Chippy

Watching on a dodgy sopcast fed but not looking bad so far, lets hope we can keep it up

MALOUDA!!!!!!!!!!!!!!! GET IN

likely see ------------------ Cech------------- Belletti--Alex--- Carvalho--- Ferreira Essien------Makelele------ Lampard Cole----------Drogba------ Malouda. if Essien is availlable I would like to see -----------------Cech-------------- Belletti - Carvalho - Alex - Paulo ---------Mickel-------------- ------------------Lampard J. Cole---------------------Malouda -----Shevchenko -- Drogba----- Carlo, Maka, Kalou,Ben Haim, Pizza,Sidwell assuming Essien and Bridge are not availlable, hoping for a 2-0 as long as we dont let them have too many set pieces. (goals from Lampard and Sheva)

you are easy pleased, how come thats exactly what Roman seems to want but he gets frowned upon for it

11 years, seems like only 4 or 5, R.I.P to a great bloke

And if we have a horror season would it be fair to say a large chunk of the blame will be laid at Grant's door? So if we do succeed this season who do you think should get all the credit? If we have a horror season then I will be laying the blame at Romans door. He was responsible for getting rid of Jose and for appointing Grant. i don't have anything against Grant, but I am struggling to see what qualifies him to manage chelsea. 6 matches is not enough to draw a lot of conclusions other than the fact that we have a good squad with a lot of good players who are capable of beating anyone if they play the way that they have been coached. Some detect a change in the way we are playing but I can't see it myself. a bit off topic ES but Gullit has been one of my favourite managers at Chelsea, just wondered what you would have said qualified him to manage Chelsea?

I agree, now what did you say Spot on I would say, Joey is a joy to watch once the game is won and I like to see players with the confidence to try things. He has certainly beefed up and doesn't get knocked off the ball easily, I hope we get the chance to be 4-0 up and see more of the tricks. Essien has been off form after being one of our best players last season, be nice once he gets back to his best. Luis Vitton bags? flash little barstaff

I suspect your not the only one with that view Ethical and your'e entitled to it but how think any manager in six games is going to make a team look totally different to the way they played under the last manager surprises me. the changes will be subtle and gradual or it could all hit the fan. anything we achieve this season will have me singing the praises of the management rather than saying it has been done in spite of them and thats another way our opinions differ. Ten Cate may well help, true the coaching staff looks like a fair team to me with Clarke Cate and Grant. Forums are always going to chuck up hugely differing opinions, it will be interesting to see how it pans out.

Back to agreeing with you mate, but to put a slightly different slant on it, that would have been the same realistic hope for me regardless of the goings on so far. I would love to see us reach the CL semis but as you said realistic hopes at this time without A. knowing what will happen in January or B. seeing if any badly out of form players have anything left to offer are Top four and as you say a good run in a cup. I think we could win something if we can sort out another way of scoring i.e not just Drogba and Lampard.

Callista "Well what has Grant faced exactly? MU - some dodgy referring decisions made it difficult to assess properly, so I'm giving him a pass on this one it was his first game. Hull - if he couldn't have beaten Hull frankly there was never any hope. Fulham - a team struggling, not quite in danger yet but getting there. Bolton - a team sitting bottom of the table, in total disarray not a patch on the team of last year. Valencia - not the team of last season when we play that quarter final in terms of threat and really neither were we, a pressure time for Grant though and probably his greatest result to date. " What exactly did we face earlier in the season? resounding victories like the Reading and Portsmouth ? The desrved Draw with Liverpool or the great home draw with Rosenbourg, Villa was a result as well, wake up mate we are better off drawing with Fulham 0-0 the then 2nd top scorers in the prem than losing 2-0 to Villa, we are better off beating Valencia in spain 1-2 than drawing at home to Rosenbourg. Trumpeting about results.....are you sure pointless response as to some life after Mourinho means we must have another big name big ego manager, to me a gradual improvement in style and similar results would be brilliant, I like Grant so far, his interviews are refreshingly un self centred and his quiet get on with it style is to be comended not belittled. as I said before if a big name Hiddink or Lippi type manager had have came in with the same results he would have a lot of people right behind him by now instead of waiting for the fall. I have been a Chelsea fan for 40 years, Iv'e supported them after losing managers like Mcreadie, Gullit, Sexton and the like, I have always been behind the next man and always will. I would still have my grievances about things I thought they had done wrong, i.e team selection, Subs, tactics etc but would reserve bleating until they had had a proper chance to get their ideas across to the team, while waiting for that if they manage the kind of results that Grant has on the way, I will feel free to Trumpet about it till my hearts content. OK with you?

