Blue Sun Tzu

Excelent and erudite post. Couldn't agree more. The issue to me is not so much as whether JT is truly innoncent or not (that depends on how you want to define inncoent) but the lack on consistency shown by the FA. This is brought in to sharp focus by your very valid point highlighting the amazing double standards shown by awarding Giggs the captaincy of GB team at the high profile media driven spin nightmare that was the Olympics. This despite not allegations but revelations of his affair with his brother's wife. JT was stripped of his captaincy twice because of allegations none of which so far have been proven. The current trial is nothing more than a kangaroo court; JT is right to have been advised to treat it as such.

Mike is one of the most frustrating players. He has it all in his locker, his qualities cannot be denied, but too often we witness him strolling through a game ; sloppy in possesion, careless in tracking back and tactically indisciplined. Just when it gets to the point that I never want to see him in Chelsea shirt again he goes and gives a great performance. He was immense in Munich and in the Nou Camp showning us all how good he can be unfortunately this all too rare - 1 in 10 games I'd suggest. At the top level of any sport, it is the pyschological aspect that provides the difference between winning and losing (this is something that Mourinho understands so welll hence his first speech to the players when he joined us all those years ago. With Mikel (and Luiz for that matter) the problem seems to be in his head and that is something the coaching staff need to address. They need to find a way to ensure that he always switched on - in the zone as our cousins from across the pond like to say - for the full 90 minutes. Perhaps he feels under-valued. Perhaps he is still smarting from the change in his game enforced upon him; he arrived at Stamford Bridge with the reputation as an exciting dynamic attacking midifelder but has never been used in that position so has had to adapt his natural game in order to have a place in the team. In may ways he is like a modern day Ray Wilkins who also began his career as a dynamic creative forward thinking player only to end as the crab. Getting the best out of Mikel is one of the key tasks for RDM, the success of which will be the difference between us failing or succeedng in the coming season.

I have just starting posting on here again after a long sabbatical. Please don't stop posting now Davey. Your posts were amongst the ones I was most looking forward to reading!

What an extraordinary statement. How does reading a newspaper - or at least being privy to what is written in the press (with the omnipresence of electonic media one can hardly ignore it) - lead to one having no right to complain? That is a challenge to all that any one who wishes to live in society in which freedom of thought and protest is an unalienable right.

I wonder what would be revealed should the journalists (and I use that term somewhat loosely) that have gleefully covered JT's trials and tribulations were subject to the same scrutiny of their private life. What is very sad about the whole affair is that JT - on the pitch - has proved himself to have performed at a consistently superhuman level, ( see his performance in an otherwise frankly embarrassing effort by the England team at the Euros) and yet thanks to the scum to which I refer, he will only be remembered as an alleged racist and alleged philanderer.

Mike, I have to disagree with you here. The difference between success and failure at the top end of any sport is paper thin. Man management is perhaps the most important skill of all when is comes to management (whether at a top football club or a small provincial coffee shop). As a manager your job is to manage which in my book means having the ability to get the best out of the staff that you hav at your disposal and this does involve an arm round the shoulder where necessary. There is no doubt in my mind that AVB did not handle our players at all well. The rumours flying out the bridge at the time were telling to say the least and as the saying goes there ain't no smoke without fire (the petty and frankly ridiculous handling of Alex and Anelka is a case in point). For Frank to speak out as his did really does show that things were not at all well . It is clear to me that unlike Jose, AVB's lack of playing experinece proved to be his achillies heel. His decision to drop Lamps and Ashley against Napoli was just stupid; as if he was proving a point, letting eveyone know who was boss, at the expense of the club. For AVB the Chelsea job came too soon. Perhaps he has learnt from his mistakes. Certainly he won't have the problem of player waiving their winners medal at him every time he suggests something that goes against their grain. Meanwhile, I feel far happier under the stewardship of Robbie. He is a man who is able to keep his cool under the most trying of circumstances (compare and constrast his cool demeanour in Nou Camp with that of Pep Guardiola who looked like he was gonna have an embolism) and seems to have a zen-like influence amongst his flock. He has shown an ability to get the best out of his players and whe you have the talent at his disposal, that is what matters above all.

Surely we have out very own young potential superstars in this position in Josh and Piazon?

