourite rascals remain unaffected as no feeble attempt at re-writing history could diminish the Clinton/JoMo legacy.

Which brings me to Claudio who, like Bush Senior, had widespread backing for most of his actions (although he didn't actually go a far as Junior), is a genuine statesman still deserving of respect.

Here we are back to intricate relationships between Jose Musumba, Frank Lampard and Habs :-)
Somebody on this blog recently has suggested to look for the lowest common denominator.
The lowest common denominator for me is the loss of Steve Clarke and Drogba's antics. Is there anybody else who thinks so?
I can disappoint those who think that Big Phill have to be sacked! It will not happen and he will see his contract out, no matter what, trust me on this one. I believe he has got Carte Blanche from RA to do whatever it takes (even if it leads to not winning any trophy this season) to transform team to attacking. I do not know, if he will be able to teach these Old Dogs new tricks, but he certainly has full right to do so!!!

@ 27. BlueBayou

Ok so your boss is confident that you're not spending your day ogling porno sites but does he/she realise you spend your day on here?

@ Mark #27

Oh crikey shite I hope not!

@ Fan

As far as that particular analogy goes, I believe you have exceeded what is known as the "Elastic Limit". Something to do with Hookes Law but I'm buggered if I can do the math as they say.

LINK's_law

"The team looked much more mobile and played at a faster tempo with 2 wingers and with Lamps running things in midfield"

LOOOOOOLLLOOOL :-)
Their defensive MF is does shifts down at Argos Warehouse, Basildon while his mate is a plumber.
Just wait until he has Káka doing a samba dance on a ball. He be like: >>Ooops, oh aaagh I can't move, my ass is on my aaagh aaagh chest>>

and DiSanto was not offside!! still you get that in home matches let alone away crowds! maybe this win can get the boys back fighting for each other regardless of Scholaris tactics. Talking of which did anyone see his face when their goal went in!! I swear he was ready to walk! it was funny though! LOL Also, i dont know if anyone else noticed but Southend were rough during the game yet the ref let them get away with. Joe Cole was smashed into how many times? No wonder he later went off with an injury. there was a time when our manager would have told the post match reporter and the world all about that to let the ref for the next game know we wont take it but times have changed with our nicey nicey approach now!! Still we should beat Stoke...no...we must beat Stoke. I have a feeling Man-u will draw. I dont care about form, i have a funny feeling. And how come they only scored in the 51st second at home and only ran out 1-0 winners? I think there are a lot of twists and turns to go in this season......

The Kalou haters/the Joey lovers[Greenlight,Tony &co] hope you are watching?Kalou’s stat is exceeding that of Joey this season again.That would make it three season in a row.Yet y'all keep believing the myth that joey is a far better player than Kalou.

I see that "Artificial Intelligence" will never replace "Real Stupidity"

When we all search our hearts, we’ll see the truth there!...you don’t need to have grey hairs or be a supporter for 3 or 4 decades to know a good (better) footballer when you see one…

Kalou is a winger cum striker, a pacy one at that!...and I’ll rather have him than a slow out-of-form winger any day!...such a shame he was not unleashed on Neville in Sunday’s match…

Habs
I read the comments you made during the match…agreed, you’r one of the 1st persons here to see through Scolari’s weaknesses but I think you should slow down a little… And please don’t hold back the praises for Kalou concerning this match, cos I’m sure if it was JC that scored one and made those two BEAUTIFUL, PLATTER-OF-DIAMOND assists like Kalou did, we would have been inundated with adjectives of praise…when you hold back the praise, your bias becomes very very very glaring…borrow a leaf from (or better still, share a pie with) Chelseatony!

The stats are counting in Kalou’s favour again like some have been pointing out on this blog recently…

The big unknown in all this is not so much who played how well, but who gets picked next time out.

One of our recurring themes has been leaving form players on the bench and selecting the under performers. Scolari sounds as if he now knows his best side and intends to stick with it, and that alone would be worth the admission.

Set pieces aside, if our best 11 go for 90 mins with real purpose there aren't many teams who can live with us, no matter how we're setup tactically. Add to that our strength on the bench and we could get something out of this season yet.

I didn't mention it earlier for fear of being strangled with my own cravat, but I have been wondering for the past month of so whether there hasn't been some real signs of improvement in Kalou's game. The last few times I've watched him there have been noticeably less of those blind-alley headless-chicken (and other hyphenated clichés) runs that always ended up with him being dispossessed and way out of position. And it seems like he's been more effective in beating the first man, giving a decent pass and then staying involved in the play.

I still don't claim he's Robben Mk II, or even Duff Mk II: but the big strike against him was always that he never seemed to be getting any better, despite the obvious potential, and if that's changed, then he may be a genuine option.

It'll be very curious to see whether Malouda comes back in the team when fit. So far this season he and Joe have I think always been the first choice wide midfielders when available. But if (as we all hope) Mr Big has finished testing reputations and lost his patience with good players who are playing badly and don't seem to be trying very hard, then you'd certainly hope that Malouda would be next for the public humiliation.

Saturday's team selection will be very revealing.

Kalou's problem has always been his consistency (or lack thereof) and his decision making - quite an 'instinctive' player who seems to fare better with less time to think; if, as seems likely, he might get a decent run of games it will be interesting to see how he does - that said, he has often been more effective from the bench for us.

It was also telling to watch Scolari virtually ordering him where on the pitch he wanted him to be (and Kalou generally getting it) - given that we are somewhat transitional at present, having players that can carry out the manager's instructions could be useful.

@ Chaka 38....'The Kalou haters/the Joey lovers[Greenlight,Tony &co] hope you are watching?'

I think you have me confused with someone else. I have never been a Kalou hater (only frustrated by his inconsistancy. Read my last post of the Man Utd report, and row with Tony over him 2 weeks ago.

And whilst I am a fan of Cole, in recent weeks I have been more inclined to agree with those suggesting he has been underperforming.

"With the former footballer coming out of retirement to join Manchester City, Chelsea now have only one left-back on their books, with Phil Scolari's tactics of choice heavily featuring attacking, pacey full-backs. Whatever you think of the man, he is one of the world's leading exponents of the art and his loss - followed by a presumed change of position for Paulo Ferreira - would be a massive blow to Chelsea's Premier and Champions League hopes. Frank Lampard and John Terry would be missed, but they are not as irreplaceable as Cole"

Interesting point from the Football 365 website....... Does anyone even know who the reserve team left back is at the moment? Given that we can't find a reliable winger for the left side either, this could potentially become a real problem if we lose Cole at any stage.

Presume Ivanovic would play at LB if the need arose.

