Blue Armour

The pair have gone missing several times in recent games...Like for Vidal's goal in Juve's 3-0 win....I don't know if its because of fatigue, but its something that has been plaguing the team this season. And yeah, it was awkward seeing Cole all over Ivanovic for that goal...

No offence to PC, who has generally been nothing short of brilliant this season, but yesterday you could tell he was going to screw up. He kept coming out of his box in needless situations, and was trying to dummy Carlton Cole on a few...The one time he really needed to come out and collect the ball, he failed and that led to the equalizer.

That's the root of the problem, just like it was mentioned in that article someone posted a week back. On many occasions you can see him put the ball past the defender to chase it down, but when players like Collins and Milner can catch up with him, then he has a problem.

Henrique, Peace, Torontochelsea and Laura90 have raised interesting points this past month... Am going with Henrique...

The funny thing is if Falcao were to lose his goalscoring form, we would be in bigger shit than we are with Torres (hard to imagine, but that's the truth). If ever there was a striker we should try for, Cavani would be a good choice. But he's expensive, and is unlikely to move in Jan.

If you told me this about a couple of months ago, I would have suggested the same. Mikel always had his shortcomings, but in the last few matches they have been costing the team big-time. If we go back to 4-3-3 with Mikel in the pivot role, we'll be smacked by teams that play like West-ham did, or like Juve and Shaktar did in the CL. It might improve the attack but we'll still have the same problems (possibly worse) in defense.

Ergo, we should start playing 4-3-3 again..Not going to happen unless we have the perfect player to play in defensive mid.

Honestly disappointed with Mikel's work rate these days,..looking at it now, it would seem that keeping Essien would have been a better option. And now there's his passing. During Carlo's second season, and sometimes during the start of this season he was more ambitious with his passing. During the last few games, its been really dull, where he doesn't even seem to pass more than 5 yards, always keen to get a forward player to track back and receive. This was acceptable in the 1st half when West Ham were content to sit back...but in the 2nd half they just bulldozed through our midfield due to the lack of urgency from the side. You can blame Torres all you want for his lack of sharpness in front of goal, but the more pressing concern is the weakness in central midfield. I won't say that Mikel is the main problem (as there is no better substitute in the squad), but he hasn't really been helping the team in recent games.

That central midfield looks so disappointing...even worse when you consider there are no better options available. If there's something its good at, its in cutting out attacks and retaining possession...and lately its not even doing that.

Won't be a surprise if heads to City. They've already hired Txiki Begiristain, and now probably want to complete the set

Nothing weird about it..new additions to a squad can always raise the team morale. But you can't tell me that Torres and Luiz were the standout performers either... Yes it was those undroppables that were playing, and while they didn't reach peak form, they did improve in spring...and everyone including Lampard, was involved in improving the team's position in the table..Its not as if they sat back and watched the show.

Not that he's going to do anything this time, but we did move from outside the top 4 to a position from which we could actually win the title. So yeah, not exactly "fuck all".

He's just replying to what they asked. And besides, he's trying to appear grateful to WBA, who in all fairness have provided more game time than Chelsea have.

"Transition" ? Isn't it clear from the rate at which we fire managers, that the board wants silverware as quickly as possible? They want teams to click as quickly as Mourinho's did in 2004....aint going to happen with a squad full of u23's...

Carlo had got the right balance of attack and defense in 09-10...never really replicated since

What other tough games? They were racing to be fit for the CL final..the only other tough game they had was against Napoli away and that was a nightmarish outing for both of them. But yeah, I agree on what you said about Luiz.

You mean he walks into defenders....

About time really...

Seems to be very much the case after Ancelloti's second season flop. And they seem to be paying more attention to the results rather than the games themselves..which is the root of the problem I feel...

Oscar, if I understand what he plans for our double pivot (one defensive player and one offensive)

Not that Benitez has a say in the matter... But anyway, its disappointing if true. I understand the club shouldn't simply give into player demands, but you do have to reach a compromise. If players like Cole and Lampard are dispensable, why do they continue to return to the starting eleven every few days? Unless they have a desperate need to balance their books, I hope the board reconsiders their position on this.

He's only a coach, and so won't be involved in transfers...But yeah, I don't see how he could be motivated enough..Yes its a chance for him to advertise himself as a top manager, but is that reason enough? And more importantly how will the players feel?

I don't hate him...See, things are different at our club now....We've had so many managers come in and go in the past few months, that there's no sense of real attachment towards any of them (except for maybe RDM who's ex-Chelsea). I just see them as professionals doing their job, and I'll rate them based on how well they do it. Rafa's no different.

Yeah..and I don't understand how a manager can "grow on you" after 1 press conference...Let's see how the team performs during the next few weeks first..

Bypassing all the drama... What does this actually mean for the club right now? This is a crucial juncture in the season, and definitely not a good time to lose your head coach. What's going to happen to the setup of the team..will Torres automatically be restored to the starting eleven (no point in asking I guess) And also,..how exactly can the team or the manager himself get motivated for success when this is clearly a stop-gap measure (like every other appointment)...it worked for Guus and RDM but that was much later on in the season when there were trophies in view.