2011-2012 Season

[zolayes 14,489]

I actually believe that Kaka would somehow boost our creativity in midfield and would pass quite a lot to the strikers. Maybe he's just not supposed to fit in Real Madrid's team.

Yes and bring back Scolari ....had he stayed we would have won the CL by now. He was ousted by the Brazillian hating English members of the squad

I actually believe that Kaka would somehow boost our creativity in midfield and would pass quite a lot to the strikers. Maybe he's just not supposed to fit in Real Madrid's team.

Yes and bring back Scolari ....had he stayed we would have won the CL by now. He was ousted by the Brazillian hating English members of the squad

[chrismada9 1,948]

he is talking about Financial fair play i think

Oohh right I see, fair dos!

I suppose it does make sense, we are supposed to be able to break even, otherwise we could get kicked out of European competitions, but this deal with Sport Five we've made recently, could bring us some good revenue! Not to mention the Torres shirt sales have been doing really well to make up for the £50 million we paid for him.

The real problems are with Man City, who are some £100 million away of being able to break even!

[warnie_666 1,081]

Is anyone having reservations over Essien? 2 knee surgeries in two years, third season he is average. We already have Ramirez. I am tempted to give Essien another season but wouldnt be disappointed if he were to be sold.

Lampard has had his first BAD season for Chelsea. I refuse to critique him. Plus he had 4 months off. He is Mr. Consistency personified.

I feel this season is a one off. We failed to build on a winning squad instead we culled it and expected 19yr olds to make an impact and win us the title and Champions League. I think we did well to finish second to be honest, and if it wasnt for Lampard's injury we would have won the league. Lampard never gets injured for 4 months, it all had to happen this season.

The board has realised its mistake and the reinforcements have started to come in in Jan. And we might see 3-4 additions to the squad too. We will have a much better squad and a better and a more relaxed pre season to prepare for the new season.

I am confident we will win back the title.

[Ollie 4,400]

The problems are the continuity. Man Utd have the most settled first XI you can think of and the squad players are perfect for them. They have many like for like players and even when they have injuries, they can pull one out the bag.

We've been all over the place this season. The only 2 players that have had full seasons in their positions are Terry and Cole. There's too many questions and not enough answers.

Who partners Terry?

Who at right back?

Ivanovic right back or in the middle?

Essien holding or Mikel?

Lampard in a diamond or coming from deep

Drogba or Torres or both?

4-4-2 or 4-3-3/4-5-1?

Ramires or Mikel?

Can we really play Mikel and Essien together?

Essien and Lampard have both had major injuries, they will never be the same again so should we let go?

Who to play on the wings out of Kalou, Malouda, Zhirkov and Anelka?

Anelka a winger or a striker?

Where's the creativity?

Why was benayoun not played when fit as he's the one creative midfielder we have?

Luiz....good player but surely no defender. Alex or Luiz?

Could Luiz be the midfielder we're looking for and he's already here disguised as a reckless CB?!

Ancelotti out?

Why did Roman get rid of Wilkins?

How are we gonna ever win the league like this?

At the end of the day, this has been managed poorly. Ivanovic, Alex, Terry and Cole should be at the back. This is our most solid back 4 imo. Luiz isn't a defender, he's already given away 2 pens, he had a shocker at old trafford gifting them both goals and against Stoke away gifting them their goal. On the other hand he has scored 2 goals and hit the bar, using a lot of skill and creation whilst doing it. He should be tried as a midfielder against Newcastle in what is now a meaningless game. We also have Bosingwa, our only natural right back but again, he's a shit defender who thinks he's a winger and has absolutely no final ball.

