Chelsea............,

[redrus]

Well well well, it seems so doesn't it. I mean, if we're all honest with eachother, I reckon the majority of us thought that Chelsea would not be in the position they are at present and, after their opening result coupled with the appointment of Big Phil I personally thought they clean up.

So what gives, I'm not naive enough to think that losing 5 nil to United is going to be the end for them and, infact a loss like that usually befalls United before we go on one of our runs. Can Chelsea do that? Do they have the mental strength to follow on and go on a Premier League winning run? Will they win anything at all....? I'm not sure and the coming weeks will prove a lot in Chelsea's make up. My fear with Chelsea would be keeping all the ego's happy, I know there's a few at Old Trafford but, not in the same league as Chelsea, how many will leave, I think we all know Drogba's on his way, Anelkas had a few clubs hasn't he. What will the rest do when/if Chelsea have another trophyless season?

All is not well at The Bridge....!

Your thoughts too, I don't think they are in decline, yet....! Something must change though.

redrus

[mrtoad]

In decline, they should have lost 5-0 (see my other posts). Chelski clearly have a number of problems, and I guess they are not just on the playing front. Build your team on quick sand, an it can disapear pretty quick.

[Seapok]

In decline, they should have lost 5-0 (see my other posts). Chelski clearly have a number of problems, and I guess they are not just on the playing front. Build your team on quick sand, an it can disapear pretty quick.

Haha what is it with you and sand? do you have some kind of fetish going on? As I've just said in the Chelsea thread...We've just lost our 1st away game of the season.

I didn't see all the fuss being kicked up about Man Utd being in decline when they lost their SECOND away game. People who live in glass houses comes to mind.

[redrus]

In decline, they should have lost 5-0 (see my other posts). Chelski clearly have a number of problems, and I guess they are not just on the playing front. Build your team on quick sand, an it can disapear pretty quick.

I didn't see all the fuss being kicked up about Man Utd being in decline when they lost their SECOND away game. People who live in glass houses comes to mind.

SP, you're more than welcome to kkick start the United in Decline thread again if you like, I tried a few weeks ago, just didn't happen though....!

redrus

[mrtoad]

In decline, they should have lost 5-0 (see my other posts). Chelski clearly have a number of problems, and I guess they are not just on the playing front. Build your team on quick sand, an it can disapear pretty quick.

Haha what is it with you and sand? do you have some kind of fetish going on? As I've just said in the Chelsea thread...We've just lost our 1st away game of the season.

I didn't see all the fuss being kicked up about Man Utd being in decline when they lost their SECOND away game. People who live in glass houses comes to mind.

Cheers mate, put the bait out and the fish will always bite.

[redrus]

In decline, they should have lost 5-0 (see my other posts). Chelski clearly have a number of problems, and I guess they are not just on the playing front. Build your team on quick sand, an it can disapear pretty quick.

Haha what is it with you and sand? do you have some kind of fetish going on? As I've just said in the Chelsea thread...We've just lost our 1st away game of the season.

I didn't see all the fuss being kicked up about Man Utd being in decline when they lost their SECOND away game. People who live in glass houses comes to mind.

Cheers mate, put the bait out and the fish will always bite.

"ze seagulls, will follow ze trawler, it is because they think fish will be thrown from ze boat"

redrus

[toasted]

In decline both on and off the pitch. The Robinho transfer was evidence of that. Home results show that there is a lack of creative spark (a can opener) to prise open packed defences. Add to that an aging squad and a manager with little experience in managing a club, as opposed to a country, and the future does not look good. Has Abramovich lost interest?

[MSingh]

Cheeky, cheely Mr Redrus....

[Jimjim]

Chelsea are in poor form but can surely turn it around.

[cockneyrebel]

if they carry on like this they will be lucky to finish in the top 4 and i support them

[mrtoad]

In decline both on and off the pitch. The Robinho transfer was evidence of that. Home results show that there is a lack of creative spark (a can opener) to prise open packed defences. Add to that an aging squad and a manager with little experience in managing a club, as opposed to a country, and the future does not look good. Has Abramovich lost interest?

That is a very pertinent question. It was always possible that he would. He is certainly not splashing the cash as he was, and he was not at the United game on Sunday. That was surprising as it is one of the biggest games of the season. I nkw that it was a Russian holiday, but still strange.

Think Ferguson said at the start of the season that he though they may have reached their peak last season, and so far it is looking that way. I still wouldn't right them off, but they do appear to be declining.

