Options in our attack ?

[Badboy 1,526]

damn...my african daniel sturridge is disappointing so far on the right...

maybe he needs time to adapt, cool!!

He ain't a winger mate, just the same shit of putting the big names in the team instead of working out a formula. The fact that managers hardly get a second season at this club anymore unless they win the European cup kind of forces managers to go for broke instead of working out a footballing philosophy. WE ARE THE ONLY MAJOR CLUB IN EUROPE WITHOUT A FOOTBALLING PHILOSOPHY, WE NO LONGER PLAY A DIRECT STYLE OF FOOTBALL AND WE DON'T HAVE THE CREATIVITY TO PLAY A MORE EXPANSIVE BRAND OF FOOTBALL. If villas boas is our man then we need to back him otherwise another manager will come in and the same shit again.

[zolayes 14,489]

If we are going to play 4 3 3 we need wingers.

[Badboy 1,526]

I severely regret us winning the league in 2009-20010 because that earned a number of players an extra few years when in reality we won it by one point and Drogba effectively won it with an offside goal at old Trafford. We need to sort ourselves out because other teams are catching us and City in my opinion have caught us. Roman needs to know that managers should have the mandate to manage. Carlo did not want Torres it was clear, Mourinho did not want Ballack or Sheva, Roman has been acting like a cancer for a few years now.

[termninja 5,290]

The type of player I'd really like to us to buy is one like Nani or Hulk. One that can terrorize defenders, shoot from distance and get assists also. Mata is great player, but he likes to roam all over around and play more like Silva. We are good with strikers but our right wing is weak. Anelka is alright, but he's not a right winger. Sturridge is yet to convince me on that position and Kalou...no comment.

Still, it's tough to find a player like that, but I hope we do. For the style of football AVB wants to play that kind of a player is a must.

I also forgot to say that for a player like that we should pay whatever the price is. Along with a playmaker it is a missing link for our club and it needs to be a top top quality. Hulk(absolutely perfect for our right wing), Hazard and Neymar come to my mind.

[LDN Blue 7,903]

WE ARE THE ONLY MAJOR CLUB IN EUROPE WITHOUT A FOOTBALLING PHILOSOPHY, WE NO LONGER PLAY A DIRECT STYLE OF FOOTBALL AND WE DON'T HAVE THE CREATIVITY TO PLAY A MORE EXPANSIVE BRAND OF FOOTBALL. If villas boas is our man then we need to back him otherwise another manager will come in and the same shit again.

Very, very, true!

Villas-Boas does have a great philosophy. One look at some of his interviews will give a good insight for anyone with moderate football knowledge. But like you said, he must be given enough time and resources, by our infamous board, to do so!

Guardiola managed to do this very thing in a season. He was very fortunate to have such quality players with him and AVB did it with Porto. We don't have so much quality in this squad atm, but we do have a manager who's buying the right players to fill in before the haulage. Mata & Miereles the most influential right now.

[Badboy 1,526]

I really hope we don't win the league this season because that will buy a few other players time that we don't need. Drogba will leave regardless Anelka will probably leave regardless same with Kalou but the ones i am talking about now is Bosingwa John Terry... maybe even Malouda who i really like but we might need fresh legs instead of him. Alex is another one who it will buy time for and we just need to sort it out.

[Bosnian Blue 2,471]

I really hope we don't win the league this season because that will buy a few other players time that we don't need. Drogba will leave regardless Anelka will probably leave regardless same with Kalou but the ones i am talking about now is Bosingwa John Terry... maybe even Malouda who i really like but we might need fresh legs instead of him. Alex is another one who it will buy time for and we just need to sort it out.

That, my friend, is just stupid.

[Badboy 1,526]

Very, very, true!

Villas-Boas does have a great philosophy. One look at some of his interviews will give a good insight for anyone with moderate football knowledge. But like you said, he must be given enough time and resources, by our infamous board, to do so!

Guardiola managed to do this very thing in a season. He was very fortunate to have such quality players with him and AVB did it with Porto. We don't have so much quality in this squad atm, but we do have a manager who's buying the right players to fill in before the haulage. Mata & Miereles the most influential right now.

I think there is too much on Mata's shoulders to create for Torres at the moment and soon teams will try to negate Mata and its possible. Then at that point we will have a problem because we don't have an outlet like a Robben or a Hazard who can try and exploit the space that will be left by the opposing teams efforts in stopping Mata. Torres is not a Drogba he needs service because he is a pace based striker. Ramires will not be able to keep this lung busting performance going , Ramires will feel fatigue in around Feb-March. I think Josh would be a fantastic short term solution for this season until we can get ourselves sorted for next season. We don't need to win the European cup or league this season as i have already mentioned it will buy time for certain players. We carry the most liabilities out of all the major teams in Europe and we have only let it happen by having so many different managers who keep giving them a chance.

