Davey Baby

From a defensive point of view, Malouda was able to give Ashley far more help, and I agree that that was part of the thinking, particularly as Swansea kept hitting the diagonal ball towards our left side. Malouda did well when he came on and he may just benefit from the extra competition. I still say Mata was our second most impressive player, after Ramires, but you're right, his withdrawal may have not just been about Wednesday. The fact is we were down to ten men and two-nil up, and AVB was vindicated in his decision.

I generally improve as the season progresses. That's my story and I'm sticking to it. In truth, I was being kind to Anelka. Mata may not have had a great game, but along with Ramires, he was the stand-out player, and the only reason he was subbed was with Wednesday in mind, it was certainly no reflection on his performance. He runs around a lot so I think it was wise to save some energy. Mata enhances our game to a great degree. He has vision, he has skill. I could go on and on. He set up Torres. A nice bit of skill and he was free to set up Ramires for what could have been the first goal. I could go on and on. He is always looking for the ball, always popping up in dangerous places, always a menace, and always clever. He is ambitious in his passing as well as being efficient. He plays for the team. We are a better football team by virtue of his presence. Anelka? Awful on the right, where he played the majority of the first-half. Wasteful in possession, time and time again. Kept giving the ball away and provided precious little threat. Furthermore, when we had one of our few counter-attacking opportunites that half, he collected the ball in their half and lacked the vision to see the overlapping player on the right, when everyone in the ground was screaming for him to give it. He played it to Mata instead, who was offside. Too many touches as usual, kept going backwards instead of forwards, and slowed things down. It's worth remembering that until we scored the first goal, we were labouring, though we enjoyed the majority of possession. Mata provided the ingenuity. It certainly wasn't coming from our Nic. Now, I realise he is not a natural wide player, but he has played there a lot, and he shows no signs of improving in that position, despite the odd flicker of hope. There is no cut and thrust when Anelka is out wide, no penetration, no real threat. I'm talking at a consistent level, which is what you need at the top level. Second-half he played up top, where he wants to play. We were down to ten men and he was more isolated, and he seems to be getting props for that. Not from me. The least we can expect is for him to have movement, to work diligently for the cause, and to contribute. That's the least I expect. In terms of what he gave us, it wasn't a patch on Drogba when he came on. Suddenly we had presence, we had menace, and I know who their defenders would rather face. For a club of our ambitions, Anelka did nothing to dispel his role as a squad player, and I doubt he would make the squad of any of our direct rivals. He hit the bar with a run and shot. I won't let that distort my view of his game. I have seen him shoot countless times from outside the box and this was a better effort than most. Some will think I'm being harsh. Fair enough. He is not my favourite player. Mentally he is weak in my opinion and he doesn't shoulder responsibility. I'm not a big fan of Mikel but I admit he had a good game. Did Anelka do enough to stake a permanent claim, given the competition? That's what he should be doing. In terms of their contribution to the game and the result, in terms of their quality, I don't see how anyone can say Mata had less effect.

Cech 0/10 Apparently had a nice day out shopping with his wife. Boswinga 5/10 Not his best day not his worst day. A middle day. Culpable for their goal, apart from that defended well, particularly in the second-half in which he was asked to stay back far more. Disciplined, that's what I'm trying to say. Apart from their goal in which he was, er, undisciplined. Cole 7/10 I was going to give him eight out of ten but then I realised we were playing Swansea. Ivanovic 6/10 Made a tackle in the first-half. Terry 7/10 Watched as Ivanovic made a tackle in the first-half. Mikel 6/10 Played well. Fuelling rumours he was on drugs. Ramires 8/10 Runs all day. Literally, all day. It drives his wife mad. Mereiles 6/10 If you meet a scouser tell them he's the best player you've ever seen. Torres 5/10 Don't try this with Torres. They won't believe you. Anelka 5/10 Has there ever been a more frustrating player? Oh yeah, Malouda. Mata 8/10 What's the matter with Mata? Nothing. He's really quite good. Subs: Malouda 7/10 Popped up everywhere. Fuelling rumours he might just give a sh*t. Drogba 7/10 You can't keep a good man down except when he stays down. McEachran 7/10 Ten minutes of Josh. Ahh, bliss.

