lecter

This is just wishful thinking I guess. Just a consolation, as far as I see it, because that cannot really be true. Its more like the London sides have tougher and determined opponents in the derby matches and Manchester sides..ehh..there;s only one derby really.. This is surely the reason. Our players surely looked indifferent. But we need to change things (including the sapless arrogant junk that we carry) in our game strategy against the smaller sides who just park it against us. We cannot quote their 'defense' (more like happy-to-be-in-our-half) as an excuse is all I am saying.

And he wears a 26 number jersey, right? Just saying

I dont think its wise to say their results do not affect us. The recent form of run of any opposition is particularly assessed before an encounter, for various reasons. And the comparison I was trying to make was not of results and I am not 'daft' enough to employ transitive relations in something as dynamic as a football game. Thank you. I was merely pointing out the flow of play. Wigan had the same team-sheet as was in the game against us and Utd had a comparatively depleted one considering their regular XI (which btw is not way above than ours). In spite of this they looked much better than we did and I was pondering over for some 'sensible' explanations.

I am comparing performances rather than results. I thought that was evident from my post!

Just watched the highlights of the Man Utd - Wigan match. The reds seemed so comfortable compared to us against the same team. They were playing a shit XI and soon after the red card Wigan had all players behind the ball and yet Man U commanded the whole play. How can that happen?! We had a much better starting XI compared to them and yet we looked so labored against the same Wigan side. One thing I did observe in the past 2 years is that red nose makes them switch play between either wings so rapidly. Why do we not do that? Every single match we play, I observe so many instances where we can find a 'wide' player with a long ball and we dont. We drag the move and take at least 5-6 passes to switch play. I am not really keen on these long ball plays but we need to have that dimension in our squad especially to battle in the premier league and against the so-called small oppositions. I have seen JT and DL doing it more often than any of our midfield players. I think its a very basic tactic and we should look into it. (If you are gonna reply to this by branding me to be a Man U fan, please quit it. I am not and actually am far from it.)

Cech bemoans the dropped points apparently! The last 3 goals we conceded were largely his mistakes. I know that we should put the games to bed earlier and not hang by one goal, but these are the difficult times when 'legends' prove their worth. JT, for example, has done exceptionally well. Cech should have done much better. Hes not the only one to be blamed but his 'contribution' should not be overlooked. We desperately need a competition for the GK spot.

I know. That is why I left it in quotes. Let the manager and the players interpret it as they want to. :unsure:

Can totally see another one of Roman's vanity buys coming, if true!

Hope not! January has some pretty 'easy' fixtures for us. We should capitalise on them. As soon as CL starts, we will screw things up again. Good news is Man City and the scousers have also dropped points tonight. (Dunno whether this is even relevant, now that I dont see us catching up with MC and I surely wont live beyond the day we end a premier league campaign below Loserpool!) Hope the Arses and the Spuds drop points too. As far as I am concerned, finishing above Arsenal, Spuds and Liverpool comes above finishing in the top 4! Go Blues :blue scalf:

Fair point, now that I think of it. But, we as fans, need to see some response from his side. Hope (like always) they turn up bubbling on the pitch in the next game and continue it till the end of season! (Hey, its Christmas time! No harm in making a wish!) KTBFFH

Even if AVB got sanctioned the 150m "war chest", I dont think we need to make panic buys in the Jan window. We all know how they turn out! Get a CB (which we are getting) and a CAM/winger. The overhaul can be left out for the summer, when we will obviously have better pricing and, more importantly, more options in players to choose from. As far as finishing in the top 4 is concerned, I think we can pull it off. Remember our position post-Jan last season and where we ended. We have a better squad this time around. But, we do need an exodus of demotivated (read older) players and inflow of rich and hungry talent in the summer, if we need to claim our spot among the top of Europe.

He still thinks the title chase is just "difficult"! Get real, mate! Dont get me wrong, I support AVB. But he needs to stop sounding positive after an abysmal display! A kick on the back sides is what the players need..not patronizing them!

