Arsenal vs Chelsea

[Frog-On-The-Double 1]

Unfortunately Ancelotti has already ruled out any changes in our "shape" so I can't see a tactical step like this one happening. Not to mention that a deep-lying midfielder is the trademark of all his successful teams.

I think a change in tactics/faces in our front three looks far more viable and will in my opinion yield better short-time results.

What do you make of Ferreira's performance? I know I'll be labeled a hater so I'd like to hear what a neutral thought.

Give Paulo a break! I think he had served us well and maybe should return to Portugal. I think Mikel is not a natural first-11 because he is slow.

he may be able to break up an attack, but there is only one Maka who could initiate an attack with speed. I have not seen anyone who can play like Maka, except Mehmet Aurelio who is above 30.

We need young, 20-24 year-old players who are playing regularly, so please spend on a central defence, a midfielder who can hold and attack on all sides of the pitch and a striker in Drogba's pre-2010 class.

[Kostas 1,468]

Like yourself I dont think Carlo will change the shape or formation of the side but I honestly believe Essien could play as a deep playmaker every bit as well as Mikel can but also be a much more secure player defensively than Mikel is.

Well he gave it his best but realistically he is always going to be the weak link in the back four and the obvious weakness for opponents to exploit, his performances never fill me with a huge amount of confidence and unless there are serious injuries I would not have him in a starting eleven, especially in the big games. To sum it up, great servant to the club, always gives it his best but he is not, nor has he ever been up to the level required to warrant a starting spot at Chelsea.

I can't say if he's ever going to be good enough for Chelsea yet especially after what he has showed us this year. Not after being preached about how Salomon Kalou may turn into the next big thing

But the current problem is that with only 3 CBs at the club and Bosingwa/Ferreira at RB he isn't even close to being our biggest weakness at the back. I'd rather we solved those problems before thinking about Mikel.

Give Paulo a break! I think he had served us well and maybe should return to Portugal. I think Mikel is not a natural first-11 because he is slow.

:lol:

You've been here 1 day and you want me to give Ferreira a break because I just asked how a user thought he performed?! And after saying that he's been a good servant (which I've pointed out in other threads) you want him to return to Portugal?

[joeg 0]

Hi first post here so hello all!,

I was there so haven't been able to watch it on tv yet but to me the whole midfield was very poor today, they didn't seem to be able to keep the ball or put any pressure on the arse.

Thought Kakuta was a bit of a kick up the arse the other players needed and was impressed with him. Can't really blame Carlo but don't think i'd mind losing half as much if it was with a bunch of youngsters.

Sorry if some of this don't make sense i'm just back from the pub.

[LDN Blue 7,903]

Exactly, Barcelona are the only team I can think of who successfully use a third centre back (Sergio Busquets) at the highest level. We are not Barcelona, we dont keep the ball as much or as well as Barcelona do, which is why we need a ball winning holding midfielder and that simply is not Mikel, thats not his natural game and he doesn't do it very well.

Anyway I dont want this to sound like a Mikel hate thread because I like him but I think its something which is hindering the team and needs to be changed.

Thing is, I believe Mikel can mould into this role, because of his attack background. But it seems he's not being told to do this and I think if he was he could do it well. It is worrying he's the only member of the senior squad to have never scored a goal for the club but I think if he's encouraged to push up he could do it.

[LDN Blue 7,903]

But the current problem is that with only 3 CBs at the club and Bosingwa/Ferreira at RB he isn't even close to being our biggest weakness at the back. I'd rather we solved those problems before thinking about Mikel.

CB's: Terry, Ivanovic, Alex, Bruma

RB's: Bosingwa, Ferreira, Ivanovic

With Alex out for a while and Bruma not being trusted, we only really have 2 recognised centre backs, this even more evident when we played Ferreira at centre back. We should've have replaced Carvalho. I'm not saying we should've kept him, because he was always planned to leave, but why didn't The Board find a replacement? He had a bloody year!

The norm, is to have 2 players competing for each position really so..

RB: Bosingwa vs Ferreira

CB: Terry vs Alex

CB: Ivanovic vs Bruma

LB: Cole vs Zhirkov vs Van Aanholt

We must buy at least 1 centre back & 1 right back.. Minimum

IMO.

[Kostas 1,468]

I had Ivanovic as a CB because he's more likely to get games there knowing JT's and Ale's injury record.

LB: Cole vs Zhirkov vs Van Aanholt

I was shocked when reports linked us with Coentrao as LB is our best covered position.

I'm not saying we should've kept him, because he was always planned to leave, but why didn't Carlo the Board find a replacement?

