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Let’s move on, shall we?

Posted by: BlueChampion on April 13, 2011 in Debates 69 Comments 4,584 views

I wrote a massive rant last night. I was so pissed off and I couldn’t stop writing. At the end of it I thought, ‘so what? the season is over, let’s look forward’. Dumped the rant piece and wrote this one. Looking ahead. Moving forward.

All over by mid-April. Hard pill to swallow. While we are not done ranting on our premier league charge, champions league opportunity and also not being in the domestic cups, there are some big questions that cross over all our discussions. In fact, I don’t think we have a Chelsea-related discussion that doesn’t touch any of the below questions. Of course, you have my responses too.
____________________________________________________________________________________________________________

1. Should Carlo stay as the manager of Chelsea FC?

Yes, he should. He should be properly supported with an able assistant manager and the kind of players he wants for ‘his’ system. He should look back at his own performance of 2010-11 and learn from it. As I’ve maintained his performance this season has not been very good. There were things that weren’t in his control. I was more concerned about how he dealt with things that were under his complete control. Top players have had poor seasons. Top managers are no exception.

He’s a top guy and he’s won three league titles and two champions league titles. I’m sure he can win more with us. He wants his teams to play in a certain way. He wants to create an identity for Chelsea, and he has also managed to succeed in this to a great extent. Hope he stays. Guess he will.

BlueChampion

What I am? Uber football addict, optimistic Chelsea fan, casual gamer and long time blogger with views and opinions rather than stats and data. What I'm not? Expert, analyst, pundit or self-proclaimed guru of anything. I choose when to be biased and when not to be. Views and opinions are all mine and not what you always might want to see.

69 comments - Please Click Here To Add Your Comment

L K
April 13, 2011 at 4:53 pm

Rightly said pal. Win or lose Chelsea is our club and we will support it till the last breath.
Malagantz
April 13, 2011 at 5:10 pm

1. He should but he won’t.

2. 27. Shouldn’t of bought him. Shouldn’t sell him. Give him another season to get used to the team.

3. Yes. Whoever we buy must be used to build a squad around Torres. Too late for anything else. I think we will need Drogba to stay though.

4. A striker and a winger.

5. Champions League place is realistic.

(next season) EPL:
Manager: Frank Rijkaard
Assistant manager: Rijkaard’s choice or Chelsea legend

———————––––Cech—————————
————————————————————
–––Ivanovic ——Luiz——Terry—–Cole———–
————————————————————
————–––Ramires —–––Essien —————–
––––––––––––––––––––––––––––––––––––––––
—–Benayoun–——Lampard——– Malouda––––
————————————————————
–——–––––––––—–Torres—————––––––––

Bench: Turnbull/van Aanholt/Alex/Mikel/McEachran/Drogba/Sturridge

didn’t include potential new signings cause who knows whether they will flop or adjust in time……….
Adonis
April 13, 2011 at 5:22 pm

Yesterday’s result was so disappointing. I can’t believe the performances this year as compared to last season. The 103 league goals were the stuff of legend, but this year, we’ve been so poor. Stamford Bridge has not been a fortress. That’s the thing that concerns me most. Since when can Sunderland win 3-0 at the Bridge?!
Drogba’s been on and off, yesterday he was one of the few players who played well. I don’t know how much the malaria has affected him, or is still affecting him, but he’s been poor quite often until now. Anelka has also not impressed at all, not against the better teams. Malouda is the most disappointing player of the year for me. He needs to be offloaded, squad overhaul or not.
Our attack is the most obvious shortcoming this year. Our defense is still solid and is the best in the country, but we’ve had so many fewer goals than last year that we’re dropping points constantly. And we never struck fear in our opponents, ever since the loss to Man City. The major defining trait of a champion is how they react while going through adversity. We have been completely asleep, unresponsive, even comatose for large swathes of the season. I love this Chelsea team, but they have truly underperformed. A lot of injuries and a lot of mistakes leave me wondering–is it all just a bad season, a series of unfortunate events, or can we point the finger at a few players, or at the manager, or at Roman? I do not know where the blame lies, but I do know one thing, Chelsea needs to be injected with something, something rare, something hard to come by, the sort of vigor, hunger, motivation, magic brought on very rarely, and in very special circumstances. Ancelotti brought it last year. We had it in that Joe Cole back-heel goal at Old Trafford. And in Ashley’s 8th goal at the Bridge against Wigan. We had it the season before with Alex’s freekick against Liverpool. We had it in the 3-0 against Man U to win the title, when Carvalho ran the length of the field to smash the third home…We either need to get it with a new manager, or with a couple of essential, key players, who like David Luiz can revitalize and push us forward.
All of the disappointment of an Arsenal-like season (trophy-less) still holds the promise that we can definitely improve next season, and really, we can’t do worse than this season, could we?
Keep the Blue Flag Flying High, everyone!
Heart of Blue
April 13, 2011 at 5:33 pm

1. I don’t think Carlo should go. We need some managerial stability. Give him a season more, maybe two.

2. I was torn on this, but I said yes. Torres is, like you said, a world class striker, but he was so ridiculously expensive and I believe he’s driving a bit of a wedge in our group of strikers. I would be disappointed if Drogba left this summer, which I expect he’ll do. Anelka and Kalou aren’t enough to support Torres, we need someone like Didier.

3. We need to release some ineffective players, for sure. There’s no reason to release the older players unless they’re under performing. I still believe that had we kept Ballack this season would have been different because he would have made a big difference in our midfield while Lampard was hurt. Age doesn’t matter, performance does.

4. I voted defensive midfielders. This was a tough one, I think. Essien is great, but Mikel doesn’t do anything for me.

5. Champions League, I think. It’s building and building and we just can’t escape it. I think next season we should aim for a top 4 position in the league and concentrate on the Champions League. Once we attain that, then we can unclench and aim for the treble.

Nice article, BC. It’s refreshing not to be so down trodden…I know I’m still bitter and probably will be for awhile.
wxwax
April 13, 2011 at 6:35 pm

” For future’s sake, we need to perform the squad overhaul as soon as possible. ”

That was a quick change of heart!
BlueChampion
April 13, 2011 at 6:42 pm

wxwax:
” For future’s sake, we need to perform the squad overhaul as soon as possible. ”

That was a quick change of heart!

