chelseawise

I can not believe why Conte did not just bring in Ake for Alonso instead of changing the whole balance.. We have completely lost our shape. Lets hope he fixes it in the second half.

Guys lets not get worried if we lose this one. We will still be 4 points clear with winnable remaining games , except Man Utd away. I will take a draw any time for this one. I think Azpi should play in Mosses position and Zouma as centre back. Sane is a very dangerous player and must be contained at any cost.

If we get Alexis Sanchez as his replacement plus 70M in pocket, we will be well ahead of the game or get Bale in exchange.

Points to Ponder: 1) We were on top from the very beginning, and fully deserved the win. Stats back that 2) I think we have the best manager in the world. Look how he has changed Mosses, David Luiz, Hazard, etc etc etc. His tactics and the way he introduces substitutions, switching Fabregas and Matic based on opponents the man is genius 3) Ngolo Kante, say no more..........give him 10 year deal. 4) We are going to finish the job very early, and will have 4 games to spare to give all the youngsters a chance. Boy that lad RLC can be moulded into a superstar, if anyone can do that Conte is the man. 5) I honestly believe that next year we just need to buy Sanchez and replacement for Costa if he goes. With Christensen coming and Zouma improving each game our defence looks solid except Cahill has to move to the bench

Any idea who the two doubtful players besides Mosses that Conte was talking about. Hope its not Hazard or Kante

I cannot agree more. Fabs is a game changer and this is a game we should be looking to press from onset. The rest of the team can be the same.

My team Thibout Azpi David Luiz Zouma Mosses Kante Cesc Alonso Pedro Costa Hazard I am predicting Costa will be fired up and score a hatrick

Absolutely Hilarious

Completely agree. He is the perfect match for that position in our new 5-3-3 system. Him and Alonso on either side are fantastic. We were getting burnt by pace before. Of course I am ecstatic, however Luiz and Cahill still look a little suspect.

Very nice and sensible post. I concur we did everything right and it was just down to bad luck. I suppose it makes up for the good luck we had against West Ham and Watford. I am still not convinced using Matic over Fabregas, especially against the bottom half teams. Hope we win on Friday, its a massive game.

Our Results sequence in all competitions since Gus Hiddink Took Over: WDDWWDDWWDD Based on this we should win against Newcastle and PSG …………. I will take that anytime

I hope Mikel and Matic do not even make the bench. Pathetic crap players who provide no thrust and slow the game down. Enough is enough and I think fans should protest if these two start. Also we should play assuming we are 2-0 down from the beginning. The best football Chelsea has played this year is when they have fallen behind. My team Thibout Azpi Ivanovich JT Baba Oscar Cesc Willian RLC Hazard Costa Oscar and Azpi are right footed players who should play on right. Also once we reach 40 points we must give chance to youth. Let Kennedy, Traore and RLC play every game

We need to win this game to restore pride and confidence for Champions League, which is the faintest hope of qualifying for CL. What frustrates me most this entire season is who is making the decision to play Ivanovich and Matic every game. These two have not performed and it is about time common sense prevailed and give some new players chance. That said I would go for: Thibout Azpi Zouma Terry Baba Oscar Fabregas Willian RLC Hazard Costa Definitely bring on Kennedy and Traore at some stage

My assessment of the match: 1) Matic has declined so much that he should be sold this summer. He has no vision, poor passing skills and above all no desire any more. 2) The debate about Mikel will continue forever. The man can defend well but utterly useless going forward. No vision, no passing skills and slows our attack. 3) Hidink needs to balance the team. Azpiu and Oscar are right footed players who should not play on left. 4) Kurt Zouma is still not finished article. He needs another year or so before he is a regular. We must hold on to him though. 5) I hoestly believe that Ighalo is better than Costa for the same role. Costa is a bit overwight and tends to loose balance. We should sign Igahlo. 6) We have definitely improved since Jose left, but not enough to win a trophy. Next year will require major changes. Definitely no Europa Cup next year forget Champions league and justifiably so.

