Truly, it was sheer embarrassment. At some point, Chelsea players were unsure whether to celebrate the goals or not. The Telegraph had an article about this Derby team being the worst ever team to play in the premier league. I completely agree. From our side, is this a Chelsea resurgence or just another flash in the pan?
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Well we conceded a goal, what’s that say?
it was a lucky goal for them. Lampard dominated
What’s up with Avram keeping on taking Cole off when he’s in fiery form?
why did he play 4 strikers when the score is 6-0. the only one missing was pizza. we had 2 midfielders for 20 minutes. im happy we won but if avram make subs like this in a cl game i will break his fat neck
Grant is a silly man, he works by the understanding that the more strikers you have on the pitch directly correlates to the amount of times the ball hit’s the back of the net.
You sir are an idiot.
I have not seen the game so anyone want to shed some light on the starting line up, decent players, subs what ever else interesting happened in this mauling of Derby.
I’ll be honest I’m a little shocked they scored.
well it was because the players where kind of on a high after the sixth went in..
well nothing spectacular with the win tonight, berby will always be poor derby . until arsenal game at stamford bridge. I will place my judgement on the match. It is a much win against Arsenal and Totenham away.
Does anyone understand why grant has to wait till the 70th minute before a substitution is made? I have studied his tactics and i’ve noticed that for the past 16 matches, all our subs come on at the 69 or 70th minute.
Someone should please teach that moron that substitutions can be made anytime- even in the first half.
5 goals and a penalty at home against the weakest side in PL plus you concede a goal – nothing special.
After the game Avran Grant said “We have a good chance to win the league”. He must be thinking that Derby is a title rival. Very funny pathetic loser.
@ 9. Midfield_Decider – 12 Mar
STFU idiot, u dont know shit about football
We’ve just won 6-1 and everybody’s complaining! This team must be our starting 11 for the rest of the season. Benitez’s exploits have already demonstrated the risks of tinkering with a winning side. Kalou and Joe deserves their starting places, and Ashley Cole and Ferreira are clearly our most consistent wingbacks.
@10, hate it or love it, midfield_decider was saying the truth. Our victory today had nothing to do with Grant, it was the individual effort of some of our players that got us the 3 points. Some players didn’t celebrate when they scored; kalou only had a faint smile, that means something is happening.
I’ve started to think Anelka is a waste of transfer, i can’t believe he hasn’t yet scored a goal at the bridge.
Quoting moyo
funny how when we lose its grants fault and when we win its down to the players.
anelka doesn’t get any decent service, if u look at him off the ball he’s an intelligent player
Oh dear oh dear, c’mon it is only derby, so what 6-1?
As AG said in an interview, I read somewhere, , “the players are professionals they KNOW what to do….”, yes they did, so what?
Ok I will be nice to AG and AG’s friends, the MAN (AG) proved in this game that he is a GENIUS, to smash Derby 6-1, is a mean feat, not at the reach of a top EPL team.
Guys it is Derby, they already preparing the next season in the Championship.
A good score thats all.
I still belive that the Monkfish should go ASAP, for his own good and chelsea’s.
Guys Read the article by P Mellor in the London’s Evening Standard on the 12th of this month.
#13
agree with u dude .. when we lose its Grant fault and when we win its players effort .. im not defending AG i dont like him too and i think that its not Chelsea quality .. when we win its just ” W.Ham,Olympiakos,Derby”
( agree that Derby is poor n dont deserve to be in EPL ) and when we lose its Grant and blla blla .. i love Chelsea when we win or lose and i dont care if we dont win a’thing this season .. some of u hate AG more than love Chelsea ..
It should have been the same scoreline against barsney too!!!
well done SUPER FRANK!!! now sign the new contract.
CHELSEA IS THE BEST! BUT CHANGE THEIR COACH GRAT SUCK LIKE COMMON NO REACTION FROM HIM WHEN HIS TEAM GOES 6-0?
derbys goal was straight from the kickoff after lampards goal 4 passes and the ball in the net ………………
IN other games when we lead 1-0 or 2-0 we need to push on and kill the game off, we need to do this to other teams aswell not just derby. we drop many points because we dont kill games off and it stays 1-0 to us and tyhen the opponents score with not much game time left so we cant get all three points. if we did what man utdf and arsenal do wed be muc better than both of them!
well said den yesterday we could have pressed till the last minute with 4 strikers on the field but the last 10 mins or so we played negitive knowing derby are trash ………this could have been done against aston villa and everton
I reckon most ppl here are not too excited about the scoreline, seems that so to BC. 6-1, if we were facing the Spurs or the Pompeys, it would be more convincing. In fact, if Grant hasn’t yet sub off Ballack/Maka/and Joey, I think we would bag in a few more goals, and definitely, we won’t get carried away by the scoreline and the fact that Frank just sent us 4 wonderful goals, that we forgot to defend. That goal conceded was shameful indeed. HOw could we let Derby score against us? They only score 5 away goals, and one of them was against us?! Can’t even believe AG kept saying: we will win the premier league, totally out of his mind.
