ethicalstrategy

Not many, but the best will. It changes the whole dynamic of a game if the opposition are concerned that the centre half can bring the ball out of defence.

I agree that he is quicker than JT - but then who isn't? Not sure about Iva, but that's not really the point. He doesn't have the pace or mobility of Carvalho or Gallas. A large part of our success defensively was down to having centre half who complimented each other rather than duplicated. Terry and Cahill and Ivanovic will never make a good centre half pairing which ever way you spin it. You haven't seen forwards getting in behind him? I saw it on Sunday and there are lots of other occasions too. I'm not saying he can't control a football. I'm saying that the opposition are quite happy to let him have the ball because they know he can't hurt them. And, just to be absolutely clear, I'm not saying he's rubbish. I am saying that he wouldn't be my first choice centre back. He's excellent cover for JT. But I think both he and JT need a more mobile player alongside them.

There is no way he is better on the ball than Terry. If you believe that then you clearly haven't been watching Terry play for the last 13 years.

I've always felt that it is a double standard that it is acceptable for the word to used within the black community but not outside. If the word is deemed to be offensive, and it clearly is deemed so, then it should be unacceptable across the board. For someone in such a prominent position in the campaign against racism to use the word is a monumental error of judgement.

M'Boro have had a shocking run of form and have dropped from 2nd to 7th in the Championship. I presume that Josh won't be allowed to play which should also help us. A Wednesday night pop north is never easy and our record against M'boro isn't that great recently, but we should be good enough to win. Of course, these days, you just never know.

JT plays left centre back and that is Luiz's preferred side as well.

I have two problems with Cahill, actually, three problems. One is he lacks pace. This is a problem because so do JT and Ivan. It might seem unfair to pick on him for something which is a failing in others too, but we can't have two slow centre backs and play the way we are trying to. Given that JT should still be first choice when fit that means Cahill can't play alongside him. Secondly, he is poor on the ball. Teams are very happy to let him have the ball because he does nothing with it. We need at least one centre back who can be relied upon to bring the ball out if teams are pressing our deeper lying midfielders. (This criticism also applies to Ivanovic) Thirdly, he is prone to getting caught out of position. He made some great challenges yesterday, but almost all of them were needed because he was caught out in the first place. I tend to agree with G3.7 He is a good player but he isn't top quality like Carvalho and Gallas were.

Completely outplayed by a fairly average City team. Got nothing. Deserved nothing. A struggle for 3/4th now.

Don't agree with that at all. Not everyone was sh*te. We played some decent football but suffered from poor finishing and a defensive lapse. Hazard didn't change the game when he came on. If anything we looked less likely to score and were lucky not to concede at least one goal at the end. But, of course, scoring a fantastic goal obscures all of that.

I was pissed off with them too Val. I had tee'd up a corporate jolly to the away leg courtesy of Aegon. Apparently, they don't have offices in Bucharest

How the f**k can Hazard be MoTM? I despair sometimes. I'm not saying he didn't score a great goal - he clearly did. I'm not even saying that he didn't play well when he came on. But maybe my understanding of what constitutes MoTM is warped. I suppose it is possible that doing one specific thing could earn that award, but I think it has to be more than that except in very exceptional circumstances. If Torres had scored the winner, or Ramires or anyone else for that matter, would that automatically make them MoTM? Based on overall play for the time they were on the field I'd say Oscar was our best player. The decision to replace him rather than Moses or perhaps one of the defensive midfielders was strange to say the least.

Cahill worries me. He did well to get back initially but then went to ground way too easily. I think he is just short of top class. I'd have Luiz next to JT everyday of the week. A much better pairing.

I think there's a lot of truth in that, but I suspect that we will always be a bit vulnerable defensively because none of the three really provides the sort of cover that we need for the fullbacks. We also need to have plenty of pace in our centre halves and with JT and Cahill that isn't there. Personally, I think JT and Luiz is a much better combination - more like JT and Carvalho. I think Oscar is well suited to a deeper role alongside a ball winner/more defensively minded player. With a decent striker, we ought to score more goals, but I've watched a couple of games now where Ba has really struggled to make an impact too. No doubt that if Torres had managed to convert a couple of the chances he had in the first half then it would have been a very routine win.

We do http://www.theshedend.com/topic/23011-chelsea-v-sparta-prague-el-210213-ko-2005-gmt/

Was very impressed by Bayern last night. Brought to mind Mourinho's team at it's best. Strong, flexible, controlled and commanding.

I like the idea of Oscar playing deeper. But I would drop Luiz back in to central defence to accommodate him.

Eh? Decidedly dodgy if you ask me.

If you think that referee was anything like as bad as Ovrebo then you need to go back and watch the Barca game again. Granted he ought to have been stronger on the wrestling going on in the Juve box, but there was nothing especially controversial about the game. Celtic did really well but didn't have a goalscorer. Juve defended well and took their chances. I think they will be a tough team to beat.

You can tell how people's interest is starting to wane. It's taken 2 days before anyone noticed that the match is actually at 3 o'clock on Saturday and not 1.30 on Sunday, as stated in the original thread title!!! I'm away for the weekend and my young nephew is attending his 2nd Chelsea match in my place. His first match was against Wigan in 2011 when he saw us win 8 - 0 and pick up the Premier League trophy. My prediction for this weekend? 2-2 draw of course!

No. He is the only person to score that many goals year on year. That's why he is the first person to do it. You are, however, right to say that achieving that from midfield is quite astounding.

I'm glad you can afford to be so discerning Bluebeard. I would.

I immediately thought of the Barca game, but also the ghost goal at Anfield too. I suspect it was a more low key game though. Probably a dead rubber in a group match.

I think I have an inkling of who it might be. His first name begins with an R

If we cant win this game then we really are in the sh*t. I expect us to play a reasonably strong team. Personally, I think we should give 4-3-3 a try. I'm sure that's a better option against teams that sit deep. Turnbull Ferriera, Terry, Cahill, Bertrand Oscar Ramires, Lampard Marin, Torres, Benayoun It was only whilst thinking about that team that I realised how short we are with injuries to Romeu and Luiz and Moses and Mikel away in SA. If we want to rest Mata then we either need to play Benayoun or Malouda.

Folks. If you want to discuss what happened, if you want to be critical of the ball boy or of Hazard, that's fine. But if all you want to do is spout abuse, advocate kicking him in the head or wishing some unpleasant demise for him, his girlfriend or other members of his family then really, don't waste your time or mine as it will get deleted and you will get banned. One of the more depressing threads I've seen on here