Premier League: Everton 0 - 0 Chelsea
Monday, 22 December 08, 05:58 PM · Comments (92)
Match reports
The Guardian, Kevin McCarra: "When Chelsea cannot dominate, they rediscover their survival instinct. Following the expulsion of John Terry, they had to keep Everton at bay for an hour."
The Times, Oliver Kay: "These were the first points Chelsea have dropped on their travels this season and it says everything about a difficult night on Merseyside that Luiz Felipe Scolari will prefer to see it as a single point gained. With Terry sent off in the 35th minute for a late lunge on Leon Osman - rightly, despite the inevitable protests of Scolari and his players - Chelsea spent much of the evening hemmed up against the ropes by an Everton team chasing a rare home win."
Daily Telegraph, Mark Ogden: "Chelsea's failure to reclaim top spot from Liverpool leaves them just six points clear of champions United, who can wipe out the deficit by winning their two games in hand following their return from the Club World Cup in Japan."
Official Chelsea FC Website: "The first league draw on the road this season keeps the Blues off the top but playing most of the game without John Terry, a hard fight was needed to take a single point back to London."
The preamble
Christmas is coming and the ref is getting fat.
Riley is bad, but Dowd’s a fucking twat.
Actually the ref, Phil Dowd, is already fat. And a bastard. But they’re all bastards. If I was a player I wouldn’t shake their hand or speak a word to them. No matter what decisions they made. But then I can sulk for England.
So there.
Despite all the hype I did think this game had ‘draw’ written all over it beforehand, and unfortunately I think West Brom might well be the same. Something isn’t clicking and although tonight’s performance was about grit and pragmatism, we are definitely not getting some of the generous luck afforded Phil Scolari’s predecessors. A brief review tonight people as I’m winding down for the laughably named Christmas ‘break’. I’ll be at the West Brom game so might be on point for that review as well. But tonight I feel like the little boy who thought he’d get a Raleigh Chopper at Christmas but instead got a second hand scooter.
And yes, that really did happen once.
The Santa Claus’s – those who made me smile
- Jose Bosingwa. Looking to be the best right-back in the country at the moment. Tries too hard from time to time, but rather that than standing around Florent Malouda-style and shaking his head.
- Petr Cech. Made some great saves under pressure, made some great catches and his distribution was quick and decisive. Almost completely the opposite of last season. But Christophe Lollichon is still there... so what’s happened?
- Big Phil Scolari. Well, tonight he showed something on his knowledge of tactics. A game we were controlling suddenly goes awry on 34 minutes when John Terry receives a straight red card. Michael Ballack is marshalled back to John Mikel Obi’s role, Obi sits in for Terry until half time, Joe Cole and Nicolas Anelka get subbed for Didier Drogba and Branislav Ivanovic, sending out a clear ‘game of attrition’ message. Tactics worthy of Jose Mourinho and in the end equally successful. The lad is learning...
- John Mikel Obi. Another assured performance arguably under more pressure when we went to ten men, but along with Ballack he played with the archetypal midfield general poise and tranquillity. I reckon he’s all the potential of a future Franz Beckenbauer.
- The overall performance. Whilst it wasn’t a lot to shout home about from a watching perspective... I’ve watched more exciting episodes of Songs of Praise... it was worthy of one important point, that being we can still grind out results against tough opposition in hostile grounds. We won two back to back titles making that a speciality and although this year I fear we may not be good enough for the title, I do think it shows some of our old backbone and that can be strengthened and developed. Games like this build team spirit.
The unwanted presents – never to be discussed or seen again
- Phil Dowd. Booked three of our players and sent Terry off for a tackle that was a definite yellow but not a red. Seems that Julio Arca’s tackle on Saturday might have influenced Dowd as no doubt Keith Hackett read the riot act to the collective of referees (what is the collective term for referees? A garbage of referees? A cesspit of referees... ooh... I like that one... answers on postcards please). Or at least he should have done because Arca should be banned for a long time and the fact he just got yellow for what look like an attempt at amputation shows the utter incompetence of these guys and the stupidity of not allowing video replays. Having said that the fact that not one Everton player got booked seems to indicate a degree of Homer-ism about Dowd. Setanta didn’t show it clearly but I didn’t see any of our players go near him at the end.
- Frank Lampard. Sorry if this upsets anyone, but Frank was a shadow player again tonight, even outshone by the stupefying mediocrity of Deco. Poor corners, poor and sloppy passing, a silly booking and for long parts of the game it seems his Romulan cloaking device did exactly what it said on the tin.
- Craig Burley. The Setanta version of Andy Gray. Without the brains. Said some of the biggest load of bollocks I’ve heard from any co-commentator.
Player ratings
- Petr Cech – 9/10 – Magnificent.
- Jose Bosingwa – 8/10 – Slow start but picked up quickly.
- John Terry – 6/10 – Harsh red card so an early exit.
- Ashley Cole – 7/10 – Hard working and lots of mazy runs.
- Frank Lampard – 5/10 – On a bad run of form.
- John Mikel Obi – 8.5/10 - Thoroughbred winner.
- Deco – 7/10 – Better than previously but wasteful of chances and tries the complicated thing instead of the simple thing.
- Michael Ballack – 7/10 – Hard working but needs more playing time.
- Nicolas Anelka – 7/10 – Barely saw any service and was doomed from the moment Terry went off.
- Joe Cole – 7/10 – Like Anelka worked hard but the minute Terry went off Scolari was always going to ditch him way before Deco. I think he may be on his way next summer.
- Alex – 7.5/10 – Played a solid game but could have gone for a petulant stamp on Tim Cahill.
- Branislav Ivanovic (sub for Terry or Joe Cole... who knows) – 7/10 – Understated class but plenty of bite.
- Didier Drogba (sub for Anelka) – 7/10 – Worked hard but the fancy stuff still fails him more often than not. I would have started him alongside Anelka and sacrificed Deco.
- Wayne Bridge (sub for Deco) – 6/10 – Solid but only on for a few minutes.
- Overall team performance – 7.5/10 – A gritty and hard earned point under pressure from a resilient and hard working Everton team
Man of the Match
Petr Cech. When needed he really did stand out amongst the players and not because of his bright orange shirt.
