bjd

Not going to get into the ins and outs but thats not really an accurate statement. Might be an idea to read those other thread links posted, should give you some idea as to why a section of the Chelsea support are very close to Rangers.

And therein lies the whole sad story. You see i think im right but will admit hes made some great points too. I suspect (hope!) he may feel the same about my post. So what does this tell us ? No one is right or wrong, there is no quick solution. Its a mess, basically. And i hark back to my post on the previous page. This flawed squad stems from f**king about with the managers since 2011 (Torres is a different issue, because hes just been a disaster from day one). No manager has had an oppurtunity to build anything and why should they if they know they are going to last 5 mins. Thats why the backbone of team remain from this past decade in the squad and are played whatever the situation. This means all transfers are decided by the board/owner and youre kidding yourself if you think otherwise. Jose is picking up the pieces of all of this and its going to take time. No quick fix here, even with a manager a great as him. He cant magic up players. though it would be great if he had a say in who comes in. What happened with Willian (albeit a very good player) was just nonsense and it just cant be allowed to happen again, signing a good player for the sake of it to the detriment of other parts of the team that need strengthening is a mugs game. Dont hold your breath...

Im one of the people you are referring to , and no im not offended! I absolutley stick by my claim that the midfield is the weakest area of the team. Everything you say about the strikers is right though, and that area is still a massive problem and as you say has been for what seems like ages. However the lack of urgency, momentum and flow in our midfield is what I think is killing the team at the moment. Sure, we've been missing chances and defenders have been poor recently, in fact if you look at the goalie too you can actually claim everywhere is an issue right now!! But for me the midfield is totally affecting how we play and this is whats causing the wider issues. I maintain, bringing in a big name world class striker would be great, but it isnt going to solve everything overnight.

Well , at least you didn't call my post a load of bollocks!!Anyway, no I dont think they are an ideal centre forward trio at all but I also don't think it's the worst line up ever and I wish people would stop focussing on the strikers when the issues run so much deeper. For me the blame needs to go to the board, who have turned the mentality of the club into that of a cup team because of their insatiable thirst for sacking mangers and in the process destroying any hope of foundations being laid for a team that can make a serious tilt at a 38 game title run. We on our 5th manager now since 2011. Fifth! Jose is finding this out now, the squad is good but flawed and relies too much on the older more experienced players who unsurprisingly struggle with form and fitness. The squad hasn't had the chance to develop under a management team and therefore we are best in the one off cup games, but not ready to challenge in the league. This all stems back to the summer of 2010 , when we released 5 experienced players and bought just 2 in. The squad needed freshening and the age needed reducing but Carlo was really let down that summer and when the new season started and a couple of players got injured (Frank, JT) we were stuffed. January came and the club panicked and spent £75 million on deadline day, on 2 players, one of them a ludicrous signing that has been a millstone around our neck since. The damage was done and the club have struggled in the league since. If you look at our league form since 2010 it has , at best, been mediocre. It's not the players fault and certainly not the managers fault. We've got the right man at the moment but he isn't a miracle worker - it's going to take time. The squad is unbalanced and needs fixing up and the mentality needs to change and it's not going to happen overnight. Jose walked in and turned us into champions in 2004, it's not going to happen this time. The league is stronger and the squad isn't as good as it was then, or at least it isn't as balanced. I think it may take Jose a couple of seasons, and hopefully the club have learned the lessons. Expect a cup win, but the league? We're just not ready.

Let me guess- You'd be happy if we spunked £60 million on Falcao in a few weeks, and you think it would solve all our issues?

Our nil nil there looking a sh*t result now really!

Deary me. Spoilt much? Yeah this last 10 years has been horrific hasn't it? C'mon pal, we are the luckiest fans in the world.

I tend to agree with timetowaste here. I just don't think throwing a top draw centre forward suddenly transforms us into an magnificent powerhouse as some are alluding to. The issues we currently have (and it's not like we are in Coventry City territory here) are deeper than a misfiring centre forward. Promise I won't bang on about the midfield again though...

