Nibs

I'd second that Scott. Maka will soon be 34 and we have to face facts that he ain't goona be able to perform at the the very top for too much longer. Diarra will soon be 22 and we have a player who could be great for us for many seasons to come, but a player who if he doesn't get a fair crack soon, will look to leave. Sometimes, you have to know when the time is right to let great players go, just as Fergie did with Hughes and Wenger with Vierra. I'd hate us to lose Diarra, just because we want to get one more season out of Maka.

That was probably the most one sided game I have ever seen - especially the first half. Can't really gauge too much from that because lets face it, Forest offered very little. But that said, we started with a good tempo and never let them get into the game and the team did look well balanced. MOTM for me was Diarra. He played so well. We really need to give this lad a run of games as he does look capable of playing the Maka roll, but with better vision going forward. Some of his little passes were brilliant and really kept the flow going. So different from a lot of the sideways passes we have seen this season.

I loved Gullit and can still clealy remember the day he got the boot - left me totally numb. I wrote to the club in disgust and being a regular subscriber then to The Chelsea Independent (pre CSR days!), aired my anger there too. However, as much as I loved Ruud and the style of play he brought in, I'm not sure that to get him back in would be a good move. Look at other managers that have returned to clubs and it's never been the same. Gullit also had a complete mare at Newcastle and the thought that something similar could happen to us is too, too worrying. And of course, he would still want to be paid "netto", but I guess that wouldn't be a problem now!!!

Nothing is certain in football, but you'd have to say it looks like Spurs have blown their chance so it looks like the Gooners again in the final. Shame that, as I really fancied a Chelsea v Spurs final. Been listening to Talk Sport this evening and blimey I thought us Chelsea fans moaned a lot and were pessimistic. We've got nothing on Spurs fans. They all think the tie is already over and most of them seem to want Jol out!!!

I was only joking to be honest. Don't want to go over old ground too much but on the whole he did a pretty decent job and he brought in many good players. CR had many great qualities and it is just unfortunate that being a winner wasn't one of them.

Absolutely. It was only 3 & 1/2.

Thought there were many plusses last night. Everything just looked a LOT better, especially with Carvalho back in defence, but special mentions to Sheva, Mikel & Diarra. The only player who I thought was well below par was Cole. Of course none of us should get carried away as Wycombe sit at 6th place in division 2 and it is so easy for us older folks to not realise that division 2 is not really what it says and is in fact the bottom division. Why can't they still call it the 4th so we all knew where we stood!!! But encouraging nonetheless!

He's not all bad. At least he shook Rafa's hand this time. Must admit though, as the saying goes, that picture is worth 1,000 words

Sorry Just you must be mistaken. I won't be there tonight.

This is one thread I will make a point of never returning to. 10 Ballacks is the stuff of nightmares.

Not unsubstantiated Loz, it's just that you're are getting me mixed up with Jose Joking aside, there are many who do question just how badly injured Robben is at times. I'm not talking about this most recent one or the Blackburn one, but the countless others in between. As others have said, some players give the impression that they would play on regardless - maybe more fool them, but with Robben you get the impression that the slightist little thing and he will take the easy option. Maybe the lad is just really unlucky or just plain injury prone but if that is the case and we cannot rely on him then we should definitely look to replace him. (and before people start giving the Joe Cole injured arguement & shall we get rid of him too - Joe has had surgery on a broken bone and does NOT have a history of injuries whatsoever!!!)

G4, that said, would you now start playing Mikel ahead of Ballack?

It's very hard to say what Roman wants in return for his HUGE investment. We can all guess. I reckon CL success would be well up there on the list of priorities. But even he must realise that no club has a devine right to win everything, regardless of how much money is laid out. But if I were in Roman's shoes, I would want to see better football. I could understand him thinking "Hang on, this squad has cost me millions, but the football is not that great". I was hoping that once Mourinho had got us winning things and we had the first trophies in the cabinet, the focus would then switch to us playing better football - even if that meant losing out on some silverware. And he did hint as much himself. Alas, this season we have gone backwards - although bad luck & injuries has played a large part in that.

Of course he doesn't. I still can't get my head around the Sheva signing. I suppose any coach, if offered one of the world's best strikers as an addition to the squad, is hardly gonna turn him down. But many thought his best days were possibly behind him and ?30m for a 30 year old? If you're gonna splash out stupid sums of cash, at least go for players on the up with plenty of hunger. There is no doubt that things aren't right within the club at the moment - who knows how deep the problems run? I just hope things get resolved and soon.

What a great player. How gutted am I that he plays for The Gooners Player of the season has got to be a straight run between him and Ronaldo. For the first time in ages we won't have anyone in the frame.

