Peace.

For the game today, mixed feeling regarding the fans. When I saw the line-up, I wasn't too sure about what they were doing. They chose to start with the combo Luiz/Ivanovic and Ramires/Lampard, it wasn't too reasuring. But finaly, these combos weren't at fault. During the first half, the fans were good, nay very good. We could see that they made our players playing a good football. However, our players' finishing was off. To my mind, the fans should sing louder when players practice their finishing at Cobham. However, during the second half, our fans were so so. Indeed, as the game went by, our display was slowly deteriorating. Though, they waited the 80th minute to make a change, I believe that it was too late. If the fans make the team play as good for our next games, maybe they're worth a shot next year as our manager ?

Tssss, everybody should keep in stock some "likes" for me. That behaviour is intolerable ! Joking, thanks

@The only place to be (and @LDN Blue). Ima try and explain you what Emenalo did wrong, into my eyes. -------------- First off all, for what thing(s) can we give him credit ? Well, I don't follow at all our loaned players, so I cannot say whether they have been success or failure. I trust you on here, hence I'll give you that : Emenalo has done a good job.
 I also give you that our transfert philosphy has changed. I do not know whether it's thank to him, but since he is the director of sportif, the credit goes to him.

 And finally, I'll also give you that he wasn't helped by the short-term mentality that his predecessors had. 

So all in all, we have improved under him : we seem to care a lot more about our youths, we seem to no longer target 30 years-old finished products, and instead, to target young players with potential (and who cost less). As he is credited for the bad things, we also gotta give credits for the good things. Credit where it's due. -------------- Now, what did he get wrong, to my mind ? The fault I umpute to him are : A failure in our Mercato (in regard of the short-term) for which our current problems are partly due.To not have strengthened the striking force. Or rather, to not have purchased a striking force, since we didn't have any strikers. Indeed, at the start of the season, we had two strikers. The first one has been dog shit ever since he joined the club (so for the 18 months before the summer — even 24 months because he was also shit at Loserpool) — even though, the board (thus Emenalo) decieded to give him the key of our attack. The second one was not a lonely striker (so no suited to our formation) and it seems that he was out of favors anyway. Major error.To not have brought in players actually suited to play into the midfield-two. It's arguably the more important area of the formation, at least into my eyes. Even though, we started the season neither with players suited to play there, nor good enough to play there — or both. Throughout the season we could have notice that the double-pivot had let us down. Major error.To not have brought in enough players to improve our squad depth. At the start of the season, we had 21 players and we were engaged in 7 competitions. Obviously, we were aiming to try and win each of them. Although, not the squad depth nor its quality were good enough to achieve that. We didn't have the tool to fulfill our aims, but we have overlook that fact and tried to win everywhere. We tried to bit more than we could chew. The board didn't give us the weapons to accomplish what they were asking us to. Another error.To have let Essien and Meireles leave without buying any replacement for them — remember the concerns over the squad depth.You might tell me that the problem of the squad depth, is rooting deeper than this summer. Of course, it's started long before this summer. But with the decisions he took this summer (or which he didn't take), he did nothing to improve that ! We can even say that, in some ways, he has ultimately weakened the squad. 


There's another thing that I'd like to point out. You are telling that Emenalo is to be given credit for our successful loans. I cannot deny that. Although, as I've aforementioned, we have a big problem as for the quantity of players : our squad has not enough depth. And now I read somewhere that we have 23 players who are loaned out. Yes, you read it right, 23 players. Do I have to remind you that we have 21 players in our squad ? We have more players out on loan than players in the squad. And funnily enough our struggles are in part due to our lack of depth. Isn't there something wrong ? 

I am not suggesting that they would have made us a lot better as a team ; most of them were/are not good enough. And I am not into a position to work out whether those loaned players could have made us better or not, had they stayed here. 

I just think that it's a good question to ask ourselves. Is it normal to have more players out on loan than players in the squad while we are lacking depth ? Food for thoughts.

