just

Poyet?

I too would rest Ballack, but for another reason. To protect him from further injury. This is QP ha's biggest game for donkey's years. Despite their position in the league our West London neighbours will be up for it big-time. I expect the blood, snot and tackles to be flying on the pitch on Saturday, and it won't be a place for the faint-hearted. I'm really looking forward to this one.

I agree- it's horrible to watch him when we have a lot of defending to do... You suprise me there G4. Because I know you are big fan of Carvalho and the way Belletti and Carvy defend are very, very similar. Both like to try and anticipate the ball and steal in front of the opponent. Both like to push up the pitch and will stray out of position in an attempt to intercept. Both are happy to carry the ball forward out of defence. There really are substantial similarities between the two. I agree Belletti needs to temper his agressive style according to the calibre of opponent he is up against, but personally, I'm more accepting of a full-back playing in this fashion than a centre-half. IMO when a centre-half makes an error through the middle it is more likely to be punished. And I'll accept it even moreso when a full-back gives us a real attacking option down the flank. And Belletti does. The importance of that asset shouldn't be under-estimated. Especially with us currently having only one genuine winger in the team and an absence of pace throughout the side. I'd have Belletti in front of Ferreria everytime. Apart from the attacking edge he gives us, I also think Belletti is far more technically accomplished than Ferreria. Control, passing, crossing, moving with the ball, timing of runs, etc. It can't have been easy for Belletti. He knows Alves was JM's desired choice and he came in only as a late, and relatively cheap, alternative. Yes, there are better right backs out there but, so far, he's slotted in quite well and I've been reasonably impressed with him.

Ballack for me. Again. Maybe Frank leaving in the summer won't be such a devastating blow after all.

Very, very interesting because personally I have always felt Mikel would be far more effective further up the pitch tucked in behind the forwards. I have voiced this opinion on several occaisions and Pauly, for one, has also said the same thing. Mikel has all the assets to play this role. 1. Very quick feet and excellent first touch. 2. Extremely strong and hard to knock off the ball when in posession. 3. Plays first time passes accurately. The one thing that he doesn't appear to be is a natural finisher in front of goal, and in that position he would be expected to chip in with suitable a ratio of goals. I'd like to see him tried there. We have Essien and Maka who can play the defensive holding role.

I know. And I'm talking about what happened against Newcastle.

Belletti for me. Match saving tackle in the 68th minute. And gave us alot going forwards. The only way Ferreria should be picked in front of Belletti is if Mr Bell is confined to a wheelchair.

Well, whether you agree with it or not, (personally, I don't), the booing was the loudest and longest I've heard at SW6 for many a year. All aimed at Avram and Roman "You don't know what you're doing" rang out around all parts of the ground after Grant's substitutions. And mass chants of "Jose Mourinho" sprang up more than once in the Shed and West stands. A fella sits in front of me had some verbals with two blokes a bit further along and it looked likely to kick off. Luckily Kalou, (who had been dreadful all afternoon), popped up with an unlikely winner. Whatever Grant says in today's papers about the fans being behind him, I can tell you one fact. An awful lot of them aren't.

Nibs, why do you think they are likely to play well against the top teams? It must be based purely on them taking a point at home against Le Arse, because a fortnight prior to that they got thumped 3-0 at home by Liverplod. And in September they lost to Man City 3-1. They did follow that result a week later with a 3-2 win at home over Everton, thanks to an injury time goal by Owen, (who is unlikely to play tomorrow). And of course they were recently walloped 4-1 at home by Pompey. The haven't played Man U yet, but out of the 15 points available against the top 7 sides in the League they've met, they have only taken three points!

What's a SHEF line ?

Chippy, shipping three goals in their last two games, and in the process losing at Wigan and snatching a late equaliser at home to Derby, suggests they have some way to go before it may be claimed they are sorting the defence out! Unfortunately, Sheva will not have the time and space he had 2nd half against Villa, as Newcastle will most likely choose to start with two centre-halves and 11 men on the pitch. If only we could play teams with 10 men every week. I'm sure Sheva would be devastating.