Fix that and the post will be perfect

[5354 204]

Did Kalou or Drogba misfire?

If they did then its time to bring in Augero

[RX8 40]

do not have any sense to blame individual players, it is useless that 1 give the 100% and the other not.

The problem is that we fail from the defense, goals come in all games, we no longer causes fear in the attack. the midfield does not know whether to defend or attack.

And I think Anchelotti no longer know what to do eitherg

[BLionheart 516]

Change. Change is the word that arose tonight following the 3-1 defeat to Arsenal. All different kinds of change, the impact that changes which have already been made have had on the club, the changes that need to happen now and the changes which need to be performed for the future as Chelsea's poor run of form has gone from being a simple poor run of form to now being an outright disaster.

Changes made in the past which have led us to this disaster are things like allowing the hugely experienced and talented Michael Ballack, Ricardo Carvalho, Deco, Joe Cole ect. Leave in the Summer and not filling that gap, yes our kids have talent but you simply cant throw them in at the deep end and expect them to swim straight away, that's not how you blood youngsters into first team action at this level.

Ray Wilkin's departure has likely had a negative effect on the side, I don't think the effect its has is as much as is being made out in the media but its still had an effect.

Changes that need to be made right now are.

Dropping Mikel, again tonight his positioning for the first goal was dubious, his passing not up to standard, too slow on the ball and he hasn't got the legs to get about the pitch and make tackles ala Makelele. Surely against Bolton, starting with Essien, Ramires and Lampard would not be the worst thing in the world?

Banning Kalou from all future Chelsea games and training sessions, I mean literally have a team of security guards at Cobham for when Kalou arrives and just don't allow him into the ground.

Telling Florent Malouda that though we made a terrific start to the season that the season is still actually going on and we havent been awarded the title.

Changes for the future.

A right winger at some point, be it in January or the Summer is an absolute must.

A ball playing central midfielder.

A centre back, preferably a highly rated Brazilian by the name of David Luiz…..

No matter what following the game tonight and the last 2 months as a whole there must now be change. Its all well and good for Carlo to do his post match press conference and remind us all that "we are in a bad moment" while its true what now needs to happen is that we need to change things to get out of this bad moment because trudging on with the same routine, the same selection, with nothing being altered will only lead to more bad results. If those changes have to occur in our playing personnel, our management personnel or our set up, Roman will be very aware that something will have to change because this "bad moment" has lasted too long.

Anyway being the positive guy I am, the positives I took from tonights game were.

Petr Cech, Branislav Ivanovic and Frank Lampard are really the only players who you could give a modicum of positive feedback too on the Chelsea side.

Gael Kakuta came on and an awful backpass aside he looked lively at least.

Its looking more and more like this season is going to become one of transition for Chelsea, if that is the case then Im hoping McEachran, Kakuta and Sturridge get more and more playing time this season so that they will gain experience.

And we could always do a Liverpool and just drop our focus on the league and put all of our attention into winning the Champions League, if we finish 4^th but Terry ends up lifting the Champions League trophy at Wembley then the season would go down as a huge success so….positive thoughts and all that.

words i have been trying to say long time ago but wasn't able to put it together the way you did

[5354 204]

We need to sign players. - And yes good & fast wingers preferably. left or right.

We need Drogba to make headers.

[Styles 9,790]

Arsenal pressed very well last night. A lot of our players technique and close control were under the microscope and not many did well. We're great when the opposition back-off but anytime they decide to press and give us no time on the ball we collapse completely and surrender possesion.

[zolayes 14,489]

Arsenal pressed very well last night. A lot of our players technique and close control were under the microscope and not many did well. We're great when the opposition back-off but anytime they decide to press and give us no time on the ball we collapse completely and surrender possesion.

our back 4 were bullied by Walcott ,,Van Persie and Nasri ....incredible ....but lately teams defending from the front seem to have our measure ...very worrying

[Randall 315]

I nearly smashed my fucking television when malouda got taken off and not kalou. Even though Malouda was playing badly, Kalou is literally a useless piece of shit. The only person who played well yesterday was Terry and maybe Cech for a couple of his saves.

badl

Literally we were absolute shit. It's starting to make me think it's one massive April fool or something, I really can't get my head around how badly it's all going.

[Clevemayer 764]

one thing...

Mikel off = 2 goals in

you're fucking kidding me, the only players that have to be blamed are:

Malouda

Kalou

Drogs

ESSIEN

Ferreira

i don't know if you've seen how fragile we become when mikel was off, not his best game, like the last one against the yids, but nontheless he wasn't the worst on the pitch, and we conceeded 2 goals in 2 minuts with essien replaceing him, Essien looks like e puffy...

against Bolton these changes please Carlo

Malouda Off = Kakuta/PVA in as LM/LW YES PVA IN, cant stand Maloudas bad form for 2 Month know!

