Chelsea Team Talk/Gossip/Rumours Thread 2011/2012

GavRedKing

pistolpetes11 wrote: »

Good enough for them ,

Anelka has been brilliant when in the mood , but far to often I have watched him going through the motions ,Some of penalty misses of late have left the blood boiling , not even bothered would be the look on his mug afterwards.

Alex wanted to go last season too , let him on ,

I like the way AVB deals with it , your either in and fighting for your place or your out and I dont want you around my squad.

Are People still doubting that AVB is in charge ?

Theres no doubt hes in charge. What I dont get is people complaining about AVB trying set up the squad his way.

For one way or another Alex and Anelka are leaving and to be honest I welcome it, I'm glad they served us well but its a new era and AVB is leading it and he has my full support anyway.

Lets not forget he was Mourinho's " head scout " the guy knows what hes talking about when it comes to player judgement and hes coming off the back of a treble winning season with Porto as a head coach.

Dont worry lads, AVb is the right man for the job and hes doing it his way.

Blatter

gavredking wrote: »

Thats my point though, without Luiz the high line cant work, we're not going to get a quick CB in January, hell even if we get Cahill he wont be guarnteed a game next to JT, he'd have to fight for his place.

At the moment Luiz and JT is our best partnership at CB because we need Ivanovic at RB. I'd be more concerned about Bosingwa at RB then Luiz at CB, the amount of times Bosingwa switches off during games is frightening.

pistolpetes11 wrote: »

I wont lie , I used to have the heart in the mouth every time Carvaleo was defending when he first joined , he came good pretty soon though.

I think Luiz could come really good for us still

I agree that I would have JT and Luiz as the centre backs, I was just saying that Luiz is more liable to get sent of/give away a penalty at the moment than Alex is. I think Luiz needs games to eradicate the rashness, so he should play IMO.

There are certainly some similarities to Carvalho's first few months in the PL, although I think Luiz is much more eccentric than Carvalho ever was.

MUSEIST

I am glad that alex and anelka are leaving and some changes are occuring in the squad. Both alex and anelka have been excellent for us but if they are not part of the future plans then there is no point in keeping, we can replace them with younger fresher players.

GavRedKing

MUSEIST wrote: »

Thats very true about carvalho, he gave away a fair few penalties himself and had a very similar style and personality to luiz. Luiz is a bit more raw atm

Carvalho was signed at 26, I think, and had more experience so that stood to him, Luiz was 23 joining and only 2 years in Europe at the time, he'll come good.

pistolpetes11 wrote: »

Here is one for you ,

When will JT not become a shoe in for a starting spot ?

Hopefully soon , every person in the club should only be as good as there last game and they should be all fighting like dogs for there positions.

Next year I reckon, if we get Cahill in January he'll be JT's under study and will be ready for starting games for us soon enough. JT and Cahill at the back could work but even JT can see his days are numbered, Drogba got benched, Lamps is been rotated and rightfully so.

The so called untouchables, from Mourinhos era are far from what they used to be at this stage of there career and they need to know that if they're not offering anything to the team then they'll be benched or sold.

GavRedKing

Blatter wrote: »

I agree that I would have JT and Luiz as the centre backs, I was just saying that Luiz is more liable to get sent of/give away a penalty at the moment than Alex is. I think Luiz needs games to eradicate the rashness, so he should play IMO.

There are certainly some similarities to Carvalho's first few months in the PL, although I think Luiz is much more eccentric than Carvalho ever was.

Luiz is certainly more eccentric, you can see that in his play. He realises a lot on his pace and dribbling to get himself out of situtaions that most would punt up the field.

What he has to realise is theres a time for fancy defending and theres times when a hoof up field will do.

Although I dont think he understands the conceot of the aimless hoof upfield. :P

willmunny1990

gavredking wrote: »

And thats why your not managing Chelsea. Luiz has played the last 5, 6 games while Alex is been shipped out because AVB doesnt have room for him.

For the high line to work you need a quick player and Luiz is much quicker then Ivanovic, Alex and JT.

