A bit of realism

[Tomo 21,733]

Can we take the batteries out with all the pessimism from the 2 pre season games?

Yes they were not ideal performances and yes if we play like that in the premier league we are in serious shit but lets be realistic its not as simple as that, we will dip into the market at some point with what Andre's saying i personally think he has a couple of hidden gems lined up, and pre season can never be a true reflection on how our season will go (especially not 2 games).

Does any one remember's Jose's first pre season match? a 1-1 draw at Oxford and at times Oxford has us on the ropes, if we played like that all season we would have gone down but we didn't we improved and won the league at a canter. We get slated for only scoring one against these but i would be more worried if we let in 3 and won 5-3 or something.

Things will improve KTF

[Spike 12,049]

I hope so...

[NoFear 23]

The only positive I see is that AVB has brpught some 'Luck' factor. We were poor (not as much as some make it out to be) but still got the wins through 2 own goals !!! If he can bring this same luck to our CL quest, I had be more than happy

[HRiver 1,512]

I never really give a damn about pre-season anyway. It's pre-season and it's friendly games, I wouldn't be too bothered even if we lost 3-0 yesterday.

[Guest justin_3d]

I am a pessimist, till i see a better attitude in the field!

[Henrique 9,133]

The pessimism is not about this 2 pre season games.

The fact is that right now there is no one fucking single new player here.

The board already said that 2 or 3 names will arrive, and I dont think thats enough. I mean, the only youngster that can really play a good football in next season is Sturridge. Josh is far from being a player ready to play big games.

Malouda is still here, Bosingwa, Ferreira and Kalou. This is the worst part, because it means that the board still believe this guys can do something great.

You said we will go to market at some point. What we are waiting for ? Roman has the fucking money, and our squad need some changes.

The problem is: Boas arrived saying the team need only few changes. Do you think he really believes that? Probably the board said what they expect and what they think about the squad. In fact I believe we start the next season with the same old squad, and with Malouda still a starting XI.

[lionsden 4,689]

Does anyonelese find it extremely worrisome that we have started pre-season in identical fashion to how we played for majority of last season, performance wise. Nothing has changed bar a new manager- same players, same pattern of play and no plans to overhaul the squad. As Justin said, I will become optimistic when I find a genuine reason to be. I don't allow my love for the club to cloud my judgment or distort reality and the reality is that we are still as shit as last season.

[BLionheart 516]

Unfortunately i was not able to watch the lads in any game since AVB came in . but it looks like i haven't been missing much.

TBH i am extremely happy with the scores and feed back i received about the games , AVB said he will evaluate the team based on the pre-season and hopefully soon enough he will know that we have the best defensive unit in the whole world and the worst forwards of any so-called big team and by that i can include the likes of Milan , Man city , Inter , Tottenham and liverpool .

And soon enough the likes of Anelka , Malouda , Kalou and Zhirkov will be shown the exit door . and replaced by better creative players .

[warnie_666 1,081]

2 nd pre season game and everyone is in a meltdown. The guys have played 2 halves ONLY after 2 months off. Which is like 1 game in two months and you expect them to fire on all cylinders? Add to that the 12 hour flight from UK to Malaysia which means players are Jet Lagged and add to that the Heat and Humidity which you will never experience in UK, and add to that a below par pitch.

For Fuck sake, Cut the Slack. You people are no different than those idiot jouranlists who have already started writing on how Torres flopped again in a fucking 2nd game of the pre season.

[ZanSnake 1,211]

I am more worried by the lack of players coming into the club when it is needed, then the performance. All these two games has done, is highlighted the fact we do indeed need some investment into the team, where we knew from the end of last season.

[Blue In Green 86]

Oh FFS...

[Kieran. 6,317]

If you're seriously not even a little bit worried, something's off.

[╫rue Blue 47]

2 nd pre season game and everyone is in a meltdown. The guys have played 2 halves ONLY after 2 months off. Which is like 1 game in two months and you expect them to fire on all cylinders? Add to that the 12 hour flight from UK to Malaysia which means players are Jet Lagged and add to that the Heat and Humidity which you will never experience in UK, and add to that a below par pitch.

