IS RDM the man to take CFC Forward?

[bazza1984 21]

I hope he does have a long and successful time as chelsea manager but I can't see it lasting beyond this season.

The defensive wingers against one of the weakest teams in the league is unexplainable. We should be looking to completely boss those sorts of games, home or away. I hope that situation improves, and I think it will.

Yestereday was a very frustrating performance to watch, although that is the worst Chelsea have been in the league so far this season so I dont see any reason to panic. I think they have done ok up to now.

2 other points - I don't see why Arsenal are so scary all of a sudden. They didnt score in thier first 2 games and have played a very poor liverpool team and even poorer southampton team since.

The other point is Torres. Im not his greatest fan but anyone who thinks Sturridge over Torres is the answer is IMO very wrong. Sturridge is far too selfish to play at the top level for me, plus not a natural to play thru the middle.

[cadenza666 221]

hopefully he is, but Guardiola to Chelsea appears inevitable.

[Strike 6,978]

the right players have been signed. the footballing philosophy has been radically different. give him time, he'll come good.

i love how everyone on here were like "di Matteo has got some balls " after the Reading game and then "di Matteo should grow some balls" after the QPR game.

di matteo will learn from this. remember the falcao horror show? di matteo must have been concerned about the defence and thus went with 2 defensive wingers supplementing hazard. we were defensively solid although it was compromised in attack. plus we did not have Juan Mata. the proverbial glue that holds the team together instead we had Lampard in the creative mid position who had a poor game. this lead to a lot of astray passes and inevitably we came under pressure. too early to judge di matteo

[Tomo 21,684]

We will know something of the direction we are heading in after 10-15 games.

What we have to remember is in August Marin was injured, Moses wasn't signed yet, Oscar was only just back from the Olympics so Robbie had no choice but to start with Mata, Hazard and one of Ryan and Ramires in the 3. You could argue Danny but i think Robbie truly see's him s Torres's competition now.

The next couple of months is when things need to slowly change, especially against teams like QPR. Moses should get more starts, Oscar should slowly be getting bedded into the English game and Marin will be back from injury. That's when we need to start seeing a more attacking approach. The Stoke and Wolves home games would be the perfect time to start.

However in the big games we still need to get some sort of defensive balance so i would not be too disappointed to see Ramires and Bertrand on the wings against Juventus's fullback's. If i see a defensive lineup at home to Stoke however, ill be tearing my hair out.

Team for Juve - Cech, Ivan, Luiz, Terry, Cole, Mikel, Lampard, Ramires, Mata, Hazard, Danny.

Stoke - Cech, Ivan, Cahill, Terry, Cole, Mikel, Ramires, Moses, Mata, Hazard, Danny.

Wolves - Hilario, Azpi, Luiz, Cahill, Bertrand, Mikel, Romeu, Moses, Oscar, Marin, Torres.

Azpi, Bertrand, Romeu, Moses, Oscar and Marin should use the Wolves match as the platform to start making regular starts.

Ive also noticed some calls for a Romeu-Mikel double pivot, well Wolves will be the perfect match to see if it will work.

[unclezillion 23]

The whole problem is in midfield! we are absolute crap in central midfield, Completely the wrong players for the system he tries to play!!!!!!!!

We see what happens against crap teams like Reading and QPR because our central midfiel is shit! The double pivot is everything in his set up but it is so weak it

fucks the rest of the team up!

For me he has already shown he is the wrong man for the job! He got lucky last season in a couple of games that we would have lost 99 times out of 100.

[Ryan Fong 2,776]

I think it's still too early to judge RDM's ability, let alone whether he should be sacked or not.

However I'm definitely concerned. Too conservative approach against a team like QPR and the starting lineup was embarrassing considering we are the Champion of Europe and we have all the talents in disposal. He showed too much respects to QPR, we have the ability to keep possession and pressurize them from the first minute. Like I said in the matchday thread, when we have the attacking conductor of Brazil NT on the bench unused, you know RDM didn't try hard enough to win.

I just hope RDM realizes his ass is one the line if he can't deliver the beautiful football Roman desperately wants. I know in football result matters but when you play against an inferior team you need to show them who's the boss not the other way around to motivate them.

[RamiCFC9 258]

With the money we spent and the salaries our players are on, we are expected to play FAR BETTER then we currently are.Just imagine - give SAF or Wenger these money or this squad and we would've been far better playing and much more entertaining.RDM needs to show he has a balls otherwise .., the defensive aproach and lampard will eat his head.And why the fuck Lampard is still starting, this is CFC not some charity for fat old men.

[Muzchap 8,966]

With the money we spent and the salaries our players are on, we are expected to play FAR BETTER then we currently are.Just imagine - give SAF or Wenger these money or this squad and we would've been far better playing and much more entertaining.RDM needs to show he has a balls otherwise .., the defensive aproach and lampard will eat his head.And why the fuck Lampard is still starting, this is CFC not some charity for fat old men.

Dude I started this thread - it's about RDM's tactics and progressive long-term thinking.

It's not a thread to bash Lampard - who, despite not playing brilliantly in a role he's not suited for - has done more for CFC over the years THAN ANY player in CFC modern history. Yes Drogba was also great - but Lampard has played nearly every game and consistently scored ~20 goals a season.

It's not Frank's fault - it's RDM's for playing him in a position he is not suited too!

RDM should sit down and watch Man U - they can find a place for Scholes + Giggs - we need to do the same for Frank.

