Justin_3d

The whole Bielsa thing supposedly being link with Chelsea arises as soon as I come back and post about Bielsa.

Scolari had not managed a club in a long time, and I can understand the fear for something like that happening again, but that's why the work he is doing with Bilbao tells a different story...but then again Hiddink was much like Bielsa a manager of International football and managed to do well with Chelsea. Hiddink and Bielsa philosophy have a lot in common. Taking smaller team and totally changing their system and playing with the big boys. While Scolari was nothing more then a manager of big teams, Brazil, Portugal..... But not that it matters cause he won't come. Chelsea had their chance in the summer when he was free.

I saw the same thing in Marca: Bielsa hace oídos al Chelsea Acepta conversar en persona con Abramóvich http://www.marca.com...1329743478.html To tell you the truth, even if this story was real, Bielsa is not a man to up and leave like Mourinho does or AVB did with Porto. So it looks like Roman is stuck with AVB, or if he fires him it will leave him with a worse candidate like Capello or Rafa. Ha your screwed Roman!

Anelka lifts lid on disrespectful Chelsea exit http://www.espn.co.uk/football/sport/story/135227.html

Ok I think you make a mistake here. You point to Valencia loosing to Barcelona 5 to 1...but that's now. When we face Valencia they where in another level. If I am not mistaken they had tied with Barcelona and done other great games. They where in top form, today they are in decline form. Same situation of City. You got to look at the moment how they where performing, cause they started to decline after they played against Chelsea. Now what assessment can be made about those two pivotal games and today? That AVB had nothing to do with them. It was based down to the players to give an extra effort. It could easily happen against Napoli and in the league to finish top 4.

How do you managed to always talk about Arsenal? Talking about Bielsa and Bilbao and you end saying their name.

Dam. But I bet you that for every one pessimistic Napoli fan like you, we have 10 more.

Awesome. Anyways as stated before Chelsea is a big mystery. Can't say what will happen as we don't know what Chelsea will appear. If I was a betting man, I would not put a dime for nobody on this first leg.

How is Vargas? If Vargas is playing I foresee a goal from him, and then papers writing how the men Chelsea lost to Napoli turn the tables for his new team....something a long those lines.

Using the old reverse psychology I see?

I think the same can be said about Lukaku, Ryan, and Josh. But if you are brought to improve what Carlo was not so good at, to infuse our youth to the team, then what improvement is it? It is why that is one mandate he had from the beginning, and his cause was not helped by hardly giving any minutes to some of these players... I remember people complaining about how our youth going to improve if all you give them is 5 or 10 mins at the end with Carlo? Well AVB has been far worse then that scenario!

Why is that? Cause I remember when Drogba was scoring regularly a couple of seasons back we did not gave much chances to our other youngster strikers like Borini and such.....

Well besides the player that force himself into the team, Sturridge, hes been very awful with Lukaku, Josh and Ryan. Especially Ryan. He saves himself with Romeu, but the same can be said about Carlo when he gave chances to Josh Kakuta and others, before Josh and Kakuta descended into obscurity just like with Romeu today.

Yeah Chelsea can beat any team on a day like against Valencia or City. But the question is which team will show up? The one that played against Valencia? Or the one that played against Everton?

As stated, one of many arrogant comments towards the help of others, but if you feel it's otherwise I might not as well continue with that point then.

Just wanted to give you one piece of evidence of the point arrogant towards the help of others: André Villas-Boas says he doesn't need Guus Hiddink's help at Chelsea http://www.guardian.co.uk/football/2011/nov/25/andre-villas-boas-guus-hiddink-chelsea This is just one of many arrogant comments from AVB.