Final thoughts
A good game ruined by a harsh refereeing decision. Once Terry went off the crowd and the likes of me were cheated a bit because like the old Chelsea we seemed happy to dig in and earn the point. Everton would have had it hard anyway but in the second half we were happy to play the resilience game. Better that than a defeat though. Scolari certainly knew from that point what battles could be won and lost and it made for a grim second half with both teams equally frustrated, albeit Everton with their tails up getting the better chances and unsurprisingly having the majority of possession. No-one can doubt that the sending off changed the game completely and I, for one, was glad to see something of the old Mourinho-esque Chelsea tonight rather than a gung-ho, fancy dan display culminating in defeat.
However we lack something at the moment, maybe it's team spirit forged in the heat of tense and fraught encounters like tonight's. We still seem guilty of over complicating and I lost count of the chances where I thought a shot was on but we still tried to thread it through a packed defence. We’re under par at the moment but as fitness returns to the likes of Joe Cole, Ballack and Drogba, and Scolari learns a bit more I think we can at least emulate last season.
At the moment though Manchester United and Liverpool look the most likely candidates for the title, through patience and support from the respective boards (Rafael Benitez has been given the time to build and Alex Ferguson shows he can still play with the big boys in the market place) and the right funding and development policies. In Liverpool’s case they’ve kept Benitez for five years and stuck by him for the most part. In United’s case they have the backing of some people who seem to know sport and a wily manager who has seen off many rivals including our own Special One. What we need is stability for the next few years so calling for Scolari’s head is just plain daft. Let us not forget that he has bought in two players only so let’s see what he builds going forward. If we win the next six games, I wonder how many will be shouting a crisis then?
Keep the Blue Flag Flying High!
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92 Comments · Add yours
Good Work And a sensible review Tony. Can't Agree more with what you have said.
Tony- good review. I think you are right- the team may reap more rewards from this game than merely a point. A stubborn backs-to-the-wall test might build something.
I was particularly annoyed that one of the commentators kept prattling about how it was folly to take Anelka off since he is the top scorer. He wasn't getting service beforehand, and it seemed that a goal in the second half would come from a set-piece. That means you want Drogba on. Good in the air, gets fouls.
I think you were a touch harsh on Deco. I actually thought he played quite well for the first 30 minutes. He has a knack for being creative that is different from what the other players have. I thought he should have been subbed earlier, as in his attempts to be creative he gave away the ball in some bad spots. Perhaps he should learn to be conservative and cynical in defensive games. All in all I thought he was fine, and I think we should focus on what he does do, rather than what he doesn't.
Cech was as good as advertised, and Mikel Obi was rather impressive. I'm excited to have him on the team for a long time.
All in all, I think this wasn't a bad result. I think Terry's card was harsh, and I'm surprised that no one in the media seems to agree (of what I've read so far).
Perhaps the mythical Drogba-Anelka pairing will result at WBA. Until then, I don't think much can be made of this game besides a gritty result. For the time being, things are tight at the top. After the transfer market shakes things up we will see how the rest of the season will shape up in earnest. Until then, as long as we are within touching distance I'm happy.
This is the first time in a long while that I've disagreed with a match review here.
Before JT's sending off, our intent was clear, even if we continued the usual trend of passing a lot, Anelka dropping deep and consequently not really getting anywhere. We started the second half, removing Anelka for Drogba (which I understood) and replacing Joe with Ivanovic to move Mikel back to midfield. In my opinion, we spent the next forty-five minutes with our narrow midfield sitting back, leaving Drogba on his own. I think it would have been a better decision to leave Joe on and take someone slow like Ballack off so at least we would maintain some width and capacity for counterattack, but he was taken off and the width of the first half had vanished.
Despite this problem being glaringly obvious, we didn't get a sub until the 85th minute, which was Wayne Bridge. The game was crying out for someone pacy and direct like Kalou or even Malouda at least fifteen minutes before. We may have been down to ten men at a difficult ground but we still might have taken it to them a little more! If it weren't for Cech, we might well have lost.
Drogba's performance after coming off the bench for the third match in a row proved that he needs to start, as with him on we looked a lot more purposeful. Unfortunately, by that point, he had virtually no support.
The draw was a completely expected result, and so not one I'm that disappointed about (although I remained hopeful until the final whistle). The thing that I found myself thinking most today was of Scolari's continuing naivete regarding team selection/substitutions. Big players like Deco, Ballack and Anelka must be put on the bench or sacrificed at times for the good of the team. Mikel is gold.
I'm pleased we ground out the result in the end, but it wasn't half frustrating! JT's red was unnecessary, but the next three games really should be wins now. United away in a few weeks will be the real test of Scolari's mettle.
Of course, my opinion could be complete bollocks! It's always nice to look at the game from an alternative point of view, so thanks for the alternative, more optimistic approach. I'd say it was quite a problematic game to call - I'm somewhere in between satisfied and brassed off!
I think I'm just frustrated with our patchy form of late. Hopefully, we can sort that out by putting a few past West Brom.
A frustrating result. Whilst we were all looking for the side to claim the Christmas No.1, the jolly fat idiot with the whistle ruined it for us all. A gritty away pont as you say but with our awful home form, we really needed a win.
GOOD:
1. Cech - Awesome. After JT was hooked off by the card happy Mr. Dowl, it was down to big Pete to marshall the defence and he did it perfectly. Claimed every cross, made some vital saves and without his fingertip parry and save in the last 5 mins Piennar would have grabbed the winner. Glad to have the real Petr Cech back. We'll certainly need him with JT missing for the Xmas fixtures.
2. Grit - A return to the hard fought, if a little dull, Jose days of grinding out a result. It's nice to see that this side hasn't totally forgotten how to fight for a result.
3. Mikel - Controlled the midfield all on his own and is our best midfielder at the moment. Even looked comfortable at CB for 10 mins. Another quality performance and is rapidly becoming one of the best young players in the world.
4. Phil - I know i'm putting him in the good section, which is a first for me but he did make a couple of good calls today. Bringing on Didier and Ivanovic was entirely correct and helped bring some much needed steel to a side missing JT, although that's the least you'd expect from a manager on £6m/yr! As you'll see though he hasn't yet made it out from my bad books just yet.
BAD:
1. Liverpool - How they're still top at Xmas i don't know. It's annoying that were playing so poorly because if we had any sort of consistency we could have run away with this title already. This unpredictability may keep the neutrals happy but if it means we have to look up at a poor Liverpool team leading the way, then i'm all for the return of Chelsea and even Utd winning every week to bring back the normal 2 horse race.
