Madmax

No.

Food for thought - Maybe Anelka had more motivation today, considering he's a Muslim and scoring against the capital club of the country which published those infamous Prophet cartoons (Denmark ofcourse), would have given extra pleasure.

Yes to both. He's a legend but it's over now.

Have we ever seen a more hot-n-cold player at the Bridge? A good sort, I liked him though his inconsistency was quite frustrating. Hope he receives a great ovation in the return leg :cfc:

lol desperate trolling by the man from justanotha.com - maybe traffic is too slow there? Anyway, didn't know I had started 99 topics!

Having thought about it for a while, I reckon the problem with our squad this season lies in it's balance. Balance in AGE People have been saying this for a couple of years and it has proved to be a false alarm before but this season I think we have genuinely become 'too old' as they like to put it. 7 first team starters (before Torres and Luiz arrivals) are 30 or above and it's beginning to show. Excluding the academy guys, only Mikel, Ramires, Kalou and Sturridge are in their early or mid twenties. Drogba is a late bloomer but that doesn't take away the fact that he has to face defenders that are younger, quicker, more agile than him. Malouda and Lampard have lost a step. Terry's game was never based on speed. Even Cole isn't the same marauding full back of last season. Age has definitely become an issue. Balance in NUMBERS The smallest first team squad in the league (alongside Wigan). Just 18 outfield players (incl Torres n Luiz). A distinct lack of bench strength. We have over the years become well known for our strength in depth but the summer departures combined with a lack of replacements and a lack of game time for the much hyped youth has exposed the already ageing first team regulars. No capable substitutes on the bench mean even more work for the 30 somethings and thus more tiredness and drop in performance and hence, confidence. Vicious cycle. Balance in ATTRIBUTES This is a key aspect for me. At the back, Ivanovic, Alex and Terry are much too similar in their approach to the game and the qualities they bring to the side. Ivan and Terry in particular. None of the 3 is especially quick. Luiz's entry should solve this for the time being but the damage has already been done. While still boasting one of the best defensive records in the league, the lack of pace at the back has been exposed way too often and it has been down to Cech who's managed to keep us safe in a majority of the games. Midfield is the area where this problem has been the most destructive though. Ramires, Mikel and Essien are like clones and the twin injuries to Benayoun and Lampard has magnified the malaise. It's an effective, energetic midfield but lacks the creativity and vision to unlock tight defences. Upfront, Drogba and Torres are much the same. No wonder it's difficult to play the two of them together unless one changes his game. Balance in POSITIONS No outright wingers for a team that ostensibly looks to play 4-3-3. No attacking midfielder. No decent backup goalkeeper. A defensively sound yet threatening-when-forward rightback. The lack of balance according to our system is all too evident.

I just think that the UK media has really impacted upon our season. Call me delusional if you will but that's what I reckon. After Wilkins' sacking, we copped a huge amount of bad press. Admittedly it's the board's fault for giving the media an opportunity to have a pop when everything was going well on the field. But they were given a chance, and they lapped it up. Reading and hearing about the saga every day for the next fortnight or so would have definitely affected the players and team management in some manner. I maintain his exit has nothing to do with the downward spiral - we were playing poorly much before he left (though still getting results) - but a psychological impact would have been a certainty. Then again as soon as the results started to flounder, the crisis talk picked up speed. All it takes is one hack to term it a crisis and everyone else picks it up and recycles it, over and over and over, magnifying the situation. The boss and the players get asked questions about it and though they make all the right noises, I assume in the back of their heads, doubts would start to creep in. The third front came in the transfer window - first with the clamour of names, then the last day frenzy and after that - the widespread criticism of the performances against Liverpool and Fulham. The £50 million tag is bandied about at every conceivable opportunity and it's sure to have an effect. Thoughts?

Unfortunately in a team sport the manager gets the sack even if it's the players who are under-performing. Because it's easy to blame one guy than blame eleven. Everyone loves a scapegoat. Regulars know I love Carlo and I want him to stay and get a chance at building his own dynasty. But I won't be surprised if he gets sacked/quits. He has been undermined by everyone from the board to the players to the fans.