Luiz has been a liability more often than not for us. I don't think CB suits him, id like to see him at RB. I mean what harm could it do to experiment at least?

Bosingwa is woeful at defending, Luiz could defend better than him and being at RB would give him license to bomb on. Its suicide playing him at CB...but i forgot AVB would rather play Russian roulette with a high line than to try and sure us up defensively.

Sgt Pepper 64

The heart of every good team is a stable CB partnership.
Mourinho's Chelsea was Terry and Carvalho.

I'm not totally sold on Cahill or Luiz TBH, but we need to find a pairing and stick with it

Giggsy11

Goalless draw migh tnot be enough for Chelsea and may knock them out of the champions league. This is what I read.

Contrary to reports elsewhere, Chelsea are not guaranteed to qualify with a 0-0 draw. If Leverkusen lose in Belgium then Chelsea would be eliminated with any draw, including 0-0. This is because when three teams are level on points a mini-league is created without the games involving Genk. Leverkusen would finish top having secured one more point than their rivals. Valencia will finish above Chelsea by virtue of having scored one more goal than the London club, with both having five points and a goal difference of +1.

TerryTibbs!

Chelsea will win 2-0 tonight comfortably, tis grand.

GavRedKing

willmunny1990 wrote: »

Luiz has been a liability more often than not for us. I don't think CB suits him, id like to see him at RB. I mean what harm could it do to experiment at least?

Bosingwa is woeful at defending, Luiz could defend better than him and being at RB would give him license to bomb on. Its suicide playing him at CB...but i forgot AVB would rather play Russian roulette with a high line than to try and sure us up defensively.

Its more then the defence that needs to be changed to play a high line, we need the right midfielders to do it also and dropping Lamps, Malouda, Mikel is helping it. Playing Romeu, Meireles, Ramires is our best option for a high tempo, closing amd pressing game, no doubt Lamps has the stamina and fitness but his pace is well gone at this stage and doesnt help the system.

Luiz's best work is going through the middle though, we might see him at RB but against Soldado tonight he'll be playing at CB.

Sgt Pepper 64 wrote: »

The heart of every good team is a stable CB partnership.
Mourinho's Chelsea was Terry and Carvalho.

I'm not totally sold on Cahill or Luiz TBH, but we need to find a pairing and stick with it

As I said I reckon our best Cb pairing for a quick, mobile defender and an out an out defender is Luiz and JT. Give Luiz games, let him learn and we'll reap the rewards.

Giggsy11 wrote: »

Goalless draw migh tnot be enough for Chelsea and may knock them out of the champions league. This is what I read.

TerryTibbs! wrote: »

Chelsea will win 2-0 tonight comfortably, tis grand.

As above, we'll go through tonight, recent results and better performances have me convinced we'll win this game.

GavRedKing

AVB on Alex and Anelka from the website : http://www.chelseafc.com/page/LatestNews/0,,10268~2538884,00.html

Andre Villas-Boas has been further discussing his decision to exclude Nicolas Anelka and Alex from first-team activities after both handed in transfer requests recently.

The manager, preparing for tonight's decisive Champions League group game with Valencia, stressed he had no problem with either player but had acted in what he considers to be the best interests of the club.

'These are top professional players who have won everything for the club, for which we have a lot of respect and we will continue to make sure everything is available to them,' Villas-Boas confirmed. 'Their integrity and professionalism will never be in doubt, we just want to set the right mindset.

'It was a decision we took based on the run of results we were having and the fact we wanted everyone focused on the future of the club. Because of their transfer request it was something we decided with heavy thoughts, making sure it was the right decision, and I know it is always difficult for the players to be apart from people who represent a lot t them, their friends, but the players still have contact with us and it doesn't mean they won't return in the future.'

Both players arrived at Chelsea during the 2007/08 season, Alex in the August from Dutch side PSV and Anelka from Bolton during the January transfer window.

You will be able to keep up with the action from tonight's game at Stamford Bridge right here on the official Chelsea website, interacting with other fans and listening to Chelsea TV's live commentary.

