Blackfen CFC

The manager can change the system as well as personnel. We can all see that Ivanovic and Fabregas need to be dropped but how about reverting to 4-3-3. Extra man in the centre of midfield.Just because 4-2-3-1 is the fashion these days doesn't mean every manager has to slavishly worship it.

At the time we sold him I don't think anyone could forsee the improvement that Bertrand would make at Southampton,although Koeman is a highly intelligent coach who has obviously improved him. When we are playing with two passengers,Ivanovic and Fabregas, someone please tell me what the selection of the immobile Mikel brings. The man has had his day in aChelsea shirt. Also 4-2-3-1 doesnt suit us at this moment in time, we need to return to 4-3-3, should make us harder to break down, with none of the above three selected for Saturday. Terry to return is a no brainer as well.

I maybe fairly new on this website, but have been supporting Chelsea for forty five years and attending regularly since the start of 1978. I am not all doom and gloom,seen a lot of poor Chelsea teams down the years. My point is I wouldn't take any notice of the opinions of most ex players in the media, there are exceptions but most of them dont say anything that I can't see for myself.

Shearer qualified,do me a favour. Just because he played the game at top level doesn't mean he knows the game. Most English footballers play/played the game without thinking.

If Ivanovic and Fabregas play the majority of league games at right back and holding midfield we will not be in the top four in May.When a team is leaking goals and being opened up too easily you have to revert to 4-3-3/4-5-1. Three central midfielders, Matic with Ramires and Oscar either side,sure Oscar could adapt to this role, loves a tackle and would be advancing from a deeper position so harder to pick up. Jose bought Fabregas for big money only fifteen months ago so he is probably reluctant to discard him, but his physical and athletic decline looks permanent.Costa has to be told to change his mentality when he returns or he will end up serving a lot more three match bans.Bring Terry back for the Porto game, they beat Bayern 3-1 at home last year in the quarter final first leg so they are more than capable of beating us the way we are performing.

Liverpool must have been allocated the whole of the North Stand when the draw was made. I was in there that day and we must have outnumbered them two to one on that terrace. European champions, top of the league,very poor turnout. We were in the bottom half of the old second division with no chance of going up and were taking 4000 to the likes of Barnsley, Grimbsy and Rotherham, the infamous 6-0 game.

Ramires the right sided shuffler, alongside Matic and hopefully Loftus Cheek when we dont have the ball and up with Oscar and Hazard when we have possession. Loftus Cheek to start over Fabregas for me.

With Pedro and Willian supposedly missing Ramires has to start on the right primarily to nullify Sanchez, Arsenal's most dangerous attacking threat.Surely Fabregas cannot be played in a two man defensive midfield alongside Matic, he does not have the athleticsm to press Carzola and Ozil, Loftus Cheek does and although he doesn't have the creativity that Fabregas has we need to be on top of our game when we are not in possession of the ball.Ramires has his detractors and we know what he can't do but we need mobile midfielders against Arsenal.Not sure if Terry should be brought back, reckon Walcott will start up the middle so Zouma has to be in the eleven,Cahill more mobile than Terry but his reading of the game and anticipation not as good.

I give every foreign player who comes to the Premier league one year to adapt to the unique characteristics of English football, therefore I will not criticise him. Limited opportunities in a Chelsea side that was physically declining in the second half of the season. Good luck to him at Juventus, hopefully a good season there and we can recoup a large percentage of the transfer fee next summer.

That picture is from the 4-2 defeat in the league. Notice the bandage on Frank Leboufs head.Efan Ekoku and Marcus Gayle gave him a right going over early on. They obviously targeted him thinking he wasn't up to the physical nature of English football.

Fabregas's time in English football is done. He has declined physically and athletically since January, a return to the slower pace of La Liga would be best for all.When we bought him I pointed out that he was 27, Iniesta 30 and Xavi 34 yet Barcelona were willing to dispense with the youngest one out of the three,they did ok last season without him. Ivanovic's future at Chelsea is as fourth choice centre back, nothing else. The immobile Mikel starting in the same eleven as Fabregas was ridiculous,Loftus Cheek or Ramires would have given us more energy. We need to go 433, would like to see Oscar in a midfield three with Matic and Ramires/Loftus Cheek, sure he could prosper in a deeper role.Howabout Rahman at right back against Arsenal, Sanchez will be cutting inside on his right foot, perfect for a left footed defender.

Fabregas in a two man central midfield and Ivanovic at right back are the weak points. If I can see it surely Jose can. Three subs made and neither of these taken off. We either go 4-3-3 to accomadate Fabregas or out him. Rahmann and Azpilacueto at full back surely. Falcaos goal and Kenedys sub appearance the only pluses.

Palace have extreme pace out wide so it has to be Rahmann and Azpilacueto at full back. Fabregas is a conundrum. either drop him, play him in a three man midfield which means 4-3-3 or play him in the middle of the three behind Costa.If this decline in his athleticsm is permanent he simply cannot play in a two man central midfield, we will get constantly overrun and it is unfair on Matic. Does anyone else think that Oscar could be tried alongside Matic in a 4-2-3-1. He has the technique,far superior athletically to Fabregas and he loves a tackle. Just a thought.

I can't believe Jose started Fabregas alongside Matic.He is not a holding midfielder, unathletic and tactically not with it when we are not in possession. Zouma,Ramirez, even Mikel for his positioning all better options. Ivanovic has come up against two quality wide men in both games, even so he is not going to get any quicker, at centre back he should be less exposed. Rahman straight in at left back Azpilacuta right back. I wish people would stop critiscing Cuadrado he has not had many opportunities so far. I always give foreign players at least one whole season to adapt to the unique conditions over here. Would not have sold Schurle though. Please be patient it is only two games , I am sure improvement will come slowly game by game.

The English footballing media are far more comfortable writing about issues or personalities surrounding the game than the actual game itself. This is because most of them know very little about the game and how it pans out tactically.Read any newspaper match report and you will see very little written about the actual match itself yet plenty about what the managers/star players said or are up to.In every other serious footballing nation this Jose/Eva issue would not have been given air time.Benitez said he received more questions about tactics in one week in Naples than he did the whole season in England, tells us a lot about our football media.