misschief

So then it makes sense for us to make a start on addressing the issue surely? Why give the refs the excuse they're looking for?

It's true I'm probably casting a more critical eye over Chelsea this season than I did when Mourinho was in charge but in hindsight, that's probably because the man could do no wrong in my eyes. He had his moments, with the odd comment here and there that made me secretly cringe (not that I'd admit it publicly at the time) and likewise the players behaviour towards the end of last season. Now that Mourinho's not around and I don't have a sentimental attachment to the manager though, its just easier to stand back a bit and look at what's going on a little more objectively. I've certainly never delighted in negative stories about Chelsea though, which is the main reason I have issues with the way some of the players conduct themselves.

Ok, this hasn't exactly been warmly received on the home front - apparently I was lucky to have the post accepted on another forum - a bit precious imo, but each to their own. So bear in mind it is only one perspective on what's going on with our discipline and where we're heading. And the sole purpose is not to knock Grant yet again, but to question his role and responsibilities in the whole discipline issue. Rumour has it the FA are going to agree an annual fee and set us up a direct debit so we can cut out all the hearings and just pay our fines in convenient monthly instalments. Sound ridiculous? No more ridiculous than trying to deny Chelsea’s disciplinary record is getting out of hand. 6 reds and in excess of 50 yellow cards already this season, misconduct hearings becoming an all too familiar part of the schedule, not to mention keeping the FA in the black almost single-handedly, and how does Grant react? Bury his head in the sand like the majority of blues, having a touch of the ‘Wenger’s’ where eyesight’s concerned? Or maybe hold his hands up and admit the introduction of Ten Cate’s all-in wrestling in training is having a negative effect? Nope, he points the finger at other clubs. This started after his first game in charge. Following a red card for John Obi Mikel, Grant stood by and watched half our players surround the ref like playground bullies while the captain attempted to instruct Dean in the correct way to brandish a card. Grant later declared his players had acted in a ‘sporting’ manner. I can only imagine his interpretation of ‘sporting’ is a little different to mine here, particularly when he was so quick to admonish the opposition for a similar, if less hands-on approach, stating “The red card we got against Manchester United was not only to do with the decision of the referee. Their players ran to the referee before us, maybe they are quicker, I don't know.” Either an attempt at wit or he genuinely believes we got a red simply for coming second in the new ‘race to the ref‘ competition. With Grant sadly, one truly can’t be sure. Andre Marriner was another to receive an on-the-pitch interrogation following Essien’s dismissal against Derby County. Essien was hard done by, but quite apart from being the uglier face of football, this public ‘ganging up’ has never seen the ref put his card away and beg for forgiveness yet. Another fine and another FA warning. Time for Chelsea to start putting their house in order at this stage you might think? Not Grant, instead he puts together a “video dossier” of other teams misbehaving in an attempt to prove we’re being unfairly singled out. This sense of injustice at the way the club are treated by the authorities wasn’t entirely upheld against Spurs, when Riley chose to all but disregard being subjected to the third degree following the fairly lenient booking of Cole, if not for the challenge itself then for the complete and utter arrogant disrespect shown immediately after. Cole’s subsequent apology promoted by Grant in a less than humble manner, apparently proof that we are football’s new paragons of virtue. Pointing the finger firmly away from his own players again, Grant said "Another player at Arsenal whose name I will not say, tackled our captain, who went to hospital and was out for two months and he did not apologise. We are still waiting for that. Other players have made worse tackles and not been red-carded." All very true but how exactly does it excuse our behaviour in the Spurs game? Now I’m not suggesting we’re the only team with players harassing the ref (the top four all do it), but the fact is, we do have one of the worst disciplinary records in the league. A throwback from Mourinho’s regime certainly, he instilled that ‘fight every step of the way’ mentality and didn’t exactly promote good relations with the boys at Soho Square. But if Mourinho fostered that attitude, then Grant’s clearly gone for full on adoption. Like his predecessor, Grant complains about the supposed bullying from referees but takes this to new extremes by coming out with statements such as “I think the team discipline is good. Not less than other teams, maybe more.” Now I’m sure someone will correct me if I’m wrong, but I honestly can’t think of another team who repeats these offences with quite the same frequency as we do. I remember all too clearly Utd behaving in a similar way towards Andy D’Urso. The scenes that followed his decision to award Boro a penalty at OT were far from pretty and I remember saying something along the lines of “who the hell do they think they are?” Clearly Fergie felt pretty much the same way since he is reported to have ‘gone off his head at them’, considering it “ridiculous” behaviour. Hairdryers all round then! To my knowledge though, Utd have never behaved in quite the same way again and yet, they’re probably still judged on that incident 8 years later. A clear example of that old cliché: it’s much easier to earn a bad reputation than it is to lose it. These days, despite his own battles with officialdom, Fergie demands a more diplomatic stance from his players "We tell our players to shake the hand of the referee at the end of the game. Sometimes it's difficult but they have to do it.” Compare that to Grant’s perspective following the spectacle at OT - "Our players respect the referee. In this case I don't need to react because their behaviour was okay.” - and the root of the problem becomes clear. This arrogant attitude of being above the law may well be displayed at player level but it’s being condoned, and therefore reinforced, at management level. Thus, all the charges and fines in the world won’t make a blind bit of difference to how our players behave (just in case no-one had actually worked that one out by now) as long as Grant comes out with this sort of stuff - "The discipline at Chelsea has been very good since I've been here.” As already mentioned earlier, this isn’t about our players being the only culprits in today’s game and it certainly isn’t about portraying Utd as such a reformed side they’re virtual angels now (an accusation levelled at me already). It’s merely pointing out they have calmed that side of their game down - apparently on the direct instructions of their manager. Is being made to shake official’s hands - even if you have to hold your tongue - such a bad idea if it benefit’s the club in the long run? Following that whole sorry episode, Fergie clearly recognised they’d got some bridges to build and Grant could do a lot worse than take a leaf out of his book in order to start repairing some of the damage our reputation is doing on an all too frequent basis. Of course, there will always be ‘heat of the moment’ incidents and to an extent they’re acceptable, but it becomes a problem when these clashes seem to be a routine part of your game. It’s all very well for Grant, following Lampard’s recent tantrum, to say he likes passionate players and of course we all do, as long as they’re playing for us, but there’s a fine line between passion and disrespect - or a tightrope in Terry‘s case. Certainly, the players themselves have a duty to self-regulate as far as their discipline is concerned but discipline also needs to be fostered at management level. When this doesn’t happen, then control is lost and that, in turn, is reflected in the outcome of certain games. So, since reinforcing conspiracy theories Mr Grant, is more likely to see us rewarded with ASBO‘s than trophies, it‘s time to stop the rot.

