Chelsea FC - Supporters' Rally

[Glen2712]

PRE-MATCH BRIEFING: CHELSEA V ROSENBORG


Scandinavian opposition is new to us in the Champions League but that doesn't mean club historian Rick Glanvill and statistician Paul Dutton lack points to discuss as they preview the match.


Rick ready for another tilt at the trophy with the big ears.


It's time to stand and flap the big UEFA logo again, children. The moment to book the tapas bar before watching continental opposition, and to dig out the passport for a midweek autumn jaunt.


Yes, Champions League football is here again, and reaching the semi-finals in three of the last four seasons must give us confidence that a little spring sun might be in order too. We'll have to wait and see whether a visit to Moscow, full of resonance, awaits us in May.


As the Chinese say, the longest journey starts with a single step. Playing at home to Norway's reigning champions, we must hope, can get us off on the right footing to finish high in a tough group, as well as kick-start our season in wider terms ahead of the visit to Manchester Utd next Sunday.


Our Group B opposition, Rosenborg, are even now nearing the close of their quest for qualification to next season's Champions League. With six games to play they lie fifth in the Tippeliga, a UEFA Cup slot, 13 points behind leaders Brann. Their league ends in early November.


Although they are the first Norwegian side we've met in this competition, they have a good Champions League pedigree. They have qualified for the group stages in ten of the last 11 seasons and should not be taken lightly.


In that time they have beaten AC Milan 2-1 at the San Siro, Real Madrid 2-0 and Olympiacos 5-1, as well as winning 3-0 over Borussia Dortmund on German soil. Nine years ago they beat Blackburn Rovers at home 2-1 (losing 1-4 at Ewood) and last season held Arsenal 1-1 in Norway before going down by five goals to one at the Emirates.


They generally play a 4-3-3 formation with full-backs who enjoy playing tight defensively but bomb forward on the overlap when they can. They pass swiftly and short, keep possession intelligently, have tough tacklers in midfield and some pace upfront to threaten the breakaway. More worryingly at the moment they are highly proficient at set-pieces.


It hasn't been a successful formula on their travels this season on the domestic front, though: they haven't won away in the league for three months. Their qualification rounds for this tournament were much different: they won both their matches away from home scoring three in each.


In fact, this is a side with goals in it. A few weeks ago at the Lerkendal Stadion they beat Astana of Kazakhstan 7-1, including a hat-trick for teenage Ivory Coast wideman Abdou Razack Traoré. That scoreline will ring a few bells. It was the same by which we saw off Tromso following our defeat in a hilarious Arctic Circle blizzard in the 1997/8 Cup-Winners' Cup. We have also lost poorly, 2-4, to Viking on Norwegian soil.


The man who has tended to play wide right in the front three is an adversary Chelsea fans will remember well, and with mixed emotions. Steffen Iversen, now 30, last played against Chelsea alongside Henri Camara, for Wolves back in September 2003.


He didn't have a look-in and the Midlanders were swamped 5-0. Iversen played next to goal-scorer Teddy Sheringham in Spurs's 1-1 draw at the Bridge the previous February when Marcel Desailly and John Terry were the Blues' central pair, but his most memorable match was at White Hart Lane in the second leg of the League Cup semi-final in January 2002.


His goal after two minutes set up a shocking 1-5 defeat for the Blues on the night. That's Iversen's only win against Chelsea in seven attempts, but he did also score in the 2-2 draw in 1999, more famous for Bjarne Goldbaek's absolute screamer for Chelsea.


The Norwegians' 6'6" keeper, Canadian Lars Hirschfeld, is also a Spurs reject, having failed to break through there in 2002.


Rosenborg's team, released yesterday, does not have a starting place for Iversen. It was announced as Hirschfeld in goal; defenders Roar Strand, Chriser Basma, Miika Koppinen and Mikael Dorsin; midfielders Marek Sapara, Vidar Riseth and Alexander Tettey; and upfront Per Ciljan Skjelbred, Yssouf Koné and Abdou Razack Traoré.