We're overdue some fucking luck in this competition. If we win the CL, I win run around naked. When I'm at home. Alone. And by naked, I mean in a towel. Over my undies.

Official Chelsea response

Optimism needed? You're obviously missing me

A best ever XI is out of the question simply because none of us 106 years old. Looking back upon my time watching Chelsea, I'd go with - Petrescu, Terry, Carvalho, Cole.

We knew before the season started that our midfield is too similar, especially after we got Ramires. Lampard's injury and subsequent lackluster performances have just magnified what was already evident. We would have been better with Benayoun around.

Losing out on top 4 is unimaginable. We must qualify for CL.

Josh doesn't solve our problems. Not now. He's far too early in his developmental period to be salvaging our season. Our sole problem was/is creativity and we haven't addressed it. Hence we're paying the price when coming up against teams who sit back and defend. We needed a creative force in the form of an attacking midfielder and a winger but who did we go out and buy? A centre half and a striker.

Ooh "Top 10 Members" I like the sound of that

Brazilian World Cup-winner Ronaldo is set to retire from football at the age of 34. Ronaldo, who is considered one of the game's greatest ever strikers, has been playing at Corinthians but his body can no longer handle the rigours of professional football. Ronaldo played at many of Europe's top clubs during a memorable career, including Barcelona, Inter, Real Madrid and AC Milan. He was FIFA player of the year three times between 1996 and 2002 and he scored a record 15 goals in World Cups. Ronaldo will formally announce his retirement at a press conference in Brazil on Monday. He was expected to continue with Corinthians until later in the year but the club's shock early exit from the Copa Libertadores this month, which irate fans partly blamed on the visibly unfit striker, has helped convince Ronaldo to call time early. He reportedly told local media he has "cried like a baby" since Corinthians fell to Deportes Tolima in the two-legged first stage of South America's premier club tournament. "I wanted to continue but I can't," he is quoted as saying. "I think about making a play but I can't execute it. The time is up." Ronaldo started his career at Cruzeiro in 1993 and was taken to the 1994 World Cup in the United States as a 17-year-old. He did not play at his first of four World Cups but he secured a transfer to PSV Eindhoven soon after, starting a prolific 13-year stint in Europe where he would become the game's most feared striker and the world's most expensive footballer when bought by Inter from Barcelona in 1997. In a career of staggering highs and the occasional low, Ronaldo is perhaps best known around the globe for his role in the World Cup finals in 1998 and 2002. Ronaldo nearly missed the 1998 final after suffering a fit before the match but he did feature and played below his usual standards as France recorded a 3-0 win. In 2002, Ronaldo scored both goals in Brazil's 2-0 win over Germany in the final. From ESPN Soccernet Buhbye El Fenomeno .... Thanks for the memories ....

He could do worse than that. If true, it paves the way for Guus to take over when Carlo's contract expires.

Hello troll Stop trying to kick up arguments

Gotta love people trying to be smart while having nothing concrete to contribute.

Yeah but you only need to look at the general doubting that followed Kakuta's first few performances where he didn't do anything special.

Really?

You're unwilling to listen to equally pertinent points made by me and the rest of us who want him to stay. Nobody will deny that the guy has made mistakes. But he really isn't as clueless and useless as some are painting him out to be.

Huh? I don't get you.

I understand the point of giving youth a chance when they couldn't be doing any worse than the regulars. But it will only take one bad performance from them to get people on their backs. Then people will say 'oh why is he playing kids when we need the experience of that other guy.' It's a thankless job - that was what I was pointing out. Example - Torres wasn't exactly playing well so Carlo brought on Kalou. And he got stick for that. But he would've gotten stick even if he had kept Torres on because then people would have said he's playing people who're not cutting it. He brought Josh on in that Villa away game in October. Josh almost gave away 3 points when Reo Cocker nicked the ball off him in injury time and went through on goal but fortunately fluffed his shot. Would Josh and Carlo have escaped criticism had the guy scored? No. We wouldn't hear the end of how he lost us the game.