GavRedKing

From the Mail : http://www.dailymail.co.uk/sport/football/article-2070362/Chelsea-defensive-like-Andre-Villas-Boas.html#ixzz1fkf0Ijwj

However animated Andre Villas-Boas might have been when his side scored their second goal at Newcastle on Saturday, Chelsea’s manager was keeping such emotions in check on Monday night.


He was candid enough in response to certain questions. Particularly when it came to the isolation of Nicolas Anelka and Alex and whether that result at St James’ Park represented a pivotal moment in Chelsea’s season.

‘We would not be arrogant enough to think that,’ he said. ‘Our results have not been impressive and we need to start performing with more consistency before we can believe we are back on track.’



But he was also more measured, defensive even; as defensive as his side need to be against Valencia this evening and defensive with regard to what started to feel like the elephant in the room at Stamford Bridge. Basically, what happens should Chelsea fail to progress beyond the first stage of the Champions League?


On three occasions Villas-Boas refused to countenance such talk, insisting he had not even thought about the consequences of a result that would propel Valencia into the last 16 and leave Chelsea in UEFA’s second-tier competition for the first time since Roman Abramovich bought the club in 2003.


Even with home advantage, it is a precarious position Chelsea find themselves in. A win sees them through, as does a goalless draw. But any other result, from a 1-1 draw to a win for a classy Spanish side sitting third in La Liga — one who have won five of their last six league games — leaves Chelsea and their manager facing some rather more difficult questions.


Villas-Boas recognises it will not be easy, not least because the circumstances for both clubs have changed somewhat since they last met back in September.

‘Valencia are in a better moment now,’ he said, knowing full well that the same cannot be said of Chelsea.




He can only hope that the events of the weekend do suggest some kind of turning point. The win at Newcastle, the words of support from Didier Drogba, even the fact that the 34-year-old Portuguese has received the backing of his employers in the way he has dealt with Anelka and Alex.

On Monday he might have recognised them as ‘top professionals’, but they were not involved in training during the day.



For players on the transfer list the reality is that, eventually, the mind-set is not the same,’ said Villas-Boas.

It sounded brutal even if it probably amounts to the right decision. As long as he has read the situation correctly and believes the dressing room will be comfortable with such treatment of friends and colleagues.

This being Chelsea, the issue of whether the manager had the support of the players was never far away. Villas-Boas insisted he did. ‘Yes,’ he said in direct response to a direct question, having already had the unequivocal support of the articulate Daniel Sturridge.


‘I am behind the manager and I believe everyone else is,’ he said. ‘He’s going to be here for the next three years.’

If Chelsea are eliminated from the competition and poor results then come against Manchester City and Tottenham it becomes a struggle to see Villas-Boas still being around much beyond the next three games.


But there is a feeling at Stamford Bridge that Tuesday night might not be that critical for the manager, and that it is only a ‘life and death’ game within the context of the competition; that only if Chelsea start to slip down the Premier League table and out of contention for next season’s Champions League would Abramovich start to get an itchy trigger finger. History suggests otherwise, but there you go.

Clearly, though, a good result would ease the kind of pressure Villas-Boas was obviously under until Salomon Kalou scored in the 89th minute against Newcastle and Chelsea were no longer vulnerable to the kind of late goal that has proved costly already this season.

On this point Villas-Boas was dismissive, however.

‘It’s irrelevant what the game represents to me,’ he said. ‘It represents, for this club, the continuation in this competition or not, so we approach the game with maximum care and with confidence.’


Villas-Boas said that Juan Mata had been useful in preparing for a game against his former club, even if he said it was impossible to ‘guess Valencia’s strategy’.

He spoke of the Spaniards being highly motivated and recognised the threat posed by players such as Jonas, Tino Costa, Jeremy Mathieu and Jordi Alba; not to mention the prolific Roberto Soldado. But he also said Chelsea would not be vulnerable to that classic continental counter-attacking style because of the more ambitious approach he has tried to implement.


‘We have more or less tested four different formations,’ said Villas-Boas. ‘The talent of these players and their qualities allow us to play what is best for the team in a precise moment.’


