Posted January 3, 200916 yr Not talking about the DVD that was released a few years ago. There I remember us shattering records, winning games, keeping leads, crashing the 'parked' bus and using subs effectively for most games. Oh Jose ... .. If there is anything left from that scene, then its happy memories and a lot of hope. LFS was hand picked, mooted to re-revolutionize the mighty Blues. Sadly, we are not keeping our leads, donating last minute goals, not breaking down teams, not winning at home and not getting the best out of our players. Mini blip? What is the club doing about the cluttered midfield? With the signing of Deco we now have Essien, Ballack, Deco, Lampard, Mikel, Joe, Malouda. We still don't have a replacement for Makalele (why are we going Real Madrid style?) Why are we trying to rely on just 2 front men? Anelka and Drogba can both finish but they waste more than they chew on. Now we've sold Bridge, do we throw Malouda to left-back if Cole is injured? Is LFS really being given a chance to run the team? All i hear from him is PK this PK that if Peter says no then no if Peter says yes then yes. What do people think needs to be done? This is a blip and will go? LFS will be sacked after another draw/loss and we will get some random person like Grant again - another season wasted? Roman to sell the club? Is there no real problem? We're second in the league and thats a good position to be in right now.
January 3, 200916 yr We need another Mourinho. A relatively young manager but with bags of experience and is willing to take risks as he's still learning. LFS is 60 and is going to stick by his own tactics until he retires. Well, I'm sorry, they're not really working at the moment. 2nd place is a great place to be in under the circumstances, but we (the fans) are always the first to complain when we drop points. We need that old fire back that showeed that we will come back and do it. That's what we did in 04/05. That's what we did in 05/06. That's what we did in 06/07. All under Mourinho. 07/08 we battled and battled all season and lost out on silverware by 1) playing badly, which no one can argue against, and 2) penalties. Avram was a fighter, we have to give him that. And, as yet, it's just not happening under LFS. And it needs to happen fast.
January 3, 200916 yr Is there no real problem? We're second in the league and thats a good position to be in right now. Second in the league is a good position to be when you're playing well, not when you're deep into a seemingly endless run of increasingly dire performances and disappointing results. I had to go out today so didn't manage to see the game. I managed to catch a bit of Sky Sports News and that was it. All I know is that we should have no problems beating Southend at home. But then we shouldn't have had any problems beating Burnley at home. And ... no f**k it, I can't be bothered to go through the whole lot of them again. Our home form of late has been closer to that of a side battling relegation than one challening for the title. Our Champions League form hasn't been good all season, home or away. And recently (at Everton who's home form was equally poor and who played without a recognised striker and at Fulham who have trouble scoring goals yet put two past us) it seems that our away form is catching up with our home form. Normally, a draw at home to Southend might be regarded as a blip. Getting knocked out at home to Burnley might be regarded as a blip. As might failure to beat a piss poor N17 Scum side at home. Or a piss poor Geordie side. Or the manner of the failure to beat the Pikeys at home. Don't forget that the Arse were also in a run of bad form, their morale was at rock bottom, and yet we managed to lose to them as well. I'm not even going to mention the game that brought the home record to an end. Neither am I going to call for Scolari's head. Even though I can't think of anyone else who can be held equally or more responsible for the way our recent results have gone - Scolari's tactics, Scolari's team selection, Scolari's substitutions, Scolari's man management and motivational skills. All I am going to say is that I am well pissed off.
January 3, 200916 yr Second in the league is a good position to be when you're playing well, not when you're deep into a seemingly endless run of increasingly dire performances and disappointing results. I had to go out today so didn't manage to see the game. I managed to catch a bit of Sky Sports News and that was it. All I know is that we should have no problems beating Southend at home. But then we shouldn't have had any problems beating Burnley at home. And ... no f**k it, I can't be bothered to go through the whole lot of them again. Our home form of late has been closer to that of a side battling relegation than one challening for the title. Our Champions League form hasn't been good all season, home or away. And recently (at Everton who's home form was equally poor and who played without a recognised striker and at Fulham who have trouble scoring goals yet put two past us) it seems that our away form is catching up with our home form. Normally, a draw at home to Southend might be regarded as a blip. Getting knocked out at home to Burnley might be regarded as a blip. As might failure to beat a piss poor N17 Scum side at home. Or a piss poor Geordie side. Or the manner of the failure to beat the Pikeys at home. Don't forget that the Arse were also in a run of bad form, their morale was at rock bottom, and yet we managed to lose to them as well. I'm not even going to mention the game that brought the home record to an end. Neither am I going to call for Scolari's head. Even though I can't think of anyone else who can be held equally or more responsible for the way our recent results have gone - Scolari's tactics, Scolari's team selection, Scolari's substitutions, Scolari's man management and motivational skills. All I am going to say is that I am well pissed off. i can think of several other people who have to take some blame for these results, all playing in blue. and i stress the word some, as clearly scolari also has to.
