Ballack and Shevchenko and Gudjohnsen ....

[Star]

I've got to go off on one again ...

Cast your minds back to that last minute Gudjohnsen shot at Anfield in the first Champions League semi at Anfield ,,,,

I'm more certain than ever after Shevchenko again failed to deliver against Blackburn that had Eidurs shot hit the corner of the onion bag we would have won the jug with the big ears and regained the premiership title last season without the need to sign the so called superstars in Ballack and Shevchenko.

I'm lookin at the number of one on one's that Sheva has missed since his 30 million smacker signing - Blackburn on Sunday was another when that split second instant control of the ball in yester years failed him - not to mention his countless blocked shots that five years ago would have been quickly dispatched into the net before the defender had time to react.

Which brings me nicely to Eidur, probably the best one on one finisher i've seen in a Chelsea shirt and a player with a brain and an eye to prove the perfect foil to make JFH a worldbeater for a time. Played in midfield in our last Premiership campaign when alongside Drogba THE best striker in the world i'm sure he'd have flourished.

I'm convinced now after our last two games that when Drogba, Essien, Mikel and Kalou go to the African nations our Premiership aspirations will go with them.

We haven't got a cat in hells chance that we will win the Champions League either. Others have stengthened and we have packed our squad with AVERAGE signings and we will pay for it.

I'll go one step further as well ... take it from me Jose will be sacked at the seasons end.

Before anyone says this is a knee jerk reaction - look at my prediction record - I was right last season and will be this season - LAY US ON BETFAIR FOR THE TITLE ON BETFAIR for everything you've got and it will makr TT's profit look smallfry

[Backbiter]

I'm convinced now after our last two games that when Drogba, Essien, Mikel and Kalou go to the African nations our Premiership aspirations will go with them.

We haven't got a cat in hells chance that we will win the Champions League either. Others have strengthened and we have packed our squad with AVERAGE signings and we will pay for it.

That's what I've been thinking all weekend. We can't score without Drogs and lamps, and the backup players are not on the same planet in terms of goalscoring. Kalou, Pizarro and Sheva look very very ordinary in this league, and with Drogs missing, either through injury or international commitments, our strikeforce looks totally inadequate.

Playing as we are we will quickly lose touch with the pacesetters, and I can see us really struggling to get past Valencia and Schalke.

All of this makes your prediction about Jose pretty likely to come true.

I saw Roman Abramovich on Fulham Rd before the game, turning up at about 4.55. He looked a bit p!ssed off, and that was before the game, which won't have cheered him up.

God, I sound like one of the journos who keep ripping into us at every opportunity.

[jack h]

I think its a bit pointless saying

had Eidurs shot hit the corner of the onion bag we would have won the jug with the big ears and regained the premiership title last season without the need to sign the so called superstars in Ballack and Shevchenko

.

because its all if and buts and fact is Eidur didnt score and hes now at Barca.

I dont see how anyone could say that not winning the champions league and the signings of Ballack and Sheva and losing Eidur cost us the league, far to often last season we just hoofed the ball to didier and hoped for the best. Where as Man utd were scoring 3 or 4 goals more or less every game and deserved the title in the end.

[yogic]

Sadly, I too fear that we wont go far in the CL and probably wont have enough in us to win the PL. Jose WILL be sacked with Hiddink most likely to replace him. I hope im wrong - but i fear im not.

[Guest]

Sadly, I too fear that we wont go far in the CL and probably wont have enough in us to win the PL. Jose WILL be sacked with Hiddink most likely to replace him. I hope im wrong - but i fear im not.

As an Aussie, having seen what Hiddink did for Australia. If we are to replace Mourinho, I would LOVE Hiddink to be the man to do it.

[The Moos]

Sadly, I too fear that we wont go far in the CL and probably wont have enough in us to win the PL. Jose WILL be sacked with Hiddink most likely to replace him. I hope im wrong - but i fear im not.

