LDN Blue

Daily Mail says this is the end of Carlo's reign. http://www.dailymail.co.uk/sport/football/article-1331639/Is-end-Carlo-Ancelotti.html

A stupid Sky News article (yes Sky News, not even SkySPORTS News) making a comparison between Rafa Benitez & Carlo Ancelotti. I'm sorry, but when's the last time Rafa won the double? http://blogs.news.sky.com/sportslines/Post:e229803b-c859-43bd-8330-606d2d53b407

Nice goal from Ibra today. Shame it was against Fiorentina though. http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=1hLEwAKszdo

So was £20million for Yuri Zhirkov. Quality as he is, £20million was ridiculous for a player, we didn't really need. I think he was dubbed Hiddink's departing gift, not really a gift if you have to pay £20million is it? But the point is, I'm sure Abramovich will not fork out €30million for Schweinsteiger.

What do you mean?

In a weird sense. That would be the perfect time to play ManUtd. Hopefully by 12th December (Tottenham at home), we'll have Lampard, Essien, Terry (who may turn into a bit of a Ledley King with his injury) & Alex. Then we should see the kind of football we've seen at the "honeymoon stage" of winning the Premier League.

You're probably right you know. Especially about the Champions League. Looking at the Manchester United squad, since the days of Best, they've always had someone to take over the "superstar" role once the other left. You had Best > Cantona > Beckham > Ronaldo > Owen. Okay I know Owen's not their superstar but the point is they've failed to replace him and as a result they're just not that good. Even if Roo's on form. In regards to Arsenal. Ever since Henry left they've struggled. They have no big forward like they used to have.. Wright > Henry > Van Persie. But Van Persie (who imo is truely world class) in injury prone. Their squad is quite weak, even if Fabregas is on form. Since the days of the invincibles of Viera, Henry, Campbell, Ljunberg & Pires. They've had the odd few starring talents; Hleb, Flamini ect, but they were all sold. Then we come to Liverpool. I used to actually like them as a club (prior to '05 I think). They had a nice team, Hyypia, Owen, Heskey, Baros, Alonso ect. But looking at them today, they're not THAT good. A common trend here is failing to replace the stars these teams once had. Chelsea is now following suit. We've always had a great midfield, to name a few players: Duff, Makelele, Robben, Joe Cole, Thiago, Ballack, Belletti. Looking at today's midfield though: Lampard, Benayoun, Essien, Mikel, Ramires. (Zhirkov is a winger, uncounted.). A failure to replace he likes of Ballack for example. The root of this problem lies in the developmental stage, the academy. Only a few examples of academy produced talent exist today: Bale, Milner, Barry, A. Johnson. I know I'm using English examples here but we used to have: Owen, Beckham, Gerrard, Lampard, Scholes, Giggs. World class players in their time. But can we say contemporary talent (bar Bale) is world class? No.

I'm not trying to be "that guy" But say we draw next week & United win to go top. What will you guys say then?

Matic won't get a chance in the starting XI. He's better off on loan where he'd get more 1st team football, in a league renounced for producing good youth talent.

Yeah but then he may look at Ramires, an £18million signing, and think "..never again."

And back then it wasn't as competitive as this season. Chelsea, ManUtd, Arsenal & ManCity are all in with a chance.

My Dream Cech Bosingwa - Bruma - Ivanovic - Van Aanholt Mikel McEachran - Essien Kalou - Sturridge - Kakuta Chelsea 3-0 Zilina. Goals from Kakuta & McEachran. Honourable mentions for Kalou's assits and Van Aanholt's similarities to Ashley Cole. ..If only.

Well that's not happening then. Remember, Abramovich is tightening the purse strings

He could have. But he could have also scored a few at Sunderland last week, and Fulham days before that. He can't finish as well as once thought, Sturridge must be given the same chances Kalou has now.

Agreed. I said somewhere SAF should enjoy number 19. That was a knee-jerk reaction to what I'd witness. We're not at that stage yet. But something is very wrong at the club. I've said quite a few things today in anger, but I do maintain the point that until Lampard comes back, we should get used to seeing this kind of stuff. (Blank bullets)

Everything about this is 100% accurate.

Agreed. But something's got to give. We've not been the same since Lampard's been out, but Carlo has not responded. I like Alex's idea of us switching to 4-4-2, but I don't think Carlo will do it.

It's worth mentioning. Sturridge > Kalou.

On another point. Today shows why Drogba SHOULD take set pieces. Malouda delivers no pace on the ball leaving too much for people like Kalou to do. Drogba puts a lot of fizz and pace on it, so a slight deflection could put it in the back of the net. I.e. Ivanovic vs Spartak.

Agreed with everything. I don't who's fault it is. Whether it's Abramovich's for not spending enough money or Carlo choosing someone like Ramires to replace the likes of Ballack/Cole/Belletti/Deco?! Ridiculous. Half time. 1-0 down. Logical step? Bring on Sturridge or Kakuta for Anelka or Kalou. When does it happen? in 72nd minute. Not enough time AT ALL.

I swear nobody better say "you're crap fans" for us being so angry. This was a GOD AWFUL performance. WE HAD 5 ATTACKERS AND WE STILL COULDN'T FUCKING SCORE. 16 CORNERS. 10 SHOTS ON TARGET. 15 SHOTS OFF TARGET. 61% POSSESSION. 3 DEFEATS IN THE LAST 4 GAMES. AGAINST WHO? FUCKING LIVERPOOL WHO WERE IN THE RELEGATION ZONE. FUCKING SUNDERLAND WHO GOT THRASHED 5-1 BY FUCKING NEWCASTLE! AND NOW. FUCKING. BIRMINGHAM CITY. WHO SAT 18TH. WHAT THE FUCK IS GOING ON AT OUR CLUB?! A4TOBGO53RBGO53G/. 3P42GBTPI42G. :rant::rant::rant::rant::rant:

draw? We'd be so fucking lucky. 2-0 loss.

Liverpool was a "slap in the face" Sunderland were a "kick up the backside" Birmingham is a "taser gun to the testicles." Absolutely shit from us. Unable to finish with "one of the best strikers in the world". I hope Alex Furguson enjoys title number 19.

What is it about being away from home that we can't handle!? Is it psychological?! We have enough fucking support from the away fans (who are actually LOUDER than the home fans) so there's no excuses there. The team would be the same we'd play at home so there's not much wrong in personnel (even with Terry, Lampard & Essien out). We've had enough chances to go at least 2-0 up.