misschief

If I was any of them I'd stay well away - I dunno what it is, I mean the season's only just started and yet it all just seems a bit too unsettled again. I'm sure the players would respond well to Wise - those who have a clue who he is anyway.

Have you no heart? As wrong as I think Zola is, I honestly think its naivety. As for Clarke, hand on heart, I dont blame him for going - something just isnt right at the club atm.

I think he's made a very naive decision. He genuinely believes supporters can just rise above rivalries as old as this but we all know that's not how it works. He left the Premier League a legend but if he fucks it up at West Ham, I'm not sure he'd cope with the battering he'd get. Not only that, but West Ham's a pretty dodgy club to get involved with from a manager's point of view, does he think Curbs would walk away for no reason? And if he does bomb at West Ham, would Abramovich really want him? Roman's not as sentimental as the rest of us.

Oh come on, how is this a case of being singled out? The groundsman was clearly seen lunging at Evra and was caught on CCTV, the reason theyre charging Chelsea is because they apparently cant even get the basics of a groundsmans contract right - in other words theyve brought it on themselves again. Tbh I think its bloody embarrassing that as one of the top four clubs - and a club wanting to be one of the best in the world - they operate like some bloody cowboy outfit. As for Evra, he was every bit as guilty and is being dealt with by the FA directly (as opposed to United being charged) because he does have a legitimate contract.

I dont know why Hughes is so excited tbh, does nt he realise that if they do mirror Chelsea his job will be gone next summer?

Is Big Phil still looking like a good thing? I'm just not so sure anymore. If he was so good for Chelsea why would someone who's spent 20 years at the club suddenly want out? Maybe Clarke agrees Scolari's appointment isnt in Chelsea's best interests and he just cant hang around while another manager cocks up again?

Can't believe the gash on his head, poor sod finally gets a start then gets carried off.

Oh god theyre all far too analytical on there at times. Plenty of players have bad games, Id hardly be holding Cole up as an example right now. Picking up the top point though, was it Jose publicly slating him that improved his game really? Or was that just Cole's natural attitude anyway? Every manager he's ever had has dropped him, none of the others have chosen to publicly slate him and yet every season his response has been the same.

Yeh, why not? We're not Brazil so it was never going to be a battering but it was a professional enough performance. Boring of course, but professional nonetheless. We werent in any danger of losing, didnt concede, scored a couple of goals, what else was there to do? England don't entertain, that's life.

My thoughts exactly. I know its an opportunity for him and more experience before Chelsea, blah, blah, but West Ham ffs?? I totally agree with Lebeouf on this one.

Of course we've got plenty of midfielders but do any of them do as good a job in that position? I really think Mikel can but if anything happens to him now, we'll be a lot weaker in that area imo. And Im sorry, but weighing up the opposition, Anelka is just not good enough. United have players like Rooney, Tevez and Berbatov (all fit) - can you really compare Anelka to any of them? I dont think you can realistically. To me, Anelka doesnt have the quality to cover for a player like Drogba. And losing Essien long term isnt the same as losing other players for the same length of time. He plays a large proportion of our games, he's a massive influence and there's no way we wont miss his presence. Being top of the table right now means absolutely nothing - Arsenal spent half last season there didnt they? lol.

Of course he has a choice, either he works under whoever is appointed as his latest boss or he takes whatever offers come along. Whether he's truly happy with Scolari or not, I guess we could be about to find out? If he stays, which I personally hope he does, then clearly he is happy with life at Chelsea under Scolari.

But a 2 goal margin was clearly enough in this particular game. Who's to say Rooney and Cole would play the same game against a stronger team? Neither of them are naive, theyre both experienced players in Europe and internationally. I just don't think that knocking them down when they were a lot better than most of the players out there is the way to get the best out of them. That sort of approach clearly hasnt worked for Lampard as his deteriorating performances have showed.

For a new challenge? To work alongside someone he chooses to? Clarke's already admitted he came close to leaving last season. He's become disillusioned with the way the club's being run over the last couple of years. He must be getting to the point where he can almost predict what'll happen with us over the course of a season now. It wouldnt surprise me if he fancied working alongside Zola.

