big squad may cover the injuries but its a pain in the butt if everyone are fit
4-3-3:
____________________cech______________________

bellitti_______terry_______________ricky___________bridge

____essien_________maka/mikel________ballack/lampard

SWP/j cole________anelka/drogba________kalou/malouda
4-4-2:
______________________cech______________________

belletti_______terry_________________ricky_________bridge

j cole________ballack/lampard_______essien______malouda

anelka____________sheva

___________________cech______________________

bellitti_______alex_______________ricky___________bridge

____essien_________mikel________ballack

j cole________drogba________malouda

4-4-2:
______________________cech______________________

belletti_______alex_________________ricky_________bridge

j cole________ballack_______essien______malouda

anelka____________Drogba

My formation would be like this:

———————————————-Cech————————————————————–

———-Belleti———————Terry———————Carvalho—————–A.Cole————-

————————————————Essien———————————————————-

—————————–Lampard——————————-Ballack———————————–

—————-J.Cole————————————————————Anelka———————–

——————————————–Drogba————————————————————-

———————————————————Cech——————————————————

———-Ferreira/Belletti———Terry———————Carvalho—————Bridge——

————————————————Makelele/Mikel————————————————

—————————–—Lampard——————————-Ballack——————————

—————-—J.Cole—————————————————Anelka/Malouda————

—————————————————Drogba———————————————————

OR

———————————————————Cech——————————————————

———-Belletti/Ferreira———Terry———————Carvalho—————Bridge——

————————————————Makelele/Mikel————————————————

———–Lampard/J.Cole———Essien/Wright-Phillips—————-Ballack—————

————————————Drogba/Sheva———————Anelka——————————

My concern is not what players to choose but the way we are buying players whats the future of likes of sahar , sinclair, hutchison, cork???

What do you think will be the motivation level of sahar when he sees there is drogba, sheva , anelka , pizzarro , kalou already there? If sahar and sinclair cannot get a premiership match even in such injury crisis and ACN when will they ever get a match ??

sinclair must be seeing SWP missing chances everyday and thinking please put me in there and let me show them how to do it!! atleast give me a chance.

The players are bearing the side effects of managerial change and this way chelsea is not going anywhere where they can retain these top young stars which will become heros in another team.We are becoming another real madrid without CL cup!!

@Nihongo blue
brilliant post mate……….u stole my words.

@BC
The rate with which we have bought irrespective of whether rainieri,mourinho or avram is in charge is shocking…………………we have invested ridiculuos amount of money at youth level who should be given first team chance now and then to prove their worth……….i m not sayin convert to arsenal…………but now we have finally players at youth level who can make it.
why don’t you lil bit of research discuss our youth at reserve and academy level………as for avram vs jose………..i won’t comment on that now……..let’s just sa 5% were a pain in the ass for jose…………and now 95% are a pain in the ass for avram…………………..i hope you are gettin my point……………just watched the highlights………atleat in the highlights we looked the better team by mile……………….i m not comparing this bog with cfcblog but the bloggers there love as much as you do…………….but the reviews of the matches get more different by day………..admiration doesn’t mean you stop usin logic or common sense

@BC
Another question is i have always stated that we have the best squad in premier league since mourinho took over………….the condition now is that we have two alternative lines up one of which should win the league by miles and other we should easily challenge the big 2……..l’pool excluded………….having 24 first choice players is just plain ridiculuos………..yes it has helped us during injuries from last 2 years………….but the point is with this squad we are just blocking the youth from coming through…….what’s your take on this???????????during injuries according to my view he have been lucky due to the vast squad we have rather than the tactical expertise by the manager whether it’s jose or avram………….and bc it’s particularly harsh from us………..if we want avram’s head on finishing 2nd or 3rd simply caus we were already behind in the league when he took over…….

tribalfootball says “chelsea prepare to lose drogba”

nihongo blue great post mate

against huddersfield

paulo_______ben haim_______ivanovic________bridge

sinclair______mikel____________essien_______malouda

__________di santo_________sahar_________________

i would keep ballack sheva and carvalho on the bench in case anything goes wrong

its interesting most of u guys had no palce for sheva………….4-4-2 i perfect for him and anelka would make a great combo ……… anelka and drogba are very similar sheva adds variety to our attack (game against aston villa) he drops into the midfield and acts as a link up player. i wont mind him playing in the attacking position in the diamond formation with anelka and drogba up front

4-4-2 is perfect^*^*

I have a feeling Sheva would be better off playing alongside Anelka - both are pacy, strong, and have good passing ability. Sheva + Drogs was a mismatch and a disaster because of the skill differences, and also coz Sheva is not used to playing little man-bigman…Remember his AC Milan days.