[lazeeboy]

chelsea in decline ? they are only 4 points off the pace,if they beat liverpool on the 1st of feb they are only 1 behind ,dont right them off just yet ,after the weekends terrible performance they will have something to prove next time out ..

[mrtoad]

Roman's Bridge is falling down

... By MARTIN SAMUEL Chief Sports Writer

Last updated at 7:36 AM on 13th January 2009

Add to My Stories Those who claim to have the inside track at Chelsea say that when this season's financial figures are released at the start of next month, there will no longer be any doubt about the commitment of Roman Abramovich, the owner, to his club.

There is talk of a major announcement. It could be a new stadium or substantial redevelopment at Stamford Bridge; it could be a favourable adjustment of his loan arrangements. What it is unlikely to be, however, is what Chelsea need most of all.

Chelsea need Abramovich to go again. The same investment that produced two titles under Jose Mourinho, the former manager, is required to restructure a team that appears to have peaked.

Looking at the XI fielded by Luiz Felipe Scolari at Old Trafford on Sunday - first-choice, bar Michael Essien - it is hard to name more than a handful who would be considered on the right side of an athletic summit.

John Mikel Obi certainly, and right-back Jose Bosingwa, who was a revelation until he ran out of steam shortly before Christmas. It is not unthinkable that Joe Cole and Ashley Cole could also find a new level of performance, although there is no guarantee, and Frank Lampard's consistency through a season continues to defy his 30 years, although surely not for much longer.

Yet the rest, Petr Cech, Ricardo Carvalho, Didier Drogba, Michael Ballack, Deco, even John Terry, the England captain, are showing signs of age and wear and tear. To use a television term, this team has jumped the shark.

In a three-part episode of Happy Days, screened in 1977, Fonzie was seen jumping over a shark on waterskis while in Hollywood. The phrase became short-hand for any television show that has overstayed its welcome.

Not such Happy Days: Just like Fonzie, the current Chelsea team has 'jumped the shark'.

Moonlighting jumped the shark when Maddie and David got together and all the sexual tension disappeared. Frasier did the same when Niles and Daphne became a couple. Football's equivalent would be Chelsea's performance at Old Trafford.

That is not to say there cannot still be the odd good episode. Happy Days continued for a run of 100 shows after the Hollywood trilogy, but it was never the same.

Chelsea's players still have merit and, individually, each is capable of a match-winning performance of the highest quality; but they are at a stage of their careers when one eye must be focused on the sequel, on the long-term, on what happens next. And, at Chelsea, what happens next is that Abramovich stumps up a second time, or his dream perishes.

Sir Alex Ferguson alluded to the fact that Chelsea were too old and would find it hard to progress even before the season started. It is becoming apparent, too, that what he has achieved at Manchester United, Chelsea are still to do. He has been smart enough not to write off players such as Gary Neville, Paul Scholes and Ryan Giggs, but savvy enough to groom strong replacements.

Ji-Sung Park now does Giggs' work on the left, Michael Carrick's passing compensates for the absences of Scholes and Rafael is a stunning understudy for Neville. On Sunday, a 21-year-old from Belfast, Jonny Evans, played in place of Rio Ferdinand, having made his full league debut only in September. He barely put a foot wrong.

Don't fancy yours much: Unlike Sir Alex Ferguson, Chelsea boss Luis Felipe Scolari doesn't have any genuine bright young talent knocking on the first team door.

Yet, without Terry or Carvalho, Chelsea are in jeopardy and their replacements are ordinary imports, Alex and Branislav Ivanovic, not players who could one day save the owner a small fortune. Chelsea have Michael Mancienne, an England Under 21 international, but Scolari would appear not to trust him.

The knock-on effect from that could be vast.

If anything, Chelsea's next generation will be more expensive than the last because at least Terry came through the ranks. No hope of that now. Manchester United's substitutes included Carrick and Anderson, who were not homegrown but have at least come to represent the future.

Chelsea's reserves had no such freshness and were made up mostly of players such as Juliano Belletti and Salomon Kalou, who have had their chance, failed, and will remain no more than squad men.

In your hands: Roman Abramovich needs to splash the cash again if Chelsea are to return to the summit of English football.

Franco Di Santo, a 19-year-old Argentinian, is afforded the No 9 shirt, but he has made nine substitute appearances under Scolari this season, playing approximately 160 minutes of football, and has rarely looked like scoring.

If Drogba left there would be no question of advancing Di Santo in his place.

Chelsea's decline in mid-season has been so acute there is now a very real chance they could be caught by Aston Villa, a team they comprehensively outplayed at Stamford Bridge on October 5.