What is a winger? Someone who plays out wide, taking on defenders and getting to the by line to deliver crosses and ammunition to the strikers. They should have pace, a quick turn of pace, skill and a great final ball. Malouda has no pace and doesn't beat defenders, Kalou has a bit of pace and trickery but an awful final ball, Anelka is a striker played horribly out of position for 3 years and Zhirkov is so inconsistent altho probably the only one of our 4 wingers who is a genuine out and out winger and i bet he's played the least. We should keep Yuri and get rid of the others and replace them but tbh it does look like Yuri is on his way out. We need a player like Bale, N'Zogbia, Lennon, Young, Adam Johnson who can torment defenders with pace and skill, put in a great final ball and score goals. We've been top 2 for 7 out of the last 8 seasons and we have NO wingers like these and we wonder what we are lacking? Gimme a break. Kalou is crap... i know we have some kalou fan boys here but that's probably out of pity more than anything. In the big games he doesn't show up and for all the skill and tricks he has, he rarely beats defenders and creates anything. His finishing is woeful. Malouda is similar, he does score goals tho but when he's not happy, he just sulks and does nothing.

The midfield is obvious to me now too. Lampard is only a goal poacher now, he's a spent force like Ronaldinho, Scholes, Gerrard, Vieira, Kaka, etc. He needs to be a bit part player and the team needs to be built completely around Ramires. Ramires is a brilliant player, has everything and he could be a massive player for us next season. Essien should be the holding midfielder and we need to try and somehow look for a younger Lampard, a midfielder with an eye for goal. Lampard suffered the injury and said he will never be the same again so why play him every game? He's 32 now, he's lost so much agility and just looks so laboured and slow around the whole pitch. Can still pop up with a goal but we need more than that for our main midfielder. Mikel and Essien can interchange but i don't fancy them together on the same pitch. I wouldn't even mind if Essien was sold because his injuries have certainly took their toll on him. This season, Michael Essien was not himself and alongside Lampard who had a career threatening injury too, the midfield was over run so much this season, both of them were about 70% max of what we know. Benayoun was another one we had injured for ages but he still has the quick feet and agility to be a real influence in the team, his physique helps i suppose. he was excellent against Wigan and certainly has a lot more in his locker than Lampard and Essien so he certainly must be considered more next season as he still has 2 good years left.

Up front is anyones guess.... If we play one up front, we must play 2 real wingers because playing people out of position just to try n fit them into the team is never gonna work. Either play Torres with Drogba just behind like Rooney does with Harnandez or play one with 2 GENUINE wingers. Danny Sturridge might be back next season and he's a brilliant player. Maybe he could be the answer for a winger but again, he's more naturally a striker so that just presents more headache. If he wants to be a striker then he's gotta leave because he wont get ahead Drogs or Nando unless Drogs moves on.

OUT:

Kalou - Awful final ball, no real threat, misses so many chances and never shows up in the big game

Malouda - Inconsistent, doesn't have the pace or the trickery to beat defenders, another one who doesn't show up in the big games and when things aren't going his way, he just sulks and does nothing. Plays well 1/4. Apart from his early season form in August and September, he's done nothing

Anelka - Well, he's no winger, he wont get a game up front, he laboures on the ball and slows down every attack, he also loses the ball too much. He has the odd brilliant game but again, when does he do it against the big teams? He's another bully of a minow and he's past 30 too

Bosingwa - As a right back, which is his position, he's fucking shit. He's always caught out of position, he bottles so many challenges, has no strength and when he does finally use his pace and overlap, his final ball is always of very poor standard.

Ferreira - Age, not been playing and getting a bit slow now. Still been our best RB this season tho imo but looks like he's going.

Zhirkov - Just seems as tho Carlo doesn't have any trust or faith in him.

Possible out:

Essien - 2 bad knee injuries left him out for almost a year and he's not been the train or the bison we all know. Been very subdued this season and not had any what you could call 'great games'. Cash in whilst we still can?

Drogba - Torres imo was signed to be Dids' replacement and at £50m surely he's gonna be the main striker now, especially now Drogba is 33 and Torres only 27. He's suffered with Malaria this season for a lot of the campaign and only started to get back to his best within the last 4-6 weeks. Maybe at his age, he's on his way out. Also Danny Sturridge could come back and be Torres back up striker, and after the season he's had for Bolton, you couldn't back against him being great for us in season 11/12

I won't discuss 'ins' because quite fankly we could be here all summer but we need a creative midfielder and 2 wingers 100%

Bottom line....... change is needed

Edited May 11, 2011 by OllieCFC

[spuz 143]

Some good questions raised,I don't know if you wanted them answered but have given my opion anyway.

