Gee Bee

Ballack was already before Robben had gone.

Well . . . let's hope Bernd Schuster is the ideal man for him or he will be club hopping in awhile. There are some who left the EPL thinking things might have been better for them at Real Madrid. They can tell him how things went But then again, in Spain there is an association called "Divers Inc."l

Just as was expected Robben has taken a pop at Jose. http://www.thesun.co.uk/article/0,,2002 ... 57,00.html This might have been expected since he felt he was not picked as he would have wished. He thinks he is going to have a better chance where he is now. Why is it that some players are not gracious in their departure of a club?

I am one to welcome Belletti. As other posters said not the ideal age but it is good for variety. Belletti may offer us something more than what we currently have in variety. Since he is Brazilian Jose might be able to relate to him easily. I remember the same Jose making a comment saying that the Brazilians and Portuguese play a similar type of game. We tend to play the more patient passing buildup now as opposed to one time. It was also enlightening to watch liverpool play a host of long balls up front on Sunday. Yet we have been accused of being long ball merchants. Strange what other teams do don't merit the same type of criticism. I read what a brilliant type of game they played. Utter rubbish, I say! They played a lot of hhoof and run on Sunday but only two incidents made big news. Their main route will continue to be Gerrard aas in times gone by. Let us give Belletti the support he deserves and get behind the guy and assure him that he is one of us.

Does anyone else think that Jose ought to start wih Claudio Pizarro ahead of Salomon Kaluo? Kalou seems to lack the physical presence of Pizarro, tends to overdribble at times, has a weak shot far too often and is not showing the form to turn a game at present as opposed to Pizarro. I, for one, thought that Jose would have started with Drogba and Pizarro up front yesterday. That was my only surprise except for the Essien at right back position. Pizarro will fit in up front or in a withdrawn position as he did at Reading. Each time he has come on he looks like making something happen. Kalou needs to develop more of a physical level to his game if he is going to be a successful dribbler or he will be shaken off the ball as is happening too much at present. Pizarro is adjusting quickly to the EPL as he is getting the ball quickly off his feet as is necessary.

Mikel Obi and SWP were the best in our camp and lay off the ref. A couple years ago the Scouse were beaming when we were knocked out of the CL with a dubious goal. The shoe is on the other foot now so it squeezes. I have no pity for them.

Forsell proved his worth yesterday when he scored against us. He did not to celebrate his goal. Another "old boy" (now at Barcelona) had a lot to say and do last season. Look h the mighty has fallen now. They don't even want him there now. Maybe he might have spoken out of turn and too quickly. Forsell has proven to be the true gentleman.

Much as I agree with you that I did not agree with Jose's tactics why would you really want to get the coach out of the door after only one "bad" season? When Ranieri was here he won us zilch and not many wanted him to go because he would change and make it easier for opponents. Isn't it a consideration that we so much lack the width which used to terrorize defences? There are a number of factors which led to us not retaining the title but that's another post. I submit to you that Jose made some errors which may appear glaring but we muck about with the ball too often in the goal area (with two or three too many short passes) with big chances that we either forfeit possession, concede a free kick or worse yet a penalty or give Cech a heart attack in goal for not clearing danger away. We may change Jose now as some wish but will that guarantee us success? We can't just change for the sake of changing. I agree that Jose is not the most spectacular of coaches when it comes to flashy play but did he noe say on arrival that he would rather win 1-0 than to lose 2-3 or 4-5? Why did supporters put up with those tactics before (when we were winning) but now find them annoying (now we have lost the title). Then again, that's human nature.

Pity so many of you moan now. I said on this same forum some time (not so long ago) that Arse and their fans are atrocious. No need to shout now. They do what they are accustomed doing and will always do. Most of the Arse and ManUre fans are ungracious in victory or defeat. It makes no difference.

Any winger worth his salt can easily skin Paulo. He (the winger) has sufficient time to change his mind about what he could/not do with Paulo. Paulo, along with Ashley are the easiest backs to run past at the club. Paulo is slow in making up his mind and too many times has he been beaten when he holds on to the opponent's shirt or trips the opponent who has skipped past him thereby conceding freekicks in dangerous spots. He tends to make Carvalho and Essien cover for him and rescue him on too many occasions. I have seen far many right backs at the club than Paulo Ferreira. Too slow and his only dimension is when he goes forward when he delivers the occasional cross or hits it to an opposing foot. I always feel he will concede a freekick in a dangerous position whenever he comes on. I hardly see him playing another full season at the club. He certainly was not worth the 12 million which was paid for him.

Would someone enlighten me about the physical health of Geremi, Diarra or Boulahrouz? I keep wondering why Jose persists in playing this player when there are players who are better suited for the right back position. I was saying that Paulo Ferreira was not the best player for that position and I was castigated for saying so. Now after two years it can be seen that he is woefully slow and opponents focus on playing the long ball on that side so that their player/s on that side can exploit Ferreira's speed (or lack thereof). He surely can't be in the squad after the end of this season. Jose might have been misguided for suggesting that Chelsea and Newcastle played as well as each other to share the points when we squandered a few half chances. Come on Jose, wake up and stop playing the sloth Paulo Ferreira at right back. Sometimes I am convinced a man on crutches can go past him on their left side without much difficulty. We squandered our best opportunity of closing the gap in this game. I am not so sure we will close it seeing the teams we will face in the last four games. I wish the lads well though and hope that the ManU can again falter and we can pick up the slack. We don't have as many matches left now as three or four weeks ago.

Never a truer word but what has he ever won?

I'm not sure if you mean videos people have shot at the stadium with their own cameras, or just any old video clips of television footage of the match. If you want the latter, click here for some highlight clips. I have to warn you it's an Arse-site, but there's loads of videos on that site. There're not my favourite club but I won't mind visiting the site just this once to get some footage of us thrashing their backsides. I thank you for the kind assistance. Anything with the CHELS whether it's home done of pro I won't mind in the least.

Anyone who has vid clips of play from the Carling Final and want To share?

Time enogh now to throw away the pre season blues (no pun intended). We are fully into the real Premiership season seven games down and counting. What you may be considering is the smaller squad we have now and hope that no major injuries or suspensions occur.

We may be improving in performance so far over these clubs but there are other clubs in the top bracket which have also improve in performances.