Are we now being accused of Sexism?

Hope we don't start singing one of my old fav's "I wanna be a Chelsea Ranger" or we will be accused of Necrophilia

[quote=Tip top 2;77214761]A deserved result. West Ham could have scored 1 or 2, but then again, Chelsea missed a few chances.

A solid performance considering the context of the match, close after a draining cup final win. Only one change, Oscar in for Willian, and I was not impressed with Oscar at all. He's looking more and more like a luxury player. When Jose Mourhino arrived back, Oscar tried to catch the eye with tough tackling performances and some great skill. He scores the odd wonder goal, doesn't shoot nearly enough, and is now pulling out of tackles despite being fresh. Not good enough. Unless he changes considerably and soon, I would sell him in the summer, try and get £25 million for him and bring Mata back.

Not many people agree with me there, but for me what you lose in the tackling and tracking back, Mata more than makes up for elsewhere in his play. Plus you can have Fabregas and Mata in the same squad. I don't think his ability has dipped at all, and he's at the peak of his career. At Chelsea, he wasn't getting the ball as much any more, and it's the same at Man Utd. If he did come back, when he plays, he needs the ball. His distribution there is second to none.

Elsewhere in the squad the issue of cover for Matic is settled, and without buying anyone! Now, unless Remy suddenly ups his game, Chelsea just need another world class striker, and trebles every year will be achievable. As Fabregas said, it's not easy for Costa playing every week as the lone striker, and I still say that Mourhino should pick two strikers every now and then. With that policy, you also keep other world class strikers happy. Otherwise they just don't get enough playing time.

You are saying that Oscar looks like a luxury player but thats exactly what mata was at Chelsea under Mourinho, a luxury player. Dont agree with cover for Matic being settled either because Mikel would probably play if he wasnt injured and he isnt good enough We definitely do need another top class striker though, agree with you there

crap i never even quoted your post right haha i am rubbish

Mikel will be sold imo. He's also looking injury prone now.

I find Fabregas infuriating. Don't get me wrong, he can be fantastic. Leads the PL for assists etc. But when he goes missing for an hour (as seems to happen quite often) he's almost invisible.

And yet he is still the player who covers the most ground for us, game in , game out.

Is he ? Must admit that does surprise me. Actually it was my wife who alerted me. In the first half on Sunday she came in and asked me if Cesc was playing. I said, yes I think so..but I had to check to make sure.
But if he "ghosts" around waiting for openings to exploit, I guess that's what we want. He's always the one most likely to come up with the killer-pass.

The trouble is too much time is spent discussing what players do with the ball.

Cesc's (and Costa's as well) off the ball work is really important.

Its why I wanted Rooney in the past.

They often take out 2 or more players with their runs etc.

They are so intelligent in their runs and their positions that they are the main reason someone else is able to either get the goal or put a killer pass in.

When you have as many possible goalscorers as Chelsea have in their team it makes a real difference.

Oh yes, I'd agree with you there. I just don't see so much off-the-ball work from Cesc sometimes. Oscar, Willian, Costa, and even Hazard are always pressing the opposition when we lose possession..Fabregas not so much.
But I've no complaints really, he's made up for that with some great creative play.

That's not really Cesc's game i.e pressing players when we lose the ball, he comes into play more when we as a team has the ball, teams and other players are so scared of him getting the ball as they know he can set up a goal from anywhere that when we do get the ball he straight away is the centre of their attention they are so worried where he is running into or might be running into that they leave their self's open to other players. If he had the ball we have a couple of possible attacks (or starts of ones) and sometimes due to his runs etc we have more possible attacks (or starts of ones). Sometimes the fear of what someone can do is greater and more useful then what they actually do.

Jose has a few important decisions to make tomorrow. There's no doubt that PSG are a strong enough side to hurt us, even at The Bridge. We are through if the score remains the same, but trying to defend for 90 minutes would be too risky. Set up to play defensively and try to hit them on the break, or go for it from the start ?
Then there's the selection issues. Cech or Courtois ? Cahill or Zouma ? Which two from Ramires, Fabregas and Oscar ? A few months ago the team almost picked itself, now I'm not so sure.

Wednesday 11th March, 7.45 p.m.

Before we make any predictions etc, be careful what you wish for. Mourhino said before the tie was drawn that he wanted PSG, and to be honest he couldn't have asked for a harder tie. To make it easier for the fans to travel to the match?! I'm sure the fans would rather have an easier tie and travel for an extra hour or three than risk getting knocked out of the CL.

Anyway, gripes aside. The steam was lucky to get a 1 - 1 draw away, and can't rely on luck from now on.

I agree with JM that PSG played very dirty at times away, and the Chelsea players should just go for it imo, and trust that a good ref' will start to book PSG players and / or send them off if need be. The team can't be intimidated there.

Matic is back, and I think Ramires will keep his place which means that Fabregas will be pushed further forward. The squad has had all week to prepare for this, so there should be no excuses if they fail to perform on the night.

One big player to watch is one of my favourite players, David Luiz. A huge player and one for the big occasion. Let's hope his connection to the club causes a slight dip in form.

Come on the Chels'!

I hope its a good game and that we play well with no injuries.

But dare i say that it will not be the end of the world to go out, and concentrate on the league.

Chelsea NEED to win the league this year, anything else is a bonus.

I agree with you there that the league is a slight priority, although think that with the FA cup exit and the Cap 1 cup in the bag already, the squad can juggle both competitions now. With Real fading badly, a treble could just about be on, and that will be more Chelsea history.

I just dont want to end up not winning the league

It simply has to be our highest priority, chelsea should be winning the league for the next 5 years with our team.

Courtois; Ivanovic, Cahill, Terry (c), Azpilicueta; Fabregas, Matic; Ramires, Oscar, Hazard; Costa

SUBS:
Cech, Zouma, Luis, Willian, Cuadrado, Remy, Drogba

Ibrahimovic shouldn't have been sent off. Costa should have had a penalty.

2 big mistakes in 45 minutes FFS.

I thought both were difficult to see for the Ref, to give him a bit of credit. Hard to say with the sending off, seemed a 50/50, maybe a bit harsh but it was a bit of a dangerous tackle.

There was definitely contact for the penalty, so should have been given, but again hard to see.

Yes to a penalty,the challenge looked a 50/50 one to me, both went in tbh.

To be fair to the ref the Zlatan challenge did look bad in real time, although that may have been in part to Oscar's reaction. With the benefit of a replay it wasn't a red.

Willian on for Oscar.

What happened with Matic against Burnley definitely played a part in the players reaction.

And it WAS a dangerous challenge from Zlatan. A red card is not some kind of outrageous decision.

Ibrahimovic was unlucky to be sent off. But what a load of crap that was from Carragher, the Chelsea players didn't influence the referee, he pulled out a red card immediately.
Besides, Verratti should have gone, he was kicking or pulling back every player in sight from the start.

I don't like the way this second half is going. What the hell are we playing at ?

Is it us with 10?

It's what you get when you employ people like carragher.