Champions League Final 2012 - Chelsea 1 (4)-(3) 1 Bayern Munich

[robdog 2,084]

Since Bayern will be playing a make-shift defence, we must go for the jugular. Start Sturridge? Kalou has to play on the right cause we have Bos at RB. Cole will keep Robben in his pocket, I have no doubt about that. We could play Sturridge on the left and Mata in the middle, but Sturridge is useless on the wing and Mata can still play great there. Sturridge is only useful in the center and we should play him there as he and Kalou are the only ones that will actually run at their defence. Kalou isn't reliable against anyone but Sturridge can potentially rape the Bayern central pairing with ease.

Just my two cents, what do you guys think?

Cech

Bos - Cahill - Luiz - Cole

Mikel - Lampard

Kalou - Sturridge - Mata

Drogba

I want to join in w/ the group that supports the idea of a DD - El Nino strikeforce. I don't think RDM will do this though. I see Kalou & perhaps Malouda on the left. Or maybe we will Supa Lamps deployed on the left & Young Bertrand in the midfield like we saw vs b'burn. Man I will it was 11:30am May 19th...That will be kickoff time here in Sacramento, CA.

[Jase 43,479]

If we start with Sturridge and Kalou Danny will be on the left and Kalou on the right.

IF that is the case, then yeah. Was just responding to rover's lineup. However, if Malouda is fit, I would start him on the left and Kalou on the right.

[Chelsea Legend 11 4,062]

Since Bayern will be playing a make-shift defence, we must go for the jugular. Start Sturridge? Kalou has to play on the right cause we have Bos at RB. Cole will keep Robben in his pocket, I have no doubt about that. We could play Sturridge on the left and Mata in the middle, but Sturridge is useless on the wing and Mata can still play great there. Sturridge is only useful in the center and we should play him there as he and Kalou are the only ones that will actually run at their defence. Kalou isn't reliable against anyone but Sturridge can potentially rape the Bayern central pairing with ease.

Just my two cents, what do you guys think?

Cech

Bos - Cahill - Luiz - Cole

Mikel - Lampard

Kalou - Sturridge - Mata

Drogba

I like it... We aren't going to win all of the battles its about fielding the best team given the situation. Sturridge did look good when deployed as a withdrawn striker and he could probably use his pace to wreak havoc on the middle of that Bayern defence however, moving Mata out wide has rendered him ineffectual at times. He needs to be one the ball as much as possible for us to have a chance.

I could see that lineup with both Mata and Sturridge switching from time to time

[Shane 2,275]

Lampard, Drogba and Torres to score in a 3-1 win

[Styles 9,790]

I can't imagine Sturridge starting or coming on. His greediness will go into overdrive to 'make a name for himself' and he will be a defensive liability.

[Term-X 7,891]

http://www1.skysport...ders-strike-duo

A Champions league final!, is no time to be experimenting with a strike duo we already know just doesn't work.

[Chelsea Legend 11 4,062]

IF that is the case, then yeah. Was just responding to rover's lineup. However, if Malouda is fit, I would start him on the left and Kalou on the right.

I would almost bet my house on the fact that Malouda will not start in the finals. Not because he isn't fit but because he's not fast enough to take advantage of Bayern on the counter. He is also not fast enough to deal with either Robben or Ribery... people say Sturridge provides little cover to our back line but I would imagine DiMatteo getting him to understand how important it is to the team philosophy that he does.

Sturridge has the pace to break the game wide open and even if he just a body in front of the attackers(like Mata was against Barca) the threat of him on the break is something Bayern would definitely be thinking about. PARTICULARLY after that Dortmund game

[Shane 2,275]

A Champions league final!, is no time to be experimenting with a strike duo we already know just doesn't work.

In fairness it hasn't been tried that much, and Nando has put in some great crosses in his Chelsea career that Drogba could benefit from, Also he has better work rate then Sturridge.

[Jase 43,479]

A Champions league final!, is no time to be experimenting with a strike duo we already know just doesn't work.

Suspecting now that RDM is just playing games with Bayern especially after the way he keeps on talking about the Luiz and Cahill's injuries.

[Jase 43,479]

I would almost bet my house on the fact that Malouda will not start in the finals. Not because he isn't fit but because he's not fast enough to take advantage of Bayern on the counter. He is also not fast enough to deal with either Robben or Ribery... people say Sturridge provides little cover to our back line but I would imagine DiMatteo getting him to understand how important it is to the team philosophy that he does.

Sturridge has the pace to break the game wide open and even if he just a body in front of the attackers(like Mata was against Barca) the threat of him on the break is something Bayern would definitely be thinking about. PARTICULARLY after that Dortmund game

So, does that mean I will get your house on Saturday if Malouda starts??

[Chelsea Legend 11 4,062]

I can't imagine Sturridge starting or coming on. His greediness will go into overdrive to 'make a name for himself' and he will be a defensive liability.

I guess we'll have to see... He certainly didn't look greedy yesterday. Also its not like we have a ton of options available... He is still a top goalscorer for the club and not to mention possesses the speed to put pressure on a defense.

I'm not so sure Robbie will start both Drogba and Torres leaving the bench so bare.

[Ashblues 30]

I don't buy into that, A player is after playing 120 minutes of football, and is in the biggest match of their lives, infront of 70,000 spectators, roaring at him.

You can't recreate that in Cobham.

It is actually impossible to recreate the exact match atmosphere (of SB) at Cobham even if we play our next match at Stamford bridge. Now that does not mean we should stop training or should not give any special preference to PKs. It is always better to take some special preparation for the shootout IMO. I do not see it as useless or a waste of time.

[Jase 43,479]

I guess we'll have to see... He certainly didn't look greedy yesterday. Also its not like we have a ton of options available... He is still a top goalscorer for the club and not to mention possesses the speed to put pressure on a defense.

I'm not so sure Robbie will start both Drogba and Torres leaving the bench so bare.

On a serious note, Sturridge may have the pace but if he doesn't have the brain to use it, then it's pointless which is somewhat the case with him right now. Also, while he may have scored lots of goals for us this season, it's worth remembering that he hasn't exactly performed well in the big games and RDM hasn't trusted him in it till now either. So, don't see how that's gonna change on Saturday. At least with Malouda has experience of playing in the really big games and will be able to handle the occasion even if he may be in average form.

[Bir_CFC 3,455]

Can't be starting two strikers when we cant even create anything for one.

[CHOULO19 24,332]

Should we replace Bosingwa by Essien?

NO. Essien has lost the pace to play at RB. Besides he has only played well there in a single match (against Valencia in the CL) out of many times Mou tried him there.