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

GavRedKing

bullpost wrote: »

I still worry that Carlo was fatally wounded by the Wilkins affair. I think there is every chance he has lost interest and is just counting down the days.
It wouldn't surprise me if he is gone in the next fortnight as RA decides he's had enough.

I think the sword that Carlo will ultimately fall on is his CL progression this year, if we dont beat Copenhagen in the 1st leg i can see him getting the chop, I think RA will happily take the CL if it means losing the EPL.

amiable wrote: »

Can i just play devil's advocate here on Ray Wilkins.
If he was so good as a coach why was he not used by another club in the years before he joined Chelsea?
I'm well aware he was a manager before.
I've met the man several times and he is a really good bloke but is he really the reason Chelsea's form has dipped?

I dont think hes the reason but we could have used him, himself and Carlo have an understanding, a trust it seemed, as if Carlo needed a genuine, honest opinion Ray would have given it, the players seemed to take to him too. I think what has effected the squad is the fact the decision was made without any inptu from Carlo, if reports are to be believed.

Essien

flahavaj wrote: »

Or you could say her new fella is a bit of a chav that's won the lotto and thats the only reason she's with him. He dresses rich, acts rich but really he's fooling no one and in fact most of the pub is laughing at him, especially as he's fallen on tough times lately, despite his throwing his cash at the problem in the most vulgar way possible......

Quiet you, enjoy your last few sips, the barman's about to kick you out because you've already had 18 pints and you owe him a fortune.

Oh, and nobody in the pub likes you either!

Johner

How many games is that we haven't scored in this season? Pretty sure it was only one league games last year.

jesus_thats_gre

bullpost wrote: »

I still worry that Carlo was fatally wounded by the Wilkins affair. I think there is every chance he has lost interest and is just counting down the days.
It wouldn't surprise me if he is gone in the next fortnight as RA decides he's had enough.

It's either that or you give Roy Hodgson the credit

I am fascinated by Chelsea's drop in form since the Wilkins affair. Can an interfering/bad owner really have that much of a negative influence on a players or whole teams performance?

MUSEIST

I can't believe some are calling for ancelottis's head, who exactly do we bring in at this stage of the season, ridiculous. The player need to take respocibility for some of their performances imo.

GavRedKing

Essien wrote: »

Quiet you, enjoy your last few sips, the barman's about to kick you out because you've already had 18 pints and you owe him a fortune.

Oh, and nobody in the pub likes you either!

Nobody likes the old guy in the corner telling tales of past glories and remembering the good old days. :P

pistolpetes11

amiable wrote: »

Can i just play devil's advocate here on Ray Wilkins.
If he was so good as a coach why was he not used by another club in the years before he joined Chelsea?
I'm well aware he was a manager before.
I've met the man several times and he is a really good bloke but is he really the reason Chelsea's form has dipped?

The man was Chelsea through and through , he knew everyone at the club form the cleaners to the ball boys to the underperforming well paid "stars"

He has been there from nearly Day one when the club emerged as big club and knows every player inside out . This is what made him so special to Chelsea FC, this is as much his team as it ever was Jose's/or Carlo's.

Just take a look at the dug out on match day , Carlo paints a lonely figure , no right hand man there to give him a dig out or to bounce ideas off , only a young apprentice and I think Carlo needs a lot more than that , IMO if he does not get his own man in the Dug out with him sooner rather than later it could be curtains for him .

Does not mean that Ray would do well where ever else he went as CFC was where his expertise's were /are , When it comes to Chelsea he is an expert and there is not another Man in the club that I can see that holds such abilities .

GavRedKing

Johner wrote: »

How many games is that we haven't scored in this season? Pretty sure it was only one league games last year.

I twould have guessed 5 off the top of my head so just checked there and its 8 games we ahven't scored a goal in.

Liverpool x2
Wolves
Biringham
Fulham
City
Villa
Sunderland

geeky

If Carlo does get the chop, though, who's there to replace him? I can't see Jose running before the summer at least, Rafa is damaged goods, there are some very good managers who've worked solidly at a lower level in the EPL (eg Moyes, O'Neill) but it's no sure thing that they'll step up successfully. As frustrated as I am by Carlo's seeming inability to get a talented team working, it'd be maddening if they ditched him without a realistic replacement in mind.

Essien

jesus_thats_gre wrote: »

I am fascinated by Chelsea's drop in form since the Wilkins affair. Can an interfering/bad owner really have that much of a negative influence on a players or whole teams performance?