 Just a quick reminder of what he also did last season. We were desperatly crying for a central midfielder. All summer long we were chasing Modric. Even it was more likely that Levy wouldn't sell than would sell, we put all our eggs in that basket. And we eventually ended up with Meireles as a "panick buy". ------------------- So yeah, he has done good things. But he has also done a lot of bad things. Basically, he has made good thing for the long-term ; but has made bad things for the short term. And unfortunatly, without the short-term there's no long-term. It seems that the board has realized that their short-term thinking doesn't work and thus has decided to shift to a long-term thinking. But it seems they are always in the extremes : it's either 100% short-term, or 100% long-term. And, in this transition from short-term thinking to long-term thinking, they did forget to take a middle step, they did want to go too much quickly. We're lost in translation lol. Although I do not think Emenalo is the only one culprit for this. I am not saying that he should be fired or not because of that. I am just trying to expose what are his faults into my mind — since you were wondering what people were reproaching him. I hope my sayings have been relevant

Yes, Ba will fail. He will fail into our eyes because he won't live up to fans' expectations. We have misinterpreted the reasons for which he was brought in. When at first we signed him we were over the moon because we had finally in our hands a capable striker. We thought that finally the ladyboy will be benched. As a mater of fact, because of the relief, we have overrated him and his role for our team. But the board did not bring him for what we thought. He is, as some members have already mentioned, a stop gap, nothing more, nothing less. This winter Danny was on the go and we were looking to sell him. Because of that, we would have been striker-less (if you know what I mean). The Club did not buy Ba so he could replace the wonder-horse ; the club did buy him so we could have a replacement for the ladyboy in case of injury, and to give some rest, from time to time, to this donkey (because yes, wandering on the pitch is actually tiresome). He was more or less available, he was not expensive, he was prolific — the perfect candidate for the stop-gap job. In that regard, Ba will accomplish his job just perfectly. I might sound harsh, but, look at how he is sparsely used. That just goes to confirm what I am saying.

Is the ladyboy still fixable ? Of course he is !!!! And I actually know how we can fix him. This summer, we go in Asia to do our pre-season tour. Funnily enough, the first game of that tour will take place in Thailand. Just leave him in that country — he will just thrive among the other lady-boys.

Whether Josh is a gem or not is not the question. The question is, does he has the tools to make it to the top level ? It is clear as day light that Josh is special. His passing ability and his vision just show how talented he is. But being technically talented is not enough to make it a the biggest stage. Kakuta is also technically special. But until now he couldn't make his way to the top — and I don't think he will. He lacks other things than purely football abilities. He lacks things such as confidence, will, determination (and maybe professionalism). I mean, how many gems such as Gaël didn't make it, while having special technical abilities, and while being typed as real talents ? He is not the only one, there are plenty of them. And, why do you think that the Premier League (for instance, the same goes for the other leagues) is full of dirty players who are technically poor — while young talents get lost ? Because, as I said, it takes other things than purely football abilities. At the moment, Josh has the technique but doesn't have the mental. Look at Chalobah. He holds himself pretty good on the pitch. He doesn't fear to get stuck in other players, he takes initiatives. We can feel that he wants it. You just see that he takes the bull by the hornes. On the other hand, Josh seems to lack passion, motivation. To caricature, he is just jogging on the pitch. In that regards, I do not believe he will make it at the highest level. I do not believe he has the mental to do so.

Ima try to explain why people boo him, and why they are right to do so. I don't attend to games, so I cannot really tell what's going on through their heads, but I'll try to be their voice — I don't mean to be self-righteous. So, some people are claiming that the boos have to stop, because it hurts the team, so we will drop points, so we won't make the top four, etc, etc... Fair enough, that is a fair opinion. But. Some people, like myself, are persuaded that we won't get into the top 4 with the anorexic Calimero boy. That's right. To my mind, he is not good enough. To my mind he will drag us even further deeper in the table. He is out of depth. The substitutions he makes just show that he is overwhelmed by what's going on on the pitch. He doesn't get his tactics right. He doesn't get his substitutions right. He doesn't get his man-management right. To my honest opinion, he is a weight (and what a big weight !) which hinders us. And furthermore, and more importantly, the players don't adhere to his project (that's may be because he hasn't anyone). You just see it at the sight of their attitude on the pitch. They seem lost ; it seems that they doesn't believe in him ; it seems that they don't like him. The reasons ? I don't really know. Maybe because they do not understand what he asks them ? Maybe because they are tired that this fatty always imputes the fault on their back ? Maybe because they think he is not good enough ? Or just maybe because he is actually not good enough ? I think it's a bit of everything. Since he's there, he turned us into a poor side and we've lost many points. Since he's there the players are lost. We have a tough schedul ahead of us and all games and points will be importants. We need to do a lot better than what we have done for the past few weeks. Since he's there, we seem to be weakening each passing day. We need an electroshock to find a new dynamic so we can look like a winning side again. We need a fresh breeze. I strongly believe that skinny boy is not good enough to do so. Before his appointment, I didn't think that he was good enough to manage us — he confirms my opinion week after week. We need someone else because he is running us to the ground. We need someone else before it's too late. That's what I think. And that's what people who boo him probably think. We need to get ride of the venom before it has reached the heart and paralyzed all the body. I strongly believe that with him at the wheel, we are going right into the wall. That's why I want him out as soon as possible. That's why I think we should do our best to get him out. I am not taking this stance because I am happy to pour my hatred on him. I couldn't care less about him. I am taking this stance because I know deep down of my heart that he will ruin us (if he hasn't started to..) — because I care for the Club, because I want the best for Chelsea. I am assuming that it's the same for many other fans. We want the same thing, but we do not share the same view as for the way to obtain it. Some think that the solution is — as a matter of fact — to keep him till the end. Some other believe that the solution is without him.