2. Performance - Even before the sending off of JT we never looked like scoring and we haven't looked like a threatening attacking side for weeks. We hardly tested Rob Green, Tim Howard, Almunia, Reina, Given... and we look pretty uninspiring going forward. We also play at such a slow tempo that it's easy to defend against us. We pass from side to side for what seems like hours, then give it to Ashley or Bosingwa hoping they can do something. If that's the Brazilian way to just keep the ball whilst not going anywhere then i'd much rather see a return to the direct and quicker football of Avram (yes Avram) and Jose.
3. Phil - The way he's set the team up at the minute is poor. Playing a narrow 4-1-4-1 and relying on Ash and Bosingwa for width just doesn't work anymore. Good managers worked it out within a few weeks (Fergie, Rafa and Wenger) and now bad managers have worked it out (Kinnear, Zola). Deco just cuts inside all the time providing no width whilst crowding the centre of midfield which is already packed with Lamps, Mikel and Ballack. Because of this we haven't seen Lamps do anything since Deco has played from the left, as he doesn't have the room to make forwad runs or shoot. The game was also crying out for Kalou to come on for Deco. He may be erratic but his pace would have provided an out ball and some much needed support for Didier in the second half. Instead he insisted on keeping on his beloved Deco and we Didier remained an isolated figure. The team look lost at the minute, without direction and i hope Phil changes something. His preferential treatement of Deco is baffling and why he decided to start with the same side as againt West Ham was also puzzling as there wasn't any improvement from last weeks dire first half.
4. Deco - Personally i thought he was awful. He's only in the side because of his special relationship with Phil because if it was based on form, he'd have been dropped weeks ago. He provided little attacking threat whilst...
...his set-pieces today were shocking. How many times did he hit a corner or a free kick into the first man or wall respectively? He must surely be dropped but i fully expect him to line up against West Brom, have another awful game yet see Joe get taken off. Soon he'll be in for the Eboue treatment if he doesn't improve.
5. Lamps - I hate putting SuperFrank in here but he has been poor recently (although i blame this on Phil's tactics and Deco's interference in Centre midfield). When we play proper wingers, with more width we'll see the real Lamps.
6. Anelka - Totally anonymous. I was wondering if we were playing with 9 men for a few minutes in the first half. Who cares if he's top scorer, it's time for the return of Didier and a more direct style of play otherwise we'll just be handing the title to Utd.
AWFUL:
1. Phil Dowd - Is he worse than Rob Styles? Or even worse than the ref who gave that ghost goal at Watford? At first you could see he was a homer with foul after foul going for Everton. That didn't bother me as most refs are intimidated at Goodison Park but then he found his cards. The sending off of JT was inevitable after Dowd's first 30 mins and after that he decided to book every Chelsea player who fouled an Everton player or even questioned any of his decisions. It culminated in the hilarious booking of Ballack when he asked Dowd if the wall was 10 yards away. Dowd marched out 9 yards plus a small step, ran back to Ballack and booked him for asking him the question. An absolute twat who cost us our 9th away win of the season.
So a frustrating night as we again let Liverpool sit in top spot. Utd must be laughing at our inconsistency. West Brom is a must win, not only for our title hopes but for my confidence in Scolari. I still don't know if he's good enough for Chelsea yet as his Samba football is proving pointless. The next few fixtures should give me a pretty good answer.
amid the world economic crisis which is playing with me, i'm unable to remember the last time we won in the premier league..crap.. how have things changed so fast?
i need some backing up for the new years and i better get it this weekend.
Terry definitely did not need to be red-carded for that tackle.
Ok.... I have now had time to reflect and perhaps 'Awful' was a bit harsh.
An away point at Goodison having played for an hour with 10 men isn't a bad result at all...... And if we had showed anything at all as an attacking force during the 90 minutes I would probably be happy..... But we didn't.
For the first time in my life I briefly considered turning off after an hour.....not because I thought we would lose, but because the football we are playing is SHIT.
The movement of the ball is too slow and predictable at the moment. We string together 10-15 passes, but go nowhere and end up still shooting from 20 yards.
We have stopped running at players. There has been some debate about Joe Cole in the last few days, and for me he was at his worst last night. Instead of taking a pass in his stride and running at players, I lost count of the number of times he took a ball with his back to goal and ran towards his own goal with it allowing Everton to get back.
Anelka takes chances well and deserves praise for being top scorer... However he is lost when playing alone upfront and seemingly goes missing when Drogba takes the lead role (although they have generally only had limited time to play together). Having bagged Anelka, Drogba was at his petulant worst last night, showed very little interest in being around and also provided nothing.
So perhaps then the fault is with the midfield. Personally, I think we are trying to shoe-horn too many midfielders into the space and it leads to them playing lots of short passes, but creating very little. Frank's early season form is now a memory, and Deco has been no better than average. Neither of them could take a free kick or corner to save themselves, and if you look at the number of goals we have scored from set pieces in the last 12 months it would almost certainly be less than 10....which for the league's highest scorers is diabolical.
This one doesn't get laid at the door of TSSO. Once we were down to ten men, a point was the best we could have hoped for because we're simply not playing well at all at the moment.
No, this one falls squarely at the feet of JT (if he can keep them on the ground). It's not the first time he's tried a thoroughly shitty challenge this season (Arsenal at home). He, more than most because of his commitment, knows you can't go in with two feet and still did. Could be put down to his rugged commitment for the cause, fair enough, but it's just stupid, and could prove far costlier than last night - we face 3 games without him, Riccy is touch and go. Our home form is utter toilet as it is - do we really fancy seeing Alex and Ivanovic marshalling the back 4 for the next 3 games?
I like to be a bit dramatic, and so have called for panic stations after the loss to Arsenal and the draw with Wet Spam - after last night that's 2 points from a possible 9. Man USA might as well have a Xmas holiday every fucking year if we're going to be this charitable.
I'm guessing we'll struggle past the mighty West Brom on Friday, probably with a last minute deflected free-kick. Quite simply, we're too average at the moment, and have been for too long. Would be nice to think it's a blip, but things dont look like improving - mainly because we cant afford to play Lamps, Ballack and Deco at the same time.
Tony - my vote for the collective term of referees is 'infection'.
Saying that Frank is playing bad because of Deco is absurd!
Good review TONY and i agree, i also thought it would be a draw....
Still frustrating though to be dropping points, especially at this stage of the season...i'll go with FIFTEE and hope it's just a blip that the boys are encountering at the moment....
Sick of hearing the a***hole comments from viewers on SSN this morning that J.T should be banned..He was reckless in the tackle but NO WAY was it intentional..
I don’t blame the ref.