If he was to become the old Sheva that we always love, Chelsea can afford to sell Drogs for 40 million GBP or whatever they demand.

I guess some things won’t happen - much like JM, AG seems to say “I am the boss and will drop even RA’s plaything(Sheva)”…

The 2 squads should be enough for 4 tournaments if AG can handle the battle of egos

———————————————————Cech——————————————————

—————-Belletti———Terry———————Carvalho—————Bridge——
| |
————————————————Makelele/Mikel—————————————-
| |
—————————–—Essien———————————Ballack————————
| |
—————-———————————Lampard——————————————
| |
—————————Drogba—————————————Anelka—————-

we have the players who are world class and regular starters its up to avram …… but really i do think drogba and anelka cannot play with each other

As I see it AG as a big problem under his hands to deal with
So many good players so many egos to take care.
If I where him I would go with the killer instinct kind of players.
This the is the time we cant lose points ,this is the time that you can see from your players eyes who is going to die out there for the team and who are the ones that are not ready to give the fight
cech
Belleti Terry caravlho cole /bridge
Makelele/mikel essien
Ballack FL
Drogba sheva/anelka

My starting line up will be this.

——————————————Cech————————————————————

—Belleti—————-Riccy———————————–Terry——————-A. Cole

——————————————Essien———————————————————

—————-Ballack—————————————————–Lamps———————

—————-Anelka*———————Drogba—————————–kalou*—————

Both anelka and kalou striking from wide positions cutting in.

chelsea need pace up front, or quick thinkers make a serious challenge, plus second to none ratio of oportunity/goals. names and egoes and reputation only get good wages, goals win trophies.

I liked JoseHoliday’s comment. Egos have to managed. This was the advantage of JM; HE HAD THE BIGGEST EGO! Somehow, Grant and his crew are going to have to decide on a core of players that will be the foundation of the team. Any rising reserve player or new aqisition must either complement the core or be cast aside. My core consist of Carvaliho, Terry, Lamps, Essien, Makalele, J Cole, and Drogba. Thus far, I think our best complementary players have been Mikel, Belletti, Alex, Bridge, Kalou, and Anelka. I’m willing to be patient with Malouda and I know little of the Serbian guy that was just picked up. I’m not a big fan of Ashley or Ballack. They just don’t seem like Chelsea players. SWP is so inconsistent. As for Sheva- hey at one time he did mention that he would like to help the sport grow in the USA. Seattle will have an MLS club in 09.

@ king blues
Totally agree with you mate. I thought Sheva has done pretty well before he twisted his ankle after Villa’s match. He set up once and scored twice? Wow. I was shockingly surprised and happy for him. Though I for one go for 4-5-1 (4-3-3 whatever), with either Drogs/Anelka up front (since Drogs would go after this season, might as well prepare for formation without him later on), I guess if Sheva’s fit we should do the 4-4-2 and Sheva+Anelka would play upfront. Pretty startling ppl do not include Sheva anymore.

