remains of the day

To a certain extent, yes that might be true. But at the end of the day, Roman isn't receiving monetary compensation to do a job. I can see why *some* of the blame needs to be attributed to him for decisions regarding managerial appointments/firings and the whole Torres situation. But to argue that he is fully to blame for this mess of a season and not the board, is absurd and removes accountability from people who are getting paid a shit load of money to ensure that x, y, z is being done. We know that Roman is involved with club affairs, but it's not like he's micro-managing everything relating to transfer dealings. Is it his fault that we don't have good enough players for the pivot? Or that 25 million was squandered on another attacking player when there are holes in other areas? Isn't that why he has a technical director getting a nice salary to ensure that the squad is in good shape to mount title challenges?

I'm by no means a mikel hater and rarely do I ever criticize him...but he was disappointingly poor today. Considering his number of appearances in comparison to the rest of the outfield players on that pitch, its almost inexcusable and borderline laughable that he can put out a display like that in such an important game. He's already taken quite a bit of stick so I won't yap on about this. What I will say is that if we're going to continue with this expansive system and if we're going to continue using hobbit size attacking players then it's imperative that we sign a defensive midfielder who understands that tackling isn't just a thing a DM does every 60 mins of so. I mean...to have any type of defensive solidarity in an attacking system then surely your defensive midfielder needs to have one of the highest work rates in the team, no? Besides channeling opposition players to the flanks or areas they can't do much damage, a defensive mid also has to be quick to break up play, stay with runners, hassle opposition players.... otherwise your defenders will constantly be under siege. Just take a look at Mikel here..... Look at the gap between him and the defenders! Look at the number of man city players in front of him. I mean, really? Are you kidding me? Even oscar is ahead of him trying to get back. This is just shocking and has become all too common with mikel.

No. He didn't make "decent interceptions." I watched mikel very closely and If i'm not mistaken he made one interception....one.

I don't know if that's necessarily the reason why we've played well against them this season, after all we did alright against them at the Bridge back in October - both RVP and Rooney were on the pitch; kagawa played in the game at old trafford; Vidic.....has he been playing much in big games since his return from injury? Don't know...I think it's more that their general style of play suits us and does not expose too much of our weak areas - they're not exactly a pressing, high tempo, high energy, defend from the front side - we know that this is the area we tend to really struggle with. In the games we've played them, they put very little pressure on our midfield (except when Welbeck is on) but they've generally stood off quite a bit and allowed Mata and Hazard to play their football. The fact that Mata picked up the ball (in their half) had enough time to look up to spot the run of Ba and also find a pass (on his strong foot nonetheless) .....that's just reflective of why we've done well against them.

Don't think it's stupid at all. From the way things are looking, it's a big possibility that we might not make top 4, I agree that the implications would be dire. However, I think it's refreshing that some supporters are trying to find some positives, in the event that we don't qualify for CL.

Ollie pretty much took the words out of my mouth. I can understand the argument that losing out champions league football isn't the be all and end all, and to a certain extent I agree that it shouldn't but if we think that doing so will force some kind of organizational culture change in the club.....then we're kidding ourselves. My fear with not qualifying for CL is not so much the risk of not being able to keep our top players or bring in new ones, my fear is that the board, Abramovich & co will become even more desperate to ensure that we don't fail to qualify again. That desperation alone worries me. To me, a desperate Chelsea hierarchy translates to more panic decision making and more managerial turnovers. Yes ideally we would use our 'hiatus' from the champions league to reform our practices, integrate our youth, allow the manager time to embed his philosophy and come back the next season a better and stronger force.....but we all know that's not gonna happen.

For the love of god STOP with the overhead crosses! It ain't working! Just stop.

I think they will. I really do......

Peace, I think we both seem to agree more than disagree especially around the importance of Ramires in this current Chelsea team. I agree that although he’s good to have in the squad, if not for the variety he brings in options then for his passion, hard work and commitment, but moving forward he probably would not be the first name on the team sheet (although I would argue that this would be dependent on the tactics of the next manager.) Where you lost me however, is in your comment that “people who have criticized him in the last few pages don't argue over his spot in the squad, but his spot in the first team.” I find this highly questionable and just plain incorrect particularly since some folks on here have come forward and suggested that he doesn’t fit into the team and should be transfered. I also question overly critical comments like “he doesn’t get the basics right” or mis-directed statements like “ I don’t think he has what it takes to make the starting line-up of an elite team.” Elite teams don’t all play the same formation, employ the same tactics or have quality, world class players in every position so why wouldn't Ramires be able to make the starting XI of some top teams? Some line-ups will fit he's playing style and complement his strengths better than others. I won’t argue that rami isn’t (at times) sloppy in possession (as many of the players in this team have been lately) however my issue with comments like “we are simply asking him to not fuck up with the basic — i.e. having a decent touch on the ball and a decent pass" is that they tend to grossly exaggerate his weaknesses and tend to paint him as this technically inept footballer who’s always the one consistently losing possession which isn’t the case. It also wholly ignores the fact that 1) Ramires’ dispossession rate isn’t that much higher than Mikel's 2) his pass success percentage is not so much further behind than that of Mata & Hazard’s (in fact I think on whoscored all three have around an 84 percent completion rate) and 3) he wins back possession more often than any other player in this team. Not bad for a player who you claim can’t even get the basics right….. Perhaps, but then again one can argue that if there's something wrong with the car that causes it to burn more gas, then does it really make it a difference whether you have 2L or 5?

