alan'82

Why can't AVB swallow his pride & be open to the idea of Hiddink as DOF?. It's pretty obvious that he needs help,that the Chelsea job & life in the Premiership is a tough one. Guus dosen't want his job, but he could be a massive source of knowledge for AVB IF Boas is open to the idea of forming a working relationship with him. He is only 34 after all & only been a manager for 5 minutes. He is stuck with this squad,(& any ego's) for the time being,so it really does fall on to his shoulders to get the best out of them. What is wrong with having Hiddink's vast experience to bounce ideas off?,after all,it will still be his call. I want AVB to stay & have the time to build a truly great team but the simple truth is that this squad of players IS still capable of much better results than there achieving now & some of their failure is due to AVB's decision's or/& man management skills. Results are all that matters (always have if truth were told) & if they continue to be poor, the guy won't get a chance to use the transfer windows to build his team. I can't see whats wrong with using all the tools available to get the job done!.

For me,the second division title (& trophy) from the 83-84 season. It really felt at the time like we had walked through a sh*tstorm & survived to see the promised land!. ( I know it sounds like bollocks know, but at that time, it seamed like redemption!).

I haven't read any posts from the previous pages so apologies beforehand; We played well enough to deserve at least a draw from that game,if we had a touch more conifedence & lady luck with the penalty deciesion, then we might even have won. Even didier, who in the first 30-35 mins looked liked he couldn't trap wind let alone a ball,scored a great goal to put us deservidly one up. There was many plus points in the performances of Studge,Rameries & an improving Drogba. This is a dark period in the career of AVB that's for sure but, make no mistake,the lessons he will learn from this period will make him a much,much better manager. This will in the long term be a massive benefit to the club.The pain of failure is a great teacher. To all Chelsea fans I say this,'hold fast', steady your nerves,things WILL turn around. Remeber,winners never quit & quiters never win!. (now where's that stress ball?).

Managers live or die by the players in their squad. It's always been so,even great managers like Sir Alex would struggle with Wigan's squad. If a team & how they play reflects the manager,his personality & ideals,then I think its only fair to judge said manager when he's had the transfer windows and funds to bring in HIS type of players,the players he really wants. For the time being Boas needs to cut his cloth according to the players he has now,but (when & if) he has had the transfer windows and funds to spend,only then is it fair to judge him imo.

To true mate & he's knocked off the ball easily as well.He looks about as durable as a fart in a hurricane.

MERTESAKER.............for a starter mate.

With a bit of common sense & some good old fashioned graft,I can't see why a top four finish should be a problem. The current Chelsea team can & will play a lot better,that's for sure. Liverpool,inspite of yesterdays result,look a supprisingly average team & lacking much real quality. RVP at the arse will break at some point during the season & without him, bang goes the goalscoring. Newcastle don't have the strength in the squad & Ashley won't spend much,so sooner or later they will come up short. That just leaves the Manchester clubs & the spuds & were more than a match for those clubs if & I say if,we start getting back to what works with the current squad.

I feel AVB needs to take a step back & be a little bit more pragmatic for the time being. If the players he has avaliable struggle to implement his plans during games, then surely that only leaves him 2 choices: Choice A............change the players for ones who can. Choice B............change the plans for ones they CAN implement. For now,he can only use the players he has avaliable,isn't it his responsobilty to use those players in the most effective way?,even if it means compromising his principles?. We all know there's problems/issues with the squad,but sticking with the current team structure/tactics is starting to smack of pride. Might also help his cause if he stops rising to the hacks from the press,his response to the Hiddink question & the one about his future will only encourage them & make him a soft target for those d*ckheads.

I've never read that bbc news report before,certainly a bit of an eye opener.

Nice one,thanks dkw & old friend.

To be honest, I'm not a 100% certain Hiddink want's to be a top flight club manager again. I'm not sure of his age but I suspect he's in his mid sixties & I get the feeling he just dosen't want all the day to day hassle. This wouldn't make him a threat to AVB but could actually do him a service. If Boas struggles this year to implement his ethos to the current squad,time will be required to re-build. Roman isn't excactly the most paitent of owners,he gives resources & expects results,which is fair enough. But Roman respects Hiddink & that could mean Guus putting in a good word for AVB should matters on the field go belly-up. I suspect he'll tell RA to be paitent,give him time,it will be worth it in the long run. I belive Roman doesn't have enough true 'football people' around to give him to right advice,Hiddink knows his stuff thats for sure.

Can't belive after years of utter rubbish written about J.T.,Lampard,Cole etc & Chelsea by certain sections of the print media,that in all honesty, there are supporters who still think some journalists don't have a axe to grind against the club & some of it's players.

