Late goals conceded, winning positions squandered, drawing positions squandered, in crucial games, with very experienced players.

This signals two problems ..

1. Our mentality is weak.

2. Our substitutions are not working.

This reflects poorly on the manager.

We need to keep a clean sheet and we need to keep a lead. In a big game.*

We lack belief.

*They won't come much bigger than Tuesday week. That could well be our biggest game of the season, especially if we get knocked out.

all we can do is hope now

What would you rather do, go through, and take a hammering from someone like Barcelona? or finish

third, drop into the Europa League, and be favorites to get to a European Final?

It would be a nice last hoorah for players like Terry, Drogba and Malouda (that's not a dig either, it's just

they are getting on).

Imagine doing Spurs in the final *cums*

How can anyone with half a brain bring on malouda on for mata ,,mikel for meriles and alex for luiz like how can you pay 50mil for a player and complain that he's not playing well but then go and make wrong subs instead of bringing him on,alot to be answered for big problems at the club

What would you rather do, go through, and take a hammering from someone like Barcelona? or finish

third, drop into the Europa League, and be favorites to get to a European Final?

It would be a nice last hoorah for players like Terry, Drogba and Malouda (that's not a dig either, it's just

they are getting on).

Imagine doing Spurs in the final *cums*

In some ways I actually quite like the idea. Not sure the club would be happy with the financial implications though. I do wonder what the difference would be between getting knocked out at the next stage of the Champions League in comparison to going all the way in the Europa League.

Another thing is we wouldn't be playing our next Champions League game until late Feb / early March and we may well be firing on all cylinders by then

The problem with playing in the Europa is that you can't attract the big players, and thats what we really need to do right now!

This club needs a emotional spark. Just feels like gloom and doom and all the negativity and bad luck.

Get angry and direct that anger on our opponents.

The problem with playing in the Europa is that you can't attract the big players, and thats what we really need to do right now!

Funny how Spurs have attracted plenty of top players. Maybe it would do us good to try and discover a Bale or Modric rather than spend £50m on one.

Funny how Spurs have attracted plenty of top players. Maybe it would do us good to try and discover a Bale or Modric rather than spend £50m on one.

Spurs only really attracted 1 top player when they had Champions league fotball VDV, other than that they have relied on a motivational (thieving) manager who has definately got their players performing above themselves!

Oh to have such a man!!

Spurs only really attracted 1 top player when they had Champions league fotball VDV ..

A player Chelsea and Utd rejected. Personally, I couldn't care less if we drop off and are unable to attract top players. It might do us some good.

Van Persie cost £3m if I remember rightly ..

The only player we've really discovered, i.e. bought under the radar, is Ivanovic.

If we forced to make more of those sort of signings I'd be pleased, in one sense.

I'm the same as you in as much as the success isn't the be all and end all of me supporting Chelsea! I love the fact we've had good times recently, but I supported us when we were rubbish and I'd support us again if we were rubbish!

However I don't think Roman would agree with us, he has spent his money to make us the best! However its his decisions which have left us in this situation, just imagine how far ahead we'd be if he hadn't allowed his ego to get in the way of Jose!!

I'm the same as you in as much as the success isn't the be all and end all of me supporting Chelsea! I love the fact we've had good times recently, but I supported us when we were rubbish and I'd support us again if we were rubbish!

I got that from your moniker ;)

I get angry and bitter when I watch Chelsea play.

Maximum love, but massively dwindling confidence that we'll get a good result.

I want so badly for AVB to do well...not just because he cost an arm and a leg, and would cost the rest of the body to get rid off...but because he's young, full of promise, and seems to be a good man...but he's hardly filling his Chelsea CV with notable achievements.

But...we can do it...hopefully we will...and hopefully, it won't be too late. Maybe we could win the Europa league?

Maybe if our players weren't such f**king shrinking violets and actually had some balls to them, instead of needing a manager's platitiudes, we'd be in better position.

A player Chelsea and Utd rejected. Personally, I couldn't care less if we drop off and are unable to attract top players. It might do us some good.

Van Persie cost £3m if I remember rightly ..

The only player we've really discovered, i.e. bought under the radar, is Ivanovic.

If we forced to make more of those sort of signings I'd be pleased, in one sense.

