pachman40

I kinda feel Rogersish now that I read my post again, quite rainbows and unicorns, but I guess that's just the kinda guy I am.

Without getting into the second half of last season where we all know things were, shall we say, different from the first half, I think the beginning of this season was simply a snowball effect. There have been mistakes, poor decisions, bad performances, bad luck, and the momentum just made the problems bigger and bigger with every passing week. It's hard to stop momentum. To carry the snowball metaphor forward, there are two ways to stop that snowball, either it hits a brick wall, or it slowly runs out of snow. Hitting that brick wall could cause irreparable damage to the wall and it's foundations, or the wall could stand strong and have no ill effects. That brick wall is firing our manager. Could be good, could be bad, no guarantees. Letting that snowball roll and eventually run out of snow is a slower process. We can't expect a season that's been downright terrible to magically turn around. With all the issues piling on top of eachother, there are a whole bunch of layers of crap to peel off one by one before this thing gets turned around. I think of myself as a positive guy, some might even say naive, but I've been watching these last few games with a hopeful eye looking for positives. If you want to see positives, they are there to see. But if you are looking for negatives, you'll find them too. I prefer to see the snowball gradually slowing down and getting smaller. For anyone who wants to see it, this club is rallying around eachother and getting ready for a positive turn. Be part of the positivity and enjoy supporting this club. The members here will have no say whatsoever with what happens on the field, but we completely influence the mood here. We all get frustrated and we all want what's best for the club, but coming here and being grumpy 24/7 doesn't help anyone. If anything we should be able to come here and be happy for having a great group of people going through the same emotions and same difficulties as we are and help support eachother through this time. I choose to see this whole thing as turning around slowly but surely with Mourinho at the helm instead of barrelling down that mountain towards the point of no return.

Very positive performance, really good to see, just need a goal to open the gates and we should be good. But that Stoke chance before HT shows how easy all our good work and beautiful football could've been undone. Let's hope that our good performance continues through the second half and we're rewarded with some goals.

Good half, had everything but the goal, but it's coming...Obviously the boys are playing today with the mentality of win if we can, but definitely don't lose. That's why our possession seems a little negative at times but at this point in the CL campaign that's still a positive. People slagging Kiev off comparing them to Tel Aviv is a little OTT, could you guys give Chelsea a little credit for playing decent enough today? Begovic hasn't really been troubled and we've had some quality chances... Anyways, more of the same second half please, maybe pop in a quick one to take some pressure off and have a nice flight home.

Anyone else think maybe, just maybe Jose is looking forward to this weekend's game and finally doing what a lot of people were complaining he didn't do last season? Rotate the squad a bit? Let's be real, this game is not a must win. If we lose 10-0 that doesn't hurt our chances of progressing from this group, the focus is on getting back into contention in the league. Skip forward, if Ivan is benched and Hazard plays this weekend because of today's decisions I'm thinking most will be pleased. By the way, this starting 11 is not our best 11, but it is definitely capable of getting a result today which is more than enough. Let's keep some perspective.

We've got a few Debby Downers in here. It's pretty obvious that in real life some of you are cup half empty type of guys. If we win today, but play like hot garbage, Ivan plays 90 minutes, and the youth don't even make the bench, I would be happy because we would have 6 points from 6 possible in our first two CL group games including an away game to the toughest opponent in the group. Would you be happy? If the answer is no then I can't help you. If the answer is yes then welcome to the side where people are allowed to smile and enjoy themselves even if the road travelled was imperfect.

For the love of all things holy, please play the best game of your lives and destroy Porto. It would be massive for Chelsea's confidence, allow us to breathe in the CL with progression in the group 99% guaranteed, and it would soothe my Benfica-loving bones knowing that those dirty asses are put in their place. That being said, Porto are no walk in the park and Jose knows that so anyone expecting the same lineup that played against Tel Aviv are in for a surprise. I expect we will play a strong lineup with JT coming back to lead the team, Hazard to play, and Matic to play since he's familiar and has played fantastic against Porto in the past. I'm hoping RLC plays side by side with Matic as I think they would lineup well against Porto's midfield and give the back line enough cover. I cross my fingers that Cesc will be given a day off because Porto are speedy and I think he'd be too exposed, plus we all know Jose pencils him into the lineup in the league automatically. Ivanovic is a tossup to play tactically because Porto would absolutely target him and would likely have good success, but Brana actually has some advantages against a team like Porto who are vulnerable on set pieces. He might actually pop a goal in off a corner and generally cause mayhem in their 18 so I can see him playing. I just hope the positives would outweigh the negatives. The other positive if Ivan shows up on the gamesheet before the whole forum melts down is that if he plays in the CL, then the likelihood of him being rested on the weekend goes way up. For everyone who would jump down Jose's throat the second the lineup is released ask yourselves a question - would you accept Ivan playing against Porto if it means he's benched for Southampton?