I don't think it's because we sacked Wilkins that we've been rubbish, though I do think the reasons behind it have played a huge part.
Our problems have never been down to just 1 or 2 players, it's universal, the whole team has been low on confidence and/or experiencing poor form since Wilkins left. To me that suggests problems behind the scenes and that means the problem is with our managerial/coaching set up as a whole.
Any member of our backroom staff could be nervous or angry or both as a result of Wilkins sacking and I think that is whats wrong here. The team never seems properly motivated or well drilled, that's been the case since he was sacked, a players dip in for doesn't usually last this long, nevermind a whole teams.

amiable

pistolpetes11 wrote: »

The man was Chelsea through and through , he knew everyone at the club form the cleaners to the ball boys to the underperforming well paid "stars"

He has been there from nearly Day one when the club emerged as big club and knows every player inside out . This is what made him so special to Chelsea FC, this is as much his team as it ever was Jose's/or Carlo's.

Just take a look at the dug out on match day , Carlo paints a lonely figure , no right hand man there to give him a dig out or to bounce ideas off , only a young apprentice and I think Carlo needs a lot more than that , IMO if he does not get his own man in the Dug out with him sooner rather than later it could be curtains for him .

Does not mean that Ray would do well where ever else he went as CFC was where his expertise's were /are , When it comes to Chelsea he is an expert and there is not another Man in the club that I can see that holds such abilities .

Two things,
How long was Wilkins been back at Chelsea?
How can he be considered through and through Chelsea when he spent more time at QPR as a player than at Chelsea?
At the time QPR were Chelsea's local rivals

pistolpetes11

jesus_thats_gre wrote: »

It's either that or you give Roy Hodgson the credit

I am fascinated by Chelsea's drop in form since the Wilkins affair. Can an interfering/bad owner really have that much of a negative influence on a players or whole teams performance?

It was not down to the owner , it was down to the new Chief Exec Ron Gourlay ,

Rumor has it that he and Ray did not see eye to eye on a on field issue(something to do with Substations, or tactics), Ron had Romans ear and got him the boot.

jesus_thats_gre

Essien wrote: »

I don't think it's because we sacked Wilkins that we've been rubbish, though I do think the reasons behind it have played a huge part.
Our problems have never been down to just 1 or 2 players, it's universal, the whole team has been low on confidence and/or experiencing poor form since Wilkins left. To me that suggests problems behind the scenes and that means the problem is with our managerial/coaching set up as a whole.
Any member of our backroom staff could be nervous or angry or both as a result of Wilkins sacking and I think that is whats wrong here. The team never seems properly motivated or well drilled, that's been the case since he was sacked, a players dip in for doesn't usually last this long, nevermind a whole teams.

That is sort of what I was inferring. I don't believe that Wilkins abilities as a coach was the determining factor in too much. I do believe that it is down to Abramovich's or a higher ups meddling in one form or another. The forcing out of Wilkins would probably have left a very bad taste in quite a few peoples mouths. If enough people have low moral, any number of things can go wrong.

Incidently, I firmly believe that if it wasn't for RM ****ing with Jose until he left, that Chelsea would have won virtually every league title and a few Champions Leagues between then and now.

Essien

jesus_thats_gre wrote: »

Incidently, I firmly believe that if it wasn't for RM ****ing with Jose until he left, that Chelsea would have won virtually every league title and a few Champions Leagues between then and now.

So do I, if's and but's though, too bad we'll never know.

kryogen

amiable wrote: »

Just cos someone doesn't put their money where their mouth is doesn't make their belief or post any less valid.
If its what they believe they are quite entitled to it
Just cos a few of you play the macho wager card and he refuses to take the bait doesn't change anything.
There's no legal obligation to ''put your money where your mouth is''

Again what a load of Macho Bull

sigh, you win little warrior you win, big steak for you tonight

pistolpetes11

amiable wrote: »

Two things,
How long was Wilkins been back at Chelsea?
How can he be considered through and through Chelsea when he spent more time at QPR as a player than at Chelsea?
At the time QPR were Chelsea's local rivals

As a player from 73-79

As a Coach /Caretaker/

Chelsea from 2000 -2004

Millwall from 2004-2005

Chelsea from 2005-2010

Nearly a good 10 years , he was there there for the growth of the club from a mid table team to one of the top 4 and grew as a coach as a lot of our players grew as stars.