BTW since you mention about Barcelona, well I remember the 2-2 game that ended between these two as one of the best game of the season. In the end Pep mention how Bielsa team was one of the most intense game he had ever. Also Pep recognizing the greatness of Bielsa! And here an extra little video to see the great tactician that Bielsa used for that game: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=WOoc_YMrcfU

Interesting take here. It looks like Paul Parker agrees with you: Players to blame for Chelsea woes, not AVB It is said that Andre Villas-Boas has to lead Chelsea to victory over two legs against Napoli to save his job, but the real factor undermining the club's season is not the shortcomings of their inexperienced manager, but the stubbornness of their senior players. There are certain individuals at Chelsea who have served their time, but are clinging on to their status as best they can. They had success under Jose Mourinho and carried it on under Carlo Ancelotti, but they have become too powerful. I think some of them are trying to take control of a young manager. Some of the older players know their futures could be in doubt at the end of the season as Villas-Boas could be looking to mount a purge, so will they be motivated to really push themselves and do their best for their manager? I suspect there will be around 50 per cent of the squad who will have purely selfish motivations to be honest, so I don't think the manager is getting the backing he needs. Some of Chelsea's big names have been underperforming all season. They are resistant to change because they fear their positions will be in jeopardy. They wouldn't be old pros if they weren't thinking that way to be honest, it's human nature, but it doesn't help the manager at all. It is clear to me that some individuals at Chelsea wield far too much power behind the scenes. You read reports that certain players played a role in Mourinho's departure, while others may have served to undermine Luiz Felipe Scolari. The system has remained untouched since Mourinho arrived back in 2004 and I think successive managers have been governed in what they do by players who have too much say in the matter. As a result, nothing has changed over the years and Chelsea have grown stagnant. The club have to move on though, it's a fact. If they carry on like they are and the complexion of their squad is the same next season then they can only regress further. Villas-Boas has taken steps towards overhauling the squad, most notably when trying to phase out Frank Lampard. They do need to wean themselves off their dependence on him and other senior players. The way Villas-Boas wants Chelsea to play does not suit Lampard because they are trying to pass the ball more, whereas before the midfielder thrived from picking up pieces from Didier Drogba. Chelsea brought in Juan Mata in an attempt to change their style and he started like a house on fire. However, he has been dragged back down to Chelsea's level and he needs better and mentally sharper players around him if he is to reach the standards he set at Valencia. At the moment the way Chelsea play is very pedestrian and it means they are not going to get the best out of a player like Mata. It is a similar situation with Fernando Torres, who has now gone 21 hours without a goal. It is looking hopeless for the striker at present but Chelsea don't play to his strengths: they haven't played football since Mourinho was there and they don't pass it into midfielders or look to play intricate passes inside the centre-backs and full-backs for Torres to run onto. Chelsea have bought themselves an Armani suit but want to carry it around in a Tesco's bag; you can't spend that kind of money on a striker and then starve him of service. It is abundantly clear to me that Chelsea need to embrace a new culture and philosophy, but their stubborn core of aging players are preventing them from doing so. Villas-Boas needs to bring in players who actually want to play for him and take the opportunity to usher out some of the old guard in the process. Whether he is given that chance or not remains to be seen. As for the tie that could make or break his tenure, I think Napoli will be too sharp and fluid for Chelsea and I am backing the Serie A side to progress. Chelsea drew with Birmingham at the weekend and I am sceptical about their chances of getting a result in Italy. If they are to get a draw or snatch a win they will need all the players to work hard for their team and their manager, but they don't seem inclined to do that at present.

That's like saying Bolton was at the top of the table in the first month of the season! The first couple of months is usually chaos because the stronger teams have not gotten their rhythm. That usually comes after the new year, and Bielsa has gotten that rhythm and is in contention for a top 4 finish in his first season!

This. Smartest idea to solve the Torres conundrum that I heard in some time.

Well that A. Madrid fan in la liga thread said we should swap Torres for Falcao.. Giving that those fools of Madrid also payed a big price for Falcao and he has not been that great, I think that would be an interchange both club can easily agree on.

I think what matters at this point is that A. Bilbao is in 4th place. A bad display to Betis was a luxury that Bielsa could afford.

Well he also send out Yossi on loan. I still remember to be dumb fucked at that idea. And now it seems that AVB has got a new Lampard. Meireles, that seems to play every game full 90 mins, just like Lampard used to do....sigh

Agreed, but his mandate was to change the team. Take out the dead wood, and bring a "youthful flair" into our game. 7 months in and I am still waiting to see that "flair" of youth into our team. Cause we sure haven't improve in style...

I love you robdog! Always bothering me with le voyeur, and now with Betis. You just can't get enough of me can you?