Premier League: Blackburn Rovers 0 - 2 Chelsea

Excellent! The conditions were so bad it might have been called off! I hope the media gives us credit for a real hard away day up north! Then the ref's decision which meant we only scored two as i think we would have then had more space to attack them while they were chasing an equaliser for the whole match. Thought Lampard was brillant and Anelka better than most games in the past for him. Deco is still off I'm afraid, he dallied too long on the ball on numerous occasions and lost it...hopefully he improves. A really good win and most of all a real show of intent against Liverpool. I hope it does'nt take too many other bad performances in the League or CL to have good bounce wins like this...

Oh forgot to say that malouda has to improve because he has more days like these than better ones. He just kept getting muscled off the ball and his finishes/awareness and passing to others was atrociuous and I am sure cost us more goals. He works hard and shows real intent but I am really having my doubts after three years if he is starting to become a passenger too many times?

Another perfect away day against some more dire opponents. Our away record now has the same effect as our home record had, most teams appear defeated before they even face us.

GOOD:
1. Peformance - Another 3 points up north, and our 100% away record continues. Apart from a deflected Robinho free kick we have the PERFECT away record. Away to West Brom it should continue but looming around the corner after swatting aside some more dross is Utd and Liverpool. I can't wait as we are perfectly set up to counter attack with Anelka.
2. Anelka - Another 2 goals and i did see a notable improvement from Tuesday. He looks more interested, more confident and more dangerous. Our top scorer and at this rate should easily keep his place with Didier rapidly turning into our version of Ledley King.
3. Cech - He must have been shocked by the comical defending in Rome and today he was back to his imperious best. A great first half save but more importantly he came out and collected every single Rover's long ball or cross. Welcome back the real Petr Cech.
4. Lamps - Definitely deserved a goal and he seemed to enjoy his more attacking position just behind Anelka. He supplied Anelka time and time again and his form is back on track after being lost in the craziness that was Tuesday. Should definitely reach his annual 20 goal target.
5. City - We can all laugh at Mark Hughes (was he really in the running for our job?) 5 defeats in 7, the latest in front of a flying visit from the new owners means he's definitely on the chopping block. It's only a matter of when. Maybe we can exploit their impending relegation battle by persuading Robinho to jump ship.

BAD:
1. Blackburn - Frankly, they were shit.
2. Kalou - He obviously knows the meaning of running down blind alleys, as that's all he does. If the rumours are true that in January we need to sell in order to buy, he'd be my favourite for the exit.

Another away win and i look forward to seeing the kids against Burnley.

Thought it was a gud game considering the horror of the roma match, better play from the team as a whole as well as individuals, like nic, lamps, Bosingwa and Mikel. As for nico think he was really good today was wat u want from your cf - alert and ready to pounce and that he did properly. As for the others I think they improved may not be upto wat we expect to see but still they show strength of character

A thought- (and I'd love to hear if I'm wrong)

It seems to me right now that we are really missing Drogba. An odd statement I know, but here's why: he is the final piece in a dominant home side.

Right now we have a great counterattacking away side. Anelka looks just like he did with Bolton. They put 10 behind the ball, forced everyone up, Le Sulk would do nothing... that is until he put the one or two chances he had away.

I feel like he's back to that once again. It is an amazing talent, and I'm not underrating it. But that won't win us games against good teams at home. I think we need a fit Drogba back (and Ballack, and Essien...)

That said, I'm quite happy with where we are. As long as we ride out our current injuries I think we will have our current injured players coming fit exactly when we need them down the stretch.

Or is Drogs truly a lost cause and I'm being overly optimistic?

Well Didier's missed when we need to be more direct at home against a side who've come to park the bus. But when he does come back how effective will he be? Against Roma his lack of fitness was alarming and he may have been rushed back early seeing as he missed this weekend. He missed all of pre-season, has played a couple of halves and is nowhere near the force he was. He'll definitely help at home but away from home where we rely on pace and counter-attacking, Anelka seems a better bet.

I'm just not sure that we can or should be as reliant on Didier any more. He's 31 now and is surely not our long-term first-team striker. Just as Utd got over losing Van Nistelrooy and Arsenal had to learn to play without Henry, soon we'll be forced to find a new way of playing without Didier.

Bosingwa, Gloves, Horrible wet northern day, Throw In's, Wet Ball.. Makes Sense?

Give him 8/10

@Haberdonkey
I think you forgot LFS in your bad section...

Just checking...Yes I can confirm that you missed LFS in your bad section.

You present such nonsense that I have caught in other press. When we beat a team it is because they were bad...utter bollocks... We are beating these teams because they can not keep up with our game - donkey!

Nick,

Pretty much spot on although, in my humble opinion, a 7 for Malouda is generous. Midly better than Kalou, his decision making still leaves a lot to be desired.

Until his dalliance with the advertising hoardings, I had no idea Kalou was even on the pitch, such was his ineffectiveness (if that's a word). It's not just the running down blind alleys, it's the fact he panics when he has time, invites the challenge and then loses the ball. Utterly and completely useless - give me a half fit Joe Cole over him every day. Disappointed not to see Sinclair replace him, at 2 - 0 it was game over, it definitely was an ideal opportunity for him and maybe Di Santo to play - I hope TSSO gives them some game tiome against Burnley. Particularly Sinclair as, with Joe Cole injured and Malouda and Kalou blowing hot and cold (well, more cold and cold), he could hopefully offer a threat from out wide - something we completely lacked yesterday.

No idea what's wrong with DD now - I even picked him for my fantasy football team ahead of Anelka this weekend (yeah, cheers Nico). Hope he's back soon, Anelka's bang on form at the moment, but when he's not we'll need an alternative.

A few other points.

I was seriously worried Blackburn were going to equalise before we scored the second as they were all over us after the restart and Robinson looked like stopping everything that was thrown at him. That would really have put Foy's incompetence into perspective. Showed great character and resilience from our side to weather that (no pun intended). Felt Alex and JT deserved at least a 7 for the way they kept heading out their forward crosses.

Ince claims he had a go at Ray Wilkins for saying they were a physical side. They ARE! They set out to rough us first half but gave up after Lamps, Obi and Bosingwa gave them some back.

We can't leave Anelka out if he is scoring goals in the toughest league in the world so DD will have to wait.

I think the old line that 'we were good because they were bad' line is wearing thin with me as well. Had Cech not made 2 stunning saves then it could have been 2-2. I agree that Blackburn didn't offer much more than those 2 chances but be honest they had lost their 2 most potent players in Santa Cruz and McCarthy and so it was hardly going to be an attacking tactic from them. Besides Pedersen can rifle the odd shot home as can Roberts, but the fact that they bought on Robbie Fowler, a player I reckon I could outrun nowadays, says just how thin their options were. But for 20 minutes at the start of the second half they had our number and had Roberts lifted the ball over Cech then we may have been battling to win from 1-1.