I think people need to understand that sometimes a player does not have to be this technically gifted footballer for him to be an asset to a side. There are many flaws in Rami's game but there are also certain qualities that he brings to this squad that are very vital. I think to say that there's no place for him in the squad because his touch isn't first class or his passes aren't xavi-esque is being a bit too simplistic. To be competitive you need one or two players that can bring something completely different from the others. Yes we're in desperate need for a top center midfielder but there's no doubt in my mind that without ramires' qualities we would be even more of a mess than we are now. I personally find him fascinating, simply because he plays football like he was just plucked off the streets of Brazil and thrown into a stadium! He's playing style is so raw and completely lacks any sort of refinement but yet he's still a brilliant player (in he's own way.) Would love to see what he could become under good coaching and stable management.

It's the year 2013, are people still believing the "Mikel only pases backwards or sideways" narrative??

You’re right that our transfer policy has 'evolved' and that we’re no longer targeting big name players who are already “finished products.” We’ve shifted to a model of buying youth and there’s now a conscious effort by the board to move to a more “sustainable” approach in regards to wages and transfers. And I applaud the board for their commitment to this, for their new stance on reducing the wage bill, for their efforts in bringing in young players and for their new focus on the future. However I take issue with our transfer policy for a number of reasons - despite targeting youth, we haven’t actually spent less on transfers in-fact we’ve spent more. Despite spending 80 mil in the summer window, we really only strengthened one position. Despite being the defending European champs and knowing full well the extra competitive matches we needed to partake in, there was absolutely no planning for squad depth for what should have been a HUGE season for us. Half way in we're left with a bare thin and exhausted squad with players that have played 45 games. 80 mil went into this squad. I think it’s a sad state of affairs when a club endowed with so much resources has to play a left back as a left winger not because of any tactical reasons but simply because of a lack of viable options. You can choose to call this “a path to greater glories sketched out for us” I’ll call it what it is – incompetent management. I’m pointing my fingers at Emenalo because he holds one of the most important positions (if not the most important) in respect to our transfer dealings and in respect to the composition of the squad. It's his responsibility to oversea of all this and frankly, under his tenure, our squad simply has not been good enough to mount a strong title challenge in spite of millions being invested. Under his tenure, we're basically averaging 2 managers per season and struggling to finish in top 4. Again, where is the accountability?

I think you’re right, stingray. This club has clearly shifted to a more business model, profit-centered approach, which (as you mentioned) explains why we keep churning players out on loan (even though this has come at the expense of our squad depth) and I guess I agree with you…..when you have an environment in which so much emphasis is on profits, short term results and very little on fan engagement, well the implication is that the “human” aspects of the game become devalued. Aspects like pride, passion, commitment, resilience - aspects that motivates players to “keep on trekking” even when being hammered by the opposition. When I read KDB’s comments about that cfc scout only talking to him for a mere 5 mins, or even about the treatment of Alex and Anelka last season & Malouda this season, or the manner in which the club is handling SFL's contract extension and the most hurtful of all….the way the club just disposed of Robbie (who I grew up watching)……it just leaves a bad taste and perhaps this all supports exactly what you're saying.

Really going to miss the love affair between these two.....still a better love story than twilight.

So...I fought laziness and registered for an account just to reply to this thread Can I just throw something out there? Since Emenalo was promoted as technical director, have we even come close to putting in a strong challenge for the title? Serious question…….when last were we (through out the duration of a season) considered strong contenders for the title? I don't know about all of you, but I find it very unsettling that this is now the SECOND consecutive season that we’re having to “write-off”..... the second consecutive season that our performances has been poor (to say the least) and this is also the second season in a row that we're having to battle it out with spurs and arsenal for a third/fourth place finish despite the fact that we've poured millions into this squad. It's not a coincidence that this is all happening under Emenalo’s tenure as Technical Director. Infact I would venture to argue that since Emenalo’s appointment, not only has the gap between us and Manchester United widened but now Manchester City has also overtaken us. We're gradually pulling away from the top yet we're among the top spenders in the league. My question is, why aren’t we as fans holding Emenalo more accountable for this mess? Why is there so much accountability being placed on an INTERIM manager (who had absolutely no input into the composition of the squad) but none being put on the technical director of the club who for the second season in a row, has completely failed to build a strong squad that can challenge for titles? Looking back at the past two years….the "disease" or cancer that's surrounding the club began to grow when Carlo (the manager who just won us the league the season before and had taken us to a 2nd place finish) was booted out of the club and Emenalo suddenly became responsible for the direction of our transfer dealings and team affairs.....since his appointment, there's been more madness and chaos than ever. Not trying to scapegoat the man but if indeed there's a cancer in this club then Emenalo is right in the thick of it. Do we need to go through another failure of a season before we start pointing fingers at the technical director?