LDN Blue

Kalou feeling the strain of Ivory Coast civil war Must be the same for Drogba too. Both have a deep connection to the country and give back a lot..

It is less important, in comparison too the return leg at United. Of course I'm not implying we shouldn't try to win this, but there's no point in risking important players against Wigan when the United game is much more important.

Were any of you really surprised? Expect to see less Ray Wilkins, more Gary Neville now..

They wouldn't be willing to pay his wages

With this game being less important, we should allow Torres a start. It's clear Drogba is a much better striker to play versus United, so Torres should be allowed 90 vs Wigan.. Drogba 90 vs United

cheers!

I don't think I am a better debater at all, I have said nothing of the sort. My critique with some other's is simply their use of the terms "hater" & "glory hunter". If they hold a proper discussion without personal insults I'm happy to have a proper debate/discussion. The specific content of other's posts is for them to discuss/you to discuss with them. My only problem was with the glory hunter part, nothing else. I respect opposing views to mine

Definitely agree. Most successful teams always have a key anchor man now. Real have Xabi Alonso, Barcelona have Busquets ect.. He's more than a guy to be an extra line of defence.. He's an incentive for the team to attack in numbers. Where did you grab that quote from?

Because the only response we ever get is ignorant fools saying "glory hunter". Not only is that the total opposite of what we are, but it's personally insulting to, as I've been supporting this club since as long as I can remember! I was a fan before Abramovich arrived, before all the success & I am entitled the criticise the coach because of his decisions NOT because some fool who can't be bothered to have a reasonable discussion can't think of anything better to say than "glory hunter"

Cheers , I see potential avatars there

Mm, I meant that in the sense, after Mourinho left, 3/4 followed. Carvalho stated he'd wanted to leave well beyond last season, Deco wanted to go back to Brazil and Thiago was gone anyway. Ferreira's only stuck around because he feels a special connection with the club & probably because there wasn't much demand for him.

The last time they did let a manager do that was with Mourinho by allowing him to bring Carvalho, Deco, Ferreira & Tiago..

so very true! We're simply not allowed to make any sorts of critiques of anyone. Except Gourlay

"Torres WILL score" maybe if people stopped saying this it may happen

To be fair, it's not like they've ever been together playing consistently. They're only together when one is subbed on late in the second half and a start is rare. Watching Drogba & Torres play together, there's no suggestions Drogba doesn't want to play with him on the field..

"Glory Hunter" A term used when fans can not construct a proper argument or rebuttal against someone with opposing views

With these group of players I can only think of one system we can try.. Cech Ivanovic - Luiz - Terry - Cole Mikel Benayoun - Ramires - Essien - Lampard Drogba A good ol' 4-5-1 with a lone striker in the form of Drogba, Torres, Anelka or even Kalou. Since we're weak on the left, playing Lampard there temporarily is the only suitable short term solution. Even playing Kalou on the left and replacing Essien with Lampard could work. Of course this all look good on paper. But in practice our squad shows they are unable to handle changes in the formation. p.s. Mikel is vital.

Where the hell is Tommy?! Only he can bring joy to TC now!

Who even knows if Benayoun will the be same player he was! Lord knows injuries have done their work on Essien & Bosingwa..

The big problem is, therefore. What does Carlo does with Torres?

The way you've over simplified this is staggering. There are so many threads on here about why our season has gone wrong with some ludicrous reasons but this takes the cake. I'm just going to give 1 sensible point.. Our problem isn't defence, it's in attack.

You've been proved right in a very big way. Drogba proved he can create as well as score. Today he created much more, Torres was dormant.

There was no supply once again though! Only Zhirkov & Ramires gave him something to run onto to try and get in a shot. Lampard always went out wide, Drogba couldn't find a link up with him & Essien was being.. His natural self. We lack a clean-cut passer, something Lampard used to be.

Worst thread I've ever seen on TalkChelsea. How on earth can someone blame Bosingwa on our sh*t is beyond me.. This is a knee-jerk reaction, which you will probably regret tomorrow morning..