As an Aussie, having seen what Hiddink did for Australia. If we are to replace Mourinho, I would LOVE Hiddink to be the man to do it.

I quite agree. He has done well with many teams. Australia and Korea (south I think) and even Russia though they didn't play that well against England.

I think that our image would improve too because Hiddink is a way more respected manager than Jos

[Tim W]

Star you are pretty much right in your assessment, but for one thing - I don't think JM will make the end of the season - Eugene and the axe will be out earlier

[Guest]

Sadly, I too fear that we wont go far in the CL and probably wont have enough in us to win the PL. Jose WILL be sacked with Hiddink most likely to replace him. I hope im wrong - but i fear im not.

As an Aussie, having seen what Hiddink did for Australia. If we are to replace Mourinho, I would LOVE Hiddink to be the man to do it.

I quite agree. He has done well with many teams. Australia and Korea (south I think) and even Russia though they didn't play that well against England.

I think that our image would improve too because Hiddink is a way more respected manager than Jos?.

Well he took the Netherlands to the world cup semi final in France 98 where they (along with Brazil) were arguably the best team in the tournament. They were knocked out on penalties to Brazil

It was South Korea and he took them to the semis (if it wasn't semi's it was quarters) at Japan/Korea 02

He started managing PSV again and got them to the knock out stages of the champions league before becomming coach of the Australian's which he took to the knockout stages of Germany 06 being knocked out by eventual winners Italy

[The Moos]

Sadly, I too fear that we wont go far in the CL and probably wont have enough in us to win the PL. Jose WILL be sacked with Hiddink most likely to replace him. I hope im wrong - but i fear im not.

As an Aussie, having seen what Hiddink did for Australia. If we are to replace Mourinho, I would LOVE Hiddink to be the man to do it.

I quite agree. He has done well with many teams. Australia and Korea (south I think) and even Russia though they didn't play that well against England.

I think that our image would improve too because Hiddink is a way more respected manager than Jos?.

Well he took the Netherlands to the world cup semi final in France 98 where they (along with Brazil) were arguably the best team in the tournament. They were knocked out on penalties to Brazil

It was South Korea and he took them to the semis (if it wasn't semi's it was quarters) at Japan/Korea 02

He started managing PSV again and got them to the knock out stages of the champions league before becomming coach of the Australian's which he took to the knockout stages of Germany 06 being knocked out by eventual winners Italy

;)

Right you are. And it was the semis he got South Korea too. I think they knocked out Italy along the way. Not bad.

In other words, he has done really well in recent years and I would love to have him as a manager at Chelsea.

[abramovich]

Am i in a twilight zone?

There seems to be two threads started by Star with the same title an identical first post but two different developments.

[Guest]

Well they say from one event spurns an infinite amount of future realities

[Butch]

Star,

I hope you're wrong about us winning zilch, though we certainly have not done anything to inspire confidence yet this season.

Regarding Ballack and Sheva, I'm not sure they wouldn't have been signed anyway. It depends which way you look at it. Were they signed "to win us the cup" or as "Roman's toys". I couldn't really say, but I am inclined to think Roman likes the players anyway, particularly Sheva. And if we're all honest, I think most of us looked at that signing as a positive one. Of course, a season or so later and it hardly seems worth it, but we all know Sheva is better than this. What we don't know is what is causing him to fire blanks at the moment. Part of it could be down to the player himself. But of course, I also think Jose could be using him better.

I love Jose. I think he has been a breath of fresh air for the EPL and I also think he has instilled something special at Chelsea. However, he is nothing if not a stubborn man, set in his ways of doing things, and unable to really "change". I think all this hoopla about us becoming a more attractive side to watch is all a load of rubbish - in the sense that we haven't changed very much and whatever we're doing is not working very well. Maybe - no, certainly - we'll improve when the likes of Carvalho, Lampard and Drogba return from injuries, but you really have to wonder if "changing" is really for the better.