Up until the sending off we didn’t look like scoring because we were playing the same one dimensional single pace game of recent weeks so a draw seemed on the cards anyway. At least Big Phil can hide behind the decision and mask the core problems.
As for JT flying in with both feet off the ground and making contact with the opponent unfortunately this manoeuvre isn’t allowed anymore but is a quick way of guaranteeing being at home over Christmas with the wife and kids.
Mikel, Deco, Ballack, Lampard, Cole doesn’t work as a combination because there’s zero pace. Unless we get something better in the transfer window we’ve got to play at least one of Malouda or Kalou because they’re the only outlets we have.
Mikel has looked great in the 'Maka' role, and has been one of the highlights of the season. Having said that, do we really need a defensive midfielder? If he was to play in the centre of midfield instead of Deco, it would free up a position for an extra striker. Our defence has been sound and will continue to be so, regardless of who is at the back, so it seems to me that we shouldn't bother with the 'Maka' role any longer, except in games against the top 4 and in Europe.
I don't want to be seen as negative on this blog....... I will always support Chelsea and have watched us for enough years to have 'perspective'. Believe me Tony, Clive, I know where we have come from and have watched us away at Shrewsbury and Blackburn in the freezing cold and pissing rain, when we really were shit.
But the bar is now so much higher...... For the money we spend on wages, we should be demanding more from the side....I don't think for a collective wage bill of about a million quid a week between the first team squad a few shots on target and a little effort is too much to ask. Roman is today asking the Russian government for money to keep his company afloat, and has cancelled the prize money in his annual Russian tournament leading to the postponement of the competition. If I am this shitty, how the f*ck must he feel?
It's time to bite the bullet and rebuild, because I would rather see a few youngsters have a crack than see our current stars go through the motions for the next 6 months.
End of rant.....Your thoughts?
Chelsea were so bad last niight. I can't relive it without grimacing. Frank Lampard did nothing. I thought the substitution of Drogba for Anelka was inspired, but it was petulantass!Drogba, not worldclass!Drogba, and as such, he spent most of the match committing fouls on Cahill and then feigning innocence to the ref. In the second half, Everton spent most of their time in our half and had it not been for Petr Cech, we would have let in 2 or 3. In the end, a point is far more than what Chelsea deserved, but grr, wasted opportunity much?
As for the three fixtures w/o Terry, I'd much rather have Terry for the Christmas fixtures than not have him, but this way, at least it gives Ivanovic, Alex etc a chance to step up, show us what they're made of. And Chelsea usually do well in the face of adversity (Jan this year, we won all our fixtures with an injury list as long as your arm).
And Everton fans are losers.
HRNEY/HENRY
Get a life FFS!! >:(
Merry Christmass LOLli!
While I agree, Tony, we should turn down all the whinging it looks like His Bigness' Plan B won't be playing Anelka And Drogba together anytime soon:
LINK
-but no clues as to how we get past this increasingly prolonged blip?
Greenlight,
Two good points in there. Mikel's been outstanding this season and I think the team selection is usually decent, but last night why was there a need for a holding midfielder ??
Everton had no strikers fit, and played Cahill as the striker and Fellaini off him. A decent back 4 should have been able to handle two midfielders playing in advanced positions - freeing up a role in our side for the (supposedly) more attacking option of Kalou / Malouda.
Secondly, the rebuilding point is an interesting one. I've mentioned many times before that I'd like to see the youth team given a chance sooner rather than later. The problem is TSSO is in a no win situation. Continue with the ineffectual Malouda and Kalou and we do nothing - try the younger players and the result will probably be the same. He just needs the balls to try it. I see no Stoch or Sinclair on the bench last night. I simply fail to see where the harm is in giving Sinclair or Stoch a decent chance to prove what they can, or cannot, offer. Friday would be a good starting point. With no disrespect, WBA shouldn't be too difficult for us to overcome, even at home - give one of them half an hour and if they dont cut it, we can loan them out in January so that they are at least playing regular first team football. It's not as if Malouda or Kalou have excelled this season and laid down a marker of any real note.
Tactically, Scolari got the changes spot on last night - the inability to win was down to the loss of JT for an hour and not TSSO's choices. I just wish he'd take off his Portugese-tinted specs and see that Deco simply isn't good enough to warrant being the first name on the team sheet. It seems to me that he knows Ballack and Lamps are the better options, but his allegiance to Deco means he's always selected, usually to the detriment of the side.
Only caught the second half as was traveling back down to London last night from up North, and then had to go through festive greetings/catching up thing with family/friends before finally checking in. Have to admit, I thought a 0-0 was nailed on for this game before it started having re-calibrated my expections for the season (see post under West ham for reasons) as have many of us on here it seems. We looked like we were set up for the old war of attrition that has been part of the nature of the team since Jose arrived and which I thought we'd discarded in favour of Danny Blanchfloweresque idealism (you'd need to be over 50 to get that reference). I'm glad, like others, that it's back. Everton are a strong team to play away but our record there has been good lately, and it appears we were doing well until JT was dismissed, so we can be a bit disappointed, though not entirely downcast. A point, in the circumstances was okay, even if it does give Man Utd cause for optimism. It's definitely going to be a three horse race with them the favourites I feel. As for the continuing Deco question. I think Big Phil keeps him in there because he can potentially turn a game, infuriating as his all-rounb play can be. Franks loss of form is worrying (though he's due some slack from everyone for his superman efforts season on season) but on the positive side, Ibramovich looked good and it's good to know that our two reserve centre backs can shore up a defence in circumstances like last night.
What a load of Moaning fuckers chelsea fans are !!! you have just been held by one of the worst teams in the league(I know coz ime a rednose)Whinging fuck Terry(a great example to any schoolboy looking for a twat to aspire to)He is a moaning prick who shows no respect to refs whilst offering himself up as England captain.The man for that job sticks out a mile BIG STEVIE GERRARD.NOW THATS A CAPTAIN. No scandaloff the pitch or on it,Never dived in his life(unlike that deep sea fella scuba Drogba....scuba diver ,"Get it"No ,I didnt think so,Chelski rich gits and Blue shite Evertonians ,thick as pigshit and twice as sloppy.
RED FOR EVER....LONG LIVE RAFAS RED REVOLUTION..
@23 Bigredprick
I've always thought the people from Liverpool were comedians, nice to see that you don't disappoint.
Sorry everyone. It seems like someone had a bad touch of diarhoea and it survived long enough to write aome utter cuntery on our blog.
