Chelsea Team Talk/Gossip/Rumours Thread 2011/2012

the_monkey · 21-11-2011 12:53am

RIP CHELSEA FC

homer simpson · 21-11-2011 1:09am

the_monkey wrote: »

RIP CHELSEA FC

:pac:

Sgt Pepper 64 · 21-11-2011 1:12am

flahavaj wrote: »

In this case they're only echoing what some Chelsea fans appear to think and what Abramovic might very likely do! If anything Chelsea are such a mental club that they must be a tabloid writer's dream. Nothimng they could make up could be as crazy as the last few years there.

Crazy, yet successful.
If only Roman had been as ruthless with some of the players as he has with managers or at least given Carlo or Scholari the funds to rebuild for the future the way he is now with AVB.
Too much hope was put into bloody Frank Arnesen's academy players, instead we drip feed funds with no clear plan on average and over rated players. Ramires, the single player for Carlo chased all summer god knows why except for runs into the boxcos he has very little end product, Kalou and Mikel probably only kept because they were young, Bose and malouda were never good enough, apart from the double season when they all managed to play for each other and beyond their abilities.
Then when we do get ruthless, we let the real class ones go, like Ballack, who would have filled in nicely when Lamps was injured.
I'm sure Carlo was shocked to discover he wouldnt be getting a nice big war chest and then he gets lumbered with Torres.

MUSEIST · 21-11-2011 1:25am

flahavaj wrote: »

In this case they're only echoing what some Chelsea fans appear to think and what Abramovic might very likely do! If anything Chelsea are such a mental club that they must be a tabloid writer's dream. Nothimng they could make up could be as crazy as the last few years there.

I don't buy into the romantic idea that a manager should be at a club for 25 years, man utd are an exception to that, very few other clubs do this. Lokk at barca and real, both milan clubs and bayern munich go through managers at a rate of knots. I'm not saying a manager should be sacked at the first time of trouble but if the owner is unhappy with something they are doing then I see no problem with sacking them.

AVB should be given time to sort out the problems but if he fails to do that or is unable to do that then he should be sacked, hope fully he does sort out the obvious issues with the team and sets us on the right track and continues the redevelopement of the squad. There is no excuse for him going on with this high line because it does not work with the players we have. Its his job to adapt to what the teams needs and if he can't do that then he should go. The question is does he have what it takes to sort it out and if he fails then he has failed at what he is paid to do. The next few weeks will be vital, hopefully he sorts things out. For the record I would love a manager to stick around for 5 years and build a squad but only if the manager proves his worth.

MUSEIST · 21-11-2011 2:01am

http://www.irishtimes.com/newspaper/finance/2011/1121/1224307907711.html

Possible battersea move, heard rumours of this over the last week

GavRedKing · 21-11-2011 10:44am

A draw would have been a bad result this weekend but to lose is just a sickener.

I dont get why Cech rolls the ball to our least footballing player out there when he has the option to punt it long to Drogba

AVB must be naive to certain things and tactics and playing Mikel at all was one of them, Meireles should have started.

Cant say much about the result other then its was terrible.

Sgt Pepper 64 · 21-11-2011 11:14am

gavredking wrote: »

A draw would have been a bad result this weekend but to lose is just a sickener.

I dont get why Cech rolls the ball to our least footballing player out there when he has the option to punt it long to Drogba

AVB must be naive to certain things and tactics and playing Mikel at all was one of them, Meireles should have started.

Cant say much about the result other then its was terrible.

I can see only 2 solutions, apart from a change in tactics

1/ Bankroll half a team
2/ Drop the main offenders and give others a chance

Drop

Mikel
Anelka
Kalou
Drogba
Malouda

Start

Meireles
Danny
Torres

Rotate
Josh
Romeu
Luka
Betrand

Crann na Beatha · 21-11-2011 11:29am

This post has been deleted.

GavRedKing · 21-11-2011 11:41am

Sgt Pepper 64 wrote: »

I can see only 2 solutions, apart from a change in tactics

1/ Bankroll half a team
2/ Drop the main offenders and give others a chance

Drop

Mikel
Anelka
Kalou
Drogba
Malouda

Start

Meireles
Danny
Torres

Rotate
Josh
Romeu
Luka
Betrand

I agree, when I seen Malouda, Drogba and Mikel starting in place of Sturridge, Torres, Meireles I nearly choked yesterday. it left us with 3 changes, that we made. Sturridge was rightly introduced at half time but Meireles and Torres didnt get enough time to influence the game.