Koné, although born in Ivory Coast, plays for the Burkina Faso national side and is another pacy player. Young Ghana-born midfielder Alexander Tettey has replaced Iversen, which might point to a less attack-minded line-up than usual.


With the experience of right-back Strand and defensive middleman Riseth, both much-capped Norwegians, it is likely that coach Knut Tørum will 'park the bus' tonight.


Whether this particular Knut can hold back the tide of Chelsea attacks, only time will tell.

P.S: List Of UPPEES is not in full due to the capacity limitation of the signature function (not be longer than 300 characters excluding BB Code markup). Rest assured I've all ur nicks n u'll be awarded. If I do missed u, kindly PM me.


Appreciate the PM, Bro David_Ginola, Bro Rw6828, Bro Myo_Swee and Bro XboxSG!

[Glen2712]

PRE-MATCH BRIEFING: CHELSEA V ROSENBORG END


CHELSEA V ROSENBORG - Paul Dutton with all the Matchday One facts and figures


Rosenborg BK from Trondheim have dominated Norwegian football winning 14 of the last 15 league championships. Vålerenga won in 2005 when Rosenborg finished seventh.


The game will be the first between the clubs in European competition although Chelsea have met Norwegian opposition on three previous occasions.


1997/98 European Cup-Winners' Cup second round
Tromsø (a) L 2-3, (h) W 7-1 (9-4 on aggregate)
1998/99 European Cup-Winners' Cup quarter-final
Vålerenga (Oslo) (h) W 3-0, (a) W 3-2 (5-2 on aggregate)
2002/03 UEFA Cup first round
Viking (Stavanger) (h) W 2-1, (a) L 2-4 (4-5 on aggregate)


Rosenborg's last five years in Europe
2002/03 Champions League - first group stage
2003/04 Champions League - third qualifying round, UEFA Cup - third round
2004/05 Champions League - group stage
2005/06 Champions League - group stage, UEFA Cup - round of 32
2006/07 Did not qualify


Rosenborg's best performance in Europe was in 1996/97 when they reached the quarter finals but lost to eventual finalists Juventus. They eliminated AC Milan in the group stage by winning 2-1 at the San Siro on matchday six.


Rosenborg have played English opposition three times before:


1969/70 Inter Cities Fairs Cup first round
Southampton (h) W 1-0, (a) L 0-2 (1-2 on aggregate)
1995/96 Champions League group stage
Blackburn Rovers (h) W 2-1, (a) L 1-4
2004/05 Champions League group stage
Arsenal (h) D 1-1, (a) L 1-5


Our Norwegian visitors' strip is white shirts, black shorts and white socks.


Seventeen of their 26-man Champions League squad are home grown or naturalised and nine of them come from Trondheim. Two of them will be familiar to Blues supporters.


35-year-old Bjorn Kvarme played on the right of a back three for Liverpool in our famous 4-2 FA Cup win at Stamford Bridge in 1997. Half-time sub Mark Hughes helped turn around a two goal deficit at the break. Hughes, Zola and a brace from Vialli made it one of our greatest ever nights. In all he played three of his 54 games for Liverpool against us.


Steffen Iversen has played seven games against Chelsea, scoring twice (for Tottenham). He was on the winning side on one occasion, the 5-1 Carling Cup semi-final victory at White Hart Lane. His last game against us was in September 2003 for newly promoted Wolves at Molyneux. Goals from Lampard, Hasselbaink, Duff and two from Crespo secured a comfortable win for the visitors.


Chelsea have gone 41 games since our last defeat at Stamford Bridge against Barcelona in the Champions League in February last year. It is our only home defeat in 100 games.


Rosenborg's European Cup record is played 116, won 42, drawn 25, lost 49.


In domestic competition they have won 20 league titles and nine national cups.


