bar24rat

Whether it's Podolski or uncle tom cobley the basic concern is that our recent history of success from dabbling in the transfer market must be in the less than 10% category. When was the last big success? Admittedly a substantial profit was made on the arriving and departing deals with Arjen Robben but how Chelsea could do with his contribution now! Obviously he being injury-prone was a concern-as he is at Real- but our recent efforts at making chances have cried out for wing play. Recent arrivals(in no particular order) Ballack Deco Ivan the terrible Malouda Bosinga Alex Anelka Of these Alex wants to leave, Anelka (despite his goals) is not everybody's choice, Deco is showing why Barca were happy to let him go, Bos can't defend under pressure, Malouda???, Ballack inconsistent, Ivan-the jury is out. Last minute headed goals in last 2 games (plus a late headed equaliser for Bordeaux) suggest that only JT knows what he's doing when the ball is in the air and he's hardly been invincible lately. Whoever comes or goes we have to get it right this time. All is never lost! Second in the table, replay followed, we hope ,by Ipswich at home and a tough trip to O T at weekend. Always optimistic but.....

Wayne has given 5 loyal years, cost £7million and therefore deserves full-time games at the top level. Whenever Cole has been injured Bridge has covered well both for Chelsea and for England. At 28 to receive £12 or £13 million is good business. That apart, that depessingly still absent quality, namely loyalty, can be rewarded appropriately when circumstances permit. There cannot be any doubting Bridge's loyalty. After his terrible injury v Newcastle followed by his loan period at Fulham, he returned to give good servce. In today's game he has earned a similar recognition as Steve Clarke although admittedly he didn't make the 20 year club. A left sided wide man is the need! Good luck Wayne, those city slickers can learn from you. You could try to persuade Robinho to come south!!!!!!

Charlie Cooke on one wing Pat Nevin on the other. They can play on their own and read and write poetry at the same time.

Teories will exist a-plenty; but why can't Arsenal defend the ball into the box. Two Delap howitzers into the area was their undoing. Somebody is concentrating too much on pretty football. Defend first, attack next from the Clough school of success. Not so long ago Chelsea was having similar problems with defending. We went from letting in nothing to shipping goals from set pieces in particular. With the man mountains we now have, particularly when Alex and Drogba are playing, and including that mini man Mikel we now have a big advantage in the bx. Unfortunately it did us little good in the CC final. Were we lucky that Delap was unavailable on our trip to Stoke! We didn't win with ease.

Hat-trick hero or not, Look at his record this season in the situations where missed opportunities that should have been converted for their factor of importance as against scoring those at not so important moments. Think back to the 1-1 draw with spurs at the end of august. Blues were 1 up, good through ball from Deco, Anelka took it well in his stride and then ......volleyed it neartly over the bar from 6 yards under only the minimum defensive pressure. Loz and I groaned together! There is a lot of similarly between him and Kalou- both take a mixture of easy and difficult chances but more often than not miss those that could have really made that crucial difference. None of the hat-trick goals were converted in a competitive circumstance. A "pass" or "roll" into the net similar to the 4th v Bordeaux. Another of no real value. Even his 3rd on saturday, from negligible distance, could have stopped by the goalkeeper. However he is a different style from Drogba who will surely play when fully fit. There is arguably more movement with Anelka up front; Drogba will produce more thrust on goal but will the longer ball game come back? As Lawrenson said "would the other "big 3" take Drogba?"-answer Yes; would they take Anelka? -probably Not. Can you argue against somebody who scored 6 pre-season and now 8 to be top of the "charts" AND who actually smiled on saturday? Answer for some Yes for others No. Wait until he misses the next crucial chance and the keyboards will begin to clatter again!