Yeah, it sounds right coz’ if he doesn’t win us anything (still this is what most of us can predict), he has to sod off immediately.
Winning or getting rid of him.
WHat a choice.
good win, could easily have been a much larger margin, the shot of lampards that hit the post was a very nice play.
At one point when we are up by a large margin, putting on extra defenders aint gonna do shit but slow down the game. Grant still has the “beautiful” football to show so he decided that putting on an extra striker cant hurt. Also it allows players to mesh as a more attacking side, what if he needs to put on more strikers in a CL game and none of them are used to it. Also any substitutions quibbles are pointless, he took off cole because he wanted a striker on and cole had done great and there was no point risking him when we have a CL game to play soon.
the ol 4-3-3..i don no wat ag see’s in tat…its a waste..maybe sm poor team lik derby or hammers or greeks..we can beat em..but even if a team which is half as good as us..come out an play attackin footie..we r in serious trouble…………sm body seriously needs to point to him tat 4-3-3 is not workin..
All of you are idiots,ingrates.Just listen to yourselves.Why not rejoice with the man when things are going on fine with him,and sympathize with him when the reverse is the case.That is what patriotism is all about.What if he drew the match or even lose it.When he loses,you people will complain.When he wins,you will say its the players effort.Why did the players not put the same effort against the spurs in the carling cup final and in the FA cup against a division 2 side? let me hear you again call yourselves blues.INGRATES!!!
@24…they r not Chelsea fans…they r Mourinho fans…
Hey, we all know AG is a Trash but all d same, lets give him kudos
The victory over Derby might not getting me over the defeat in FA Cup at Barnsley, but it is a kind of balsam over my wound. RE Austino: Because we are patriots, because we are loving the blues so much, because we see the Grant is not the right man on the right position, because we need a coach, because the players are playing not constantly on the same high level, because we wish the best for the club, because we have our goal that the team should win a trophy, because and so on….
Let’s see what Chelsea does against Arsenal, Spurs, and Man U (and our next CL opponent). Kicking the crap out of a low-life like Derby is great for our points standing in the league. But, great teams are able to win against their best opponents and in importatnt matches. Thus far, WE HAVE NOT DONE THIS UNDER AVRAM GRANT! Indeed, we’ve lost to Spurs and BARNSLEY in a cup final and quarter final.
For points and number of goals scored, okay. This was great. But, that’s what was said about Hammers and the Olympiakos.
24. Austino – 13 Mar
What do tou mean “ingrates”?
Do you mean Ungrateful? Well let me tell you something about the present chelsea team, managed by this GENIUS AG.
No one doubts the his qualities of beating weak opposition, and to have good tactics against very poor teams, no one dounbts the amount of LUCK that the man possesses, and the proof is in the matches against poor opposition chelsea always won or at least drew.
It is against the sam quality of opposition and with better mopre astute managers, thats the man (AG) falters and shows the lack of awareness so common with mediocre, fake, manager.
So dont get all excited about the 6-1 thrashing of Derby lets see against the likes of liver, ManU, Arse etc.
we ave sunderland then totenham, must win for both games coz i cant see man utd slipping up but arsenal will
Lets just give the man our support,and see what happens.If at the end of the day and noyhing happens,then you can crucify him.But for now,lets back him up.He needs it.Thats my own arguement.BLUES TO THE CORE
I believe Grant has nothing to offer us because he knows nothing about coaching.6-1 win over Derby has nothing to do with Grant because those players use their individual skills and knowledge to win the match. Thanks to Frank Lampard who dominate the midfield and score 4 goals, pls sign a new contract with us God bless you. I will use this medium to apeal to the board to bring bachk Jose Morinho to manage the club or go for Frank Rijkaard.Thanks
@30…we can surely overhaul Arsenal as they still have to visit us…and then keep in mind that the way LPool has started playing they can be a handful for both Manure and Arsenal…so lets hope for best…we just have to keep winning all matches…
btw I think Manure gave us ample chance to go to top when they slipped few weeks back but then we dropped points against Portsmouth and LPool…it was same as last season when Manure slipped towards end but we drew at Newcastle and lost the opportunity…
@29….everyone knows abt Grant but whats wrong with u…can’t u put off ur record…its getting too much now….at least appreciate fine victories…yesterday’s performance was much better then those grinded ones under Mourinho….I know Grant is not what we want but at least have some nice words for such victories…
@everyone
to those who came latter
TBF=True Blue Fusion
@BC
if essien gives another of those performance…………..ship him along with drogba wherever he wants.if salary is not enough motivation for him………..he may go wherever mourinho lands.