1°) Yeah, I am perfectly agree with you. Each and every youngster is a gamble. Some are a lesser gamble than others — but they are still a gamble. And your example about Kakuta is nailed on. And I'll go even further as you : he didn't look, but he was. Technically he does have a big potential. But he lacks some essential things to make it to the top level (things such as will/determination/etc..., for example). That's why there are a gamble ; spotting technical skills is "easy" (in a relative way, huh), but working out whether they have the mentality is harder. 2°) Back on Shaw/Bertrand/PvA. Yes, for the next year, as you say, we are pretty solid with the LB spot. Cole is not what he was, but he still is a very good asset. And, while Bertrand has yet to set the world on fire, he is a solid cover for Ashley. What I am trying to look at is not this summer, nor the next one ; no, I am trying to think what will be in three or four years. Right know, the most likely is us having Bertrand and PvA at that moment (I mean in 3/4 years — it's hard to predict it, but just let's assume that we will keep both PvA and Ryan for the debate's sake). At this very moment, to my mind, they are also gambles. It's a different thing to be very good in Netherland and to be very good in the Premier League for a club which has for aim to be the best in Europe. Don't get me wrong, I am not saying that he won't be able to make the step (nor am I disprespecting the Eredivisie) -> that is a gamble. He is as much of a gamble than Bertrand. Indeed, the englishman didn't have played many many times here. He had some brilliant performances - some others not so good. So it's kinda hard to tell whether he'll make it or no -> gamble. I am not gonna lie. I have only seen Luke Shaw play once, and it was against us. He seemed good, but I cannot work anything out of that. I am speaking of principles. Now, let's take a look at the facts. At the age of 23, Ryan Bertrand has played 23 games in Premier League and have caused mixed feelings. Patrick Van Annholt, at the age of 22, has played 5 games in Premier League and didn't really make a big impression. Now, Luke Shaw, at the age of 17 (!), has played 17 games in Premier League and, according to some pundits and some members here, has impressed given his age and the fact it's his first professional season (from my understanding he already makes a decent Premier League player). I am not discussing about the hows and whys, just about the facts, about observations. Like I've said, these three players are all gambles. Obviously, Luke Shaw is the bigger gamble considering he is way more younger, it's only his first season and that we will have to spend money to get him (we already own the other two). However, knowing the facts I have aforementioned, it is tempting to try and bet on the riskier gamble, no ? According to those facts, one can come to the conclusion that Shaw has more or less (I am stressing the "more or less") done as good as our two young LB, even though he is five years younger than them. That must be food for thoughts for our scouts (if they oversee Shaw, of course). Bertrand and PvA are still young, but they do have not many years left to make it ! If next year Bertrand doesn't make it — for whatever reason — I strongly doubt that the board will consider him as Cole replacement. The same goes for PvA, even if he has a tad more time to make it than Ryan. Next summer, Shaw will have his second PL season under his belt (granted Southampton doesn't get relegated). He can turn out to be a one season wonder, but could confirm all the hypes as well. If that's the case, no doubt that it will be harder to get him from Southampton, his price tag will be bigger and this is likely that there will be teams like ManUnited and Arsenal around the corner to get him. Well, if either Ryan or Patrick has shown genuine promises by then, Shaw situation won't matter. But, if there are still doubts over their future... then we will "eat our balls" (as we say in French) because we didn't make our move quick enough ! I am agree that he is not a priority, not at all. We have to look at other types of players, such as central midfielders and strikers to name a few, before our LB spot. Even though, I strongly believe that we should grab our chance will have have it. At the moment he won't be that expensive (in a relative way), and we might be alone in the auction. That's our chance. Once teams like ManU and Arsenal will be after him, I doubt we will have the better position to get him, because even if allegedly he is a Chelsea fan, when it comes to the youth record, Arsenal and ManU are way ahead of us. And, as I am a cautious person, I prefer to take too much precaution than not enough. I have two gambles at my club, and I have the possibility to make a sweety third. Statistically wise, the more gambles I make, the more chances to succeed I have, right ? Let's admit that his tag price would be of £15m (more or less as Oxlade-Chamberlaine). That looks like a lot for a gamble. Though, considering we had splashed £5m — which can go up to £10 with adds on — on a player who never played a professional game before, £15m for Shaw doesn't sound that much. And even if he flops at Chelsea, we will have some opportunities to recoup some money on him. He will still be fairly young, he will still be english and he will have had big hypes when he was younger -> I am pretty sure that a lot of clubs would be willing to give him a chance (Loserpool, I am looking at you). So, unless these £15m prevent us of purchasing a much more needed player, then I don't see why we shouldn't go for him. And we are taking PvA into consideration. Although, what are the odds that we will keep him ? As of today, I do not recall of a lot of players sent out on loan that we didn't eventually sell soon after. As far as my memory goes, only Terry and Bertrand have escaped the sale. The same cannot be said for Sturridge, Borini, Sinclair, Mancienne, Rajkovic, and umptheen of other players. At Chelsea, the loan seems to be the first step before the sale — even if it seems to change. Therefore, I wouldn't count to much on PvA. Though, I want to make clear one thing. I am not advocating the fact that we should be buy him right here right now. I am not saying that we should buy him in particular. All I am doing here, is to try to explain why buying him would make sense, and why it is natural to consider to buy him. Ouah, I am writing to much... I hope that I didn't lose myself and could get my point across ! (I think that I am repeating the same things again and again, too).

