Star

I agree Spiller, he maybe needs four or so years in his native Portugal to rebuild his shattered confidence. So many comparisons with Jose but the Europa League is not the Champions League and Villas Boas is not Mourinho. Like Ranieri he is a good guy and goes with my best wishes.

Yesterday's performance was a disgrace. When you see the likes of Saha and Henry scoring and you see another pathetic display by Torres and Co. not even the magic of the special one can sort this mess out. AVB dropped Cahill who needs to prove a point and that again shows his lack of experience and lack of man management. This is the worst football we have played in Roman's time here. He knows that, I will be amazed if Capello or Hiddink is not at the helm before we play Napoli. There was clear anti AVB songs during and after the Everton game from the Chelsea away following. The writing is clearly on the wall

I also believe Bertrand should be given a shout ahead of Ashley !

I have already written tomorrows column and I have flagged up what a difference it made when Sturridge attacked the by line from wide for the first goal. I totally agree that we do not have width, malouda never goes down the line or even tries to on the other side either. As for Luiz, he would be my playmaker in central midfield, he is brilliant at everything except being a marker in his own box...so centre back? Not for me. Pat ========================================================================================================= For me, David Luiz is the most exciting player we have at the moment going forward, of all our current players, whilst Sturridge and Ramires and sometimes Mata, gets my bum of my seat, only Luiz gives me that 'thing' in my belly as wee Pat did in the 80's. I believe in AVB's current set up he is wasted at Centre Back and if Ivanovic can be considered as an alternative to the inept Bosingwa I and doubley sure Luiz can do the job. Cahill and Terry for me need to be our Centre Backs and David needs to be roaming forward causing havoc and using his brazialian flair to it's full advantage. I have added a nostalgic picture of Pat with my son, now 24 and my daughter's with Vinnie in the days we got close to players on family days at the Bridge !

We have made an offer for Hazard and Lucas, as I have said before Willan would be third on our list. I'd go as far as saying we need all three. If we sneak 4th place, I am certain Hazard will be the one we will pull out all the stops to sign.

I agree Just, how anyone can say Sturridge is not one big positive from this season is beyond me.

As Chelsea fans we have got to be realistic here. If we finish outside the top 4, unless AVB wins us the Champions League, he will be out of a job in the summer. Whatever might be said by the press or quotes from insiders at the Bridge, Romans track record says exactly that. Quite where that will leave Chelsea Football Club is really unthinkable, will we be able to attract the players we need, will we financially be able to handle not getting the money that the Champions League brings. Roman has the biggest decision to make since he came here. He has sacked managers in the past simply for coming second to Man Utd. If we lose at Everton does anyone seriously think Roman will take the chance of AVB turning things round ? Since beating Man City, we have played nine premiership games. Including the likes of Wigan, Fulham, Villa, Norwich and Swansea. Our points haul is 13 from 27. A look at our away fixture's, we have Man City, Arsenal and Liverpool. We have only Spurs and Newcastle at home where matters are in our own hands. I cannot for the life of me seeing Roman with the patience or confidence to let AVB see it through or do I think unless Guss Hiddink is available by some miracle is available there is a manager out there to dig us out of this hole. Or is there ? Vialli or Gullit anyone ?

I have been saying since we lost natural width in the side we haven't the players to play 4-3-3. Despite Carlo winning the double he never played anyone in the Kaka role or bought a playmaker in the defensive role as he did with Pirlo. That smacks of 'player power' or more to the point players that won trophies under Jose's way felt more comfortable playing 4-3-3. When AVB has showed great character to leave out the likes of Drogba,Lampard and Terry I thought hey, this geezer means business and is just what we need to take Chelsea forward. What has happened in the last few months smacks of someone not only out of his depth but one without the brain to make tactical decisions under pressure. I'd play Drogba with Sturridge and Mata just behind. With Essien, Lampard and Ramires Suddenly offensively we look dangerous and goals look a possibility. Terry and Cahill need to be paired and I would play Luiz right back. Malouda, Bosingwa and Meireles should be shafted out in the summer they are simply not good enough for Chelsea FC End of Story

