The Chels

You raise a very good point. In games where have tried and tried to score an intricate goal with a tap-in at the end and it doesn't work, then we need a goal from somewhere else. The most important alternative methods of scoring when struggling (especially for our side) are set pieces, and then perhaps long shots. We do score quite a lot of set pieces but I think we have the potential to score more. Yes it is difficult in the PL where there are many physical defenders but all our set piece routines are the same - lump the ball into the box and hope someone scores. Why don't we try to be more inventive with our routines like Atletico who seem to score from one every game? Then there's the shots from distance. How often do we score goals from outside the box when we're struggling like Bayern do quite often (vs. City in the CL, for example)? Hardly ever. We do try but our AMs' finishing is not very good and then again we don't really want to see everyone taking pot shots all the time. Plan B is lump it up to Drogba. But our Plan A needs a bit more variety - we can have the intricate play but we could perhaps work more on our set pieces and shooting from just outside the box where we do get a lot of the ball. In fact I remember when Hazard scored against Hull away last year the commentators mentioned he'd been practicising his shooting that week. What's happened to that?

Well yeah because City fans are really cocky right now and perhaps with reason. If United gain more ground on us their fans will be just as bad. They've been humbled recently but they are worse than City fans IMO.

You make it sound like Chelsea fans have a monopoly on knee jerk reactions! Have you not checked out RAWK, Bluemoon, ArsenalFanTV, etc? Football fans from all clubs tend to be melodramatic after bad results.

pensioner Drogba did show him up today but what I will say is the fewer touches he has outside the box (and the more he has inside) the better! The thing with Costa though is that without his aggression and passion he is just an average striker. And aggression doesn't work in certain games like Newcastle/Sunderland away.

Because then we can actually play our best FBs. And whilst he'll probably make the same mistakes at CB - backing off too much and losing concentration - he can't be much worse than Cahill and his staunch fans (including Jose) might actually notice his mistakes.

Remember how Jose got Azpi to man mark Luis in the CL SF 2nd leg (for the first half at least)? He clearly did at least rate him highly and recognised him as one of Atletico's most significant attacking threats. Not sure what's happened since!

I agree about the Bundesliga but in the PL this year only 2 teams will realistically win it, Chelsea or City. In La Liga there are 3 teams vying for the title, Real and Barca obviously, but Atletico are and will continue to put up one hell of a fight. So Bayern can definitely focus more on the CL in the latter stages but Real/Barca/Atletico can't really.

it is pretty much guaranteed. Away to Newcastle, Stoke, Villa and West Brom = 0-3 points.

Whenever Everton got the ball into relatively dangerous situations they were harassed and lost the ball immediately. Everton were definitely poor but City's good defensive play exacerbated that and limited Everton's attack significantly.

City were fortunate with the penalty decision and could well have had Mangala/Fernando sent off. That being said I was impressed by their performance. They were very organised defensively with 2 banks of 4 and they pressed with numbers and great enthuiasm in their own area. They had plenty of chances on the counter as a result of turnovers and conceded only 1 chance of any note, as well as never being pinned back. A very strong defensive performance.

Because he overestimates Ivanovic's attacking qualities and overlooks his defensive frailities. What I (and many other Chelsea fans) want is to see Azpi at RB and Luis at LB. We would then see both FBs contributing to the attack and we would also be more defensive stable than we are now with Ivanovic's constant backing off and lapses in concentration. Azpi and Luis are also much better at pressing higher up the pitch since they are more agile and this would help us considerably in both the attack and defence. I just don't understand how it is fair to say to Ivanovic that he can make as many mistakes as he wants without ever being dropped or criticsed.

'If Jose says so, then it must be right'. That's not a great argument. Why did Simeone play Luis at LB all the time? If he had a choice between Luis and Azpi, I'm fairly certain he'd choose Luis. And if Simeone says so, then it must be right. Right?

Because most Chelsea fans (that I've spoken to at least) can't see past his attacking 'prowess' and don't want to address his defensive complacency. Jose is seemingly the same.

What I like most about Luis is his intelligent pressing. He was one of the few players to recover the ball high up the pitch which led to a good chance. I love that Atleti style of play.

Do you think we even practise playing against 10 men in training? Against City and Newcastle we didn't make our 1-man advantage count at all even though it really is a significant opportunity.

We looked much more likely to score with the hoof ball tactics, to be fair. Drogba is a still a beast in the air and we could well have scored from one of the subsequent chances if Costa's first touch had been any good or if Schurrle was played in.

Maybe so. I wish he would just accept that we played badly though. His excuses in this game and against Sunderland of timewasting, us being unlucky, only one team trying to win, etc. are hypocritical and suggest little will change.

Well the difference is that Ivanovic's replacement (Azpi/Luis) are in many people's opinion better than him. We know Hazard played poorly but there is nobody in our team who can replace him - he is an undroppable and rightfully so. Why is Ivanovic one when most of our goals are conceded down his side and because of him (in part anyway)?

Because they tend to play extremely well when their rivals slip up.

How come Jose doesn't moan about the players (strikers) like he would have last season? Probably because this is his team now and it's still making the same mistakes.

Funny to think that in some of the articles comparing the 04/05 side to this one, Cahill is apparently equal to Carvalho. no way near.

I don't think it would be dropping Costa as much as it would be giving Remy his chance. But you are right and it's all hypothetical anyway. We'll likely see the same team next week except Matic in for Mikel. Edit: forgot Cesc is suspended so probably see Ramires in for him. But the starting 11 seems fixed now, and even if you're playing badly you won't be dropped is the message.

No need to be so patronising. It's my opinion. He was poor against Newcastle, Sunderland and Schalke (in terms of his finishing). He was given a rest midweek but you wouldn't know it.

He's been pretty poor for a while and Remy deserves to start some games. Ivanovic should be permanently dropped though imo.

I don't think it will make much difference. Instead of the pressure of going unbeaten, we now have the pressure of City breathing right down our necks.