No. I still maintain that this is still a fantastic squad and Carlo did not get the best out of this squad this season. But then, I don’t want Carlo to do a Rafa Benitez. My definition of overhaul also means rearranging the pecking orders in the squad. Such as Josh McE being used as much as Lamps/Essien, Sturridge playing, Van Aanholt and Bruma playing etc. Since I don’t see signs of Carlo using the youngsters, the old guard needs some replenishment. If we are willing to use our full squad, we need not buy anyone.
Zeke
April 13, 2011 at 6:48 pm

1. I like Carlo, but I don’t think he’ll be around much longer. I doubt Abramovich is not going to put up with the lack of silverware when he’s spending so much money.. He’s going to be thinking “Why?” and right now there’s been no good answer. I’m afraid he will be let go or leave before he gets kicked to the curb.

2. I like that we bought Torres, however we WAY over paid for him. Let’s think about this, ask any Spaniard or Liverpool supporter, after all the fans know best, Torres has lost his edge. In 08-09 he was the 5th leading scorer in the premier league with 14, the year before that he was 3rd with 24. In the 09-10 season he was outside the top 20. Yes, I know he was injured, I’m well aware. But before Liverpool he played for Atletico Madrid, the top of few teams in Spain are very good, beyond that there’s no real competition, so I’m not going to give that time too much wieght when I say that ok players can have very good spells. Darren Bent put 24 in the back of the net last season, does that mean we should be paying record fees for him? Absolutely not, he’s not worth it, he’s a decent player, and for my money so it Torres. Look at what Liverpool did with a little more than what Chelsea spent. I think we could have made much better moves instead of dropping 50 million on a player who’s nickname is baby boy.

3. We don’t need an overhaul yet, we need to add a couple top players, let a couple ineffective ones go, and see how we can try to work in our youth. We have the experience in place to coach these young players, let them learn from top men and see what happens. Should we fail to bring home silverware again next season, at least we’ll know we tried to make use of our young talent instead of just selling it all off without giving them a chance.

4. I think we could use some new fullbacks. Cole is a fine option, but he’s getting old. Bosingwa needs to go, and I think Ferreira is generally ineffective. Ivanovic is another good option, but he’s a little slow and half the time injury to our center backs forces him inside. A new full back or two could help our depth while we try to incorporate our youngster.

5. I’d like to see us bring home the league title next season, or at least a cup. If we’re going to start trying to use our young players and buy some new ones and work them in I just don’t see us outfoxing the Spanish giants or even a team with a great team dynamic like (it pains me to say this) Man U. I think our focus next season should be the premier league, which is hands down the best league in the world. Look at the teams you could see competing for top spots next season: Chelsea, Manchester United, Manchester City, Arsenal, Tottenham, and Liverpool. Lets also not forget that Sunderland has a quality team, and Everton, Villa, and Fullham won’t stay down forever. If we can incorporate a few new players with our hardened verterans and young players next season, find our identity as a team, and work out our system in this kind of gauntlet, I think we can come out of it as the top team in the world, ready to beat anyone in the 12-13 season and take home tons of silverware. So I think we should be aiming at least for runner-up, but we should be title chasing next season, let everything else just be what it is.
Abdulazeez
April 13, 2011 at 9:51 pm

@bluechampion,Carlo promised us in the beginning of the season that he would unleash @least 3players from the youth system but that is not the case now as he has practically loaned and sidelined our youth prospects. That’s what i hate most about him. I want to see Josh/sturridge/vanholt play from the beginning of next season.
MourofEssien
April 13, 2011 at 11:02 pm

Hi BC and all Blue mates

It’s time for Carlo to take a bow. He has done his bit but I don’t think his temperament is the kind needed to keep a team hungry and full of desire, attributes that are imperative, to be on top of the premiership. Maybe when Fergie leaves Man Utd, the personality of Carlo cld be enough but not till then. Carlo is a fine manager no doubt. But Talent is only a fraction of what is needed. The ability to inspire, to imbue a blazing winning mentality, the mind set that rises against all odds are critical to be an outstanding manager. Remember the slum we experienced under Scolari after a brilliant spell? Yet that same squad came alive under Hiddink becos he knew how to breathe life and desire back into a team that was clearly lacking it.
Carlo has done his bit. But it’s time to move on and let Jose come back.
Asking Jose back throws my mind back to the interminable debt pates we used to have here bn those of us who were for Jose and others like joeblue who were not. But with hindsight, no one can deny that Jose holds a magic wand for bringing the best out of any team,

Hi Adonis buddy. Long time no hear.
Mahyar
April 14, 2011 at 12:34 am

Yes we need to move on. we need to keep going. i always had a feeling , a positive feeling toward the Next Season.

For sure , we’ll be much more stronger and dangerous. Next season will be the best season and i really can see it from here now.

Enjoy yourselves as we prepare to kick the world of football this summer !
Arsenalic_smile_of_Drogba
April 14, 2011 at 1:01 am

Sack the boring Italian whose football knowledge is inferior to ordinary people from the street.
cfc
April 14, 2011 at 1:17 am

http://www.mirrorfootball.co.uk/news/Chelsea-players-want-Jose-Mourinho-Guus-Hiddink-dream-team-when-Carlo-Ancelotti-is-sacked-article723211.html

For question 4, I think we need check boxes .. I think we need a attaking midfielder in the mould of sneider or vdv etc and right side wide player , prefferably to thave two different dimenisons..
cfc
April 14, 2011 at 1:32 am

How foolish — http://soccernet.espn.go.com/news/story/_/id/906453/big-stars-under-threat-as-chelsea-plan-revolution?cc=4716

I think Terry , Lampard and Drogba should stay. They should be used like Giggs, Scholes, are used..
Tremayne Craigg
April 14, 2011 at 2:25 am

If Carlo is allowed to build his team and bring in his own staff which most likely will include the rehiring of Ray Wilkins, then we can return to winning ways. Finally, someone realises that Drogba and Torres are 2 different players. The system JM implemented that is still used will never suit Torres. The system he currently employs and the one Carlo is used to will make Torres hammer them in Inzaghi style.

Possible team of 22 next year in a 4-3-3 system.

———————-Cech———————-
A.Cole——-Terry——-Luiz——-Van der Wiel
Playmaker——Deep Lying Playmaker——Playmaker
Hazard—————-Torres—————-Sanchez

7 subs – Begovic and 6 more
If possible lean McEachran to Owen Coyle for the whole season

World Class Playmakers

Sneijder
Kaká
Pastore
Gotze
Honda
Modric

World Class Deep Lying Playmakers

…
Adonis
April 14, 2011 at 2:52 am

MOUROFESSIEN,
Good to hear from you as well! I’m always reading the posts here, but I’ve not been commenting in a while. I’m glad the blog’s going strong though!

BC, congrats on the official site gig, I’m happy to see you do that! I’ll be reading your posts there as well.

