ethicalstrategy

Take a look on the BBC website - the argentina team is indistinguishable from the male team - all with long hair and plug ugly

Joe, along with the rest of th team, did nothing for the first 25 mins. Then suddenly he came to life, got on the ball, turned and ran at the Blackburn defence and really looked dangerous without actually creating that much (Essien's shot I think is all). In the second half he faded away a bit but was certainly one of our best players overall. Belletti I must say impressed me a lot. He was much better defensively than I expected. On paper Blackburn could and should have been more of a threat than they actually were. Pederson can be pretty tricky as can Bentley. MacCarthy and Cruz are not the worst front two in the Prem by a long way. But we really snuffed them out completely. Easily our best defensive display of the season. I voted Belletti btw.

Sadly, we have had to wait for him to be injured to demonstrate how much we rely on him. I know it's been fashionable for a surprisingly large number of Chelsea fans to question his contribution but you only need to watch the last two matches to understand that we are not the same team without him. Let's take corners and set pieces - apparently Frank is shocking at them. Well if he is, he is still a lot less shocking than SWP/Joe Cole and the others who had a go on saturday. Essien/Sidwell/Mikel - none of these provide anything like the goal threat that Frank does. Essien had a good shot saved but that was from long range. Until the last few minutes nobody from midfield arrived late in the box to pick up any bits and pieces. I think people underestimate exactly how difficult an art it is to get that timing right and be able to execute when you get there. Mikel provides excellent control in midfield and his short passing and awareness is brilliant. Essien possesses drive but didn't bring a a lot to the ball distribution party. In fact I have been disappointed in him a bit in the last two matches. I expected him to pick up the slack and take his chance to really control things and I really don't think he did. We also missed Frank's longer range passing, especially the diagonal balls out to SWP/Joe. The sooner he is back the better otherwise it's going to be a long season.

Finally, someone talking a bit of sense. We were lacking in a goal threat - although on another day we might have scored 3 or 4 - but then again we were missing two players who between them have scored 125 goals over the last 3 seasons. I would suggest any team without that would find it more difficult to score.

Nah! stick Stevie Me on the bench and let Frank show him how to hit a cow's arse with a banjo Barry definitely did well tonight and against Israel but I didn't see him do anything that Frank doesn't do week in, week out. It was a great result tonight and overall we did play well but if you look at both Owen's goals neither came from any creative play from England. Both were loose balls that fell kindly and which were dispatched with a huge amount of class by Owen even though he had an unfeasible amount of time and space on each occasion. I seem to remember that we have been playing without him at international level for just about 2 years. I just hope he stays fit because it won't matter who plays in midfield for us if he is missing.

I understand where you are coming from, but I actually think that McClaren will still pick him - don't forget that he has shoved Gerrard out to the right to accomadate Frank in the past. I am certain he would have played tonight had he been fit.

I think it's pretty uncontentious to say (maybe Beckham apart) that McClaren's first team - if everyone is fit - would be: Robinson Richards - Terry - Ferdinand - Cole A. SWP - Lampard - Gerrard - Cole J. Rooney - Owen Which would leave the England international representation from the top four clubs as: Chelsea - 5 Man U - 2 Liverpool - 1 Arsenal - a big fat 0 and we had 4 players in the Under 19's team - would have been 5 if Sinclair had been fit.

I know Joe hasn't played much recently, but I hadn't realised that he had retired! and I think Messi still turns out for Barca most weekends (not that I'm suggesting you are contadicting yourself )

I go to all the home games and i don't recognise this team of whom you speak. To me they resemble a lot of other teams - sometimes they are great, sometimes they stink (although not often at home) and sometimes they are somewhere in between. I've experienced some fantastic matches in the Mourinho era. I certainly don't come away bored stiff very often - if ever! Do you think the Villa game was boring? or are you just unhappy that we lost? I can tell you that I've seen us play worse and win.

he's a chelsea legend- like I said. and what sofa manager said. would you debate that? Yeah - I think I would actually. For me there is a difference between a very good player and a "legend". Lamps has had some great seasons for us and one exceptional season but at times, as a player, he can be pretty ordinairy. and the original statement of "Frank Lampard is a living legend. Joe Cole is a wanabee legend". is wide of the mark. I find it so hard to understand how people can be so ambivalent about Lampard. For me he would be way near to top of Chelsea greats from any era. The guy is phenomenal - year in year out. He brings so much to the team - goals, assists, defensive work and just a presence that makes us better with him playing than without. He plays with determination and passion, he plays when he's injured - he holds the record for the longest run of games - incredible considering how easy it is to pick up a suspension - and he is a team player not a primadonna. What else do you want from him? The moon on a stick? and mentioning Joe Cole in the same breath is a joke! (that doesn't mean I don't like joe or that I don't think he is a talented player or that he can't become a great - just that he hasn't achieved half of what Frank has)

Very random thoughts, I'd say. If you haven't been able find anything good from the last three years then you really have missed out. Direst football imaginable? Mourinho tactically clueless in the top 3rd? No entertainment? You and I must be on a different planet.

Lampard has been the pivotal player for us for the last 3 years. Joe had a good season in 05/06 but putting him on a par with Frank is fantasy in my view. Even if you just take 05/06 as a comparison - Joe's best season - he scored 8 goals to Frank's 16 and had 5 assists to Frank's 8 just in the PL. And Frank does it week in week out, year in year out. Not true IMO. Drogba was the pivotal player last season. An argument for Essien would be acceptable, but not Frank. yep. i'll give u that. but we wouldnt have won two cups and finished 2nd in the league without frank either.

