GodZola

His primary task was to stop Henderson, which he performed superbly along with Lamps and latterly Mikel who stopped the service getting through to Suarez, this was one of the key ingredients to winning this game, obviously not taking anything away from JT's and Cahill's contribution either in marshalling the threat of Suarez. Luiz's position splits opinion but I have always been firmly in the camp that he should play in midfield, we have lacked vision and awareness to start our attacks from deeper areas, our play has been slow and laborious, however we saw on Sunday he has the ability to move the ball quicker because he has the intelligence and confidence to pass the ball, this was obviously more notable in the first half. We also have the benefit of Luiz filling in for the CB's if they go forward, very similar to the way the great Makelele used to deputise for Carvalho when he used to bomb forward in Jose's first spell. Unfortunately I'm not sure of Jose's intentions, this performance will at least give him food for thought......

Been saying the exact same thing for a number of years now, never understood why we play with 5 at the back, sometimes 6 especially when we are home against sides that park the bus - no logic in that at all. I could understand the decision to play a holding midfielder when needs must and when we had a world class player in Makelele that just oozed class in that role, unfortunately only Ballack in our double winning year has made it work. Taken a few years of convincing members on here that Mikel is not the answer....... Simple facts are we are not performing, many players are playing below their ability, imho a change of formation will improve our current form on the pitch, lets face facts we cannot play any worse. We saw the benefits of 2 striker's on the pitch against Southampton, though it's still a massive worry about who to play there! On tonight I'm not that bothered about going out but when the bottom of the table wants it more you have to question the players heart, there was a severe lack of determination to win it, we looked a broken team in extra time, Jose has his work cut out of that I have no doubt but I won't be joining the group of detractors that are growing with every poor result - most will change their tune if we beat Arsenal next.

Fair play to you fella, at least there are some on here who are prepared to show some humility, unfortunately you are in the minority.

Exactly, I have been stating that for a number of weeks. Thought Jose would put Schwarzer in after the Stoke game and stick with him til he started to make mistakes, this way Petr would know he would have to perform to his own high standards or it's the chop, however it seems Jose is reluctant to do so and that also stems to some outfield players too - this part of his management has surprised me this time around.

I see the apologists are out in full............ I would like to thank them all oh so very muchly for all their sincere words that represent 'humble pie' - it's ok I won't hold my breath for an apology, they are clearly out of my league when it comes to discussing knowledge of the beautiful game so I bow to their superiority - bunch of narcisstic arrogant bully boy's. Pathetic, ludicrous, ridiculous, bullshit, blown out proportion, isolated incidents, WTF, exaggeration, illogical were just some of the shit being thrown at me for what? Little ole me speaking out of turn and going against the protagonist's.......ironically some of these are now calling for Cech's head - you simply cannot make this up! Good job I trust my own judgement and will continue to do so, I hope Jose now does the honourable thing and drops the great man to reinvigorate him so that he comes back with a freshness that will energize his performances, the very same can be said with a few outfield players too.

I rest my case!!!

Tbh it wasn't my intention to comment on Courtois it was only due to another member quoting me & asking me a question.Imho its not an exaggeration - its fact, just read what I stated to the skipper. I very rarely read too much into what the twats in the media spout off, I trust my own judgement, I've been involved in football at different levels for long enough to feel confident enough in that, nonetheless it doesn't mean I'm correct. In a few months time when the dust settles & Cech pulls out consistent performances without the mistakes I will apologize & say I got it wrong, which is unlike many on here. It maybe enough that Jose has had a few words because someone that is as meticulous as him wouldn't let it slip his notice & believe it or not I hope I'm wrong.

Look, I never got on his back for any of his mistakes up until now, never said anything of the sort of him being a liability just that he has now made too many mistakes, I've also stated that its not just him that is culpable, however this is his thread so my comments are in the appropriate section where the fact is we disagree. The problem is I believe its 4 mistakes some are saying one (unbelievably) others are saying its 2 & within that they have different opinions on the second mistake, which tells you there is arguably more than 2, no? Now because my opinion is that it is 4 mistakes in a short'ish period, I believe its time Cech had a rest, nothing more nothing less, as already stated if he is selected I will support the decision but it doesn't mean I concur with the it. Now I have no problem with members disagreeing with me but instead of having a civil debate you get ambushed by sarcasm, stupid remarks & because you state something that the masses don't agree with they are on you like a pack of wolf's, the facts are the alarm bells are ringing, that is all.

Yes like I really said he was a shit player?! I can too - be sarcastic but then I would be lowering myself to yours & the other muppets that can't hold a candle.

I'm not getting into who or what happened over the last 10 years, Cech imho was the best on the planet bar none pre head injury & its testament to him that he has came back at all least alone winning us the CL along with Didier, again my view is that people are over looking the obvious just because he is a legend.I have made my feelings pretty clear regarding Courtois in that thread, if I had my way he would be at the club now ala Cudicini v Cech situation, it worries me that we have the best young keeper in the world that will only have 2 years on his contract to run. I get the decision to allow him to stay AM & that we still have Cech & now a decent back up keeper but I would of much preferred the club tie down Courtois before making any decisions last summer. The boy could leave in 2 years time & there is nothing we can do about it, I just hope that because the club have looked after him by letting him stay in Madrid thus giving him CL experience etc & more importantly he gets to keep his place & plays in the world cup then he stays loyal to the club for doing so.

