Kostas

Fucking sick of this..

Lazy journalism

F*ck them both. I despise both teams.

Not going to speak ill of an injured Blue, as much as I disagree with bringing him here in the first place.

He somehow gets more rep that you do for his bot-like posts :unsure:

I'm not usually a transfer muppet but I really have a feeling about this one To Txiki's defence I don't think there are many with better records as Sporting Directors (responsible for the strategy, scouting, transfers and style of a team).That is as long as the "omnipotent manager" way of doing things is out of the question.

I doubt that all he did in Barcelona was transfers but then again we certainly need an improvement in that area. While it may look like we've been transfer-shy (or cost-cutting for some) for the last few years we actually did try to get some of the big names but failed epically (Kaka,Daniel Alves, Robinho, Aguero and Neymar to mention a few) . His transfer record may not look staggering but I think his role was bigger than that and could be related to the strongest Barcelona team ever. Then again ,as much as I hate them, that club is set in a certain way and follows a certain football philosophy that prevents one man from getting all the credit, whether that is Guardiola, Rijkaard or Laporta himself, Johan Cruyff is my best bet. Taking a wild guess I think his first signing will be Lukaku.

The man to replace Arnesen ? What do we actually know about him or his work at Barcelona ? Doubt anyone is naive enough to think Carlo will get more power now..

FFS! Arnesen might not have been a fan favorite but his departure might mean that either the rest of the Fooball Board or Roman wasn't happy enough with his work, I don't buy the "wanted a new challenge" PR bullcrap either. If he was considered good enough we would have fought to keep him. I see your what you're saying but that's a bit simplifying. His job was to bring kids with potential and that's exactly what Bruma,PvA,Stoch,Kakuta et al are. The fact that some failed or might fail is more down to their management by our staff. On the other hand if he was behind our transfer movements in the last few years then there's hope of us improving, anyone can see that 36 millions are too much for Ramires and Zhirkov.

Correct, Arnesen's influence on the club in the recent years was bigger than anything Ray Wilkins could aspire. He is the man behind our academy (and possibly our scouting network) but whether he has been successful, considering the resources available to him, is highly subjective. I'm more of a neutral towards him,his work and his role but I'll be worried if gets the boot as it will mark be the biggest change at Chelsea since Mourinho and his world-class staff left. After the numerous reports about Txiki Begiristain replacing Arnesen I think there's too much smoke to rule out a fire. And our Football Board has made enough head-scratching decisions to be confident about this one. Nevertheless some will definitely simplify this situation to fit into being mere cost-cutting.

This sounds much more realistic than those exclusives that wanted Ancelotti out. Still I'd take anything we read during our slump with a huge pinch of salt. Won't be shocked if this is true though, take a look.

Lots of stuff about Ancelotti's management improved after the Inter defeat, I can only hope that the embarrassment against Sunderland does the same.

Can't see the reasoning behind the highlighted. Looks quite reputation-based to me Which would explain Malouda not being included, when he has a great game he is usually referred even by our own fans as an in-form player.

Not really in love with our medical team since Bosingwa's and Essien's cases but it has to be said that we're in better condition than most top teams. Credit to him for raising the PL standards but some teams have trouble following (take note Arsenal).

Can't remember the Bolton game but we were cruising against Aston Villa and the United goal (a blatant handball) came from his side when he should've stopped Nani's cross.Look I'm not arguing his use but I don't see him as the concistent 7 out of 10 man anymore, age has taken a toll on his pace and he has often problems with quick wingers. Funny how we were saying the same things a while ago.

Remember him? Reserve team midfielder Michael Woods has today (Thursday) joined Notts County on loan until 9 January. The 20-year-old, who made two first team substitute appearances when aged 16, has made three appearances off the bench for the reserves this season, having recovered from the injuries that hampered him during the two previous campaigns. Notts County, currently fourth from bottom in League One, are managed by Paul Ince and have former Chelsea player Jon Harley in their ranks. Source My guess is that this could turn into a transfer.

United's 20-year-old Rafael had Bale in his pocket in their last game, besides it wasn't just the game against Spurs, as far as I remember he was a (defensive) liability in most of the games he played. No wonder Ancelotti didn't even register him in our CL squad list last season (that's why Zhirkov played LB against Inter) .

Could be called off, there's snow in Newcastle.

With Ancelotti getting instructions from the board not to play him before his contract is settled Borini's agent is says his priority is to stay with the Blues. Link

Are you serious? He's been solid this year (when played as a right-back) but am the only one who remembers how Bale ripped him a new one last season?

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Yeah sure mr.Mod.Not more arguments about how much Ancelotti trusts Kalou?

They were already rejected.

A very good write-up on Josh's influence on the game yesterday. http://dkdickson.wordpress.com/2010/11/24/josh-mceachran-observations-on-a-first-start/ Did anyone else notice how during the 2nd half he played further up the pitch as a CM instead of DM. You could see how he was alongside Ramires instead of behind him, that clearly helped both.