SinineUltra

Obviously the best time to play them was before January transfer window but then again I'd rather play them sooner than later, because they haven't played together as long.

Yep, and by sacking him I mean right away or should he stay till the end of the season and then leave.

Fair enough. I think Rafafan and Rupert are extreme on their views on Benitez - I don't agree with them. I think our views aren't as far away from eachother as we might think. Only difference is that I'm a bit more reserved saying out lines like Rafa out etc, I'm not entirely sure if the positives in sacking him would overweigh the negatives. Edit: Regarding Moses: perhaps the part, where I said that he lack winner's mentality is wrong. Though, rest of it I stand by, because you can't actually know something untill you've experienced it.

Same, I've got a personal feud against them. I recognize them as one of the best -if not the best- club in the world, but that's where it ends. Galatasaray maybe?

Great post for taking everything out of context. I'm bored of arguing with you. We both have nothing new to say to eachother, quite repetitive. Our new signings are all great, but they lack experience in PL. They are young enough not to be mature even as people. Regarding Moses, we are missing him dearly atm but saying things like he has been regular in EPL for 2 seasons, so what? He hasn't been in a big club like Chelsea fighting to win every game, every competition - he lacks that winner's mentality and know-how how to perform week in week out, grind results.. Besides, Titus Bramble is a PL veteran, can't say I'd trust him in our defense regardless. Sacking AVB ?- no FFP, this time another story. I'm really surprised with your last line - I've been posting fucking essays to this thread in reply to you driving home a point that what's going on atm is not ONLY his fault but a more complex situation that involves the players, the fans, the board. However, still you go on stating that every person, who can see a wider picture here, is somehow a torres fan and benitez suck up. To make a point clear, I hate Torres and Benitez doesn't belong to this club. The way I was raised up , though, doesn't allow me to sink as low as start insulting others whenever things go sour.

You misunderstood me. I didn't mean their progression in the CL, I meant the actual places to play in Europe next year. Though I agree, English teams not much of a threat on European stage.

To be fair, EPL has the tightest competition for European places. Manu, Mancity, Chelsea, Arsenal, Tottenham.. even Liverpool and Everton pose a serious threat. There are even more strong teams that can spring an offset.

Cech Azpi, Cahill, Terry, Cole Ramires, Lampard Oscar, Mata, Marin Ba

One of the few who plays his heart out. Very strong mentally and enormous stamina. Buy of the season for me so far. Made RB position his own so early in his career and most of our attacks come from right flank nowadays.

You might have forgotten that RDM played us out of 3 competitions so far - CL, Community Shield and Super Cup. Now the loss to Atletico Madrid has been one of the worsts this season, totally played off the park. You might say it's because players played week in week out, but he had noone to rotate the players with. When AFCON ends, players come back from injureis / suspensions I'll be a bit more confident in our abilities. Rafa has had a more rigid time with less players available to him compared to RdM and also less fresh. We finished 6th last season in the EPL, how's that not a sign of danger? We had enormous luck in the CL, we didn't win it because we played anyone off the park. (exceptions to Napoli and Benfica, whom we played in early knockout stages) We are replacing players that have played for us for years and years with new YOUNG faces. Kalous, Maloudas, Bosingwas, Drogbas had been playing together for a long time, we can't replace that kind of partnership just like that. Also Meireles was a good squad player for us with loads of experience. This year it's possible that Lampard, Ferreira leave the club. End of next season A.Cole and our captain Terry. So do you really believe our problems started solely because Benitez took over? A club who sacks interim managers is never a good place to come to. Moreover we don't have to chuck out his salary in full amount right away + 'loyalty' bonus. This is a transition period, we can't overlook this fact. Last seasons CL, FA cup have had cosmetic effect and fans believe that after losing so many long time players and getting in children, that we will magically start to play better. I think we share the same view - Benitez HAS to go, but main question is when? I don't think having 3-4 managers in a year will do the club any good, nor the players. PS. Ironically enough, when he took over our defense looked way more solid. I remain to my word that last game was players fault. They aren't some programmable robots who need to code line every time to do something. They left the players unmarked, it's their fault. How did they manage to keep Reading having any chance at goal for the 87th minute then? Also - if i was a player- it wouldn't really inculcate confidence in me when the club's manager get booed in every step of his way. So in a sense, we fans are also to be blamed. It also adds up why team has been dire playing in Stamford Bridge.

I'd take it with a pinch of salt, Daily Mail after all.

The reporter is keeping his hand in his pocket to prevent the little bugger from nicking

Might become the case of good luck rotting in the reserves.

Another talent wasted... not much of a fan of him but surely Russian league is not his level.

