Blue Armour

Absolutely true. I wanted our team to shut them up by taking the lead,..shame it didn't last long.

Won't be upset if he gets sacked soon, but I wonder what the players (at least the ones that give a damn) will feel...Two managers sacked in a single season? That's a new one even for them....

Horrible defending from him today, and sums up the problems we're facing in defense these days. No surprise two of their goals came from his flank..

Same here, but I'm in a state of disbelief. Like you said, the idea which sounds plausible hasn't worked on the pitch. Yet here he is on the wing again. And I think Moses will be probably two weeks (if you include the time the club will give to players returning from the AFCON) away from playing again. Could be less depending on how well Drogba does against Nigeria.

Imagine if this'll be the time when del Bosque decides to give him a rare start...

I'm actually starting to imagine that someone higher up has forced Di Matteo and Benitez to play Ryan on the wing.. Its almost impossible for these managers to make this daft decision over and over again..

No Marin/Bertrand on the wings..I don't trust either of them in this sort of game. We really need points right now to make up for the ones we lost.. I hope either: Luiz is fit, so we can push Ramires up frontwe play Ba on the wing, and Torres upfront or pair the twoBenayoun plays on the wing, Ba upfront.

Probably the main factor. But the funny thing is, after watching his recent games, his pace seems have to improved quite a bit.

His behavior has been on the whole pretty good, actually. The board really fucked up in this case...if they couldn't sell or loan him, they could have at least made him work for his wages. Would rather have Malouda on the wing than Bertrand.

Almost forgot about our Evertonian friend.., have to agree, a lot of his posts are quality.

Kojo, TorontoChelsea, Only place to be.. Hon. mentions: Musaffir, didierforever and Nachikethas (because his posts crack me up)

LMAO: Apparently Reading boss McDermott said after the game: "Sadly we didn’t have time to get the third" Talk about milking it...

Can't find the original article with the interview, but here's another link : http://www.futaa.com/football/article/mourinho-predicts-doom-for-arsenal

Apparently this was Mourinho's top 4 prediction: 1.Man Utd 2.Man City 3. Tottenham 4. Chelsea This could be the final table, if the results don't improve.

Its not the first time Brana has gone brain-dead this season...Probably best to put him back in the RB position, where mistakes are less costly.

Not vouching for Benitez, but that would have been extreme and could have just as easily led to an equalizer. There were already 5 defenders on the pitch. Bringing on Terry might have added solidity at the back, but it could have also invited Reading to come forward and flood the midfield. Face it, we dominated this match for large stages and should have won by at least 3 goals if it weren't for Oscar's poor finishing. Ivanovic and Turnbull didn't do well for LeFondre's opener. Where Benitez, or at least someone in charge of the setpiece coaching, really screwed up was for the equalizer, were the marking just wasn't there. Also, none of the defenders seemed to give a shit about LeFondre. Wonder what kind of advice the opposition scout gave the players....

It sure looked like it was zonal marking...which I quite frankly hate. Its useful to setup counter attacks, but to me its nothing but a massive gamble. We used it under AVB as well and it bombed... With regards to Bertrand, I don't see why he couldn't play Ba in his position. Its not as if Ba is naive when it comes to tactics, and for sure he'll have better chemistry with Torres than Ryan.

Clearly whoever's doing the opposition scouting for our team hasn't done their job right... How else would our team leave Reading's killer sub Le Fondre unmarked for that last set-piece? And the fact that around 3 opposition players were left free in our d-box? Poor management there? I think so...and I don't even want to mention the lateness of the substitutions..

Same here, and yes it can't be worse than playing Marin atm. However, if the two are going together play at any stage, Rafa'll most likely place Ba on the wing, instead of second striker, where I feel he should be. The Spaniard seem to come alive when Ba came on last weekend, and I'm curious to know if it can happen again.

It would be foolish to judge Ramires or Lampard based on their recent games. They've been playing full-90 min games, nearly every 3 days, in the past few weeks due to the lack of rotation in CM. They've both been below par, Lampard more than Ramires..Its nothing unexpected.

Hence why I said POSSIBLE plan B?

Obvious with the lack of rotation (due to lack of options in CM). Ramires was practically wheezing towards the end...

Well the last few mins showed there's a possible plan B where we can play both strikers together. Also showed how much of a "Juan"-man team we've become

Not to mention that both players played in the CM position. If they wanted to loan senior players out, why not Malouda+Meireles./Essien? Instead they hang onto Malouda, and let him rot in the reserves. No wonder the squad is fucking imbalanced. Hell, each time the game reaches the 65th-70th minute I start dreading the likely substitutions. Its guaranteed Marin and Piazon (when he was there) won't play, as they're only names on a team-sheet. The most likely sub is Bertrand, who comes on to play out of position. And worse, there's no plan B. Subs are brought on, simply to fit in the lackluster 4-2-3-1 formation which has become frankly nauseating to watch at times, especially with the distorted double pivot and a front three that can barely keep possession under pressure.

The funniest thing is the title.... "170000 a week Hazard"....as if the 170000 is supposed to make a difference...tabloid shit.