We hear this bullsh*t every week.

The above post was a poem, in case you didn't realise.

I have seen the light and our future midfield will be .. Oriol, Josh, and Ramires for me. They could well be the perfect three. I have seen the light and a slap on the wrist .. From the manager to Fernando Torres, please. We've waited a long time for you to catch fire and then you go and do something dire. I have seen the light and we need to improve .. Our defending from set-pieces. Twice in two weeks is just careless, don't you know.

Along with JT and Cech, he is the first name on the teamsheet, full stop. Ramires is a legend in the making. He is an absolutely superb footballer. Forget the two goals, he was the best player on the park by a mile. It wasn't long ago people were moaning he wasn't Xavi. It takes more than one type of player to make a team. He would be in my team all day long. He gets better and better. God love him.

There are 6 certainties to start and 5 spots up for grabs: Cech + Right-back + Cole + Centre-back + Terry + "Number 6" + Ramires + "Number 8" + Torres + Attacker + Mata.

A lovely written piece Dorset. The more the game went on on Wednesday, the more I found myself saying, "He's bloody good that number 6". The DM role is his for the taking, and I have no doubt he will have taken it before the season's end, he is that good. Sometimes you just know you are looking at the real deal and this was one of those occasions. He was everything Mikel isn't. He was aggressive, he was imposing, he was full of running, and he was clever. It made you realise just what we've been missing. He may even have made a difference on Sunday, when we were crying out for someone to protect the back four. AVB wanted him and you can see why. Sadly, Barca are very unlikely to allow a kid that good to go cheaply, so this may just amount to an extended loan deal, in which case, fine, we still don't lose. We have him here, now, and he's ready to play, and I fully expect us to make the most of him. As we've seen with Essien, there's no point speculating too much on the future, so let's just enjoy him while we have the chance. Two years of service is better than no years, and you never know, it may just turn out to be longer. He may meet a Londoner and have kids. She may not want to move. She may be an avid Chelsea fan. I wonder if there are any candidates on this forum .. ?

Agree with this, though not sure Bale and Johnson are what we need, but we definitely need genuine width, and I'm amazed we didn't get it in the summer. I'm not saying Bale and Johnson wouldn't be an improvement on Malouda and Kalou, I'm just saying we could do better, especially for the fee we would have to pay for Bale. When you look at our squad, the only department we are formidable in is defence. We were once so formidable in midfield (Maka, Essien, Lampard, now there's a trio), but with the decline of Essien and Lamps, we are suddenly a little threadbare. Mikel, Ramires and Mereiles won't have our opponents quite so scared. Of those three I would only really describe Ramires as world-class. Injuries and tiredness will dictate that Josh and Romeu play a lot of games, and while they're great prospects, they have a lot of learning to do, and a lot of getting used to the intensity of the Prem. They will need experienced hands alongside them, and if they're relying on Mikel, they have problems, as he's not someone to shoulder responsibility. This term, our midfield cannot be relied upon in the way it has been in previous years. As I've said elsewhere, we currently have only one midfielder we can rely upon to perform consistently well at the top level. Modric would have been another. Attack .. We just don't compare with the Manchester clubs. They have Rooney and Hernandez working in tandem, supplemented by Nani and Young on the flanks (and I mean flanks). City have Dzeko, Aguero, Silva, Nasri, and that's before we even get to Tevez, Balotelli (I know I know), Johnson etc. That's serious. We have Torres and Drogba, who can't play together, and there is no guarantee either will return to previous heights. We have Sturridge and Anelka, both of whom are flawed, and neither is genuinely suited to the wide-right berth. Anelka is awful in that position in my opinion and Sturridge, while encouraging, is far from the finished article as you've said. After that, you know who, Malouda and Kalou, and that's it. If Malouda gets back to being on song, as he was under Hiddink, we have a player, but he'll never provide us with the genuine width, pace and trickery we crave. In short, he will never be a game-breaker. Lukaku is too raw to be relied upon, a lot of development needed there me thinks. Mata may well be our only genuine article, currently, and even there it's too early to tell, and even there he would struggle to play for a Manchester club. For a club of our resources, that's embarrassing. We struck gold with Drogba, but there's been precious few other attackers under Roman that we can say that of. Who have really made a telling, lasting contribution. Let's hope the new lot change that. We need an overhaul in attack in my opinion. Malouda, Anelka, Kalou, possibly Drogba, depending on whether he recovers form. Torres even if it doesn't work out. All of these are fighting for their futures, or should be. Currently, neither of the Manchester clubs will be looking at them enviously. AVB has his work cut if he wants to win the league, and I'm surprised he didn't make more changes this summer.