I dont think we'll spen too much due to the UEFA FFP rules coming in but I can see a chnage or two.

I'd love to see a rotation but like Carlo before him, he doesnt have the luxury to rotate and gamble on certain players because were so far out of touch at the moment but I would condone dropping Malouda, he was decent yesterday but for every good move he had an equally bad one.

Mikel looked off the pace which forced our most energetic player into a defensive position in the 2nd half, Ramires, and as a result the game passed him by in the 2nd half, Lamps was a passenger. Luiz and JT handled Suarez with ease, infact 2 of the goals were terrible defending first by Cech / Mikel and secondly from Cole for letting Johnson past so easy.

We need a good run of about 6 victories but we've Man city coming up soon and every player have to up there game.

Veles wrote: »

Would avb have the balls to do that thogh?
u

Like I said above, I think he doesnt have the luxury to take a chance on the younger guys and drop the Mikels, Maloudas, Drogbas. time will tell but he has to turn it around quickly or rumours will start too spread.

Bobeagleburger · 21-11-2011 11:46am

Terry is finished as a top class central defender imo particularly against pacey attackers.

Lukker- · 21-11-2011 12:05pm

rarnes1 wrote: »

Terry is finished as a top class central defender imo particularly against pacey attackers.

I disagree, I just think playing such a high line doesn't suit him or the majority of the Chelsea back 4.

GavRedKing · 21-11-2011 12:12pm

rarnes1 wrote: »

Terry is finished as a top class central defender imo particularly against pacey attackers.

JT always struggled against any half quick attackers any to be fair to him yesterday, Suarez didnt really exploit JT as much as he could and should have, Luiz did well to stick with him and Ivanovic helped out too.

Lukker- wrote: »

I disagree, I just think playing such a high line doesn't suit him or the majority of the Chelsea back 4.

The high line would be ok if we went with our quickest back line which would be Bosingwa Ivanovic Luiz Cole but I dont think we'll see that anytime soon really.

Caveman1 · 21-11-2011 12:15pm

Sgt Pepper 64 wrote: »

Crazy, yet successful.
If only Roman had been as ruthless with some of the players as he has with managers or at least given Carlo or Scholari the funds to rebuild for the future the way he is now with AVB.
Too much hope was put into bloody Frank Arnesen's academy players, instead we drip feed funds with no clear plan on average and over rated players. Ramires, the single player for Carlo chased all summer god knows why except for runs into the boxcos he has very little end product, Kalou and Mikel probably only kept because they were young, Bose and malouda were never good enough, apart from the double season when they all managed to play for each other and beyond their abilities.
Then when we do get ruthless, we let the real class ones go, like Ballack, who would have filled in nicely when Lamps was injured.
I'm sure Carlo was shocked to discover he wouldnt be getting a nice big war chest and then he gets lumbered with Torres.

Are you serious? Ramires has probably been our best player this season. My problem with Chelsea this year is that its meant to be a transitional period yet none of the young players are getting a look in. AVB is doing the exact same as Ancelotti did, playing out of form players and were getting the same result. I dont know why he bothered putting Torres & Meireles on with 8 minutes to go pointless IMO

GavRedKing · 21-11-2011 12:25pm

Caveman1 wrote: »

Are you serious? Ramires has probably been our best player this season. My problem with Chelsea this year is that its meant to be a transitional period yet none of the young players are getting a look in. AVB is doing the exact same as Ancelotti did, playing out of form players and were getting the same result. I dont know why he bothered putting Torres & Meireles on with 8 minutes to go pointless IMO

This was my main gripe with yesterdays game. Two excellent players on the bench and we waited to long to get them on. granted, we were on top but we had no creativity further back that Meireles would have provided and Torres didnt get a sniff, but to be fair in 10 minutes, in a tight game where there was few chances that was always gonna happen.

Got to applaud Reina's top class save to from Ivanovic.

amiable · 21-11-2011 2:33pm

gavredking wrote: »

This was my main gripe with yesterdays game. Two excellent players on the bench and we waited to long to get them on. granted, we were on top but we had no creativity further back that Meireles would have provided and Torres didnt get a sniff, but to be fair in 10 minutes, in a tight game where there was few chances that was always gonna happen.

