Smallest squad we've had?

[termninja 5,290]

agree with attacking mid but i disagree with the defence. our defence is over-rated. john terry, david luiz and gary cahill are good defenders on their day but are hardly world class. branislav ivanovic is being turned inside out by championship wingers and him and ashley cole getting forward so often doesn't really help the defence.

Still better then most of what other teams have...can you find a better LB then Ash? If Luiz wasn't good, Barca wouldn't make a bid for him and Gary has proven that he is great. JT is getting old, but he is still really valuable to us and Ivanovic even though had a bad start of the season was one of our important players throughout the last 3 seasons. We also brought in Azpilicueta, one of the most talented right backs in the world. I'm having high hopes for him.

You also have to take into the account that defense gets exposed a lot on counters. When we close down, teams can only blow us or get a lucky goal.

[Strike 7,531]

I didn't mean attacking midfield and wings. It's the other areas that are worrying. Defence even more shaky than I had first thought. Double pivots are almost non existent. Striking department a bit light and taking a gamble with Torres and Sturridge.

its only natural to highlight the squad problems after a defeat, especially a heavy one as that. we have improved a lot from last season but given that we were a distant 6th last time around, it's expected that problems continue to persist.

[gary gordon 1,777]

Gary Cahill. Remember? Champions League final?

I'll give you that. But we wouldn't have used him if it wasn't for JTs mind explosion.. Very decent player though.

[Rowan_Osborn 58]

agree with attacking mid but i disagree with the defence. our defence is over-rated. john terry, david luiz and gary cahill are good defenders on their day but are hardly world class. branislav ivanovic is being turned inside out by championship wingers and him and ashley cole getting forward so often doesn't really help the defence.

I can't think of many better CBs that are available. Cahill and Luiz could be world class and Terry is, as he as shown at the Euros. Cahill and Luiz were amazing against Bayern and on that form i couldn't think of many better CBs. Last night was bad all round but it was a blip rather than the norm.

[gary gordon 1,777]

its only natural to highlight the squad problems after a defeat, especially a heavy one as that. we have improved a lot from last season but given that we were a distant 6th last time around, it's expected that problems continue to persist.

But have we really improved? Or was the game vs Athletico a massive wake up call? I mean sure we beat 2 championship sides and Newcastle, but are we really ready to play sides that can actually attack?

[bababoom 4,478]

I don't know whats wrong with David luiz.. when he first came here, he was rash, always out of position and when he had the ball he tried to take the whole team on... now not much has changed, he's still rash, he still goes out of position on a regular basis (although he has improved), and instead of trying to take the whole team on he now tries to pass it across the pitch which mostly always fails.

I know he's likable but if JT or Cahill performed the way he has for the best part of two seasons then we'll be saying JT's too old and that Cahill shouldn't be playing for top 4 team...

[Jase 43,479]

Smallest squad we have had?! Don't think so. The one we had as recent as in 2010/11 season was arguably much worse than this. We have more quality now in the squad than in previous seasons and it's just 1-3 areas that we need to add a little more quality.

[Strike 7,531]

Still better then most of what other teams have...can you find a better LB then Ash? If Luiz wasn't good, Barca wouldn't make a bid for him and Gary has proven that he is great. JT is getting old, but he is still really valuable to us and Ivanovic even though had a bad start of the season was one of our important players throughout the last 3 seasons. We also brought in Azpilicueta, one of the most talented right backs in the world. I'm having high hopes for him.

You also have to take into the account that defense gets exposed a lot on counters. When we close down, teams can only blow us.

the thing with luiz is not that he's bad but as a professional defender he has to cut down his mistakes. its been over a season now and he should really avoid mistakes like trying to play his way out of trouble against newcastle..

and i didnt mean the "defence" is bad but the defensive unit on the field is not as good as we think. as individuals they are good players but each one has his perks and the defence as a whole on the pitch is disjointed.

last season, we had 2 players in the pivot consistently helping out the defence and in bigger games it was the whole 11 behind the ball so we really can't judge the defence on the last season. this season they are pushing a bit higher up and trying to get a hold of the game ...they are still adapting to the new role imo

[Rowan_Osborn 58]

But have we really improved? Or was the game vs Athletico a massive wake up call? I mean sure we beat 2 championship sides and Newcastle, but are we really ready to play sides that can actually attack?

We have improved, we are much better in attack and our defence is as good as it was last year. Wigan are a good side and we have struggled at the DW recently, it was a good result. Against Reading we showed great determination to come back and the goals scored against us were a strange mistake form Cech and then some great attacking work.