The key, though, is something Drogba touched on at the weekend when he said the players needed to get behind the manager. ‘There’s full belief in what we’re doing,’ said Villas-Boas. ‘We saw a great team spirit at Newcastle, and to score three there gives the value of this team a lot of credit.’


More credit tonight would still be most welcome. Not least for the manager

willmunny1990

gavredking wrote: »

Its more then the defence that needs to be changed to play a high line, we need the right midfielders to do it also and dropping Lamps, Malouda, Mikel is helping it. Playing Romeu, Meireles, Ramires is our best option for a high tempo, closing amd pressing game, no doubt Lamps has the stamina and fitness but his pace is well gone at this stage and doesnt help the system.

Luiz's best work is going through the middle though, we might see him at RB but against Soldado tonight he'll be playing at CB.



As I said I reckon our best Cb pairing for a quick, mobile defender and an out an out defender is Luiz and JT. Give Luiz games, let him learn and we'll reap the rewards.





As above, we'll go through tonight, recent results and better performances have me convinced we'll win this game.

I don't think Terry can play in a team that defends with a high line. He is far to slow, he will be left totally exposed.

If this high line is here to stay then Terry isn't a viable option IMO. I can understand you when you say give Luiz games but at the moment he is very erratic and lacks a defenders brain. He is talented but he frustrates me with his rashness and eccentric behavior.

On tonight we should have enough for a win but you never no what your going to get with us anymore.

Newcastle had their fair share of chances and you can be sure Valencia will get their chances as well. Valencia are a better outfit than Newcastle and pose a real threat IMO. I think Chelsea will win in what will be a tough game, Valencia should be respected and i don't think this game will be a cake walk.

GavRedKing

willmunny1990 wrote: »

I don't think Terry can play in a team that defends with a high line. He is far to slow, he will be left totally exposed.

If this high line is here to stay then Terry isn't a viable option IMO. I can understand you when you say give Luiz games but at the moment he is very erratic and lacks a defenders brain. He is talented but he frustrates me with his rashness and eccentric behavior.

On tonight we should have enough for a win but you never no what your going to get with us anymore.

Newcastle had their fair share of chances and you can be sure Valencia will get their chances as well. Valencia are a better outfit than Newcastle and pose a real threat IMO. I think Chelsea will win in what will be a tough game, Valencia should be respected and i don't think this game will be a cake walk.

True, thats why JT's day will be numbered soon enough. AVB will have to look at all options before replacing JT and even if Cahill is an option been touted by the media I reckon AVB could go further a field to replace JT.

Ashley Cole is 31 this month but I think with Bertrand and Van Aanholt we have enough internal quality to replace him. RB is still the most problematic position for us, Bos can be brillant or woeful which is a worry as teams seem to target his side more often then not.

It wont be a cake walk, i dont think anyone I suggestiung that, but with home advantage and our qualifiying in our own hands we should get the job done.

what I'd hope to see for tonight :

---

Cech

---

Ivan

---

Luiz

---

JT

---

Cole-

---

Romeu

---

---

Ramire

---

Meireles----

Sturridge

---

Mata

---

Drogba

---

2-0 Chelsea.


Worse case scenario, Valencia take the lead. The fans and players would know that only a victory would do, it would be a nightmare if Valencia take the lead.

willmunny1990

gavredking wrote: »

True, thats why JT's day will be numbered soon enough. AVB will have to look at all options before replacing JT and even if Cahill is an option been touted by the media I reckon AVB could go further a field to replace JT.

Ashley Cole is 31 this month but I think with Bertrand and Van Aanholt we have enough internal quality to replace him. RB is still the most problematic position for us, Bos can be brillant or woeful which is a worry as teams seem to target his side more often then not.

It wont be a cake walk, i dont think anyone I suggestiung that, but with home advantage and our qualifiying in our own hands we should get the job done.

what I'd hope to see for tonight :

---

Cech

---

Ivan

---

Luiz

---

JT

---

Cole-

---

Romeu

---

---

Ramire

---

Meireles----

Sturridge

---

Mata

---

Drogba

---

2-0 Chelsea.


