Chelsea 3-1 Norwich

[PotterFowl 1]

Hilario

Bosingwa - Terry - Magnay - Cole

Romeu

McEachran - Lampard

Torres - Sturridge - Mata

Subs: Turnbull, Ivanovic, Bertrand, Benayoun, Ramires, Drogba.

- In defence, play Bosingwa to give a little bit of attack and defence down the right side. I reckon Magnay is good enough to get his debut.

- Give Mikel a break, it's been tough for him with his father kidnapped. I reckon Romeu and McEachran can play in midfield with Lampard being able to direct the two while adding goals to Chelsea's play.

- Play Torres. Just do that.

- Sturridge deserves the chance to play.

- Mata will complete that attacking sense with goals AND assists.

[Sheva. 5,373]

Sturridge still suspended. Should be back vs Sunderland

[Peace. 4,352]

Jesus, when will people get that Sturridge has been suspended for three games ? lol

[lionsden 4,689]

You know that won't happen mate

Mata starting on the left is the only change I expect from AvB. We might see debuts for Romeu and Lukaku later on if things are going well and we're up by a few.

Dreams do come true

What did Cole do?

Just thought AVB should use the Norwich game to rotate the squad and give some of the fringe players some much needed game time.

[manpe 10,861]

- In defence, play Bosingwa to give a little bit of attack and defence down the right side. I reckon Magnay is good enough to get his debut.

No, just no... Norwich are a much weaker side, granted, but not one team in EPL can be underestimated. Playing unproven centre backs can backfire very easily. I would much rather Luiz get a chance if he is fit, if not, then Ivanovic. Magnay didn't even get into the pre-season squad if I'm not mistaken. And I understand he's been through rough time of injuries. I think he's going to be released by the club at the end of his contract.

[lionsden 4,689]

I think it is for the turn over. If Bertrand doesn't get minutes against a promoted team... He will never get a single minute at all.

Bravo, monsieur a parlé

[DYC. 7,542]

Just thought AVB should use the Norwich game to rotate the squad and give some of the fringe players some much needed game time.

Ohw good, was afraid you thought Cole was underperforming.

I'd support that for sure, sadly I don't see it happening.

[Domino- 116]

Congratulations Jim, nice graphics and nice layout

[Ollie 4,400]

Maybe Lampard should be the holding midfielder, i mean seriously he does it for England sometimes when Gerrard is with him and does a very good job which nonody notices. They say those 2 can't play together because Lampard does a different job for England than he does for us and when you need someone on the ball to just calm things down and pass the ball on or set something up, he can do it. He is still the best player in our squad at distributing the ball and his vision and range of passing is still there. What lets him down is a yard of pace but u don't have to be too agile to do the holding role.What Lampard does now is receives the ball, looks up, and plays it. I'm not saying he should do this every match because we have Mikel but Romeu hasn't played too much football so maybe this year, Lampard and Mikel can carry the water.

[manpe 10,861]

Maybe Lampard should be the holding midfielder, i mean seriously he does it for England sometimes when Gerrard is with him and does a very good job which nonody notices. They say those 2 can't play together because Lampard does a different job for England than he does for us and when you need someone on the ball to just calm things down and pass the ball on or set something up, he can do it. He is still the best player in our squad at distributing the ball and his vision and range of passing is still there. What lets him down is a yard of pace but u don't have to be too agile to do the holding role.What Lampard does now is receives the ball, looks up, and plays it. I'm not saying he should do this every match because we have Mikel but Romeu hasn't played too much football so maybe this year, Lampard and Mikel can carry the water.

The problem is Lampard himself said that he has no trouble with it until he's permitted to make runs into the box. I don't think you can deny him his trademark move, which is arriving into the box at the right time.

