Chelsea 3-1 Norwich

[Bosnian Blue 2,471]

I'm worried about our defending. Very poor against a promoted side and that is a concern. :unsure:

Bane was having problems to close down and clear after Bosingwa who still needs to be much better defensively and Terry was under a lot of pressure which lead to mistakes.

Hope Didier is fine.

[lionsden 4,689]

I'm not greatly enamoured so far I have to say. Trying to keep some perspective because it is still very early to judge him with conviction. No great changes so far, I can see glimpses of his philosophy but not it's full effect because this squad is just so stagnant and in limbo. Have to say he uses his subs way better than Carlo, though let's be fair, it's not very difficult to improve upon what Carlo served up in that regard.

I agree with some of your assertion particularly the highlighted part. How does he expect his philosophy to be implemented and translated on the pitch with virtually the same players as last season. They lack movement and quality as the key players are old and sharply in decline. For that reason, a huge slice of the blame must be credited to the manager who fails to recognise the deficiency and stumbling block in the team that is glaring to every observant. Until he changes his non adventurous and predictable approach to team selection. nothing will change as you cannot teach an old dog, new trick. We saw how mata and Lukaku changed the dynamics of the game when they came on and you wouldn't confidently bet your mortgage on AVB starting them in the next match. Let's see if he has the balls to drop under-performing players like Lampard, Torres, Drogba and Malouda

[lionsden 4,689]

What we have to remember is the Andre affect wont go stright there, did people expect us to be playing like Barca str8 away?

The changes are slowly coming into affect but it will not happen overnight, patience is a virtue in this project.

I haven't noticed any change to our style of play and team selection from last season. . . .not even a slight change

[Blue Armour 4,439]

We didn't have a regular scoring CF in Jose's first season and look what happened there.

That was Jose's first season....

Times have changed since then... If AVB can pull off something like that, by hardly losing any number of games, and getting max points then its cool...

But its a tougher league than in 04-05, and the last two years have shown that...Goals could be important when we have to compete with the Mancs

[Eluwande Yomi 15]

Last Week he was the Hero. Now the Villain. Next Week if he Scores you will replace his name with Anelka's

Nope! Its just Logic, Anelka is faster, incisive and a beta dribbler than him! and i dont think hes gonna score next week!

[Chelsea? 892]

I think Sturridge-- Anelka-- Mata might be our best bet

[Domino- 116]

our best team at the mo in my opinion

Bosingwa played extremely hard, but I'm torn whether Torres should play

[Guest justin_3d]

When is Cech coming back?

Cause Hilario against bigger teams.....

[Kostas 1,468]

I haven't noticed any change to our style of play and team selection from last season. . . .not even a slight change

Heh I've watched only 3 halfs of Chelsea football since the season started and I could name quite a few changes. Moaning about team selection is acceptable (and expected) but ignoring facts to strengthen your arguement is not.

[DYC. 7,542]

I haven't noticed any change to our style of play and team selection from last season. . . .not even a slight change

Our suicidal high line.

[Kojo 4,676]

I said it before I would keep Mikel and Ramires in the same pitch. Lampard not.

Not going to repeat that over and over again.

I will mention that Lukaku is not ready. I still go with Torres as main starter and finally put Sturridge on the right wing, with Mata on the left wing.

That will be a better line up.

And now wait to see what will come of Romeu and David Luiz.

Torres had no assistance today, but he didn't make things easier for himself either, he gave up a lot of the time and could of been a lot quicker in some situations, however when Mata came on he got 2 chances, both of them were headers. I agree with you though, creativity is not back at all, we need a creative midfielder which we have been shouting out for for a long time, and that player needs to come now in this window, even if it's not Modric, get someone who is at Chelsea level and can play a good pass. But Torres as our main striker, Lukaku played very well when he came on, he should definitely be on the bench. And Mata on that left wing with Sturridge on the right, and if we don't get a creative midfielder then please McEachran-Mikel/Romeu-Ramires, with Lampard on the bench.

I was very pleased with Anelka, and have been recently, he creates magic and works very hard, Anelka still is one of my favourite players, but since January last season i've just given up on him, but he seems to be playing really well still. Malouda was decent but he creates nothing on that left wing, besides crossing it low in the middle of the box behind where the players are running in just for the defender to clear it... and this happens all the time. I think Ramires should be encouraged to move forward a bit too, he usually creates something amazing, his pace and control is a gift he has, and he should use it more often, and if in some matches he seems to be giving the ball away then make him stop, i don't see any harm in it tbf. However Terry was pretty shocking in my opinion, the defence line was, Bosingwa was a bit loose on the line but he was brilliant as he has been in his past matches offensively.