It would be just Essien's luck for Cashley to get injured right before his return. They'd stick him in at LB, on the theory that they've made him play pretty much every other position.

what do you guys think of the kaka thing?

Still don't think he'll go. He's not the type to sell his soul for cash unlike Mr. Robinho. It would be sad if the old saying that everyone has his price, has come true as Kaka was always the player every big club in Europe thought was impossible to buy. He's rejected Roman's millions for years so why would he go to a club fighting a relegation battle? Some would say that he would be stupid to reject the money being offered but how rich do footballers really want to be? £14m/yr or £500,000 per week is ridiculous money but he'd lose the respect from the footballing public he's spent years building up if he did go.

Interesting article about Portuguese talent:

LINK

"A player who could ultimately have a big impact on the English game in the near future, however, is Argentine winger Angel Di Maria. Benfica snapped him up from Rosário Central in July 2007 for just over £5 million and the tricky midfielder has attracted a lot of attention with his displays for the title contenders.

Now worth in excess of £15 million, Chelsea are reported to be interested in signing the 20-year-old to bolster the left side of their midfield. Luiz Felipe Scolari, a former manager of Portugal, will be fully aware of the Argentine's talent having watched him in the league last year and the club are confident that their links with his agent, Jorge Mendes, will aid their pursuit of the player.

Without a left-footed left winger, Chelsea could certainly use Di Maria's craft and he has become one of Europe's most sought-after talents after helping Argentina to win the Under-20 World Cup in 2007, and the Olympics in Beijing last year."

The rest of the article is worth reading as well. Thought it was appropriate considering our Ashley Cole discussion.

On the game:

I thought Kalou looked very good. I didn't get to see Joe as much as I was having a hard time getting a solid connection on the game, and didn't get one until we had the game in hand. Hard to pay attention to players when your picture keeps disappearing...

I thought Terry looked alright, Alex got beaten a few times by non-Prem players, and our Belleti-Ballack back 2 seemed to produce some interesting results. I wonder if we'll see more of that.

On Kalou again- He looked good, and it is about time he looked good. That said, the kid is still only 23. As much as we expect him to be the finished article he has a lot of development left to do. I think these are promising signs, however. I think a more consistent Kalou would do wonders for the team, as he looked very much on the same page as Anelka, and we all know he can play with Drogba (whose Schrodinger-like future continues).

For us to sell him at this point would be madness. We wouldn't make any more or less money selling him 2 years from now- players extra to Chelsea's requirements seem to have a flat fee structure. So who else would you want at his selling price as a second choice winger (assuming he doesn't develop into a genuine starter)? He can be frustrating, but he's never been bad this season. Yet you never hear him whine in the papers about playing time, contracts, etc.

Think about our projected starting 11 2-3 years from now. The young players who would probably be the starting 11:
Cech-26 (he has years to go!)
Bo-swing-a-26
Alex-26
Mancienne-21
Ivanovic-24
Essien-26
Mikel-21
Woods?-18
Kalou-23
Stoch-19
Di Santo-19

A. Cole is already 27, Riccy's 30, Frank's 30, J. Cole's 27, Drogs is 30, Ballack's 32(!), Malouda's 27, Paulo's 30, Deco's 31, Terry's 28, Belleti's 32, Anelka's 29.

Most of those players will be gone by then, or confined to a Makelele "guest appearance" kind of role. When that day comes I still want Kalou on the team.

i read somewhr Calvalho had aa bustup with Sco. LINK i've never liked graeme sounnes but his handling of player dissent is what we need.

Greenlight,

Not sure on the finer details, but Ryan Bertrand is our LB on loan here in Norwich. Would imagine he would be recalled should Ashley get crocked - was Norwichs best player by a mile before Xmas, has dropped off a bit recently but is playing regular Championship football which must be better than the reserve standard.

Kaka - I think it'll happen, maybe not till the end of the season. He'll go because he'll see it as business 'his club' simply can't afford to turn down. I'm guessing the £18m his advisors get will help the deal flow. And the £500k a week might help. Only might though, how he's expected to cope is anyone's guess. I'm already waiting for a Ballack-type "I can't afford to buy a house in Alderley Edge....."

On Kalou. As I said yesterday, I was probably wrong about his performance against Southend and he played well. Hopefully it will give him some confidence BUT it was lowly League 1 opposition. Opposition we shouldn't have been facing, maybe if he (along with others) had done the business a week and a half previous. Let's not get carried away and pretend we've suddenly un-earthed the next wing wizard. He's had plenty of opportunities in the past to show what he can (although invariably it's can't) do. I'm not a hater, I dont want to see anything done to the detriment of the team and if he starts producing then I'll be extremely glad. But there's every chance a lot of you are getting excited at what will amount to another false dawn. It's still Saloman Kalou. Inconsistent, indecisive, and all the other things that make him a true Chelsea player.

One thing we need to consider with regard to the progression of all of our younger players is the complete instability of the coaching set-up over the past two years.

We've now had three different sets of coaching teams in 18 months, which is terrible for a young player how is trying to progress and improve on their game.

Regarding Kalou specifically, yes he's got serious flaws to his game, but he's also been better than every other player who has played in the wide positions for us this season - that being Malouda (who at least gets assists), Deco, Joe Cole and Anelka.

Is that even debatable?

How much is Kaka going for now? Keeps going up every time I see another headline.

If it happens, which is presumably still open to question, it makes sense for most of the parties involved, I suppose. Gives Milan an almost unprecedented pile of cash to rebuild an ageing squad with; gives Citeh (or more specifically their owners) their trophy signing which is what they want in terms of a statement of intent and it gives the player - and the various Mr. 15% types involved a huge wedge of cash, which of course it was never about in the first place. And I suppose in terms of sporting goals, it is one hell of a challenge.

Sure he will be a success if he does move, but the culture clash could be interesting. Quite what a good, home loving and religious boy like Kaka will make of his midfield partner, Stephen Ireland, we can but guess. One probably kisses a picture of his grandmother every night, the other pretends she's dead to get him out of a game. One is fond of revealing a t-shirt emblazoned with "I belong to Jesus", the other a pair of Superman underpants... And that's before we even consider the Micah Richards sex tape.

Wonder if anyone has whispered in the collective ears of the very rich Arab chaps that they could probably pick themselves up Benzema, Aguero, Ramos and the odd decent squad player for roughly the same money?

I've completely ignored this story on the assumption it was absolute cock. Should I now take an interest?

JD,

Agree, although I see everyones favourite French club president - Jean Michel Aulas at Lyon - has hastily slapped a $100m price tag on Benzema. He's good, but he's no Kaka. Yet.