I'm encouraged by the display in the first half in appalling conditions and no doubt it was a bit nippy as well, so I don't get the naysayers who want to claim that Blackburn were arse-gravy when in fact we were the better team.

Sorry Nick, don't see Malouda being worth a 7. If kalou runs down blind alleys then Malouda creates them as well. His decision making is just dreadful. Yes, he seems to be trying more, but for me he's still just not a good player and come next summer I'd hoike him and Kalou out unless they improve markedly.

I had to laugh yesterday where it seems a certain Arjen Robben is yet again sidelined for his SEVENTH injury in 18 months at Real Madrid. Apparently Calderon and cronies have lost their patience and are rather wishing that Robinho had stayed. .

LINK

@ Nick

Many thanks for the update from the pool side. At one point the visibility was so poor that I thought we had Duncan Goodhew ready to come on, but is was only Butch Wilkins standing up to shout some instructions.

When will the the football media get over the players wearing gloves business? Yes we get all the 'its foreigners feeling the cold what a load of whimps I used to play in 6 foot of snow wearing only a jock strap' bo**ocks.

But consider this

When I played rugby we wore a proper rugby shirt not all this shoulder pads and lycra stretchy shiny poncey nonsense. Does anyone say anything about that? Christ on a bike I've even seen some of them wearing gloves. The fairies.

Marathon runners. They wear gloves. They are running all the time, not stopping and starting like footballers. So at least they can stay warm. And if you are cold and need to wear gloves haven't you thought that tearing around in an ol' thin bit of a vest might have something to do with it?

American Footballers. Fecking great big eejits wandering around like oversize cotton buds. They wear gloves. We all know it can get a bit chilly in Green Bay in December but they get to sit down and have a bit of a warm every 5 minutes.

Swimmers. In my day it didn't matter how cold the water was you wore a pair of Speedos that only just covered the family jewels on one side and the crack of yer arse on the other. Now they're all got up in wet suits the poor lads.

Fair play to Phil Brown. He was summerising on R5 Live and spoke very warmly of LSF. Brown is obviously proud of his working class roots ( and why shouldn't you be )and said that LSF was a very strightforward down to earth working man. He mentioned the Ferguson post match glass of wine and said that he and LSF had a pint of Guiness at their post match chat. Not sure whose idea the black stuff was. Apparently LSF is very proud of the Brazilians who are coming to the EPL and getting stuck in (even if they do wear gloves).

Despite the fact that the prevailing view is that our forwards are rated as average to rubbish (for most games this season) we are top scorers by some distance.

Maybe we should stop worrying too much about individual components and just enjoy the fact that as whole it seems to work, without really understanding how or why, and makes us the dominant force - a bit like Microsoft Windows.

Blackburn did quite well me thinks. Villanueva was awsome, something like 5 attempted through balls. Had it not been on a SWAMP, who knows. that's the modern way of playing behind a striker, not the lampy way. (i hate lampinho by the way!, just like you dislike Kalouda)

i hope this credit munch means no transfer kit for LFS. let him get the best out of deco FIRST. THEN!

Anybody seen Ars vs. Manure? Masterpiece! us vs. any-big-4 would never be as good.

Tony,

Noticed this story on the Independent site after looking at the link you posted :

LINK

Sam Wallace calling for TSSO to field some of Arnesen's acquisitions against Burnley. I say why not, a nice mix of the first XI fringe players (Ivanovic, Ferreira, Sinclair, Belletti, Mineiro, Cudicini) with some of the youngsters is ideal to show us just how Chelsea may look in 3, 4 or 5 years time.

And prove if the millions spent on recruiting Arnesen and the kids he wanted is money well spent, or a fortune pissed down the drain.

Only caught the highlights but sounds like another reasonably well controlled performance; amazing away record we have this season too, most impressive. Anelka fitting the bill perfectly as our 'lucky' striker right now - Didier and his squeaky knees can wait a while.

Cracking display by both keepers too - nightmare conditions for the men between the sticks who both did very well.

Robben, injured again? Shurely shome mishtake?

Amused by all the "Arsenal have got balls after all - Wenger vindicated" chatter amongst the pundits after their (excellent) win against the Mancs; it's never the Uniteds etc. they have problems with anyway as has been well illustrated thus far this season...

An impressive performance overall on a paddy field - and my half-hearted tolerance of Anelka could turn to mild affection soon if he puts in such engaged and effective performances regularly.

@11 ChelseaTony - have to agree that events have shown that we were correct to write off Robben as perpetually injury-prone. But I'm surprised that you have recently advocated risking saddling ourselves with the similarly sicknote-laden Michael Owen who has only just reached his 50th game in 3 and a bit seasons at Newcastle following 6 spells of injury lay-offs [if my arithmetic of his Wikipedia entry is correct]- doesn't sound like a sensible alternative to a declining Drogba to me.

@ BBD - I reckon Owen might be worth a 5m punt but I'd prefer to see our own youngsters get a go. I just think Owen has been unlucky, but he is a committed player, whereas Robben seems a bit..........apathetic?

Great to get 3 points - but I have to admit that we were lucky to get the 1st goal even though we dominated the 1st half. We also needed Cech in fine form to keep our clean sheet, it could easily have been 1-1 at half time and we had no real attacking subs to bring on to change the game.

For a team that plays 4-3-3 and as everyone else has mentioned - Malouda and Kalou are just not good enough. What do we do? Buy ourselves out of trouble again? Change formation? Blood our youngsters?

Would be great to have an blog about our youth players as well as discussing changing shape to a 4-4-2 system.

I for one would rather look within our own academy for new players rather then splash the cash on an ageing star like we have done in the past (Ballack, Deco, Anelka, etc). bring back Sahar and start playing Stoch, Di Santo, Sinclair, Terja etc.



And would someone please tell me what exactly Arnesen is doing for us?

Stoch, Di Santo, Sinclair, Terja etc.

And would someone please tell me what exactly Arnesen is doing for us?

I think you've probably answered your own question there...

Given the amount of alcohol I imbibed yesterday afternoon, I'm surprised the report makes any sense at all.

As for Malouda, I thought he had a pretty good game, especially when compared to Kalou. His one glaring misplaced pass sticks in fans' minds, but other than that he was a threat in the first half. I don't remember seeing much of him in the second though. Hmm...