i had a dream today that mourinho will go to inter and then zlatan in 99% probability will be off[ok how many can imagine zlatan defending in box and cutting on his moves]and we have the most perfect replacement for drogba available but as the devil will have it mancinin has done a u-turn.
the result is absolutely meaningless…………derby is the crapiest team on planet.the good thing is to see lamp and ballack clicking but we have to wait for bigger opponents to make conclusions.
@BC
Result is meaning less simply caus derby is CRAP.
Two things which have been worrying me
——————————————
1.Michael Essien-his performances speak for him…utter crap since this season…….he just seems disinterested…………a fact is that our last 3 goals have resulted from his losing possession…………..if he doesn’t feel motivated enough from the salary he relieves……..i believe we should throw him out to wherever jose lands.
2.John Obi Mikel-A Nigerian wonderkid……..who destroyed argentina at u17 wc……….playmaker by default he was voted 2nd best player after messi only caus argentina won and fifa favours south american.
at man utd most likely he was going to be scholes replacement………..we got him and converted him into an ordinary cdm……..just notice the difference between messi’s and mikel’s current status.
and now he is not even in the bench for 4 games since the fallout with ten cate…..there are 2 possibilities.
1.he is out in summer transfer window.
2.ten cate feels he may still be reconverted into playmaker of old and hence making him sweat it out in cobham….
grant must go,,the team would have thrashed derby anyway,,even without grant
i dont understand what is going on here?
i think most sane ppl had already ruled us out of contention for the EPL, many reasons for that……..managerial change, problems with players, horrendous dip in our form(especially at the start of the season), so where we are, i.e still in the race is a good enough result for me even if we dont win the league!!
Agreed Grant is not who we want, but are u ppl sayin’ that we shld get rid of him right now?? at this crucial stage?? why crumble everything?? let this season end, and let us find a suitable replacement, a fresh approach in the summer, what is the sense in giving him the boot with CL matches comin up, and the league title still in sight??
Seriously ppl , think sense……..thats all i advocate!!
@TBF
dude check up ur orkut account and post back!!
Whoever calls me idiot is idiot himself!
What an overexcitement?!!! Even if I was coaching Chelsea at the moment, the team would beat Derby with at least 3 goal margin. And that’s the case with everyone in this blog who more or less knows football. As BC wrote Derby is probably the weakest side ever play in the PL, and they are already preparing for next year’s championship.
And if this victory excites AG that much that he comes out and say “we have a very good chance to win the league” with a smile on his face, then he knows nothing about football.
lets not take the Derdy result seriously it was like a training session
This is good but what I don’t understand is why can’t they show the same winning spirit when it comes to those matches that matter most… Losing to team like Barnleys doesn’t give you much confidence about winning EPL or Championships league. It sure makes me nervous… Can’t imagine that we have lost 2 of our holding titles…
Come on Blues.. be consistent and keep winning !!!!
Frank Lampard became the first midfielder ever to score four goals in a Premier League fixture, though I don’t rate him high.
I rhink chelsea should not lose any players except the crap we go in summer, pizzaro, Haim, Sidwell and maybe shevcheno IF the price is right.
@34, i agree with you.
Since Mourinho left, essien’s performance has really diminished. He has not been the same player he was once known as. He loses possession a lot and the last three goals we conceded have come from his mistakes.
Secondly, i’m not worrying about mikel because mourinho has been boasting publicly for over 2 months now that he’s taking mikel and drogba with him to his next club. It seems nobody here watched the world youth championship in 2005. Ferguson was in every Nigeria match to watch mikel, he was the next ronaldinho; he scored, dribbled with ease; never missed a pass and troubled every defense. He sent scotland, holland (the hosts), brazil and tunisia out of the tournament and all clubs were rushing for his sgnature. Manchester utd, lyn oslo and chelsea all signed him (an impossibility that happened) but he stuck with us. I don’t know what chelsea has done to that playmaker i saw in 2005, he hardly scores for us (he sores like a madman for nigeria till date), he was converted to a cdm and messi (who he outshone at the tournament) is now far above him. He hasn’t even been on the bench for 4 matches.