Chippy you sound like a fella getting his excuses in early with that last post. Newcastle are a club in deep, deep doo doo. They have no creativity whatsoever. They are dropping points to sides at the bottom of the table and the fans have turned against the manager and his style of football big-time. And to add to all their troubles Joey Barton was locked up last night after another fracas and has been refused bail today. Whatever our own injury problems, we could not be playing at them a better time. This MUST be a straight forward home win. Three points. No excuses. The club's official website seems to share this view: http://www.chelseafc.com/xxchelsea18070 ... _2209129_0

I thought it was strange you weren't about on Sunday. Don't blame you about the Peli, I was in for a pint and it didn't feel the same and now you can't even drink outside while there's twenty or thirty standing 10 feet away with their bottles from the offy. I was up the Mitre before and after the game much better boozer. Because nowadays our crowd rarely drive up, (much, much easier to come in by tube), we always drink on the West side of the ground. The North End Road/Dawes Road side. And it has been a total nightmare drinking in the boozers close to the ground this season. The police have got onto the Landlords and they are now strictly inforcing a local bylaw meaning no-one can drink on the streets outside the pubs, (although the little asian fella from the shop next to the Peli is still doing a brisk trade much to the Landlord's disgust!!). As a result of this decision you are packed in like sheep and the pubs are rammed and very claustrophobic. And of course it's a bitch to get served. The George at the bottom of the North End Road was a great pub when you could stand outside, but you can hardly move in there now before the game. However, we nearly always get in The George afterwards as it's never as busy after the match. Also, many of the places have been renovated from traditional London pubs into poncy wine-bar type establishments. This has happened to The Cock on the North End Road, where the last time we tried there they would not let anyone in wearing a replica football shirt. And though I've not been there since it's been done up, (f**ked up, more like), I've heard The Maltsers has gone the same way. All told we've had enough and have decided we are going to get off the tube at Earl's Court and drink around there before the game tomorrow. We'll try a few boozers where we can relax, have some room to move and get served quickly at a bar that isn't 20 deep. When we're done It's only a brisk 15 minute stroll to the ground from there.

Does any techie type know how you can download these clips from youtube then save and play them on a mobile phone?

Sweet Lord alive!!! Please don't do this to me Forbzy, my heart won't take it. I've been through it all before with Jimmy Floyd Bottlebank and I'm too old to go there again! Please, please, please don't do the "old goals to games played" stats thing as an illustrative measure of how valuable a forward is to the team. Whatever goals they score, Drogba beats Shevchenko in every department. Anyone who would pick Shevchenko, (the 2007 Sheva, not the Sheva of 4/5 years ago), over Drogba in their forward line needs help.

The official website says the last time we let in four goals was four years ago, away to Charlton under Ranieri.

I felt Joe Cole did offer a measure of defensive protection down the right flank Loz. Ferreria simply had a nightmare. Kalou was a different story in front of Cashley. He gave us nothing. Either going forwards or backwards. It's generally accepted that the best way to counter pace is with ........................... pace. Unfortunately, apart from Cashley, we don't have it. Therefore we were always likely to encounter problems tracking Young and Agbonlahor. Our best tactic was to work our hardest to limit the supply to them and the space they had to operate in. Putting bodies out wide and Pressing the full-backs early would have helped. On the question of pace and width, (though in reality I know it won't happen, as the respective clubs would be loathe to sell to us), a bid for any of Lennon/Agbonlahor/Young would be welcomed by me. It would at least indicate Grant knows we have to inject some pace and directness into our game. On top of that it would also be nice to see Scott Sinclair given some playing time in the easier games.

For yesterday's game, yes. And when Villa had the ball I would have asked Sheva and Joe, (not Pizzaro), to funnel out wide and try to restrict the supply/space to Agbonlahor and Young.

