According to Petr Cech. :-/

has the same sort of ring to it as "I like going to the dentists"

I like beer and cigarettes. Doesn't mean they're good for me though!

Pete's just making sure he isn't dropped/rotated. The tubby one is worse than the tinkerman!

And they like red hot pokers gently push into an appropriate orifice on a warm summer's night

Pete's just making sure he isn't dropped/rotated. The tubby one is worse than the tinkerman!

not much chance of that until/if Courtious come back

But do u not think that this is all going in a direction most Chelsea fans didn't hope for? In some ways it's brilliant. We've scored 14 goals in our last three games, conceded one, Luiz is looking like a new player and Torres is scoring again and full of confidence. Benitez looks to me to have had a positive effect. If not on the fans then definitely on our players.

I'll be really impressed if we come away from Goodison Park on Sunday with a win.

In no way is it brilliant that we've beaten Aston Villa, Norwich and Leeds. Have our standards fallen so far that this is considered an accomplishment for a club of our stature? 

Everton on Sunday will show FSW for what he is,

But do u not think that this is all going in a direction most Chelsea fans didn't hope for? In some ways it's brilliant. 1)  We've scored 14 goals in our last three games, conceded one, Luiz is looking like a new player and 2) Torres is scoring again and full of confidence. 3)Benitez looks to me to have had a positive effect. If not on the fans then definitely on our players.

4) I'll be really impressed if we come away from Goodison Park on Sunday with a win.

1) yes we have, routs agianst a poor villa team and leeds. one against Norwich. None against Corinthians before that.

 

2) Yes he is scoring, at the moment....not sure how we know he is full of confidence, he hardly looked full of confidence against norwich.

 

3) Positve effect on who? Cech who has been a rock for the last god knows how many years? Ramires who hasnt had much game time under the interim? Lampard who has just come back from injury and wasnt availible to the RDM prior to benitez apointment? Ashley who is as consistant as ever? Mata who has been the best player in the league all season? Marin who was given a debut then dropped, and who was subbed on to change a game with 3 min to go? Hazard who has been at the same level as previously? Mikel who hasnt had much of a look in?  I would go as far to say that the only players who have benefitted out of Benitez appointment has been Romeu prior to his injury, Azpi who has had a run in the team and looked good and Torres who has scored a few since the FSW came. All spanish btw...read into that what you will

 

4) So will i if we are convincing in the win. If we luck our way through the game, then i will be happy with the points , but not necisarrily "really impressed"

Some people on here just will never accept if Rafa does a good job because of the hate towards him. I dislike him too, but we've looked way much better with him than under RDM. May get a lot of disliking from this post but its true. 

I give him credit for Luiz, but really if he wanted to stop leaking goals, but still utilize Dave, that was the obvious move. Cesar has been solid and his continued exclusion to allow Bran to play out of his natural position made no sense in the long term.

 

Outside of that, what is different? Still look hapless in some of the big games, but we are scoring bunches against sides who have no confidence. 

 

The players really liked Robbie when he came in back in March. Why? Because they started winning again. Dont fool yourself into thinking this is anything but more of the same.

We have looked more organised and fluid, there can be no denying this. The bigger games will show how we really are.

I give him credit for Luiz, but really if he wanted to stop leaking goals, but still utilize Dave, that was the obvious move. Cesar has been solid and his continued exclusion to allow Bran to play out of his natural position made no sense in the long term.

 

Outside of that, what is different? Still look hapless in some of the big games, but we are scoring bunches against sides who have no confidence. 

 

The players really liked Robbie when he came in back in March. Why? Because they started winning again. Dont fool yourself into thinking this is anything but more of the same.

 

We look a lot harder to beat defiantly. Tactically we are better. True, we haven't had a big test yet. But wins away at Sunderland and Norwich have been decent. Everton away is a tricky tie, its a fixture that isn't always kind on us. 

Some people on here just will never accept if Rafa does a good job because of the hate towards him. I dislike him too, but we've looked way much better with him than under RDM. May get a lot of disliking from this post but its true. 

 

Have we now?

 

Robbie's record was 11-4-5. The FSW's record is 6-2-2. Under Robbie, we won 55% of our matches, drew 20% and lost 25%. Under the FSW, we've won 60% of our matches, drew 20% and lost 20%. The difference between them is a swing of 5% in the win and loss columns. A minute difference that's subsequently rendered meaningless when one considers the strength of opposition that each manager has faced.