I haven't read through the last +/-20 pages in this thread but I'm going to make some assumptions. Lots of Mourinho outs, lots of Mourinho's not the problem, lots of Mourinho lacks class and puts Chelsea in a bad light unnecessarily. Correct me if I'm wrong. Without wading into those debates, my takeaway from the weekend regarding Mourinho is that in my opinion he hasn't even gotten close to deserving of the sack. I don't want to paper over all the issues that are very real and deserve attention/action, but this season is far from lost. City look very vulnerable, United and Arsenal do not instill fear in me, and Chelsea have underperformed in the league to this point. I recognize that everything is far from sunshine and lollipops, but what would sacking Mourinho accomplish? The new manager would pull the reins off all our offensively restricted players and we would magically play freeflowing football that would instantly turn us into title favorites? Our club would magically be seen in a good light by the media who would in turn start a crusade to benefit Chelsea instead of dragging us through the mud? The FA would magically treat everyone consistently the same and make decisions that everyone agrees with regardless of which club they support? Come on people, these things won't change because Klopp or Guardiola or Sir Alex replace Mourinho. We all agree our team is underperforming at the moment but what makes you think that bringing in another manager at this stage will give us a BETTER CHANCE to turn around this season than a man that is already familiar with the squad and has been successful with this club in the very recent past? I mentioned in a previous post that Jose is not perfect and makes head-shaking decisions. That has only been reinforced with Brana's continued starts and Baba's absence from even making the bench. I don't know anyone who could or has defended this. In the past, Jose's loyalty to his players was a positive, but in this case he is definitely doing the club a disservice. But let me ask this...on it's own, is that situation enough of an issue for Jose or any manager to get sacked? While I loathe that decision, I have to give Jose the "manager's option" and hold my nose because in general I think he's doing an excellent job and is the best option for Chelsea. Given the choice, every person on this forum would choose a club that wins trophies every year, plays attractive football, is full of successful homegrown players, with a youth pipeline that continuously pumps in talent that the manager is confident in playing regularly. That is the ideal that everyone aspires to achieve. If all of those boxes aren't checked, that does not mean we need to move on from our current manager, that just means we have room to grow. At any one time in the whole world there is a maximum of ONE team that can check all of those boxes at any point in time and most of the time there are ZERO teams at that level. Perspective people. Like I've said before, Jose isn't perfect, but he's the right man for this club in my eyes for the foreseeable future. We will make top 4 this season with him at the helm, I have no doubts about that. Can anyone tell me this season is lost? We have champions in our squad and champions on the sidelines, they will make us proud this season, believe it! Edit: Before anyone pulls out the default "You might be satisfied with 4th, but I'm not" argument, I'm not for one moment suggesting we strive for CL football and if we achieve it I'm proud. I'm simply saying that winning the league does not necessarily need to be in the equation for us to consider the season a success and be proud of the team. There are many possible outcomes where we would be proud of our team and the results they achieve this season, and NOT ONE of those situations have been removed from possibility this season. The season is young and we have all the tools available to still have a very successful season.

The boy continues to grow. I really like that he's being somewhat sheltered, gradually he'll take on a bigger and bigger role. Don't want to get my hopes too high but this is one kid who I can see reaching his potential and eventually becoming a fixture in the England team.