We used to be able to go a goal up and just know our defence would get us 3 points whatever else happened. Now though, we can't rely on playing that way - maybe its time the players realised that and got their arses in gear before we gift this to Utd on a plate.

Posted this on another forum and haven't been slated for it.........yet. Rumour has it we were practically on the eve of bankruptcy when Roman stepped in to become our saviour. Cue a spending spree to alert the Premiership to a new era at The Bridge. To the press, a wankfest of ‘Loadsamoney’ headlines, to long time supporters, all a bit surreal as an almost orgasmic squad of players was being put together. The Tinkerman, however, did not fit this new multi-million pound, star-studded image and his days were very publicly numbered. As much as Ranieri had eventually grown on me during his time with us, I have to admit to being one of many who believed his constant tinkering would prevent any real challenge on the title. So, when Mourinho was tipped in the press as next in line to the ever revolving hotseat, it presented somewhat of a dilemma. On the one hand, here was this cocky Portugese bloke I’d already taken a disliking to from his Porto departure and yet, even before that infamous interview, there really did seem something special about him. Needless to say, my initial impression was soon as distant from my memory as the dippers last title. First season under Mourinho couldn’t have gone better. Like a well-oiled machine, it didn’t take us long to find our momentum and it took an equally short space of time before the confidence Jose instilled in the team spread to the supporters. Somehow we just knew we’d win the games. The player’s heads were somehow held a little higher, they were playing with what seemed to be a newfound belief and defensively we were as tight as Wenger in the transfer market. As for TSO, here was a man who was showing us he knew how to win games. If we were deadlocked, his substitutions were inspired, if we were lacklustre in the first half, the impact of his team talk produced the desired effect. Little wonder we were all soon worshipping at the feet of the new messiah. Second season and the changes in personnel were starting to reflect in our overall game. Not exactly sexy football, but still, Jose knew what he was doing. Subtle changes appeared in that belief too. Oh, we were still winning games, like dogs with bones in fact, just never knew when we were beat - and god help anyone who stood in our way. But it was a different type of belief now. Gone was the euphoria of winning a title most of us never thought we’d see in out lifetimes, to be replaced by expectancy. Short memories indeed. Third season and it was getting harder to ignore the critics. Naturally we still defended our style of play, after all, it might not have been “edge of your seat” excitement, but it was effective wasn’t it? It was, wasn’t it? Clearly, the games were getting harder to win, irrespective of the opposition, every game became a constant battle - but we‘d fight to the death, be it the opposition, the press or authority. And as for not winning the title, well, it was hardly Jose’s fault our very expensive, but injury ravaged squad had to take on the press, them nasty officials who insisted on doing their jobs and a much improved Utd. But, the writing was on the wall and following a summer of Chelsea’s usual very public discontent and a few very un-Jose like performances, the inevitable happened. And we mourned - also very publicly! Why oh why had our knight in shining silverware been so cruelly discarded after all he’d done for us? Was the Russian mad? Could he not see the fairytale the rest of us saw? Or did he, like some our critics feel the storyline had run it’s course and the happy ending wasn’t in this particular script? Mourinho spent more money during his short time than most clubs would know how to spend in a decade - or longer in most cases. He’d already inherited a decent team and yet insisted on stripping it down and bringing in poorer players, but it was working, so why question it? Having spent the odd million or so assembling his squad, we were all terribly confused when the Russian suddenly closed his wallet. An evil plot to get TSO out no doubt. But how could this be so? After all, who else could motivate these heroes to get out