My fear is that if we sell him in the summer, ferguson will take back his player and convert him to the next c.ronaldo. Then we’ll be the losers.
@12,
anelka was sheer class yesterday. a great striker is not all about scoring you know. watch the match again buddy.
M_D, Roma is not as easy as you think you know? I will rather we drew fenarbache or at worst arse
essien will be back with a bang- in life there is what you call the ebb after every flow then comes a greater flow. you do not expect him to keep that phenomenal level every single match do you? he has too much class and determination not to make it back with a bang- drogs goes down too, so does lamps, so does terry- ballacks was down there whole of last season- joey was there beginning of season- cech is there too at the moment- fear not for essien. class is permanent, form is temporary
TBF@34, losing essien will be our loss. you do not throw out a class player like that cos his form has not reached the dizzy heights of last year- if you were a manager, you may transfer half your squad after every spell of poor form- is that how you build a good team? rooney does have a bad spell- do u hear any manure fan advocating his transfer- lets grow up pls.
Besides, you can never tell, the trauma the poor lad is suffering working under a clueless manager who has no business managing even Barnsley
Hi Friend , i think with Avram Grant’s Luck we will win this year’s Champion’s League ,After wining Roman will make Avram Grant director of Football and will appoint a new Coach Haaaa….
Champions League draw will be like this :
Quater Final
————
1.Chelsea Vs Roma —–> Chelsea
2.Liverpool Vs Barcelona ——> Barca
3.Man Utd Vs Arsenal —–> Arsenal(Revenge for FA cup)
4.Schalke Vs Fenerbahce —-> Fenerbahce
SemiFinal
————–
1.) Chelsea – Fenerbahce —> CHELSEA
2.) Barca – Arsenal —> BARCELONA
Dream FINAL At Moscow
———————
CHELSEA vs BARCELONA —–> Lucky Avram’s Chelsea will win Champion’s league in penalty shoot out
Man of Match —> Peter Cech For his two penalty SAVE’S (First time in Chelsea career) haa……
We R The Champion’s Of Europe…….
pls stop asking us to go for rijkaard- the guy is being booted out for not performing- why should we go for barca’s reject? if he cannot make in in la liga, what is the bet that he can do better in the more competitive EPL where the style is so different?
This is not a flash in the pan. It is also not something with more staying power.
This chelsea team can not come from behind.
This chelsea team can not beat a determined team
This chelsea team can never beat a team at par with it.
This chelsea team is beginning to be the new Liverpool, with the rotation, the lack of fighting spirit away from home, with the absence of an awe-inspiring aura.
Hello
What we have seen yesterday was a game (one of 12!!!) that needed to be wan and that exactly what happened!! 6-1 it’s a better result then we expected even playing derby!!!
But the bunch of hypocrites here that would have grabed 3-0 before the game is not happy with 6-1.
I agree with the bad feeling that still us all sheer about losing the FC cup game between 3 great wins. And this wins even makes it harder to accept that lose.
The must funny posts are the ones that say that this game was pure players win when only 3 days ago it was pure AG losing and that’s from the same ppl .
The losing game was pure AG and the players just as the 6-1 is pure AGs and the players!!!
And if I must say the players have more to blame for the spirit of that game
Just like I said few days ago I still think Makalele is one player we must keep,
The one thing I didn’t understand AG about the FC cup game was why Maka wasn’t playing
I feel ever since AG came he gave Maka much more playing time and then he did something against his first instincts, I wonder why.
One more thing that I said here few days ago was that starting yesterday’s game every game is a cup final game for us, one drop and we drop it all
I am sure both arsenal and Man u will drop points and we can draw one or both of them at home, but we must win all the rest!! Its not easy but can be done
If our wining percentage will stay the same (80%) and we don’t lose in the rest
And arsenal and Man U would drop points we have a real chance
I will see the fixture tonight and see how it can be done ( where we must win and where we can drop points)
Plus,how is it that Anelka has to hit hisdry patch in Chelsea. The man was a riot in Bolton?
schalke is the easiest as we already won them. next is fenerbahce. after that roma. i dont want to pla against man utd or arsenal in the quarter final. hope they play eachother.
Even if Anelka is not Scoring , He make’s good contribution’s in the Field he is a good team player, He passes the ball so well , In Bolton they were playing based on Anelka upfront . but in chelsea our style is different. Next Season Aneka will be 30 goal man.
Olu@55, teams hardly mark Bolton players seriously. Anelka is under much tighter scrutiny cos he is playing for chelsea-
Besides, since drogba had problem scoring freely in his first season with us, same for sheva and maybe same for anelka, then we need to investigate what systemic problem is handicapping our strikers? Why is torres hitting it in first season yet ours find it so hard? What is it that our midfielders are not doing?
