Rambo

realize that, then he also become the problem. What do you expect AVB to say? That JT is shit and needs to step down as Chelsea captain? I think AVB is just saying the politcally correct thing for the fans so they don't all start jumping the gun. I also believe some of our players are way past it but most of the losses we suffered to the big clubs (man utd, liverpool, arsenal) could have gone both ways..We are capable of competing with them but to what extent? We lack an in form striker (Drogba was the reason we won the double imo in 09-10), we concede way too many sloppy goals that can be avoided or defended against better and our midfield is simply not producing chances for our strikers to play off of. I honestly swear if we did not have Mata/Sturridge this season we would be so fucked.

I'm sure AVB is a smart man with a lot of football knowledge...he probably knows our players a lot more than we think he does but why does he insist on using the high line D? We are getting EXPOSED on a weekly basis and it is painful to watch an aging JT and slow Ivanovic chasing down opposing strikers who are carving us up with ease..This defence used to be as solid as a rock and to win trophies imo thats where we start building. If AVB doesn't start to solidify our backline with some consistency and discipline we are in deep trouble this year because in the champions league better teams will have a field day against us. How can we expect Torres/Sturridge/Mata to have top class performances when we are constantly conceding goals and losing confidence? IMO AVB needs to stick with one D-line and keep the rotation at a minimum (how about resting Ashley for once, god knows how many minutes he's logged for us the past couple of years). We need to have that CB partnership like we did with JT and Gallas, JT and Carvalho back again. Probably not a popular opinion shared on this board but I think Alex/JT was pretty damn solid for us down the years...as much as I love David Luiz, he does has some risks. No doubt that he'll learn and adapt though, just hope it's sooner rather than later.

They're not geling as much as most Chelsea fans want them to...we are definitely underachieving with this front 3 and I can't wait for Sturridge to polish up as a finished product and with Mata/Torres to play with that swagger that they have in them. Does AVB carry some resposibility for this? Maybe the ongoing heavy rotation is disrupting their chemistry together, who knows.

Just a quick note, do you all think it's essential that we offload Drogba and let Torres take the main role as the starting striker? Maybe he's been under Didier's shadow for too long and needs to emerge as the worldclass player that he is.

Torres was a beast for liverpool, sadly he can't recreate the form he was under for us..Drogba will still be one of the best (imo our best) strikers of all time for us. Whether Drogba haters like it or not, he has accomplished far more for our club. I honestly think the 50 m pricetag has hurt Fernando and the atmosphere and expectations of CFC is overwheliming him atm. However it would be foolish for ANY Chelsea fan to not want him to succeed for us...the question is, when and how are we able to get consistent performances from Nando again? His touch has gotten a lot worse since his injury and he does not look motivated at all when he steps on the pitch. Besides focusing our attention to Torres we should get him to feed off of Mata and Sturridge to relieve the pressure off FT9.

I swear Ashley's career will be shortened due to the number of games he's been playing for us.

Google!

Craig fucking Bellamy.

GEEZERS LOOL

Perfect game for us to start a comeback..let's hope we can find some form.

Neymar for me as well..wonderful skill.

The onus is on the players to perform on a regular basis, I understand the new philosophy that AVB is trying to promote but I don't think we have the right players for that system atm.

Malouda should have won this game for us, but no doubt our defence was all over the place today. Note to AVB: OUR CBS ARE TOO SLOW AND SHIT FOR THE HIGHLINE.

Why would they want to say that anyway?

Well said, and Ash of course.

Indeed.

Much rather use Alex tbh, I'm sure we are interested because he's English.

Looking at the depth chart right now in terms of strikers..who can you name that performs consistently (at the moment) in big games? Torres? Drogba? We are struggling in form in this department at the moment and Anelka adds that versatility on the pitch.

Yes his goal scoring record is impressive so far but I don't think he's ready to play on the wing yet. Walcott is more of a winger and offers much more on the right side. Sturridge isn't using his speed effectively and he needs to incorporate his right foot into his game.

Stay away from UKSOCCERSHOP, con artists...

Only a matter of time.

As a striker yes, but IMO Walcott is better on the wing

DANNY BOY!!

I believe so too.