Ah ! You might be right ! Actually, I've said that he wasn't DoF anymore because I recalled that Mourinho said so at the start of the season. So I've searched through the internet, but I couldn't find anything confirming either he wasn't anymore or he still was... The only things I could found on the matter are : "He isn't DOF anymore. He wants to be happy in his work. He has chosen to become a coach. [...]" Mourinho, the 28th (?) of September 2012 "I am still working at Madrid, with the reserve, with the youth. I'll try and pass my coach degree [...]" Zizou, the 30th of September. I don't really know anymore...!

My friend, I want to correct you on one thing : Zizou. He is no longer DOF at Madrid, and this since the start of this season (I'd say around July/August). He is passing his coach degree in France, as far as I can remember. And he is not the better example to back-up your opinion — his appointment was more a PR move than anything else, I think. To my understanding, it was Mou who wanted him, and, before that he was Perez's advisor... So you know, it has more to do with the fact that his name is ZIDANE than with his abilities.

Your word is bond, bro (as always). As long as it won't back-fire them, they will keep on with their behaviour. They deserve a major reality check and a supreme slap in the face. And I strongly believe that for a long-term perspective, a big reality check is needed for the board. So they can come back on earth and realize that the way they run the club is not good.

The more I think of it, the more it makes my blood boils. That fat plonker dared to say that he was a professional. Well... At the light of the past stories between Chelsea and him, it was to be expected that he would not be accepted by the fans — it doesn't take a genius. He just knew what was lying ahead. So, if he really was a professional, like he claimed, and if he had some ethics and decency, then he would have refused the job because it was a given that it wouldn't work and that he will get boos — boos that he now criticizes. The only aim of that anorexic was — and still is — to use us to improve his reputation after Inter fiasco and two years of unemployment. Since day one he has imputed the fault on everybody and their dogs, excepted him. He wants to tell the whole world that he is failing not because of his own abilities, but because it is an impossible job. Because the squad was not deep enough ; because the ladyboy had to carry the team all by himself and thus being weary and out of form ; because the board didn't let him buy who he wanted ; because of Terry ; because of the players ; because of the fans ; because of the board which gave him the "interim" title. All he wants to is to make himself look like the poor boy who is still good but whom his job is being sabotaged. He has a snake tongue.