Well proportioned view Barak, If Grant does get the chance to be here for the longish term you are spot on about the way to judge his progress, the form and availability of players still needs to be taken into account but as you say the big head to heads will be telling, I would like to see what the team is like after a few months and see if improvement is there not just in results but in the style of play. I hope we are talking about this after some of the big PL games in a positive way.

give me an a, give me a v, give me an ram AVRAAAAAM

Yeah sorry mate just reread your post, Its hard being a near on one man Crusade for giving the new regime a chance and some credit, getting a bit over defensive cheers

I think it depends more how the team is performing than if the players are aware of another new manager coming in also how they get on with TC, what makes you think the players have a reason to not rate Grant? do you think they read these forums or do you believe the media crap? I think they will all be happy to give the guy a chance and with TC and SC the training methods they mentioned (if indeed they did) should be up to a decent standard. I actually think we never played well at all this season and the Boro and Valencia games were arguably as good as we have performed, the players know that so why would they be thinking about another change? surely that would be the type of thinking reserved for a lengthy losing run? I think between the three main coaching staff we could just start to get things right. Under Jose a lot of us used to wish for more entertaining football (just like Roman) me included but now it seems silverware is god, well maybe there will be a happy medium and maybe just maybe this lot will stumble (I use that word because if we start to play well and win thats about the credit they will get) upon it. It could all go bad for us during the ACN and then we will see how they cope in an even tougher time than now, as you say Pizzaro has shown he is only backup quality and Sheva just hasn't worked so scoring will be very difficult at that time. If Sheva steps up then and the style of play has changed enough to fit him in perhaps everyone will see this set up could work, I dont know if that is possible as Sheva looks nothing like the Sheva of old but if it happened that would surely bring them some kudos.

Agreed, I'm not prepared to say well that's it then we are home and dry until we are more than 6 games into a new regime. Cate has been here what a week? Yeah we're Chelsea fans lets not let optimism stand in the way of a good slagging off of the club/board/manager/hotdog prices I say we hang our heads in shame and ignore any good results while crying out for a damn good sacking, no one has said we are home and dry, a few have just seen some signs that there is better to come, we have only just got the coaching staff together and not many would have guessed six games down the line we would have had the results we have done since Grant took over. He seems to be a calming influence and with TC the opposite they could compliment each other well, and Clarkey is still with us which is another good thing. we'll be back

Drogs for me, nice display after his little outburst and I feel if he keeps playing like that these emotional lapses will be few and far between, he will settle down once the team shows its still a force in all competitions. we done ok and without the leadership and will to win of JT which is a bonus and says something for the spirit. Ricky again superb and with Alex looks quite a solid pairing for when JT is out (something we lacked last season) unusual victory at Boro as well

Agree totally No huge change involving such a high profile manager (specially a winning one) is going to be easy to get over but Grant is steadying the ship amiably and with Steve and TC as you say the mix might have something. 6 games, 5 away and the only loss so far at OT with ten men is good going, if Hiddink had been the one to take over with the same results a lot of people would be right behind him by now. nice to see a positive post mate, god one

I'm gonna put a positive spin on the result, 0-2 and ?5 earned me 35 quid. other than that we played Boro at the right time? I bet they thought they were playing us at the right time a decent result and a fairly decent performance, its all gonna take time.

I second that and anything better than 4th I would take as a bonus, Still love a good run in the CL and I dont think thats out of the question.

feel sorry for Everton, again the ref has a big part to play

Good interview and refreshing to see someone post something positive. I like what he has to say and the way he mentions Avram and Clarke as if there is a real plan between the three of them to change things. I would imagine he commands respect among players and backroom staff alike and could be a better appointment than we know.

can be a Banana skin for some reason but I dont forsee it this time, I would like to see ..........................Cech.......................... Beletti........Carvalho....Alex.........Ben Haim ...........................Maka............................ ................Essien............Lampard........... .......Joey.................................Malouda..... ..........................Drogs............................. Bench Carlo, Pizarro, Paulo, Sheva, SWP, I will stick a fiver on 0-2.

My views on this are to get behind the manager we have and the players we have, if the Drogba quotes are correct he obviously doesn't share my views but that wont change them. I still say whats happened has happened, no one man (jose) or two men (jose and drogs) are bigger than Chelsea and whoever Manages them, whoever plays for them, gets my support from day one. KTBFF

I cant see the problem with Grant myself, He would not have been my choice either but once given the Job he has done nothing wrong and in fact we have done pretty well concidering the mood of the players, the mood of the fans and the injuries we have had. I would go so far as saying (obviously only my opinion) that we would have lost at OT had Jose still been in charge and I would have guessed we would have drawn at Valencia. be that as it may every manager has to start somewhere and although we all expet big names here (wrong to buy galactico players but we need a galactico manager ) Grant could just know more than people think, the repect of the players would help him stamp his mark and the respect of the fans could help too. I cant understand why people think RA would want Grant in charge if he never had faith in him and If you dont trust RA think about the advice he probobly had leading up to him giving Avram the Job? ok we dont trust Roman, we dont trust his advisors, who do we trust? Jose? As Abromovich posted, Jose would not have come to Chelsea had Roman not been waiving the Rubles. the more people gripe over Grants appointment the more I hope he succeeds but to be honest just being the Chelsea manager should be enough for everyone to hope he succeeds. If he fails and we get a top name manager, how long will he get? would 5 games and 1 defeat be enough to make us want him out or would his high profile make us all believe he would be better than we have now? Come on Avram, wheres the new Emoticom for the man? gem?

There is alos no evidence to prove the club is being run right! We have a chairman that doesn't speak FFS! Didn't you see 'that' press conference when they introduced Avram, it was embarassing! Blind leading the blind! Thats just it though Bluenut, there is no evidence either way, I've got no evidence my missus is shagging the milkman but until hard facts prove to the contrary, I think I will give her the benefit of the doubt I dont get why because Avram cant play the press like Jose his managerial prowess is put down, what difference does it really make? Look at the Hatton fight coming up, who looks best in front of the press? I know who I want to win. as I said we all want the same thing here, why cant we just say we think Jose was brilliant and should still be here but he's not so lets get behind whoever is in charge? cheers