Indeed, when the teams meet again at Villa Park on February 21, who would now predict the outcome based on current form; or next season, unless great improvements are made to Chelsea's squad.

In the next year or two, and most inconveniently in the midst of global financial crisis, Abramovich must secure world-class replacements for the spine of his team if it is to continue competing at a rarefied level.

He needs a goalkeeper, two centre-halves, two central midfield players and two strikers; he needs to spend again what he spent to bring the Premier League trophy to Stamford Bridge; and to further complicate matters, his manager has 18 months left on his contract and may produce a shopping list of talent at odds with the opinion of any successor.

These are troubling times for Chelsea: when Terry missed that penalty against United in Moscow last May it must have seemed as bad as things could be. Who suspected that, for this group of players, the performance on that miserable night could turn out to be as good as it gets.

[MSingh]

Roman's Bridge is falling down

Build it up with Claret & Blue, poor old Chelsea...

[Seapok]

Roman's Bridge is falling down

Build it up with Claret & Blue, poor old Chelsea...

Keep it coming boys! we all know come May the MIGHTY Blues will be there or there abouts and you all know it!

[redrus]

^

Over 100 views and only 7 votes, lots of people sitting on the fence on this one eh?

It really will mean a lot to see what the response is in their next game, I believe its Stoke at The Bridge is it? I feel the debate may change tac after then, which way she goes, no-one knows....!

redrus

[MSingh]

Roman's Bridge is falling down

Build it up with Claret & Blue, poor old Chelsea...

Keep it coming boys! we all know come May the MIGHTY Blues will be there or there abouts and you all know it!

[Seapok]

^

Over 100 views and only 7 votes, lots of people sitting on the fence on this one eh?

It really will mean a lot to see what the response is in their next game, I believe its Stoke at The Bridge is it? I feel the debate may change tac after then, which way she goes, no-one knows....!

redrus

Yeah we got Stoke at home followed by Middlesbrough at home, then away to the bin dippers, surely 7 points out of those 3 games. I'm sure all the people who have been jumping on the bang wagon will change their minds when we are top of the league come mid-Feb..

[redrus]

^

Over 100 views and only 7 votes, lots of people sitting on the fence on this one eh?

It really will mean a lot to see what the response is in their next game, I believe its Stoke at The Bridge is it? I feel the debate may change tac after then, which way she goes, no-one knows....! :jerk:

redrus

Yeah we got Stoke at home followed by Middlesbrough at home, then away to the bin dippers, surely 7 points out of those 3 games. I'm sure all the people who have been jumping on the bang wagon will change their minds when we are top of the league come mid-Feb.. :D :D

redrus

[mrtoad]

^

Over 100 views and only 7 votes, lots of people sitting on the fence on this one eh?

It really will mean a lot to see what the response is in their next game, I believe its Stoke at The Bridge is it? I feel the debate may change tac after then, which way she goes, no-one knows....!

redrus

Yeah we got Stoke at home followed by Middlesbrough at home, then away to the bin dippers, surely 7 points out of those 3 games. I'm sure all the people who have been jumping on the bang wagon will change their minds when we are top of the league come mid-Feb..

Ever the optimist Seapok. On a serious note, you will still be there or there abouts. It will be interesting to see how Scolari responds to the dip in form

C'mon The Shrimpers.

[MSingh]

Ever the optimist Seapok. On a serious note, you will still be there or there abouts. It will be interesting to see how Scolari responds to the dip in form

C'mon The Shrimpers.

I would have set the alarm for that if only we had the poxy FA Cup on here...

Could be an interesting one, especially if Southend can hold out to Half Time & maybe beyond..

[Macclad]

One thing you used to be able to say about Chelsea,wether you loved them or hated them,was that they had a good team spirit and kept going for the whole 90 minutes.

Now they seem to have some players of questionable temperament who are OK when things are going well but disappear or go into a sulk when the going gets tough eg.Anelka,Deco,Drogba.

Also some players who have been there a while but arent quite up to it eg.Kalou,Belletti,Mikel,Malouda.

They will be in the top 4 at the end of the season,maybe in with a chance of a trophy somewhere,but I think Scolari will undertake a major overhaul of the squad in the close season.

[bkkjames]

One thing you used to be able to say about Chelsea,wether you loved them or hated them,was that they had a good team spirit and kept going for the whole 90 minutes.

Now they seem to have some players of questionable temperament who are OK when things are going well but disappear or go into a sulk when the going gets tough eg.Anelka,Deco,Drogba.