Got to applaud Reina's top class save to from Ivanovic.

If i was AVB i'd have started with Torres and Raul as long as they were fit.
I'm obviously delighted with the result as i expected Liverpool to lose.

I can't believe Ramires is getting stick from some.
Very good player IMO and has been one of Chelseas better players this season.

GavRedKing · 21-11-2011 3:21pm

amiable wrote: »

If i was AVB i'd have started with Torres and Raul as long as they were fit.
I'm obviously delighted with the result as i expected Liverpool to lose.

I can't believe Ramires is getting stick from some.
Very good player IMO and has been one of Chelseas better players this season.

I dont know why he didnt start with Danny, Meireles and Torres, that would have caused Liverpool more problems, more flair, more technique and more of a threat.

AVB had a plan and its fair to say it back fired, our defence was ok, Luiz marked Suarez fairly well.

Ill agree, Ramires has been our best midfielder for some time now and to suggest otherwise is fairly silly, hes been consistent which is more then we can say about Malouda, Lamps or Mikel.

MUSEIST · 21-11-2011 4:51pm

rarnes1 wrote: »

Terry is finished as a top class central defender imo particularly against pacey attackers.

put simply thats BS. Played in a high line JT was was finished at 25. For some reason the manager does not want to get the best out of the chelsea defence.

Mikel and lamps should be dropped ahead of ramires and any other suggestion is idiotic IMO

pistolpetes11 · 21-11-2011 4:58pm

Firstly , I enjoyed the game , would of been good for the neutral to watch.

On the game itself , Liverpool bossed the first half , chased and harried every ball.

Second Half Chelsea were in control and I could not see any winner bar Chelsea after we had scored.

The first goal I think was down to Cech , as poor a Mikel was it was a bad ball and adam had already started to make a move before the ball was kicked.
Great work by Adam to make the goal for Liverpool.

The second half we were a different side , even thought Luiz looked ok , eventually the high line led to our downfall.
A peach of a cross field ball left Johnson with heaps of room to run into, A lazy and terrible bit of tracking by Malouda leaving it up to Ashley Cole to do the job left us completely open.

If Malouda had of burst himself to make it back with even half the hunger the liverpool players had of shown in the first half he would of made it back , instead he cantered back and only started sprinting when we were in big trouble.

Great finish and run by Johnson all the same.

It was a killer blow late in the game again for Chelsea, you can not afford to switch off for a second playing at the highest level , even more so when playing such a massive high line.

Its clear to see the back line is not comfortable or in tune with each other , with Luiz stepping up like he was supposed too and Invanovic leaving it way to late and only making the slightest movement forward when he did .

We need to settle our back line and stick with it , this chopping and changing is not allowing the back four to build a confidence together, it was clear to see Invanovic was in tune with Luiz and it nearly cost us again.

When playing football myself the manager always said to me , NEVER EVER cross the ball across your own box , I dont care if your at the half way line , if your in the last line never do it.

Yet Chelsea with there slick one touch football constantly do it , Kuyt should have punished us yesterday , we were threading balls between the lines and every time we had the ball on the back line my heart was in my mouth, I was actually happy to see Luiz playing it out rather doing that.

It only takes a slightly off ball and you end up in major trouble.

I said it before and Il say it again , we are in huge transition , our playing ideas and tactics have massively changed and the main problem seems not to be the system it seems that some of the players are not good enough for it.

Terry is great at reading a ball and making a move into a great defending postion but this high line is leaving his lack of pace massively exposed.

Mikel is simply not slick enough on the ball and simply panics when coming under pressure.

Malouda is just no longer good enough,quick enough and most importantly just doesnt seem to want it any more.

Drogba has lost his pace but still has a wonderful touch and a wicked shot , no longer a first team starter in my bucks but still has plenty to offer.

Torres should of started yesterday as should of Danny , Just on torres , for the life of me I cant understand why he tried to play the ball over the top after beating the defender, he needs to be more selfish, no a chance Roony,Suarez,Bent,Drogba,RVP would try pass it when there was a shot on.

Cech has been very shakey the last few games but he will save you more points in a season than loose them for you.

Ashley Cole has been poor this season and it was too easy for Johnson to get around him but overall I was happy enough with his performance.

Luiz just needs to calm down and listen , rowing with Drogba yesterday after giving away a stupid free is just plain childish and Gary Nevilles comments yesterday bout a kid with a playstation controller sum him up.