@BC
Brilliant thread on orkut………….http://www.orkut.com/CommMsgs.aspx?cmm=211571&tid=2581239724609975141&start=1

Brilliant Posts
——————

Katic[CFC]
————-
now , every1 has their own opinions wen it comes to the style of football . in a nutshell , if u ask me wats attacking football , den the answer is quite simple , passing the ball around nicely with decent pace and without losing the possesion . but then , there r diff ways of doin it . arsenal rely more on the midfield , whereas teams like man utd and barca place more emphasis on the flanks . end of the day , u have to win and get 3 points , whether it means grinding out a 1-0 win or playing attractive football and winnin 4-0 .

i really hate it wen ppl say that we play boring football and all those shit . for me , john terry and carvahlo clearin the ball is as beautiful as seeing joe cole runnin down the flank and setting up a goal for drogba . it all depends on an individual’s perspective .

rather than boring , chelsea have a more organized style of play , somewhere along the lines of the italian national team . in fact , chelsea r in many ways similar to the the italians . u look at the defensive record of italy at WC 2006 - just 2 goals conceded of which 1 was an own goal and the other was the zidane penalty in the final . doh an attackin approach is very much essential , itz equally imp to have a good , organized defense . and thats why i will be always greatful to mourinho . it is not easy to build a good defense , but mourinho’s has given us a superb defense . wen u have the likes of terry , carvahlo and cech , u can be assured that 9 times out of 10 , we won’t concede . i guess thats enuf to earn at lest around 25 pts out of a possible 30 . we have probably one of the best defences in europe (When fully fit) . chelsea rely more on the counter attackin style and place a lot of emphasis on possession . this style may not produce a lot of goals , but on days wen even the most attractive style of play will not get u a result , dis style will . and thats wat matters in the end , doesn’t it ???

Shikhar[CFC]
———–
simple football is attractive football. i like the way chelsea play. we always have more of the ball. we r very good at counter attacking. we switch from defense to attack in just a few seconds.

it also depends on the personal available to the club. man u have pace with ronaldo and rooney hence their attacks r based on ligtening pace. arsenal have good passers of the bal, who r adament 2 score the perfect goal. if it suits them, let them be. we have drogba. even if v play long balls 2 him, dont u think v r entitled 2 do so bcoz we have one of the best target man in the world. we see that we interchange passes between our central midfielders on the edge of the opponent box. this is bcoz we have central midfielders of the calibre of lampard, ballack and essein who r well capable of taking and scoring from long range. (if in doubt, go and c some videos on youtube!!). on one wing, we have the pacy SWP and on other we have the crafty joe cole and sometimes kalou. they like 2 ghost past defenders bcoz they r well capable of doing that and supplying gr8 balls into the penalty area (yeah even SWP!!). this again points to the fact that we involve a lot of wing play in our attacks as we have some good headers of the ball. these wingers r well supported by 4 very capable full backs who love 2 attack. counter attacking play suits our players and hence players like belletti have adjusted into the team with such ease bcoz it is evident he loves 2 attack and he suits our style and vice versa.

Subbie[CFC]
——————
Its kinda hilarious, in everyone’s zealousness to be pro-defensive strategy or pro-Mourinho style of football, people are dissing Man-U and Arsenal, but we keep forgetting that they are infact a few points ahead of us, scoring a a few more goals than, conceding a few less than us–and still playing champagne passing, free-flowing football…which is obviously better to watch…not saying we suck, but we can’t ignore the fact that there is a superior brand of footballing level, that we’re yet to attain.
I mean this is out to the “Winning is more important than sexy football”, :-p, how are Man-U and Arsenal winning so much, yet playing sexy football?

And besides, its quite amusing, i see a lot of Zola-fans in here…which obviously means Vialli and Ranieri are the two managers you’ve seen at Chelsea, of course if you’re lucky you saw Gullit as well. So, were we ever pragmatic in those times? Or were we gung-ho, attack-minded mavericks? I agree Jose’s brought a sense of winning that we needed badly, but that’s just the foundation, a team bubbling with so much of talent shouldn’t limit itself to robotic churning of wins (now an area which we’ve considerably weakened at) or go out there, stamp its authority on teams and win with a slight air about themselves? Juande Ramos is one man from the recent managing maestros that can create such a team, Ferguson and Wenger have obvious been doing this for years…my two pence….

Mohd Yaseer[CFC]
————————-
I would like to point out a few things here. I am not being pro-Mourinho or pro-Grant in any way. I am pro-Chelsea. The earlier managers Gullit, Vialli and Ranieri were all more of an attack minded men and that showed in their team selection and playing strategy. You can also add Hoddle to that list because he was the one who really laid the foundation of what Chelsea would be in the future.