Kalou OFF = Studge/Kakuta in (Studge is injured so it has to be kakuta)

Ferreira OFF = Bos in

ESSIEN OFF = McEachran/Ramires IN

we need Drogs against these big bolton defense....

Dropping Mikel, again tonight his positioning for the first goal was dubious, his passing not up to standard, too slow on the ball and he hasn't got the legs to get about the pitch and make tackles ala Makelele. Surely against Bolton, starting with Essien, Ramires and Lampard would not be the worst thing in the world?

this is a joke isn't it?

OK Mikel isn't playing that well the last tow games but Essien is half hearted, don't tracks the ball and is overwhelmed by the opposite midfield most of the time, if someone is to blame for our lacking dominance in the midfield, it is Ess. I even consider not to call him the bison anymore. You could clearly see how alone Mikel was when Essien took over. Mikel did well, aside his positioning for the first goal, his long-range-passing was awufl yesterday, but let that aside he defended well and had 5 interceptions only in the first half, didn't deserve to be taken OFF, I thought paulo and Essien would be replaced, but carlo hasn't the balls to take off the big guns. Essien was simply outpowered, in one way this was good, so he can confirm to the coach that mikel was let alone by our Midfield, playing against 4 opposite players (nasri/willshere/fabregas/song) at times, is simply impossible and if this was not the case, they all where standing around Mikel in an radius of 5 m, so where the fuck should he pass the ball? I remember one time when malouda AND lamps where standing right in front of Mikel and he had to tackle FOUR Times to get the ball out of the danger zone, so you're fucking kidding me, aren't you?

The other scence I can remember (saw this countless times), every one storming to the front despite Bane, Mikel and Terry, not a single player makeing himself available in the middle of the park, this was the case for BOTH halfs...

These are our weakpoints:

Essien, still looks like he lost his determination through his red card against Fullham, a shaddow of his own. I don't get it, may be his both knee injurys have cost him too much of his stamnia? He is not the driveing force anymore he should be, hope he gets this sorted out sooner, rather than later, hasn't done anything right at all. Know we would need Jack Cork so desperately he could replace Essien for 2 or 3 games, not a 100 percent essien replacement, but a scott parker like player, may be 75% of the Essien we all know and love.

Kalou was fucking annoing again, please play Bruma instead of him, and bring him on in the second half, so he can do what he can do best, score goals from the bench!!! Losing every single ball, never ever sees the hole between the defenders for a pass, no vision at all. Never knows when he should pass... just dribbles and dribbles and dribbles... and looses the ball...

Malouda, WTF? Like I said last time, cant even stop the ball anymore, looks like he is overplayed, FFS bring on Kakuta for him, if not know, when was at fault for 2 of the 3 goals... lost the ball at 2 occasions when we were counterattacking... awful, studge was injured, so please kakuta...

Ferreira, please carlo, please let bane play RB and Bruma CB, this cant be true, this is a fucking joke... or bring bos on for the fist half, take him off in the second, bane to the RB position and Bruma to the CB-position... ist this so hard to understand Carlo? Even I get it (until last year I always supportet Paulo), Ferrairy = too old = FACT!!! Maybe enough for Bolton or Yids, but not enough for BIG GAMES!

We have to change to formation or the players like this:

4-2-3-1 is my fist option

------------------------------------------------------------------------Cech--------------------------------------------------------------------------

Bane/Bos------------------------Bane/Bruma(Alex if Fit----------------Terry/Bane------------------------------Ashley/PvA/Zhirkov

-------------------------------------Ess/Ramires/Josh---------------------------------Mikel/Josh/Ramires------------------------------

------------------------------------------------------------------Lamps/Kakuta/Josh------------------------------------------------------------

-------Anelka/Studge/Kakuta-----------------------------------------------------------------------------Malouda/Kakuta/Studge-------

-------------------------------------------------------------Drogs/Anelka/Studge/Borini-------------------------------------------------------

if not you can change the formation simply in to 4-2-2-1-1 like this:

-------Anelka/Studge/Kakuta------------------------------------------------------------------------------------Malouda/Kakuta/Studge

------------------------------------------------------------------Lamps/Kakuta/Josh------------------------------------------------------------

-------------------------------------------------------------Drogs/Anelka/Studge/Borini-------------------------------------------------------

or 4-1-2-1-2 (Diamond):

------------------------------------------------------------------Mikel/Ess/Josh------------------------------------------------------------