Please keep it on Robbie's decision making, not individual players

[RamiCFC9 258]

If di Matteo is trying to instil a new mentality he is learning to do it in a different way than Villas-Boas attempted. Although I see absolutely no change, besides Hazard.

The thing that annoys me most is he is killing Oscar's potential by putting him on the bench and playing Mikel and Lampard ahead of him. Though I agree with his team selection yesterday, Oscar should be playing more. However he may be short on fitness.

Simple and very, very true.That's what pisses me off, we are playing just like last year shit football except for Hazard.The team isn't gelled at all.

[nachikethas 1,149]

he should show some balls thats all i say.like playing danny boy...

[blue_swaggin_96 96]

why do people think a pep garbagola will do any better? because he managed a best team in the world? the team that dutchman before him build?

lets be honest, Rdm is our best bet right know, we didnt play bad against qpr, if you want to cry about " our defensive approach? will qpr isnt the same team from last season, we could have been in shithole if mikel mistake wasnt recovered, the only problem is ther nothing that can stop lampard know, i think mateo is scared of him, or respects him too much, he should be benched! put oscar in fkn game ffs

RDM is our man! believe in him, we will be up ther!

[Muzchap 8,966]

why do people think a pep garbagola will do any better? because he managed a best team in the world? the team that dutchman before him build?

lets be honest, Rdm is our best bet right know, we didnt play bad against qpr, if you want to cry about " our defensive approach? will qpr isnt the same team from last season, we could have been in shithole if mikel mistake wasnt recovered, the only problem is ther nothing that can stop lampard know, i think mateo is scared of him, or respects him too much, he should be benched! put oscar in fkn game ffs

RDM is our man! believe in him, we will be up ther!

We could have been in trouble if Mikel's backpass had been seized upon....

This is QPR! We should have won comfortably.

They are a new team with lots of new players - they had zero time to gel - yet look more accomplished than we did at certain stages of the game.

I'll say it again (like most people) going with that Formation, Approach and Personnel to QPR was probably the single worst tactics I have ever seen RDM display - and it is really concerning... Yes, we all know he likes the Counter Attack - but since when have QPR been an all out attacking force? It's that kind of 'one-dimensional' thinking that will really start to see him under pressure. Once teams figure out we're all about the counter attack, they will nullify us easily - for the likes of QPR / STOKE / Etc - getting a point is a good result and maybe they might nick a win...

Also playing tried and tested players in positions they are not used to - is no way to build a team for the future.

If Brazil think Oscar is ready, why the F**K don't we...

And for those saying we missed MATA - are we really back to a 1 player team again? We need to lessen our relience on MATA and create from ALL areas of the pitch.

[BlueDutchy 63]

Just wait and we'll see how manages the bad periodes in the winter. That was the period that broke up Villas-Boas and we'll see how RDM does. RDM isn't a great manager but he definitely deserves some credit . I wouldn't have started Oscar, who isn't used to the EPL and the atmosphere in british stadia, in a hostile environment like Loftus Road. This time it didn't work out for Di Matteo but when he played Mikel-Mereiles a couple of weeks ago, it was a great move. We spend a lot this summer and RDM is still building a squad. We don't see how players perform in training, we don't see the interaction and connection between player. No I don't agree with everything he does, but then no manager has ever did what I wanted him to do.

If he turns out to be incompetent, we'll just hire De Boer (Dutch Guardiola..)

[RamiCFC9 258]

why do people think a pep garbagola will do any better? because he managed a best team in the world? the team that dutchman before him build?

lets be honest, Rdm is our best bet right know, we didnt play bad against qpr, if you want to cry about " our defensive approach? will qpr isnt the same team from last season, we could have been in shithole if mikel mistake wasnt recovered, the only problem is ther nothing that can stop lampard know, i think mateo is scared of him, or respects him too much, he should be benched! put oscar in fkn game ffs

RDM is our man! believe in him, we will be up ther!

Because Pep has balls."the team that dutchman before him build?" Is very false statement.

[The Skipper 20,593]

The big games are coming thick and fast now with Juve, Arsenal, Spurs, Man utd and Liverpool soon. Then we will have a clear indication of RDM, his tactics and the squad in general.

Exactly. People overlook this a lot.

[Chelsea? 892]

Well if he refuses to play more than 3 attackers against QPR I don't think he'll.be here much longer.

[unclezillion 23]

Because Pep has balls."the team that dutchman before him build?" Is very false statement.

Not at all Pep just came in and picked his team from a suad that was already playing the tika taka system.

Pep in my mind is untested in real football terms.

[Blue-in-me-Veins 4,067]

im not for the guardiola to Chelsea, why? because everything that seems so great at first glance end up being fools gold, (Torres, Shevchenko, all the managers except Jose&Carlo). it may just be me but i have that feeling that Pep will not produce the same amount of success or any that we may expect.

I personally believe that RDM can/will be the man to lead us for maybe the next 3-4 years. Which for Chelsea is almost eternity RDM in my mind CAN play the attacking football we all want/expect because if you look at his record at WBA he was respected for that attacking philosophy just like Brendan Rodgers only he was unfairly fired before he could that recognition. By November i honestly believe we will know RDM's future plan for this team and i think we just have to give him some slack for the QPR result. Moses&Marin are both new and recovering from injury and then the risk of playing Studge (only ST backup) could have proved too much. Why we saw no Oscar, i have no idea but i think lets just give RDM a pass and judge him over the course of the next month when we have the Tues/Wed. and Sat/Sun routine and nicks and injuries start to pile up.