ethicalstrategy

Interesting. If you want a laugh do the comparison with Gerrard!

I'd be happy with Chiles, but please dear god don't inflict Shearer or Dixon or Lawrenson on us.

Wouldn't disagree with most of that. Pretty sensible stuff. Just run the gutless Carlo bit of it by me again though would you?

I'd argue Casillas and Puyol and maybe Pique. Otherwise it's about right.

Yep, doesn't sound too bad. Fingers crossed.

It was pretty much inevitable this would happen. When you come back after a long lay off it is really easy to tweak something. Hopefully it won't be anything too major. Bad news for us and for Frank who was finding his feet again. Now has to be the time for Josh.

Sad to admit, I knew what I was going to find when I clicked that link!!

No. I meant surprised that so many were still unhappy with how we played yesterday. Having read the match thread I see that Essien, Malouda, Frank and Didier were all getting stick. I thought we played well against a team who packed their defense. We were patient and wrapped up the sort of routine win we've become used to over the last few years.

Rubbish. We played well today. Still lacking a bit of confidence and not much luck, but no shortage of effort or class.

A slightly surprising thread to find after today's game. I'm presuming most posters didn't have the chance to see it? Certainly some of the comments suggest that.

Let's wait and see, shall we? After all, they didn't manage to win the CL last season. You don't get points for pretty.

Good effort. Am tempted to go to the match next week. Quite a different team this year. Not many familiar names.

If we are relying on Sturridge to replace Drogba and Anelka then we are in deep sh*t.

The FIFA Ballon D'Or is an amalgam of the FIFA World Player of the Year Award - voted by managers and captains of International teams - and the France Football Ballon D'Or - voted by journalists. Apparently, if it had been awarded separately as before then Messi would have won the World Player of the Year and Sneijder would have won the Ballon D'Or. I wouldn't argue with either of those. As for the team, I'd take issue with the goalkeeper and the left back. Other than that it looks pretty reasonable.

Missed the match and Chelsea TV only had 30 mins highlights (no idea why!). From what I saw, I went for Frank. Still reckon he'll get to 20 goals for the season even after the late start.

I think Ramires too.

Realistically, last nights defeat has put paid to our chances in the PL. I know that if we beat Utd home and away that we could overhaul them but I think that is just clutching at straws. The big question is what should our approach be from here on? Do we buy in the transfer window to try and get back in to the title race? Do we strengthen with a view to the CL? Do we look to the future and give some of our younger players more game time? I'd like to see us take option three. The old guard haven't done it for us. We have no chance of winning the CL on this form. If we really believe that the youngsters are good enough then it's time to prove it. Kakuta, Sturridge and McEachran have to get a run in the side at the expense of Mikel, Kalou and Anelka. I don't know if they are good enough but it's the only way to find out. We can't just keep turn in out the same players in the same formation. It simply isn't working. Time for Ancelloti to get a grip and earn his corn.

I was listening to the Sunday Supplement podcast from last Sunday's show and Patrick Barclay had some very nice things to say about Josh. Normally, I classify Barclay as a prize w**ker but in this case I particularly enjoyed what he had to say. You can listen to the podcast here The relevant section is from 1:07:30 to 1:08:15 For those who can't be arsed to listen, I have transcribed what he said in response to being asked about his high points from 2010:

It's 3 points not two. But considering we were well ahead just 7 games ago it seems a bit premature to write off our chances. Of course, we will have to play better otherwise we won't be anywhere near. The return of Frank should be a big boost.

I wouldn't have thought that typing with one hand would have affected your spelling quite so badly Val.

I must admit I can't understand why the match was called off so early. I'm sure the pitch wouldn't have been a problem. Whilst it might well have been difficult to get to the ground and possibly dodgy underfoot, that didn't stop a host of Championship games going ahead, or most of the rugby matches. I'm not suggesting for a minute that there was anything untoward going on, but it did seem a little precipitous to call it off yesterday.

Playing centre back for Werder ought to set off alarm bells. They have been a defensive shambles for years. Can't say I've heard many good things about Mertasacker other than he is better than Metzelder, which isn't saying much. He would probably it right in at Arsenal.

It may be nit picking, but I'm basing it on what I actually see on the pitch not the TV analysis. Both the left and right sided midfielders get up and down the pitch and have a defensive responsibility. Lampard gets in to the box more but there is a clear distinction with him playing on the left and Essien on the right. I don't see a huge difference in their responsibilities. Essien may have a touch more defensive duty but only marginally. The real difference is in their natural tendencies and strengths. Essien will run with the ball more. Frank is a more creative passer and has a natural timing for getting in the box. He also links very well with Cole and Malouda down the left flank. One thing is for sure, Frank does not play centrally at the tip of a midfield triangle.

We have played 4-1-2-2-1 and 4-3-3 and 4-diamond-4 and very occasionally 4-2-3-1. But our normal formation is 4-3-3. In that formation we play with one holding midfielder, usually Mikel, Frank plays on the left and Essien/Ballack/another on the right. I have never seen us play 4-2-3-1 with Essien and Mikel holding. I do recall it a couple of times with Mikel and Ballack. I'm not against it but to say that is how we usually play is just plain wrong.

Yep. Someone who works for me is a Darlington fan and he just told me the same thing off the Darlington forums. Expecting a big press backlash along the lines of "Terry responsible for death" I can hear the tabloid typewriters warming up as we speak. Edit: Darlington is relevant because Paul Terry plays for them (well, he would if wasn't injured for the season). Just in case anyone didn't know that. (which was me until about 30 mins ago!) Edit again: It's started. Daily Mail