Madmax

We now know he can do it on a cold, wet night away in Stoke.

Great post! Good defender, but very lucky to stay on for 90 mins. Fouled Cech several times at throw ins and corners while already on a yellow.

Decent introduction to the big time for AvB. It was always going to be hard at Stoke and they showed just why. They started off brightly and pushed us back into our half without ever really threatening a goal. The ball was up in the air for most of the first half and the niggly little fouls and stoppages made for a frustrating 45 mins. I thought we dealt with their aerial threat very well indeed. Set pieces were the only way they could hurt us and it was obvious we were well prepared, our organisation in dead ball situations was efficient. Going forward, we were a tad disappointing, especially down the channels where we lost the ball often and Torres was made to plough alone. Second half was much, much better. Urgency in passing, terrific ball retention and intelligent movement and link up play in the second and third sectors. Only one team played and the other merely committed fouls and hoofed hopeful long balls forward. Such a shame the ref ignored two blatant penalty shouts. How Shawcross completed the game is beyond me, he is a very lucky boy indeed. I thought the second half showed us what AvB and his style is all about. Relentless pursuit of the lost ball, crisp and purposeful circulation to the front men and sturdy defensive work throughout. Ratings: Cech - 6.5 - Didn't have much to do but reliable when dealing with set pieces and crosses. Liked his forays into the sweeper role. Bosingwa - 5.5 - A let down. Was obviously given freedom to attack, but rarely made it count. Ran fast in a straight line like we know he can, and put in half-hearted crosses, like we know he does. Alex - 7.5 - Very assured, composed, mature performance. Shepherded the defence very well and dealt with Jones without many hassles. Terry - 6 - Steady without being spectacular. Walters got the better of him a couple of times but luckily Alex had his back. Cole - 6 - Lapses in concentration in the first half, but wasn't made to pay for it. More forward thinking after the break but his positional discipline left something to be desired today. Ramires - 7.5 - Great start to the season for Rambo. High energy as always and head and shoulders above every midfielder on the pitch. Lampard - 6.5 - Shades of his former self. Some intelligent passes and passages of play, but nowhere near the Lamps we know. Should have had a peno. Mikel - 7 - Aside from that botched clearance that might have put us in trouble in the first half, hardly put a foot wrong. The majestic volley deserved a goal. Tackled well and was confident while going forward in the second half. Kalou - 2 - Shambles. No other word for him. Malouda - 5 - Another poor outing. Disappeared for large parts of the game and wasn't worth watching when he had the ball. Torres - 8 - MOTM for us. This is the Nando we thought we'd bought back in Jan. Did all the dirty work alone upfront without any complaints. Was let down by the two others alongside him but not once did he sulk or let his shoulders droop. Fantastic energy and commitment to the cause. Set others up as well, unlucky not to get on the sheet. Should have had a peno as well. Led the line admirably. Anelka - 4.5 - Waste of space. Had that one moment when he chipped it and Begovic turned it onto the bar but apart from that, difficult to know whether he was on the pitch at all. Drogba - 5 - Didn't do much. His freekicks should have been better. Banayoun - N.A Overall, can't quite complain too much. Unlucky to only draw when the 3 points would have been ensured by a more competent ref. Still, more positives than negatives and AvB will walk away knowing he got most things right today. A hard fought draw is also a handy reminder that there is a lot to be set right with this team, something a big win would have papered over. And oh, nice report as usual, BL.

He pisses Wenger off. Thus a perfect signing in my book.

Hallelujah!

Welcome, stick around and keep posting!

Nice listen, thanks.

Welcome!

So who do you think will be ... 1. The Champions : 2. Top 4 : 3. Relegated : 4. Signing of the season : 5. Surprise Manager sacking of the season : 6. Over-achieving team of the season : 7. Flop of the season (Team) : 8. Flop of the season (Player) : Mine : 1. The Champions : Man City 2. Top 4 : Man City, Man Utd, Chelsea, Liverpool 3. Relegated : Blackburn, Norwich, QPR 4. Signing of the season : Shay Given to Villa 5. Surprise Manager sacking of the season : Arsene Wenger 6. Over-achieving team of the season : Stoke City 7. Flop of the season (Team) : Aston Villa 8. Flop of the season (Player) : Andy Carroll

AvB : No Chelsea player is under evaluation atm. We're still searching for possible additions to the team. But overall we're happy with the squad we have. ....................................................... So, no more outs then. Considering the squad rules, max 1 foreign player in. Has to be Modric or maybe Perreira.

Did you get that from the presser? Any more team news re Alex, Ivan and Mikel? Thanks in advance

Of course Lipton would make juvenile attempts at 'getting back', considering he got absolutely toasted by Gigi Salmon on live television.

Maka looks like Akon

Cheers Ollie.

I'm 6'3'', 13 stone with no paunch. What size would fit me well? M/L? Reason I ask is because I'm unaccustomed to UK/European size definitions.

^Tommy10 hates you.

No, I said that football fans expect spending to bear instant results, but titles can't be bought.

That's exactly what I said :mellow:

It's unfair to compare a newly moneyed Chelsea with the seen-all, survived-all United who have been under the charge of the same man for a quarter of a century now. Just spunking tons of money on players and wages doesn't bring instant results. I know we'd like it to, but it doesn't. It takes time to get them together and forge them into a team that has a winning attitude and a determined personality. Group ethos doesn't evolve in a day. The problem is Jose walked in, won loads of stuff and went away, making it seem oh so easy. Like we've found out, it isn't. Jose was and remains a unique manager, much like Ferguson. It all boils down to continuity and placing trust and confidence in the right man. Unless we do that, we'll keep having periods of sporadic success like 09-10 and more such topics will keep on springing up.

Don't think so. 3 leagues in 8 years is a good achievement, considering this club didn't really have a winner's mentality before that. We've been the 'nearly men' on several occasions too, esp. 2008 and with a bit of luck going our way would have done even better domestically. In Europe, the story is there for all to see. I reckon some fans do feel a bit underwhelmed by our record post the back-to-back titles, but I'd put it down to the somewhat exaggerated expectations triggered by those two wonderful years under Mourinho.

Kalas, anyone?

What's up with Ivan? Hopefully AvB has the balls to pick Kalas if that's what it comes down to, unlike Carlo who picked Paulo over Bruma in a similar situation.

Did a piece on Lukaku here - http://www.bluetinted.com/Site/Articles/Articles.aspx?articleid=105 if anyone fancies a read.

He means worst season post Roman.