there and battle on every week? Stroke of genius at work I say, I mean why use the whole squad (who clearly became bad players the minute they pulled on a Chelsea shirt, tut, tut) when the walking wounded sufficed? At least it excused us not winning the title. And so the mourning went on while we eagerly awaited the next chapter. Cue Kenyon and Buck with a lovely little narrative about the new leading man who, we were reliably informed, was going to ‘take us to the next level’. So, the scene was set, the curtain raised and the main man takes centre stage - well actually, sat dribbling a little in the corner, but let’s not split hairs. Ok, so he looked like Shrek and had about the same amount of qualifications, but who were we to question Kenyon’s undoubted faith? Maybe that seems a bit harsh and to be fair, Grant couldn’t have tried to step into a worse pair of shoes if he‘d tried. I mean from day one, we were comparing the iconic charisma, wit, confidence and self assurance of Mourinho to “uhhhh”. The players it seemed were making exactly the same comparisons as stories of planned departures swamped the headlines. But apart from the uncanny likeness to something from Star Wars, what exactly have we got to be unhappy about? Well, we have a manager brought in, not because of his managerial ability, not because he was some undiscovered diamond in Israel’s rough, but because he’s the Russian’s mate. A nodding dog with a vocabulary not much bigger, who mumbles his way through various interviews with insignificant drivel and the odd contradiction. On the touchline, he wanders around , presumed missing from the local nursing home. In fact, he appears to do very little unless you count exchanging the odd forward for a defender here and there (usually when chasing the game), which is usually met with flying boots, looks of confusion from the players and much jeering from the crowd. In short, he’s a charlatan and anyone with an ounce of grey matter can see he is to football what Harold Shipman was to medicine. To date, he’s brought a £15 million pound striker who’d need about the same amount to buy a goal and an unknown, who’s remained unknown to everyone but the physio so far. And 7 months in, does this ‘next level’ appear any nearer? Maybe Mr Kenyon would like to answer that for us? The fact is, we've struggled to maintain the level we were at, never mind improve on it, mainly because players just aren’t performing under Grant. He clearly doesn’t offer much in the coaching department, his tactics confuse everyone and he isn’t managing the team. To be fair to him, maybe the downturn even started during Jose’s second season and it was inevitable it’d come back and bite us on the arse eventually, irrespective of who took over. Despite the funds spent, we just haven’t got what we need where it counts. Take Drogba out of the equation and what have we got up front? Same with Joe Cole on the wings, who else have we got with creativity and a consistent end product? Even defensively now, both Terry and Carvalho have been played to within an inch of their lives. We might have got away with playing ugly and winning then, but even the law of averages is catching up with us now. However, having excused Grant the problems he inherited, its fair to say he hasn’t actually done anything about them. As for the players left behind by Mourinho, their poor form isn’t reflected in their attitudes. Definitely a throwback from his predecessor, Grant now finds himself with a group of Jose clones, complete with arrogant disregard for authority. What we need is someone with something resembling a track record. Someone respected enough in the world of football to give the players a swift kick up their collective arses and remind them of their place. Someone who actually knows their football and is prepared to make wholesale changes to the squad if that’s what it takes. (NB. Tactical knowledge should be requested from all applicants). We simply don’t have that in Grant right now. Like it or not, he’s just never going to fit in at Chelsea. He’ll never be welcomed with open arms by anyone except maybe the opposition. The overwhelming feeling towards Grant from the home crowd isn’t hatred though, it’s apathy - basically he’s insignificant, unimportant and totally uninspiring. Time to bring on the pantomime dames to tell us another story anyone?