Is that really such a clincher? Not being cup tied means he is only assured of playing 2 games more. Are the club so short sighted and do they really think so short term? Oh...

Funny how different people see things differently! The defensive midfield area of our team for me is the issue (and has been for years) we just lack a player who keeps it flowing , gives and gets etc The attackers are doing ok but this is affecting how the team play, the slow build up more often than not meaning the spare man gets the ball and the spare man 9 times out of 10 this season has been Ivanovic which normally means a whipped cross to no one. Wouldn't say no to a striker , but for me it's got to be a midfielder.

And we were playing Sunderland and Southampton, and laboured to victory in both.Are you happy with our midfield then, and happy with how they have performed this season? I'd debate it with anyone to be honest - so many of our issues this season stem from our midfield it's untrue. Of course introducing a top class centre forward would improve things and I'm sure he would score goals, hopefully creating chances out of nothing too - something we struggle to do. But I'll be furious if we spend a pretty penny on a striker and just ignore our brutally flawed midfield.

Midfield is the priority. We could sign a hybrid of Falcao, Messi and Gerd Muller and it wouldn't matter. He'd quickly turn into a 6 goals a season workhorse. No point in spending huge money on a striker if the midfield behind him will continue to take an age to get the ball forward to the attackers.

That's the spirit.

Even more so when you lose!

Cech is really the only option. The only thing harder than having to pick a best outfielder would be having to pick the worst outfielder!

come on then

there is nothing worse than people who dont like marmite. w**kers.

I guess it depends if Carlos frustration came down to a player not carrying out instructions in training/in a game or just general behavior issues. The smart money is surely on Sturridge. Other nominations would include Deco, Zhirkov and Ashley Cole (wasnt the rifle incident during Carlos reign?!)

We actually couldnt because they are not registered for the CL. It would still be a very strong team that would play against Steau. Sorry ill take my pedant hat off! Jose is clearly looking to close the group tonight, expect our strongest team and the players looking to make up for what happened against Basel in September.

Thats how i see it. Love Mata to death but we've got a £40 million player not playing and the longer that happens his value lowers. If this is going to carry on then id be up for selling as long as the money was spent on a part of the team that benefit from it , ie midfield. Its a sad situation, but we all wanted Jose back and if he doesnt fancy Mata for one reason or another then we have to trust him.

If we are going to purchase anyone in Jan, then surely it has to be a midfielder. Doesn't have to be a big name just someone who can keep it simple and keep it flowing, the type of player we don't have at the moment and are crying out for. Striker would be great but it can wait- it's the midfield that's the issue and is most pressing. Still don't be surprised if there is no movement, it's that time of year when all sorts of hopes get raised up and expectations are there that we are going to do a 'Jan 2011' again. I don't see it this window, but I hope if it's anyone it's a half decent player for the middle.

Oh sure, hes possibly past his best now, but short term i think he'd be perfect. Obviously if we offered a 5 year contract (wouldnt put it past us) id be dead against it, but for say 18 months why not ? Just the type of signing Mourinho wasnt shy of making first time around. Alonso can pass quickly and smoothly, and he keeps the ball moving. We have nobody who can do that. Nobody. Our midfield is crying out for an extra body right now, to be fair he doesnt even have to be top drawer just someone who can play it quickly and simply. Id jump at it if it was a sensible contract, anything to avoid any pairing of the current three.

Short term it would be a cracking signing i think. A top player and just what we need/lack

Perhaps youre right, it will be interesting to see how they all fair in Brazil. I saw a handful of ACON matches in Jan and thought the standard was pitiful. Personally id be surprised if more than one team gets out the group stages, but like you say it depends on the draw. I know Ivory Coast are cerainly due a good one!

Yes it was, 93-94. I definitley recall Wolves having the whole of the East Upper in the FA Cup Q/F in 94. As someone else has said, H&S wont allow it now.