The level of hyprocrisy that this whole case has revealed is beyond belief. I have so many comments to make that it would be dull and boring to write them all here. However here's one for us all to ponder: John Terry is castigated for - amongst other things - his "alleged: affair with Vanessa Perroncel (let us not forget that the paper in question has to issue a detractment as ther was absolutely no proof of this affair). As a result he is demoted as captain of England. Ryan Giggs is revealed beyond all doubt of conducting an eight year affair with his brother's wife and what are the ramifications of this? None whatsoever. On the contrary he wins Greatest Player of the Premier League era and is made captain of the GB football team at the olympics. You couldn't make it up.

Finding this thread fascinating. Not wishing to sidestep the very real worrying politics surrounding the issue, that debate should not detract from the salient point. Stamford bridge is a sh*t-hole. Always has been something of an embarrassment to me; whether that be the dust bowl stadium of the early 70s when I first started going to the bridge, the chorus of “sh*tty ground sh*tty grounds sh*tty ground” ringing out from away support something which hurt us in the Shed because we knew it was true as we struggled to focus on thing going on on a pitch some 30 yards away. Or worse it’s current incarnation, something that looks as though a Harvester restaurant and a Premier Inn crash landed into the side of a JJB superstore. Hardly fitting for a club that considers itself amongst Europe’s elite. Of course there is always going to be a certain amount of sentimentality surrounding a move (just as there is when anyone moves home), however the Bridge is simply not fit for purpose any more. We are 28th in the league of average attendances below small, insignificant clubs that never play in the Champions League like Hannover 96, Napoli and Liverpool. It is as a given that we should not move away from the area that we represent (there’s nothing glamorous about NW10). So with all this in mind how about the following: A state-of-the-art 60,000 stadium that embraces aesthetics as well the utilitarian; an architectural masterpiece on the banks of the River Thames with the Chelsea crest shining up into the night sky like Batman’s signal light. Incidentally have you seen what they are building in Valencia, the Nou Mestalla…. I'd have some of that.... and all for a mere €300m.

Because I grew up less than a mile from Highbury and I have always been something on a contrary motherf**ker!

All in all -- after a night of reflection -- I am happy with our transfers this summer. What is absolutely clear is that the signing are those of our manager and not the owner. He has simply targeting the areas in which he felt that we need strengthening (wing, midfield and youth) and has for all intents and purposes has succeeded. Okay, we didn't get Modric in the end and -- although I think he is a great player -- I am not too upset by this. You win some (Drogba) and you lose some (Torres). Certainly has we paid the quoted £40m AVB would hvae to have played him in every game perhaps to the detriment of the side (and perhaps the development of Josh). Instead we have got Meireles, at 28 at his peak, with over 50 caps for Portugal, valuable experience in the premiership, the PFA fans players of the year last year; a great signing that provides cover. Imagine that we hadn't signed him and either Lamps or Ramires got injured for 10 games? We would be asking a lot of Josh to fill their boots. Instead we can now slowly bring him on into the team on the manager's terms. I think the transfers also reflect very well on AVB. He has had a good look at the squad and made his decisions. He clearly doesn't rate Benayoun (personally I think the number of posts claiming that he was to be our missing creative link are somewhat baffling) and I agree. A decent player but not good enough for us. Would he play for Man Utd? Or Man City? No. The fact that he has gone on loan to Arsenal proves that AVB doesn't rate him as he let him go to one of our rivals, it also shows that Arsenal have panic bought (this does bring a smile to my face). I think we should be very happy with the players that have come in. Mata looks like a great signing, Meireles great cover in midfield and an influx of youth with a lot of promise for the future. Oh and N17 lad... don't bother trying to wind things up here. You should be concentrating on your own side.

Star! Goodness! You must have been munching the happy pills. Haven't heard you so positive for ages!

I think that Alex's head may already be with Juve... certainly judging by the difference in his performances against stoke and WBA

Whereas I think you'll find the majority of the people posting on this forum are increasingly worried about the form of Lampard and feel that he no longer an automatic first choice I think those who feel the same about JT are very thin on the ground. And with good reason. His work rate and commitment is second to none. And his performances never drop below good. He was magnificent for most of last year and is our captain. Without his presence on the pitch we are a lesser team. Also I cannot see how he is hindering the progress of promising youngsters.

Last night, at kick off, Ashley Young was United's second oldest player on the pitch; had he been playing for Chelsea he would have been the second youngest.