Looking at the player ratings today, I think JT and Alex deserve higher scores.

The players wearing gloves business has never bothered me before. But Bosingwa's decision to wear surgical gloves got on my alcohol addled nerves. (I used to run cross country at county level in my youth and I don't recall ever having cold hands no matter what the conditions. Like Bosingwa, I was a mere wisp of a boy.)

Pundits also like to point out that our current attacking options sans Drogba wouldn't get in the other top teams' starting elevens. I suggest they take a look at the Premier League table, particularly the Goal Difference column. And give it a rest.

Anybody else think that the stakes are just too high at Chelsea for the manager to risk blooding in younger players? Wenger and Ferguson can get away with fielding their youngsters and any subsequent slip-ups because they are untouchable. Scolari has to win, particularly at this early stage of his spell in charge, which would explain his reluctance to introduce the likes of Sinclair, Stoch et al even when we're two or three goals to the good. Or perhaps he just doesn't think they are good enough?

I've already mentioned it a few weeks ago that Chelsea is simply not in the position of making the 1st team a tryout zone for young players even when it's just the CC. May it be that Scolari is simply not convinced by their skills but in the end he has to win every game, no matter what competitiion, to keep his job. Chelsea is a hotseat...u can get a lot of fame but you have to live up to the expectations.

BTW: Good performance against Blackburn but Deco pissing me off as usual!^^

'us vs. any-big-4 would never be as good.'

Did you miss the Champions League semi and final Henry?

Nick,

"Anybody else think that the stakes are just too high at Chelsea for the manager to risk blooding in younger players?" A valid point, and one that makes more and more sense when you consider that it rarely occured under JM or Average Grunt in the days before TSSO. And, to me, Di Santo is only involved because DD has been crocked so much - I doubt we'd have seen much of him had Drogba and Anelka both been fully fit all season.

It probably is a bit of a poisoned chalice, but the reluctance to blood them in the 4th 'most important cup (TM)' is a strange one, as surely there's even less chance of them playing in the crucial league or Champs League / FA Cup games.

At the moment, all we're hearing about are a squad of kids who made the youth cup final last season, and one or two of them making the match-day squad this season. One of Sinclair and Di Santo is pretty much on the bench every week and have moved up from the reserves. Miro Stoch has stepped up but as yet that's it.

Just seems odd to me. I appreciate it's a complete change from FA Youth football to top of the Premier League stuff but the only other reason I can see for them not being given a chance is if someone views them as not good enough. And then it all falls at the feet of Mr Arnesen. Where's the progression of the playing staff - and the progression of the youth itself - if there's too much at stake for them to be given a chance. Surely all that leads to is them not extending contracts, moving for free at the end of their deal and then either drifting out of the game, or signing for someone who will play them, showing how good they are and us having to pay tens of millions of pounds to buy them later on.

I strongly disagree with bringing Michael Owen or any other bargain deal! I do believe that we have to let our youngsters to play! Instead of spending from 3 to 5 million on these highly risky volatile players that might or might not perform let the youngsters play!!! Di Santo is as good as Owen and has LOT of potential to be better than him very soon. I definitely expect to see lot of youngsters on Wednesday Mickey Mouse Cup game against Burnley.

Has to be said that the quality of our first team squad has to be taken into account; very few 'weak' positions that a youngster coming through the ranks could get into as many of the fringe players are good, established and often fully capped internationals - no doubt if we found a 16-17 yr old Messi / Pato type, they'd play but maybe our current crop, whilst very decent footballers, aren't quite up to the standard we require (yet). Does beg the question as to why not, but given that the youth setup was fairly neglected for a few years pre-Roman, we're only really getting up to speed now in terms of competing with Arsenal, United and so on.

If we're on the 'self-sufficiency' tip as seems to be the case, a couple of reasonable players shifted from the youth team to Championship sides for 6-7 figure fees would go some way to paying for the development side for a while - probably enters into the equation somewhere along the line.

On a semi-related note - remember Joel Kitamirike who floated around the youth team set-up 6-7 years back? Left, travelled his way around a few lower / non-league outfits - jailed for 20 months last week for possession of class A's with intent to supply.

It's a MASSIVE step up. I agree the conversion rate of youth-first team squad is not as good as it should be, but I think the fact that Scolari has them involved in first team match day - and presumably, crucially, training - is vital. Throw them in too young, at the level we are playing at and with the massive, ridiculous, expectations our fans currently have (remember all the criticism of Mikel after he'd had about three games???) and you'll kill their talent.

Di Santo and Sinclair will get some games before the end of the season, Stoch and Kakuta might make their debuts. But they are all still very young and there is no hurry.

But here's the rub: apparently Mancienne has been immense for Wolves. What do we do? Sell Ivanovic or Alex and make him our third/fourth choice and hope that's enough? Keep him on loan until Carvalho retires? Flog him for £5m and hope we don't live to regret it?

Who makes that decision? Who would WANT to make that decision?

Our weak positions are up front but all our best kids seem to be defenders.

But look at the stick Malouda and Kalou get - Sinclair isn't going to do any better in the short term, so what's the point in blooding him if the fans will just whinge if he doesn't score a hat-trick and balance the ball on his nose while wanking off a donkey.

> so what's the point in blooding him if the fans will just whinge if he doesn't score a hat-trick and balance the ball on his nose while wanking off a donkey

Imagine if he did - DVD / pay per view rights would be huge...

Very true though - expectation is just ridiculously high nowadays.

@Petew
I believe Di Santo and Sinclair deserve the same chance as Kalou and they are not defenders.

PeteW

"But look at the stick Malouda and Kalou get - Sinclair isn't going to do any better in the short term.."

Can I ask how you know? Because Malouda and Kalou both seem pretty awesome at being shit almost week-in, week-out.

Maybe he wont do any better. But I guess it'd take some of the criticism away from Kalou and Malouda......

Anyone who doesn't know, or hasn't read it on the t'internet already - there's an interview with Mr Essien on 'Inside Sport' on BBC 1 tonight. I hear he's got a nice opinion about Arsenals style of play......

This is my point - Kalou and Malouda are shit, but we're top of the league and in the best attacking form for three years with a staggering number of goals in the in-tray. (And let's not forget that some of you, I forget who exactly, where slagging off Anelka earlier in the season because he hadn't scored 10 goals in five games.)

Doesn't really add up, does it?

Do you really think Sinclair is going to immediately improve the best side in Europe on current form? He might eventually, but certainly not straight away - and our supporters don't give players six minutes let alone six months.

Blue_Mikel "Di Santo is as good as Owen and has LOT of potential to be better than him very soon."