As for the ins and outs over the summer,it all depends on the budget I suppose,so difficult to predict. But then with a new manager would some of the under performers be rejuvenated under a new manager?

Luiz definately should get a go in midfield for sure. I can't see him doing worse than Essien.

Who partners Terry? - Alex

Who at right back? - New signing

Ivanovic right back or in the middle? - Bit of both when needed,also cover for resting JT and Alex.

Essien holding or Mikel? - Mikel or even Luiz

Lampard in a diamond or coming from deep - The attacking threat in a 442

Drogba or Torres or both? - Both,or atleast give them time,not even had a 90 minute game together yet.

4-4-2 or 4-3-3/4-5-1? - 442 for me without doubt,451 sometimes away from home or when necessary

Ramires or Mikel? Sometimes both,in a 451

Can we really play Mikel and Essien together? - No,way too negative. Essien sold for me

Essien and Lampard have both had major injuries, they will never be the same again so should we let go?- Keep lamps but definately rest from time to time,Essien sell to highest bidder

Who to play on the wings out of Kalou, Malouda, Zhirkov and Anelka? - Zhirkov,Malouda I'd give another season. Nico to be sold,Kalou I just don't know.

Anelka a winger or a striker? - Striker,but sell anyway

Where's the creativity? - Non existent at the moment

Why was benayoun not played when fit as he's the one creative midfielder we have? - Still trying to fathom that one out,ask Carlo

Luiz....good player but surely no defender. Alex or Luiz? - Alex

Could Luiz be the midfielder we're looking for and he's already here disguised as a reckless CB?! - Yes deffo

Ancelotti out? - Yes,for me,sorry people,but yes without question

Why did Roman get rid of Wilkins?- I'm wondering if it was some breach of contract discipline thing,who knows for sure?

[Ollie 4,400]

Yeah feel free to answer them lol, they were just in my head so much so just mentioned it. Good to see differing opinions anyway. With all the uncertainty this season, it's a miracle we look like coming 2nd. We got the UCL spot quite comfortably in the end. Any other season we'd be 6th....

I personally want Carlo to have 1 more year to see if he can turn it round, especially after being a double winner last season. The last handful of games were amazing last season and under Carlo too. This season has been worse, wanna see him with Zola to turn it round.

[Peace. 4,352]

Very good post Ollie. I'm agree with most of your post, I'm just disagree on one point. This is Essien as holding midflieder. In my opinion, to play him in that posistion break the balance of the team. He bombs forward too much and he doesn't track back enough quickly. Thus he leaves huge spaces for the opponents. Plus, he has lost his defensive abilities... A player like Mikel is way better in defense in my opinion. He stays back and help out Terry and Luiz (or whoever is Terry's partner). And finaly, Mikel seems to be our only player, at least our only midfielder to be able to keep the ball on the ball when under pressur.

The only downsides I'd find to Mikel, is that he isn't enough aggresive and he doesn't do enough sliding tackles.

But I think he is very underrated, mainly because he doesn't do spectacular things.

[zolayes 14,489]

Is anyone having reservations over Essien? 2 knee surgeries in two years, third season he is average. We already have Ramirez. I am tempted to give Essien another season but wouldnt be disappointed if he were to be sold.

Lampard has had his first BAD season for Chelsea. I refuse to critique him. Plus he had 4 months off. He is Mr. Consistency personified.

I feel this season is a one off. We failed to build on a winning squad instead we culled it and expected 19yr olds to make an impact and win us the title and Champions League. I think we did well to finish second to be honest, and if it wasnt for Lampard's injury we would have won the league. Lampard never gets injured for 4 months, it all had to happen this season.

The board has realised its mistake and the reinforcements have started to come in in Jan. And we might see 3-4 additions to the squad too. We will have a much better squad and a better and a more relaxed pre season to prepare for the new season.

