Have we turned the corner?

[Miguelito 459]

Ancelotti said after the game that he thinks we have turned the corner...but Drogba thinks otherwise.

I couldnt find the Ipswich game to watch but im guessing since we won 7-0 we played pretty good. Even though it wasnt against the best competition, they beat arsenal the next game they played so we had to do good. today's performance wasnt the best but it was a great result either way. the first half it was like we needed to settle in and then in the second half we did alot better.

i dont think we have quite yet but we are definitely heading the right direction. im more with Drogba on the fact that we need to win a few consecutive games before we say the "bad moment" is over (and for me the "moment" stuff is getting old)

-What do yall think? have we turned the corner?

[Madmax 9,219]

No.

We won today but it was far from a good performance. Carlo's being premature. The result will help the confidence though.

[LDN Blue 7,903]

It's too early to judge.

We really had to grind out our results today. The set piece helped us because Ivanovic/Terry got in the crucial headers, but most of the game we lacked any real creativity. There wasn't much sparks of brilliance, we just played down the wings, got the ball in the box, for no-one to meet.

If we put together a run of wins then perhaps it will be a new chapter. But for now, it's far too early to make those sorts of comments by CA.

[Ollie 4,400]

We've beat a Managerless Ipswich and a kind of Managerless Blackburn so it's hard to judge yet. We need a few really good performances in a row to be confident the rotten run is over. Beating a good team wouldn't go amiss

[BLionheart 516]

not even close to being back to our best , we only created one good chance for anelka when he hit the bar . but our 2 goals came from coners which were not played good but thanks to terry , iva and some bad positioning from Blackburn they went in , even ramires's chance came from a personal effort where he tackled and then shot .

for us to say we have turned the corner we need to :

1- have at least 3 or 4 clear scoring opportunities created from a team play not a deflection or a personal effort . by other words look like we are more likely to score than not now it always looks the other way around.

2- win a game where we conceded 1st , we always look calmer and more confident when we score 1st but when we concede 1st we are screwed .

3-Drogba starts scoring freely again . (our main and only striker must be able to score)

4-malouda and anelka must have some creativity not the same left ... back ... right ... back ... left .(Drogba had to come out on the wings for us to get some decent crosses and no one was there to turn them in).

5-Lampard back to his former self , i think this one is being established right now.

i pointed to anelka , Drogba and malouda because now i am 100 % sure they will be our front 3 as long as they are not injured , they don't even have to be 100% sharp and fit .

[Term-X 7,891]

Beating Liverpool in february will be the turning point, as long as we scrape through the remaining fixtures until then. That 2-0 defeat earlier in the season needs amending.

[Wilson 358]

Just need Drogba to get back to being his usual self scoring all the time

[BlueLion. 21,491]

We've not yet turned the corner but we've certainly started to move in a positive direction.

A win in the FA Cup and a 2-0 victory over a team that are in shockingly poor form (even worse than we have been domestically) does not constitute turning a corner. It does, however, form the cornerstone to potential future success. This is the first time we've had two wins on the bounce and thus that 'winning' mentality will have been restored. Certainly there will be more confidence amongst the players.

If we win our next three games (against Bolton, Everton and Sunderland), then I'd be inclined to agree that we have turned the corner.

[Styles 9,790]

You can look at it in two ways; we're still rubbish or we won playing ugly which is a hallmark of champions!

Yeah...we're still rubbish. Thank god Blackburn showed little ambittion otherwise we may have had a game on our hands.

[Steve 10,227]

The performances are looking a lot more positive. Going forward we seem a lot more confident and also in defense. But we seem to lack a bit of creativity at times and get in too patterns to easily instead of changing things up. We also fall asleep at times but with time everything should start gelling and we will be back to our best!

[BlueLion. 21,491]

@Styles, I think that's a little harsh. We played better yesterday than we did against Ipswich although the scoreline says different.

[Kostas 1,468]

Of course not.

Apart from the 3 -vital for the CL spot- points and the winning mentality that BlueLion mentioned our performance wasn't any better than our previous our home* performances during our "bad moment".

*Anyone comparing the Blackburn game to Wolves, Arse or Newcastle is wasting his time, under Ancelotti Chelsea are a mostly a completely different team away from home.

