Chelsea FC Team Talk/Gossip/Rumours Thread 10/11 (mod warning in post #7124)

Lukker-

V9 wrote: »

Ya say joke, but thats who came right to my mind too! I know he rejected a coaching role before when carlo took over, but a year is a long time.

http://twitter.com/#!/BluesChronicle/status/2754344566923264

looks like we're not the only ones to think it. Zola would be excellent. Knows the english game and would have the instant respect of the squad.

I'd cream myself if Zola came in. Still sad to to see Butch leave though, been a good servant.

the_monkey

Yeah , sorry to see him go, I hope this is not a prelude to Ancelotti (won a lotti) going....

Gonzovision

I'd hate to think he was forced out.

Lukker-

gonzovision wrote: »

I'd hate to think he was forced out.

Same, don't like when people who seemingly do nothing wrong get shown the door, pretty ruthless regardless.

Hope he has something else line up.

MUSEIST

Seems odd though. He was doing a good job. I have a feeling this could be gourlay trying to cut back on finances and they will probably just put clement in as assistant now. I hope I am wrong. Would love to see a Zola or Clarke in the job. Will be interesting to see what happens.

Johner

In better news today, Josh has been called up to the England u21 squad.

Johner

Also the reserves won 4-0 against Bayern, the replay is on Chelsea TV right now.

RESERVE REPORT: CHELSEA 4 BAYERN MUNICH 0
Posted on: Thu 11 Nov 2010

A strong Chelsea reserve side impressed as it secured a comfortable victory in a prestigious friendly match at Cobham.

Daniel Sturridge netted twice and Fabio Borini who played the second half also scored twice as first-team squad players Ross Turnbull, Jeffrey Bruma, Patrick van Aanholt and Josh McEachran were given important match practice.

Last season's Champions League finalist have a renowned academy and sent over a team with many youth internationals for the game specially arranged to give young players experience of foreign opposition football. Bayern were reduced to 10 men after an hour of the game,

In blustery conditions at the start of the game, Sturrridge turned sharply and threatened to send Gael Kakuta through on goal but the pass was too strong, and then Turnbull saved a near-post shot from Dennis Chessa.

The best move of the game so far, on 19 minutes, ended with Jacopo Sala firing an ambitious volley over after Jacob Mellis had crossed from the left.

When Kakuta whipped a low cross in from the same flank four minutes later, Sturridge was promisingly placed at the near post but couldn't make contact as he slid in.

McEachran, playing deep, was prompting his team forward with balls to the more advanced Mellis but the search went on for ways to penetrate the Bayern defences.

The Blues did have a strike on target after advanced left-back Van Aanholt exchanged passes with Sturridge on the edge of the area but it was straight at the keeper.

The opening goal, that had been preceded by a long period of Chelsea dominant in possession, owed much to the awareness of right-back Billy Clifford who intercepted on halfway and then played forward a pass that allowed Sturridge to beat the offside flag. The England Under 21 international side-stepped the keeper for an expert striker's finish (pictured top). There were 10 minutes to go until the break.

Two minutes into the second half Sturridge turned centre-back Fjoluson who was marking him inside the Chelsea half and raced in on goal, only to shoot at the keeper. Kakuta then did similarly after cutting into space from the right, the Frenchman switching wings twice during the game.

The second goal came 10 minutes into the second period and originated from a fatal hesitation by the Bayern defence that allowed Sturridge the ball. He played it to unmarked Borini who needed no second invitation to beat Bortel.

The rain was now hammering down and Bayern's afternoon was about to become even greyer when Fjoluson was shown a red card for a last-man foul on Sturridge who had been sent through by Mellis's best pass of the game.

The conditions played a part in preventing a Chelsea third after Van Aanholt's well-struck shot on the counter-attack slipped under Bortel but stopped on the soggy turf before crossing the line. Sala knew he was offside as he tapped it in.

Van Aanholt was yellow carded for a sliding challenge before Sturridge's second goal which was the product of another of his razor-sharp turns. Receiving the ball on the edge of the box, he spun and struck the ball low into the far corner with 15 minutes remaining.

Kakuta teased a ball into towards Sala as the quest went on for a fourth but it squirmed free.

Three minutes from time Borini matched Sturridge's tally when he was in the right place to tap in after Clifford had wormed his way through and had a shot parried.

'The game was very worthwhile for more than one reason,' reported reserve team manager Steve Holland.

'Some of the first team fringe players have got a very important 90 minutes of high quality football under their belts and it has been a very positive experience for all our players, right from Daniel Sturridge who is our most senior player down to 15-year-old Nathaniel Chalobah.