And because Jose can't really "change", players like Kezman and Sheva, who shone elsewhere, struggle here. You'd think Jose would be able to do something to help them to settle into the side, but as was the case with Kezman, this never materialized. And I think Chelsea fans are a tad concerned this will be the same with Sheva, if not also Ballack. I hope upon hope that Jose can turn things around, and I believe he can. I hope he gets the chance.

It is crazy to be even thinking about Jose being sacked. The other EPL clubs would be laughing all the way to the bank at how we are seemingly self-destructing. The club needs to remain strong, and firm in their support of their manager.

I listened to an interesting theory lately about the free signings of Sidwell, Ben Haim, Alex and Pizarro being a statement from Jose to Roman that his money wasn't needed. It would be easy to dismiss this notion, but at the same time would you put it past Jose? I tend to side with Jose in all of this. Roman has been wonderful for us, but I feel he needs to let Jose have free reign. I certainly get this feeling that Jose has been "cuffed" this season, what with this call for a change to our playing style and the arrival of Avram Grant. I certainly hope we're making more of this than is really there. There is so much more left to be done and we are seemingly putting obstacles in front of Jose for no good reason.

Back to our prospects:

The EPL is a long-term project. As I've said before, I think the top teams who will be competing this season will be dropping more points than usual, so we are not in a bad position at the moment. But we do need to get our main players back from injury. Meanwhile, despite the arguable decline in quality of our second string, I still feel it is better than most teams so we have to keep faith in the likes of Pizarro, Alex, Ben Haim, Mikel, Sidwell, etc... Notice I don't have Sheva in that list. He is not second string material. He is a potential starter for us, and I trust he will take the opportunity with both hands while Didier is out. I am expecting good things in the match against Rosenborg.

Which brings me to the CL. Again, once we get Carvalho, Lampard and Drogba back, I don't see why we would have any less chance than any other side competing in the tournament. You can't really ask for more than that. Nobody has the right to expect to win the competition. But if you have a good chance, and we certainly do, I think that is as much as you can expect. I think we'd give anyone a good run for their money for certain, provided again that our key players stay fit, and Carvalho, Lampard and Drogba are key players right through the spine of the club. Malouda is also a player that is a star in his own right and will improve with time. Like Sheva, I'm expecting big things from him in the CL.

I'd like to finish with SWP. I think it is a tad unfair if we just dismissed his prominence in our side in this early part of the season as a factor of our squad's quality having decreased. It makes for a good joke, but in all seriousness, I believe his rise to prominence has come from a lot of hard work on his part. Yes, he still makes mistakes, but I feel that he has improved over his form last season or since he's been with us. Long may it continue!

Cheers,

Butch

[youlots]

Thanks for that very balanced and perceptive post Butch: especially your comments in respect to Jose. Seemingly, not a day now goes by now wth some sort of speculation regarding when Jose is for the chop. And it would seem that this site and a lot of the punters on it are less and less immune to resisiting the sort infectious speculation regarding Jose's future cast about by the mostly ignoble british press for the last couple of years: Star's recent prediction as to the timing of Jose's execution is now emblematic of that acceptance or resignation as the case may be.

Anyway, from where I sit, I think its a f**kin shame that its come to that and I can only hope that Jose is given the chance to prove all the thomases wrong. However, our existing roster has become a problem and I can understand why some on here might question why Jose hasn't been tempted to spit the dummy and leave after the ongoing meddling of Ambramovich. To be a fly on the wall at a dinner between Jose and Capello at the moment would be very revealing.

Anyway, I still think we're in with as good a chance as any to win the league this year. And against the mounting odds, what sweet justice for Jose and Chels that might be.

[Lofty]

Fact is, and it doesn't take a genius to work it out, we haven't bought well. Sheva and Ballack, whoever was responsible for signing them, were unneccessary and arguably even disruptive. What with Ballack's wages, and the ?30 million for Sheva is ludicrous fee by anyone's standardsAnd this season? Sidwell, TBH, Pizarro and Belletti are squad players. Our transfer policy could be summed up as sell the young and promising and buy the old and average, past it and/or overpaid.