Ramieres gives his all and always does,

Frank has not got the pace , he needs to playing in somewhat of a free roll and not having to be tracking players cause he just simply can not do that any more.

Mata was on fire in the centre and should be there in Future,

Danny injected a lot more spark into us when he came on but there was also a slight change of tactics that influenced this.

I still think we will find our rhythm and swagger , but we will need to change our players to suit the system or the system to suit them,

This was a very young squad when JM had them and molded them into something special, there time has come and gone , had it not been for the constant management merry go round this could of already been well under way .

Now its up to AVB to revive and breath new life and players into the squad but its not going to be plain sailing, there will more days like yesterday,the greater goal to stability and Club legacy has hopefully begun

People not willing to accept the ups and downs should jump on over to Man City for now cause they will be the Chelsea of the last few years for the next few years, and your only fair weather footballers anyway.

MUSEIST · 21-11-2011 5:23pm

If avb is going to continue with these tactics then he needs to drop both mikel and lampard and replace them with romeu and mac eachran who can both keep the ball and move it faster. He needs to be even more radical with removing the dead wood from the team.

pistolpetes11 · 21-11-2011 10:39pm

Just looking at Spurs game now and a bloody mercenary like Adebayor chasing back to about 3 yards out side his own box to challenge for a ball make's me even more annoyed with Malouda yesterday !

jcf · 21-11-2011 10:41pm

Problem is that RA wants results with a squad that's as good as stoke at the end of the day - no disrespect to stoke fans

Look at City they have invested and have a class class squad

Chelsea did invest but that investment is just too old now
Get used to it lads - we are a mid table side

And we are 8th if u discount goal diff

QED

flahavaj · 21-11-2011 10:49pm

The main positive that ye should take from thegame yesterday is that Mata should play all the time through the middle and the team should be built around him. The fightback second half was entirely founded upon him playing more centrally. He's pure class and should be used in a way that makes the most of his skills, either as the middle man of the three in a 4-2-3-1 or in free role behind a central striker. He could wreak havoc playing behind Torres.

Sgt Pepper 64 · 22-11-2011 12:28am

flahavaj wrote: »

The main positive that ye should take from thegame yesterday is that Mata should play all the time through the middle and the team should be built around him. The fightback second half was entirely founded upon him playing more centrally. He's pure class and should be used in a way that makes the most of his skills, either as the middle man of the three in a 4-2-3-1 or in free role behind a central striker. He could wreak havoc playing behind Torres.

That for me was the strangest decision, starting him on the right.
It will be interesting to see if AVB returns to his normal lineup with Danny on the right and Torres in the centre.
Mata is not quite the same class as Silva, but he is the standard we should be playing all over the pitch.
I expect us to make 2 signings in Jan, one being Pereira, the other being Cahill or another british defender. Maybe even a striker. Kevin De Bruyne wont come as he will be CL tied, but he will probably come next season.
Alex and Anelka will probably leave, maybe even Drogba if a replacement comes.
In cold light of day, the result wasnt the end of the world, and could have been so different but for a great save from Reina.
But we do need to start winning at home to Wolves.
No one wants AVB to go, we just want him to do the obvious things to keep himself in a job and carry on rebuilding. Its going to take time and money

The Davestator · 22-11-2011 1:12am

pistolpetes11 wrote: »

Just looking at Spurs game now and a bloody mercenary like Adebayor chasing back to about 3 yards out side his own box to challenge for a ball make's me even more annoyed with Malouda yesterday !

I thought Malouda actually had one of his better games for us yesterday.

pistolpetes11 · 22-11-2011 8:31am

The Davestator wrote: »

I thought Malouda actually had one of his better games for us yesterday.

At Fault for there second cause he was too lazy to track back , managed maybe 3 cross's into the box and I actually forgot he was playing in the first half .

Frisbee · 22-11-2011 9:12am

flahavaj wrote: »

The main positive that ye should take from thegame yesterday is that Mata should play all the time through the middle and the team should be built around him. The fightback second half was entirely founded upon him playing more centrally. He's pure class and should be used in a way that makes the most of his skills, either as the middle man of the three in a 4-2-3-1 or in free role behind a central striker. He could wreak havoc playing behind Torres.

This.

Cech

Bosingwa----Ivanovic----Terry

Cole

Ramires----Meireles

Sturridge

Mata

???