Rosenborg entered this season's Champions League at the second qualifying stage. These are their results:


Second qualifying round
Aug 1 Astana (Kazakhstan) (a) W 3-1 Kone 2, Iversen (pen)
Aug 8 Astana (h) W 7-1 Kone 2, Iversen, Traoré 3, Sapara


Third qualifying round
Aug 15 Tampere (Finland) (a) W 3-0 Koppinen, Kone 2
Aug 29 Tampere (h) W 2-0 Sapara, Konan


Rosenborg's last six domestic games
Jul 28 Tromsø (a) L 1-2
Aug 4 Stabæk (h) W 3-0
Aug 11 Brann Bergen (a) L 2-3
Aug 25 Valerenga (h) W 2-0
Sep 1 Strømsgodset (a) D 1-1
Sep 15 Start (a) L 1-2


Rosenborg travelled to play bottom two side IK Start on Saturday evening and came away with a 2-1 defeat. Left back Mikael Dorsin equalised after 13 minutes, two minutes after falling behind. Start scored their winner midway through the second half. Rosenborg lined up 4-3-3: Hirschfeld; Stoor (Nordvik 82), Koppinen, Basma, Dorsin; Sapara, Riseth, Skjelbred; Iversen, Kone, Traoré (Konan 78).


Rosenborg stand fifth in the league on 29 points from 20 games, 13 points behind leaders Brann with six games to go. The Norwegian league runs between April and November.


Chelsea's overall record in European competition is played 130, won 70, drawn 32, lost 28. This is our eleventh season in succession in Europe.


This season is our sixth appearance in the Champions League. We have been semi-finalists in 2003/04, 2004/05 and 2006/07, quarter-finalists in 1999/2000 and the last 16 in 2005/06.


Chelsea have played 58 games in the Champions League proper (excluding qualifying games). We have won 29, drawn 15 and lost 14.


In 62 European games at Stamford Bridge Chelsea have lost three times. Only Lazio (1999/2000 1-2), Besiktas (2003/04 0-2) and Barcelona (2005/06 1-2) have defeated us.


Frank Lampard is our leading European appearance maker having played 49 games. John Terry is second with 48. Peter Osgood still is our record goalscorer in European competition with 16 followed by Lampard 13 and Didier Drogba and Tore André Flo on 12.


John Mikel Obi, if selected, will make his 50th appearance for the club.


The referee is Laurent Duhamel from France. He officiated in our 3-1 win in Sofia against Levski last season and our home draw with Hapoel Tel-Aviv in the UEFA Cup in 2001. This will be his first Rosenborg game.


There are no suspensions from either team.


The Luzhniki Stadium in Moscow will host the 2007/08 UEFA Champions League final on Wednesday 21 May. It is the home of Torpedo Moscow and has a capacity of 84,745 covered seats. It is one of few major European stadiums to use an artificial pitch, having installed the UEFA-approved FieldTurf surface in 2002 to withstand the effects of the freezing winters, although a new natural grass pitch will be laid for the final.


21 clubs have won the European Cup/Champions League since the first tournament in 1955/56. No London club has yet won it. The roll call of winners is: Real Madrid 9, AC Milan 7, Liverpool 5, Ajax 4, Bayern Munich 4, Barcelona 2, Benfica 2, Inter Milan 2, Juventus 2, Manchester United 2, Nottingham Forest 2, Porto 2, Aston Villa 1, Celtic 1, Dortmund 1, Feyenoord 1, Hamburg 1, Marseille 1, PSV Eindhoven 1, Crvena Zvezda (Red Star Belgrade) 1, Steaua Bucharest 1.

P.S: List Of UPPEES is not in full due to the capacity limitation of the signature function (not be longer than 300 characters excluding BB Code markup). Rest assured I've all ur nicks n u'll be awarded. If I do missed u, kindly PM me.


Appreciate the PM, Bro David_Ginola, Bro Rw6828, Bro Myo_Swee and Bro XboxSG!

[ab507uti0n]

si beh disappointing....... nb

domestic and european form sama sama.... tui

[Peter_North]

Now even Jose bemoans that the team lacks attacking power with the loss of Drogba and Lampard. Nobody took on the responsibility to drive the Chelea into the game.