[Badboy 1,526]

That, my friend, is just stupid.

No it is not, its called forward thinking. Just look at what happened the last time we won the league by 1 point with a Drogba offside goal. That premier league season completely masked the fact that we have a lot of liabilities at this club and if it was not for the absolute amazing mind blowing seasons Malouda, Drogba, and Lampard had in an attacking sense those frailties would of been exposed.

[Bosnian Blue 2,471]

No it is not, its called forward thinking. Just look at what happened the last time we won the league by 1 point with a Drogba offside goal. That premier league season completely masked the fact that we have a lot of liabilities at this club and if it was not for the absolute amazing mind blowing seasons Malouda, Drogba, and Lampard had in an attacking sense those frailties would of been exposed.

That's a big IF. It's how you win trophies - having your best players playing in a superb form. How can you (a Chelsea supporter) not want your team to win the league ?

[LDN Blue 7,903]

I think there is too much on Mata's shoulders to create for Torres at the moment and soon teams will try to negate Mata and its possible. Then at that point we will have a problem because we don't have an outlet like a Robben or a Hazard who can try and exploit the space that will be left by the opposing teams efforts in stopping Mata. Torres is not a Drogba he needs service because he is a pace based striker. Ramires will not be able to keep this lung busting performance going , Ramires will feel fatigue in around Feb-March. I think Josh would be a fantastic short term solution for this season until we can get ourselves sorted for next season. We don't need to win the European cup or league this season as i have already mentioned it will buy time for certain players. We carry the most liabilities out of all the major teams in Europe and we have only let it happen by having so many different managers who keep giving them a chance.

Agree.

We'll be in trouble once Mata's game is figured out by opposing teams. Hopefully Drogba will use the next 3 games to really show give Torres some competition for the striker. But you're right about not having pure wingers. Just look at City today. Mancini went with Balotelli - Aguero - Johnson. Aguero down the middle and the other 2 as wingers. Even when Aguero went off, they were still very strong out wide.

In regards to Josh, you're right about him being a good temp solution. I think having Ramires and Mata with him will really help his game till we get someone in January who can play in that position while Josh continues to develop.. Because like you say, Ramires will become very fatigued in February-ish.

[Blue Armour 4,438]

Right winger definitely

Anyone else notice that Mata was ineffective down the right against Valencia? It was only after he and Malouda switched flanks in the second half that things clicked into place for us...

So the option of using Mata as a right winger is probably out of the question, which leaves us with.....nobody.

The real question is: Does AVB want a right winger? I remember in one of his earlier interviews, he said that he preferred having a 4-3-3 with one natural wide player and one second striker who drifted around....sounds familiar doesn't it?

[termninja 5,290]

Right winger definitely

Anyone else notice that Mata was ineffective down the right against Valencia? It was only after he and Malouda switched flanks in the second half that things clicked into place for us...

So the option of using Mata as a right winger is probably out of the question, which leaves us with.....nobody.

The real question is: Does AVB want a right winger? I remember in one of his earlier interviews, he said that he preferred having a 4-3-3 with one natural wide player and one second striker who drifted around....sounds familiar doesn't it?

I think AVB will make a decision at the end of season. If Sturridge does well he'll keep him there, if he doesn't we'll probably bring another winger.

[zolayes 14,489]

I really hope we don't win the league this season because that will buy a few other players time that we don't need. Drogba will leave regardless Anelka will probably leave regardless same with Kalou but the ones i am talking about now is Bosingwa John Terry... maybe even Malouda who i really like but we might need fresh legs instead of him. Alex is another one who it will buy time for and we just need to sort it out.

you are suggesting you would like to see SEVEN leave...should be quite a bill to replace them all...and even harder to actually negotiate

ans get suitable replacements

[Kojo 4,676]

Sloth we need a another striker because we lack a second striker who can give us a bit of variation if we want. We need a cannon ball, Rooney Tevez Hulk Suarez that type of forward, someone who is content with running with the ball in central area's and taking a long shot and chasing defenders to get the crowd going. We have too many number 9's we need a second striker. This thread is all about our options because that is what we need, we need to have different players in different situations. Anelka and Torres are too similar in style Drogba and Lukaku are too similar Sturridge is a player who i think will end up like Torres. Adrian Mutu was a player who i really liked because he was that type of forward.

Anelka???, i think we have far too many strikers, but who could we get exactly?, i don't think we need a second striker, i think we need a good winger. We play a formation of 4-3-3, clearly Torres will be starting as striker, Mata on the left who comes down the centre, and then a second striker on the right wing?, i think we could really do with a winger there to be honest, perhaps if we played with two strikers up front i'll agree with you. But the only one i can think of really is Anelka at the moment, who is a very technical all round player. But he lacks a lot of qualities you suggested there, Hulk would be a fantastic buy to be honest, but that would mean less games for the likes of Sturridge.