Can't say I blame him for the team he put out, though Drogba probably deserved a chance at redemption. Lampard starting is now a no no, way way way too slow. Reminds me of a jockey they called "better brakes ", cause he could slow any horse to a walk. Lamps now does this for Chelsea. Still with Ramires banned, again AVB didn't have much choice, that is if you subscribe to the theory that we are NEVER going to play another youngster (like Josh ). So off we go, at a less than cracking pace, and with as much passion as two sloths in love. Easily the worst 45mins of the year. Problem is, no one seems to be able to fix things. No doubt a major bollocking at half time saw the effort rocket up about 3%, but the structure was just as awful. We could have gone 4 4 2, 3 2 3 2 1, 5 2,3 , or 7 2 1 Anything would have been better than more of the same, but that's what we got. Very late on a version of 4 4 2 appeared for a few minutes. Instead, on came Drogba, and Malouda and Ferreira, all perfectly good but simply same for same, and Torres now on the right wing. So, it seems to me AVB is not the worlds' best tactician at this stage, and needs help. Guus ?? Van Basten ? Jose ?? Sparky ?? There is a theory that when things are bad on the pitch, they're bad OFF the pitch. Is that the problem ??
I think the problem for avb is he has a squad that is just too old so has to change it over the next year and i wrote an thread saying you play better without lampard. And think mceachran will go to bolton.
What he needs -and what I believe he's going to get- is a fighting fund to plug our weak spots! A central defender, a creative attacking midfielder, and possibly a replacement for Drogs/Torres! The Sun newspaper reckon he,s being given £150m to spend in January!
I agree, we need all three and unfortunately he brushed that rumour aside in the interview after the match lol
Chelsea have spent over 100mil in the last 12 months. Spending another 100mil is not gonna help things, as I said in another thread I actually think your squad is quite good but the manager just can't seem to get the best out of it. Playing lampard, Romeo & mireles in one team is a no no for me as they all don't add any creativity. Mata is now taking too much responsibility. Get Josh in there for lampard.
Romeu - Josh - Ramires is the perfect mixture of creativity and speed in midfield. or 4-4-2 with mata behind sturridge and torres = perfect. He just needs to bin this 4-3-3
It was always going to be like this for a year. We'll be fine next season. We are paying the price for being complacent and letting the team grow old.That's not AVB's fault.
Totally agree, just like i said at the beginning of the season it's only a transition season so as long as we get top 4 i'll be happy
As most of you know. I agree with everything said above about where replacements are needed and our current dilemma. However AVB s' efforts to change the way the match is going DURING a match is the issue I am questioning. Does he have the wherewithal to use his subs to alter results?? On the evidence I have seen, the answer so far is .............probably not !! He swaps one ineffective midfielder, forward, winger for another... straight swap, no change in pattern of play. Same result. I can't see why Roberto de Mateo is bringing to the decisions. He's no dope, so maybe AVB isn't listening ?????? If it's true the owner is giving another 150 mill in January, I'd start with Guus Hiddink as Chief Tactical Advisor. or CTA. AVB seems a very good judge of players , and I think will be a good coach into the future. AVB plus CTA is the answer for now.
For me it's not just the age, but the fact that when Lampard and Drogba are on the pitch the team focuses all their play on them. It worked great from 2004 to 2010 when they were banging the goals in and setting up other players, although the weakness of relying on those two was seen in 08/09 when Drogba scored very little. But over the last two seasons they aren't scoring or creating as much. Problem is that much of your play is still going through them, and you're still playing to their strengths. Which is one of the reasons Torres is doing so **** - he's getting service that the Drogba of 09/10 would have thrived off but it's not right for Torres. Until you actually get both of them out of the club you'll keep playing in a way that suits them and they'll still be holding you back.
Agree with you Swarbs. Don't want to seem like a cruel bastard, but you are spot on with what actually happens. I said recently that Lampards stature is such that the others defer to him, and he can't do the business any more when starting. Ditto Drogba , though to a lesser extent. he still occasionally does the business. However, when he plays or Lampard plays, the team plays TO them, to the exclusion of other potentially better players. In other words, we need to change our pattern of play depending on who starts, or how the game is going on the pitch This is what AVB, in my opinion, is not doing.
What the team needs is a kick up the arse from AVB. I want another line up and shoot down. It worked wonders last time. People like Drogba need to be brought down to size (if that is possible). AVB isn't tough enough for a club going through transition ATM.
You cannot blame AVB for the chances that we missed against Fulham. I haven't seen the game in full, only the highlights, but we had enough chances to win two games on that day. Agree with letting Lampard play a lesser role and playing some of the younger prospects. We did miss Ramires though but we cannot rely on one player to get us where we need to be. January signings for me is a must. If we can get 4th spot this year I will be happy.
TBF Stockdale, in Fulham's goal had the game of his life and pulled off several world class saves that would have normally gone in.
