EskWeston

This game was just an awesome display from the young lads. Not only did they teach Por Vale a footballing lesson but they also taught out own first team how the 4-3-3 should be played. The team put out was perfect, Rhys Taylor was a strong influence at the back and controlled things well. The defence was solid and worked hard to defend the long balls which was Port Vales only outlet, Nana and Ben Gordon worked the flanks well to support the wingers but were also strong in defence and the dutch centre back pairing of Van Aanholt and Bruma were solid throughout. The shape of the midfield was perfect, we had Sergio Tejera holding and starting all the plays and setting people off, always looking forward for the ball to spring someone off, Woods did all the leg work running back and forward and Gael Kakuta was our midfield playmaker, sitting high and supporting the 3 forwards and running all the attacking play. The forward line worked so well, we had Stoch and Nouble on the flanks constantly running at their defenders and getting behind them and creating so many chances to score for themselves and others, and Nielson was doing well getting in good positions and holding the ball up in a perfect display of the lone striker role. The scoreline is not a fair reflection of the game, Port Vale certainly did not deserve their goals and the Chelsea boys could have scored plenty more with the ammount of chances they created. Kakuta and Stoch were hot and the Port Vale team couldn't touch them all night, everything they touched turned to gold. Kakuta scored a VERY impressive hat-trick with some neat finishes. Stoch bagged himself one after finally scoring from one of his mazy runs turning his defender inside out and Nielson got himself in the right place to bang home a lose ball. About as close to a perfect performance you can get, attacking football at it's best. First team please take note...... Player Reviews: Rhys Taylor: A very solid performance. Was strong and commanding and dealt with all the crosses that came his way perfectly. Maybe at fault for their second goal but it may also have took a nasty deflection too. A good game for him. 7 Nana Ofori: A very strong performance from him, a tendancy to pass back toTaylor a lot but he run up and down all night and was strong and defended very well. Worked well with Nouble down the right flank. 7 Patrick Van Aanholt: Having watched him so often now play left back for the reserves is was great to see just how good he is in his natural centre back position. Look excellant and incredibly comfortable. An excellant performance. 8 Jeffrey Bruma: Agian working well alongside Van Aanholt, one of the better games i have seen him play (which isn't many to be fair). He is very similar in style to Carvalho, is always trying to read the situation and get there first and is always looking to bring the ball forward. A couple of mistakes here and there but at his age playing that style it is to be expected. 7 Ben Gordon: Seeing how exausted he was at the end of the game just showed how much running Gordon put in. He was very strong in defence and hardly ever got beat by his man. He run the wing well and just put in a very solid display. 7 Sergio Tejera: Another game holding for Sergio and the experience will do him good, he is better in an attacking sense but this is all about learning for him. He was the organiser of the midfield constantly starting the plays and sending Kakuta, Stoch or Nouble on their way with clever passing and always looking forward. 8 Michael Woods: Typical box to box performance from Woods. Got himself stuck in and was always involved. More of the old Woods that we have not seen for a while. Still could do with getting involved more, at this level he should be dominating. 7 Gael Kakuta: I am going to try to not go overboard on this kid, but f**k me the boys is talented. A hat trick to cap of another wonderful display of skill and ability the likes of which you rarely see. No-one could touch him all night, this time playing through the centre and he was involved in virtually every attack. Absolutely sensational. 10 Frank Nouble: One of the youngest players on the pitch but also one of the biggest. His appearance and the way he moves is very similar to Hesky. But don't let that but you off, the boy is talented and ran the wing very well with pace and skill that you wouldn't expect to see from someone of that build. Will be good to see how he develops. 8 Miroslav Stoch: What can be said about Stoch that hasn't been said a thousand times before this season. Stoch is top draw. He loves to run at the defenders and commit them and he always ends up turning them inside out. Another superb performance, he would have done better if he had seen more of the ball, didn't put a foot wrong. 9 Morten Nielson: His best performance i have seen from him since the tournament early in the season in asia. The perfect lone striker role. Held the ball up well and was not afraid to run with the ball either. Took his goal very very well too, would like to see him perform like this more often. 8

Yes, and some of the stories then were quite ridiculous too! Just because in the end Jose DID leave doesn't mean those stories were true.... I always view stories printed in the papers which whole basis of fact is "a club source" or "a club insider" with massive distrust! It was more likely that there was a it of a disagreemnt which was nothing and the papers blow it up to WW3....

