ethicalstrategy

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To a large extent that's true and Utd have been more successful than us this year - albeit only marginally so. Their away form has been atrocious. No doubt we would have benefitted from more width. We have been crying out for it for the last two years. I also agree that it is unlikely that we will sell Torres, so he probably is our future. That just scares the hell out of me based on what I've seen since he arrived here.

Drogba isn't the future - that much is certain. I'm just not convinced Torres is either.

Those pesky defenders. Always trying to stop you scoring!

Although I did just notice that someone had already posted about this in the rumours thread! :P

Sorry, but that's just making excuses for him. I'm not talking about someone who we could get more out of if we tweaked the way we play. I'm talking about a guy who seems to have concrete in his boots. The ball bounces off him like he was a wall. And it's not just about scoring, he hasn't offered anything else either. I think you'll find that he has had other scoring opportunities apart from that one! You make it sound like the rest of the team are a load of muppets who can't string simple passes together.

Top marks for finding a previous post. The kind of effort I admire :D

That rather implies that Torres has been sh*t because of Drogba. If you believe that then you are kidding yourself. It is a brave man who would build their team around a player who shows no sign of being up to that job. I agree entirely about needing width but the problem of space is not going to disappear. 90+% of the matches we play follow the same pattern. Teams sit deep, play compact and look to hit us on the break. There is rarely any space for players to run in behind the defence. It is an issue with Anelka who offers a similar threat. Against teams who are attacking us and who leave some space he can be deadly. But as soon as we play a packed defence he drops deeper and deeper and becomes less and less effective. I suspect Torres will find the same problem.

To be honest, there's already a thread for discussing all of this. What changes would you like for next year

Luckily I'm won't have to deal with it in reality! But, based on what I have seen over the last 3 months the guy is pants. It would be a huge leap of faith to build a team around him. He was bought out of desperation and it was an ill conceived decision which has hurt the team badly. I may ultimately be proved wrong, but as the thread asked what I would do, that's what I've said.

First thing is for Roman to decide what he wants. Does he want to try and buy a team full of stars or does he genuinely want to try and bring through some of the younger players? The trouble is that he doesn't seem to know himself. I'd be happy to see us take this path: Keepers: Cech, New signing (keeper with some experience) Promoted from youth/reserves (young keeper) Right Backs: New signing (Attacking full back as first choice) Ivanovic as cover Left Backs: Cole, Bertrand, Van Arnholt Centre Backs: JT, Alex, Luiz, Ivanovic, Bruma Midfield: McEachran, Lampard, Ramires, Essien, Mikel, New signing (creative ball playing midfielder) Wingers: New signing, New signing, Malouda, Kakuta Strikers: Drogba, Sturridge, Borini, Kalou That's a 26 man squad but some are still under 21 so don't count!. The key players would be the new signings. We need a Schneider/Modric type of creative player and we have to get proper width in to our play, not just from our full backs. Strikers are tricky. There is no way I'd build a side around Torres on what I've seen of him. Sorry if you bought the shirt! Sturridge and, to a lesser extent, Borini have shown that they have the potential to do well. I'd be prepared to give them a go. I'd get rid of Hilario, Turnbull, Ferreira, Bosingwa, Zirkhov, Benayoun, Anelka, Torres and the manager!

Good to see Yossi finally getting a chance to show how devastating his partnership with Torres is!!!! Torres was complete and utter garbage. In three months I've seen nothing from him to suggest he was worth £50 nevermind £50m. Drogba was head and shoulders above the rest in his short time on the pitch. He looked disgusted at the defence when we conceded - with every justification.

The problem with preparing for next season is that we don't know if Carlo will be here and we don't which players will be here. I'd be looking to try Luiz in a midfield role - let's see if he can be the holding midfielder with vision. Very happy to let Bertrand play instead of Ashley. Also makes sense to try Torres in place of Didier. Would like to see Josh play. Slightly worried that when I've watched him in the reserves and youth team he seems a little off the pace. After getting in to the first team squad and starting in the CL, the youth team must feel like a big backwards step. Cech Ivanovic Alex JT Bertrand Luiz Lampard Ramires McEachran Torres Benayoun

So what did you actually say?

It wasn't the fact he made an error, it was the way he looked to say it wasn't him who was at fault. He is young, but not that young. I approve of Ancelotti having the balls to take him off for arguing with him. He will be a great asset for us in the coming years but he didn't handle himself well under the pressure on Sunday.

He is a bit part player at Madrid. He only played because Khadira was suspended. He never was and never will be good enough at the top level.

Mikel has to start. I'd go for Essien over Ramires for experience and strength.

Come on Liam, be honest. It wasn't as good as sitting with me was it?!! I knew you'd agree about Mikel playing well. Not a coincidence that our upturn in fortunes has been since he came back in to the side. Glad you had a good time, although you could have made more of an effort with those trousers!

Given he went out of his way to run in to her and didn't offer anything by way of apology I'd say it was pretty certain that it was deliberate. Cheap shot.

You really think Modric ran midfield? We dominated virtually the whole match. Spurs created almost nothing. Mikel was excellent. Strong on the ball, composed, passed it well and got forward a few times too. My motm.

Rather than having a new thread for every half baked snippet from every dubious source I will be collating then together, at least until there is some semblance of truth behind them.

He'd be a big upgrade on Benayoun.

I think there is a distinct correlation between Torres and Anelka coming on and our play deteriorating. With Malouda and Kalou we had width which allowed the fullbacks to link up, gave the midfield somewhere to pass and allowed Frank to get in to the box. As soon as Anelka came on he dropped deep and slowed the game and crowded the midfield. Drogba was pushed wide and couldn't influence the game as he did playing through the middle. Until the league is gone we can't afford to pander to Torres. We can sort all that out in the summer. For now we have to play 4-3-3 with Drogba up and Malouda and Kalou wide.

Apparently it is actually Getafe, not Zaragoza.

You should know that it's part of the deal being a Chelsea fan that the team gets our hopes up and then cruelly dashes them. After Utd dropping points last night you can be sure that we will cock it up against Birmingham or WHU!! Nevertheless, get your sorry arse down to the Bridge tonight.