Sgt Pepper 64

CFC have a NEW hero

"He's here, he's there, he's every ****ing where, David Luiz, David Luiz!"

getting compared to Beckenbauer an all, hell I even found an arsenal site thats all loved up about him!

In the cold light of day, lets look at some facts:

1/ We are out of the championship
2/ 4th (or even 3rd) place is still in our own hands
3/ We are still competing in 2 cups
4/ We still have a talented and experienced manager who has won pretty much everything.
5/ We have a talented squad, that has won pretty much everything.
6/ We have an owner who loves us (And just gave us 70 million reasons why!) and wants our team to succeed

The important bit is that we are rebuilding, even Fergie went through dips of not winning the league whilst rebuilding.

So, its not all bad is it?

Rebuilding the team with younger blood (As demanded by the media and other fans, what will they say then??!!)
Still competing for cups, still likely to make the CL places, plenty of time to get Torres integrated

I say to you chelsea fans, its not a bad time to be a CHELSEA fan at all!

Now come on the Blues, cos someone is going to get an almighty thrashing again soon!

LanceStorm

Sgt Pepper 64 wrote: »

1/ We are out of the championship
2/ 4th (or even 3rd) place is still in our own hands
3/ We are still competing in 2 cups
4/ We still have a talented and experienced manager who has won pretty much everything.
5/ We have a talented squad, that has won pretty much everything.
6/ We have an owner who loves us (And just gave us 70 million reasons why!) and wants our team to succeed

Thats exactly the way to be looking at it, we still have a great shot at 3rd/4th, whether thats beneath us or not dosent come into it really!! we have the FA Cup and Champions League to play for and we are one of the strongest teams still in it. We have made major moves to revamp our squad this year, I dont see it coming into fruition until next season tho, we have too many players being brought into the team and still finding their feet, lets just keep plugging away and see what we can get out of this season!!

the_monkey

I am already looking forward to next season

Johner

We still have the FA Cup and Champions League to win.

GavRedKing

the_monkey wrote: »

I am already looking forward to next season

This season is far from over monkey.

Johner wrote: »

We still have the FA Cup and Champions League to win.

My thoughts exactly. I want the FA Cup back and I want to win the Champs League, I think Carlo is the best coach to help us achieve that.

The future is bright, the future is Blue :pac:

MUSEIST

I was thinking about our midfield problems there today and what about putting luiz in the holding role, would be perfect for him. Along with ramires and 1 of essien/lampard, makes sense to me but of course ancelotti will refuse outright to drop essien or lamps for some reason.

GavRedKing

MUSEIST wrote: »

I was thinking about our midfield problems there today and what about putting luiz in the holding role, would be perfect for him. Along with ramires and 1 of essien/lampard, makes sense to me but of course ancelotti will refuse outright to drop essien or lamps for some reason.

I think Luiz has all the attributes to play there, i know we've only seen him first hand for 110 mins in total but the lad is going to be one of the best defenders on the planet.

Hes quick, reads the game well, has a good varition off passes, loves a tackle, good in the air, hes comfortable on the ball, uses both feet and has no problem carrying the ball froward, hes not a CB at all, hes a bloody midfielder :pac:

It would be interesting to see when Alex, Ivanovic, Terry, Luiz all fit who gets the nod at CB. On the evidence of last nights gaem Luiz would be a perfect DM, and could build play from back and offer an attacking option that Mikel doesnt when he plays.

pistolpetes11

gavredking wrote: »

This season is far from over monkey.



My thoughts exactly. I want the FA Cup back and I want to win the Champs League, I think Carlo is the best coach to help us achieve that.

The future is bright, the future is Blue :pac:

Tactically were very restrained and its shown when the chips have been down lately , Carlo didnt have the answers .

Panthro

Yuri is back in training, bit more options out wide. Malouda might have to start pulling up the socks.

Essien

gavredking wrote: »

Hes quick, reads the game well, has a good varition off passes, loves a tackle, good in the air, hes comfortable on the ball, uses both feet and has no problem carrying the ball froward, hes not a CB at all, hes a bloody midfielder :pac:

You left out the hair, he has wonderful hair.

amiable

pistolpetes11 wrote: »

As a player from 73-79

As a Coach /Caretaker/

Chelsea from 2000 -2004

Millwall from 2004-2005

Chelsea from 2005-2010

Nearly a good 10 years , he was there there for the growth of the club from a mid table team to one of the top 4 and grew as a coach as a lot of our players grew as stars.