@ Bigredcunt - go away you fuckwitted, brain dead, scum sucking shit necked twat.
I read the words "Stevie Gerrard" and "never dived in his life" in the same paragraph and was subsequently admitted to hospital having laughed so hard I needed oxygen and multiple stitches in my torn sides. Funny chap.
Point gained under the circumstances; knew two people that went to the game, one Chelsea, one Everton and both agreed that Dowd (whilst somewhat card happy) didn't have a lot of choice but to send JT off - seeing it in real time without the benefit of replays etc. it looked fairly bad; studs high, bit late, no further questions. We'll fail if we appeal, without doubt.
Whisper it quietly, but the realisation is starting to dawn that maybe we just ain't that special anymore. Still much cause for hope, but it seems that the ore of the squad that performed at such a high level for so long is approaching burnout. And what functionality and power the midfield had ain't being helped by the addition of Deco - he just doesn't 'buzz' like he did at Barca and is frankly surplus to requirements right now.
Must.......resist.......the......bait.
Oh bollocks to it.
"Never dived in his life". Excuse me while I choke on my mince-pie.
Never dived? You truly are having a laugh. Which invisible player tripped him in the box in Istanbul then? The same bloke who then tripped him at Bramall Lane the season after? Who then played for Athletico Madrid at Anfield this season?
(Shit, check out my unhealthy Liverpool knowledge - I need disinfecting).
He has done the same numerous times. I doubt there's a player in the Premiership who has 'won' as many penalties as Stevie Me. And strange how it's only Liverpool fans who chunter on about him being skipper for England - I'm guessing you've never taken the time to stop and think why more than one England manager has overlooked him for that role - I think I'm right in saying that the best manager England have had for some time (the current one) thought so much of him he, ummm, gave the vice-captaincy to Jar Jar Binks. Shows how much the people within the National game actually think of Stevie Freeze.
What I'm totally surprised at with Bigredprick and his deluded rant, is the fact that he's indoors on his PC rather than being out breaking into neighbours houses stealing the Xmas presents.
I won't use the C word as it's Xmas.... what Total Twattery!
"I won't use the C word as it's Xmas.... what Total Twattery! "
Don't worry Clive I've used it on behalf of everyone on the blog. Unlike Stevie Me I don't mind taking one for the team.
@26 26. KaiserJonny_II
but it seems that the ore of the squad that performed at such a high level for so long is approaching burnout
Not sure if that's a typo but LEADEN (ore) springs to mind LINK
@Tony
LOL
@ Mark
Damn that cranky 'c' key on my keyboard...!
Of ourse if you typed unt less often your keyboard would last through hristmas
@26 'Whisper it quietly, but the realisation is starting to dawn that maybe we just ain't that special anymore. Still much cause for hope, but it seems that the ore of the squad that performed at such a high level for so long is approaching burnout. And what functionality and power the midfield had ain't being helped by the addition of Deco - he just doesn't 'buzz' like he did at Barca and is frankly surplus to requirements right now.'
I think a few of us are of this opinion Kaiser, which is why we aren't despairing as much as we might have been.
LINK
The Alex 'stamp' passed me by.
With Riccy apparently still a few weeks away from fitness, do we recall Mancienne from Wolves if Alex gets a 3 game ban?
If not, we'll have to play a non-CB out of position which is less than ideal.
our current squad is actually full of players whose presence or absence doesn't make a diff. at all. Essien for e.g, when he does get back (thankfully after hristmas), it doesn't mean we would start creating more goals, nor does it mean the mf will start scoring more goals, and obi will continue being isolated in mf.
whereasif (with citeh trying to build a team) you put him on the market he could easily fetch £50m, with which we could get players that make a diff.
sale,
essien £50m
ballack £5m
deco £5m
cashley £20m
anelka £10m
drogba £10m
kalou 15p(negotiable)
malouda £10m
alex £15m
ferera £2m
appr. £115m
buy,
cambiasso
hernanes
lulinha(seal dribble bloke)
valencia
owen
promote a few youth players
Wow, i thought bigredtwat from Liverpool was the biggest idiot on here but it seems Hnrey has stolen that crown.
Henry it's Xmas take some time off from the blog; as it will bring peace and goodwill to the rest of us.
@ Hnery, however much I am confident in your scouting ability, I think you should be trying a little harder than the usual names and a few people that look good on Youtube.
Considering our recent problem in a more rational manner than last night (when I was still annoyed!), it has just occurred to me that our bad performances over the past two months coincide with the return of Ballack to full fitness, not to blame the bloke...
Bar the 4-0 against Portsmouth on the first day (when Portsmouth were quite poor, let's be honest), most of our great performances this season have actually been with either Deco OR Ballack in the middle, not both. As much as everyone gets annoyed with Malouda or Kalou at times, they are necessary in our team at the moment in providing a more direct outlet down the wings, taking people on. I’d take either of them back on the left wing over Deco in a flash.
I think we are all in agreement that either Deco or Ballack must be dropped to the bench (preferably the former, as at least we know Ballack works), and Drogba needs to start over Anelka for the time being.
Against West Brom, I'd start:
Cech
Bosingwa Alex Ivanovic (if Ricky's still not fit) Ash
Mikel
Joe Cole Ballack Lamps Malouda
Drogba
Deco, Anelka and Kalou on the bench.
Just as an aside, who would everyone say has been our player of the season so far? Despite Anelka, Lamps and Deco getting Player of the Month awards this year, for me Mikel is by far the unsung hero of the side. Future-captain material.
lulinha(seal dribble bloke)
Being the football expert you are, Hnrey, you'd obviously know that Kerlon is the seal dribble chappie, whereas Lulinha is another player entirely...
You're not even that convincing in your role as chief troll - keep this piss-poor standard up and we'll have to get Musumba back.
As we lack penertration at home - would it not be better to try 4-4-2 and drop both of Balack and Deco? neither are giving us what is needed at the moment. Mikel and Frank would give us the sort of engine we need in midfield - or is this just too aggressive (might look more like 4-1-5!)
And as to the scouser - this from self styled supporters who are meant to "know their football" - what a joke....
obvious mistake
your cookie is being delivered!
can you imagine
kerlon vs. bramble????
can you imagine
kerlon vs. bramble????
I'd rather not - we are a football team, not a fucking circus act; we need a Brazilian seal impersonator about as much as we need Neil Barnett and Doug Rougvie coming on at half time in an exploding clown car.
