Chelsea F.C [2010-2011]

[poet11]

your welcome

 

[Mandieta6]

So we need to not only win at Old Trafford, but also beat Newcastle and Everton (easier said than done) AND do so by as big a margin as possible, considering ManU will probably beat and thrash Blackburn and Blackpool.

We've got a good shot, but I would definitely trade places with United if I could.

 

[Sir Calumn]

That is also my big worry, I can see us beating United to take us to equal points with one better goal difference, and I can see us winning our other games with margins of one or two goals. The problem is, I expect United to beat Blackburn by one or two (though you never know, United on a slump could be held away by a plucky Rovers side) and then there is every possibility they will knock in five or six against Blackpool. If ever those tangerine blowhards need to pull their finger out and put in a performance, its then!

 

[Sir Calumn]

But, all in all, I don't think Arsenal would be able to beat Utd tomorrow, not much faith in them tbh but I hope I'm wrong on that one.

I thought they would do it to be honest. The difference when a top team has the pressure off is enormous - the reason we've been on such a run lately is because we thought we'd lost it and had nothing to lose, and that's why Arsenal performed so freely against United. It's also why I'm a little fearful of the United game, however, we have proven that we can been them at Old Trafford in high pressure league games. Lets just hope we dont blow it with bad tactics like we did against them in the CL - DONT start Zhirkov, DONT start Torres in place of Drogba, or force DD out wide, and, if we're down, DONT bring on Mikel instead of Kalou.

 

[Zakov]

I think Mikel has earned himself a start, I thought he was immense against Tottenham and in recent games he's been driving forward a lot more.

Essien hasn't been himself since injury at Fulham(was it?) so I wouldn't be surprised if Ramires comes straight into the team, add to the fact that Essien's been carrying a minor injury since the West Ham game. We need everyone to be 100% for this game.

I agree that Torres shouldn't be started, Didier and Kalou should get the nod up front. I thought the Arsenal match showed us that the threat of Rooney and Hernandez can be nullified.

Since Rooney constantly drops deep to get the ball, we need one of our midfielder's to be tracking him constantly and isolate him from his strike partner. I would reckon Ramires could do the job as long as he doesn't go for needless fouls.

I'm hoping Malouda would be up for this one, he's up against Fabio/Rafael this time around so it won't be as easy as Gary Neville last season.

Ivanovic should be able to do a better job on Giggs than Bosingwa did. Also, this time David Luiz is eligible to play, so a big plus on that.

 

[Mandieta6]

I'd go with:

Cech
Ivanovic - Luiz - Terry - Cole
Mikel
Ramires - Lamps
Anelka - Drogba - Malouda

I think Kalou deserves a starting spot, but I think he's better as a sub against tired legs. And I think taking Anelka off after he's wandered all over the pithc and dragged his marker around and having Kalou playing as a straight-up winger, taking that marker on could lead to good chances. I've gone for Ramires and Mikel instead of Essien for this one, even though I'm not yet a fan of Ramires. Why pick him, then? Well, Mikel's role between the lines could stifle Rooney, but Rooney will look to drag him around the field, and he's not as mobile as Song is. That's why Ramires' stamina and mobility will help Mikel. I would go for a double-pivot, with Ramires allowed to venture forward more, as well as help cover the right flank. But Carlo will probably favor the 4-3-3, and so long as Mikel has a good match with Ramires' help, I think Rooney can be stifled.

If we sit deep we can also nullify Hernandez, although Luiz's pace is comforting here, since we will look to stay on the offense, and will probably keep a high defensive line.

 

[coxlenox]

i think the 4-4-2 formation is more secure

Cech

Ivanovic--David Luiz--Terry--Cole

--------------Mikel---------------
----Essien-------------Malouda---
------------Lampard--------------

---------Drogba---Torres---------

 

[Zakov]

If we weren't chasing the game, I guess the classic way to do it is a 4-5-1 formation, with the old punt the ball to Drog trick. But it would be a bore-fest ala 2007 FA Cup final.

Seeing that we need a win on this one, perhaps it can be used in the match if we manage to get our noses in front.

 

[Mandieta6]

Drogba and Torres haven't forged a partnership yet. I do not trust them to get us the win against ManU. I would be glad to be proven wrong, mind, but right now I'd rather Torres was benched for this one.

 

[Zakov]

Interview with Villas-Boas speaking in English, starting from 15:00.
He starts talking about Chelsea in 22:57.



Quite an interesting interview, his perspective on the club when he was here with Jose.

 

[banok]

Manchester United-Chelsea tv : Sky Sports 1 uk, FSC
streams : http://stream.forumx.hu/viewtopic.php?t=77&mforum=stream

 

[Zakov]

Well, its all over. Utd deserved to win in the end.

We could've had a better game had Luiz not needlessly lunged in to intercept the pass so early in the match. He made a similar mistake against Stoke and got punished.

I've never seen Carlo so cross with a player before. He's still got a lot to learn, Luiz. Thankfully he's still young.

Back to the game, I thought the battles were lost at the flanks. Both Cole and Bane couldn't cope with Park/Giggs and Valencia respectively. Drogba wasn't much of a threat in the end, as he and Kalou dropped too deep/wide out and there was no target to aim at inside the box.
United had numerous chances to finish off the game, Cole had a torrid game at left-back as did Essien in midfield. Iva on the other hand, had a terrible time early on but he did improve as the game wore on.