I don't think he was there all those years tbh but if you say he was fair enough.

Panthro

From Vital Football

Chelsea - Injury Update!

Although the weather conditions at Cobham may have left a lot to be desired with incessant rain sweeping across the site, there was a touch of good news for all Chelsea supporters.

Three of our squad finally returned to full training, the three being Yuri Zhirkov, Fabio Borini and Ryan Bertrand.

Zhirkov has been out of action with a calf injury, sustained whilst on international duty, since November. His return will give Carlo Ancelotti some much needed different attacking options.

Borini, despite scoring five in a single reserve game, has remained on the periphery of the first team squad and has returned to training after a spell in his native Italy to cure his shoulder problem.

Bertrand, who spent the first half of the season on loan at Nottingham Forest, now finds himself as a youthful deputy to Ashley Cole after Patrick van Aanholt went to Leicester City on loan until the end of the season.

We`d like to welcome all three players back and hope their injury woes are now behind them!

amiable

pistolpetes11 wrote: »

As a player from 73-79

As a Coach /Caretaker/

Chelsea from 2000 -2004

Millwall from 2004-2005

Chelsea from 2005-2010

Nearly a good 10 years , he was there there for the growth of the club from a mid table team to one of the top 4 and grew as a coach as a lot of our players grew as stars.

In fact it seems he wasn't.

http://www.chelseafc.com/page/Legends_Details/0,,10268~1966811,00.html



RAY WILKINS


Ray Wilkins joined Chelsea as an apprentice and it was apparent that with his talents he would soon break through into the first team. This he did in October 1973 aged 17.
Sadly for Wilkins this coincided with the breakup of the famous cup-winning team. As more experienced players left, Wilkins was made our youngest ever captain, just 18, but he could do little to prevent relegation. Two years later though, Ray had led a young team to promotion. He was the outstanding player in the team, his range and accuracy of passing created chance after chance for his team mates and he also contributed seven goals to the cause, many of them spectacular long-range efforts.
By now Wilkins was an England international, called up while still a Second Division player. He was becoming a celebrity away from the pitch and was undoubtedly the star of the team.
Still, even Ray's talents could not help a team that was being crippled by a lack of investment. He suffered his second relegation with the club in 1979 and was immediately transferred to Manchester United for £825,000.
After a long playing career, Wilkins moved into coaching and has twice been assistant manager at Chelsea, under Gianluca Vialli from 1999 to 2000, and from September 2008 to November 2010, under Luiz Felipe Scolari, Guus Hiddink and Carlo Ancelotti

amiable

pistolpetes11 wrote: »

I did say coach / caretaker , be pedantic if you like , he has been with the club for nearly 10 years.

You seem to like that word. No i just wouldn't have thought of him as through and through any club tbh.

pistolpetes11

amiable wrote: »

In fact it seems he wasn't.

http://www.chelseafc.com/page/Legends_Details/0,,10268~1966811,00.html



RAY WILKINS


Ray Wilkins joined Chelsea as an apprentice and it was apparent that with his talents he would soon break through into the first team. This he did in October 1973 aged 17.
Sadly for Wilkins this coincided with the breakup of the famous cup-winning team. As more experienced players left, Wilkins was made our youngest ever captain, just 18, but he could do little to prevent relegation. Two years later though, Ray had led a young team to promotion. He was the outstanding player in the team, his range and accuracy of passing created chance after chance for his team mates and he also contributed seven goals to the cause, many of them spectacular long-range efforts.
By now Wilkins was an England international, called up while still a Second Division player. He was becoming a celebrity away from the pitch and was undoubtedly the star of the team.
Still, even Ray's talents could not help a team that was being crippled by a lack of investment. He suffered his second relegation with the club in 1979 and was immediately transferred to Manchester United for £825,000.
After a long playing career, Wilkins moved into coaching and has twice been assistant manager at Chelsea, under Gianluca Vialli from 1999 to 2000, and from September 2008 to November 2010, under Luiz Felipe Scolari, Guus Hiddink and Carlo Ancelotti

I got my dates mixed up completely , I only had a quick look at the reference site before i posted

He was also there in 2000 in the caretaker role with Vialli

amiable

pistolpetes11 wrote: »

I got my dates mixed up completely , I only had a quick look at the reference site before i posted

Fair enough.
IMHO opinion i don't think he's to blame anyway for Chelsea's slump in form.

pistolpetes11

Just watching the Spurs game , Jesus I cant remember seeing a player in a Chelsea bombing down the pitch just like Arron Lennon has done just there.

