Chelsea Thread

[abigsmurf]

Not an entirely horrible result although we deserved something more out of it given we dominated the second half. As usual, Chelsea don't get penalties.

Stoke parked the bus and didn't really offer anything, I simply can't respect a team playing like that at home.

[hudson]

I think you should play Benayoun more.

[abigsmurf]

I think he's been good when he's played, wouldn't mind seeing him play more.

These kinds of games are always frustrating because there's always a bit of luck involved in breaking the deadlock and we were a bit unlucky (especially on the penalty decisions).

[abigsmurf]

Just read that Mikel found out just before the match that his father had been abducted in Nigeria.

He should've been made to sit it out really, no way would his head have been straight.

[abigsmurf]

http://news.bbc.co.uk/sport1/hi/football/14573557.stm

I give it a week before Hilario is injured too.

[abigsmurf]

Mata is on the verge of signing for ?23mill. Pretty chuffed by that, a world class wide player is exactly what our squad needs.

If we can get Modric for a non-stupid price We'll have an awesome squad.

->Open Spoiler<-

4 posts in a row and it's only Week 2 ;_;

[toythatkills]

Not as good a squad as West Brom at the moment though

What's going on, here?

[abigsmurf]

[]Chelsea
[]Penalties

Pick one, not both.

Gotta love that free kick, the deflection could've gone anywhere, it goes into Foster's arms and he didn't know anything about it.

Poor. Why wasn't Drogba starting? Why is Bosingwa playing? Looked better towards the end of that half but aside from that, shocking.

West Brom doing about what you'd expect, parking the bus and only breaking when Chelsea have overcommited (which we've done far too often for a defence not at full strength). Time wasting tactics from 10 minutes...

[abigsmurf]

Phew.

Much much improved in the second half. Another cast iron penalty shout but meh. Few heart in the mouth moments but Hilario was solid. It's good to know that this manager is willing to rectify mistakes he's made in tactics and not just wait until 70 minutes to do so. How many times last season did teams that played on the counter take points from us?

It's also incredibly amusing how little credit we got from ESPN, they rarely went beyond "begrudging", most comical was them having a go at Ashley Cole ignoring that Odemwingie clearly deliberately left his foot in then did a half hearted little kick out at him.



Ah the joys of a manager who actually seems to care.

[hudson]

It's also incredibly amusing how little credit we got from ESPN.

Everyone hates Chelsea. They stink.

Even my mate who is a fan. Had to listen to him before whine on about how **** they were.

[Jebus]

It's also incredibly amusing how little credit we got from ESPN, they rarely went beyond "begrudging", most comical was them having a go at Ashley Cole ignoring that Odemwingie clearly deliberately left his foot in then did a half hearted little kick out at him..

Let's put it this way, as a Bolton fan (although you'll beat us no question, twice) I'd be more worried about playing West Brom at the moment. I've never seen a less creative Chelsea midfield, and Drogba is a ticking time bomb waiting to go off, and the fans cheering his name above all else is only going to accelerate the problem.

On top of that, you completely lack width, unless you count Bosingwa and Cole going forward and exposing the defence over and over.

West Brom on the other hand, had a front two that loved going in behind the defence, caused problems all the time with their intelligent running and strength.

I'd say signing Modric has to be a number one priority for your squad, and Sturridge being available, well, he's got to be in or around that first eleven surely? That said, have Chelsea got *any* wingers?

Anelka wanting to go is bad too, as he always looks brilliant, althought Torres is looking very sharp.

[Adrock]

Malouda is a winger is he not? I didn't get to watch the match but Chelsea line up in a 4-3-3 right? Playing a narrow midfield with the fullbacks bombing on is a perfectly valid tactic. A defensive midfielder in the destroying mould is key to that as is creative central midfielders and a forward three capable of playing as part of the system. Anelka and Kalou do not strike me as forwards who can get wide and use the width efficiently. The problem is the midfield trio fielded last night isn't gifted with creativity. The bench also looked awkward apart from Benayoun, but he plays behind a main striker.

I'm surprised Torres is being played part of a forward three, at Liverpool his best form was as a lone striker with a creative player behind him. Playing as part of a forward three clearly hasn't worked for him, not with the current Chelsea personnel anyhow. To spend ?50mil on a player and not play to his strengths is rather perplexing.

Chelsea need to decide quickly what kind of team they want to be and what system will dominate their play. Either drop Torres and carry on with 4-3-3 or go with a new system and quickly get the personnel needed to exploit Torres' attributes.

[Jebus]

The thing is they, to me - they have the strike force for a 4-4-2, but can't play it because they only have Malouda. Anelka is wonderful drifting out wide, but it's a bit of a waste of his talents.

I'm not saying 4-3-3 isn't a valid tactic, but I do think it's becoming slightly outdated, most teams are moving to a more adaptive formation.

[abigsmurf]

It's why we're getting Mata. Everything I've read and seen about him makes him look like he'd be amazing for Chelsea.

As it stands, we put too much down the middle which makes it far too easy for teams that stick 9 men in the box. Plus if we mess things up, we have to deal with counterattacks that skip the midfield. Yesterday was a prime example of that. The fact that Cole had the best chance of the first half kinda sums up the problem.

Modric, Mata, Torres plus what's promising to be a wealthy of young strikers... Our squad could be immense.

[Jebus]

Not sure where this talk of sticking 9 men in the box is coming from?