I'm with you Davey. I'd be a lot happier now if we gave a chance to the younger players like Bertrand, Romeu, Josh, Lukaku etc. rather than go and splash another 50 million on another mercenary. Sure the results may not improve but we would at least see a more committed team and perhaps we could build something. Another great example is Billy Clifford. Isn't he a right back? Yet all I hear is how we need to sign another right back. Why not give him a chance first?

I don't want us to drop into the Europa League because that means wanting us to lose to Valencia. I'm never going to wish defeat on us. But if that is what happens maybe we will be able to make a run in that competition or even use it as another chance to give some of the younger players a chance. At the moment the best we can hope for in the Champions League knock out stages would be if we have found some consistent form by February.

I'm with you Davey. I'd be a lot happier now if we gave a chance to the younger players like Bertrand, Romeu, Josh, Lukaku etc. rather than go and splash another 50 million on another mercenary. Sure the results may not improve but we would at least see a more committed team and perhaps we could build something. Another great example is Billy Clifford. Isn't he a right back? Yet all I hear is how we need to sign another right back. Why not give him a chance first?

I don't want us to drop into the Europa League because that means wanting us to lose to Valencia. I'm never going to wish defeat on us. But if that is what happens maybe we will be able to make a run in that competition or even use it as another chance to give some of the younger players a chance. At the moment the best we can hope for in the Champions League knock out stages would be if we have found some consistent form by February.

Not sure if you just used it as an example but are you referring to Torres as a mercenary? He's played for three teams in his career? Hardly a mercenary.

How can anyone with half a brain bring on malouda on for mata ,,mikel for meriles and alex for luiz like how can you pay 50mil for a player and complain that he's not playing well but then go and make wrong subs instead of bringing him on,alot to be answered for big problems at the club

from the official site:

'David Luiz was very dizzy and feeling sick, but he should be okay, and Ashley has inflammation of the ankle; he is 60-40 for Saturday but should definitely be back for the Liverpool match next week.'

So that would explain why he took Luiz off...

I'm the same as you in as much as the success isn't the be all and end all of me supporting Chelsea! I love the fact we've had good times recently, but I supported us when we were rubbish and I'd support us again if we were rubbish!

Trouble is, most of your posts on here aren't supporting the team or the club, just carping on about stuff

Last night i thought the defence looked good until Luiz went off. I think that Alex and even JT are too slow now. quick attackers are just rushing past them.

I feel for AVB because his has joined a club with old players and players who just cant really cut it anymore, it will take time to move these players on and bring in new hungry players. I think all our forwards bar Sturridge and Mata and Lukaku need to go. The problem with that is getting in new ones (that wouldnt be cheap). Like it or not i think we will have a few seasons of not winning things purely beacuse we need to build a new team.

Your point about late goals is an interesting one, so I decided to look a little closer and made this graph (includes PL and CL games):

Clearly there's a massive problem somewhere along the line. With concentration? Stamina?

...especially considering we don't have anywhere near as big a problem with goals scored:

I started making these graphs believing they would reveal that we scored a lot of goals right after half-time and I wanted to use that as evidence of AVB's tactical and motivational skills (relating to the half-time team talk), but it seems there isn't much of a correlation there. The goals conceded graph is far more interesting and polarised.

Edited November 24, 201114 yr by PloKoon13

Another thing i notice last night from the in game stats, during the first half we ran and covered more ground that the Germans, however by the end of the game they had ran around 4km further than us. Maybe this is another sign of us tiring later in games.

Yes stamina is definitely an issue , to tackle that bring on youngsters as much as possible in the second half , let the experienced players play the first half , for stability , and let the youngsters explode in the second half

Wenger used to do this a lot , and it is used to help quite a bit as far as i remember

Also , i'd hate to say this , but the club needs an instrumental figure , to lead from the front , not someone who is short of confidence(lamps) or someone who is being brutally treated by the media(terry)

To me this figure can come in the form of Essien , but unfortunately , he is injured , i really cant wait for him to comeback

Terry has to focus harder , hes slipping up a lot of late!!

I seriously believe the number of goals conceded in the late stages is because the players are so tired at the end. The new system is very demanding physically and if the players don't know exactly what to do they'll lose more energy running around. I also feel many of the players are questioning the system at the moment. If the attack works we have no problem but if it doesn't go fluidly we are very exposed at the back.

I think Wolves is a good opponent for us now. We have time to practice scoring (as they draw back) and hopefully put some in and not be too afraid of them scoring more than one away from home.

I am watching a show called "great goals" on Fox Soccer Channel, and they just showed "Essien's Strike."

I can watch that forever.