The biggest question that is still not posted on this forum–if Ancelotti goes, who comes in? There’s nobody better. I don’t want Carlo to be sacked unless he’s replaced by Mourinho. I don’t see that happening though. Hiddink wouldn’t be a huge disappointment, but he’s 65 already, and he’s been out of the club game for ages. Please nobody mention rijkaard to me, he is nothing special. He was fired by Galatasaray after one season.

I feel like Ancelotti is not finished. He has more to offer. Unless we can bring The Special One back, he should remain at the helm.
cfc
April 14, 2011 at 3:29 am

It seems to be Golden Guus.

http://www.dailymail.co.uk/sport/football/article-1376645/Roman-Abramovich-wants-Guus-Hiddink-return-Chelsea.html
KarmaCW
April 14, 2011 at 3:45 am

Out: Nico, Bosingwa, Malouda, Ferreira, Hilario, and may be Kalou too!

Buy: Midfielder (Odemwinge/Javier Pastore/Kagawa/Kevin De Bruyne/Willian), Right back (Van Der Wiel) and a striker if we let Drogba, Nico and Kalou leave (Lukaku/Aguero/Neymar/Dzagoev)

Drop to the bench: Lampard, Essien, Mikel, Drogba

Call back: Sturridge, Cork, Borini, Kakuta and Bruma

Promote to the bench: Bertrand, Liam Bridcutt (Poyet nurtured him well in League 1) and Woods

Regular starters: Cech, Ashley, Aanholt, Bruma, Terry, Luiz, Alex, Ivanovic, McEachran, Kakuta, Cork, Ramires, Benny, Zhirkov, Sturridge, Torres, Borini

Status quo: Mancienne

We should have bought: Van Der Vaart or Ozil

We should have kept: Stoch and Christian Eriksen

And yes we need to let Carlo go, his lack of plan B had cost us dearly, and his mistake highlighted when he played Torres against Liverpool! Why can’t he start promising young players and employ the likes of Lampsy and Malouda like giggs and scholes? Haven’t he seen how well Rafael and Flanaggan is doing in manu and liverpool, don’t we have better players in McEachran, Sturridge, Cork, Aanholt and Borini? Only thing good about Carlo is his friendly and calm disposition and that cute eyebrow, but yes we can be better off with it! Bring Jose back!
KarmaCW
April 14, 2011 at 3:51 am

BRING JOSE BACK!
Adonis
April 14, 2011 at 3:57 am

KarmaCW,

I don’t understand… Do you want us to be arsenal or what? Most of the players you’re talking about can barely play for a mediocre EPL team, you want them to be filling our roster? Mancienne Cork and Woods? Give me a break man! Bruma and Kakuta hold promise, but haven’t done it on the big stage yet. Josh and Danny are ready, and I really love Borini, but with the others, you’re having a laugh!
cfc
April 14, 2011 at 4:19 am

This is how you prepare and play mind games

http://www.goal.com/en-us/news/174/uefa-champions-league/2011/04/13/2440420/real-madrids-jose-mourinho-we-will-have-to-train-to-play-with-10-

We say about special strategy and it shows when Paulo is replaces Alex when we need a goal.
BWS
April 14, 2011 at 5:16 am

Midfield!
A complete overhaul in the midfield is needed. There is no width. They basically play with 4 central midfielders and still get dominated. Our “wide” players Malouda and Ramires always drift to the center of the park. Lampard is non-existent in big games, both for Chelsea and England. Watching the game Tuesday we have Cole and Ivanovic providing width. United have Nani/Valencia and Park. Gonna lose that battle every time. And Giggs dominated the center of the park. Need to play 4 across with true wide players – Zhirkov (L), Essien (C), Ramires (C), new signing (R). With McEachran, Benayoun, Lampard (if he wants to stay), Matic, and probably one more signing off the bench. Malouda and Mikel are probably gone.

Strikers
Need to have a regular rotation of Torres (mainly), Sturridge, Kakuta, and probably a new signing. Anelka would probably stay in a lesser role, but I feel Drogba and Kalou will leave. I blame most of the lack of production from the strikers on the lack of midfield support. How many times did Anelka have to drop in to get the ball? Heck, Lampard played further forward than him on Tuesday.

Defense
Need to get younger. Cole keeps rolling and probably has another good year in him. Terry is getting slow and indecisive. I feel it might be his time. Luiz will be a staple for years to come. Ivanovic is a solid “first off the bench” defender that can play both inside and wide…but he will probably start the season until the younger players are ready. Ferriera and Bosingwa are gone. Cole (L), Luiz (C), Alex (C), Ivanovic (R) to start the season. Bruma, van Aanholt, Mancienne waiting in the wings. Definitely could use a new signing to play center back or on the right.

Goalkeeper
Cech still has good years in him. Hilario and Turnbull are solid reserves.

Coach
Ancelotti should have a chance to stay and implement his system with his players. With Chelsea’s old guard moving on or taking a lesser role.
KarmaCW
April 14, 2011 at 5:40 am

Adonis: Mancienne Cork and Woods

I am saying that we can keep Mancienne at Wolves only. And i want Cork to feature only when we lead a game by a good margin, not that he starts all the time, may be around 20 to 25 minutes every other game. And Woods, i said, promote him to the bench, just promote!
KarmaCW
April 14, 2011 at 5:43 am

Anyone for Odemwinge of West Brom?
Aasim
April 14, 2011 at 9:35 am

Well Carlo shouldn’t go,we dont need to change manager every season but dont know what roman is thinking now
This season turned when Wilkins was sacked.And we didnt got the luck to win the league this season.Sure wins converted into draws against Villa,Everton,Spurs should never had happened(Not counting the bad moments like wolves,sunderland and birmingham)
IF anybody knows Carlo frm his MIlan days he hasnt got the confidence to use young players.
KarmaCW
April 14, 2011 at 9:46 am

Roma is willing to offer 6 million euros to us for Carlo, grab it now!
paremal
April 14, 2011 at 9:53 am

erm…….
i’d like to say get rid of essien and keep mikel……
essien’s 27 and he’s already suffered two acl’s………..
recovery from tht is impossible to be 100%…..look at joe cole……
mikel’s a natural attacking midfielder…..and we’re playing him defensive ala pirlo…the advantage he has is tht he’s qucker than pirlo and he CAN DRIBBLE THE BALL……look whn scolari was there he turned 4 maybe 5 defender in a couple of games…….
essien’s fntastic no doubt about it…but he’s been out of form for a long time and he does stop the attackin flow of the game a lot nowadays……..so we can get 20 mil pounds for essien easily…i’d say do it…..brings back the balance books in our favour……….
and lamps should be mentoring mc eachran and lamps should only play when he is 100% fit……..we can’t risk playing him otherwise and i’d say he’s got around 2 seasons of full tank gas left and about another 2 of super sub gas………
we need a right sided player…we made a mistake selling stoch……we need a guy who’s quick and by quick i mean beat the right back not ronaldoesque and who can whip in delightful crosses….marc albrighton……..he’s english too …..works in out favor………
drogs should be allowd to leave for marseille so tht he can play fully fit and by god….he’s a monster again……..anelka’s a toughie…..we can’t just use him in champion’s league matches obviously……so i’d say get him off for bout 7 mil pounds…….
ferreira out
bosingwa out
malouda out
and we need a young right back tht can be groomed for the future and ashley’s got mebbe one more high flying season………damn we shudve sold him to real and got coentrao………

anyhoooo
my potential dream team for next season:

cech
ivan—————-luiz———–terry———–cole

mikel
ramires
albrighton—————————————–zhirkov

sturridge————-torres

subs:turnbull,alex,nu signing,lamps,mceachran,borini,kakuta
one attackin midfielder prefarably
paremal
April 14, 2011 at 9:57 am

