The Big Drog

Shocking, I cant believe how much standards have dropped.

No but by the same token a year ago did you expect Sturridge and Kakuta to get so few first team opportunities with us? Given how well McEachran played in his few performances I think he warranted more than he has gotten.

Just read these quotes on the officla Chelsea site from Ancelotti. Asked whether he feels the squad needs rejuvenating, Ancelotti pointed to recent purchases to suggest the balance is right. 'This year arrived some fantastic players, Ramires, David Luiz and Fernando Torres, and I think that this year that was enough. For the future I don't know but I don't think this team needs to have a lot of movement. Now is not the right time,' he said. Surely thats exactly the opposite of what we need. I mean over the course of the season he must have noticed how stale we are, he must realise that certain players are the wrong side of 30 and need replacing or at least adequate cover, surely he must know that there is too much deadweight in the current squad that needs an overhaul. Exactly the same problem that he created at Milan, Ancelotti wants to maintain the status quo.

The thread was worth it just to see the funny sig he has.

At the very least Sturridge should be a nailed on starter and Kakuta having the Kalou role of super sub and occasional starter.

Ye but all of them were gradually introduced into the starting line up from a young age. As I said, Im not saying McEachran should start ahead of Lampard every week but surely a few Premier League starts would do him the world of good? Get some genuinely competitive games under his belt, Messi (despite being very lightweight) was starting games for Barcelona at a young age too. I really dont think this is a new concept, its just gradually introducing a young player into a starting line up so that he feels comfortable to play when called upon but we seem to fail to do that with our young players.

Excellent performance the other night from Kaka against Sevilla, fitness has been his problem but he looks to be getting that back and along with it his shaprness and speed, he remains such a wonderful footballer.

23 but his integration into the Man Utd side began a couple of seasons ago. If your looking for younger examples then Rafael and Fabio or Chris Smalling or Hernandez or even Nani or before that Ronaldo. Seriously if we are basing it on strenght then we might aswell let McEachran go now because he is never going to develop into Michael Essien in the strenght department, if we are going on that logic then I dont know why people talk about Iniesta or Messi because neither is likely to win a strongman competition anytime soon. What McEachran does have though is tonnes of technical ability, guile and vision, something our midfield doesn't have. I expect Sturridge to be a regular in the starting 11 but I wouldn't be the least bit surprised if on the opening day of next season, if Ancelotti is still in charge, the teamsheet read Malouda, Drogba and Kalou up front.

I dont think anybody is saying that they want them to be playing week in week out ala Terry or Ashley Cole but by the same token if they are ever going to develop then they absolutely must be given more first team opportunities. As much as we all dislike Man Utd and Arsenal, you cant deny they do gradually blood young players into the starting 11, eg. Gibson, we all know Gibson is a pretty average player but Ferguson has gradually introduced him into the side, playing him in league cup games, FA Cup games, Champions League group stages and finally he feels comfortable enough to start him in the Premier League and Gibson is confident enough to feel that he belongs in the team and his team mates have confidence in him because they have played competitive games with him before, to the point where he was starting a Champions League quater final last season. Josh McEachran is a better player than Gibson, I think we can all agree on that but could you seriously imagine McEachran starting a Champions League quater final for Chelsea under Ancelotti next season? I cant and thats because he hasn't had the same experience as Gibson, he hasn't been blooded into the side well enough and as a result he lacks the experience to play in these games but how can you gain experience without games? You cant.

Spot on and I agree mate, if Roman and other members of the Chelsea hierarchy had their doubts about Ancelotti before today then today will have just confirmed their suspicions.

Exactly, he invested all of that money and bought young Sturridge for 8 million and what was the product of all of his investment today? Sturridge is in Bolton, having a terrific second half of the season and knocking on the door of an England call up, the youth players which Abramovich has invested so much in were nowhere to be seen. Luiz and Mikel were the 2 youngest players in our side today and Luiz cost 25 million and Mikel was something in double figures too. Where the heck are the young players that Roman has invested so much in? The real kicker is that our young players are very talented, we have really good young players but they are never given opportunities.

Yes we can but I bet you can probably find more examples of Ancelotti not developing young players into proper starting 11 players than you can find of him doing it. I mean the AC Milan side (before their recent investmenr )where the vast majority were members of Ancelotti's squad during his 8 year tenure were a living, breathing testament to that fact.

Ask Yoann Gourcuff how that stability of Ancelotti aided his AC Milan career.

Ye but at least his teams play with a bit of attacking flair and guile. Literally at the moment I dont care who replaces Anceotti (within reason) because it cant be worse than what we saw today and what we have seen in general this season.

Just a quick question, why are people saying they dont want Mourinho back? I really dont understand that one.

Well said. Look at Jay Spearing, look at how well he has done for Liverpool since Dalglish started playing him regularly, he has had fantastic performances against top teams, is anyone going to try and tell me that Jay Spearing is better than Josh McEachran? Not a bloody chance.

