GodZola

My apologies EW but I don't get the time to watch our youth teams or am I up to speed with their development. It's interesting that you have noted Arsenal though, as I thought they got it spot on with Wilshere he was given the time to flourish technically despite being small & frail as a teenager but the last 18 months or so he has filled out - this for me is exactly what I would be encouraging & most definitely the way forward imho. I hope the coaching staff at Chelsea use this for MacEachran as I see huge talent in this lad but needs time to fill out, the fact he is still at Chelsea proves they are getting something right but what worries me is we havn't produced enough young talent already despite a huge investment (albeit there are some legitimate reasons) I hope the next 3 to 5 years are far more productive than the previous ones under Arneson. I mentioned Barca because they lead the way, somebody & not just our club but England would also benefit, we really need to take the time to study their methods, ask the questions on how we can improve our coaching to young players & also the coach's themselves would learn something. I use the under 21's as an example, the Spanish lads seem to have time on the ball, always looking for that pass, never afraid to make a mistake & seem so comfortable in possession, were as our lot were devoid of ideas lost without a Wilshere or a MacEachran. These are the sort of players I would like us as club to start producing with the focus on coaching being similar to Barca's for our future young players.

The lad has talent but unfortunately for everyone concerned with our club he doesn't produce on a consistent basis & this is more evident when he starts a games. Whenever he plays the attack will break down because either he loses possession, mis-controls the pass, shoots high & wide or fails miserably with an attempted cross - these examples can also be extended to Malouda so its a little unfair just to point the finger at Kalou. Put it this way if I was in AVB's position I would be asking myself are Kalou & Malouda good enough to make my squad? For me it would be a resounding no & I would sell them both to put that money to good use & buy one winger that is consistent, that has pace & has a good work ethic about him. Just think what Torres & Drogba could do with some quality service from the flanks.

I hope you're right EW, having played to a level myself & have played with some ex pro's (one for 5 seasons) I played with & against some very promising young players who didn't go onto make it & the main reason for that is some coach's don't know talent when it stares them in the face! I'm currently spending time with a young relative of mine who is at a Championship Club & it drives me nuts when they are concentrating on strength & physique instead of nurturing smaller lads with technique. Barca have shown the way, I hope our coach's are on the same wavelength? If they are then we won't need to spend large sums on transfers every season, that's taking it for granted we have the talent in out youth teams?

I wanted Guus, Jose & Franco as our management team, currently got AVB & I'm very happy with his appointment, hopefully Franco will be given a role as coach & Guus is an advisor so nearly there. Wanted - Number 1 target - Sniejder. Left winger - Hulk/Robben. Right winger - Help????? Decent back up keeper - Given. My neck of the woods the scummers play at the theatre of shite.......& the bin dippers play at arsefield!!! :eyebrows:

I said yesterday that AVB would not of been my choice as I would of preferred Jose but I will add that I am more confident about his appointment than I have been about all the managers we've had since Jose's departure & yes that does include a double CL winner in Ancelotti who I had reservations about his lack of success in winning league titles. This guy does excite me & the last manager that did that was when Jose was installed so I hope that's a good omen. Imho if AVB is to be a success then a number of factors have to change starting with Roman letting him run things HIS WAY & I mean from top to bottom which is exactly what Jose wanted before things went wrong under Romans interference. Next is his ability to manage big ego's & not be like Ancelotti & be afraid to drop them when they clearly need a kick up the 'arris' to get them back on track. I think we will all be interested in who he decides to bring in & sell, for me this is key to us improving our style & getting us back to winning & therefore the confidence will come with it. Lastly I will be intrigued to see what formation he chooses & how often he will change it. His first job will be to get Torres playing like the world class player he is, AVB knows that if we give him the service (which was distinctly lacking last season) then we will be one step further up the ladder to success. Torres needs an arm round him, some of the other players need their confidence returned, others fitness issues, I think he will go in & will have a plan already mapped out - he is that methodical. For me he ticks all the boxes bar a tiny negative in experience, the one thing that worries me as always is Romans meddling, however I think we have the right man at last but will reserve some judgement until I see how he sets about my concerns above. Thumbs up though & for the first time in 5 seasons I am really looking forward to it with so much optimism.

Ummmm, if he has been approached then I wonder how he feels about us already putting in offers for Modric et al? Also as he has stated before that he is his own man, his own ideals & not of Jose's mould then I'm not to sure that AVB would agree to Guus being DOF? Advisor possibly but DOF unlikely. If AVB is to be our new manager then I hope that Roman has finally learned from previous mistakes & he keeps his nose out of footballing affairs, gives him time to build a new vibrant & successful Chelsea but will also give him the backing in the transfer market when needed. AVB wouldn't be my choice (nor was Ancelotti) but I have been very impressed with his short time in management thus far & his single mindedness, I don't think he will have a problem with dealing with ego's being around Jose would of taught him the ropes. I would welcome his appointment & I hope that being so young that we finally get a man for the long haul that can stabilize the club, besides Roman must now be feed up of shelling out compensation after poxy compensation!