Torres/Drogba

is surely the way to go imo. Not sure who you have for that LW, Malouda I guess but his form over the past 12 months has been atrocious. Pick up a decent left winger in January and that first XI is as good as any in the league (bar maybe City).

I know that leaves out Lampard, but himself and Mata are both at their best 'in the hole' and at the moment, you have to be building a new team, and Mata needs to be the fulcrum of that. In a pinch Lampard can play in the middle and Mata on the left, but your wasting Mata out there.

GavRedKing · 22-11-2011 9:32am

Frisbee wrote: »

This.
Cech
Bosingwa----Ivanovic----Terry
Cole
Lamps
Meireles
Ramires
Mata
Sturridge
Torres

is surely the way to go imo. Not sure who you have for that LW, Malouda I guess but his form over the past 12 months has been atrocious. Pick up a decent left winger in January and that first XI is as good as any in the league (bar maybe City).

I know that leaves out Lampard, but himself and Mata are both at their best 'in the hole' and at the moment, you have to be building a new team, and Mata needs to be the fulcrum of that. In a pinch Lampard can play in the middle and Mata on the left, but your wasting Mata out there.

What I'd go for. ^^^^

Ramires wouldnt be the most natural wide man but his energy and quality would suit that position, especially if he has Bosingwa or Luiz behind him bombing on. Lamps in CM until Essien returns and if both of them fail to make an impact drop Romeu in there for a bit of steel mixed with quality or even Josh Mac for a tidy passer of the ball.

Mata is the pivot point, he would run the show and make the team tick.

Mikel, Malouda, Alex, Drogba, Anelka, Kalou, Turnbull, Hilaro, all to leave.

Thin the squad and give younger guys a go as well as some new talent but its hard to see it happening.

GavRedKing · 22-11-2011 9:35am

flahavaj wrote: »

The main positive that ye should take from thegame yesterday is that Mata should play all the time through the middle and the team should be built around him. The fightback second half was entirely founded upon him playing more centrally. He's pure class and should be used in a way that makes the most of his skills, either as the middle man of the three in a 4-2-3-1 or in free role behind a central striker. He could wreak havoc playing behind Torres.

The most frustrating thing about it is its plain to see he would be more effective in a free role so we'll see if AVB changes it.

I'm going over Saturday to the game so hoping to see a win first and a good display second.

Essien · 22-11-2011 9:52am

pistolpetes11 wrote: »

At Fault for there second cause he was too lazy to track back , managed maybe 3 cross's into the box and I actually forgot he was playing in the first half .

I'd still consider that one of his better games

MUSEIST · 22-11-2011 10:32am

The legend on twitter

DavidLuiz_4 David Luiz
Good morning GEEZERS,go to Germany now! Gary Neville i love u!

MUSEIST · 22-11-2011 10:35am

Frisbee wrote: »

This.
Cech
Bosingwa----Ivanovic----Terry
Cole
Ramires----Meireles
Sturridge
Mata
???
Torres/Drogba

is surely the way to go imo. Not sure who you have for that LW, Malouda I guess but his form over the past 12 months has been atrocious. Pick up a decent left winger in January and that first XI is as good as any in the league (bar maybe City).

I know that leaves out Lampard, but himself and Mata are both at their best 'in the hole' and at the moment, you have to be building a new team, and Mata needs to be the fulcrum of that. In a pinch Lampard can play in the middle and Mata on the left, but your wasting Mata out there.

Agree with all of that.

This should be considered

Cech

Bosingwa----Ivanovic----Terry

Cole

Luiz----Meireles

Sturridge

Mata

Malouda

Torres/Drogba

amiable · 22-11-2011 10:47am

MUSEIST wrote: »

Agree with all of that.

This should be considered
Cech
Bosingwa----Ivanovic----Terry
Cole
Luiz----Meireles
Sturridge
Mata
Malouda
Torres/Drogba

I get a feeling that Luiz would be caught offside an awful lot in that position

MUSEIST · 22-11-2011 10:48am

amiable wrote: »

I get a feeling that Luiz would be caught offside an awful lot in that position

probably:eek:

GavRedKing · 22-11-2011 11:05am

I'd try and get Malouda out of the team at the earliest opportunity, try get De Bruyne in ASAP.