For Fuck sake, Cut the Slack. You people are no different than those idiot jouranlists who have already started writing on how Torres flopped again in a fucking 2nd game of the pre season.

how about madrid ? their player have some a month off for holiday too right ? buat now they already can show good form

okay, if you think this because chelsea player have a long trip and different weather in asia, HOW ABOUT ARSENAL & LIVERPOOL ?? not just about score but are they playing shit like this againts malaysia ?

[Madmax 9,219]

Honestly, if you're being 'real' right now, you'd have to admit that this is not what we expected or even imagined when AvB came in. Again, it's not about the score, it's about the performance. The players are treating these games as a glorified training session and don't look particularly bothered about convincing the new manager that they should be a part of his plans for the season.

The only positives I can see right now are - 1. Boost in fitness levels 2. AvB noticing just how below-par some of the squad is, and hopefully doing away with them while bringing in improvements on the same.

[Fulham Broadway 16,859]

A bit of realism in relation into why these teams are being played -yes its a run out for the players for AVB to assess -but its main purpose is marketing the brand Chelsea FC, with end products such as more people from far flung countries on this forum , buying megastore tat, and maybe getting on a 747 and doing the pilgimage to SW6 for the Chelsea 'experience'.....

[Blue Armour 4,289]

We also have to remember that unlike Man Utd and Liverpool (who seem to be having successful pre-seasons) , we have a new a manager with a different philosophy for playing the game.

One would expect a new manager to add motivation to the squad.This should work for the younger players, but let's not forget that more than half the squad have seen a lot of managers come and go over the past few years, so you can't expect them to get excited just like that. It will be a while before his ideas sink in.

Again let's compare our preseason with Man Utd (who recently thrashed the Seattle Sounders 7-0). Man Utd finished last season on a high (ignoring the CL final of course), their managerial philosophy remains the same, and they've only strengthened their team since then. Its only natural that they would play like that.

In contrast, our team is like a patient who recently left ER after an organ transplant (its a poor analogy, but I hope I've made my point). So its naturally going to take a while.

Also fitness is poor and improving slowly ( because the squad takes longer due to its age), but surely. Team chemistry hasn't improved because the players are only playing 45 mins each and in different combinations. This is because AVB wants to assess fitness levels and individual performances before he decides the right mix for the team.

As for the transfers, I don't think anyone can deny that the club has its targets. Its taking a while to get them, but I think we will see some movement as soon as the Asia tour comes to a close.

[GodZola 630]

I can see things from both sides but would sway to the side of an optimist rather than a pessimist.

The problems we have this season is down to the hierarchy taking too long in their pursuit to try & install Hiddink as our new manager which ate into the valuable time of our new appointment. AVB has quite right stated he wanted to evaluate the squad before making changes & this has to be the correct way of doing things as we want quality to replace some of the dross that need shipping out, there's no point in making rash judgements & ending up paying millions for the wrong player who isn't any better than what we already have. I would prefer that we identify out transfer targets at the end of the season & obtain them ready for pre-season but unfortunately this is not always possible & this year is an example of that. I think we just have to be patient this time & hope the wheels are in motion of acquiring our Targets - albeit later than we would expect.

As for on the pitch, the players are having to get used to a new manager with different ideas & this of course will also take time for the players to adapt. The results & performances are not worrying me as its quite clear that AVB is experimenting whilst running his eye over some of the younger players who deserve to be given a chance. We have to take into account that AVB will try players in different roles & use different formations, the players are only getting 45 minutes at most & their fitness levels are no where near 100%. We also have 3 quality Brazilian's to enter the fray yet.

I will start worrying a little at the end of August if there are no new arrivals & the players havn't adapted to the new brooms thinking.

[Igi26 346]

All who saying that new coach is here and they need to adopt, ... :ballack:

This team is playing 4 season together, with one addition (Torres). They must be kickng Malasya ass at least by performance not by goals. Team played like Championship team yesterday and I aggre with @lionsden. If you are playing for Chelsea you must prove something to manager, fans, board, ... not only in training, but in match too. But I'm optimistic and I really hope that we will play better.