'The more experience they can get against potential Champions League opposition and European playing styles, the more it will help them hopefully break through here at Chelsea.

'Tactically Bayern played with a midfield diamond which we don't face very often and they had a lot of control of the ball in the first half without being particularly dangerous, and they pressed us quite a lot high up the pitch. They had some talented players for sure. It was only really in the second half that we managed to get a firm grip on the game.'

Chelsea (4-3-3): Ross Turnbull; Billy Clifford, Jeffrey Bruma, Nathaniel Chalobah, Patrick van Aanholt; Jacopo Sala, Josh McEachran, Jacob Mellis; Gael Kakuta, Daniel Sturridge (c), Gokhan Tore (Fabio Borini h-t).

Bayern (4-1-2-1-2): Henning Bortel; Dominik Traunmuller (Marcel Thomas 12), Cuneyt Koz, Jon Fjoluson, Florian Pflugler; Emre Can; Fabian Hurzeler Felix Stemmer 58), Rico Strieder; Dejan Janjatovic (Maxi Rothenbucher h-t); Florin Friesenbichler (Lukas Grill 62), Dennis Chessa.

The Davestator

I love Wilkins but all the people on here saying he did a good job is confusing me. What did he actually do and how do you know he did it well?
Lad on sky sports earlier saying he was brought in when scolari was there to translate and look after some media work. Carlo does that now, so no need for ray.
I'd love to see him back on the tv, love listening to him

V9

here is a good article in the Guardian on the Wilkins matter.

Johner

Great too see Cech back to his best, this is a good read.

THE THURSDAY INTERVIEW: PETR CECH
Posted on: Thu 11 Nov 2010

Another clean sheet at Stamford Bridge has seen Petr Cech equal the Chelsea record for successive home league shutouts.

It is not the first milestone for a man whose next game without conceding will be his 150th for Chelsea, with just 279 games to his name so far, and who once went 1,024 minutes without conceding a Premier League goal.

Against Fulham on Wednesday, profligacy in front of goal and the form of Mark Schwarzer at the other end meant Cech's saves from Clint Dempsey and Zoltan Gera towards the end were needed to secure a big three points.

'It was a tricky game for the goalkeepers because I was watching for most of the game but you need to keep your concentration, I am pleased I did and made some good saves in the end,' Cech says afterwards.

''I was just happy I didn't move too early and got a hand to it,' he adds, speaking of Dempsey's strike. 'Gera's shot was a powerful shot but I was in a good position. It was definitely a game for the goalkeepers.'

'I am aware we missed some chances but I am organising people at the back so I don't get too excited about it, which is good for me because in that game I would have gone crazy.'

So how does the 28-year-old feel about his latest entry into the Chelsea record books?

'It's great to have a record, I am very pleased with that, but what pleases me most is that we got the record during a time when it was crucial to win the title,' he explains. 'It helped us to win the title, and we got the FA Cup too. This season we are defending champions, everyone has extra motivation and those clean sheets are helping us stay top.'

There is little secret to the Czech's successes, as the player acknowledges he is benefiting from years of hard work on the training ground with coach Christophe Lollichon.

'Every match we play goes under analysis, Christophe makes some selections from each game and we discuss it,' he says. 'This is the only way to move forward, you can have a brilliant game but there are still two or three occasions where you can do better, have a better position or whatever, to make things easier for yourself.

'You don't want to rely on reactions, you want anticipation, and then you never get surprised.

'You need to be ready. In the Fulham game last night shows for 70 minutes I had nothing to do, a few back passes, and then at the end there were saves to keep us ahead. It's down to work, and concentration. I have been working hard and well, so I know going into the game I am fit and ready.'

The life of a goalkeeper is different to that of his on-field colleagues, and it is no more obvious than in the training regime. At Cobham there is usually an 11am start time for training, but the men between the sticks can often be seen out on the training pitches up to half an hour earlier as they seek to prepare themselves for what's ahead in Carlo Ancelotti's session.

'We have cycles of work, where we work on speed or strength, footwork and techniques,' Cech says. 'Christophe gets us ready for the whole week, and when you want to do things well, sometimes it takes more time than the manager gives us with the group, so we go early to make sure we finish our specific work before we join them, and I think this is the right way of doing things.

'Our role on the pitch is completely different, we go by different rules, even from using the hands, and you are alone in what you do, so it can be the same with training.

'People need to run for 90 minutes, I don't, I just need to be fit and have fast reactions and reflexes, to have strength for duels in the air and be dynamic over the first few steps.

'This is the work we do, compare it to outfield players and they need more stamina to run further for longer, we just need the speed.'

