laura90

http://www.express.co.uk/ourcomments/view/306378 He has bad attitude. Yes. He will never be Chelsea's Giggs. Yes He did some really stupid things lately. Yes He is guilty for managerial sacking. Read this article first.

Just a thought. Maybe he was trying to say " I need to play over Meireles. I am as bad, but at least I can score, and contribute little more " I realise that his behaviour was inappropriate. However if he was replaced with lets say Pastore in form, or any other midfielder who could take us to the top four. Maybe in that case Chelsea would actually play a lot better without him in continuity and keep winning. Would his reactions remained the same? There are reasons to be disappointed in every aspect of this club. Every. But that is a consequence of extreme situations this club and it's staff are going trough due to bad decisions taken in the past. It's like running a firm. Bad decision after another and soon enough workers don't get salaries and riots begin. Chelsea FC has the money, but requires success. Firms money is our success. No success and you have...well it's shown. If players indeed made troubles in the past, they should have been replaced while ago. We do not have the team that is able to achieve what is expected from above. Everything else is part of the package. I don't defend Lampard here.

I believe we the fans have done quite a job in regards of sending and bringing players in past few seasons. We even played enough youngsters as far as I'm concerned. Now it's up to the Board, unfortunately. And support, I mean funds and freedom, they give to the new manager, whoever gets appointed. I'm not going to speculate, to prevent possible jinx. I feel I said too much last summer. These threads are getting depressing too. Wishful thinking and all that. It feels little late at this point of time.

1. Of course media will blame old guard for AVB's departure. That is whole new way to undermine this club , now when AVB is gone. It's not like they can continue with "AVB on verge of sacking" campaign they carried out since decembar. 2. Main issue with Lampard, Cole, Terry and Drogba is that they are not 5 years younger, so they can preform well and help out manager ( the top four place and trophy) in case there are no other options available. 3. Bad results lead to losing dressing room. As I recall, only player that looked eager every single time was Luiz. Only him. But not just at Chelsea. Look at Arsenal. Wenger lost it too. But those players are more talented and younger therefore he was able to turn things around better. For now. 4. Had we brought midfielder to replace Lampard and other much needed players, this player power issue wouldn't even exist. 5. The well being of this club depends on Boards' will to spend on new players rather than only manager, not on Old guard's will to preform the best under new manager. Because they probably can't. 6. That brings the question. Why are they so important and decisive? Simply put, we have no better options. And that is the root of everything. It's a real shame. Sad state of affairs. It's bad enough watching this club conceal the lack of quality investment in squad with sacking manager after manager, but also blaming and trashing players and my memories in the process. Not for me. I know they are not Saints, but they are also not real culprits.

I know I have been critical towards AVB lately, but in almost every post I pointed that he was in difficult situation due to lack of support from this board. Except when Tomo said he would surpass Mourinho in this stage. I found that, well, not possible. In near future. Without major luck. Back to AVB. As I previously stated I follow Europa League and the season AVB won it, I supported him. Well, I kinda like that competition, therefore the fact that many were mocking it bothered me a little. When AVB was appointed I was enthusiastic. For a while. Before transfer window closed. Than my enthusiasm splashed. I've never wrote optimistic post about how we will make CL or win a trophy under AVB since. Simply because I didn't believe he will make it with those players and these kind of expectations. The only way I could believe in AVB's long term future here, is if he was allowed to have one bad season to rebuild the squad. Which includes Europa League. I wrote various posts about that. But come January it was more and more clear to me that the board doesn't share my expectations. Everything with AVB would be so much better if he was given full support and if he wasn't expected forth place under that circumstances , but to rebuild the squad instead. Or better players from the start. But he wasn't. It seems you told the truth.

Funny how you quote me now. You quoted me in August when I wrote we may play Europa League next season under AVB, and you said something like " If we play Europa League we will have another manager". No.I don't blame AVB. I said than, as now, that he didn't have chance from the beginning. He didn't have experience to deal with everything here without proper players. I blame the board for not giving him conditions from the start. That is why he was sacked. Ttoo many bad results. Long before Lampard gave that interview. And even if he remained silent, it was just a matter of time before manager pay the price for bad decisions of the board. If I was on that board year before, I would give AVB year to find new players without asking him CL football or any trophy. That would be appropriate thing to ask from such inexperienced manager with potential.