January 4, 200916 yr Selling Bridge doesn't leave us vulnerable in the LB spot, Ashley Cole is a relatively fit player who rarely gets injured *touch wood* but if he does then Belletti is capable playing there, as is Ferriera and I reckon Ivanovic could too plus Essien when he gets back to fitness. Selling Bridge was worthwhile, though it's sad cause he's a legend for that goal, cause we need the money and the squad is over-crowded. Also our midfield isn't as crowded as everyone thinks it is. Malouda, J Cole and Kalou play out wide and Scolari has favoured Deco out in this position too. With one holding midfielder (Mikel or Essien) this leave two other midfield positions, choose from - Lamps and Ballack with the option of Belletti or Deco in addition. We do have a replacement for Maka, Mikel has been top draw this season - I'd rather keep Mikel and wait a few years until he is an actual resemblance of Maka than spend £20m on someone who might be like Maka. There's only really ever going to be one Makelele though... I recently watched 'The Greatest Game' DVD which has the 90 full minutes of that 4-2 home win against Barca in the CL, kinda bought back a lot of good memories but also emphasised how poor we have been in comparison. Jose was something special and in comparison Scolari seems inadequete but we shouldn't be calling for his head just yet as we are still in a good position in the league etc. Give him a few more games, if we bring in some January signing then let's give Scolari some more time to show what he can do with his addition. If still no progress by the end of Jan/mid Feb then it'd be worthwhile sacking him this season so a new manager has at the least 1/4 of a season to adjust to the language, PL and the players. I'd say the new manager should be Frank Rijkaard - young, attacking football, won La Liga, won CL, used to working with top top players and getting the best out of them, has a lot of relations in European football, speaks English, has played Chelsea a few times so kinda has some knowledge on the club. Perfect choice imo, but let's give Scolari a little while longer. Edited January 4, 200916 yr by Chelsea Lad
January 4, 200916 yr Selling Bridge doesn't leave us vulnerable in the LB spot, Ashley Cole is a relatively fit player who rarely gets injured *touch wood* but if he does then Belletti is capable playing there, as is Ferriera and I reckon Ivanovic could too plus Essien when he gets back to fitness. Selling Bridge was worthwhile, though it's sad cause he's a legend for that goal, cause we need the money and the squad is over-crowded.Also our midfield isn't as crowded as everyone thinks it is. Malouda, J Cole and Kalou play out wide and Scolari has favoured Deco out in this position too. With one holding midfielder (Mikel or Essien) this leave two other midfield positions, choose from - Lamps and Ballack with the option of Belletti or Deco in addition. We do have a replacement for Maka, Mikel has been top draw this season - I'd rather keep Mikel and wait a few years until he is an actual resemblance of Maka than spend £20m on someone who might be like Maka. There's only really ever going to be one Makelele though... I recently watched 'The Greatest Game' DVD which has the 90 full minutes of that 4-2 home win against Barca in the CL, kinda bought back a lot of good memories but also emphasised how poor we have been in comparison. Jose was something special and in comparison Scolari seems inadequete but we shouldn't be calling for his head just yet as we are still in a good position in the league etc. Give him a few more games, if we bring in some January signing then let's give Scolari some more time to show what he can do with his addition. If still no progress by the end of Jan/mid Feb then it'd be worthwhile sacking him this season so a new manager has at the least 1/4 of a season to adjust to the language, PL and the players. I'd say the new manager should be Frank Rijkaard - young, attacking football, won La Liga, won CL, used to working with top top players and getting the best out of them, has a lot of relations in European football, speaks English, has played Chelsea a few times so kinda has some knowledge on the club. Perfect choice imo, but let's give Scolari a little while longer. I agree with most of what you say and most of your posts to be honest but a big NO to Rijkaard. He had some success at Barca but only 'cos he had a f**king unbelievable squad of players. He still manage to f**k that up and only now, since he's gone, do Barca look awesome again. I would take Scolari any day of the week over Rijkaard. Heck, I would even welcome Grant or Bobby Campbell back over Rijkaard!!