Also some players who have been there a while but arent quite up to it eg.Kalou,Belletti,Mikel,Malouda.

They will be in the top 4 at the end of the season,maybe in with a chance of a trophy somewhere,but I think Scolari will undertake a major overhaul of the squad in the close season.

Your bolded portion seems in direct conflict with every newspaper and alot of Blues supporter's views. They tried to push hard when Anelka came on, but they quit after the second goal.

The rest of your statement I agree with.

[StevieH]

think it's a bit soon to be writing them off but there's a lesson there for man city about just signing big names and hoping they'll make a team. think they may be regretting not doing a bit more due diligence on scolari's club management CV too.

[MSingh]

I think people are being much too critical of Chelsea here & are going over the top..

Of course, we're all gagging for them to fail massively, that's only natural, but i'd have 20 of my hard earned Baht with anyone at good odds that they'd win the League this Year ??

They're one of only two Teams, in my opinion, that can realistically & just because they had one very bad day at the Office, well that could go one of two ways couldn't it...

I said it in the Stoke Thread but people should always be careful of a wounded Animal, especially a very, very dangerous one..

However, a quick one that gets overlookd a lot in my opinion is the fact that this is Scolari's first Job in European Club Football & to expect him to just come in & everything be fine in the first Season would be very naive..

Add that to the loss of Steve Clarke & it isn't a steady Ship at all as the balance has shifted, but they still have enough class there to do the business..

[StevieH]

I think people are being much too critical of Chelsea here & are going over the top..

Of course, we're all gagging for them to fail massively, that's only natural, but i'd have 20 of my hard earned Baht with anyone at good odds that they'd win the League this Year ??

They're one of only two Teams, in my opinion, that can realistically & just because they had one very bad day at the Office, well that could go one of two ways couldn't it...

I said it in the Stoke Thread but people should always be careful of a wounded Animal, especially a very, very dangerous one..

i'm not writing chelsea off completely but i think their problems are a wee bit deeper than you make out. drogba doesn't look like he wants to be there, scolari has never managed a top european club and has certainly never had to deal with the egos on offer at the bridge and his signing deco has unbalanced their midfield. aside from their first half dozen away matches they've looked a bit of a mess.

[Sparkles]

Roman's Bridge is falling down

... By MARTIN SAMUEL Chief Sports Writer

Last updated at 7:36 AM on 13th January 2009

Add to My Stories Those who claim to have the inside track at Chelsea say that when this season's financial figures are released at the start of next month, there will no longer be any doubt about the commitment of Roman Abramovich, the owner, to his club.

There is talk of a major announcement. It could be a new stadium or substantial redevelopment at Stamford Bridge; it could be a favourable adjustment of his loan arrangements. What it is unlikely to be, however, is what Chelsea need most of all.

Chelsea need Abramovich to go again. The same investment that produced two titles under Jose Mourinho, the former manager, is required to restructure a team that appears to have peaked.

Looking at the XI fielded by Luiz Felipe Scolari at Old Trafford on Sunday - first-choice, bar Michael Essien - it is hard to name more than a handful who would be considered on the right side of an athletic summit.

John Mikel Obi certainly, and right-back Jose Bosingwa, who was a revelation until he ran out of steam shortly before Christmas. It is not unthinkable that Joe Cole and Ashley Cole could also find a new level of performance, although there is no guarantee, and Frank Lampard's consistency through a season continues to defy his 30 years, although surely not for much longer.

Yet the rest, Petr Cech, Ricardo Carvalho, Didier Drogba, Michael Ballack, Deco, even John Terry, the England captain, are showing signs of age and wear and tear. To use a television term, this team has jumped the shark.

In a three-part episode of Happy Days, screened in 1977, Fonzie was seen jumping over a shark on waterskis while in Hollywood. The phrase became short-hand for any television show that has overstayed its welcome.

Not such Happy Days: Just like Fonzie, the current Chelsea team has 'jumped the shark'.

Moonlighting jumped the shark when Maddie and David got together and all the sexual tension disappeared. Frasier did the same when Niles and Daphne became a couple. Football's equivalent would be Chelsea's performance at Old Trafford.

That is not to say there cannot still be the odd good episode. Happy Days continued for a run of 100 shows after the Hollywood trilogy, but it was never the same.

Chelsea's players still have merit and, individually, each is capable of a match-winning performance of the highest quality; but they are at a stage of their careers when one eye must be focused on the sequel, on the long-term, on what happens next. And, at Chelsea, what happens next is that Abramovich stumps up a second time, or his dream perishes.

