The team that Claudio and Jose put together that came in to its own in 2005 was the best Chelsea team and I would argue the best PL team I have seen. One stupid defeat to Man city where the ref turned down countless penalties and David James had one of those days. And the loss to Liverpool in the semi's that still hurts!

The same Liverpool that finished 30 points behind us. We whereby the best team in Europe that year by some way and we would have beaten Milan in the final. I am convinced of that.

There is a lot made of the boring Jose style but I loved watching Robben, duff and joe cole rip teams apart with Lampard, Ediure and drogba powering us through the middle. And we where lethal.

After duff lost form, robben went to real and cole suffered multiple Injuries, I always wondered if we would get back to those times.

buying mata last season was the first time in a long time that I got that little tingle, we finally had a player who could do something a little special out of nowhere (I actually felt the same about sturridge and Josh but let’s ignore that for now) but you could see the toll it was taking on him carrying the creative responsibility alone.

And then the summer, and all of a sudden we have "the 3 amigos". The sight of Oscar producing that piece of brilliance in the first minute and the way hazard was taking the ball in and leaving players in his wake with his turns and control had me on the edge of my seat believing that at any moment we could make something happen.

In addition we have Marin, who I can't wait to see, mosses who looks a little special and 21 players out on loan at least 4 of whom look like they could end up being top players.

What we lack currently that the 2005 class had was a rock solid defensive unit and a drogba. It's surly only a matter of time before we address the striking issue, whether that be Mosses, Strurridge, the form of Torres returning or most likely brining someone in. I don’t believe the defence will ever be what it was under Jose. That was almost like a Jose trade mark combined with the genius of makalele is almost irreplaceable.

But for the first time I think if we can keep this group together we could be looking at a team to outdo that of 2005-2007.

Robbie is even winning me over

Edited November 9, 201213 yr by barak81

I remember that stupid defeat to City. In the rain, Paulo Ferreira slips and clips Anelka's leg and he scores the pen, David James was immense that day. In a way i was glad we lost that match, i think it woke us up and from that point we started banging in the goals.

Also it started in 2004 not 2005

I still think we have a lot of work to do to overtake that team, our defense now is miles behind the defense we had back then.

Edited November 9, 201213 yr by Scott Harris

The Carling Cup final was a real treat also,for me, it felt like ages since our FA Cup win in 2000.

The Carling Cup final was a real treat also,for me, it felt like ages since our FA Cup win in 2000.

It feels like a long time ago because it is, 12 and a half years is a pretty long time.

It feels like a long time ago because it is, 12 and a half years is a pretty long time.

He was talking about how long it felt between the FA Cup win in 2000 and the LC win in 2005.

The current side have a way to go to be able to match the team from 04-06. That side were an attacking threat but were also rock solid at the back.

But it's early days with this group. They've shocked just about everyone with how they've played so far. I for one thought it would take at least half of season for things to start clicking but they've hit the ground running. We need additions to the squad, sure, but we have a good base to build on.

Sadly the team of Jose's first two seasons would crush today's team, simply because a good defence beats a good attack nearly every time.

Nothing irks me more than cheap goals, and I don't see a current Chelsea side that Jose Mourinho's wouldn't pick apart any time soon, and as much as I like him I think Di Matteo's hand has been forced with the addition of these creative players and he might be a little out of his comfort zone. There's only one or two managers in the world who could master the intricacies of matching a good defence with this level of attacking intent, and he isn't one of them.

The first Premier League Title winning team of 2004/05 is the greatest team to ever the league, it's a fact we broke countless records and gained the most points ever in a season. Makes me laugh people thought we were boring, we absolutely destroyed teams. City's win was a complete fluke and so was the semi loss to Liverpool. Winning the League Cup that year was amazing, the joy when we won, the first trophy in a long time. Nothing can beat Lampsrd knocking in those two goals against Bolton though and who can forget the 4-2 win in the greatest match if all-time against Barcelona.

I remember Manchester Uniteds treble winning side being quite handy.......

I remember Manchester Uniteds treble winning side being quite handy.......

They were so were Arsenal's undefeated team but neither team broke the points record and we did so we that team us the best team to win the league.

Gives this team a couple years and I think it could be the best

Gives this team a couple years and I think it could be the best

Sort out the defense and maybe so.

Sadly the team of Jose's first two seasons would crush today's team, simply because a good defence beats a good attack nearly every time.

Nothing irks me more than cheap goals, and I don't see a current Chelsea side that Jose Mourinho's wouldn't pick apart any time soon, and as much as I like him I think Di Matteo's hand has been forced with the addition of these creative players and he might be a little out of his comfort zone. There's only one or two managers in the world who could master the intricacies of matching a good defence with this level of attacking intent, and he isn't one of them.

Exactly. I am yet to see a Premier League side win the title with poor defending.

Our 2005 team is definitely the strongest EPL first 11 ever IMO. Our team now is not as strong but pays far more aesthetically pleasing football but it will never be as effective as the 2005 team.

Our 2005 team is definitely the strongest EPL first 11 ever IMO. Our team now is not as strong but pays far more aesthetically pleasing football but it will never be as effective as the 2005 team.

Never, say never.

Class of 04/05-

That City game annoyed me being the only game we lost that season.

The League FA Cup double team however was immense. Racking up 7 goals against Villa, Stoke and Sunderland? Not to mention 8 against Wigan. Drogba, Anelka and Malouda were insane!

Sadly the team of Jose's first two seasons would crush today's team, simply because a good defence beats a good attack nearly every time.

