Jme_CFC_144

I saw Rafa Benitez being linked to the job this afternoon, I almost puked. 100% behind AVB, the type of play he is pursuing requires different types of players, players that we can call his own rather than Mourinho's or Hiddink's or whomevers! Give him the summer, a nice transfer budget and license to get rid the dead wood, see how we do next season and then pass judgement. Sure he has his naive moments, but you have to remember this is only his third year of management practically, he needs time to evolve, just as the team does, we need to patient, and take the bad results on the chin and leave Andre to find his way!

la la la la la, MATAAAA.

so he did, after a quick browse online. contracts are there to be broken nonetheless, easily one England's brightest talents wasting away as a squad player at the Etihad. you never know, it can be a bit of a revolving door there

i think we should be trying to prise Adam Johnson away from City, play him the on the left freeing up Mata to float. We need to give up on the Modric wish, until Redknapp has left THFC anyway. As for a centre back, recall Jeffrey Bruma i say, has been performing well for Hamburg from what Ive heard/read.

does anyone remember Marseille away last year in the champions league group stage? Josh was comfortably our best performer on the night, regardless of whether the match was a dead rubber or not. I think Ancelotti even said so himself. any talk of him not being worthy a chance is ludicrous

unless we make a couple of midfield signings in jan, I dont think Josh will be going anywhere. And i'd rather he didnt go anywhere. I think saying AVB doesnt rate him is a tad extreme, if that were the case he wouldnt be anywhere near the first team. Its a peculiar scenario this one, and it needs to be sorted by JMc getting at least 180 minutes on the pitch in the near future

anyone else think yesterdays match against Wigan was calling out for Josh to come on at half time? Meireles was off the pace, Lampard was his steady but predictable self. How Mikel still gets opportunities in the first team is beyond me, the guy is nothing short of useless!

and why isnt AVB chancing his arm with JMc? if he cant make an impact at Wigan, where and when will he? come on AVB, leap of faith mate!

my biggest issue with yesterday was the decision to replace Mata with Mikel with a substantial amount of time still to be played? what kind of message does that send to the fans and the players? wigan are not a team we should be fearing, obviously we have to respect them as a fellow premier league team, but in all honesty we should be going to the DW arena and dominating, regardless of the weather and any other excuses any one can come up with. Bit of naivity from AVB yesterday I feel

yesterdays result showed how much weaker we are as a team without Ramires. The boy exudes confidence and inspires others around him with his energy and effort. Sincerely hope he is available for Spurs

last season I could not stand the guy. perhaps it was a tad harsh to judge him in his first season, but his play at times was more than frustrating and to say he was off the pace is an understatement. now he sets the pace. at the moment i see ramires as a more integral part of the starting XI than Lampard. The energy he has is unbelievable, and for me he is the best box to box midfielder in the premiership in the minute. his technique is not the greatest but you cannot falt his effort and desire. those lungbusting runs certainly get the adrenaline going. will be interesting to see how he deals with the return of Essien

I think as long as we keep it tight in the away leg, play in the same way we have against valencia and man city in periods, then we can take a draw or maybe even sneak a cheeky 1-0 win and then deal with them sufficiently at the Bridge

Frank will always go down as a legend at this club, purely for the amount of goals he has scored. Incredible record, even if a fair few took a deflection or were from the spot... I just think now the team is carrying him more than ever, he doesnt fit in the fluid style of play AVB wants, often slowing the game down or picking the wrong pass. Dont get me wrong, he is a great player to have in the squad, his attitude is second to none. But now AVB has shown he is his own man when it comes to making decisions, I'd like to see JMc given a few more chances in the first team. Time to revitalise this team and if that means marginalising Frank, then so be it

BASEL LETS BE HAVING YA!

There is way too much negativity towards Bosingwa on this thread. He has easily been one of Chelsea's better performers since AVB arrived. Granted, his defensive ability leaves a lot to be desired, but he has one thing our defence is short of, true pace. He may not be a world class full back, but I think he is solid enough and certainly suits the style of play is encouraging. Another problem would be who would you replace him with? Ramos? Alves? Maicon? Walker? all have defensive question marks bar maybe Ramos, but signing him would be as likely as signing Messi.

fair play for AVB saying what he did about the media, its completely within his right and to an extent I agree with him. At the same time, I think his observations can be interpreted as naive, as they merely intensify the pressure upon his shoulders. I'm all for him fighting our corner, but he needs to be careful about damaging his integrity especially so in regards to the press

I think its a worthwhile option if it involves a drop in Didier's wages and Drogba himself realising he will not be playing week in, week out. Maybe reducing his weekly wage, but include high incentives such as appearance bonuses and minimum goal bonuses we could eke out a fair few more stellar performances from the big man. If he's not willing to co operate, and I believe he would be, then let him go in the summer. He's been more than an able servant to us!

21 year old male Chelsea fan here, currently living in Portsmouth whilst studying but southwest London is where I call home. I look forward to reading all your opinions and sharing my own! KTBFFH!