It is so easy to blame individuals for the state of this club. Let's blame Lampard. Or Drogba. Or Ashley Cole. They are awful and they don't care anymore. Have you ever thought that they simply are not good enough anymore? In other successful club they would have been replaced with younger players on time and wouldn't be playing so much on this level anymore. Because they can't. Blame Lampard for AVB being sacked. AVB made no mistake, not even single one, it was Lampard interview that finished with such a capable manager. He was sacked because of bad results. Although it's not entirely AVB's fault, he didn't get the players from the start. Just pile of has beens who were not capable to follow his ideas and philosophy. Blame Didier Drogba for shining in one game and being awful in next one. It's not that years cached him, he doesn't care. Blame Malouda for undermining AVB, even though guy is awful and should have left year before. Blame Ashley Cole for being 30 years old, and played game after game as left back , for looking tired and not good enough, he must be undermining our manager. In fact they all must celebrate AVB sacking and what looks like decline of this club. It's much easier to believe that these individuals are the cause of everything . But sooner rather than later it will become clear that those individuals are just a symptom, not a cause , of disease called the Board of Chelsea football club.

So Lampard got AVB sacked ??? I'm not justifying him or his quotes, that was wrong thing to do, but things with AVB went wrong the moment he was appointed without adequate support. Funds for new players he wanted and who suited his style. Frank had very little to do with that. Is high defensive line failure Frank's fault? Is permanent playing liability called Bosingwa Frank's fault? Are not so ideal line ups, from the begining of the season, Frank's fault? Is AVB inability to adopt his system and formation to pathetic choice of players he had Frank's fault? Is insisting with 4 3 3 formation, even though we didn't have right players and even though it didn't work Frank's fault too? Is loaning Benayoun and getting Meireles (board) also Frank's fault? And all of this had nothing to do, but it was Frank Lampard? AVB was on brink of sack couple of months ago, but Drogba prevented it with fantastic performance against Valencia. Whether you like it or not, players don't tend to believe in managers who seem out of their depth. He wasn't the only one disinterested and unmotivated. There is the BOARD, there is AVB and after that there is Frank Lampard or any individual player to blame, not other way around. That being said, I believe that Frank Lampard is not good enough anymore.

To be honest I was never worried. I've expected Europa League finish as soon as transfer window closed. I was looking forward to it in some strange way. Don't get me wrong. I am aware of bad consequences of not playing in CL. Money - we will lose millions. But how many millions have we wasted last year only? Top signings - nothing suggest we can afford four or five of those, and that is exactly what we need. 5 players and couple of decent squad players. Despite popular opinion Cavani alone wouldn't do much here, and he certainly wouldn't have same goal ratio in our system than in Napoli. This club is in very difficult situation, burdened by bad decisions made in the past, related to transfer policy, wages policy, even our youth system. There are only two ways out of this in my opinion. 1. Money. Couple hundred of millions, similar wage policy, continuity of the same standards. 2. Revolution and afterwards transition. Setting different standards. Forming of a new team of talented but not so established players, and gradually improving of the same. It will take years, not season or two. It could be painful but at the same time could bring what football is really about to Chelsea FC. Sometimes in life one needs to fail in order to improve ( and learn). That is not the best or the most desired way, but given our decision making, it's the only way. Europa League ( if we made it there) will integrate changes. For better or for worst but will bring changes. Given the direction we are heading right now, with these standards and decision making, we truly have nothing to lose. And give us opportunity to see some of our youth players in Chelsea shirt. Well this is how I see it, at least.

That is one point of view, but very questionable. The way I see it, he did not have the reason to to trust in them. Given their age , their roles in the team, their capabilities and the most important their weaknesses. Who can claim for sure he wanted this team in the first place? OK, he said he is happy, but what can he say? I have no funds to bring more suitable players? Lukaku was not his signing and probably not even Meireles (panic buy). What I'm trying to say, these players stayed because the club could not say buy to them from one reason or another. Not because he believed in them, it was not his fault. In my opinion anyway. One can blame him for taking this job under these difficult circumstances, but for not being active in transfer market? It's not all up to him. And he has shown interest for various players, but that is more less everything he can do, without support.

Mourinho is the world class manager, with impressive man manager skills, motivator, tactician . Real Madrid has always had great players but that doesn't guarantee success. The more egos you have, the more problems you may have if you don't posses man management skills. And he surely does. And at this moment he has remarkable reputation in winning and trophies which attracts players like nothing else. But I do not believe he will come back here. Therefore I want him to stay in Madrid for a very long time, to be their Ferguson, than to go to Germany, or to be Portugal coach, I don't care. I don't want to see him in England in near future. I don't live in delusion that he would be average in other English clubs. As for AVB, he has yet to achieve what Mourinho has in this competitive league. And I'm not talking about trophies. I'm talking about tactics, man management skills, motivation skills, defensive approach and others. Just because he has enormous potential doesn't mean he is there. But that is expected given his lack of experience and competitiveness of THIS LEAGUE. He is not world class yet, no matter how bad our players are. He may become it in couple of years but he needs time. And new players. And funds. And support of this board. Only like that we will see the best of him. Not world class in the first year or two, but later, who knows. I don't want to see him sacked before he gets players that suit him. It seems unfair and stupid. But just because of that I won't pretend that Mourinho would harm this club in this mess or that I would rather see AVB here and Mourinho in Manchester City at this point of time.