Pathetic? Yet you agree with 2 of them, very bright thing to say. I suggest you go to specsavers mate if you don't think he could of saved Aguero's strike, intriguing that it is not just me that feels that way. I've said my peace & stand by it, now I will sit back & see what the next few weeks brings us.

I am little surprised by the fact it is you that I am disagreeing with, actually you are one of the few that has a some decent knowledge & understanding of the game but i suppose these things will happen.....Sometimes you have to see the bigger picture not just what's happening throughout one game, however Cech being rested will make him realize he has to improve, we may differ in opinion but the bottom line is that he has played better, far better. If he is selected Saturday I will be fully behind him and Jose but we simply cannot afford to keep giving away cheap goals & I include the defence in that too, if Cech performs well over number games then that will justify that decision but if not & he continues making mistakes, where are you & the Cech brigade stand then?

Thanks for your input - very enlightening! Now fuckoff back under that mushroom you just crawled away from, in other words they keep you in the dark & feed you shit - clueless.

Here we go funny season has arrived. He is there to make those saves, is he not? What do want him to do to earn his corn, pick his arse? As I already stated Joe hart has had some similar performances good & bad but where do you see him now? Ridiculous? The only thing ridiculous mate is the fact that some of you lot cant see your head from your arse. Look, if Jose sticks with him I will trust his judgement but I much prefer how City are handling their own goalkeeping crisis.

Let me spell out for you, goalkeepers should not be beaten on their near post, Benteke's goal was not hit with any pace & should of been a comfortable save for Cech, Aguero's was slightly different as it was hit with pace but it was on his near side where somehow he lost the sight of the ball, the ball wasn't far from his body so again he should be saving that. Now the saves he makes during games is exactly what he his paid to do the very same as our strikers are paid to put the ball away & when their not doing the business they get all sorts of shit thrown at them, so when Cech is making several mistakes in a short period of time, why should he not get criticized too? Joe Hart has been making similar mistakes & perhaps more but he also made some great saves too but he is out on his arse at the mo & correctly so in my opinion. The problem is when a keeper starts being shaky the defence then lose confidence too & it starts a chain of problems. He is still a fantastic keeper & a legend at this club but at this moment in time he needs a spell on the bench - there is no question of that.

1. Bayern 2. Villa 3. City 4. West Brom Some were also saying he was also culpable for the goal against Everton, however people want to dress it up, the four goals above were mistakes & goals conceded were ones you would expect your keeper to save. Seems there are too many that let sentimentality get in the way of their judgement, be it Cech, lamps, JT etc they all need to be dropped when they are not playing well or meeting their own high standards.

Would you care to elaborate? Or is it too much trouble for you or is it that only the elite on here can have an opinion? Never ceases to amaze me how many know-it-all would be managers there are on this site.....

Might as well bring back Turnbull the way Cech has been performing this season!My view is not over a few games its a judgement on this season thus far where Cech has been uncharacteristically inconsistent. One of the reasons why I wanted a Jose return was because he isn't afraid to drop big name players, Cech should not be infallible, he needs competition to stop him becoming complacent & dropping him will make him realize he has to stay at the top of his game to keep his place & to be fair that could be said about a number of outfield players too.

Poor performance, some complacency has set in unfortunately, perhaps the international break has come at the right time for a change.... Having managed to get to the Bridge for a change this time season it was very disappointing to witness so many players under performing and the biggest negative was the distinct lack of movement from our attacking players - simply shocking at times, it also doesn't help with the slow pedestrian way we are currently moving the ball and lastly the lack of vision from deeper positions. That said this weekend could of been a whole lot worse but with Arsenal, City and Spurs losing we gained a point albeit fortuitously, Jose has some work to do but lets be patient peeps please, been a frustrating week with losing to Newcastle but we had a 6 game winning streak previously which many seem to have forgotten already? Good post fella.

Spot on, the fact Cech is making more mistakes in a short period of time is worrying. When an outfield player is displaying the same inconsistency you would expect him to have a spell on the bench, my belief is that he needs a sabbatical and Schwarzer given a chance. In the past Cech has had no competition and knows that he could get away with poor displays, I think he has become complacent like a few of our players of late, a spell on the sidelines won't do him any harm at all. No point mentioning Courtois, despite already stating my thoughts about him being brought back, we cannot do anything now until next season but in Schwarzer we have a capable deputy.

Fair comment fella & no offence taken, I agree with you to a point. There are games where he has produced................unfortunately we do not see it on a consistent basis - its always been 1 step forward and 3 steps back with our much maligned Mr Mikel!

Mate, if it was down to me I would of sold him long ago & tbh I'm not really interested in his performances for Nigeria. I concur, if we play with a high line then Mikel will struggle, however my post was directed at teams such like Bayern, Barca & possibly Arsenal when we are up against it with our backs to the wall & under pressure.

Even the Mikel 'brigade' must be thinking its no longer a coincidence that we are/have been getting results when he isn't playing or substituted........... Always said he should be play against teams that are more offensive & brought on to defend winning positions not start at home against defensively minded sides so not entirely his fault.

Fair comment, however how many managers have the bollocks to take off a left back at a crucial stage knowing full well the decision will leave your defense exposed?

Sorry mate but comprehensively disagree, there have been many ridiculous posts that are just lame excuses for his poor performance & inconsistency, whereas there are some posters that rate Mikel & will be honest enough to admit when he needs a boot up the 'arris'! Very simiar to members like myself who do not believe Mikel is good enough but will be respectful when its appropriate.