Closed Chelsea 2-2 West Brom

[zolayes 14,489]

If results don't fall our way we could well be 8th within 18hours. Teams like Southampton and Liverpool are above us, who are ok but surely not the teams we should compare ourselves with.

Cech is clearly not getting any better and it is time to question if he is the bet we should take when we have the chance between him and Courtois, who is already at Cech's level.

This is just not good enough from every part of the team. I think Cech, the whole defense, Lampard and Oscar were poor. And this time we did not lack effort but class. It seems everyone including Mou has taken this game too lightly. This is the kind of match, a Mourinho team usually wins 1-0. But we lack the engine in midfield and the flawlessness of the D that usually characterize his teams. If we don't adress these issues by either including some new players or finding tactical solutions, we will not win anything this season.

I joked at HT that since we had a lead would we stop playing our beautiful flowing football amd park the bus We couldnt even "PARK THE FUCKING BUS"

[Magic Lamps 11,692]

I joked at HT that since we had a lead would we stop playing our beautiful flowing football amd park the bus We couldnt even "PARK THE FUCKING BUS"

Exactly. We tried but failed. This is worrying, cos the biggest triumph of our clubs history was reached by exactly that. WE had Kalou, Bertrand and Bosingwa on the field and still the best team in the world could only score once against us in2 hours. These times even WBA can turn a match within 8 mins at our own stadium.

[ChelseasMessiah 304]

Schwarzer motm for me

Not a bad shout.

[Liquidator 5,176]

Absolutely gutted.

Never a penalty in a million years. If that's a penalty then lets take away all the contact in the game. Before Ramires runs into Steven Reid he's already on his way down and the referee fell for it - I'd also like to question why he was allowed to referee this game given his local connections.

Mourinho also proved himself to be nothing but a tit in his after match conference.

We were good. Defended very well and denied you from walking over us. We had eleven heroic performances which almost brought to an end 35 years of hurt until a moment of incompetence from a referee.

Agree with you on most of that, genuinely felt sorry for you when we got that penalty, you didn't deserve such a shit decision after defending so well. Good luck for the rest of the season

[Sheva. 5,373]

WBA should have kept the ball, i know easier said than done but normally when you keep giving the ball to your opponent it's only a matter of time before they score.

And we really should have scored before that "penalty". Ba's glorious miss, Willian's chance and the scramble that fell to Mata.

[Kojo 4,676]

Absolutely gutted.

Never a penalty in a million years. If that's a penalty then lets take away all the contact in the game. Before Ramires runs into Steven Reid he's already on his way down and the referee fell for it - I'd also like to question why he was allowed to referee this game given his local connections.

Mourinho also proved himself to be nothing but a tit in his after match conference.

We were good. Defended very well and denied you from walking over us. We had eleven heroic performances which almost brought to an end 35 years of hurt until a moment of incompetence from a referee.

And coming on here moaning about it is going to solve everything isn't it?

[Kojo 4,676]

yeah he was very good

You are the best poster to ever grace TalkChelsea, it's a pleasure to meet you fine sir.

[Strike 7,489]

Strongly disagree. Work-rate is amazing, but you need your #10 to provide more than hard work. They have to be able to make a major impact on offense. He has now played 45 games in in the Premier League and has 8 goals and 5 assists. (11 games this season, 0 assists) That's abysmal. Oscar needs to play but like everyone else, he should have to earn it and hard work shouldn't be the only thing that matters.

this is the thing. Oscar can have a string of bad games and still start while Mata can't have a bad 45 mins or he'll get dropped

[DJames 729]

Didn't see the match sounds like it was painful to watch. Sitting back and waiting for goals to fall from the sky is something we need to work on. Also converting chances into actual goals. Sounds like Mourinho should be dishing out extra target practice to squad.

[Krypt 241]

I have a friend who supports man city and is always positive about every game. I always worry if we can even break down a team let alone win. I just always feel like it's hard work in premier league games. I'll be honest if we carry on like this we can forget about top 4.

