teignman

Good performance. Looked composed and got stuck in. Also very positionally astute. However, it must be said that he was playing championship side in dire form. Still quite encouraging. I'd love to see him get a start against Bucharest.

FFS, rest Mata for this one. He looks knackered.

He needs a rest. I was absolutely furious that dipshit played him against Sparta Prague when we had Citeh at the weekend.

Whoa, whoa, whoa. I'm fine with you deriding the fuckwit that is currently managing our club, but please leave one of the most sublime cereals to every grace the face of the earth out of it. Cap'n Crunch is delicious, Rafa is not. This is a fact.

Fucking Spuds. I knew their luck would turn somewhat one of these years, but this is ridiculous. 5 straight league matches where a late goal (after 65 mins.) has pulled their ass out of the fire. Jammy bastards.

http://www.telegraph.co.uk/sport/columnists/alanhansen/9891425/Chelseas-problems-are-much-bigger-than-Rafael-Benitez.html While I think Hansen is giving fatty a massive knob polishing in this article, and overlooking some very serious flaws the Useless One has as a manager, he does have a bit of a point about our squad personnel.

Normally, no matter how rubbish our form or who the opponent is, I still get excited once the match starts. This is the first Chelsea match where I didn't even feel the faintest twinge of excitement during the match.

To answer the original question posed in the title, no I don't think we are going to finish in the top 4. We will finish an ignominious 5th, mainly due to our profligacy and not the quality of our competitors. Which is terrible considering the talent that this squad has.

Good to see Lucas getting some minutes. Looked like he had an excellent game at the weekend, and got a brief appearance in the CL against Porto. Fantastic to see his career progressing.

Another tepid performance against weak opposition. Business as usual in the Rafalution.

I would tend to agree with this statement, but I'm unbelievably biased.

The balance is tipped in Manure's favor, but not too much. RM still has a very good chance to progress. Thought that incident with Jones in the 1st half was def a pen.

United and Arse getting knocked out at this stage increases our share of the prize pool.

Falcao would be a good acquisition, but not for the money that's being quoted, and certainly not at the expense of Courtois. If we are going to spend crazy money on a striker, there's really only one that's available that I think is worth it: Cavani. Cavani has a superior work rate to Falcao, better hold up play, and is just as good a scorer. He also does a good job chipping in on defense, something I have yet to see Falcao do. Falcao is much more likely to be marginalized in a match with his set of skills. Cavani can still contribute to a team even when he's not scoring goals. He's also a little over a year younger.

What a wonderful day in the CL yesterday watching the unwashed get pumped by Juve at the piggery. Though, I will admit, the scoreline was not necessarily indicative of the balance of play. One further plus of Smeltic playing on such a large stage: the whole world gets to see what an enormous cunt Scott Brown is, not just those who watch the SPL.

Aguero and Vidal. Linked forever with Aguero, and then we sign the one whose name I dare not speak. To top it off Aguero's fee was considerably cheaper. Sigh. P.S. Player's I don't think are coming: Bobby Lew, Cavani, Falcao, Benat, and Fellaini

This is a FANTASTIC Stepbrothers reference!

Yeah, it looked like he was spitting in disgust and not at Walker. That is, unless, Popov's spitting is as wayward as some of his crosses.

My point is that if AVB hadn't been so stubborn, he would've been more successful. Hence, we probably would not have had the need to sack him. Who knows what would've transpired in the CL were that the case. I'd rather not persist in trafficking in the hypothetical....

I agree to an extent, especially the Ramires comp, but at this point we have an appalling dearth of CM's. This and the fact Sissoko just turned 23 last August and could still improve by some measure. On the financial side, his fee was £2.2m, and he was reportedly on less than 20k a week at Toulouse. Even if we matched the duration of his contract with the Geordies (6.5 years) and doubled his wages his total cost over the life of his contract (fee included), his cost would've have been a little over £14m. And that my friends, is a hell of deal for a player of his age, abilities, and potential. He would have plenty of resale value as well.

AVB could quite possibly finish above us due to our inadequacies, and the fact that he has learned from his mistakes. Namely, being so tactically rigid and wed to one formation. Something Rafa has not done. P.S. I despise AVB for just now deciding to stop being such a stubborn twat. If he had been more professional, we probably wouldn't be in this mess.

I just drink whisky in a darkened room and cry, but I think your remedy sounds much healthier.

I disagree on some of the ratings you give for some of the players you mention (Debuchy mainly), but overall I agree with your main point that Carr isn't doing anything special. It's not rocket science. He's recognizing market inefficiencies and making player purchases accordingly. Anyone, in any sport in charge of player acquisitions for their club, that is worth their salt should be availing themselves of this tactic. One may then ask, "Why aren't Chelsea doing this, or at least something similar?" That's an excellent question, as we've started to, but seem to show a great deal of hesitancy to make this the rule and not the exception.

My lineup for Newcastle: Bonetti Mulligan Dempsey Harris McCreadie Hudson Hollins Cooke Osgood Hutchinson Weller

True enough, but they were awful in the 2nd half (sound familiar? sigh). Also, the recent signings probably won't probably have gelled yet. These points aside, I share your lack of optimism.