You cant predict but you surely have to assume your first choice eleven will suffer injuries from time to time - isnt that what manager's should do before a transfer window closes - look at what theyve got and what they need? Scolari knew Drogba wouldnt be starting the season but mustve thought Anelka was good enough to cope - he was wrong. He also knew we'd let our most influential midfielder from the most successful period in our history go and obviously felt that was ok as well - wrong again. He knew he wanted Robinho but apparently felt if it didnt happen it wouldnt be a big deal - chances are this another under-sight on his part. Dont get me wrong, Deco looks like a good signing but he's no miracle man!

No, but "fuck off" might be.

Well Robinho clearly thought he was worth it seeing as he wants to make us 'regret' not paying it - not that he's pissed off he ended up at City of course, lol. From Chelsea's point of view, fair play for not letting Real hold a gun to their heads over money but the lack of a plan B was pretty naive imo. Allowing so many players to leave and only bringing in Bosingwa and Deco will prove to be woefully inadequate as the season goes on. Realistically if you look at United last season, they had a good squad and a ridiculous goal difference - and even theyve added Berbatov to that. We just havent got enough really.

Definitely not Keegan - been there, done that and I never want to endure another game like his last one in charge for England tbh - it felt like a very long journey home. Back to Chelsea, anyone see any similarities with the large pay packet and apparent lack of hunger/interest as far as the managers go? Its early days I know, but I hope my concerns about Scolari are unfounded.

Neither of them looked too deep when the goals went in so they were obviously doing something right. The fact is he asked Cole to 'get out there and create something' Cole did exactly that and still it wasnt good enough. Capello would do better to focus his attention on the players out there who look like they couldnt give a toss. Strangely enough, I didnt see him screaming at them though.

I thought he totally bossed the Portsmouth game and was a lot more influential than he was credited with being. Good job really, considering we'll be relying on him for some time now - lets hope he's fighting fit for the next few months.

I thought the idea of Zola managing West Ham was pretty much as bad as it got. The thought of us losing Clarke to them as well though, just makes me want to bang my head off the nearest wall tbh.

Totally agree with that, but it'll never happen. Everyone said Capello would be different, he'd be 'his own man' and make bold decisions but it isnt happening. Yet again another England manager comes in and picks the usual suspects irrespective of form. So is he lacking the bottle people said he had or is he just another 'yes man' for the FA who was happy to wreck his reputation by being paid enough?

I totally don't get all this, what more do people want from Joe Cole? Are Chelsea really so brainwashed by the dull, boring, defensive shit we've endured so long that the minute a player breaks from that mould and tries to add a bit of creativity, he's knocked down? So he's not perfect every game, he wanders a bit, he does the odd step-over that doesnt come off, so what? The fact is, Joe Cole puts 110% into every game he plays whether for club or country. He's been asked questions by every manager he's ever had and his response has always been positive. As far as Im concerned, if Chelsea had more players like Cole, with the same level of grit and determination - not to mention committment - we'd be a lot more potent than we are right now. On the England front, the fact that Capello spent 45 minutes screaming at both Rooney and Cole (the two most animated players on the pitch) for 'not doing as they were told' just defied belief. If they had listened to that twat, the chances are it couldve ended up with an even smaller goal margin than it did.

Rooney set one of Cole's goals up against Andorra to be fair and besides, he hasnt scored 20+ a season for his club for years either so any difference in his form wont be as obvious as Lampards. I actually thought the supporters went a little easier on Lampard against Andorra than they have in the past - although with Setanta playing silly buggers and censoring half of what the crowd were chanting anyway, I guess its difficult to really judge that.

No-one couldve predicted this but am I only one to be totally pissed off about Scolari's apparent lack of interest in the size of our squad over the summer? He was so busy patting himself on the back for only spending £8million on Deco - leaving Gollum to concentrate all his efforts on one deal which ultimately proved fruitless - I'm really starting to think people were right about the difficulties he'd have adapting to the Premier League after so long in the international game. Because even with the season only just starting, to me, it looks like he hasnt made a proper assessment of exactly what he needed to compete. We let Maka go and now that Essien's out long term we'll struggle. Not only that, but he knew from the start that Drogba was out and yet he appeared to take very little interest in whether Kenyon got Robinho or not - as we all know, that didnt happen either and there was no plan B, so we're left with Anelka who we all know isnt good enough. And what's worse - its too bloody late to do anything about it now.