But Grant hasn't changed the style of play has he? Apart from a couple of games, yesterday's included, he's stuck rigidly with the 4-3-3 Jose introduced. Including a lone, (and often isolated), central striker. This formation often paid dividends with Drogba as the spearhead because he has the power, movement and hold-up play to make it work, Shevchenko does not, and therefore Grant is at fault for persisting with it when it patently doesn't suit the type of player available to him. Personally I think that Grant was right to make the formation change yesterday and introduce Pizzaro to help Sheva up front. Where he went wrong IMO was in omitting Mikel from his starting line-up. I would have left either Joe Cole or, (and this would have been my choice), Kalou from the starting 11, because, as you rightly say, Grant simply went too attacking in his tatics and formation against a team with real pace on both flanks and, when Luke Moore came on, through the middle. I must obviously be one of those people who baffle you because apart from Joe Cole being giving a bit more licence to roam the pitch, I have noticed no discernible change in the player's movement or passing ability. We are certainly not committing any more players into the opponent's box as testified by Shearer's telling post match analysis on MOTD last night. Oh, and the comment about players who have never been able to pass and retain the ball learning how to do it is a real case of the Emporer's new clothes. We did recently win two Championships with, as I recall for that first win, the best pass completion rate in the entire English league!

Shearer said he didn't think Cashley made contact but the video was inconclusive. Lawrensen and Lineker certainly weren't convinced either way. I was sat behind and to the right of that goal and as he put his head down, you could see him move his arm up towards the ball. The ball appeared to have hit his arm.

I can understand why you think he "came on". However, he did actually start the game but was virtually anonymous for the first 45 minutes up until the sending off. 2nd half he was different gravy and ran the show. However, if I may interject a note of caution. Villa were down to 10 men and Laursen, who had had him in his pocket for the first period, was stretched covering the gaps. As a result space and time were given to Sheva that had previously been denied him. Ballack for me.

I was more than happy with a full trophy cabinet filled Mourinho style. Not to mention bragging rights over the Gooners and Mancs. I didn't want Jose to go. I'd rather win 1-0 and take three points than draw 4-4 and take one any day. But it's not about me fellas! It's what Roman wants isn't it?