The horse named after Fernando runs today in a 'Seller' in the 325 at Wolverhampton. The horse in question 'Striker Torres' has similar form to our 'prolific' striker Striker Torres (IRE) Age: 6 (foaled 1st May 2006) Trainer: G R Oldroyd Sex: Chestnut Gelding Owner: Mr R C Bond Breeding: Danehill Dancer (IRE) - Silver Skates (IRE) (Slip Anchor) Vital Stats Runs 1st 2nd 3rd Win % To £1 Level Stake Lifetime (UK/ROI) 31 3 6 2 9.68% -£10.00 Form Sort By: Show: All Runs Wins Wins & Places Highlight runs after 60-day break Date Position Wt BHA Course Dist Draw Going Class Jockey Trainer Winner Dst. Btn. Opened SP 30 Jan 12 4/11 9-6 69 Wolv 7f 6 Std 5 D Swift (3) G R Oldroyd Hawk Moth (IRE) 1.75 9/1 8/1 29 Oct 11 2/9 9-3 66 Wolv 7f 4 Std 5 D Swift (3) G R Oldroyd Bavarian Princess (USA) 0.50 6/1 5/1 04 Oct 11 5/11 9-0 68 Sou 7f 3 Std 5 D Swift (3) G R Oldroyd Il Battista 4.50 6/1 5/1 27 Aug 11 7/11 9-2 70 Red 8f 9 Sft 4 S De Sousa G R Oldroyd Sweet Child O'mine 13.00 7/1 15/2 25 Aug 11 5/11 9-12 70 Crl 7f 11 Gd, Gd/Sft pl 5 F Norton G R Oldroyd Istiqdaam 6.38 12/1 12/1 03 Aug 11 8/14 9-8 71 Newc 7f 9 Gd, Gd/Frm pl 5 D Allan G R Oldroyd Istiqdaam 6.81 20/1 20/1 12 Jul 11 11/12 9-12 73 Bev 7f 6 Gd/Frm 5 M O'connell (3) G R Oldroyd Polish World (USA) 10.25 8/1 7/1 02 Jul 11 5/8 9-5 73 Bev 7f 7 Gd/Frm 5 P Aspell G R Oldroyd Shadowtime 4.50 4/1 9/2 16 Jun 11 1/9 8-9 68 Bev 7f 1 Gd/Frm, Gd pl 4 P Mulrennan G R Oldroyd Striker Torres (IRE) 9/1 8/1 19 May 11 8/16 9-3 70 Hayd 10f 3 Gd 5 G Gibbons G R Oldroyd Mcbirney (USA) 15.06 22/1 25/1 08 Apr 11 6/7 9-3 70 Wolv 9f 7 Std 5 J Quinn G R Oldroyd Mountain Cat (IRE) 4.12 9/1 9/1 16 Mar 11 4/6 9-3 p 71 Sou 7f 1 Std 5 J Quinn G R Oldroyd Rio Cobolo (IRE) 2.38 9/2 5/1 02 Mar 11 