When you take a look at some of the saves made by Cech so far this season, whether it be the long-range stops against Spartak Moscow in the Luzhniki, the one with his legs from Dirk Kuyt with an outstretched leg at Anfield, or the recovery from a slip to turn away a Mame Biram Diouf chip at Blackburn, nobody but a perfectionist could find fault in his game.

But that's exactly what Cech is, so expect him to continue striving for better, even when it seems impossible.

Johner

Part 2,

PETR CECH - PART TWO
Posted on: Fri 12 Nov 2010

You have to go back to March 27 for the last time Petr Cech conceded a Barclays Premier League goal at Stamford Bridge, when John Carew netted an early equaliser for Aston Villa in our 7-1 win.

Another nine games were played before Spartak Moscow scored a consolation in the Champions League, albeit a possibly offside one, but normality was resumed on Wednesday night with another shutout against west London neighbours Fulham.

Our miserliness at home has been thanks in no small part to the form of a man on top of his game, despite the regular changes to the personnel in front of him.

The goalkeeper takes great pleasure in his work, particularly when it affects results. That he has managed it despite a minor adductor injury on Wednesday is all the more impressive.

'I survived, it was okay, and I am sure I will be okay again for the weekend, he explains, 'but yes, I am pleased. This is the one part, you want to play well but then you want the team to play well as well, which it has been.

'The pleasant thing for me this season is that when there were saves to make, usually at the time the game was still 0-0 or 1-0 and it helped us to get three points, this is the most pleasing part.

'We try to score goals and are attacking, so sometimes there will be some space open at the back and we need to deal with that. This season every game is dangerous, we can see other teams dropping points against mid-table teams. It's tough, you need to do things well to get three points every time. We're not conceding goals which is a big help, so we know that to score one goal gives you three points.'

That was enough for the win on Wednesday night, and this weekend's opponents Sunderland have not won on the road since April, so there is plenty of room for confidence ahead of the fixture.

Cech, however, believes we must be alert to a side that showed its capabilities with a battling 1-1 draw at Tottenham on Tuesday night.

'It is a dangerous game because usually they are quite tough to play when they are away from home,' he warns. 'They have good players and have been together for some time now. They will be dangerous on the counter-attack and this is another game where they will expect to be defending and waiting for counter-attack opportunities so we know we have to be ready for that.'

V9

http://www.fulhamchronicle.co.uk/london-sport/comment/2010/11/12/the-power-games-behind-ray-wilkins-chelsea-sacking-82029-27647514/

I seriously hope that second piece is out right bull****. This craic of "numbered days" for managers is starting to get on my nerve

growler

" a club up north"

LOL

sounds like BS, Chelsea must have learnt the benefits of a stable management team by now, another unforced change would be daft. Treatment of wilkins is disgraceful , sure the fans will have somethign to say on Sunday.

iregk

The Fulham chronicle is less reliable a source as the sun daily fail and daily sport all put together. Run by the chap who is also the head of the Fulham fan club anything going on at Chelsea is blown up beyond stupid proportions.

V9

I would hope they do. Stability is needed.

smuckers

Lamps out for another 3 weeks, Alex out but Nic is back.

smuckers

From Twitter.

Ray Wilkins drinking was behind his departure.

pistolpetes11

smuckers wrote: »

Lamps out for another 3 weeks, Alex out but Nic is back.

Took a knock at the end of training yesterday , was really looking forward to him come back .

Johner

Gutted for Lamps. We are missing him in midfield.

smuckers

Looks like it will be Mikel Ramieres and Zhirkov for next few games, I think its time Josh got his chance.
I would also like to see a front 3 of Drogs Malouda and Zhirkov sometime

DazMarz

Lampard is a huge loss...

And I'm just beginning to wonder, is this the end??? Lamps has never missed as many games (I think) or been out as long... I wonder if the higher-ups at Chelsea are trying to keep a lid on the grimmest news possible for Chelsea fans: that Lampard's injury is severe enough to end his career... That for the length of his absence he has been actually told that his career is over, that he is done... I just have a niggling feeling that won't go away about this.:( Hoping I'm completely wrong, obviously!!!

Also, can't wrap my head around why Wilkins was let go... sick thing to do, IMO. Legend of a man...:(

pistolpetes11

DazMarz wrote: »

Lampard is a huge loss...

And I'm just beginning to wonder, is this the end??? Lamps has never missed as many games (I think) or been out as long... I wonder if the higher-ups at Chelsea are trying to keep a lid on the grimmest news possible for Chelsea fans: that Lampard's injury is severe enough to end his career... That for the length of his absence he has been actually told that his career is over, that he is done... I just have a niggling feeling that won't go away about this.:( Hoping I'm completely wrong, obviously!!!