Johner · 22-11-2011 1:06pm

flahavaj wrote: »

The main positive that ye should take from thegame yesterday is that Mata should play all the time through the middle and the team should be built around him. The fightback second half was entirely founded upon him playing more centrally. He's pure class and should be used in a way that makes the most of his skills, either as the middle man of the three in a 4-2-3-1 or in free role behind a central striker. He could wreak havoc playing behind Torres.

This is definitely the way to go, Mata can run the show in that position.

The two clean sheets we have had in the league this season Alex has played in both. I'm worried about tomorrow night.

GavRedKing · 22-11-2011 2:05pm

Johner wrote: »

This is definitely the way to go, Mata can run the show in that position.

Agreed, Mata is our most pivotal player, the system we deploy and the football we play dictates that we need a creartive spark and thats what Mata is, hell even Meireles can play there if AVB wants to play Mata from wide but we need a player that has the passing quality in the final third, someone that can find the killer ball, Josh Mac, Meireles or Mata are all candidates IMO.

The two clean sheets we have had in the league this season Alex has played in both. I'm worried about tomorrow night.

We need to sure up all round, IMO JT and Luiz did well, yes Chelsea conceded 2 goals but neither CB's we're at fault or could have prevented both goals.

I would like Alex to play more games and rotate between Ivanovic, and play Luiz more at RB and have him compete with Bosingwa.

Sgt Pepper 64 · 23-11-2011 12:20am

Not a bad article on chelsea from the mail

http://www.dailymail.co.uk/sport/football/article-2064500/Roman-Abramovich-sees-Andre-Villas-Boas-man-Chelseas-crisis.html

GavRedKing · 23-11-2011 9:26am

Sgt Pepper 64 wrote: »

Not a bad article on chelsea from the mail

http://www.dailymail.co.uk/sport/football/article-2064500/Roman-Abramovich-sees-Andre-Villas-Boas-man-Chelseas-crisis.html

Decent enough article, theres more to our defensive problems then playing a high line though, theres been a lot of illy mistakes and players switching off, Bosingwa comes into mind a few times this season and theres been countless times when players have been caught in possesion or players have had no options so they give away the ball.

Chelsea are in a transitional period and some of the current squad wont be part of the future plans. AVB and RA both know this, heck even the squad can probably feel the same.

We're 12 points off the lead with 12 games played which is an absolute huge gap so we've to keep on pushing and winning, the Man City game will tell a lot. It will be a 6 pointer for us so early in the season.

GavRedKing · 23-11-2011 9:48am

From the site.

VILLAS-BOAS: DEFENDING DEFENDERS

Posted on: Tue 22 Nov 2011

Speaking in Germany ahead of a game that could send Chelsea into the knockout stage of the Champions League, Andre Villas-Boas has reaffirmed his faith in two of his central defenders.

Both are Brazilian. One played in the defeat at home to Liverpool that left the team's defending under scrutiny, the other didn't but both David Luiz and Alex have travelled to Leverkusen.

David Luiz has been highlighted in much of the post-match media coverage since Sunday's 2-1 loss. The 24-year-old was chosen in all four Champions League group games so far and was the player who opened the scoring when Chelsea beat Bayer Leverkusen 2-0 at the Bridge in the first of those matches.

'Everybody is entitled to have their opinion but my opinion of David is that he is an extremely good player,' stated Villas-Boas.

'He is quick, anticipates well and has amazing technical qualities. You don't get central defenders with his technical ability and as player of his young age, he still has a lot of time to evolve. I am sure he will evolve into one of the best central defenders of the world.

Countering claims that the player has a tendency to 'fly into tackles', the manager said:

'The flying into tackles is based on his reading and anticipation in the game and that is a quality. If that anticipation comes with extra aggressiveness, that is for the referee to decide but for me as a manager you have to help all the players to evolve in some way or another.
'Not all of them are perfect but we are here to help them evolve because they are the ones who take us to success, more than the other way around.'

Villas-Boas highlighted the case of a current Champions League champion to illustrate his point.

'We have seen an example in the past with Gerard Pique. It didn't work for him at Man United and he went to Barcelona and became one of the best central defenders of the world, and for sure Gerard Pique went through this criticism at that time.'

Alex played two games ago at Blackburn but was then left out against Liverpool. The 29-year-old has featured in two of the Champions League group games.

