The Official Thread of Chelsea FC

[DirtyDozen12]

Inter where brilliant tonight, really good value for the win.  Dont think Chelsea ever looked like winning the match bar the 5 minute good spell they had at the end of the 1st half.  Sneidjer's passiing was unreal, Frank Lampard at fault for the gaol, gave the ball away very cheaply which led to Sneidjer playing an unreal ball into the path of Eto'o, whom i was also very impressed with.  Eto's tracked runners (unlike Roanldahino las week) and got forward to support the attack when he was playing on the win.

If Inter can maintain that level of performance then they have a chance.

[under the bar]

Poetic justice for Etoo at the club that his allegation of racial abuse fell on deaf ears.

[stiffler]

utd wont be too scared of that inter team

[Denn Forever]

i can't imagine the like's of Lampard 31 Drogba 32 & Ballack 33 will get many more chances to win the champions league

So Man U don't have a hope with Neville 35, Scoles 35, Giggs 36?

Wayne Bridge must be lovin' this!

[under the bar]

i can't imagine the like's of Lampard 31 Drogba 32 & Ballack 33 will get many more chances to win the champions league

So Man U don't have a hope with Neville 35, Scoles 35, Giggs 36?

Perhaps you missed the point that Chelsea are out....not to mention that the players you quoted have 6 champions league medals between them   

[Denn Forever]

My point being when they won their last Champions league medal they were Neville 33, Scoles 33, Giggs 34.

Still time for Chelsea.  Can only see Ballack bring jetisoned as he always seems to have be accomadated.

[under the bar]

My point being when they won their last Champions league medal they were Neville 33, Scoles 33, Giggs 34.

Still time for Chelsea.  Can only see Ballack bring jetisoned as he always seems to have be accomadated.

Sure there's still time but it's become an obsession now for Abramovic.   Ancelotti prob knows his p45 is in the post at the end of the season so who do Chelsea turn to now for Roman's quest for the holy grail?   

[ross4life]

My point being when they won their last Champions league medal they were Neville 33, Scoles 33, Giggs 34.

Still time for Chelsea.  Can only see Ballack bring jetisoned as he always seems to have be accomadated.

Giggs was 25 scholes 24 & neville 24 when they won their first Champions league! & in 2008 they where more Squad players than first teamers

the boat may have sailed out for those players i mentioned! 3 Semi finals & a final appearance but tonight a 2nd round knock out

IMO New players & new Style is what Chelsea need to bring home old big ears!

[imtommygunn]

Realistically Mourinho beat the team he built. He knew how to counter them because they were his players.

How much have Chelsea evolved since he left?

[Rocky Mc Guigan]

Class beats crass. Nearly as much enjoyment as when the philanderer fell on his backside in Moscow. Karma

[new devil]

John Terry

What did he do?

[A Quinn Martin Production]

Have to be quick here...no complaints. well beaten by a better team over both games.  But I have to say last night was the worst performance by a Chelsea team I can remember in a long time.  Slow, ponderous, no creativity, first touch poor, second touch worse, passing awful (how many passes went to a team mate at knee height or to an Inter player??), out muscled by Inter too.  Chelsea players looked like they were crapping themselves for the first half hour.  Only Turnbull can hold his head up, he did nothing wrong.  Missed the Drogba sending off so can't comment yet.  Chelsea out played and out fought.  On that performance It's Villa for the Cup and MU for the league!

Man Of The Tie...Javier Zanetti...head and shoulders above anyone else on the pitch, hardly put a foot wrong over the 180 mins...not bad for a 52 year old

On a more general point, football at the moment is of a very poor standard if AC Milan and Chlesea are two of the top 16 in Europe.  The match was actually very poor.  Also we saw yet more examples of soccer moving towards becoming virtually a non contact sport.  Some of the frees given to both sides were nothing short of ridiculous.

[Main Street]

I'd agree with much of that QM. But I would not call that a poor match. It was about Inter and one of the most complete back 4 (or back 6) performances in a long time. Chelsea were surgically taken apart and painfully rendered impotent.
There was not much to Drogba's little stamp but the ref was looking at him and not where the ball was out on the wing. Full marks to that piece of officiating.

[nrico2006]

Realistically Mourinho beat the team he built. He knew how to counter them because they were his players.

How much have Chelsea evolved since he left?

How much of 'Mourinho's Team' were there before he arrived?  I know he bought Drogba but alot of the main men in Chelsea's Title Winning seasons were already there before he arrived.

[Norf Tyrone]

Just back from a week in France, so only getting a chance to post now. Haven't read through the predictable last few pages.

Chelsea have made it handy for me in that they have produced two similar dispalys which makes it handy for me to sum up!

However first things first, and I am sure some of you will be keyboard comedians, but Chelsea's luck with respect to officials in the Champions league is shocking, and I very much agree with John Terry's sentiments on this over the weekend.

If what has happened to Chelsea over the last few seasons happened to one of the other so-called big sides of England they'd be a massive storm kicked up. The Kakuta incident, which people ignored is the tip of a very strange iceberg.

Look at their CL exits over the years. Monaco 2004 and the key goal over the two legs is punched into the net by the Monaco attacker, the ghost goal (I know, I know Cech etc), Friskagate where UEFA stated that Rijkaard had broken the rules, and then fined Mourinho, the failure to send Rio off in the CL final, last year's gross incompetance from Overbo, the Kalou incident in the first leg at the San Siro, and then Tuesday night's refereeing display!

He had four big calls on Tuesday night, and missed three of them. The one he spotted was the only one that was against Chelsea.

I appreciate that sometimes you'll get decisions, sometimes you'll not, but continually under UEFA's officiating we've lost out time after time. Take this, the Kakuta incident, and the fact that a leading UEFA official called Mourinho 'the enemy of football', and this was acceptable, and you wonder.

Anyhow. Parking all that. The performance itself- and today's for that matter- was devoid of ideas, leggy, and what looked like zero tactical inspiration. It looks like we have ran out of steam at the worst possible time, and this may be rash, but an overhaul of the playing staff may be required.

Time and time again, I have stated that Chelsea's width and invention is almost entirely focused on bombing wing backs. With Cole and Bosingwa injured, we have self annuled most of that threat. That's a bit of bad luck, but at the same time there should be a plan B.

Which takes me to Gael Kakuta. The lad's an obvious talent, and he could provide us with the Macheda affect this year. However his absence from the match day squad time after time is a curious one. The rumour is that the whole UEFA inquiry has put a lot of pressure on the lad, and that Chelsea are protecting him. If this is true fine, but a subs spot, and threw on for the last five minutes when inspiration is needed is an option surely. He is one of the few squad players to give us that wee bit of invention and creation.

It looks like we are going to have to go to OT and win now, which is no small task, and we've still another few games along the way which are far from easy.

As a closing positive, the youths won their away leg in the FA youth cup 1-0, so at least there is still something positive to report!!