[Strike 7,531]

I can't think of many better CBs that are available. Cahill and Luiz could be world class and Terry is, as he as shown at the Euros. Cahill and Luiz were amazing against Bayern and on that form i couldn't think of many better CBs. Last night was bad all round but it was a blip rather than the norm.

agree it was a blip but as i said cant really judge the defenders on last season. this season they are going to play a very different role

[Bambiny14 25]

I'll give you that. But we wouldn't have used him if it wasn't for JTs mind explosion.. Very decent player though.

Still saying no buy in Januray was ever good is stupid. David Luiz was bought in january, Ivanović was bought in january...

[Strike 7,531]

But have we really improved? Or was the game vs Athletico a massive wake up call? I mean sure we beat 2 championship sides and Newcastle, but are we really ready to play sides that can actually attack?

i think so, yes. we controlled the play against a strong newcastle side. we are retaining possession better and working out chances. as the players gel in it will only get better

[Rowan_Osborn 58]

I don't know whats wrong with David luiz.. when he first came here, he was rash, always out of position and when he had the ball he tried to take the whole team on... now not much has changed, he's still rash, he still goes out of position on a regular basis (although he has improved), and instead of trying to take the whole team on he now tries to pass it across the pitch which mostly always fails.

We are still trying to adapt to a new system. Before the start of the season most Chelsea fans were expecting us to take a while to settle, as we have performed well in our opening three games people seem to have forgotten this. Luiz will come good, he has the qualities to be a good player and if he can iron out his mistakes then he will be a top player.

[Rowan_Osborn 58]

agree it was a blip but as i said cant really judge the defenders on last season. this season they are going to play a very different role

Yes i don't think we can judge our defence on last season, as basically we sat the whole team back with Drogba up top. Remember how long it took for us to adapt to AVB's defensive tactics ( we never really did), hopefully it won't take that long but it won't be the immediate success people seem to be predicting.

[gary gordon 1,777]

We have improved, we are much better in attack and our defence is as good as it was last year. Wigan are a good side and we have struggled at the DW recently, it was a good result. Against Reading we showed great determination to come back and the goals scored against us were a strange mistake form Cech and then some great attacking work.

You think so? Reading had us pinned and exposed our weak defense as a result of our attack. We need to have that balance between both. Wigan were absolutely shithouse! There best player was deciding what number he will be wearing for us in a weeks time. Newcastle forgot that they needed to score and to be honest had there worst game in two seasons.

[OneMoSalah 8,889]

We will only beat teams by outscoring them this season. Guaranteed. We haven't been able to defend for shit for like 2 seasons now.

[Rowan_Osborn 58]

You think so? Reading had us pinned and exposed our weak defense as a result of our attack. We need to have that balance between both. Wigan were absolutely shithouse! There best player was deciding what number he will be wearing for us in a weeks time. Newcastle forgot that they needed to score and to be honest had there worst game in two seasons.

Reading's goals were not really defensive errors but goalkeeping mistakes, we were on the front foot for most of that game and did well. Wigan and Newcastle were made to look poor by our play and the defence and holding mids prevented Newcastle from attacking, Ben Arfa was hardly mentioned due to the good job Bertrand and Cole did. I agree we need a balance and it will take a while to come, but i don't think people should be so negative this early on, even if we hadn't won our first three games.

[gary gordon 1,777]

Still saying no buy in Januray was ever good is stupid. David Luiz was bought in january, Ivanović was bought in january...

But what did they do in that year? Ivanovic didn't play a single game the year he was bought and 10/11 when we signed Luiz we finished equal 2nd with Man city and 9 points behind united without a single piece of silverware.

[Pacquiao 1,834]

Prices are too inflated in the January transfer window. Besides, when has buying a player in January ever helped anybody?

so is that going to stop us buying players we need? i dont think so. and when has buying a player in January ever helped anybody? where do i start how about Anelka, G.Cahill, Papiss Cisse, Vidic, Evra, Suarez, Mascherano, Walcott, Agger, Jelavic ect ect ect the list goes on and on! Im baffled that you would even think buying a player in January wouldn't help anyone!

[Rowan_Osborn 58]

We will only beat teams by outscoring them this season. Guaranteed. We haven't been able to defend for shit for like 2 seasons now.

I don't think so. We can defend when we need to, as we did against Bayern and Barca. What we need to develop is a balance between the two.