'There will always be some people with more time on the pitch than others, that doesn't mean we don't trust Alex's abilities,' said Villas-Boas.
'That is why he has been involved in a couple of important games, for instance the Blackburn game after a defeat against Arsenal.

'We have full trust in him as a player. I was at Chelsea when we got him from PSV in 2007 and at that moment it was a major coup. His physical abilities are tremendous plus his leadership skills and his reading of the game. He went through a period of bad injuries last year but we have full trust in the 26-man squad that we have.'

A smaller party of 21 has travelled to Germany. There are no new injuries but of those eligible to play in the Champions League, Nicolas Anelka and Paulo Ferreira have remained behind as other squad options were taken.
On the wider subject of defending, Villas-Boas discussed the idea that a high defensive line was one of the reasons why Chelsea lost to Liverpool.
'We set out the team to play with a medium block against Liverpool,' he explained, 'and Liverpool enjoyed the most possession and played through our lines the same. The moment that we changed in the second half to a high, aggressive line that has been having media criticism for no reason whatsoever, we were aggressive and we scored.

'So for me it was not a question of high, medium or low defensive line, it is a question of ambition, determination and creating goal-scoring opportunities and finding the back of the net.

'We have an extremely good opportunity tomorrow to qualify. A win is what we are seeking with all our strengths.

'Two draws in the last two games will qualify us but it is not what we are looking for. What we have set out to do this season is to take the initiative in every game and try to win every game and it won't be any different tomorrow.'

Panthro · 23-11-2011 9:52am

Seem as the team's shape is being mentioned, Pat Nevin's view

I agree with Frisbee's view that a LW is required big time.
For what its worth, the nearest I could pick to a team I'd like to see given a run out:

Cech

Ivanovic

Luiz

Terry

Cole

Romeu

Ramires

Josh/Meireles--
---Sturridge

Mata

Torres

amiable · 23-11-2011 10:53am

gavredking wrote: »

Decent enough article, theres more to our defensive problems then playing a high line though, theres been a lot of illy mistakes and players switching off, Bosingwa comes into mind a few times this season and theres been countless times when players have been caught in possesion or players have had no options so they give away the ball.

Chelsea are in a transitional period and some of the current squad wont be part of the future plans. AVB and RA both know this, heck even the squad can probably feel the same.

We're 12 points off the lead with 12 games played which is an absolute huge gap so we've to keep on pushing and winning, the Man City game will tell a lot. It will be a 6 pointer for us so early in the season.

Agree with you that the highline the defence is playing is not the only reason Chelsea are having defensive problems.

I get the feeling the players don't 100% trust the system.
AVB will probably bring in a centre back he wants that can play his system.

I think Ashley Cole has been poor for a long time now too.
Maybe he's become complacent with no real competition at Left back.

GavRedKing · 23-11-2011 11:05am

amiable wrote: »

Agree with you that the highline the defence is playing is not the only reason Chelsea are having defensive problems.

I get the feeling the players don't 100% trust the system.
AVB will probably bring in a centre back he wants that can play his system.

I pasted in article from the website where AVB praises Luiz and Alex. But knowing AVB recently, Alex and Luiz will get the praise and not get game time, hes bigged up plaeyrs and there importance recently and those players have found themselves on the bench not getting a game.

I think Ashley Cole has been poor for a long time now too.
Maybe he's become complacent with no real competition at Left back.

Could be, this season however he has Mata playing left wing/left mid/free role and that offers him no cover or defensive insurance if he moves inside to cover a CB, like the Johnson goal last week, Malouda should have been offering better protection or Ramires, who seemed to be playing the DM role at the time should have communicated better with those around him.

It is true though that Cole neeeds competition at LB, we have Van Aanholt on loan who could play there and played a few games last year under Carlo but hes on loan at Leicester at the moment I think and of course we sold Zhirkov in the summer, TBf I would have shipped other players out before him coz he could and has played LB, LM or CM for us in the past.