Here are my ratings as viewed from my seat in row 5 of the Shed Upper, and, as the designated driver for the day, whilst stone cold sober. Cech Terrible error for the 2nd Villa goal. Again! True enough the dwarf should not have been allowed to run as far as he did with the ball at his feet, (and by the way, where the hell was Ferreria?), but Big Pete still had time to smoke a tab and pick the ball up. All I will say in his defence is that, despite the two recent howlers, Cech is still the best keeper at the club by some margin. 6 Paulo F Had the sort of match that fully vindicates Bluebeard’s long-held opinion of him. Awful! Fair enough he was up against two quality wingers in Young and Agbonlahor, (both of whom had way too much for PF), but for the first 20 minutes of the game I actually felt Paulo was Villa’s best player! May I also enquire what is that odd stop/start/stop/start motion he does when attempting to break forward? All it does is confuse the player who is trying to make the pass! He really does give us zilch in an attacking sense, and today, zilch in a defensive sense. We have to find better. 5 Alex Certainly not the worst culprit at the back today and he did score a nice goal but, like Carvalho, too often dragged out of position in an attempt to charge the ball. Why? 6 Carvalho Now, cards on the table, many on here know that I have some issues with Carvalho’s on-the-edge style of “defending”, but, that said, compared to most centre-halves, I do appreciate he is a good player. And he has been very good since his return. However, today all my doubts came to fruition. Even without the sending off he was awful. Make a list everyone. He got caught out of position. He ran around after the ball like a schoolboy. He charged upfield and then lost possesion. He tried to out-muscle Carew, and lost everytime. And then that challenge! Fully justified sending off. All told he had the kinda game for us that William Gallas never did. And therein lies the difference. 5 Cashley May not be saying much, but I felt he had the best game of the back four today. Coped well with the two Villa wingers who both, as I said before, have real pace and genuine ability. And rest assured, Villa got the ball wide to those two at every opportunity. And to his credit he had to cope with that threat with the totally ineffective Hasent Gotta Kalou supposedly giving him a hand. He also got forward whenever the chance arose. Alright, he handled on the line and got sent off, but hey, ever heard of reactionary instincts? And what else was he to do? 6 Super Frank I personally felt he had played OK until he was replaced. Not brilliant, but OK. Tried to push us forward and made some nice, linking inter-play with Pizza. 7 The Bison With Villa playing down the flanks the game by-passed him at times. As usual he won the ball well in the middle and did his best to help the defence out but his passing was hit and miss. 6 Hasent Gotta Kalou Was obviously guest of honour at the Celestine Babayaro All-Night Christmas Party last eventide and, will very likely, be back there again tonight. Displays like this are going to ensure the kid will be this season’s winner of the Arjen Robben Award For Out-standing Bravery. Looked like he didn’t want to know. Looked like he didn’t want to get his shorts muddy. Played like he was thinking about girls. 4 The Other Cole 1st half. Tried. Tried to make something happen. Tried and failed. Not entirely his fault. PF was such a liability that the other Cole was cacking his pants to stray out of position. He too linked up well with Pizza in the first period, but then, in the 2nd half, I forgot he was on the pitch. 6 Old Shevchenko (For the first 45 minutes – up to the sending off of Knight) For the first half, until Villa went down to 10 men, Old Shevchenko looked more like 60 than 30! He was totally and utterly ineffective. Someone said on here last week that milk could turn quicker and that was certainly backed up with this performance. And there can be little complaining about service. Pizzaro linked play up well, and there were quite a few instances of slick interchange and movement around the Villa box. Unfortunately, Old Shevchenko was either running in the wrong channels, falling over or sitting quietly in Laursen’s pocket. There was one classic moment, on the left hand-side of the Villa box, when he actually tried to run through three players. Literally! So, he had a nightmare first period. But at least he did have the balls to take the penalty, and struck it very well too, to give us a lifeline that looked out of our reach for most of the first half. 4 Andriy Shevchenko (2nd half – when Villa were down to 10 men). They seek him here, they seek him there, that damned elusive Shev-chen-ko. Here he was at last, young Shevchenko, world class striker. The Dinamo Kiev Shevchenko. The AC Milan Shevchenko. He ran and schemed and schemed and ran. Scored a screamer. Set up another and turned the game around. Laursen, (his first half nemesis), was dragged around trying to cover the gaps left by the loss of his central defensive partner, and this allowed Sheva more space and time than he has been given all season. And he used that to his full advantage. I am pleased for him. It will have done his confidence the power of good. I have no doubt he will win the MOTM award on here. I only wish he could have shown such form in the first half when it was eleven Vs eleven and time and space was at a premium. 9 Pizza First half, I felt he was arguably our best player. Really wanted, no, demanded the ball, all over the pitch. And when he got it he generally used it well and kept possession. He linked very neatly with Lamps through the middle and with the other Cole on the right. Won headers and flick-ons and done pretty much all that could be asked of him to help Old Shevchenko. At half-time, following the sending off, I thought he’d really do some damage in the second period with the opposition stretched. I was wrong. He slowly drifted more and more out of the game. 6 SWP Kalou was so bad today I would have had Sweepy on much earlier. There again it’s not a pleasant choice. Considering who to pick between SWP and Kalou, is like considering who you’d rather have roger your sister. Stevie Me or Dignity Carragher? 5 Ballack Felt he played really well. Especially when you consider how long he has been out for. Passing was generally excellent, that ball to set up the other Cole in particular. Whatever little Mr O’shouty tells us on MOTD tonight, he was pushed for the penno. Alright, maybe not hard, but he was pushed. The free-kick was sublime. He passed the ball into the net. The last player to score a free-kick like that for us was a small bloke who wore the no:25. Ballack was my MOTM but all the plaudits will go to 2nd half Shevchenko. 8

Oi, Yogic. http://www.theshedend.com/forum/viewtop ... f=5&t=5874

Grant is still playing with the same squad he took over at the end of September. You can change the formation but it won't do you any good if you don't have the right players. Yes you can. In fact when you're labouring with one central striker, who clearly isn't suited to the system you're using, and you have another out and out forward who could play alongside and spread the load, it appears stupid not to at least try it. He is also under pressure to deliver results while trying to change the style, i doubt Roman allowed him to give up on the season and start experimenting. If this were true, it begs the question whose picking the team Grant or Roman? Plus, all the injuries to the key players we suffered in the last few months forced him to get into survival mode. I don't think he had a full starting lineup available to him since the time he took charge. Same could be said for Mourinho for virtually all of last season and the early part of this one.