First of all, I have never said that we should not wait and see how Bertrand (or Van Aanholt) develops. Read back my previous post. From what I understand of your comment, you are suggesting that we should wait and see how our two LB develop, and then, if they turn out to not be as good as we thought, maybe go for Luke Shaw. That what I was mentioning in my previous post : that's what we call putting your eggs in the same basket. And you go on about the form that Ryan has last year. My answer is pretty simple. Do you remember when, back in the days, people didn't want us to sign Lukas Modric because we already had Josh McEachran ? Now tell me where Josh's at. Didn't we thought that we had a gem in Gaël Kakuta ? He wasn't able to fulfil his potential. Didn't we deemed Sam Hutchinson the next captain of this club ? He might hang up his boot because of his knee. Didn't we thought that we had a future great center-back in Jeffrey Bruma ? Didn't we thought we had the next big thing in Scott Sinclair ? Didn't we thought, at some point, that Micheal Mancienne will turn out to be a good player ? Et cetera... Every fans tend to overrate the youngsters from their own team. That's normal. We tend to do it even more since we are desperate to finaly see a product of our academy playing for us. I am not saying that Bertrand is overrated, not at all. I am just saying that we shouldn't get carried on because of a few promising performances. Instead, we should get carried away only after a promising season — and that's not the case at the moment. Okay, let's take the time to assess Ryan and Patrick before going for Shaw. Fine. But what if they turn out to be not good enough for us ?! By that time, if Shaw keeps it up, plus the fact he is english, he could as well be worth £30m — or even worse, he could sign for Manchester United (or another team). Brilliant. We will have to look to splash a lot of money to get an above average foreign player while we could have bought an english talent for less. For the past years, we have built castles into the air with our youngsters, again and again and again. That has to stop. We should act before something happens — not react after the occurrence. We have to anticipate things, not to wait for them. I am not writing off neither Bertran nor Van Aanholt. I am not saying that we should outcast them to buy Shaw. Non, all I am saying is that we shouldn't lose out our chances to get a talent such as Luke Shaw because they COULD* be very good for us. * Could — which is used to indicate a possibility — is the key word, here.

Were you truly thinking that while writing ? Since his arrival, that skinny dude has always imputed the fault onto the players. He criticized Terry and then all the players — which resulted into a bust-up. He has criticized everyone for the bad results but him. There's only the ladyboy that he has defended, even though he was (and still is) the shitest of the shit. Do you think that any player sane of mind will publicy support him ? If they were supporting him, the players would already have made it clear.

That is what irritates me the more with the people who criticize David Luiz. Soon after they have criticized him, they go and praise Cahill. The englishman is just about as mistake-prone than the brazilian — if not more. Double standard at his best... *shake my head*

You do feel sorry for him ? You fell for the "I am the poor one" antics he has made since day one. He just could not have expected that we would welcome him with open arms, that impossible ; and if he did, he is one fucking retarded and clueless man. He knew what was lying ahead, when he has pened the contract — didn't he ? He dared sign for us — he deserves every bit of abuse that he gets. Keep your feeling for someone else. He asked for it, he gets it.