That’s easy. Our midfielders are not passing the ball. That is the problem I have with dear Lamps, and essien who right all season has been unable to pass the ball decently.
grant has made a shortlist of who he wants and there is a major cleanout planed at the end of the season. Set to go are: Belletti, Sheva, ben-haim, Sidwell, pizzarro, Drogba, Malouda
@49. MourofEssien
I don’t say that Roma is an easy draw. It’s just my intuition that says that we may draw Roma tomorrow. Besides, if we are scared of Roma then what are we doing in CL quarter-finals??? And the easiest draw is Schalke, and only then Fenerbahce.
what about anelka a finisher striker … is he scoring ?
tomorrow’s draw:
Quarters:
1. Man Utd vs Liverpool
2. Barcelona vs Arsenal
3. Chelsea vs Roma
4. Schalke vs Fenerbahce
Semi-finals:
Winner1 vs Winner2
Winner3 vs Winner4
M_D, thats football for you. the big boys always wish to avoid each other until they can no more.
@64. MourofEssien
90 out 100 football fans all over the world will say that BIG BOYS are Chelsea, Arsenal, Man Utd, Liverpool and Barcelona, but not Roma. Is Roma stronger than any of those? Beating the weak Real Madrid side doesn’t make them BIG.
Roma took apart madrid that has had barca in its pocket lately. So if Roma is beating the man that beats the man, why then should Roma not be considered a tough cookie? Personally, i do not want us to play Roma- i would rather we play Arsey.
“If our wining percentage will stay the same (80%) and we don’t lose in the rest”
isreli can you please tell me how does 15 wins in 22 matches for grant(68 %) make it a winning percentage of 80 %? Its the same as grant saying playing attacking passing football. Utter crap!!!
We have a very tough fixture now but have the home advantage to man u arsenal. My first comparision will be after 23rd march agianst arsenal and liverpool vs man utd. Till that point no second thoughts on winning sunderland and spurs.
I have just looked at top-scorers of Bundesliga and saw that Van der Vaart (Hamburg’s midfielder) and Diego (Bremen’s midfielder) both top the list with 9 goals each. Besides, Bremen and Hamburg are 2nd and 3rd in the league respectively. While I’m surprised at the small amount of goals scored by topscorers in Bundesliga I’m impressed by these two guys. These two attacking midfielders are amazing. Now I have been watching Van der Vaart for a long time and know about his dribbling skills and creativity, but Diego is something new for me. I think we should get rid of both Lampard and Ballack in the summer and get both VDV and Diego. Can you imagine our young Dutch-Brazilian dribbling midfield instead of old static uncreative English-German? Believe me we’ll be invincible if we get those two guys.
But there is also possibility of getting Modric.
What do you think guys???
@MourofEssien
i was just frustated with essien’s performance of late.
i will give you the example of sheva……….he atleast tries and gives his 100% and same goes for swp.
but essien,malouda and drogba are looking completely disinterested………you gave the example of ballack….ballack was adjusting to epl……is the case same with essien.i am a big fan of essien and want the bison to be back but it’s look like he has already sold his soul to jose and is just not interested…………
@MourofEssien
manager is clueless for everybody……..are the others not giving their 100%…………jose does not pays his salary it his roman who pays it.
Well TBF, if the reason for Essien’s poor performance is just his allegiance to Jose then it needs to be condemned. See it this way. Lot of these new Arsenal players have been working with Wenger for the last few seasons only. If Wenger is to leave in the circumstances that Jose did, many of the Arsenal players would also be disappointed and will take time to come out of the shock.
It has been many months since Jose left which is enough time to recover from the shock. The way I see, Essien is a bit confused about his role. At times, it becomes clear that he has this indecisiveness about what to do next. I think his problem can be fixed in the training ground and in tactic boards. He is a great professional and I have no doubts on his integrity.