Also, can't wrap my head around why Wilkins was let go... sick thing to do, IMO. Legend of a man...:(

I was thinking that myself , but he would not of been any where near training yesterday had that been the case .

Looking forward to the game on Sunday , Hopefully Ramieres gets his teeth into early , he looked very solid when coming on against Fulham.

He is starting to bulk up a bit also , the more games he plays the more he will get used to the speed of the EPL, let him start and if he is having a shocker sub him at half time and give young Josh a full 45.

How long of a ban did Essien get ?

Gonzovision

pistolpetes11 wrote: »

I was thinking that myself , but he would not of been any where near training yesterday had that been the case .

Looking forward to the game on Sunday , Hopefully Ramieres gets his teeth into early , he looked very solid when coming on against Fulham.

He is starting to bulk up a bit also , the more games he plays the more he will get used to the speed of the EPL, let him start and if he is having a shocker sub him at half time and give young Josh a full 45.

How long of a ban did Essien get ?

3 games

the_monkey

gonzovision wrote: »

3 games

3 games ? did they not appeal the red card ?


I think about Lamps ye (dazMarz) are being a bit paranoid, why would the club keep this news from the fans ???

and when would we know ? would they just "extend" the injury every 3 weeks ?

come on , Lamps will be fine - I have seen him in the stands and he doesn''t look like a man who has just been told his career is finished - but don't tell the fans

V9

Looks like poor aul Stamford the lion has been put down. Hid Twitter account has been replaced by chelseafc.

pistolpetes11

V9 wrote: »

Looks like poor aul Stamford the lion has been put down. Hid Twitter account has been replaced by chelseafc.

now that you say that , there has not been much mention of him on the site since August

http://www.chelseafc.com/page/SearchResults/?cx=partner-pub-0730334347296125%3A9yqz3c4qquf&searchQuery=Stamford+the+lion&sa=site

Il keep an eye out for him tomorrow ,

A Win tomorrow gives us a 6 point advantage , lets not mess this up , we have a really tough xmas period and really need to take all the points between now and the Utd game in December in my opinion

Lukker-

the_monkey wrote: »

3 games ? did they not appeal the red card ?


I think about Lamps ye (dazMarz) are being a bit paranoid, why would the club keep this news from the fans ???

and when would we know ? would they just "extend" the injury every 3 weeks ?

come on , Lamps will be fine - I have seen him in the stands and he doesn''t look like a man who has just been told his career is finished - but don't tell the fans

It's a different injury to his hernia, so it's good to know that he's recovered from that. It's just poor luck and it does happen from time to time. I'm not worried, Lampard's general fitness is incredible.

MUSEIST

http://www.telegraph.co.uk/sport/football/teams/chelsea/8131233/Chelsea-look-to-future-with-Paul-Clement-set-to-replace-Ray-Wilkins.html
^^^Not really suprising.

Panthro

Gutted to hear about Lamp's injury.
I think Alex is still injured, Essien is suspended and Anelka returns from a back injury.
We really need a good game today, Sunderland are playing quite well.

MUSEIST

Shocker, Ramires needs a holiday (far far away from the bridge).
Depressing performance really.
Shows how underated JT's influence is to us on the pitch.

Johner

This is fast becoming a carbon copy of last season! Whenever we get an opportunity to go a few more points clear we **** it up. 3 defeats already, somehow we are still top.This result was always going to happen some day with how shocking we have been recently.

Johner

Two really tough away games coming up but 6 points is a must. Hopefully Terry and Alex are back but again we will be missing Lampard and Essien.

Panthro

I'm going to venture out on a limb and suggest that was possibly one of the worst performances I have seen from Chelsea in years. Every single time we were second to a Sunderland player. Paulo shoudn't have been near the pitch, never mind being a CB! Poor Ivanovic was literally carrying him throughout the whole game. No doubt about it, we are very weakened in midfield, Yuri and Ramieres did their best, but they were well beaten throughout the game. Drogba was as rusty as an aul nail. Couldn't comprehend the Malouda substitute at all. Defied logic I thought. Kalou needs to get practising his first touch badly.
On the "plus" side (and its a case of scraping the bottom of the barrel) was Cech pulling off some quality saves, and Mikel was the best outfield player in a Chelsea jersey by far today. He put in the tackles at every opportunity, was back helping out the defence one minute, pushing forward once he was on the ball the next, passing was excellent. Top performance from him.
We were simply outclassed by a determined Sunderland today, we were well below our best. Suddenly when you look at the next two games, both away, one can't help but be very wary.

