Closed Sparta Prague v Chelsea

[The only place to be 11,313]

Well not the team i would have picked in the slightest.. But hopefully he will give mata a rest early if we can get the game won...

On the brightside, hopefully a good win could give the whole team a bit of a lift and our next game is brentford..

What is the team you would've picked?

[zolayes 14,489]

for once agree with the team he has picked...of course expect pointless substitutions

[Milan 17,853]

Win it tonight comfortably and we can line up the players we all wanted like Benayoun, Ake etc in the second leg at home.

[TorontoChelsea 4,064]

@the only place to be

The next round would be the 7th and the 14th of March which would be right smack dab in the middle of a congested league schedule. We play March 2, 10, and 16 (and a likely FA Cup fixture around then as well.) No question in my mind, the league comes first and playing the strongest starting XI in this competition at that stage will likely hurt us in the league.

[Rmpr 8,977]

I wanted someone else in the place of Mata and Lampard, I would not risk them...

[Hutcho 8,443]

What is the team you would've picked?

Cech

Paulo Ivan Terry (match fitness if ready) Bertrand

Ake Luiz

Marin Oscar Hazard

Torres

Something like that.

[The only place to be 11,313]

Cech

Paulo Ivan Terry (match fitness) Bertrand

Ake Luiz

Marin Oscar Hazard

Torres

Something like that.

That's not far off the team I'd pick (no Hazard or Luiz) but I'm saying that we should get out of this competition as soon as possible which some people don't seem to understand.

Let's put it another way. Do you want us to play extra games before we face Spurs, United, Everton and Swansea?

[Mufassir08 2,400]

Just what i feared.Rafa has played the 1st team and we will most probably continue to field strong teams in this tornument so that rafa can boost his CV by going deep in this competition.

[Hutcho 8,443]

That's not far off the team I'd pick (no Hazard or Luiz) but I'm saying that we should get out of this competition as soon as possible which some people don't seem to understand.

Let's put it another way. Do you want us to play extra games before we face Spurs, United, Everton and Swansea?

The league is priority and how i would play in these games would depend on our situation in the league. I wouldn't be too annoyed if we were not in the competition to begin with, but we are and we have a chance of winning it. So its not ideal playing extra games before the matches, but we can rotate enough that it shouldn't be a problem. And i don't want us to get knocked out just so we don't have those few midweek games.

[Hutcho 8,443]

steve mcmanaman is so annoying!

WTF is he doing there.

[The only place to be 11,313]

The league is priority and how i would play in these games would depend on our situation in the league. I wouldn't be too annoyed if we were not in the competition to begin with, but we are and we have a chance of winning it. So its not ideal playing extra games before the matches, but we can rotate enough that it shouldn't be a problem. And i don't want us to get knocked out just so we don't have those few midweek games.

So we rotate like we have done tonight? Playing Mata, Hazard, Lamps etc?

And it's not just about rotation. That's not the reality of professional football. You spend the week leading up to a game preparing for it, working over in-game scenarios. If we take this competition seriously we face playing on a Thursday night and then having just two days (and almost no full-on sessions) preparing for tough league games.

Getting knocked out isn't just about avoiding a few midweek games - it's about maximising our chances of finishing in the top four when (and here's the dirty little secret of our season) we're not that good.

[Hutcho 8,443]

So we rotate like we have done tonight? Playing Mata, Hazard, Lamps etc?

And it's not just about rotation. That's not the reality of professional football. You spend the week leading up to a game preparing for it, working over in-game scenarios. If we take this competition seriously we face playing on a Thursday night and then having just two days (and almost no full-on sessions) preparing for tough league games.

Getting knocked out isn't just about avoiding a few midweek games - it's about maximising our chances of finishing in the top four when (and here's the dirty little secret of our season) we're not that good.

Well tonight, that is rafa's "rotation"... And we should be good enough for top 4 we are having a very bad run and seem to lack motivation atm for whatever reason. No one is gonna start crying if we get knocked out of the europa league but it doesn't mean we should just roll over. Today we have no prem match and brentford and if we cant beat them at home then our problems are worse than thought, no matter how many games we play before hand. Again no one thinks it is an ideal situation, and we should do things on a game by game basis. Rafa's approach will probably differ from what logic would dictate with him wanting silverware to try and keep his job, which is where a problem could lie, but what do you suggest, walking out there and telling petr to have a lay down or what?

[edetarod 2,155]

lol, 27 viewers

[Sheva. 5,373]

Just what i feared.Rafa has played the 1st team and we will most probably continue to field strong teams in this tornument so that rafa can boost his CV by going deep in this competition.

Ridiculous. It's a trophy, other teams are trying to win it, but only Rafa cares about improving his CV

[DONI. 1,291]

[The only place to be 11,313]

Well tonight, that is rafa's "rotation"... And we should be good enough for top 4 we are having a very bad run and seem to lack motivation atm for whatever reason. No one is gonna start crying if we get knocked out of the europa league but it doesn't mean we should just roll over. Today we have no prem match and brentford and if we cant beat them at home then our problems are worse than thought, no matter how many games we play before hand. Again no one thinks it is an ideal situation, and we should do things on a game by game basis. Rafa's approach will probably differ from what logic would dictate with him wanting silverware to try and keep his job, which is where a problem could lie, but what do you suggest, walking out there and telling petr to have a lay down or what?

Put out a team of reserves. Paulo, Ake, Marin, Benayoun, Turbull, maybe even Saville and Feruz.

The problem isn't now or Sunday but the next set of ties and the ones after that. We should finish top four but we should also have beaten Reading, Southampton, QPR and Newcastle.

No offence, but your thinking seems to be based on something that isn't a reality at this point in time.

[The only place to be 11,313]

Ridiculous. It's a trophy, other teams are trying to win it, but only Rafa cares about improving his CV

It's not ridiculous in the slightest. The best thing for this club is top four, but Rafa doesn't have anything invested in our long-term success. He's gone in the summer.

[Liquidator 5,176]

any streams?