Worse case scenario, Valencia take the lead. The fans and players would know that only a victory would do, it would be a nightmare if Valencia take the lead.

Agreed. That's probably the best team we could pick IMO.

GavRedKing

willmunny1990 wrote: »

Agreed. That's probably the best team we could pick IMO.

Bosingwa looks set to miss out, but being honest, thats not a bad thing when we need a clean sheet tonight against opposition that are frankly much better then Wolves and Newcastle IMO.

ShoulderChip

willmunny1990 wrote: »

Agreed. That's probably the best team we could pick IMO.

well we picked it

blue-army

Why can't Drogba play like that more often? Excellent performance.

and, by the way... Mata is god!!!

Johner

Great night! Topped the group.

Blatter

Johner wrote: »

Great night! Topped the group.

I've never seen such a contrast between home and away form that Genk have demonstrated in this group.

jcf

Vintage Drogs !!!!
And great stuff from Mata - really hope we can keep him !!

MUSEIST

Delighted with that.


Drogba was outstanding, I just wish he played like that every game. We were solid at the back and never looked like conceding. Top of the group, happy days:D

Blatter

The last time Drogba scored two goals in a game before tonight was the 14th of August 2010 against West Brom, nearly 16 months ago:eek:

smuckers

well done the players and AVB, defended so well, I think Luiz made one forward run in the whole match.

Juan Mata is a legend! I wish Drogs put in a performance like that every game.
Roll on City, going to be tough.

bullpost

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=z3rJX3U9yM8

homer simpson

Atta boy AVB, sticking it to the media Shows he most definitely has the fire in him anyway.

Edit: In case anyone wasn't watching Champions league goals on SS2 there, AVB tore into the media in post match press conference saying how they are always singling out chelsea, and he felt bad for them having to report a good story about chelsea for a change, and that no other team / set of players receives this treatment, said that they took the approach that if city qualify city qualify, if they don't they don't attitude but with chelsea it was totally different...

Fair play to him.

abelard

So so happy after that.

The City game will be another story, but we are in exactly the form we need to be in to really put it up to them.

TerryTibbs!

TerryTibbs! wrote: »

Chelsea will win 2-0 tonight comfortably, tis grand.

:rolleyes: Drogba

GavRedKing

Good team performance, we forced Valencia into a game they didnt really have the players to play.

The defence we're very well organised and as mentioned, Luiz didnt bomb on, ya can imagine AVB gave him strict instruction to keep the shape.

Romeu was very good again and has to be a starter for the foreseeable future, Drogba had a fine performance and was really up for it.

Cech has to be given praise, his top corner save from Albelda at 1-0 up kept us in the lead, he made a great save from a Valencia header in the second half only after he turned away a shot from the edge of the box.

Mata played well, he offers us what we've missed the last 2 years, a real creative influence, his ball for Drogba's second while quiet simple, showed good vision and he had to be in that position to slide him in.

Topping the group was a huge unexpected bonus and Genk have really equipped themselves after the CL outting.

It'll be a totally different game against City Monday night, again like last night we need everyone on top form and committed.

GavRedKing

From the site,

Having watched his team win Group E with a display befitting a side that will be in Pot 1 in the knockout stage draw a week on Friday, Andre Villas-Boas spoke as much about the psychological as the technical part of the performance.

The Chelsea manager didn't leave tactics out of his post-match discussion entirely. He spoke of an altered strategy for this game which saw his side defend deeper and counter-attack more than in recent weeks, but first he praised what he described as 'human values'.

'Finishing top is fantastic and nobody would have put a bet on us doing that,' Villas-Boas said. A combination of the 3-0 win over Valencia and Genk's 1-1 draw against Bayer Leverkusen sent the Germans through in second place behind Chelsea.

'It was very gratifying for the team who were excellent. It was a win of team spirit, solidarity, responsibility, strength of character, ability to take criticism and resilience and this is a great win for Chelsea players.
'The players deserve respect they don't get and we have been continuously chased by different kinds of people and different kinds of pressure. Maybe today we gave everybody a slap in the face.