January 4, 200916 yr I breathed a sigh of relief when Scolari was appointed...not because he would have been my choice but because we had not ended up with Rijkaard, I don't usually let personnel feelings interfere with my thoughts on football and if he had have ended up here I would have hoped he done well as I have other managers and players that for one reason or another I just don't like but Rijkaard has always annoyed me and I feel Barca have been better since he went and that doing a half decent Job with the players he had there flattered him. Edited January 4, 200916 yr by Chippy
January 4, 200916 yr There are some points why we are having this setback in our form IMO: 1. Everything goes in cycles(not going to explain it more) 2. New coach with no experience from English football(will take time but Scoari is a fighter and a winner so if we have the patience he will win here as well) 3. Terry, Lampard, Carvalho, Drogba, Cech, Joey meaning our backbone players have won almost everything together. Do they believe, really believe they can win still something big together. They have missed the CL trophy many times in a row now. Are these players in the end of their cycle together? 4. New backbone players Deco, Bosingwa, Anelka, Ivanovic need time and games to reach their peak. 5. Something is wrong inside the team. I dont think it is the new players or the coach. I think it relates to the lost CL final and all the manager circus. I think Terry carries lot of weight on his shoulders. I actually think and hope year 2009 will be lot better than 2008 as we can't really do much worse at the moment. Sometimes you need to hit the bottom to realize something is wrong (lame philosophy type ending).
January 4, 200916 yr There are some points why we are having this setback in our form IMO:1. Everything goes in cycles(not going to explain it more) 2. New coach with no experience from English football(will take time but Scoari is a fighter and a winner so if we have the patience he will win here as well) 3. Terry, Lampard, Carvalho, Drogba, Cech, Joey meaning our backbone players have won almost everything together. Do they believe, really believe they can win still something big together. They have missed the CL trophy many times in a row now. Are these players in the end of their cycle together? 4. New backbone players Deco, Bosingwa, Anelka, Ivanovic need time and games to reach their peak. 5. Something is wrong inside the team. I dont think it is the new players or the coach. I think it relates to the lost CL final and all the manager circus. I think Terry carries lot of weight on his shoulders. I actually think and hope year 2009 will be lot better than 2008 as we can't really do much worse at the moment. Sometimes you need to hit the bottom to realize something is wrong (lame philosophy type ending). If something is wrong with the team and its not down to the players or the coach then who exactly is to blame ? Oh, i know...
January 5, 200916 yr There are some points why we are having this setback in our form IMO:1. Everything goes in cycles(not going to explain it more) 2. New coach with no experience from English football(will take time but Scoari is a fighter and a winner so if we have the patience he will win here as well) 3. Terry, Lampard, Carvalho, Drogba, Cech, Joey meaning our backbone players have won almost everything together. Do they believe, really believe they can win still something big together. They have missed the CL trophy many times in a row now. Are these players in the end of their cycle together? 4. New backbone players Deco, Bosingwa, Anelka, Ivanovic need time and games to reach their peak. 5. Something is wrong inside the team. I dont think it is the new players or the coach. I think it relates to the lost CL final and all the manager circus. I think Terry carries lot of weight on his shoulders. I actually think and hope year 2009 will be lot better than 2008 as we can't really do much worse at the moment. Sometimes you need to hit the bottom to realize something is wrong (lame philosophy type ending). He's mentioned two or three times that he is only staying for 2 years, now 1 1/2. I'm prepared to suffer this season but for him to guarentee us a couple of major trophies next, but I can't see it happening tbh.