Di Santo? As good as Owen? Be serious! Compare what Owen has achieved with England for example. I'm not advocating Owen as the panacea for ills that don't exist, but if DD is going to be suffering from Robbenitis, or LedleyKing Syndrome then having him with us for £5m gives us a proven option with a player hungry to prove his worth and get back in the England frame. Fuck me we were prepared to shove £30m at Milan for Steptoe's horse so I for one would be happy to see Owen come during the window to give us some backup for DD.

Di Santo MAY one day be fit to lace Owens boots but seriously he hasn't done anything at any level to be seriously compared to him.

Petew...

Good point you made...just hope the faithfuls would show some faith...the attack could be better, yes....but its not as bad as some of us think...The goals testify to that!

This Owen talk holds no water as far as i'm concerned...injuries and form would make him a 'mis-buy' for chelsea...if we must buy, then let it be someone that is sure to contribute to the team, immediately...otherwise, i'll stick with Di Santo...he has heart and is hungry to play....he's also young and may not take long to make the team if given enough playtime (see what Anelka's managing to do with the playtime he gets)

I still prefer Kalou to Malouda...Malou has seen much playtime but his game hasnt stepped up the expected notch...

Scolari should experiment with Belleti (in place of Deco) when we have a good lead (like 2-0, second half) and bring Sinclair on the flanks...this would create/sustain momentum in attack and also ensure a good defensive buffer from midfield as well...

Always Blue!

The article by Sam Wallace is a good one because sooner or later people will be questioning the role of Arnesen. He's certainly not a chief scout anymore after our right back debacle two years ago. Whereas Jose wanted Micah Richards, Arnesen told Roman to buy Boulahrouz instead! So he's now our youth scout. And he's certainly picked up some good youngsters like Kakuta, Sinclair and Di Santo. But the problem is at aside like Chelsea only 1, maximum 2 of them will EVER play. We're not an Arsenal who over the years has designated the Carling Cup to the kids, happy for them to play a few rounds then crash out, as Carling Cup final day is Chelsea day. The club were 99% sure that Avram wouldn't be our permanent coach the day they hired him, but after losing that final, they were already drawing up his P45. The Carling Cup is the start of our annual hunt for 'THE QUAD' which we seem obsessed with chasing every year and not reaching the final would be seen as a failure, as all the club cares about is winning trophies, no matter what trophies.

Scolari's certainly treating this trophy seriously as the side he put out against Pompey was capable of winning most Premier League games. I'm all for putting in the kids but that's just not the Chelsea way. We are afraid of crashing out and for that reason only 1 or 2 of them will ever get in. Can you imagine us playing like this:

Carlo
Ivanovic Bruma JT Bridge
Mellis Woods Lamps
Sinclair Di Santo Kakuta

We'd most certainly beat Burnley with that side but i'm just not sure if Scolari believes in that. For all the talk that he blooded youngsters for Brazil, those yougsters were Kaka and Robinho, so it's less of a risk throwing them in. Sinclair could be as good as Walcott and Kakuta could be the French Messi if given the chance (most probably not, but he does play in a very similar way) on a regular basis. That's how Messi, Iniesta, Fabregas and Rooney were found, by giving them a chance and soon Scolari should follow suit.

I find this interesting about Mr Big. He talks a lot about how everyone will have a chance, and about how keen he is to make sure all the squad members know they're going to have a chance to play, and yet he seems more committed to a clear first XI (Cech Cashley JT Riccy Bosingwa Mikel Lamps Deco Malouda Joe Anelka) than any of our last four or five managers.

Assuming he's not just telling porkies, I guess that he's thinking that over the course of a season you're guaranteed to have enough injuries that reserve players will get their turn. Which is not quite the same as endorsing the Sinclairs and the Di Santos.

However, I think he's earned our trust. If he keeps putting Kalou in in front of Sinclair or Stoch, then presumably he thinks the latter two are not quite as good. By raising players like Stoch and Kakuta to the first-team squad, he's giving them hope that they're next in line.

Whether that will be enough to persuade an international like Ivanovic, or a U21 international who's getting regular play time at a Championship club (Mancienne), that they should stay at Chelsea for two or three more years ... we'll see.

One of the things one has to remember is how incredibly low the success rate out of academies is, even when you're doing well. The sad news about Joel Kitamirike above is a good example. I can remember when Michael Duberry was being touted as "the best young centre-back in England", and Jody Morris was going to be the next Dennis Wise. Arse get a lot of players coming through from their youth set-up -- because they don't have the money to buy established players. Which may be why they're not winning trophies over the course of a season.

@CHELSEATONY
I am not aware of anything special Owen or England with Owen have achieved. May be you posses some secret information, mate. Playing here and there and scoring goal or two does qualify like achievement in my eyes, at least. Di Santo better than Owen was at his age and definitely better than this old chap now.

Just to add some words. He (Owen) had a good, but not especially distinguished carrier.
Liverpool
FA Cup: 2001
Football League Cup: 2001, 2003
FA Community Shield: 2002
UEFA Cup: 2001
European Super Cup: 2002
FA Youth Cup: 1996

Luiz Felipe Scolari faces a battle to hold on to highly-respected reserve team coach Brendan Rodgers after it emerged that Watford are to make an approach to Chelsea.

Sportsmail can reveal that Rodgers has emerged as the Hornets' top target to replace Aidy Boothroyd after discussions between board members at Vicarage Road.

Damn, i hope he doesn't go. He's one of the best young coaches around and should wait to get a bigger chance at Chelsea. A future assistant manager in my eyes. He's rejected Leicester in the past, so i hope he steers clear of taking over another club doomed for League 1.

Good review. I still feel that Anelka deserved much more credit. He was by miles our best player and would have scored more if it wasnt for brilliant goalkeeping by Paul Robinson. Did anyone else catch Inside Sport tonight? Nice to see Essien is still in good spirits.

@ Blue Mikel (37-38)

Your approach to the Di Santo / Owen comparison is extremely curious and rather selective to say the least; Di Santo is undoubtedly a talented player who will hopefully go on to great things with us, but when you consider that by the time Owen was 19 (Di Santo's age now) he had been top scorer in the Premier League, played and scored in European competition, become the youngest player to represent England and played at a World Cup - better than Owen at his age? Truly laughable.

You then list the trophies Owen has won (not a bad haul and one that the vast majority of professional footballers playing the game could only dream of achieving) and describe it as nothing special / not particularly distinguished (not forgetting that the guy is still only 28, incidentally). I'm not really a fan of Owen and don't particularly want to see him here, but being so disingenuous and blinkered about his achievements and comparing him so unfavourably to a player who is yet to score a Premier League goal is a bit stupid, don't you think?