I am confident we will win back the title.

one of the best posts Ive seen in a week

[Guest justin_3d]

Some people mention Nasri???

Interesting with out a doubt.

I voted for a creative player, RB, and winger.

In which my favorites where Pastore, Van Der Wiel, and Sanchez.

But if somehow Chelsea can snatch Nasri from Arsenal, it might not be bad. He will cost less then Pastore, and knows the league.

So that being said, i agree with Carlo, not major change is needed. We only need 3 players at max come in, and one or two leave out.

Can't make the same mistake of last season of getting rid 5 or 6 players and only getting two in.....

[nadavTKL 1,787]

Out:

kalou

Anelka

Bosingwa

Zhirkov

In:

Sturridge (from loan)

Neymar

Lukaku(buy him this summer, and let him stay in Belgium for a loan)

Van der wiel

Hamsik

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

VDW/Iva/Luiz------Alex\luiz-----Terry-----------A.Cole

---------------------------------Essien-----------------

---------------------------Hamsik-------Lampard--------

------Neymar/Sturridge--------------------Malouda/Neymar------

----------------------------Drogba/Torres--------------

or

-------------Same in GK and Defense------------------

-------------------------Essien---------------------------

-----------Hamsik-----Lampard-----Malouda/Neymar

----------------------Torres----Drogba---------------(Stturidge/Neymar)

[Luke 60]

I too have been thinking about Essien this season, and quite frankly he has been average it best, when the rumours about AC Milan coming in for him began, I for one wouldnt be disappionted at seeing him sold.

Bosingwa isnt good enough as a defender imo, he should be sold.

Zhirkov isnt going to get a chance under Carlo, I think we know that, if Carlo stays, Yuri will be sold.

Anelka hasnt really got a look in during the last few games of this season, I can see him moving to the MLS.

Out:

Bosingwa

Essien

Zhirkov

Anelka

In:

Kaka

Possibly a winger

A return of Sturridge will be like a new signing

Next seasons squad:

I can see us using 442 at times as well as a 451/433 formation.

Cech will always be No1, Turnbull should remain as his No2, Whats happening with Hilario??

Ash @ left back with Bertrand/Van Aanholt as his understudy, with the other going out on loan to a PL side.

Terry as captain, and as his first choice partner at CB... imo should be Alex for the time being simply because he is a solid defender and has more pace than Ivanovic. What about Luiz I hear you ask? Well I think the game against Man Utd showed that he can have momentary lapses of concentration, he is still learning his trade in the EPL, he puts his foot in sometimes when he shouldnt (Fulham penalty), I think he should, for the time being, learn his trade from right full back, here he can use his pace, skill on the ball etc to get forward, he has great stamina to get up and down the touchline and is more suited to playing full back than Ivanovic. Luiz could also be used as a holding midfielder in the absense of Mikel in a 451, he would need to be slightly more disciplined for this role though.

Okay, now the tricky bit, Midfield...

In a 451 I can see Mikel being our first choice holding midfielder, playing neat passes, tracking runs, doing the dirty work, Ramires and Lampard can play in the 2 more advanced central roles, taking it in turns to play deeper or bomb forward, we all know Lampard is world class at finding space and arriving into the box at the right time, Ramires showed vs MCFC at the Bridge that he has the skill to bomb forward at the right time, they both have the vision to pass from deep also. The great thing is, Benayoun can play either of these roles also, and Josh will, I hope, get more game time next season. In a 442 I can see Mikel or Ramires being sacrificed for a more attacking formation, Benayoun can play from the right if needed, and Malouda from the left, with Lampard in the middle with either Mikel or Ramires sitting behind him. If we were to sign someone like Kaka, he could be used in a more advanced role instead of Lampard, or with Lampard being player sitting a little deeper.

Wingers:

In a 451 I think Malouda will always occupy the left hand side, with a new signing, either Kaka or a young tricky winger playing from the right, with them swapping positions during the game like Duff and Robben used to. The ONLY time I see Kalou getting a game is when we are using this 451/433 formation, in a 442 its always going to be Drogba and Torres up front, which incidently I think should be given a chance, let them work on this formation during pre season and see how things go.