So what you are basically saying is that we shouldn't change the manager in the Summer and as a result we shouldn't overhaul the squad because essentially it would be a lame duck manager in charge, what we should do is go into next season with the same squad and the same manager and have another season like this one? So have back to back awful seasons? Im not sure mate but I dont think its a great argument that one. I agree we need those 3 things but again shouldn;t we let whoever the owner sees as the long term manager of Chelsea be the one who has a say in who those 3 players are? Judging by this season he could have all the talented players he wants and he still wont achieve very much.

I dont think you understand that first point Im making. The point is that if we are seriously going to do a squad overhaul in the Sumemr and bring in new players to replace the old ones then its absolutely vital that we have a manager in charge who the board think is there for the long term, who can achieve long term success. If we let Ancelotti stay on next season and we allow him to have a hand in the Summer transfers and then we get a new manager for the following season, maybe he wont like the players that Ancelotti has bought, maybe he will want bring in his own players and then what? Also perhaps the players who Ancelotti will have brought in during the Summer wont be happy that the man who brought them to the club is now gone. I think if we are making sweeping changes then that must include the manager. Mourinho is a long shot but if it were possible then Id love it to happen. Maybe we can convince Hiddink? Maybe we can get Van Gaal? Boas is an excellent coach who has worked at Chelsea before, I think he would be a fantastic appointment. Haven't a clue, thats the stat I found on wikipedia. But how does anybody expect him to mature if he doesn;t get any game time with the first team?

Its important to note then, Inter changed their manager and Bayern have sacked their manager too.

Rafael appeared 16 times during that season for Man Utd. Josh McEachran has appeared 7 times for us this season and of those appearances, how many of them were starts in competitive games? Thats the difference that needs addressing.

Yes, absoltuely he should have made it ahead of Anelka, he should have made it ahead of Malouda and he certainly should have made it ahead of Kalou. Take a look at him playing for Bolton and then tell me he needs time, he doesn't need anymore time, his time is now. Im not saying lets put them straight into the first 11 week in week out, what i am saying is that they haven't been blooded into the side in a way that they should have been, Im saying that they lack the experience to step in and do a job when called upon in the starting 11 precisely because we haven't allowed them to gain that experience.

I think most people will agree that Ramires and Luiz are very much Ancelotti buys, Torres perhaps not so much but Luiz and Ramires, certainly. Because he is the coach? If Carlo Ancelotti is coaching a team then Id be pretty confident Carlo Ancelotti will buy players that Carlo Ancelotti rates, not ones that Hiddink rates or Mourinho rates. How do we know there isn't anyone better than him? If Mourinho is available in the Summer (very much possible given whats transpired at Madrid) then he is a better option, perhaps we can pursue Hiddink, I think he is a better option, Andre Villas Boas could turn out to be a better option. Finishing second, losing out in the Champions League quater final and the way we have lost such bigg ames this season is the reason that Ancelotti's future is under such scrutiny. Fulham, a side who were involved in a relegation battle for a while so were hardly likely to trust young players.

When has McEachran stepped into the first team? He has started a few games and none of them in the Premier League (I think Im right in saying). Now he cant even get a spot on the bench. Rafael and Fabio were given far more opportunities much sooner once they were available.

There's taking it slowly and then there is this. Look at Wilshere, he starts week in, week out for Arsenal. Im not saying lets start McEachran in every game but lets gradually introduce him, Ferguson plays Gibson in competitive games (and has done for a couple of seasons) lets gradually introduce McEachran in the same way Ferguson introduced Gibson. Its no good giving him the od 15 minutes when a game is won, he wont learn anything from that. What about Sturridge, he has shined at Bolton, he looks a very special player and exactly what we were missing today (speed out wide) but instead he was sent out on loan because he couldn't get ahead of Anelka and Kalou in the pecking order, thats shocking. Kakuta hasn't been given a chance at all either, forget slowly introducing him into the line up the lad hasn't been given a chance.

My point is that we have a high quality squad, one that has just won the double and one that has been consistently successful for the past 5-6 years and yet under Ancelotti this is the type of season we get? Yes he won the double last season (though doubters will say we only won the league by a point over a very average Man Utd side) but we had an awful European campaign and we have had another awful European campaign this season, last season Ancelotti's saving grace was the Premier League, this season we we have been poor, there is no 2 ways about it and with the kind of resources that Abramovich has invested in this squad, with the players he has available to him and with the deflating manner which some of our most vital defeats have occured (Sunderland, Arsenal, 3 times against Man Utd) then I think sacking him would be absolutely justified. What I've read on here since the defeat is change, that everyone wants change to the squad in the Summer and so do I but the absolute worst thing that can happen is if we keep Ancelotti, he brings in his own players, we have another season like this one, then he is sacked, we get a new coach who then has to work with a group of players who are not his own, thats exactly what we dont need. When Mourinho came in he was allowed to bring in his own players and it worked. We must allow whatever manager we want to bring in to do the same and that means we cant waste time, we cant risk having another dud season like this one, if we plan on big changes tot he squad in the Summer then the board must make sure we have a manager in place who they see leading us long term and I dont think anybody is convinced that that is Carlo Ancelotti.