The game against Man Utd will be interesting now that Jose is saying Drogba and Lampard will be missing. We may have to park a bus in front of Old Trafford.

[no_faith]

Originally Posted by Peter_North

...We may have to park a bus in front of Old Trafford.

imho, it is not wise to park a bus. i dunno why. our defence seems shaky atm. manu wun allow another reading game to happen.

to win manu, we have to attack. if not, by absorbing waves of attack from manu, manu bound to score wif Ronaldo and Ronney back in squad.

[Peter_North]

Originally Posted by no_faith

imho, it is not wise to park a bus. i dunno why. our defence seems shaky atm. manu wun allow another reading game to happen.

to win manu, we have to attack. if not, by absorbing waves of attack from manu, manu bound to score wif Ronaldo and Ronney back in squad.

The problem is we don't have attacking options in the team. Shevchenko is misfiring, Kalou makes interesting runs but offers little finishing, Malouda is pretty subdued as a winger. We need a player to drive the midfield and attack.

And for goodness sake, John Terry is NO Roy Keane. Don't why Jose is making him a striker when the team is down. One day Chelsea is going to concede a goal when John Terry is upfront.

[no_faith]

Originally Posted by Peter_North

The problem is we don't have attacking options in the team. Shevchenko is misfiring, Kalou makes interesting runs but offers little finishing, Malouda is pretty subdued as a winger. We need a player to drive the midfield and attack.

And for goodness sake, John Terry is NO Roy Keane. Don't why Jose is making him a striker when the team is down. One day Chelsea is going to concede a goal when John Terry is upfront.

Sheva, he is lethal but i really dunno how much time he need to adapt.
Kalou, so call hot prospect but i still see better prospect in Sinclair. Kalou finishing sux. dun see the potential in him.
Malouda, hardworking but he juz dun have tat kind of pace and dribbling skill to split defence.

JT in striker position? i tink JM is cracking up.

Haiz, where is the spirit in chelsea where we fight hard to secure the fourth spot for CL?

[Glen2712]

MINUTE DETAIL: CHELSEA 1 ROSENBORG 1


UEFA Champions League, Tuesday September 18th 2007 at Stamford Bridge.


Chelsea (4-4-2): Cech; Belletti, Alex, Terry (c), A Cole; J Cole, Makelele, Essien, Malouda; Kalou, Shevchenko.
Manager José Mourinho


Rosenborg (4-3-3): Hirschfeld; Strand (c), Basma, Koppinen, Dorsin; Sapara, Riseth, Tettey; Skjelbred, Koné, Traoré.
Manager Knut Tørum.


Referee Laurent Duhamel (France)


Crowd 24,973


Environment: Cool, clear evening for the first Champions League game of the season. Chelsea's first home 5.15pm kick-off. Live on ITV4.


Kit Chelsea - blue shirts and shorts, white socks.
Kit Rosenborg - white shirts, black shorts and socks.


First-half

Kick-off Rosenborg
9 Miss Kalou heads over from six yards with the goal gaping, after Joe Cole had supplied the cross, twisting and turning to get clear of his marker.
11 Waste Essien misses the second great chance in three minutes, opting to blast at the keeper's near post rather than go across him, he struck wide after Shevchenk's clever flick on.
17 Block Malouda's right-footed shot is cleared on the line by Strand, after Shevchenko had pulled the ball back from the byline. He was allowed in after Koppinen's error.
24 ROSENBORG GOAL Koppinen makes amends for his earlier error, volleying home Sapara's inswinging free kick, after beating JT to the cross.
32 Close Alex heads inches wide from a far post position after Malouda had cut in from the left to cross.
34 Wide Kalou again misses the target, this time from a narrow angle, directing his low shot just wide of Hirschfeld's far post, following an incisive pass from Joe Cole.
37 Miss Shevchenko's turn to narrowly miss, guiding a left-footed shot low to Hirschfeld's left, inches outside of the post.
Stoppage time 2 min.