'There is continuous persecution of Chelsea, continuous aggressiveness for one club. We have become a target and we have to accept that but tomorrow they have to report on a brilliant win with Chelsea qualifying first.'

Villas-Boas explained he couldn't rate the game as one of the best in terms of the direction he wants to take the team, but there were signs of strength in areas he requires to achieve his aims.
'We made changes to the way we played,' he said.

'We tried it at Newcastle the other day. We kept our [defensive] block a little bit lower down the pitch - a medium/low compact block with not a lot of space between the lines. It worked quite well.

'We gave Valencia the initiative and their possession was tremendous. Nobody has given us praise for keeping possession before but football is driven by results. Today we have had an excellent result and the initiative was on Valencia's side, but they couldn't find the correct spaces and they left us the gap to come around in transition and exploit those spaces.
'It was different in Valencia when we played very high up, their goalkeeper was crucial to the result and nobody hailed our style of play. Today we closed together our lines but that doesn't mean we are going to do the same in the future.

'In the way we set out our philosophy, there are human values that you cannot forget, and today they showed themselves to an unbelievable amount. It was a different strategy but the same philosophy when it came to human values.'

In was a contrasting night for two senior players in the squad. Didier Drogba scored two goals and made the other to take him within one of 150 goals for Chelsea. Frank Lampard was replaced by Raul Meireles to play alongside Ramires and Oriol Romeu in the starting line-up and remained on the bench.

'Didier in his recent run has found goals as well and with a striker that always helps,' said the manager. 'Didier is gaining his confidence when he is scoring.

'Frank has been fantastic in his performances but our choice fell to those three midfielders because of their technical ability to keep possession, keep the ball down and play out from the back. It is not that Frank can't do it but today that was our choice.

'He is fantastic in the way he has taken these tough decisions and Frank will continue to threaten for starting selection again. He is one of the greatest players in the world and for sure on Monday he will be in contention to come back.'

Sgt Pepper 64

gavredking wrote: »

Good team performance, we forced Valencia into a game they didnt really have the players to play.

The defence we're very well organised and as mentioned, Luiz didnt bomb on, ya can imagine AVB gave him strict instruction to keep the shape.

Romeu was very good again and has to be a starter for the foreseeable future, Drogba had a fine performance and was really up for it.

Cech has to be given praise, his top corner save from Albelda at 1-0 up kept us in the lead, he made a great save from a Valencia header in the second half only after he turned away a shot from the edge of the box.

Mata played well, he offers us what we've missed the last 2 years, a real creative influence, his ball for Drogba's second while quiet simple, showed good vision and he had to be in that position to slide him in.

Topping the group was a huge unexpected bonus and Genk have really equipped themselves after the CL outting.

It'll be a totally different game against City Monday night, again like last night we need everyone on top form and committed.

What was interesting was that he did drop the high line, so the pressure and the importance of the match was greater than him sticking to his principles!

However in that chelsea interview he said it doesnt mean he wont go back to it!

GavRedKing

Sgt Pepper 64 wrote: »

What was interesting was that he did drop the high line, so the pressure and the importance of the match was greater than him sticking to his principles!

However in that chelsea interview he said it doesnt mean he wont go back to it!

Well our tatctics we're spot on, Valencia came expecting to face a high line and a lot of pressure and hoping to expliot space in behind but they never really got our defence turned.

AVB got it spot on, sometimes ya have to change up your play, even though Valencia had 60-65% possesion they never created chances like we did.

I will say however, if we play a similar system against Man City they will beat us, they have more quality then Valencia and can create more with Silva.

Cant wait for Monday night now, a win against City would be a perfect way to continue the run.

Davidth88

Guys, great performance last night

One question ... who is the ' spivy ' looking guy who was sitting about 3 rows behind AVB in the Chelsea dugout , he was deffo part of the backroom staff.