For me its not a question of who but when Guus Hiddink will be announced as our new manager, whether that is for an interim period or for the long haul is the question that needs answering & I still don't have a scooby doo but would hazard a guess It's for a season before he becomes DOF. I believe the appointment will be announced within the next 10 days & I am still hoping Zola will also be given a role. Dutch bloke on Talksport reckons Guus will be bringing in his right hand man, some fitness guru - name escapes me but this can only benefit the likes of Lampard & Essien et al as they really need to get back to their fitness levels, having them back to their best will be like signing 2 world class players & I can see Guus focusing on fitness & injury free for our senior players. Again on talksport, Guus has advised us to get Sniejder this shows me he already knows part of what we need - he my number 1 target & someone Torres & our attack needs. I hope Guus also gets rid of that dreaded DM role in the majority of our games especially at home & replaces it with an attacking line up were we start playing like we did at the end of the 2009/2010 season. I think there will be some casualties but its difficult to decide who Guus wants out but he is very single minded so don't be surprised if there are 1 or 2 big names culled. That said if Guus does do a u-turn then I'm going to have quite a bit of egg on my face!

When can you consider Robben a flop? Been very unlucky with injuries but when fit he is a class act, a player I'd have back at Chelsea in a heartbeat. Rooney & Hernandez = 36m - Torres & Drogba = 74m I think you have to take in inflation for this but one things for sure It's us fans that are the ones that are hit in the pocket by having to pay extra each season for over inflated wages!

The way I look upon this is how the club may see where we need strenghthening, so imho we need 4 players as it stands. Left & right wingers (preferably wiith pace) possibly a right back & for me a must, a playmaker/attacking midfielder. Now out of those positions the only player that I can think of that's English & worth a stab is Ashley Young who is right footed but plays on the left. Other than Young I cannot see any other players that are of top quality & available that are English in those said positions. So I believe we have no choice but to buy abroad for now, & Snieder top of my wish list. We didn't need Jones or Henderson as we have got better players in their positions. I agree with tomo regarding our youth, we must have patience for them to mature. I been impressed with some of them, hopefully they will get more opportunitys this season, then all going well & these players impress, then it might open the door for other young players (hopefully English) to give them the confidence to step up to the plate. I do think Liverpool will be fighting IN the top 4 next season, with Dalglish & Clarky at the helm & with some decent signings already on board, coupled with some very useful youngsters they will be a threat, as will City again, Arsenal will spend too, Man U are already going for it. We must not be left behind, 3 maybe 4 QUALITY players should do it & unfortunately LDN I cannot see them being English this time round.

Well back here in Hampshire, England our popularity grew when Jose came & won us our first Premier league trophy, you are not discussing a topic with someone who has been supporting the club since Roman took over, I've been a fan for 40 years & seen all the shit & dark days in that time from the best player ever - Zola to the best ever manager - Mourinho. We started to grow again when Hoddle came in & were then taken further by Gullit then Vialli, had stagnant stage under Ranieri but we took off under Jose. We would be growing even bigger if he was still around because success breeds it & he would of delivered the CL by now. Young fans aren't bothered about how we win things, they jump on board mainly to support the side who is winning trophies & with Jose in the seat we would always do that. If you & everyone else knew that Grant's appointment was only a temporary one then why didn't you inform Roman, it could of saved him about 6m in compensation! As for Wilkins you are correct in the fact that there might be other legitimate circumstances that we are not party to but my opinion is based on what I know not what you & the rest of us don't. So on that basis I can have a fair judgement & it just so happens you said the same yourself!!!

Ask the players at Chelsea & Inter who they would prefer as their manager? The owners & players were distraught when he decided to leave Inter & its been well documented our players at the time were in tears when he got the sack. Jose's sacking was without questuon Roman's biggest mistake since his tenure.

Really? If Roman hadn't of sacked Jose then he wouldn't of had to employ Grant, let alone on a 3 year deal!

Essentially I do agree with the 'fuck off' bit & most of you're post. However just some things that I would question & the first being Jose. His sacking was undoubtedly the reason why we find ourselves in this unfortunate predicament we are in now. I couldn't give a flying fuck who didn't like us back then nor could 90 odd percent of our fans, they didn't like us because we were successful, we broke up the dynasty of Scum U & Arse so they didn't like it but hatred & jealousy come hand in hand when you get to the top, Jose got us there & yeah sometimes he went a little over the top but there was a always a reason behind it & that was to shield his players. Jose would of built a footballing dynasty at our club if Roman would of left him to run things his way. It was also misleading about the type of football we played under him, sure he could of been more expansive at times but his hands were tied when we had Robben, Duff & Joey Cole injured. Avram Grant had a 3 year contract & was given compensation after his sacking - it was not a temporary appointment. Sacking Wilkins was another major Roman blunder imho, we had a collapse after his departure - one that probably cost us the title, agree wholeheartedly about this. The main problem we have with Roman is the meddling, if we are to progress to another level he has to keep his fingers out of the pie & let the new man run it his way. We don't need another 'yes man' we need another Jose who won't let his superiors interfere. Roman wants only the best for our club, I genuinely hope he also has learned from his mistakes & now employs the right man to take us forward but I think we may have to wait a year for that.

quote name='feroze' timestamp='1306310389' post='219631'] Cech, Ivanovic, Ramires and Terry.