It's equally undeniable that other teams have bought better, so if we get overtaken, we've got no-one else to blame.

[BLUENUT]

Fact is, and it doesn't take a genius to work it out, we haven't bought well. Sheva and Ballack, whoever was responsible for signing them, were unneccessary and arguably even disruptive. What with Ballack's wages, and the ?30 million for Sheva is ludicrous fee by anyone's standardsAnd this season? Sidwell, TBH, Pizarro and Belletti are squad players. Our transfer policy could be summed up as sell the young and promising and buy the old and average, past it and/or overpaid.

It's equally undeniable that other teams have bought better, so if we get overtaken, we've got no-one else to blame.

Spot on mate! This is from a side that won back to back titles aswell

[youlots]

Yeah that's the rub.

On the one hand Jose is seemingly hamstrung by the line and policy put out by Kenyon regarding balancing the books by 2010 and so is given little money to play with in terms of improving the existing roster whereas and at the same time we experience more than our fair share of injuries to key personel which in turn coincides with both managers at Manure and Liverpoo being given an open cheque book by their newly respective owners to buy whoever they need whilst our owner is, notwithstanding our balanced books exercise, spending large amounts on has beens such as Sheva and Ballack and then, to add insult to injury, wining and dining Goofy's agent/brother in order to chase the impossible dream/signing. Its push me/pull you stuff. The british press have such a wonderful canvass to work with given all of this.

[Guest]

It's a little silly to make these grand generalisations about the clubs transfer policy.

Honestly, who here wanted Chelsea to buy Shevchenko and Ballack when they were available?.........almost everyone here did.

And honestly again, who here honestly thought Belletti and Malouda would turn out to be decent signings?...........most here were against their arrival (particually Belletti)

[Nibs]

Honestly, who here wanted Chelsea to buy Shevchenko and Ballack when they were available?.........almost everyone here did.

That too is a grand generalisation, because I know a fair few didn't want us to sign them and I was one of them.

[Lofty]

I wasn't exactly happy about either signing. Apart from his wage demands Ballack had just had a very poor World Cup and even when on form, I couldn't see him fitting in. Sheva wasn't much better than Ballack at the World Cup and was clearly on the decline. Add the ?30million fee to the mix and the situation stinks of Real Madrid at their worst.

[barak81]

Honestly, who here wanted Chelsea to buy Shevchenko and Ballack when they were available?.........almost everyone here did.

That too is a grand generalisation, because I know a fair few didn't want us to sign them and I was one of them.

Add me to the list of people that wernt overly impressed, i would have been happy with things staying the way they where and maybe the addition of tevez

[Guest]

Okay, but I do remember a hell of alot of excitement about the Sheva transfer.

And as for Ballack, I think most here were concerned that a central pairing of Makelele, Lampard and Essien was too defensive and were crying out for Ballack to come and give another dimension in attack in the season prior to his joining. Anyone remember this?

[Nibs]

Anyone remember this?

Er, No!!!

Not when we had Guddy, Robben & Joe.

[Dallasburn]

I wasn't exactly happy about either signing. Apart from his wage demands Ballack had just had a very poor World Cup and even when on form, I couldn't see him fitting in. Sheva wasn't much better than Ballack at the World Cup and was clearly on the decline. Add the ?30million fee to the mix and the situation stinks of Real Madrid at their worst.

Ballack was actually in the world cup 11 so cant have had that bad a world cup

[Lofty]

Ballack was actually in the world cup 11 so cant have had that bad a world cup

In who's World Cup 11? The sponsors? Every time I saw him he was poor.

[Pauly]

yeah... and shevchenko played his first matches with a knee ligament strain didn't recover full fitness and strength from even in the first half of his first season with us...