Tremayne Craigg,

isn’t that a little too far fetched for a team……….
goetze’s allright…..so is sahin……..
but no sanchez and hazard for more than 15 mil pounds………okay sanchez mebbe 18 but not more than tht
no playershould be more than 25 mil pounds…..its just overpriced………
and i don’t think roman’s gonna spend a lot of money until we get back some from sellin a few of ours………
paremal
April 14, 2011 at 10:00 am

KarmaCW,

damn dint know we had eriksen………
but no neymar or lukaku or agureo……there tooo overpriced and unproven…..why not lalkovic…our coaching staff knows him well……….and he’s home grown……we still have to keep the 6+5 rule alive before we make signings……….
Name
April 14, 2011 at 10:19 am

why are some peopl calling for essien’s n not that of lampsy?or because he is an english?come on???be objective.n 4 mikel n anelka,the least said about them the better.
Novice
April 14, 2011 at 10:37 am

CA should stay and maybe he should get a quality playmaker this summer. Also Roman should not interfere on who should play or not. Carlo also needs to make sure that the players play with high level of motivation (especially should not make talks like only fourth place is possible or something like that) and should not be afraid to drop anyone. He should be the boss. I am sure Torres will find form once again and will be one of the key players next season. Linkup between Benayoun and Torres in the match against Wigan was very good and he was playing completely charged. One goal will change it all for him I’m sure.

We do not need a squad overhaul. Midfield is more of a concern that any other and if we can get one quality midfielder would be great. Essien is not the bison he used to be and Lampard is not getting any younger. Hope Carlo uses more of young players esp McE and Sturridge.
MourofEssien
April 14, 2011 at 12:01 pm

If Jose is readybto come back, Carlo should go. This team must find it’s Passion and Desire back. Carlo like Scolari has a rather dampening effect on the team’s psyche am afraid. How long are we going to suffer from gloomy novembers and Decembers? Carlo has done enough, let him go unless we cannot get Jose back.
Zeke
April 14, 2011 at 12:26 pm

MourofEssien,

I don’t think Jose is the answer, why would you want to play for a man who just dumps the blame on you when the going gets tough. I don’t think he’d be great for the team. Besides, it’s not like he won the Champions league in west London. We’ve had plenty of success under other men. This club needs some one new, maybe try to find some one a little off the radar, try to find the next big thing. This is all of course if Carlo doesn’t get canned, which I think he will
DanaBlue
April 14, 2011 at 2:52 pm

Season Ticket Prices
New ticket prices (BC if table gets muddled up when submitted can you please rearrange, even better make it possible to insert tables)

AREA ADULT SENIOR JUVENILE
East Upper £940 £440 £440
East Lower Family Centre £595 £285 £285
West Lower £900 £450 £450
West Upper £1250 £485 £485
Matthew Harding Upper £880 £425 £425
Matthew Harding Lower £750 £380 £380
Shed End Upper £880 £425 £425
Shed End Lower £750 £380 £380
DanaBlue
April 14, 2011 at 3:57 pm

paremal: damn dint know we had eriksen………

Eriksen had trials with Barcelona, Chelsea, and AC Milan, but finally decided to move to Ajax. So we never really had him. He made a very wise decision to go for Ajax,as he would most likely get 1st team selection and develop. Instead of risking being bench warmer for years.
DanaBlue
April 14, 2011 at 4:06 pm

Don’t forget to vote (I suggest voting Ramires)
http://www.chelseafc.com/page/PlayeroftheYear/0,,10268,00.html
Maysam
April 14, 2011 at 4:09 pm

Carlo will be sacked. I said it many many months ago and he will be sacked, no doubt about it. The only Chelsea manager whom I could not predict his exit, was Jose Mourinho.
Anccelotti makes so many tactical mistakes and that is not acceptable for a worldclass club like Chelsea.
Torres was not a mistake. Torres has never played in the system that Chelsea is using and he has never had time to practice this system and we do not have a smart manager to help him adopt in the new system. He will succeed next season
Chelsea’s squad needs some changes. we need more creativity. we do not have any creative player in Chelsea at this moment. Malouda is one day 100% and one day 20%, he is not consistent.
Maysam
April 14, 2011 at 4:18 pm

http://www.goal.com/en/news/9/england/2011/04/14/2440967/carlo-ancelotti-expects-to-leave-chelsea-at-end-of-the
Keith
April 14, 2011 at 5:38 pm

Thanks for not posting the rant.

Here’s my take point by point…

#1. Carlo had 1 great season and 1 average season. I think this season highlighted his weaknesses, like squad rotation and formation strategies. Running out a 4-4-2 fixed the striker problem but hurt this team overall by really limiting Essien and Lampard’s strengths. My biggest problem with Carlo is that he wasn’t ever willing to sit Cole, Malouda, or Essien despite their lack of form since October. Malouda was off to an amazing start and disappeared. The first month Cole was full of energy and destroying RW/RM all game and Essien was the box to box MF he’s supposed to be. I haven’t seen any of these guys near 100% since, but they haven’t sat at all with the exception of Malouda and that only came recently. These guys needed to have subs who could let them rest. Has Cole missed a single minute all year? And instead of doing this stupid striker rotation strategy why did Carlo never try the 4-3-3 that we started the year playing with Anelka playing his normal RW/RF mix, Torres playing as the normal ST, and Drogba moving into Malouda’s LW/LF role. Anelka and Drogba would drift inside leaving room for Cole and Bosingwa to occupy the sidelines, which they like! If we could get Mourinho back or his protege Andre Villas-Boas I’d fire Carlo. However, Carlo might leave anyway for Roma. If he leaves and we can’t get Mourinho 1.0 or 2.0 I’d talk to Martin O’Neill, Owen Coyle, Mark Hughes, Unai Emery, Didier Deschamps, Claude Puel, Joachim Low, Jurgen Klinsmann, Laurent Blanc and Luciano Spalleti. And just for the fun of it Steve Evans of Crawley Town.