Surely Citeh's next managerial appointment has to be Keegan, or someone with his train of thought. Here's a team with no defence and no defensive midfielders. At least we're o.k going forward - as long as we score more than we concede, everything's fine. Other than Parker, not really seen any mention of them buying big name defenders.

There was the £60m for JT rumour. So, would you accept it?

'There was the £60m for JT rumour. So, would you accept it?'

Absolutely and without even stopping to check if it was April 1.

Seems we may all have to listen now. He's been given permission to talk to them; his father supposedly making contact today at some point. Hacks are in overdrive with conflicting tales, but it sounds like the Arabs have just kept upping the price until Berlusconi's loins twitched so uncontrollably he had to put a cushion in his lap and pay attention.

Think the suggestion that it might be more likely in the summer is probably accurate, but you never know given the money being thrown around.

Rumours circulating that if they get Kaka that they have agreement from two 'top' Premiership players that they will come and join the cash orgy.

Gets to the point where the money on offer is so silly you have to say yes; £60m for JT goes a long way to rebuilding a team in need of some new blood...

I think the Kaka situation is certainly worthy of the most outrageous soap plot, perhaps even trumping the who shot JR story that grabbed the headlines many years ago.

I do wonder where it's going to leave the state of our game if that's spent on one player, even in our heyday of spending it never quite matched this.

I should imagine if they do get him, I have a feeling Mark Hughes days are numbered, which is a shame. High profile signings require a high profile manager with a track record of winning, step up JM I think, then we will have something to worry about.

@ 56
Take a look. It does seem to have some substance and the figures are crazy even if exagerated.

In the end the decision may not be Kaka's to make. If Milan really want the cash they could put a great deal of pressure on him.

The other question now is who they want a manager?

The determination they've shown getting Robinho and now chasing Kaka makes me think that we can expect to see Jose as a manky blue very soon.

I'm caught between hoping his crazy wife has become Italianized and puts the block on it, and wanting to see him back in the PL where he belongs.

The problem with him returning is that, however hard this season is shaping for us, in the next one it could be a real struggle to win anything meaningful.

@54 Petew
It is not debatable. I would love to see Kalou in Chelsea ranks.
Regarding JT for 60, well, if he is ready to go I, personally, wouldn't stop him and have the payment.

Gratified to see the "Kalou for Player of the Year" campaign has gathered momentum already since my entry yesterday [@18] - he's guaranteed a stinker on Saturday now to cement his Chelsea's "traditional" player role.

As for cover for Ashley I thought when he arrived Ivanovic was quoted as saying he was used to playing right-side or centrally in defence or midfield but NOT left-back - the context ironically was Bridge getting upset about being edged out of contention from first team consideration.

I'm still just skimming the Beeb gossip on Kaka - which continues to exhibit lots of contradictions. I sneaked a look at The Currant Bun's £243m story to see how they got to that figure and was rather taken aback by this sentence:

"we can reveal the Kaka camp gave their blessing for City to approach Milan SIX WEEKS ago when they first saw just how much was being offered"

- err, isn't it supposed to work the other way round with current club giving the permission to approach the player or am I being naive now?

This Kaka thing is a disgrace - clubs should be allowed to buy the league like this.

Anyhow haven't we got more important issues at hand like how we're going to deal with Rory Delap long throws? I'm in favour of regional marking.

@ Mark

Anyhow haven't we got more important issues at hand like how we're going to deal with Rory Delap long throws? I'm in favour of regional marking.

Zonal, regional - presumably we've also considered parish, district and pan-county marking?

I was rather hoping we'd adopt the Corporal Jones "Don't panic!" method - run around and create enough confusion which will hopefully put them off.

Hey, has to be better than the current plan.

What happened to the old days when you'd stick a tall feller in front of the thrower?

We could resign Ed De Goey for the afternoon (ex-Stoke as well!)

That's the sort of useless tactic that seems apposite in the current situation.

What happened to the old days when you'd stick a tall feller in front of the thrower?

I think Health and Safety had a few things to say on the subject. Hell in a handcart etc.

Is there anyone who has the time and inclination to compile a Bilelog on the Kaka story?

This would consist of all the intemeperate ranting and hatred filled bile spewing chunter that one must expect from the 4th estate vis a vis the death of football when one club has this sort of buying power and should include dark references to how the wealth was obtained, distasteful asides about ethnic or national characteristics and misty-eyed praise for the parsimonious inviduals at Poo, Manure and Arse who have built their domination on three bob and a boiled sweet they found still stuck to their somewhat soiled handkerchief.

Personally, I can't be bothered. As a limp wristed, spineless, pinko lberal who reads the Guardian (my only saving grace being the absence of a cravat), I was disappointed on a quick trawl yesterday at the lack of doomsday tinged prose in my beloved rag. In fact the whole affair was used by one hack to take a pop at us, with the triumphal view the Roman has proved you can't buy long term success, what with us now facing relegation to the Conference after a poor performance in one game against the Manchester Guardians beloved 'Reds'.

Whisper it quietly, but apart from the long standing dislike for Chelsea in sections of the press, will Citeh get an easier ride than us because wealth in the Middle East is good (we go for holidays, they love horse racing, they put on golf tournaments, tennis tournaments, motor sport, they buy all their pants from M&S in Marble Arch, we loved David Lean's Lawrence of Arabia etc. etc.),but the Russians, well we've never trusted them, sitting there on the edge of Europe always posing a brooding threat since the Dark Ages.

I may summon up the courage to go and see what 365 that bastion of fair mindedness has to say.

If City start winning things and daring to overshadow that bastion of frugality and fairplay Manchester United (and especially if they resurrect Jose), they'll get both barrels from the gentlemen of the press. Until then they'll be viewed with a mixture of suspicion and condescension.

It's all still very fairytale stuff, but it's going to set a precedent for the rest of World football. Maybe the end of mercenary players where clubs will just demand too much money and therefore players will be seeing out their contracts.

Kaka's right up there as one of the Worlds best, but based on just how much is being touted around to make it a done deal, to me it could signal the end of 'superstar' players ever moving clubs. If he's worth that much (I know that's at the discretion of Milan) then what price Messi or Ronaldo - both of whom are much better at the moment.

Rich Arabs apart, we know full well the World's in an economic shit-storm.

PeteW, ahead of facing the human cannon tomorrow, this could be what happens if we put a man in front of Rory 'The Windmill' Delap :

LINK

I'm sure everyones seen it, but it never fails to make me smile.