Nothing irks me more than cheap goals, and I don't see a current Chelsea side that Jose Mourinho's wouldn't pick apart any time soon, and as much as I like him I think Di Matteo's hand has been forced with the addition of these creative players and he might be a little out of his comfort zone. There's only one or two managers in the world who could master the intricacies of matching a good defence with this level of attacking intent, and he isn't one of them.

Out of interest who would you suggest is?

I agree to an extent but when comparing the defensive capability of our current side to that of our 2005 team we must also remember that the 2005 squad contained the a collection of world class defenders in their prime in Gallas, Terry, Carvalho shieled by arguably the finest defensive midfielder of all time in Makalele. We no longer have that standard of defence, regardless of who is the manager.

Out of interest who would you suggest is?

I agree to an extent but when comparing the defensive capability of our current side to that of our 2005 team we must also remember that the 2005 squad contained the a collection of world class defenders in their prime in Gallas, Terry, Carvalho shieled by arguably the finest defensive midfielder of all time in Makalele. We no longer have that standard of defence, regardless of who is the manager.

Unfortunatly terry and gallas where immence at center back together. I don't know if i will ever see a better paring.

good posts there barak.

I don't think we'll ever see another chelsea side that will be as dominant as jose's one. firstly because it was a great, great side based where you had about 4 defensive players who were the best in their positions in the world at the time married to jose's organisation, but also because these days the competition at the top is bigger. the top 6-7 these days are much harder games than they were then.

but we could see a side that lasts longer. because of some bad transfers, and because jose left that side probably didn't win as much as it could have (despite everything they did win). so if we keep signing well and don't change our manager every season this group could emulate that side. it won't be easy though.

Out of interest who would you suggest is?

I agree to an extent but when comparing the defensive capability of our current side to that of our 2005 team we must also remember that the 2005 squad contained the a collection of world class defenders in their prime in Gallas, Terry, Carvalho shieled by arguably the finest defensive midfielder of all time in Makalele. We no longer have that standard of defence, regardless of who is the manager.

I'd say the only manager who has demonstrated it is Guardiola, bar set pieces where they lacked height in personnel (a problem Chelsea wouldn't have), his team were very solid at the back. It comes from devising some plan where they press very hard for the first few seconds of losing the ball, then drop back and hold their positions, then swarm when they win it back. I'm not sure of the exact details but I think it'd slot right into the way Chelsea play. I'm sure the likes of Mourinho and Hiddink could come up with decent defensive plans, but it wouldn't be their preference to play so many offensive players.

Agreed Makelele was awesome, but Ferreira and Bridge/Del Horno were the 2005/2006 full backs, were they so great? Huth used to get a lot of games. The biggest difference between the defending back then and the defending now is the way the whole team played as an organised unit; the likes of Hazard and Mata seem content to let opposition players waltz past them where Essien and Lampard would have bust a gut to win the ball back.

That City game annoyed me being the only game we lost that season.

The League FA Cup double team however was immense. Racking up 7 goals against Villa, Stoke and Sunderland? Not to mention 8 against Wigan. Drogba, Anelka and Malouda were insane!

But that team would also let you down a lot, we underachieved in a way, we should not have needed to go to the last game of the season to win the league. If United had not sold Ronaldo that season i very much doubt we would have won the league that season because of how inconsistent we were. It was great when we were winning by 6 or 7 goals but a lot of times we could be incredibly frustrating.

Oh and you forgot to mention how good Lampard was that season, 22 league goals from midfield was amazing.

Edited November 10, 201213 yr by Scott Harris

I'd say the only manager who has demonstrated it is Guardiola, bar set pieces where they lacked height in personnel (a problem Chelsea wouldn't have), his team were very solid at the back. It comes from devising some plan where they press very hard for the first few seconds of losing the ball, then drop back and hold their positions, then swarm when they win it back. I'm not sure of the exact details but I think it'd slot right into the way Chelsea play. I'm sure the likes of Mourinho and Hiddink could come up with decent defensive plans, but it wouldn't be their preference to play so many offensive players.

This, very much so. At the moment we're playing three attacking midfielders, and the two nominal wingers do less defensive work between them than either Duff or Cole from the Mourinho days. With that setup even Jose would struggle to get things completely solid. Just look at Real Madrid; they're also doing a 4-2-3-1, Ronaldo's not exactly the most defensive winger on the planet, and they're the least defensively secure team Jose's ever sent out by some distance.

VS

Based on my opinion of our best team (now and then). Certainly our defence was vastly superior, or at least our method of defending. I also feel we had an aura of dread surrounding us back then. Teams genuinely feared us, more than the mancs or Arse which was some accomplishment on Jose's part. We're obviously not people's favourite side to face today, but you don't see sides just roll over and start crying like some did back then. I feel Jose's side would win in a straight up match the majority of the time. This side has the potential to surpass the 2005/06 incarnation, but it has some way to go.

While this hypothetical is fun, I'm just delighted that we have the opportunity to watch two world class sides in the space of a decade; both wearing our beloved blue.

Hard to escape the element of emotion in all of this; if you asked United fans the same question about their "class of '99" versus their teams in the 00s, they'd probably all vote for the 1999 generation.

But that team would also let you down a lot, we underachieved in a way, we should not have needed to go to the last game of the season to win the league. If United had not sold Ronaldo that season i very much doubt we would have won the league that season because of how inconsistent we were. It was great when we were winning by 6 or 7 goals but a lot of times we could be incredibly frustrating.

Oh and you forgot to mention how good Lampard was that season, 22 league goals from midfield was amazing.

Of course. Can't forget he popped in 4 of those 7 goals against Villa.