Napoli 3-1 Chelsea

[GodZola 630]

Some bullet points....

- anyone who thinks AVB is not to blame for this defeat should just look at his team selection for the answer.

- Meireles was atrocious on Saturday against a championship club yet still gets selected tonight???

- Bosingwa at LB, instead of a fit Cole???

- Maloulda starting? Couldn't for the life of me of seen that & still bewildered!

- as much as I rate Luiz, there's a defensive mistake in him every game.

- Ivanovich's worst game for the club, normally so consistent, played against a top player in his defence though.

- yet again our CF gets no service, proving again that Torres is getting a lot of unnecessary flak.

- Napoli deserve the win but I feel this tie is far from over, they have 2 very good players upfront - that's it, with the right team selection & little luck we can go through but It's difficult to see us creating enough chances on current form/tactics/formation & not conceding.

- yes AVB fucked up tonight but the players owe him, the club & the fans some big performances so its about time we saw some of it with consistency I might add.

- I still think we can get through despite tonights disappointment & if we do I'll take our chances, well if fucking Liverpool can win it whilst being lucky & shit........

[Santiago. 1,500]

Mata was playing central, there was alot of space but lack of movement from the wing players and CF which caused Mata to look like a fuckin dumbass at times. Drogba gets on my nerve when he is smiling like a fuckin bafoon after the game, like he believes we won and how he believes he played well.

[communicate 2,703]

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=gQO0aeuUlqs

AVB mentioned that we created plenty of chances, did we really do that ?

I saw only 2(Mata goal and ramires shot)

[teignman 441]

I believe if we are going to play 4-2-3-1 or 4-3-3, it is imperative we have a proper holding midfielder to serve as an anchor. I would prefer/preferred Essien. I understand he is not fully fit and tuckers out around 60-70 minutes, but I would rather 60-70 minutes of him than 60-70 mins of the likes of Raul the Terrible. AVB seemed to want an open game by not selecting a DM, and he certainly got one. The game was a veritable track meet for stretches. Not exactly what you want against a team with that are proficient in the art of the counter and have a good deal of speed.

However, this was not our undoing. Once again, it was a string of individual errors that cost us dearly. The aforementioned Meireles turning tail and running from Lavezzi instead of trying to make even the slightest attempt at closing him down. Brana, oh my beloved Brana, ball watching instead of covering the run of probably the most dangerous player Napoli has. And Luiz making the error of going for the ball and ending up wrong side of Cavani, when staying goalside of the Uruguayan probably would have been the more prudent choice (though I do somewhat question Petr's thought process of plunging into the fray).

All in all, I don't view this result as catastrophic. Damaging yes, but the Napolitans have some definite defensive frailities. We have a few weeks to get our heads and our arses wired together.

[chrismada9 1,948]

I believe if we are going to play 4-2-3-1 or 4-3-3, it is imperative we have a proper holding midfielder to serve as an anchor. I would prefer/preferred Essien. I understand he is not fully fit and tuckers out around 60-70 minutes, but I would rather 60-70 minutes of him than 60-70 mins of the likes of Raul the Terrible. AVB seemed to want an open game by not selecting a DM, and he certainly got one. The game was a veritable track meet for stretches. Not exactly what you want against a team with that are proficient in the art of the counter and have a good deal of speed.

Well said! AVB needs to realise the weakness in midfield, which is clearly Meireles at the moment!

I say this time and time again on this forum, that using him and Ramires in the same midfield just doesn't work, because they are too much of the same player.. if you add Malouda to that midfield, you have something completely lifeless! Essien or Romeu would have been a much better choice to put in the midfield, because at least by doing that, you're adding some defensive nout protecting the back four.. Essien is bulky, so he can deal with the tackles.. while Romeu can have very very good days when he plays as a DM... the boy can tackle!

Meireles and Ramires however, there just isn't enough defensive capabilities in either of them, and I know Ramires is supposed to be a box-to-box player, which means he tackles, and gets forward.. but sometimes, you need someone like Essien to help Ramires out. It's players like Essien and Ramires who are energetic and can get things started. Meireles just has no motivation whatsoever.. it's just so tiresome watching him!!

[Naked Mole Rat 437]

Away goal, hopefully no more Bosingwa for like ever. Can't complain.