Well I wish him well and all that but every little helps LINK
@ 44 Mark25 - agreed. Now all we need is the same thing to happen to Ronaldo and Gerrard and I will really believe in Santa.
Hi,
I am really bored at work at the mo, and just read KaiserJonny_II's last comment - "we are a football team, not a fucking circus act", and it made me laugh out loud. However much crap Hnery writes (sell Essien! Hnery is just a WUM), reading people abuse him and his opinions does at least makes me laugh.
Hnery - were you born this much of a tit or did it take years of practise?
Nice to see the blog family bickering it adds to the authenticity of Christmas.;-)
On that note I would like to wish fellow bloggers and fans a Merry Yuletide, and of course a big thanks to the main culprits who take the time to write the reports, as per usual it's greatly appreciated on my part.
Oh and Merry Xmas Henry.... now fuck off! and take a sabbatical we could all do with the rest.
JT's tackle sincerely deserved a RED, even though his intensions were never malicious. JT never backs out of a challenge and its a pity that we have to lose him for the next 3 tough fixtures(going by our current form).
anyone ever wondered when our form began to dip....aaaahh the return of BALLACK and probably DECO to full fitness(how ironical). especially for BALLACK, although i can't place a reason, i am just stating the obvious. more to the problem, i feel LFS emphasis on passing the ball rather than direct football to the goal post is killing us. we simply cannot breakdown defences now. we had just ONE shot at goal (guess by who a defender A.COLE). this may be a time for building up but,i see no reason why LFS cannot produce a winning side now coupled with the fact that he his not yet allowed to bring anyone in January.
next is an home game (i'm scared) against West Brom....how do i get myself to watch it again.
Well..Bad outing for us in Everton.Yet again, failed to capitalise on Reds draw at Emirates. In my opinion we played bad football, struggelled to find any kind of momentum.This is not the kind of football we expect from our favorite club. It looks grim chance with the present form for the title chase or Champs league. I tought we looked much better organised last season. I am sad to see the attitude of the players and hope that they come back hard after Xmas.Cheers.
merry xmas clive, btw what's your new year resolutions?, hunting sharks could do you some good.
i read somewhre that roman is now only worth about ken bates and change. i see us playing derbies against millwal and barnet pretty soon!
p.s merry xmas JD!
Reading some of the comments on here drives me crazy.
Is it not clear that our best football has been with a settled side, good passing, interplay, movement and finishing. You all whine and moan about Malouda but suddenly you are realising how important he's been this season. The problem is still one we had with Mourinho. The subject of the so called 'untouchables'.
Here is what I believe is our best team assuming everyone is fit and free from suspension:
Cech
Bosingwa J.T. Carvalho A. Cole
Mikel
Ballack Lamps
J. Cole Anelka Malouda
Malouda has been crucial to our play this season. Lamps needs to be given the freedom of the midfield, look at his earlier season form, no surprise to see one of either Deco or Ballack out at that time. Mikel has been a steady influence on the team and once Essien is fit I would switch him in for Ballack. Drogba (once fully fit) can come in for Anelka but I like the use of Nico's pace away from home.
J.T. & Alex are similar, Carvalho & Ivanovic are similar. Therefore Scolari should remove his obvious Portuguese/Brazilian bias and should have played J.T. & Ivanovic yesterday. I don't know if anyone else agrees but I think Ivanovic is an absolutely class act. How Alex can start over him, never mind being so similar to JT is beyond me.
Maybe on Friday he should play Carvalho and Alex together but I think Ivanovic is that good that him and Ricky would work well together.
On the J.T. challenge, I think he could have given a yellow card but also you could argue the point that it was a red. Nothing malicious, but imagine if Yobo for example had done that to Joey Cole. We would all be calling for his head. What angered me more than the actual red card was the fact that Dowd went for his lower pocket (indicating a yellow card would be given), then seemed to change his mind and took out the red from his upper pocket. Clearly he was instructed to do this by the fourth official. I'm sorry, but take a clearer look at the.......
.....replay and see how bloody close Dowd is to the challenge. It also raises the question of who is the referee and when is it legitimate for the fourth official and linesmen to get involved in a decision. I completely agree with the refs getting more help (after all, they're a frustrating, pedantic bunch of people who've never played football professionally), but when they are five yards from an incident, THEY should make the decision. His decision was a yellow card and the fourth official has told him otherwise.
I'm sick of hearing people say we need to buy players in January. We have a massive squad with enough quality to get through a whole season. Buying more players will not solve anything. Scolari is paid enough money to do his job properly. His job is to get the best out of his squad. I feel Chelsea managers are able to do this when they don't have the pressure of dropping players to the bench (i.e. injuries etc.). When the senior players are all fit, they risk upsetting people and we get four central midfielders playing together like yesterday.
Another problem is this continued call for the youth players. They're not going to solve our problems. Yes, try and introduce them to the team but only when for example 3-0 up to West Brom at home, they need to be slowly integrated, this stage in their careers is not the time for a lot of pressure on their young shoulders.
Finally, there has been the opportunity for one team to be over the hill by now but look at our 'rivals'. Man United, even if they win their two games in hand, will still be behind us on goal difference. Scousers have problems at home as well and let's face it have been winning but playing rather shit football. Arsenal are behind the mancs even with a two game advantage and are also fifth. No one has noticed but Villa are only five points off the top.
This season the Premiership is highly competitive and I think where we currently stand is not too bad. However, there is room for improvement.
& PLS people, let's get behind the manager and the team, especially at home. The Chelsea fans were great yesterday but the home crowd has been nothing short of atrocious. Get behind Scolari and the team and see the difference it can make!
Keep The Blue Flag Flying High! Come on the Chels!
Graham Poll can kiss my arse. Even Wenger disagrees with him
If we want to continue playing Anelka (without effective wingers), then we should find a way of playing Mikel as an attacking midfielder...He can hold the ball and deliver tailored, defence-splitting passes...that was his natural role before his chelsea era...
Anelka rarely gets serviced...strikers should be serviced and thats why the team is struggling now...Where's Mineiro (or whatever his name is)? About time we explore the possibility of optimising Mikel's attacking potentials...
Too bad we didnt get the 3 points and capitalise on the poor results of our main rivals...hope we dont get to rue all these dropped points later...
Wonder what Avram would be feeling like now...what Roman would be thinking. So far, Avram who didnt get the benefit of a pre-season preparation and who didnt get to buy a single player in the course of his campaign has faired better than Scolari (results wise)!