Half-time Chelsea 0 Rosenborg 1


Second-half

Kick-off Chelsea
45 Rosenborg substitution Basma replaced by Kvarme.
47 Over Kalou turns the ball in from close range after Joe Cole spreads wide and Belletti crosses low. Chelsea celebrate but the flag is up. Replays suggest Kalou was not ahead of the ball when the pass came in so was onside.
52 CHELSEA GOAL Shevchenko nets his first of the season, heading home Malouda's cross from deep into an empty net, after Hirschfeld had come for the ball. It moves Shevchenko within two goals of Gerd Muller's European Cup goals record.
61 Post Malouda thrashes a drive against the post, and from the rebound Shevchenko's effort is blocked by sub Kvarme.
65 Abused Essien is chopped down in full flight by Dorsin. Essien is also booked for his reaction.
68 Rosenborg substitution Konan Ya on for Marek Sapara.
72 Denied Joe Cole has his close range shot blocked by a superb tackle from Kvarme. The former Liverpool defender threw himself in front of the ball when a goal looked likely.
73 Chelsea substitution Wright-Phillips and Ben-Haim replace Joe and Ashley Cole. John Terry moves up front as Chelsea go 3-4-3.
75 Post Kalou is having no luck, this time finding the outside of the post with a left foot curler. Shevchenko had won the ball and broke from a deeper midfield position before laying the ball into the Ivorian's path.
84 Rosenborg substitution Steffen Iversen makes a return to English shores, replacing Per Ciljan Skjelbred.
85 Save Hirschfeld blocks from point blank range as Kalou is denied again. Rosenborg clear the corner comfortably
89 Booked Konan Ya booked for a foul on Belletti.
Stoppage time 4 mins.


Full-time Chelsea 1 Rosenborg 1


Unused subs.
Chelsea: Cudicini, Ferreira, Mikel, Sidwell, Sawyer.
Rosenborg: Hansen, Stoor, Lago, Nordvik.


Shots on target Chelsea 5 Rosenborg 2
Corners Chelsea 8 Rosenborg 2
Fouls Chelsea 19 Rosenborg 18
Offsides Chelsea 4 Rosenborg 1


Comment Mourinho kept faith with the 4-4-2 that failed to score against Blackburn on Saturday, with the French internationals Malouda and Makelele returning in place of Sidwell and Wright-Phillips.


Chelsea created chance after chance, with Kalou guilty of missing the target on more than one occasion when well placed. Despite the pressure, it was the visitors who took the lead, capitalising on slack Blues defending from a set piece, something of a pattern for the season so far.


Mourinnho's half-time team talk clearly galvanised the side as they emerged with added impetus, and Champions League master Shevchenko was on hand to score his first of the season. Growing desperate, the Blues threw more and more men forward but could not break through the well manned Rosenborg backline, nor get any rub of the green.

P.S: List Of UPPEES is not in full due to the capacity limitation of the signature function (not be longer than 300 characters excluding BB Code markup). Rest assured I've all ur nicks n u'll be awarded. If I do missed u, kindly PM me.


Appreciate the PM, Bro David_Ginola, Bro Rw6828, Bro Myo_Swee and Bro XboxSG!

[Glen2712]

MATCH REPORT: CHELSEA 1 ROSENBORG 1


Andriy Shevchenko's first goal for Chelsea since his one away to Valencia in April was not enough to prevent a possibly damaging points loss against the group's lowest seeded team.


The Blues struck the post twice in the search for a winner but having gone behind midway through the first-half, we laboured to turn overwhelmingly superior possession into on-target attempts. The stuttering start to the season goes on.


There were just two changes from the side that were frustrated by Blackburn at the weekend.


The French internationals returned, former Champions League winner Makelele in for Sidwell and another player with much experience in the competition, Florent Malouda, replacing Wright-Phillips.


Andriy Shevchenko and Salomon Kalou remained the attacking pair with home debutants on Saturday, Alex and Belletti, retaining their places.