[francozola 2,040]

Ivanovic was just shocking. Going forward, every single one of our attacks until we went 2-1 down, involved about a million passes around the middle, before giving it to Iva who then puts in an awful cross that leads to nothing. Ridiculously frustrating. Embarrassing defending for the two goals we conceded as well. Why does he start over Azpi? It's a fucking joke honestly. He's been brilliant for us in the past (especially with his countless crucial goals) but imo overall he has not shown any consistency over the past few years. Really want to see Azpi given a chance at RB.

Also, Cahill comes off looking like a super defender due to his blocks etc but lets be honest, he is not even half as talented as Luiz. You can see him getting caught out due to his poor reading of the game time and again as well as his natural deficiencies as a defender. He is a great 3rd choice centre-back to have. He is not good enough to be a starter for a title-challenging side.

Thirdly, I'm sick of Mata getting the short end of the stick when it comes to our group of attacking midfielders. Hazard in particular is simply not doing it for me. Not even close. I know he technically got a goal and an assist yesterday, but for fucks sake, given the talent this boy has, he is not even performing to 50% of his level. Not happy with him. Oscar is supremely talented but we are not direct nor incisive enough without Mata. Oscar makes about a dozen intelligent short passes that lead to nothing. Mata can make one incisive pass that leads to a goal.

Some of this Mata & Hazard/Oscar frustration comes down to the bias that I naturally have towards Mata since I love Juan for everything he's done since coming to the club, but still looking at it objectively I simply do not agree with the position Jose has taken with him.

Personally, I would drop Hazard for a few games in a row. He's a good lad but he needs to go through this phase IMO. He can't just think that he can do whatever he wants and because he is so naturally talented, he will still retain his place in the side.

And finally, why are we still seeing the Lampard-Ramires pivot? Jesus Christ.

Jose needs to figure this shit out

[Shane 2,275]

I have a friend who supports man city and is always positive about every game. I always worry if we can even break down a team let alone win. I just always feel like it's hard work in premier league games. I'll be honest if we carry on like this we can forget about top 4.

Tell him about the time Torres and Ramires tore them apart then.

[tapa 11]

You are the best poster to ever grace TalkChelsea, it's a pleasure to meet you fine sir.

me too Kojo :heart:

[Special Juan 28,141]

We need to get away from Ivanovic starting, Lampard starting and Hazard should never of been selected ahead of Schurrle.

Ivanovic is so predictable now it's scary, I was calling things before he did them yesterday. His crossing is fucking awful and I really fail to see what he offers us. Lampard starting smacks of the old pals act, at least JT is actually really doing it where as Frank is just not the answer alongside Ramires, it isn't working for fucks sake.

As for Hazard he should of been on the bench and Schurrle starting ahead of him IMO I think Hazard is struggling massively right now.

I don't think all of this is helped by pathetic slow tempo all the time, Jose needs to really do something about this it's becoming a constant theme.

[Jase 43,479]

Looks like Myhill kicked Ivanovic here.....

[1chelsea 864]

This place is noisy, keep it cam

[Jype 6,398]

Looks like Myhill kicked Ivanovic here.....

I assume that was after the penalty when Ivanovic grabbed the ball to get it to the centre as quickly as possible?

[Jase 43,479]

The apparent foul on Ivanovic that went unpunished with West Brom scoring from the resulting counter..

And then Ivanovic being blocked off here..

[Jase 43,479]

I assume that was after the penalty when Ivanovic grabbed the ball to get it to the centre as quickly as possible?

Yes.

[TrippingStep 336]

We need to get away from Ivanovic starting, Lampard starting and Hazard should never of been selected ahead of Schurrle.

Ivanovic is so predictable now it's scary, I was calling things before he did them yesterday. His crossing is fucking awful and I really fail to see what he offers us. Lampard starting smacks of the old pals act, at least JT is actually really doing it where as Frank is just not the answer alongside Ramires, it isn't working for fucks sake.

As for Hazard he should of been on the bench and Schurrle starting ahead of him IMO I think Hazard is struggling massively right now.

I don't think all of this is helped by pathetic slow tempo all the time, Jose needs to really do something about this it's becoming a constant theme.

Have you watched Real Madrid against Manchester United in the champion's league last year. Manchester was glad to sit deep and during long spells of the match, Real was just happy to play a slow passing game and waiting game with no real plan to attack their defence.

Mourinho's team.