Question

[geezer]

Who do you reckon we've missed more this season, JT or Petr Cech?

For me it has to be Petr looking at his incredible Premiership record this season of 15 games and 13 clean sheets. Just where would we be now if he'd played in the games he missed?

[BlueBosnian]

Joe Cole and Robben

[The Moos]

If I have to choose between Cech and JT I would have to go with Cech.

We really missed JTs leadership for a few games but then Riccy stepped up and took the lead. JT is the best defender in the world so of course we missed him a lot but Essien wasn't that bad in his place.

Cech brings a sh*tload of calm to the defence. I can't say the same about Carlo or Hilario. Both are good keepers and Carlo is the best backup keeper in the world. Most teams in the Premier League would probably love to have him as first choice but he stays with us and for that I am grateful. But they are not Cech and they don't bring that same sence of security to the defence. They also don't make the same amount of grate saves as Petr does. At the same time I've got the feeling that they make a few more mistakes than Petr

[yuliastar]

Petr for me as well. JT is brilliant, but we had a lot of other players step up and play amazingly.

Petr however, not only brings talent and skill that Hilariou..er, Hilario, cannot ever hope to achiev, but he also presents a psychological calm and confidence for the defence, so even our defence plays countless times better with him in net, even without JT.

Long live King Terry, but preferably with Cech serving dutifully by his side as well!

[loz]

For me this is a no brainer. A top class goalkeeper can be worth as many as 15-20 points a season and in Cech we have what I now believe to be the best keeper in the world. Missing JT was a massive loss as well, not just for his ability as a defender but also for his captaincy (something Lampard is appalling at) and for his organisation of the back line however any defence, no matter how good, will always make mistakes if they are unsure about their goalkeeper.

So it is an easy decision for me however this is not for a second belittling the importance of JT, he is only second in this because, as I have said, Cech is the best in the world.

Now think about the fact we lost them both at the same time. Most teams would have crumbled, we stuttered but we didn't crumble. There is a backbone in our squad that Godzilla would be proud of!

[mad_mac]

Defense begins with your keeper, and Petr comands his area like no other, he installs confidence in his back 4 like no other, and he is one of the ebst keepers in the world.

however, Terry is a Lion and bleeds for Chelsea, you could see it in his eyes against barca this year. really really tough call, but I think Cech just pips it for me

Scott

[lauren]

I am gonna go against the general concensus here and I think we missed Terry more than Cech. I think given time Carlo (who was never expecting to step in for Petr) would have been just as commanding.

We missed the leadership from our skipper, the defence fell to bits and in my opinion our midfield didnt play quite as good without JT shouting from the back. He is a rock in both boxes, tall and strong, both defensive and as an attacker.

[Scott]

If you lost both of your legs, could you say which one you missed the most ? The main problem was that (due to Carlo's injury) we had no quality back up for either player.

[ossie13]

Out of JT & Cech has to be Cech, but IMO we have missed Joey the most!!

[Valerie]

Although we missed JT as a leader, commanding the back four and urging on the squad, and some creative power on the flanks with Joe Cole and a usually unfit Robben, I feel we missed Cech more result-wise. The way he deals with high balls, commands the area and performs miracles, I feel inclined to say that losing our number one goalkeeper has lost us a few points when our striking force wasn't performing top notch.

[TomP]

JT for me.

I think that Hilario stepped up really well. He probably let in 3 or 4 goals that Cech wouldn't have, but overall he was solid. Especially for a 3rd choice keeper.

When we lost JT, we didn't have a centreback to replace him with. Boula was injured, even Carvalho was out for a couple of matches. Essien and Ferreira did well under the circumstances, but in general, we leaked goals - which cost us big time in that period over Christmas.

And, as good as Cech is, we lost our leader when we lost JT. And that is something that we couldn't replace. There wasn't anyone there to pull the team together to hang onto a one-goal lead, or to drive the team forward when we needed to score.

[Jack]

I think we missed Cech more also because Carlo was out at the same time. Hilario was OK at home to Barca (which amazed us all, I think) but away to Spuds, home to Reading and Fulham and in one or two other situations he was found wanting. If your keeper is dodgy, the defenders (regardless of who they are) become edgy and a general malaise sets in. JT was on tv the other day saying how he was getting Cech to keep Crazy Ricky on a leash to stop him charging forward, and I think that indicates a lot - mainly that a solid keeper who concentrates AND keeps the players in front of him awake is vital to the team.

[Butch]

Most definitely Cech, mate (geddit, geddit?).

Cheers,

Butch

[BlueBosnian]

I think we got our answer today against Valencia:

Joe Cole and Robben

[Maksimov]

...mainly that a solid keeper who concentrates AND keeps the players in front of him awake is vital to the team.

The ?50mil man just gives the defense so much confidence...priceless!