Titles came along the way but what we were really missing was the league title. Roman wanted it badly. He signed a manager who had been there and done that. Mourinho was a tactician and he paid importance to small details. He instilled tactical discipline into the players and made us a very organized and strong outfit who knew at times how to play dirty and win, how to shutdown to protect a lead and how to go all guns blazing when in need of a goal. Players before Mourinho didn’t knew how to challenge for titles yet alone win them but he showed them how to do that. Grant has an exceptional group of players at his disposal who all know how to win and challenge for a title. This is why we have done so well this year after Mourinho’s departure. Winning is a habit and once you have that it doesn’t change easily. Grant managed the players quiet well after Jose. He only had to remind the players that they were winners and no matter who comes and goes they can’t change that and they have to play like winners in every match come what may.
If you look at our last five managers: Hoddle, Gullit, Vialli, Ranieri and Mourinho all save Mourinho were good players in their heydays. When you have been a player you still retain that player’s perspective to some extent even after becoming a manager. But, for managers like Jose they tend to believe that good players cannot win you matches alone. They need a system to play into all the time. Joe Cole is a fabulous player, a natural talent. He is a match-winner in himself and he has the ability to raise his game when needed to get the team a win. But, what Jose believed was Joe Cole might be a good player but his talent alone cannot win him matches. He needs to be told what to do and what not to do and when to do. This is where tactics come into picture. Jose was our manager and he got us results and they were in no way bad. ‘If it ain’t broke then don’t fix it’ so it was said. He had a style and it suited him and his team well and he stuck with that.

Every player cannot play the kind of football that Mancs and the Gooners play. Mind you, Mancs only play fast counter-attacking football; they don’t pass the ball better than us. We have our own system and now with Grant as a manager he would like to bring about his own changes in our playing style. There were clearly two options for him: Try to change now or try to mix things and bring a slow and gradual change. He preferred the second option and I think he chose the right one. We have the examples in front of ourselves when we see the clubs whose managers have tried to change things straightaway.
Ex1: Bolton Wanderers: Big Sam played long ball and direct stuff and Little Sam thought that he would play a bit of passing football. What happened next? Little Sam had to pack his bags and Bolton are still paying for their poor start to the season though they have picked up a bit in the last few months. Megson kept the old style because the players knew that inside out and got results.
Ex 2: Sheffield United: Warnock preferred to play direct football and last year Blades didn’t played too badly. Their direct style got them good victories and it was only on the last day they were relegated. Then Robson came who being Captain Marvel is a fan of passing football. He tried to do that and results suffered. They are currently struggling in the lower half and could only draw 2-2 with Colchester in the last match. He knows now that the players he has are not suitable for playing the kind of football he likes so is trying to mix and match things.

So what I am trying to say is style is very much a managerial and player dependent phenomenon and more importantly style change is something that cannot happen overnight. I have never given a crap about which style is better or which style is worse. I have seen both the styles at Chelsea and though the later style of Mourinho fetched us more trophies but I am in no way favouring one style over another. A club goes through phases good and bad. Players come and go, managers come and go, owners come and go. Nothing lasts forever. Spice and change are what adds excitement. Not knowing what is going to happen next, this is what following a club is all about. If Chelsea keeps on winning every match for the next 100 years do you think that would be exciting? Not for me.

The Remembrance[Man Utd Sensible one ...lol]
———————————————————–
Ex1: Bolton Wanderers: Big Sam played long ball and direct stuff and Little Sam thought that he would play a bit of passing football. What happened next? Little Sam had to pack his bags and Bolton are still paying for their poor start to the season though they have picked up a bit in the last few months. Megson kept the old style because the players knew that inside out and got results.
Ex 2: Sheffield United: Warnock preferred to play direct football and last year Blades didn’t played too badly. Their direct style got them good victories and it was only on the last day they were relegated. Then Robson came who being Captain Marvel is a fan of passing football. He tried to do that and results suffered. They are currently struggling in the lower half and could only draw 2-2 with Colchester in the last match. He knows now that the players he has are not suitable for playing the kind of football he likes so is trying to mix and match things.