Well I took the short walk over to 365 and the fresh air did me the world of good. Apologies for the earlier rant. I can only assume that the incoming storm front over the Atlantic is playing havoc with the electro-chemical balance of my brain.

Haven't been over there for a long time. When did they stop calling us Chelski?

Two important pieces of news as far as I could see.

One means that we can happily wish Phil on his way as Rafa has rejected a new contract with the Poo. Well for God's sake, how long can an erudite, cosmopolitan man of mediterranean sensiblity hang around up there? Last weekend was evidence that the cold, inhospitable surroundings of the only city in Europe that can give Naples a run for its money is finally doing for him.

He also had some success with zonal marking, so it's a shoe-in as far as I can see.

The other sees the Daily Star reporting that Carlos Tevez will be with us by the summer at the latest. As if Joorabchian wont be making enough on the Kaka deal, we'll be shovelling more dosh his way so he can do up his new caravan down at Walton-on-the-Naze.

Arrivederci Didier!

@ BB "I may summon up the courage to go and see what 365 that bastion of fair mindedness has to say."

Please take extreme care. Such a hazardous journey is not for the faint hearted and I'd hate for you to become damaged and scarred by such an experience. I'd rather look at the face of The Medusa.

Your point is rather interesting though. being a firm Guardian reader I too have noticed that the bile and vitriol from the press and broadcast media aimed at us when Roman saved us from bankruptcy (Doing a Leeds I believe the phrase is), and then underwent some accelerated spending in order to give us parity with the deeply principled and honourably gained monetary wealth of The Red Brigade (Poo,Arse,Manure, hereinafter referreed as a collective TRB) hasn't been forthcoming. Perhaps the 4th Estate is living in fear of the mysterious Arab way of life, maybe even fearing Jihad should they be overly critical of them. It does appear that money made from Oil and latterly tourism is OK whilst supporting feudal autocracies with little concept of human rights is OK, whereas those damn Commies and their nouveau capitalism culture after decades, maybe even centuries of strife is somehow inappropriate or eve immoral.

Hmm.........Arabian landed gentry or working class made good. Seems the institutional class barriers are still friomly in place wherever you are on the globe.

This is Citizen Smith signing off..........

Freedom for Fulham Broadway!

Don't panic on Kaka, it's another cunning plan from Milan to screw another English club. They'll sell him for a gazillion euros, but in the meantime Berlusconi would have been hired Paul Mckenna to hypnotise Kaka to believe he can only play rugby, and also have an irrational fear of rain.

So with the constant inexplicable handballs, and consequent sendings off, plus he will only play when it's dry, he will be heading back to Milan within the year for an extreme knockdown price.

All sounds plausible to me.

'When did they stop calling us Chelski?'

No! I thought this was the joke that would never grow stale! Like when you bump into people who still think it's hilarious to say 'Tony Bliar!'

Still, I'm sure we can count on QPR fans to be rolling out the old Chelski gag until we are all gone and forgotten in the cold, cold ground.

I think we should play 3 centre backs tomorrow - Alex, Rick and JT. Drop Mikel and let Ricky be sweeper during open play but during throw-ins we've got 3 proper defenders.

Also fine any play that gives away a throw-in in our last 3rd of the field - say £25,000 should cover it.

Did somebody say self-hating liberal City-supporting twat?

LINK

Mark - love the fining idea.

Martin Samuel gets it. Football is fun and silly, so stuff your hand-wringing in a hat, mister (I think I am officially no longer a Guardian reader - it's football coverage is just tripe and arts isn't much better).

LINK

@78
Now I'm agreeing with ArsWeng...how much worse can this get?

@ PeteW

Hello, my cosy little world has been turned upside down again.

I thought Martin Samuel was at the Times? Award winning super journo and all that. He wouldn't be playing this "We're all taking this frightening sums of money nonsense too seriously it's all a bit of fun" line because he too has recently been involved in a big money transfer himself? What would a trawl through his writing in the early Roman years turn up I wonder?

Glad to see my concern about our wishy washy tree hugging Gruaniad has been assuaged to some extent.

@ Mark

Will these fines extend to giving away corners by booting the ball out from somewhere near Stoke's penalty box? (a la the Alex method demonstrated on Wednesday night in the lead up to their goal)

@ Pete

Just confirms my long-held belief that Martin Samuel is one of the few football hacks that actually gets the game; sounds daft, but some of the nonsense you read just seems to be average journos either pretending they share the views of the genuine fan (they don't), or worse are trying to set the agenda (usually from a ridiculously faux moral standpoint) but, frankly, don't.

Always remember his review of the Barca 2-2 draw (Drogba last minute equaliser, Eto'o going batshit as commentator, Jose sliding across the turf) as a superb piece of writing; it stood alone for actually understanding that it was everything you could ever want in a football match - unbelievable drama, more twists than your average soap plot and a plain, old fashioned carve up.

As for Hattenstone, I suppose he is at least reasonably consistent - self-hating liberal City-supporting twat, but a consistent one.

Is Hattenstone still there? He was such a See You Next Tuesday that I blocked him out of my mind as if he didn't exist. He was always using overheard conversations between Chelsea fans as a basis to have a go at us as far as I can recall.

I’ve had a word with Gordon Brown, and given the seriousness of the situation and the potential for shoddy hypocrites to pass themselves off as good right thinking folks, he’s going to rush through legislation, which will require anyone commenting on the City/Kaka situation to publish previous comments on the Roman/Chelsea situation or face 50 years in prison.

Looking at Kaka’s t-shirt on that link that PeteW put up saying “I belong to Jesus”, LINK , I can’t help but be reminded of a waltz by the Cajun accordion legend that is Robert Jardell, “You belong to your husband, but your heart belongs to me” (a little unreconstructed on the modern relationships front I’ll agree). LINK

I would expect a reworked version to come out of Abu Dhabi if the deal goes through. Something along the lines of “Your soul may belong to Jesus, but your arse belongs to me.” I just might get the band into rehearsal over the weekend.

A last thought, it’s a pity he’s going to City. What fun if Kaka had gone to Arse, Poo or Manure? Sorry that is just too juvenile.

LINK

Appols for above if it doesn't show as a link (still a bit new to this)

There's a certain symmetry about Stoke following MU with a 4 goal win way in between and the article maybe more interesting/relevant now than it was then.

IMHO the thing about Kaka is that in one lifetime a footballer's wages will go from 10 quid a week to nearly £1 a second.

Surely the whole global economic turmoil has shown that this sort of nonsense is a recipe for disaster and usually ends up with one or more high profile collapses in order to right itself.

Of all the prem teams we are in potentially the most vulnerable situation given that nobody outside Chelsea would really care, and many would actively welcome it. No Liverpool City Council or ManU heritage support for us.