Even if he scored three after coming on, Costa would still start next game.

Gutted with the result. Our air now is to reach 40 points and avoid relegation and hopefully win FA cup to qualify for Europa Cup. Definitely cannot see us winning against PSG let alone winning Champions League. That said, once we reach 40 points we have to give some youngsters a chance and overhaul the squad. Back to Todays game: 1) Every team has figured out to give ample space to Ivanovich to go forward, because he will create nothing and waste time as well expose the defence. I have not seen a single good cross from him in the last few games 2) Costa has had enough of EPL and should be let go even in January. He has simply lost his touch. 3) We did play some good football in the last 35 minutes. Perhaps we should us that system from the start. 4) Costa, Matic, Ivanovich, Oscar are just not cutting it any more. Might as well not start with them any more 5) Azpilicueta had an uncharacteristic bad game today. He is still one of our consistent performer. 6) I would still give Jose one more year, I still believe in him and he can turn it around next year. Chelsea's aim now is to stay out of relegation zone for the rest of the season. Never ever imagined I would say that.

I thought Brana had a decent game today.

We have simply lost the plot. We need to rebuild. Jose has to bench Ivanovich, Febregas, Matic and Costa. Oscar at best belongs on Bench. In any case it will be a blessing to loose this game and try to win Europa as that is the only way we could qualify for CL. Since this season is a write off give chances to Traore, RLC and bring on Musonda. That Said: Cuortious Azpi Zouma Cahill Baba RLC Ramirez Willian Musonda Hazard Remy

Without fail this has to be an emphatic win. If we struggle against Bournemouth, then I think Chelsea is doomed for mid table finish with unthinkable consequences of not playing CL next year. That will take 2-4 yrs to rebuild as none of the top players would want to join us. I would start Thibout so that he gets game time for important games to coma. Somehow I feel December will be our turning point and judging by the results in EPL if we get 65 points we would qualify for CL. That means 50 points from 24 games, very much possible if we get back to form. I am curious what to the fans think, can we get 50 points from the next 24 games?

Lets all accept the fact that this year our target is to qualify for champions league. There is no way we can win the league or a single trophy this year. I think this year 68 points will get you into top four. So we need 20 wins out of 31 games. Lets win the next two Southampton and Villa at home, leaving us to win 18 of 29 games, with our squad very doable. Now what is our best team: I think based on our season so far this is our best team: Begovich ( Tibaut when ready) Azpi Zouma Terry Baba RLC Matic Willian Oscar Hazard Falcao ( Costa when available) I honestly believe Ivanovic and Cahill are disrupting our flow. If he plays Iva this weekend Jose should be fired.

Please can someone explain to Jose Ivanovic needs to be benched for the rest of the season. His performance is getting so poor that the rest of the team has to suffer. Today he was by far the worst player on the pitch. I must say that despite the loss I was happy with our performance going forward and boy Willian had a great game.

I am anticipating major changes for this game after the pathetic display at Newcastle. Begovic Azpi Zouma Terry Baba RLC Ramires Kennedy Willian Hazard Costa I think Jose has to act and drop Iva, Cesc Oscar

Horrible Performance: 1) Ivanovic has to be benched. 2) I am beginning to doubt Pedro's ability to play in EPL 3) RLC and Kennedy should start games 4) I thought Zouma was OK except the mistake for the first goal. 5) Team is not at all cohesive. 6) Whats wrong with Matic this year, definitely RLC is better choice by far. I cannot see chelsea qualify for champions league this year, its a fact we have to accept our only hope is to win it which I cannot see happening either. So no champions league for us next year.

Why Ivanovic?

My take on todays win: 1) RLC should be a regular starter, who needs Pogba 2) I honestly believe in Falcao and he should be given three starts during Costa's absence to boost his confidence, 3) Kennedy is good and one for the future 4) Whats up with Ivanovich. How can one get from being top player last season to utter useless this season. Jose needs to get to the bottom of his problem.