A bit of realism

[Kostas 1,468]

Quite a few very good points have been raised but I'm afraid I won't join any side.

Some understandably preach faith but as I myself had trouble with zolayers when he first told me something along those lines in 09/10 I'd rather preach patience. I'm sure the pessimists now how early we are into pre-season but the general consensus that as soon as Ancelotti was sacked we were going to go on a buying spree has distorted the perspective of even the most reasonable of fans.

I won't presume to know what Andre or the Board think or do at the moment so I can't really slate them for anything yet. For all we know we maybe working in the background for a couple of players, it's not like we don't have enough evidence to be absolutely sure that the media (our main/only source) know fuck all about what the people that are running the club think.

If we haven't improved our squad or our play tremendously by the 20th of August when the serious squad and prediction threads should pop up I know I will go on full-scale rants in every single one of them. For the moment I just enjoy thinking that, as GodZola said, AVB is experimenting with the established players and picking the young players that will be in his plans.

[lionsden 4,689]

None of us really know if our board are happy with current squad.

Yes they are. . .Ron Gourlay for one hasn't made his satisfaction with the current squad a secret hence his public statement "The core of the squad will more or less be the same"

[TomCFC 357]

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.

Well said.

[LDN Blue 7,903]

I won't presume to know what Andre or the Board think or do at the moment so I can't really slate them for anything yet. For all we know we maybe working in the background for a couple of players, it's not like we don't have enough evidence to be absolutely sure that the media (our main/only source) know fuck all about what the people that are running the club think.

For them to even hire Villas-Boas showed a change of direction for them. Not that it covers for their mistakes last season, but still some wisdom did prevail in that boardroom

[warnie_666 1,081]

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 ?

Firstly, Madrid, pool, Arsenal and Man U don't have new managers. News Managers need to assess their players and try different formations. That is why the players have played only 90 mins in 2 months and add to that the conditions i mentioned above.

[warnie_666 1,081]

I beieve if we had played our RESERVE team from last year including Bertrand ,, Tore and Borini they would have have beaten yesterdays opposition.

Perhaps even our Youth team might have.

You mean after a two month layoff playing their second game? In energy sapping conditions and on below par pitch? That's a bold statement

[magic weeds 446]

As I said, we will only make a move for new players when ONLY the Reo Cockers will be the only available options. Even Steve Sidwell will reject our offer.

[zolayes 14,489]

You mean after a two month layoff playing their second game? In energy sapping conditions and on below par pitch? That's a bold statement

A slight exageration more a comment on the level of opposition we were playing

[YankinBlue42 72]

LOL at some of your reactions to these pre-season games.

[lionsden 4,689]

These people yapping on about difficult weather conditions and lack of fitness still haven't given a logical reason why we struggled and only managed to win by a controversial goal against the same team that conceded 6 goals and 4 goals to Liverpool and arsenal respectively under the same conditions. meanwhile Fulham, an inferior team compared to us, are flying high in Europa qualifiers under a new manager. . . . some arguments on here simply holds no water.

bottom line: Considering the quality gap between both teams, our performance against Malaysia's team B is simply unacceptable.

[zolayes 14,489]

LOL at some of your reactions to these pre-season games.

pre season or not ...the level of performance was no laughing matter ... I didnt find it even mildly amusing

[lionsden 4,689]

pre season or not ...the level of performance was no laughing matter ... I didnt find it even mildly amusing

THIS is the crux of the matter.

[Blue In Green 86]

This is bullshit. We're talking about PRESEASON games in JULY. AVB and his staff have A MONTH to do what he sees fit to the team. Good God, some of you are freaking about how we played against MALAYSIA. This is a man trying to instill new philosophies into his team. If you thought everything was going to magically click and we'd win 12990488913139007395132-0, I want what you were taking. If you actually thought that, you overrated the impact of a new manager.

I'll leave you with a thought: last summer, my "local" MLS team Kansas City Wizards played a friendly against Manchester United. The Wizards won 2-1. The next morning, the local newspaper's sports section headline read "Man Who"?

How did that team do? Was that loss a sign of things to come for them?

[Blue Armour 4,436]

Look... whether the situation improves or not is up to the board, AVB and the players to decide. Worrying about it here doesn't help. It just darkens the mood.

Whatever you may think of this pre-season, it is still turning out better than what we had last season. And even that didn't stop us from having a terrific start to last year's campaign. Let's wait till this tour ends (in about a week's time) and let AVB assess the situation and make his move. We can start moaning (if needed) after that.

[zolayes 14,489]

This is bullshit. We're talking about PRESEASON games in JULY. AVB and his staff have A MONTH to do what he sees fit to the team. Good God, some of you are freaking about how we played against MALAYSIA. This is a man trying to instill new philosophies into his team. If you thought everything was going to magically click and we'd win 12990488913139007395132-0, I want what you were taking. If you actually thought that, you overrated the impact of a new manager.

I'll leave you with a thought: last summer, my "local" MLS team Kansas City Wizards played a friendly against Manchester United. The Wizards won 1-0. The next morning, the local newspaper's sports section headline read "Man Who"?

How did that team do? Was that loss a sign of things to come for them?

I think the score was 2 1 but point taken ...so everything should turn out rosy for us