Maybe Malouda last season , but no one seems to making them type of runs this season.

pistolpetes11

amiable wrote: »

Fair enough.
IMHO opinion i don't think he's to blame anyway for Chelsea's slump in form.

What can we put it down to ?

Good players dont turn bad over night ,

I suppose looking at it now ,

Drobga was very ill , Lampard had a bad niggling injury as did Terry , Essien is not the same player since coming back from his injury, Alex has been out and then all the players we let go in the summer without replacing .

So who takes the blame , the Club for not replacing them , or the manager for not insisting upon it.

amiable

pistolpetes11 wrote: »

What can we put it down to ?

Good players dont turn bad over night ,

I suppose looking at it now ,

Drobga was very ill , Lampard had a bad niggling injury as did Terry , Essien is not the same player since coming back from his injury, Alex has been out and then all the players we let go in the summer without replacing .

So who takes the blame , the Club for not replacing them , or the manager for not insisting upon it.

If only it was that easy to go out and replace Drogba, Terry, Lampard and Essien.
Even with all the money Roman has you can't just replace those players easily. Not impossible just very difficult.
Drogba has been ill but he's 33 next month. He couldn't go on forever as the type of powerhouse player he was.
I don't know what's wrong with Essien but i wouldn't lose faith with him just yet unless he wants out.
Lampard and Terry are no spring chickens either and Luiz has been brought in with that in mind.
In saying all this Carlo seemed to like working with older players at Milan.

pistolpetes11

Are you for real lad , do you honestly not think that we will make it through ?

http://boards.ie/vbulletin/showpost.php?p=70676679&postcount=174

pistolpetes11

amiable wrote: »

If only it was that easy to go out and replace Drogba, Terry, Lampard and Essien.
Even with all the money Roman has you can't just replace those players easily. Not impossible just very difficult.
Drogba has been ill but he's 33 next month. He couldn't go on forever as the type of powerhouse player he was.
I don't know what's wrong with Essien but i wouldn't lose faith with him just yet unless he wants out.
Lampard and Terry are no spring chickens either and Luiz has been brought in with that in mind.
In saying all this Carlo seemed to like working with older players at Milan.

I dont know , I am starting to find myself falling in line with a good few on the shed calling for Carlo to be gone ,

Gone is actually the wrong word , he just needs a shaking up and seriously needs to shake up his tactics , most games he subs a player without fail between 65-70 minutes , We just look very predictable but I still have faith that we can turn it around .

The league is out of reach , but the FA cup and Champions league is still well within our reach.

Looking a spurs tonight I think they will really run city close for 4th with us taking an easy 3rd

Jordonvito

pistolpetes11 wrote: »

I dont know , I am starting to find myself falling in line with a good few on the shed calling for Carlo to be gone ,

Gone is actually the wrong word , he just needs a shaking up and seriously needs to shake up his tactics , most games he subs a player without fail between 65-70 minutes , We just look very predictable but I still have faith that we can turn it around .

The league is out of reach , but the FA cup and Champions league is still well within our reach.

Looking a spurs tonight I think they will really run city close for 4th with us taking an easy 3rd

The Champions Leauge isn't well within Chelsea's reach, nor is it well within any English teams reach, Barca are at different level and only United, maybe, would be able to compete with Real Madrid

amiable

Jordonvito wrote: »

The Champions Leauge isn't well within Chelsea's reach, nor is it well within any English teams reach, Barca are at different level and only United, maybe, would be able to compete with Real Madrid

If the English teams had that attitude they may aswell give up now.
Liverpool went to the Nou Camp a few years ago and nobody gave them a chance.
Sporting Gijon drew 1-1 with Barca at the weekend.
Inter Milan did a job on Barca last season too.
I think Man United and Chelsea are capable of getting past Barca in the Champions league this season.

Gonzovision

amiable wrote: »

If the English teams had that attitude they may aswell give up now.
Liverpool went to the Nou Camp a few years ago and nobody gave them a chance.
Sporting Gijon drew 1-1 with Barca at the weekend.
Inter Milan did a job on Barca last season too.
I think Man United and Chelsea are capable of getting past Barca in the Champions league this season.