I know its hindsight and all, but I wonder what could've been if we started with Alex and Ramires. Alex was a monster coming on, singlehandedly keeping Utd out with vital interceptions and clearances. Essien kept giving the ball away and didn't really make his presence felt in midfield.
It probably wouldn't matter but we probably wouldn't have conceded so early in the game.

All in all, 7 defeats prior to the game, really isn't stuff Champions are made of. We've only got ourselves to blame, especially the terrible form starting in the December.
It was a long-shot to begin with, but I felt we've done ourselves proud coming back and reducing the gap to 3 points until today.(We were at one stage 18 points behind I think, before the Utd game at the Bridge).

I hope Carlo stays despite this result, I'm really tired of switching coaches every season and adjusting all over again.

KTBFFH.

 

[Mandieta6]

ManU destroyed us and we didn't even deserve a 1-goal losing margin, much less the title. Credit where credit is due, I never thought we'd so close to the title after our midseason slump, but we need a creative midfielder, asap. Lampard used to somehow fulfill that role, but he doesn't anymore. At multiple times we had a midfielder with lots of space to choose an incisive pass and instead they just moved forward and passed sideways. There needs to be better movement off the ball.

Valencia completely owned Cole and Hernandez did the same to Luiz and Park did the same to everyone on the field.

We all knew this was coming, now let's just try to hang on to 2nd place and deal wisely in the summer.

EDIT: I hope Carlo stays, too, but I do think there's room for improvement from him, a lot of it, he's made a few mistakes throughout the seasons. The only coaches I'd rather see here are Mou and Guus.

 

[Zakov]

Reading various papers it was feared that this game determines the future of Carlo's job here, I really hope it isn't true.

Guus has said various times, he'll only consider a role as Director of Football, etc and Jose isn't leaving Madrid until he delivers at least La-Liga or the Champions League.
The other man mentioned is Benitez, and I do hope for the sake of our club, he stay as far away as possible. Mikel could at least hold the ball a lot better and spray the passes around from DM.

Gathering my thoughts after the game, it was definitely a big plus to see Alex in such fine form, because I've never seen our midfield so hapless. I thought we should've kept Mikel and subbed Essien.
Ramires at least shown more hunger to get forward and we did look more threatening when he came on.

I don't see how we can improve on our left flank, unless we were to spend drastically. Cole has lost a bit of his pace, he's not as young as he used to be. But I don't see any other options from within the club.

Van Aanholt and Bertrand haven't been tested against top opposition.

 

[poet11]

I think u guys should keep Carlo for a few more seasons and then u should find someone who could stay there for a long time for the best. Like Lampard and obviously not Terry.

 

[Help?]

Torres has reminded me of Berbatov a lot this season. His body language is just so negative. He looks very deflated and unhappy all season, no wonder his form is so bad.

 

[poet11]

I still don't get how was he worth 50m. Doesn't matter when u have a sugar daddy up top. He looks ugly in blue too! How he must be wishing there it was raining whenever he played. Anyways get a proper system with proper players to make him play. Need more spending to make 50m a worthy investment.

 

[Help?]

I think 50 million was fair actually, considering prices in January are inflated too and he was clearly bought on his potential which is immense. He just needs the right motivation.

 

[poet11]

Yes and its also fair if Andy Caroll is worth 35 so Torres is well Torres. But Andy can be a top top player as well. I remember reading an article where Gigi Buffon had good words for him while he was at Newcastle. They played a friendly or something. About Torres and his confidence yes he needs that but also needs to play in a set up that suits him best because you can see his situation in the Spanish NT. He is a misfit in their game. Chelsea could do with Ashley Young and some no 10 playmaker and a RB.

 

[Zakov]

Torres has reminded me of Berbatov a lot this season. His body language is just so negative. He looks very deflated and unhappy all season, no wonder his form is so bad.

With the press and a horde of Liverpool fans riding his back all the time, who wouldn't be? He's always reminded of the 50mil price tag and he's been labelled a flop since the Liverpool game.

I don't think he's been as poor as people are making him out to be, those who are saying so definitely haven't watched him with the limited amount of time he's played and the service he got.

I'm not trying to make excuses for him but whenever he comes on, its always when we're trying to chase a game desperately against a team that's already set up to defend.

He looked quite motivated and up for it against the City and during the first meeting against Utd, I don't think motivation is the problem. Probably more the tactical setup is, that he and Drogba haven't sorted out who's the actual out and out striker during the game.

They both tend go out wide, and its always up to someone like Frank to come and pick up the pieces inside the box.

Drogba of recent prefers to pick up the ball deep/wide or hold it up(from a long pass) and conjure up something from there.

Torres is similar to Hernandez in a way, they both play on the shoulder of the defenders and like the ball to played ahead of them early.

Problem is no one is looking to pick him up early, we usually build up our attacks very slowly(in contrast to Utd) and once we reach the opponent's box, they've already swamped players in behind and we're only hoofing/crossing hopeful balls and hoping that Drog/Lamps make something out of it.

Essien really needs to regain his form next season, and Mikel needs to stamp his claim on the DM position, since both Ballack and Makelele left, we've been quite poor in regards to our transition from defence to attack.