@ Tomo -91 With all due respect to AVB and his knowledge, he indeed can become world class manager here or somewhere else , but to replicate what success? Winning Europa League, the competition that , last time I checked, only few want to see Chelsea in. Many Chelsea fans see Europa League like nightmare competition. And yet, people are praising him for that tittle. It's quite funny. He had the best squad in Porto on his disposal, with the best striker who was in form, in Portugal League so the tittle and Cup are quite big, but not the biggest achievements. He has potential to be great and everything but he is not there just yet. And replicate of his success at this moment would include channel number 5 football as you like to call it. So in order to succeed, here or somewhere else, he needs to do way more ( learning included) than to replicate his success.

When Mourinho came here first, he splashed the cash. Spent much money on players. But nowdays, there is no other coach who can bring quality players for less money. Simply because every young talented player around wants to play for him. Almost every. There is no better man for overhaul of squad than him. And by now, he would probably be aware that Chelsea needs creative players and he would bring them. With much better fees than AVB whether you like it or not. Chelsea would become preffered destination not underdogs like last summer ( apart Mata of course). And he would have completely authority. Even if he leaves afterwards, he would set foundations for our transition and only for that I would take him back. I'm sure our board would be smarter second time around. He wouldn't play old guard simply because he is smart enough to know they won't bring him trophies. That being said, I don't believe Mourinho would come back here.

Well that completely ruined game for me. I can't imagine myself watching it now. Stupid. Even though I'm not his biggest supporter, that is pathetic if true.

I haven't see us in the top four since the begining of the season. If we finish there I will be pleasantly suprised. It's not a question of faith , for me it's just hard to believe that all those bad decisions won't come and bite us in the end. Of course balance of the squad and it's structure play big part in it. Although I would love to be optimistic like most of the fans here. Anyway, in some strange way I'm convinced that Liverpool will finish above us one way or another. So in my opinion we will play in CL only if Liverpool finish third. I know it's silly but that's the feeling I have had for quite some time and I don't like it. Badboy maybe they will try harder towards the end to get themselves better contracts next season, if they indeed go?

No. You can't have them both. Cavani/Iguain/Falcao as striker and Sturridge as right winger. It won't work. Because most of the time, instead of cooperating together, our striker and Sturridge will compete in "who will have more shots on the goal" discipline. OK if Cavani take so many shots he will score, but that's not the point. Sturridge won't be of great benefit to our future striker, nevermind how he will be "pleased" if we actually get one. And don't tell me he has right to have that attitude because of Torres. He had it during short "Torres may be back" spell, and he is doing it with Drogba who is able to score. Get Cavani/Iguain/Falcao and you will get yourself unhappy Sturridge, and when doesn't score, very useless winger. And we can't afford it. So we should give Sturridge a chance to shine at CF position and give right wing position to genuine team player who can and enjoys creating chances for strikers, and who plays for the team not for himself. And how I would love to see Sturridge at CF position right now, when he is instead of fullback , surrounded with DM and CB with our generous midfield. I know he would score goals , but how often and how easy? That would give so much answers for summer. But with Anelka's departure, slim chance of that happening. Anyway, my answer is Sturridge.

And we will go down as the club who made the most stupid transfer in football history. Instead of buying what we desperately needed (creative midfielder and winger - what we are paying dearly now), we payed 50 mil for a player who didn't fit nor was needed. Coach didn't want him, and our game and players didn't suit him and his limited abilities. He was desperate to leave Liverpool, what was our excuse?

Defenders who make school boy mistakes Midfielders who can't pass and make midfield as good as non- existent. Forwards who can't score. Manager who looks out of his depth, ignored by the players with suspicious line up. Nobody missed the show.