Not forgetting that in his 'not particularly distinguished' career he was named European Footballer of the Year, the likes of which Zidane, Kaka and Ronaldo have won. Not too shabby. To say Di Santo is better than him at his age or now is frankly a joke. How many goals has Di Santo scored in the Premiership by the time he's 19 and how many did Owen score? How many times has Di Santo even be good enough for the first team and how many appearances had Owen made by his age? Owen still is a quality finisher and even though we may not need him, you have to respect what he's done in the game.

Kenyon has said today that even though Scolari wants 1 player in January, he'll have to sell in order to fund it. I wonder who we can let go, it's not as if we've got obvious players on the exit ramp like TBH, Sidwell or SWP to flog, so in all probability we'll probably bring in a loan or a free!

Nice to see Essien tonight, nearly forgot that he's still part of the team. Just to add to the debate of how important we should be treating the Carling Cup, it'd be nice to pencil in his return for the final in February. It'd be a great game to mark his return, if we get there.

@KAISERJONNY_II
You are right the direct comparison is rather ridiculous, true.
All what I am trying to say is: "There is no point to buy Owen, when we have our young and talented players." I agree Di Santo has not scored yet in the League. I can tell you more amigo - he will not score in League without playing in the League.
He has made immediate impact last year playing for reserves. He has shown some very good qualities playing in the pre season games and I believe that instead of buying ageing, injury prone Owen we have to give chance to Di Santo and Sinclair.
I truly hope they are going to feature on Wednesday game.

@ Blue Mikel

I see what you mean; does rather take us back to the point that maybe those in charge just don't think he's ready, but I agree entirely that he should feature from the start on Wednesday.

Di Santo looks by far the most ready of our youngsters, and am happy with Scolari's gradual introduction approach given that we have neglected this area for so long. If we blooded six in one game and got beat by Burnley, it would set back our youth policy quite badly. I'd like to see more of Woods, though, who has really impressed me when I've watched the youth team cos he seems far more mature than his peers.

Regarding Owen, really don't think we should be spending money on one injury prone striker to replace another.

I am glad we have found the common denominator for this problem. Everybody agrees - youngsters have to feature more.

Interesting exchange of views on the youngsters.

Managed to free Wednesday night up and thought I'd get a ticket only to see it’s a sell out. That's good both from the point of view of getting a good crowd in, for what would be perceived as the lowest ranked of our 4 competitions and also an example of what a flexible ticketing policy does for you.

How many of those people going would be happy to see a team with 4 or 5 youngsters in it? I have to say part of the attraction of going was in the hope that we would see a radical line up. How would I feel if we lost? Well given that I think there needs to be room for experimentation I would take it on the chin.

As has been pointed out, this really comes down to 2 things.

Do Chelsea as a club feel established and confident enough about themselves to be prepared to gamble over silverware? Say we don't win any of the other 3 this year and got knocked out of the Carling Cup playing youngsters. Would there be a feeling that we threw away a chance for trophies? Or would we see it is progress towards a greater goal?

Secondly, if there is a feeling that none of these youngsters is good enough then that's a worry. Granted we have only got a youth policy back on track in recent years but we are now buying in a large element of our talent from abroad, its not that the Worlds End Estate is coming up short.

to be continued (yes I do go on a bit)

It’s a given that real depth rather than numbers in a squad, is what is required to compete at home and in Europe. We proved this last season and are doing the same again this season: winning with 6 or 7 key members missing. But when you go for that sort of depth in your squad it inevitably means it is difficult for young players to come through. If Mancienne is anywhere near as good as Terry at the equivalent age, will we see him get the same chance? Unlikely. Terry came through when Ranieri was looking to use youngsters as budget constraints began to bite (if my memory serves me correctly). He did not have 3 or 4 seasoned internationals ahead of him.

Yes it is about winning, but I do feel that it is not just a team we support, but a club. There is PeteW going to watch the youngsters. Surely part of the attraction would be spotting those lads who might have what it takes and watching them come through. Isn’t great to start hearing about this lad or that lad doing well and then seeing them arrive and build a career. Yes, it is more difficult now when we are competing at the very top. Look at how few players Manure have brought through and retained in recent years. However, rather than expectantly waiting for each transfer window and compiling wish lists wouldn’t it be good to have more conversations like yesterday and today about who might be coming through and be given a chance?

But I feel that it has to come from the top: a subtle change of emphasis, a feeling that if we are a big club then we are big enough to take a risk. As fans we have to buy into that of course but a manager/coach has to feel he has the time and freedom to experiment and perhaps fail on occasion.

@ BLUEBAYOU
If Mancienne is anywhere near as good as Terry at the equivalent age, will we see him get the same chance? Unlikely.
Indeed!!!

Here is the provisional squad for tomorrow:

Cech, Cudicini, Hilario, Ferreira, Bridge, Obi, Ivanovic, Alex, Terry, Lampard, Mineiro, Drogba, Belletti, Anelka, Malouda, Kalou, Deco, Bosingwa, J Cole, Stoch, Sinclair.

As you can see it's bursting with yougsters. Scolari seems to be following the same policy that beat Pompey, in that he uses a tank to kill a measly ant. All the big guns are there and i hope that he changes his mind in training today by bringing in some kids. He said at the start of the season it was his job to bring through 3 young players this season but looking at that squad that seems unlikely.

It'll be interesting to compare it to Arsenal's squad:

Fabianski, Mannone, Hoyte, Djourou, Song, Gibbs, Wilshere, Ramsey, Randall, Merida, Bendtner, Vela, Lansbury, Simpson, Coquelin, Emmanuel-Thomas, Frimpong, Ogogo, Toure, Diaby, Bischoff.

Hardly a Chelsea teeny boppers convention, but lest we forget there are a few under 25's in there. Surprised not to see Di Santo - is he injured?

Might be Big Phil's "let's get a trophy under our belts" gambit in terms of the League Cup, I suppose.

LINK

Habs beat me to it, but the official sites article says no Joe Cole tomorrow.

Both he and Ballack are back in training with the first team though, and Ashley has started light training, meaning poor Michael Essien has no friends in the treatment room. Until Thursday morning, no doubt.

Concerned about Di Santo though - tomorrow should be an ideal opportunity for him. Hope if it is an injury it's nothing serious.

And, strangely, the Beeb have a preview of the game, and a provisional squad the same as Habs' :

"Chelsea may rest some of their top stars, with young Argentine striker Franco Di Santo and Scott Sinclair hoping for a starting place.