The reason why I'm trying not to blast Benitez from every angle is because he alone is not to be blamed. That's something a lot of you are so biased about. You only see positive about RDM, Lampard etc and every negative goes on the shoulders of the manager. I agree that his tactics are monotonous and boring but many of the games we have blown are as much got to do with players not putting in a performance and being wasteful. Take for example the game against Reading, we didn't even concede shots on target for 87 minute, we dominated, we were leading 2-0. Last 8 minutes were absolutely horrible from our defenders, leaving opposition players unmarked. You can't be so blind to say that Rafa should have cleared the ball himself? Men not marking properly fucked it up, they lost concentration. I'm sure you'll reply saying Rafa should have motivated blablabla, but god - if they need guidance in every step they take, can't motivate THEMSELVES to put in a performance then I'm really doubting their desire to play for us. Regarding substitutions: we had quite a defensive lineup already. This isn't paper rock scissors, where the only right sub would be to take off attacker and replace him with a defender (formation 4-2-3-1). That only sends out a message to our opponent to attack, attack, attack. Having no FW upfront will mean we will lose almost every long ball from our GK, we will need to start defending from our half and wouldn't have a striker in their side of the field to start closing down early. When Ba came on, we gained areal threat and he won a couple of air balls right away. Ba can be an attacker, but that shouldn't stop him from doing defensive work with fresh legs while also offering a counter attack option. When it comes to Mata, he picked up a knock and was subbed for Benayoun. That alone is a good reason to sub him but also Benayoun is all in all a better defensive player. Having Turnbull in goal and brainfart prone Ivanovic paired with Cahill doesn't make me feel that confident either. Ivan is one of my favourite players, because of his passion and desire to work for the team, but did he fuck up against Swansea, single-handedly lost the cup tie. Sacking a manager can let you and many others sleep tighter at night but I'm not so sure it will do the club any good. We don't have the squad to have a proper run at 3 fronts - Europa League, EPL and FA Cup. Even then our players are young, this is a transition season. We have been unlucky with injuries to our older players, important squad players going on tournaments, bans etc. We don't have character in the dressing room. Our only true leader figure has been injured for long periods and has only featured for the club a bit over 1000 minutes this season. You can't replace a captain with passing the armband on, you either are a leader or you're not and only natural leader we have has only featured less than 1/3 of the playing-time. It's baffling how winning the Champions League and FA cup last season has covered the cracks we had even BACK then. We might have bought in Azpilicueta, Hazard, Moses, Oscar, Marin but they aren't ready yet to take over the role our old guard had played so far. Keep in mind, they all are still very young and we can't expect them to solve our problems just like that, especially with exploiting certain players week in week out without having much option to rotate it around due to reasons mentioned before. To round it off, Rafael Benitez has no future in this club. He doesn't have the support of the fans and that's a big factor for being successful. For someone called a good tactician, his so called 'brilliance' hasn't shown through, but it is very daft to say that he is the solo culprit for our troubles. Players should and must also take some stick. Sacking Rafa won't somehow magically make our squad bigger and players more fresh. In no way does having 3 manager being in charge of Chelsea in only one season (with an option of a 4th in the summer) make us magically play better. Would mean that the players would have to re-adapt to a 3rd playing style in one season. It takes time to mold players into your tactics and it can't be done in a few months. Also keeping Rafa can send out a message to potential next managers that even in darker times he will be having a chance to redeem himself. I also think that we are firmly in the place to attain 3rd place and that's a positive sign, because our problems started to show same time last season, funny how recent success managed to cover it up, and we can't expect young players we brought in during summer transfer window to fix this problem in such a short period of time. Hopefully the new manager can address these issues and will be given time by our board and more recently - our fans. This is a more complex situation than we might think.

David Beckham

Quality over quantity for me - Stingray, TorontoChelsea, SlamDunk & Bushman have all stood out for me as mature and intelligent posters,who stand firm to their beliefs and don't bend over for a couple of likes.

Regarding our squad depth. Why on earth are our youngsters so afraid on the pitch? Looking at da Silva brothers are always rearing to have a go and play their heart out, whereas the likes of Bertrand etc seem too shy and hesitant. Like he is going to cry, he can't be starstruck, can he?

Shit, looking back I made a typo.. What I meant to say is that Rafa is NOT only one to be blamed, sorry for confusion. He will need to take certain amount of stick but I find his subs logical and in the end of the day if players are shit, you can't get a result. Benitez hasn't been given a chance from the start by many fans and that kind of negativity is bringing the club down. That said, his formation isn't working, we are stuck in the last third like we used to be a few seasons ago.

As long as Spurs keep bottling as we do, I can't see them getting past us. With the results we are having, we are not making progression nor degression. Sitting ducks.. meaning that most probably our place in the table will not change drastically.

Yeah, Capoue has always struck me as a humble footballer, who's disciplined and very good at what he does.

Can't see us finishing below 4th, we can't ,we shouldn't.

double

Good insightful post, not one of those knee jerk ones. Really like it and agree with you. Only thing I fail to see is why do people want to put KDB in the pivot role? Equivalent to Lamps in the pivot, Oscar on the wing and Bertrand LW. A bit out of position, don't you agree? Cavani/Ba/Lukaku would be a dream striking force for us when we stick to our 1 ST formation.

Agree with you here. Definitely brought flare and options to Liverpool's attack with keeping defenders on their toes constantly spotting him and marking him.