The value of our real estate means that outstanding debts could be paid so there would be a real benefit in relocating us to Wimledon or a groundshare with Fulham. For most of the others there's no such incentive to let them go bust.

What we're seeing is not a harmless bit of fun but rampant inflation. We should all know that football clubs are businesses these days and there will be consequences.

Without success on the pitch we rely totally on Roman's continued support for survival... Nothing new here then. Move along please.

Text from Club - Malouda is back!

Fuck.

Apaprently Carvalho and Drogab are 'ready' whatever that means. Ricky just needs match time, but Drogba.......mixed messages?

Laslty the text says that tomorrow we will deploy a mix of zonal and man marking. WTF? Why are we even publicisng this?

I seem to be ahving smoe ptying issuies.

@83AGH57: No Hattenstone did one a while back. Gone to spend more time with his Hollywood chums.

He did come on to a couple of his blogs towards the end, but got such a pasting he must've known his number was up.

I did accuse him of mking up 'overheard on the train' stuff, but he never responded.

Bayou,

"Looking at Kaka’s t-shirt on that link that PeteW put up saying “I belong to Jesus”..."

Does the Son of God own Kaka's registration ala Kia Joorabchian and Carlos Tevez?

I'm surprised the economic crisis has effected the bearded one so much, but who can turn down £10m+?

Tony,

"..the text says that tomorrow we will deploy a mix of zonal and man marking"

I know we've become accustomed to shit defending, but reading that makes me think..............we'll be marking our team-mates. Maybe JD's Corporal Jones "Don't panic!" method wasn't such a bizarre suggestion.

Fuck.

We have that under-performing French Tool back in our squad. A good season at a French side doesn't make you world class. He is about as effective as eating during a hunger strike.

Oh and Malouda and Riccy are back too. ;-)

*French speaking tool sorry*

Maybe we're announcing our marking plans in order to confuse the oppostion; it's certainly doing the trick for me...

Can just see Phil muttering "Stupid boy..." on the touchline as Stoke go 1-0 after a confused episode of set piece defending.

Given the Grauniad's predilection for typing errors I do wonder given one of the whether they really mean "missed" in the header above the picture of Messrs greaves and St John

LINK

Still its not all bad. Ageing, fat, bald, bitter old queen, Boy George, has been banged up for 15 months.

Is it me or does that sound more like a Busmans Holiday?

"Can just see Phil muttering "Stupid boy..." on the touchline as Stoke go 1-0 after a confused episode of set piece defending."

Oh cue the referee staring at Ashley Cole and saying

"Your name vill also go in the book....vot is it?"

Scolari shouts "Don't tell him Cole"

"Cole"

*Mines the blue anorak*

@94 Tony: "Still its not all bad. Ageing, fat, bald, bitter old queen, Boy George, has been banged up for 15 months."

There's not some history, is there Tony? ;@) They wouldn't let me into Blitz either... Mind you I was only 14.

"Text from Club - Malouda is back!
Fuck."

Malouda who b4 injury had contributed a third of our goals(/assists).
i am right in thinking your math is only limited to adding up frank's goals against southned, sudnerland, citeh and etc.

btw. clive, in case you not aware, i do not vituperate fellow bloggers nor respond to their abuse, i just reserve it for frank(For Taking Pointless 30yrd shots instead of playingit trhu). its ok for tony to call maluda a cunt so pehaps theri is no nid for censorship in the first place. you get it?

btw. in case you forgot, the TS*O spent more than £500m on players.

Moffat - Malouda is shite, has been shite and just isn't good enough. If you can't see that then what the fuck are you watching? If he was that good then someone would be knocking on our door for him. The silence is deafening.

i don't rate him either but he contributes(better than Deco&Kalou). Stats don't lie!

Vituperate - learn something everyday.

From here it looks like people think that you're trolling with so much time poking ol' blue eyes.

It just think you're slightly misguided but I do see your point, but then, nobody talks to me either.

Quiz for you clive.

LINK + LINK = ???

Moffat - Its not just Tony, apparently Domenech thinks he's shit too.

LINK

>>cexil

when you've got a lot of shit its better to use your best shite.

Boy George has Chelsea history you know. Here he is 1min 45secs, shooting a video at the Bridge.

LINK

@Fansincethe60's
Don't feel isolated we're all family here, well nearly all.

Blimey PW, I didn't recognise Gullit for a minute there...

Cheers Clive. Still getting the hang of this.

CE

But did you see, silverware at the Bridge! The Shed fainted at the sight. Grown men were weeping. Sons were asking fathers what the big metal thing was all about.

Fansincethesixties

LINK

Hands up who watched the whole of Pete's link and sung along? :-)

PW; I'm having the opposite problem with Exile Jnr. He's 9 and has only really known unfettered success.

I tried to explain the Inter-Toto but he thought I was joking.

This must be what it was like for M Utd fans with kids a couple of years back... ;@)

Pete, I'm moved. If my missus knew I was having this much fun she'd make me do the washing-up, hang on...

I was thinking of encouraging the nipper to support a less successful club like Charlton or Spurs (kidding!) so she learns the invaluable art of football fan misery. But the way things are going, that won't be problem.

@ Clive

Hands up who watched the whole of Pete's link and sung along? :-)

Yup. Watched the whole thing over Christmas and sung pretty much all of it to my 14 month old daughter. She was confused.

There's so much money in Manchester it's even pouring out of holes in the wall LINK

Tony, rather belatedly, you are right about Joey's sublime pass for Kalou's goal but that apart he was as pants as he has been all season. My hope is that his injury will encourage Roman to loosen the purse strings to allow us to bring in a quality wide man which we desperately need.

I'm sorry your V+ box is not up to distinguishing between Clive Tyldesley and Peter Drury :)

Would you rather sign (Ferrera,Ivan, Kalou, Maluda,Jarosik,Parker,tiago,SWP,Pizzaro,Anelka,Boulahr.,Smetin) for £200 or Kaka for £100?

Or (Jenas, Tainio, FishA...FishZ) for £300m?
Or (Jenas,Bramble,Emre,Luque,...***Z) for £400m?
Or (Pennant,Benayoun,...) for £???m?

What the fuck are you on about?

@ Tony #94

"Is it me or does that sound more like a Busmans Holiday?"

Talking of Buses, Busmen, their holidays and knowing how much you love God and true religion, this one's been parked right up your street..... ;-)

LINK

'What the fuck are you on about?'

A pertinent query.