On the bench was Lee Sawyer, fresh from 76 minutes in the reserve team midfield just one night before. He turned 18 ten days ago and was on the first team bench once at the end of last season.


Kalou was at the centre of the early action as the play was all Chelsea's. He had one shot from 20 yards blocked and a header from a Joe Cole cross looped onto the roof of the net.


That was on nine minutes and two minutes later, Shevchenko flicked onto Essien who took one touch and then blasted a right-foot shot into the side-netting when well-placed.


On 17 minutes Rosenborg came close to presenting Chelsea with an opener, Koppinen misjudging an interception, leaving Shevchenko free to raid down the right.


The Ukrainian did the right thing in pulling back to Malouda but the French winger's shot failed to find its way through the defences assembled on the line. Strand cleared.


When a follow-up chance fell Malouda's way, he hooked his shot wide.


There had been little to suggest the Norwegians could trouble Chelsea in the opening quarter of the game but there remained the lurking menace of set-pieces, especially as the French referee was favouring the non-contact version of the sport.


There had already been nine free-kicks by the time Rosenborg were awarded another out on the left on 24 minutes.


The ball came in from Sapara and centre-back Koppinen nipped across Terry to loft the ball over Cech from four yards out.


An already quiet Stamford Bridge was stunned.


The quest for an equaliser was on. Alex headed a Malouda cross wide, Joe Cole drilled a shot five yards off-target and then Kalou went very close with a cross shot after a good Cole ball, all in the space of four minutes.


On 37 minutes, Shevchenko spun his marker as he received Malouda's pass but he too rolled his effort wide of the target.


Chelsea were packing the box and the area in front with bodies, the two wide men almost additional central midfielders to outnumber the Norwegians' central three. As a consequence, full-backs Ashley Cole and Belletti were asked to bomb on


Before the whistle, there was a heated exchange after Sheva inadvertently backed into and fell over an injury-prone opponent in a slapstick moment.


Rosenborg took exception and a pushing match began. You couldn't help suspecting the visitors were happy for the Blues to take their mind off the football.


The Rosenborg player initially involved, Basma, was replaced at the break by ex-Liverpool stopper Kvarme.


Within 43 seconds of the restart the new man had Joe Cole running towards him at pace but a 20 yard effort swung wide of the near post.


But before long Chelsea had to survive a scare. From a cross, the ball was laid back to centrally placed Koné who drove too high with Ashley Cole desperately diving in to block.


Finally, on 52 minutes, some of the tension eased. There was no sign of immediate threat when Malouda floated in another deep cross but it fell perfectly for Shevchenko to head past a committed keeper. It took our number seven to within two goals of Gerd Muller's all-time European record.


Belletti came dangerously close to diverting a low cross into his own net just moments later.


Just past the hour mark, Malouda surged into the area and let fly - but his shot cannoned off the post. Shevchenko was the recipient of the rebound 20 yards out but his attempt struck Kvarme as Rosenborg rode their luck.


The game's 21st foul resulted in its first booking - Dorsin punished for a challenge on Essien but astonishingly the Chelsea man was also cautioned for what the ref decided was a deliberate trip on an opponent as he fell.


It took two brave stops to prevent Chelsea netting a second on 72 minutes, the first on Joe Cole after Kalou had done well, the second by Strand as Belletti seemed certain to make it count.


There immediately followed a double swap involving the two Coles: Wright-Phillips for Joe, Ben-Haim for Ashley.


The changes didn't stop there. John Terry went up front with Shevchenko operating in midfield where he soon won the ball.


Advancing 20 yards, he slipped the ball wide to Kalou who cut in and struck the post with a left-foot shot.


The young Ivorian found too many bodies between him and goal when received Belletti's cross and shot with four minutes remaining.


Kone was booked in the 89th minute for a foul on Belletti but by this stage Chelsea were desperate for a goal, not a caution. It didn't come.