Lol There isn't MUCH optimism in there..... only the vaguest hint!!

I find it hard to believe the story written as it is. There may have been some sort of disagreement but certainly not a "Bust Up" as the papers are writing it. The dead giveaway is that every paper has a different "inside source" and each of them has a different version of the story....

The academy is still a work in progress, it takes time to get them first team regulars.... The bottom line is the club needs an overhaul. We need to get someone in who has experience in building on a big club, preferably one who has experience in bringing through the younger players developed in house...

I would think considering the problems he is having picking a team that can go out and actually create goal scoring chances, unless there is a massive turnaround i would say our chances of winning something are unlikely...... But not impossible.

February has been a very crappy month for us, our only win comming at Huddersfield at a time when we had clawed our back into contention. This game is now very important for the club this season i feel. There are only 2 ways i would go with team selection on this one: ..................................Cech.................................. Belletti................Terry........Carvalho............A.Cole J.Cole.......Ballack/Lamps...Mikel/Essien..........Kalou .........................Drogba.....Anelka......................... Or ..................................Cech................................... Belletti................Terry........Carvalho.............A.Cole ..................................Mikel................................... .................Ballack/Lampard................................... .......................................Wright-Phillips.................. J.Cole...........................................................Kalou .............................Drogba/Anelka.......................... Basically we have to put together a team that will work and not one just cobbled together of certain players and hoping it works!!!

The thing is though that Sinclair at the moment is as good of an option for us on the wing and more so in some cases than what we are currently seeing from out first team players! For me it would be good to see Sinclair and Kalou on the wings running at defenders. Sinclair is certainly a better option right now that Malouda and SWP, let him get his experience with us rather than waste his talents on another club when we need those talents ourself.

I would imagine a squad almost similar or exactly similar to the one that progressed through the last round will be played tonight and should be more than enough to progress, a lot of the players have experience at reserve level so a physical game will not be too daunting to them..

Cup-tie focus switches to the youth team tonight (Tuesday) as the young Blues attempt to reach the semi-final of the FA Youth Cup. It's a game that can be viewed live on Chelsea TV. Our under 18 side are enjoying the club's best run in the competition for many years and victory away at Port Vale tonight will take them into the semi-finals for the first time in 35 years. That 1973 vintage contained many of the names that won promotion to the top flight for the Chelsea first team four years later. On the way to the FA Youth Cup quarter-final stage, this season's players have overcome Stevenage, Shrewsbury and Leicester, the last by a 3-1 scoreline at Stamford Bridge. Port Vale knocked out Tottenham in the last round and no-one at Chelsea will be taking the team from the Potteries lightly, certainly not anyone who can remember back five years when we were knocked out of the Youth Cup at Vale Park. The game was back in the day when current assistant first team coach Steve Clarke was in charge of our youth side. Port Vale, then a club in administration, had eliminated Everton, the 2002 runners-up (with Wayne Rooney in the side), the round before, generating huge local interest. A crowd of 1,958 noisy supporters turned up for the visit of Chelsea, forcing a delay in kick-off. 'We didn't know what the crowd would be,' said Clarke as he reflected on the game. 'When the delay was announced to let them in, it affected one or two of our players. But if you want to come through and develop, that might be something that happens. You have to learn how to relax and build up again.' The crowd roared on every Port Vale attack and they scored twice in the second half, each time from a lapse at the back. Chelsea pulled one back through substitute Dean Sylvester, a schoolboy making his youth team debut who was not taken on full time, but lost 2-1. In the side were schoolboys Adrian Pettigrew, Jimmy Smith and Phil Younghusband, still part of the reserve team set-up today. Robert Huth missed being eligible by two weeks. Another large crowd will support the home side tonight - 2,104 turned up for the defeat of Spurs. In opposition will be a Chelsea team that has been improving throughout the competition as players more usually in the reserves have become assimilated into the youth team's ways. The Leicester win came courtesy of goals from Denmark Under 18 centre-forward Morten Nielsen, exciting France Under 17 midfielder Gäel Kakuta and Miroslav Stoch, a regular scorer for Slovakia Under 19s. Like the Chelsea first team, there is a British core to the squad to complement the foreign developing talent, including Wales Under 21s' Rhys Taylor in goal plus England youth players Nana Ofori-Twumasi, Lee Sawyer, Michael Woods, Jacob Mellis and Adam Phillip. Kick-off tonight is 7pm (admission £4, concessions £2) with Chelsea TV's coverage commencing at 6.30pm. Included are previews from coach Paul Clement and Michael Woods and former FA Cup winner and current Academy coach will be providing expert analysis in the studio. There will be a look back at the win over Leicester plus all the latest news from Cobham as the first team resume training. The other two remaining quarter-finals are Plymouth v Man City and Charlton v Sunderland. Aston Villa are already in the two-legged semi-finals and will play the winners of Chelsea's match with Port Vale. To subscribe to Chelsea TV on Sky Digital channel 421, click here or call 08700 240 490. Existing Sky customers can subscribe through the Sky Products area on Sky Active via their Sky remote control. Source: Chelsea FC