Sir Alex Ferguson alluded to the fact that Chelsea were too old and would find it hard to progress even before the season started. It is becoming apparent, too, that what he has achieved at Manchester United, Chelsea are still to do. He has been smart enough not to write off players such as Gary Neville, Paul Scholes and Ryan Giggs, but savvy enough to groom strong replacements.

Ji-Sung Park now does Giggs' work on the left, Michael Carrick's passing compensates for the absences of Scholes and Rafael is a stunning understudy for Neville. On Sunday, a 21-year-old from Belfast, Jonny Evans, played in place of Rio Ferdinand, having made his full league debut only in September. He barely put a foot wrong.

Don't fancy yours much: Unlike Sir Alex Ferguson, Chelsea boss Luis Felipe Scolari doesn't have any genuine bright young talent knocking on the first team door.

Yet, without Terry or Carvalho, Chelsea are in jeopardy and their replacements are ordinary imports, Alex and Branislav Ivanovic, not players who could one day save the owner a small fortune. Chelsea have Michael Mancienne, an England Under 21 international, but Scolari would appear not to trust him.

The knock-on effect from that could be vast.

If anything, Chelsea's next generation will be more expensive than the last because at least Terry came through the ranks. No hope of that now. Manchester United's substitutes included Carrick and Anderson, who were not homegrown but have at least come to represent the future.

Chelsea's reserves had no such freshness and were made up mostly of players such as Juliano Belletti and Salomon Kalou, who have had their chance, failed, and will remain no more than squad men.

In your hands: Roman Abramovich needs to splash the cash again if Chelsea are to return to the summit of English football.

Franco Di Santo, a 19-year-old Argentinian, is afforded the No 9 shirt, but he has made nine substitute appearances under Scolari this season, playing approximately 160 minutes of football, and has rarely looked like scoring.

If Drogba left there would be no question of advancing Di Santo in his place.

Chelsea's decline in mid-season has been so acute there is now a very real chance they could be caught by Aston Villa, a team they comprehensively outplayed at Stamford Bridge on October 5.

Indeed, when the teams meet again at Villa Park on February 21, who would now predict the outcome based on current form; or next season, unless great improvements are made to Chelsea's squad.

In the next year or two, and most inconveniently in the midst of global financial crisis, Abramovich must secure world-class replacements for the spine of his team if it is to continue competing at a rarefied level.

He needs a goalkeeper, two centre-halves, two central midfield players and two strikers; he needs to spend again what he spent to bring the Premier League trophy to Stamford Bridge; and to further complicate matters, his manager has 18 months left on his contract and may produce a shopping list of talent at odds with the opinion of any successor.

These are troubling times for Chelsea: when Terry missed that penalty against United in Moscow last May it must have seemed as bad as things could be. Who suspected that, for this group of players, the performance on that miserable night could turn out to be as good as it gets.

Dont buy the team is" too old" line. Man of the match in most peoples eyes,last weekend, was Ryan Giggs and he 35.Not far behind him in a vintage display was Gary Neville another team elder. Ferguson is smart enough to nuture young talent like Jonny Evans, Rafel ,Anderson etc. I dont see Chelsea doing that ,they want the finished product. And whatever the likes of Balllack ,Drogba and Deco are earning ,they should be shown the door and that money spent on promoting youth. A youth team player for Chelsea has buckleys of geting in the first grade squad.

Chelsea are stil contenders, its not the end of the world, but a timely wake up call.

[oldgit]

Chelsea Football Club is not in decline but some of the first team squad are.Scolari cannot afford to play an ageing midfield which is woefully devoid of pace.Deco,Lampard,Ballack and Joe Cole are great on the ball and will make a telling pass but none of them are quick.None of them have that explosive pace to go past players which is vital when you play in the Premiership.Kalou has this but is a confidence player and inconsistent.It looks like Joe Cole will be out for some time so this is an opportunity for Kalou.Mikel is young and skilful but couldn't beat ME over ten yards.

As is the debate regarding the clash of styles between Gerrard and Lampard for England,I think that Scolari cannot afford to play Deco and Ballack in the same team.We came to Old Trafford with too many players not at their best and,when that happens,you can't win.Drogba is a liability with his constant whinging and hasn't done anything to warrant a place in the side.The sooner he's on his way,the better. Bosingwa is good going forward but can't cross a ball and can't tackle.This means that the right midfielder is always having to track back to cover.