Oriol is the clear winner and I've given it to him too. He was outstanding. Skilful, clever, aggressive. Never stopped running. Got stronger and stronger. Most impressively, for a kid who's only just turned 20, he assumed responsibility, which Mikel never does. It really made you see what we've been missing. Sadly there's a buy back clause, because I believe this kid is special. The best player on the park was Luiz. He was a class above. But the kid gets it.

I thought the atmosphere got a lot better when we went down to 10 men, and then again when it went to extra-time, and then again when it went to pens. I really thought the crowd got behind our boys last night, although there were a few groans every time Kalou lost the ball .. Which was a lot !

Going on last night's showing, Oriol will soon be our regular DM. He was really impressive, and everything Mikel isn't.

Glad you mentioned it. My brother thought he was funny, I just thought he was unprofessional. Having a dig at Fulham fans is one thing, not telling you the scores because he doesn't think they are interesting is quite another.

1. AVB does not have a reserve keeper he believes in. The decision to play Cech was staggering. Surely he should have gone and bought one in the summer? 2. He makes elementary mistakes. Terry should not have come on so early, despite Alex's red card. Oriol had slotted in and Luiz could have guided him. We were playing a bunch of nobodies. Literally, nobodies. Three substitutions made with almost an entire half and possible extra-time to come. Result: we more or less played with 9 men throughout that time because ... 3. Lukaku has no stamina. He couldn't run after half-time. Belgium is not England, in case you were wondering. 4. Josh oozes class. But I guess you knew that already. The decision to take him off was nonsensical because he was our most outstanding player, and the person most likely to unlock the door. Besides if Terry really did have to come on so early, there was only one candidate to come off .. 5. Kalou isn't that good. Thank god he scored his penalty. The crowd weren't in forgiving mood. I more or less think that would have been his Chelsea career over. As it is, he scored a good one. 6. Luiz is world class. My brother keeps calling him a poor defender, saying he should be playing in midfield. Not for me. Thank god we've got him. He is a very special fellow and I love him (and so did the two girls sitting next to me). 7. Oriol. What a monster. The more the game progressed the more he came into his own. He is first team material already. Knocks spots off Mikel but then so does my Aunt Agnes. 8. Barcelona. Will be monitoring his progress closely. W**kers. 9. Terry. That's how you take a penalty. Well done son. 10. Alex. Not great in possession. Not the most mobile either. Well and truly fourth choice. 11. We play too high a line. We were lucky to survive unscathed in the first-half. It really is kamikaze defending. At least Terry brought a sense of order. Perhaps AVB was right to bring him on after all ..

Me and my bro going to the game tonight. Particularly looking forward to it for one reason .. Josh. He's posh. He comes from Oxford.

If I hire a builder, I tell him what I want, and I ask him if he thinks he's the right man. Roman has hired a builder and he has certain requirements. If your two ideas meet, bingo, you work together. That's it. It's a far cry from Roman picking the team. He just wants a manager that shares the same vision as he does. Winning, good football, an investment in youth. The sort of thing Alex Ferguson does regularly at Utd. Not to mention Barcelona. It's not like he's not giving his builder the necessary tools to work with.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=52f5ViUgDgI&feature=related Plenty more where that came from ..