In the Lazar Markovic, I've already speak my mind regarding the youths. When we see a young player which seems to have a bright future ahead of himself, we shouldn't hesitate to buy him. We shouldn't be too cocky and be like "Oh, but we already have X who, eventually, could turn out to be the new Y if all planets are aligned the XX/XX/201X...". Notice how I did put the emphasis on the conditional words. Every young players is a risk. Nobody can profess that a youngster will live up to the expectations. We can gauge his future level, but that's all. He can be better than what we thought ; he can turn out to not be good enough to be in a major league ; he can pick up a pretty bad injury and following that having to stop his carreer ; can envolve into a different kind of player (moving from left-winger to left-back, for example) etc... Statically wise, out of all the kids typed as the next big thing, how many of them eventually live up to the expectations ? 10%, 20% ? Not more. The rest become average players or/and fall into the deep darkness of the anonymity. That means, we shouldn't put all our eggs into the same basket — and here that basket is Ryan. On the one hand, we have Ryan Bertrand. Some times ago now, he was typed as the next Cole, the next England left-back, et cetera... However, for some times now, his development seems to have stalled. Is it because he doesn't get enough playing time ? Is it because he has reached his limits ? Is it because of a drop of form ? Is it because he is too bothered with the stamps collection he has started this summer ? Is it... I do not know. But the important thing here, is not to know why he seems to have stalled, but to have noticed that he seems to have stalled. This way, we can take our precaution and act early. As the saying goes "an ounce of prevention is worth a pound of cure". On the second hand, we have Luke Shaw. Ima be honest here, I have seen him playing just once, so I am not going to judge him by myself. From what I read/hear here and there, people seem to agreed on one thing : he already looks like a decent Premier League player and he shows great promises. To start 15 games in Premier League at only 17, you must not be a donkey, are you not ? Bertrand is 23 years-old — Shaw 17. By the time of his 25th birthday, we are gonna most likely know whether Ryan will make it or no, right ? By this time, Luke will be 19 years-old. For the debate sake, let's say we buy Shaw for about the same price Arsenal bought Oxlade-Chamberlaine, i.e. 15 millions pounds. In two years, we will have many answers : whether Ryan's gonna be good enough to be our starting LB ; whether we need another LB ; and we will have a better point of view to know whether Shaw will make it, and thus whether we should keep him or not. In the best case, both will turn out to be World-Class and we will be like the Oil kings. We could sell one of them and thus make profit, or keep both and have two great LB. In another case, Bertrand could turn out to be good enough, and Shaw "meh". If that happens, then we will have our starting LB, and Luke as a cover which is home-grown. In another case, Shaw might as well turn out to be a big flop. But at that time, he will be only 19/20 years-old — I am pretty sure that there would be two or three teams out there willing to try him out — thus we would be able to recoup some money. All in all, it's pretty much a win/win situation. Even in the worst case, we would not lose that much. So the bottom line is : to my eyes, all the lights are green to sign him. If this young dude is as good as what you guys making sound, plus bearing in mind that he is home-grown and a Chelsea fan, then it would be a shame to lose him out.

I know ! And believe me that if I had the possibility to do that, I'd be the first one in front of his fuckin' door.

I wish we were in 1789. I would get this mutherfucker into a guillotine and would get his head rolling on the ground.

So, at first it's Terry fault, then it's the players' fault and finally it's the fans' fault ? So it's always others' fault, that's right ? You poor little boy, you think you're Calimero... That's it, I'm done, you fucking swine.

If that golden fish had any self-esteem, he would hang up his boots and start a new job.

And, I don't mean to be patronizing you, but, isn't there any way you can let Ashley's left flank and arm in grey ? So that only Didier is in colours ? That would be perfect.

Thanks sis' ! P.S. Thanks good Lord that there's Ake playing. Like this there's something to watch tonight.... And I thought he was a center-back.

That means it is not tomorrow ?

There were stories of Di Matteo wanting another striker in the summer and being rebuffed. The decision was clearly made that Torres would be given every chance to succeed fail. Five months later we're out the Champions League, no hope of the title and end up buying a striker in the January transfer window. Who is making these decisions if it isn't the manager? Quite clearly 'the board'. We have hoovered up a lot of young talent and it's promising but for a club that has for years failed to develop and integrate young players we have to see real progress before we go putting all our eggs into that basket. I'd like to ad : That was 12 months (early May 2010) before he sacked Ancelotti in a corridor after the end of the Everton game. In the same interview, he also said : Eight months later, we did the opposite. Granted we didn't enter a bidding war, but we did fork out £50m. Into my book, not getting involved in a bidding war means that you don't want to overpay for a player, right ? We did overpay him. He wasn't available. The striker position wasn't the position we needed to strengthen. He made us believe that we didn't need to buy anyone in the 2011 summer because we had Kakuta, McEachran, Bruma and Van Aaholt. He got Ray Wilkins sacked during a Chelsea youth game. He got Ancelotti sacked in a corridor about a few minutes after the end of our last game. He was one of the man who — at 4 in the morning — told Roberto that he was sacked. He has told the fans that the club needed a change of direction and that Skinny Boy was the right man. This fat dude deserves to be kicked out of this Club.