Whatever the reasoning and circumstances for locating the away support in the Shed right now is "water under the bridge" (I really enjoyed that play on words if I do say so myself). With the new stadium there is every opportunity to locate them in the crappiest position for them which would conversely give us the most advantage. Also, there is every opportunity to reunite the home support into a loud strong voice in one location. There is no excuse anyone can give where these 2 situations are not given due consideration and due priority. I don't care if Betty and John have had season tickets for 20 years in one of these locations and have to be moved to accommodate. This opportunity cannot be missed. Yes, I'm a supporter from across the ocean and I don't understand all the local dynamics. It may be a very simplistic and unrealistic point of view (if that's the case please enlighten me because I'm always up for a history lesson), but if this new stadium does not have a home supporter's stand and does not have the away support in the worst seats in the house then I think somebody deserves a massive smack in the back of the head.

Mourinho was over the top with his actions towards THE MEDICAL TEAM, and Eva was over the top in her reaction to Mourinho. Two wrongs don't make a right, they were both wrong. I don't give two shits about what medic sits on our bench as long as they are competent, I don't give two shits if Mourinho didn't "apologize" to his MEDICAL TEAM for his overreaction, and I don't give two shits that one of the two people who were on the wrong side of Mourinho decided to become a champion for the rights of all insulted medics around the world. Now if and when she decides to take this to court and drags Chelsea along with Mourinho's name through the mud so that she can stand up on that pedestal, then I'll get pissed at her. Until then, just go away and let's concentrate on football.

Hypocrisy on display for everyone to see. Wenger repeatedly accepts the red after the match, then Arsenal appeal against it and win. Wenger whines about Mike Dean way more vocally and directly than Mourinho and haven't heard a peep about discipline against him. Costa disciplined during the game with a yellow card, but retrospective punishment coming in so small part due to Wenger's criticism of the referee. Blatant, unabashed double standards and making up the rules as they go along by the FA. Ban Diego because of his actions, no problem, but punish everyone with the same consistency, not too much to ask.

Diego is no angel and that's why there are referees and linesmen on the field. He does what he does because he gets away with it and pushes the limits and sometimes crosses the line. That said, if the FA want to clearly establish their lines and review EVERY game on the weekend, not just the ones that the journos highlight, then that will give them credibility and I would accept their decisions. But the way they cherrypick their battles makes you question motives. Others have said it, this kind of stuff happens all the time, doesn't mean I condone it and doesn't mean I like it, but so long as the FA pick and choose when to properly enforce the rules of the game, this sort of thing will always be a part of the game. This is inconsistency bordering on favouritism/harrassment depending on which side of the decisions your club typically fall on. I'm not a conspiracy theorist by any stretch, but I really wonder about some of the decisionmakers' thought processes.

I'm always entertained to read people's tactical analysis of our games, or their gameplans going into the next matchup. We should've pushed for a second goal, we should never sit back and keep pushing, why does Mikel even dress he shouldn't be anywhere near the squad. We should attack, we should play a high line, we should press press press, we should go to Newcastle with high intensity football and rip them to shreds. It's as if Chelsea are the only team on the field and Jose's decisions should be made in this dream world where our tactics are not countered by opposition managers, where other teams don't have strengths that exploit our weaknesses, where our player's mentality and maturity is unquestionable. Chelsea doesn't play games in a vacuum. There are two teams that are trying to get results. Sometimes Jose's tactics and team selection will suit the supporter's views like the CL game last week, other times we will rant and rave that the guy is an imbecile. I'm not a blind JM lover, the guy makes many questionable decisions where reasonable debate can be had over whether or not he was high at the time or just plain stupid. But I can step back and analyze what his reasoning was for that decision. For the most part, to generalize, he chooses the safe option more than I would like and sometimes it blows up in his face (playing 2 DM's against Everton). When he's wrong, he's wrong, but WHY did he choose that option? if people look beyond the black and white facts and analyze the leadup instead of blindly saying this is what we've got to do and screw off with whatever the other guys are going to do, then the decisions become tougher and it's easier to understand why some head-scratchers happen. Again, even with all the above things being noted, sometimes he's off in his own world and its indefensible, but let's all keep a little more perspective not just when things are bad, but also when things are good.

Ramirez for Oscar, people will not like that sub but it is absolutely a perfect sub. Pushes Fabregas up, solidifies the centre and gives pace to our counterattack. Yes it would be great to see RLC come in instead but Ramires is the smarter decision when you take emotion out of the equation.