Blue Armour

darn it...you shouldn't even be on this thread to be fair

Darn game is on a Sunday... Oh well...at least the other title challengers are playing after we do

7 managers in 7years might not look good, but hey, that's the club's business policy apparently.... It certainly looks unethical but it has got us more trophies than Arsenal over the past few years. On a bright note, we haven't had 7 different "squads" in 7 years (although I think some would like it different),and all the managers who left have got their cash and aren't doing too bad themselves.

Ideally you would win'em all. But we don't live in an ideal world. I think we've done pretty well with regards to the trophy count, minus CL of course. One CL over the past 7 yrs would've been nice (its statistically impossible to win 2 in a row). Where we have underachieved is perhaps with regard to reeling in the cash, but I think that should improve over the next few years....

Don't know if we're really in for him but he's a very good option as a utility player. I think Malouda draws more flak than he deserves....he may not have been one of our best players last season, but he was certainly far from being the worst. I take it most people are disappointed that he..... "disappeared" during the middle of the season,but that was expected. He's not the sort of player that can carry a team on his shoulders. So when the team failed,he failed as well.

Todays community shield match revealed more about our rivals... I think Cech was right about De Gea stepping into Van der saar's boots...if today's charity match versus city was any indication, then United might have a tough time this season Mancini's side blew it despite being 2-0 up... but of course with Tevez and Aguero both being on the bench, judging them now wouldn't seem right...If Tevez leaves they basically have the same squad as last season...

I can imagine it now...Chelsea's dual themed attack: Torres and Sturridge to drive the defense nuts with pace and trickery: Drogba and Lukaku coming on to finish what's left

I can imagine it now...Chelsea's dual themed attack: Torres and Sturridge to drive the defense nuts with pace and trickery: Drogba and Lukaku coming on to finish what's left

Lamps has not had the best of pre-seasons....but I have a feeling he's just recharging his batteries (which can take a while given he's 33)...This should explain why AVB gives him so many minutes on the pitch despite not playing to his best....

That's what I call a good pre-season...all wins...only one goal conceded (which really shouldn't have happened)...and Torres, Drogba , Sturridge not only scoring but generally playing well...An addition of a couple of more players will defo make this team fly

Those who berated Drogba in the previous pages clearly have not seen or forgotten how he plays... He may remain anonymous for periods in the game, but he intervenes when it matters

didn't really see Mikel's injury...did it look serious? I mean did he at least walk off the pitch?

:chelsea2:

That's what I thought as well; in that case, we can forget about that for another.....for 2-3 years?

They're all wearing last season's kit as well...

He has no obligation...I'll keep that thought for comfort, However, he is Spanish, so......

Lol...that's what I meant..edited my post

In 2009-2010 for the treble,..he was fit for barely half the season..Fortunately (for Inter) this was during the season run-in

It largely depends on how much City have improved....United are stronger than last season...Anyone who thinks Liverpool, Arsenal or Tottenham will displace Chelsea from top 4 hasn't been following pre-season or is simply deluded. As long as we don't suffer a miserable slump like we did last season, I''d go for a top two finish...Rotating the squad members is key for that, and I just hope pre-season is an indication that AVB will do just that Consistency, rather than periods of dominance, is what it takes to win the EPL imo.... In the end football is unpredictable...The only thing I enjoyed last season was how the pundits kept making fools of themselves

Under the current circumstances it would be best to go for a player who can double up as an attacking mid as well as a winger... Pastore was one option, but there are others out there...

It just means the journo's are out of ideas...

I would rather rotate between the two. If we play several games in succession Paulo will be wheezing by the end of it, and will easily be shown up by pacy wingers like Bale. As for Zhirkov, he's definitely a player I would hate to let go of, on account of his ability alone. But the fact is with the injuries he has suffered over the past 2 seasons, his departure wouldn't affect the squad much. I would rather have the opportunities he got to play on our left side given to a youngster instead... There are just too many waiting in line (Gael, Bertrand, Van Aanholt....

I hope he doesn't loan out Josh without signing a creative mid... Apart from Yossi, he seems to be the only one in midfield interested in playing forward passes.

While the need of an extra playmaker and winger is clear, I have a lot more belief in our current squad under the new regime. Many people would agree that personnel-wise this is basically the same squad we had at the end of last season..., however the youngsters are playing more important roles in the team (I mentioned this in another post, even before today's match when Josh scored) as opposed to the bit-part roles last season...This means AVB is trying to utilize the entire potential of our 2010 squad...something Carlo couldn't quite do.... Its also worth noting that despite the constant changes in personnel our team , with a little bit of luck , has managed to keep clean sheets in all games played so far. We haven't even deployed our influential Brazilians for any of the matches either. I know its only pre-season, and there will be sterner tests ahead, but at this "moment" I'm pretty optimistic about what AVB has in store for us....

Absolutely love this! AVB's "GROUP" philosophy is really being put into effect here. It doesn't matter who comes in and who goes, the teams is still getting the result... Have to say, our 4-3-3 was better though (but then again this was the first time AVB tried 4-4-2) and Josh showing that he's becoming an integral part of this team...