-------Anelka/Studge/Kakuta------------------------------------------------------------------------------------Malouda/Kakuta/Studge

------------------------------------------------------------------Lamps/Kakuta/Josh------------------------------------------------------------

--------------------------------------------------------Drogs/Anelka-----------Anelka/Studge/Borini----------------------------------------

we dont have the players to play 4-3-3 anymore, let's face it, its my favourite formation too, but we just cant get it going with this players, or we just have to change our wingers:

Kakuta for Malouda

Studge for Analka

kakuta and studge at the wings and drogs or Anelka in the middle, this would be a astonishing attack, becaus drogs ist the bullish, strong striker, and kakuta and studge are pacey and full of tricks... like duff/Robben, Robben / Joey awwww... loved these times...

Thats it...

[LDN Blue 7,903]

Kakuta for Malouda

Studge for Analka

This is a good post mate.

Remember, no-one's saying Mikel is crap or anything, but we think he doesn't offer much to the team from his position really. If you look at other players who play that role in other clubs, Pirlo (AC Milan), Busquets (Barcelona), Makelele (Formerly us).. They all could put in a great tackle and also go forward with the counter attack too, Mikel simply cannot offer these traits, yes he makes up for it with his great long range passing abilities but I think, sometimes, that's not enough. If we look at Essien playing that role (prior to his injury, thus the emergence of Mikel taking that position) he certainly offered a lot, the "engine" of the team we called him. He'd drive into the box to get goals, but he'd also put in a great tackle when needed.

Yes, this wasn't Essien's best game, but he's already proven (prior his suspension) that's he's still a world class player who offers a lot to us, and so it's very hard to knock him down. But do remember, in the 2nd half (after we conceded) he was doing everything he could to drive forward making those powerful runs we know he can make.

And as for Malouda. I maintain my opinion, he's been one of our best performers in this bad form. He's looked the most dangerous when attacking and he's putting in some good passes and just generally working very hard. If I had to name 3 players who I think have stood up as men and players over this last crappy month I'd, without a doubt, name Cech, Malouda & Terry.

[LDN Blue 7,903]

I had Ivanovic as a CB because he's more likely to get games there knowing JT's and Ale's injury record.

I was shocked when reports linked us with Coentrao as LB is our best covered position.

Fix that and the post will be perfect

Yeah fair enough, fixed it

And absolutely! I have some very high hopes for PvA, he's already proven he's up to filling Ash's boots and he's got some good experience in him. Coentrao is a good left back and has a very good future in him, but I'd rather not spend the money and support our own academy player in this case

[Kostas 1,468]

If I had to name 3 players who I think have stood up as men and players over this last crappy month I'd, without a doubt, name Cech, Malouda & Terry.

That's 2 months actually, 3 if you look at the whole picture.

Just saying..

[Clevemayer 764]

Remember, no-one's saying Mikel is crap or anything, but we think he doesn't offer much to the team from his position really. If you look at other players who play that role in other clubs, Pirlo (AC Milan), Busquets (Barcelona), Makelele (Formerly us).. They all could put in a great tackle and also go forward with the counter attack too, Mikel simply cannot offer these traits, yes he makes up for it with his great long range passing abilities but I think, sometimes, that's not enough. If we look at Essien playing that role (prior to his injury, thus the emergence of Mikel taking that position) he certainly offered a lot, the "engine" of the team we called him. He'd drive into the box to get goals, but he'd also put in a great tackle when needed.

i cant agree to this mate...

Mikel has a great awareness of the game, you cant compare apples with pears. Mikel is 23, where was Maka at this Age? He can play sublime through balls and is our best passer by far, and after two games he isn't a good DM anymore? sry cant take that serious.

Mikels dip in form has started with our Injurys, He has struck the woodwork three times in the last half year or so, has shielded the ball against 3 players and played it through with perfect accuracy more than once, i would never ever take a bsusquet over Mikel, you're kidding me? Mikel would absolutly destroy barcas midfield (like he did two seasons ago if you remember)... every single stat of the EPL (befor of the worst run in our last 11 years of HISTORY) made him the best midfielder in this league, most accurate passes, most ball contacts, most interceptions, less yellow cards and fouls then anyone else in his position and so on and so on... so get real about this boy...

this midfield is gonna rule the world if they're well trained and advised:

---------------------------------Mikel------------------------------------------------

--------------Josh------------------------------------Connor---------------------

in 5 years of time, if they get this time, this will be a superb midfield...

But do remember, in the 2nd half (after we conceded) he was doing everything he could to drive forward making those powerful runs we know he can make.

and its exactly what Essien didn't DO yesterday... and thats why I was saying he should've been dropped...

greetings mate...