Slam Dunk

Cannot believe the way we stood off Rooney. I know he hasn't scored from that range for a while, but doing that is unforgivable.

To get his applause i'd imagine.

4-4-2

If that above is going to be the team, Carlo HAS to tell Malouda/Anelka to attack the full backs at pace. The lack of options out wide for the past few games has been terrible. Ashley hasn't been linking with Malouda anywhere near as well as he usually does. I miss the days of Duff/Robben...

Ramires was quality, as was Luiz. Lampard's passing had no incision at all. Disappointing to say the least.

I fucking love David Luiz.

Seriously. Anelka is coming inside, collecting the ball, looking to play it wide, throws his hands in the air. WHAT ARE YOU EXPECTING, YOU ARE SUPPOSED TO BE PROVIDING THE WIDTH.

Lack of width is really worrying.

I think he was due to join West Brom on loan, but the deal for Luiz wasn't completed until late on deadline day. Therefore the only place he could go was the Championship, as the loan window for lower league clubs was still open.

If he wants to progress his career, he's not going to want to come here and be Cech's no. 2. Unless Cech leaves (which won't be happening), I'm confident he won't be coming here. Good keeper though. He'd do well as Van Der Sar's replacement at Utd.

Chelsea have just confirmed Bruma's move. http://www.chelseafc.com/page/LatestNews/0,,10268~2291206,00.html Good luck to him.

At least Cech was willing to take a player on and get past him. We've been missing that this season .

After the way JT was treated by the FA and the media, it speaks volumes about his professionalism that he is still willing to play. This is so true: http://www.talksport.co.uk/radio/drivetime/blog/2011-02-10/durhams-rant-why-capello-should-stop-humiliating-john-terry

I like how the article on here & the one on Sky Sports don't mention where he plays. Or maybe that's my fault for not having heard of him He's an attacking midfielder, incase anyone else didn't know. Here's a vid I found on youtube.

Baggio. Just for this. http://www.myfootbal...ical-Kicks.html Most of my youth was spent playing this.

Well, at the beginning of the season, I imagine it was a little different. Cost-cutting within the club was obvious, releasing/selling players like Ballack & Carvalho to cut the wage bill. The club thought they could manage with the current squad, and then reassess the team in the January window. Don't forget the way we started the season, the goals we scored/conceded and the way we were controlling the games. We then lost Alex/Ivanovic/Drogba/Lampard/Mikel/Benayoun at vital points in the season. This meant that everyone was forced to play every match, and there was no longer any experience to call upon. Imagine how different the season would've been if we'd have had Benayoun fit all season (a natural playmaker), or Drogba didn't contract malaria. I'm not saying we'd be top of the league and running away with it, but we would have had the experience to call upon.

He started the season with one hand behind his back, but that wasn't his decision, was it? We all know where the decisions are made within this club, Carlo merely has to do the best with what he's given. We needed to cut down on wages/spending, and promised to promote youth to the first team squad. We've done that, 5 youth players were promoted to the first team squad. Squad, not team. There is a big difference. It wasn't a lie, players like Josh, PVA, Bruma and Kakuta were not meant to be put straight into the team. Training with the first team and being involved with the first squad and matchday practice are all vital for their development. Sturridge is a little different, and i'll concede that he probably should've been given a better chance. As for the others, obviously Carlo feels that they would be under too much pressure to rescue our season, and I trust his judgement more than anyone on here. All i'm saying that Carlo hasn't had a fair chance. He inherited an ageing squad which was then cut down to a bare minimum first team and a few youth players. Injuries and suspensions hit us hard this year, and Carlo didn't have the players to call upon to fill the void.

http://www.skysports...6742028,00.html Still I wouldn't be surprised if he did move to Barca in the summer, either way, he won't be joining us.