Miroslav Stoch and Branislav Ivanovic may also play, while Didier Drogba and Joe Cole are also looking for the nod.

Burnley are without Steve Thompson (cup-tied) and Clarke Carlisle is banned after his sending-off at Wolves.

Michael Duff will replace Carlisle and Steven Caldwell and Stephen Jordan will play if they are passed fit.
--------------------------------------------------------------------------------
Chelsea (from):: Cech, Cudicini, Hilario, Ferreira, Bridge, Obi, Ivanovic, Alex, Terry, Lampard, Mineiro, Drogba, Belletti, Anelka, Malouda, Kalou, Deco, Bosingwa, J Cole, Stoch, Sinclair"

They even say Di Santo is hoping for a start. And then dont list him in the squad. Brilliant journalism.

While we would all have hoped to see a few more young faces in the squad for tomorrow, there is a danger that we could get too hung up on the Arsenal approach of playing your under 12's in the CC.

Wenger's a crafty one. Up against Sheffield Utd, one of the leagues "tougher teams" and keen to avoid a draining physical contest what does he do?

He puts out the kids on the basis that just as you fight shy of shagging someone the same age as your youngest sister / teenage daughter (delete depending on what stage in life you've got to and assuming you have a shred of moral decency in your soul) he counted on those grizzeled Blades hesitating to kick a load of boys up in the air. That moment of hesitancy gave them a 6-0 win.

A brilliant strategy

If we're going by the provisional squad (no kids involved) i'd go for:

Carlo
Ferreira Ivanovic JT Bridge
Mineiro
Sinclair Belletti Lamps Cole
Didier

JT and Lamps always play so i'd put them in. Mineiro should get a run out. Sinclair and Belletti should definitely play to give Deco and Malouda a rest and Cole and Didier can get some fitness after returning from injury. It's certainly not a game for a full strength side to steamroller Burnley. What's the point? No-one will think beating Burnley 5-0 is that great so we should give some big guns a rest and give Didier some much needed game time.

Also, hve to bear in mind that the Arsenal first team don't care about the CC, it means nothing to them partly because they simply don't have the depth to compete for that and the FA Cup if they are going for the league/CL.

Whereas our first team love the CC and take it very seriously. So we're not going to see any wholesale changes on the Arsenal scale with this current crop.

Since its only Burnley, i expect Big Phil to give Frank a day off, pick 11 players thats going to play as one unit, no one trying to break any record, no selfishness, no trying to score from 25 yards, just playing as one team.

Big Phil sees this as perfect chance to try that Anelka/Drogba partnership. if it doesn't work in training, ....?

Here's why we don't EVER do an Arsenal:

LINK

"Luiz Felipe Scolari will not pick an experimental team of Chelsea academy players to face Burnley in the Carling Cup tomorrow because he has been told by his senior players that they want to play in and win the competition. Unlike Arsenal and Manchester United, Scolari knows that many of his biggest names want the chance of winning the Carling Cup for a third time in five years."

"Chelsea's senior players feel that their three recent appearances in Carling Cup finals (2005, 2007 and 2008) have been among the most memorable games since Roman Abramovich's arrival. As a result they are unwilling to stand aside."

@Haberdonkey

The donkey nays again!!! There is so much toss when you talk about anyone else apart from Lampard...Keep to Lampard it suits you just right...Let world cup winners walk in their own light/right...

Fair enough from the Boss, I suppose. Not keen on the Fizzy Cup but it does at least show the competition a degree of respect by taking it seriously.

I see the intelligentsia are back in town; intellectual giants, to a man...

It is strange how the players overruled Phil. I love getting ready for Carling Cup Final Day as it's the earliest final which we can win but it does mean yougsters will become disillusioned at the club. Mancienne will probably leave and become an alright player and maybe Sinclair will also end up at a mid-table Premier League Club like Pompey because they don't see the chance of making a career at Chelsea. This can cost us the really great young players (on the whole as we did get Mikel). We missed out on Cristiano Ronaldo despite outbidding Utd and we also lost out to Milan for Alexandre Pato, again when we outbid them. And this week we missed out to Real Madrid for the 'next Ronaldo' all because youngsters see it as impossible at ever making it at Chelsea. That's why we end up with young players like Kalou and not the Ronaldos of this world. If it means that we can get a trophy every season then great, but in the long term it is costing us the best young talent out there.

@HABERDASHERS
Nothing to add to your words mate.... it is just as you said.

@Habs: That's why we end up with young players like Kalou and not the Ronaldos of this world. If it means that we can get a trophy every season then great, but in the long term it is costing us the best young talent out there.

COULD NOT AGREE MORE!!

Sorry for the caps - but i think you really nailed it on the had there. As a supporter I don't get much satisfaction from winning the CC. I only see winning it as a great morale boost for the squad.

i personally applaude Wenger and Co that play their youth teams in this cup as it develops their young players and sendsif we the message that if you play well in these games you can get promoted to the first team.

Secondly - if we do not start promoting youth players then comments that Stuart Pearce made (i would never recommend a young lad got to chelsea as you'll have no chance of actually playing) will really affect our ability to buy or keep young top talent.

Thirdly - if our youth team are just not up to the task then we need to be buying young players - please no more purchasing or even free loans like Minerio who are old. I would love to see a policy of only buying players (if we have too) that are 15 - 24 max.

Someone mentioned above that ManUre have not recruited from within for a while but at least they buy young players like Rooney, Ronaldo, Nani, Tevez and Anderson. Even Berbatov, Saha, Carrick and Hargreaves were all under 28 (actually i don't know how old Berbawank is but he can't be over 29 can he?)

I love Chelsea and I love what Roman has done for us - but to be a top club you need a system that produces a top class player once every 5 to 10 seasons from it's own ranks as well as at least 3 good squad players in that time frame.

Would be interesting to have a vote on this blog on the following topic:

Would you rather our policy was to use the CC to blood our youth players or should it be a club priority to win it every season?

My view is that a club like chelsea should focus on the EPL, Champs League and FA Cup.
a) you don't win more fans by winning the CC
b) Revenues from the CC are crap - so no financial benefit
c) there is no glory in a season where you the only trophy is the CC. if that was the case - the season is considered a failure
d) It allows us to rest our first team
e) it gives hope to our youth players and as mentioned above - might give us more of a chance to recruit young players that have slipped through our hands in the past - a la Pato and Ronaldo

Just to point out that i'm not all against the Carling Cup. Just as i said above, i love getting ready for the final as we usually make it there every season and winning one trophy is better than none (see last season). And failure in that Cup only increases the pressure on the side to win at least 1 of the other Big 3. But it is to the detriment of attracting the best young talent out there.