Moffat/Hnery is clearly on the dubious substances again - just ignore him and he'll fall into a stupour eventually.......

its wiser to pay lot of money for one good player than pay the same for 10 kalous.

It's even wiser to spend money on defenders, keepers and defensive midfielders then attacking midfielders when you are already the second top scoring side in the league but still facing relegation.

he is their only third signing, seems their are on the right track. we might be losing alex soon.

Who did we spend our first £250m on?
these blokes know what they doing

Yes, you can tell that by their terrific position in the table.

They are only five wins from a euro. place. its good for the english league.

i'm looking forward to the Káka vs. Bramble bit.

'I'm looking forward to the Káka vs. Bramble bit.'

Kaka v Nyron Nosworthy? He'll never have seen anything like it (both of them).

Kaka v Nyron Nosworthy?,,,,seen newt of nosewo...

i wouldn't advice him to do a 'samba dance on the ball' in front of lee bowyer, unless of course he doesn't mind being amputated.

@ Eth "I'm sorry your V+ box is not up to distinguishing between Clive Tyldesley and Peter Drury :) "

Does it matter? ITV haven't had a good commentator since dear departed Brian Moore (he of Keggy Keegle fame) but at least he didn't verbally masturbate over anything in red.

As for JC, we'll have to disagree. Just as people accuse me of never seeing the good in Kalou (now disproven) i fear the JC naysayers now refuse to see when he had a good game. He did.

Vituperate - learn something everyday.

@Fansincethesixties
I must have missed that earlier (althought my reading has become selective on the blog, I ignore certain posts) It's always good to see unusual words used and perhaps we should have a word of the day on the blog.

So my word of the day is Borborygmi!

@ Clive ....So my word of the day is Borborygmi!


I heard Man City were trying to sign him too!!!!!

Well tomorrow we're up against the Potters, so no wonder how we handle the throwin' is vital. (cue Demi Moore and Patrick Swayze in that scene from Ghost)

Ouch, I just walked into the cloakroom door

I'm unable to doff my hat BB, since I can't lay claim to one. But I wiggle my cravat appreciatively.

If you believe The Sun, Phil has invited offers for any member of our squad during this transfer window.... Although the quotes don't quite say that (in line with all of his Press Conferences, I actually have very little idea what they do say!) I actually think it isn't a bad idea. The squad needs a big freshen up, and if he needs to sell in order to buy then he needs to start sooner rather than later.

Also, Drogba has been left behind again for the Stoke game and Deco is still out.

Perhaps Mr Scolari is starting to get ruthness with the squad....not before time methinks.

The previous disscusions we've had over the loss of Clarkey and our current defensive shambles, Sky have done a little analysis and come up with some stats..
LINK

Is it just me or does anybody else think Scholari's continuing airing not just of our laundry in front of the whole footballing world but also literally giving away our tactics is the height of stupidity? If an opposition teams knows if this or that player with their particular skills and the type of formation that will entail will be used, does this not give away any gameplan? I mean why does he not just get on with the training, tactics and choosing the players at the last minute? You will not get the best out of any employee if you criticise them in public, usually the reverse effect! With every game he is basically telling the other team how we are going to play and highlighting the weaknesses.!! Why does'nt he concentrate on berating the upcoming match officals to tell them we are watching for any mistakes or bigging up the players and making them want to go out and beat the opposition? it just feels as if every day we get Scholari telling the world who he will pick and why and how useless they are and virtually threatening them in public. !!!! that is for privat esessions and fans on blogs such as this to discuss not to make daily headlines for the wrong reasons.! Jose made headlines every day because he would tell the ref to watch it and also because he was always protecting the players and never gave away our secrets! it is really starting to get get stupid! He has no PR understanding at all and what's worse is the board are allowing it! If' I'm honest the quicker this clown leaves hopefully at the end of the summer the better.....

@Grenlight,
Sorry for mistaking you with someone else.As for Drogba(as much as I love the lad) I feel he deserves the kind of treatment he is getting from Big Phil.Its about time Phil gets tough on the players.I feel some of the players are taking his nice guy approach for a weakness.
Phil to me is a great coach.Ppl sometimes say phil was able to win the world cup because he had quality players(most especially the three R's) at his disposal.But what this ppl fail to see was that Phil was the one who created his team and selected the players he wanted on the pitch.He was the one who put one of the three R's(Ronaldiho) on the map of world football.There was even a fourth R(Romario)whom Phil dropped from the squad becos of indisciple.Which goes to show that he is not the kind of coach that depend on big names to win trophies.

He should take the same approach with chelsea.I feel our two front men(Drogba and Anelka) should be dropped for any two of our young guns(Santo,Stoch and Kalou).Our problem this season has been the attack.I wont mind us losing with the young guns up front than us losing with the older/established chaps up front.

@137 Dio: "Is it just me or does anybody else think Scholari's continuing airing not just of our laundry in front of the whole footballing world but also literally giving away our tactics is the height of stupidity?"

No its not just you. I'm all for giving the dissenters a hard time; but behind closed doors.

As much as I hate to give them any credit, when was the last time you heard about Utd having a 'clear the air session'. They may well do it, but its not all over the papers.

With most of the press lining up to give us a pasting, I think the club's press and PR could do with a clear-out too.

Team news:Carvalho and Malouda come in for Alex and J.Cole.On the bench Cudicini,Ivanovic,Alex,Mancienne,Stoch,Belletti and Di Santo,no place for Drogba.

Team news:Carvalho and Malouda come in for Alex and J.Cole.On the bench Cudicini,Ivanovic,Alex,Mancienne,Stoch,Belletti and Di Santo,no place for Drogba.

@137 Agree too but reserve judgement on last line.

One thing that Phil has done is to make even the most mundane of games a real rallying point for supporters (Southend, Stoke and..).

It's not long ago that games like these wouldn't even register on the scale of "Shit, what's gonna happen?

It's like getting a London Derby/Tabletop Encounter every week!

Not saying that this is a good thing but worth a note.

I was so shocked that Drogba was missing I named team twice.

Bring back edit facility please

Looks like Dregs is being made an example of to the others - better lose one than have the whole squad bitching and biting each other.

He's probably the one most likely to come back stronger (if at all) with something to prove, and we all know that he can do it.

I'm relegated to MOTD so it'll be interesting to get your collective views on 90 mins.

Cheers

Joe out for the rest of the season and now JT's got an injury!

@Habs
Let's see if we replace Joe Cole,it was said that we would only buy if we suffered a serious injury.

According to Talksport,we could have been 2 down in the first 5 mins,both from set-pieces

We are pressing, but not scoring and this is pretty much the story of the season, so far. Let's hope the second half will be more successful for us.