Scolari should show some more balls!...I personally expected him to introduce Kalou somewhere around the 75th minute...For goodness sake we needed the 3 points and he should have created an outlet for counter-attacking which in turn would have put the opposition a little more at bay...I still dont believe that the absence of 1 player should make us surrender the bulk of the pitch like we did ystday (in my opinion, Ashley was the only player who visibly raised his game after Terry's card, chasing everyball on his flank of the field)...we were lucky not to have lost the match given the way we invited pressure upon ourselves...
We need wingers. Malouda and Kalou must go. Arshavin would be a great signing
13JOE13...
Think you should include Joe Cole in ur list of 'must'...In a team desperately in need of wingers, he has consistently failed to perform in recent times and is subbed EVERY game....
Come to think of it, he was consistently subbed even in Avram's era...
Alexis, You know I like Joe Cole. Dont you? Yes he is horribliy inconsistent but his skill and dribbling and goals are vital to us. Plus he has PACE. Without him we are awful (See Liverpool game) and with him we can be awesome (See Aston Villa). If we dont sign a winger/attacking pacy midfielder in January then another trophyless campaign is almost a certainty.
Plus he has PACE.
Cough pace? Joe Cole? Have I been missing something over the past few years? He can dribble and has lots of tricks and flicks, but pace he doesn't have.
Perhaps my interpretation of SPEED is different, although it wouldn't surprise me if Henry uses it.
@ Alexis - your tiresome anti-Joe Cole tirades display a high degree of football knowledge arrogance. And as for this.....
"Wonder what Avram would be feeling like now...what Roman would be thinking. So far, Avram who didnt get the benefit of a pre-season preparation and who didnt get to buy a single player in the course of his campaign has faired better than Scolari (results wise)!"
So, what was Nicolas Anelka then.....a fucking mirage?
CLIVE, LINK Could a player with no pace do that?
Last season at Xmas I seem to remember us being quite a few points behind Arse as well as the Mancs. It was in Jan and Feb (during the ACoN, when everyone thought we'd be doomed) that we went on our good run.
I tend to agree with Tony and others, though. I don't think this is our year -- the Mancs look like strongish favourites to me.
@Joe
All that showed was that he was quicker than that particular defender. Is he as quick as Ronaldo? I don't think so.
No he isnt. But I didnt say he was as quick as Ronaldo. I said he as pace and that video proves my point.
All footballers have pace Joe, but this is going to be a pointless debate your interpretation of speed is different to mine, so lets leave it there shall we.
No debate, Clive. Ive nothing against you. I think we can both agree that we need new players to rescue our season. Kenyon needs to get off his fat ass and do what is paid to do.
Joe Cole has about as much pace as Stephen Hawking with a fucked rear axle. What he has is a decent 5-10 yard burst which is fine if you use it properly and don't stop to try and beat the same player again for effect. The only manager who ever got him playing to anything like his potential was Mourinho; he's gone backwards in the last year or so and needs a serious kick in the arse.
This sums up perfectly what's happening under Scolari:
LINK
Where’s your bottle?
Scolari was recruited to bring the beautiful game to Stamford Bridge — “Barcelona in blue shirts” is repeatedly said to be Abramovich’s vision for Chelsea — but appears to have lost his sense of adventure after establishing an attractive passing style in his first few months in the job. José Mourinho, for all his inherent pragmatism, would never let matches drift in the manner that Scolari has recently and would rather risk losing a game by throwing men forward in the hope of a win than settle for a point.
Although hamstrung by the loss of Terry, his captain, Scolari’s substitutions against Everton can be questioned, the conservative option of replacing Joe Cole with Branislav Ivanovic, the defender, at half-time arguably costing Chelsea. Everton had no recognised striker, so it is doubtful whether two centre backs were required to cope with the threat of Tim Cahill, particularly given that John Obi Mikel was available to drop back from midfield when necessary. Mourinho almost certainly would have switched to three at the back at some stage and thrown on more forwards.
What happened to Plan B?
As with Baldrick’s, many of Scolari’s plans seem to be the same, and not all of them are particularly cunning. The Brazilian is a master of the like-for-like substitution, Nicolas Anelka rotating with Didier Drogba while Salomon Kalou and Florent Malouda take it in turns to come on for Joe Cole, but appears extremely reluctant to deviate from his favoured formation, with Mikel, Michael Ballack and Frank Lampard operating in midfield behind a central striker. Scolari is largely using the same tactics that brought Brazil the World Cup six years ago, but needs to have a rethink because there is not the same depth of quality available to him...
What do you do in training?
There have been mutterings of discontent over some of Scolari’s methods — too much running and an absence of high-intensity ball-work, it is alleged — and the manager acknowledges that not everything has gone to plan on the training pitch. Scolari spent much of last week working on a strike partnership between Anelka and Drogba, but felt they were not combining properly and did not play them together against Everton. Scolari may be struggling to adapt to the limited time he has to work with his players between games in the relentless Barclays Premier League after seven years of being afforded more thought on the international scene.
What is it about Deco?
Mourinho famously had nine so-called untouchables, whereas Scolari seems content to rely on a single one. The Portugal midfield player’s performances have steadily slipped after a spectacular start but he remains one of the few almost guaranteed to play the full 90 minutes, staying the course on 14 of his 19 appearances compared with a survival rate of one in 15 for Joe Cole. Irrespective of whether Scolari is giving him preferential treatment, it is easy to see why such allegations are being made. Deco is not helped by being played out of position on the flanks, but that does not justify his woefully uninterested performance at Goodison Park.
Why should you have more money?
Scolari deserves some sympathy because the purse strings have been cut, with the present Chelsea project not the one he signed up to. He has bought only two players since arriving in the summer, but given the limited impact of Deco and Mineiro, who has appeared for 15 minutes in the Premier League, Abramovich’s reticence to spend is equally understandable.
I thought that summed up our problems perfectly. The two most striking points in my eyes concerned Deco and the transfer budget. Seeing that Deco has played 90mins in 14/19 games is shocking and demonstrates an embarrassingly blatent form of favouritism. Despite Joe's inconsistency he deserves to show what he can do over 90 mins more than once out of 15 games. Secondly was the point on why Phil deserves more money. Based on his track record he'd probably waste it on continuing his "Help the Aged, as long as you speak Portuguese" transfer policy. Signing Deco just because he's your favourite chum despite him looking totally out of his depth and frankly further over the hill than Sheva was an idiotic decision and his signing of Mineiro is an absolute joke. 15 mins this season and he doesn't even make him play for his salary in the reserves. I wonder if he just gave him a season's long contract to help out an unemployed Brazilian mate after his release from Hertha Berlin!