This. What. A. Player. I dont see any current players measuring up to him in manhood! He is brave and most importantly he does not buckle under adversity. He steps up to the occasion and is an inspiration to everyone around!

I know this is off topic, but may I know why/how Henrique supports CFC? I have almost never seen him backing up the team/manager/players when things are not flying! Forgive me if I am somehow wrong in this observation! And btw, I am content with what I have seen from AVB and CFC. Yes, there could have been more but then is that not always the case?! I think we are on the right course, which in no way can describe my feeling about the team last year. Not even in the great run of Mar/Apr.

Me too. I would consider him an idiot, at the most. But he will always be a leader and a legend as far as I am concerned.

I do understand that it might seem insolent if JT carries on as the face of CFC, after being proven guilty. But, we need to back him and not crucify him for a mistake he did in the spur of the moment. We, as supporters and as a club, need to put across clearly that we accept and act upon the mistake our captain has committed, but we are not gonna concede that JT is a racist on the basis of one silly impulsive moment. All this, if he is proven guilty. The Scousers, for example, are backing their player in spite of being ruled as guilty of racist comments, although they are stopping to unnecessary and ludicrous levels to show their support. They are expressing their solidarity as a club and making a statement that they know better than considering a one off incident to judge the integrity of their own player.

This is extraordinary! A person's ethics and character are being decided by people on the basis of an angry rant, in the heat of the moment (considering the evidence IS actually against JT). I have noticed several times here on the forum that people abuse each other as cunts. Does that make them misogynists or sexists?! If proven that JT actually said those words, it is an offense by him because he is supposed to lead by example, representing a whole nation and our own football club and in general as a football player. But, even if proven guilty, it is utterly ridiculous to say he is a racist! Its unbelievable how people are branding him after knowing him for so many years. A man who considers Desailly his mentor, Ashley as one of his best buddies, shares a great relationship with Drogs, Ess and others! Simply unbelievable! JT: Captain, Leader, Legend and also an idiot at times but surely not a racist!

People who are arguing that AVB might be worried about Studge and Mata being burned out before the Spuds game are just blindly supporting the man! If he really had considered the burning out as a criterion, he would have rested Ash (who played every single match till date in the season, btw) and Drogs beforehand! And its not like we were sitting in a very comfortable position at the stage they were subbed off and a rest of 25-30 mins would anyways not do them much good for a match that is 5 days away! I think its more to do with tactics. I somehow understand the point in bringing on Kalou, but Danny and Mata?!! He is not to be blamed for the result, just the performance. There was no drive, whatsoever, in the players. It was as if the win against Man City was so good a result that bought them enough time to be complacent!

http://www.chelseafc.com/page/LatestNews/0,,10268~2549948,00.html Irony! The first time this season that I feel Chelsea can be a top 4 side, at most, this season! Weekend ruined!

I hope AVB says something really sarcastic on this before the game with Spurs..just to piss Harry off Maybe even plant our own reporter to engage such line of questioning..lol!

U take the credit. I am happy enough with the news ;-) And more news on the transfer front, regarding what we can(not) expect in January? 'He (Gray Cahill) is a fantastic player because he plays for the English national team and he is a central defender of high qualities. He had a fantastic year last season and this year he has improved but he is not a player that we are considering. 'Alvaro [Pereira] I don't think so based on prices and because we are pretty satisfied with what we have got. Ryan Bertrand has shown fantastically good levels of understanding in the team and talent and Ashley Cole is continuing to perform fantastically well. 'Luka Modric I don't think so because we have Michael Essien returning and I think we have left that one out for sure.'

http://www.chelseafc.com/page/LatestNews/0,,10268~2544256,00.html Guess the beast is ours after all! Great great news!

http://news.bbc.co.uk/sport2/hi/football/16122746.stm Neville and the Scousers getting served I love this man!

http://soccernet.espn.go.com/player/_/id/98398/david-luiz?cc=4716 Check the appearances tab

Does the one in CC count? If not, that is awesome news. He has only 4 YCs in PL. But I distinctly remember that in the Newcastle match, the channel showed that he is suspended for the next match when he got the yellow! Uncertain till we get the team news I guess?!