[chrismada9 1,948]

No doubt, we had a good game yesterday and we won well with a 2-0 score. But it will take some time for us to turn everything around. Right now, we have a group of players who just... "don't really care" ... at the moment. Players like Essien for instance. In previous years, bar injuries, he was the battering ram of our team, getting play going, creating space, and giving Lampard the freedom to roam and pass to attacking players. Nowadays he just gets crowded out by everyone, and he makes sloppy passes in the middle, as if he doesn't give a shit. The understanding of all this, is the fact that, although Essien is built to be a fast, individual, he's not a playmaker at all. It's no wonder that Carlo is threatening him of his place with McEachran because the way players like him are built, he is just like a playmaker. And that's what we need, players who can create, not players who can get immediate bookings and suspensions.

Another thing about Essien I hate nowadays is the way he dives into challenges when he doesn't even need to. He got sent off for a two-footed tackle against Fulham (causing him to get two yellows), and when he gave Aston Villa a penalty for a horrific challenge (don't remember who it was he brought down) but yeah, nowadays, rather than just get on with the game, he's grown to be a more agressive player than a creative one.

Drogba and Malouda are exactly the same as Essien. They play like they don't give a shit. Malouda tends to find no space at all, and he either just hoofs it in the penalty box and no-one is there, or he just gives it away while we're attacking. Drogba isn't as quick on the ball as he was before. There were times in the Blackburn game, where he could have easily slotted the ball past Paul Robinson. It feels nowadays, as though he plays like he doesn't have anything left in the tank. However, If we gave Sturridge a chance (give him more minutes on the pitch. More than 4 minutes at least) Maybe replace Drogba for some games and see how he gets on. If results are not going our way, then bring Drogba on early or something.

On the positive side however, I think Ramires had a fantastic game yesterday, and we got to see some of his excelling runs in the middle of the park, which is his speciality. As long as he does more of this on a regular basis, we might have a chance of turning games in our favour. It takes time for players like him to adjust in the squad.

The morale to all of this, is the fact that we just don't have enough depth. We don't have enough players to fill every position, therefore competition for places is very low. Remember when Mourinho first came to Chelsea. He felt that having at least 2 players to fill every position on the pitch was imperative, and he won us the league that year. Before this season however, we got rid of 4 heavy players; Ballack, Joe Cole, Deco (yes I will include him) and Carvalho, and we failed to replace any of them. Benayoun has been injured for most of this season, and Ramires (bar yesterday) is still learning the Premier League. Also, I hate to say it, but I think we've relied on youngsters a bit too much and we're trying to raise them too quickly. That's why I believe that signing a defencer (Cahill/David Luiz) and a striker (Neymar/Aguero) and a winger (Schweinsteiger/Alexis) is important this January. That's only if we can tempt Abramovich to inject some more cash. But that's hard to call if we're trying to contemplate to UEFA's new rules for next season and try to break even!

Edited January 16, 2011 by CJ Revo

[Tomo 21,681]

I think the performance was actully very good yestoday.

Blackburn came to do 1 thing and that was get a draw, park the bus, we had something like 27 shots they had 3, the score-line flattered them.

Wins over Bolton and Sunderland will be just what is needed, we owe Sunderland one up north after what happened at the Bridge and we havent droped points or conceded a goal at the Reebok since a 1-1 draw there in 2002. So touch wood were do ok.

[Peace. 4,352]

You can look at it in two ways; we're still rubbish or we won playing ugly which is a hallmark of champions!

Yeah...we're still rubbish. Thank god Blackburn showed little ambittion otherwise we may have had a game on our hands.

@Styles, I think that's a little harsh. We played better yesterday than we did against Ipswich although the scoreline says different.

I'm agreed with Styles.

Of course we have showed an improvement and some players have been better (in particular Anelka). But we still play this horrible football lacking of creativity. Our players pass the ball from the left side to the right side, then from the right side to the left side, then from the left side to the right side, and on and on... We have only created one goal occasion from the play.

That's why, in my opinion, if we would have played against a team with just a little bit of ambition, the line score would have been 0-0 or 1-1. Blackburn came just to park the bus and to wait the full time.