We're losing 0-1 Delap

We had 13 shots on target in the 1st half,not scoring with any of them is not bad luck.There's something not right at the Bridge and even the bloggers who keep telling me not to panic must be feeling a bit different.

fuck me - 20 mins to go.

Is our new prioity just to qualify for the Champs league now?

Well I do panic I just do not know where is the panic button.

With 12 mins left and needing a goal badly,we swap fullbacks,Belletti for Bosingwa.I'm afraid Scolari and Wilkins are simply not up to the job.Whatever the result this has been a very embarrassing day for all Chelsea fans.

Fuck me 1-1 Belletti

Fucking hell!!!
Even in case of draw we are going down to fourth place Villa is winning!!!!!!!

Lampard 2-1

Thank fuck Lampard still has pride in the blue shirt.
37 shots and 2 goals scored and we don't need a new striker?

I do not know what to say. I am really speechless !!!
2:1!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

Fuck there is so much fucking shit posted on here sometimes. I'm taking a fucking sabbatical from this blog. Lynn take a fucking Prozac you only post doom and fucking gloom, what's wrong with you. FUCK

GET IN THERE LAMPSY!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

Had to make do with listening to it on the radio but I'm feeling the euphoria. I hope Jonathan and Tony et al stayed until the end - commentators said lots of fans were leaving. Silly sods. :)

It sounded like we played pretty well but couldn't break Stoke down or get past Sorensen - he's played well against us before. Good to hear that Stoch and Di Santo were on at the end. Use what we've got, I say. We're skint anyway.

@Clive - Don't take a sabbatical, just ignore them.

Fuck me Lamps really is Super Man. Watching him reminded me a little of Beckham's performance against Greece and Stevie Fucking G against Milan in that CL final. He knew defeat would end our season and it was he alone who drove the team forward with passion and heart, refusing to have Stoke of all teams end our title challenge. I thought he was awesome today and with Didier permanently dropped, Deco 'injured', Joe out for months and now JT suffering an injury, it'll be up to Lamps to lead us forward. Maybe that Southend result was a turning point. A quick mention for Ashley today, who i also thought was great and played with great passion.

Only downsides: Alex who was embarrassingly slow to react to Delap and of course Utd winning.

I am with Clive on this. People acting like lunatics while the match is going on. There are plenty of live blogs around already...anyway, move on.
What a game...It felt strangely sad after the game however... that we had to fight so hard for a home game against "Stoke". And ofcourse United winning at 90'.

Well I just hope we are back to winning ways!!! What a performance back to the days when we were grinding teams AND WINNING!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!
Come on Chelsea!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

P.S. @Clive people can express their opinions and they should not be scared express their emotions!!!

Oh yes, now I remember why I keep forking out for my season ticket.

Blimey.

I think it was Lolli wot won it. Our talisman from the Trent.

Much, much improved performance and it would have been very unjust not to have won that. Malouda played well, amazingly. But I still can't figure out why we don't cross more. In the 15 mins after conceding we started bunging lots of crosses in, and caused some serious trouble. Then went back to the passing around in front of their back nine.

Nice to see Frank run straight to Mr Big. And was Belletti's arm-banging gesture something to do with "I did it for the captain"? Anyway, without Deco and (one hates to say it) Drogs there was a much better feeling of togetherness and determination.

@CLIVE
Go fuck yourself,I'm as entitled to my opinion as well as you,believe it or not.

It's people like you who give this site a bad name,if someone doesn't agree with your opinion you just slag them off,it used to be ok to say what you think on here but now it appers that only applies to a chosen few.
Very sad that some people just want to have a go at other fans to make themselves look good.

@hellboy: Thats bollocks! Clive was just pointing out the mess you had made while the match was still in progress. Opinion is one thing and kneejerk ramblings (in your case) is another.
I quote evillynn@157 : "With 12 mins left and needing a goal badly,we swap fullbacks,Belletti for Bosingwa.I'm afraid Scolari and Wilkins are simply not up to the job.Whatever the result this has been a very embarrassing day for all Chelsea fans."
Really? Arsenal lost to Stoke, The scum drew to stoke last week. They are no slouches and the way they played..it was clear that a sucker punch was all they needed to give.
And your Belletti for Bo-swinga point is extremely retarded. Belletti whenever he comes on plays in so far up (more like a right sided attacking mid-fielder)..bosingwa cannot be employed that way..whatever it is, it was a coaches idea. So atleast try to figure out what the plan is. This is not Championship manager. Nobody gives a bad name to the blog as long as they keep their opinions simple and inteligent. How does "Fuck me, its 1-1" sound to you?

Evillynn.

Either fuck off or cheer up. Your choice.

Hey Mike12 who died and made you god?

Hey Evillyn, Who died and made you such a fucking depressing troll?

Everybody chill.

The moral of the story is, as Stoke will probably tell you, is that it ain't over until the chap in black blows the whistle.

Report will be up later - I need some grub first.

"I hope Jonathan and Tony et al stayed until the end - commentators said lots of fans were leaving. Silly sods. :) "

How could you ever doubt the masochistic streak we have within us that compels us to stay to the end? :-)

Enjoyed the pre-match pint a lot JD - it seemed to help clear the fug of the almighty hangover - maybe what kills you does really cure you? More detailed analysis of that policy must be undertaken.

Anyway, in that masochistic way I really enjoyed that game. Isn't that whats its about? From abject misery to unconfined joy in minutes.......no other game does that quite like football. I thought Malouda had improved and then like the true fuckwit he is he sent a shot wide that a pull back would have allowed someone (Ballack?) a virtual tap in. But the difference in spirit and apparent unity without Drogs and Deco is startling.Stoch was excellent, as was Di Santo, Anelka held the ball well and in the end we were up aginst 11 men in the box.

My Man of the Match was Ashley Cole who must be wondering what he needs to do to get a goal. Fantastic performance from our Ash.

Lynn/Clive. As Michael Winner might say "Calm down dears, its only a game"

*retrieves tin hat and kevlar flak jacket from cloakroom*

@ Evillynn

"It's people like you who give this site a bad name,if someone doesn't agree with your opinion you just slag them off,it used to be ok to say what you think on here but now it appers that only applies to a chosen few."

You couldn't be more wrong, all opinions irrespective of how rash or daft they might be are welcome here. Only racist or illegal stuff is removed. Please feel free to throw as many toys as you have out of the pram. My advice is just give as good back...which to be fair you do seem to have done :-)

@ Clive, hope those last few minutes of tension packed drama have made the return to The Wild West a warm and comfy one!