This ^^ I would add though that Drogba started to show some form late in the season, too late but had some sort of excuse being he had Malaria. Stop this nonsense about Mikel & Ashley Cole or any other player apart from those mentioned above as they were for the large part very poor this season, fans are making Roman accountable but I havn't seen many posts giving the players some responsibility for it also. Sure Ancelotti didn't motivate them enough but in their position they don't need to be, they got comfortable because Ancelotti failed to drop them at various times during the season & that ultimately lead to players dropping their standards & contributed in Carlo getting the boot.

Imho I think Hiddink will be back as Director of football with Franco joining in some sort of capacity as coach, this will atleast start to appease some of the fans that have become disillusioned with Ancelotti being sacked & the timing surrounding it. The difficult one is who Roman will install as our new manager. My first choice would be Jose, the guy built most of the foundations for our recent success but the one attribute he possesses more than anything else is that he will not stand for any interference whatsoever, we need a man that has his own identity & will not be undermined. Roman now has to realise that his meddling in team affairs just doesn't work so in order to move forward him & his henchmen need keep their unwanted noses out. I don't think Jose will return for several reasons, so the next best available is Boas, I've not just been impressed with the way his teams play & the success but also the way he has come out & said that he is own man with his own ideals & not of Jose's mould. With Hiddink & Zola alongside him he could really make an impression & could bring the stability that is needed. At 33 he has years ahead of him.

No worries fella, keep up the great work by the way. The clips bring back such wonderful memorys for me, the FA Cup final win of 97 will always be my greatest moment supporting us, all those barren years were well & truly banished & the great man was pivotal to that success. I think if he hadn't been so honourable about leaving then we would of won CL with him playing under Jose.

Lol. Yeah, the forthcoming announcement of the great man that is Gianfranco Zola, welcome home living legend. After a disappointing season this will be the best news we've had as an appointment since Jose arrived.

No mate I don't understand or agree with it, I've given my reasons & they are more than justified to sign him to a rolling yearly contract, it says it all that Ancelotti came our & said it was mistake to let players like him go & let's not forget we are talking about Germany's Captain when we made that decision not some run of the mill premiership player!

I'm not comparing Giggs to Ballack, what I'm saying is if players are still good enough at that age then they should still be playing, essentially Ballack is more creative than what we have, is still very FIT & could of done a job for us this season - the facts speak for themselves. Ask Ferguson if he thinks signing older players to a contract is silly? What is crazy is letting the wrong players go when they are good enough. You cannot predict what impact Ballack would of had but I will tell you this, we would of been playing with more creation with him in the side & his experience would of been vital during our poor spell. I agree we should of signed a young playmaker but as I've already said Ballack's experience could help nurture that talent.

Giggs is 37 & has been the best player on the park against us in the last 3 games. You cannot have it both ways in terms of financial aspect & signing the world & his brother, Toure's on over 200k a week? Concur about Ozil but he was never going to come once Real got involved, not Khedira though he is no different from what we have already. We have missed him because Mikel, Essien & Lampard have had poor seasons not just because we've had injuries. He was arguably our best player in those last 20 or so games last season, he has great vision, can see that pass, gets the ball moving quickly, he was happy to stay for another year so a long term contract was not the case here.

I know that eldo, he broke his leg but you cannot assume that he would be injured playing for us if he was still here.

My thoughts entirely & our wish maybe one step closer as Talksport are reporting there are rumours of his return as a coach. I'm still pissed off because of yesterdays debacle but if true this news will give everyone a boost associated with our club.

It's living proof that we have missed him this season from midfield & as I already stated he was willing to take a pay cut to stay. It's ok to let players go who are no longer good enough & passed there sell by date ala Deco & Belletti but Ballack still had more to offer. He could of aided Ramires & also the likes of MacEachran could of learnt from him. I don't fall for this age thing, old or young if their good enough then they should play. As for the financial aspect thing, we then went out & spent 70m & gave Torres 180k per week? Very strange!

I agree fella, but to be fair it was a difficult one because Frank has been superb in that position over the years but I think if Frank had a long term injury in Ballack's tenure then we would definitely of seen a more productive Ballack.