 

Under Robbie, we played Juventus twice, Shakhtar Donetsk twice, Manchester United twice, Arsenal, Tottenham and West Brom. Under the FSW, the only decent team we've played is Manchester City and we drew them in an uninspiring goalless match where we were outplayed. The FSW's wins have come against Nordsjaelland, Sunderland, Monterrey, Leeds, Aston Villa and Norwich. To say we've looked much better under the FSW is disingenuous at best. 

Edited December 28, 201213 yr by That Boy Brandinho

I will never understand how some people believe we have "improved big time under Rafa." That's absolute nonsense.

 

Our start to the season under Robbie was phenomenal. The only better start to a season we've had previously was when Mourinho was manager.

 

Everything was perfect up until we faced United and got robbed by Clattenburg. Only one team really looked like winning that game, even with 10 men on the pitch and that team wasn't Manchester United.

 

After that, for whatever reason we went on a slump in November which has been happening a lot in the past few years, so nothing new there really. We drew against Swansea (so did Man Utd by the way) and we lost to West Brom  and drew against Liverpool. (Man Utd only beat Liverpool this season because of a dive from Valencia which led to a wrong penalty decision by the referee). 

 

We were not bad at all in the league under Robbie. People are making such a big fuss about it but it was nothing more than a typical bad November.

 

The Champions league on the other hand, was worse. But is Di Matteo to blame for our two all draw against Juventus? Unless he told Mikel to give the ball away carelessly towards the end of the game then I don't see how he can take the blame for that draw.

 

For the second leg fixture against Juventus, Robbie decided to take a risk with his team selection but it did not pay off. Most people will blame him for that as well but I won't. Clearly he wanted to play Sturridge up top on his own but he got injured in training and the only striker he was left with was Torres. Let's not forget that Torres was absolutely useless during that period and it always seemed like we were playing with ten men with him on the pitch. In my opinion, Robbie had no choice but to drop Torres that day as clearly he was not helping the team in any way, shape or form.

 

Either way, we lost the game and got knocked out of the Champions League. I understand that a club like Chelsea should always get past the group stages, but for f**k's sake the man led us to our first ever Champions League win. The absolute least he deserved was to remain manager for the rest of the season.

 

Rather than blaming Di Matteo, maybe you should take a look at our incompetent board who thought that it would be a good idea to start the season with one striker who is pretty much useless and another striker who is always injured.

 

As for "Rafa improving the team" am I the only one who doesn't see it? We drew to Man City at the Bridge with one shot on target. We drew to a makeshift Fulham team who actually deserved all three points that day. And to top it all off, Rafa, the "master tactician" was tactically outclassed by Sam Allardyce. That speaks volumes. We are yet to beat a big club under the FSW.

Everton on Sunday will show FSW for what he is,

Just him and nobody else.....Bit harsh.

I don't see the Everton match as any sort of measuring stick. I'm not saying Everton isn't a good team, because they are, but what if we win at Everton, but then go on to drop points against QPR or/and at Southampton? Or if we lose to Everton, but then go on a ten match winning streak? It's just one match, although a tough one.  

Here comes the hate but I'm going to say it anyway.

Benitez is doing a good job and the sooner we as fans of the club stop ragging on him every single game the better. If the fans are that annoyed they should focus on Roman Abramovich, not Rafa.

Everton on Sunday will show FSW for what he is,

 

You seem pretty excited at the prospect of Chelsea losing a game on Sunday, good for you, great fan you are.

Have we now?

 

Robbie's record was 11-4-5. The FSW's record is 6-2-2. Under Robbie, we won 55% of our matches, drew 20% and lost 25%. Under the FSW, we've won 60% of our matches, drew 20% and lost 20%. The difference between them is a swing of 5% in the win and loss columns. A minute difference that's subsequently rendered meaningless when one considers the strength of opposition that each manager has faced.

 

Under Robbie, we played Juventus twice, Shakhtar Donetsk twice, Manchester United twice, Arsenal, Tottenham and West Brom. Under the FSW, the only decent team we've played is Manchester City and we drew them in an uninspiring goalless match where we were outplayed. The FSW's wins have come against Nordsjaelland, Sunderland, Monterrey, Leeds, Aston Villa and Norwich. To say we've looked much better under the FSW is disingenuous at best. 

 

I will never understand how some people believe we have "improved big time under Rafa." That's absolute nonsense.

 

Our start to the season under Robbie was phenomenal. The only better start to a season we've had previously was when Mourinho was manager.