Now, wheres that prick Moffat gone........... Frank once again dons cape and pants to win the game. Thats what he brings to us...passion, pride and last gasp fucking winners!

Bosingwa came off, I think, because his legs had gone. About two minutes before being subbed he was way upfield (as usual) and possession was lost. Stoke broke fast on his side. usually you see him zoom back to cover in that situation, but he jogged, painfully. I'm pretty sure it was a fitness substitution.

I feared everything would go t*ts up when Obi was called off, but Stoke didn't have enough skill to keep the ball and exploit that space. Little Stoch looked absolutely terrific in his brief cameo. He found his space and zoomed fearlessly past his marker. (Incidentally, the guy who sits next to me once had Stoch to dinner, along with a few of the other kids, a year or two ago -- said he was painfully awkward and discontented and appeared to have no personality at all.) And Di Santo was great: plays with a simplicity that Anelka and others who insist on fannying around on the edges of the box could profitably learn from.

Oh, and apart from the first minute we defended the corners and throws with ease.

I envy you guys that were there. This was what being a Chelsea fan has always been about. Not titles necessarily, not cups necessarily, but playing for the shirt with true passion. I loved it when Lamps ran into Scolari's arms after scoring. I watched it on a live Internet feed from the USA and of course, on screen you can't see the whole of the play, so It's good to know you think DiSanto had a decent game when he came on Tony, because he seemed a bit lost out wide right. But Stoch looks like a find doesn't he? All the Mancs (true ones and glory hunters) up here in the frozen North are crowing already about their next title. Fuck 'em! As long the Blues give us that level of commitment I don't care. Oh, and agreed about our Ashley. He's been playing great for a while now.

Totally agree that Ashley was great and he's slowly becoming a chelsea legend.

@ 165. LTB
Thanks hunny, been called a few things before but never a talisman! Mwah!!

Great result for the boys today, though i did think, "oh God..here we go again" when we went 1-0 down..
Just going to watch the game now on Sky Sports (match selection)with a nice bottle of Shiraz :))

Well done Chels! xx

Good One..Lamps,Kaluo,Beletti,ballack...Nervous finish though...

Cheers Chelsea

Stone me, what a finish.

Fantastic stuff from the boys. Feels almost like a corner has been turned. Now if we can just get Drogba back on side....

The Mancs made hard work of doing Bolton. Its a long way from over, this season.

Seems a shame that there's a bit of agg between bloggers on here. Save it for the Scousers and the Mancs. Get on the next, inevitable, M Utd fellating blog in the Grauniad on Monday and stick it up 'em!

@ Chelsea Exile

Well said, sir. Love and peace on here - or else!

Anyone know where I can get a replay online? I've seen the highlights, but I really want to see Di Santo and Stoch.

Much easier to watch when you know the result, but honestly if Sorenson wasn't on his game, it really could have been 5 or 10 nil. Instead, a nervy finish. Such is football.

Random thought- assuming Stoke goes down, who takes Delap? Do Stoke keep him to try to get back up again, especially since the side is built around him, or does the right price get him? And who would want him? He's obviously not a liability on the pitch, and he's clearly worth a few goals. Would one of the Top 4 want him as a Champions League 70 minute luxury- where he gives you the option to smash and grab against unsuspecting European teams?

Frank proves again why he is worth the money. I really hope this is a turning point for the team, in confidence and form. In American sports there is a preoccupation with being "clutch." The idea is you have a player like Michael Jordan in basketball, where you want the ball in his hands to win the game, because he always wins the game. Frank clearly has it. Few other players do- Fabregas seemed to have it last year, and during the Euro, and as much as I hate to say it, Stevie G has a tendency to rise to the occasion. But we see, once again, that Frank has got it, and it gives much more to the team than a few goals or a talented player. A guy like that turns you from a group of footballers into a team. Frank should be at Chelsea until he retires, hands down.

My feeling is that he'd make a great manager in the future. I think he's worth a run-out down the road once Scolari is gone (and I hope that is a long time from now, because it means we will be winning everything in sight!).

What is the best Chelsea Formation? Drop Didier and Art? Cole gone. Essien too. Who do we play??

------------Cech------------
--------Riccy-----JT--------
Jose--------------------Cole
-------------Mikel----------
--------Herr B---Superman---
Kalou---------------Malouda(?)/Stoch(?)
----------Nico--------------

OR

------------Cech------------
--------Riccy-----JT--------
Jose--------------------Cole
---------Mikel--Lamps-------
Kalou----------------Malouda(?)/Stoch(?)
---------Nico---Didier/DiSanto

OR

------------Cech------------
--------Riccy-----JT--------
Jose--------------------Cole
---------Mikel--Lamps-------
Stoch----------------Malouda
------Kalou------Nico-------

OR

------------Cech------------
--------Riccy-----JT--------
Jose--------------------Cole
------Mikel-----Belletti----
----------Lamps-------------
Kalou----------------Malouda/Stoch(?)
-----------Nico-------------


So what do we WANT to see?

Everybody chill.

The moral of the story is, as Stoke will probably tell you, is that it ain't over until the chap in black blows the whistle.

@JD
Whilst I appreciate the sentiments and have calmed down since yesterday, I'm going to be brave and call you a little bit hypocritical. This is what you posted back in December after the home game with Cluj, after similar hysterical rants while the game was in progress from Lynn.

67. KaiserJonny_II Wrote: | 22.17GMT | Dec 9, 2008
@ Evillynn

Pray tell, where did you disappear to? Were there not enough bad vibes for you to feed off? Your recent contributions on here just about sum you up perfectly - you appear to bleat like a flock of pissed off sheep when the chips are down but you vanish like a fart in a storm when anything vaguely positive happens. Cheer the fuck up you miserable twat, it might never happen.

As you can see my post was no worse than yours yesterday, and I will also add she didn't even respond to it either, which also smacks of hypocrisy from Lyn, as she was quick enough to have a go back at me yesterday.

When I logged in to see the blog after the game I was hoping to read stuff that showed how we plugged away and showed the sort of team spirit we had under JM,
instead of the hysteria.

And Tony yes you're right, the tension and drama which certainly got to me in a big way, has made the homecoming after the shortest sabbatical ever all worthwhile. :-)

afternoon Clive

quite alright, we can take it... :-)

it was more a "alright folks, everybody take a step back" sort of post as looked like it could have ended up in a bit of a 3-4 way brawl.

and I was hungry - never good for rational thought!

afternoon JD...

I will admit to the sheer bloody relief of it all, and perhaps vented inappropriately on the blog.

Anyway we move on, and hopefully start to discuss and dissect things after the event, and not during.