The thing with Geremi Kev, is that I too always thought he was useful to have - a good squad player if you like. But the danger with these kind of squad players is that they always end up playing more games than they should. As much as I like him, he really is no right back and the incideent against Liverpool where he completely lost Riise and we had Cech to thank for it not being 3-0 underlines that (not to mention the clearance to avoid the corner that went straight to Crouch on the edge of the box - okay I have just mentioned it!!!) So I would rather we got a decent player in rather than make do with Geremi who is a "make do kind of player".

Monday afternnon & Bored at work, so thought I'd do this. Never mind Untouchables, but looking at the squad we have as it stands, if everyone was fit and available again, I've been thinking about who for me, would be a sure starter and would play more or less every match. That would leave who I would then keep as back up for injuries / suspensions / matches where different formation was required and finally players who I feel don't have a future at Stamford Bridge. MUST STAY Cech Johhno (As long as there are no more toilet seat incidents!!) JT Carvalho Bridge Maka (Probably last season) Essien Lamps Joe Robben Drogba Back Up Carlo (Not sure Carlo will hang around for another season) Hilario (He's not great but he's done okay and how many great no.3 keepers are there?) Cashley Boula Kalou Mikel Diarra (not sure if he'll play second fiddle to Maka for yet another season, but we need to find out if he can do it) GoodBye Geremi Paulo (Sorry Loz!) Ballack (Sorry G4!) SWP Sheva We desperately need another striker and one that can deliver NOW. By that I mean a player that could play alongside Drogba in a 4-4-2 or God Forbid could step in if Drogba is injured / suspended whatever. I would go for Defoe. We also need more cover for central defence but that is tricky one. When we had Gallas, we had the world's best as back up! Any player now coming in will know that JT & Carvo are first choice and that they are only going to play when they cannot. We are not gonna get another Gallas on that basis and therefore could do with another Huth - a younger player who is prepared to wait for opportunities when they arise. That said, we do have Boula and who would have forecast all three being unable to play at the same time. My only reservations are SWP & Robben. I'd still love to see both stay at Chelsea for years and both play at the top of their game for us. We need SWP now but only because of the injury situation. IF he did happen to come good and consistently so, then I'd keep him, but I do fear that won't be the case. As for Robben, IF he can stay clear of niggly injuries and show some consistent form then he is a nailed on starter every week. If not then he would move to the goodbye list and I'd break the bank to get Messi!!!

I've got big hopes for Kalou for the future but he certainly isn't the answer right now. And Sergey, Joe was a LOT better than that at the same age.

And the great thing about that was all the time wasting Van Der Sar did when taking goal kicks - insisting on placing the ball on the other side. Oh how that came back to kick him in the Arse!!!

Pretty much sums up how I feel too. I've always leant towards the pesimist side (don't most Chelsea fans?), and I really want to be optomistic, but just seeing the way we are playing recently - there's just no spark. JT being back in would be a HUGE lift, but that doesn't look like it's gonna happen and with no Robben & Joe, I can't see us causing teams enough problems. You look at Utd and even on an off day, they still have plenty of players that can do damage - Arsenal have even more. Other than Drogba, who are our match winners at the moment? Even Lamps. I know he has still scored some important goals this season, but when was the last time you saw him really dominate a game? I'll try and be more positive but it ain't easy.

See Van Persie has broken that bone in his foot that I can't spell. Another Dutchman injured

Even the great Sir Alex cocks up now & again. Bad mistake to take Ronaldo off near the end. Suddenly Eboue had space to get forward and put in a great cross for the winner. What was noticeable today was that both teams showed a LOT more passion than we were able to muster yesterday.

If we can rediscover some form we are. There again, so are Arsenal & Liverpool.

G4, I know what you are getting at there and I know from my own point of view that I do post more frequently when things aren't going well, when I feel I need to have a moan. But surely that is natural? When everything is rosey and we are winning game after game, like we did in Mourinho's first two seasons, there are only so many posts you can write. I am at my happiest when the team is playing well and all is good. However, I post more on this forum when things are not going well and certain players are shocking. That time in now and I know a lot of that is down to our bad luck with injuries but also it's down to letting players go who we shouldn't have and also I feel a loss in team spirit.

I'm not blaming Robben Brit - we were totally outplayed today by the better team. But where Robben is concerned I really have lost patience now. Against a team like Wigan he can look world class, but when it matters, when we play the likes of Man Utd, Arsenal, Liverpool, Barcelona etc, he never does it. Never. Okay, so he got injured again today and it was quite early in the game, but even upto then had you noticed him on the pitch? And what use is a player who gets injured so regularly and half the time when not even challenged by an opponent?