Chelsea: Cech; Belletti, Alex, Terry (c), A Cole (Ben-Haim 72); J Cole (Wright-Phillips 72), Makelele, Essien, Malouda; Kalou, Shevchenko.
Scorer Shevchenko 52
Booked: Essien 65


Rosenborg: Hirschfeld; Strand, Basma (Kvarme h-t), Koppinen, Dorsin; Sapara (Ya 68), Riseth, Tettey; Skjelbred (Iversen 84), Koné, Traoré.
Scorer Koppinen 24
Booked: Dorsin 65, Koné 89

P.S: List Of UPPEES is not in full due to the capacity limitation of the signature function (not be longer than 300 characters excluding BB Code markup). Rest assured I've all ur nicks n u'll be awarded. If I do missed u, kindly PM me.


Appreciate the PM, Bro David_Ginola, Bro Rw6828, Bro Myo_Swee and Bro XboxSG!

[no_faith]

the more i tink, the more i tulan.
why Kalou is preferred rather then Sheva even thou Kalou has create misses.

at least Sheva is proven. atm, juz give him the striker position. try to assist him, i believe he will convert.

[Glen2712]

IMHO, they've got to scrap 4-4-2...... after almost 2 months into the season and this morning's was the first day of the european season..... if u ask me.... they're seriously clueless about the game plan of 4-4-2.


I'm sure they're more familiar with 4-3-3, packed with a diamond..... it's a better potent attacking antidote than 4-4-2.


They've issues playing with width..... it stretches the team.... and their discomfort is evident on field......argh.... :frustrating:

P.S: List Of UPPEES is not in full due to the capacity limitation of the signature function (not be longer than 300 characters excluding BB Code markup). Rest assured I've all ur nicks n u'll be awarded. If I do missed u, kindly PM me.


Appreciate the PM, Bro David_Ginola, Bro Rw6828, Bro Myo_Swee and Bro XboxSG!

[no_faith]

Originally Posted by Glen2712

IMHO, they've got to scrap 4-4-2...... after almost 2 months into the season and this morning's was the first day of the european season..... if u ask me.... they're seriously clueless about the game plan of 4-4-2.

I'm sure they're more familiar with 4-3-3, packed with a diamond..... it's a better potent attacking antidote than 4-4-2.

They've issues playing with width..... it stretches the team.... and their discomfort is evident on field......argh.... :frustrating:

precisely. they are clueless in 4-4-2. every1 seems confuse. better switch back fast.

[Peter_North]

Originally Posted by no_faith

the more i tink, the more i tulan.
why Kalou is preferred rather then Sheva even thou Kalou has create misses.

at least Sheva is proven. atm, juz give him the striker position. try to assist him, i believe he will convert.

Kalou has always been Jose's blue-eye boy. I think Jose puts much emphasis on training sessions, and Kalou must have been helluva discplined and hardworking during training.

Sheva is lethal ? I'm not so sure. He has lost a yard of pace, and if you look at the way he runs, it's a bit 'akua akua' type. He is not robust and defenders find him a piece of cake. In Milan he had services from Kaka.

However, I do agree that Sheva is a better option than Kalou. He has the track records to back him up. I still think we need a playmaker. Will we get to see the Ballack of Bayern Munich ? If not, when January transfer window opens, we had better get ready the roubles.

[no_faith]

so who is the playmaker we need in the market now?

KAKA, nice but too XXxxx
ronaldinho, maybe but he reach his prime imo.

actually b4 we bought Malouda, i prefer Chelsea to buy Frank Ribery.

[Glen2712]

CHELSEA STATEMENT


Chelsea Football Club and José Mourinho have agreed to part company today (Thursday) by mutual consent.

P.S: List Of UPPEES is not in full due to the capacity limitation of the signature function (not be longer than 300 characters excluding BB Code markup). Rest assured I've all ur nicks n u'll be awarded. If I do missed u, kindly PM me.


Appreciate the PM, Bro David_Ginola, Bro Rw6828, Bro Myo_Swee and Bro XboxSG!