LDN Blue

Definitely. A trend that looks never ending lately.. Something's gotta give.

Yep, it was the classic double-edged sword. Sometimes I wonder if the club would've found it easier had we not won the Champions League - I'm sure Gourlay/Buck think about it.

This is true, but I'm sure he didn't expect this level of resentment from the club. People were outraged by what the club did with Alex & Anelka, I believe this is equally as bad.

I get the attitude thing, but Malouda isn't the first player to complain in the media and he certainly won't be the last. Even if he is talking sh*t in the media, the way he's being treated by the club is really poor. They don't even realize they're shooting themselves in the foot either. Once Malouda is no longer a Chelsea employee he's going to give a dirt sheet on the insides of this club, I have no doubt about this, and the club is going to look even worse than it does generally in the media. Lampard's attitude in the André Villas-Boas tenure was on par with Malouda but the club hasn't punished him (we can debate the semantics of his contract later) in the way they have with Malouda. Having a first-team player train with youth players is something lower league clubs do when they have a player who causes mischief or problems within the squad. Malouda seems like he just talked about his frustrations in the media (not that I'm saying that's okay), but he's not someone like Tevez who would refuse to come on in the middle of a game then take a 6-month golfing vacation. It also shows the further lack of control managers have. Because now the club decides who plays/who doesn't based on contractual matters, which really is pathetic. I'm only comparing Ferreira & Malouda in the contractual aspect, the fact they're earning a lot knowing they're not going to/hardly going to play any games this season.

True, but we also have to remember that the club basically forced its own hand into offering Robbie a contract. Firstly they had to save face with the media and fans, fans would have only tolerated Guardiola or Mourinho to take over, especially after we'd won the Holy Grail. It is unfair to sack him after 2 months, but let's face it, Robbie looks on top now especially when you consider how poorly we're doing with Rafa. I don't think Di Matteo will have a problem finding a job now. He might not be getting a call from Real Madrid anytime soon, but he won't be short of options anytime soon either.

Oh where do I begin?! Lack of effective coaching, the enormous gap between youth football and the next level up, inadequate structuring of youth and reserve leagues & poor allocation of resources. Brazil produce great no10's, Portugal produce great wingers, Spain produce great midfield players. England produces.. Rooney.

Indeed. Of course I understand the attraction of watching pass-pass-pass. But when pass-pass-pass fails, there's often no plan B and that's what Guardiola found out when he played us, when we did play defensive football - counter-attack football.

That's your opinion, however I maintain my stance. I'm not knocking either of these players because they have a right to stay and pick up their pay for not playing. After all, they have given enough years of service to the club. They're in the same ship, but the club is deciding to punish one and give the other alternative roles.

*1966 But I suppose so. The culture of English football is still stuck within that approach and sometimes it is quite effective but with the culture of international football more focused on movement and speed England have, indeed, stagnated. Unfortunately the problem remains in development, at grass root levels. There needs to be better coaching education now, more emphasis on possession football.

I grew up watching English football, English tactics, English style.. All this "play like Barca" sh*t makes me sick.

Tell me the difference? Both players past their best, still at the club, by the fault of the club. The rest is redundant.

I think we let Robbie's "Legend" tag get to us a little too much when it comes to this subject-matter. I think we've done him a favor to be honest, the timing of his departure didn't tarnish his hero tag because it was so early one. He's in the Champions League Winning Coach's alumni and no-one will take that away from him, but if he wasn't a club legend, I don't think his sacking would come as a surprise to most - considering he wasn't the club's ideal choice in the first place.

afaik, u21's don't need registering. -- Also, I'm in favour of Malouda here. Yes he's had the opportunities to leave, however Chelsea's treatment of him has been appalling. He's said after he moves he will reveal all of what Chelsea has been doing to drive him out and I'll look forward to reading because it really does seem like they've made life hell for him. The fact is, if Chelsea did want to release him they can just buy him out of his contract. They're trying to save face by forcing Malouda out and anyone here can see the Frenchman can be a good squad player till the end of his contract. He's hardly Bogarde, because he's not the one who gave him a contract extension to keep him here this long! I'm also baffled that we're talking about Malouda picking up a weekly wage packet when we've got players like Ferriera doing the same thing........

Carzola & Mata wouldn't work. They'd be trying to occupy the same role, a problem we were having earlier with Oscar, Mata & Hazard (proved by Rafa's reluctance to play all 3 at the same time). In my eyes we got a much more effective player in Mata - not that I deny Santi's abilities.

This is definitely a good point. Everyone sees Josh's potential, even non-CFC fans, Jordan Henderson even once said Josh is technically better than Jack Wilshere. But if Josh is to flourish in the role he plays, he has to be a bit of a bastard. I like Jonjo Shelvey of Liverpool, not for his abilities as a technical player, but because he's got that no nonsense 'I'm a cunt' approach to the way he plays - That's the English way.

Yep, this is true. That would also depend on the tactics of Rafa too. Certain teams, we could do with Torres' team-player profile and others Ba's simple goal instincts. It'll be interesting who lines up in the Europa, will be an indication of how seriously we'll take it.

rookie error.

Yep, this is the view I've always held. Having options which you can rotate could be much more effective than putting all our eggs in one basket and baring the consequences should it not work out.

Mourinho was key. His squad, his tactics, his control, his transfers. Him. 86 Unbeaten.

There's no way Eriksen will come here after we rejected him. His Dad definitely would convince him to stay well away from Cobham/SB!

That gold England kit is awful. My god.

I can't believe I'm about to say this but, I do see Rafa's logic. I mean it does come down to this, Ba can't play all of our games. We've already played 40+ games and it's only February. We'll know have Europa, EPL & maybe even FA cup fixtures which could total us playing 3 game in 7 days. To keep Ba injury free and fresh Rafa will only give him 90minutes for one game and 60/30minutes in another, resting him for a third. We've got Spartak & Brentford coming up between now and Sunday.

Didn't really "show" that. I mean yeah, good instinct to get the goal, but with Moses back he's going to find it as hard (if not much more now) to get that playing time. It's a real shame he didn't get his chance during Hazard's suspension but he's behind the subs with Ramires & Moses occupying the bench.

Finally this competition is over! Now we can get him back.

Love Ramires, definitely a fan's favourite, but definitely presents a problem of where to play him. He's definitely not a right-winger, but neither is a defensive midfield player. So where can he be deployed? Safe choice would be with Mikel, but with the scoring form Lampard's gone, it's unlikely he'll be dropped for Rami.