5/10 8-8 p1 72 Wolv 7f 2 Std 4 J Quinn G R Oldroyd Avonrose 2.69 11/2 11/2 07 Feb 11 6/7 9-4 v 72 Wolv 7f 6 Std 5 A Kirby G R Oldroyd Steed 19.25 15/8 9/4f 24 Jan 11 2/8 8-10 v 72 Wolv 7f 5 Std 4 G Gibbons G R Oldroyd Smalljohn 0.75 5/1 7/1 13 Jan 11 3/4 9-4 v 72 Sou 7f 3 Std 5 T Eaves G R Oldroyd Dubai Hills 16.00 10/3 7/2 17 Dec 10 2/10 8-9 v 72 Wolv 7f 10 Std/Slow 4 G Gibbons G R Oldroyd Hulcote Rose (IRE) 5.00 6/1 7/1 03 Feb 10 7/10 9-1 v 72 Ling 7f 10 Std 5 T Eaves B Smart Sarah's Art (IRE) 4.31 5/2 11/4f 15 Jan 10 1/5 8-7 v 66 Sou 7f 6 Slw 4 T Eaves B Smart Striker Torres (IRE) 9/4 5/2 19 Dec 09 1/11 9-1 v 63 Wolv 7f 7 Std 6 T Eaves B Smart Striker Torres (IRE) 6/1 15/2 11 Dec 09 2/10 9-2 v1 63 Wolv 7f 5 Std 6 T Eaves B Smart Istiqdaam 3.50 16/1 20/1 23 Oct 09 10/14 8-9 66 Don 7f 14 Gd (Round Crse: Gd/Sft, Gd pl) 5 A Carter (3) B Smart Steel Stockholder 9.38 9/1 10/1 10 Oct 09 15/19 8-11 70 York 10f 9 Gd 4 T Eaves B Smart Starla Dancer (GER) 30.12 28/1 33/1 29 Jul 09 5/7 8-10 74 Red 8f 7 Gd/Frm 4 T Eaves B Smart Applause (IRE) 10.00 16/1 20/1 28 May 09 8/8 8-12 78 Newc 8f 2 Gd/Frm 4 T Eaves B Smart Silver Games (IRE) 29.88 16/1 14/1 16 May 09 6/13 9-0 80 Don 7f 9 Gd/Sft, Sft pl 4 T Eaves B Smart Magaling (IRE) 5.25 14/1 14/1 12 Apr 09 5/11 8-13 81 Muss 7f 11 Gd/Frm, Frm pl 5 T Eaves B Smart Desire To Excel (IRE) 4.62 5/6 8/11f 24 Oct 08 2/15 9-0 76 Don 7f 6 Gd, Gd/Sft pl 4 T Eaves B Smart Roman Republic (FR) 0.75 7/2 9/2 04 Oct 08 2/13 9-3 Red 7f 6 Gd, Gd/Frm pl 4 T Eaves B Smart Hail Promenader (IRE) 0.75 4/1 5/2 25 Sep 08 3/14 9-3 Pont 6f 9 Gd/Frm, Gd pl 4 T Eaves B Smart Calligrapher (USA) 7.12 5/1 11/2 13 Jul 08 4/8 9-3 Hayd 6f 6 Hvy, Sft pl 5 T Eaves B Smart Desert Phantom (USA) 7.25 4/1 11/4jf