I'm sure Fergie's really worried about anything this retard has to say.

This is the one thing that can't be blamed on Grant imo. This questioning of every decision against us is something that started under Jose's reign. Under him I certainly regarded it as the 'fighting mentality' but its getting to the point now where its almost impossible to defend players chasing refs down the pitch, screaming at every decision. When Utd went through that phase I thought they were a bunch of arrogant cocks and right now, we're not coming out of games looking much better.

Top scorer in his first tournament today - 10 goals in 6 games.

Anyone else bothered by JT's attitude? Personally, he's a player who, up until Jose left, I idolised. He clearly loves Chelsea, gives total committment and puts his heart and soul into it. Having said that, something's changed - he's changed. Yes, its a captains job to ask questions of the ref, but his lack of composure when he does it lets him down, not to mention allowing 3 or 4 other players to crowd the ref at the same time. Shades of Utd and D'Urso - and I (along with half the country) had plenty to say about that. To an extent I blame Mourinho, he instilled a certain attitude (not to mention a touch of arrogance) in his players and whilst it worked for the time he was around, its not working anymore. Instead of coming across as a 'team' ethic, the players come out of it looking arrogant and disrespectful. Cue negative press and FA hearings. Thats what was so disappointing about his interview over the England captaincy, JT had the perfect opportunity to hold his hands up and accept he's made mistakes, reassure supporters its an issue he's committed enough to address. He chose not to and instead came out of it looking like officials arent the only one's he disrespects.

I remember watching that at the time, thinking "wtf is that meant to mean?" Watching it back again now though makes me LMFAO, its hilarious.

LMFAO

http://z11.invisionfree.com/LBslittleland/...?showtopic=7702 Funnily enough, the arsenal lot have stayed away from the Chelsea board today, lol. Thankyou, obviously wouldnt have posted it if we lost.