So what I am trying to say is style is very much a managerial and player dependent phenomenon and more importantly style change is something that cannot happen overnight. I have never given a crap about which style is better or which style is worse. I have seen both the styles at Chelsea and though the later style of Mourinho fetched us more trophies but I am in no way favouring one style over another. A club goes through phases good and bad. Players come and go, managers come and go, owners come and go. Nothing lasts forever. Spice and change are what adds excitement. Not knowing what is going to happen next, this is what following a club is all about. If Chelsea keeps on winning every match for the next 100 years do you think that would be exciting? Not for me.

Karik[CFC]
—————–
nice to see a sensible man utd fan here mate (assuming dis from ur dp) , but newayz , u r rite . chelsea’s approach has certainly changed a bit under grant . i m not saying that we r goin ou all guns blazing and winnin every match 4-0 or 6-0 . the score is still 1-0 or 2-0 most of the time . but the approach and the mindset of the players has certainly changed . they r being more positive now , they r creatin muh more chances and r lookin really lively on d pitch . for instance , the last ucl group stage game against valencia was a 0-0 draw . but the kinda football that chelsea played that nite was some of the best i had seen in a long time . if it wasn’t for some good saves by canizares and some poor finishing on our part , the score could have well been 5-0 or even worse .

its not easy to change a style of a team overnite . u need time to do it . the players have to be convinced that they can do it . changin a team’s style should not come at the expense of results . jose has instilled a defensive yet winnin mentality into dis side and grant has been sensible enuf to realize dat . in fact , wat i really admire abt him is dat he has not gone overboard to change the style and impose his authority on the team . he has put in some inputs here and there and has let the team continue to play the way dey want . for instance , the full backs now have more freedom to attack . i have never seen joey play so well for a long time . he is all over d park , either givin some useful assists or scoring some great goals . the signing of anelka has been a crucial one . ivanovic and di santo have been brought in as long term prospects . clarke and ten cate’s role has been very crucial . so , all in all , things lookin good rite now . we mite end up trophyless dis ssn or we mite win all the 4 , but rite now , its time to get behind the manager and the team . if he is indeed gonna produce all the attractive football dat he is promising , den there’s nothin wrong in dat as long as the winnin mentality is there .

Nonsense Inc[CFC]
———————-
Chelsea is playing modern football . It might look slow, boring but it is really very hard hitting style of play.Attacking football doesnot exist in todays football world.What exists is Counter-attacking football . Italy had already shown the importance of this style , in the last WC . Even Brazil has adopted this style. people always talk about C,Ronaldo’s skills , Fabregas’s passing but has any one seen their record against CFC . Ronaldo had flopped in every Chelsea v/s Manu match . Thats the prove that attacking football cannot move the ball along . Guys like Gattuso , Maka , Essien ,baptista are underrated but they are the most effective players. Ball players can move the ball along ,they can do some fancy stuff to please the audiences, but the time in which they move a yard , a player like gattuso can move 2 yards . Concept of Attacking football is past news . Its better to own the ground rather than owning a particular zone of it .

@BC

Please note to skip remembrance post……..i copied yaseer’s post again

Remebrance[Man Utd...sensible...lol]
———————————————–

With all due respect to the current Chelsea team, I found Ranieri’s old team much much more entertaining and exciting. It was not a perfect team by any sense of the word, They could beat us 5-0, and lose 4-0 to another team the next day, But that was the Romance of the that team.

Anyways, Moans and Cries of boring boring Chelsea are now so Boring, We (Rivals) have stopped using that as a device of banter/slinging. Everyone needs to understand the importance of strategy and systems, Jorge Valdano may have said Chelsea & Liverpool don’t play football the way it should be played, But actually speaking, Who cares ? In the end, It’s the result that matters & To an owner who spends fortunes of his own money expects results. First comes the results, Next comes the attraction, If you can combine both of them, then that’s the pinnacle of football.