But we still have a problem, and that is midfield, we need a creative midfielder and i think we are set for the season if you ask me. Defence just needs to be sorted out but no new players, because defence has been shocking since the West Brom game.

[francozola 2,040]

Modric is a must, after yet another piss poor performance by lamps

[dodojojo 510]

Nope! Its just Logic, Anelka is faster, incisive and a beta dribbler than him! and i dont think hes gonna score next week!

No one is going to score next week!

Not for Chelsea anyway.

[lionsden 4,689]

Our suicidal high line.

I prefer Carlo's defensive tactic better. . . .that high line simply isn't working as our defenders are too slow to react to counter attack. We wouldn't get away with it against stronger oppositions

[Tomo 21,751]

I haven't noticed any change to our style of play and team selection from last season. . . .not even a slight change

Pressure on opponents.

Better movement on the ball, there has been a few dodgy moments but all in all we are playing better stuff than last season.

Subs are spot on, Andre has won us 6 points with his subs in the last 2 weeks.

Better possesion, today we had 68%, previous 2 games 64%, last season we didn't get the majority off possesion half the time.

[Blue Armour 4,439]

I haven't noticed any change to our style of play and team selection from last season. . . .not even a slight change

lol yeah...in fact right now it looks a bit worse..

But I believe in AVB more than any of our players...Its like you can always trust the guy to get a result...And of course, the season's only begun

[Kojo 4,676]

Heh I've watched only 3 halfs of Chelsea football since the season started and I could name quite a few changes. Moaning about team selection is acceptable (and expected) but ignoring facts to strengthen your arguement is not.

lionsden has a point, don't let the scoreline fool you, there's been very little changes and i don't blame people if they havent seen any change at all, because there's still tiny magic coming from our midfield, and weak crosses from the wingers, until Mata came on of course. We need a creative midfielder and it's been said for ages and i would think that's our problem solved. Cause i wont expect Lampard to be kicking out very good passes all the time.

[Guest justin_3d]

Torres had no assistance today, but he didn't make things easier for himself either, he gave up a lot of the time and could of been a lot quicker in some situations, however when Mata came on he got 2 chances, both of them were headers. I agree with you though, creativity is not back at all, we need a creative midfielder which we have been shouting out for for a long time, and that player needs to come now in this window, even if it's not Modric, get someone who is at Chelsea level and can play a good pass. But Torres as our main striker, Lukaku played very well when he came on, he should definitely be on the bench. And Mata on that left wing with Sturridge on the right, and if we don't get a creative midfielder then please McEachran-Mikel/Romeu-Ramires, with Lampard on the bench.

I was very pleased with Anelka, and have been recently, he creates magic and works very hard, Anelka still is one of my favourite players, but since January last season i've just given up on him, but he seems to be playing really well still. Malouda was decent but he creates nothing on that left wing, besides crossing it low in the middle of the box behind where the players are running in just for the defender to clear it... and this happens all the time. I think Ramires should be encouraged to move forward a bit too, he usually creates something amazing, his pace and control is a gift he has, and he should use it more often, and if in some matches he seems to be giving the ball away then make him stop, i don't see any harm in it tbf. However Terry was pretty shocking in my opinion, the defence line was, Bosingwa was a bit loose on the line but he was brilliant as he has been in his past matches offensively.

But we still have a problem, and that is midfield, we need a creative midfielder and i think we are set for the season if you ask me. Defence just needs to be sorted out but no new players, because defence has been shocking since the West Brom game.

Defense should be better with David Luiz getting back into the team. Cause the game we are tying to play suits this kinda of player.

Anelka coming as a super sub is much better then a starter. Which is something i know will happen with Drogs, Lamps, and Malouda if they become super subs.

And mid, there is no hiding it. Don't know what AVB will do.....

[Blue Armour 4,439]

When is Cech coming back?

Cause Hilario against bigger teams.....

Good news on that front...

Cech said he's set to return well within the original time-frame...

All the same thank god for the international break...

[TacticalBlues 2,817]

AVB on Drogba, Skypsorts:

"He is a little bit better and coming around. He is going for a full scan to assess the extent of the head injury and the concussion.

"He has made steady progress since he has fallen I have to complement my medical staff for being able to react straight away to a dangerous situation."