Lampard has been the pivotal player for us for the last 3 years. Joe had a good season in 05/06 but putting him on a par with Frank is fantasy in my view. Even if you just take 05/06 as a comparison - Joe's best season - he scored 8 goals to Frank's 16 and had 5 assists to Frank's 8 just in the PL. And Frank does it week in week out, year in year out.

Come on now Bluebeard - you know that it will take at least 5 more serious injuries plus a couple of deaths before Joey gets a starting role!

Chance for Ballack!

Thats fair comment brit but you have to admit for joe's point of view it does seem to be one rule for some and quite another for him. Example, imagine lamps last season if he had got injured for say a month and then all of a sudden essien ballak partnership burst on to the sceane and really started doing the buisness, do you honestly think that when lamps was fit again you woudlnt see essein back at right back to accomadate him and lamps re-instated The thing is that you can't mention Joe's contribution to the team in the same breath as Frank's. Frank has been the outstanding midfield player of the last 3 years and has materially contributed to 2 premier league titles as well as the cup competitions. He has made himself indispensible. Joe has been a part of that too but really only on the fringes. Joe is a good player who can do some very special things but whose influence on games comes and goes and who could not be described as irreplaceable. What's fancy and catches the eye is great to watch but it's not what makes a great team or wins things consistently.

Surely the point is that Joe may have started the season determined, but he didn't actually play that well, hence he fell behind SWP & Malouda in the pecking order. If he has a genuine beef it is maybe that he should have got a game instead of Kalou. But it will be a long season and just because you don't start in the first 4 league matches doesn't mean that you won't be playing regularly come Xmas. Out of interest what particular game's are you reffering to when you say he hasnt played that well!?? Because ive only seen him get on in two and he had bugger all time in those and still managed to do as much as both wingers in the short time he had which in those particualr games was not a lot I meant in the preseason matches (and presumably in the training too). I'd be pretty sure that he would have started the preseason ahead of SWP in the pecking order but clearly Jose's asessment is that SWP did enough to reverse that by the time the season started. I don't have a problem with it because that's the way it should be and, as I said before, Joe will get his chance soon enough.

Surely the point is that Joe may have started the season determined, but he didn't actually play that well, hence he fell behind SWP & Malouda in the pecking order. If he has a genuine beef it is maybe that he should have got a game instead of Kalou. But it will be a long season and just because you don't start in the first 4 league matches doesn't mean that you won't be playing regularly come Xmas.

Joe is not a midfield player in my opinion. He is certainly not an alternative to Ballack, Lampard, Essien etc. He is an attacker who can play wide or in behind a main striker. At the moment both Malouda and SWP have earned their right to play based on pre season and then the early matchesof the campaign. I would like to see Joe given the opportunity to play off Drogba in our current 4-4-2 formation. I can't see Drogba and Pizarro working as a combination as they are too similar. They spent most of Saturday's game getting in each others way.

Nice post Gem. I still think we will miss him this year even though it wasn't the Club's choice to let him go. Good luck to him in Madrid.

Whilst Gullit's post did put me to sleep I must concede that it is much more "right" than Brian's post. I'm always staggered when people suggest that there is a lack of effort from the team - I can't say that I have seen that since Jose has been manager.

The main benefit of being 31 is experience. Buying some young up and coming player would not have given us that. All transfers have their pros and cons. In Bellettis case he has won the CL and Primera Liga with Barca and played with some of the games top players. He fits the same profile of player that we were already looking at in terms of playing style. He was also picked up for what amounts to next to nothing in today's climate. If he does well we win, if he is a flop we are really no worse off than we were before we bought him. We clearly had given up on getting Alves anyway.

We have to assume that the signing of Alves wasn't designed to strengthen us defensively in that position. Everything I have seen or read about him revolves around how good he is going forward. Belletti may be older but essentially he is the same type of player. Not great defensively but very attack minded and very quick. May not be as good as Alves but he was a hell of a lot cheaper. At 5.5m Euros you might say just loose change. So we now have Paulo if we want to play a tight game, Belletti if we want to be expansive and Glen Johnson if we just want to take pot luck! I think any signing of a right back is likely to result in both GJ and Diarra leaving.

Watch that a bit closer - Shorey was about to clear it, but Robinson hooked his leg round and it was he who put the ball out wide to the German player. My apologies to Mr Shorey - you are absolutely right! Just makes Robinson's mistake even worse. Why the hell didn't he pick it up? I thought it was because Shorey paniced and hacked it clear. What a muppet!

you didn't see the Utd game on sunday or the international last night? I did see the City-Utd integrally. He was excelent - as Center back. The international no. I will repeat. Micah is a fine fine player, but what has he got that is SOOOO diferent or better then what we already have ? And even if he did...would it be worth a mere ? 1000000 M ? Well he looks better at right back than what we have. I know he isn't the finished article but I can guarantee that he will be a better player than GJ - in fact he already is. He offers a lot more going forward than Paulo. Defensively he may be a little naive but he has the athleticism to get himself out of trouble. He can also cover in central defence and in the longer term move there to partner JT. Physically he is a fine specimen and he has pace to burn. I think he would be a good buy. Pretty good description there. To sum it up. He's an V 2.0 of Glen. Can play as RB or even as CB. But thats my point exactly. I though (?) we were going after someone that could give us something diferent. An attacking skilled full-back a la Cafu (for instance). Besides he'll have an astronomic price tag. No no. What he gives us is a right back who can defend - not the same as GJ. He also gives us height and strength, something we don't have in that position and which Jose really likes. He can also go forward effectively. I don't really see the value of someone who can only go forward but can't defend.