We saw it differently. Mata was the last player Nani beat, but he moved into space that was unoccupied, where he was allowed too many touches. That space should have been occupied by someone other than Mata, i.e. someone less attacking. The fact that it wasn't is not Mata's responsibility and I think you're being incredibly harsh. Mata runs about so much and pops up everywhere in attacking positions, moving all the time. That's where he should be putting his energy. In attack. It wasn't a great challenge (admitted) but Nani still had a lot to do. It is not Mata's fault Nani was allowed to progress unimpeded before he shot. Where were our midfielders? I do not want to see Mata having to run back to our 18 yard line.

AVB needs to highlight the decisions that went against us on Sunday. It is smart management. For my money he needs to make more of the penalty decision and the free-kick that led to their first goal, both of which were dodgy. Fergie has built up a lie over the years that Chelsea get the decisions against them. He has done it quite adeptly. As such, we have suffered, not only on Sunday, but last season at OT twice. Anyone who thinks there is no relationship between his continual bleating about our "soft" penalty at the Bridge last season (it was a penalty) and the fact Luiz didn't get sent off and the fact they then went on to get hugely favourable decisions in both our CL games and crunch Premiership game is deluded. AVB needs to redress the balance. Change the perception. Otherwise referees will continually victimise us. Already this season we have had stonewall penalties denied us. I am fully convinced that had the offence been the other way, Dowd would not have given the penalty. It was far from clear-cut. Even the season before, Fergie was going on about our offside goal when their goal was scored via a handball. Because Carlo said nothing, all the focus was on the offside. We need a manager who doesn't allow that to happen, otherwise we suffer. In the earlier encounter at the Bridge, all the focus (quite remarkably) was on the free-kick given against Fletcher (which led to our goal), when the real story was the kung-fu kick on Drogba that led to him being booked. It was a straight red and pen, as Carlo should have said. I do not want a manager who keeps schtum. That just allows other managers to have it their way. This was a massive failing of Carlo's in my opinion. He did not want to upset anybody. Ashley Cole's challenge has made headlines. Headlines on the back page. Really. It was a bad challenge in my opinion. Reckless at best. Fergie then said Ashley has a history of such tackles, which is nonsense. Quite adeptly, Fergie is changing the perception of Cole as a dirty player (which he's not). This puts us at a disadvantage. Ashley had better be careful in the immediate future. Fergie has made sure of that, while also creating the illusion they were wronged, whereas they were the beneficiaries of the officials. AVB needs to make that clear. The worst thing he could do is keep schtum. That's exactly what Fergie wants him to do.

I agree with the first bit, disagree with the second. Mata is an attacking player, and should be used as such. That does not mean he shouldn't defend (all players should defend), but it means he should defend from the front (i.e. closing down and pressing). He is not a box-to-box midfielder and therefore shouldn't be expected to defend too deep. Not only would it expend too much energy, but it would get him in the wrong positions, when we want him to be further up the park. Basically he should be operating in his opponent's half almost all the time, be it defending or attacking. Nani was allowed loads of touches and loads of space before shooting, AVB said as much. That is either the fault of the midfield or the defence, not of Mata.

I just can't see Frank calling it quits at international level, not just yet. He is fiercely ambitious, and would want to win a winner's medal at an international tournament, particularly as that has eluded him. Also, he is in the top ten all-time England appearances, and me thinks he would want to join the 100 club. It would be a poke in the eye for all his detractors. That's the impression I get. One more tournament and 100 caps, that may well be what he's thinking, rightly or wrongly. p.s. I like the line above your avatar

