Blue Armour

It happened so many times in the previous leg...

Something like this? Cech Ivanovic - Luiz - JT - Cole Essien Ramires - Mata- Lampard Drogba- Sturridge/Torres

Also won two games and didn't concede a goal. Makes him an idiot, not.

But the guy's trying to win his Euro ticket, right? I don't think he will risk putting in bad performances especially with the limited number of chances he was getting at the time. I think his form (apart from goal-scoring) has been generally poor this season. I've heard he played ok against Stoke, but that was against a ten-man team and doesn't prove he can consistently deliver them match after match.

And whenever he makes a mistake, he gets put down as if he's nothing more than a Lucas or Henderson.

Its clear that the manager and Lampard didn't exactly get along, and I for one dislike the way he went and let his feelings known to the public, thereby embarrassing AVB. But "I don't get along with AVB!" does not necessarily mean "I won't sit on the bench!"., right?

He obviously needs rest, just like Drogba..they should play alternate games from now on.

Always found it odd that Carlo never played him last season..., even after ignoring the fact that they're both Italian.

Rotato-De-Matteo...wielding his substitutions like a toy gun, unafraid to put out any starting 11 he wants

Granted, the experienced players need to be dropped from games with more regularity; but the way you say it, its as if only they under-performed, when the reality is that the whole team was below par during that 3 month period.

That's what I understand by going through the other threads as well. I honestly think Drogba and Lampard need all the rest they can get and can't and shouldn't start consecutive games. If Torres were in form, I would probably play him as lone striker in the weekend, and pair him with a strike partner in midweek, or something like that..

From a neutral perspective, and because I didn't watch the match, how good was Drogba's contribution? How was it compared to Torres' last Tue? And more importantly how useful was Lampards? I'm beginning to feel a strike partnership might be the best formation for the rest of the season, especially if the extra man in midfield is of not much use..

Here's hoping we already have our manager for next season...if that's the case I can't thank AVB enough.

Press guy: "What do you make of Scheznut's remarks that the club are being run by the English players?" RDM: "I would say he doesn't know our club..., he doesn't know what he's talking about" Haha, love how concise and sharp his replies are..

You're right about the lack of chances being created for our strikers. But the point of contention here is regarding Torres' performance. You talk about game-time, but the fact is Kalou gets even less (I'm not going to complain though). You say that even other CF's can't score, but the fact remains it has just taken 2 games for our 34 yr old Drogba to get back on the scoresheet since his return from AFCON. The chances, though meagre, are there. Its just that Torres never makes the most of what he gets.

For the last time...we have someone like that in Kalou as well!!!And that guy actually scores...

He was so much more confident at the start of the season... Someone should ask Drogba to smack his head with a crowbar, and when he wakes up, tell him he's "El nino, legendary goalscorer"...That's probably the only way he can start scoring again.

To all Torres fans in general: If you really wish the best for Torres, you'd want him shipped to Spain back to his beloved Athletico. The EPL is not the best place to recover for a player, especially one on a slump like this. The funny thing is, Torres is adamant about continuing here...Neither the player nor his fans seem to have a clue..

Like the formation you're trying to put out but you're missing someone there

While I agree Borini might have been a good option for us, I don't see how he could have thrived with Torres, Drogba, Lukaku, Sturridge competing for a spot. Real shame we couldn't hold onto him but the move away was the best option for his career.

C'mon...all strikers, even the ones in form, go through blips like this. I think the majority of you are disappointed because there's hardly anyone else to put them away..

Don't remind me...

That's exactly on the mind of the guy who comes and stands behind Zola in the vid

GIANFRANCO ZOLA has leapt to the defence of Chelsea's old guard over the sacking of Andre Villas-Boas:

Zola backs RDM: http://www.skysports.com/video/inline/0,,16430_7577676,00.html Nice to see hair on his head again