MUSEIST

^^^Agree, Cech is pure quality

Johner

I felt really sorry for Cech today, he was outstanding and did everything possible to keep is in the game but the defense in front of him was absolutely shocking.

Lukker-

papagormo wrote: »

I'm going to venture out on a limb and suggest that was possibly one of the worst performances I have seen from Chelsea in years. Every single time we were second to a Sunderland player. Paulo shoudn't have been near the pitch, never mind being a CB! Poor Ivanovic was literally carrying him throughout the whole game. No doubt about it, we are very weakened in midfield, Yuri and Ramieres did their best, but they were well beaten throughout the game. Drogba was as rusty as an aul nail. Couldn't comprehend the Malouda substitute at all. Defied logic I thought. Kalou needs to get practising his first touch badly.
On the "plus" side (and its a case of scraping the bottom of the barrel) was Cech pulling off some quality saves, and Mikel was the best outfield player in a Chelsea jersey by far today. He put in the tackles at every opportunity, was back helping out the defence one minute, pushing forward once he was on the ball the next, passing was excellent. Top performance from him.
We were simply outclassed by a determined Sunderland today, we were well below our best. Suddenly when you look at the next two games, both away, one can't help but be very wary.

I agree mostly, the performance was an absolute disgrace and shows how much we rely on Essien and Lampard. Ramires was out of his depth today and Zhirkov was just out of sync with any Chelsea move. I'd disagree about Malouda though, deserved to be subsituted, he added absolutely nothing and kept cutting into midfeld way too early. He should be running to the line against the full backs. Drogba wasn't great but in fairness he or Anelka had no service. We didn't string together one decent passing move in the whole game. I would be absolutely furious but luckily I was at a bar and I could get absolutely steamed. I try and look at the positives and the fact that we are still 2 points clear but we are so light in CM now it's unreal. JT's leadership was sorely missed on the pitch today.

I wont dare enter the match thread, I'd think I just smack my head off the desk if I had to relive that match.

chelseavera

Spot on throughout!! Its been coming. Cech and Mikel - players of the season so far - only ones who come out of today with any credit. We're not as good as the table suggests. Somethings gotta change - we're getting away with it cos the others have dropped silly points. And the December fixture list demands that Lampard, Terry, Alex, Essien are all back (with a fit Drogba). Hope there's not trouble behind the scenes.... sadly we've been there before.

the_monkey

MELTDOWN!!!!!

Well, serves you right for sacking a good man doesn't it ?

The writing is on the wall if you get beat 3-0 at home by Sunderland - you don't deserve to win the league.

2 horse race now, Arsenal or united. Next week (at best draw with Birmingham) level with Arsenal +1 of united.

Week after lose against an in form Newcastle (-3 Arsenal, -1 United)

When united visit us at the bridge next month definite lose there -4 united.




LEAGUE OVER !!!!

MUSEIST

^^^LOL:D

ItsAWindUp

MUSEIST wrote: »

^^^Agree, Cech is pure quality

Best keeper in the league.

smuckers

didn't see it but what the feck went wrong surely there has to be changes to the team????

MUSEIST

smuckers wrote: »

didn't see it but what the feck went wrong surely there has to be changes to the team????

Zhirkov and Ramires in midfield, need I say anymore.

ItsAWindUp

How was Zhirkov not taken off earlier? Absolute joke.

BERBA

are any of lampard essien and terry out longterm? , when are they back?

ItsAWindUp

As far as i know, Essien is gone for another two matches, Lampard for another three weeks, not sure about JT.

BERBA

ItsAWindUp wrote: »

As far as i know, Essien is gone for another two matches, Lampard for another three weeks, not sure about JT.

fcuk lampard back for the lane so on dec 12th

Dozen Wicked Words

Its wide open this year, we will still be there or thereabouts come the end of the season. All the "other" teams playing so well makes for a better, more interesting league this year, as long as we still end up on top :pac:

ItsAWindUp

BERBA wrote: »

fcuk lampard back for the lane so on dec 12th

Unless he does his groin in again, too much time spent getting acquainted with Christine me thinks;)

Telgere

dooferoaks wrote: »

Its wide open this year, we will still be there or thereabouts come the end of the season. All the "other" teams playing so well makes for a better, more interesting league this year, as long as we still end up on top :pac:

Sorry but as a Chelsea fan I want to see my team dominate. Screw an interesting league.

Please anyone but Ferreira in CB seemed lost.
Top of the league and laughing.

pistolpetes11

Im disgusted not only with the defeat , but the manner of it .

That will be all .