[lionsden 4,689]

Maybe Lampard should be the holding midfielder, i mean seriously he does it for England sometimes when Gerrard is with him and does a very good job which nonody notices. They say those 2 can't play together because Lampard does a different job for England than he does for us and when you need someone on the ball to just calm things down and pass the ball on or set something up, he can do it. He is still the best player in our squad at distributing the ball and his vision and range of passing is still there. What lets him down is a yard of pace but u don't have to be too agile to do the holding role.What Lampard does now is receives the ball, looks up, and plays it. I'm not saying he should do this every match because we have Mikel but Romeu hasn't played too much football so maybe this year, Lampard and Mikel can carry the water.

Or maybe Lampard is past his prime and should be relegated to squad player instead of finding a way to play an aging and out of form player week in week out of position to accommodate a new competition. Seems illogical especially when we are not lacking in DM position with Mikel and Romeu occupying that role.

Giggs's limited role at United has been extremely effective in getting the best out of the veteran and most Chelsea fans feel it's time Lampard take a back seat to the next generation/ new playmaker.

[Tortilla9 390]

Every club goes through a time when they look at their more experienced players and ask the question of can they still contribute at the same level? are they still a starter? are they a bench player? who can we replace them with? do we need to move them on? do we need to take a different approach?

Chelsea seems to be at a crossroads with a few of these players. Do you keep starting them because they're club legends who have contributed to trophies and past success? Is that reason enough? Do you keep starting them because what you have on the bench isn't better? How do you get your bench better unless you give them experience? Is it status quo because a lot of players are comfortable?

Chelsea fans/supporters have been begging for youth, fresh new faces. They're here. What do you do with them? The big question for AVB in my mind is how he continues to drive toward winning while incorporating the new faces. How slow is the bedding in process?

Chelsea need to make some tough decisions or it may be more of the same from last season.

[Madmax 9,219]

I think this club needs to move away from sentiments if it wants to be successful in the long run. To be successful you need to be ruthless and need to have a single minded focus towards achieving that success. Look at Ferguson. How many times over these years has he discarded and rebuilt sides? Barcelona as well. It is absolutely vital to be able to freshen up the dynamic of the squad and move along with the times. Is there any doubt those two are the benchmark for the others in the two best leagues in the world? We on the other hand are in constant limbo, enveloped in a time warp. Cech-Terry-Lampard-Drogba was more or less the core of the back-to-back title winning squad and they're still here playing 90 mins week in week out.

We are at a pivotal time in the history of the club. Make no mistake, what we do now will pretty much determine if we continue to challenge for major honours domestically and in Europe over the next decade or so, or just fade away like previous teams that threatened to, but ultimately failed to upset the established order eg Arsenal. We can either decide that these veterans need to be phased out and replaced with younger, hungrier substitutes or continue to cling on the romance and sentiment of the wonderful few years they've given us and keep playing them regardless of form and attitude.

[Gianfranco_Z 202]

Chelsea 2-0 Norwich. Torres, Ramires.

[Slam Dunk 1,442]

Hope to see Romeu and Lukaku on the bench for this one. Don't think either will start. Might be a bit early for Mata (depends on when the deal is completed), hopefully he could also make the bench. Expect Ivan to partner Terry, and with any luck Luiz could also make a sub appearance.

[Gianfranco_Z 202]

I think it will be same team but replace Malouda with Kalou.

Hilario

Bosingwa --- Alex --- Terry © --- Cole

Ramires --- Mikel --- Lampard

Anelka --- Torres --- Malouda

[Sheva. 5,373]

^ Want Bane instead of Alex, and not just because of that mistake

Also Benny or Josh instead of Ramires. And i think Mata will come on as a sub (Hopefully)

[lionsden 4,689]

I hope AVB is taking note from fergie on how to ease the youth into the starting X1/1st team. Can anyone seriously tell me that Wellbeck would not have been overlooked for Drogba and Lampard selected in place of cleverly for tonight's game (in Chelsea's context) instead the generic argument from some fans and AVB (if his decision was questioned) would have been "they are not ready to start premiership games yet", "experience is highly crucial at this stage" . . . .