Excellent summing up Brit, after the dust has settled I really feel AVB needs an experienced hand alongside him, to me he has crumbled to the pressure and never recovered from the Arsenal mauling at home making his tactics a 'catch 22' situation.

Napoli play three at the back and break far quicker than United as a unit. Cavani, Lavezzi, and Hamsik are far more mobile and dangerous, they would have slaughtered Basel in my opinion.

A bloke just rang up Chelsea TV saying he wanted AVB sacked, in his words "It's like a 17 year old passing his driving test and being given a Ferrari in a Formula 1 race!"

Even though we have lost a 3-0 lead for the first time in Chelsea's Premiership history. It doesn't excuse our plastic fans leaving in droves shortly after Hernandez levelled.

I am sad to post this, but even at 3-0, I had three things on my mind, the same thought as before the game, why was Bertrand not as Ashley Cole's deputy given a start. The thought that there will be one moment Torres would have that chance to end his goal drought and AVB's substitute's would determine the latter stages of the game. I have to say also, even cruising I felt the worse but didn't have the heart to lay us on betfair at 1/100 on. Bertrand as I said before kick off needed the experience of a game like this. Cahill rightly played but in preparation he should have played alongside Luiz at Swansea it was so obvious and was the reason for the equalizer when both lost Hernandez. Torres had the chance to put daylight between us and United at 3-2, quite why he failed to pull the trigger is beyond me. I watched Ba score for Newcastle, the boy Cisse miss a sitter than ram in a beauty. If we are talking why they are also breathing down our necks it is simple it is because they have a Centre Forward who scores goals. Torres's body language and performance after that miss, was a mirror of AVB's post match reaction, a dead man walking and shot of confidence. At 3-1, maybe Romeu should have come on, Malouda was on the pitch but a housewife who has never seen a football match in her life could see he was giving the ball to United's midfield and running into blind alleys and slowing down our play as if he had a United shirt on his back. So what does AVB do, well basically what he did at Wigan, panic at 3-2 bring on Romeu and take off Sturridge. Yes Sturridge, the one player that could break at speed and had Evra on a yellow card to boot. I thought it was wrong of fans to ask for AVB's head, I still do in fact, but I think Roman will be thinking he has made a grave error in leaving this re-building job to a Manager clearly in-experienced and let's be honest here, tactically failing when the pressure is on and not knowing to 'Stick or Twist' since the hammering at home by Arsenal. I would not be surprised to see another Chelsea manager in control before the end of the week. Roman is not a patient fella, we are looking at having to win the Champions League to re-qualify as we have to go to Arsenal, Liverpool and Man City in the league still and if we cannot defend a 3-0 lead with thirty minutes to go against this lot we have no chance with Napoli who are a far better offensive outfit. Wonder what Guss Hiddink is doing ? I hope I am wrong but I can see it coming, much rather wait until we are out of everything and Roman went cap in hand to Jose!

What the selection of Bosingwa at left back will do to young Ryan Bertrand's confidence is beyond me. This really shows AVB's lack of experience in the same breath as him depriving the kid of vital experience. I watched young J Sala score a beauty for Hamburg against Bayern last night and he looked the part throughout - food for thought AVB

The FA are a joke, innocent before proven guilty never applies to JT. He should speak out and quit the old farts that control our game.

I think that Torres scoring has become bigger than Chelsea at the moment, bit of a daft statement some might say, but every time he takes to the pitch my thoughts are C'mon Fernando, I am also thinking I hope he scores, the players I guess are thinking the same. Maybe the press are reporting the same, there is more interest in Torres than anything else Chelsea. He has come an obsession and surely that cannot be good. Maybe we need to cut our losses for the good of Chelsea Football Club, Cisse has scored for QPR tonight, Keane hit two on his Villa debut, the much critisised Carroll has scored two more than Torres. I'd love him to score a hatrick against Utd or Bolton he needs it desperately, but so do we all, it's plainly not right. Chelsea fans have been brilliant with him, we all want him to do well but it's taking over !!!!!!! Had he been a Sutton or Fleck he would have been battered by now, but like Sheva he has got away with it.

I think in good form or not, Napoli will be too strong for us, the way they set themselves up with 3 at the back and break with pace and directness we will be in all sorts of trouble.