[LDN Blue 7,903]

Guys, didn't you see the first half? And most the second actually - Till the goal break.

We were awful. There was no creativity or inspiration. As Hislop said, rather annoyingly, they're so predictable. Had it not been for Ramires injecting some pace and determination yesterday most of the Stamford Bridge would have been jeering them.

I don't want be 'that guy' that people label as 'never satisfied' - But yesterday didn't mark the beginning of everything. Like Styles said - If Blackburn were more attacking - We would've seriously struggled. Thank god Santa Cruz wasn't match fit. Bolton away will show our true colours.

[zolayes 14,489]

No doubt, we had a good game yesterday and we won well with a 2-0 score. But it will take some time for us to turn everything around. Right now, we have a group of players who just... "don't really care" ... at the moment. Players like Essien for instance. In previous years, bar injuries, he was the battering ram of our team, getting play going, creating space, and giving Lampard the freedom to roam and pass to attacking players. Nowadays he just gets crowded out by everyone, and he makes sloppy passes in the middle, as if he doesn't give a shit. The understanding of all this, is the fact that, although Essien is built to be a fast, individual, he's not a playmaker at all. It's no wonder that Carlo is threatening him of his place with McEachran because the way players like him are built, he is just like a playmaker. And that's what we need, players who can create, not players who can get immediate bookings and suspensions.

Another thing about Essien I hate nowadays is the way he dives into challenges when he doesn't even need to. He got sent off for a two-footed tackle against Fulham (causing him to get two yellows), and when he gave Aston Villa a penalty for a horrific challenge (don't remember who it was he brought down) but yeah, nowadays, rather than just get on with the game, he's grown to be a more agressive player than a creative one.

Drogba and Malouda are exactly the same as Essien. They play like they don't give a shit. Malouda tends to find no space at all, and he either just hoofs it in the penalty box and no-one is there, or he just gives it away while we're attacking. Drogba isn't as quick on the ball as he was before. There were times in the Blackburn game, where he could have easily slotted the ball past Paul Robinson. It feels nowadays, as though he plays like he doesn't have anything left in the tank. However, If we gave Sturridge a chance (give him more minutes on the pitch. More than 4 minutes at least) Maybe replace Drogba for some games and see how he gets on. If results are not going our way, then bring Drogba on early or something.

On the positive side however, I think Ramires had a fantastic game yesterday, and we got to see some of his excelling runs in the middle of the park, which is his speciality. As long as he does more of this on a regular basis, we might have a chance of turning games in our favour. It takes time for players like him to adjust in the squad.

The morale to all of this, is the fact that we just don't have enough depth. We don't have enough players to fill every position, therefore competition for places is very low. Remember when Mourinho first came to Chelsea. He felt that having at least 2 players to fill every position on the pitch was imperative, and he won us the league that year. Before this season however, we got rid of 4 heavy players; Ballack, Joe Cole, Deco (yes I will include him) and Carvalho, and we failed to replace any of them. Benayoun has been injured for most of this season, and Ramires (bar yesterday) is still learning the Premier League. Also, I hate to say it, but I think we've relied on youngsters a bit too much and we're trying to raise them too quickly. That's why I believe that signing a defencer (Cahill/David Luiz) and a striker (Neymar/Aguero) and a winger (Schweinsteiger/Alexis) is important this January. That's only if we can tempt Abramovich to inject some more cash. But that's hard to call if we're trying to contemplate to UEFA's new rules for next season and try to break even!

:goodpost: A top class balanced post ..well thought out with reasoned arguements ...btw thanks for the link yesterday that was excellent

as well

[Laylabelle 9,296]

Beating Liverpool in february will be the turning point, as long as we scrape through the remaining fixtures until then. That 2-0 defeat earlier in the season needs amending.

Defintly!!! Thats where it all went wrong.Lost that one and went donwhill from there

Nah.Just won two games.If we can go on a run winning both home and away,start playing with confidence again,can go 2-0 up without thinkng eeek we can fuck this up and everyone playing like they want to be there etc then say we've turned a corner but at the mo just two wins.Performance not that great and Drogba god knows whats happened to him.

Its a start though two in a row aint happened for a while!