Strike

For the Brentford game, I don't think we have much choice other than put up a strong team. But even if we had 17-18 players, i would prefer to put out a strong-ish team simply because we cannot afford to bank on our backup team this year. a few years ago we had experienced backup. leaders among backup. Ballack (rotated), Deco, Joe Cole, etc not youngsters or u-21 players. what we have seen this season is that the squad lacks real leaders. earlier in the season, we had a great start and never recovered after united beat us at the bridge. consider this. we rest ALL our senior players. then - Turnbull, Azpilicueta, Cahill, Ivanovic, Saville, Ake, Ramires, Bertrand, Oscar, Marin, Torres (or i guess Bamford is better) would be our team. lack of real leaders. we should put out a strong team while resting few key players. for eg - Bertrand for Cole, Marin for Hazard, Torres for Ba and such. Not academy and reserve players edit: Hazard literally said - "i am signing for the European champions " but i think its safe to assume he came here expecting to challenge for trophies

One thing to note here is that the best talent from our reserves have all been loaned out. - Chalobah, Piazon, McEachran, Kakuta, kane, Kalas, Bruma, van Aanholt, along with Lukaku and de Bruyne who are a bit closer to senior level, have all been loaned out. Our academy options are probably limited to Nathan Ake

I agree that PL Top 4 finish is equally important but we should not 'disregard' the FA Cup. also @bushman, we don't have a deep or good enough backup squad to rest many senior players at once. Remember QPR?

Turn the clock back to August 2012 just for a moment. Heading into the new season with 7 trophies to aim for(after the heroics at the end of last season), Chelsea fans around the world were gleefully welcoming the start of the 2012-13 season. With Eden Hazard and Oscar signed and Cavani, Hulk, Falcao etc rumoured to be on the way, you would be forgiven for thinking that the club was on the verge of yet another successful season. However, 6 months into the campaign, the club has turned into a circus, the season is in disarray and the dubious distinction of going trophyless this season is suddenly very much possible. That brings the FA Cup to the spotlight now. The FA Cup represents a last chance to win something meaningful this season. Yes, that was a dig at the UEFA Europa League which I believe is a grotesque competition filled with a ridiculous number of teams and yes, that was also a dig at our Premier League title hopes under Benitez. The FA Cup has managed to retain its prestige in England and much of it is down to the way it is structured. Over 700 teams spanning the length and breadth of the country take part in the competition giving lower-league teams a chance to rub shoulders with the top teams in the country. Over the years, it has seen some memorable moments leading to the widely used phrase – “The magic of the FA Cup”. Chelsea’s record in the FA Cup is ridiculously good in the last few years. A freak 1-0 upset at Barnsley and a late Leighton Baines free-kick aside, Chelsea have been unstoppable in the FA Cup in recent seasons. It seems that every year Chelsea would get their act together in time for the FA Cup. Last season’s unforgettable Champions League final may have eclipsed the FA Cup win 2 weeks prior but regardless of the CL win, it was a brilliant Cup run topped off by beating two of our hated rivals – Tottenham (5-1 that too) and Liverpool. Petr Cech’s save from Andy Carroll’s header stands out from last season’s Cup run while it also saw Didier Drogba score the winner in (possibly) his last Wembley appearance. Now, Rafa Benitez faces an away trip to Griffin Park to face Brentford in the Cup and I believe he must resist the temptation to rest his senior players. Rafa probably learnt a lesson in rotation in the 1-0 loss to QPR AT HOME earlier this month but nonetheless, it is time to take the FA Cup seriously now. When Eden Hazard decided to snub the Manchester clubs to join Chelsea, it was because challenging for trophies was part of Chelsea’s DNA. In the Roman Abramovich era, we have gone trophyless only twice in 2007-08 and 2010-11 (It is worth noting that we were within a penalty kick from Champions League glory in 2008) But all we have done so far this season is find ways to throw away trophies. The Community Shield may have come too soon for the squad but 2 weeks into the season, Chelsea were smashed by a vibrant Atletico team for 4 goals. That’s 2 trophies down the drain by the end of August. Then we managed to get dumped out of the Champions League(3 down) and then passed up the rare opportunity to win the Club World Cup in Japan (4 down). With fading Premier League title hopes (5) and the Carling Cup farce (6) on Wednesday, we have now managed to mess up 6 trophies this season. For a club so used to winning trophies, this season has been a lesson of sorts. So I circle back to my point. An FA Cup win represents the best possible ending to a nightmare season. It will be a great boost for us in the transfer market (as well as our quest for a new manager). But perhaps, most importantly, an FA Cup win would be the best possible farewell to a certain Chelsea legend. Imagine the ending to last season, except this time it's the FA Cup – “Lampard with the 5th penalty in the shootout and he’s buried it!…..”. Good times Click here to view the article