If Drogba is used as the lone striker, he will drop deep occasionally and look to play others in. If its Torres, I can see a midfielder pushing up to play off him, much like Gerrard used to do at Liverpool, draw defenders out so Torres can make runs in behind to recieve through balls, we would need a midfielder with good vision and passing abilities, is Lampard up to this? Or do we need a Kaka etc??

Line ups:

Cech

Luiz Alex Terry Cole

Mikel

Ramires Lampard

Kaka

Drogba Torres

Or something like:

Cech

Ivan Luiz Terry Cole

Ramires Mikel

Benayoun Malouda

Lampard

Torres

Or in a 433/451:

Cech

Luiz Alex Terry Cole

Mikel

Ramires Lampard

Benayoun Malouda

Drogba

And just a quick Carling Cup line up:

Turnbull

Ferreira Luiz Bruma Bertrand

McEachran

Benayoun Ramires

Kakuta

Sturridge Torres

[eldo 868]

That was a bit harsh on David i think, Ramires had the same problems. He was going into reckless tackles too, wasn't only breaking other team's play but also ours.

Give him a full season or two in PL, after all he moved from different league.

[Luke 60]

Oh definately, I think David Luiz is an excellent player with great potential, is he really a CB though? Sure, he can grow into a solid one, but with his attributes he can play anywhere across the back 4 or in midfield, I think we should capitalise on that and use him wisely, not just chuck him in at CB straight away, let him learn his trade, get used to the EPL and see where he plays best after a full season perhaps??

Like you say, Ramires has trown himself into silly challenges and broken our rhythm, likewise Luiz can do this too, the difference is, he has done it in and around our own penalty area, he will learn though, he will be a great player for CFC dont get me wrong!! (I know im going to get lambasted for even suggesting Luiz isnt the best thing since sliced bread on this forum lol).

[Ollie 4,400]

Very good post Ollie. I'm agree with most of your post, I'm just disagree on one point. This is Essien as holding midflieder. In my opinion, to play him in that posistion break the balance of the team. He bombs forward too much and he doesn't track back enough quickly. Thus he leaves huge spaces for the opponents. Plus, he has lost his defensive abilities... A player like Mikel is way better in defense in my opinion. He stays back and help out Terry and Luiz (or whoever is Terry's partner). And finaly, Mikel seems to be our only player, at least our only midfielder to be able to keep the ball on the ball when under pressur.

The only downsides I'd find to Mikel, is that he isn't enough aggresive and he doesn't do enough sliding tackles.

But I think he is very underrated, mainly because he doesn't do spectacular things.

Well Essien isn't that driving force he once was so i was considering the option of him being the holding player because he is still a good player but not the engine anymore. Basically it's holding midfielder or out.

[Madmax 9,219]

Well Essien isn't that driving force he once was so i was considering the option of him being the holding player because he is still a good player but not the engine anymore. Basically it's holding midfielder or out.

We have too many of those though ... 3 in a team is a luxury we can't afford.

[Tomo 21,681]

The most annoying thing about this season has been the lack of urgency when losing/drawing in a game.

Liverpool and Fulham in February have been the prime examples, we should have been dragging the ball forward putting them under unbearable pressure, peppering their box with balls after balls after balls instead its sideways passing and pissing about like were 5-0 up, what i find strange is we were showing more urgency at the end of last/start of this season when we were 5-0 up than they were mid season when we were losing/drawing matches

1 good thing thats came out of this season tho that no-one has seemed to mention is that we have learned how to hold on to leads, last season we dropped 16 points from winning positions this season we have only dropped 4, something positive to build on.

Plus may i add that the Luiz cant defend thing is very harsh indeed, he has made the most interceptions in the PL than any other player ALL SEASON and has only been here for half of it, yes he may be a bit reckless at times but so was Carvalho he gave an infuriating amount of dodgy free kicks away in his time at the club, plus Luiz has played 12 times for us and in those games weve conceded 8 times with him on the pitch which ain't actually that bad a record and look at Vidic during his early days at Utd, he was abysmal, Luiz may be a bit reckless at times but he most certainly can defend.