Moyo, don’t let ur nigerian tinted glasses blur your vision. Mikel is good but not that good. You keep going on and on about how he’s a class act. The lad keeps passing the ball backwards every time. You keep bashing Essien for non-performance day in day out. admittedly his form has been poor to say the least. We ship him out at our own peril. For crying out loud, even the players voted him as the best player last season. Again, how many goals has Mikel scored for Nigeria anyways. plus he was poor during the ACN.yes it was his first but when he was needed to stand up and be counted he just bottled. Tell u what Moyo, Mikel is no Messi nor C. Ronaldo. I’m sure he’s good in his own way. So spare us this Mikel glory-singing. Sometimes u come across as having something against Essien. Having to make a choice between Essien and Mikel, there is only one choice, Essien. Hopefully Mikel will mature to his potential someday. I have nothing against the lad but please he’s no wonderkid. What’s important is Chelsea. We need to hit our form and fast. The coming weeks are going to determine our season. I hope we come out smiling. Go Blues
i have actually gone through most of the comments here and can infere three isseus of discussio:
Essien:
Essien’s performance has been poor. I am not sure it is just for lack of interest i think it is about the role. Essien is a guy that does better defensively. He can win balls and when he does he can keep d ball driving the whole attack into d opponent. I think he is losing that role especially when he played attacking midfield. We all know is not very skillfull and he is not really a wonderful passer. His points score in strength and tackling n i tip him for Maka’s role.
Mikel:
Mourinho really messed up. Mikel was never a good guy at tackling why playing him in holding midfield, all he did last season was to give back passes. i once sat down and counted d number of times he received the ball, the number of times he passed forward(10%),sideways short passes(30&) and back passes(50%) others 10%. He did not lose most of the balls but that is only because he did not do anything with the ball. he barely moves 4metres with ball. watch him . Contrary to what ppl think though, i think Mikel has really improved under Grant but he is being played out of position and he is really doing a poor job in d Holding midfield.
Makalele:
i think this guy is just getting better with age. his passes have been very good and he still wins the ball. we really can’t play either of Essien or Mikel ahead of him.
Moyo and Matblue@72, do i sense some west african rivalry here? Some Ghana versus nigeria rivalry? Anyway, i love mikel greatly because he does so well especially in the big matches- remember how he totally terrorised Manure last FA cup finals? but moyo, for God’s sake do not make the mistake of putting down Essien for Mikel. the difference is crystal clear. Ask folks on this blog and ask chelsea fans generally and they will tell you. Why are we not using mikel as attacking Mid? Because, when you are a youngster, you pay dues first and prove yourself in sometimes unorthox positions before staking a claim to the position you desire- essien started as a defender, then as defensive midfielder then became a terrorising attacking midfielder in lyon- we bought him to play that lyon role but cos of lampard, he has had to play the defensive role more- essien has too much energy, too much drive, passion to just limit him to the Maka “foilman” role- unleash the Bison please……
BC, can we have a live chat when the draw starts- any minute now it will be start.
arsenal draws loserpool in cl
chelsea vrs ferna
manure vrs roma
roma vrs schalke-
winner of arse/loserpool will meet chelsea when we meet
chelsea, loserpool, manure and barca play second leg at home
hey, i am a nigerian n not a ghanian.
about wht u said. i think dt is really a poor comment.. so u mean to say young players have to earn their shirts by starting from defense.so u mean to say dt better players play up front, midfield and attack. den u wonder y cannavaro won d world best player.
i disagree with u. Players have different skills and diff skills are required at diff postions on d pitch. as a matter of fact, i think that the most important and vital role is holding midfield. it is like the fulcrum/pivot of the team connecting defense to attack. that position requires experience, strength and great skills. that explains why Maka is seemingly getting better with age. i still think Mourinho made a grave mistake last season preferrring Mikel to Maka in dt role. Although Mikel is better now in the role (though still not good for me)and Maka is older, it is still obvious dt Maka is better. If nothing at all, at least Grant is trying to correct that wrong.
ludare, you got it wrong- what i mean is this- sometimes a great central dender has to make do with a strting role as a full fack cos a senior player is plating there. when he proves himself in due time, he assumes the role he really should have- abedi pele of ghana, when he started, was a full scale central midfielder- but when he started proving his mettle on the big stage and in a consistent way, became the full scale attacking midfielder that he was yearned for. Mikelmay well end up there some day.
maka is in a rich vein of form. last season, he was a disaster- early this season, he was doing very badly as well. thats football- in a few weeks, his form may not necessarily be same.
“Liverpool chief exec Rick Parry says he’s disappointed with the draw – especially as it means his club will face Arsenal three times in a week with a league match sandwiched in between the two legs of the quarter-finals”
good for them
I think Grant got lucky again. We drew fenerbache. well, then again we drew barnsley in the FA cup
dame luck is with us this year- we need that after the poor luck we had over the last few seasons. that might well be grant’s contribution to us- mother luck-long may that continue till grant leaves us at the end of the season.
REALLY REALLY laughable
Avram Grant drew another easy team, arguablebly the easiest in the the competion, no CL experience, full of old players, a really bad team, but Avram Grant pulled another msater stroke eheheheh, guys this year Chelsea is being given an easy passage to win competitions, to reach the semis whithout playing a DECENT team, Avram Grant must be thanking his God.
