manpe

"He didn't pay 15m euros (£13.2m) to get me out of Porto and another fortune to get me out of Chelsea," he said. "It is not a question of the owner having patience. I have said we have set out to build something new at this club and the club is committed to what we are building for the future." "There is no running away from our responsibilities," said Villas-Boas. "There is no calling this a year of transition, no calling for time to do our work." http://news.bbc.co.u...ll/15813784.stm That probably settles it

"I wouldn't 1-2 be a Ch3l5ea fan right now."

Were we shit 2 years ago? The decline has been very sudden since Wilkins and Ballack left

Henrique has a point. It sorta feels like a transition period, because we all want it to be just that, but in reality transition means replacing the old with the new... apart from Sturridge and Mata, I don't see where we are doing that. He has made signings for the future, but they get rare minutes. I believe if we were in a more comfortable position, we would see more of them but now he wants to play it safe and in these situations you usually opt for proven experience. We have added to quality compared to last season, but we aren't getting the results and we look extremely shaky. The team has not reacted well to changes in tactics, it has been harder than we thought it would be. I think the real change of face will come next summer when some deadwood players will inevitebly leave and some will join... on the other hand, I thought it would happen this summer. If we fail this season, then it will be hard to persuade world class players to join next year..

On the other hand... we played after the international break. We broke the jynx before, it was about time it got back at us.

yeah i know i was just agreeing with your opinion

Meireles IS a stand in, the obvious sign being that he's mostly on the bench in big games.. or is one of the first to get substituted when he starts. With Modric you know he would've been a definite big-game starter.

So it's time for this topic. 2-3 seasons ago we didn't even dare to think of it, but this problem has been rightly brought forward now. He almost cost us a goal today with his miskick. And ability wise in general he hasn't impressed. Atm he's probably emotionally down for obvious reasons, tired and all the other things that come with age. But for a centre back he isn't too old yet, it's just that the high line game doesn't suit him at all.. and he has become more sloppy. If we put Ivanovic in the centre, then we must play Bosingwa on right side.... if not, then we must play Alex, and who knows in what shape he is atm - didn't even make the bench today.

A great atmosphere here.. friendly, sensible, smart, organized.. apart from a few exceptions that come and go, the good side has always been here. Congrats

And that is the sole reason? Teams were weaker in Mou's time because we were stronger, every year after we have become weaker hence other teams becoming stronger in comparison to us. With Mourinho's defence we wouldn't have conceded 17 already, the simple truth is that currently our defending is a laughing stock.... not sure what this has to do with this topic though, it's not like Jose is coming back and we aren't gonna replicate the ruthlessness of 2004-2006 again any time soon. If we're gonna have shit defence, then we should at least have better attack to outscore the oppositions... time will tell if that will come. Current team is outdated, simple as that. Not the manager and his sidekicks, but the players. But it's up to the manager and the club board to see through a succesful transition, sacking the management IS NOT the answer in current state. Give AVB the players he needs and let's see then. Edit: Btw, remember that quote of Mourinho before he was sacked, the "eggs and omelettes" commentary? He hinted that some of the players were not up to the standard even back then, and I believe it was in 2007, no? We still have majority of the same eggs. They should have listened...

btw, what does LDN stand for anyway?

Come on, don't change it. I'm always confused when people change their nicks... and your name is already legendary here. Of course that's your decision.

but they were here when Jose was here... that was what Tortilla9 asked.

Let's see... Drogba, Lampard, Malouda, Terry, Cole, Cech, Mikel. Yep, that's right.. 7

Yeah... I see communication and linkage failures repeatedly. Our backline has been rotated so much that they really have no idea how to play together, it's pretty evident. But it's not only the backline, we can see similar "who's open? - where to pass? - where to go?; who do I mark? - who marks him? - do we play offside? - do I run with him?" type of shit elsewhere too.

People who know me here, know that I'm generally pretty optimistic... ..however, now I'm seriously becoming worried.

Yeah I just saw an article about it... sorry for going OT, but I just wanted confirmation.

I'm afraid now this thread will turn into a moral discussion over suicide acceptance in society... I will just say that I support free choice, but it depends on many things.. if he is mentally ill, then he needs help. If his life is irreversibly screwed, then it's not our business to say what's right or wrong for him. It's his life, I won't go smartass on him, things aren't always as easy and trivial as they look. I even doubt it has much to do with football merely because he's a ref. It takes a lot to drive an adult person to attempting suicide. So in a way I agree with LDN, CHOULO and Kez.

So it is true? I didn't even know it till somebody told me now... broken family

Is it true, that a year (or so) ago, a player commited suicide because his wife had cheated on him with JT's brother?

If you're hinting with "blind faith" at me apart from others, then I'm obviously disappointed in him in hindsight... He made a kinda wrong statement after that incident and you shouldn't use those words with cameras at every corner. He made a human mistake like we all do, with the exception of not having cameras and a million eyes watching. But the way it has turned out to be, this makes me sad... and all in all I don't believe that he's racist (I've already explained what racism means to me, and it's much more serious than calling someone black in the heat of a moment), instead I remember the times when he stood in our goal when Cudi and Cech got injured, when he got kicked in the face by Diaby, the countless goal-line clearances, his self-sacrificing challenges. Amidst the shit I am keen to remember him for the good, not for some truly unique and isolated situations blown up by media. @Ultra Blue: Yeah, he can be too rash. Not many people are good at containing their emotions... Terry is one of them. Lampard for example is the opposite. I still love JT though... disappointed, but still.

tbh, those chances are Kalou's bread and butter

I'm just so sad over what's happening. Not even angry, but sad. Sad to read that this obvious farce has turned some of our fans against him, sad that this minor slip-up may cost him his captaincy, sad to see his reputation being finally destroyed. I became a Chelsea fan when I watched a random football game on TV, it was a long time ago and Chelsea were playing... I switched to that channel the moment Terry leaped over a big bloke and won the header and then clapped and shouted at other players for motivation. It was HIS passion that got me interested in this sport and in Chelsea. I just can't believe it all comes down to this.

The thing with Torres is that even if he's being shit, he still gets double or triple marked, leaving space for others. It's just that he seems to lose the ball in those situations more often than not, so we can't utilize on that advantage. In Chelsea, if he succeeds, he will become a more complete striker. He just needs to start finishing those damn easy chances

Full name: Marek *** Age: 20 Nationality: Estonian Height: 173 cm Weight: 60 kg Position(s): Slacker Favourite number(s): 8, 9, 17, 26 Two special abilitys: Missing an open goal, misplacing a simple pass Mine two bad sides: Stamina, shooting power Player that plays similar to me: Bogarde in his last years