Looks to me like AVB has passed judgement on Mikel, and I have to say it's one I agree on. Not good enough. No way near good enough. I have thought this for a long time. Like many I was willing to give him the benefit of the doubt for a time but then my patience wore thin. It is such a relief for me to see him missing out lately, as I find him such an infuriating player to watch. He just isn't switched on, mentally. I saw many claimed he was MOTM on Tuesday, which I found astonishing, and proved to me how low our expectations are of him. Now, I'm not saying he won't come good, but he has a battle on his hands to make a first-team spot his own, particularly with the arrival of Romeu, who AVB clearly rates. Whether he's up to the battle is another matter. He doesn't strike me as someone with the bit between his teeth. The way we're playing, with a high line and the emphasis on attacking, we need a sturdy holding player, one who understands the role perfectly, who is disciplined, who provides a formidable obstacle, and is efficient in possession. AVB wants to play a fast pressing game, with the ball moved around quickly, that's my reading of it. Whether Mikel is up to that is open to debate. It is telling that AVB has plumped for Mereiles when he's not even a natural holding player. That should be a wake-up call for Mikel. The opportunity is there if he wants it, we are short on midfield options, and this could be a big season for him if he works hard and progresses. Unless the manager can get inside his head however I feel the slumber will continue. Mikel plays like he's sleep-walking half the time. The Monday after last weekend, the weekend we won at Sunderland (and Mereiles played so well), Gary Neville analysed our game. He was spot on in my opinion. He said Mikel takes too many touches, that he always misses the incisive forward ball because you only have two seconds to make it (after two seconds the opportunity's gone in his view). He said Mikel doesn't see the picture in front of him, that he always misses his opportunity to release the ball fast and get moves going. If you compare his distribution to Josh in the same position last season, you see what he means. Josh just gets it so much quicker regardless of whether that's his best position. Mikel dithers. Some will say Neville has an agenda, because Utd lost out in the battle for Mikel, but to my mind he's bang on. Mikel can be a hindrance rather than an asset. Mikel came with a big reputation, having excelled apparently at youth level. It is about time he started living up to that reputation by assuming some responsibility. He is too slow, awful at heading, and is immobile. I just don't think he has the passing range to be a playmaker, and he can't score goals. I'm really not sure where we go from here, but if he has a future at Chelsea as a first-team player, he needs to wake up and smell the coffee, and the fact that Mereiles is playing instead of him as DM (at OT of all places, where they are going to attack you) should be alarming to him, and should tell him he needs to do more to impress the new manager, starting now. The manager made a very clear choice on Sunday. It's early days and a lot can change over the course of the season. It's up to Mikel to make him change his mind ..

Agreed. The idea that Anelka was MOTM is nonsense in my view. He made a telling pass, and, as you say, had a little period after that where he played well, but that was it. The rest was the usual .. too many touches (way too many touches), slowing the game down everytime he received it, feinting this way and that then going backwards, etc etc. Anelka, by and large, is a liability in wide positions, as we saw to our cost last season. Sturridge didn't have a great game, and got worse the more it progressed, but for a natural striker he makes a far better fist of playing wide, because he gives us real cut and thrust, which Anelka seldom does. Ivan and Terry played well, and can't be faulted for the goals. Ramires played well, but then he always does. Mata played well and so did Torres. For me it was Torres. Cut and thrust is the name of the game and he gave us it, for the first time in a blue shirt. I've been a harsh critic of Torres but I think he deserves it. If I was watching that game cold, and I knew nothing about the players on view, or the history, he was the one who would stand out. In a blue shirt that is. Nani was by far the best player on view. And Jones is going to be some player. Sadly.

I think his challenge yesterday was the result of frustration, as it was a bit over the top. Nani gave him the runaround, and that's not something he's used to. He was also given a hard time by Bale recently at Wembley. Signs that he's on the wane, possibly, despite his goal line clearance at the end. I've heard him say he can hardly walk when he gets out of bed, such is the wear and tear he's suffered, not to mention the amount of foraging runs he makes week after week. Going by the summer activity, it looks like AVB wanted solid and dependable cover, in the form of Pereira, which leads me to believe he doesn't think Bertrand's quite ready. Bertrand's our only other natural left-back, and I hope he's called upon when needed, otherwise I don't see the point of having him in the squad. He's 22 I think.