LDN Blue

Yeah but they're not as old & thin as our squad But you're right about the 2nd part.. A win on Wednesday will do us a world of good, especially if Tottenham drop points. Since we have a game in hand over Manchester City, I'd love for them to beat Arsenal, we'd still be behind them, but not by much

:lol:

Don't even think it's true, I've only seen The Metro report it, even Goal have stayed quiet on it.

LOL I know, people don't actually realise that if this deal goes through, Manchester City will be deadly in attack. We should move in for Silva

John Terry back stabbed his friend in the back & broke the one rule guy's have. Don't do your mate's ex.. I understand it . But he's not paid to keep his private life in check, he's paid to perform on the pitch, which he does day in, day out.

He's right. To be honest, I think Cech was at fault.

We're too old. With this mid-week schedule it's actually no wonder we're in a slump. Drogba, Anelka, Terry, Lampard & Cole are all 30 or over, this sort of hectic schedule (mixed in with the cold weather) is not good for these players. Physically it's taking a lot out of them, and they can't have a rest because we've got no-one to come in a fill up these places that would be left open. Certainly not Terry (with Alex out), can't replace Drogba & Anelka because then only Kalou and Sturridge are left. We could replace Cole with Van Aanholt (but Carlo would never do it) Drogba is 32. He's had a prolonged case of Malaria and in the last 2 months we've played 11 games. 11 games, 8 weeks. He should not be playing 180minutes a week, at his age it is simply too much of an ask. Same applies to Lampard & Terry, both have just come back from injury and long spells out (in Lampard's case) and now they're playing too many matches. THIS is the biggest flaw of our thin squad, it's that the main XI are simply too tired. It won't surprise me if we see a very lethargic performance on Wednesday.

Adam Johnson was 22 when City signed him, Bothroyd is 28 But you're still right, I don't mind giving him a chance tbh.

the sad thing is.. He still remains our top scorer in all competitions.

Like all economic sectors, the football market is a bubble. Some say it'll burst in the next few years, the first sign of this was when Setanta went down in the UK.. FIFA & UEFA are in for a shock soon.. http://fourfourtwo.com/news/england/23108/default.aspx http://www.guardian.co.uk/business/2007/sep/30/money.sport That last one was written in 2007. Imagine how worried they are now, after the fee paid for Ronaldo.

LOOOL indeed.

http://www.talksport.co.uk/sports-news/football/premier-league/transfer-rumours/4236/0/chelsea-close-brazilian-teen-dubbed-new-kaka

£2million for a 28-year old. Might as well give him his shot, if it's true. I fear of Sturridge's reaction though.

in light of recent downturns at the club, I thought I'd bring some humour to TC. Found this on ESPN today, it's brilliant

Haha I was screaming at my TV, even before Albirghton got his cross in, I was shouting "PAY ATTENTION. DON'T CONCEDE. SEE IT OUT!!" And what do you know, kaboom I have to admit though, what a ball by Albrighton & what a clam header by Clarke. 2 young guys had amazing composure in a game which looked like they had lost! We should sign them up, they'd fit right in with Josh

£20million for Cahill or £26million for Luiz..

As for these 2. I think we gave them enough chances. Di Santo didn't impress anyone, even when he was on loan, he didn't get many goals at all. In pre-season he looked weak, didn't take his chances. Same with Sinclair to be honest. Didn't impress when given his chances, now he's doing better at Swansea but it's unfair to say he didn't get a look in.

In our defence though, it's much easier for Barcelona. They've got world class players, Xavi, Iniesta, Messi, Villa, Puyol, Pique & Valdes all there when players like Pedro and Bojan are given their chances. So it's much easier for them to settle in and keep up the pace, because they know the pressure is not that big on them to out perform, they can just take 10-20minutes to settle (knowing there's goal threats from all players) and then try and get in. We don't have such luxuries with our squad. As we've seen, when we bring on youngsters, it's more because we're hoping they'll change the game for us. We put them under such pressure to win the game that, in our eyes, they look like flops. When Pedro first came on, he was chosen ahead of players like Henry, Eto'o (I think at that time) & Yaya Toure. It was an honour, it showed Pep trusted him over such players and he believed in him. When Sturridge comes on it's because our bench is so weak that he has no choice. Also it's got to be noted. Pep plays the players in their correct positions. Pedro is a winger, Sturridge is not. Edit: I forgot to mention. The Barcelona/La Liga system is a lot better for the development on young players. The Barcelona B team is largely responsible for the success stories at that club. The B team is the reserves who play in lower league (so The Championship alternative). They're not allowed to be in La Liga at the same time as the A team, obviously. This structure is much more effective in the youth production & experience. It means they don't have to loan out players and it allows them to keep a good eye on the development. How I've wished the Premier League would adopt a similar method.

I have no doubt, this summer will see quite a few transfers for us. In the mean time we've just got to keep the pace and go as far as we can..

^ what he said. The claim he looks depressed is a bit far-fetched. He looks lively on the pitch, he's determined to prove wrong the people who have already written him off. The Stamford Bridge faithful cheered for him yesterday.. That would've helped his confidence a lot. He knows most fans will not pass judgement until next season at least, he will appreciate this. Just ask Drogba & Malouda.

Yeah! Exactly what I've recommended. It just can not work having Anelka play wide any more, he used be good there but things have changed. Until we invest in a proper winger, who can play primarily on the right, Malouda should take up that flank.

If you're talking about 2 holding midfield players, then you have to slot in Mikel for Ramires/Essien. Mikel's been the most solid player this season, everyone was singing his praises in October, everyone saying how brilliant he was, and now everyone's writing him off? Mikel is a better defensive midfielder than Ramires is. Essien is looking shaky back there, he's making rash tackles and give away reckless free kicks (which cost us), he's ill disciplined as of late. Also I'd say take out Anelka, because he doesn't know a thing about sticking to his position. I'd say switch Malouda to the right flank and bring in Zhirkov on the left. Or even play Kakuta instead of Anelka.

But the point is, it was 3-2 to us and the players let it slip by over-celebrating before full time.

So you'd rather have passion, and then lose a game over finishing the job and then showing passion? Our complaints are not of passion, but of them reserving that celebration till the final whistle when it would've been 100% theirs. Instead they got complacent.. "play to the whistle" the first rule of football. Imagine they done that in the Champions League and that goal would knock us out.. Would you be this calm then?