That's a good point about overcrowding actually,surely it's crowd control,(or the lack of it) that causes the problems. You just can't turn up & pay on the day like years ago,so clubs can control the numbers standing can't they?. The fire at Bradford City many years ago occured in a stand,the situation made worse by it's wooden seats & locked fire escapes. With lessons learned in crowd control,with modern design & a new ticketing policy,why can't adults be trusted to stand at a football match if they want to?.

I think it would be great news if Guus returned to the club,whatever the role. These Directors of Football exsist in most clubs in Europe & if we have to have one,personally,with all his experience,I can't think of anyone better. Can't see why AVB would feel threatend by his arrival,if anything,it could be a fantastic way to boost his own knowledge of the game. Mind you,as already mentioned,probably just a total waste of ink.

I sometimes wonder if every now & then clubs produce a good batch of youngsters which the international set can make good use of. Maybe countries like Spain are just enjoying the benefits of their own 'golden generation',which may not last. A lot gratitude should go to the hard work of the clubs youth development set-ups,which both Pearce & Capello can now rely on. It's encouraging to see Fabio using the younger guys for the 2 freindlies,but a question to ask is,will he still be so keen when it comes to the finals?. With the SGP development taking shape, hopefully the situation will contine to improve,because as you stated Barn,there weren't that many younger players that deserved the chance. Pearce should not worry about winning trophies with the under 21's,just make sure they develope their skill's/mindset properly.

Well a win is a win,(since 1968!)I think we would all take that if it was in a tournament,(that is, those of us that support England). Maybe the 'God of Sweden' should now be known as the 'useless cock of Sweden',because forgetting England for a sec,Sweden really did do sweet f*ck all during the game.

Listening to talksport while fiddling in the garage,(It's a hobby),Adrian Durham said the reason why the attendance at Wembly would be low is due to the John Terry/race issue. Now, I've listened to a lot of radio broadcasts over the years,but that is by far, the biggest load of bollocks I've ever heard. Maybe its because of the twitter generation that the radio stations feel the need to be controversial,to 'engage' the listner,but in truth all they do is make themselves look a bunch of dicks & make joe public switch off. Good post by the way.

I would love to see AVB play Luiz in front of a Ivanovic,Alex,Terry & Cole back four. It would give us a first defense against Suarez and Kuyt & a chance with his passing ability for a quick counter in what might be a tight midfield. Not to sure Torres is mentally ready to face the dippers,so get the ointment on DD's arm so he's ready to play. Just hope the many pointless international friendlies haven't knackerd our players.

I see from the article that Hutch posted,personal agenda's in the press seam to be nothing new. It's a shame really,the press have such great power to do good,but they seam to waste it. If they are happy to print b*llsh*t as a headline,why can't they be forced to print a retraction of the same size by law?,instead of the usual 2 inch column on page 30 like they do now?. Just might make them think a little before going to print.

Great result for England against the European & World champions. Technically,they were superior,there's no argument about that & the way they play as a team when not in possesion of the ball is a lesson for England. There always seams to be a player avaliable for the pass when they have the ball(& they pass it well) & they hunt in packs for it when they don't. Still a cynical bunch of fouling/divers though!. Well chuffed for Lamps to score as captain,but gutted that we didn't make a bid for Parker at Chelsea when we had the chance. His gutsy,determined & tireless effort on the night was a credit to him,the team & a sign of what he brings to a football club.

Picture this, You've just invented a time traveling machine that goes back in time,that will allow you to change 5 things in Chelsea's past & possibly the course of the clubs illustrious history. Only Chelsea history mind & only 5 events can you alter, Here's my choices:In reverse order, 5.Sorry to start off on a negative,but I would go back to January this year & misplace Torres's agent's phone number,(would love to be proven wrong on that). 4. Bang the the heads together of the board members of the time & give Eddie McCreadie the contract he deserved back in 1977. 3.When Gianfranco Zola retired from playing football,offered him the role of youth development at the club. 2.Change the plans to build a hotel at SB for a 12,000 home fans only stand at the Shed End. 1.Change J.T.'s boots for a longer stud version in Moscow in 2008.

Just a question Redman, in your opinion,is Dalglish the man to take your team forward for the next few years,or is he a bit out of touch for the modern world of todays Premiership?.

No mate,it wouldn't read any type of disc,all you got was the main menu screen. They said that the console has 2 laser types,(I guess one is for HD discs),but if one goes,they have to change both types. Maybe they share the same mount or something & can't be seperated. What I can say for sure is, of the 2 ps3 consoles in the house,one is older & used only for gaming,while the other is used more often for Blue Ray films & I from my post,you can guess which one had the problem!.

Managed to get the other half's ps3 fixed last week by some top chaps in Basildon. Can't be sure what caused it to break in the first place,but I'd watch the amount of Blue Ray films you watch through it in future if I were you.

What those numbnuts at FIFA need to remember is that all those soldiers who lost their lives & any chance of a future,may well have been football fans to.