On top of all that they have to cope with a massive injury list of, wait for it,TWO. Dream boyand Babel are out. Dream Boy for 3 whole matches. Shame! Poor Benitez

Lamps was playing such a clearly defined support role in the second half that he had to be after a specific instuction from Capello. We saw none of the customary surges near the box, as a result it appeared that Lamps was having a poor game. One for the "boo boys club" to celebrate no doubt. If you look at the payer ratings on the BBC sports website, this is clearly shown by Lamps average of 6 against Gerrard's 7.5. One goal. a 2 yard miss using the wrong foot and one pass cover all the other blanks in Gerrard's overated overall contribution. Bridge did reasonably well but the difference between his contribution and that of the absent Cole A in other games was shown when Rooney was waiting for Bridge to move forward into a clear space on the left. Rooney even seemed to tell Bridge to move up into the gap. Confidence and lack of top games was clear to see. What team will be left v Boro-potential or definite absentees list is long: Cech,Bosinga,Terry,Cole.Cole,Deco,Cavalho,Drogba,Essien

Big Phil should try to make more use of Mikel . He is the future alongside Essien. With the new full back-Bosingwa has impressed in euro 2008- and cover from Ferriera there is no need to consider Essien as a full back. Makalele, on the evidence of the end of last season and euro 2008, is past his time so it depends on whether or not Lampard stays. Do we need another 30+ year old in Deco although he would bring more skill than graft to midfield. Maybe it's time for a rethink on Joe Cole's role and convert him to a more creative position. Hopefully Cavalho will stay, 7 or 8 places are then filled. The clear out begins!

. Huntelaar has similar skills to Drogba. If B P wants to change the style, there are others out there more suited. Last season there was too much reliance for me on the long ball to DD, ball on ground to feet is more Scolari style . Villa, Torres would be better siuited but I think it may be even beyond Abram's pocket to tempt them away. Will he try to accommodate Anelka I wonder or will Anelka move to his 10th club? Deco for Lampard must be a strong possibility and maybe Scolari will make more use of Mikel. Certainly Makelele has looked past his sell-by date at Euro 2008 whilst Malouda will never reach it. There are better options than Huntelaar, but will money win the day?

If you go back to last season's results you happenedwill find exactly the same thing-draws at home and adrift of Utd at the end. We do not seem to be able to get over the psychological barrier of pushing on to consolidate a result before the fear factor creeps in. In the 2 big games recently we were apparently in control with a 1 goal lead at half time but how many of us honestly allowed the reaction of what will happen in the 2nd half to creep in! Of course we all know that Blues did not start to play again until the opposition scored. So why is this and what is the answer? It is not as if the players are suddenly reincarnated or have skill replacement therapy! They are the same group who seem to collectively go into a shell. Can we find and do we need an equivalent of Glen Hoddle's guru? 2 or 3 of the too many very late goals were conceded by defensive errors- today was another example- Utd has been involved in late goals but usually to save games (I can only recall the game at Arsenal where a late equaliser was conceded). Put these 2 statistics together , it's clear where the title was lost. Next season, more solidity in defence, power in attack, improved psychology and the title is back at the bridge.

Essien was everywhere. AG must get the right back position sorted so that the lion-man can play midfield. With him there perhaps the scousers wouldn't have had so much midfield domination after half time.

I wish I could subscribe completely to your three word conclusion .Alas, for the media and for a large majority of the blue faithful, I feel there are still ambitions AG has to fulfill . Unless last night's success is followed by ultimate victory then the doubters may well remain out in force. Nothing would give me more pleasure than Chelsea winning the CL- having been around SB in the days of the FA advising we did not enter the inaugural European Cup in 1955/56.However we are all aware that reaching the summit of a mountain is a hard task, falling back before you get there is relatively easy. Whatever the outcome , the dignified man deserves his glory. There are 18 premiership managers and chairmen who would dearly love to be where the other 2 are today.

2nd in the table with a GD of 36 but Joey Cole has been the best front man. Player of the season, a vote for Riccy from me. Mr Consistency who kept Blues going particularly through the heavy injury list period and the ACN. For the pfa contest Ronaldo and James are the only real candidates, the rest are there to give the list some credibility as a list of so called top players. How can you define a list of top players when you are struggling with the overall problem of a national side failing in Europe against the heavyweights of world football - Russia,Croatia, Israel...... Leaves the goalkeeper and the outstanding foreigner!

gun supporting repubican, not to be messed with having similar beliefs as John Wayne aka Marion Morrison. He made Maggie Thatcher appear to be a left wing lady and would have fitted in well with the army of Attila the Hun, A great supporter of Reagan as president which probably says it all. He did make a few well-remembered films and won the oscar for Ben-Hur. Enough said.