The bloke's an arrogant, self-obsessed twat and he's shown that again this season with his behaviour. As good as he was for us, do any of us fancy having a player (not to mention captain) prepared to walk away from his team in a sulk rather than stand right beside them defending a penalty? Kiss our arse Gallas - you're old news.

Really top class post. I might say I don't care about results, but when it comes to the game I can't help myself - I support Chelsea no matter what. I hate Grant and want him out but not at the expense of our results. Bit of a no-win situation now.

Posted on an arsenal dominated forum after the game, just for the fun of it.

That’s Entertainment. No ticker tape, no party hats, no helium balloons, No title celebrations yet again for Wenger’s goons. They’d had a run, surprised a few and even topped the table But hold onto a 5 point gap, we saw they just weren’t able. For all the praise the press heaped on, the goals they just stopped scoring As ‘football’s saviours’ silky skills could only see them drawing. First hailing them after Milan, then Birmingham they’re effing “Conspiracy” the fans cry out, “it’s all down to bad reffing” Eduardo to be fair to him, ‘that’ tackle left him slaughtered But Taylor, did he need to be, hung, drawn and then quartered? You’d think so, they called for his head, in fact he should retire Football just had never seen an injury so dire. He’d tried to cut his leg in half, or so they’d have us thinking A ready made excuse before from 1st place they start sinking. And Gallas in his captain’s role, well he just spat the dummy Sulking like a two year old who’s told off by his mummy. He didn’t want to play, he had the hump, that’s all that mattered, Sod defending penalties and team mates limbs just shattered. Still no surprise, this from the man who sulked at Nani’s tricking And when he couldn’t catch him up, resorted to just kicking. But Wenger surely missed all that with eyesight often failing? Yet if his little boys get hurt, he wants some bugger jailing. He puts his faith in his ‘young guns’ to show cash ain’t essential Look, Theo was born at the club - and now he’s shown potential. Maybe it’s his preference, for little boys and cuddles Comparing depth with rivals though’s like oceans next to puddles. They’ll tell you that it’s not their fault, it’s not their lack of cover They blame the refs and the FA, they even blame each other. At least they entertain their fans, it really must be pleasing To hear them say “we wanna win”, then find out they’re just teasing. Still second place won’t be so bad, at least the football’s pretty No trophies to collect again, just the usual self pity.

Firstly, it was an open post, so it wasn't clear you were talking about people you label 'glory hunters'. You said you're sick of "members and fans talking crap" when we have bad results - that's a generalisation, so again, it could mean anyone or everyone. Maybe if you're going to post telling people to "grow the fuck up" because "all of you bunch", etc, being specific might save unintended offence. And I still can't see how having a go after poor results is "shitting all over the team". If the players are letting us down, we can and should question them - Grant's not the only one at fault this season.

Was going to ignore this but there's way too much wrong with it tbh. It's been said time and time again this is a forum, forum's are places where people post their own opinions. To my knowledge when I joined TC it wasn't under the understanding that anything I posted had to pass your quality control checks. Therefore, I personally will continue to post whatever I like after a game, whether it meets with your approval or not. Firstly, you're assuming everyone on here latched onto Chelsea following Roman's arrival, that's not only a naive assumption on your part, its also downright bloody insulting. There's plenty on here who were around a long time before trophies were even thought about, never mind expected. Yes, some supporters became spoilt under Mourinho, arrogant even and now it's time to face facts - there's nothing to be arrogant about. As for cosmetics being the only thing separating us from Mancs - are you for real?

He must be doing something right, the opposition love him.

I'm sensing a hint of disappointment here.

Just be grateful he's not our striker then.

Yeah fair points, wasnt having a dig or anything, was just wondering. On Utd though, I know Ronaldo's goals have been important for them but I'd say Rooney's their key man really.

You honestly think so?

Yeah but it'd be very unlady-like of me to post them.