[bluephoenix 1,131]

wow ... missed this match ... my worst fear comes true.... all that's left is FA cup now !

[Blue Armour 4,436]

Some bullet points....

- anyone who thinks AVB is not to blame for this defeat should just look at his team selection for the answer.

- Meireles was atrocious on Saturday against a championship club yet still gets selected tonight???

- Bosingwa at LB, instead of a fit Cole???

- Maloulda starting? Couldn't for the life of me of seen that & still bewildered!

- as much as I rate Luiz, there's a defensive mistake in him every game.

- Ivanovich's worst game for the club, normally so consistent, played against a top player in his defence though.

- yet again our CF gets no service, proving again that Torres is getting a lot of unnecessary flak.

- Napoli deserve the win but I feel this tie is far from over, they have 2 very good players upfront - that's it, with the right team selection & little luck we can go through but It's difficult to see us creating enough chances on current form/tactics/formation & not conceding.

- yes AVB fucked up tonight but the players owe him, the club & the fans some big performances so its about time we saw some of it with consistency I might add.

- I still think we can get through despite tonights disappointment & if we do I'll take our chances, well if fucking Liverpool can win it whilst being lucky & shit........

Not going to happen to us this season.

[bluephoenix 1,131]

so not even a single English club would to make it to the next stage ...

all napoli has to do is defend in the return leg ... I don't see it difficult for them given we don't have strikers whom we can count on to score...

[robdog 2,084]

AVB mentioned that we created plenty of chances, did we really do that ?

I saw only 2(Mata goal and ramires shot)

Danny Boy was creating havoc on the right flank. I do recall Side Show Bob getting a header after a corner kick that wasn't too far off the mark. The broadcast that I watch showed both teams w/ 50% of the possession @ the end of the first half. @ the end tof the match CFC did finished w/ 58% of possession. TBH, the back 3 of Napoli did appear to have some holes. CFC didn't do enough to exploit them. BTW, Napoli had 15 shots (7 on goal) & CFC had 14 shots (5 on goal). I won't get totally down, because I would loved a draw. Napoli are a legit side, arguably the best side CFC face this season. They did beat Man City & the last time I check they were on top of the table in the EPL. So the Chels goto the Bridge w/ something to play for. I seen the Blues in worse situations, but they always seem to have the moxie to pull the unbelievable off. I will act like a fan & believe they can do it.

[capriccioso 2,545]

AVB mentioned that we created plenty of chances, did we really do that ?

I saw only 2(Mata goal and ramires shot)

We had those 2, plus a couple from corners, and one late on that Drogba fluffed. We also had a half chance, where Ivanovic dribbled some 50 metres with the ball but couldn't quite get enough space to shoot, although I think if that was a striker who'd gotten in that position, he would have had a go.

[BleedsBlue 1,549]

I think we might be able to beat Napoli by a margin of 2 goals because we won't be having Bosingwa and Raul for the second leg.

[Jase 43,479]

Want to rant at yet another pathetic performance but it's getting real tiresome to do so as this has gone for 2 months! What I will say is AVB's tactical approach and team selection has cost us yet another defeat. It's one thing players making errors but it's another when the manager decides to play no DM away from home in Europe in games like this and wants to play an open attacking football against one of the most potent strikeforce in Europe. Just absolutely ridiculous. Even at 1-0 up, we still attacked and was never ordered to adopt a similar approach to the Valencia game.

TBH, I really don't know what is this Roman's obssession with attacking football. Playing attacking football maybe pretty on the eyes but think for most fans, they want to see winning football. There are other way of going about attacking football than the style that AVB wants us to play. I really missed those days where we were solid, organized, physical, tactically sound and being a workmanlike team. Right now, everything is a shambles. We have a manager being totally clueless and stubborn. Players who don't suit AVB's style of play and not putting it enough effort.

[communicate 2,703]

We had those 2, plus a couple from corners, and one late on that Drogba fluffed. We also had a half chance, where Ivanovic dribbled some 50 metres with the ball but couldn't quite get enough space to shoot, although I think if that was a striker who'd gotten in that position, he would have had a go.

I will not count corners and the ball was behind drogba and there was no way drogba will convert that.

So we had only 2 good chances.

[skeeo 37]

So fucking annoyed - wrong personnel, wrong formation, wrong tactics. Just fucking shit. Nuff said.