Maybe it's an impossible problem to solve. It's either tophies or youth development and we all know at a club like Chelsea there'll only ever be one winner. If JT and Lamps, who run the dressing room, say that the big guns must play in this Cup then Scolari has no choice but to follow suit. If that means we just aren't a club for young players then so be it, we're just gonna have to hope Roman doesn't get bored of buying the big names. Anyway our success rate since Roman arrived hasn't been all that bad - 6 trophies in 4 seasons!

I see Wenger's under-5 team have trounced Wigan tonight in the Carling Cup....

Cue extented gushing from the press about the Arsenal youth strategy. I wonder whether us playing the youth team in the Carling Cup would lead to a lot more love and goodwill for Chelsea in general, or whether it would simply be seen as another chance to stick the knife in about how much we have spent on building up our squad?

Why don't we just split the baby? Try to attack a lot, run up a few scores by halftime, then sub in the youngsters? Burnley aren't Roma- once we go a few goals up they won't be able to counterattack in the same way.

Of course, that is all pie in the sky until the goals go in. But in this game, and especially against Prem sides that are struggling, we should be putting the kids on when we run up the score.

That said, the team is not a finished product under Scolari. Perhaps he is still trying to build a system, to get the 1st team to gel in the way he wants.

On the other hand, since Felipão wants a "different type" of player, a Robinho type player, maybe he will find one in the youth side. Or maybe he knows how lacking our youth players are in talent...

I don't know if it is nuts to start "prioritizing" games in November, but with the number of injuries we have, I don't want to see Lamps burn himself out and be sluggish in the last few months of the season. We don't have much coverage, and playing to win with the kids seems to make sense for taking back the Prem title as well.

I'm all for letting the kids have their chance, doing it like Arsenal do.

Last season we got to the final with our first choice XI, were favourites and we lost. It's a cup competition, teams always need a little bit of luck to win cups (Hello Liverpool), and by the same token when that luck rubs against you, you can't do anything about it.

My (convoluted) point is there's no guarantee we'd win it by picking our best XI. If Scolari insists on being pushed about by his players, more fool him. He's supposed to be the one that makes the decisions, and if he insists on going with the strongest team, it seems to me he's got his interests and personal glory above the long term success of Chelsea Football Club.

Yes, it's nice to win a trophy, but the Fizzy Pop cup will always be forth in the priority stakes and I'd take the progression and development of our younger players for the longer term over winning a UEFA cup spot any day.

I don't know where I stand on our toddlers playing in the Fizzy Cup, there are some good points from bloggers as to why we should and it makes sense. But on the other hand if we do put our kiddies out against rough, burly and grown up men, they won't care who they kick around, they'll see it as beating Chelsea and a great scalp to take.

The main thing that would worry me with our youngsters if they lost how would that affect their mindset, because winning things does breed confidence in players, that's not rocket science, we only have to witness Arsenal's kids to see when they do make it into the big boys games they seem to bottle it at the sharp edge of the season. And they don't need reminding that they haven't won anything for four years, that's testament itself to Wengers stubborn puritanical approach to all things football.

I'm sure there's a compromise somewhere, but I think Chelsea need to win something this season, even if it is the Mickey Mouse Cup, that has to be seen as a positive thing surely?

Afterall that's where JM started his mini dynasty!

LINK
Pre match briefing does not spill any light on the matter of who is going to play. Let's see, it is not much time left till the game.

So the reports weren't entirely wrong:

Cudicini
Ferreira Ivanovic Alex Bridge,
Mineiro
Kalou Belletti Deco Malouda
Drogba.

Subs: Hilario, Lampard, Di Santo, Mikel, Sinclair, Terry, Woods.

At least there are 3 kids on the bench

Anyone have a line on an international feed? I can't seem to find one.

The captain for the night is Bridge. That's strange, him ahead of Carlo or Didier.

I can't find one, Groy. I'm listening to live commentary via Chelsea Plus.

Mark's at the game and will post a report tomorrow morning.

Drogba's back in the goals.

We won't want to be drawing Spurs when they're in this form.

Watching Spurs right now. Liverpool aren't good, Gomes has been terrible in goal, but Spurs have been amazing in attack. Really sharp one touch stuff. Pavlyuchenko looks like he did with Russia over the summer again.

Thanks for looking for the stream.

Why why didnt Anelka start? We are playing a weak side. Our only form player in the team is Lamps and he cant do it all on his own. To make matters worse Spuds are scoring for fun and look like they wont get relegated after all. Scolari needs to earn his money now or we may have another Barnsley catastrophe on the horizon.

Have faith, IF we go out then the mud slinging can begin as this doesn't count as exiting from the competition honourably after blooding a crop of youngsters. Let's hope the next 15 mins presents a couple of goals or questions will be asked.

And it's pens. The last time we won a shootout?

We are out! Malouda and Kalou have to be sold

Out on penalties, quelle surprise.

Fucking pathetic. Why can't a professional football team score a bunch of pens? I bet they even fail in training as they even lost in a meaningless pre-season game against Lokomotiv. They say pens are a lottery, more like a certainty when we turn up.

Who to blame now? Scolari for picking the wrong team or the players for having a shit attitude?

Let the mud slinging begin, as we certainly didn't go out whilst playing our kids. It was packed full of experienced players and under no circumstances should you lose to Burnley. If Avram got pilloried for the Barnsley defeat i wonder if this now marks the end of Phil's honeymoon?

Bright side, less fixture clutters and a probable avoidance of Spurs/Arsenal or Man Utd.

Down side - we put a fair old team out there tonight and still couldn't beat a championship side. I'll put it down to a lack of heart for the competition, but a deeper darker thought about flattering to deceive is lurking.

SHIT. This is what happens when you play a dis-jointed team. Anelka and Drogba should have started. I wonder what Scolaris explanation for losing to Burnley is?

I just don't get it. We are just hopeless on the flanks. Bosingwa & Cole are the only guys who can cross. Things need to be fixed up front.

8 penalty shootouts we've been involved in, and 8 shootouts we've lost!
It must be some sort of record I suppose.

Flattering to deceive. I thought that meant we can beat the crap and that we only fail in the big games. I certinaly didn't consider this to be a difficult game. It must be their attitude. It's burnley FFS!

And i ask again, why can't we score penalty's?

As for this, well it'll free up our fixture list. Yes it will but if a side including Lamps, Mikel, Malouda, Kalou, Drogba can't beat Burnley, i think come may we'll be seeing a lot of empty spaces in our diaries.