bypassed in the first half hour but soon grew in prominence. got in the faces of those everton mids later on. started badly but i don't think the goals are 'hiding' a bad performance.

yeah exactly. from challengin for the BPL golden boot, he won't go to warming the bench. we'd have to spot a "Dzeko" or a "Chicharito"

thanks. don't think i can afford to get distracted. getting rid of the laptop tomorrow

i will be leaving the forum and probably won't be following football closely for the next 4-5 months due to exams continuously from January to April-May. A Happy New Year to everyone on here and I wish you the very best in the coming months.

XI 4-4-1-1: Begovic, Zabaleta, Vertonghen, Shawcross, Baines, Fellaini, Mata, Cazorla, Bale, Suarez, RVP Bench: Jaaskelainen, Rose, Pienaar, Michu, Toure, Defoe, Ba

i bet Alex Song agrees with you now

still good for 18 months or so. would be brilliant if we get him but i don't see it happening. also, i would like for our deals to conclude our deals early in the window but as of now, don't think we'll sign anyone in the first week

No point grumbling about rafa. he's here for the season and going about his work professionally. i have new found respect for him in the way he has handled the situation. still hoping that we get either Pep or Jose in the summer though

i think this is the price you pay for increased ticket prices. instead of passionate fans you get rich families into the ground which creates a dull atmosphere. i hear that the fans banned for standing were at the "Singing section" of the club or in other words, the "Voice" of the club for ex - Norwich fans on Wednesday were chanting - "Thursday Night Chanel 5" and Chelsea fans replied with a "Champions of Europe - We know what we are" chant. that's what you should have in football. i bet if Norwich fans chanted that at the Emirates, they would be met by silence edit - in all that i forgot the point was trying to make. passionate fans = singing/standing and egging the team on. families = sitting down and having a nice time

nah. the title winning season we were done in by that git Saha. 2-1 away

yes but it is more likely that we will sign One proper striker and One converted striker. we buy Ba and he will be 3rd choice behind villa and torres which he won't accept. we need to spot players like hernandez who will accept 3rd choice roles and yet be good when called upon. Wilfried Bony perhaps?

his redcard was rescinded wasn't it? damn it. everton away is always a shyte fixture to play. we didn't win there even in the double-winning Carlo season. not looking forward to this. i hope rafa doesn't drop Moses now. Baines needs to be contained at LB and also, any word on the Ramires injury?

yep. Unstoppable shots and the Drogba celebration ripping up the Goodison pitch. epic moment

contract ends in 2014. wouldn't be surprised if it was 15 in the summer

They don't have that git Saha anymore. he would always score against us. also, Everton are missing Gibson and Fellaini in the middle of the park. don't think there is a better time to face them. should go for the win. can't remember the last time we won there. 3-2 was it? under Jose. Ballack, Lampard and Drogba stunners from Long range edit: i see it's the 1-0 in 07-08

No Gibson No Fellaini worried about the left side though. Azpilicueta will have his hands full with Pienaar and Baines

Wilfried Bony - Vitesse Arnhem is basically our bitch. David Villa on loan - Problems at Barca and hasn't started since mid-November Demba Ba - 7.5mil release clause Darren Bent - Wants out Theo Walcott - 6 months left on contract Andre Schurrle - Long term Chelsea target

I wanted to know what your Ins and Outs for the window would be. No discussion, no explanation just names. I'll tell you mine -Ins- David Villa on loan Theo Walcott - 15mil Essien Loan Recall -Outs- Daniel Sturridge - 12mil Florent Malouda - 3mil

teams warming up. Apparently we are in the white shirt. don't understand why. we played in the blue shirts last year