Not Arsenal?

GavRedKing

Jordonvito wrote: »

The Champions Leauge isn't well within Chelsea's reach, nor is it well within any English teams reach, Barca are at different level and only United, maybe, would be able to compete with Real Madrid

Silly post is silly.

Arsenal could do a job on Barca, looks unlikely but Barca aren't as invincible as everyone thinks. Sky do alot to big up the EPL but equally big up La Liga, I'd fancy Chelsea or Man Utd against Barca and even fancy Arsenal if they can mix it up and get in their faces and deny them space, sadly this isnt the Arsenal way.

amiable

gonzovision wrote: »

Not Arsenal?

Why not? I only mentioned United and Chelsea cos the poster said United and we are in the Chelsea thread.

Johner

Clifford impressed on his full debut for Notts County, they won 2-0 and Clifford got an assist from a corner, was an og! Here's the video don't know what the defender was at though.

EDIT: wrong tags.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=JzD1YZoUlbE

the_monkey

amiable wrote: »

If the English teams had that attitude they may aswell give up now.
Liverpool went to the Nou Camp a few years ago and nobody gave them a chance.
Sporting Gijon drew 1-1 with Barca at the weekend.
Inter Milan did a job on Barca last season too.
I think Man United and Chelsea are capable of getting past Barca in the Champions league this season.

If Chelsea can find some of that early season form then maybe.

Anyway I think Arsenal have a good chance and allthough normally
I'm not there biggest fan, I live here in Barcelona and have to listen to
all the BS from the fans here, so tonight I AM A GOONER!!!



edit - Oh sorry ! , this was meant to be put in the Arsenal-Barça match thread....

Essien

the_monkey wrote: »

If Chelsea can find some of that early season form then maybe.

Anyway I think Arsenal have a good chance and allthough normally
I'm not there biggest fan, I live here in Barcelona and have to listen to
all the BS from the fans here, so tonight I AM A GOONER!!!



edit - Oh sorry ! , this was meant to be put in the Arsenal-Barça match thread....

I hope City, Spurs and Arsenal go as far as possible in Europe as long as it's not at our expense. We really need them all to be playing as many extra games as possible and for them to have distractions outside the League.

Also, if we don't win it, I wouldn't mind seeing Arsenal win it.

Johner

Borini hatrick for the reserves, currently 3-2 against West Ham, can't believe we are going to sell him and not give him a chance.

pistolpetes11

gavredking wrote: »

Silly post is silly.

Arsenal could do a job on Barca, looks unlikely but Barca aren't as invincible as everyone thinks. Sky do alot to big up the EPL but equally big up La Liga, I'd fancy Chelsea or Man Utd against Barca and even fancy Arsenal if they can mix it up and get in their faces and deny them space, sadly this isnt the Arsenal way.

I actually fancy Arsenal tonight , had a feeling bout Spurs last night, was saying it to the lads in work and was getting laughed off the stage , one of the boys said if I was so sure there nearly 5-1 on betfair .

I stuck a few quid on and had a nice little earner for myself , again I am going for Arsenal.

To the poster who said the Champions League is out of Chelsea's reach , we easily have the squad to win the competition , its a cup match at the end of the day and anything can happen.

pistolpetes11

Johner wrote: »

Borini hatrick for the reserves, currently 3-2 against West Ham, can't believe we are going to sell him and not give him a chance.

Carlo had a falling out with him or there issues with his attitude or something along them lines.

Its bloody disgraceful that a lad showing such talent is not given more of a chance .

Is there anywhere to watch the game online ?

MUSEIST

I fancy barca because arsenal will not play a defensive game and that is the only way to beat barca, look at inter last year. Arsenal will give xavi, iniesta, pedro, villa, messi enough room to do their thing where chelsea, man U would be more difficult for barca. the good news is that it will probably be a open game and entertaining.

Delighted to see that yuri is back in training today, should give us more options in midfield and may push malouda a bit more, I would love to see zhirkov on the left of the front 3 but for some reson carlo has rarely played him there.

Essien

pistolpetes11 wrote: »

To the poster who said the Champions League is out of Chelsea's reach , we easily have the squad to win the competition , its a cup match at the end of the day and anything can happen.

Tbh, I think we're better equipped to beat Barca than...well...anyone. It takes a good defense to beat them and right now that looks like it's all we have.