Penalties will be all he says. I am not even gonna bother with the post match. I am heading back to my Championship Manager game.

Wasn't losing the home record supposed to liberate the team to play more attacking football resulting in more victories instead of playing for the draw?

Well that makes it 3 defeats in 6. Nice going Phil. I hope he realises it's consistency we're looking for.

Its hardly a catastrophe is it? Man Utd and all the other big teams have had failures against so called minnows before. Sometimes they just want it more. I remember when we lost in the same comp to Charlton on penalties and out came the pitchforks and burning torches. In the grand scheme of things its the least priority and I for one am not sorry we're out. The further you go the more it gets in the fucking way of the PL and the CL.

Maybe the lesson has been learnt and we'll stick the kids out next year. As admirable as it is for the seniors to say they want to win it, I wouldn't mind betting a few of them are mightily relieved.

Bright side, we went on to win the league after losing to Charlton on penalties in 2005.

I think a Scouse stereotype is called for - calm down, calm down... LINK

Not overly bothered about being out of the Cup, but of more concern is the fact that we don't seem able to break down anybody at home anymore.

Teams come, 'park the bus' and we huff and puff for no end result. Disappointing.

Don't understand the hatred for Kalou....Is he frustrating?..Yes... But he also the closest thing we have to a youngster in our starting line up, which is what you are all asking for.

I make that 3 stupid results in the last month. The loss to Liverpool, 3-1 against Roma and now losing on pens to Burnley. We need to get back on form and not slip up. We cant afford many more results like this.

It's strange the message coming out from the players. The big guns say they want to play so that they can repeat the joys of reaching another CC final. But if they just turn up and go through the motions whilst wasting energy for 120 mins why don't they just let the kids have a go at running about and getting dumped out the cup. Big Guns should = GUARENTEED victory at home to Burnley and kids should = possible defeat.

On the bright side it should wake us up for the next league game. It is worrying how 1 defeat => motivation for the next game => comprehensive victory => complacency => defeat...

Spot on Tony voice of reason yet again, it makes a change from the hysterical school girl reactions of some.
We drew a game of football against a team that's a division lower and then lost in the penalty lottery, it will happen again, football is littered with such results.

Um, pens aren't a lottery for us. We might as well hold up the white flag before walking up to the spot.

"Bright side, we went on to win the league after losing to Charlton on penalties in 2005."

Thanks Nick, I had a feeling we won the PL that year but couldn't be arsed looking it up. Lazy bastard me!

Habs, I agree we seem to lose too many pen shoot outs, but being an England fan at heart as well I am pretty hardened these days. I take the view that maybe the next one, a REALLY important one, it will be our turn. Having said that avoiding the bloody things is always the best option. As for the senior players attitude, yep you have a point, but I have a feeling Popeye doesn't react to fair weather attitudes on what games people want to play in and suspect the alleged view that they wanted to play was bravado in order to portray a can-do positive attitude. Great in principle but in ANY walk of life, if your hearts not in something then no amount of masking will cover it up.

We're out, that's that. Like a bad stableford golf hole, forget it and concentrate on the next one.

You may be right Habs, with our current failures in the shootout we should perhaps reduce our carbon footprint and switch off the floodlights a bit sooner and let the opposing team win without taking the kicks.
There appears to be a bit of a psychological barrier when it comes to penalties and the longer this goes on the more difficult it will be for us to win one.

But I'm a great believer in the law of averages one day we will, well I hope we will!!!!

Yep let's just wait for a more important penalty shootout to focus the players minds on hitting the back of the net from 12 yeards. Although, what's more important than a CL final in which we lost another one. So if we can't win a shootout in pre-season, in the Carling Cup or in the CL, where can we win one?

Time to forget about it now. It's just frustrating that this side needs a defeat to wake them up after a victory. Winning every other game wins you nothing and the sooner Phil and the team realises this, the sooner we can get back to winning the treble! (Well now the Quad's out the window, i might as well pre-empt Neil Barnett's reaction to our defeat by saying that 3 is still a possibility).

Just back from the game. There was an *extremely* pronounced air of "who really cares" among the fans at the end, and frankly I think much the same can be said of the players at the beginning. One thing you notice post-Mourinho is that when there's no intensity in the team, no one seems to try very hard to bring it back. Burnley or Barnsley or whoever they were cared a lot more about the game than we did, and for that reason alone deserve to be in the next round: fair enough. I really don't think anyone will be turning on Scolari after this.

Analysis-wise: I thought most of them did ok apart from the generally blasé air of the whole game. the big exception for me was Paulo, who was as willing as ever but seemed way way off the pace. No surprise that their goal came out of a massive hole on our right. Deco looked surprised every time someone tackled him, and I'm not surprised he went off at half time. Burnley/Barnsley/whoever were very impressive across midfield, and really came to play some football, which is nice to see.

The big winner for me is Ivanovic. He (again) looked like a proper defender. Positionally excellent, never got riled up by the Championship-style barging and wrestling, strong tackles when needed and standing up when appropriate. I think we'd have done a lot better with him at right back and someone else beside Alex (JT obviously, but maybe one of the kids, if there are any centre-backs left: Bruma?)

I don't see why Kalou and Malouda should be picked on. Kalou was much steadier on the ball than usual and Malouda was the best attacking outlet from midfield throughout the game. Neither of them were brilliant, but I don't think they can be blamed.

Mineiro looks like a very useful tackler, but I don't think he's going to turn defence into attack the way Maka did and Obi does.

Really, no big deal. And the last time I watched a penalty shootout where the team I was supporting won was in 1996. I'm not even tense during them any more.

I have real problems with both Kalou and Malouda playing. These idiots need to be relegated to the reserve team.Even Stoch crosses the ball better. Malouda's ball control is apalling.

That's a shock to me after reading that we lost to Burnley @ home!!

C'mon CHELSEA!! More intensity, More passion!!!!

The last penalty shoot-out I remember us winning was in the Makita Cup pre-season thingy against Ajax a few years back. We m MUST have won one since.

@Nick
I don't recall that one, but since 1995 (Millwall FA Cup) we've been involved in 8 if my memory serves me correctly and we've lost them all!
So I suppose the moral of the story is.... try and win the game in 90/120 mins otherwise the likely outcome is more disaster from 12 yards.

Just sent the report to Nick

Luiz Felipe Scolari has given a clear insight into where his priorities are likely to lie in the January transfer window, as he felt Chelsea lacked a cutting edge to beat Burnley in the Carling Cup.

"If we had had more quality in front of goal we would have won this game.

I kept some players out because they have played a lot of games but it was still a side that could have won this match"