The current Chelsea team has enough attacking options to scare the daylights out of any defense, but it’s the system that matters. Liverpool struggle because Rafa doesn’t know his best system/tactics, United & Arsenal are successful because they NEVER change the way they play unless they play among themselves. Chelsea of today, Chelsea under Avram Grant is an efficient machine, Grinding out results, keeping clean sheets, But the difference I feel with the Teams under Jose & Grant is that although the result maybe 1-0 in both stances, The way Chelsea approach the game is different now.
They are more of an attacking team now then they were under Jose.

With the Arrival of Anelka, Quality wingers in the form of Cole & Malouda and the drive of Essien and the sheer class of Ballack, I feel a system in which all of these can be incorporated along with the Skill/Power of Drogba, Chelsea may well become a team known for it’s attacking options rather than how good Petr Cech or Ricardo Carvalho is.

@ 20. there are million posts thats ridicules us. you have chosen one that does not. neutral fans hated JM and they dont hate AG. thats why they admit stuff that they did not want to when JM was here.

Although still trying to understand the pattern we play (or suppose to be playing under AG), i think the key element of our game is our midfielders. the more choices we have the better for us and as along there is a competition for places and rotation for the cups and leagues we should not have problems.

quite significantly, with the arrival of anelka, i feel more comfortable with our attackers as all can deliver if only they get the passes from our midfielders.

there are quite some difficult matches to come in the next few weeks especially with the top 8 teams and we need to show we can beat them as that is the way champions are made.

came across following news at bbc,

Absent Drogba ’stripped of award’

Drogba was named Africa’s Player of the Year in 2006
Didier Drogba says he does not wish to be considered for future African player of the year awards after Frederic Kanoute won the 2007 title by default.
The Ivory Coast striker is playing at the Africa Cup of Nations in Ghana and claims he was told he had won but had to travel to Togo to accept the prize.

“I was told if I didn’t appear the rules would change and the prize would go to the runner-up,” he said.

“This attitude doesn’t honour Africa so I’ve pulled out of future elections.”

Drogba, who won the 2006 award, said it made no sense to have the awards ceremony in another country while such a high-profile African event was ongoing.

“If I refused to go to (Togo capital) Lome it was first for my team-mates, as you don’t organise such an event just two days before a quarter-final (Monday’s game against Guinea),” the Chelsea forward said.

“I didn’t go as well because of the son of Ulrich Stilieke (the former Ivory Coast coach) has died.

“We’re all working for the African continent, there’s a huge media presence in Ghana for a competition that was heavily criticised 10 years ago.

“So there comes a time when we all have to pull together.”

Ivory Coast spokesman Jean-Claude Djacus said the Confederation of African Football (Caf) had “brought itself into disrepute” by its handling of the affair.

What crap……..

its like a buffet…….. u cant stuff yourself with what ever u see….. discard something (loan or sell) to make room for the other stuff (sidelined players,young prospects)

Yeah with all those blokes comin back soon … we’ll see !

whether it’s a buffet or not…

Remember what happened to Roy Keane at Manure …. I guess something in that vein will be seen at Chelsea before long too ….

And Becks ……..

that would be horrible

keeping the team is one motive and playing the best eleven out day in day out is another for grant. if and when he manages to do this, he’ll surely be regarded as a gr8 manager.

anyways, the team lineup should be:
4-3-3
—————–cech—————–
belletti—terry——carvalho—cole
lampard——-essien—–ballack
joe cole—-drogba——anelka

4-4-2
————-cech——————-
belletti——terry—–carvalho—cole
joe cole—lampard—-essien—-kalou
——-anelka—–drogba————-

i dont think drogba and anelka cant play together. people said the same for rooney and tevez and c the amt. of goals man u are scoring and the understanding between rooney and tevez is gr8. anelka and drogba together r capable of destroying any defence in europe!!

Let me think of sth like that:
3-5-2

————alex-terry-ricky———-
beletti———————–cole/bridge

——–lamps————-essien——-
—————joe———————-
———-drogs————anelka———

humm?

well, maybe other version
————alex-terry-ricky———-
beletti———————–cole/bridge
————essien————–
——–lamps————-ballack——-

———-drogs————anelka———