#2. Torres is a phenomenal player and he will return to form. However, for $50M we could have gotten more for the dollar. David Luis is going to be amazing but he was cup tied and this team NEEDED another defender for the UEFA games. Our biggest weakness as a team is at RB and at holding MF and neither were addressed. Bosingwa’s crosses have been inaccurate all year and he’s not a stud defensively anymore. Ivanovic is solid defensively but too slow to be great at RB. He is good at CB but at RB he’s not able to attack like a RB should. Holding MF are everywhere and they are cheap. Makelele showed Chelsea how important having a destroyer is and Mikel normally has done well at that role but not this year. Torres’ transfer also added to the Drogba/Anelka problems. I’m not saying the team should treat these two as royalty (especially when they aren’t scoring) but they have lead the team in scoring the last 2 years and both are drama queens. What could anyone else expect except for more drama by adding Torres. Adding to the mistake of this transfer was that Sturridge was loaned out and then dominated. Couldn’t he and Kalou have filled that offensive holes that we were looking for Torres to fill? Just for the sake of comparison, Sturridge + Javi Martinez or Ever Banega + Marcos Rojo (to sub in for Cole at LB or for Malouda at LW) + Lichtsteiner would cost less than Torres’s £50 cost (Free + £25 + £5 +£10) and they’d fill 3 of the holes we ignored.

#3. Lampard and Terry are Chelsea. Cole is effective but needs to have a solid substitute to keep his minutes down. Ramires and Luiz will be starters next year and Torres isn’t going anywhere. Ivanovic is a solid 3rd CB and a backup RB. McEachran and Sturridge should also be in the rotation. After that I put everyone else into 5 categories based on how likely it is to keep them. The 1st category is made up of Essien, Anelka, and Drogba. These guys have all the talent in the world but didn’t look as impressive this year. Is it injury, age or an off year? I don’t know and I don’t think anyone does. Put them on the block and sell them if you get a wow offer. But don’t move them unless it’s a ridiculous Fernando Torres type offer. The 2nd group is made up of prospects that don’t have an obvious spot but are getting up there in age/time or near the end of a contract. This group is made up of Bruma, Mancienne, van Aanholt, Kakuta, Borini and Rajkovic. Sink or swim. If they make an impact by the winter transfer keep them, otherwise adios. They are all talented but they can’t get into the rotation never mind the starting 11. They should either help us fill a niche or they should move on, for their sakes as well as ours. The 3rd group are guys who are just big question marks and includes Bosingwa, Malouda, Mikel, Kalou, Benayoun, Zhirkov, and Ferreira. Will the real Malouda please stand up? Is he the guy we saw in September or March? He and Bosingwa really frustrate me because they can be national team starters (on good teams) or they can suck. And any day either can happen. I’d move Bosingwa and try and find someone who will pay for the September Malouda. Mikel and Kalou have shown potential but not enough to be Chelsea starters. Are they at their peak or still getting bette? Is Benayoun a good energy guy to add late in games for a spark or is he an injury prone MF that doesn’t have the talent to play more than 30 minutes? Is Zhirkov able to play LW all year long and actually finish or is he just a high energy guy with nothing more to offer? And is Ferreira old and washed out or the guy we saw for 10 minute against Man Utd? 1/2 this group should go and 1/2 should stay. This group has to compete with the prospects and whoever wins stays, the rest go. Alex is his own 4th group. Between Terry, Luiz and Ivanovic Chelsea has 3 good CB options. Alex could be sold for a LOT and Chelsea could use a winger over a 4th CB. Ivanovic is more important to Chelsea because he can cover RB as well so Alex is the extra guy. I’d love to keep him but between Ferreira, Rajkovic, Bruma and Mancienne we have the talent to find a 4th CB. The 5th group are back up keepers, Turnbull and Hilario. Cech is in the middle of his peak and has a long ways before he should be replaced, however, Chelsea does have a couple of decent young keepers. Let them play in the League Cup and back up Cech. Who knows maybe we’ll uncover a star. Plus the couple of million we get for Turnbull and Hilario can go in the pot for more prospects.

#4. I have a feeling either Anelka or Drogba will leave because of Torres. However, I feel that we could start all of them in a 4-3-3 making it unnecessary for them to leave. I also outlined above who should stay or go.

#5. Man Utd is only going to get older and slower. Arsenal look like they might blow everything up and start again. Man City isn’t a team, they hate each other and I am willing to bet they’ll have a new manager by fall and Tottenham are solid but are lacking the true goal scorer and CB they need to win it all. The Premier League next year should be ours and finishing lower than 2nd will be awful. There is no mid-summer World Cup so we should come back fresh and invigorated. The League Cup should also be taken more seriously but we should only play scrubs, subs and prospects. This is a chance for the non-starters to stand out and win a starting spot giving them more of a will to win then veterans who hate the 2nd cup. Chelsea shouldn’t just shrug their shoulders at this cup. Let the kids play and tell them this matters. The FA Cup is important but not as much as the Premier League or UEFA. The goal should be to make the semi’s but I won’t be mad not winning it. The first couple of rounds we should play our non-elite starters and the backups. Let them play in some important matches to build up confidence. We shouldn’t lose to a non-premier league team but if we lose to a mid-table team like Everton who cares? That leaves the UEFA Cup. We should once again cruise though the group stage with zero or 1 loss only, ensuring we win the group. After that it’s all luck but I’d say the goal should be to make it to the finals. Who knows how many more chances this team will have. Terry, Lampard, Cole, Essien, Drogba and Anelka are owed one and nobody deserves one more than Roman. However, I am afraid of what might happen after winning one, however, it’s worth it for 1 UEFA cup. The key to being successful in both is having both depth and luck. This year we had neither and fell out of both.