Not a big surprise and there is a very strong chance JT will not be selected to start. He has lost his dominance against most of the strikers, Jones gave him a really hard time v near table bottoming Sunderland, some punters claim he was lucky not to concede a penalty - I don't go for this idea that the ref would have given a foul outside but not inside the box-JT was mauling Jones. JW is in much better form, 2 goals v Blues in CC and the league helps his case. JT's better performance over Adebyor is too late, he's lost the scoring plot lately anyway. JT will have to get his act together

Isn't O Aluminium at Arsenal thinking of applying for citizenship.? He could be another below Robinson in the choices if we're looking for jokers. The most consistent has been Green followed by Kirkland but neither have had a decent centre back in front of them. Anton Ferdinand or Bramble? Some option. James gets the current plaudits, he is a terrific shot stopper but what do we need for 2010 qualification. Hart at Man City for the future. Carson seems to have been cast aside

win at barnsley, then it's a 2nd trip to Wembley in a short time after our expected customary win over spurs. Is that being over-optimistic?

definitely one to be wary of. Dodgy pitch in Yorkshire in early march with a load of screaming locals looking for more premiership blood. Recipe for a disaster if the team selection isn't right. Not a place to pitch in the inexperienced, the complete first selection should be chosen. Can't afford not to be in the semis on a neutral ground ( or is it Wembley)

It could be argued that the best, most effective and secure central defensive pairing in the last few years was JT and Gallas. Ignore the acrimonious departure of WG to the Arse and think only of the goals against total in the first championship season. JT with power and Gallas with speed proved to be THE best partnership. Admittedly Gallas had a nightmare against Man U but that takes nothing away from his consistent standard at Chelsea. At their best they kept Riccy out of the team; Jose even had to handle a disgruntled Riccy's disbelief at being the 3rd choice centre back. Gallas has gone! So the nearest we have is Riccy plus one. Riccy has been, without any near comparison, Chelsea's rock this season. How we missed him when suspended. Avram euligised over JT's return, suggesting a leaning towards his inclusion. Riccy can be rash in the tackle but the man really is world class ' strong with speed and style. Only competitive pairing is Ferdinand and Vidic- the class(when Ferdinand has good days ) with the brawn. Interesting that Ferdinand is also inclined to have the odd moment of madness. It must be in the genes

jimmy's left foot curler into the top corner just made the day. Moments of great delight today, apart from Jimmy Frank's 101 bionic man's return Scousers smiling faces from 5pm onwards Wingy's happiness at 7pm Eboue's sending off- been 2 months in coming Hansen's reaction when Linneker took the piss at the end of the Man U/Arse match all on a great day in scouseland

Shaun to cross the ball as he did for Crespo 2 years ago Maluda to play as if he's enjoying playing and not being bounced around JT to return asap, drive on "the chels" when needed, cut out harrassing the ref if he wants to stay England captain instead of the red headbanger

From some of Bridge's performances of late(including for England) , he has reminded me of the nursery rhyme about the little girl with a curl ( ok change the sex). The best right sided player just now is Ronaldo, Cole has always played him better. When Bridge has a off day, it's a shocker.

Keegan back in Geordie land can only be good for them and we must hope for the premier league in general. Terrific support from the fans, second to none when things are going well and still up for it when not so well. He was not the most technically astute manager; Newcastle should have won the league when 12 pts ahead. Good luck to him, a bit of colour in a dull set of managers always under pressure. It may even encourage a few more bare top halves, even pretty feminine ones, in sub zero temperatures.

Anelka scores his first goal= wonder buy Anelka falls over a le Sheva= waste of money, load of crap Which will come first from the blues faithful? For Avram sake let's hope it's the former and on saturday to boot

big 4 on the bench. Hope only Drogba is needed for a run-out