I have looked for a photo , can't find it, he was the spit of Kid Creole ( shame the coconuts were not there )

RichT

Davidth88 wrote: »

One question ... who is the ' spivy ' looking guy who was sitting about 3 rows behind AVB in the Chelsea dugout , he was deffo part of the backroom staff.

I have looked for a photo , can't find it, he was the spit of Kid Creole ( shame the coconuts were not there )

Yeah, I was wondering about him too.

I think he's a mate of David Luiz, and they were off to play in a tribute band to Sparks, after the match.

Soby

Missed it cause of work just watched the highlights.Seemed like a good performance but that defending for the 2nd and 3rd goal. Wouldn't see it in a kids game

Sgt Pepper 64

Soby wrote: »

Missed it cause of work just watched the highlights.Seemed like a good performance but that defending for the 2nd and 3rd goal. Wouldn't see it in a kids game

I like to think of it as Chelsea's incisive attacking play led by a reinvigorated Chelsea legend, made their defenders look poor

pistolpetes11

So are some folks (Willy ) happy with that performance from our tactically inept manager last night ?

willmunny1990

pistolpetes11 wrote: »

So are some folks (Willy ) happy with that performance from our tactically inept manager last night ?

We actually defended ok last night, we defended deeper and Luiz wasn't half as crazy and Terry wasn't left exposed or isolated, its no coincidence this happened when we got rid of the high line.

We did leave Valencia have way to much possession though, a better team on the night could of taken advantage, although they didn't get in behind our defenders half as much with the high line toned down.

City next and then spurs away will be two tough tests.

Gonzovision

Chelsea's options for CL knock out stages: Napoli, CSKA Moscow, Basel, Lyon, Marseille, Zenit St Petersburg, AC Milan.

ShoulderChip

gonzovision wrote: »

Chelsea's options for CL knock out stages: Napoli, CSKA Moscow, Basel, Lyon, Marseille, Zenit St Petersburg, AC Milan.

Id like

Milan
Napoli
Marseile
Lyone
Moscow
Zenith
Basel

in the opposite order

pistolpetes11

ShoulderChip wrote: »

Id like

Milan
Napoli
Marseile
Lyone
Moscow
Zenith
Basel

in the opposite order

Hopefully we stay miles away from Basel ! Solid performance from them tonight , and have always looked a difficult team to play

the_monkey

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=8uK-Xvrk5AU

Sgt Pepper 64

gonzovision wrote: »

Chelsea's options for CL knock out stages: Napoli, CSKA Moscow, Basel, Lyon, Marseille, Zenit St Petersburg, AC Milan.

Damm, I wanted Barca!

Johner

Teams to avoid are Napoli and AC Milan. Wouldn't mind the others.

DazMarz

Don't really care who we get. Over two legs, absolutely anything can happen. Shouldn't fear anyone. But obviously we'd prefer to get a handy number now to hopefully get an easier route to the quarters.

Frisbee

Johner wrote: »

Teams to avoid are Napoli and AC Milan. Wouldn't mind the others.

CSKA and Zenit are big ones to avoid to as they involve such long trips and playing in the Russian winter ain't gonna be fun.

GavRedKing

Anyone but Milan and I'd fancy our chances to get through over 2 legs.

On another note ,

Welcome to London, the home of Champions League football. :pac:

MUSEIST

Frisbee wrote: »

CSKA and Zenit are big ones to avoid to as they involve such long trips and playing in the Russian winter ain't gonna be fun.

True but the russian league does not start until april which means both CSKA and Zenit will be be in pre season and probably not match fit for the next round.

Davidth88

The Monkey , thanks for the video, some nice photos of Mick Greenaway hidden amongst the dross.



ZIGGA ZAGGA ZIGGA ZAGGA !!!!

RichT

Frisbee wrote: »

CSKA and Zenit are big ones to avoid to as they involve such long trips and playing in the Russian winter ain't gonna be fun.

MUSEIST wrote: »

True but the russian league does not start until april which means both CSKA and Zenit will be be in pre season and probably not match fit for the next round.

Can't see The Drog being up for this kinda thing.......

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=uyQNKTJDVs4