I never quite understood why people believed that Lampard, Terry and Drogba could make an effective subs easily . Like Giggs and Scholes. But it is not the same. Because Scholes and Giggs, for example, are nothing more than SAF's and Man Utds servants. Hard workers. That is all they ever thought about themselves, and that is the attitude they have expressed during years. On the other side, Frank, Drogba and Terry during our managers mary - go - round, were back bone of this team, the glue of this team, the most influental figures, holders of success and the most importantly half managers during some periods. With their return we finished second season before. And they probably thought they knew more about top football than AVB. They were in it more at the same age. And yet this board believed AVB is an ideal person for benching them. If there weren't some things called team spirit, team atmosphere, team unity or manager's authority, and if those weren't relevant for result, it could actually work. That doesn't make AVB a hell of a manager, but he's lost dressing room long before it was visible thanks to bad results. On the very beginning. With very few alternatives. This squad and AVB were like a ship sentenced to struck a rock before it even sailed. But ...overhaul of the squad is around the corner, and if things get really bad we will watch our reserves in Europa League. That's not nearly as bad as it seems.

And to think we have second highest wage bill in the country under these circumstances is laughable. Imagine how our club would benefit if we could, only for this season, pay the players on basis how good they really are. We could rebuild our squad, make some world class signings without worrying FFP rules, and still make more profit than Arsenal .Wishful thinking...

I understand you but...What if they are just not good enough? What if expectations are too high for them to fullfill? Unlike your dad they haven't been able to do what is expected of them, which led to massive frustrations week in week out, which ultimately led to disinterest and loss of motivation? This is extremely unbalanced and not good enough squad, and yet we expect them to win most of the time, make the top four, win FA cup and go to semis in CL. Who cares if they can make wonderfull pass forward or decent cross once in a blue moon. Who cares if our leaders and the most influental players are, unfortunately, 'has beens'. If they played for Newcastle they would be awesome. But since they play for Chelsea they need to be twice better, even though our squad isn't twice as good. It's convinient to blame individual players, coach or even squad, but the real blame and responsability lies within board for living in the past and expecting contemporary results. And for being opsessed with strikers while ignoring creative midfielders and wingers.

I'm only posting this because it made me laugh. I didn't write this, it is a fellow Chelsea fan reaction on AVB' recent comments how not every player has to back his project etc. You wanna know what this means? let me tell you ATTENTION!!!! ATTENTION!!!! ALL EPL, SERIA A, LA LIGA, BUNDESLIGA, SPL, LIGUE 1 AND CLUBS AROUND THE WORLD. There will be a massive sale at Chelsea this summer!! I am Talking huge. We have old and out of form strikers, Slow and Dull Mid fielders, Defenders whom the very act of defending is foreign and all types of bench warmers and they all lack TECHNICAL Abilities, but most of you dont know what that means or entails anyway. Come early and you might the 2 for 1 price, because thats the chelsea way, expensive buys cheap sale. come come all of you!!! Even Mourinho is welcome to this Sale. (at least jose you get to speak to those players face to face instead of texting all the time, interrupting my practices. No you dont need to show your face at Bridge, we will ship them to you. Tax and shipping fee obviously not included in Transfer fee) So please make your Appiontments and spread the Word and we will see you this summer. Thanks The Group One AVB If there is any problem, delete this.

Badboy if you created this topic it's pretty pointless. I agree Ramires, David Luiz and Bosingwa can't discuss politics, philosophy or medicine on the pitch, but don't you think they are familiar with expressions such as pass the ball, run, make a tackle, run back, I hurt my knee or so. There is a barrier between our players, in that part you are probably right, but it's not the language barrier. If only ... Besides, you don't know how bad their English really is. Even if they don't use English in public they are probably familiar with basics, which is sufficient for their needs.

That guy sums up perfectly modern young Liverpool fans who are so proud and obsessed with glorious past and yet not in time of their lives saw their club winning so desired, expected and mentioned domestic title. Significant part of Liverpool fans are a heady mix of sentimental and bitter middle aged men and women who crave the good old days, militant teenagers who don't know any different than the conspiracy theories they have been fed and others who latch on to a "cause". What amazes , truly, is that the club and its manager seem to be feeding off this paranoia and the way they have been acted lately ( Suarez shirts for example) is just very unprofessional. Its really like they have become symbiotic with the paranoid faction of their fanbase and want to take advantage and cash in on that.

No he was not Miracle worker. But he was cheaper and had more experience to deal with this problematic squad. Lampard, Drogba, Malouda and co, if we have to rely on them at this stage, would have respected him more than AVB. The only advantage AVB could have is maybe better eye for players, but it haven't served him so far. I do belive that's board' fault not his. Rebuilding was priority, not 30 mil manager who got squad he frankly couldn't manage. Not just Hiddink, many were better option in these conditions.