Well it is only a loan deal and 18 year olds are usually on loan, but Sinclair can do a good job for us! Bottom line would be that Grant doesn't want to use him at the moment so Arnesen will find the best club to loan him to, to make sure he gets some playing time....

It's beyond daft. He has done well in every game he has played in for the first team and he is exactly the sort of player we need at the moment.....would be a very silly move.

Could you honestly ever see that happening? Jose is not the issue anymore and hasn't been for a long time. The issue now is for us to get a top coach in who can bring to us what we want to be seeing...

Lol, OK don't push it Well either SWP or Joe Cole are an absolute MUST if we are to continue with 3 in midfield thats for sure. Sinclair definately should get more games. And on the basis of the wing performances so far this season i would be very tempted to try Stoch...... Atmosphere has been better in general for a lot of this season. Think now though people are starting to get very frustrated. Our complete lack of goalscoring chances is becomming a bad joke....

I don't think there is a manager in the world that could turn SWP into a top class winger who keeps control of the ball or makes Malouda stronger and give him a bit of pace!! But what they would do is play Kalou and Cole for pretty much every game and give the livewire Sinclair more games!! If we can't pull out of the lull we are in and get this team playing, then i would think he will go in the summer. Although i believe it will take a lot, or some Major protests from fans to actually get him to go!

Lol, EVERY thread is a Grant thread these days - par for the course.... Up until now the results have been good. We have got ourselves in a strong position, we have all our players back and we have no idea how to use them. We should have won the game yesterday, we have the players to win the game yesterday and be very successful. I still feel long term there are changes needed to make us better on the attack in the way that Man you do or Arsenal do - with pace and inventiveness..

Lol, f**king faces nightclub is an absolute pit! Just round the corner from where i work and i just can't for life of me understand why anyone of any (even minor) celebrity status would want to go to the place!!!!

So you think a new manager with the same team could do a lot better than where we are now? I agree we need a new manager, i just think there are other issues too...

Jose never got the best out of the current crop of players. We got the results we needed but it never clicked into place.... Trouble is though, Maka, Lamps, Ballack, Essien and Mikel are ALL untouchable. Which was why we used the pretty innefectual 4-4-2 diamond so much last season. Jose was the master at winning games, but as the team broke up more and more from the first season the fluid nature of the team became less and less. For me, Kalou and Cole should have started on the wings with Drogba in the middle. Although Now i want to see us play with only 2 central midfielders because i think it is the only way for us to get some rythem now, Mikel or Essien with Lampard or Ballack.

The problem is too many quality players! Who do you pick from Mikel, Essien, Lampard and Ballack - and even Maka for that matter! Who do you fit in Drogba, Anelka and Sheva? Which wingers do you play ect... Right now you could ask everyone what the best 11 would be and you would get at least a dozen different teams come back. The wrong teams are being picked - most people wanted to see Anelka on the wing for the final - put he never saw the ball. Yes the manager is a problem, but he is one of a few problems we have to sort out before we can fully move on.....

Agreed to join Bayern in the summer! Besides, not exactly the sort of manager you want to see us sign. We need to be looking at the best available...

Neither was the right team picked against Liverpool or Olympiakos. 3 Different teams each time! The problem is that there isn't one that works playing the "best" players. Sometimes you just have to pick what works best.....

Just can't see it happening, they would argue that they are still in 3 competitions....

Bollocks to that! We need him in OUR team to add a bit of pace to our pedestrian play!!!!!!

Yes. But the problem was there with Jose, the problem was there last season. And it won't go away, you just can't get the players we have to play the way we want them to. Right now i don't think any manager could get us playing fast attacking football because we don't have the right players for it.