How easy can this become?
Hey guys,
So we drew Zico & the company, or in another words as some call them “Little Brazil”. I don’t want to be pessimistic at all about this draw but I can assure you this will not be a walk in the park. Though, I’m not a fan of Fenerbahce (I’m a fan of their fierest rivals Galatasaray) I have been supporting them lately in the Champions League. For that very reason I wanted Chelsea to avoid Fenerbahce. Now, of course I will back Chelsea against them. I have a chance to see Chelsea players here in Istanbul, so that’s one positive thing for me.
Now, about “Little Brazil”. They don’t have world-stars in their squad except for Roberto Carlos but they have 6 Brazilians and a legendary Zico as their coach. Those brazlians are: Alex de Souza, Deivid de Souza, Aurelio, Roberto Carlos, Wederson and Edu.
Alez de Souza is their attacking midfielder who is very creative and thus dangerous. I will even go further to say that Chelsea doesn’t have a player of such a quality in that position. In other words for me Alex is better than Lampard and Ballack. As I said before Alex tops the list of CL players with 6 assists.
Aurelio is their defensive midfielder who is also Turkish international but he’s Brazilian. Aurelio is very dynamic and sometimes you can see him everywhere on the pitch.
I don’t think there’s any need to introduce Roberto Carlos. As one of Turkish newspapers wrote recently “Roberto Carlos is in the quarter-finals of CL but Real Madrid are out.”
Wederson is the replacement o?f Carlos on the right wing and this Brazilian is fast. Deivid de Souza is another attacking midfielder who scored 4 goals in this campaigne. It’s his two goals which buried Sevilla. You can call him “hidden weapon”.
Edu is Fener’s center-back, who sometimes makes big mistakes (he scored an own goal against Sevilla) but if Zico plays him regularly then he must trust him.
Another center-back is Urugayan international Lugano, whom I rate very high. He’s very good in the air and scored a crucial header against Sevilla in Istanbul.
Despite of all these Brazilians and Uruguayan there are two Turkish players who have been surprise for even Turks. These two Turks are almost 30% of the team in my opinion.
Left-winger Ugur Boral, whom nobody knew last year, has played a vital role in Fener’s European campaigne. Ugur Boral started to shine in the group matches and lately outclassed Sevilla’s Brazilian right-back Dani Alves. This guy is very fast and can dribble.
Another surprise Turk is right-back Gokhan Unal, who is also very fast and can dribble.
Fener’s goalkeeper is Turkish international Volkan Demirel, who after conceding two easy goals at Sevilla became a hero by stopping 3 after-match penalties.
Last but not least, Fener’s striking force is ex-Chelsea man Mateja Kezman, who after the Sevilla triumph said that he would like to meet Chelsea in quarters and take his revenge.
Another striker is Turkish international Semih Gokturk, who scored a crucial third goal against Sevilla in Istanbul.
Zico usually plays with 4-5-1 formation with a lonely striker in Kezman or Semih Gokturk.
Fenerbahce is the team who attacks even when they play away from home. That’s what I noticed watching their games against Anderlecht, Inter, PSV, CSKA Moscow and Sevilla. They really play this game as the Brazilian national team.
Their stadium in Istanbul is Sukru Saracoglou, which is located in Kadikoy region of the city. They call this place “HELL”. All of Anderlecht, Inter, PSV, CSKA Moscow and Sevilla were beaten here.
My opinion on the clash is that in normal circumstances Chelsea with all their stars should not have any problem to knock this “Little Brazil” out of Europe, but I think this is the moment for Chelsea when they have to be as cautious as never before.
This is what Kaka said about Fenerbahce in uefa.com: “I think they could be the great surprise for this Champions League. Zico’s team is doing really well with all their Brazilians. I hope Zico can take Fenerbahce as far as possible.” Kaka obviously supports Fenerbahce.
This result really tells us nothing about Grant or the team other than they can thrash Derby a team probably one of the worst to be promoted into the premier league and heading straight back down very shortly.
They should have scored a hat ful and they did end of story.
The bigger tests will come shortly and the opposition then will not give us so much largesse.
So a good result and good for Grant but hardly a test for his mettle or the players I would suggest.
@86. Midfield_Decider
Please , please I know all about the brazilians at Fenerbahce.
Aurelio used to be at Sportig club of Portugal as a central defender before he was dispatched, Deivid the same thing he went to Sporting and could not score one let alone 2, R Carlos yes in his time he was a spectacular LB but thats all spectacular not brilliant, even his free kicks 90% were wasted only one, if I recall, that bent and beat the physics of a “flying object” was ever mentioned, he is well past his sell by date, hence the reason he is in Turquey.