It's becoming more and more obvious that these next 3/4 fixtures will define our League campaign. On current form we'll be watching as Utd sail past us.
I cant believe only tony can see it, lampard needs an intelligent player like ballack to play alongside him to be at his brilliant best. ballack usually covers most ground of all our players, as well as winning most of the 1 on 1s.
I think we can both agree that we need new players to rescue our season.
@Joe
If you've ever read my posts you would see that isn't the view I subscribe to. Why do you think we need rescuing? lets wait and see and judge at the end of the season, not In January where the calibre of player that might be available would only be a short term fix.
So, today's the last day of term (well, work).
My laptop at home has just contracted man-flu and, as my computer expertise extend as far as my contributions here, I can't fix it. I wont be able to post until I return to work on the 5th Jan. Barring a minor miracle. Jesus, if you're about, it's an Advent (oooh, coincidence) 7904......
I just wanted to wish everyone a Happy Christmas / Holidays, and a prosperous New Year. Have a thoroughly enjoyable festive period (apart from the sewage that will no doubt be on show at the Bridge) and I'll speak to you next year.
Well, I dont leave work until 12, so might be back a few times, but this is my serious message.
and a prosperous New Year
@Fiftee
Too late for me I had millions tied up with that Madoff guy any chance of a loan. ;-)
Merry Xmas anyway. :-)
Just taking a few moments from clearing my desk, no it’s all right just a tidy up, to make a few observations on recent events.
The Game
JT – got to ask him the same question the local police in Dubai asked the couple they found shagging on the beach. “If you had to do it and that’s questionable, why do it there?” Whether Dowd was right or wrong it was a hostage to fortune and the situation did not require it.
We showed a lot of resilience 2nd half, but I thought we sat too deep and ceded far too much ground to Everton. They seemed very effective at working the wide areas and it seemed far to easy to get crosses in or work the ball to the by line. We seemed to stay with a 3 in front of 1 leaving us narrow, when surely a bank of 4 would have denied Everton some space out wide.
Pace. Ballack Lampard and Deco together mean we lack real pace and that was a particular problem in the 2nd half. There was no threat of a counter even with Drogba holding the ball up and in defence we were too easy to play through. Playing with 10 men really showed that we can’t play them all together as it leaves us one paced.
Ivanovic looked solid and composed again. It will be interesting to see if he can maintain form with a run in the side. He wouldn’t be the first to look good in the first few games and then fade but at the moment I’m not too worried about him covering JT’s enforced Christmas break.
to be continued
Big Hair
Where does the FA stand on big hair. That Everton fella had very big hair and only it’s natural softness and pliability saved us on at least one occasion. What if players start growing big hair and stiffening it up with loads of lacquer so as too add at least a foot to their natural height.
LINK
You’re talking a serious advantage here. Will we see the 4th official checking boots and hands then running his fingers through the player’s hair to check for excessive lacquering? It’s time they got off their arses at Soho Square and nipped this in the bud.
And this weeks Journo Bollocks
That Times piece quoted by Habs #69 talks about the limited time Scolari has with the players compared with when he managed international teams. Hello! Correct me if I’m wrong but I thought the received wisdom was that league managers have an inbuilt advantage over their international counterparts. Still nothing like bending the logic to fit the story.
Worrying Straws in the Wind
LINK
Perhaps as its Christmas we ought to engage in a communal religious act and take a collection.
May I take this opportunity to wish all the losers, boozers and jacuzzi users who inhabit this little corner of the cyberspace the Seasons Best and don’t forget that while the Baby Jesus may have been born in a barn, you weren’t, so keep doors closed to retain heat and save the planet.
so keep doors closed to retain heat and save the planet.
@BB
That might prove to be a tad difficult with some of the hot air blown on here.
But to be profound for a minute, it's not the planet that needs saving, it's us!
Thank you all for another year of great insight, touches of genius, much humour and every possible point of view. Merry Christmas everyone!
It's getting better against West Brom, the referee situation. Step up Rob Styles...oh fantastic.
Any truth in this does anyone think,I know it is rumour but does seem more specific thanothers...
LINK
Roman made money available for AG because although totally incompetant he was his friend. Yet he wont give Scolari a world cup winner the cash to strengthen a squad that needs re-inforcements.
Dio #80
It is one big nothing mate
There will be no change for Scolari for good, or for worse, for at least next two or three years, mates. Learn it and remember it!
Oooooohhhh! All this bickering! You're worse than women!!! ;))
Happy Christmas guys & gals & good luck to us tomorrow..I'll be at work when the game is on, but am hoping to come home to a good result from the boys xx
Chelseatony...
Sorry...it should have read 'in the course of his campaign up to the yuletide'
And...'your tiresome anti-Joe Cole tirades display a high degree of football knowledge arrogance'...i think thats rather harsh!
My comments on JC reflect my personal opinion. When some of us vocally hit on Kalou and stay silent on JC, i wonder why...my opinion (based on facts/stats which i'v stated here) is that there's not much difference between them in recent times..if contrary facts or superior arguments come to the fore, i'm always man enough to apologise or eat the H pie...
Merry Xmas to all you wonderful peeps on this blog...here's to a joyous, victory-filled yuletide and 2009 for the greatest team under the sun...CHELSEA!
@LOLLI
Merry Christmas and Happy Hanukkah to everybody!!!!
Just look how much have we missed The Drog?
And the return of the real Lamps. When the midfield is biult around him and not Deco, there's no-one better.
Only downside is that when we win, Liverpool win. When they draw, we draw and when they lose, we lose. So we'll be top for a couple of hours.
I hope Scolari finally understands that unless he can replace Lampard and Drogba in this team to continue winning games, theres no way the team will function at its best without the duo. Maintain the attacking core of Lampard, J.Cole, Ballack and Drogba. Bring in the 'magic' man to complement them. Could be Kaka or whatsoever but its not gonna be Deco because in his condition and age, he is no longer the player he was.
Why is there no match report for the West Brom game?
@No.9
I'm sure there will be, but give the guys some credit it is Xmas, and I'm sure they have other things to do than type out a match report. ;-)
@ Number9 and Clive
I'm doing a report but it will be later today. Unfortunately I had a date with a bottle of Gordons Gin last night after getting back and a family Boxing Night. As Clive says it's a little anti-social to park yourself in front of the PC when you have guests.