Another thing learned is we need to give youngsters a try but ease them in and have more depth to the squad, Kakuta and Bruma aint bad but they just aint ready, too in-experienced plus say we gave Bruma his premierleague debut in the Sunderland match and Gyan gave him the run around and we got beat 3-0, what would that do to his confidence? Kakuta is the same, every man and his dog was calling Carlo to start him and when he did against Villa, Gael got mullered on every angle. McEachran is a great young player who will only get better but when he came on at Villa Park he made a few mistakes and nearly lost us the game, something that would have set him back, he has made 15 appearances which is well above the average for a 17 year old, i have absolutely no doubt what soever that he will be a star at Chelsea for years to come, same with Tore, Chalaboah, Deen-Conteh, 2 Clifford's, trust me these guys are gems patience with these could well and truly be rewarded.

2 young(ish) players who are ready tho are Sturridge and Bertrand, starting with Danny, Carlo can ignore FA Cup goals against Champ opposition, he can ignore 5 goals for the reserves but what he can not ignore is proven premiership scoring if Carlo (or god for bid whoever else is incharge) dont give him a fair crack at the wip id be fuming on to Ryan he has been patient with loan moves to the Championship, excelled at Forest and especially Reading (i went to a number of Reading games last season as my parents live 20 miles from the Madjeski, i thought he was a Arsenal loanee so i was delighted when i found out he was ours) he deserves a place in our squad.

It aint been the lack of creativity we have been lacking that season i personally think it has been lack of width, watching Valencia at Utd frustrates me because he would have been perfect for us , 2 of Mata, Sanchez and Neymar would be perfect, wingers are our main priority i made this article about unleashing Josh next year but im starting to think loaning him to Bolton will be a good idea as Coyle is a excellent coach, give Conor a chance next season if any one deserves a chance its him he works so bloody hard. Delac needs a loan to a champo side.

Van Der Wiel seems a good idea but with his good attacking qualities he might end up found wanting defensively and the last thing we need is another Bosingwa. With Hilario out of contract we need a new no2 (Ross is ok as a no3 but i feel uncomfortable knowing a Cech injury will see him no1) Wayne Hennesy (if Wolves go down) would be ideal.

Mistakes have been made this season but if the board learn from then we will look back at this season if not next may the may after watching this season review laughing our heads off

KTBFFH

[Bear-Felix 16]

This is my first post so be nice.

I'm not going to bother on why we've had such a bad season, I'm just going to look towards the future and at potential singings.

Out;

Anelka

Bosingwa

Paulo

Kalou

In:

Juan Mata

VDW

Creative CM - need ideas

-------------Torres

Malouda/Zhirkov------Mata

Lampard----------Ramires

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

Cole---Terry---Alex---VDW

Bench: Essien - Brana - Benayoun - Luiz - Drogba - Sturridge

I think with that we've got more or less every position covered with the inclusion of the youth products as well. I think it's safe to say the left trident of Cole - Lampard - Malouda has been relied on for a long time, I feel this team is a lot more balanced in terms of creativity and genuine attacking threat.

We can all see that Luiz has a lot to learn, he exited us with his MOTM performances but it's clear to see he's very raw still which is why I believe Alex should be starting the majority of games and certainly away games, Luiz can play games at SB when teams are more likely to sit back on us.

Possible outs:

One if not Both of Malouda or Zhirkov

Essien hasn't been great

Possible ins:

can't really think of a left winger, Silva would be a dream but unrealistic.

and who could we get to replace the Bison himself, despite him being out of form it's difficult to think of a like for like player. Our best bet would be a more creative CM, again, Modric would be a dream but unrealistic.

[Luke 60]

Just popped into my head, how about Van Der Vaart now that the Spuds arent in the CL next season? No doubt we would ebd up paying a lot more than the 8m they brought him for, but worth a shot??