Also, Chelsea do need a bigger stadium. If they can drop ticket prices maybe they’d actually have a loud stadium again instead of having loads of fans who just sit on their hands all day. A loud stadium of 70,000 people and this Chelsea team would make playing away at Chelsea a dreadful nightmare, like it was under Mourinho. We need to try and go back to that.
Lampard and the Blues.
April 14, 2011 at 11:05 pm

http://www.facebook.com/pages/The-man-who-wrote-this-letter-to-the-players-at-Grimsby-Town-FC/308203357529#!/pages/The-man-who-wrote-this-letter-to-the-players-at-Grimsby-Town-FC/308203357529?sk=info

Check the ”Info” tab on the page. Replace Grimsby Town FC with Chelsea FC. Perfect to summarize our feelings as fans after Tuesday.
Fog
April 15, 2011 at 12:13 am

–————————Cech————————-
—————-Luiz—————–Terry———–
Ivanovic—————————————Cole
————————Mikel————————-
————-Ramires———–Essien————-
————Kakuta————–Mceachran——
————————Torres————————
KarmaCW
April 15, 2011 at 5:14 am

paremal,

Yeah, we had Eriksen…knew about it only after his dad said that we didn’t discover how good he really is. We should have kept both him and Stoch.
cfc
April 15, 2011 at 5:17 am

Why not Harry Rednapp ? I see him as a very good manager.. It seems it would be Van Basten or Rijkaard, but remember Rijkaard has won nothing without Ten Cate..
cfc
April 15, 2011 at 5:19 am

My deepest condolences.
http://www.goal.com/en/news/89/africa/2011/04/13/2439919/kenyan-chelsea-fan-dies-minutes-after-manchester-united
KarmaCW
April 15, 2011 at 5:34 am

My 25 men (and yes we have 8 home-grown players) squad and my first 11 for the coming season:

Kakuta …………..Torres…….…….Odemwinge

……………………… Benny …………………….

…….McEachran……………… Ramires ….…..

Ashley……… ..Terry…….……Luiz…….…..Wiel

……………………..Cech……………………..

Subs:
Turnbull
Alex, Ivanovic, Bruma, Aanholt
Lampsy, Zhirkov, Mikel, Cork, Piazon, Albrighton
Borini, Sturridge, Drogba
DanaBlue
April 15, 2011 at 6:01 am

Frank Lampard said: “We have to be completely professional and finish the season as well as we can. We owe that to the club, the fans and to ourselves.

“We will not switch off until the Premier League title is out of the equation and our Champions League place is assured.”

Let’s see if that’s the case after the next match. I fear a complete melt-down.
MatBlue
April 15, 2011 at 9:43 am

Now that the dust has settled somewhat and the rawness of emotions has died down a bit i would like to make my observations abt Carlo and the team. i was very happy with Carlo when he joined us and his first season was absolutely wonderful even though we went out of the Champions league early. We all accept we were never going to do another domestic double this season. It wasn’t gonna happen anyway. What we expect from Carlo is his team to fight for everything. Give it their all and not give up. However, what i have noticed over the cause of the season is that even the manager accepts our defeats and just shrugs his shoulder and says “we have to accept this” and all sort of things. During a game, he stands in the manager’s area, hands in pocket looking glum whilst things on the pitch continue to go bad. Constrast that with Guardiola, a manager whose team play the best football on the planet, yet match after match ,Guardiola is always issuing instructions on the touchline. Encouraging his troops to work hard till the match is over.Win or lose. From what i have seen this season, when the going gets tough i dont believe Carlo can pull us through it. I honest feel he’s not a motivator.
I believe he may be a good tactician but he is slow to change. Sticks to what he knows and that’s it. I dont blame the club hierarchy for getting a bit twitchy with Carlo. Look Van Gaal got the sack and he won the double and went to the Champions League final with Bayern. I dont think folks up there in SW6 just wanna get rid of Carlo. I believe they way all the merits and demerits of his display and make a sound decision. He may very likely stay on. However folks here should ask themselves. Do they genuinely believe Carlo Ancelotti is our future? Cos let’s face it we are at a crossroad now. The club has to decide which direction we are going. Tactically we are not hard to beat. Teams know they can hold us to a draw or even beat us if they try hard enough.
Another thing i have come to hear about Carlo is that “oh the Club undermined him by sacking Ray” and “Oh Fernando Torres was not his signing”. If Carlo was so distraught over Ray’s sacking why didn’t he threaten to resign. Then we will all accept u were not in on the sacking of Ray. Why didn’t he fight to retain his “trusted ” right hand man. And again we have Chelsea fans , even on this blog, saying Fernando Torres was forced on him. This is absolutely ridiculous. Worst still u hear , “he’s forced to play this and that player”. If any manager is dictated to like that at Chelsea Football Club then he’s not worth his salary. I definitely wouldn’t want a manager who isn’t his own man to manage my club. Then such a manager should really be off. Ray himself said that Carlo wanted fernando after the world cup. It was difficult to get him cos Looserpool were unwilling to sell. Besides during this unwanted “bad moment” we were here on this forum calling for a striker , cos Drogba had malaria and Terry and Alex were always injured and in Terry’s case his was going to be long term. What did Roman do, He got you the best money could buy. I believe Fernando is perhaps the best striker o his kind in the world. It’s the manager’s job to get the players playing with passion but i am afraid he failed miserably.
He pushed Fernando into a hard place when he played him in a very crucial match against Loserpool at the Bridge on his debut. He hadn’t really trained with the team and subsequently his confidence was further shot. The lad hadn’t recovered since and the pressure on him has been immense. However Dalglish has eased his strikers into his team and they r settling in well.
And for our future, does Carlo believe in our youngsters like the way some folks on this forum believe in them? He played these senior players even when they were not playing well. He sent Danny Sturridge on loan. We nearly lost kakuta as he was getting playing time and was unwilling to sign a new contract. We have lost Borini cos of the same issue. Even though Josh Mceachren has shown he can mix it with the big lads , no he wont play him yet. He will stick with the non performing Lampard and Essien. Carlo had a good solid team but didn’t utilise the team well this season. I personally believe he may not b able to turn this around. It’s gone on for far too long.5 months. That’s why i think the board may let him go to his beloved Roma. However if his repalcement isn’t Andre Villas Boas,then he should stay on for a year. So he can prove this was just a bad run
and not that he is tactically stagnant. Cheers!
ARAbLuEs
April 15, 2011 at 10:51 am

May be this season is over and knowing Abramovich Carlo will be sacked. Hiddik Said No, Jose told interested.
So hoping JM will be definitely the next Chelsea Manger. So Drogba is going to stay. Then what,
1) Sell Anelka, Kalou, Bosingwa, Benayoun(Only if we get Pastore), Malouda,Ferreira.
2) Buy Neymar or Pato, Van der Weil or Santon, Marin, Sanchez , Pastore or Hazard and a 2nd GK.
3) Buy some good Assistants.
TOTAL Dream 25 Squad
Petr ?ech, Branislav Ivanovi?, Ashley Cole, David Luiz, Michael Essien, Ramires, Frank Lampard (vice-captain),
Fernando Torres, Didier Drogba, John Obi Mikel, Yuri Zhirkov, John Terry (captain), Alex, Turnbull, Josh McEachran, Sturridge, Kakuta, Bruma, Van Aanholt, Neymar , Van der Weil, Michael Mancienne, Marin, Sanchez / Bale , Pastore , Begovic.

