should we be looking to pay £20m for Schürrle?

I just dont get it

But we are talking about a level where quite well is not good enough. Quite well for Chelsea this season should be 3rd (nearer 2nd then 4th) and 2 finals. I could name 4 managers who I think would have ensured that, He doing quite well for some clubs but he not in those clubs,

Me either. If that's the calibre of striker we're looking at signing then I'd sooner we just gave Lukaku a chance.

so was hiddink a failure? its the flag thing that is the only difference

i just think its a personal thing rather than managerial ability issue.

^ Compare our league form under Hiddink to our league form under Rafa, you'll see quite a marked difference.

It never takes you long to dismiss people as either blinded or biased. That's not a very grown-up way to behave on a discussion forum.

I don't care what Rafa has said about us in the past and, despite my dislike of Liverpool, I have no problem with us hiring someone so closely connected to them. No player or manager will be intentionally shit just to damage a former clubs rival. My issues with him are based entirely on his performance as a manager.

You only need to see the last few weeks in here to know that I am not one who believes our players are so frequently bad because they are tired or that our squad is too small to be doing better, that we need to 'leave players at home' instead of going all out to win all matches. My thoughts are that we have the players here to be at least a clear 3rd in the table. I get that he's only been here a few months, but that should be more than enough time to identify the weaknesses in our performances, as Mourinho or any other top manager would, but Rafa is completely blind to them. He shouldn't need to bring in another 10-12 players (as was common in his Liverpool days) to sort this team out when a load of our problems could easily be resolved on the training field and by tweaking tactics.

There are a whole load of reasons why he will go down as a failure here. The fact that he used to manage Liverpool and said some stupid things about us will have nothing to do with it for most people, including me.

but will the end result see a marked difference? top 4 and a trophy and there is NO difference.

For some people it is, For others (like myself) its not. I had little time for Rafa at Liverpool I had less time for him at Inter. Not because i have a like or dislike for either of those clubs but he a manager whos style I dont rate highly or do i enjoy watching his style of play.

He might be a wonderful guy, He might be the nicest man in the world, He might be the greatest expert on football ever to walk the earth, But taking it purely for what he brings to teams as a manager I rate him as OK and OK is not a acceptable level for some clubs while it is for others, It just so happens at the moment he happens to be at a club where OK is below acceptable levels.

Would Man Utd give him the job? Would Arsenal? Would City? All would not go near him if their managers left today. Thats the level i think who Chelsea should be looking at no matter if it long term or for 8 months. If they would not get a job at either of those 3 jobs (more so Man Utd and Arsenal) then sorry you are not good enough for the job

With Guss as manager with the players we have at the moment would have IMO have won on Sunday and we would have been closer to 2nd.

You can not say top 4 then and top 4 today are the same.

The league is a hell of alot more poorer today then it was then. Getting 3rd or 4th in this league is not a massive achivement, I would expect any decent manager with half the tools available at Chelsea to walk it

well don1 i thank you for your time,i can totally understand you dont think rafa is the man to take you forward, but as an interim manager he has on course to do what was required,i think we can both agree on that.

top 4 is much ahrder now with spurs,arsenal and everton all vying for it.

i think rafa will get a big club or at least one with huge potential,but agree it probably wont be in england. i like chelsea and hope by end of season both the club and manager part ways with heads held high and i think a europa win and top 4 ensures that, id go as far to say thats a fact even

good luck for rest of season

I think Rafas stock in England isnt great anymore, hes looked down as a failure at Liverpool by all(part from Liverpool fans who remember him fondly for the CL win/final), as they fell apart abit in his final season and ever since then.

Hes laughed at for his terrible performance at Inter where he was sacked only 4-5 months after they won a treble, and they have basically been rubbish ever since.

I guess the worry for Chelsea fans is he could do the same to us... we won the CL and the FA cup last season and although we could yet win the EL and get top 4, we could equally as likely win nothing and end up 5th-6th... and then suddenly we cant attact the best players anymore(i.e falcao), and keeping hold of our stars is made even harder(they want CL football). Suddenly you are into the same situation Liverpool are in, having to buy younger players who are unproven and maybe not good enough for top 4/CL football.

Although Rafas stock in Europe is still high, i think he will get another top job in Spain very easily, even rumours he could be replacing Jose at Real Madrid(and may well happen if he wins us the EL/top 4). Although rumours Real want AVB/Ancelotti too... All ex Chelsea coaches..

Im still undecided on Rafa, and thats the worst point, hes kept us chugging along but never really impressed yet. His results have been steady but nothing too impressive and a few dire losses/draws. He has to win the Europa League/ Get top 4 if he wants to impress me, and im sure most Chelsea fans will think the same.

It's not about Rafa and nor was it about DiMatteo - this season has been all about a punishing schedule and criminally mismanaged squad.

For all of Rafa's faults he's had his hands tied for the very same reasons that saw DiMatteo get the boot.

If we hadn't done such a bad job on the squad DiMatteo would still be about.

Not a Chelsea fan but don't think Benitez has done much wrong the job has been a poison chalice this season. Surely Abrahmovic has to start thinking about stability.

Cech Ivanovic Luiz Terry Bertrand Ramires Lampard Moses Mata Hazard Zorres


Turnbull Oscar Mikel Azpilicueta Benayoun Ake Ba

2-0, happy days so far. Great goal by Luiz.

What a stunner by Luiz!

Edit - Mata with another assist! Looking good so far, hopefully we don't have our usual meltdown and we keep a clean sheet today.

Great goal. 2-0 without really breaking a sweat so far.

Hope we don't get complacent in the second half.

2-0 up has generally been precarious for us

I'd really like a third now. Starting to get nervy.

Aww Frankie, I want him to get a goal in this game!

Terry again

Big thanks to the Fulham player who blocked that chance at the other end

Haha Poor Torres.

I think it was actually harder to miss than to score.

Nice 3-0 win in the end, and back up to 3rd.

Great win and a clean sheet as well.Happy days.