Ok then, name me one manager you think should take over from Ancelotti (and please don't say Mourinho because it ain't gonna happen, neither will Hiddink.) No, he can't take risks. Not now anyway. Our owner/board want results fast. Maybe if he knew his job was secure, he could begin to build his own squad. Look at Wenger, he has restructured the team after many of the 'invincibles' had left. His job was never under threat whilst he was reshaping the squad. Granted he didn't win anything, but look at them now. He has built a great team who play good football. Utd did the same a few years back, was Ferguson's job ever under threat? No. Because everyone knew that it would take time. How has he bought pressure on himself? He is forced to play the same 11 week-in week-out because there is no-one else to play. The squad is way too thin. Letting go of the likes of Ballack, Carvalho and Deco and replacing them with youth has not worked.The youth is not ready. Do you not realise that you can't just throw a 17yr old onto the pitch and expect him to fit into the team immediately? Josh McEachran made a mistake in the reserve game vs Arsenal which lead to a goal, and you think he's ready to change our season? They need to be gradually integrated into the team. Brief sub appearances and loan moves are the only way to do it. We're so used to winning everything since Abramovich came along, and now the core of the team is ageing (Terry/Lampard/Drogba), and will need replacing. Teams don't automatically gel in a few matches. Who knows, we may buy several replacements in the summer, and we may have to get used to waiting for the team to click.

Success has made the majority of our fans very fickle indeed. Was Carlo still so tactically inept when we beat the big teams last season? And now because were having a poor season people are calling for him to be sacked? Name me one available manager that is better suited for the Chelsea job. Carlo has put himself forward for one of the most difficult jobs in club football, there is pressure on him from the board, the owner and the media, he doesn't need it from his own fans. He needs to feel that his job is secure, and then he can start to focus on the youth and the academy. The fact is Carlo can't just put McEachran or Kakuta etc into the first team and hope we win. Right now, he needs to put the best players onto the pitch and get them playing well again, because that is the only way we will ever win competitions like the Champions League. Form only comes from playing games. Face it, the team is in transition. With so many players over 30, our squad is too thin for rotation. We either have very young, inexperienced players, or 30+ established players who are being forced to play every match. There is no in-between. This summer is the last transfer window before the FairPlay regulations, and I can see a major overhaul of the squad coming.

This match seems forever away! Especially after the disappointment of Sunday. I think Carlo will stick with the diamond, or at least play both Drogba and Torres. Seems to me like he is desperate to get them working well together quickly.

"Because of its history, Liverpool is a bigger club but it's going through a difficult time." What he's saying is true. Liverpool have history, but they're not the force they once were and he wants to be part of a team that's making history.

Arnesen on McEachran. (Sorry if this has already been posted) "I've watched Josh since he was 12, when I came here. I've followed him and saw then he was a big, big talent. But you never know how far it goes...how will a player cope when he gets up to the youth team?" "He did some very good things on tour in pre-season and maybe in half a year we will have to consider him going on loan, probably a little bit sooner to a Premier League club than Sturridge or Kakuta." http://www.skysports...6737208,00.html

So true. IMO the defining factor of this league is the pace of the game and the pressure you're under from the other team (example, I was watching the Barca game the other night, and the time they were allowed on the ball was incredible.) As i said previously, Josh seems to have the unique ability to create some space for himself when under pressure, Carlo seems to have noticed that and this is why he tends to drop back to holding midfielder as he can spot a pass, switch the play and create space. He looks like he can handle himself in a challenge, maybe he's been taking lessons from Ramires?

He has great composure on the ball and good vision, but i've not seen enough creativity from him in the final third of the pitch, because every time he plays, he plays in the holding role. Not necessarily a bad thing, as he can create time on the ball for himself from nothing and always looks to play it simple. To me, it seems Carlo is using him as either a deep lying playmaker or a holding midfielder. Don't get me wrong, I'd love to see him given the opportunity to influence the play from right behind the strikers, it just looks to me like Carlo thinks this is too much pressure to put on a 17 year old.