AVB has to stay, the club knew he wasn't the finished article from the outset and I am sure the cutest Chelsea fans around believed the same. To me he is Brendon Rodgers with the higher profile and European experience with trophies to boot. What we saw last night was a Swansea ground and team that cost less to build than the 50 million RA shelled out for Fernando Torres. What we also saw was the pace of Dyer and the quick feet and swift passing of a midfield clearly tuned and set out in the way RA cries out for. AVB in his defence has RDM who also played the same expansive type of football at WBA with worse players than are at Swansea but couldn't keep a clean sheet for his life. We HAVE to look at our players, our squad, our development. It is so obvious to everyone that to play 4-3-3 you need pace and trickery on the flanks, alll the best teams in European leagues at every level have them. Man Utd have had them throughout Fergie's reign and Spurs with Bale and Lennon create so much chaos and it opens up the pitch for the likes of VDV and Modric to dictate things rather than chase and press for 90 mins. Quite how we sign the likes of De Bruyne, when the Kakuta's, Stoich's and Sinclair's of this world are not kept at the club to be given the coaching and development to make the grade here at Chelsea is beyond me. We sign one youngster yesterday for 1.5 million and let another go to AC Milan for nothing, where is the sense in that? This club of ours is crying out for stability, this team of ours is crying out for pace and width. I would play Luiz right back, Bertrand left back, Cahill and Terry as a strong central pairing against Man Utd but I really do not think AVB will. I strongly believe he is feeling the pressure, pressure of being the first manager in RA reign not to let us drop out of the top four. Yet I strongly believe and so does he over 38 games we are better than Arsenal and Liverpool but in his mind he cannot now take chances. We are in a real dogfight and we do not have the players to really play the way the three teams above clearly can. Mata just has to play the 'Silva' role, but until we get two wide men in the style of Duff and Robben at their peak we will continue to look lethargic, one paced and predictable. Lambert the Norwich Manager said all his game plan was to let us get the ball out wide because he knew Chelsea couldn't hurt them there. Last night Malouda again when put wide, first instinct was to come or pass the ball inside. We need natural width, someone who can test and worry the opposition, we also need a striker who can also put the ball in the net. At 1-1 last night in the final seconds the ball broke on the left, Torres in space, the Torres of old against Chelsea would have darted forward, been selfish and scored. So last night he lacked that injection of pace and played a useless ball square. Torres lets me honest has not helped AVB's cause, he is a shadow of the player who tormented us at Liverpool, it's time we stopped and AVB stopped making excuses, 5 goals is a pathetic return for the money we paid for him.

I hope you are right but I fear not !

After the Norwich and Swansea games, it's so obvious we are crying out for width and an early ball to Torres, if AVB cannot see it, he should go back to learning his coaching badges. Mata needs to play the 'Silva' role and boy does Ramires look the player most crucial to our 4th place aspirations. We need two class wingers, Hazard and Lucas might well be the best option, but until we get width, get rid of Bosingwa and play David Luiz right back and get him marauding forward (The only player tonight who got me anywhere near excited on the ball) and settle with a strong central defence in Cahill and Terry we will always be struggling to stay in the top four. Don't get me on Ashley Cole either, I remember the days Ronaldo couldn't get by him. The kid Dyer ran him ragged tonight, he should have been sent off in the first half. Swansea deserved the three points and on this performance our old backroom boy challenge was firmly won on points by Brendan Rodgers.

I posted at the end of the last transfer window on here that we would sign Cahill and De Bruyne in January. The same guy told me last week Chelsea have made a firm offer for Lucas and Hazard is likely to be a realistic target in the summer. There seems to be a Belgian/Brazilian feel to our future. Courtois looks a great buy, I know an Athletico fan who I met when we played there in the CL and he reckons he is the best keeper in Spain already. Lukaku, Piazon, Ramires and Luiz are great influences to us signing the 'big cheese's' Hazard I really believe will be ours next season, we have a chance with Lucas purely because he plays for Sao Paulo. Pele was a great footballer, one of the best of all time but the geezer is in a protective time warp. Sao Paulo tend to let their players go when the time and money is right. The other big cheese is of course Neymar who under the annoying Pele's influence will eventually end up at Barcelona. If we sign Willan I think it will be because the others have chose not to sign for us.

Vorm (Swansea) Coloccini (Newcastle) Taylor (Swansea) Shawcross (Stoke) Samba (Blackburn) Cabaye (Newcastle) Faurlin (QPR) Tiote (Newcastle) Pilkington (Norwich) Allen (Swansea) Dyer (Swansea) Larsson (Sunderland) Frei (Fulham) Sessegnon (Sunderland) Ba (Newcastle) Ruiz (Fulham) I really believe Frei and Sessegnon could be good additions to our squad and Larsson offers much more than Meireles. Frei has awesome pace and talent, Sessegnon could be anything and it so versatile. Larsson is the best dead ball artist in the premiership and has a Lampard type timing in the box.

Watching the Arsenal game, this kid looks something else. What that means for Josh I can guess. Bench warming, because at the moment Allen at 21 is more the Premiership player at the moment.