———————————-Cech—————————————–
—Weil——–Luiz/Ivanovi?————Terry/Alex————-Cole—-
———————————Mikel/Essein———————————
—-Marin/Ramires———————————–Zhirkov/Sanchez—
—————–Lampard/Pastore/McEachran————————–
—————–Torres——————————Neymar—————–

SUB-
Drogba (Super Sub),
Begovic,
Mikel/Essein,
Luiz/Ivanovi?,
Lampard/Pastore/McEachran,
Terry/Alex,
Ramires/Zhirkov.
Malagantz
April 15, 2011 at 12:30 pm

Hell yea I called this in my earlier post! I really hope he’s the one who joins us if Carlo leaves.

http://www.dailystar.co.uk/football/view/186271/RIJKAARD-I-M-MAN-FOR-CHELSEA-JOB/?
BlueChampion
April 15, 2011 at 5:34 pm

MatBlue,

JUST BRILLIANT! Deserves to be a blog entry mate!
Fog
April 15, 2011 at 5:48 pm

This is my little fantasy Chelsea team…

———————————Cech—————————-
——————- Luiz—————-Terry——————–
Van der Weil———————————————-Cole
————————-Essien———Mikel——————
——————————-Mceachran———————-
————-Neymar—————————Kakuta———
——————————–Torres—————————-

SUBS:
Turnbull
Van Aamholt
Ivanovic
Alex
Ramires
Zhirkov
Kalou
Sturridge

Ivanovic at right back for a more solid approach.
Give Van Aanholt a few games. Let Mceachran be our creative midfielder.
Ramires rotate with Essien. Neymar and Kakuta switch sides if necessary.
That is how I’d like to see us shape up for the future.
————————————————————————————–

Completely unrelated, here’s a link to a United forum discussing Drogba. Nice to see he’s getting some appreciation. Shame it’s from not us Blues’ fans though….
I would let Anelka go and keep Drogba for next season, but he’ll most probably leave.
Fog
April 15, 2011 at 5:49 pm

http://www.redcafe.net/f7/didier-drogba-326005/
DanaBlue
April 15, 2011 at 6:38 pm

Wingsuit Basejumping – The Need 4 Speed: The Art of Flight from Phoenix Fly on Vimeo.
Just wanna share this awesome video with you all. That’s on my list of things to do before you die.
trueblue
April 15, 2011 at 7:26 pm

It is quite obvious that everyone is disappointed. But these things happen in football.
The mistake we made was at the start of the season. Releasing Ballack, Deco and Joe Cole.
Many may think they didnt have a role to play. But they did.

Ballack was almost like our anchor man to be honest. Essien was out injured for most of the time. I know Mikel was in his role. But you had Lampard and Ballack for controlling the midfield. Now Ramirez is good, very good but still needs to settle down properly to understand the roles. Carlo had the luxury of rotating among Lampard,Ballack and Deco.All great internationals. Have proved over the careers.
We didnt had anyone this season. Lampard wasnt there. Ramirez took time to settle. Essien didnt perform at all since the start of the season.
We needed to control our midfield. Thats it. Man Utd had Fletcher for most part and now its Carrick.

And speaking of strikers, Didier and Anelka are pretty good. Kalou needs to step up his game to quite a few levels now. I expect him to atleast fight for a first-team place. He was decent this season.
And lastly, Torres. He is an awesome player. He wasnt bought to win the Champs League in this season.
But to win trophies over the next 5 years. I am expecting quite a lot from him next season. 25+ goals and many assists.

These things happen in football. Its ok. We have to get over it. And Carlo shouldnt be sacked. We need stability in our club.

Quite sure everything will be good come start of next season.
In the meannwhile, enjoy the remaning part of the football season, coz its quite a while since the new season begins.

Cheers !
KTBFFH
Rors21
April 15, 2011 at 11:14 pm

Getting rid of Ballack, Cole and Deco were all great decisions. All three of these players were past their prime and taking up space in the squad.

When the club let Ballack go, he was on the cusp of turning 34. He no longer scored goals or had the legs to keep with the pace of the Premier League. Consequently, he became foul prone and sought to compensate for his lack of running power by muscling his way through matches. Chelsea didn’t need that kind of player, especially one who earned one of the top 5 highest salaries in the squad. I think the board rightly sought the need to restore some sanity to the wage bill by cutting out a player in a protected state of decline.

Joe Cole demanded a 90,000 pound/week salary in contract negotiations. This was deemed too much for a peripheral squad figure, especially one coming off of major knee surgery. Again, Chelsea took the route of fiscal sanity. And honestly, has Cole done anything in a thin Liverpool team to make us seriously wish he was back at the Bridge?

Deco was an obvious departure. He played well in a couple of Blues games but otherwise had little impact. When we bought him he was already in his thirties and on the decline. After his patron Scolari was sacked, Deco looked out of place in a squad that sought players with a balance of power and pace.
Rors21
April 15, 2011 at 11:22 pm

A lot of rumors in the press surround Hiddink and the potential coaching vacancy at Chelsea.

For all fans wanting Hiddink to replace Carlo, stop dreaming. Hiddink isn’t one to walk out on a contract, so expect him to remain as Turkey’s coach until November/December at the earliest, when the Euro 2012 qualifiers reach the playoff stage. In addition, he’s publicly stated that a return to club management doesn’t suit him.

However, I love the idea of him someday becoming director of football. For one, he can run interference between whoever the manager is and Roman. Unfortunately, given Roman’s ruthless streak and meddling in squad matters, it’s important to have some sort of itermediary between coach and owner. Secondly, Hiddink has a great footballing I.Q. Having someone of his caliber determine team philosophy from the youth teams all the way up to the senior squad would be an excellent development.
denverblue
April 16, 2011 at 12:07 am

loved that damn picture!!!
for me chelsea is at a junction were they need to figure out they playing style. For me that need to change to a fast tactical, elegant style. and for that we need different type of players… its that simple.
sigins i expect:
Attacking mid: Josip illicic, Honda, Alan, Ganso,
RW: Sanchez
LW: Robben.. or try Kalou or Kakuta.
RB: Gregory Van der Wiel lb/rb D. Santon
recall/integrate into the team: Danny, PVA, Josh, Bruma, Rajcovic, Delap.