 

Everything was perfect up until we faced United and got robbed by Clattenburg. Only one team really looked like winning that game, even with 10 men on the pitch and that team wasn't Manchester United.

 

After that, for whatever reason we went on a slump in November which has been happening a lot in the past few years, so nothing new there really. We drew against Swansea (so did Man Utd by the way) and we lost to West Brom  and drew against Liverpool. (Man Utd only beat Liverpool this season because of a dive from Valencia which led to a wrong penalty decision by the referee). 

 

We were not bad at all in the league under Robbie. People are making such a big fuss about it but it was nothing more than a typical bad November.

 

The Champions league on the other hand, was worse. But is Di Matteo to blame for our two all draw against Juventus? Unless he told Mikel to give the ball away carelessly towards the end of the game then I don't see how he can take the blame for that draw.

 

For the second leg fixture against Juventus, Robbie decided to take a risk with his team selection but it did not pay off. Most people will blame him for that as well but I won't. Clearly he wanted to play Sturridge up top on his own but he got injured in training and the only striker he was left with was Torres. Let's not forget that Torres was absolutely useless during that period and it always seemed like we were playing with ten men with him on the pitch. In my opinion, Robbie had no choice but to drop Torres that day as clearly he was not helping the team in any way, shape or form.

 

Either way, we lost the game and got knocked out of the Champions League. I understand that a club like Chelsea should always get past the group stages, but for f**k's sake the man led us to our first ever Champions League win. The absolute least he deserved was to remain manager for the rest of the season.

 

Rather than blaming Di Matteo, maybe you should take a look at our incompetent board who thought that it would be a good idea to start the season with one striker who is pretty much useless and another striker who is always injured.

 

As for "Rafa improving the team" am I the only one who doesn't see it? We drew to Man City at the Bridge with one shot on target. We drew to a makeshift Fulham team who actually deserved all three points that day. And to top it all off, Rafa, the "master tactician" was tactically outclassed by Sam Allardyce. That speaks volumes. We are yet to beat a big club under the FSW.

 

 

Our champions league performances were way too poor and below our standards. That's what cost him his job. We should've beaten Juve at home and at least challenged in the matches away at Juve and Shakhtar. We did have a great start to the season, we always do and we went through our usual slump through October/November. 

 

Yes, we have played some poor teams with Rafa but you have to beat who's in front of you. I thought the Man City result wasn't bad at all, considering the form we were both in. The Fulham game was poor, but it always takes a manager time to settle at a club and get things right. Winning 1-0 at Norwich is a very good result, considering United dropped points there and they were on great form. Seriously, some people just don't want to give credit because they dislike him. Whether you like it or not we do look a better team.

 

I'm not saying I like Rafa at all, in fact I still don't. I just feel people here are way too quick in criticizing Rafa for everything because of the hate towards him. If we lose to Everton on Sunday people will blame Rafa, even though it may not be his fault

Here comes the hate but I'm going to say it anyway.

Benitez is doing a good job and the sooner we as fans of the club stop ragging on him every single game the better. If the fans are that annoyed they should focus on Roman Abramovich, not Rafa.

You won't get any hate from me, you're entitled to your opinion. It's that word "should" again though. As noted elsewhere, the pro-interim manager brigade are increasingly adamant that we as a fanbase "should" be getting behind him, whereas most of those of us who want him out simply continue to vent our annoyance and disapproval at his continued presence at the club.

 

As for your second point, that annoyance/disapproval is also directed towards the board, including Abramovich. So here's the deal, don't waste your time trying to convert me to a pro-interim standpoint, and I won't waste my time telling you how I think you "should" think.

 

I also disagree that he's been doing a good job. See elsewhere for my reasoning. But that too, is a matter of opinion, and so again you'll get no hate from me.

i doubt they like him. He's not a arm round the shoulder manager. But they will respect him cos of his achievements as a tactician in Europe

I haven't red the article but you'll probably find that a journalist asked Cech whether the players liked Rafa or not.  If a tabloid journalist asked you what you thought of your boss, how would you answer? 

I wouldn't be surprised if they did like him. Maybe he's a really nice guy to work with.

Let's be fair, there's quite a difference between the players view of managers and the view the supporters have.

 

We have a history with Liverpool - the club, the players, the manager and, most importantly, their supporters.

Is it really the same for our players?

 

Personally I have the memory of a snowflake, so I couldn't even remember the things Rafa said about Chelsea. Therefore I wasn't furious when he became our manager. I don't like him, but it's not like I really hate him.