Sgt Pepper 64 · 23-11-2011 11:12am

Looks like Nic will be first out the door this January, and we might even be signing a new striker

http://www.belfasttelegraph.co.uk/sport/football/european/anelka-the-first-to-go-as-villasboas-starts-to-rebuild-at-chelsea-16081520.html

Lots of paps are carrying this now

Apparently Cahill is on his way, having already agreed a "secret" deal!!

http://www.eatsleepsport.com/bolton-wanderers/secret-cahill-to-chelsea-deal-leaked-1339729.html#.TszHLVYUP5M

GavRedKing · 23-11-2011 12:18pm

Sgt Pepper 64 wrote: »

Looks like Nic will be first out the door this January, and we might even be signing a new striker

http://www.belfasttelegraph.co.uk/sport/football/european/anelka-the-first-to-go-as-villasboas-starts-to-rebuild-at-chelsea-16081520.html

Lots of paps are carrying this now

Apparently Cahill is on his way, having already agreed a "secret" deal!!

http://www.eatsleepsport.com/bolton-wanderers/secret-cahill-to-chelsea-deal-leaked-1339729.html#.TszHLVYUP5M

I can see Nico going soon along with Kalou and Malouda and Alex.

Dont know who we would bring in but I'd love to see Hamsik playing for us, he can play in a lot of positions, best bet would be wide or inan attacking midfield position, he could replace, Malouda/Kalou/Nico, especially after watching Napoli in the CL recently and Slovakia too, him or Jovetic :pac:

Cahill would replace Alex but I'd love to keep Alex and by all reports he's happy at Chelsea and doesnt want to leave, ever since his mistake at home to WBA to allow Long to score after about 2 minutes hes been kept out though, you never know what AVB has planned though but a clear out is in order over the next 6 months.

amiable · 23-11-2011 12:23pm

gavredking wrote: »

I can see Nico going soon along with Kalou and Malouda and Alex.

Dont know who we would bring in but I'd love to see Hamsik playing for us, he can play in a lot of positions, best bet would be wide or inan attacking midfield position, he could replace, Malouda/Kalou/Nico, especially after watching Napoli in the CL recently and Slovakia too, him or Jovetic :pac:

Cahill would replace Alex but I'd love to keep Alex and by all reports he's happy at Chelsea and doesnt want to leave, ever since his mistake at home to WBA to allow Long to score after about 2 minutes hes been kept out though, you never know what AVB has planned though but a clear out is in order over the next 6 months.

Rodwell would be a better addition to the Chelsea squad IMO that Cahill

GavRedKing · 23-11-2011 12:30pm

amiable wrote: »

Rodwell would be a better addition to the Chelsea squad IMO that Cahill

Interesting proposal amiable.

He would be a good addition to any sqaud in the EPL IMO. Everton would probably be looking for around £15 Million for him, which would be in and around the same price for Cahill, now if we kept Alex andbought in Rodwell instead of Cahill it would sort out a CM problem for the future, Rodwell is only 22 ( i think ).

Sgt Pepper 64 · 23-11-2011 12:59pm

gavredking wrote: »

Interesting proposal amiable.

He would be a good addition to any sqaud in the EPL IMO. Everton would probably be looking for around £15 Million for him, which would be in and around the same price for Cahill, now if we kept Alex andbought in Rodwell instead of Cahill it would sort out a CM problem for the future, Rodwell is only 22 ( i think ).

I think Nic, Alex and Kalou are gone in January, just doesnt seem to play them, so doesnt rate them. Shame, as I rate Alex, but he seems to have been dropped after his earlier mistake

GavRedKing · 23-11-2011 2:09pm

Sgt Pepper 64 wrote: »

I think Nic, Alex and Kalou are gone in January, just doesnt seem to play them, so doesnt rate them. Shame, as I rate Alex, but he seems to have been dropped after his earlier mistake

Ya the 3 guys will be gone. If not in Jan it will be the summer, also Yossi will be gone come next summer, Hilario and Turnbull could be gone, Malouda, Drogba, Ferriera. Thats a good portion of the squad right there.

I wouldnt be surprised to see Bosingwa go also, hes been very 50/50 this year.

GavRedKing · 23-11-2011 2:23pm

Vinnie Jones seems to think Terry could leave Chesea.

http://news.bbc.co.uk/sport2/hi/football/15820781.stm

Dont see it happening at all.

Caveman1 · 23-11-2011 4:02pm

amiable wrote: »

Rodwell would be a better addition to the Chelsea squad IMO that Cahill

Not necessarily, we have a load of CM's, especially with Essien coming back soon, I would like to sign Cahill he's a solid player who we already know is proven in the premiership,.

Tonight's game is interesting, I am not overly confident although I do think we will win, hopefully he plays Torres and Meirels from the start.

Chelsea Team Talk/Gossip/Rumours Thread 2011/2012

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