Alex de Souza if it is the same guy I think he was also in Portugal, and was dispatched soon after the first season for his “brilliant” season.
Now reagrding Fenerbahce they managed to do well so far, for the simple reason that the opposition took them lightly, the same happened with Sevilla, Jose Mourinho did say, tha he was more shocked with the elimination of Sevilla than of Real Madrid, in another words Fenerbahce is crap and Roma is a good team, sorry for being honest M_D mate.
Besides it is happenning to sevilla, for the last 2 months , what happened to valencia before, players are ganging against the manager, so was no surprise, at least for me .
ManU v Roma forget the 7-1 of last season, it happens only once in a life time, but I can see ManU going thru.
Regarding Kaka reference, yes i agree Zico, a brilliant player when he p;layed, TOOK THEM as FAR as they go, thats all.
With our GENIUS AG, he is not going to underestimate Fenerbahce, so there is no chance for Zico to claim this scalp.
AG with his brilliant football IQ must be preapring the tactics that will KILL Fenerbahce.
So M_D I am afraid another really really easy easy draw for AG.
I bet even GOD must be wondering, I keep giving this guy (AG) the easiest of the draws, he doesnt seem to take advantage of MY generosity.
But this time I think AG learnt his lesson and the pride and professionalism of the players will see chelsea thru.
But I will still be going to SB and chant JM name, it is the only time that AG gets agitated and shouts at the players, whether they (players) listen or not it is another thing.
LUCK LUCK LUCK is the only game element that AG brought to Chelsea, thats all, but I am glad P Kenyon and the board are behind this GENIUS.
Unbelievable just heard AG comments in Sky Sport News, he “doesnt think it is aan easy draw”!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!! LOL what did he want ManU, Arse, Liver, Barca, roma???????????? the man his in his “alice wonderland world”
i cant belive him.
Any chance of being enlightened?
@88. AGfriend
1. Mehmet Aurelio has never ever played in Portugal. He played only in two countries – Brazil and Turkey. (look at wikipedia)
2. Deivid, being an attacking midfielder, scored 11 goals in 36 games for Sporting Lisbon in his first and single single season for them. (look at wikipedia)
3. Alex de Souza also has never ever played in Portugal. He played in Brazil and Italy (Parma) before coming to Turkey. (look at wikipedia)
4. Fenerbahce is definitely stronger than Sevilla and Schalke. Watch the game against Sevilla before judging. We are not talking about CLUBS here, but TEAMS.
5. My post no. 86 was not written for you so why “please, please”???
AGfriend, before today I was questioning your IQ level. After reading your post no. 87 I stopped questioning. Now I know your IQ level as well as I know my name. Poor man.
@88. AGfriend
My mistake: post no. 87 belongs to Bella, so it should have been “After reading your post no. 88 I stopped questioning”.
@ 91. Midfield_Decider
“My mistake: post no. 87 belongs to Bella…………”
Yeah you seem to make lots of mistakes, regarding the brazilians players
may be I am, confusing with other players with the same names, but usually most brazilians go to Portugal en route to other European teams.
Well it only shows your pathetic knowledge of football M_D, at least i do not refer to the wikipedia, I go by memory.
You going on and on about Fenerbahce,they are worst than Olympiakos in my opinion, but they are not good enough even to win the Turkish title, first time EVER in the knock out stages, so i predict an easy victory for chelsea, the easiest of the draws, even easier than Schalke, at least Schalke seems to have a 21 year old g/keeper that performs miracles has he did it against Porto.
@92. AGfriend
I proved that you are writing posts without any knowlegde on what you are writing and you still go on and on???? This also shows your low level on intelligence.
Whos said that I am looking at wikipedia? I wanted YOU to check in case you don’t believe me.
Feberbahce are not good enough even to win the Turkish title???? They are the last champions of Turkey!!!!!!!
You are not only stupid but also shameless!
Chelsea SUCKS. Manchester United ROCK, So delete this website right now you PRICKS
I hate chelsea and i hate derby, as long as i can see derby go down, i’m thrilled so there u go
…Later x
helllpp you idiots im dying of embarressment good on jill and rach you go galz =]
Hey , MD thanks for the info on Fener man ! Real enlightening ! It’s gonna make watching that match much more interesting.
@97. JoseHoliday
JoseHoliday, you are welcome, matey.
In fact, I wrote that info on Fener for the likes of you, not for stupid idiots like AGfriend.
A wonderful victory for Chelsea… so some would want to say i suppose.
But the result is obvious isn’t it?