Jase

If that is the case, then why were there complains about the players not performing and taking responsibility under say Ancelotti previously? I agree with you saying the manager is the person that holds the team together but the effort and commitment must come from both parties - manager and players. The manager can train the players all day long, drill them into executing this tactic, that tactic etc in training but ultimately, it's the players who go out there and perform what the manager does. They can only do as much as because it's completely out of their hands once players step onto the field. Not denying Benitez isn't without his faults either but I find it amusing that everyone is just blaming him when something goes wrong and no one else(perhaps only the board) yet in the past, people did almost the opposite. Some blame managers. Some blame players. The players should be shouldering some of the responsibility/blame as well. There's no excuse going from beating Everton away to losing at home against QPR. Thrashed Southampton, then lost to Swansea thanks to 2 blunders by Ivanovic. Ran riot at Stoke and then let a 2-goal lead slip at home to Southampton. There's just no consistency in our results right now and we have had chances to win some of those games but the players didn't take them. Is it Benitez's fault then? No. Same thing happened under RDM as well and that is why we had some poor results under him as well. Did anyone blame RDM then?

Think that was reported before the news came out about FA reviewing the incident. No official word that Hazard will serve just a 3-match ban yet.

http://www1.skysports.com/football/news/11668/8430608/FA-reviewing-footage-of-Eden-Hazard-red-card-at-Swansea?utm_source=TeamChelseaFC&utm_medium=twitter

Not a foregone conclusion yet. Malaga are trying to appeal against it - http://uk.eurosport.yahoo.com/news/champions-league-malaga-appeal-cas-ban-142650764.html.

Why WTF? Shouldn't be surprised by it. There was no concrete news whatsoever that we are buying him or have that first refusal clause agreement with Malaga.

True but with the lack of options at the moment, we really could do with him available for us. And yes, Hazard has played in every game for us this season, the only player in the team to have done so.

Find it funny that under previous managers, when something goes wrong, you have people who blame the manager, players for not performing and taking responsibility and other factors. Now, if anything goes wrong, all the blame is on Benitez and nothing elsewhere...

Of course. Of course...

For now, 3. Telegraph has reported that he may well get 5.

Why is there a smiley face there? Are you conspiring with that pesky kid?!

The press conference has been held. Here's what Perez said earlier. http://soccernet.espn.go.com/news/story/_/id/1311028/real-madrid%27s-florentino-perez-denies-jose-mourinho-ultimatum-talk?cc=4716

It's probably just the new manager effect more than anything else. Worth remembering that Inter were embarrassed at home by Schalke back then, losing 5-2.

Any names to suggest?? No manager would want to come here for 4-5 months and then be replaced by someone else at the end of the season.

You can probably bet on it! He will go on a rant to take the pressure off Hazard and heap it on himself, like what Fergie tends to do when protecting his players. And Mourinho does tend to do it anyway.

Joey Barton's reaction...

Lampard's reaction to the sending off... http://d3fsqtc6sy2z27.cloudfront.net/uploads/7a9623db72a298a2f389441a207ad7b5_large

We needed something different last night. Someone that can provide width and a directness in attack and what did Benitez do?! Keep Marin on the bench and continue to play narrow and through the middle with Hazard, Oscar and Mata.

Right or wrong, whether he kicked the ball or not, it was unwise of Hazard to try and take the ball off the boy like that. Not saying what that pesky ballboy did was right but given the society we live in right now, once someone did what Hazard did, intentional or not, you're gonna leave yourself open to scrutiny and punishment. Can understand his frustration then, as we all are watching the game, but Hazard could have just informed the linesman or referee about the time wasting. Chris Foy would take that into account and add more time later on. On the other hand, can't help but to feel sorry about Hazard. He's now gonna serve a 3-match ban(could be more) because of one stupid ballboy's dramatic reaction over something that probably has no malicious intent in it. And also this incident will be hanging over Hazard wherever he goes to play now.

Looking back at this game, not too bothered about the result. Was always going to be a tough game. However, what I'm not pleased about is we threw away another chance to win a trophy this season and Swansea hardly did anything brilliant at all in this tie to get into the final. This tie was lost at Stamford Bridge a few weeks ago and back then, Swansea hardly created any chances, let alone attack us but profited from 2 costly blunders by Ivanovic(thanks a lot!). They might have played well yesterday but the 2-0 lead gave them the platform to do so. Had the tie still been 0-0 before the game, the game last night would have been completely different. Additionally, not trying to find any excuses here but think it's fair to say fatigue has begun to catch up with the players already. We should still be doing a tad better yesterday but playing a game every 3-4 days and unable to rotate at all thanks to the thin squad(!) is likely to take its toll on the players. And being 2-0 down in the tie and having to chase the game is arguably the last thing that we need. As mentioned, just annoyed that another chance to win a trophy has gone down the drain, just like that. We'll never get a better chance to win the League Cup given the teams that remained(no disrespect), let alone any other trophy itself.

Brentford vs Chelsea PRE-MATCH DISCUSSION AND LIVE CHAT FA Cup 4th Round 27th January, Sunday 2013 Griffin Park 12:00 Kick Off (UK time)

Brentford vs Chelsea POST-MATCH DISCUSSION AND ANALYSIS FA Cup 4th Round 27th January, Sunday 2013 Griffin Park 12:00 Kick Off (UK time)

Mourinho managed to squeeze out every ounce of peak left in an aging squad. People say Benitez messed things up at Inter andhile that is true but subsequent managers at Inter - Leonardo, Gasperini, Ranieri - didn't exactly improve their fortunes either. As I said, on hindsight, it's easy to sit down here and say 'Oh we would have this', 'We would have won that' under RDM. Whether we'll achieve that, we won't know. I opposed the sacking of RDM too but let's not forget the defensive mess we were in then. We are still a mess now under Benitez, but albeit in different areas.