January 5, 200916 yr If something is wrong with the team and its not down to the players or the coach then who exactly is to blame ?Oh, i know... me to :P when jose first arrived we were spoilt, everything clicked immediately, we flew to the top of the league and all was hunky dory after the dissapointments of not winning anything last season but coming very very close, i think we all expected scolari who arrived with an excellent pedigree to lift us to dizzy heights, bring us free flowing sexy football and a glut of goals going in the opposition net, its kind of happened but not at the level we anticipated the football under scolari is a lot better isnt it? it seems a lot better, less of the score one, sit back and defend mentality we had under grant and jose we are very vulnerable from set pieces under scolari, and we are now going through the stage of we cant score despite numerous chances and total domination of games, give him the time and i'm sure he will fix it, hopefully he will fix it early enough, not to put to massive a dent in any of our title aspirations also some of the players need to be accountable for there actions or lack of them on the pitch, we cant heap all the blame at scolari's door
January 5, 200916 yr If something is wrong with the team and its not down to the players or the coach then who exactly is to blame ?Oh, i know... I do :P :D But on a serious point, Alex Ferguson took ages to win the Champions League, to me Roman's quest to win the damn thing might also play a part in our demise. Yet on the other hand, Claudio was a dead man walking even before he faced Monaco in the Champions League Semi against Monaco and by some irony a certain Wayne Bridge had slid home the unbelievable winner against the gooners. In the same way, even if history had seen JT blasting that pen in the roof of the Man Utd net Avram Grant surely would have gone too. The decision had had to been already made. Ok so Jose failed to win the Champions League with us early doors, but it's obvious to me Ballack and Shevchenko ( and with Sheva we are talking 30 million for a 30 plus year old - like Veron a type of player to win Champions League's not Premierships ) So really the question has to be what in the hell was the game plan ? We all know firstly it was to become England's No 1, not the Manchester United of the south, but the top side in England. Amazingly we were there in two years, something tells me we should have let Jose get on with things like Ferguson did at Man Utd, the Champions League would have come on a natural progression, but no the two arrived and it sent our wage structure all over the shop, in house fighting followed and now we are back to square one. On the quest to topple Manchester United, in the immortal words of Ian Dury and the blockheads " What a waste" and in the corridors of the corporate area's of Stamford Bridge .... a bald headed man in a suit passes by, smug n up his own arse' with a waiter saying under his breath "What a waster." No prizes for who he is.
January 5, 200916 yr A massive part of the problem, as I see it, is the club's tendency to buy "names". Shevchenko and Ballack were "names", as was Deco. And so is Scolari. It's all very well saying that Ferguson was given time, but Scolori isn't here for the long term - we know that from the day he started the job. At the beginning of the season I was sceptical, but wanted to give him the benefit of the doubt, as I do with just about any Chelsea signing. Problem is though - if he's only here for a couple of years, then the thinking would seem to be "let's bring in a big name as a short term fix". And so far it has to be said, that quick fix just isn't working. Feel free to argue. More on transfer policy. If Scolari is true to his word, and no signings are made during the January transfer window, what does that tell us? Maybe it's an over-reaction against the previous profligacy. But then it's only a few months since the club appeared quite happy to splash over £30million on Robinho. It's not a case of throwing money around willy nilly, or trying to buy success - it's a matter of recognising that there is a deficiency (lack of width and creativity) and fullfilling that need. Apparently this need is not only not going to be filled, it's not even recognised: "I have a good squad". Says Scolari. Maybe things will pick up during the rest of the season. But I wouldn't bank on it.
January 5, 200916 yr the football under scolari is a lot better isnt it? it seems a lot better, less of the score one, sit back and defend mentality we had under grant and jose I've always mainted the philosophy that defence is more important than attack if you want to win things, you win trophies with 1-0's not risking a 1-0 lead and ending up with a point each. I can't think of a side who has played attacking football, every game - like we were early season, and won almost every game and the league? When rebuilding a side you need to start off with the defence - like Jose did to us - grinding out the 1-0's before you can start working on the attack. In the same way, even if history had seen JT blasting that pen in the roof of the Man Utd net Avram Grant surely would have gone too. The decision had had to been already made. Damn, reading that really hurt. :D A massive part of the problem, as I see it, is the club's tendency to buy "names". Shevchenko and Ballack were "names", as was Deco. And so is Scolari. It's all very well saying that Ferguson was given time, but Scolori isn't here for the long term - we know that from the day he started the job. At the beginning of the season I was sceptical, but wanted to give him the benefit of the doubt, as I do with just about any Chelsea signing. Problem is though - if he's only here for a couple of years, then the thinking would seem to be "let's bring in a big name as a short term fix". And so far it has to be said, that quick fix just isn't working. Feel free to argue. More on transfer policy. If Scolari is true to his word, and no signings are made during the January transfer window, what does that tell us? Maybe it's an over-reaction against the previous profligacy. But then it's only a few months since the club appeared quite happy to splash over £30million on Robinho. It's not a case of throwing money around willy nilly, or trying to buy success - it's a matter of recognising that there is a deficiency (lack of width and creativity) and fullfilling that need. Apparently this need is not only not going to be filled, it's not even recognised: "I have a good squad". Says Scolari. Maybe things will pick up during the rest of the season. But I wouldn't bank on it. I very much agree and I see an attacking, creative and full of flair January signing the saviour of Scolari's job and Chelsea's season - like you correctly state, this deficiency is our primary downfall. I think Scolari recognises he needs this player but of course he is going to say he has a good squad, though it would be nice if he was down to earth and honest like we all thought he would be, he has known this since the start of his reign hence the reason we tried so hard to secure Robinho's services.