Possible managers: Jurgen Klinsman , Frank rijkaard,

I cant trust carlo with out a good side kick.. simple…

team set up :
——————cech —————
Gregorry—- Luiz—Terry—-Cole
———–Essien—Rameries———
Sanchez——– Illicic——– Robben
———————-Torres—————
Sub/squad members: Turnbull, Ivano, Alex, PVA, Mikel , Danny, lampard, Josh, Drogba , bruma, Rajcovic, kakuta, Yossi, Santon and Honda
now that is a strong team!!
denverblue
April 16, 2011 at 12:40 am

i think our safest bet for a manager that can bring us up to the barca level we all want is Frank rijkaard with the help of Guus as sporting director. Frank rijkaard brought back the louis van gaal philosophy. As a coach, Rijkaard’s essential philosophy is to guide his team towards playing attack-minded football as a cohesive unit!!
I can see it now!!!

just allow carlo to see out the season…. hopefulle we reach 2nd. .. let roma take carlo from us.. then with that money we get a new manager (Rijkaard) .. good business … we will need to do this early so as to .. have the new mamanger working with the players early.. and buying players and reshape the team to his playing style
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Frank_Rijkaard
cfc
April 16, 2011 at 2:01 am

denverblue,

Frank , I feel has done nothing to Barca without Ten Cate.
Behind Klinsmann , the German team had Joachim Loew.
Van Basten has not won anything..
Can ememanlo do what Ten cate or loew does , I doubt. I think we missed the opportunity with Steve Clarke

Anyway a tension free weekend folks and great one for neutrals.
Manchester derby
el clasico
arsenal vs liverpool …
Tremayne Craigg
April 16, 2011 at 3:05 am

So the whole blog believes Carlo should leave or will leave which won? Question? Who is currently out there with the same level of him or better? What he achieved last season doesn’t matter anymore? Do you see how much this team has changed because it isn’t winning? When Fergie doesn’t win you know what Man Utd say. Keep it glistening for us because we are coming back for it in May. You know what we say. Sack the manager! Sell the players! 0 respect for the people at the club. I’ve heard alot of sell Drogba comments lately. After all he has done for us that is how you treat him? I understand we must move forward and not live in the past but what if we do get these new coaches and players? What difference will it make? Man Utd are able to own everyone every year not matter who is in there squad. C Ronaldo o r none they still winning.
denverblue
April 16, 2011 at 3:32 am

cfc,

what areu talking about man….franks knows how to get the best out of a team, and for ur information kilinsman turned around germany… that ememanlo wont be the next assistant manager ok sir… believe that! I would back Rijkaard because he has handled big personalities… and played great football.
denverblue
April 16, 2011 at 3:34 am

Tremayne Craigg,

are you trying to say carlo can take us to the promise land…. we all saw what happen after ray left.. sir… time is now to correct the problem… lampard ( has not creativity) must be a super sub drogba too….
cfc
April 16, 2011 at 5:46 am

denverblue,

Denver, I am just pointing out that Frank best days where when Ten Cate was around. Otherwise he has not done anything . Remember we reached the final of CL, Carling cup and lost the EPL on the final day of the season to the best United side ( thanks to referee error) when Ten Cate was with us .

With or Without Klinsmann, Germany has done good. They reached Euro finals and World Cup final with Loew .. Bayern sacked Klinsman in a year,
cfc
April 16, 2011 at 5:52 am

He is another one , Roman is looking for..

http://www.guardian.co.uk/sport/blog/2011/apr/15/andre-villas-boas-porto
DanaBlue
April 16, 2011 at 6:22 am

TSO now The Silent One http://news.bbc.co.uk/sport2/hi/football/europe/9459654.stm
BlueChampion
April 16, 2011 at 7:56 am

Tremayne Craigg,

Well, I’m certainly not on the ‘Carlo must leave’ camp. But to answer the question of who’s there that can be better than Carlo right now, there are many instances where opportunities to younger, hungrier managers with lesser CVs have proved to be a good deal. When Rijkaard left Barcelona, how many of us thought Pep Guardiola could take Barca to another level? Granted Pep was managing Barca B but he didn’t have a big enough CV to be managing a club like Barca. So, it’s not always the big CVs that matter. If the board can see the vision, the ability and the approach in the incumbent, he gets the job.

That said, the fact that Carlo is still on the job shows that he would continue to be on the job. I don’t think we need to be talking so much about his replacement. He’s happy to continue. Roman’s bought players worth 80 million pounds for Carlo. Not a sign of not being happy with his manager.
alexa
April 16, 2011 at 11:20 am

Fernando Torres, Didier Drogba and Anelka all should start against West Brom. Chances of us winning the Premier league are very minimal, but we need to finish the season on a high. West Brom vs Chelsea is a tough game but its time we showed our class and score goals and this can only be done by going with to Hawthorns with an attacking line-up.
Its West Brom vs Chelsea at The Hawthorns. Latest team news, pre match press conference, match previews & interviews and LIVE match streaming latter ahead only at Chelsea FC News
http://www.thechelseafc.com/2011/04/west-brom-vs-chelsea-live-match-preview.html
Abhishek
April 16, 2011 at 12:22 pm

NOW CHELSEA SERIOUSLY NEED TO THINK ABOUT NEXT SEASON… JUST FORGET THIS SEASON…. IN REMAINING GAMES WE SHOULD TRY YOUNGSTRS…
oH mY bLUE
April 17, 2011 at 2:43 am

Sturridge and Kalou should start for us in the next season whenever they are available. DD/ Torres can rotate depending on the form , fitness and circumstances. Anelka can be sold even though he is a very good player.
We must start phasing out and for me Anelka tops the list of “We can do well even if he is not present” list.

Lampard is our engine and we saw what happens if it goes down this season. The problem we have is there are not many players available in the lampard mould as far as I know, sometime back I though Miroslav Stoch has the potential to be our next lampard, but either I am wrong or as usual our club did not give him a chance. i think Josh is a very diff player than Lampard, Lamaprd is at his best in 4-3-3, but with Ramires, josh, zhirkov, yossi we do not want a 4-3-3. I believe the mistake Carlo has done is trying diff formations with Lampard and Essien al\ways featuring. If we are to employ a diff formation next season I believe either Lampard/Essien or both have to sit out and this is a big decision.
Xerxesk
April 17, 2011 at 8:53 pm

We can Sign Nasri for around 15 mil!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!! His contract runs out in 2012 and his renewal talks have stalled.

BlueChampions The Chelsea FC Blog – views, opinions, discussions, debates, polls, videos . . .

Let’s move on, shall we?

1. Should Carlo stay as the manager of Chelsea FC?

Should Carlo stay as Chelsea manager?

2. Was buying Fernando Torres a mistake? Should we offload him?

Was buying Torres a mistake?

3. Do we need a squad overhaul?

How much overhaul would we need?

4. Who should leave? Who should we buy?

For what positions, do we need new players?

5. What are the expectations for the next season?

What are the minimum expectations for the next season?

BlueChampion

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